8400/Night Brigade Meeting

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Night Brigade Meeting
Date of Scene: 29 October 2021
Location: The Laughing Magician
Synopsis: Some of the Night Brigade come together to figure out their places and the purpose of the group as a whole. For once, everything goes pretty smoothly.
Cast of Characters: Phoebe Beacon, John Constantine, Mairin Moran, Chas Chandler, Nico Minoru, Jubilation Lee, Zatanna Zatara




Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    In spite of the fact that Phoebe had to be carried in last night from their trip upstate, the girl has not taken it easy, knowing there was a shindig-meeting type event. So her hair was back in its chunky braids, and she was wearing a black T-shirt with dancing skeletons on it and a pair of ripped jeans (that she ripped herself, accidentally side-walk surfing) and she was wearing a pair of blue acetate glasses on her face as she carried in two large paper bags of food from SEE YEW SOON, because you know the food at the Laughing Magician's a bit of a joke. That's why their menu was just on some printer paper.

    The to-go containers full of all sorts of good stuff are set out on the bar counter, with one marked very specifically "CHAS" and one marked "SPICY GIRL"

    She looks at the huge piles of containers, leaning back on her heels a moment.

    "... I hope I got enough." she murmurs to herself, and ducks back into the kitchen to pull out the latest tuppeware of cookies, and to toss the last pan in the oven so she can pull them early.

John Constantine has posed:
    Meetings, the bane of existence in office buildings all over the world. ...and the bane of John Constantine's. They're just not even a spindle thing on the wheel in his wheelhouse. He's here though, sitting on that Pauper's Throne with all his usual 'equipment' about.

    He's second scotch in since he arrived about an hour ago, not too bad for him, but his ashtray's already about needing emptied and he's smoking another one. It bobs up and down between his lips when he tells Chas, "This was a bad idea. All of it. I don't know how to do this shite." Someone has a case of the nerves for sure.

    Out there, when it's a split second decision, thinking on his feet, telling people what they need to do to keep themselves realtively safe AND kick the monster's arse? That he *knows* he's at least decent at. Relating in a meeting/social setting. Yeah, not so much. He knows he's awkward and weird about those things. The knowing makes it harder sometimes than if he didn't have clue.

    ...as a perfect example of it, he clams up and stops talking about it the second his daughter walks it. AWKWARD, even with his own kid.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin wanders in looking a little like John walking in anywhere at any time. Which is to say she looks like she's been put through the ringer. Blisters on her eyelids, her clothes rumbled and her hair still disheveled, she doesn't even have her usual atchel OR a mini-bot. All the same, she's here.

    She walks over to a table by herself, has a seat, and just places her chin in her hands, staring at the tabletop.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas gives a wave to Phoebe as she comes in. "It'll be fine. It's a meeting, not a party, Little Lighthouse." He then looks at John and shakes his head. "You'll do fine. If you want I can go get a couple of cardboard cutouts of cartoon demons and vampires from down the street and put them on display if that will help?"

    When Mairin wanders in he blinks. "Mairin?" he asks cautiously. "What... what happened?" The concern in his voice is evident.

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico makes her grand entrance to The Laughing Magician somewhere between 'zombie' and 'sentient hoodie out for revenge'. The slender witch is lost in a pair of dark grey baggy sweatpants, tossed on over a pair of buckle-bedecked thick soled boots that have an entire third of the buckles securely fastened. Her torso and arms are swallowed up in an oversized black hoodie with a bootleg angry Jigglypuff sewn on the back, her right fingertips occasionally peek fre, her left hand is actually exposed, clutching an honest to god scroll in her fist, with a quill tucked into the middle of it.

It's impossible to tell her mood with the hood pulled down to the point she's more Nazgul than actual person.

She closes in on the bar, beginning to lift one leg to commence a hop up onto a stool, only to stop, slowly lower her foot, and then just lean on it.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee enters in perhaps the most opposite way. Her appearance is a mixture of old and new. 'Old' would be her clothes. She's wearing the same outfit as last night, the one she had on just before the gang left for upstate New York. It's a simple outfit of a yellow tanktop with black spandex shorts, but both garments are wrinkled. 'New' would be her attitude and demeanor.

    Jubilee announces herself as she crosses through the threshold of the Laughing Magician, "Hello, hello, beautiful people!", and continues walking in. Instead of a by-the-numbers entrance, Jubilee walks in a lazy, whimsical way, swaying her hips, sashaying, and dragging her fingertips along EVERY surface, each chairback and table she passes, as though her hands and forearms were suddenly very heavy.

    Her skin is porcelain perfect, her hair luxurious and soft, and her eyes have never been more piercing. The supernatural beauty has somehow been turned up to 11...

    "It's so nice to see all of you!" she enthuses, her tone taking on a whimsical, sing-songy kind of sway. "...All such good-looking people in this place tonight... A bunch of heartbreakers if you ask me..." Jubilation eventually finds herself a seat, which happens to be right at the bar, right next to Nico. "Spooky," she says with a big smile, happy as a clam. Spooky, in this context, is delivered as a term of endearment.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
There is a quiet breath of air in the corner farthest from the bar. Top hat in hand, Zatanna portals silently into the room in full stage costume - tux, fishnet tights and high heels, fresh from a performance. She nods to Mairin, Nico, Phoebe and Jubilation on her way to the bar.

"Chas, would you pour me some juice? I rushed over and didn't stop to get something to drink," she asks with a warm smile for the man, then turns to look in the room. "Did I miss anything?"

John Constantine has posed:
    "So we have Kenny and Disney Princess in attendance," John quips as his gaze shifts from Nico to Jubilation. "Let me guess, pendant worked?" He has to bite back the comment building about the walk of shame. Bad John. Be good. Literally, the inside of his cheek is bleeding from biting that one off before it could come tumbling from his lips.

    "I dunno, mate... think I could spell them to handle this shite?" he asks of Chas and he's only little bit joking. He's seriously *bad* at this. His gaze flicks to Mairin and away quickly again. "That would be me what happened there..." He doesn't go into the rest of it, because he always tends to stop at the 'my fault' bit.

    He plucks his near spent Silk Cut from between his lips and snubs it out in the ashtray and polishes off what's left in his third class of scotch before he lightly bangs his palms on the bar top. Apparently about to start when Zatanna pops into view. "Now I'm under dressed too," he snarks under his breath before taking a big one; breath that is. He even stands. Then he sits right back down and chickens out with, "So, I guess you all are wondering why *Chas* called you here tonight."

    What an *ASSHOLE*.

    If he catches Phoebe's eye, he gives her a 'back me up here, love', look.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    "I'm fine, Chas," Mairin says in a skewed voice. As though her tongue were twice the size it should be. She gives a shrug then just settles in to watch. She doesn't know why she's here exactly. She's just as much one for meetings as John. But she's willing to listen to see what he says.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Party, meeting, it has been a horrible last couple of days, people need to be fed." Phoebe answers back from the kitchen to CabbieDad. Pot of coffee put on. Electric kettle initiated for those who prefer tea.

    and she pulls the last tray of cookies early. These -- which are raspberry lemon cookies, so they're bright friendly pink and sunshine-yellow together instead of the orange cookies from the other night -- are slid over to John at his pauper's throne, and Phoebe just gives a smile at the assembled, until her eyes go to Zatanna. Her mouth opens, and then closes, and then her cheeks puff out a moment, and shen she ducks back into the kitchen to make sure the oven got turned off.

    "Nothing yet, Za-Zee-Zed--" she stammers a moment, trying to pick a freaking name to use -- and then, when her Dad calls her in, she hops up to her knees on the bar, puts her pinkie fingers to her lips and gives a sharp whistle, as if she were calling a cab other than Chas's.

    "First Official Meeting of the Night Brigade is on. Have some Thai food. Basically we're all banding together to fight the Bad Stuff going on in the Supernatural Sector that some capes can't handle. Anyone got questions?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe then looks to John, and gives a thumbs up. She's People Person.

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico manages to peer out from under her hood at the sound of good cheer and sing-song sunshine without recoiling or bursting into flame. In fact, dark painted lips even manage something that's more smile than grimace, only to fade as she looks over to Mairin's condition, that's enough for her right hand to come up and sweep her hood back, eyes blinking in the light for a moment. She offers Jubilee a little wiggle of her fingers as she hoarsely groans out, "Never get involved in a drinking contest between a robot and... a..." She frowns, "Well, he was a really big guy."

Her mouth falls open when Zatanna appears, but Nico is just too run down from last night's mistakes to react with appropriate star struck awe. She'll freak out later.

She turns to John, eyebrows above red-rimmed eyes lifting as she clearly does not buy 'Chas called you' tonight. She knows all about dodging responsibility, even hungover. She rummages in the Thai food for something fried and hopefully greasy, "Well, I mean, if nothing else I've got something to ask that I imagine the group can help with later."

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Mairin's nonchalant reply (and John's addition) is concerning but Chas lets it go. Maybe now isn't the time or place to ask about injuries. Jubilee and the nazgul each get a smile--though the nazgul gets a bit of tip of his head as he tries to identify the individual under the hood.

    Seeming satisfied he looks to Zatanna and nods. "Of course, Rabbit." He tries out his new name for the Homo magi, and gauges her reaction, as he bends down to get a bottle of store bought Simply Watermelon from the underbar fridge. He rolls his eyes as John attempts to foist the meeting on him. Pouring a generous helping into a tumbler he slides it to her with practiced precision before wincing as Phoebe lets out a whistle *right next to him.*

    He blinks and looks up to her and says, "Nicely done" even if it did hurt his ears. He was willing to help, but taking point was not his place among this group. Especially given his own power level in comparison to the others.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
    Zatanna, the word magician, looks smuggly pleased at the name confusion. Names are a powerful tool in any occult toolbox. Phoebe is shaping up, under John's tutelage to be a world-class sorceress. Elbows propped on the bar behind her, she ponders how diverse their powers are.

    "Rabbit!?" earns a laugh as she accepts the watermelon juice. "I only pull them out of a hat when I'm feeling very retro Chas. Where did /that/ come from?" She does an elaborate look over her shoulder. "Nope, no bunny tail that I see."

Zee hunches her shoulders at the whistle, "Impressive, Phoebe.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee grins at John and nods her head with rapid enthusiasm. She brings her hands up and rakes them through her hair. "Worked like a charm," she calls back, adding in a thumbs-up gesture to really sell it.

    Jubilee tilts her head to the side, to the side, to the side, cheek on the bar, and looks at Nico. "I'll keep that in mind," she replies lazily before her eyes flick upward towards Phoebe as she calls the meeting to order.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin's head jerks around at the word 'Rabbit', but it's obviously not directed at her so she just relaxes again, watching and listening. Brooding, even, one might say.

John Constantine has posed:
    John's current contribution to the meeting is nothing more than a snap point at Phoebe and a, "What she said." He lights another silk, refills his glass, downs about half of it before putting that Silk between his lips.

    This is *really* hard and those closest to him would certainly notice it. It's there in the way he squares his pack of Silks on the bar 'just so', makes sure the ashtray is at the peferct angle and space from the pack, makes sure his Zippo is centered on the pack...

    Finally he clears his throat and asks, "Basically, I need to know the all of what each of you can do and what role you see yourself in out there... in the middle of it all."

    His brain packtracks to Nico. His brow furrows. "What... did you do?" Oh little sneaky one, remember he once *was* you.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    There is plenty of crab rangoons, fried springrolls, and even some breaded chicken satay strips in the pile of Thai Food. Phoebe herself reaches over and grabs one marked Spicy Girl and a pair of chopsticks, popping the to-go container open and stirring it in.

    "I'll go first then. Hi all! For those who don't know, I'm Phoebe, John and Chas are my dads, and if you're wearing your amulets you should notice that there is a fully stocked first-aid room at the Curio. I'm Heal-Specced DPS-" she pauses, and she presses her lips together "And I'm the only one nerdy enough to understand what that means. So I heal, but my main role other than making sure everyone can walk away from an incident is purification and binding -- but I'm still Really Really in-training for anything except the healing and beating things with a stick of sunshine." she explains.

    And she gives a look over to John and Chas "And I'm nto for everyday regular damages. And technically," she looks up "'If you do it to yourself it's your own bloody fault'." she recites.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
    "Hi!" Zatanna takes a look around the room and pitches her voice to carry with stage performer precision.

     "I've met most of you at one time or another."

    She points her thumb at Phoebe. "I'd be the long-range caster here." Yes, Phoebe is not the only nerd on the block.

    "If I can frame a spell then I can cast it. I trained under my father."

    She pauses and smiles faintly, "My day job, so to speak, is onstage magician. I have trained other magicians and with John's okay will do it again with any of you here."

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico's eyebrows pop up at John's explanation of what he needs to know, and then her lips turn downward in a thoughtful little frown. It at least seems to have her sobered up enough that she lifts up to properly plant herself on her chosen leaning stool and leg her legs swing. "That's... kind of... complicated." She sighs and drops the parchment she's been clutching in her left hand onto the bar, giving it a little pat with metallic fingers and lifting that hand to wiggle them, "So this... uhhh... okay, so I'm Nico, I've got a few things going on, I don't have a name for this arm, but I can punch really hard with it, and it can fire off..." She frowns thoughtfully, "Fire? Magic fire I guess?"

She brings her other hand up to her face, palm covering her eyes for a moment, "But that's just sort of the sideshow. The main thing is this... family gift? Curse? It's some sort of... pact? I have access to a staff that's also... I don't know, something else. I can use it to cast spells, but every spell's got one shot. Whatever spell I use, I can't use the exact same phrasing again, and the phrasing is what forms the spell, so it's never quite the _same_ spell again."

Her shoulders lift and fall, "Oh, and I try not to use it because my parents were part of... a shadowy thing that I'm a little worried might be able to track me down and that'd be bad for everyone. Like, actually literally everyone."

She snap-points at Phoebe and Zatanna, "Hey, I get those references! ...Kind of. I know nerd things!"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "So, like, one and done?" Jubilation wonders suddenly, eyebrows hiked as she considers Nico's staff. "Neat...Never gets boring!" She flashes Nico a grin and then climbs up onto her stool, balancing perfectly on one foot.

    "Hellloooo!" Jubilee draws out her greeting. "I'm Jubilation Lee. People call me Jubilation, Jubilee, Jubes, and..." She tilts her head in John's direction. "...sometimes none of those. Ever."

    Jubilee shrugs and points her thumb at her chest. "So, like, I'm a mutant," she adds, not even a hint of shame there. Jubes lifts her hand in the air and brings a cloud of hundreds of micro explosions of every color a few inches above her fingertips. "...So, I can do /that/... Definitely want to stay away from /those/..."

    "And, uh, I was a former olympic gymnast, so, you know, super duper acrobatic! Oh, and lots of years in combat training -- don't ask why, I won't tell you!" And then, as an afterthought, Jubilation adds the key detail. "Oh, so, I'm dead and a vampire, so, like, I'll just be going on those night missions. We're the 'Night Brigade' so I guess that's cool!" Jubilation hops off the stool, hesitates, and then hops back up onto it with a single jump.

    "Oh, sorry, forgot," she announces. "I don't know any magic whooziwhatzits, but I'm here to slay monsters!" She throws a few fake punches in the air, complete with some 'woosh' 'woosh' sound effects from her mouth for maximum fun. With that handled, she hops down from the stool again.

John Constantine has posed:
    "So, healer and my daughter, in more ways than one." Including the stubborn streak, sometimes. John offers his daughter a wink and a little bit of a smile. "Field second, when Chas isn't about and trainer." He's looking at Zatanna when he says that. His nose scrunches a little bit when his attention shifts to Nico, just a little on one side, causing just the eye on that side to squint when he looks at her. And when he looks? He Looks, Sight wide open. What *is* she. "And tank, sometimes caster in emergencies with creepy cult parents."

    It's the last part his brain focuses on, it's the last part that's like to become an obsession. It's the last bit he's already decided he needs to 'fix' even before he knows he's decided it. It'll stick there like a little ear worm but it's it in that brilliant, yet totally fucked six was to Sunday brain of his. A project, somethig that needs to be handled to keep Nico and others safe.

    There's a like he gets when on of those when one of those little brain worms starts burrowing. He has that look now. Uh-oh.

    "And we have Buffy! And she kicks ass and makes sparkles!" Sometimes, none of those, ever.

    He takes the moment to explain, clear as a bell even, "This next bit goes for everyone, even those not present. When we're out there... you listen to me, do as I say and you don't hesitate. If I'm down or not there, you listen to Chas. If he's down or not there, Zatanna. If she's down or not there, Lyida. That's the chain of command out there. It needs to be solid, no question. One of us says it, you do it. If we tell you run, you run."

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas' name reminds him to introduce himself. "I'm Chas, by the way" he says with a wave of his hand. "I'm, like John says, field second. I can't do magic but I know how to kill pretty much anything out there and if it's weakness is on hand, I can use it."

    He gives Phoebe a glance. "Where's Fighter stand on your list of... what did you say, 'specced'?" Video games weren't a forte (at least not western RPGs), but the man had played his fair share of Dungeons & Dragons in his early childhood years. "Because whatever that is... I'll take it" he grins.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeesssss staff sisterrrrsss complete with evil family members." Phoebe smiles, and she offers a fist-bump to Nico from where she sits on the bar with her veggie pad thai, extra spicy, but when she turns to look at John, she smiles back at him, brightly. Bit of a badge of honor in being referred to as family -- but she knows that look when his nose scrunches. She takes a breath, and she looks down into her noodles.

    " -- we're no strangers to complex families. My cousin and I are the last of our family because she murdered them all. I'm still processing that part." she states quietly to Nico, and she digs into her noodles. "And I can add on -- I've got combat training, staff and escrima sticks and hand-to-hand in case anyone needs a sparring partner." she states, listing off some of her other skills.

    She snap-points at Chas with both hands.

    "You're a multi-specced tank. Short-range and melee. If you can't shotgun 'em you use--" and she sets her pad thai down, and flexes her arms "Deez Guns!" she attempts to make a serious face, but it's all a bit silly, good natured. Nevermind that Phoebe is very fit herself.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
    "Champion," Zatanna chimes in at Chas's question. "Undoubtedly." Her regard moves to the black-hooded Nico speculatively, recognizing the younger version of John in the young girl. She remembers that version of him all too well.



    "As for being third third, hopefully neither John or Chas will be down in a fight if Phoebe or I are along.

    Shaking her head ruefully at herself, then glancing at John. "I didn't introduce myself, but I imagine you have all gathered that I'm Zatanna Zatara. Also, combat trained with the Justice League for a few years," she adds, without elaborating on her prowess.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas nods to both Phoebe and Zatanna's offerings of his positon. And then brightens. "Top Hat!" he says, snapping his finger and pointing at the Homo Magus. "Much better name for you than 'Rabbit.' Especially given Crow Mother's penchant for nicknames as well."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Figuring that she should probably actually join in (Nettie will get anoyed if she hears she didn't whatever condition she happens to be in) Mairin stands and walks up to the end of the line at the bar.

    "Hi..." she says, shyly. "I think I've met most of you at some point or another. But I'm Mairin. I'm one of Nettie's apprentices. Not for very long, so my magic is limited. I'm also a robotisist." She shrugs, a little embaressed. "I make things."

    She climbs up onto a stool and tries to feel like she belongs here, even if she isn't sure she does. Everyone else seems far more advanced than her.

John Constantine has posed:
    "Oh!" John interjects as if he's had some sort of epiphany. "And don't wig out if Chas dies, not until you've seen it happen... thirty-three... thirty-six? ...times." He looks at the man in question with raised eyebrows and mutters, "We *really* need to pin down that number."

    "He's currently more like Teflon in regards to death than I am."

    He lights his next cigarette off the end of the one still burning and then snuffs the latter out in his near full ashtray. "Mairin is also able to... pull stuff apart and I'm sure that'll eventually mean create stuff," he adds.

    "...and me? I'm just a bloke from Liverpool that knows a few things about some stuff."

    He slides off his stool and heads toward the backroom to open the door wide. The walls, the maps, filled with little pushpins. ...and there are *thousands* of those pins. Currently the majority of them on the world map are black. The highest concentration of those seems to be in the general local area, but they're spreading outward quickly with even a few overseas. "Black ones are reported thinnings," he explains. "Rest is other stuff, feral vampire nests, possessions, demons, feral werewolves, just stuff. That's what we're all here for. The stuff that tends to go by the wayside in the bigger picture, the stuff that most muggles don't even want to believe exists, even if they'll swear aliens are real. It's a path that I've walked mostly alone, with an exception here and there... Pointed and so very found look in Chas' direction there. He *loves* that man, it's obvious. "I guess it's time I don't that anymore, aye?"

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico reaches out for a gentle little fistbump for Phoebe with that totally cool metal fist. Possibly because her other hand is busy making short work of some of those crab rangoon in directing them to her mouth.

She swallows hatily to point, "Oh! I know how to throw a normal punch too! ...Uhhh, not like, super well, but I hitchhiked to Gotham awhile back and got some lessons at this twenty four hour gym. But, I mean... I don't really intend to _normal_ punch monsters."

She stares at Jubilee then, eyes blinking slowly, "I... wait, did you just say you're dead _and_ a vampire? ...Is that different than just being a vampire?"

And then she's spinning on her stool again to wave both hands at John, "Oh, no no no, my family's not a concern. Me and my friends interrupted their big ritual, there was some unpleasantness. Rocks fell, everybody died." She shrugs and sighs, "But like, they had all this far reaching cult stuff going on, so like, there's no way all that just shrugged and broke up right? It's cool though, I keep a low profile."

She clears her throat and sort of stage mumbles, "I mean, like, everyone at that party totally paid more attention to the green alien gal, and the drinking robot I'm sure. It'll be fine, like, it was just that demon pirate that noticed the magic."

She points at Mairin and grins brightly, "Yeah! I saw your robots at that crazy Wal-Mart stuff, they were cool!"

Then John's opening the door and showing off the maps, the pins... and Nico just stares blankly. "So... light workload in battling the supernatural, huh?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe knows not to argue about John being 'some bloke'. She smiles to him, and takes a breath at the mention of Chas dying, and she winces, visibly. "Yeah, that's important to note, but please please *please* don't just let him die?" Flipped out a little the first time she saw Chas perish. First time she hugged him. Everyone was weirded out. That was a weird night.

    Phoebe gives a shrug of her shoulders, and at the mention of Gotham, she lights up "Oh! Which gym? Who'd you work with? I might know them." Phoebe asks with a little smile, and as John turns to show off the maps -- which Phoebe probably might have helped with -- she turns to Mairin. Her head tilts.

    "You all right?" she questions from her place sitting on the bar, eyeballing Mairin with a little concern. "You're not as peppy as you were the last couple of times you've been here."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin actually winces at John's mention of her ability to 'disassemble things', but gives Phoebe a weary smile. "It's just been a really bad day."

    Yeah... having some arch-duke of hell nearly posess you as John cuts it's connection to your soul could probably be termed 'a bad day'.

    She does follow JOhn into the back room though, and walks up to the map, examining it, but particularly the black pins. Since she's had a direct hand in combating the thinnings. Still... she had no idea there were so many.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas shrugs. "Somewhere between 30 and 40, yeah" he says. "Is there a way to find out just how many that doesn't involve aggonizing soul wrenching pain?" he asks. Then Jon's showing off the maps. He *definitely* had a hand in helping with them. But he lets the others give their opinions though Nico's sarcasm does earn her a smile. He can appreciate sarcasm in the face of danger.

John Constantine has posed:
    "As of tonight, you all have access to this room," John explains. "If the shit really hits it and the ground opens up and the heavens start spewing frogs, this is where you come. This room..." His teeth catches his bottom lip at the left corner and he gives a little tilted shake of his head. "It doesn't exist in the same space..." No, too complicated. "It's just the safest place if shit goes truly sideways."

    Chas'll get it. Phoebe *might*... Zatanna possibly. That room, the one with the ready portal to the House of Mystery for the right people, it's an *extension* of that creepy ass house. It's why it's bigger than it should be.

    Oh no, little Nico. Family members dead or not, little urchin... the rest of it needs to be addressed. "Sure it didn't just all go away, luv..." he backtracks in that direction. ... but it will. "And yes, just a light workload. Room for lots of downtime, vacations in Fiji..." There was that one time in Fiji with the hunger demons, that was kind of a vacation, right? "Now what's all this about a demon pirate and a party?" He can kind of guess, he *is* a member of that club, just not a frequent visitor. His invite went straight to the bin.

    "Oh, and Mairin, no more spelling portal robots for you. Just make them, I'll do the spell work myself."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Taking a deep breath, Zatanna shoots Chas a rueful grin, "Only. He's a professional at it. He is on a first name basis with Persephone."

    She gets off her stool to follow the others into the special room that John shows them. Her own house is built on similar principles as it is. The homo magi is already very familiar with the map, having added a few pins herself and, help change the color on a number of them.

In an aside to John, "You have managed quite a collection of us, haven't you?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Got it! So, John's in charge, then Chas, then Zee. Magical escape room in the bar, too!" Jubilee confirms she heard it. Lydia is not mentioned. She clicks her tongue and fires a finger-gun in John's direction before turning to Nico.

    "Oh, yeah, totally died," Jubilee confirms for Nico. She tilts her head to the side, rolls her eyes backwards, and sticks her tongue out for maximum effect. "But then I, like, woke up in a morgue with these." She opens her mouth so Nico can see the four razor sharp fangs, two on top and two on the bottom. Jubilation shrugs her shoulders. "What are you gonna do?" she adds, suggesting that she's not letting it get her down.

    "So, uh, is there anything else we gotta talk about?" Jubes asks loudly. "Because, as much fun as it is to watch you all eat food..." She grins a little.

John Constantine has posed:
    "I think that about covers it, Buffy," John calls out to Jubilation before his attention turns back to the room. "Learn the map, the color coding system and if you don't already have a space next door and would like one, get with Chas or Phoebe before they're filled. I'm renting some of them out to people outside the group."

    After a lingering, tired look at that map, John exits the room himself, passing close by Zatanna on the way out. His voice lowers for only her when he says, "Gotta have something in place for when I'm gone, aye?" He's forgotten about those damned vampire ears of Jubilation's, or maybe he's just hoping she wasn't paying attention?

    "Anyway, the lot of you have fun, aye? Drinks on the house, food too if you're brave enough to eat any of the in house stuff after Phoebe's stuff is gone."

    Speaking of Phoebe, John glances in her direction, his brow all furrowed and creased in a way that's somewhere between awe and ... well, maybe a little sadness? Gods, he loves that kid and he's so fucking *proud* of her. Yeah, the darkness might as well tuck tail and hide forever once he's gone and she's helping Chas run the show.

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico deadpans and shrugs, "I mean, he was... a demon pirate? Okay, I guess a demon dressed as a pirate for the party."

She sighs out and shakes her head, "Like, red skin, tail, pointy ears, kinda like... I dunno, old black and white movie actor charisma?"

She goes just a _touch_ wide-eyed at those fangs of Jubilee's, but is at least polite enough not to recreate a lion tamer to get a closer look out of curiosity. "Oh! Neat! Wicked cool. And... oh jeeze, yeah! That's like... gotta be rough. No pizza."

She turns back to John and shrugs, picking up the parchment from the bar top and waving it about, "He saw me do a little razzle dazzle and realized it was like... _magic_ magic? Said something about training and instruction, and how the deal wasn't for my soul, just 'favors'." She frowns thoughtfully, "I mean, I saw that club, so 'favors' seems like it could be a wiiiiiide range of things. Then I tried to do a rainbow run of jello shots, and then... I remember tasing licorice?"

Shoulders lift and fall, and she jingles her amulet, "Then this buzzed and here I am."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe bites on the inside of her cheek as she looks to Mairin, and then she rubs the back of her neck as she breathes out, tilting her head back as she shakes her head.

    "Do you want something, Jubilee?" she asks, ever helpful. She's strongly suspected that the back room was an 'extension'. You don't live in the bar with a bunch of magic without noticing sometimes, the measurements don't add up.

     She pauses a moment, and she sees John's look. She knows he's trying. Her expression softens at him, because she recognizes every bit of effort it's taking him to be social, and she hops off the bar as Nico speaks to John.

    "Seriously, all -- eat up. See Yew Soon is great stuff. As evidenced by the fact that they have Chas's order with a name, and mine is labeled Spicy Girl."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin turns away from the map and follows John, obviously intent on talking to him specificly. Because apparently she's a glutton for punishment.

    "John... Why don't you want me to do the spellwork any more?"

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
    Zatanna glances over her shoulder as the others trade stories, listening to Jubilee's explanation for her fangs and Nico's encounter with the devil dressed up as himself. She sighs but makes no comment. There are few in their world whose birth into it was not...rough. The thought sends her glance towards John and Phoebe.

    Despite her stage performing, she is no better than he is with socializing. Now, she can hide behind the Grande Dame persona when she is having an attack of acute introversion.

    So, back to the bar and this time something a little stronger than watermelon juice. Watermelon juice? Where does Chas dig this stuff up?

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "You know... I don't miss it," Jubilation admits, shrugging her shoulders at Nico. Her voice is non-committal, as though she hadn't thought about pizza at all in quite a while. Food has become a rather disgusting, distant memory in such a short period of time.

    "Wait, so, you made a deal with..." Jubilation falls quiet for a moment, thinking about it. "...How'd you know he was a pirate? Did he have a ship?" Priorities, Jubes, Priorities!

    Hearing her name, Jubilee shakes her head at Phoebe. "Oh, no, I..." She glances at the offering of food. Can't have that. Phoebe knows, probably. Maybe she means the blood that Chas stocks.

    "No, thanks! I have the most /wonderful/ taste in my mouth right now and I don't want to lose it by drinking the stuff from those bags in the fridge..." Jubilee grins and leeeeeans across towards Zatanna. "How much do I owe you for those donuts, Zee? The ones you bailed me out of."

John Constantine has posed:
    Because a demon invaded your dreams after I told you to do something that maybe you weren't ready for so it's on me, my fault... That's what his mind says. To Mairin directly he says, "Because I said so," in a 'that's the end of it' tone.

    The bulk of his attention is still on Nico. "Did you sign something?" Please say no, please say no. "It's dangerous, having random strangers training you," he adds. ...from fucking *experience*, the first name in his past to pop up in relation to that is one that Zatanna knows well. Nick Nolan. Nick was FAR from a random stranger in the end, but it started that way, with that and a sense of awe over the man's powers.

    Granted, he's not much more than a random stranger to Nico is he? "If you need training, I can do it, or Zatanna. We don't ask for favors in return." There's a little something to his tone that just about boarders on an 'order'? It's what he hides concern behind, truly.

    Jubilation's denial of the blood and subsequent explanation his his faded denim blues rolling Heavenward and a little 'nnnnng' sound escaping him. What did he *do*? Jubilee sexual innuendo? As foul as he can be, as snarky as he can be, as nasty and crass as he can be... not something he wants to listen to.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    She almost fumes for a second at the parental dismisal, but Mairin doesn't say anything. She knows he has reasons. And she trusts those reasons. She just wishes to God that he trusted *her* enough to tell her the reasons.

    But instead she just takes it, and files it away under 'rules John gives without giving a reason'. And stands there, waiting for his attention again.

    "I need to show you something," she syas, when she has it.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe looks at Jubilee, and her ears color a little bit as she just kind of gives a thousand yard stare as multitude of thoughts travel through the teenager's mind, and then she gives a cough, and busies herself with stuffing her mouth with veggies, tofu and peanut, monitoring John's stance. He's being crowded, and that's always a dangerous situation.

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico shakes her head wildly, "I didn't make a deal with... I... just... have a deal! I haven't signed it! I haven't even read it yet. Like, I need a lawyer or something right? It's a contract and all."

She shrugs and gestures, "He had like, a swashbuckly outfit? He had a little demon guy on his shoulder like a parrot, I think he had an eyepatch? I mean, once he did the whole magic scroll thing the costume sorta seemed less important. But seriously, there were like _eight_ pirates."

She shakes her head wildly at John, "No I didn't sign anything! But Jeeeezus, you'd think demon contracts would have to be like normal ones, and you can't go preying on people at a party with an open bar." She eyes the rolled up parchment and sighs, "I mean, I can't just throw this away! What if some _kid_ finds it?"

And then Nico's joining in the wave of being all 'Wait, Jubilee said wut?' and staring blankly until she snaps to and points at Phoebe, "Oh! Gotham! The gym! Some guy named Ted's place! But it wasn't a Ted that showed me things it was... uhh... I forget her name. She was blonde. Nearly kicked the heavy bag off its... whatever you call the thing it hangs on."

John Constantine has posed:
    With a loooong suffering sigh that clearly speaks the word 'puppies' even if it doesn't really, John holds out his hand for the scroll, "Give it. There is *nothing* normal about a demon contract," he points out in a mutter. Man should know! He signs them *all* the time! Rather makes him the right one to look over Nico's doesn't it?


    "What is it, kitten?" he asks, attention divided between both young woman. He reaches up with the hand not waiting to be scrolled and presses the pad of his thumb into his forehead, right where there might be a third eye if the thing was visible. Ngggggggg... puppies.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
John's allusion to Nolan, merits an eye roll and a shake of Zee's head with a heavy undertone of don't go there, me boy. That meeting had changed their lives and ended Nolan's eventually. She catches the little whip of command in his voice, and simply opens her hands to Nico with a shrug. "Anytime, like he says."

Zee stares in a disbelief at Jubes for a moment, then wipes the expression from her face noncommittally. He /is/ a big boy and can take care of himself but she is uncomfortable or Phoebe's reaction.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee stares at Phoebe, tilting her head to the side like she's trying to figure out a behavior from an alien species or something. Then she notices John and the pained noise he's making. Then Nico. Then Zee.

    "What?" she asks everyone, a look of pure confusion on her face. "Do I have something on my face?" She reaches up and uses her fingers to wipe away nothing, just in case.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"You don't owe me anything for the donuts, Jubes. Not a thing."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin grabs a blank sheet of paper and pen from the table, not really caring if John is watching her or not. That's really not the point. And begins to draw.

    Strong, smooth curves... lines.. angles. Each movement precise, practiced and seemingly effortless. In a few moments she's produced a circle. A ward to be exact. One lined with celtic imagery around the edges, but with the lines through the middle taking on a distinctly feline shape.

    She holds up the near flawless spell she's reproduced from memory, and raises an eyebrow. "It's a poor production. I'm sorry. My mind isn't focussing well. But will it do what I asked?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    At least he didn't lick the scroll.

TPhoebe swings her legs over the bar and comes down on the inside of it to grab a perfectly polished glass and fill it with sprite.

    "You know what, Jubilee, what toothpaste do you use? Anything in particular to keep the fangs sparkling?" she asks, trying to force a segue into a different conversation of what taste was in Jubilation's mouth.

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico shrugs and hands the scroll over to John, pointing two fingers at her eyes, then at him, "Here y'go, boss... don't you go signing that and stealing... uhh... I dunno, whatever the agreement is? I'm just saying, the demon guy'd probably be pretty sad if he passed out a contract to a magical anime witch girl and then..." She just sort of vaguely gestures up and down at John, "I mean, no offense."

And then she's searching around for a soda. You know, so she can have an excuse to not worry about John's offense.

John Constantine has posed:
    John's just going to pointedly ignore the drama surrounding Jubilation lest he open his mouth and words that shouldn't come spewing forth from it. It takes effort though, he does that teeth catching his lip again and that little tilted, quick head shake. ...and Chas' voice in his head telling him to be nice.

    Scroll in hand he turns to face Mairin. "How the bloody Hell should I know without seeing an accurate representation?" he asks, tone incredulous. "I mean, it looks like it should but if the final zigs even a bit where that one zags it could kill you both." He's not serious is he? He sounds serious.

    ...then he carefully, unscrolls the scroll. Very Carefully, eyes wide open, Sight up for anything... icky.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Apparently perfectly happy to change the topic from whatever just drew all the attention towards her, Jubilee nods in Phoebe's direction. "Oh, well, they're just normal teeth, right?" she answers. Jubilation opens her mouth and drags her tongue against the pointy ends of her fangs. "But..." Jubilee leans forward towards Phoebe and gives her a conspiratorial look.

    "Get this. Every night when I wake up... Everything's, like, reset," she says to Phoebe. "Back to this." Jubilee waves her hand up and down over her face. "I cut my hair the other night... Grew /right/ back." All of this is building towards one interesting idea:

    "Maybe I don't even have to brush them, them..." she concludes.

    Perhaps attracted towards John because of the sudden commotion or perhaps it's something else, but Jubilation stops talking and turns to look in John's direction. She tilts her head to the side, as if trying to focus on something. Something distant. Something faint. "...You alright, J.C. Slater?" she calls out suddenly without an apparent reason.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin grumbles a few choice curses, crumples the page, throws it in the corner, grabs another one, and repeats the process. But, before setting pen to paper, she takes a moment to center herself. Deep brath's in and out. Packaging away the entire day, and focusing on just the page.

    This time she takes longer, her brow furrowed, her concentration intense. And again her hand moves through the creation of the ward with confident, smooth strokes. Nothing erased, no starting over. Because if she ever needs to cast it in practice, mistakes wont be an option. Smooth, perfect circles... precise angles, straight lines. Even the curves of the celtic imagery are laid out with perfect drafter's precision.

    When she's done, she holds the second, perfect, copy up.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Hey -- don't crowd him --" Phoebe states, reaching out to just lightly push her fingertips against Jubilee's arm.

    "He's had pretty much no downtime. Last night was pretty rough. Whatever tried to get out in Maine ended up getting out upstate. It was pretty bad. I had to be carried home." she states quietly to Jubilee as Nico and Mairin crowd John a bit. "So... just give him some patience and space."

    She looks up though, and pulls one of her short braids in front.

    "I wish my hair did that." she laments. "It's going to take months or a hefty bill at a braid shop for my hair to be as pretty as it was two weeks ago." she laments.

John Constantine has posed:
    "What?," he snips in Jubilation's direction. Who the *fuck* is J.C. Slater? "I guess he's fine, wherever he's at," he adds in a distracted voice. Those faded denim blues do a quick scan of the scroll in his hands, but stop half way through when Mairin is holding something up in his peripheral again. Puppies! Nggggggg...

    He turns and walks closer to snatch the paper with his left hand, still holding the dangling scroll his right. A quick glance and he hands it back. "This right here's off," he states, pointing over top the page after it's in Mairin's hands. "Do that and you're going to be blocking your own dreams, not just what she'd cause. People need to dream, even when they suck."

    Does he tell her *how* to correct it? No. Because he's an *ass*? Not exactly, puppies and kittens don't learn if they don't figure things out on their own, innit so?

    His focus falls back to the scroll in his hand. All of his focus, but in at first he's not even seeing it. His vision's a little weird and he reaches up to press his finger and thumb into them and RUB.

    To anyone that truly knows him, he *is* trying, so hard... and he's a little overwhelmed by the trying.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    She eyes the spot John points to, makes a mark, then tucks the paper into a pocket before turning to walk back to the map and inspect it. She'll research the mistake later. Meticulously. Because it has to be perfect, and it *has* to get done. No matter what John thinks about the idea being stupid.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas notices that John's having a time of things and moves in. He's been silent for a while, letting the man lead as he is supposed to do, but now might be the time for the second to move in. Dealing with demon deals isn't his area of expertise as much as it is John's so he'll let the man deal with the scroll. Mairin's ward however, he can easily manage.

    He moves and stands next to her as she examines the map. "You mind if I take a look?" he asks the young woman. He might not have and ability to do magic but his knowledge of magical theory is close to on par with the Laughing Magician himself. *And* his teaching methods are a bit more user friendly than said Magician.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Really...?" Jubilation replies to Phoebe, keeping her voice quiet as she turns back in her direction. "The giant spider monster that you blasted in the face that night?" She turns to look at John again. He was only alive for a few moments before setting out last night.

    Whatever concern or empathy she might be feeling about this gets thrown right out the window when Jubilation has to yell back at John. "Nothing! It's like A.C. Slater from Saved By The Bell, but, like, John Constantine."

    "Hey, your hair's the bomb dot com, Pheebs," Jubilation adds, turning back to face the younger girl again. "I'm just super happy this happened to me /now/ and not, like, when I first came to New York. I had the /worst/ hair cut. It was short and kinda cowlicky..." She rolls her eyes at the memory.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Or something like it. I didn't see it. I was too busy making it rain holy water and protecting my favorite nun." Phoebe replies to Jubilee. She does not comment on cowlicky hair. Her hair when Au Natural is... yeah.

    "Something like fifty people in various states of possession. John got separated from the group. Chas had to buckshot a priest. I basically had to pump out Holy power and blood into the water to sanctify it at an uncomfortably large quantity. I ended up passing out." she states quietly, looking to Jubilee, and Jubes might be able to register the deep look of concern in Phoebe's eyes, and a lot of exhaustion. The poor kid's tired. "Especially after what happened yesterday with Noriko. I don't think he's even had time to process anything."

    Her eyes look over to John, watching as he works over the scroll Nico's given him.

    "... I don't know how much thinner he can be spread."

John Constantine has posed:
    "What the bloody hell is Saved by the Bell," John mutters under his breath as his hand drops again and his eyes finally focus. Man had no childhood, zero, zilch and that includes childhood tele, especially American. When he likely should have been watching shows like that, he was being offered his first Silk Cut by Nergal.

    John rolls up the scroll, ties it off and tucks it away inside a pocket of his trenchcoat with a mumbled, "Yeah, not happening." Most likely never, but not at least until he's had a chance to *really* look the thing over. He doesn't dismiss it outright due to the name involved. He has worse on his resume of Demon Deals, but... not happening, not yet, probably not ever.

    Thinner indeed, man's got an extra hole punched in his belt even. Literal and physical sense of the word apply these days.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin jumps a little as Chas addresses her from right next to her. She looks up at him, then gives a small smile before digging the ward back out and handing it to him.

    It's a very particular sort of ward. One that would protect someone from visions and dreams of death brought about by touching someone who is cursed... And it's been designed to be very personal and specific to the user as well.

    Now... what Mairin might need with such a ward... well...

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee turns her head in John's direction again, still leaning forward over the bar. That man died last night and stayed that way for more than an instant. Jubilation faces forward again and just stares a thousand yards away as she considers that horrifying prospect.

    "He just went...right back to it..." Jubilee mutters to herself. Whatever high she had been feeling from earlier has worn just a bit.

    "That...sucks," she says to Phoebe. It's a good way to describe the situation. It's accurate and succinct. "Dying isn't, like, a blast..." Jubilee frowns gently and sits up straight.

    "I'm going to go check on Noriko," she announces matter-of-factly. Jubes throws a peace sign into the air and begins to walk towards the exit. "Maybe stop somewhere and get her some food..."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I can't imagine it is. 'Specially not for him." Phoebe confirms quietly, and she gives a slight smile to Jubilee. "Thanks for understanding. I appreciate it." she comments quietly, and goes to open her mouth, and then closes it. "Travel safely." she states to Jubes, and then tiredly leans forward on the bar, putting the heels of her palms to her eyes a moment, as if her head hurt.

John Constantine has posed:
    And caused the rumbling of Hell to break through the Heavens in the process. John watches Nico just pass right out, right there, without a care. So much like him, so so much like him.

    With that scroll tucked safely away for a longer perusal at another time, he finds his place on his Pauper's Throne and forgoes the damned glass. It's a straight from the bottle night. He flicks a gesture toward the jukebox in the corner. Johnny Rotten serenades those remaining with his rendition of My Way.

    "Go to bed, love," he comments in a voice just loud enough to be heard, it's in Phoebe's direction. Be Better Than Me, Love Dad. Sleep when sleep's needed. Don't turn into your old man, at least not this one. Other one's a better role model.

    "See ya, Buffy!" he calls out after Jubilation with a lift of his bottle in her direction.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas takes the paper and looks it over. "John is right, people need their dreams, even the bad ones. What you want..." he takes a pencil from the table behind him and makes the *barest minimum* of a change to the ward. "This might do what you want it to. Even if whatever you want this to do does come after the warded, this will give them some insulation against it. Sometimes you can't ignore the nightmares, but you can protect yourself from them if they come."

    It was emblematic of the difference between John and Chas. John was very much the man to make a person gain experience via the school of hard knocks. Make a mistkae, suffer and grow from the pain you endured for it. Chas, by contrast, was more nurturing. He couldn't do the work for a person, but if he could show them a way that would fix a problem, he was more inclined to directly show them rather than have them take the lumps from the mistake.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin squints at the correction, nodding slightly. "That makes sense... The line needs to block the reflection from that one," she points, "While alowing the reflection from this one," she points again. Then she bites her lip a little. "But what if I..." She goes back to the table, grabs another piece of paper, and draws the circle a third time, this time incorporating Chas' suggestion, but also rotating the entire set of internal lines five degrees counterclockwise.

    She points to the revised ward. "What if I rotated the focus. Could I then draw it *around* something, rather than *on* it?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "'M not tired." Phoebe comments, and she stretches her neck. "Have /you/ even slept yet? At all?" she questions her magic dad, turning to look to John. "Or at least gotten some rest? Some real rest?" she asks, now that John's no longer being crowded by puppies, his own comes over and leans on the bartop, looking at him with the 'I am worried about your wellbeing' expression. She's not even trying to hide it.

John Constantine has posed:
    "I got a little," John replies and he's not lying. Paul's around now so he *is* getting more than he used to. "Nettie had an..." He looks over his shoulder at Mairin and Chas. "...there was something needed dealt with." Or he *might* have gotten more.

    "I'm okay, love. I'm used to it. I don't want you to get used to it." He reaches out to lay the tip of his index finger on that locket around her neck.

    "Don't forget to read the back of it, on the regular, aye?"

    He takes another long-ish pull from his bottle before setting it back down. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out an envelope to slide it across the bar to Phoebe. Inside are two tickets to the Haunted House on the Coney Island strip and passes for the rides. "Let me know when you're going and I'll make sure you're warded safe and sound. Take a friend." ... he barely manages to not add: Just not that Romanian dude.


    He does add, "Buffy might like to go." A *friend*.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas looks over the alteration and nods. "Like a bed perhaps instead of on a person?" he asks. "Yes. That could do the trick. You'd still have the dream but it would be less THX and more FM radio." He looks it over and nods. "That's very smart. Smarter than I could've come up with. Very good." Again, more of that positive reinforcement that Chas is so good with.

    It might occur to Mairin that even in his help, Chas hasn't once asked what or who the ward was for.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Oh, Mairin hasn't missed that. Not that it would matter. It's a secret, but not a close one. His comment about putting the ward on a bed does get a shocked look and a bit of a blush, but she moves past it hurridly.

    "Actually, I was thinking around the cuff of a glove.." she comments as she fold the new ward up and tucks it away. "I just need it to let me touch her. Not..." She blushes again "We're just friends. She's made that very clear." Though the tone in her voice makes it just as clear that Mairin is still coming to terms with that arangement.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a slight smile, the uptick of the corner of her lips, and she shakes her head "I do read it, every night. Have it memorized, in fact." Phoebe replies, and she purses her lips a moment and pulls over the envelope. She looks puzzled, and looks inside. Her eyebrows draw up, and she begins to consider whos he could bring... and then looks slightly crestfallen. Mostly because of all the training, all the working, all the studying she's done... she's rather lost touch with friends her own age.

    "You know, pretty sure Jubilee and Noriko would get a kick out of these. I'll... just pass it to them. I've got a lot of studying to catch up on." she states, curling her fingers, and giving a smile to John. "You should get some rest, Dad. Another day ending in Y tomorrow, and it's Halloween weekend, so I know there's going to be so much weirdness."

John Constantine has posed:
    "Those aren't for Jubilee and Noriko, Phoebe. Be a bloody *kid*, while there's still a chance to be one." A chance he never got, a big part of what shaped him into who he is now. John pushes himself up from his Pauper's Throne and adds, "Go, have *fun*, it's an order."

    Faded denim blues shift toward Chas and Mairin and he adds, "Tell Chas I'm... I still need to talk to him. I need a shower, just tell him I'll be at Home after he closes up."

    John leaves his bottle behind, but snatches up his Silks and that zippo lighter. "Ask that Bart person to go with you." At least there he doesn't get the same 'my daughter's totally smitten' vibe as with that other guy.

    He doesn't wait for a reply, he doesn't head for the backroom to disturb what's going on back there, he just opens a portal to the House of Mystery and steps through it.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a grumpy face, and then very maturely sticks her tongue out at the closing portal, taking up the envelope and looking at it with a bit of guilt, glances at Chas and Mairin, and gives a bit of a shrug, before she goes to grab her Pad Thai again.

    "Looks like I've got to find a plus one to go have manditory fun with tomorrow." she half-jokes, "Have a good night, Dad, Mairin -- if you want those blisters fixed up? Ring the bell in the first aid kit. I'll come down." she states to the roboticist, and then makes an exit to head over to the Curio.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas gives the young woman a somber smile. "I'm... sorry to hear that, Mairin. But yeah, a cuff could defintiely contain that ward just as easily." He turns and seems to realize the're alone. "I... I wish you well in whatever you do, Circuit. And know you always have an ear in me." He smiles and places a strong, solid hand on her shoulder. "If you ever need to just get something out there. I'm here for you." He smiles.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    She gives him a tired smile back. "Thank you Chas. I appreciate it. Really. Everyone here has been so kind." She chuckles.. "Even John in his exasperating way. I just..." She looks about the room and sighs deeply. "Well, I could keep you up for hours with 'I just'. But I should really go back to the Candle and get some sleep."

    Does she *need* to sleep at the Candle anymore? Nope. Is she going to anyway? Yep.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas walks the woman to the door and locks it once she's out. Then after, cleaning up a bit he heads to the back and the portal to the House of Mystery. He had heard John and taken note of it. "On a roll tonight, Chas... Let's not screw it up now," he says as he steps through.