8323/Post Van-operation Down-time

Post Van-operation Down-time
Date of Scene:	19 October 2021
Location:	1A - Mairin's Studio Apartment
Synopsis:	Demona told Mairin about her mysterious new magic teacher.
Cast of Characters:	Mairin Moran, Susan Sullivan

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Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin throws open the door, and tosses her satchel into her desk chair as she pulls the tie from her pony tail. She hadn't realized how much she was sweating with two other people under that blanket, but she's certainly feeling it now.

    "Demona, make yourself at home, I'm going to take a quick shower." She flashes a smile and a wave as she grabs some clothes and heads in, leaving the door open, since Demona would have to actually enter the bathroom to see anything.

    The appartment itself is more of a mess than Demona has ever seen it. Books are strewn all over her desk, some piled on top of others, and parts and pieces of electronics and tiny gears and motors fill the kitchen table, along with soldering iron, a giant roll of solder, and flux. The kitchen counter has a small pile of what look like some version of her moth bot, but spherical.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona has no desire to follow Mairin. She floats over to a seat and kicks up her feet. She does some organizing of things that are distinctly messy or out of place without getting up. She seems pretty content to wait and telekinetically tidy.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    When she says quick shower, she means it. It can't be five minutes later that the water's off, and only another couple before she's walking out, drying her hair with a towel. She grins as she sees Demona tidying.

    "Sorry the place is such a mess. I haven't had five minutes to clean. It's just been one thing after another." She moves her satchel from the chair to the floor and sits down in it, scooting around to face Demona.

    "So... Spider-Man, eh?" she asks with a grin.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Before I touch on that," Demona says, "I love the chaos in here. The qi flows where it wants." She pulls her legs in and lifts off the couch with her hands on her knees to turn and sit in the lotus position while facing Mairin. "So!" she repeats after Mairin. "Spider-Man. Firstly, did I tell you I had a close call with qi?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Marin laughs at the comment about her chaos. She can't agree... she hates it... But she's glad Demona likes it.

    "Yes. You said Spider-Man saved you." She drys her ears then just plops the towel in her lap with her hands. "Did he take you back to his place after?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Actually, his place was before," Demona says. "Also, I'm not sure what it is about how you're addressing things, but you have the tendency to turn everything into innuendo. Can we work on that?" she requests. "Maybe...not do that?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    She blinks, then furrows her brow, obviously thinking about what she just said. "...took you back to his place..." She ahhhs and nods. "I can see what you're saying." She blushes. "Sorry... I really didn't mean it that way. I'll.. try to work on that."

    She sighs a little, and adds that to the list of things she can't say. Why does conversation have to be so hard... She visably pauses now, running through what she's saying before she says it. "So how did you meet?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Okay, so firstly, I cannot tell you a lot," she says. "But let me just say that Peter Parker, that nerdy kid I have a crushingly huge crush on? He totally came through." She gestured. "Spider-Man met me on top of a parking garage and invited me over to look at his workshop. I was kind of geeking out. He's got some seriously cool tech."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    She nods along with th story, listening closely. "It makes sense I suppose. Being some kind of super-hero. Did he.." She pauses.. considers, reconsiders, then waves a hand. "Nevermind. I don't want to ask you for anything you can't give me. So then what happened?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "I hit on him and he shot me down," Demona says. "I don't really want to talk about that part." She huffs a sigh. She then says, "Also--" She furrows her brow and says, "Nevermind."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin chuckles a bit at the first, but in a sympathetic way. Then furrows her brow a bit at the false-start. "Are you sure? I mean... I don't want to pry or ask you to tell me anything you shouldn't. But you know you can tell me anything."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona hesitates again. She says, "You're my boss, a teacher, and have your rebound crush on me. I gotta be careful with my words around you, even if we're friends." She considers again what she wants to say.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    "I..." she starts to protest, but either thinks better of it, or finds she can't because she stops. Instead she just waits to see what Demona will say. If anything.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "How are things between you and Nettie?" Demona asks, simply, looking Mairin straight in the eye.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin eyes Demona warily. As though the question is some kind of trap. "Fine..." she says slowly. "I... thought you didn't want to talk about her anymore."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Really fine, or fine because you don't want to upset me?" Demona asks.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    She shifts in her chair, still looking at Demona as if trying to figure out where this line of questioning is going.

    "I think we're starting to understand each other better. There are still... issues. But we're working through them. We just have a hard time understanding each other sometimes. Like we're speaking completely different languages. It just takes a little more effort to make sure the meaning is recieved."

    She pauses. "Why?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Do you still want me to look for a new teacher for you?" Demona asks.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin blinks. "I..." Then thinks about it a little more. "I don't think its necessary right now. She may be... Hard to understand or even get along with at times. But Nettie is a good person and a good teacher." She tilts her head to one side. "This doesn't have anything to do with my... feelings, does it." It's more of a statement of fact than a question.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "No," Demona says, lowering her gaze. "I found someone. A teacher. But I don't want to share. I--" She hesitates, closing her eyes. "I think magic and technology should be separate. I want to learn magic, but I don't want to mingle it in with electronics and mechanics and things of that nature. Just...if you want to stay with Nettie, stay with Nettie. I'm going to learn magic, too. I don't even want to compare notes. You left spellbooks out. I don't want to read them. We can compare what we can do over time, but I don't want to intermingle our methods. I just...I'm sorry. I wanted to find you a teacher, but I saw an opportunity, and a very powerful magic user offered to take me under their wing. I agreed."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Needless to say, it takes a bit for Mairin to process all of that. She starts to say something several times, but stops each time as her expression shifts from almost angry, to confused, to hurt, before eventually settling into a small smile.

    "I understand completely. And, really, you're probably right not to want to... share notes. Nettie has her own way of doing things, and I'm sure your teacher will to. It's best we don't confuse ourselves mixing things." She pauses and leans forward a bit. "I'm happy for you, Demona. Really. I can't wait to see what you can do. I'm sure it'll be wonderful."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "I'm already wonderful," Demona says. She looks seriously into Mairin's eyes. "You are, too. Don't let Nettie disrespect you. Even babies deserve appropriate respect."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin laughs a little. "I'm nothing special, Demona. But I wont. I've gotten some pretty... interesting lessons lately in sticking up for myself." She shrugs it all off. "So can you tell me who this mystery tacher is?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona glances toward the door, then leans to look at the window. When she's checked all the things she can, she leans in toward Mairin and whispers, "Can you keep a secret?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    "Of course," she whispers back, leaning closer to Demona as well but smiling as if this were some regular middle school secret.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona sits upright. In her normal tone of voice she says, "So can I."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin blinks, sits back, and looks utterly confused. "Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to ask anything I shouldn't." She looks down at the towel in her lap and suddenly stands, walking back over to the bathroom to hang it up.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona raises from the couch then unfolds her legs, lowering herself until her feet touch the floor. "No, you're not asking inappropriate questions," Demona says, "I just really value my secrets."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    She's in the bathroom for a minute, longer than it should take, but when she comes out she has a small smile. "No, I understand. I shouldn't have asked. I think..." She leans back against the kitchen counter. "I think maybe it'll be better if we just don't talk about magic at all. At least, as much as that is possible." She takes a deep breath. "So, was the junkyard the stone in the river you were talking about?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "It was," Demona says. "It was so clean that nothing was living there but people. No rats, no pigeons, nothing. There was no qi flowing but that within the people I was interacting with."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    She considers this for a moment as she takes a few more deep breaths. "That must be like... starving to death." She frowns. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "It's fine," Demona says. "Not the first time I've been there. First time in a while, though. Anyway." She puts on a smile. "Let's go do something. We're always so isolated. Let's go for a drive to Coney Island. You ever been there?" Demona moves to the door and opens it. This is apparently not an idle invitation.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin looks at Demona, then back to her kitchen table and all the work sprad over it. "I... I can't," she answers with a sigh. "I promised--" She stops and looks back to Demona. "I promised someone I'd do something. It's important. I'll... See you at work tomorrow, ok?" She gives a weak smile then goes back to her table, picks up the iron, and gets back to work.