8744/As things go...

As things go...
Date of Scene:	20 November 2021
Location:	The Laughing Magician
Synopsis:	Never a dull moment in the Laughing Magician. Phoebe has a small outburst on shift, Zatanna keeps getting brushed off, Jubilee is discussed and Chas is distracted, messing up Lydia's drink. The book that Drake found is evil.
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Zatanna Zatara, Lydia Dietrich, Chas Chandler

---

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The Laughing Magician is the same as it ever was. Smells of tobacco and occasionally of a slightly broken toilet, and even if she's running amok in Gotham some nights now that freedom's been restored, she still has promises to keep, which is why she's covered her T-shirt and jeans in an apron of dubious heritage (she stole it from a barrista job), and Phoebe Beacon still shows up for shifts helping out at the Laughing Magician. Her hair tonight is pulled back into a pair of poodle poofs low on her neck, and she's dealing with External Issues the same way she does with everything else -- throwing herself into work, study, anything that doesn't leave her time to think and dwell on things.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zatanna doesn't come for the ambiance of 3-day hangovers and broken plumbing. The falling out with John - too many painful memories and a need to clean her own life up had kept her away. Now the smell of stale cigarette smoke only makes her nose wrinkle and is quickly forgotten in her eagerness to see the other members of the Night Brigade, chief among them, Phoebe.

A whisper of air announces her arrival. "Hello, Phoebe. How are you?" After a swift check, "What no one else around? Do you have any soda water on hand?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe had mixed feelings about the bar at just this moment, along with its owners.

    But Zatanna? Always a welcome sight. Her expression brightens as she lugs a flat of glasses out, and wiping her hands on her side-towel she starts to set them up for the bartender.

    "Ah, the new guy's out back on a smoke break, so... kinda." she admits, and she grabs up a freshly clean glass, tosses a couple of ice cubes in it, and pours a soda water from the fountain gun, and turns it over to Zatanna.

    "How goes it?"

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
The new guy...Zee still hasn't settled with it all. She gives a quick nod and a shrug, thinking he might sense their presence and stay away because of it. No incarnation of John that she has known liked certain types of confrontation especially if it involved women.

"It goes..." she takes a zip of water and shakes her head, " pretty badly. We are living in interesting times. The Chinese curse type of interesting. Did you hear about the book the Tim found in his father's vault? Really, I'm more interested in how you are doing."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia decides to come down to the Laughing Magician to see how Phoebe is holding up. She hasn't had a chance to talk to her since the revelation that the man who adopted her was actually a demon running around in a Constantine-suit, and she knows that's been quite a blow for the girl.

She enters the bar wearing sensible clothing, like any good lesbian should. Jeans tucked into warm looking boots, red flannel shirt, and a sheepskin coat. Knowing that there's probably a bunch of people at the pub, she's warmed herself up and gave herself a bit of color before coming down. Still rather pale looking, at least she doesn't look dead.

She notices a couple of friendly faces, and makes her way to the bar. It still kind of amazes her that she's working with /the/ Zatanna Zatara, and that she's an actual magician, and not just one of the greatest stage magicians today. Indeed, we live in strange times.

"Hello, Zee, Phoebe," she says, sliding onto a stool. She catches Phoebe's summary of how things are going for her. "That bad, hunh. Anything I can do to help smooth things over? You know you can talk to me if you ever need a sympathetic ear."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe pauses, and she corrects "Not... not /that/ new guy. Some new bartender. I wouldn't refer to Him as 'the new guy' that's just..." she pauses a moment. She hasn't let go of the glass, and then she looks at her hand and releases the sodawater, and looks over to Lydia as she comes in, and she tilts her head back a moment.

    She notably does not answer more on the topic.

    "I've not heard about the book Tim found in his father's vault. Tell me about this book that Tim found in his father's vault because that is way more interesting than anything I possibly have to say on any other subject." she states to Zee, even though her voice was moderate flat, she's still got a bit of pleading in her eyes. Why?

    Because Everything Sucks.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"Oh, hello Lydia," she pats the seat next to her. After scrutinizing Phoebe's face a moment, she nods, hearing the message to avoid talking about the Painful Obvious. Zee knows that it has to be done but not on her schedule but on Phoebe's. Enough has been forced on the girl of late.

"Unless you have a specialty in monstrously evil books that provoke murder, I don't know that you can help on this." She eyes Lydia speculatively for a moment, "Than again. You never know."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia settles in the offered seat and nods to the two. "Mind if I make myself a Manhattan, Phoebe?" she asks. "I can wait until the bartender gets off break."

She turns and scowls at Zatanna. "Evil books? No more than anybody else, I'd imagine. Most of the arcane texts I have are in Hebrew. Still reading up on Kabballah in case I ever manage to get my magic back." That's still a sour point for her, but she somehow manages to keep that from showing.

She shrugs. "I'm good at scouting, now that I figured out how to turn into a wolf. I'm working on being a raven next but it's hard going. I can also throw cars around in case the book ends up being very, very heavy."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I don't know how the returning owner feels about people coming back here who aren't, y'know. Payrolled." she admits to Lydia, and she raises her shoulders a bit. "And Chas isn't in at the moment, so--" she trails off with a shrug, "Should be back though, at some point." she glances back towards an exit door, and gives a huff.

    "So, evil book, drives others to murder. POssessed? Cursed? Bound in human skin and possessed by a cursed spirit?" she asks with interest about the book.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zatanna's nose pinches as she takes a long unhappy breath. The calamitous book could spell the end of things if not properly disposed of. Its author and owner might be the doom of Gotham. "Your tracking skills might be needed. I'll let you know. And yes, Phoebe, all of the above. Skin. Curse. Evil spells. On the positive side we may have it all zipped up." She takes a long drink of her water.

"New bartender? What?" asked with a perplexed scowl for new people on their stomping grounds.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    PHoebe shrugs "Service business. Always outs and ins." she gives a bit of a shrug "Sometimes they don't last the night, depending on how grumpy some people get. At least it's not like-- y'know." she growns a moment, and rubs the back of her neck.

    And then she looks up to Zee. "So the book's taken care of then? And Tim's okay?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia nods at Phoebe, understandingly. "I can wait, then." She listens for a bit and tilts her head questioningly. "Skin? People actually do that? I thought that was only in bad horror movies?" She shakes her head. "I always wondered what purpose that served other than making your book scream, 'I am evil!'"

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"More or less. None of it has been easy for him. The woman who stole it from us in the first place cast his father in an unflattering light."

She sighs briefly, hesitating but, continues watching Phoebe closely, "His father is not the person he thought he was. I think it is a shock a lot of people have about their parents. I went through it, too. I think we are all surprised to find out how fallible they are."

She raises an eyebrow at Lydia, "I only wish it was just a movie trope. The book quite literally can make people scream because it is inhabited or possessed. Animated," she nods at the last word, "that's more like it."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Depending on the binding it can have different effects, different thematic elements. A book of healing bound in lambskin might have a different feel than a book of dark magic an' occult bound in the skins of slaves and written in blood. Some spellwork requires the inks to be different, I can't imagine that certain grimores by design are meant to hold different effects." Phoebe explains, though she rubs at her arm a little bit, right on the strap hiding that white ink tattoo.

    Her lips form a thin line, and she looks down. "He seemed so happy last night --" she trails off, and closes her eyes, then raises her left hand and wipes at her eyes.

    "So Tim's dad was involved with The Occult too?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia shakes her head in wonder. "Poor Tim. I always looked up to my dad and thought the world of him until I learned exactly what he did for a living. He's a good dad, though. Better than my mom," she grumbles.

Nodding to Phoebe, "That makes sense," she says. "My area of study doesn't really have that, to be honest. Sure we have grimoires, but they're half religious texts, too, and tend to be rather humble things."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zatanna nods at Phoebe's exposition on grimoire book coverings, "Exactly, Phoebe knows her stuff. No human skin on your religious texts. Humble? I thought the books in the Jewish tradition were honored and put in a position of reverence in your synagogues. But I may be mistaken and am mixing the Torah up with Talmudic books."

"That's not the only news, Phoebe," she adds unhappily. "Jonathan was injured in the fight for the book and has a badly broken arm."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe's gone a bit quiet on the subject of parents, and hearing that Jon broke his arm, she throws her hands in the air, and looks upwards, then just throws her hand towel to the side.

    "So great. Lose my mentor, lose my dad, now no one calls on me for like, the ONE thing I do really, really well -- have I become persona non-gratta now?" she asks unhappily, "Is it because people feel sorry or awkward around me, because I hated it when I was thirteen and Chuck Beacon died, and I hate it being an adult and everyone just looking so freaking sad at me the other night! Someone call his nerd ass up and tell him that there is a goddamn bell in the First Aid Kit next door that *connects to my apartment* specifically so I can be useful!"

    And then Phoebe just leans back, and gives a huff out.

    "Help yourself to the alcohol, Lydia. I don't even care."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"These are Kabbalistic texts," Lydia explains. "The Torah is the one that has a place of honor in temples. Kabbalistic scholars are usually more interested in theory than practice, and once you get enough books you can kind of tell that there's an ongoing conversation between them as they argue different points of theory."

She's silent as Phoebe goes off, and actually looks a little guilty. She's one of the ones that looked sad at her the other night. It's hard not to since the girl lost quite a bit.

When Phoebe tells her to help herself she stays put, however. "Next time I see him I'll make sure to kick him in the butt," she offers.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Biting her bottom lip, Zatanna listens to Phoebe's outburst, almost with the same sense of relief that Phoebe might feel. Quietly with a slow, deliberate shake of her head, "That's not at all the case, Phoebe. We don't feel sorry for you. We love you and it grieves us to see you hurt." Hands pressed against the bar top, she leans toward the young healer to emphasize her words, "It's not at all the same thing. Because you're not a victim! Nor will we treat you as one. Persona non grata! Never. I couldn't touch it. The book is pure poison so it is no reflection on your abilities."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The teenager doesn't feel relief. She feels embarrassment and anger. Her hands shake, and she raises her left first to rub at her eyes.

    "His arm, Zee. He broke his arm. That I can fix. I can't do anything else right, but that I could have... I just..."

    "... I looked in his eyes and saw nothing."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Softly, still standing with hands on the bar. "None of us could touch it, Phoebe. Not me. Not his husband. It's like anyone hurt by the book stays hurt. Psychically and physically. It is so so old, dear and frightening. So, Jon didn't come to you."

The magician looks an apology at Lydia for not discussing the books in her tradition but returns her focus on Phoebe.

"Who, Phoebe...John?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia remains silent for now, wanting to somehow ease Phoebe's pain but is unable to. Zee, however, gets a thoughtful hum. "Hmm. Maybe I can handle it with my ectoplasm. It may be able to be used as a buffer in case we have to move it or something."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe just gives a defeated look to Zatanna, and takes a breath.

    "I'm sorry for the outburst. Tried to find a more constructive way to channel it, I don't like bothering people with it. It's not like it's the first time I've lost a parent this year." Phoebe states stiffly, dropping her gaze and picking up some spent glasses to take back to the dishwasher area, her cheeks feeling hot and her ears darkened.

    "That's an idea. What about a telekenesis spell?"

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Will she listen to her? Zee is not quite old enough to be Phoebe's mother but her teenage years feel centuries behind her. "You have handled all of this better than I could have at your age, for what it's worth. I still don't have a handle on it, Phoebe. Please stop being so hard on yourself. Which is a lot easier said than done, I might add. I listen to my own inner voice sometimes and it's...well, it's not good."

"Lydia, that could be a solution. Frankly, the less people in contact with the book whether it is through ectoplasm or not, the better. It is /that/ bad. That /old/ and that bad."

Chas Chandler has posed:
    The door to the backroom opens and admits one Chas Chanlder to the bar. He moves with a cadence that is slow and distracted, not even seeming to notice the others in the bar at the moment. He grabs a glass, goes to the tap and pours out a thick amber into the glass before bringing it to his lips for a slow drink.

    It's then that he realizes there were others in the bar. He starts. "Oh... uhh..." he wipes the foam from his moustache and blinks. "Hi... Lydia, Zatanna, Pheebs..." he looks embarassed. "I... didn't even notice. Sorry. What uh... can I..." he looks before the two women not working and says, "Can I get you anything?" he asks, noting the soda water before Zatanna and Phoebe being the only one behind the bar.

    "I need to get in contact with Hodge..." he mutters to himself more than anyone there.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe just picks up more spent glasses, looking at her wrist -- not that there's a watch there, but it's a force of habit, but zips her lips mostly "That's kind of you to say, Zee. I'll be fine. After all, it was only a couple of months." she states softly, looking to the two older women -- and then she physically shrinks back when the door opens, her eyes narrowing when Chas comes out from the backroom.

    He's plodding along slower than usual, she considers. She purses her lips, holding the rack of dirty glasses against one hip as she watches him pour for himself, and then gives a nod before she ducks back into the kitchen to wash the glasses at hand.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia nods to Zatanna, "I understand. I take it just throwing it in a raging fire won't burn it?"

Chas comes in and she gives him a pleasant smile. "Hey there. Could you get me a Manhattan, please? Everything okay?"

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Amused, Zatanna glances between Lydia and Phoebe until Chas realizes he is not alone. The amusement becomes a smile for the man, "I'm ready for a scotch, upper shelf, please, Chas. With a glass of water, just a cube of ice, on the side, not to be too picky about it."

Her eyes follow Phoebe as she beats a retreat then return to Chas. She gives him a small shrug.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas nods and starts working on the Cosmo for Lydia. Vodka citron, Cointreau, lime and cranberry juice all go into the mixer with ice. As he shakes it up, he grabs the top shelf scotch for Zatanna and the water as well, placing both before the magus one at a time. Lydia's drink is strained into a martini glass. "Going back to your basics?" he asks the author as he slides it towards her.

    "You don't have to run from me Lighthouse," he calls to his daughter. "I'm distracted, not angry... there's a difference." He takes another long pull from his Amber ale.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Not running from you, didn't want you to think I was slacking!" comes the reply from the back as Phoebe sets the rack of glasses in the dishwasher, and grabs a paper towel to get some cool water on her face.

    "Also I think the bartender has gone out on a never-ending smoke break. It's been abooooout... twenty minutes."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia watches Chas make a Cosmo for her with some amount of amusement. She gives him a gentle smile and accepts the drink. "You /must/ be distracted. I asked for a Manhattan." She waves a hand should he move to make her another drink. "This is fine, though. I haven't had a Cosmopolitan in years." She takes a sip and nods in approval. "It's good."

She chuckles. "Knowing our luck, a zombie ate him or something."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Once not too many years ago, Zee had transgressed boundaries, and used her telepathy nearly to her own ruin and the person she had used it on. It had taken her years to overcome the guilt and self-castigation, she is rarely tempted to use it now except in emergencies and certainly not with the same frequency she uses magic. Chas' distraction is tempting.

She laughs aloud at Lydia. "Well, yes. Recently, huh?

"Oh, I did say scotch, Chas," she adds, eyebrows raised innocently.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas smackes his forehead. "Balls..." he says to Lydia. "I'm... sorry. Like I said..." He gestures to his head. "Lot of things going on up here..." he says softly. "On the house then..." He gives Zatanna a level look. "Ha ha. I managed to get yours right" he says, doing a double take at her assorted offerings just to make sure.

    He smiles to Phoebe. "I know you better than to think you'd slack off while working... as for the bartender... kids..." he mutters irritatingly. "Present company excluded..." he adds quickly glancing to his daughter. "Just one more reason to give Hodge a call. Reliability is his middle name."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Let's not ask for Zombies, it's already been a week." comes a frustraited voice from halfway into the dishwasher as Phoebe pulls out a fork, looks at it accusingly, and then tosses it to the side as she looks to wipe her hands, and finds that she's thrown her towel elsewhere, and then tilts her head back in frustration, and comes out from the kitchen to grab the towel she so rudely threw when she cracked earlier.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"Got you!" She returns his level stare. "Haha...yes you did. What is on your mind, Chas? I don't see you flub an order very often." She sips the amber liquid in her glass, the fumes rising to tickle her nose the way only good scotch seems to."

Contented to hear banter in the bar again, especially between Chas and Phoebe, the magician smiles quietly to herself, until Chas mentions a name she hasn't heard before. "Hodge?"

Zee swishes an imaginary wand in the air, "Your wish is granted, Phoebe. No Zombies. Not this week, at least. We all need a break."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia pulls out a twenty and sets it on the counter. "I'm going to pay for my drink this time, Chas. Lord knows I've been getting enough free drinks here to last a lifetime." She grins wickedly, "Or in my case, an unlifetime."

She chuckles at Phoebe. "I think between me and Jubilation, we fill the quota for undead at the pub." She scowls a bit. "Speaking of which, have either of you seen her recently? I'm... a bit worried."

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas chuckles. "No zombies. He probably just thought with the boss' daughter around he could take off... they do that a lot" he says.

    "Hodge is an old buddy from the cab company. He used to bartend back in the 60s. He's tough as nails and looks like he uses them for chewing gum. He knows his stuff too." He points as if emphasising the man's knowledge. "I'd trust him to man the bar in my stead. And he's reliable." He pauses. "Though... I don't know if Hodge is his first or his last name... I guess I'll have to fix that."

    The other part of Zatanna's question to him, about his own troubles, is glossed over. From the look of it, intentionally. "What were you guys going on with before I so uncermoniously interrupted?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I have. She visited me yesterday." Phoebe states. She rubs her left shoulder, giving a slight winces at it. "She's her usual self." she comments to Lydia, and she rolls her shoulder again.

    At the ask of what they were discussing, Phoebe brightly responds with "Mopey teenagers."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"Not this time, Lydia. Let me get you. I have a bar tab that Bruce Wayne might blanch at. Okay? Glad we took care of the zombie question and disappearing bar help," Zatanna smiles a bit warily while waiting for Phoebe's answer.

The homo magus tips her head thoughtfully to one side, before tendering, "Bad books and injuries, too. Jon. Gotham. Not in that order, mind you."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Yeah," Lydia says to Phoebe, still looking a bit worried. "She was in bad shape after we fought some evil vampires, and I wanted to catch up with her to make sure she was okay." And not let the hunger consume her before she could get somewhere safe, she thinks.

"Alright," Lydia acquiesces, taking her twenty back. "Thank you," she grins.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas nods at the talk of Sparkler's state and then he frowns, catching on Zatanna's words. "Wait... bad books? Injuries? Is Jon okay? Is Gotham okay?" he asks, looking between the three with a bit of alarm. "Wait..."

    He pauses and frowns for a moment. Zatanna and Jon dealing with something bad. It touched on a memory of him and the Archivist. "You know what... don't tell me about the book. The less any of us know about that thing... the better. But... is Jon alright? I know he can take a beating but..." He remember just how terrified the Archivist had been about the subject he was keeping secret.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I see. Yeah, I recall there being something about that." Phoebe purses her lips a moment, and she shakes her head "She was herself, Lydia. She struggles, we all do." she comments quietly, and then rubs the back of her neck, and then scratches at the leather band wrapped around her left wrist, a new nervous tick. And she looks around to the group, and she breathes out.

    "Hey, I've got an early morning GED pre-test. I should probably hit the sack." she states gently to Chas, mostly, dodging all other questions as she un-does her apron to stash it in its usual spot.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"First of all, is Jubilee alright? I'm glad you were there, Phoebe. She needs people like you taking care of her. I tried to get time to talk to her yesterday but we kept missing each other." She tracks Phoebe's tics, frowning slightly, unwilling to comment on them until they are alone.

Cheerily she wishes her, "Good luck on the test run. Night then."

Tonight is Zee's night for being brushed off. She sighs once over it and moves on.

"Good instinct, Chas. The less you know, the better. Martin is taking care of Jon who got bashed hard by said book. My estimation? He will live but it is going to be painful for while."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Good luck on your test," Lydia tells Phoebe, with a grin. "You got this. If you ever need help with English, I'm technically an out of work English teacher. Can do other subjects too, but mostly English."

She turns to Zatanna and shakes her head. "I wish I knew. I worry about her. I've got a sire to show me the ropes, who's helping me along the way and she doesn't have anybody like that." She sighs, "She always puts on this front and hides what she's feeling which makes it hard to gauge. I think the only person who really knows how she's doing is her girlfriend."

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas follows Phoebe's departure for a while and sighs. He frowns at the talk of Jubilee and Jon. "Never a dull moment. But, I'm glad to hear Jon is getting taken care of on that end." He looks at Lydia. "Can you help her?" he asks the author. "You're different flavors of vampire aren't you? Different abilities and makings?" he asks.

    He quickly holds up his hands in a placating gesture. "I mean, offer a branch if you can. But I don't know if she'll accept. She's... like you said, pretty closed off when it comes to her vampiric things."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"Then it's good that she has someone with experience like you, to guide her. Not that that will be easy. As you say, she keeps her guard up. I don't have any idea who her girlfriend is. Is she also a vampire?" Zatanna punctuates her words with another sip of scotch. "I'm no expert on your kind. Is it impolite to ask how you are different?"

Zatanna nearly smiles at Chas' observation about their group and snorts softly, "Count on us to make life interesting for you. That's why you stick around, isn't it?

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"I've been reaching out to her," Lydia begins, "but... I don't know. I don't want to pester her, but I want her to know that I'm a safe person to talk about these kinds of things about it." A small frown pulls on her lips as she considers her Cosmo. "That and it'd be nice to have someone who understands what I've been going through to talk to on my end."

She looks up and lets out a little laugh, "Not that my sire isn't helpful. She is. But she was turned over three thousand years ago and has forgotten more than we'll ever know, so it's not the same."

Zatanna gets a shake of the head, "It's not impolite for me. I can only tell you what I've observed about her, though." She looks thoughtful as she rubs a finger around the rim of her martini glass, "First major difference is our making. As I understand it she was created by a curse, so she's technically the beginning of a bloodline. Meanwhile I was sired. My blood was drained, and then I drank enough blood of my sire to turn. That's the typical way."

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas whistles. "Three thousand years... that's..." he blinks at the author. "You're going to be incredibly powerful when you come into your own... aren't you?" he asks. He's met enough vampires to know that they take a lot of stock in age and being sired by someone as old as Lydia's sire meant that a portion of that power was transfered onto her.

    "And your abilities... about the same or are there differences?" he asks arching a brow and taking a long pull from his glass, emptying it before taking it to the tap for another fill.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"That! I can hardly imagine. That would be like learning the arcana from Shazam or Merlin, cool but not anyone to be buddies with." She considers Chas a moment and gives him an admiring nod for his vampire knowledge. Zatanna retreats a moment into thoughtful silence, remembering her days of apprenticeship.

"Constantine was my...friend. Learning things at the same time, getting into terrible trouble, too." She dismisses those troubles with a smile and a sip of scotch.

" I didn't realize just how difficult it must be not having family, ancestors...You said one difference. What else?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia grins at Chas. "Most likely, yes. She's... incredibly powerful. That and I'm directly related to her, so I'm her child in more ways than one. I'm one of the few surviving relatives she has so when I died... well... neither her nor Mystique was willing to give me up quite yet."

"We both have the normal vampire package, I think," she says, taking a sip of her cosmo. "We're both faster, stronger, and more durable than humans, though now that I've seen her in action I can safely say she's much faster and stronger than I am."

She looks thoughtful, "I'm not entirely sure what range of abilities she's got, though. I'm learning how to shapeshift, which I don't think she can do. Or maybe she can and just doesn't know how." She shakes her head. "Being the beginning of your own bloodline means she won't actually know what she's capable of until she tries."

"Neither of us are vulnerable to silver, I don't think. Some vampires are, though," she says. "You can tell because those are the ones who won't show up in most mirrors. Because of the silver backing on them," she explains. "Sunlight is dangerous to her, whereas it won't kill me, but it makes me incredibly weak and tired, and is rather uncomfortable. I got hit by Phoebe's light a couple of times and it drained me, but otherwise didn't hurt me."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
A folded piece of paper snaps into existence next to Zatanna's scotch; she picks it up and unfolds it, a frown wrinkling her eyebrows.

"Shadowcrest forwarding messages. I have something I need to attend to. Tell me what I owe and I will get you next time, Chas. You know I'm good."

She stands, with an apologetic gesture to Lydia, "I have so many more questions for you. Another time, I hope." Habitually Zee ports in and out from the western corner of the bar. She goes to her spot and disappears with a faint huff of air.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas watches Zatanna depart with a nod and he takes up her glasses and bottle, placing the latter back in its place and the former two into the cleaning station. He turns to regard Lydia for a long moment after.

    "You're a lot more considerate of her than I would've originally thought, given the banter you two do so often." He smiles. "It's... encouraging to thing that she has someone like you to keep an eye on her... well, as much as she's willing to be watched that is." He chuckles. "She's so exhuberant, even if it is a front, as you say."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia takes a small sip of the Cosmo, just enough to get a taste and savor it, since drinking the stuff really doesn't do anything for her. "The banter..." she says softly, as her eyes drift downwards.

"There's something inside of all vampires," she says. "My sire calls it the Beast. I called it the Predator. It's ... " she struggles to put into words exactly how the beast effects her. "Instincts to help a vampire be a vampire. It's territorial and possessive and angry all the time. It's the thing that constantly reminds me that people are /food/."

She looks up to meet Chas' eyes. "Since we're so new, we struggle with it daily. I've learned a technique to put it to sleep for a while. Give me a chance to rest, and recollect my wits. I'm told that this ability is unique to my clan, because we're so tied to life. Well, as much as any vampire can be." She shakes her head sadly, "She doesn't have any such techniques so it can be a constant battle for her."

"The... back and forth we have. It's because we each view the pub as our territory, and our instincts say, 'Hey! There's a vampire invading our territory! Hiss!'" she mock hisses. "On neutral ground we seem to do better."

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas nods. "I'd heard about it, but never had it explained from a first hand perspective. That sounds..." he frowns a bit. "It sounds difficult. Having something like that inside that could take over at a moment's notice and you only having a rudimentary control over it."

    There is a wistful look to his expression as he talks. "It sounds very... instinctual. You have to wonder where it came from. Were we... humans, I mean, prey animals for your kind in a more animalistic sense in the past or is it simply a mimicry of predator and prey instincts now."

    He sips more of his drink thoughtfully. "Maybe she can learn something that works for her in the same way. Something to keep the Beast inside her more contained. And like Zatanna says, it's good that she can at least count on you to be there if she slips up."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"It can be," Lydia says, remembering the times when it's nearly gotten out of control. "That's why I call it The Predator. If I didn't have the kind of support system that I have, it'd help guide me to be a more effective hunter. As it is I don't have to hunt for my.. er... food."

"It does other things, too," she says. "It keeps me breathing, even though I don't have to. To better camouflage myself amongst my prey, I suspect. That kind of thing."

Chas Chandler has posed:
    "Camouflage" Chas muses with a nod. "But not perfect. You're too still and a more direct examination of you shows you to be paler than usual." He pauses, thoughtful for a moment. "I suspect the nocturnal nature helps with that, aspect of things, hm." He nods.

    "What about your weaknesses?" he asks. "You said your not as suceptible to sunlight... probably on account on your tie to life, the two being intrinsic to one another, but what *can* harm you if not sunlight? For most vampires, it is the equalizer. But not your clan." He pauses and seems to realize the possible connotations of his words.

    "I'm not planning on going on a spree of your clan," he holds out his hands placatingly. "Don't get me wrong. But if you are free from the weakness, it's possible others might be too."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Oh, I'm susceptible to sunlight," Lydia says. "It just doesn't /hurt/ me per say. It... cuts me off from my blood, my power source, I even lose access to my mutant power. I get weak and groggy but I'm still functional, more or less. Makes it easy to kill me.

She shrugs about her other weaknesses. "I'm flammable, but no more than anybody else. A bullet to the brain will do me in, I suspect, though most of my other organs are pretty much vestigial at this point, but if you do enough damage to me, I won't be able to heal from it." She snorts, "A stake through the heart cuts me completely shuts down my flow of blood and puts me in a state of torpor, funnily enough.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas nods thoughtfully. "I... hmm... there is something I need to look into." He puts his glass into the sink as well. "Could I ask something of you?" he says softly. "You don't have to, if you don't want to... but... could you collect this stuff into a document and give it to me for... training purposes. For the younger members of the Brigade or... Dark League or... whatever we evolve into. Sort of a primer on vampires... in case we run into them and some people have no clue..."

    He frowns. "I know that's asking a lot, but I think it would be beneficial and help a lot of people. It could save lives." He shakes his head. "You don't need to answer now, but... think about it?" He looks at the clock, it was getting late (for most people.) "You're free to sit and finish your drink if you want, just... lock up behind you? The single lock should be fine, I'll come down and deadbolt it after I'm done with... with what I need to see."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia takes a parting sip of the Cosmo before sliding it away from her. "No need. I don't really drink anything other than blood anymore. I enjoy the taste of alcohol still, which is why I still order them, but I don't do much more than sip on them, and even then, I partake only when there's company to enjoy, too."

She stands and collects her things. "I can put what I know into a book, but it isn't a whole hell of a lot, if I'm to be honest. I know what's true for me, and what I can guess at Jubilation, but there are a /lot/ of different varieties of vampires out there and I doubt that there's going to be any single source that's going to be all encompassing."

She nods, as she heads towards the door. "I do a lot of journaling, and I've got one just for my vampire thoughts which covers most of it. I'll make some copies of it and edit out the more... personal bits." She turns and gives Chas a smile. "Have a good night, Chas," and then she disappears into the night.