2604/One if By Land

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One if By Land
Date of Scene: 24 July 2020
Location: Salem Center
Synopsis: The King of Atlantis aggressively recruits the help of a mutant translator and his companions.
Cast of Characters: Namor, Douglas Ramsey, Ruth Aldine, Julio Richter, Greer Grant




Namor has posed:
Late afternoon in Salem Center, New York near the end of summer is, in the words of Catherine K. on Yelp, a beautiful assault of color and sweet smells mingling with a light chorus of conversation and activity. The sunlight hasn't yet failed, but it's achieved that sort of dream-like quality of hanging just on the verge of twilight. Families duck into restaurants while laughing over a shared joke, gaggles of teenagers travel store to store, most window shopping but a few leaving with half-full bags and smiles. All in all, it combines into a very peaceful visage of Small Town America.

At least for now.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug is -- shopping. Turns out the mutant is a little bit of a clothes-horse. "So." He says, to someone, who might be someone accompanying him or some random person, "What do you think?" He holds one hawaiian shirt in front of him, this one predominantly blue-green. "This one?" Then he holds another one, predominantly red-yellow with a sunset, in front of him. "Or this one." He switches back. "This one?" And then back again, "Orrrrrrrr this one?"

Ruth Aldine has posed:
To play the part of a normal, passing looking person. Ruth had to at least adjust her sense of style. Regular clothes, a bit bummy, but jeans and a T-shirt works. She also has a walking stick, one that she had to learn how to use when out in public, especially alone. And a pair of dark sunglasses that extends the plastic to cover the sides of her eyes in case someone decided to take a peek. Almost as if she had came from having her eyes dialated, when in reality, there was nothing there.

She wasn't too close to Doug, although if anyone really looked in their direction they would think that he was entertaining the blind girl. His showing of clothes to fit his style, had her head tilted..

"You will decide not to buy either because, sorry, you will realize how terrible you look. People will whisper and laugh when you leave the room. Thank you."

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio Richter might not have a job -- might be legally constrained from getting one, in fact -- but you don't need an income to shop. A few months ago, that might have meant shoplifting granola bars from gas stations, but he's a new mutant now (both in the metaphysical sense and on the actual group roster). These days, it means tagging along on Doug's shopping trip in the hopes that he can persuade him to duck into the music store and let Julio fruitlessly ogle drum kits.

"Ruth's right," Julio tells Doug, with a grim look of disapproval. "I know you wouldn't think of her for fashion advice, but she really nailed it. You look like a gringo on vacation who keeps talking about how he's going to move here when he retires because everything's so affordable." Julio himself is just wearing a pair of old khaki shorts and an light blue button-up shirt with unnecessarily colorful epaulets.

Greer Grant has posed:
    Being an Avenger is much more work than most people would admit, or even consider. You have to go all around sometimes for the most useless things, especially when you're not one of the A-Team. Yeah. Do you know how demoralizing it can be to have everyone you bump into go 'HEY! Don't I know you?' And then you have to explain that 'yes, you are an avenger. No. You are the only one around.' It becomes a drain on you emotionally and eventually one day you snap at some poor kid just wanting Captain America's autograph and it just happens to be you got gum in your hair and it's not his fault, but it's been a hell of a day and you aren't having it.

    "Yes, I am an Avenger, thanks for remembering." Tigra says to a passerby and her stroller with the young girl dressed up like Wonder Woman. The striped avenger lifts her clawed fingers to the side of her head and wiggles them at the girl trying to act polite and friendly before the mother starts to push away from the barely dressed tiger-woman. "Y'all have a nice day." Tigra says as she leans back against the bench, thankful her tail fits through the slats on the back and she spreads her arms wide, the other hand holding a hot dog with a bite taken out of it.

    Tigra takes a deep breath through her nose and appreciates the idea to get out of down town for a while, if at least for the clean air.

Namor has posed:
As the afternoon winds on, as shoppers continue their merry march from store to store, and as restaurant-goers pass each other on their way in and out of their favorite eateries, the quiet calm is slowly intruded upon. It's hardly noticeable at first, except to those who are particularly observant. A noise off in the distance, quiet at first but building insidiously in volume as it gets closer in the exact right way to slip effortlessly into the subconscious and go unnoticed. Only when it builds to the point of a recognizable tone does it gain any acknowledgement from the pedestrians going about their business.

It is, unmistakably, the sound of a long train of angry drivers repeatedly leaning on their horns.

Slowly, one by one, people stop to gawk as the spectacle comes into view. Cars peel in and out of an impromptu parade, taking abrupt turn-offs or speeding up to pass the source of their irritation, usually with a few choice words and a middle finger or two. Seemingly oblivious to it all is a man who can only be described as otherworldly. Sharply pointed ears, dark hair, bare-footed, and bare to the waist as he strides imperiously down the middle of the road. He wears only the legs of a suit of black armor, and clutched in his fist is a golden trident, his eyes casting about from individual to individual as Namor, King of Atlantis, makes his way into the quaint little shopping district.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Ogling the drum sets is on the itinerary. Doug looks momentarily taken aback - and then he says, "...But that's exactly the look I was going for! It's meant to be *ironic*, guys." He says. Still, he ends up putting them back, and he gets a couple of button-downs and a sleeveless sweater. "Fall's coming." He says to the two of them. "Oh, hey - let me get you two a couple of gifts for coming out with me today!"

...Which is how Ruth and Julio end up with Lila Cheney/Joan Jett 'Nasty Women' tour T-Shirts of their very own. "Lila Cheney used to date Sam, you know. Nice lady. Will steal *everything* out of the dressing room that isn't nailed down. I once saw her take a table. Where are we going next, Ruth?" He opens the door for them, and then blinks. "Tigra, right? Cool!"

Then he blinks, taken aback. "Uh... wow. Do you think Namor isn't aware he's blocking traffic or he's well-aware and he's doing it to piss people off?"

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Vindicated.

Though, Ruth never really is. It is usually what is, and what isn't. Often times a maybe. But as the shirts were put back, there was a little bit of relaxation taken. Ruth leans against her cane, hands near the top, chin pressed against the blunt edge as she waits for them to move on. The slow building sounds of angry traffic catches her attention, but she makes no move for it until the others do, keeping up the guise was one of the things that she perfected at. But with these two? She would be able to speak in a low tone.

"Someones coming." If they heard her or not? Eh! The purchased gifts were not handled by Ruth, keeping hold of her cane, making sure to stay away from Doug and Julio as she swishes it back and forth upon the ground.

"Julio will be disappointed to know that we will not see music today." Was Ruth's reply, the open air causing her hair to flutter a little, Doug's attention flitting here and there, yet enough for her to keep up with.

"Who?" Yes, Ruth didn't know. She didn't know Tigra, and she didn't know Namor. Thank the heavens.. she hopes.. that neither of them had supersonic hearing.. the number one thing Ruth tries to strive for in her life is to not offend.

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio comes out of the store with a shopping bag in his hand and "I don't think I understand ironic fashion" on his lips. He peers down into the bag at his and Ruth's new shirts and asks, "Like, these aren't ironic, are they? They look normal cool to me..."

The honking noise from the street gets him to look up, although he spots the feline woman on the bench directly ahead of them before the cause of the traffic obstruction. "Oh -- I saw her on TV. She does game shows, right? What is she doing around here?" Not a lot of call for TV personalities in Salem Center. Unlike the pint-sized Wonder Woman cosplayer, however, he doesn't know the Avengers roster all that well, so that connection isn't made.

Still, she's obviously not what's causing all the angry drivers, so his eyes turn to the street, and the half-naked Atlantean grand marshalling his own personal parade. Julio's jaw drops open. "¿Que mierda?"

Greer Grant has posed:
    Just about to take her second bite of street vendor hot dog, Tigra pauses, mouth open and tubefood about halfway into her mouth when she pulls it out and runs a hand through her hair, hooking it behind her ear. "Best be moving along, my tiger-senses are tingling." She says towards the woman and waves again at the child before she stands up, turning around and standing on the bench. Not the seat, but the back.

    The bikini wearing woman lifts a hand to her eyes to try and help focus her pupils towards the sounds as people in the area begin to notice as well. "Whoa." She mutters as she finally spots Namor and adjusts her bikini before walking forward and dropping off the side of the bench, her tail swishing as she moves to intercept Namor. She hears the children near by leaving the store, but asuming it's not towards her nor is she much in the mood for explaining she is in fact an Avenger. Again.

    Getting closer to Namor she holds her hands up to her mouth and shouts, "Hey, YO! Can tell you're not from around here, but get off the street!"

Namor has posed:
Namor is most definitely not from around here, but as he leads his angry, unwilling parade nearer to Tigra, he makes no attempt to clear the street. In fact, he comes to a stop as he comes parallel to the bikini-clad tiger woman. Her appearance doesn't do much to ruffle him, they have fish-people down in Atlantis, after all. It only stands to reason on land they'd have cat-people. They /do/ seem awfully preoccupied with the territorial creatures. "You," he says to Greer with all the force of a royal decree as his eyes slide away to scan up and down the street, still standing directly in the way of traffic, "I am looking for someone. A man."

He plants the butt of his trident on the ground and glares at the nearest driver in his entourage who, for the moment at least, stop leaning his full weight on the horn. "He is about this tall," Namor holds his hand near his shoulder, "Blue eyes. Wears corrective lenses. Answers to the name of Douglas. Find him and bring him to me."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"Uhhhhboy." Doug says. He looks back and forth, at Julio, and at Ruth, and then at Namor. Back and forth. Still, mama didn't raise no coward - he eyes the tines on that trident before he steps forward and adjusts his glasses. "I mean -- that might be me?" He says. 5'9", 150 pounds, hipster glasses. "I'm Doug. Er. Douglas. Douglas Ramsey. ...Er... what... can I do for you?"

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Ookay.

Living at the school; one would think that you'd have seen it all. Clearly that is not the case. Tiger women and half naked elf-men must be the new normal, while everyone blew their horns, hollared, ran and did what normal people would do, the three mutants just stood there.

"What's que mierda?" Ruth asks Julio, concerned about what was going on, but curious about what was said in Spanish. In fact, the only time she really shows any concern for Doug's well-being is when he decidedly takes a step forward, which has her reaching out to try to grasp at his elbow to tug him back.

"Sorry. Do not do it.." She wanted to say, but Doug went ahead and introduced himself under the guise of 'Mama didn't raise no punk'.. but.. 'Auntie didn't raise no fool' and Ruth speaks up a little bit louder as if she were attempting to be angry at this. "Doug, get back here! Thank you!"

To enforce this, each word as emphasized by the hard smacking of her cane against the ground.

Julio Richter has posed:
And now the half-naked man and the furry woman in her bikini are having a confrontation in the middle of the street. It's not often that Julio feels overdressed, but there's a thirst time for everything. FIRST! He definitely just thought 'first' right then. Next paragraph!

"'Douglas'?" he mutters, echoing Namor but also leaning toward and addressing the mutant in question. "If you hired un estriptisto for this shopping trip, um, I appreciate the support? But now would be a good time to admit it, before he gets run over." Or put on a game show? Bless him, the boy still hasn't figured out Tigra's role in all this.

Once Doug actually goes to join the group in the street, Julio winces, considering his suspicions confirmed, and turns to Ruth with an apologetic grimace -- for all the good facial expressions do her. "OK... so... this is going to be awkward," he warns the clairvoyant, because he's definitely at the top of his game this afternoon. Her question, at least, is easy to answer: "Sort of 'what the hell,' but in Spanish."

It isn't until she finishes with an insistent, cane-tapping warning that he finally realizes that something might be dangerously amiss here; he's learning from experience that it doesn't pay to ignore direct warnings from this particular mutant. "Wait, what's wrong?" he says, turning to stare more intently at the confrontation in the road.

Greer Grant has posed:
    Tigra looks over her shoulder as Namor addresses her, expecting to find another woman behind her but she doesn't and then turns back to look at Namor and gets a serious pout on her face. "Hey, c'mon now. I wasn't being rude, you don't have to be either." The woman says with a huff as she steps out into the street closer to Namor and then she hears a kid back near where she was and frowns deeply, pressing her hand into the bridge of her nose, baring her teeth at no one before she resets herself.

    "Can you come get your stupid sexy uncle out of the street, Doug?" The Tiger says as she motions towards Douglass and then over to Namor, "Please, we don't want you to get run over or hurt, or ... anyone else hurt."

Namor has posed:
Namor's eyes simply narrow slightly at the accusation that he was rude and opens his mouth. He draws breath, undoubtedly to inform Tigra exactly who he is, and why in fact it was the height of /honor/ that he chose to speak to her of all the individuals on the street, but then Doug comes forward and it halts whatever explanation was forthcoming. When Tigra continues to try and coax him from the street, he waves a hand imperiously but relents and clears the road, much to the approval of the drivers who promptly take advantage of the situation by accelerating rapidly past the small group.

"Douglas Ramsey," Namor calls as he approaches, glancing to make sure his impromptu land-dweller welcoming delegation (Tigra) is following along, "Collect your things. Namor, King of Atlantis, has need of you." The last he says a bit broadly, his gaze flicking back to Greer since he wasn't able to properly inform her of who he was a moment ago. "Are these your attendants?" he asks, gesturing lazily with the head of his trident towards Ruth and Julio, "If so, collect your master's belongings. Quickly. I will not be left waiting."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug opens his mouth to say something. And then he closes it with a snap -- and then he looks back over his shoulder at Ruth and Julio and says, out of the corner of his mouth, "I've done my reading, and I'm pretty sure he's not going to take 'no' for an answer. But he's not likely to hurt us. Actually he'd be kind of insulted if anyone did - the Sub-Mariner's reaction to insults is, um. ...Unsubtle. So um. Don't worry. I got this."

"Well." Doug says, "I guess you could call them my companions. So - where are we going, your Majesty? And um. I'm very flattered. And I'm *sure* that questions are irrelevant at this point in time but -- why me?" He taps his fingertips together, and blinks behind his glasses, owlishly.

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Well. He did it. He went and answered the call by ..just existing! Julio's question allows her to give a moments pause, the cane now tilted upright so that both fingers can grip the handle. What would happen? "A lifetime of irritation and hardship." Ruth whispers. Loudly.

Her head tilts to the side as she hears Namor and possibly Tigra nearing, her jaw tense enough to show the strain near her temples, her face turning a little bit beet red as she steps a little bit more behind Doug and Julio.

At least Doug had a handle on things, so far.. and since Julio and Ruth were servants or possibly companions, would they be going with as well? That question required sleep to be answered, or a reach out once again to try to grab the bottom of Doug's shirt to try to force the future out that way..

Julio Richter has posed:
Hands not quite at his sides, but not held high enough to threaten, Julio watches warily as Doug's 'stupid sexy uncle' joins them in the not-for-cars part of the street, allowing the pent-up traffic to start flying by again. The Latino youth's expression drops into a glower of extreme annoyance as he's referred to as an 'attendant' and Doug his 'master.'

"Ruth," he asks tersely, "do you think I'd get away with it if I dropped His Majesty into a crevasse?" It probably goes without saying that Namor's honorific is delivered with flowery sarcasm. "That might get the 'no' across."

Greer Grant has posed:
    Tigra follows, cautiously, the fur on her back and down to her tail are puffed and raised, she's certainly suspicious of the man looking for a kid. Kids. ****

    "Whoa whoa whoa..." Tigra says, as she moves quickly to put herself between Julio and Namor. She's got her back to Julio and Ruth and Doug to the side, "Hey, you notice the naked man walking though the street with a TRIDENT?! Maybe don't threaten someone, yeah?" Tigra says to the younger man before she looks to Namor and puts her hands up, but doesn't touch, "Hey, he's young, and brash, lets calm down, no need to retaliate." Tigra is actually trying to defuse the situtaiton, again.

Namor has posed:
"He also has excellent hearing," Namor amends to the end of Douglas' briefly murmured introduction, dark eyes turning to Ruth and Julio at their additions. Still, he offers no further corrections to the statement, apparently comfortable with Doug's description of his likely response to insults. That said, he doesn't seem overly perturbed by Julio's somewhat threatening response. In fact, the King of Atlantis pauses a moment to slowly size up the mutant, his lips turning up into the faintest of grins for just a moment before he turns to Ramsey. "You have good companions, Douglas Ramsey. I might just find it amusing to trade blows with them..." He starts, pausing as Tigra places herself between the two. Silence from the King while he considers her words, his expression momentarily unreadable by anyone without the specific ability to do so. Then finally he grunts softly and waves his hand impatiently, "But not today." Namor flashes another look towards Julio that looks very much like he might have found that entertaining indeed, but instead allows the look to turn into a sweeping gesture that includes everyone -- even Tigra. "Very well, all of you be quick about it. I accept your chosen delegation. You will be welcome in Atlantis so long as Douglas Ramsey remains in my service," he claims to all of them in a tone that suggests this is a very great honor, before he looks more intently at Doug and -- for a moment -- Ruth. "I have need of your particular talents. I have it on good authority that you will be singularly adept at translating a tablet recently recovered from a time thought lost to our historians."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug gets a look on his face. "Are talking pre-cataclysm Atlantean?" He says, his eyes getting really big. "I'd -- I'd really love to see it, actually. There's so few examples of--" He glances back toward the others, and then says, "We'll... need to stop and get bathing suits. I assume you'll be able to take care of the drowning thing. Because we can't breath water... we drown."

"These sorts of things *happen*," Doug says to Julio and Ruth, only a little lamely. "You learn to just roll with them. You wind up in Atlantis, or on another planet, or in the past or the future..." He waves a hand. "Anyway, this is - Julio, my - uh - Druid. And Ruth, my uh - my blind seer. And they're both really important."

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Things were heating up. Ruth didn't get a chance to touch Doug, since it seemed that Julio's answer took prescendence (sp?). Thankfully, she didn't have to go too far, grabbing ahold of Julio's arm and taking a slight step back as Tigra moves to intervene..

And thank god she did that. The answer that she was going to give Julio was not the prettiest sort. In fact, it would be telling as to why people do not hang around Ruth, and would rather live with their minds unread and willful ignorance in tact. "Tigra is right." Is all Ruth offers up, keeping hold of Julio and stepping further back. It almost looks as if Ruth was going to make a run for it and drag -someone- with her.

"I do not want to fight you, sorry." Ruth finally pipes up. "I will die. Thank you. Many times over. I will die of humiliation of the emotions or I will die from a broken back. I will drown. Or I will be thrown. Yes." She was serious. Perhaps what was more surprising was the invitation to Atlantis, and Doug's confirmation that.. they can't breathe underwater. "I cannot swim. Sorry."

So bland. So terribly blunt and bland..

Greer Grant has posed:
    "I would look like and feel like the worst Avenger if I let you take kids from the middle of New York without at least going with you to make sure you bring them back in one piece." Tigra says towards Namor and then shoots a look over her shoulder at Julio and then towards Ruth with the 'Make sure he stays in line' kind of glare of the green catseyed woman.

    Of course the tiger-woman would love to experience Atlantis if it even is true, but there is the whole breathing thing these humans tend to do, hopefully Namor has a solution for that, as that would be an absolute deal breaker. "I will be the young one's ... um... what's the word adversary?" Stripes asks curious with a shrug of her shoulders before noding, sure that's right. It sounds right.

Namor has posed:
"I dare not say more on the surface," Namor declares as Doug asks about a more specific origin for the mysterious tablet, one hand coming up to forestall further inquiries, "I will answer all your questions when you arrive." He glances to Ruth when she refuses his offer of a future bout of fisticuffs and actually laughs, a short but full bark resounding from his chest. "A good answer, Wise Seer," he claims, bowing his head briefly in recognition of her austere title.

"You are an Avenger?" Namor asks of Tigra as she answers his summons, an eyebrow raised curiously, "It makes sense then that you were chosen as an Ambassador." He nods approvingly, then turns and addresses all four of the assembled air breathers: "You are not the first visitors to Atlantis. We have devised a solution for your limitations. Now, quickly... Collect your things and assemble on the shore." Which shore? Considering who they're dealing with, likely any shore will do. "You will be escorted safely to Atlantis by my people." With that, he begins to lift off from the ground, proving those ankle wings aren't just for show. For a moment he lingers, hovering above the ground as he regards each in turn, "Do not leave me waiting, Land Dwellers, or I will return to collect you personally." It's left unsaid, but the look he wears while he delivers his 'suggestion' implies heavily that it would not be nearly as polite.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug watches Namor rise into the air, and he rubs the back of his neck. "Okay." Doug says. "I guess - we pick up swimsuits and then - like - any shore? So if we stood next to a creek would an Atlantean troop-ship just kind of rise out of it and-" He says, "Okay." He sighs at the other two mutants. "I guess we go back in to buy bathing suits." He snaps his fingers. "I *did* see a cute pair of budgies in there in my ancestral family tartan." He glances at Tigra, and then murmurs, "...It's - complicated, ma'am. And it's not something we try to advertise to the whole world, but - well, I'll explain later."

He ducks back inside. He buys them bathing suits. His are a pair of speedos checked with a tartan pattern. Doug's playful side seems to emerge a bit with how he dresses. "I don't think he's gonna be patient enough for us to wait to go back home." He says, as he hands them out.