12438/Patience is a Virtue

Patience is a Virtue
Date of Scene:	15 August 2022
Location:	The Curio
Synopsis:	Patience Alperen shows up at the Curio, and encounters the quiet young mage named Phoebe, who has one of Those Books.
Cast of Characters:	Patience Alperen, Phoebe Beacon

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Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen entered the building, not exactly sure why she was there. Through word of mouth, she had become aware of The Curio. There was some sense tht it should be of interest to her so, on a night she had nothing else requiring immediate attention, she decided to come to Gotham to see what the place was about.

Curious brown eyes scan the bar as she steps inside. She wears a green Notre Dame teeshirt, shredded jeans and a blue and white flannel unbottoned and worn as a jacket. Black and white All-Stars cover her feet. She moves toward the bar, leaning against it as she waits for the bar tender to come and speak to her about a drink order.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The Curio is an interesting place. It has a theme, definitely, with the Magician portraits on the wall, drinks named 'Rabbit out of a Hat' and 'The Bullet Trick'.

    The clientelle dresses in artsy black and gold and sometimes neon brights, with a vaguely street/magic/futurepunk look to it, it's a decent crowd for a Sunday night and there are two bartenders at the bar -- the blue-haired lady who always seems to be there, and a red-haired lad who's trying some flair tricks with a bright purple tumbler.

    The music being played is some sort of electro-swing punk, with altered vocals and looped violins.

    The blue-haired lady gives a grin to Patience.

    "Evening, what'll be your poison?"

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen turned her gaze from the pictures and decor back to the bar with a smile for the bartneder, "Hello!" She glances toward the taps, "Anything local would be fine. I'm not that familiar with breweries in Gotham but I've heard there are some great ones. Whatever is your best selling? I'll just start there?" she doesn't seem to be picky. "It's a really nice place. I'm glad I had the chance to stop in and check it out."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah, it's got quite a draw." The woman gives a smile, and she reaches over and grabs a draft glass and makes a pull, and sets a glass of some pinkish-gold, softly bubbling liquid in front of Patience.

    "Raspberry lambec; it's sweet, fruity, just a little bit this side of tart -- much like me." the Bartender gives a wink.

    "First drink is on the boss, after that you'll have to start a tab." she explains, and goes to help another customer.

    There's a burst of laughter behind Patience as one group is discussing Robert Bruce launching another occultist down a set of stairs in London. Another looks like The Cure's cover band.

    And in a corner, reading by the light of one of the pink neon lines, a girl with a plain, dark hoodie is reading an ancient looking leather-bound volume.

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen nods "I am beginning to see why. It is anything but, well, regular. And that's nice. Unique and personality are both key for a good bar. Um. I mean as far as what I'm looking for I guess?" She laughs quietly and shrugs.

Watching with interest, she conisders the glass set before her. "Oh? I haven't been anywhere that offers a free first drink. That is very generous. Thank you." A smile is offered then the glass is lifted to sample the drink.

"Oh. Wow. You're right. You -are- tart!" A pause as she deftly redirects, "The drink. It is kind of tart. But it's really nice. I'll have to be careful. I might drink myself under the bar with these!"

Her brown eyes flit to the laughter and then to the Cure look alikes. "A really interesting selection of customers too" She observes positively.

Her eyes fall on the hoodie wearing figure with the curious book. It is too far away to read the title even if the cover were tipped to be seen. But the book is clearly quite old. That alone has her curiosity.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Oh, you don't know me that well yet." the woman winks, and she goes to tend to some of her other customers.

    The young woman with the book pauses a moment, her dark eyes flicking up to Patience, before she turns back to the ancient book she's reading. It's all in Latin.

    It appears to be a very, very old exorcism script. But not from the Church.

    The leather cover doesn't have a title on it, but it feels magical, like it might be bound in human skin .

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen laughs with the bar tender. "I don't. And I'm sure you'e already spoken for - so I will just have to speculate!" she grins and returns to sipping at the beer. It was already growing on her.

She didn't think anything of the reader. The book. Well, sometimes one just stares at a thing and it gives off bad feelings. That book does not make her feel warm and fuzzy. If anything? It makes her teeth itch. But she wasn't here to hunt for trouble. She was just there for a casual drink. She forces herself to turn her back to that corner and to the book. Even if it felt like electricity was crawling up her spine. She wasn't going to do it.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The teeth itching was the weirdest sensations, and one that Phoebe knew well. Like the feeling of running your tongue along the grain of a popscicle stick.

    She glances up at Patience again, and then she snaps her book shut. She stands up, and makes her way over to the bar, and knocks on the bar to get the tender's attention, and gives a roll of her wrist with a smile.

    The red-haired bartender pours her another drink -- this from the soda hose, not from the draft bar -- and she accepts the drink easily, then looks over to Patience, looking the other woman up and down, and then just... gives a silent wave.

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen was focusing on her beer. It really did have strong notes of raspberry. There was the faint putrid stench of rotting flesh. The frothy carbonation was refreshing against the inky blackness of the shadows that began to grow longer within the room. As she regarded the versatility of the drink. It would pair well with choclate desserts or, who knows? Maybe the reanimation of the dead?

She blinks. That electric feeling in her spine has now become almost a buzzing in her skull. That book wasn't just getting closer, it was at the bar beside her.

She turns to look at the young woman. She tried to keep her expression neutral and yet somehow, there is likely a strong measure of caution and guardedness to that look.

"Hello." Playing it cool in all of the wrong ways. She pauses, "It's a nice place, isn't it?" Obviously she has no idea who she is speaking to.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The girl with the dark eyes gives a small smile, and takes up the stool next to Patience, and sips her very pink, very not-alcoholic drink.

    She picks up a napkin, and a pen, and writes PHOEBE on it, and pointing to herself.

    Rapsberry Lambec pairs well with chocolate, foods with spicy, fruity notes like chili pepper kefta, and of course, evocations of djinni.

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen is tense. She regards the young woman, looking at the napkin as it is written on. She looks at the word. A name.

"Ah. Well, hello Phoebe." She cannot help but look to the book. She really wishes she had The Spear right now. Even if the truth is that The Spear was just a focus for her innate power. It made it easier.

In her mind, the Glacier Stone was whispering amidst the ^repulsive sensations the book seemed to be giving off, <<Destroy! Burn!>> Now that was an irony. Given the stone's opposite aspect was the Ember Stone. That it wants to burn the book has to be taken as noteworthy.

Closing her eyes, Patience attempts to will the stone to silence. Her clenched jaw will be quite obvious to Phoebe.

After a moment, Patience opens her eyes and smiles thinly. "It's nice to meet you Phoebe. I'm Patience." A slight nod. "That is a curious book you have.." A more cautiously guarded observation she has rarely made.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe watches patience. She watches the jaw tense. She tilts her head a moment as she purses her lips, watching as Patience moves, and tenses. She breathes out, and then she sets the book to her side, in a bag.

    The feeling may ebb; the bag is warded to stop things from putting out magic.

    She reaches for the napkin again and writes on it: "Better?"

    And she leans back, watching Patience with curiosity and seriousness.

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen watches, no less cautiously. A nod, "Some, yes. At least.. the buzzing in my skull has mostly gone away." A thin smile. "Maybe I just haven't had enough to drink." She pauses then to finish off the rest of that first free beer. A glance toward the bartender, "I'll be opening that tab now, if you please." A glance back to Phoebe. "I'm sorry. I.." She spares a glance around. Either Phoebe was utterly oblivious to what feels like evil to Patience in that book, or she was well aware. Neither conclusion made for a happy thought. "..well. There are some people who can hear the frequencies put off by electronics. Some can see a color spectrum well beyond the average. I suppose you could say that I can sense, mmm, the good or.. evil? In others. And apparently sometimes in objects." A nod to the bag. Of course good and evil are a matter of perspective.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Good and evil are always a matter of perspective; what's good for the goose isn't always good for the gander. The girl with the short hair gives a small smile, and she motions down to her bag and then writes on the napkin: Blocks magic output. Book is not pleasant to hold or read.

    And she gives a nod at the explaination, and then points to the back of her neck, and then mimes the hair standing up with a little smile. She understood, entirely.

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen relaxes only a little when Phoebe admits that the book is not pleasant to her to read or handle. "I would be rather concerned if you had said it didn't bother you at all."

A slow sigh. "Right. So it isn't any of my business. But. My day job largely involves the finding of others. Of creatures or.. artifacts such as that book that give off feelings like that." A glance back to Phoebe. "And to destroy them." She doesn't look like she is going to try and take the book by force or anything. But it really is playing havok with her sense of obligation.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a wry smile, and she gives a nod. She grabs a new napkin, and points to herself 'useless socialite/friendly neighborhood exorcist/occultist' on the napkin, giving a smile and definitely not offering her hand. I twas s till tingling from something earlier.

    'Education?' she writes on the napkin.

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen looks up as the bar tender comes back after opening a tab. "A scotch, neat please. And a pint of Guinness to follow if you have it on tap. If not, another of these Lambics?" A smile of thanks, before she looks back to Phoebe.

"Education? Mine?" A soft laugh. "It was courtesy of the Catholic Church." A glance over. "I'd prefer not to discuss most of this in public if I'm honest. At the least it avoids the stares from others certain I'm an inmate escaped from the asylum." A look of weary experience.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a small smile, and she makes another arrow and points to herself, and writes 'Hereditary' under it.

    And then she gives a nod to Patience, and then to the blue-haired woman as she comes back to open the tab, and the woman purses her lips a moment.

    She takes up a scotch glass and gives it two fingers, neat, and makes a pull from the draft so that there's a dark stout, and then sets both in front of Patience.

    "It's on her's." she states with a shrug, motioning to the empty seat where Phoebe had been sitting.

    Phoebe was back over to her corner, reading a different book. And chewing on the end of her pen.