15041/ParkParkPark

ParkParkPark
Date of Scene:	30 May 2023
Location:	Robinson Park - Miagani Island
Synopsis:	A misportal ends up with Billy and Phoebe making acquaintence again. The two talk about Billy's visions and concerns, and compare notes about life so far.
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Billy Kaplan

---

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Saturdays, in the park, I think it was a Fourth of July -- except it's still May. It's Tuesday. But it's still a little unseasonably warm today. There are people out enjoying the rare Gotham Sunshine (with plenty of sunblock). The biking and jogging trails had people on them, the pickpockets might have taken a day off. THe playground is full of kids, and above it all, sitting on a grassy hilltop on a blanket with a white-and-red sight hound lounging on his back, tongue out, belly-up and zero cares wearing a 'SUN'S OUT TONGUE'S OUT' bandana is Phoebe Beacon.

    She's dressed for the weather in a short-sleeve shirt and athletic sleeve that hides her left arm and a pair of denim cut-offs, sneakers sporting grass stains as she absorbs some sunlight, eyes closed.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy was practicing some of his incantations and had a teleportation mishap, which is why he is in Gotham. But, he figured since he's here anyway, why not walk around one of his top 200 parks in the greater northeastern United States region. He's wearing old, faded bluejeans with a significant rip in the right knee and badly frayed cuffs, a pair of battered flip-flops, and a T-shirt with some sort of image or logo that is completely blurred out with a blur effect with the caption "Dirty Picture" underneath.

    He's notable among passersby and pedestrians in his age group because he has no phone out. He's just walking and enjoying the day. Then he sees someone he recognizes, so he adjusts course and moves through the grass to where Phoebe and canine companion are lolling about also enjoying the day. Careful to be on the other side of Phoebe as the unknown sighthound, Billy clears his throat. "Hey, can I get a dollar?" he asks playfully in a gruff, growly voice even as a smile spreads over his features.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Sure, lemmie get my--" PHoebe begins, and then she seems to perk up, eyes opening as she hops to her knees and turns around, senses flaring up with the familiar feeling.

    "/William Kaplan!/" she greets him with a bright smile, hopping to her feet.

    "It's been an age. What're you doing in Gotham?" she questions.

    Notably, she is wearing a skullcap that is hiding all of her hair.

    The dog yawns and straightens, stretches his looong front legs and looong back legs, and shakes hi sears, both drawing up like a Pharoah hound's as he looks to Billy, and appears to be silently judging. Like a cat.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy's already-smiling face beams brighter at Phoebe's greeting. He glances slightly warily at the dog for a moment, then back to Phoebe. "Who me?" he asks with some trepidation in his voice. "Psh, whaaat? I'm, um, in Gotham, like, aaaall the time!" He scrunches up his nose and runs a hand through his hair.

    Finally, clearing his throat, Billy confesses! "I might of, uh, been trying to teleport somewhere. Or something like that." He shrugs his shoulders briefly. "And stuff."

    He chin-nods in Phoebe's direction. "What about you?" He chin-nods in the dog's direction. Using hand gestures is for quitters. "And what's up with this vicious beast?" A Billy-wink indicates that he's being playful a out the dog.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah-huh. Pretty sure if you're here aaaaall the time you've somehow evaded my senses. In which case, new skill? *Gimmie*." she jokes, motioning for Billy to take a seat with her on the blanket. "Teleportation is no joke. I have to be careful when I use portals because I could end up in the wrong place with strong emotional ties. Really embarrassing when it dumps you out on a rooftop where you don't wanna be." she leans back, plucking a pair of orange-rimmed sunglasses from her backpack and slipping them on, she looks to Billy with a smile.

    "I live here my man. Gotham's my home town. And this--" she states, reaching over to ruffle on the said ferocious beast, who relaxes back down, "is Idu. He's a Desher-iwiw -- kinda deeeemon hunting dog that my ancestors raised."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Gladly accepting Phoebe's invitation, Billy sits crosslegged on the blanket. "Maybe my brain wanted some Phoebe time and that's why I ended up here!" the eternal optimist suggests hopefully. "But yeah, it's the thing I have the most trouble with. I'm getting better, for sure. It's been a long time since I teleported out into open air high up off the ground."

    The young magic-user holds his hand out for the hound to sniff. "Hey, Idu, nice to meet'cha. I'm Billy. I *promise* I'm not a demon." Then Billy returns his attention to Phoebe. "Actually, truth be told, I'm glad I ran into you today," he confesses. There is just a hint of a shadow that drops over his features. "I haven't been sleepin' right, Phoebe. I've been having some pretty fucked up visions and dreams."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Idu sniffs at Billy, and satisfied that he is indeed not a villain, the canine yawns, showing all his teeth, shakes off again and flops back down, rolls to his back and allows Phoebe to rest her arm against his stomach, scritching as his neck and ruffling the ID tag that identifies him as IDU, and lists the Wayne Estate's address.

    "Sounds like either Serendipity or Synchronicity. Kinda hope it's the former." Phoebe replies, and behind her glasses her dark eyes catch the darkness that crosses his features.

    "Have you made sure it's nothing you're eating 'fore you go to sleep?" she asks gently, but it is an invitation to talk more as she sinks into business mode, listening attentively to Billy.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    There is a palpable sense of relief that emanates from Billy as he passes the Idu test. Where magical and arcane signatures are concerned, one never knows when and how wires can get crosses. The way that he averts his gaze from Phoebe's is a sure indicator that Billy knows his diet is bad. "I dunno, I mean maybe a cheeseburger or three?" This inner edges of his eyebrows steeple up as he looks back to Phoebe. Has anyone ever looked guiltier? "Hey, I quit smoking so I'm not dealing with that crap anymore at least!"

    Kaplan lies down on his side and props his head up with one palm. "The theme is always the same," Billy says with a small, wistful sigh. "Something is coming for me. It's like a cosmic...I dunno..." He gestures idly with his other hand. "...seed and no matter where I go it always finds me. Sometimes my family and friends are in the way and it goes through them to get to me."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe considers things, but the expression she gets at the quitting smoking suggests that she picked up the bad habit, and she looks to her bag to make sure the box wasn't showing.

    "Which is commendable, quitting nicotine is no joke."

    Phoebe flops downwards, legs still crossed as she lays back and listens, looking up towards the unusually clear Gotham sky.

    "So this seed, comes from somewhere, passes through your friends and loved ones and gets to you. What happens next?"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    The young magic-user may be a bit too focused on his problem when Phoebe gets her own guilty expression for him to notice it. Rarely is he ever focused on anyone but those he loves, this one, so it's a rare self-centered moment.

    "I wouldn't congratulate me too much yet. It's only been a couple weeks and honestly I want a cigarette every single moment that I'm conscious," Kaplan confesses with a haphazard, ragged exhalation that blows his bangs away from his forehead.

    "Aaaaanyway, this seed is massive," Billy continues. "Phoebe, I don't mean big as a house massive, or even big as a planet massive...I mean it is cosmically massive. And somehow when it gets to me, it fits in my chest. I dunno if it gets smaller or I get bigger or what." He looks at Phoebe with a hint of helplessness. "You know how dreams are, it's hard to tell this or that sometimes. But either way it pushes into my chest and I wake up with a jolt. Sometimes I scream and wake up my parents and my brothers."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe knows the feels. "Addiction is no joke either." she mutters quietly, and she crosses her arms behind her head as she considers.

    "Well. Could be maybe that something big is coming that will weigh on your very existence. Cosmic responsibilities, itty bitty mortal meatspace." she states, raising her hand and holding up her index finger. She raises her middle finger.

    "Two, you are getting a warning that something big may be coming after you and focused entirely on you at the expense of your loved ones. Or three," she holds out her thumb, "It's a reoccurring dream due to some hidden bout of anxiety. Depending on how much precog powers you have." she purses her lips a moment.

    Idu's curled tail gives a wag as he stretches out between them.

    "Divination isn't really my thing though, y'know? I mean I've got a big bottle of African Morning Glory extract that'll send even me on a deep dive, but it's not pleasant." she frowns, and reaches for her water bottle. It has several Justice League stickers on it, and a couple Avengers as well.

    "But it also tends to attract attention. On account that the dosage is lethal to most people, y'know."

    Damn healing factors.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    One of Kaplan's eyebrows lifts. "Africa Morning Glory extract?" he repeats. "Whassat? Like, um, an hallucinogenic or something?" the young man subsequently asks. His tone and facial expression indicate more interest than one should have about a substance that Phoebe -- who *knows* her shit -- just told him is lethal. Maybe he does have a bit of an addictive personality.

    He reaches his free hand out and idly tickles the pads of one of Idu's paws with his index finger. "I'm definitely not, y'know, trying to get you t'solve my problem or whatever." He shrugs. "I just thought you would have a better perspective on it than most." He lets his troubled expression fade away. It's too sunny and perfect to brood too much. Maybe that's why Batman works at night. "And now you tell me yer holding back good drugs."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "A very potent extract made from a particular African morning glory seed, that has been reduced down via disillation and currently lives in my fridge with a 'do not drink' label." Phoebe replies ruefully to Billy, and she closes her eyes. Yes, Phoebe knows her shit, courtesy of some Bad Shit going on in her past.

    "Extremely hallucinogenic, has a side effect of making you want to evacuate your stomach of what you had right down to that cupcake from a third grade birthday party afterwards." she replies, and her nose wrinkles. "So it's not a pleasant experience. Last time I used it was because I had to be in the astral to make some spirit become corpreal so that others could fight it." she explains.

    Idu kicks a little at the tickling of his foot.

    "... and I like solving problems. Kind of why I got into the super-heroing business?" she jokes, and she opens her eyes. It is too nice to brood.

    "So no matter what help you need, I'll help you."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    A pleasant, buzzy, sunny-afternoon, placid smile overtakes the very last of the shadows from Billy's expression. "Honestly, I could just use a friend. We haven't talked in forever and it's nice to be /able/ to talk to someone about going to the astral plane to fight spirits." Still smiling, he exhales sharply again to blow the stubborn, errant hair away from his forehead. "My family knows about me, y'know, about my other 'job' but they don't understand it, ya know? I can't talk to them about stuff. Oh, how was my day, mom? Well it was okay. I had to make sure that after giants attacked the rainbow bridge in Asgard that the resulting magic didn't spill out onto Earth and extinguish all life. What did you do today?"

    The young magic-user laughs at his little joke. It's easy to make jokes and laugh about them in the brilliant sunshine of a Spring day in a busy park. But as Billy knows all too well -- and no doubt Phoebe does, too -- it's another thing altogether at night, alone, when the shadows come.

    But there's that twitching doggo foot! When one finds a good tickle spot on a dog, one does not easily relent. He burrows his fingertip on that soft dog paw padding. As one does.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Idu gives a yodeling complaint about his foot being tickled, and kicks his feet out again, wriggling back and forth!

    Phoebe gives a smile, and she looks up at the sky as well.

    "Yeah, I know the feeling. I don't talk to my adopted mom anymore. I don't have any of my Dads, but the Bats... they're very much the 'what we can see' types most of the time. The Big B is trying to keep me grounded and not getting into too much magical trouble after what happened last year, but I guess it's a little easier?" She narrows her eyes a moment "I mean, I get asked about my day and it's all 'oh well, went to this charitable function, got a B on my bio-chem test, battled a bunch of dark shades down on Unity Ave." she states quietly. "And then it's off on patrol."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Perhaps to siphon off some pent-up energy, Billy sits up again, crosslegged on the blanket. That, at least, relieves Idu of being paw tickled. "Man, you do all of that? I mean, seriously, what a life to get to lead. I'm kind of blown away and kind of jealous. What's B like? Is he all strict and broody?" Kaplan wrinkles his nose. "I bet he's never even heard of Wiccan. I need a PR manager, I swear to the gods." Then he laughs away his own comment. "Who am I kidding? I need a boyfriend!" Then his eyes scan the park, stopping for a moment at every good-looking dude he sees.

    It's time for another chin-nod in Phoebe's direction. "What about you? Any romance during all of that free time you apparently have?" Billy smiles warmly.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "He's pretty much hands-off at this time, I think he's got some attention on other things. I've been pretty good about being low-magic on patrol. And trust me, it's not all it's cracked up to be. Janet Van Dyne picked a fight with me once at a party after I left to get some breathing room. It is hellaciously terrifying when an Avenger picks on you." she states quietly, and she sits up as well.

    "He's very strict, it is pretty much his way or get out, but he always has your back if you get into trouble. Most of the time though I'm working with Red Robin." she explains in a quiet tone of voice, and then she gives a laugh.

    "Romance? Oh man. Oh /man/. Romance... ah..." she gives a little grin, her cheeks and ears going dark before she grabs up her phone.

    She gives it a swipe, and holds it out to Billy, where there's a picture of a young gentleman with tan skin, wearing a leather jacket and a hoodie underneath, leaning against a mean looking 1969 Dodge Charger with a big air intake on the hood.

    "I'm seeing someone... not exactly someone I can talk shop with, but he is a hell of a fighter and a mechanic."

    Of course it's Robbie Reyes, the Worst Avenger. Apparently.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy leans in to get a good look at the picture. He nods his head approvingly and even gets a little red in his earlobes. "Wow. Nice. /Very/ nice." He looks at Phoebe with (playful) suspicion. "How do you manage to do *everything* that you do *and* score a hot guy? You better not have created him with magic!" Then suddenly Billy rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmmmmm. Aaaaactually..."

    Finally, Billy rises to his feet. He holds out a piece of paper to Phoebe. Where...where did he get it? He wasn't holding it when he stood up and he didn't take anything out of his pocket. "I'm *so* glad we ran into each other. Here are my new digits. Please promise me we won't go so long without talking again."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I promise you I didn't create him. We kinda trauma-bonded. He's a really sweet guy." she smiles, and takes her phone back, and takes the piece of paper. Magic.

    "Absolutely. My number's still the same. And the reason I scored a hot guy while doing everything else?" she gives a grin, and flicks her hands, a few sparks of her rose-gold colored magic coming form her fingertips, teasingly as she grins.

    "Take care Billy. If anything else comes up for those dreams, let me know, okay?"