8609/Books and Booze: a Beautiful Bounty
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| Books and Booze: a Beautiful Bounty | |
|---|---|
| Date of Scene: | 08 November 2021 |
| Location: | Rococo Bookstore and Wine Club |
| Synopsis: | Roland and Giselle meet. Dude talks about where he's been the last few months. |
| Cast of Characters: | Roland Livingston, Giselle duGevaudan
|
- Roland Livingston has posed:
The book store isn't particularly busy yet, seeing as how most folks are probably still working. Roland Livingston, on the other hand, kind of works when he wants to. The young English fellow is carrying a glass of wine as he peruses the shelves, taking the occasional sip. He seems a bit on edge, forcing himself to not react to every sound or disturbance he senses around him and by and large he's successful until a cat jumps down from a nearby shelf to approach him. Roland smoothly shifts his body into a fighting stance, somehow not spilling his wine, before realizing that the animal is harmless. Chuckling to himself he crouches down to give the beast a friendly pet on the head and to let it get a chance to smell him and rub it's face on his hand.
- Giselle duGevaudan has posed:
Giselle doesn't often come to the book store. Not that it isn't lovely, but there are places closer to where she lives and works. However, today she found that she needed the change of pace and scenery. So, posh wine and book store it is. Dressed in a suede jacket, boots, jeans, and a thick burgundy scarf, the olive-skinned brunette enters the store. Giselle carries with her a satchel filled with files and a netbook.
The first order of business is a drink. Tea for her, Giselle still has a class to teach later. Taking the steaming cup, the professor moves to sink into one of the plush wingback chairs. She just starting to unpack her satchel the woman lifts her gaze as a sudden motion nearby.
"Have to watch those cats, always up to something," Giselle says, with a quiet laugh.
- Roland Livingston has posed:
When he speaks Roland's upper class English accent comes out clearly, "Sneaky creatures, but I adore them. If I had the sort of lifestyle that supported pets there's no telling how many I'd have." The cat seems to grow tired of the Englishman and saunters off to find something else to do. Mr. Livingston stands up straight and heads towards the woman he's speaking with. "I have to respect something that can just about sneak up on me, even if it's the size of a rugby ball." There's a soft chuckle followed by a deep breath.
As he polishes off his wine he moves towards the bar to get a refill. "Same again," he tells the bartender before handing over a bill and heading back to where he'd been disturbed by the friendly kitty to resume scanning the shelves. As he starts looking he comments to the woman who'd seen him startle, "There's quite a few interesting volumes here. Nothing truly extraordinary, but I'm certain I won't be leaving empty handed."
A book is pulled down so that the fellow can look at it for a moment before tucking it under his arm, "I must say, I missed being able to peruse a store like this these last few months. Not much shopping to do in the middle of the Amazon. More monkeys than humans where I was most of the time."
- Giselle duGevaudan has posed:
Giselle noted the accent. Her own was mild but added just enough French flair to make it discernable. "I don't really have time for pets either. It wouldn't be fair to them, and be stressful for me." She replies before the younger man heads for a refill.
By the time he's returned to the shelf Giselle has her netbook out, and some hard copy files opened. She glances up and nods as he remarks on the store's selection. "To be honest I don't come here often, but it's nice that there are still physical book stores. Everything is online these days."
The woman grins briefly, then folds the file across her lap, "Oh, the Amazon? Business or pleasure?" It seemed an odd place to take a holiday, but one never nows.
- Roland Livingston has posed:
"I prefer to read books to reading on a tablet or phone or whatever," Roland says as he starts looking down another aisle. He doesn't go too deep as the conversation he's in seems as entertaining to him as the books he's looking over, "Business. I was tracking down a relic. It was supposed to be a long weekend trip but the plane I was flying over the jungle went down rather unexpectedly. Bats flew into the propeller, you see. We crash landed on a small runway that turned out to be owned by some rather nasty chaps who started shooting at us. There were more than I felt comfortable engaging so I took the pilot and fled into the rain forest. Took substantially longer to get home than I thought it would, Marco wasn't in the best shape. Broken ribs from the landing a bullet through the meat of his upper arm took a toll on him. All my luggage and most of my equipment was in the plane, still, so we only had what was on us. My watch, luckily, has a GPS, but we had to keep dodging the unfriendly gunmen so I couldn't use my radio." As he speaks he sort of stares at the books on display, not even looking at the words on their spines. Eventually he remembers his glass of wine to have a long drink from it.
"Marco and I eventually made it to civilization. I paid him for the loss of his plane, though I'm sure it was also insured, and for the time he missed working and whatnot. His family was quite happy to see him return, he told me over social media."
- Giselle duGevaudan has posed:
Giselle stops working completely as she listens to the retelling of his recent adventure and mishaps. Dark eyes round in astonishment as she leans forward, listening to every word. "How long were you missing?" She asks curiously. "And you took no injury?"
Remembering her tea, she takes a cautious sip. By now it's cooled to a palatable temperature. Giselle takes a few more sips before setting it on the end table beside her. "Oh! By the way, I'm Giselle. Giselle duGevaudan."
- Roland Livingston has posed:
"A few months," the young guy says with a shrug. "It's the longest I've been missing so far." He shakes his head, "No injuries of note. I'm something of a survivalist and adventurer, you see. Been in my share of scraps and whatnot. Narcoterrorists are far from the scariest thing I've been chased by, though I'm usually better armed and able to handle such situations."
At the introduction he heads in her direction and nods his head deeply and introduces himself in French, "Ravi de vous rencontrer. Mon nom est Roland Livingston." Then it's back to English, "In addition to being an adventurer I may be an assistant teacher, but as I've been missing for some time without word that I was leaving I imagine I'm no longer employed in that position."
- Giselle duGevaudan has posed:
The French woman smiles delighted;y, addressed in her native language. "Quel miracle!" SHe exclaims, more about his escapade than his use of French. "Well, I am glad you escaped and managed to return."
As he continues and explains about the feasibly lost teaching position, she leans forward. "Oh yes? Where is it you worked? I am a part-time professor at Gotham University. Due to the extenuating circumstances, surely they'd understand."
- Roland Livingston has posed:
"Happy Harbor," Roland says with a smile. "And you're a professor? I imagine that's a rewarding position. Where does your expertise lie?" Then he shrugs, "If they let me back, good. If not I don't need to work, I just like to keep busy and help people expand their knowledge of the esoteric."
- Giselle duGevaudan has posed:
Giselle nods, cradling her teacup in both hands. "I'm a geneticist. At the moment I teach molecular biology part-time. Occasionally I sub in some of the lower-level science classes, though." She takes a sip of the rapidly cooling tea before glancing at her watch. "I am assisting with one of the evening courses this evening, but I still have some time before I need to head back to campus. Hopefully the principle or dean gives you back the position, even if it's not needed."
- Roland Livingston has posed:
"Molecular biology is a bit outside of my knowledge base, but I imagine getting to the bottom of how living things work must be fascinating," Roland nods his head and smiles. "I would like the job back, if it's possible. I help to teach history, though my focus is on the academic and historical side of all things mystical. While I'm not a practitioner I'm probably one of the leading experts on the subject. I, at one time, had access to more tomes and artifacts than anyone I know of."
- Giselle duGevaudan has posed:
Giselle nods. "Yes, in particular, I am working to isolate particular genes that lead to certain conditions and diseases. It is often tedious work, but important and I think interesting. Yes."
As the subject shifts to Roland's particular field, the woman nods. "Oh yes? What lead you to your interest? Were the artifacts inherited in some way?"
- Roland Livingston has posed:
"That sounds like worthwhile work, if you ask me," Roland says to Giselle, inclining his head slightly. "Anything of particular interest you're working on? I doubt I could be of help in any way, but I'm fascinated by the possibilities that science opens up."
Livingston smiles, "Family business. We collected knowledge and items from around the world. My focus in particular was in the middle east, but that's mostly because I like the languages spoken in Southwest Asia, if I'm being honest." There's a chuckle and he polishes off his glass of wine, "I believe my driver should be here soon, phone just buzzed for me, so we'll have to continue this conversation some other time, if you're amenable to that."
He reaches into an inner pocket of his jacket and pulls out a small metal box. Flicking it open he produces a matte black metal business card and offers it over to Giselle. The card says 'Roland Livingston' and has an email and phone number on it. "I'd love to ask about where you're from, as well. Are you from Gevaudan? Like the legendary beast? I may have an ancestor who ran across it, but the records are all gone now."
- Giselle duGevaudan has posed:
Giselle starts to answer, but the buzzing of his phone saves her. "Actually, I do have an Egyptian ancestor, but Oui, my progenitor hails from the Gevaudan province." Taking the card, she stows it in her satchel and retried her own laminated but paper business card. It has her cell and Gotham U contacts. Her expression changes slightly, a brief ghost the flits across her features. "Another time them, Au Revoir."
