15633/Caffeinated Saints

Caffeinated Saints
Date of Scene:	16 August 2023
Location:	Star City Coffee
Synopsis:	Phoebe encounters Jean-Paul and his sword in a coffee shop.
Cast of Characters:	Jean-Paul Valley, Phoebe Beacon

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Jean-Paul Valley has posed:
Jean-Paul Valley has been living on the fringe. He has a trust fund, out there in the aether, and he can hack into it to steal his own money now and again, but too much activity will bring the Order of St. Dumas on his heels. He's already taken enough of a risk taking refuge in Gotham, but it's the only American city he knows well. He's a little overdressed for the weather, mostly because he carries a large part of his possessions.

Most notable among them is a massive rucksack full of his Azrael gear, along with what appears to be a broadsword that's been lashed in place with leather and set to the side. Technically against the rules, but the barista doesn't appear to be worried about a swordfight breaking out and the young man looks more weary than dangerous.

He takes a jumbo sized cup of black coffee and sits at a table next to his possessions, fingerless gloves cradling the cup before he sips. His long blonde hair is pulled back into a loose ponytail and his blue eyes are sharp and acquisitive.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Into the coffee place sweeps a college-age young woman wearing a red skirt, a black T-shirt, leggings and knee-high bicycle boots in black, with a helmet tucked under her arm. She smiles, greeting the barrista by name and orders a massive oat-milk latte with cinnamon as she takes a gander around the shop. She also orders slices of banana bread, breakfast sandwiches, and does the 'pay it forward' thing for about three hundred dollars worth of orders, because she is a Wayne, and quite frankly she does it so she can skip lines when she comes in.

    And she takes the veritable pile of food, and wandering the shop she absolutely coincidentally chooses to sit sort-of across from Jean-Paul, giving him a nod, and then looking at the platter, she gives a face.

    "Oh, they added meat to the breakfast sandwiches -- want one? I can't eat meat." she explains, offering the platter over with a smile.

Jean-Paul Valley has posed:
Jean-Paul Valley seems lost in thought and almost startles when the young woman speaks to him. He's about her age, maybe a little older. He starts to refuse but sees both the pile of food and feels the pang of hunger in his gut. He needs more than coffee.

"I...thank you. Yes, please," he says. His voice is mild and gentle, with the vaguest hint of a European accent that's a little hard to place, almost Germanic but not quite. He stands and moves over to take the sandwich, settling back down again only on the side of the table closer to her. "I appreciate it. I can't remember the last time I had a breakfast sandwich."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Coffee is good for the spirit, but the body needs proteins and carbs.

    "Yeah, no problem. Take the other one too. For some reason I thought they didn't have meat, right?" the girl gives a laugh, and unwrapping her hair-wrap, shows pin kinks and coils as she fluffs out her hair a moment. "My misfortune is someone else's gain. I'm just glad they don't go to waste." she states, and then gives a motion to the sword.

    "So... uh... SCA? Is the Ren-Faire in town again?" she asks conversationally.

Jean-Paul Valley has posed:
Jean-Paul Valley scarfs the first one down quickly, in only a few bites, chewing and swallowing with almost military efficiency. He was raised to be disciplined, to not waste time. He was raised in a lot of complicated ways.

"The sword? No, no, it is...it's a family heirloom," he says. "I do not have a good place to keep it safe, right now, so I keep it with me. I think it helps keep me safe. People don't generally harass someone with a sword."

Well, there are some neighborhoods in Gotham, perhaps, where that might not be true. But he doesn't have to be afraid of those either. Unless he's afraid of what he'll do to them.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe tries not to smile at the idea of having a sword making someone unharassable.

    "You're right about that. Anyone walking around Gotham City with a sword should probably be assumed to know how to use it. You must have a heck of a story to go along with it." she comments breezily, and then, she gives a wave, and a bright smile. "Maybe not the Narrows? ... or the Cauldron. Lot of weird types in the Cauldron these days. Maybe not China Basin either... and Bristol's right *out* they're all hoity-toity types up there. All Club no Sandwich." she states, and she tears off a piece of her banana bread.

Jean-Paul Valley has posed:
Jean-Paul Valley does know how to use it. Sort of. Azrael knows how to use it. And he is Azrael. Isn't he?

He tries not to think too hard about that.

"I just try to stay out of trouble, as much as I can. It usually finds me, though, no matter how hard I try not to be found. I have some...well, let's just say I have some very bad people who aren't very happy with me. So it's better if I just...not exist for a while."

He takes another sip of his coffee, now cooler, "My name is Jean-Paul Valley. It is nice to meet you."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The admission of not wanting to exist for a while catches Phoebe offguard. The plastered-on smile created for cameras falters a moment, and her dark eyes look at Jean-Paul with understanding.

    "I know what that's like." she replies quietly, rubbing at her left wrist, where a pale white tattoo mars her dark skin.

    "I'm Phoebe." she introduces herself. "Not from Gotham, are you Jean-Paul?" she asks cordially.

    "I tend to find trouble too. I'm afraid it's probably a family trait."

Jean-Paul Valley has posed:
"I lived here as a teenager and for college. While I went to college. But I am originally from Switzerland," he says. "After my father's death...I went back for a time and now I am returned. The city has changed in my absence, but I think I have changed even more than it has," he says.

"Yes, a lot of my trouble has to do with family. And old, old history. Wars waged for the souls of men and women alike. A medieval legacy, in every sense of the word," he says. "Ironic, given that I was a major in computer programming. To have derived from folk whose views haven't change on the world in a thousand years.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I know a couple things about having a long-lived family legacy... I mean, adopted into it. Adopted legacy." she states, tacking on qualifiers to move her a little away from the statement carefully, and she gives a small shrug. "My brother just graduated from Gotham U from the Technology and Computer Science college. I'm kinda on their pre-med track now." she explains, and she gives a small smile.

    "It sounds like there's a lot weighing on your mind, Jean-Paul. I feel for you."

Jean-Paul Valley has posed:
Jean-Paul Valley nods, "The same program in which I was enrolled, not so very long ago. Only a few years. It seems much, much longer. But my memories are garbage. Spun up, ground up, ripped apart," he says. He feels himself starting to get angry and he looks away momentarily, getting a hold of himself.

"I'm sorry. I do not mean to bother you with my troubles."

"You are adopted, you say? That is good. Sometimes I think we would all be better off if families were chosen. Blood makes everything complicated."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah, sometimes when your life gets a lot of upheaval, even a few years can seem a lifetime ago." Phoebe commisserates, and she shakes her head. "It's all right. Sometimes it helps when you're talking about the troubles that pester you. Words have a kind of magic, you can stumble upon a new solution to an old problem." she replies, and she smiles, and almost gives a laugh about being adopted.

    "I'm a serial adoptee. Harvey Dent told me the next time I get a name change on my punch card I get a free coffee at the courthouse cafe. I was a foundling when I was a kid, you know? And since then I've had a lot of different people who wanted to be family. I used to joke I just borrow last names, no one wants to give me my own."

Jean-Paul Valley has posed:
Jean-Paul Valley smiles, "Sounds like a strange mix of lucky and unlucky. But at least you were found, by people who cared about you. I'm guessing. You seem okay. You seem content," he says. "But I'm not great at reading people. Never was."

"I always had my father, but he was away, most of the time. Business, he said. Secrets. So many secrets. Secrets I only learned after he was dead and it was too late. Too late for him. Too late for me,'he says.

"I think I would have been better off if he'd just given me up. But the Order would never have allowed that..." he says.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "When your last name is recognized for what the guy who actually owns it does, makes it easier." she comments breezily, not revealing what her last name actually is.

    "The Order?" Phoebe questions, and she leans forward, listening intently, studying Jean-Paul. Her coffee was momentarily forgotten, a chunk of banana bread still in her hand as she looks to the man before her with his fingerless gloves and worn clothing and unusually long sword just sort of hanging around. He has her attention and her curiousity is piqued.

Jean-Paul Valley has posed:
Jean-Paul Valley realizes he may have said to much. But he also realizes it doesn't matter. Nobody knows about this world anyway, this world of secrets and cults and horrors into which he has fallen. No one will believe him anyway.

"The Order of St. Dumas," he says softly. "A group to which my father belonged. He served them and so they think I should, too. But I don't want to be anyone's tool. Anyone's weapon," he says, eyes down into his coffee. "But without anyone to give him orders, He is...unpredictable."

He looks up. "The angel who lives inside me, that is. Azrael."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "That is a hell of an admission to give a stranger." Phoebe states, and her expression is one of concern. Of worry. And she knits her fingers together as she looks to Jean-Paul, and begins to run different ideas in her head.

    And she pures her lips a moment, looking around the coffee shop.

    "So you have an angel inside of you, waiting for orders from this Order of St. Dumas? What does the order intend to do?" she questions softly. She sips her coffee.

    "Anyone else might suggest you visit Arkham... but I've seen some stuff."

    And she rubs at her left shoulder, her mouth set in a thin line.

    "I believe every word."

Jean-Paul Valley has posed:
Jean-Paul Valley gives a pained laugh for a moment, "Yeah, well. I don't have very much left to lose. Unless you're an agent of the Order, but I...don't think you are. Maybe I shouldn't be so trusting. Maybe I'm just tired of being afraid."

When she says she believes him, he looks up again sharply. Those blue eyes are so very intent beneath his white-blonde brows. "I might be crazy, too. But I don't...I don't want to go in there. Azrael is the Order's assassin. My father was Azrael before me and he helped them...put the angel inside me, too. It's all very ugly and messy and..."

He wraps his arms around himself for a moment, "II'm sorry. I'ts...it's not your problem."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "You'd be surprised what things end up becoming my problem." Phoebe replies quietly, and slides the tray of food closer to Jean-Paul.

    "I know of people who were taken up with the Spirits of Vengeance... or something close to them. I have seen angels descend to the Earth, and witnessed battles with demons. And I know ugly and messy, and I'm rarely afraid of it." she states gently, and she gives a kind smile. "I help the supernatural bee-ess that Gotham goes through sometimes. I'm something of an investigator of the occult, and help out The Batman where I can. And you already seem a pretty all right guy, Jean-Paul."

Jean-Paul Valley has posed:
Jean-Paul Valley looks up sharply at the mention of the Batman. No one who's lived in Gotham for any length of time doesn't get a little bit of a thrill - and a bit of a scare - at the name. "Really? You know Batman?" he says. He isn't so much skeptical as just wondrous, unsure of how he could have crossed the path of someone who knows Batman.

"I don't really know anything about magic or the supernatural. I'm not even sure if that's...what it is. What He is. They also called it The System. Like I've been programmed, like a computer. When Azrael rises in me, I just...go away. Like a stored program in a hard drive, waiting to be called up. Usually once the carnage is done," he admits. "I can see it happening, but it's not...me."

"I don't even know what to investigate. I just don't want to hurt innocent people. And I don't want to be controlled."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Well. He's not actually a vampire, sometimes you need someone who's more experienced in a field." Phoebe states, and she looks up and to the left.

    And she listens to Jean-Paul, and her face turns with understanding and compassion.

    "And then you're there for the aftermath of whatever Azareal has done." she replies, and she gives a nod.

    "I can understand not wanting to hurt others, and I can empathize with having your will be manuevered by others." she gives a sad smile, and then rubs the back of her neck.

    "This Order of St. Dumas sounds like it warrants investigation--" she states, reaching down to her bag and pulling out a notebook. Flipping a few pages of sigils and notes that look like they're written in Arabic, the young woman settles with a pen in hand.

    "If you want my help, anyway. I know I've gotta be better about not poking my nose where no one wants it." she jokes.

Jean-Paul Valley has posed:
"I don't want to put you in danger. But I also...don't know what to do on my own. My skillset is in...computer hacking. Which isn't much good against a medieval cult," he says. "I think they might have computers, but I don't know if they know they have computers."

"I will take whatever help I can get. And if I can protect you - or Azrael can - I will try."

He finds himself looking over his shoulder, whether he likes it or not. He's been on the run for a while now. "I usually end up staying in St. Basil's, down the road. It's abandoned, but there are still intact rooms. It feels almost familiar."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I know the place. It was burned out five years ago or so." Phoebe replies thoughtfully. And she brings up her hand, and with a flick of her fingers, she produces a business card.

    It's for something called The Curio, and gives an address in The Cauldron, naturally.

    "This is a building that acts as sort of a refuge for the poor souls like us who ended up pulled into the occult." she explains. "You can go there and ask for me, and I'll know you're looking for me. Kinda easier than checking my phone all the time." she gives a small smile.

    "I wouldn't mind protection -- this job can be pretty dangerous." she gives a small shrug. "But that's Gotham for you."

Jean-Paul Valley has posed:
Jean-Paul Valley takes the card and tucks it away, "Whatever you can do. Thank you," he says.

He finishes his food and grabs his rucksack. He reaches in and pulls out a bit of notebook paper of his own, tearing off a sheet and scribbling, "These are my burner number and an e-mail address I can check periodically. I mostly use public computers, although I'm trying to put together sometihng from scrap if I can..."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe accepts the scrap of paper, and she looks at it, committing some of the details to memory before she brings her gaze back up to JEan-Paul and gives a smile.

    "IF you find yourself in New York City, there's *also* a group there that helps people. There's a metaphysics shop in the East Village. You can go there and ask for Gabby Kinney, she's a good resource. THey can help, and there's more of them." she suggests quietly, and folds the paper, and tucks it away in her bag to be added to her E-mail list.

    "It's been a pleasure to meet you, Jean-Paul Valley. I'll be in touch." the young woman says, and she gets up, investigation here complete.

    And Divination wasn't her strong suite, so it looks like she's hitting the beat for information of St. Dumas's group.