12236/Procastinating at the Garden

Procastinating at the Garden
Date of Scene:	31 July 2022
Location:	The Velvet Room - Gardens
Synopsis:	Team building with Daniel and Rien
Cast of Characters:	Daniel Ketch, Rien D'Arqueness

---

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Daniel doesn't frequent the Velvet Room, and so he misses much of the weirdness and danger. In fact, he avoids the room to avoid the weirdness, not being comfortable at all being the host of a flaming vengeful skeleton that many think is a demon.

But the drinks are free, there are books he needs to read, and Dan is poor as a rat. Also, against his best judgement, he is starting to care about the weird gang of supernatural heroes that call it his 'base of operations'.

A dangerous label, considering no one seems to know what this astral castle is or who build it. Like for instance, there is a garden? Why?

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Rien was... not Rien for the last few weeks. To be specific, reality had been rewritten temporarily to allow a servitor of one of the Old Ones to step in and take Rien's place while Rien herself was held in a remote corner of the Astral Plane by a separate servant of the same Old One. But a daring rescue was affected and reality has been put back to rights, Rien has been returned.

So it is that she can be found sitting in the garden, sipping on a tumbler of bourbon and enjoying the beauty of the garden. One of those herbal homerolled cigarettes of hers is on a slow burn, currently sitting in a small ashtray near her elbow. No books today, she's just enjoying her freedom and soaking in the artificial light.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
And during that relaxing moment is when Daniel burst in. Well, in his defense Rien probably heard him coming the second he stepped in the gardens. He is a city boy and he is not even trying to be stealthy. "Hey. Er... sorry, I didn't know anyone would be here meditating or... anything," he say when he finally spots the woman. "Rien, right? I think Gabby said you are her... sister?" He can't quite see a family resemblance, to be honest. "We were in the team of that crazy staircase."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Rien looks up from her quiet contemplation and offers a smile, "Hello. No need to apologize, the garden is for all of us." She reaches for the cigarette, drawing from it and giving a small nod, "Yes, I'm Rien. I remember you, Daniel. And yes, Gabby is my sister, after a fashion. The Howlett line is.. confusing at times." A small chuckle is given before she motions towards one of the benches. "Please, take a seat. I've been a bit remiss as a leader in getting to know everyone. I'd like to start making up for that."

Daniel Ketch has posed:
"Oh yeah, leader," Daniel is not sure how the Justice League Dark picks the leaders. Maybe Superman and Batman appoint them. It doesn't affect him much, to be honest. And he suspects the Ghost Rider cares little about leaders or even the team idea. He is ever surprised when the Rider decides to talk to one of the team members.

But he takes the offered seat. He left his coat home, since it is warm in New York and he can open the door from anywhere, so he is just jeans and an ancient black t-shirt with a faded logo of a obscure rock band. "Not much interesting to know about me. I am a New Yorker from Brooklyn," he admits.

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
"Would you like something to drink? Eat?" Rien makes the offer with a smile, lifting her own glass for another sip. His response has her chuckling and shaking her head. "That tells me /what/ you are, but not /who/. What sort of interests do you have, Daniel? Or do you prefer Dan?" She stubs out the cigarette and shifts to face him more fully.

"If you have any particular areas of interest, I might be able to offer tutelage, or at least conversation, on the subject. I've been accumulating interests for.. a good amount of time. And being here has opened me to new ones that I've just started getting into." Rien lifts a shrug, the smile still in place, "And you are welcome to ask me if you have any questions, as well."

Daniel Ketch has posed:
"Dan is fine," replies Daniel with a shrug. "Interests? Uh..." he winces, realizing his life has become just survival, not living. "Not much, I guess. Last few years have been too busy, I just work and do some investigation, some Saturdays I drop by a dojo to spar with an old friend that is somewhat of an expert. Jack D'Auria."

Unlikely Rien has heard about him unless she is very well informed in local martial arts experts.

And drinking in dive bars. Sometimes alone, sometimes with other lost souls. That is not something he is going to talk about. Although he would accept Rien's bottle. "What about you? You have a foreign accent, but it is subtle."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
"Dan, then," Rien gives a small nod and leans back, settling in. She watches him, smiling faintly at the expression crossing his face. She'd worn it once or twice herself. "What is your work? Beyond just bring a Spirit of Vengeance, I mean. That is part of who you are, but what is your /chosen/ profession?"

Shaking her head, she smiles faintly, "I'm afraid I don't know who that is, but that's not unexpected. Most of my training has been pretty stylized to suit who and what I am. Do they follow a particular style? Is there one that you favor?" Rien waves a hand and a matching glass of bourbon will appear at his elbow for him.

"I'm French. Born and raised near the French Alps. My entire life story might take awhile, but if you want to hear it, I'll tell you," she chuckles softly and lifts a shrug. Rien lifts both brows in silent question, then moves on, "Do you read at all? Your Rider... the last time I saw him, he'd come out of the library with a book..."

Daniel Ketch has posed:
"I have time," offers Dan, picking up the glass. Right, so they can 'conjure' drinks even in the garden. That is one of the few things he likes about the Velvet Castle. "My stile is 'whatever works', really. I know a little judo and kung fu, and I have a shotgun because it works better than a handgun and in New York big guns are illegal."

He sips from the glass. "The Rider is... I don't know what he is. I was researching in the library, looking for information on my real family. Did you say he took a book? That is strange."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Shrugging, Rien gives a nod, "I should preface this by saying, I am not from this timeline. I'm from an alternate timeline. Things are largely the same here as they were there, but there have been a few differences." She draws in a breath and lets it out, "In 1944, my grandmother and mother were accosted by a group of Nazis. To protect them, my grandmother summoned a demon. A very powerful, immortal demon. My father, Logan Howlett, showed up in time to help fight off the demon before it could turn on my mother and grandmother, and my grandmother banished the demon back to Hell. Unfortunately, the demon returned, roughly every ten years or so, always at the site of some major catastrophe. The next time it showed up, it was my mother and father that fought and banished it together."

She pauses, then smiles, "I like to think there was more to mother's sleeping with him than just family's dictate. That she had feelings for him. But... in either case.. after they had vanquished the demon, my mother seduced my father to conceive me. I was to be the Clan's pennance.. their payment for having summoned the demon in the first place. An immortal warrior and sorceress combined into one being." The smile turns a touch wry.

"So I have my father's mutant abilities and my mother's magical powers. And that was my life. I was trained in magic and combat for the next... thirty years or so. Then the demon appeared again, and my father appeared to fight it, and my mother was there to banish it. Only this time.. the demon was ready. It grabbed my mother and dragged her into Hell with it. And that is how I met my father. We went to Hell together to get my mother back." She lets out a small sigh, "In order to beat the demon for good, my mother opened a portal into /this/ timeline, at the very time that my grandmother summoned it in 1944. The two demons saw each other and began battling. So my mother and I created a magical cage for them.. and my parents acted as the lock... and with few options left... I went through the portal and into this timeline."

Rien looks to Daniel with a faint smile, "On the plus side, I was ahead of the curve on most major technological advances and made a /killing/ playing the stock market by knowing when to buy and when to sell. On the other hand, my appearance here in 1944 prevented my birth from ever happening in this universe, and I am something of an anathema to Clan D'Arqueness in this timeline. So it's been a.. wild ride, so to speak."

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Daniel has heard fantastical stories before, but few can match Rien's tale of alternate realities, time travel and hunting demons. So yeah, more bourbon. "That makes you... over a hundred? You look 30 at most."

Immortal warrior sorceress, he guesses.

"But you have been around since 1944, so you must know this world better than your birth world," he adds. "Hmm, that sound bizarre, but I guess it is normal for the people in this group, uh?"

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Rien smiles faintly and murmurs, "I am one hundred twenty-three years old. I stopped aging at my physical peak." She sips from her glass and lifts a shrug, "I have more time in this timeline, yes. And my knowledge of 'future' events ended around 2008, so I made sure to make my money much earlier." She pauses, then adds, "I still make money, just in... less conventional ways."

Lifting a small shrug, she offers, "I think it's no more bizarre than most of the stories that could be told by any number of metahumans. But admittedly, I know some rather unusual people. So perhaps I don't have the best perspective on it." Rien smiles towards him, "You said that you're looking for your family? Do they not have your surname?"

Daniel Ketch has posed:
"Yes, Kale," says Daniel. "Ketch is the name of the couple that adopted me... and my sister. But my mother, Naomi Kale, was the previous host of the Rider and I am told she built his bike," which explains some things. That motorcycle is not normal, even for a Ghost Rider.

"Every time I start seriously investigate the Kale family name, something happens," he notes. More mystical weirdness. He has figured that much.

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Nodding, Rien smiles faintly, "Well, we could help you, if you want. Mystical weirdness is pretty much exactly what the JLD does. I'm guessing that's at least in part of what brought you around to us in the first place?" Both brows jump up once more and she offers a faint grin. "While we've been undergoing a lot of strain lately, we still want to ensure we're helping each other, not just... all life on Earth in the general sense."

"So tell me, what sort of weirdness happens when you start poking too hard into the Kale family?" Rien lifts her glass for a sip but keeps her eyes on Daniel.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Daniel shrugs. "Usually some emergency or another. Ninjas, demons, vampires..." the usual unusual crazy. "A while back it was the angels. The other day some sorcerer stealing a magical sword. Which I have yet to recover, but there are others after it, so maybe I am not going to be needed."

He should get back to the library, but he is here procrastinating instead. But hey, team building, right?

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
"Interesting. Well! We can certainly help track down information on your birth family. As for the bike... you might talk to Robbie sometime. His car was inherited from his uncle Eli... who also happens to be the spirit possessing /him/. So maybe not as unusual as you might think. Frankly, of all the spirits of Vengeance, Johnny Blaze seems the only truly 'typical' one of his kind." Rien flashes a smile at him, finishing her drink. "That said, I really should be getting home. Robbie will be getting back from work soon and he and I still have a /lot/ to unpack about what happened over the past few weeks."

Rising up, she smiles at him, "It was good to meet you Daniel. If it's alright with you, I'll start doing some preliminary searches and maybe we can get together again to compare notes?"