13148/Starlight in the Bronx

Starlight in the Bronx
Date of Scene:	23 October 2022
Location:	Angelo's Carriage House
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Zatanna Zatara, Achilles

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Zatanna Zatara has posed:
The seance at the Starport should have sent her to bed exhausted. The mage knows herself, keyed up as she is, she likely will be up all night, pacing the floor. It had been a difficult casting with disappointing results. Among the last to leave the central reception area, Zatanna spends a moment, eyes distant, tapping a finger to her chin until she arrives at a decision.

The raven-haired magician draws a purple line in the air, gestures to widen it and steps through, exchanging the sound of the ocean for traffic noise and the distant thump of music. Three steps take her to the doorstep, she hesitates a moment before knocking, head tilted back to see if there are lights on upstairs.

"Well, here goes nothing," she murmurs to herself and lifts the heavy knocker.

Achilles has posed:
    Even though it is late evening, Angelo is still up and about. What is he doing tonight? Well, it's nothing dramatic. He's not working out, practicing with weapons, cooking, drawing artwork or anything.

    Tonight, he was kicking back and enjoying some Netflix. What? The new season of Barbarians just came out, and the show that is presented as history is making him laugh. His belly laugh is easily audible at the door. Just before the knocker is dropped.

    Once the knock happens, he sets down his bottle of ale and stands to approach the door. He opens it wearing a simple tee shirt and thin sweatpants. What? Not stylish... COMFY!

    His green eyes light up for a moment, and then they narrow. "You look like you could use a good drink." he says as he steps aside and gestures for Zatanna to come in. Closing the door behind her, he steps over and reaches to try to curl an arm about her waist. "you okay?" he asks, not asking about what is going on, or what she went through. Simply inquiring about her state.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zatanna steps into the warm house, still dressed in her chic black suit from Chanel but without the high fashion shoes, preferring flats for spell work. She leans against him and presses her face into the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent and leaving him with a kiss on the tender skin below his ear.

Pulling back, she asks with a faint lop-sided smile, "Does it show that much? I hope you don't mind my coming so late without calling first." Looking into the darkened room, she sighs involuntarily, releasing the hangover of tension from the evening's work.

Achilles has posed:
    Shivering at that delicate little kiss, Angelo chuckles and separates even as she does. "Ale or Mead?" he asks. "Or would you prefer a modern wine?" he adds as he heads towards the kitchen.

    He pauses in the doorway to turn back and says, "As for it showing, I have learned to read you in recent months. I wager that I recognize your fatigue more than others might. And as for visiting, in the future... you have my permission to portal in any time. No need to knock. You have opened your home to me often enough that I can treat mine as open to you."

    And then he gestures into the kitchen, waiting for her choice before going to retrieve it.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
The smile stays and deepens at his invitation, knowing it not lightly given. She wonders briefly about his past life and his reticence, but says nothing beyond her preference for a drink.

"I prefer wine with food. If you have something I could snack on - cheese or salami? I'd take a glass of red if you have any, otherwise ale would be fine. I didn't realize how thirsty I am. So ale, please."

With a glance into the living room, "What were you doing? I heard you laugh. Watching a comedy show?"

Achilles has posed:
    Nodding his head, Angelo heads to his fridge. He reaches in and pulls out a bottle of ale. It's an old recipe, but not an old brew. But it is rich in flavor.

    he steps back out into the living room and smiles. "Oh no. I like comedies, but nothing is as humorous to me as a show that tries to present itself as being historically accurate while it's in Roman times."

    That said, he holds out the ale bottle and moves to the sofa where he sits and pats the seat beside him.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Another long release of breath and pent up anxiety and Zee joins him on the couch, contented to be doing something so prosaic after the last weeks of travel into other realms. This is New York, her realm and she is next to someone who has become a comfortable friend, concerned for her well-being.

She settles next to him and takes a long pull on the ale he brought her, "Is it that bad? Want to watch it with me and narrate the bad parts? Is it all wrong?" She shoots him a wry sidelong glance, "Or is memory gilding the past?"

Achilles has posed:
    "Well, it is ostensibly about the Germanic tribes uniting to push the Romans out of Germania. Most notably, the tribes being led by a Roman who was born in Germania. That much is accurate, but much of the small scale stories are woefully afflicted with modern sensibilities."

    "I will admit, by the first century A.D., I was a Roman citizen. I even fought among their army now and again, but that was only because I truly had not felt like I belonged anywhere. Have you ever just sort of gone along with the motions without having -any- drive to do any of it?" he asks.

    A sip of his ale is taken. "I admit, I was not in Germania at the time. But I -was- trying my hand at farming." And at that he shakes his head, "It was then that I realized that if I had a destiny, it surely was not anything to do with farming."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
A snicker at the thought of him being a farmer escapes her and she pats his thigh. Recently, she has been surrounded by people with centuries of experience. Sometimes, it shows in their eyes or sometimes in an attitude that only the long-lived could have. She doesn't often think of herself as being transient as a may fly. Glancing at Angelo again, she understands his reticence to get involved with May flies, despite the fact that her family is very long-lived in common mortal terms.

"What is the most egregious thing you've seen?"

Achilles has posed:
    At least resistant to the idea of voicing his views aloud for a moment, Angelo shrugs. "To be honest, as much as I agree with modern sensibilities and the equality of the sexes, two thousand years ago, women did not lead warriors into battle. While there may have been a Viking avenging mother or wife as an exception...."

    He shakes his head and takes a sip of ale. "Don't like, turn me into a newt for saying that. I agree with the idea that there should be no difference. But back then, there clearly was."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"I applaud your caution though I haven't turned anyone into a newt for ages," she says with a satisfied smile and another long pull on the ale.

"I thought they were finding more and more warrior women graves in Great Britain and even Newfoundland. Buried with axes and armor. I guess there wasn't a high ratio of women to men. Yeah, I like the idea of women leading men into battle and not only being tied to home, hearth and children."

Achilles has posed:
    "Yes, but keep in mind, the Viking times were a thousand years -after- the battle of the Teutoburg Forest. At that time, the residents of Germania were not Vikings. They were their own tribes of individually believing locals who each wanted to win out over the other. The Romans were so terrible to them that they put aside their own differences to unite against Rome. But the did not have Valkyries as even a concept yet."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"Ahhh, of course," she leans her head against the back of the sofa, nodding. "I thought the Valkyrie were a much older concept and I also thought that women has more say in village life and decision making." She sits up straighter and finishes the ale.

"So, bless the Romans for making the enemies of my enemy, my friends. There had to have been some rich exchanges taking place from tribe to tribe and, of course, from the Romans."

Achilles has posed:
    "Do not get me wrong. In practice, the women ran every civilization. They were just smart enough to let the men think they were in charge. The women also knew that their strength was in manipulation and social control, but they left the bloody and sweaty work of soldiering to the men. Every man -knew- he was not in charge, but he would not admit it to any other man or he would be emasculated." offers Angelo with a smirk, "Well, not -every- man. I was... odd even when I was young."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"Were you now?" Interest piqued, Zatanna leans against his shoulder, mischief gleaming in her blue eyes, "How odd? Do tell."

Achilles has posed:
    "Well, the one thing that the myths and stories got right was my lack of a true preference for gender." Angelo shrugs, "Beauty is beauty, and I have always found it wherever it lie. Now, there were times when it was socially unacceptable. I am glad to see times turning back to the way they were in -my- day. Mostly at least."

    "In ancient times, men were not treated badly for having lovers of either gender. So long as they produced children with women, their.... dalliances were accepted and nobody took exception with such things."

    Of course, what is left unsaid is that yeah, he had a kid. The kid never got far and was killed due to his own stupidity and narrow-mindedness."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Oh, he does have her interest now. She puts what he says together, remembering her Homer.

"Your loves are renown, and no one commented on them because you had children?" Her voice barely rises at the end of the question as she reflects aloud and then looks at him, biting the inside of her bottom lip as she considers how many people he lost over the millennia.

Achilles has posed:
    "Children were a social obligation. Recall that -many- mothers and children were lost in childbirth. So the ability to breed was important to maintaining a family and the overall population." admits Angelo.

    He sips his ale casually. "But my renowned loves were all before I learned to keep people at a distance. Loss... almost destroyed me. It made me a monster, and I do not want to go there ever again if I -can- avoid it."

    And then his head turns just a bit, green eyes looking her way out of the corner of those eyes. "So, given enough power and time.. how long do Homo Magi tend to live?" he asks, a sly smile on his face.