7228/Meanwhile, back at the Ranch... okay, the Carriage House.

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch... okay, the Carriage House.
Date of Scene:	04 August 2021
Location:	Angelo's Carriage House
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Achilles, Cael Becker, Sara Pezzini

---

Achilles has posed:
    So, homecoming of a sort. Angelo hasn't been to the house in a few weeks. He's been really busy what with owning his own professional security / bodyguard corporation in Myrmidon Personal Security, and his duties for ARMOR ... which is really a Government Agency that is sanitized from any association with SHIELD. Since SHIELD is basically a mass persona-non-grata right now, he is not on anyone's wanted list due to his association with ARMOR.

    However, he has been on the road, on the move... pretty much 24/7 for weeks now and only just recently was given some leave time to come home. And so, his car pulls into the driveway out front and he steps out. He may be immortal, but he is also exhausted as he lifts a garment bag and suitcase out of the trunk before heading for the front door.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael is currently seated on Angelo's couch - even though she's never met the owner of said abode. In fact - she has her feet propped up on the expensive, carved coffee table. At least her shoes are off - she has a pair of plain white socks on her feet instead. In one hand she holds a beer, and in the other a tablet as she seems to be reading over some intelligence files.
    The TV is on - but the volume is turned low. Shawshank Redemption is playing on it, though she seems to be paying very little attention to it. It's just background noise.

Achilles has posed:
    Background noise makes a lot of sense. It is something Angelo has used many many times over the years while he was working or studying. But the key turns the lock and he steps inside. He was warned by Sara about the presence of a houseguest, if only via text messages.

    So that is why when he stops to set down his luggage, he says simply, "Tell me there is at -least- one beer left for me." before he trudges towards the kitchen.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I never run out of beer," Cael remarks casually. "Just what sort of heathen do you take me for?" Her tone is a little distracted, however, as she finishes reading the paragraph she was on before shutting off the screen of her tablet.
    "Welcome home," she calls at that point. "You must be Angelo? Cael Becker." She doesn't make any attempt to move, however, from her current position relaxing on the couch as she takes another casual swig.

Achilles has posed:
    "Well, I am not the Johovah's Witnesses." offers Angelo, the tiniest hint of a leftover English accent in his voice. He steps into the kitchen, retrieves a pair of beers before walking out with both having already popped the caps off of them.

    He sits down on the sofa himself, toeing off his shoes before putting his own feet up and holding the beer out towards Cael. "I know. You already have one but... consider this my first active act of hospitality." he states.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "You can never have too many beers, yeah?" Cael replies - setting down her tablet so she can accept the offered beer. The statement is patently untrue, but the sentiment still seems sound enough. She lifts the bottle towards him, before taking a swig from it, and letting out a satisfied sigh. Ahhhh.
    "You and Sara are close, yeah? She'll be glad to have you back. Things have been a little... rough for her. Not sure how much I'm supposed to say, though." And ain't that always the rub?

Achilles has posed:
    With a nod, Angelo states, "Yeah. The fact that she had someone here to kinda watch her back is the only reason I was able to keep working where I've been. It's been a long... well, it's been a while." he says before he takes a pull on his beer.

    He sets the bottle down and leans back. "So. What's in the file?" he asks as he points a stocking-footed toe at the folder.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "That's FBI stuff," Cael replies a bit dismissively. "I'm still working some things in Organized Crime. Illegal street racing, drug trafficking, all that stuff. You know how it is." Vague much?
    "And honestly - I mean, I haven't known Sara long. But we've got to watch each other's back in this sort of work. Yeah?"

Achilles has posed:
    "Indeed. Glad you are there. She and I worked together quite a bit early on." He reaches his hands up and laces his fingers behind his head. "So, I am technically a federal agent myself. Anything that I Can help you with in -your- case?" he asks as he points an elbow towards the file. "Or do you just want to have me shut up and let you work?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I mean - I don't know how much you can help without knowing the people involved. Some of it's transcripts of some recordings we've gotten... It's just going through, looking for the information about when different drug deals are going down, when the next race is going to happen... Nothing's jumping out at me as too concerning tonight," Cael explains, giving a shrug of her shoulders. "It's all that tedious stuff they never tell you about, you know, when you're thinking about going into a career like this. It always seems so glamorous somehow..."

Achilles has posed:
    "There is a reason why the FBI recruits people who are highly educated... some with law degrees and others with an accounting background. Because Investigation is -not- glamorous. It is painstakingly detailed work." says Angelo as he reaches for his beer.

    He lifts it and takes a swig. "So, how did you meet the Detective?" he asks as he leans back, beer bottle drifting to and fro in one hand.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara wanders out of the bedroom, t-shirt and shorts, lightly bonking herself in the head with her right hand, but her hair still looks good. At first she seems completely distracted by bonking herself lightly and having whatever discussion she is presently having in her own head and then she lifts her head and spots Angelo.

"Did Thahn start creating illusions, or are you actually home?" It doesn't seem to matter if the man's an illusion or not because she practically skitters over to hug him and place a solid kiss on his lips. "Nope, real." She grins.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I think the first time I met Sara... was the research lab job," Cael mutters thoughtfully, before giving a little shudder. Watching bodies disolving in tubes is //not// her idea of fun.
    "I mean - unless he's started putting illusions in both of our heads - and please tell me he can't do that. My life is weird enough..."

Achilles has posed:
    "For all we know, we could all be figments of each others' imagination. Or maybe this is The Matrix." Angelo remarks as he leans his head back to make himself more accessible for the kiss. "Now that is a welcome home I can get into." he adds as he lifts the beer bottle, offering it towards Sara.

    "And how do you -do- that?" he asks. "I mean seriously, you must be working some black magic to have your hair look so perfect as you get up."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara shrugs, heading to make some coffee, "Honestly have no idea, but I tend to blame the conditioner I use." She pauses for a moment, looking to Cael then back to Angelo. Darting back she steals another kiss then goes into the kitchen.

Calling out to be heard, "Cael, did you happen to mention the other house guest, well... not so much house guest, but... brain guest?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Look, what goes on in your head isn't necessarily my business to tell," Cael answers Sara. "I told him you were having some trouble, though, and thus my presence." She always sides in favor of caution - less is always more. After a shrug of her shoulders, she takes a last swig of her //first// beer, finishing it off and setting it aside so she can start in on her second beer properly.
    Yes. She'd been holding a beer in each hand. And yes, they were identical.

Achilles has posed:
    "The guest was more implied than explained. I figured what with the whole... semi-intelligent houseguest on your arm... it makes sense to a degree. Is it maybe the soul or memories of a previous wielder?" asks Angelo from his seat. It's a good thing this isn't an apartment where raised voices carry to other apartments.

    He gulps down his own beer and stands up, reaching for the now empty bottle in Cael's hand. "Let me take that to the recycling for you." he suggests before turning to head towards the kitchen, the recycling, and maybe a stolen moment for some affection.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Once the coffee it in the process of becoming something more than grounds, though at the moment she'd chew those, Sara wanders back into the living room.

"It's a little more complicated than that," she offers, leaning in the archway to the kitchen for now. "On our last mission with SHIELD, we encountered an incorporeal Inhuman being controlled by Hydra, which as a result had him possessing other Inhumans to make them fight. Once those were out, he moved to humans, and well, I just couldn't allow that."

Running her fingers through the already perfect hair, she offers a sheepish grin, "Witchblade may or may not have offered a solution. I taunted the Inhuman, Thahn Ng, into possessing me and Witchblade currently has him imprisoned inside of me... and he rarely, if ever, shuts up."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael is more than happy to hand over the bottle in question, flashing Angelo a grateful smile without commenting on his obviously ulterior motives there. She lets her head fall back against the back of the couch as she listens to the conversation between the pair. "See? This is why I figure it's not my business to share things like this... What a mess. How long are you expected to keep your house guest in there, anyways?" she asks.

Achilles has posed:
    "Well, that does make sense. And it fits with who you are babe." Angelo states as he squeezes slowly past Sara to get back to the living room. He pauses in close proximity and says softly, "Maybe I could try to reach out to my Great Uncle and see if he can make some sort of mini-prison for this goober. That way you could get'im out of your brainpan?" he asks.

    A kiss to Sara's forehead, and he turns to pick up his bags, "I'll be right back. Just gonna toss these into the basement so I can wash it all ASAP."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara offers Angelo a nod as he heads to put his bags in the basement, and for the moment heads back into the kitchen to pour coffee into a cup, adding a hint of cream. Once she has had a sip, she goes back into the living room and steals Angelo's spot on the couch, he can earn it back when he returns.

"WAND is already looking into some possibilities, Cael," she offers, waiting for the main meat of what she has to say for Angelo to get back. "See, although Thahn is really pissed off about being imprisoned by Witchblade, he's also no longer controlled by Hydra, so technically... he's not needing to be permanently locked up any more. I just can't see letting him go while he's so pissed off, so what I need is an empath to help me calm him down. He's actually much calmer than he originally was and has agreed to be quiet to let me sleep, but I can't blame the guy for being so angry."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I mean. I'd be in quite a mood if I were locked up in a tiny box," Cael agrees easily, taking another sip of her beer. "Or- well, I guess I don't really know what it's like being locked up in your... head?" She has to shake her own head at the ridiculousness of it all. "I swear - I've been asking 'what is my life even?' non-stop for the last two months."

Achilles has posed:
    "I mean... if I didn't -know- her, I'd be terrified living in that head. Let me tell you... Sara here can be downright scary from time to time. Speaking of scary..." says Angelo as he comes back from the laundry area. "I assume that Ms. Becker here is in on your details. Does she know about... well, let's call it my past?"

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara moves so Angelo can sit back down, and then she claims his lap as her place to sit while sipping coffee. This isn't a possessive move, none of that 'look Cael, this is mine' stuff, she missed him and wants to be close.

"I'm not the scary," she counters with a snort. "Unless you piss me off or try to attack my partner... and no Angelo, I don't give your secrets away, you know that. She's not going to believe you, or will say that it's all technology that did it, but feel free to share."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Oh, God, is it 'magic' again?" Cael complains with a groan. She takes another deep drink from her bottle. Her second beer is quickly depleting.
    As for Sara's choice of seat - it hardly even seems to register with Cael, for all the attention she pays it. "Sara has made it her mission to convince me that magic is real. I fail to see how it's even possible to prove that magic is real. It's a bone of contention."

Achilles has posed:
    "Oh, don't worry. I have no desire to try to convince you of something you are determined not to believe in." offers Angelo. He shrugs and wraps his arms about Sara. "I mean, if you -really- want proof, ask me about it in fifty years." he suggests.

    But he grins and turns to regard Sara, "Do you really think that she can handle the truth?" he asks.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Being careful with her cup of coffee, Sara leans back against Angelo in a more comfortable position and so she can get pressed against him. She really missed him, but isn't one to get all crazy about it. Being close, that's enough for now... later is another matter.

"I know she can," she answers without hesitation. "It might take her brain a little time to process the information, and she won't believe parts, but I've seen her go up against things that would shake the very core of most human beings, come back have a beer, talk it out, and be fine. Sure, it's a crap ton of WTF, but she's stable, solid, and good at what she does. I wish she was my partner on the force to be honest, but I'll take having her as my partner in SHIELD."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "It's a shame you weren't in the 113th when I was there, then," Cael remarks in a dry tone. "We could've been partners then. But then the FBI snatched me up." Well - she applied, is what happened. Though she still doesn't entirely understand how she ever got accepted. Sheer luck?
    "God the world is so much weirder than I ever knew..."

Achilles has posed:
    "From what I've seen, the FBI has always had a good track record ... for the most part, of getting agents recruits. Sure, some bad apples slip through the cracks. But... Hoover really believed in it when he put it together. And there was Purvis. I remember him as a pure idealist. God, he hated that Dillinger was just shot to death on the streets. He wanted to take the man in alive."

    He leans in and presses his forehead to Sara's shoulder. "Okay. If you think she can handle it." and then his head comes up, his green eyes focusing on Cael. "Have you read Homer by any chance?" he asks.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara nods to Angelo, taking another sip of her coffee before setting the cup down for now.

"I know she can," she says again, then looks over to Cael. "He's so much smarter than me, but never flaunts it."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "The Iliad or the Odessey?" Cael counters with a dry smile. "I read the Odessey, yeah," she answers. "Why? Name-dropping some of the Bureau's Latest and Greatest gets him a curious look as well - but no comment, as she idly swirls her beer before taking another sip, her gaze flicking to Sara instead, her gaze questioning.
    Whatever it was, this guy likes drawing it out, huh?

Achilles has posed:
    Less that he wants to draw it out as much as... well, there is just so much. "Let's just say that I was -in- those epics. Well, not the Odyssey." he says as he shakes his head, "But... I was a died in the wool prick. One of the most gloryhound asshats in -all- of literature."

    "I let the world think I had died..." He laughs, "In the most idiotically silly way mind you. Arrow through the foot killing a man is really kinda stupid, eh?"

    "Hey babe. I think she might need something a bit stronger than beer. I should have a few -old- bottles in the left-hand cupboard. Help a guy out?" he asks Sara with a smile before looking back to Cael, "I was born Achilles, Prince of Pithia," he explains. "Though I don't think you're quite ready to believe it yet. You will probably say that I am just crazy or making it up. The truth is... I -can't- die... and no I'm not gonna stab myself like that Connor McLeod twit."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Climbing out of his lap, Sara goes to find the good stuff. She has been making sure not to touch it, even though she REALLY wanted to a few times, because you save it. The night Cael came back and needed to vent, to talk about all the shit that no one else could hear about, Sara broke out a bottle of that stuff for Cael. Now she was getting another bottle of it, though she had replaced the first.

"There will be no stabbing yourself," she states bluntly, getting a couple of glasses and carrying it all back to the coffee table. "And no Cael, he's not pulling your leg."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Achilles heel? Cael had the name in mind before it's provided, her gaze locked onto Angelo, her expression thoughtful and speculative. She takes another drink from her bottle as she continues to study the man. "Well. It's rude to call your host a damned liar, yeah?" she remarks with an amused quirk to the corner of her lips. "That's the sort of shit that gets you tossed out real fast. Though I think the ancient... Greeks? Didn't they take hospitality pretty seriously?"
    She tries to remember - but honestly, she's not a history major, here...
    "There are plenty of examples of mutants and meta humans and such with long lives, yeah? And the ability to heal from seemingly fatal wounds? I mean - Magneto's like... 90, yeah? But you're talking... what, 2 thousand something?"

Achilles has posed:
    "Three thousand, two hundred and seventy two years old to be exact. And I suppose you could say that I -did- have an unusual lineage. My mother... Thetis, was the daughter of a minor sea goddess named Nereus. And my father.. Peleus.." his face twists in distaste. "I never really liked him. But he was the grandson of Zeus. So on one side of my family.. the King of the gods. On the other side, a sea goddess."

    He shakes his head and smiles a bit. "I was already a bit different. Never had special powers from those bloodlines. But just... an amazing capacity for learning the physical and combative arts. Oh, and my mother fed me Ambrosia... a food that the gods themselves cultivate and ate to make themselves immortal." He shrugs, "I've no memory of this. But she told me about it years later, when I was capable of understanding it. But..."

    He smirks, "The story of the river Styx is true, of a sort. She immersed me in its waters... the very waters that made the gods invulnerable, or at least un-killable. But.. the waters are generally merged with those of the other river. The one that never made it into the stories. The Lethe (Pronounced Lee-Thee). In fact, there were 5 rivers in the underworld. But Lethe took away the memories of mortals. But I was a child, with no memories to speak of. Only the fact that I was of sea goddess blood allowed me to -survive- immersion. The Ambrosia made the waters settle into my body and soul and... well, I can't die." He shrugs.

    Then looks back to see if the booze have arrived yet. "I do have three plus thousand year old artifacts I can show you if you -wish-, but that will not prove my story. You will have to simply decide whether or not you believe it."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara has already poured two glasses of the stuff, one gets offered to Angelo, the other to Cael, and then she takes her coffee and sits herself on the arm of the couch by Angelo.

"As I said, she likely won't believe you. She rationalizes everything as technology or mutants." She shrugs again, taking a drink of her coffee. "Which is fine, if that makes it easier for her to handle."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "...unless I hack at your heel?" Cael asks - raising her eyebrows slightly. "Not that I plan on trying it. I mean - Sara might resent me a little for it." 'A little?' Yeesh.
    She accepts the offered glass, still watching Angelo. She swirls the contents, then finally takes a sip. "I mean - hell, I'd be interested to see three thousand plus years worth of artefacts, and hear the whole tale of your long and storied life with ancient visual aids. But Sara's right that it won't convince me magic is necessarily real. Though I will say... huh."
    Yup. 'Huh.' That's all she's got so far.

Achilles has posed:
    Shaking his head, Angelo says, "That was the funniest part. You have to understand..." he sobers up really quick. "The war had gone on for ten years. Imagine ... ten ... years, of hand to hand combat. No sanitized firearms at a distance. Ten years of cutting men and women to pieces at point blank. I went to war because all I could think of was glory. All I wanted was to be known as the greatest warrior ever. To have people speaking my name a thousand years later. I was perfectly happy and willing to kill any and all who came up against me... to date, one of the hardest things I have done in recent years was to apologize to Diana for killing her cousin..."

    He gives a sad smile to Sara and accepts the drink. He takes a sip and closes his eyes a moment, "The stories got one thing right... The moment I killed Penthesilea, my heart broke. My soul fell in love with her as she lay dying... and that was the end for me. Her humanity, her sheer passion and love of life. Her love of her sisters.. it struck me then and there that she was not fighting because she chose to fight. She was fighting because she chose to die to save others. I must admit, I wanted to die. But..."

    He closes his eyes and and gulps down the booze... odds are he doesn't taste it. After grimacing from the burn, he adds, "And then when the arrow pierced my foot... I figured that I could use it to my advantage. I mean sure, I'd been shot in the chest three times too. I let them think I was dead. Then when they started collecting bodies, I put a dead soldier who looked a lot like me into armor like mine.. and let them burn him while I snuck away. It was just too much for me.... too much death, and I had caused so much of it."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara leans into Angelo, wrapping her arms around him so she can kiss his neck lightly and offer some kind of comfort. She's know the story, obviously, she knew how it effected him.

"That's the past Angelo," she offers softly. "You've atoned for it, even if you don't believe you have."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael listens with curiousity. She may not have read the Iliad - but everyone knew the story of Troy, one way or another. You just absorb it through osmosis. Or maybe it's some sort of genetic memory - people talk about that, even though it sounds like a load of bull to her. So the broad strokes, she knows.
    But he seems genuinely affected. Whether it was truth, or madness... Did that really matter? She takes another sip from the glass as she watches him, and there's sympathy in her gaze, and a small amount of concern. "I've seen my share of death. Not like that but- I've seen it," she remarks. "It changes you, and it's hard. I won't disagree with you there. But there are things worth fighting for - so I keep fighting."

Achilles has posed:
    Nodding his head with his eyes still closed, Angelo says softly, "All I was ever truly good at was ending lives." He sighs and shrugs as his eyes open. "At least the old me was. Ever since then... yes, I still fight. Yes, I still kill, but I don't do it for the same reasons. I avoid doing so unless I have no alternative. I try to live my life in a way that Penthesilea might approve of. At least.. that is what I did for a thousand years. I found different moral codes at different times, and wandered the world to learn from wise men all over. In China, I found philospher monks who showed me what -real- combat is... and then during the various large scale wars, I fought small scale things to prevent atrocities. I worked with the French Resistance against the Nazi's. I mean I could go on for days with stories. Let's just say that I no longer fight to be remembered because of my killing, but to preserve the memory of those I fight -for-."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Glancing over to Cael, Sara is grateful the woman didn't go into all the angles of how it wasn't possible. It was a touchy subject for Angelo, touched so deep that it was haunting really. Another kiss is placed on Angelo's neck before she adjusts a little, and collects her coffee. She really wants to drink, but she's not risking it.

"Angelo, you know you're living life the correct way now, and after three thousand years of living the correct way, you've need to start searching for that peace inside yourself. I'm not saying toss it all aside, just saying it might be time to start thinking about it."

Cael Becker has posed:
    I mean. Strictly speaking, it doesn't seem possible, right?
    But she knows pain when she sees it. And she's not //that// big of an asshole.
    Instead, she takes another sip of her drink, seeming to turn Sara's advice over in her own mind. "Peace is a tricky thing. And when you're in pain... I don't know. Sitting still can be hard, sometimes. It's easier to be moving. To be doing." Staring at her drink she adds, "And really... fuck Nazis." And fuck Hydra.

Achilles has posed:
    Taking a breath then, Angelo turns to Sara, plants a gentle kiss on her lips, and then looks up to Cael, "So, care to see a three thousand two hundred plus year old Xiphos?" he asks. And then with an act of will, he commands the weapons storage bracer to manifest the sword in his hand... and with a deft wrist flip, he tosses it and catches the blade, offering the handle to Cael.

    "Celestial Bronze. It will cut almost any living thing. I have seen it function much like the stories of silver against werewolves and vampires... and well, any and all damage to it is repaired within a day."