7099/Commander Coulson is not a Vampire

Commander Coulson is not a Vampire
Date of Scene:	27 July 2021
Location:	Cafeteria - Playground
Synopsis:	Abcde meets Phil in the cafeteria and quickly discovers she's met another of the commanders. She tells him about the 'weird stuff' and he teases her with classification beige.
Cast of Characters:	Abcde Prescelta, Phil Coulson

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Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    Abcde Prescelta - Witch - and currently meandering around The Playground. SHIELD's secret home away from home. SHIELD barely even registered on her radar until that fateful day when an evil djinn trapped in a mirror used her to draw Daniel Sousa and Arturo Malevolo from their respective pasts, right before the moment of their deaths, to the present.

    Embroiled in survival against HYDRA hunting them down, she became friends with Daniel and helped reunite him with his long separated wife Peggy Carter. It was touching. While hanging out at the Carter-Sousa residence she met Daisy Johnson aka Quake, one of her personal idols. And then there was May, the empath struggling to keep control of her powers. She helped her too.

    Daniel asked her to come 'try out' SHIELD and now she was here. Standing in the cafeteria next to the microwave, waiting for the noodles to cook. She's wearing a SHIELD bullet and knife proof vest. It's not fitted quite right on her and one of the straps on the side is too loose.

    She keeps tugging at the collar too. She has a holster but no ICER in it. The quartermaster wasn't going to issue a weapon to someone not certified in its use. But oddly she does have a second holster on her hip, a small leather case containing what can only be assumed as a wand. Propped up against the wall is a wooden broom, unusual for any part of The Playground.

    Big letters on her back say 'TRAINEE' because she's not even a probie yet. The microwave beeps and she takes out the cup of noodles and turns to find she is no longer alone.

Phil Coulson has posed:
It is actually early. They say that the early bird catches the worm, but in this case, it catches the fresh, warm eggs, the warm and still crunchy bacon before it cools enough to start to lay in congealed fat, and the toast doesn't yet feel too much like cardboard. Phil is up, suit and tie as per his usual, looking vaguely rested, at the very least.

With cup of coffee in hand, Phil is actually headed to raid the danishes, while they're still there. So he has a sweet tooth!

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    Hands wrap around the warm cup of noodles. She raises an eyebrow. So many people in this place wear armor, ready for combat, but not this guy? He looks like a lawyer, or may be an accountant. "Good morning," she offers and dips the plastic spoon in to the cup for some morning sustenance.

    "You're up early even for people who get up early." Abcde was up all night instead. They gave her a bunch of reading material and she is a complete and utter book worm. Once she started, she couldn't put them down.

Phil Coulson has posed:
Tongs are taken to get at one of those flakey pastries that have the cinnamon apple filling in the center, and once grabbed, is set in a napkin rather than a little plate. He has to juggle the two now, coffee and danish, but it's definitely doable.

The cup is lifted to his lips, and the first sip of the morning is taken, tentative due to heat at first swallow, then followed by a couple more. Once done, he twists around to look at the few others that are in the room; sure enough, more are armor-wearing than not, but those who do notice Phil's attention, nod with a mouthed 'sir' before going about their business.

And Phil knows every one of their names.

This one, though? Nothing familiar across his desk, so...

"Early? Nah.." He sounds a touch self-effacing, his tones light and conversational. Doesn't seem a threat, anyway! "Thought I'd actually see the sun rise this time. I know it does, but thought I'd take the chance to actually see it."

In other words? He couldn't sleep.

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    Abcde's eyes track the different agents as they wander past. Coffee. That was the key. They needed their morning ambrosia to become human. She understands that. But they call him sir? She tilts her head, "You seem important. Are you their boss?"

    She smiles, "The way you talk reminds me of a vampire character I have in my new novel." A small chuckle, "Similar, the words - not you. He talks about wanting to see the sunrise again. But of course it'd kill him." The novel would be so much better if Peggy and Daniel would let her put them in the story.

    Abcde approaches and as she does, scoops up some of the hot noodles in to her mouth. No slurp, she's never learnt that trick, just tolerant of the heat. "I'm new. I don't know many people here." She offers a hand, "I'm Abcde." So says her lanyard hanging from her belt too. Abcde Prescelta. CLEARANCE: Level 0 Trainee. Specialty: Weird stuff. Looks like Agent Koenig had fun with that lanyard designation.

Phil Coulson has posed:
Once he's got his coffee, Phil takes a bite of the pastry, bending over a little to both catch some crumbs and to clear off some of the errant bits. A quiet 'mmm' escapes the man, and once more, he washes it down with another warm swallow of coffee.

"Yes. At least they think I am." Of course he is.

Brows do rise, his expression evincing a hint of interest. "'Vampire character'. You're an author, then. Published?"

Phil extends his hand as he speaks, "I'd love to see your work one day." Looking down, he can see the designation of 'Level 0'. He, on the other hand, doesn't have a lanyard on. He's not wearing it. Not today.

"Phil Coulson. Commander." He does chuckle, and he nods in the direction of her badge, "Weird stuff?"

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    She nods her head, "One published. Best seller, New York Times. I'm working on the sequel. Well, I was until I got dragged in to an international conspiracy." She glances around the place and then back to Phil. She gives his hand a small gently shake and then stuffs more noodles in to her mouth.

    "I can bring a copy in. Though I think Daisy has one in her room she wanted me to sign." Daisy is a fan and Abcde is a fan of Daisy. It's a bit a mutual excitement when they first met and realised who was who.

    "Commander?," she says with a small squeak. She only read about the rank system last night. "Coulson." She adds and seems to be replaying his words backwards, "Phil." Chucklingly a touch nervously. This is one of those 'legends' she was told about.

    "Oh, ah, yeah." She lifts up the lanyard and looks at it. "I'm a witch." She smiles, "Not all cackling evil Hollywood stereotypes." She pauses, "Although I do fly on a broom and own a pointy hat. Daniel thinks I might be a good fit in W.A.N.D. But I guess there's not many WAND people awake yet. I get the impression most of them are not early risers."

    Her accent is easy to play. Appalachian, West Virginia. She says, "I do magic and get rid of things that go bump in the night. You could call it the family business. The coven stretches back hundreds of years. Mostly from Italy."

Phil Coulson has posed:
"New York Times best seller? Congratulations." Phil retrieves his hand, and re-juggles in order to hold pastry and coffee in each hand again. The coffee cup is drained after a couple more swallows, and he sets the empty to the side.

He does wait politely as Abcde realizes who he is, and reacts. His head cants and finaly, nods his acknowledgement. "Most everyone calls me 'Commander Coulson' except for a few." What he won't say is what those few actually call him.

The lanyard once again gets his attention as she lifts it to 'study' it once more. "A witch? As in.." Right. Broom. Pointy hat. "I see. And sadly, no. Not many WAND are early rises. They tend to work the night shift." Of course they do? No.. not really.

Wait, is that a joke? His expression is deadpanned, but humour could probably be read in those eyes.

"If Mr Sousa thinks you might be a good fit, then you probably are." Thus is his faith in people. "It's kind of important now more than ever to get those that we know will flourish, because things aren't going to get any easier any time soon."

There's a pause before Phil breathes a small laugh, "I may have need of that soon. We'll see."

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    She nods and says, "Thank you. I used the money to buy a place in Queens. I'm a genuinely New Yorker now." That accent is anything but. A quick nod, "Commander Coulson. Right. I've been reading so many manuals and there's a lot of conflicting advice in them. I take it people are meant to spend a few years learning all that stuff in the academy, not dumped on them to be read in a week."

    Her smile softens a moment as he says Mr. Sousa and she nods her head. "I trust him. And Peggy, Melinda.. no, Chief Carter and May." Her introduction to them was somewhat different to most in SHIELD.

    A raise of an eyebrow, "The weird stuff?" she asks in question to what he might need soon. "If I can help then I'd like to try. SHIELD or no SHIELD, it's my job to help people. It's kind of the family motto. That and avoid being locked in an insane asylum for saying crazy stuff to people who can't see past the end of their nose."

Phil Coulson has posed:
"The nice thing about being a New Yorker is that everyone is. It kind of pulls you in, and before you know it, you'll be crossing the street against the light like the rest." Phil takes a bite of his pastry, being very careful not to get the flakes on his suit. He's had years of practice, of course.

In due course, it is done, and a napkin is pulled to wipe his fingers, and once he stuffs it into his empty cup, he's ready to bus himself.

Brows do rise, however, when 'conflicting information' is offered as a minor complaint. "What is conflicting about it? I mean, if there is anything, there should be superceding documents.. let me know. I can talk to the Information Management team and get that worked out." Phil's ready to solve yet another problem within the confines of //his// SHIELD, such as it is. He can't help but agree, however, and he nods his head once, sympathetically. "Most of us have had a little time to read it, digest it, and work within the framework." There's a pause as he realizes his terms, but continues on, "Which is why we start everyone in the lower echelon. Not as much responsbility to know everything. But, the Academy does help. You may want to ask someone about that."

Of course she knows Chief Carter and Commander May... and he nods. "The Chief and the Commander are good resources to have, yes. They can help show the way." One a touch more gracefully than the other. "Feel free to ask me anything you may need. I've been around the block a few times here, too." As long as May, certainly. They were young agents together; partners.

Phil does nod again, a breathed laugh sounding as he does. "Yes, crazy stuff. We're going to try and keep you out of any asylum. It's a job perk." He pauses before, "We have each others' backs."

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    There's a small smile at the notion of crossing the street against the lights. She's seen it happening, even in Queens, and wondered about it. "So that's what that's about.." She finishes her noodles as he finishes his pastry, it's well timed for conversation.

    "Old terms I assume, can't tell which is which. What's a Field Leader, for instance. What's a Security level Beige. That kind of thing." She //is// a book worm and just brought up some old obscure terms. Field Leader was the old name for a level 7 and the colour system for security levels hasn't been in play since the 90s.

    She nods her head, "They're busy people. Here at least. Less so back in their house. Thanks for offering your help too." A smile grows a little broader, "It's a change. I'm so used to working on my own or in rituals with my coven, the notion of going out in the field with other people is turning my head upside right."

Phil Coulson has posed:
There's a sympathetic expression that is given to the witch, and another quick, soft exhale. "Terms I haven't heard in a long time. Things change, but sometimes change isn't for the best. Best to learn the old stuff with the new, though. Never know when you're going to need it." After all, Phil is a repository of all things... old fashioned. He specializes in it; revels in it. Never know when it'll be useful, after all. And, well, sometimes it's just cool.

Though only one person actually thinks Phil 'cool'.

Phil tosses his paper cup into the trash can; a single shot. "Never too busy to answer a question." He brings up a quick grin as he actually does answer, "Old term for a Level 7. Also a duty designation. Field Leaders had to be a 7 in order to be able to utilize all the resources for the job. Could be a large op, could be a small one. Doesn't matter." After all, he's commanded .. many, many Agents at once before. "As for the Beige? Well.." He shrugs his shoulders, his tones a touch cryptic, "It'll make sense one day."

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    Abcde nods her head at the new information and smiles, "Fascinating. I guess an institution as old as SHIELD has gone through a lot of revolutions. Open plan or cubical, how can anyone know which is best!" She is joking of course and the grin proves it. "Thank you for your time though."

    Her expression becomes puzzled at the cryptic explanation, "Wait, does that mean beige is some security clearance of time related stuff?" No doubt he's not going to answer that. She doesn't have the hand-eye coordination he does. If she did she wouldn't need magic. She walks over to the bin and deposits the noodles cup.

Phil Coulson has posed:
Again, Phil raises a shoulder in a shrug, the ghost of a smile remaining behind. "That's classified." One of his more favorite of sayings, certainly, before he begins to make his way from the cafeteria and back to work.

"Welcome aboard. I'm sure you'll find a place. You have good people around you."