6734/Summertime Splashness

Summertime Splashness
Date of Scene:	28 June 2021
Location:	Central Park
Synopsis:	Crabs, friends, and homesickness.
Cast of Characters:	Meggan Puceanu, Madison Evans

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Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Nowhere is better in the summer than somewhere shaded, green, or wet. In the case of Central Park, all three apply. Meggan stands up to her calves in one of the ornamental pools, albeit one that's probably much safer to swim or boat in than others. For one, kids and people young at heart splash around readily. A couple intrepid dogs long to splash through the shallows but leashes keep them in check. One however eats an pup pop from a nearby food truck with his owner none the wiser, and he keeps making happy soulful eyes at the blonde English girl.

With a broad-brimmed hat and a breezy sundress, she stands out perhaps to people who follow social media or care about youth activism--being one of the most notable climate activists online will do that. Today though, she isn't saving parks against development or calling for the shutdown of a coal power plant. Instead she is laughing, watching a startled fish wander around her ankle, darting away from a powered sailboat chasing after an electric speedboat toy of some kind.

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Geeze, mom, I have a cellphone I'll be fiiiiiine," a teenage girl with mousy brown hair remarks - waving the phone in the air as she makes her way apart from her mother. Madison bounces her way towards the pool - stopping at its edge as she looks into the water. She's at that awkward age where part of her wants to dive in, and splash, and have fun - and part of her frets about acting like a 'little kid.' ...it does look fun, though.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Alas, no cop around to warn that Central Park in broad daylight is dangerous! The waving phone and familiar warning cause the young woman to look over her shoulder, face riveted by innocuous curiosity. Madison's escape from a parent gets a bright grin, and she moves aside. "It's quite warm," she adds, accent unspeakably British. Not the fancy BBC announcer voice, more melodic thanks to infusions from Ireland - yes it's not Britain, Wales, and Scotland with probably a dash of Manx in there just to even things up. "Ai, that wake is such a nuisance!" Sounding more amused by the sailboat careening precipitously toward them than not, she winks to the teenager and crosses the wavelets building up, sending a fewer of the smaller kids into the shallows while a fish jets on.

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Well. I'd rather it was cool - than warm! It's a hot day," Madison remarks. Which, ultimately, is what decides it for her. The girl kicks off her shoes and peels off her socks - stepping into the water and letting out a sigh of relief. She shuffles her feet - and gives a few small splashes before letting out a surprised sound. "Is that a real //fish//? In Central Park? I thought-" What, that animals couldn't live in New York City? "Uhh, I mean...
    "Gosh, are you from England? I've never been. It must be nice, though. You know, my mom has our geneology traced all the way back to Eleanor of Aquitaine, through 'Prince John the Phony King of England,'" the last part she sing-songs out to the tune from the animated Disney Robin Hood movie. "Which you'd think'd make me royalty, but apparently doesn't. So unfair."

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Meggan's statement isn't entirely accurate. The water is warm to her, but then icebergs floating by would constitute 'warm' after the initial moment to even define it as chilly. The temperature is not horrendously bath-like, refreshing enough to warrant splashing around and people wading in their shorts and rolled up pants. Her dress is hitched up to avoid getting too soaked but it doesn't bother her in the least.

"It's a fish!" she agrees, laughing. "I never expected to find the like here either. Really quite friendly chap, he came right up to say hullo." So he did, though a flick of his tail sends the fish darting away from the little boats carving up the water. "I am English," she answers Madison with a smile, gesturing. "Up from the northwest side, the Lake District. Not exactly chockful of big cities but quite pretty."

Her laugh wells up, golden and sunny. "Oh, going back to Eleanor would make you from France too. Or what's now France. She was a total firecracker, that one. I learned about her a bit, being related to her is an honour! Royalty or not."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Yeah! She owned half of France, but married the English King, and there were all these wars and stuff - and she ended up locked up in the tower," does Madison think it was the Tower of London, which wasn't finished until after her death? Probably! "She sure sounds interesting. If I could time travel, I'd want to meet her." She girl grins at the woman - then turns her attention back to following the fish with her gaze.
    "I'd like to visit England sometime. I bet that'd be fun. Are you just visiting New York on vacation or something?"

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
"She owned half of France, made a Crusade, and when the French king went bad, she had Henry and wouldn't be gainsaid," Meggan answers in a laughing singsong, though not at all teasing. "She had such a sad life near the end bit -- all that about being locked up because she was too strong willed? Something like that. All those children and none came to get her out until the end. Richard the Lion-hearted sure liked her though. I'd like to hear her opinions on a great many things too!"

The fascinated sigh from her is soft and she raises her hand to keep her hat from blowing away. "I live over on this side now. I'm Meggan, by the way. Go to Columbia so it keeps me here."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Madison," the girl supplies readily. "I go to Happy Harbor. Which I think is..." She turns a full circle - and finally points in a direction. "Over there. I think." Is she right? No. She's pretty far off - but she tried.
    "Do you like it here?" she asks curiously. And then - after a momentary hesitation, "Do you - you know - miss your home?" she asks quietly. Is there something sad, and a bit lonely in her gaze? Maybe it's explained by the subtle differences between an East Coast and West Coast accent - Madison's from California.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
"Happy Harbour's in Staten Island?" Meggan guesses, trying to place where the school might be in relation to absolutely everything else. "I heard about it in the news. Or is it somewhere in the area of Queens? New York is so big, like a country to itself. I'm not very good yet with all the different spots. You can name some of those neighbourhoods and it might as well be in Greek to me."

She doesn't have any issue announcing that ignorance to Madison, either, smiling to the girl as she reaches down and splashes her forearms with the water. Beads gather like glittering crystals. "Do I miss it? Oh, loads. All the time, especially when it's boiling and humid. I long for the greener woods and walking along the shoreline." The softening smile matches those intensely leaf-green eyes losing a little focus. "But we can be far away from home and still feel it close in our hearts. Or find things here that are just as good."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Oh, umm, right! Staten Island!" Madison confirms. Does she sound confident in that answer? No. Meggan isn't the only one confused by New York's geography.
    She kicks at the water again before remarking, "It's hard, though, when all you really want to do is play a board game with your friends and they're like a couple thousand miles away." She lets out a sigh - before forcing a smile back into place. "But I got to go to the beach and see a horseshoe crab."

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
It's somewhere over that way. Somewhere away from here. Close enough. "Have you tried online? I find that helps when you feel like they're far away." Meggan offers that lightly as she tucks her hands against her hips, and twirls around in the water, feeling it stir around her calves and shunt along the basin floor.

Madison receives another look of those bright eyes, hat shading her face only a little. Sharp cheekbones come into relief; it's distinctive, her face. "A horseshoe crab? That is amazing, I thought they were extinct and from the dinosaur age. Was it big?"

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Well. Online is better than nothing - but it's not really the same, you know?" Madison replies, giving a shrug of her shoulders. But at Meggan's question, she blinks in surprise, shaking her head. "Oh, they're not extinct! They live up and down the east coast - and I'd always wanted to see one! The biggest one was pretty huge - about this big," she holds her hands apart to mime its size - a little smaller than the diameter of a soccer ball. "You should go to the beach to see one! They are //so// cool!"

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
"No, not entirely. Have they no board game clubs in Happy Harbour? I know that Columbia does -- several in fact. There's a game shop too that people go to." In fact, Meggan turns her attention once more to her phone, secured in a pocket of that dress. Dresses with pockets are basically a kind of magical.

She sweeps her fingers over the screen, unlocking it, and then weaving them together to form different words. "I know there's absolutely a place out that way. I'm going to need a moment to find it, of course, but it's slipping my mind. Oh, bother. Oh! Yes! Here -- it's Melodrama, a gaming lounge. Right in Happy Harbour, see?" She flips the phone around so it's easy for the location to be observed. "Right on the main drag. I'd bet if you hopped in there, all sorts would //love// to play."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Oh, I go to Melodrama all the time," Madison confirms with a smile. "It's not a bad shop, and I've been meeting people. I just- I miss Level Up. And Emma, and Aiden, and Cameron, you know? That's all I'm saying." She gives a shrug of her shoulders before changing the topic entirely.
    "Did you know horseshoe crabs have blue, copper-based blood? And that scientists use it to make sure vaccines are safe, and haven't been contaminated by bacteria? That's wild, right?"

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
"That's an awesome spot! I think it sounds like fun. And it's totally normal to miss your friends. Do you get to see them very often?" Meggan asks, and she tips her head to the side, long blonde hair a tumble of shining honey reaching almost to the water.

"I didn't know they had blue blood, not at all. That makes them more royal than some nobles out there. THough it -is- awesome they check that vaccines are safe, I hope they have left enough crabs out there to be happy. Extracting blood from a crab can't be very easy."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Well, apparently they can harvest the blood without killing them - and then re-release them," Madison replies. "It was pretty interesting to hear about. I mean - it's spawning season right now. The end of it, I think. So we went down to the beach to watch, and see them, and there was a guy there who knew tons and tons about them. You should really go take a look," she suggests brightly - giving the woman an encouraging smile.