11979/Something something something I'll rename this later

Something something something I'll rename this later
Date of Scene:	12 July 2022
Location:	The Velvet Room - Library
Synopsis:	Lydia meets Mercy and Gabby joins them.
Cast of Characters:	Lydia Dietrich, Mercy Thompson, Gabby Kinney

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Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia has been spending her free time holed up in the Velvet Room's library doing research for a protective ward against the creatures that are hunting Rien from Nullspace. The desk she's working on is piled high with books, a few of them opened to pages of esoteric texts. She's got sheafs of paper scattered around, filled with test circles filled with geometry that, if one were to look, doesn't quite add up and is hard to look at. Behind her is an old fashioned chalk board with which equations and diagrams have been scrawled.

    The vampire herself is dressed casually. She's wearing a pair of hot pink yoga pants and an oversized plain white t-shirt that's slipping off one shoulder to reveal a bra strap. Her tightly curled brown hair has been somehow tamed into a French braid that hangs over one shoulder, and as always, she's surrounded by her ectoplasm manifesting as a field of twinkling and gently moving stars

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    The main door that people usually arrive in glows blue.... then zzts just as there is a faint thump on it. Then the frame flickers a few more times. Finally it flashes brightly as it gets bumped open. In stumbles in Merch. She frowns, "stupid magic door." She has a big round Tupperware thing tucked into her hip as she manages to get through the door and sees about pocketing the key. "I must be doing something wrong." She closes the door muttering under her breath and then turns to see who, if anyone is here.
    Mercy's eyes don't take long to find the one person in the room. As usual, she takes a moment to let her senses tell her more then most. The woman at the desk with the mess is regarded for a long moment, "Hi there. Don't think we've met. I'm Mercy, pretty sure I'm the new girl." She's staring at the ghost energy around the woman that just fills her with questions. "You okay?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Sniff. Sniff sniff. SNIFF.

Unlike some of the others here with well trained sniffers, Gabby was still getting used to hers. That didn't mean it wasn't good. It just meant she wasn't aware enough of all the various scents to be able to decipher them all in a useful way the majority of the time.

Usually.

Now? Now however, Mercy had entered the Velvet Room with something that Smelled Delicious. Ever the hungry, curious teen, she ventures toward the library following that smell.

A cotton candy blue head of hair peers around the corner as she comes into the library spotting Lydia studying and Mercy having just arrived. A bright grin that was far more her usual cheery self breaks over her scarred face. "Oh hey! Good to see you again Mercy. Hi Lydia!" Pausing she asks, curiously, "I smell something good."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "Hm, what?" Lydia looks up, blinking strange golden eyes at Mercy. She had been so intent on what she was studying that she didn't notice the woman enter, which only goes to show how absorbed she was in what she was doing because of her heightened senses.

    Not recognizing the new girl gets Lydia's brain kicked into gear. "Oh! Yes! Hi, I'm Lydia," she says, holding out a pale hand for shaking. "I'm quite fine. Just... was wrapped up in a project" A curious tilt of the head, "Why do you ask?"

    When she hears Gabby come through the door and into the lounge of the Velvet Room, Lydia calls out to her, "In here, Gabby!" though she wouldn't need to since the smell of what's in the tupperware was enough to lure the teen here. "I like what you've done with your hair," she says. "I've always thought about dying mine but when it's this thick and curly it just seems to be more of a pain than it's worth."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    As she normally does, Mercy has that subtle undertone of 'canine' or coyote there. She's also carrying something that smells sweet, fresh, and mixed well with the bittersweet scent of chocolate. The mechanic's face grins at seeing the young Gabby, "well then that means my recipe meets with approval still." The blue key is pocketed and then she goes to open the thing in her arm as the smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies comes from them. "Why is your hair now blue, Gabby? It wasn't because you an eye went through the door out of here close together is it?"
    "Hi Lydia, nice to meet you." She hesitates on the hand shake, mostly because of what she saw and she can be wary around vampires. "Don't usually see something like that what you have around them." She admits, "I can see ghosts and you got... something going on I haven't met." She will take the hand to shake it once, confirming what her senses touch on. "I got some to share, you are welcome to them Lydia if you can eat them safely."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney lifts her hands to wiggle her fingers eagerly in a mock-zombie posture when Mercy reveals the tupperware full of cookies. Her little antic pauses though to let her arms fall back by her sides, only for one hand to lift and run through her blue hair with a laugh. "Thanks, but I didn't do it. I visited Phoebe," she explains quietly knowing the girl was still a touchy subject for many. To Mercy she shakes her head with a grin as well.

"Nah. Friend of mine likes to lighten the mood by changing my hair color at times. I don't mind, it's neat. Lasts a few hours usually. It was pink once, and green another time," she explains, "Nothing to do with going through the door. That would be interesting though," she has to admit. And if she can, she snags a cookie with a quick, "Thanks!"

Her gaze shifts to Lydia again as the cookies are also offered her way. "Or, you know, offer still stands if you *need* something," she points out not detailing what, exactly, that offer was. Lydia knew.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia raises an eyebrow at Mercy's hesitation, looking more amused than offended by it. When Mercy's hand passes through the field of ectoplasm, her skin tingles to the touch, much like if somebody were to rub mint or a bit of menthol on it. "It's ectoplasm," she explains. "Perfectly harmless. I'm a mutant and this is part of my mutation. Watch." She holds out a hand, and the starfield collapses into the palm of her hand until it forms the shape of an intricately detailed raven, which blinks and looks at Mercy. "Been a while since I've had a chance to show off," she says with a grin.

    "I'd love a cookie," she says, letting the raven dissipate into air, and soon enough, stars start to pop into existence around her until once again she's surrounded by them. She dips a hand into the Tupperware container and takes out a cookie. She holds it up under her nose to get a deeper taste of the scent, before taking a bit of a nibble out of it. "Very good!" she says. "Made it from scratch, I see."

    "How's Phoebe doing?" she asks. "Last time I saw her she was..." she shakes her head, deciding not to get too deep into it with Mercy here. "She was still struggling with her past."

    She laughs softly at Gabby's offer, though. "Thank you, but I've eaten already. I swear, with the way you act you're looking forward to the day when I come over for dinner."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy give Gabby a nod, "help yourself." She nods to the blue haired girl, "how goes focusing on the senses more? You starting to open to a bigger world at all any?" With that she lets either of them get at the cookies, she made over three dozen in order to share. That doesn't count the half dozen home she kept for herself.
    "Oh I seen ghost juice before, just not behaving like that." Mercy watches the raven form in Lydia's hand, "that's new!" Smiling about the little display of skill. "I bake," she offers with a shrug as if it isn't a big deal. Looking between the two and Mercy will say, and speaks for her brain can stop the tongue. "You do realize I know she's a vampire, and if you of letting her feed on you. That's between you two, long as she isn't doing anything underhanded to force you into such. That said I try not to assume the worst of those I just met, and doubt that's goin on at all."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney pffts a bit at Lydia's remark... and then she cracks a grin when Mercy just out and states she knew what was being offered. All she can do is shrug, really. "Not a 'looking forward to it' thing, but in your case it's just being worried about you. I mean... If it were one of those 'just need it in an emergency' situations, that'd be one thing. But you've got to do it pretty regularly just to function in general. Besides," she adds cracking a grin. "I can't feel pain, and I heal. If losing a little blood helps keep you in good health, or, uh, whatever you want to call it." She pauses here giving another shrug. Maybe she's babbled enough.

Besides she had a cookie in her hand which she now chomps into giving a happy little shimmy in place as she enjoys the homemade cookie. She'd had home baked before, but never homemade. It was always from a tube of cookie dough.

"Mmmmthish ish sho good!" Not the politest to talk with her mouth full so she quickly gulps it down to grin at Mercy. "Kind of? I mean so far I've only had bad experiences with it, like walking in on a dead body." Her nose crinkles at that recollection. "But I am starting to recognize when people I know are around more often. If I think about it."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "Yeah," Lydia says with a hint of sadness. "It didn't always look like this. It's been through... /I've/ been through a lot of changes." When Marcy just blurts it out, she bursts out laughing, "Busted! In the beginning it was this kind of phosphorescent green, more what you'd expect ectoplasm to look like. Then I died, and got better, and that turned it into this black snow. Then I nearly died /again/, then ate an angel and... well... it's now this," she says waving a hand her field of stars, causing them to eddy and whorl in its wake.

    She gives Gabby a soft smile, "I appreciate the offer. I do! And one day I'll probably take you up on it, but I don't want to get in the habit of snacking on my friends unless it's necessary."

    "Be glad you're easing into the enhanced senses," she says. "When I woke up after turning it was overwhelming. Everything was turned up to eleven. Had to spend a few days in isolation just to get used to it. It's still overwhelming at times. I try to avoid large crowds."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy grins wide at Gabby, "Thanks! Well enjoy it and eat up." Mercy wrinkles her nose, "Dead is a smell you'll get used to and is why it can be good to make cookies to have something new on the tongue. If you want some help, I'll give you a few lessons."
    She takes a cookie herself to nibble on, "Didn't bring any milk sadly." Mercy looks at least a bit apologetic for blurting things out. "Sorry about that Lydia. I don't always shut off my mouth when I should. Don't feel too bad, I've been around and smelled vampires before. Technically worked for one before once." She is glad they all got some common ground to talk over, besides cookies of course. "it can be really rough to deal with if things get too intense. Smells are hardest sometimes. You can start to smell emotions, especially those intense ones. Fear is not usually a good smell especially if a crowd starts to panic."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney is quite happy to indulge herself with that cookie to the point that she might end up with just a little of the semi-sweet chocolate melty-smudged against the corner of her mouth. Messy but delicious.

"Oh, well... It is kind of overwhelming," she admits with a sheepish shrug. "I've been wearing my rebreather mask during missions a lot. That's how I didn't really know that those duplicates weren't robots." Wait had she heard of that? Maybe not. Mercy had. Lightly clearing her throat she adds, "And why I've been spending a lot of time in the Velvet Room in general. Any time I start to get overwhelmed I... kind of hop over here." Guilty. SO guilty.

"I could use some help, yeah. My siblings and dad have the senses, too, but they've had them for so long I don't think they really know how to teach someone else to get used to them."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia shrugs at Mercy. "I don't try to hide it around here," she says. "Everybody in the JLD knows. It's better to know your friends weaknesses and needs beforehand so it doesn't blindside you later." She takes another nibble of the chocolate chip cookie in her hand and points at Mercy, "You, for example, are a were... not wolf. Wolf adjacent. Coyote? Fox? I don't know. I've never smelled a coyote or a fox before. Not a jackal, though. That one I know for sure."

    "I found that mindfulness practices help," she suggests to Gabby. "Focus on one smell. Get it's flavors and textures until you're used to it, then move on to the next. Your brain forms a... at least mine does... a kind of catalogue of smells. Once you identify it, it's easier for it to just become background noise. The problem is that at the beginning that catalogue is mostly empty, so all the smells are vying for your attention at the same time."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy says, "get something you like that either you wear or from home. Make it small and try to keep it in a baggie in your pocket. Use that to anchor yourself with a huff if it gets too intense. Just use it if you have to, and when you need it. This should work as a way to help build up your sense muscles as it work. It's a trick the pack I grew up with would help new members at times."
    Mercy is not even half done with her first cooky, as she nibbles at it. "I'm not a were Lydia. But lots make that mistake. That or they think fae sometimes. Neither is true. You got the right animal on the second try." Mercy will tug up the shirt on her tummy to show the coyote paw print tattoo she has there to flash it. "She's giving good advice, Gabby. Like Lydia said, focus on one, and soon you'll learn how to get the subtle under scents or hidden by the stronger ones. I get the senses thing though. I have trouble sleeping without some music to help drown out some of the constant night sounds."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney considers all of the suggestions given with a slow nod of acceptance the advice. "I'll try those. All of it," she admits tucking away the last little nibbles of the cookie. Her hand dusts off on her thigh, and she licks at her lips getting that errant bit of chocolate.

"Right. As for now I should get going. I still have some work to do tonight and now that I'm rested I feel a bit better about things in general," she explains flashing the pair a grin.

"Good seeing you again, Mercy. Thanks for the cookie, and for the advice. You too Lydia," she adds with a grin before turning to head off.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia tilts her head curiously, "Not a shifter, or fae, then. You've piqued my curiosity. What are you, then?"

    "Take a cookie before you go," Lydia suggests. "That can be a thing that grounds your senses until you find something a bit more personal." She shoots Mercy a grin, "They are, after all, very good cookies."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy offers the tub to Gabby, "What Lydia said, one or two for the rode if you want. If I leave them here, I doubt they will last long." She gives a wave of a hand, "see you Gabby." She has to agree, "Liking the blue hair. Good to have individuality.
    "Seems fair to not keep it a secret," begins Mercy. "I'm a Walker. No not a skinwalker either. Just Walker." She smiles to the vampire, but Lydia may notice she's really good at not looking directly into the eyes. "Thanks, you're free to take some for a snack later. Though the chocolate can melt if you hold them a bit, and that may get on your nice and fancy books."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia drums her fingers on the desk contemplatively. "How does that differ from a were or a shifter? Is it like a selkie thing where you have a coyote skin you use to shift?"

    She shakes her head and holds a hand up at the offer of more cookies. "Thank you, no. One is /more/ than enough for me. I just nibble on them for the taste of it. Food doesn't really.. hmm.." she scowls. "Food isn't really /yummy/ to me if you know what I mean. I still enjoy the taste but it's an aesthetic kind of pleasure like... looking at a painting."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy's nose wrinkles before she can get her oh so terrible poker face up. "Ugh, no!" She will cover the cookies and move to set them down somewhere safe. Licking her fingers clean as she gathers her thoughts, pulling from her back pocket a clean cloth she often keeps on her in case of need. "I can understand what you're saying about food."
    Hands clean Mercy tries to figure out how to explain. "Weres are someone who usually survives an attack and they then change. In my experience, selkies are fae and they get complicated." She goes on to gesture. "SKIN," stressing that part firmly, "walkers are traditionally someone that murders a family member, hunts an animal with their bare hands, and soaks the animal hide in their sacrifices blood. They can then 'wear' the skin and change to the animal. They spread death and disease everywhere they go. I am not that." She motions to herself, "I was born the way I am. I'm not human, I'm not coyote. I'm both. I don't have a lot of the perks werewolves get. No super ramped up healing, but no allergy to silver. I'm faster and stronger then a normal human and I look, but not like a superhero."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "I see," Lydia says, leaning forward. "Fascinating. It's always interesting to see the different flavors of shifters and how they define themselves." She gives Mercy something of a lopsided grin when she says, "It's as varied and consistent as vampires." She leans back chuckling, "I have to admit that my knowledge of shifters isn't as in depth as my knowledge of vampires or fae. Growing up I was... hrmmm." She frowns. "Not really team /Edward/ because, honestly, Bella could do a hell of a lot better than either him /or/ Jacob, but you get what I mean."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy can't help but roll her eyes and groan. "Oh gods! That story." Clearly not a fan as the woman find a seat nearby. "I don't read those kinds of books really, seemed silly to when I lived it all my life." Mercy takes a beat to figure out what Lydia is saying, "oh! Well to each their own. I sure as hell not going to raise a stink for who anyone chooses to love. To be honest I've not met another Walker, so I only got myself to go off of. Sounds like the vampire thing is fairly new to you then. You dealing okay with it?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia chuckles and grins. "I was firmly on 'team Bella' though it took me a few years to figure that out. Twilight was my introduction to the genre. I recognize that it's trash /now/ but when you're twelve, you don't know the difference. I've read much better since then. I've /written/ much better since then, too. Been published, too!"

    When asked about how she's coping she lets out a short burst of laughter. "To be honest with you? Me becoming a vampire is perhaps the /least/ weird thing that has happened to me over the past year or so."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    "Oh you're a writer? That's cool to know. If I pick up one of yours I'll be sure to get it autographed then." Because why not right? Mercy relaxes there in the seat some, a more normal topic and conversation helping.
    "Not sure if I should congratulate you or worry if that's the truth." Mercy's hand motions around the room, "it's harder for me to understand what it is like to live with a change that drastic or life outside of this in a way. 'This' is my normal. Ghosts, and fur, and that streak of wild mixed with blood." She shakes her head, "My step-father and all his kids never made me felt excluded or anything. But the whole 'normal' or 'suburban' life is as alien to me as living on mars." She points at Lydia, "if you ever write a Native girl in your books, do her right okay?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "I can get you a copy if you want," Lydia offers. "I've got plenty. A word of warning, though: They /are/ pretty spicy."

    She shakes her head, and takes another nibble of the cookie, careful to keep the crumbs from falling on her work, "I had a pretty normal childhood, for the most part. A real JAP, if I'm to be honest. Then I started glowing green at 14 and it all kind of went downhill from there."

    She shakes her head. "I'd need to do a /lot/ more research before I'd even attempt to write somebody who's Native. I just... that isn't where my interest was."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    "Maybe I'll hold off. I don't need to work myself up needlessly, and I got a lot on my plate already," Mercy politely refusing the free copy or to read the book just right away. She usually is reading about cars or history anyway.
    "I was mostly joking about the whole Native thing. Sounds like your green glow situation may have helped you be able to deal with the vampire situation better." Mercy comments, "I mean after one major life changing event, is a second one so much harder or more shocking?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia chuckles at Mercy's refusal. "Fair enough. It's not for everybody."

    She considers Mercy's point thoughtfully. "Yes and no," she says. "Nothing can really prepare you for what it's like to die the first time, and coming back from that is kind of a shock. Besides. I was lucky that I had some good company to help with my adjustment."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy will stand and do a small stretch, "I'll think about the books. I just rarely got time to read books for fun it seems. There's always something going on. Like helping a new were get through a full moon." She gets out a note and a bit of tape to put on to of the cookie tub that reads simple, ~Help yourself. When Empty return to Mercy~ She will also go to the new whiteboard Jon set up to start writing on it. "Was nice to meet you Lydia. If you ever want to smell something specific sometime. Food wise I mean, let me know."
    That done Mercy will offer a wave and pulls out that blue key to head for the exit. "You better work this time like you should." She slides the key in, the door flashes and handle twists. "Yes!" She opens and POP it snaps off again. "No!" She closes the door and does it a second time. This time works just fine though and she steps through.