[OPEN]

[cantgetanyworse]

WHO: Jane Porter & maybe you?
WHERE: De Chima Library, inside & outside
WHEN: Mid-September
WHAT: Reading, researching, making notes... lots of notes. general open log for any new/budding/existing cr.
WARNINGS: none yet

---

i. indoors

While it's lucky that Luther Hargreeves showed her the way here on their little tour together, it's likely she would have found her way to it by herself eventually. On one of her days off from the book store she heads to the largest library in the city, her bag clutched close to her chest, with the full intent of staying there until she's found the answers to most, if not all of the questions she has.

Not more than an hour later, she's sitting at a table with what looks like half of the library inventory spread out in small stacks around her while she scribbles notes from at least three books at any one time.

Her first port of call, and perhaps the most difficult one given her time period of origin, is Introduction to Computers. Some time is spent on this, eventually with a dictionary to go along with it, though she doesn't venture to the computers themselves until much later when the library is less populated.

What she moves on to next, once she's exhausted herself on terms the can barely get to grips with, is several volumes on how a person might start up their own business. Some of the books are quite general (Business For Beginners, The Female Entrepreneur, Start with Why), with at least one more focused on how one starts up their own enterprise as an imPort, and it's long past lunch time before she comes up for air on that particular topic.

Finally, as the evening starts to draw in, she opens up the guide sent to her by Bean and begins to pick her way through it. It's... a lot, and she doesn't make it all the way through before a staff member is lightly tapping her shoulder and telling her that the library is going to close soon.

((open for any point during the day))

ii. outside

Five minutes past the library's closing time, Jane steps out with six books stacked and held close to her chest. She hasn't eaten since breakfast, and is deeply entrenched in her own thoughts when she walks right into someone and drops five out of the six books she's carrying with a startled yelp.

"Oh! Oh, goodness, I'm so sorry," she blurts out immediately, dropping into a crouch to scoop her trove of books back up off the floor. Her stomach has the audacity to let out a hungry growl mid-apology and she feels herself cringe.

How embarrassing.

"... Sorry, entirely my fault." And she gets back up, the books stacked carefully against her chest once again. "I should really watch where I'm going."

Comments

indoors

[duelo]

He doesn't really expect to see anyone else in the DIY/How-To, so to speak, section of the library when he makes his way there, largely because everyone Derek knows back home is the type of person more inclined to hop on a computer and Google whatever it is they're looking for; maybe watch a Youtube video. Derek has never really cared an awful lot for technology beyond its most basic function of keeping in contact via text and phone calls. So, color him surprised to see that he's not the only one who apparently feels that way when he ventures in to look for some books on training dogs.

Derek doesn't think he'll be awful at his new job as a puppy trainer, but he also doesn't think he'll be great unless he actually puts in the effort. If he has to do something, he wants to do it right, especially given it's his first job, in spite of the fact that he's already thirty years old.

His eyes wander to one of the books she's holding as she peruses others on the shelf. Derek is already holding Dog Training for Dummies and How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond when he addresses her. "Can we do that here? Start our own businesses?" he asks. Then he realizes that he's assuming she's an imPort and that's kind of stupid, because she could be anyone. "I mean...are there a lot of local businesses around here? I've mostly seen a few big box corporate locations but I also haven't been in De Chima long enough to have explored an awful lot..."

Nice save. Or not.

[cantgetanyworse]

She's aware that she has company before the man speaks but had barely given him a cursory glance as she'd entered the aisle. They're all here for their own reasons, and who is she to interrupt someone from their own perusals when she has so much work to be getting along with?

Jane is mid-way through pulling a book down when she's addressed, and she looks over to him with faint surprise in her eyes.

"Well... I certainly don't see why not. From the sounds of things there are all kinds of programmes aimed and making things easier for... hum... 'non-natives'." She does the same thing as he does - makes that assumption - and immediately reins herself in on it.

"That is-- I'm sure there's nothing to stop anyone from starting their own enterprise, if they're so inclined."

[duelo]

He pauses for a second, processing what she'd initially said and making the educated guess this time, instead of just making an assumption like last time, that she is, in fact, also an imPort. He smiles a little, looking appropriately apologetic for having interrupted her because she looks a little surprised.

"Are you an imPort, too?" he asks quietly, lowering his voice so that no one else will overhear, hopefully, in case she isn't and he needs to extricate himself from one of the fans of imPorts. He's hoping she's an imPort rather than a fan, in any case.

Starting a business here isn't something he would've thought to do, but then maybe that's because he's got no real skills. If he could look at himself from the outside, he might realize that there are plenty of things he can do in a human world where he doesn't have to hide his werewolf abilities. It wouldn't be that hard to start a business if he could get an idea, but it won't occur to him to try. The conversation is mostly in curiosity.

[cantgetanyworse]

She's ready to be quite apologetic in turn, for the sake of her own assumptions, when he asks her that question and she makes no effort to keep the relief from showing in her expression.

"Oh, yes, I am," she replies, taking cue from the volume of his voice and lowering her own in turn. Jane smiles, the smallest of wrinkles in her nose as she does so, and moves her collected books to one arm to offer her hand out for him to shake.

"Jane Porter. I'm sure it's a pleasure to meet you. The name is an unfortunate coincidence."

[duelo]

The relief that he scents in the air and can see pretty clearly in her body language gives way to relief on his side, too. He's sure that the locals are perfectly nice, but the less he has to put himself in situations where he might end up talking to someone who already knows more about him than he'd like; views him as some kind of celebrity, the better.

A smile crosses his expression and he can't help finding the wrinkle of her nose endearing as she shifts her books around to free up a hand.

"Derek Hale," he replies, shaking her hand and then holding it out after letting go of hers. "And likewise. I wouldn't have thought of it until you just pointed it out. Do you need some help? That's a lot of books," he observes, his hand still extended in an offer to take a few of them off her plate for the moment. He can carry them over to wherever it is she plans on sitting and then she won't have to juggle an awkwardly large load of weight every time she wants to look at another or, in this case, shake a hand.

Outside

[governorkang]

Kang is distracted that day as well, going over everything he needs to get done in the next few days. He bites back a surprised curse when he feels someone bump into his wing and hears the books falling to the ground, and immediately kneels down to help pick them up, "No, I wasn't watching where I was going either. I apologize."

[cantgetanyworse]

"No, really, it was-- oh!"

She recognises him immediately - difficult not to, despite only seeing him on a screen before now - and she straightens up with a slightly wide-eyed expression that she immediately schools on realising that she's doing it and it may in fact be a little rude.

"Hello! Oh-- thank you for the help."

[governorkang]

He expects the staring, and all she gets for it is an amused look. Even if it weren't for the dragonish features, he's tall, at seven feet, and well-muscled. Mindful of his claws, he hands over the books he's gathered, "I don't think I got your name before. Mine is Kang."

[cantgetanyworse]

The way he looks isn't too much of a shock, at least... but she hadn't expected him to be quite so tall.

"Oh, I'm-- thank you. I'm Jane." She takes the books with a smile and tucks them in front of the others she'd picked up, balancing the lot carefully against her chest once again.

"And I'm sorry about that, too. My manners are usually better."

Indoors

[criminallysane]

Oh, fuck, it's Jane Porter.

Joker knows he can't avoid her forever--De Chima's not that big a place, and he does so enjoy wandering about and meeting people. It's only a matter of time before he runs into her somewhere, at which point presumably he's going to have to deal with the humiliating aftermath of their last encounter (in which, horror of horrors, he was actually kind to her). But he's been hoping to have a little more time than this. Why, he hasn't even figured out how to properly maim and mutilate her yet!

Yet there she is, the impudent thing, sitting at a library table like she has just as much right to be there as he does. Worse yet, she looks absolutely enchanting, with her books piled about and a look on her face that clearly says, I am working hard.

Joker, who has just emerged from the stacks with three books of his own (two technical manuals for electronics, and a textbook on medical biochemistry), stops short and stares at her. He could leave, he tells himself. He should leave, in fact. He has the books he needs; he doesn't have to linger here. He should go home, and contemplate the many hilarious ways in which he might disfigure a young lady, and maybe order in some lunch, too, while he's at it.

But if he does that, well, isn't he really just running away from her? Letting her win by default? He can't have that, he simply can't. The Joker does not run away from young ladies, not now, and not ever!

So instead he storms right over to her table and slaps his small stack of books down atop a few of hers. "I just want you to know, Miss Porter," he snarls, "that I didn't mean a word of it."

[cantgetanyworse]

It's funny how she hasn't really given their meeting that much thought at all since it happened. So much has happened since and while her mind has occasionally, for a moment or two now and then, drifted back to that very polite gentleman who helped her through the woods then bought her lunch she has had many other things to consider.

She doesn't realise that she's being stared at. So engrossed in her note-taking and poring through books she completely misses the sensation of eyes boring into her, and only looks up with a small start an an 'oh!' of surprise at the sudden thud of several books being put down.

At first, she says nothing. Her blue eyes slightly wide, a little bewildered, she looks him up and down and tries to think what on Earth he might mean and how to connect the personality she remembers to the person now speaking to her in such a sharp tone. It doesn't take long at all for an explanation to come to mind.

"... I see," she says after a few moments pass, and she carefully places her pen down. "Perhaps you'd like to be more specific about what you didn't mean, so that I can be sure of making no mistakes in the future."

[criminallysane]

At least he has her attention now. That's a good start. He could do with a little more fear and loathing from her, but that'll come in time, surely. Given how they parted last time (with him earnestly asking--nearly begging--her to call him if there was ever anything, anything, he might do for her), he can't exactly fault her for her lack of alarm.

Joker puts on his most condescending sneer, looking down his long nose at her like she's a speck of diseased mud befouling his wingtips.

"Have you gone deaf, my dear? I said I didn't mean a word. That is to say, I meant precisely none of what I said to you. Zero. Zilch! The great goose egg of diddly-squat."

He leans forward, placing both palms flat on the table between them so that he can sneer a little closer to her, getting right up into her personal space. He can't help but notice that she smells delightful, which only serves to intensify the loathing in his voice.

"I do not want to be your friend. I do not want you to call upon me for anything, least of all assistance with any of the trifling nonsense with which you no doubt fill your days. And I most certainly do not think you are a lady! Capiche?"

[cantgetanyworse]

The fear and loathing would be a long time coming from someone like Jane, but hey, they have time for him to really work on it if it matters to him quite that much. Her lack of alarm comes in part due to their previous interaction but also in part to their current surroundings - being in a public place offers the guarantee of a certain level of security against physical harm at least.

And it's really her own stubborn nature that keeps her from recoiling when he moves himself into her space. Her expression seems to pinch, several small muscles in her face tensing almost imperceptibly along with a faint rise in her shoulders, and her fingers tighten subtly around her pen.

She listens, and keeps her eyes firmly fixed to his, and carefully clenches the back of her jaw to keep the way her heart is suddenly racing and the rolling sensation in the pit of her stomach from showing on her face. When he's finished, she takes a breath to steady herself. He's certainly wrong about one thing.

Jane is very much a lady, and a lady does not make a scene or a spectacle of herself in public without due cause.

"... Do you feel better, now that you've got all of that out of your system?"

indoors

[tricksterofasgard]

It's with a single, yet rather large book on different mythologies under his arm that Loki wanders across Jane and her mounting collection. The sight prompts the Asgardian to stop and raise a brow before his eyes shift over the various titles to get an idea of what she is researching.

Seeing the 'Introduction to Computers' makes the Asgardian snort a little.

"I doubt any book can properly explain their strange machines." he remarks, his tone somewhat dismissive.

[cantgetanyworse]

"Really? I'm finding it quite informative."

If her notes are anything to go by, she's got a good amount of use out of the book and the several others that are stacked up beneath it. She takes little note of his dismissive tone, but glances up at him with a nonchalant smile.

"It's still very strange, but I do like to be prepared so I don't look too much like a complete Luddite when I attempt something new."

[tricksterofasgard]

"Then why not do your research on one of these computers?" The Asgardian suggests, offering a smile that is bordering on cheerfulness.

Personally? He will stick to the phone he has been given. He won't willingly admit it out loud, but it has been very useful for acquiring information and researching... Well. Humans.

"Obviously you have prepared yourself thoroughly enough to take the risk."

[cantgetanyworse]

"Oh, I should think I'll move to attempting that soon enough, but I think I would make notes far more quickly with a pen."

Given that the computer hadn't been invented when Jane lived in England, and her experience with typewriters tells her that she can write far more quickly by hand, she feels she's choosing the more sensible option at the moment.

"And I'm sure I'll find some kind soul to guide me in the use of one of the contraptions this afternoon."

Outside

[perfectlyhuman]

Well, she can't exactly be blamed for not seeing someone shorter than her, specially with her newfound literary treasures piled up that way. It's partly his fault, too, as he was much too distracted by the phone on his hand, and Dog, leashed, didn't do anything to bring up his attention, having only jumped out of the way when the books came raining down.

He's startled for a moment, having stumbled, but no harm done.

"--Jane?" Oh, well, that's fine. He looks around at the ground for a moment, crunching to pick up his phone and checking it. Back up, and Adam looks at her curiously. "What are all those for?"

[cantgetanyworse]

"Oh, Adam!" He doesn't look too much distressed about anything, so she can only assume his phone is fine and Dog is (as ever) entirely unharmed. She quickly gathers all of her books back up and inwardly curses her lack of foresight in not bringing a bag along that could fit all of them in it.

"I thought I ought to start trying to learn as much as I can, if I'm going to be staying here for a while. Can't simply sit around waiting to go home, now can I?"

[perfectlyhuman]

His phone is absolutely fine, by someone's grace, and Dog doesn't seem too bothered, so no harm done.

"Learning about what?" He tilts his head slightly, trying to read some of the titles on the book spines. "That's a lot of books to take out at once."

[cantgetanyworse]

"Oh, is it?"

Either she didn't really notice, or finds this a completely reasonable amount of books to take... and for anyone who knows Jane at all, it's likely to be the latter.

"Well-- I suppose I have a lot to learn. I used a computer today. Isn't that marvellous?"

indoors

[goodtobebad]

"If you need help with computers, I've been teaching Aziraphale some things," Crowley says upon seeing the titles of some of her books. What is he doing in a library in De Chima? Who knows. Possibly stalking checking up on Jane.

[cantgetanyworse]

She looks up immediately at the sound of that familiar voice, with that bright smile that she often has when she sees the demon.

"Oh, have you?"

What is he doing in a library in De Chima? This question will no doubt come to Jane's mind later, much like the question of what he was doing near a church in De Chima the last time they met here accidentally. She hadn't asked then, and she may not ask now... she's simply happy to see him.

"Do you think you could show me? I don't understand them at all."

[goodtobebad]

What is it with Crowley and beings who are just complete balls of sunshine? The universe may never know.

Or maybe it's just that he's a reptile drawn to warmth.

"There's probably some computers here..." He glances around. Sure enough! Public libraries are definitely one of those things that were entirely the doing of humans. Too good for either Heaven or Hell. "I at least know which buttons to push. What do you want to know how to do?"

[cantgetanyworse]

Opposites attract, or some such thing? Or perhaps that kindness will always find its like, no matter what kind of veneer a person tries to put across it.

"Ah-- well, I believe I know enough about how to turn one on, and I dare say I should be able to type with a little practice." She can use a typewriter, after all, and the layout of the keys looks much the same.

"But the--... hum. What was the word-- the soft-ware? I have no idea how to use any of it."