4351/Burying The Button

Burying The Button
Date of Scene:	09 December 2020
Location:	Undisclosed Cemetery - In Jersey
Synopsis:	Andy and Karita bury a button to allow a spirit to find peace.
Cast of Characters:	Karita Landry, Andy Katsaros

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Karita Landry has posed:
"I have like zero, ziltch, nadda idea if he was a doctor, a nurse, a nurse's assistance, a janitor, a nurse practitioner, or a complete nutcase." Karita is speaking as she's driving, the small Tesla vehicle speeds through the roadways going at the speed limit - and perhaps a tiny bit higher. "But he totally suddenly found the button, I think he had some kind of mutant power that allowed him to see through things, or maybe see into things, or maybe just some kind of pre-cog? Or, uhm, I dunno. BUT. He totally came through and found the button for Janet, so -then- I had to spend the entire day trying to find Janet's obituary. NOT EASY."

For the most part, the vibrantly dressed blonde hasn't let her passenger get a word in edge-wise. She's happened to lure him into the car on the pretense of going Christmas Shopping, but with a small detour. The detour is only just now being explained to him. "I mean, seriously. Do you even know how many Janet Smith's there are out there? Fucking TONS of them. So like, FINALLY, I found the right newspaper and all, and discovered that she died a week ago due to some unnamed disease, the article didn't say what, and so I did a bit more research, and kind of pretended to be her aunt June, and found out she was buried in a cemetery outside Jersey."

Which would be why Karita has left the city and any pretense of actually going shopping down the drain. "Sooooooooooooooooooo. Uh. Would you help me bury the button in her grave and then we can totally go shopping." She'd flutter her eyelashes and try to look cute, if her attention wasn't on driving.

Andy Katsaros has posed:
When the day started, Andy Katsaros had what some might call an open schedule - that is, he didn't have any specific places to be, classes to attend, meetings to go to or appointments to keep. So when the offer came to him to eat up a chunk of that non-spoken-for time with an excursion to participate in the ritualistic rite of annual capitalisam known as Christmas Shopping, the lanky, dark haired student couldn't think of any good reason not to accept. Of course, that was the better part of an hour and a half-dozen ZIP codes ago. Now, sitting in the passenger seat of a Tesla that's bobbing and weaving through traffic with a pace that is only slightly less rushed than the voice of the woman driving it, Andy is already starting to ponder the choice that he's made. At the beginning of Karita's story he's able to get in a few grunts of acknowledgment but as the tale gets deepr there's little room left for him to join in, the increasingly convoluted explanation to the rather lengthy detour causing him to begin thinking of all the reasons he could have (should have?) given to avoid coming along on the outing.

A day devoted to online gaming, perhaps. Maybe some binge watching. Cleaning out his refridgerator? Cataloging the paranormal group's camera and eletrical equipment, that still needs to be done... All these and more run through his head and it's just as he's remembering the advertisement that he saw recently for the TED Talks series covering the speed of air-induced evaporation for oil-based color pigments that the true reason for his veritable kidnapping comes to light. A button-burying. A button. Burying. Andy blinks a bit incredulously as the question is asked, turning to regard Karita after she asks the question. He's not angry - especially since it's pretty difficult to get mad at the girl - but he is a bit disappointed in himself for not realizing that the offer for shopping (like most things with Kari) was going to be something other than it seemed on the surface. He twists his mouth to one side, pondering his response a moment as lets the momentary silence draw out. More for the sake of just allowing there to be a bit of quiet in the car for abit rather than any deliberate effort to build any suspense or anything. Then, he finally answers with dry, deadpan delivery. "Did you bring a miniature button coffin and a tiny shovel, or do we need to pick those up along the way?" Only the barest hint of a gleam in his eye betrays the joking sentiment behind the words.

Karita Landry has posed:
Silence. Karita really, really hates silence. As Andy gives a way too long (for Kari's comfort) pause in saying anything, Karita's gaze flickers sideways at him, then back to the road. She fidgets slightly, her foot pushing down on the gas a bit, then letting up again as the speed careens way past the proper limit and then goes back to the normal one. JUST when Karita's quite sure that Andy is going to ask to go back home, or is mad, or is going to not say anything at all, and Karita's going to have to start up some kind of awkward 'uh, hello?' question, he FINALLy answers.

"The shovel and matchbox are in the trunk, along with the button." And yes, she did take Andy's comments quite literally and seriously. "Okay so, burying a button isn't quite exactly what I told you we were going to do, but I really don't want to go to a cemetery in the middle of some weird assed town in Jersey alone to bury the button. This chick is driving me NUTS, all she does is bemoan how she lost her button, the button her mom had given her a long time ago, and how she died without it, and now she's buried without it, and now that I've totally FOUND it, well, okay the guy that could be a doctor, or could be a nurse, or maybe just a quack found it. I have to go dig up her grave a bit and bury the button on top of her, then she'll be at peace and stop moaning on and on in my ear at three o'clock in the morning. Honestly; I feel totally cursed since the Halloween maze with Marly. EVERY time I try to get a good nights sleep, it's like some NEW spirit comes along and.. Oh shit, that's the turn off."

With a screech of tires, Karita's spinning the Tesla to the right, going straight down a very bumpy and narrow roadway. As the car bumps, jars, thumps, and wriggles its way towards a very dark and foreboding cemetery, Karita finishes with. "Sooo... it's never dull, right?"

Andy Katsaros has posed:
Of COURSE she's already got a matchbox for this mystery button that, for whatever reason, needs to buried. In a cemetery. Fighting the urge to simultaneously break into a huge grin and also roll his eyes upwards, it's all Andy can do to reach his hand up to his face, long fingers and thumb rubbing over his cheekbones as the bulk of his hand hastily does its best to hide his features all together, a quick turn to glance out the passenger window helping to complete the effort. He clears his throat, then, collecting himself as he turns back to Kari with an approximation of a straight face. "No, it's not at all what-" he tries to begin with, though is summarily left in Kari's verbal dust as she chatters on. He tries to no avail to continue to offer responses to what she says - "I wouldn't want to go alone to anywhere in Jer--" "Just where was this doctor anyways and how did---" "Wait, we have to dig all the way down to someone's casket?" "Hey, the maze wasn't my idea, I--" and then he's completely about to just give up when the road is nearly missed and the Tesla just about goes up on two wheels given the angle and the speed of the turn Kari makes.

"WHOAH, Watch the road, watch the road!!" Andy's legs extend as far as they can under the glove compartment, feet pressing against the floorboard as if attempting to slam on a brake pedal that, sadly, doesn't exist on his side of the car. "You're driving a Tesla, not a light cycle!" Peeling his right arm off the ceiling of the car, Andy takes a few deep breaths once the vehicle's trajectory straightens out again, letting out a long exhale of relief afterwards. "Geez, how far out in the boonies is this cemetery?" he remarks idly then, before he just gives Kari a lopsided grin in response to her missive. "I don't think anyone would ever make that accusation, no," he answers, still smiling. "But, you know, scaling it back to only mildly unpredictable every so often might be okay..."

Karita Landry has posed:
The car continues down the narrow road until finally a large, wrought iron fence can be seen in the distance. Large letters over the fence read 'Riverside Cemetery', though the 'y' is currently slightly askew and about ready to fall off entirely. Karita pulls the car to a stop in front of the gates leading into the cemetery, and casts her gaze across Andy towards the darkness beyond. The gates are currently locked tight with a large metal chain and padlock, the blonde idly leans across Andy's lanky form to catch a better look at the contraption. "Hn, I think the bolt cutters I brought will work on that thickness." Her long, blonde braid idly brushes against Andy's nose and chin, before Karita pulls herself back up offering a cheeky grin to the young man as she does so.

"You'd be bored with only mildly unpredictable, and thanks for not minding that I totally kidnapped you for this." A quick peck on Andy's cheek is given before Karita opens the car door and heads out. Rustling can be heard from the back of the car as a shovel, bolt cutters, and a couple flashlights emerge from the back.

"I don't see anyone about, which isn't that odd, usually cemeteries are very quiet, consecrated ground and all that. ...Unless bad things happened in them, then it's a different case." And Karita lets a shiver run down her spine at that, before the flashlight in her hand turns on.

Andy Katsaros has posed:
As the graveyard comes into view, Andy's right eyebrow arches upwards at the state of the grounds. As the saying goes, the place seems like it's straight out of central casting - or whatever the equivalent is for locations instead of people. "Are you sure this lady only died a week ago? This place looks like it hasn't seen any funerals in fifty years..." As the car comes to a stop, Andy turns to get a better look at the gates as well, turning back to speak to Kari only to find the blonde's face almost directly along side his own as she regards the chain and lock. A bit of warmth floods to Andy's cheeks at the closeness and the way her hair tickles the skin of nose, though he does his best to play it cool as he responds to the somewhat impish mention of the bolt-cutters. "Right, because nothing bad ever happened to college kids who forcibly trespassed onto a cemetery when it was closed..." The sardonic tone is accompanied by a quirk of Andy's mouth, though the expression is all but obliterated to one of surprise at the quick peck on his cheek, effectively silencing the student while Kari gathers all of her B&E gear from the back of teh car.

After taking a moment, Andy pulls himself out of the passenger seat, offering to carry whatever's heaviest that's been harvested from the Tesla. As he does so, he can't help but remark, "What, no grappling hook and harpoon gun?" Another grin punctuates the comment, though the levity is somewhat lessened by the explanation of how cemeteries are or aren't populated by actual spirits of the dead. Andy nods, hoisting the shovel in one hand and the second flashlight in the other, thumb flicking over the on switch to send a beam of illumination lancing forth from it at roughly the same time as Kari's. "Well. Not to be cavalier, but isn't that pretty much the case for most places? Being, uh, 'active' if bad things happened there, that is," he clarifies. He then looks towards the gates again then, suddenly wondering. "Does this June person even know where her gravesite is? We're not going to have to go aisle by aisle across the whole cemetery, are we?"

Karita Landry has posed:
"That's why I have you along." Karita answers in response to the 'bad things never happen'. Handing the shovel over to Andy, Karita moves towards the gate, idly testing to see just how far the gate will swing open, noting that there is actually plenty of room for both of them to squeeze through, the bolt cutters are soon back in the car, as Kari squeezes through the gate and holds them open for Andy to squeeze through as well.

In a quick jog at this point, knowing that (or at least hoping that) Andy will keep up with her, Karita's talking as she's going. "That's part of the research I did today, I'm totally on this, Andy. Really. Her grave is four aisles down the middle and sixteen graves over to the right. I guess people do still get buried here, those that don't have a lot of money." There's a shrug to Kari's shoulders as she moves along the grave stone makers, up four 'grave aisles', and begins moving along to the right, her flashlight pointing to each grave, counting as she goes.

"Four.. five.. She's actually not here right now, I think this is mostly a formality, once she found the button that was lost, I haven't really seen or spoken to her since. But a promise is a promise.."

"Ten.. eleven..." And Karita continues to count as she moves along the ground and headstones until finally a still fresh grave without a headstone appears, leaving Karita to shine her flashlight onto the ground there. "And sixteen. This is it. We don't have to dig down all the way to the casket, but enough that it wont get exposed due to weather or such."

Karita's gaze draws towards Andy then, noting with a grin. "So uh, did you want to start digging?"

Andy Katsaros has posed:
"Uh-huh," is Andy's not-very-convinced reply to Kari's reasoning for bringing him along. He maintains the uneven curl at the side of his mouth, the corner turned downwards just a bit, though the expression does lighten when it's clear that the bolt cutters won't need to be used. At least they can only get charged for trespassing at this point and not destruction of property. Of course, they *are* planning on digging up a grave pretty soon too, so... There's that.

Slipping through the gate behind Kari, Andy easily keeps up with the shorter woman, his long legs making it so that he barely needs to jog to keep up with her hurried pace. "Well, that's good then..." he answers, happy that they at least know where they're headed. And then - the news that the spirit isn't even with them at this point. Andy blinks, turning his head to face Kari directly. "Wait - she's already passed on when you found the button, and we're *still* out here in some cemetery in the middle of nowhere about to dig up a fresh grave?" He grumbles a bit in acknowledgement about keeping promises, but though can't help shake his head a little ruefully. "At least we don't need to go six feet down.." Which, is a relief as he was fully concerned that the button would need to directly on - if not *in* - the coffin.

Then, as Kari asks if he wants to start digging, Andy glances to the shovel in his hand as if he'd forgotten that he was carrying it, quirking his lips together again. "*This* is why you brought me along," he clarifies then, referring to Kari's earlier statement with rueful amusement. He hands his flashlight over to her before spearing the shovel into the fresh earth of the grave then, one hand on the top of the shovel and the other along the shaft as he presses his heel into the back of the shovel blade to force it deeper into the ground. "Slave labor." He pries forth a chunk of dirt depositing it towards the end of the small mound, before repeating the process. He continues to talk as he does so, teasing and kidding as he does so. "You should be ashamed of yourself, playing the damself in distress just to get out of some manual work..."

Karita Landry has posed:
"I'm shocked, /shocked/ you would think I of all people would just bring you along for digging." Karita, in return, teases back, her eyelashes fluttering upwards at Andy. (Though the effect is lost considering the darkness of the night.) "I also needed you to cut the bolts, if we needed." And there is the honest truth, brought forth in a teasing, quip.

Keeping the flashlight on the grave, Karita's gaze flickers around the cemetery, casting a glance to and fro as she does so. When everything is still quite normal, Karita's gaze returns to Andy's superb manuel labor. "Buuuut - yeah. She disappeared once the button was found, haven't seen her since." A shrug, and Karita's free hand pulls lose the small matchbox, shaking it a bit to make sure the button is still securely inside.

After Andy has dug a deep enough hole, Karita kneels carefully down, placing the matchbox into the dirt, before moving her gloved fingers around the mud, pushing it in tightly and in a packed manner.

After the dirt has been returned overtop the grave, Karita stands upwards, moving her flashlight back towards the direction of her car. "Seriously, Andy, thanks for coming with me and helping, I -could- have done this myself, but it's a lot more fun when something like this is shared."

Andy Katsaros has posed:
"And the truth comes out!" Andy jibes back, still grinning as he moves shovel-ful after shovel-ful of dirt into a small pile next to the growing hole that he's digging. "First it's lugging around the electrical equipment, then it's digging ditches... My vast knowledge of all things metaphysical is being wasted in favor of brute force I tell you. A travesty!" He hardly seems perturbed though, finishing the hole with a fair amount of aplomb, leaning on the shovel as he smiles at Karita.

He watches then as the blonde kneels down to place the small button-protecting box into the loose dirt and mud, this time being the one that feels the need to break the silence despite the strange reverence of the moment. "Um... speaking of metaphysics and all that, did you want me to quote any scripture or say anything, uh.. ceremonial? I mean... There's not really anything applicable for, you know, putting a button to rest in the earth in /any/ of the religions I'm familiar with, but..." He trails off then, self-censure coming into play before Kari even has the opportunity to advise him one way or the other. And then the dirt's all back in place, the button buried, and Kari's standing next to him again, the two of them heading back towards the car with Kari making her gratitude known.

"You're about the only person I know who would consider sneaking into a nearly abandoned cemetery to bury a button, of all things, fun," Andy quips back to her, grinning. He pushes his elbow out to nudge her playfully as they walk towards her car, continuing in a slightly more serious tone. "But you know, any time you need me, Kari. You don't need to kidnap me under the pretense of Christmas shopping or a Starbucks run or whatever. Next time you need to cremate a necktie or give a pair of socks a Viking send off or whatever, I'm down for that." He turns to offer the blonde a warm smile, then adds as they continue on through the cemetery, "But. If you *did* want to buy me some Starbucks, I certainly wouldn't be opposed...."