8159/A Visit to Angelo

A Visit to Angelo
Date of Scene:	07 October 2021
Location:	Angelo's Carriage House
Synopsis:	Angelo Tampambulos invites Phoebe for a catch-up session. There is lamb.
Cast of Characters:	Achilles, Phoebe Beacon

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Achilles has posed:
    Once again, too much meat has put Angelo in a bind. The fact that the local grocer tends to let him buy in bulk, and then Angelo gets too much so he can smoke some and host parties and the like... well that's just gravy. But when there are no parties, and he overbuys...

    Today, Angelo found himself using the backyard smoker to prepare a couple racks of lamb. What? He's Greek. Either way he is smoking a lot of meat. But... he reached out to Caroline to invite her over.. she wasn't available... he found out that she hadn't been in contact with Phoebe of late. Well, at least they still have time to reconcile.

    So, a quick text sent to Phoebe reads: So, I made way too much lamb meat. If you're not busy, I'd love help making some of it go away. Here's my address... from: Angelo

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Oh, unfortunately they had been in contact as of late. Just that there was a bit of a threat on the side of Phoebe's instructor after a toll Phoebe had paid finally came due.

    Phoebe's response would have been 'I can't help with the lamb myself, but I'll take some off your hands for my roommate!'

    And not too soon afterwards, Phoebe arrives. She looks... exhausted. HEr eyes are tired. Her hair is pulled back in a headwrap so that it's not all over the place. The girl makes her way to Angelo's, and gives a knock on the door of the fancy carriage house.

    Not quite like driving up to Wayne Manor, but still a fair shake more impressive than her old brownstone or the rickety steps leading up to thel oft at the Laughing Magician.

Achilles has posed:
    "It's open!" calls Angelo from the back yard. "Come on in! Or around if you prefer!"

    He's back there, with a bottle of root beer in one hand, a pair of tongs in the other, and a silly 'Kiss the Cook' apron on over his blue jeans and tee shirt.

    In fact, he opens the back door and adds, "Just come on through! I can getcha..." And when he spots Phoebe, his eyes narrow... his tongs get set aside, and his drink also. He just steps closer and asks, "Okay. Spill. Nobody has as much energy and lust for life as you do. What is going on?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Mr. Tampa-- Angelo -- it's just been a week." Phoebe replies tiredly, and she rubs at her eye a moment as she passes through the house, careful not to touch anything as she passes, and she joins Angelo in the back yard, glancing around for a handy place to hop up and sit so that she's closer to eye-level.

    "Even I get tired sometimes." she explains, and fiddles with the latest addition to her foutfit -- a leather strap wrapped around her left wrist. Angelo may remember the last time he saw her, she had a white magicial circle enscriped on her.

    "... in this case though -- vampire den. Attempted murder at the Laughing Magician. Dead man's party, and I have disposed of more corpses in the last week than I have *ever* thought I would have to do."

Achilles has posed:
    His mood turning serious now, Angelo picks up his soda and tongs. The smell of smoking meat is prevalent, and his neighbors may be hoping he'll deliver some like he usually does.

#    "Okay. If there is something I know about, it is dealing with more dead than one ever expected to. I was fifteen when I took my first life." he admits as he sits down and holds the soda out in case the girl wants a swig. It's Fitz's Root Beer at least. "Hit me. I can take it... I can honestly say that very little could possibly surprise me today."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... my cousin attempted to kill John, Chas, Impulse, and my friend Lydia by sending an explosive sigil through a magical back-trace thing through finding stores of my blood that she took while I was in the silo to destroy them, the explosive sigils were traced in a mixture of my blood and some poor ungulate's," she looks in guilt to the meat "... and the body it was attached to was laced with metal. She made a frag grenade out of our uncle." Phoebe explains, and then she looks at the rootbeer, accepts it, and takes a swig.

    "Which sounds... *so* crazy. So... so stupidly crazy."

Achilles has posed:
    "Well, it does sound a bit odd, yes." Angelo says, that voice of his laced with just the barest hint of that English accent. "And it is terrible what this cousin of yours did. I weep for your loss..." he states softly as he reaches an arm about Phoebe's shoulders. "And at the same time, I cannot help but be cheered by the fact that you continue to live. One thing that I have learned in my long life is.. no matter how hard we try, we cannot change the past. All that we can do is continue forward... and to try to make the sacrifices and losses worth it."

    he pauses a moment to stare at the smoker. But he's not seeing it. He is seeing something long ago, far away. "I have taken too many lives. Fought in too many wars. Please do not let yourself get to be as good at killing as I did. But at the same time, do not let this take what makes you you, away from you."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... Angelo, I didn't kill any of them." Phoebe points out. "My uncle had been dead for almost eighteen years. I never even knew him. The Vampire nest was full of murdering, awful people, and their victims. And I just... couldn't get to everyone in /time/." she states, and she leans back a moment, quietly regarding Angelo.

    "... but that's... what life was like for a lot of history, Angelo. A lot of time that you've been alive."

Achilles has posed:
    "Oh." is all Angelo says there. He nods, "That is weird. So ... yeah." He's done trying to share wisdom. He just reaches for the soda bottle and takes another sip to buy himself time to think.

    "Yeah. I have to agree, most of history sucked. The truth is... people die. And no matter how hard you fight, you can never save them all. In the end, even the ones that were saved will grow old and die. It's... it is enough to make a person stop trying.... sometimes. Believe it or not, there was a couple hundred years there that I just left people, lived alone and wanted nothing to do with humanity. I just waited for them to die out..... spoiler alert, people keep making more people."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "My whole life is weird right now." Phoebe complains quietly, and she takes a breath, and she looks over to Angelo, and gives a wry little smile.

    "Yeah, people are good at making more people. That's... kinda how we survived stuff like 'The plague' and 'Genghis Khan'." she gives a small smile, and rubs the back of her head. "I'm sorry Angelo. You came over asking me for help and I just go and unload all this stuff."

Achilles has posed:
    Smiling wanly, Angelo shrugs. "Helping you -does- help me. Knowing that I can help someone without going to war does my soul good." he adds.

    Downing the last sip of root beer, he sets the bottle aside and stands up, "So, don't apologize. If you need rest, then let this be a safe haven for you. If you ever need food, or anything... now you know where -I- live, and you can visit any time, for any reason."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "So... why help me at all? I mean, I was just another kid in Gotham. I wasn't anything special until you saw me fight the dogs." Phoebe asks, and she wringles her nose in thought. "Before any of this, I was just another kid in Gotham."

Achilles has posed:
    "Do you know when you were special to me?" asks Angelo as he turns to face Phoebe.

    "You were special the moment that I learned you'd been kidnapped, and that your mother was in danger. To be honest, it was mostly that you were someone in trouble, who I might be able to help. That was what made you special to me. It has nothing to do with your abilities. It has everything to do with ... just you being you."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe watches Angelo a moment, and where she sits, she draws her legs up, setting her chin on her knees as she listens to him, and she gives a smile.

    "... man, you know, life would have been so weird if I'd just told you what was up on the subway, but... I think I'm where I'm supposed to be. Right now. All the decisions and gut feelings and choices I've had to make... not knowing what the outcome would be." she gives a small smile.

    "I'm glad you're my friend, Angelo."

Achilles has posed:
    "We are all products of the choices we have made. They can never be unmaed... and as we move forward, we learn that we are what we are because of what we were and..." Angelo smirks a bit and shrugs, "If you'd done anything differently, then -we- would be different. Wouldn't we?" he asks.

    But then he steps forward and doesn't ask, doesn't wait. He just reaches to wrap Phoebe in a hug, "As I said." he says as he does so. "You are my friend, and I will be there however I can, whenever I can should you need it."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe freezes. She tenses and she takes a breath and she lets her toes curl in stress in those brown leather boots, and she brings her arms up in such a way that would enable her to push out of the hug unless Angelo hugs her really tight.

    Phoebe accepts the hug, though she's tense for it.

    She's very quiet for a moment, and she breaths out in a shakey breath.

    "Th-thank you, Angelo... I appreciate it?" she ventures, unsure as she breathes out.

Achilles has posed:
    Okay, discomfort. The hug was necessary, but letting it linger uncomfortably long is not. So Angelo backs off and says, "Sorry. The hug -was- required. It's a moral imperative."

    That said, he says, "So, the meat should be ready any time. Would you like me to put some in a container for your friends to share?" he asks as he steps over to a cooler and pulls out two more soda bottles, holding one out.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I'm sure Chas would appreciate it. I like to cook dinner a lot, but I'm non-meat most of the time, so he's graciously probably eaten more chick-pea sourced protein in the last month than he has ever thought possible." Phoebe gives a gentle reply, accepting the soda pop, and she twists it open.

    "... sorry. I've been kinda... working through stuff. A lot of stuff. /So/ much stuff." she states, tilting her head back a moment as she purses her lips. "... and I got a reminder of why I didn't like to be touched. I'm still... working through... a lot of things from the Silo." she admits, and she's scratching at the leather wrapped around her left wrist, fiddling with the end of it.

Achilles has posed:
    "Ah." says Angelo. "So, no more hugs. I get it. Sorry." he offers as his own hands lift defensively, palms forward.

    "So, take all of the lamb you like, and I'll be here when you need me. It's good to be here to help out in a way that doesn't require a blade."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Thank you, Angelo. And if you ever have need of a budding, kinda messed up young mage? I'm just a phone call away." Phoebe gives a small smile, and she gives a nod. "Like I said, I know Chas will enjoy it."

Achilles has posed:
    "Well, then by all means, take all you can carry." says Angelo as he begins placing hot smoked meat into tupperware. What? It's good stuff. "And mage now? You -are- moving up in the world. At least I know who to call if I -do- need a mage." he adds, "You get home and keep safe, eh?"