13689/You Can Lead a Sorcerer to Water...

You Can Lead a Sorcerer to Water...
Date of Scene:	30 December 2022
Location:	The Well
Synopsis:	Strange and Illyana haunt a haunted bistro.
Cast of Characters:	Illyana Rasputina, Stephen Strange

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Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Boredom in the holidays is dangerous, especially when it involves Illyana. She's been out dancing, monster-hunting, ignoring the piled up messages from demons this or that. What then to do next?

"I know a place." The dangerous four-word statement interrupts a space between tea and pushing a troubled spirit back into its music box, and jamming the music box into the vault. So passe nowadays to play gloomy orchestral airs to try and induce deep sorrow!

The place is basically a haunt of candles, as Gothic as it gets, which explains why 'Wear a cape' is probably part of the required description for any clothing to wear inside.

Stephen Strange has posed:
"You know a place..."

The statement is not a question. No doubt that Stephen believes that Illyana knows a place or two...or several. The fact that it comes up after a bit of ghost-busting may be a little worrisome, but this is Illyana and Stephen.

Unusual places with even more unusual timing is kinda their thing.

And...yes, it is rather Gothic. And no one bats an eye when Stephen walks in with cloak on shoulders and Illyana on his arm. Or Stephen on Illyana's arm. The vibes are there.

A glance over to Illyana. "Ah. Nice place."

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Places that aren't the Hellfire Club but still cater to the odd work. Somewhere she can dash copper and flame-hued eyeshadow on, dusting over the bridge of her nose, and wear her typical dark attire is thin on the ground, or at least where she won't be the only one dressed like that.

"We can whisper and loom," she remarks in a dusty whisper, pushing open the door further and letting the shadows embrace her more than they might Stephen. Only because tugging on a cantrip to play with darkness is so much easier when she is a master of the dark arts more than the bright. "Let people wonder what we are talking about."

Stephen Strange has posed:
Well....that remark earned the mistress of the dark arts a smirk. "You have considered this before, I see." It is obvious, at least to Stephen. Whispering and looming? That's pretty much his thing. There is a reason that the Sorcerer Supreme seems unapproachable. It is an image that he likes to keep up.

Even now, when conversing with the Demon Queen of Limbo, he is whispering. And, with the cloak, looming comes naturally.

"I do admit. It has a certain aura." Was that a joke? For the bistro does, certainly. Not unlike the recent spirit storage session the two just completed. "It suits us."

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Illyana doesn't plead the fifth because she barely pleads anything. Her eyebrows lift under her golden fringe, and the curve of her smile intensifies its depth enough to be noticeable. Only for him, before it fades away. "Let's see if we attract trouble. Popular place for soloists and students dabbling in bad subjects." Her shoulders go up, a smidge. No more than that, sufficient that she can shift her posture a fraction and it's easy to find a spot to sit.

"Where do you want?" Gentleman's choice, apparently, as she glances up to Stephen. His height just makes that a necessity. "I came in with a milkshake once. Very wicked."

Stephen Strange has posed:
Grey eyes break away from the blonde vision besides Stephen and look about. But, one would get the sense that Stephen is seeing more than just normal vision would allow. A soft hum escapes from his throat as he considers the environment...and then nods towards the basement...and to the more stylish surroundings. Stylish, in this case, meaning appropriately haunted, what with the bricked up well. "that corner over there seems dark and moody enough to cause some tongues to waggle. It will drive others mad."

Did Stephen possibly pick the most haunted corner he could sense? Maybe. Does he care? Not in the least. Perhaps it seems most like the Sanctum. Or, rather, the idea of a haunted bistro seems just quirky enough to be something of an amusement to the good doctor.

"We should certainly get something. It does look a bit of a self serve situation. Is there anything in particular you would like?"

Stephen asking for drink orders is a bit of a rarity. But the fact he is asking means he likes the decor. Score one for Illyana.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
The grey-eyed look holds substantial gravity, luring Illyana's attention away from the dancing flames arranged on mountainous bricks or heaped in glass candleholders. Her expression never softens, but more thaws, less harsh at the edges. Shadows creep after them, weaving a complicated path, muddled in approach. Haunted and wicked places like this one deserve to be examined in kind.

"Surprise me," she says after thinking on the doctor's question. "Then maybe we see what fascinating things happen."

Because a place that's deeply haunted like this /does/ need to be considered.

Stephen Strange has posed:
"Surprise you..."

If those words had a wary edge to them, it is because they did. Leaving it up to the male when it comes to important things, like drink selection, is just asking for trouble. However, what the lady wants is what the lady gets, and so Stephen does go for a 'surprise' drink. And...what he asks for is surprisingly simple. A drink with equal parts coffee liqueur and vodka. Certainly easy to do. Judging from the bottles in use to make the drinks, stirred for proper effect, a bit of a high end drink, just from the quality of ingredients within. Two drinks, looking suspiciously like black coffee, and over Stephen walks, claiming that corner table in perhaps the most haunted bistro he has ever had the pleasure of stepping foot in.

"Here you are." What 'it' is does not get a mention. "So, we continue to brood in the corner and watch the locals get nervous? That would be somewhat fascinating." Of course, seeing spiritual activity would be, too. At least for anyone else except the two.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Let everyone fear Illyana's request to be surprised. She might hold a particularly high bar when it comes to actual surprises, but the lack of life experience outside the confines of a malleable terrorizing realm makes her yardstick a crooked one at best. Some options may prove rather effective when they wouldn't on the average teen.

Stephen could probably come back with something oozing fake spider legs, gummy umbrellas, and a strange pineapple smell, and earn a point. A glass of water isn't likely dumped on him, either, if he deigned to go for that. She lived among the New Mutants long enough to anticipate literal and figurative forms of humour. Rather, time to steal a table and then loiter nearby, giving the Sorcerer Supreme a throne to haunt along with the ghostly figure hiding in the bricks.

Because she very much was a victim, and the ghost is very much present.