15945/A Trip To The CBB!

A Trip To The CBB!
Date of Scene:	25 September 2023
Location:	Candle, Booke and Belle
Synopsis:	Belinda and Billy engage in some heavy conversation as the sun sets, freeing Billy from his Yom Kippur fast. Then Belinda stuffs him full of food like a pinata!
Cast of Characters:	Billy Kaplan, Belinda Gutierrez

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Billy Kaplan has posed:
Ring-a-ding-ding. The door to the shop opens and in walks Billy Kaplan, dressed in casual civilian clothes rather than his Wiccan uniform: soft, comfortable bluejeans, a dark gray T-shirt, a loose-fitting, white button-up shirt worn untucked over that, and his signature Doc Martins with flowers painted all over them. But today he's wearing something he generally doesn't wear: a yarmulke!

He peers around the shop to see who's working today. "Hey," he calls out in a warm, good-natured tone. "It's me. Billy. Please don't send anything to suck out my soul and eat it!"

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
The grin in Belinda's words reflect a sparkle of mischief in her eyes. "Buen dias!" she exclaims, waving in welcome. "All our soul-sucking spirits are out on duty right now, but if you wish to wait and enjoy the incenses, we can have one worked up for you en lo termino!" Smiling, she takes a moment to add a stick of incense to the burner. Dragon's Blood-- the better to help wash away any concievable food-like scent.

"Welcome," she adds, eyes dancing. "Please, sit down. I would offer water, or tea, but--" She gestures, the lazy sun still gleaming outside. "So, we shall wait. But I promise to help break the fast when time comes. I already have the menu planned."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
A pleased grin breaks out on Billy's face when he sees that Belinda is manning the shop today. "Shalom, Belinda!" he exclaims happily. "I /own/ this fast. I can could do /another/ day of it." He is freshly showered and shaved. His clothes are clean. His hair is brushed. A broad smile is on his face. It's the way of his people to tackle a fast with enthusiasm and energy. Moping around all woe-is-me is not his way, not how he was raised.

He flops down in a chair. The young mage glances around to make sure no customers are present to overhear him. "How's stuff going with the League? I've been so busy with the new semester I feel like I've been ignoring my responsibilities. I think I need a second me!"

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Belinda giggles laughter, smiling as she sighs gently. "So far, so good?" she says, grimacing. "We found Mr. Grayson outside the other day. I think he was hurt, but we attended to that. Our problems lately have been completely mundane-- someone slipping bad batches of Eye of Newt around to all manner of places --but otherwise, I think things have been very quiet." She smiles, eyes dancing. "Though I will neither confirm nor deny that someone has been teaching the Haunted Jukebox the occasional flamenco music!"

INNOCENT.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Tipping his head a bit curiously, Billy asks, "You found Mark hurt? What the heck happened? Did he...did he get hit with a /planet/?"

"Things over at YA have not been so quiet. A few days ago Kree breached our HQ and they seem to be trying to capture me. It was...it was bad," the magic-user says with a long sigh. It seems like he is right on the edge of saying more as he peers down at the floor, partially lost in thought. Instead Billy repeats, "It got bad."

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
The girl tilts her head, grimacing. Her hands twitch to hunt down a teacup and start serving, but.... grrrf. She offers a comforting pat instead, nodding as she leans down on her elbows.

"They are the one of the spacey peoples, si?" she asks, frowning. "There are so many, I get them mixed up too much." Her frown deepens, sterning as she nods anew. "If you need help with anything, I am sure we could lend a hand. And si, yes-- though I *think* he is getting better very quickly. All I have are rumours-- everything from covered in papercuts to full-body casts and eating pizza through a straw." She rolls her eyes, chuckling. "So, consider this 'Rumour Controlled!' for right now. More facts when they come, from Awooo News!"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Awooo News really tickles Billy and he lets out a genuine laugh, dispelling the minor funk that was starting to gather. He grins and wrinkles his nose and howls up toward the ceiling playfully. "I guess if interned I'd be cub reporter?"

"But yes," the young magic-user continues, "The Kree are space people. They are a very ancient alien race with drives and motives that I don't really understand." He meets Belinda's gaze directly again. "I killed several of them, Belinda," Billy says in a hushed tone. "I didn't want to, but you must understand that they want to take me alive for something. It's not my own safety I'm even concerned about, but if they gain access to my power it could be..." His gaze looks away. "...very devastating."

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Belinda nods somberly, exhaling a sad sigh as she bows her head. "It is like that loco time with Brainiac and Superman all over again," she says, smile returning in gentle force-- spiked with a twitch of wry mirth. "Cub reporter!" she adds, giggling quietly as she shakes her head. Ahem!

"I know we are not supposed to kill," she states evenly. "But self-defense is totally allowed, I am certain. It is a Catholic tenent, but I think the Pope totally said something on it too. Are the Ten Commandments in your Book as well?" Her brow furrows, racing with quick thought. "John Paul. The second one? Maybe? Mmmph. Well, mi abuela told me so."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
A small tic of a grin starts to tickle one side of Billy's lips. "As a Jew, I'm fine with what I did. And yes, the Ten Commandments are the foundation of Jewish Law. You shall not murder. But as someone who has access to...an immense pool of power, I have a greater responsibility to make sure I don't cross any lines that don't need to be crossed. Killing twice is only a little tiny bit more than killing once. It's a slippery slope I can't allow myself to fall down."

The mage sits up straight in his chair, correcting his slouching posture. "Look, Belinda, I'm not getting all preachy and stuff and holier-than-thou. I know we /all/ have to watch ourselves carefully. I'm not saying I'm special in that regard. But the truth it, none of us, not even me, know what I'm capable of. Nettie has tried to help find those limits and I literally almost blew up this shop." Billy licks dry, dry lips. It's been almost a full day since he has even had water. "I can't let that kind of power fall into enemy hands. No matter the cost to me or my soul."

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Belinda nods, her grin returning in full force. "'Un gran responsabilidad...' she quotes, smiling as she sighs wistfully. "I know that we in the Dark have to... do things, sometimes, that are unacceptable to others. I could not imagine Superman having to be in such a place, forced to make such a decision!" She retrieves a handtowel from behind the counter, setting to work spreading it out before setting a series of cups atop. "But other times, I remember-- El Capitan was a soldier too, in far ago and most terrible times. I am sure he had to make those grave decisions, and we.... do not always have the luxury to choose. Will not have the luxury."

She sighs, shaking her head. Taking one of the teacups, she begins wiping it down, checking for stray stains or bits remainders before setting it to the drying rack beneath the counter. "So. As Custodian of Great Power--" She casts a tender smile, bowing her head. "We do as we must. Judgement shall come in its own time, and la evidencia shall be there for itself. Just do not go to extreme, thinking that all problems must be solved with maximal and terrible force, at all times!"

Snapping the cloth out, she selects a second cup from the cloth. "So. Any thought on what they wanted you for, or why they should take such risk?"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy glances away quickly. Perhaps a bit too quickly? "I have no idea why they started this," he responds to Belinda. "But I damned well intend to end it." A shrug. He peers out at...nothing for a while.

"How long have you known you had powers?" he asks in a low tone. "Like when did you know you..." The mage blinks and tips his head again. "I'm not sure what the correct vocabulary is here. Do you /turn into/ a werewolf? Or /are/ you a werewolf?"

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
The deft wiping of the cup slows as Belinda ponders, voice thoughtful. "It is a good question," she says, smile faded to a gentle frown. "I have known... all my life?" She pauses, head tilting back as she considers. "I guesss... 'am' a werewolf? It would be like asking you, 'when did you know that you could see things?' As for specifics..."

Her smile returns; she sets the cup on the rack, selecting a third, the last, from the terrycloth. "Ah. My first change came when I was twelve, almost thirteen. For almost the whole year prior, I had been eating ALL the things." She grins ruefuly, smirking. "I had been very picky to that point, but suddenly-- if it was edible, it was mine. No objections! Mi papa would take me hunting, later fishing, and sometimes we would cook the catch before we ever got home. I think he knew then before I did; I never went hungry, even when we could get enough to bring in for everyone."

A last few swipes cleans the last cup; it takes its place on the drying place, propelled with deft care and hand. "I believe it was stockpiling for that first night, the first time, so I would not become... Too much. Dangerous, and feral." She exhales, leaning to her arms as she smiles quietly.

"The first time. All the sounds. All the sights. The smells! And I could run, and run, and RUN. Forever, it seemed!"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy sits raptly absorbed into Belinda's tale, crossing one leg over the other and nestling into the chair. He occasionally reaches up to fidget with the yarmulke -- he's unaccustomed to wearing it.

"I'm kind of a city boy so that all sounds super mysterious to me," the mage confesses. "Do you ever get concerned that it could get away from you? I mean, I think about it all the time, what if I lost control." He peers intently at Belinda as he asks this question as though he is hoping for some sort of nuggets of wisdom on the topic.

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
"Sometimes," Belinda admits, voice low. "I mean-- even in the farthest reaches of New Mexico, we have heard the stories and watched some of the movies!" She grins briefly, taking the cloth from her shoulder, straightening it out before returning it to the unseen hanging bar behind the counter. "After that First Night, I was scared for all those reasons. What if I lost control? Lashed out at someone without thinking? Did terrible things? Did I have to tie myself to the el saguaro in the backyard to keep from eating people?" She blushes, grinning sheepishly before she coughs. "Bisabuelo brought it as a sapling-- seedling? --from a journey to Arizona. Family 'tree'! So...."

She pauses for a few heartbeats, eyes closed as he runs through memory. "...I was afraid. Yet I learned very swiftly that... well, my story was nnot to be as the movie stories, the old stories mi papa used to tell on spooky Halloween nights. I never lost control, or even felt the urge for such. Even after a long chase, a successful hunt, it was exhilirating, yet...."

She pauses, considering. "The story of the stone comes to mind. It is long, but I remembered a key phrase in it clearly: 'This too shall pass'. Whether horrible urges lurking or blissful euphorias, always remembered that saying. Focus. Touchstone? And it.... calmed. Helped. Balanced out?"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
"That reminds me that my dad did this thing for a year where he only took cold showers," Billy responds. "He said it was to train his mind that discomfort if fleeting and can be endured and will eventually end." He shrugs a little bit. "I tried it for a week and bailed, and that's counting three days where I skipped a shower just so I didn't have to get under the cold water."

Billy lets out a snort-laugh. "I mean if I can't hack a week of cold showers, how do I know I can hack this life?" He quietly thwaps the toe of one boot against a nearby chair leg. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Belinda giggles laughter! "Cold showers have their place!" she exclaims, "But I would rather warm ones any and every day. Especially when snow came down and it was very cold back home!" She sighs dreamily, hugging herself tight before reaching forward, another friendly pat to the hand before she nods.

"For whatever reason," she says slowly, choosing her words with care. "By whatever purpose, we have been chosen to carry our burdens. If we could choose to lay them down? To let go and be..." She waggles her fingers. "--normal? Would we? Some, si, yes. They would. I, for one, would not gainsay them their choice. But to hack it at crazy things in life?"

She grins, eyes twinkling warmly. "Well, cornbread helps. And salsas. Cooking! And when the time comes-- dinner!" She points towards Billy's chest, eyes dancing. "I have fresh cornbread already made, and we can order chicken vindaloo. Only slightly spicy!"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
A smile washes across Billy's features at the mention of food. Involuntarily, his very hungry tummy growls. The magic-user tugs out his cell phone to check the time, nodding approvingly. Just for reassurance, he glances over his shoulder at the window. "It's after sunset. I survived without become a feral creature born of hunger stalking my prey through the streets of Brooklyn."

His face still lit up with that winning smile of his, Billy nods in Belinda's direction. "Thanks for getting me across the finish line on this one, Belinda."

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Belinda Gutierrez giggles, beaming. And with that-- china cup! Mild tea is the first to come, poured from the pot set forever warming at her back. "It is what we are for," she explains, eyes dancing with joy. "We have blueberry scones, if you wish one? Not a full meal worth the name, but it will take the edge off before a more proper dinner can be had." Humming cheerfully, she sets to the service-- cup, liquid, tea! Also, packets of sugar, a stirring spoon, and the jar of honey, just in case!