7869/Chance meetings at a Thai Restaurant.

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Chance meetings at a Thai Restaurant.
Date of Scene: 18 September 2021
Location: Hell's Kitchen
Synopsis: Lydia goes to get some Thai food and meet Phoebe and Tim there. They discuss her books, and ghost dogs.
Cast of Characters: Lydia Dietrich, Phoebe Beacon, Tim Drake




Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Hell's Kitchen isn't a place that Lydia frequents, but it houses one of the best silversmiths in the city. She'd come to pick up her commission, a matching set of three dragon rings for herself, Clarice and her little brother, Theo. She's happy with how the rings turned out, and she decides to celebrate with a little bit of food.

This brings her to See Yu Soon, a Thai place that's near the silversmith that she's always wanted to try. She enters the establishment, and gets seated at a table and handed a menu. Now for the hard part: Deciding on what to eat.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    You know the type of restaurants that have the ancient, luan-wood seats, red topped tables with parts worn away through layers of paint, and the menu board with the pull-down letters, some replaced by 'close enough' numbers?

    THat's the kind of place See Yu SOon is. It has spice levels from 1-10, and then Thai 1-5. The menu consists of Thai stand-bys, a couple of Americanized Chinese-food dishes like crab rangoons (which are marked as Kosher, so probably doesn't contain actual crab... or it's mismarked). And as Phoebe lives/works in the bar just up the street, she often comes by to grab food for herself, or her and the bartender. She'd already sent a text to Tim that she was planning on grabbing Thai, so she was half expecting to see him hanging around outside.

    -- so when she walks in, and spots Lydia, she brightens a moment.

    "Lydia! Back from your trip?"

Tim Drake has posed:
    Why is Tim in New York City at the moment? ...Unimportant. But he's here, and of course he's going to check up on Phoebe while he's in town. That said checking up is going to involve Thai food is just a bonus, in his book.

    And books might be the reason he's made the drive up from Jersey in the first place, judging by the paper bag hand-stamped with a bookstore's logo in his hand as he arrives. Tim pushes his sunglasses up onto his forehead as he slinks in through the door, and the first thing he does is scan the place. Check for exits, anyone whose body language seems off, and--oh, there's Phoebe.

    Wait.

    Tim's eyes narrow as he stares at the woman Phoebe has approached. That she's a metahuman parses, of course, but that's not it. She looks familiar. "Hey, Pheebs," he calls out as he unzips his hoodie. Underneath, he's wearing an old, well-loved band tee that's almost impossible to read, and jeans.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia looks up at the voice and sees Phoebe approaching her. The menu momentarily forgotten she grins widely, "Phoebe! Yes! It was some of the best days of my life! Come sit with me!" she says, patting the chair next to her.

Tim gets a curious look. He seems a bit shifty at first, but when he approaches Phoebe, she warms a bit to him. "Your friend can join, too, of course." she says. Standing she reaches out a hand towards him. "Hello, I'm Lydia. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Tim!" Phoebe greets Tim with a bright smile, already set to a better mood by good food and good friends.

    "Lydia -- this is my friend, Tim. Tim? This is Lydia Dietrich, one of my New York City friends." Phoebe states as she pulls out a chair, and pretty fairly collapses in it. She looks tired about her eyes. "I'm glad you enjoyed your trip, Lydia. With what you told me, you were definitely deserving of some good news." Phoebe gives a smile to the other woman, though it doesn't quite reach up to her eyes.

Tim Drake has posed:
    There's a brief flash of hesitance on Tim's face, when Lydia invites first Phoebe and then him to sit down. But obviously Phoebe knows her, and there's still something about her face that he can't place.

    Until he gets the introduction. "Wait--are you the author of the Heart of Stone series?" he asks, but he already knows the answer to that question, now that he can compare her to the picture in the back of the books. "I promise I'm not going to sit and gush but," and yes, he sits down, after shrugging out of his hoodie and hanging it on the back of the chair. "I was really impressed with the amount of Gotham-specific details you put into the books. It felt very authentic. There are a lot of books out there that claim to be set in Gotham but get everything but the broadest strokes wrong."

    After a moment of pause, he clears his throat. "Anyway. They're really good."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Tim," Lydia repeats. "It's good to meet you." When he identifies her as the novelist she blushes a little bit. It's always a little awkward for her when she comes across a fan. She knows her books are a little smutty and the idea of somebody actually /reading/ much less /enjoying/ those scenes are a bit embarrassing.

"Um, yes! I am," she says regaining her composure. She grins at the compliment, though. "I spent some time in Gotham while I was in college to get a feel for the place. Did some research while I was at it in between classes and during breaks."

She settles back in her chair and picks up the menu again. "What's good here?" she asks Phoebe.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Nerd." Phoebe states under her breath to Tim, but she gives a smile to him.

    "Ah, let's see, my favorite is the pad thai with firm tofu, Thai level two. Chas really likes the Cashew Fried Rice with the pineapple, which is my second favorite. They do a vegan safe glass noodle spring roll with cabbage and steamed carrot and mushroom, but if you order anything with the broth you have to specify if you want vegetable broth, or chicken broth, because their other one is a pork broth with oyster. They don't list it on the menu, but I asked once when I was here 'cause I really wanted a vegan Tom Yum." Phoebe explains, and then turns to Tim.

    "Lydia was.. ah... spot-trained. On something regarding the Thinnings."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim cuts his gaze towards Phoebe, both eyebrows raised. "Glass houses," is all he says, before he rests his chin against his closed fist. The narrow-eyed look he favors Lydia with, after, is both shrewd and pleased.

    "I knew it," he says. "You don't get those kinds of details without living in Gotham. No one can really capture how awful the Sprang Bridge is if they haven't suffered its existence at least once or twice." As he speaks, Tim tucks first one leg, and then the other, up onto the seat of his chair, folding them carefully before he leans over to peruse the menu, leaving it on the table as he considers it.

    The mention of the thinnings makes him look back up. "Oh, right. Secret magic business." He nods. "I play a wizard in D&D but that's about the extent of my knowledge. Still, good to know there are people on it." Then, eyes back on the menu, he adds, "You wouldn't happen to know how to deal with a ghost dog, would you? Not... deal-deal with it, I'm not asking for an exorcism, but I don't know... help him settle whatever... unfinished dog business he might need to... look, I have no idea what I'm talking about here but I'm pretty sure I'm being haunted by a ghost who is a dog."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia snorts at Phoebe, "You could say that. More like thrown head first into it." She glances down at the menu again and asks, "How are their curries?" And then she remembers, "Oh! I've been working on a ritual to close them, so that you don't have to rely on me or John for it. It doesn't require as much raw power as I've had to use but it takes longer to close."

She lets out gentle laughter at Tim and nods, "Indeed. It was quite the adventure when I studied it." His comment about a ghost dog causes a tilt of her head. "Does it seem friendly?" she asks. "Not all ghosts are malevolent."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I'm not throwing a stone, merely commenting on the obvious." Phoebe replies to Tim with a grin, and she gives a shrug of her shoulders, and then to Lydia, she gives a soft 'Hm'

    "I like their green curry, their red curry has sambal olek with oyster sauce, so I don't eat it." she explains to Lydia. And then she gives a slight smile. "Yeah... that... is kind of his teaching style." she states, rather flatly, and there's a bit of a tweak of her cheek as she scratches absently at the white circle on her wrist.

    "I'm refining my own version of his. Apparently I'm weird and mine operates differently than any other human mage he's met." Phoebe replies with a gentle frown.

    "It's a dutch shepherd dog. We think it might have followed Tim home through a break in the veil. It was encountered chewing on his cape cardigan."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim, with infinite patience and wisdom, withholds any comments he may have regarding John Constantine. The smart watch on his wrist vibrates and he glances at it before swiping the notification away. He folds his hands together after, in his lap.

    "I think he's friendly." Apparently the dog is a he, in Tim's head. "I mean, a little rowdy, maybe? Can ghost dogs accidentally break things? Maybe I'm blaming him for no reason." Then he shrugs. "Dogs like me."

    Which is an excellent segue for him to pull out his phone, and then he shows off a selfie--though it's the scruffy terrier-mix that Tim is holding up that is the focus of the picture. "His name is Yap. He's dog-famous on Insta."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Hunh," Lydia says, musing over the predicament. "That certainly doesn't /sound/ malevolent. I can certainly take a look and see what I can figure out. Despite this," she says waving her hand in her ectoplasmic mists, "I'm hardly an expert in the dead."

She shakes her head. "From what I understand, ghosts usually stick around because they have some kind of unfinished business in this plane, but since it came from the rift I don't know if that'll be the case for this one."

"Yap, hunh?" Lydia says with a grin as she leans over to look at the photo. "He's cute." Leaning back she looks thoughtful at Tim's last question. "I don't know. Possibly? I would think it depends on whether or not it can interact in the world. Have you been able to touch him at all?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "From what I can gather, no interacting really since the rift was set up to be monitored, just impressions..." Phoebe states, and she takes a look at Tim's phone, and cracks a smile. "Just don't let Scout know, he'll be jealous." she comments to the dark-haired boy, and she turns back to TIm.

    "I could ask John for how to help a ghost cross over. Or I could ask Chas to do it, but that might require bringing one or both of them to your place, and I don't think that's a good idea." she states, and then looks back to Lydia.

    "We interacted with the dog at the site of the rift, where it was guarding a bunch of sheep. It appeared to be able to interact on our planar level and on the same ground levels of the past rise of the site."

Tim Drake has posed:
    "There's room in my heart for more than one good boy," Tim tells Phoebe, the corner of his mouth lifting, before he lays his phone on the table, flipped over so it's screen-down. He tips his head to acknowledge the point Phoebe's made about inviting anyone over--well, Constantine and Chas specifically, but it does really apply to most people--as he sits back.

    Most of the particulars of the conversation are lost on him, though he nods along, getting the broad strokes of it. Enough for a general understanding of the situation, at least. "It's probably just one of my roommates being clumsy. And even if it really is the ghost dog's fault, it's not like I can really be mad at him. He probably just wants to play, and since I can't see him or touch him, there's not much I can do."

    And as strange as the whole situation is for Tim? It also makes him feel bad, clearly, by the way his brow has furrowed and his expression has gone tight with worry. "I still talk to him, though, in case he's around. Maybe I should... name him? Or... we couldn't do a seance to figure out his name, right? Track down his dead owner from several centuries ago?" The absurdity of that request hits Tim immediately after, and he shakes his head. "Sorry. Ignore me. This is silly and you two probably have much more important things to talk about."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia gives Tim a broad grin, "Are you kidding? This is /fascinating/. I've never heard of a ghost dog haunting somebody before." She leans back in her chair, mind racing as the server comes up to them to ask them their order. "Oh! Um. The green curry, please. Three spice, and an order of spring rolls."

"You know," she says once her order is done. "I could probably whip up a charm that will let you see him. Downside would be that it would also let you see all the other ghosts that are wandering about. There's more than you think but pretty much all of them are harmless."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I'll have my usual, please. The pad thai for here, the rest to go." she gives a smile, and she reaches for her wallet to pull out the cash for everything before Tim can interject. She kinda hopes he'll be distracted.

    "How's your late-middle Dutch?" she questions to him playfully. "I was always told that ghosts and dogs react more to your tone than your words, though, so as long as you're speaking nicely to him, should be fine." she gives a small smile.

    "Alternately, we should probably get him back to the rift, so it can close with him on the right side. It's pretty stabilized right now, other than a raccoon walking into it."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Unfortunately, Tim isn't as quick with pulling his wallet out as he ought to be, so Phoebe gets to pay for her own meal this time around. He still tries to, and he's left holding several twenties. "I'll have the pad thai, same as her," he says, with an added, "Thank you," to the waitress as he hands over the money, waving off any need for change.

    "About as good as my modern Dutch, which is to say nonexistent." He considers Lydia's offer for a moment, before he lifts his hands up. "I think I've meddled more than enough with the spirit world. It's better left to the experts," and he tilts his head towards Phoebe and Lydia to acknowledge their status as experts, certainly at least relative to himself. "Letting him go is probably the right thing to do," he agrees, even if it sounds like he's not happy about it.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia nods in agreement. "Probably for the best. The real question is how do we get him back?" She looks thoughtful for a moment before musing humorously, "Maybe we can lure him with ghostly doggie treats? How would you even /make those/?" She chuckles and shakes her head.

"Can you see the dog?" she asks Phoebe. "If not I can sense them when they're around. One of the side effects of constantly putting out ectoplasm. I may want to make that charm anyway in case somebody who can't see him wants to help."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Only when we were near the thinning. I don't... I can't see astrally. Not yet, anyway. There hasn't been a lot of time for non-immediate lessons." she states, but suddenly looks very uncomfortable with the fact as she looks over the menu, her cheeks and ears darkening. Tim might be able to notice that she's embarrassed. "He likes Tim. Bet if Tim talked him into it, he'd follow him back to the thinning and then we can see it closed with him on the right side and Tim on the other. We'll just have to get back and get lots of love from Scout and Yap."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Given how Tim studies Phoebe out of the corner of his eye for a long moment, it's probably a good bet that he notices, though he doesn't say anything. About her reaction, at least. Dogs? Tim can keep talking about dogs, ghost or otherwise, no problem.

    "I would like to see him again, before we... help him cross over." That last bit seems to give him pause, and he opens his mouth to go off on a tangent of metaphysical questions, but then he very visibly reigns himself in. Big inhale, setting his shoulders, shaking his head slightly. Not the time! And he just said he should stop meddling, didn't he? "But I'm sure he's had a good time hanging out at the house. Lots of excitement. Especially with the new dog running around." Oh, what's this? Another opportunity to show dog pics! This one is also a terrier, though it looks a lot like Wishbone, and in the image Tim pulls up on his phone, he's sacked out amidst a huge, scattered mess of dog toys. "His name is Beast. Mary--a friend of ours--adopted him. Or he adopted her, I guess."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia nods to Phoebe. "I'll make the charm, then, so you two can see him when the time comes to lead him away." She looks thoughtful for a moment, "Should take me about a week to figure it out. Do you have a trinket of choice? Bracelet, necklace, ring?"

When Tim brings out more dog pictures she hurries over to look at his phone. "Awww!" she coos. "He's adorable!" she looks up at him, "You said his name was Beast? Well. He certainly looks beastly to me."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe goes to reach into her bag, and realizes that she does not have her bag on her. She grumps a moment, and then breathes out out in a huff.

    "Before you head back to where you're staying, if you wait outside the Laughing Magician I can grab a bangle from my dresser." Phoebe states, and then she leans over, looking at the new dogs. She gives a slight smile.

    "Seems like your place is getting pretty busy then, huh?" she questions to Tim with a smile.

Tim Drake has posed:
    "Beast, yeah. He's very ferocious." Though the way Tim says it suggests it's more in a cute way than an aggressive way. And Beast *is* a very cute dog. He puts his phone back down. The jewelry selection is left to Phoebe, as aside for his smart watch and the sunglasses atop his head, Tim doesn't seem the type for accessories.

    He rests his elbows on his knees, feet still folded. "My step-mother had Yorkies, and I never really expected to want to have a house filled with pets again. But I can't complain. Even if the cat sometimes bites at my ankles," he says, and then he smiles. "Worth it for every time he takes a nap on me, though."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"I know!" Lydia exclaims with a snap and a point. "Glasses. That'll be the easiest to enchant. Slip them on and *BOOM!* Instant ghost vision. It'll be like the Ghostbusters."

She grins at Tim, "Certainly the most ferocious of dogs. I've never had a pet before," She admits. "But I would love to come over and play with yours."

When their food comes, they pause their chats to enjoy their meal, the topic of conversation picking back up for some small talk, and the meal was enjoyed by all.