[ SEMI-OPEN ]

[ct_7567]

WHO: Those who have been invited & anyone who would have a reason to visit Maurtia Falls #010! Wondering if you fit into that category? Just contact anyone with an involved character (Andy; Rex; Martin; Cassandra Igarashi; Dio; Archie) and ask!
WHERE: Maurtia Falls #010
WHEN: TONIGHT? TONIGHT.
WHAT: The soldierfam has decided that regular group dinners are good for Martin, and this time they've got a few party crashers!
WARNINGS: None anticipated; will change if necessary!



At a glance, one could easily mistake Maurtia Falls #010 for being entirely uninhabited. Dio rarely returns home and Rex and Marty only have a handful of belongings between the two of them and Rex is meticulously tidy, returning everything to exactly where it ought to be - if anything, it's Andy who makes the biggest mess around the place, and she doesn't even live here.

Despite every sign to the contrary, however, they do live here, and it winds up being a hub of activity whenever one of Martin's guardians - if that's truly what they can call themselves - decides that it's about time to get everyone together for dinner. In Anderson's absence, Rex has taken on the opinion that cooking can't be that hard, which is how they wind up with one window open, a casserole dish burned black soaking in the sink and an assortment of take-out on the table.

(As it turns out, it is that hard - and he found a combination pizza & Chinese food take-out place, whiich means that it can only be better.)

In all, there's not much to do or see here; there's food, Rex the goldfish in his tank, a soccer ball neatly tucked close to the house in the backyard, and a mysterious shelf called "Martin's Things" in the cupboard. Otherwise, you're stuck with nothing more than some potential awkward conversation. Have fun, kids!

Comments

[queenofseers]

"Yeah, it is," Cassandra responds, fairly seriously. She doesn't much like being talked back to, even if it's not talking back very hard.

That said...does this woman know about the chaos that was the doppelganger week? If she takes care of Martin, maybe. She likely should.

"Rex I just met on the network. Martin I met...because of Rex, but apparently the same asshole wants to fuck with us both now." She glances into the living area, wondering if it'd upset Martin to hear her discussing this- he seems like an attentive kid, despite everything. "Do you know anything about that? That week with the warped clones?"

[killtime]

Well, she's not wrong. Andy should know a lot of things she doesn't — things she avoids knowing, because she's already more invested in these people than she really ought to be. Too attached. And experience has shown time and time again that somebody's going to pay for that at some point. Better if she doesn't know anymore than she has to — though she says that to herself and still flies to Martin's aid at the drop of a hat. Still gets worried. Contradictions. Things better not to dwell on.

"A little," she responds at length. Her casual half-interest has sharpened into attention. She'd had her own run-ins that week — with Martin's doppelganger firstly, and what she suspected to be Lestat's. Maybe others. Hard to know. "Why? Does this asshole have a name?"

[queenofseers]

Cass is bad at social cues, but had been decent at interviewing- enough to know that this sounds like Andy is interested, now. She'd love to know what the woman means by "a little", but she suspects that's coming, if they're really going to get into conversation about that fuckfest of a week.

She looks back into the living area again, and moves to have both arms on one side of the door. She's curious, now.

"Yeah. Woden. Weird fucker in a mask and light-up bodysuit. Have you met him?"

[killtime]

Woden.

Andy's eyes narrow immediately, something hardening in her face. Yeah, she does know that piece of shit — mostly because either him or his doppelganger tried to murder her in a dark alleyway during the week in question. She'd let him go, made a bargain that probably doesn't matter now — but it's different if he's involved with Martin and Rex somehow. A personal slight Andy might forgive, but one that affects people she cares about is another thing.

She sets her take-out box and her flask down outside the tub, then sits herself up straight, eying Cassandra with attentive intensity.

"Yeah, I've met him. Or a version of him," she responds flatly. "Has he hurt Martin? Is that what this is fucking about?"

[queenofseers]

Well, that's something. At least it seems that she won't have to describe how dangerous Woden is and simply hope Andy believes her- this woman clearly has some perception of how he really is, and what the risks are. She'd also rather not have Andy go jump to conclusions, but it looks like that hasn't gotten too bad...yet.

"Martin's met him before, too. But then there was a...particularly stab-happy Woden doppelganger who came after him during that week."

She pauses. This isn't a fond memory, and she's clearly unhappy about discussing it. The amount of times a conversation she's having has quickly turned to Woden bothers her. "I came over to try to pry some info out of him, but...Rex had to take him out. Dead doppelgangers turn into dust, apparently."

She taps one hand, closed into a fist, on the side of the doorframe. "Martin was fine. I don't even know if the actual Woden cares too much about him. But he's a petty piece of shit, so they're involved now. What'd he do when you met him?"

[killtime]

Something tightens slightly in Andy's jaw. She should've killed that stupid doppelganger — hindsight, of course. At the time, she hadn't even known there were devious doubles running around. Downside of keeping mostly to yourself. But at least Rex did what she couldn't. Ever reliable, their captain. Not like her.

Even now, she's debating whether or not to lie. First instinct is to conceal, deflect — even if the truth would help. There's not even a real reason for it, except she's something of a liar by habit and deeply invested in her own privacy. If she explains what happened, there's more explaining to be done. About her powers, what she is. The moments it takes her to answer are almost tangible.

Finally: "Cut my throat in a dark alleyway. Probably his doppelganger. Didn't ask." She leans over the side of the tub to get her flask. "What are we worried is going to happen here exactly? The real Woden goes after Martin?"

[queenofseers]

"Jesus fucking Christ, what?" That's not a jump she expected Andy to go take, to put it bluntly. "You could have mentioned that straight out!"

But Andy's right- that does sound like the doppelganger more than the original Woden, for sure. Woden is more of the long-term plan type than the ambush-people-in-alleyways type. Plus, she assumes Andy would remember that the event took place over the course of that week- it leaves little doubt in her mind.

"Yes, I am worried about that! And him going after any of us! Woden has..." She pauses. How does she put this without giving too much away, especially considering she just met Andy five minutes ago?

She sounds uncomfortable when she speaks again. "A history with me, and the other person who lives in this house. And now some version of him has tried to hurt Martin, and Rex, and now you. Even if it wasn't the actual Woden? I'm not taking any fucking chances."

[killtime]

A history. That could mean a lot of things — but Andy would rather avoid getting into anything that so definitely reeks of personal business, particularly with someone she barely knows. She's already more involved that she ever intended to be, and maybe whatever already happened between Woden, Cassandra, this "Dio" she's heard of is less important than what might happen next. But should she risk not prying into something that could give her insight into a potential enemy?

Ugh. This is why she doesn't get involved. It gets complicated. Fast. Every time.

"I don't really care if he tries to hurt me. I care about Martin and Rex." Her voice comes flat, with some building frustrating underneath the deadpan of her words and beneath that, a consciously suppressed concern. "What do I do about Woden? Watch for him? Kill him? Is that even a viable option?"

[queenofseers]

"Look, I wouldn't...blame you if you had to kill him," she says, somewhat surprised that they've gotten to a situation where those words can come out of her mouth. She always tried to be the voice of reason for the Pantheon, but circumstances are at the point where Woden should be considered an ever-present danger, and death isn't exactly the factor it used to be.

"But I know he can hold a grudge. You said you don't care, but it's not like I want him going after more people. Watching out for him is just basic sense."

Leaving her with just that doesn't feel right, though- makes her feel like she's not doing enough. "I know some people are working on ways to stop him. But we don't know if any of them will work yet. This is all we've got."

[killtime]

In general, Andy prefers a permanent solution to these kinds of problems — threats should be dealt with before they grow out of hand. But murder doesn't always stick around here, does it? Even for people that should be mortal. So she can see the wisdom in keeping an eye out for the time being — she just doesn't like it.

"Ways to stop him," Andy echoes a little skeptically. "And in the meantime, Martin and Rex might be in danger." She exhales with a twinge of frustration. "Great. Guess I'll just pitch a tent in the living room until you all figure it out."

[queenofseers]

Cassandra would love a more fixed solution, too- which is why she doesn't take Andy's rigid reaction well. It's not as if any of this was Cassandra's doing, and she already feels bad enough about having Woden roaming around hurting people in the first place. It's fucked up that she feels like she has to be responsible for him- but she feels that way because she has the most experience with him, and because she knows in a place like this, it's easy for him to fall through the villainous cracks.

"Yeah, and you know who else is in danger? Practically everyone I know! Including you, maybe!" After all, while she's pretty sure the Woden who stabbed Andy was his doppelganger, it wouldn't be impossible for Woden to catch word that the event occurred. "So can we not pretend that it's anyone's fault for his dipshit behavior? Hell, other than the people who decided it was fine to bring him here in the first fucking place?!"

[killtime]

Andy eyes Cassandra for a long moment, then glances away to take another swig from her flask.

"I wasn't blaming you," she clarifies at length, "I'm frustrated with what's happening — not with you personally." Gods, she wishes she could smoke right now. But Rex probably wouldn't appreciate her doing that in their bathroom. "I'd help, if I could. But I have a skill set suited for pretty much one thing, and we already decided not to do that. So yeah, I'm a little pissed off I have to sit around with my thumbs up my ass. That doesn't mean I think it's your fault."

[queenofseers]

Andy's reaction startles her, even if it's somewhat reassuring. She's used to these conversations making things worse, spiraling into a fight, so she to some extent doesn't know how to respond to a calm reaction. Even if this is the kind of thing she hopes for, it's never what she expects.

"...Okay," she responds, taking a moment. "Thank you? Although I'm assuming when you say you have a skill set for one thing, considering what you've said before, that thing is...killing people?"

That actually shouldn't surprise her too much, as this is a friend of Rex's, and Rex is a soldier. Doesn't make it stop being strange.

[killtime]

Not that Andy isn't contrary to a fault sometimes — she's been known to escalate a fight, for certain — but not here, not right now. There's bigger fish to fry, and she doesn't need to be picking fights under Rex and Martin's roof. Especially not with Rex's other friends. She can behave herself.

"What can I say, I have a talent for wetwork." She shrugs a little, like it's no big deal. And maybe after a couple thousand years of mostly war, it isn't anymore. In her homeworld, she's probably spilled more blood than anyone else on Earth — simply by virtue of having been alive longest and having spent most of that time in battle. "But I also recently took up knitting."

[queenofseers]

Andy's casual response might startle Cassandra more than anything. If Andy had said she was from some sort of war or regiment, she could at least live with it- Cass knows plenty of killers by now (unfortunately), and war's a better excuse than many of them have.

They usually don't accentuate it with jokes about knitting, though. Cass knows how to handle herself around dangerous people, but that doesn't stop her from being nervous, even if Andy is clearly on her side in a variety of ways. She crosses her arms, a bit defensively.

"I hope you're joking about it for a decent reason. Are you a soldier like Rex is? Or...something else?"

[killtime]

She has, technically, served in hundreds of conflicts — all of which sometimes blur together for her now, after so many centuries. But it isn't worth getting into that, is it? Having to talk about her immortality with one more person that she shouldn't really be telling. Not that it even matters so much here, but Andy's a cagey creature, and old habits die hard.

"Who says I'm joking?" Andy gives her flask a little shake, hearing a tiny bit of liquid slosh around in the bottom — damn. Almost empty. "I was a soldier. For a long time." As if that makes the killing any better. She's taken so many lives. "I was doing covert ops when the Porter brought me in." Same business. But at least she was her own boss, with her own team. "Now I sit in people's bathtubs and drink."

[queenofseers]

She raises an eyebrow at that rhetorical question- if that isn't a joke, Andy is noticably morbid even for people around here. She's not sure if she's comfortable with that, combined with Andy's willingness to kill people who've hurt those Andy cares about.

That said- she'd be okay with killing Woden. It could be worse.

"I can see why you get along with Rex, at least. Does he...know you're sitting in his bath? And getting drunk while you're doing it?"

[killtime]

It's probably not the sort of thing any reasonable person should really be comfortable with. And it's not that Andy's proud of it — she's a shit excuse for a human being, and she knows that — but she's accepted it. She's accepted that she's a good killer, and if she had to kill to protect Martin or Rex, she'd do it without flinching. Better her than them, anyway. They're better than that.

She's not.

"Rex probably doesn't need to know I'm drinking in his bath," she responds with her usual wryness. "Wouldn't want him to feel like he has to come rescue me." Another little shrug. "If he asks, I'm on my best behavior, alright?"

[queenofseers]

Cassandra raises an eyebrow. She's sure Rex isn't a saint- she's seen the man snap someone's neck, after all- but she knows that when he's not dealing with someone trying to kill people he cares about, he's fairly genuine.

"I'm going to guess he doesn't want you here because he cares that you're having a good time at this thing." Gathering? Dinner? Whatever he and Martin mean it to be. "Unless this is your definition of a good time. In which case I'll...just figure you're all set."

[killtime]

Truthfully, Rex might not mind so much that she's hiding out in the bathroom — but he's a frustratingly good friend to her, and she'd rather not have to deal with being checked on. Gods forbid her sentiment for the man should make her feel some self-imposed obligation to try tonight. Here relationship with Rex and Martin has already inspired her to try so much harder than she normally would care to, and the emotional implications of that don't always sit so well with her. Avoidance is better, and avoidance is exactly what she's doing.

"I'm not having a bad time," she responds at length, maybe a little tired, "It's just been a while. Since I had to get to know so many fucking people." Try a century or so, at least. "No offense, Cassandra."

[queenofseers]

"None taken, honestly," Cassandra says, somewhat out of obligation, clearly already interested in what she can read into Andy's words. When encountering new people herself, the part of her that used to do interviews as a journalist tends to kick on. That's probably a bad sign- she's never had much of a social life, and she's sure this doesn't help- but, at the very least, it could get her information. And information is what she needs around here.

"Does that mean you haven't been here very long? Or that you just haven't made a habit of getting to know everyone else around here?"

[killtime]

"Couple months."

Flash in the pan, really. Months pass for her in the blink of an eye. She hardly keeps track of them anymore — and why bother? Even a lifetime isn't so very long. But admittedly, she has done more to adapt here than she has for ages in her home world. Maybe the nature of this place just necessitates that.

"And I like my privacy, so I don't feel like I need to get to know everyone else." Not to mention she's been friends with the same three fucking guys for the last several centuries. "Just the relevant people." Rex, Martin, and people around them. Then the immortals. And sometimes the gods. "Why, you think I should branch out or something?"

[queenofseers]

"Plenty of people do. Some of them become flat-out socialities. Hell," -she waves a hand into the living room, at the rest of the people here- "At this point it looks like Rex and Martin have pulled that off themselves just fine."

It's sort of fascinating, honestly; Rex doesn't seem like an especially social man, and Martin's an entirely different matter. The amount of people who have entered their lives this closely, so fast, surprises her. Particularly considering Cassandra's own social circle has never been the widest.

"Maybe I just thought their other friends would be more like that. But I'm surprised more people aren't like you. You'd think people wouldn't be making so many connections when they could leave at any time."

[killtime]

It is sort of a remarkable phenomenon. She dwells on it from time to time — how Martin has inadvertently gathered around him the most unlikely group of guardians. People that would probably not normally seek to add child care to their routine, or even associate with each other. She remembers their first "family dinner" — how strange it was for her, standing there in the kitchen with Cassandra Anderson and Rex with their unspoken vow to protect Martin from anything and everything.

Honestly, she doesn't know how it happened. She isn't sure she likes that it happened. But she does know she would kill for Martin Darkov, and it's too late to take back a sentiment like that.

"That's the fucking crux of it, isn't it," Andy responds with an exhale and another slight shrug. "I was already living my life knowing relationships are fragile and fleeting and usually not worth the damn trouble. Didn't have to change my habits much here." Except she did. When it came to Martin. "But I'm here. And you're here, so you must be making friends too."

[queenofseers]

She shrugs. She doesn't often think of herself as someone with a lot of friends, not that she never had them. But even she will admit to herself that she has few close confidants. Despite that, she can't deny that she's gotten to know a surprising number of people here, compared to her life before. She'd say the sheer number of imPorts dragged her out.

Deep down, she's starting to think it's more than that- so many of them are friendly or concerned in specific ways she hadn't seen back home, at least not in person. That, or they're stubborn. Rex was a strange case of simply being a sane guy who'd gotten caught up in the Pantheon's crap, and everyone else got sucked in from there.

"Besides you, I think I know everyone in this house already. Hell, Dio's from my world. I've known him for a while." Fairly well, actually; he's one of the few members of the Pantheon she'll call a friend with no caveats, maybe the only one. "There's no one here from yours?"