18646/Toto, The Police, and The Importance of Good Music

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Toto, The Police, and The Importance of Good Music
Date of Scene: 22 July 2024
Location: Serengeti Wilds
Synopsis: Rien runs into Franklin out in the middle of the Serengeti, things get... interesting!
Cast of Characters: Rien D'Arqueness, Franklin Richards




Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Occasionally Rien likes to do charity work. Not the usual stuff, she doesn't spend time at soup kitchens or food drives. No, she does things like dismantle drug cartels, or in this case, take down poachers. THe ecosystem is a delicate balance, it requires that the scales don't get tipped one way or the other. Rien just makes sure those scales are weighted by nature, not men with guns and ego's larger than the continent. In this instance, she's just finished dealing with a poaching party and has headed back towards a small village where she's rented out a room for a few days.

On return to the village, she seeks out the man that had contacted her, a Brit that made his home here years and years ago after The War. They've kept in contact here and there across the years, and he tips her off when he finds out about poachers coming through. She's largely cleaned up by the time she reaches the small store where he occupies one of the chairs out front, clapping a hand to his shoulder and smiling, "Hey there George. Just wanted to let you know, those poachers aren't going to be a problem anymore. I managed to get to them before they could bag their game, but it was close. They were damned eager to get some kills in. Thanks for the heads up." The old man smiles up at her and pats her hand and they chat for a moment before she heads in to get herself some water from the store.

Buying herself a few bottles of water, she leaves some extra on the counter and walks away before they can protest. Cracking open the first bottle, she takes a long pull from it before pausing. "I can smell you, you know. Didn't figure on running into you all the way out here, though." She turns slightly, glancing towards Franklin and tossing him one of the water bottles. "Keeping tabs on me? Should I be worried? Flattered?"

Franklin Richards has posed:
Where Rien might not like to do more formal charity work, as it doesn't much suit her skillset, Franklin *loves* doing charity work. His parents company has more than enough money that they can freely part with any percentage of it and be more than fine. Today, Franklin has brought this village some food, clean water, and medicine in the way of antibiotics. As soon as he had finished distributing the goodwill, Franklin seems to take his seat, happy to have a moment to rest as he closes his eyes.

He was dressed in clothes partially meant for the heat: boots, shorts, a tanktop, and gloves over the hands in case he has to do some harder work.

Though suddenly, there's a water bottle being tossed his way, his hand lifting up to catch it in the palm of his hand as he turned his eyes to look at her more directly, giving her a kind, warm smile.

"Good to see you again, Rien. I guess it might be flattery, though for it to be flattery, you have to like what I say." he smiles at her. "What brings you to the Serengeti?"

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Canting her head towards the older man sitting on the porch in front of the general store, Rien shrugs, "George is a friend from back during the war. He lets me know when poachers are coming through the area. I go clear them out." She takes another drink from her water bottle and looks him over, taking in the outfit. Her own isn't terribly different from what she usually wears, though the colors are more towards the desert colors that let her blend in better in her surroundings.

"So what brought you out here? Somehow, I don't think you're the Great White Hunter type... but this isn't exactly a popular vacation spot either." She watches him carefully, this young man that just brims with untapped power but seems content to just be young. Unusual, but not entirely foreign. Young people tend to be more idealistic. They haven't had it beaten out of them yet.

Approaching, she takes up a leaning spot against the wall, just watching him for a long moment. "My liking what you have to say it dependent on what you're saying. So I guess it's all still up in the air for now." She finally unbends enough to crack a small smile, watching him. "You really do look out of place here, though."

Franklin Richards has posed:
"Hi George." Franklin gives the older gentleman a little wave. "Good of you to remove poachers. This land is beautiful enough as it is. I would prefer it wasn't tainted by people too greedy to let nature roam free." Franklin lifts his shoulders in a light shrug, taking the time to sip at his water bottle that was so graciously given to him by Rien. Though as he takes that moment to look at her, genuine and sincere, he gives her a faint smile.

"Medicine, food, and water. Charity work, you know." If only it was his to give, but we won't talk about that one will we? Though he gives her a smile. "Who knows, maybe I'm hunting you. Or maybe I'm hunting for something else that's been frequenting these lands too much. Not human, but different." he shrugs in that moment.

She leans against the wall, watching him, a little smirk sent back towards her. "I guess that's true. Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?" he starts such a thing, before his expression widens into a warmth that matches the sun. "To be fair, I get that everywhere."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
George returns the wave with a cheery smile before going back to his perusal of a newspaper. Rien lifts a brow at Franklin and murmurs, "We agree on that much. I'm not a fan of all these rich men traipsing across the Atlantic just so they can kill something that was never really a threat to them in the first place. Or the filthy poachers that make a living off of killing an animal just to harvest a specific body part, not even taking the rest for food or anything..." She lets out a breath and forces her hand to not clench around the water bottle.

"Ahhhhhhhhh, the socially acceptable type of charity work. That's fair. These people could certainly use it. I like to think I contribute in my own ways." Rien glances around the little village, smiling faintly, "So many would call them backwards or 'quaint' for choosing to honor their centuries old cultures and histories instead of racing towards technological apocalypse... but frankly, I think they have a pretty good thing going out here."

Looking back to Franklin, she lifts a brow, that smile quirking up a little farther at one corner, "Are you *flirting* with me, Franklin? Also, I am old. I am not quite *that* old. Technically, I was born in 1963. Just... not *this* 1963. And I arrived in this timeline in 1944. So." She shrugs lightly and smiles, "You looked perfectly in place in the park."

Franklin Richards has posed:
"If they ate the animal after they killed it, I would probably feel better about it. But they don't kill out of a need, they just kill to kill. I don't like it." Franklin says with a sad look in his eyes. "Think we should just treat the other creatures who live on this planet much better. There's far more than just humanity and it's various branches." Of mutants, superhumans, et. all. Yet, even still, it was perhaps wise to speak of his charity work, since it manages to distract Rien from her anger.

"A *subtle* kind of charity work." he corrects. "If I come in with too much, brings very much so unnecessary attention to people who only want to live peacefully." Franklin shrugs. "Besides, technically I'm not here." and with his abilities, add in the fact that he has no crew or cameras, he's doing this because he *can* and because he hasn't been caught quite yet to be scolded for it. "To be honest, I would live here. It's nice." He smiles. "After all, when you look out into the vastness of eternity, will we take greater pride in the skyscrapers we build or the communities we flourish?"

Though she lifts a brow and smiles at his flirtations. "Depends on if such a thing is permitted to you." he winks playfully, though she suggests that she's old and Franklin lifts his shoulder in a shrug. "I imagine if I took issue with being old or someone else being old, I probably wouldn'ts urvive long in any kind of social situation." he chuckles. "and thank you. The park is one of my favorite places to be. I think I have an odd habit of people watching."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
"Exactly. Killing out of necessity is one thing. Killing just because it's there... the natural world has a balance. Killing off all the elephants or tigers is going to fuck with that balance in a bad way." Rien gives a nod, motioning towards Franklin lightly before taking another swallow of her water. She shakes her head and murmurs, "There are far too few places anymore where you can't see the hand of modern man at work."

Lifting a brow at him, she laughs lightly and gives a nod, then offers, "You know, you could just teleport whatever was needed to them directly. No need to have it stamped all over with branding or anything. Just a cache of supplies that shows up on the regular, with nobody the wiser." Rien watches him with that faint smile, "So, in other words, you're appropriating family/business funds and nobody's caught you yet to tell you to stop. You go, rebel son." Chuckling softly, she glances around again, "I don't know that I would live out here, but I like spending time out this way."

Turning her attention back to him once more, she murmurs, "Speaking as someone who quite often looks towards the vastness of eternity, I mostly try to minimize the losses. It's impossible to do so completely, of course.. but I can minimize them." Lifting a shrug, Rien looks back towards the plains that stretch out across the horizon.

"I'm French, cher. Flirting is always allowed." Rien chuckles softly before adding, "And I only mention it because some people might take issue to flirting with someone older than their parents. Always better to be upfront about it." Nodding lightly, she smiles faintly, "Somehow I'm not surprised. The question is.. how much do you watch and how much do you participate?"

Franklin Richards has posed:
"It's true. Ecosystems tend to be very fragile. Remove certain predators and keystone species, the ecosystem falls apart and certain populations grow too far to control and other species run out of food and resources, dying off if the bullets can't reach them in time." A sad look crosses Franklin's features. "But, at times, the new can replace the old. I can only hope new stewardship can help preverse these ancient pieces of history and living art."

He sighs though, before he looks at Rien. "Potentially. Though there's always a price for such a thing, even if we cannot imagine immediate ramifications. There's a price to power." Always. Rarely is it ever given freely. Though his gaze does shift to look upon Rien once more a bit more directly with a slight smirk when she calls him a rebel son. "If it's between my sister and I, I think I'll allow it to be me." to be the rebel.

"Minimizing is the only way to progress. Scars eventually heal, given enough time, and become armor." though Rien encourages his flirting. "Be careful then. I'll ask for a kiss before too long." he teases her. "and I have no issue. Life is life. It matters little, so long as both are consenting. Besides, for someone as old as you claim, you appear my age. Though I imagine it's because you heal tissue quite quickly."

He hums.

"Plenty of watching, very little participating. Don't want to be the strange man approaching and asking if he can join a tightknit group's game or some such."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
"Mmmmmm, sometimes the price is paid before we're ever even aware of it. In which case, might as well make good use of it while you can. Do you really want to potentially face your death and wonder if you did enough? If there was more you could have accomplished?" Rien lifts a small shrug and cants a smile his way. "Besides, what's the fun in having something if you don't enjoy it? I revel in who I am, what I am, every day."

Chuckling softly, she lifts a brow at him, "Allow? As if you aren't actively rebelling simply by being here?" She's not judging, but it is a bit amusing. THen again, she doesn't know who his sister is. There could be competition!

Glancing back out towards the plains, she smiles, "I tend to keep things simple. It's just easier that way. Oh, sure, I have little hideyholes and caches all over the place, but that's for convenience. There's not really anything that I *need* to have. Everything I need, I can get for myself." Laughing at the mention of a kiss, Rien grins at him, "I'm not the kind of woman you want to get tangled up with. We have some things in common, true... but there are some very, very fundamental differences between us that would be quite difficult to overcome." She glances to her hands, the exposed, flawless skin. PUtting one fist against the other palm, she pops a single claw, punching straight through her own palm without so much as a flinch.

Withdrawing the claw, Rien holds up her hand, the hold already closing, and healing up in front of his eyes. Not a mark, nothing but some streaks and dribbles of blood to show that anything was ever there. "Good guess. As far as I can tell, it happens at a cellular level. Which is part of the whole immortality thing." She shakes the blood off her hand and lifts her waterbottle for another swallow, then gives a nod, "I know what you mean. Though I spend less time watching humanity and more time just trying to make sure the world survives long enough for me to keep living in it."

Franklin Richards has posed:
"Everyone faces death. Not many people face life." Franklin tells Rien with a small smile touching his face. "Besides, I'm terrible at 'if-and' questions." Franklin tells her with a small look in his eyes, curious and investigative. "It's one thing to take pride in something. It's another entirely to use your gifts irresponsibly. Though, that's neither here or there." She questions his 'allowance', though he seems to smile at her. "Respectfully rebelling."

Though she seems to laugh at him at the mention ofa kiss, his brow raises. "I didn't hear a no." He teases her faintly. "Besides, everyone has fundamental differences. If they didn't, humanity as a species would be pretty boring." Franklin admits, though she proceeds to perform two abilities for him: the singular claw popping out of her fist, then punching straight through her own palm.

The wound closes before his eyes. "Fun trick." he tells her with a slight smile. "But if it helps, nobody is truly immortal. If anything, just difficult to cease." Franklin takes a sip of his water then, looking up at the African sun. "The sunsets here are lovely." he comments with seemingly no cue to do so whatsoever.

Though he nods softly. "That's a noble gesture. Sometimes you have to watch humanity so you can remember what you protect. Sometimes you have to watch them so it makes you feel a little bit more normal."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
"Not everyone. Some of us just keep on ticking... created to live forever... facing life is a terrible prospect when that life has no end." Rien lifts a shrug and returns the smile his way. She finishes off the first water bottle and tucks it into an... extra-dimensional space? It slips into the pocket of her jacket but there's no bulge remaining. Then again, it also doesn't seem to have GONE anywhere. Simply ceasing to exist once she's done with it. "Ahhhhhhhh, now THAT is entirely subjective. Who gets to tell me what is an irresponsible use of MY powers? What gives them the right?"

"You didn't. And you won't. I'll leave the decision ultimately to you if you want to try for it. But you also know next to nothing about me, what I've done, what I do, what I'm capable of, what I'm *willing* to do." Rien quirks a half-smile at him and shakes her head, "Humanity as a species IS pretty boring. The faster technology has advanced, the more boring it's gotten. The more people sit idly by, fretting over the things they let their corporations and governments get away with? The more boring and predictable they become."

Snorting softly, she brushes away a small smear of blood and shakes her head, "Some beings are truly immortal. Just because you haven't met them doesn't mean they don't exist." Looking back out over the horizon, she nods, "There's few sunsets that can compare with the open plains, the heat waves, the colors... it's one of the reasons I enjoy coming out here." Glancing back to him, she shakes her head, "I'm not normal. There is nothing about my existence that's 'normal'. Why would I want to pretend otherwise?"

Franklin Richards has posed:
"What gives you the right to tell others that their actions are wrong and irresponsible? You can own a gun and have knowledge of hunting, but if you use it for greed and harvesting while leaving the rest of the poor creature to rot, is that not irresponsible and wrong? Subjectiveness is it's own crutch, when you look at it a certain way." Franklin seems to chuckle. "I think the beauty of life is that it inevitably ends. It gives life meaning, to know days are numbered and eventually, as all things end, as all suns ignite to life, they eventually burn out."

Though she tells him he didn't and won't be hearing a denial of the possibility, Franklin can't help but give her a little smile. "Well then-" and he stands up, before he turns to approach her, taking a moment to lean not too far away from her, but testing the limit of personal space to be certain as he looks her in the eyes, the young man noticeably taller than her.

"We thankfully have the entirety of the continent and our now mutual friend George has moved to his own devices. Besides, isn't that the point of romantic entanglements? To learn of someone else, to take risks, to discover compatability? Who knows, in a month, we might be willing to die for one another." Franklin tells her with a little smile, even as he doesn't shy from her gaze.

He will not deny she's the most beautiful woman he's ever seen.

"You could see it as boring. Or you could see the limitless potential for growth. Add in how other species, alien and unknown, have integrated so easily with human society, I'd say we can be fairly unpredictable.

"Less immortal and more constant. Some things are concepts, but like all concepts, they variate and simply become something different...sometimes they're replaced entirely."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
"I'm not telling them their actions are wrong or irresponsible. I'm showing them that there are consequences to their actions. I don't generally speak to them at all. Ruins the whole 'scaring the everliving shit out of them' part." Rien lifts a small shrug, then chuckles. "Besides, they don't all survive. Some of them learn the folly of their actions before they make it back to civilization. It's up to them, their resourcefulness, their will to survive." Lifting a brow at him, she shrugs, "Some of us don't get an end. We just.. keep on existing."

He approaches and she doesn't budge, head tilting to look up at him, meeting his gaze levelly, that small smile still playing on her lips. Rien doesn't stop him from leaning in, waiting to see if he's going to make his move or if he's simply testing her own resolve. "And if I'm already romantically entangled? What then? Will you continue pursuit? How long do you think you'll live, Franklin? Another 60 years? 80? I don't really do flings. What happens when you age and I don't? Are you prepared for that? Should you expect me to stay with you through that? To watch you age and die while I keep on going?"

She lets out a breath and looks at him, "Easily? Are you making that judgment for them? Mutants are *from* humanity, and they aren't even fully integrated, and certainly not easily. Aliens... tell me an alien species that is living freely in this world in human society AS an alien? The Kryptonians? You really think Superman is just spending all day every day living as a Kryptonian? Is there an apartment under the name Superman? Or is he hiding? Is he living as a human because aliens *can't* live as themselves in this world? I would say humanity is pretty damn predictable. Somethine new.. something with abilities, powers, beyond what they have... fear it, hate it, destroy it. Or worse... capture it. Study it. Make it fight for basic *human* rights." Rien shakes her head, "There's a reason that I live outside of humanity."

Lifting a brow at him, a small smile curves her lips, "Shall I show you the error of that statement?"

Franklin Richards has posed:
"Yet for the consequences to be so severe as a scaring, a maiming, or even a killing, tells you everything you need to know, doesn't it? If their actions were not wrong in your sight or in the sight of others or ultimately harmful to nature, you would simply leave them be. I suspect your soul is more of a noble one." Franklin seems to chuckle then. "You could show me the endless bounds of Eternity and I would tell you that even Eternity began somewhere and no matter how many times it moves through the ring, eventually, it will end. At the end of the day, I look upon you, and I see very much myself: capable of great, tremendous, terrifying things...but still flesh and bone. Besides, what is death besides another state of matter, what is the end if not a new beginning?"

Franklin shrugs ever so slightly, though he notices that little smile still on her lips, even as he's starting to lean in. "If you're already romantically entangled, I imagine you would have told me by now." Franklin might not be open to polyamory, but at the same time, he might be. He's given no such indication for or against. "and for all I know, we all die tomorrow. Besides, I don't recall placing a ring on your finger. If you wish to depart from me or if we don't work, then why would I force you to endure?" Franklin asks her. "I'm not one for flings either." he was charmed by her, enamored, one might suspect, by her mind and her thinking. "So I will ultimately leave that choice with you. But, I'm not one to waste my time or anyone else's."

"Mutants, Kryptonians, Eternals, Deviants, Angels, Demons, Vampires, Werewolves, Martians, Atlanteans, Viltrumites...shall I say more? Shall I say less? Perhaps they simply like the way humans live, perhaps they make their own adjustments or live separate from them in entirety. Perhaps, in the infinity of social ecology, we look at one another and choose something to fear and something to praise...humans, much like many other species, simply fear what they fail to understand. Take the Martians for example - what separates the Green from the White other than fear of each other's capabilities? Though few species are as greedy as humanity, many species force others to earn their place among their society, often going to ridiculous lengths to do so."

He looks upon her then. "Many questions to ask yourself."

She deigns to show him the error of his statement. "Shall I show you the truth of it? Or shall we debate until the end and/or renewal and/or constantation of the world?" Yet despite all of this debate, he doesn't seem to shy from her. He stays close, he stays leaning. What is her answer?

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
"I don't claim that my personal judgment is the right or correct one. It's mine, that does not make it right or wrong in the overall, and I cannot make judgments based on a morality scale that I don't share. I can only do what I feel is right for me. If that means that what I do helps others, so be it. If that means that what I do hurts others, then so be it. I will not spend an eternity worrying about if my actions are doing more harm than good to a people that I will outlive by many, many, many years." Rien shakes her head and murmurs, "There are worse things than death. But what occurs after death isn't something I'm familiar with. I couldn't tell you."

Lifting a hand to press gently against his chest, she murmurs, "I am already romantically entangled with someone. As I said, I'm not someome you would want to get involved with. I enjoy dangerous games, and dangerous people." That smile turns a little wry, "You have potential, Franklin. But you are young and idealistic. You want to see the best in things. And that's not the world I live in." Rien doesn't move, she doesn't even stop him from leaning in closer, she just watches him. "The decision isn't one I have to make. I have a partner, Vlad Tepes."

Letting out a breath, Rien sidesteps him finally, turning and waving a hand, bringing up a small scrying potal. Hell. At least, one of them. An imagine of a magical cage housing two identical demons, eternally fighting one another, and the door to that cage held closed by two stone statues. One looks amazingly like Wolverine. The other is a woman with whom Rien shares features. "That is what's left of my home. My time. In this time's version of Hell. Those two creatures? Are two versions of the same demon. The Truth. It cannot die, it cannot be killed. It can only be banished for a time. The one from my time... that is the reason I exist. As a tool. A living, breathing, immortal weapon to fight that demon. Those statues... are my parents. Spending eternity as stone to keep the two demons from getting free." She closes the window and sighs softly.

"I am not the woman you think I am. I am flattered you think so highly of me... but that isn't me." Rien turns to look at him once more, "I am Reine du Rien, the Queen of Nothing. Patroned by an Elder God. The product of magic and mutant. A legacy. In another time, another place, I might well have taken you up on your offer. But not here, and not now."

Franklin Richards has posed:
Answer received.

Though in his advance, he's learned a great many things about Rien. She is pacted to an eldritch being and she has a partner in Vlad Dracula Tepes, a being most often seen on the dark side of history. Her entanglements tells him that perhaps she should not be trusted, or perhaps she should be trusted with little. In a way, his actions were successful: he was deeply curious about the woman and now that she has unveiled a deeper piece of herself as she shows him that window into a hellscape that was her world, an image of perhaps what sshe serves and whom she is against.

There's a moment of silence then as Franklin takes a step back away from her so she might have room to move, his hands remaining at his side. "It cannot be killed or you simply have given up on discovering a 'how'?" he looks upon her then, before looking upon the stone. "Your right. It's a world you lived in. Past tense." He turns to look upon her.

"This is a different world. You have crossed a universe, placed through the boundaries between space and time to a world similar but altogether different. A different time. A different reality. But that's the funny thing about reality, it so very often changes. And with change...comes hope." For that was Franklin's true power: reality. The kind that even Elder Gods fear and the stuff of cosmic myth.

...But it is chained. Restricted. Limited. "But...I am sorry for those you have lost. It is a noble sacrifice they have made to protect you and as many as possible."

He lifts his hand. "The offer is no more. I have accomplished what I wished to: to learn more of you and the heart behind what you do. I have caught a glimpse of it and I am satisfied."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Canting her head towards him, Rien chuckles softly, "Have you? Are you certain?" Shaking her head, she steps back from him and onto the dirt of the street, watching him with a faint smile, "You have no idea how I feel about my parents. About the demons. About any of it. You assume you know me from the cherry-picked pieces I've shown you. You assume based on the name of my lover." She lifts a small shrug, "You assume who and what I am based on snippets. Details out of context. And a sad story." Half-turning, she waves a hand, opening a portal and glancing back to Franklin, "I'm not so easily pigeon-holed, Franklin Richards. Something I suspect you'll learn as you get older."

Winking, she steps through the portal, letting it wink closed behind her. Was it all a ploy? A scam? Or is she still hiding?

Maybe he'll find out.. some day.