Owner	Pose
Daniel Chain	Being caught up in Mojo's idea of entertainment was annoying to Daniel Chain. An artist in more than one sense, it's not the idea of performing for others that bothers him, per se. Nor was it even being yanked away without his say-so, and dropped back the same way. That's certainly *was* annoying, but the Skein has had its share of unruly clients in the past, and he's willing to shrug it off as just another example, and the whole episode as an impromptu contract. Even if he didn't get to take the time to teach Mojo about proper negotiation etiquette, in the manner he would have liked. No, what bothered him was the reminder that he's not here on Earth to play. That he has a job to do, and it could just have easily ended the other night with it being left undone. Of course, *he* could have been ended as well, but that's secondary to him. Death is one thing, but disgrace to his name and the works they represent, and the Skein as well? That's another thing entirely. He had been given this job with only the minimal of instructions on how to achieve it, and so he had been content to wander his way and take to it in the manner that best suits him. But with the events of the other night, he's decided it's perhaps time to take a more pro-active stance towards getting the work done. And that includes making use of the resources he's discovered here, one of which just happened to be in that same race last night. The visual refresher of the strange, exotic colors of Hex's "strands" had been an excellent reminder of what to look for, but even so Daniel had treated himself to another one by backtracking to the alley where she had laid down her art, where traces of her unique signature still remained. An actual scrying was surprisingly difficult to work with, possibly due to the aether-drinking nature of her paints that he had observed, or perhaps due to some other, more chaotic factor. But the overall effect was unique enough that he could certainly follow her trail at least, and work a simpler tracking spell. And it would be marginally more polite than simply peering in on her, at least. New York is a huge city of course, and there's plenty of places within that Daniel hasn't been to yet. This is one such place now as the young man clad in denim makes his way through a series of side- and back-streets, guitar case (significantly more scuffed) in one hand as the other holds an old brass compass popped upon on its palm. Following a needle that's pointing someplace other than magnetic north, though having to pause every now and then as it spins wildly, waiting for it to reorient itself. And so making his way through the unfamiliar area, with an unhurried walking pace towards his goal.
Valerie Killmore	Hell's Kitchen isn't the best of places in the best of neighborhoods. Sure, there's businesses, apartments, homes, all strewn throughout from those who make mega millions to those who suffer at the hands of the economy's terrible fate. But, here, now, Daniel is going to find himself amongst even worse places. Buildings noticeably get worse, they start to look like they are falling apart. Worse, some are falling apart. Holes in the walls made into doors from pallets of wood that were once trash, to no doors at all. Some of the buildings have noticeable consequences from violence, bullet holes and broken or shot off pieces. It's rough to discern who would actually want to live here, but as Daniel makes his way into the neighborhood the strands that lead to Valerie/Hex get stronger. And bigger. The threads start swirling faster and with more prominence as they lead to a door. The door is covered in painted on tags, some faces, some runes, some depictions of violence or harm, some partially written warnings, some clear self-portraits since you know Hex, but it's all in that same Graffiti'esque design. Which is to say, not high levels of detail but certainly high levels of distinct stylization. Assuming Daniel opens the door, he's met with a staircase. And in his magical vision the staircase is flooded with lots of potential harm. There is an intercom system at the base of the stairwell, on a nearby wall, that presumably would call up to the resident above, but more to the point, walking up the stairs it looks hard... near impossible, to avoid what look like threats. Dangerous, exploding, kinds of threats. Enough that at least the entire staircase would be destroyed, and the graffiti continues all the way up. It is like a child's bedroom if that child were 100 years old, and had nothing but vibrant crayons to draw on the walls. Up up the stairs, leaking through the door at the top of the stairwell, is the sound of music with a heavy beat to it, crazy lyrics. It's definitely Hex's place.
Daniel Chain	Daniel shows no concern as he walks through streets where visable signs of misery and violence have taken their toll on the buildings. Of course, the small part of the skills he put on display for the death race, shows that he doesn't really have reason to. And as the pervalence of threads grows thicker, he gives a little nod to himself, snapping the compass shut and putting it away. No question now that he's on the right trail, and no longer a need of anything other that his unique vision to follow it. The shape those threads take though, when he finally opens that door, gives him pause. His eyes actually widen a bit as he sees the thickness of the wards guarding the stairwell. Slowly, and *very* carefully approaching them, caught for a moment with the simple delight that he could give a puzzle-box. How in the name of all of Limbo are these workings even *stable*, so many of them clustered together? He studies them for a long, long moment before starting to reach towards one set of strands -- -- and pauses. And gives a little laugh to himself as he realizes what he's doing, letting his hand drop. He's not here as a thief or assassain, why in the world should he need to undo her wards? Besides, clearly an amount of work has gone into them. Even if he *could* do it, that'd just be rude. And so, how best to announce himself? That intercom gets a moment's scrutiny, but also a dubious look as he glances up towards the stairwell, where he can clearly hear pounding music despite levels of floor and at least one closed door. Would she even *hear* him buzzing? A shrug, and he decides to go ahead and try that first, reaching over to press the call button.
Valerie Killmore	There's so many threads, so many interacting magical pieces and they all seem to have one result. A bomb, a grenade, a piece of the puzzle that links to some other kind of fuse, that goes to a bomb or grenade. It's a lot of potential BOOM all at once. And which thread removes it? Which one stops the magic? Some of them are twisting, intertwining with others, and then there's the mechanical components? Would stopping a thread of magic, start the mechanism? Would it start the normal part of the bomb? It is perhaps good that Daniel doesn't try, else he'd be here for hours deciphering these things. Instead he presses the intercom. The music stops, there's a beepbeep *GONG* type sound that reverberates from the upper floor, and then silence. Waiting, waiting, and then "Hello? Is this the pizza guy? If you are the NOID, I am SO annoyed. I ordered that pizza thirty days ago, and nooooo never got here. I know, I know, the original driver was shot and killed on his way here, but that's NO excuse. PIZZA! I had to go, hunt down some neighbors, and then fiiiiiiinally, found some that had some food. You know how much work it is to blow up some gangs, or a family, not sure, I didn't look, and then rob them of the pieces of food that remain?" A pause and she introspectively asks, "Is it still robbing if they aren't alive? Just curious. Anyhow... let me come down." Then she releases, the music starts up again and the door opens from the upper stairwell. If Daniel moves back a bit to look, Hex is hopscotching down the stairwell, "Left left, right, pick a toe, right right down, know your nose, up up jump... and have a bump. Cause HERE I AM!" She lands at the base throwing up her arms like a Ta-Da... eyes scanning over Daniel and as she furrows her brow, "When did you become a pizza delivery boy?"
Daniel Chain	Daniel blinks as the music obligingly cuts off, and he gets a response that... well, he really wasn't expecting. And turning it over in his mind is enough that he can't actually respond to it when she cuts off to come down instead. He's been here long enough that he *does* know what pizza is, and that they do deliver. But thirty days? The Skein has work that can take a long time, sure, but that seems fairly unreasonable for a delivery. Would the food even last that long? (If the answer is 'yes,' it's probably time to find another place to eat.) Turning this over, the whole thing about stealing and blowing up is kind of missed, and when Hex hop-steps her way down the stairs, he's startled out of his thoughts with a blink and an honest answer. "I didn't. But I can go get one, if you're hungry," he adds. Only polite, after all -- and he figures it might... what was the term? Grease the wheels, for what he wants to ask her. Potential emphasis on the grease part, depending on where he gets it from.
Valerie Killmore	"No thanks. I don't much care for pizza." Offers Hex in response to the initial question, "You must be in some dire straits though if you aren't working for the pizza company anymore, and still showing up." She confirms her suspicions, but then tilts her head to the side. "You are here now, though. Come on UP! I got this thing I'm working on, I think you'd like to see, and I need to keep working on it, it's almost done. Another hundred hours or so and it'll be good to test." Then she's back at the staircase, and is going up a completely different pattern, "Right right, nose to the side. Down one, skip a step, finger gun left, finger gun right, blow out the smoke, and hope that it's night." A pause as she looks back over her shoulder, "Oohoohohh, you should really already be following me. Else we'll both get to see the roof! Not that that's bad, but the roof really is in need of some repairs, it is KIND of embarrassing..." A lingering pause, "To the contractors stuck up there." Maybe she's making that up? Then she continues her stair vaulting dance, "Tippy toes, tippy toes, up the 3, then spin on a heel and hear me scream!" She then is facing backwards and lets out a loud, top of her lungs, kind of scream, "Back it up, hop, do a twerk, then you're free to run up you squirt!" She then ducks and runs up the last few stairs. "Got all that, hope so, I'll be inside." Walking into her full on lab filled with found furniture, some of it totally messed up, A LOT more graffiti and multiple work benches, lots of junk, and some shelves in a dilapidated condition.
Daniel Chain	Daniel blinks, already starting to note of the pattern in which Hex starts making her way up the stairs -- and blinks again as she lets him know he *really* wants to pay attention now. He doesn't have an eidetic memory, but luckily a sharp mind for patterns, details, and rituals. Quickly taking a moment to swipe a hand up to undo the glamour covering his eye, freeing the full range of his vision, which... probably makes everything look even more like a magical clusterfrag than it already is, but *hopefully* will warn him if he's about to trip something that's not immediately obvious. Still, it's a close thing for having only one viewing and one pass through. Right side, to the side, down one, Allamaraine, count to four -- wait no, that wasn't it. Managing the right steps, then on his heel and letting out a ringing scream of his own, and being *very* careful not to let any of his own magical force escape with it. He's used to using his voice in his workings, but it wouldn't do at all to destabilize anything here. By the time he's made it to the stop of the steps, he's clutching his guitar case to his chest and panting for exertion. And yet, feeling oddly rewarded. Of course not-dying is a rewarding experience to be sure, but being smack in the middle of all those deadly swirls of color was an experience, not to mention navigating Hex's magical minefield, was a learning experience. Among other things, his first time seeing what a 'twerk' was. He's not quite sure if that knowledge will be useful, but it's good to have at least. Taking another moment to gather his breath and redo the glamour, the red orb disappearing beneath the guise of a human eye, and letting his guitar case fall to his hand. And taking a slow, appreciative look around as he gets a look at Hex's lab proper. A crafter's workspace is almost a sacred thing to him, and even though there's open curiosity as he leans over to study this and that, he's very careful not to actually touch anything.
Valerie Killmore	The lab space looks safer, at least in terms of how many traps there are. Most of the trap type magic seems to be in that stairwell, along the walls, whatever accounts for windows in the building, and Hex. Of course. She strides in and keeps going, back to her work bench where she sits down and hunkers over something she's working on. It's a record player, that has a spatula attached to it that is broken, a metal hub cab seemingly welded to the top of the record player, and more than a few explosives nearby. She's carving into the metal disk right now, and she has a car door nearby, the XXX-Stab-O-Tron on the desk itself, and she taps her phone a few times to get the music going again, albeit a little quieter than previously. "Watch out, don't go the path again, on the way down, or if you ever show up again. It changes pretty regularly... I usually just guess at the path, and it works out... most of the time." She offers, while she's etching still, runes and cool designs into her record player with broken spatula hub cap thing-a-ma-bob. Inside the lab Daniel can easily discern the same magic paint that she vandalized that wall with. There's lots of it in here, all of it sort of focusing large quantities of magical energy, into her, the tool she uses to etch the record player, most of the stairwell, all of her lights. It seems she's figured out a way to take magical energy, through her paint, and power the entire lab and all of it's electrical components. Even the piece mailed stereo system with speakers all over the room that she's setup, has no wires, and everything is still powered. Even the sound travels from her phone to those speakers along magical threads.
Daniel Chain	"A changing pattern?" *That* gets Daniel's attention, but rather than concern, a look of fascination as he opens his mouth to ask how she -- well, no, it sounds like she's not quite sure of how herself. She created something that exceeded her own expectations? Of course, that assumes there was one to begin with, other than 'blow up someone I don't like.' The idea that there may not have been, doesn't seem to have quite clicked with him. And besides which, he's not here to 'talk shop' with her, as much as he'd love to. "Thank you for the warning." So he'll leave it at that. Almost immediately though, he's distracted again as he takes a good look at her tools. And this time, he can't stop himself from asking. "How -- are you sending power to these?! I tried doing something similar," he adds, looking over his shoulder from one of the speakers. He tried in fact, to duplicate her phone from the one look he saw of it. "But I couldn't make it work!" As novel as he finds some of this world's experiences, the smell of burning plastic is not a particularly fond one for him. Which is ironic considering he comes from a place where brimstone and burning are the odors of any given day, but that's different!
Valerie Killmore	There's a few nods of her head, as she's hunkered over and deep in her work almost immediately. She's looking over the player and working on it, still etching designs, carefully. Well, carefully in terms of how steady her hands are, but not so carefully when it comes to exactly following whatever patterns she was originally using as a guide. Even now, the magic that's getting put into this seemingly not dangerous device, looks, like it is ready to explode. It isn't, at least not yet, but it could... it seems, at any moment, with just the right kind of mark. "Changing? Oh, right, the stairs! They do change, every so often I have to rebuild them, and then boom! That's how stairs are." She chuckles, "Oh, stairs. You goof." Yes, stairs change, and so the pattern must, right? Turning her head just a little to look over the corner of her shoulder, to see Daniel there, she huhs, "How? I mean, you see, that over there, well it sends power to that, which goes over to that one, and then it disperses, so that one can capture it, but then there's a few over there, I'm not sure what those do so much anymore, and with the layers of other... anyhow, it then goes through the wall, into the ground, and then up into that there. But over to that one too, and I put a conjoining rune on those three speakers, but that last one... that's a doozy. Couldn't get it powered for the life of me, till it HIT me." A rub of her head for the briefest of moments, "And then it started working too... I just had to re-attach it to the wall with screws instead of yarn. Which seems bonkers, but, it worked." During this she is pointing in all sorts of different directions, and sometimes uncertainly pointing in multiple directions at the same time, but then she's grabbing back up her tool and etching again, "It isn't rocket science." She doesn't say it condescendingly, more as an observation, "That'd take very different mixtures."
Daniel Chain	Any sane person would probably say at this point, how little of what she just said actually makes sense. But Daniel simply nods along, turning his attention in the various directions, peering closer at some of the lines of paint, and basically drinking it all in. "Screws instead of yarn," he repeats, nodding to himself. The phone he tried to modify didn't have *any* yarn in it of course, but it also didn't have a conjoining rune either, surely that was the problem! "I see. I see!" He doesn't. But his mind is already turning in new directions, new ideas starting to come up just from the hints she's given... or at least, what he *thinks* are hints. "I'll have to -- wait. Wait, no. Not now." That's right, he *didn't* come here to talk shop, did he? "Sorry -- thank you -- but sorry to bother you at your work," he says quickly, getting the formality out of the way as he turns to face her full. "But -- I need your help. I'm looking for someone. You may not have seen them," he adds, "but I would like to ask all the same."
Valerie Killmore	There's another nod when the repeated screws instead of yarn comment is made, and then Hex sort of turns her head more as she looks up to Daniel. "You need help doing what exactly? Looking for someone? That seems strange, you already have more eyes than me. Do you want me to piggy back look backwards or something, do you have eyes in the back of your head? What about on your back? Maybe if you took of your shirt then, and walked around that way, you wouldn't need MY help." A pause and then she shrugs a little bit at that, and then continues on her little rant, "If this is about that kid in the hoodie. I didn't mean to wrap him in clay, electrocute him, and have him tumble from the sky. I meant to kill him. Which is a problem, I hadn't anticipated someone getting to EACH clatter bomb before they all went off, and holding them so close to themselves. Typically..." She scoff-laughs, "People would throw them or run away. So, I definitely need to reduce the safe distance a little bit.
Daniel Chain	"No, I have the same number of eyes as you do," Daniel notes with a regretful sigh. "Having more would be useful... but no, I don't have eyes there." He does cock his head though as she mentions a kid with a hoodie meeting with an unfortunate and... rather unusual end. And sets his guitar case down, reaching up to make a twining motion near his temple, then weaving his hands through a series of gestures. Safe threads, at least -- one of his own, and others that govern ambient forces. In this case, visible light. "Did they look like this?" When Daniel spreads his hands apart, the image that appears between them is ghostly and wavering, a hastily-crafted illusion of something might look like it came from the mantlepiece of any family home, Two adults leaning in to the camera, smiling brightly, but their faces are blurred and unclear. It's the figure in the middle who's in clear definition: a blond, blue-eyed boy giving a bright, joyous smile as he stands between his loving parents. "He wouldn't have looked like this anymore," Daniel adds for clarification, holding the image in place for her to see. "He'd be about my age now, but this is what he'd have looked like when he was younger."
Valerie Killmore	"Oh, you do?" Hex hrms, and shrugs, "Okay, are you sure? You seem like a guy with more eyes than me. Maybe it was because of the way you looked at my graffiti. Or how you peer at things... really, intently." She's back to working, clearly not the most observational person in the world. When you ask about if the kid looks like the person you are showing, being your age, she thinks a moment, but doesn't look at the image, "Nope. Doesn't remind me. Do they wear a hoodie? Or are a really big woman made of steel?" Talking about a boy, and now she's asking about a woman. There's a little bit of a shrug, "Are you looking to kill them? Cause I could test out my new invention on them." That's all it seems to take, just a person to test on to end a life. She pushes back and takes a look at the device, reaching out and touching the hub cap, then giving it a slow spin. There's electrical arcing sparks that tear out from the hubcap and attack the spatula, making clear electricity walking over the metal ends, some of which are broken and look sharp. She hmmms, "Not enough juice." And she goes back to etching some more things into it.
Daniel Chain	Daniel hesitates as Hex mentions the unusual scrutiny he gives things. There's a reason he wears a glamour over Det's eye, as he was warned that humans would not respond well to its appearance. Fortunately, she doesn't seem interested in pressing the point. Or in much other than her work at the moment, although she's at least still engaging him. If not actually looking at what he's showing her. Or so it seems, at least. He holds the image in place a moment more shaking his head in response to her question, releasing the illusion with a flick of his fingers. "I wasn't planning to kill them, no. I was tasked to him them back with me... though I was also warned I may need to use force. Thank you for the offer, however." Pausing as she activates what he presumes is said invention, giving it an interested look -- interested but cautious, easing back just a bit as he notices the way the arcs are jumping between metal points. "-Finding- them is the hard part. They've shielded themselves somehow, and for all I know they may have changed their appearance as well." Why assume he's the only one who knows how to weave a glamour, after all. "All I have is their name, and they may not even be using it anymore."
Valerie Killmore	"Oh! Hah!" Hex exclaims as she's looking at her spinning device. She starts etching something else into a portion of it, and then starts tapping the hubcap to make it spin, building up more electricity as she etches even more symbols, while it's slowly spinning and then. Then, the device separates, the hubcap breaks into a few pieces that shatter up off the device, flying up into the air and then get stuck slowly rotating with lightning sparking between them. The spatula starts to bend, but she's working under all of these floating pieces. Frantically etching, and then... she reaches out to stop the record player's spinner. All the pieces fall back in place humming with a low vibration as electricity ripples about the broken hubcap now like the beginnings of a forest fire under leaves. She leans back, letting her head tip backwards while she uses her foot, under her work bench's desktop, to keep her chair from calling backwards. Upside she looks to Daniel and grins, "Burn the name into the side of a building. It'll get their attention. Unless it's a common name, like Gilgamesh, then you might get a lot of people paying attention."
Daniel Chain	Daniel's hand flies up in the beginning of a warding gesture as the metal flies apart, but halts it as he realizes it's not actually becoming shrapnel. Staring in fascination, darting his glance between the array and the furiously-scrawling Hex. And then she stops the rotation, bringing everything back down in place. He steps in again, leaning a bit past her to study the device once more -- then gives his head a quick little shake as he has to remind himself *again* that this is not the time and place to start asking questions, other than the ones he came here to ask. "You know... I'm finding I enjoy watching you work," he notes, giving her a rueful smile. "It's actually a little distracting... " And what was it she was distracting him from? Oh right -- a suggestion. Daniel pauses, taking on a thoughtful look. He actually has no idea how common the name he's been given is, he'd need to check into that. But once that's been determined? "That's... not a bad idea!" he says slowly. Of course, he wouldn't actually deface a building -- some of the structures in the city look hideous to his eye (and *not* the ones in this neighborhood, either), but it'd be a disrespect to their creators to do such. There are other means to send out a signal, however. "But it might also have the opposite effect," he realizes, frowning now. "This person might go even deeper into hiding if they know they've been sent for."
Valerie Killmore	With the comment that you have mentioned to her, that he might just go into hiding? This person you are looking for and Hex hmmms, turning her head back and forth, causing her pigtails to sway a little bit. At this height, they are mostly on the ground, but she's still looking at Daniel upside down, "Put his name into a firework, put a little magic into it, and then launch it into the sky so that it homes in on him. Have the end be some kind of sticky clay crystal stuff, and boom boom, smack. Stuck to the gnat." She offers pretty easily, like that's the first idea but also the best idea. "I think you are thinking about it too hard. I never do that, just plan a little bit, the rest works itself out if you have enough bullets." A bit of a nod comes from her as she speaks, and then she wonders, "What'd this guy do to you? Eat your puppy? Skin your child? Your child is a puppy and he skinned then ate it?" She clearly ran out of ideas after combining the two, but then offers, "Wait, are you after me?"
Daniel Chain	Daniel stares at her upside-down for a moment as she suggests the latest idea. Blinking at her once. Twice. And then... his mouth falls open. "Hex... that's... ! That's *brilliant!*" Of course, he won't do *exactly* that. But Hex herself mentioned it at their first meeting, didn't they? Names have power. And he has this person's name. The person behind that name has shielded himself, warded himself somehow so they can't be scried upon or even tracked in same the manner that Daniel did Hex. But a name is not so easily shed, to those of the mystical world. If he could bind something to it, turn it loose so he could follow, it should at least be able to *point* him somewhere.. And now Daniel turns, beginning to pace the length of the room much in the same way that she -- that both of them did, that night in the alley. "I'd need to gather the materials," he speaks, half to himself now as he walks with his head low, thoughts whirling. "Shards, where can I find materials pure enough to work with in *this* city? I'll have to manage somehow. Maybe another tracking. And then a seeking. I'll have to do it all myself -- I don't even have my *tools.* I'll just have to -- " Jarred out of his reverie though as Hex asks those questions, and also that last. "Am I after you?" he repeats. Starting to demur- And he stops. Didn't he just say this person may very well have changed their appearance? And doesn't he keep getting impressed by the level of ability and thinking Hex is showing? A slow turn of the head now... But he stops. And then he gives a rueful chuckle. Didn't he himself say this person was hard to find? Certainly if Hex *was* this person in disguise, he shouldn't have been able to come right up to her front door. Of course getting *through* the door would have been another matter entirely, but this whole affair would have been a lot less of a trial if it could have been so easily resolved. "No, you're not the one I'm after," Daniel assures her. "As to what they did -- I'm not quite certain. All I was told was they had transgressed, and I was the one tasked to bring them back to answer. It's an order from the head of our -- er, order. And the person who passed it to me was my father, the one who raised he," he adds, giving a little shrug. "I didn't really need to know anything else after that."
Valerie Killmore	As Daniel starts calling her brilliant she waves a hand into the air, like she's dismissing the thought. Hex counts herself as pretty smart but she's around far smarter people than she ever would consider herself. Though the pacing doesn't quite have the same effect on her, as it did him, Hex is still moved to stand, and starts walking over to a wall. She puts her hands on her hips and looks, then tilts her head, pulling down a box. Bringing it back to her work station as Daniel is rambling out about materials and whatnot, she pulls up a circular device and then rummages in the box some more, finding a TV antennae and then puts that on top. Turning to Daniel just as he asks if he's after her, she holds out the items to him. "Here you go. You should be able to do some kind of weirdo weaving of magic on these things. Roombas, ain't no better tracker hound in this world... and just to give it a boost. This is a high fidelity all weather 1980s original antennae. Just gotta add aluminum in the right amount, spin them around a few times, and you'll get a clear signal." When it turns out she's not the one he's after she shrugs a little, "I have eaten and skinned at least one puppy. Good thing it wasn't yours, you aren't so bad, and I'd hate to kick you down my stairs cause we got in a fight. Sounds like maybe your father wants you dead, though. Dads, can't live with them, can't turn them into guitars without a lot of work." A pause but then she smirks, "Really though, there's a few good fathers out there. But only a few... sending you after this person who's hard to find? That's not so much a challenge."
Daniel Chain	"I have to admit, it's not as much of one as some of the other ones he's put me through," Daniel admits wryly. "But I can at least say for sure that he doesn't want me dead -- if he did, he would tell me so. And then make it so." Giving a shrug with one shoulder as he says it, the idea not seeming to particularly bother him. Of far greater interest is what Hex offers him. Out of reflex he reaches hands for the unfamiliar devices, but doesn't immediately pull them to himself. "Hex, are you sure? I didn't come here to take from you... "
Valerie Killmore	There's a little shrug, and Hex just kind of pushes the items in Daniel's direction, "I'm not going to use them." She offers and turns back, "I tried to fiddle with the doo-dad diddly bits, but then I thought of this trebuchet that I'm making. I know, I know, it's the best gift you've ever received. You'll owe me one, sometime later, maybe if I blow myself up or something, you can stitch me back together." And she nods her head a few more times before looking back to her workstation. Looking over at the record player she takes in a breath, and then lets out a little sigh, she smiles in its direction, "You are almost done. I know, I should really get you a skirt or pants, or a pantskirt, but then where would you wear your sock puppets?" Turning her head to Daniel again she points with her finger, arm still close to her body, "You sure got me there. My dad told me he wanted to kill me all the time. It's gotta be a dad thing." She shakes her head chuckling a little bit, "I am only disappointed that we never finished the race... we just blew up that robot."
Daniel Chain	Daniel finally takes the Roomba and antenna from Hex, giving a quick flash of grin and a nod as she talks about him owing her one. "You have a deal!" The Ebon Skein may have their formal contracts and conmissions, but demonkind in general tends to understand the concept of bargains and deals, so the phrase comes to Daniel easily enough. He'll actually treat his quite side better than most -- even if it comes down to doing so in exactly the way she describes. When she turns to address her latest creation, he takes a moment to very carefully stow the new acquisitions in his pack, treating them as carefully as he would any material vital to his crafting. He straightens up as she mentions the rest -- And for the second time since their meeting, something she's said has actually shocked him. "He... said -that-?" She did allude to the kind of treatment she had gotten before, but he had quickly let that go so as not to interrupt her creative process. Reminded of it here and now though, there's no mistaking the horrified expression as something that seems utterly unthinkable to him is spoken.
Valerie Killmore	With the roomba now in better hands, Hex is back to her creation at the work bench, sitting down again, sitting at the edge of the back of her seat. So, she's sitting at the top of the back, her feet are on the seat, and she's keeping her balance, then she turns her head to look right at Daniel, "Said what?" A pause, she is curious, and then she turns back to her work. A moment later, "Oh, yeah yeah yeah. Dads say that kind of thing. You know, it shows they are paying attention." And she reaches up, and taps at the side of her head with one finger, "Drill it into you, Vaaaal, into your thick stupid head. Val. Val val val, where were you for the past few hours? Why is the carpet smoldering, Vaaaaaaal. Huuuhh? Did you eat my sandwich? Why is there poop in my coffee? Huh Val!? HuH!?! I'll kill you. Come here, right now, I'll kill you, put this gun to your head, pull the trigger now your deead. Mamma. OoOOooOOoh."
Daniel Chain	It's not just the fact that Daniel hasn't heard that song (gasp!) or the fact that she's decided to segue into lyrics, that gets a look of pure incomprehension from him. It's trying to fit what she's saying into some recognizable context, some frame of reference that the can understand. He's known trial, hardship, what some might even call abuse. All of it for a reason, however. All of it to serve a purpose, and that was made clear to him right from the start. This, however? What she's describing however, sounds like nothing but maliciousness, plain and simple. To a -child-. Talk of blowing up buildings, snuffing out lives to test out her new toys? That got shrugged off. This? This sickens him. Daniel well and truly doesn't know what he can so that, opening his mouth wordlessly for a moment before closing it. And then trying again. Until finally: " ...I don't know... if all fathers... all 'dads'... say that kind of thing," he says slowly. "But I know that mine didn't. I'm told I myself, don't say things the same way others do, so maybe that's why." What he was actually told was 'You don't sound like you're from around here, buddy.' but it's the same basic idea. "I don't know... if that makes things better or worse. But.. it's what is."
Valerie Killmore	There's a lot of muttering that becomes the background to your silence. She's moves forward and is standing over her workstation now, grabbing the spatula and starting to strain, in that way, where you don't want to use all your strength but have to use some, and she's bending the ends of the broken sharp spatula, making each of the prongs into a kind of finger. Bent forward, it turns into a grip, like someone ready to throw a baseball as she works. Pausing a moment, she turns, twirling a little and gripping her hands together and looking up at Daniel from his side. Like she's some kind of admiring little girl, "Not all of them are. But, most. Please, daddy, I promise, I'll never be bad again." Then she's zipping to Daniel's other side, reaching out in one smooth fast motion to grab her chair, stepping up onto it and towering over him. She outreaches her arms, and tries to look big, speaking in a lower voice, "Oh, but you will, because you are a terrible disgusting curse on this family! You'll ruin us all." Then back to the other side, looking up, sniffling, "What if... what if I could be better with just the right amount of boom?" Then to the chair once more she waggles her finger back and forth like 'tsk tsk tsk' "Noooo boom boom for you!" And she lifts up a leg and kicks forward with it. Quickly she zips back to the other position, and then moves like she was kicked, tumbling backwards, rolling, and then ending at the wall, sitting with her legs splayed about. "Scene."
Daniel Chain	Daniel turns his head from side to side, following what she enacts with awful clarity. The fact that this may very well be distored through the lens of trauma is immaterial to him -- the core is what matters, and that sickened feeling doesn't go away. He watches the drama play out to its end. And stands in silence for a long moment as he watches her, struck completely for words. Until finally, he turns to walk over to where she sits, slumped and legs splayed. Looking down at her. And then... shrugging off his pack. So he can turn and sit against the wall more comfortably, joining her on the floor. " ...when the people of my order are accepted as full members," he finally murmurs. "They are given a title -- a name along with their own, that speaks to their place within the order. My father is called 'Seven-Binder,' because that is his strength -- the calling and binding of energies, with seven times the strength of any one of us." And glancing aside at the girl beside him. "What you do... it's like what we do. You're a maker, a crafter. So, when you said your name was 'Hex,' I thought you were giving me the name chosen for you in that same way -- to speak of that which brings misfortune and ruin, to the things that oppose you. But... you told me that's not why you have that name. And this, now... you're not the one who chose it, are you?"
Valerie Killmore	Laying there against the wall, for the moment, Hex tilts her head as she crashes into it, and sticks out her tongue like some cartoon character who just was knocked unconscious or otherwise near-killed. And keeps in that position all the way until Daniel comes over and then sits, she is alive again, pulling her tongue into her mouth and grabbing the nearest thing. It's a barbie doll with its chest carved off and head removed, so most of a barbie doll, and there's a nearby GI Joe she picks up, who happens to have those fake nipple-less boobs stuck onto it and the head's been replaced by the Barbie head. She holds them, wiggling them back and forth, "Waawaa, wawawawaaaa." Talking like Charlie Brown adults do, but moving the two dolls like they are talking. Then there's Daniel, talking about the Seven Binder, and the name, and she glances over, and then shrugs, "Names are just sparkles on the cake. No one eats them, but evvvvveryone cares." And then WHACK, she hits the mostly destroyed Barbie against the ground, WHACK, she does it again, hard. And then tosses it to the side, instead to pet the GI Joe Barbie's hair, "Truths spoken from the lips of the mad, is still truth." She pauses, and tilts her head, turning to look right at Daniel, "Wait. You get to choose your name, and you chose - Pee Daniel Daniel Chain?"
Daniel Chain	Daniel gives a little laugh at that. "No, I didn't choose mine -- I thought since you weren't a maker in the same way we were, that you chose your own name instead of being granted one, like my father and I were. 'Daniel Chain' is, I'm told, the name I was given when I was born. It's the one my father -- the one who raised me -- told me to use while I was here. The name he gave me -- the name I think of myself as -- isn't that one. But I forgot about," he adds, looking embarassed now. "I almost said that one, when you asked my name. That's why it sounds strange." The way she's playing with those dolls -- if one can really call it playing -- gets an odd look. But he dismisses it after a moment -- there's plenty of things he does that others see as odd, after all. He did tell her that they don't have music where he comes from, for one thing. And so after a moment, he continues. "And then there is the name I was given by my order, as my father was. So you could say I have three names -- but all of them are mine." There is a long after that. And then Daniel turns his head to look at her full, solemn and unsmiling now. "You say you are a 'hex.' But I don't agree. I am still glad to know you. I still enjoy watching your work. And today, you have been nothing but a help to me." Tapping his pack for emphasis, indicating the gifts inside. "So. I will call you 'Hex' because this is the name you have given me. But if there comes a day when you decide I should call you a different name? I'll hear it."
Valerie Killmore	Slowly the petting of the GI Joe gets turned into slow, malicious, ripping out of its hair. She's just coiling a few strands around and around her finger and then yanking it free from the plastic head. She does it again and again, as Daniel talks, just listening idly as she plays with the doll until it is hairless. Then she takes it, sticks part of it in her mouth and chomps, then turns it some, chomps again, and does it a few more times. After each one it gets clearer that she's not trying to chew through the doll but instead mark its face. Then she tosses it to the side, a few moments later it explodes, erupting in a small concussive force, enough to be loud, enough to damage the floor and enough to send a quick breeze past the two of them sitting on the floor, "Sure thing papa-zan. You think I'm just lillies and tulips, that's fine, but just you wait for the alligator teeth. Stick with me, and you'll see." And then she shrugs, "I'm always helpful, except when I'm not. That's a pretty good record. Did you want to stick around to test the trebuchet?" Glancing back to her workstation.
Daniel Chain	Daniel gives a start as the doll she worries at explodes! Thankfully however it doesn't seem to have amounted to much more than sound and fury, although he reflects that he may want to brush up on his defensive spells whenever he comes to visit. Just in case. He does brighten however, as she mentions testing out her invention. He actually does know what a trebuchet is, and he's curious now to see what her take on it is going to be. "I would like that, yes!" Climbing to his feet and dusting himself off -- and then pausing, turning to peer down at her. "Ah. Unless by 'testing' you mean you plan to launch *me* out of it?"