11851/The Girl and the Wolf

The Girl and the Wolf
Date of Scene:	28 July 2020
Location:	Cafe - Greenwich Village
Synopsis:	Andrea meets Mason...wait, that's not Mason.
Cast of Characters:	Rage, Straw Man

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Rage has posed:
It's a beautiful morning in Greenwich and Andrea has decided to hit up the local cafe down the street from her home for brakfast. She slept in a bit after a long night of work for her upcoming concert. Of course, she has to go back in later today for more rounds of dancing and wardrobe, but for now, she's going to fill an empty stomach.

After putting in an order for some crossaint breakfast sandwiches and a large coffee, she heads over to a table to sit by herself, taking her phone out to attend to the constant buzzing. Her album has positive early reviews and the closer it gets to launch date, the more of a media frenzy it is becoming. The third album is either the make or break album in an artist's career.

Tucking into her food, she eats as she scrolls her finger along the glass, at times using her fingertip to send out a response quickly, or hit a 'like' button for a fan.

Straw Man has posed:
    "Busy bee," comes the familiar voice over her shoulder. It's Mason. Hands reach up to massage her shoulders from behind. "Such dedication. Pouring over reviews. Not that they get you anyway, but image is what it's all about, right?"

Rage has posed:
So lost in her phone, Andrea almost doesn't hear the voice, that is until she feels the hands on the back of her shoulders. She nearly jumps out of her skin, eyes widening before she turns around to face him. "Mason! Hey. Wow. How is Juliard's going?" She asks as she rises upwards, stepping in to give him a quick hug.

"So far the reviews have been mixed to positive. It's definitely a bit more adult theme of an album. Trying out some new styles. A little retro throwback to the eighties. Electric beats. Something to get the blood pumpiing. But, hey, who cares about that. How are /you/ doing?"

Straw Man has posed:
    The more important question. Why is he not wearing a shirt? His chiseled body seems to be on display in the coffee shop for all to see, wearing only a pair of cargo shorts, but not a soul is looking his direction other than Andrea. "Oh, I'm sure it's all doing well. Adult themed, huh? Going the whole Miley Cyrus route, are we? I'm sure that would solidify your fanbase. Dirty old men love that stuff." He returns the hug. Something's different about it. It's not like a hug that he would have normally given, much more like a hug though that would be wanted.

Rage has posed:
"More like music that isn't bubble gum pop or sugar coated lyrics. This is more about real life. Struggles. Pain. My battle with depression and the events that shaped me into who I am today." Andrea says as her eyes give a glance down along his body, then back up to him. ".. Did you lose your shirt or something?" She asks, giving a glance to the counter as it appears no one is making a fuss, then back to him. ".. They kinda got a policy about clothes. You on the way to .. a .. modeling gig or something?"

Straw Man has posed:
    "What? I thought you liked this," he says, hands motioning to his torso. He pulls out a chair, and sits down casually. "Pain certainly is marketable, isn't it? Probably best to schedule a personal crisis every couple of years to keep things fresh." Clearly not the kind of statement Mason would make. He tilts the chair backward carelessly on two legs. "But keeping the balance between the crimefighting and rockstar life. Sleep must be less important to you, huh?" he asks, that smug grin that he always wore clear on his face, his fingers locking behind his head, elbows out. The barista glances in Andrea's direction with a slightly confused look, but then she just looks back to her work.

Rage has posed:
"Yeah, I don't do the crime fighting thing since I graduated. I got accepted to NYU and I'm working on my degree now in Production, while focusing on my career." Andrea said once she takes a seat again, propping her chin up in the palm of her hand. She studies him for a moment, then leans forward slowly, her voice dropping. "Hey, are you doing okay? You showing up without a shirt on is kinda weird, and .. something just feels off." She says as she gives a small 'sniff' at the air before leaning back. ".. Hey, how is the.. other stuff, you know... the rocks. You okay there? Still having any side effects?"

Straw Man has posed:
    "That's probably good, isn't it? I mean, you have to choose between saving people and making real money. Probably the best choice." As if Mason had any room to talk in that department. He'd always been too much of a coward to put his life on the line. "So what exactly do you think is off? My commentary or my personality? I'll give you a hint, it's not both." A self-awareness of the shift? Most definitely a strange thing for Mason, and there's a shamelessness in the declaration, as if it's amusing more than embarrassing.

Rage has posed:
Furrowing her brows, Andrea squints at him. "You realize I can still kick your ass right?" She says as she picks up her coffee, shifting it to the left hand before taking a sip. "You're just acting weird, that's all. I mean, shirtless in the middle of a cafe is weird because even though you like attention, you don't like /that/ type of attention unless it'd benefit you. You also are digging a bit 'too' deep on me when I know for a fact you'd normally be reserved." She gives another 'sniff' in his direction. "So what's up? Why are you acting like this? Did I piss you off or something?"

Straw Man has posed:
    The sniff seemed normal the first time, but this time...it doesn't. It's not that it's a strange scent, there's just no scent at all.
    There is a mock frown, "No, I'm certainly not mad at all," he says, continuing to precariously tilt back in the chair, using his foot against the bottom of the table's edge in order to keep it stable. "I do find that it's usually easier to talk to people when it's a familiar face. You called me here, so don't look to me for a motivation." He raises a finger in the air. "You know, a lot of people ask that question," he notes aloud. "But I'm sure you'll know soon enough why you need me."

Rage has posed:
"Okay, if you're not mad, then why the fuck are you needling me then?" Andrea asks as her voice hitches up an octave. People are glancing over now as she huffs at an empty chair next to her. "What are you .. even talking about? When it's a familiar face? I didn't call you here.. I.." She gives a long pause, then leans back some. "You aren't Mason?" She asks as she gives a glance about the room, then back to him. Her hand slides along her phone, plucking it up, then holds it in front of her to snap a picture of him. "Who /are/ you?"

Straw Man has posed:
    "Well, I'm whoever you need," Mason...not Mason, comments. He smiles for the picture. "Very post-millenial of you. I do love your generation." He seems unconcerned. The picture looks fairly normal. Of course, later when she looks back at it, it will be of an empty seat in the cafe, or perhaps she won't find it at all. "It's not really a question of /who/ I am, it's more a question of /why/ I am. It's much like children, I think." He drifts, as if considering something. "You know, children have imaginary friends. They interact with them as if they are real. They aren't, of course. They are just a manifestation of their need for conversation, all sorts of fancy psychological studies can disagree with the motivation behind it." He waves his hand dismissively, as if that part didn't really matter much.

    "You know, children see monsters as well. Until we explain that we don't /see/ monsters, that is. We're civilized after all. Of course we're all sure they are still there. Huge ones, as big as you can make or suppress them in your mind. You might think of me as a lion tamer of sorts. I'm here to parade your monsters before you. Expose them for what they are. Show you their tricks as I dangle a kitchen chair before them flamboyantly."

Rage has posed:
"I have fought monsters before and I have the scars to show for it. Mason was never a monster. He was my best friend, my world, and my greatest regret. But he was never a monster. Also, put a damn shirt on, magical make believe .. thing. It's distracting." Andrea says as she leans back some in the chair, glancing down at her phone. She takes a screen shot as well, then puts it to the side, face up.

"And I still love him. I'd do anything to protect him and he knows that, even with the distance between us. All he'd have to do is pick up the phone and call and I'd be there. That's what friends do for each other. So what are you really parading in front of me? His sweet abs? His sarcastic personality?"

Straw Man has posed:
    "Not all monsters come with tooth and nail. See, I'm a neighbor, and it's only neighborly that I visit. You see, where you come from, it's like little sand castles on the beach, and where I come from, it's the waves beneath. The real influence. /I/ have seen monsters," he says, the chair dropping down to four feet, and he leans in close enough that his breath can be felt on her cheek. There's a gravity to his statement. "They aren't like the monsters on the beach." He pauses for effect, locking those blue eyes on hers.

    "For instance, in this land I come from...we have a wolf. Unlike any wolf you'd find in the dark forest or under the blue sky, or in a penthouse. This wolf likes to walk on ceilings at night. Likes to stare down at you. She can come from nowhere like the Big Bad Breath of another planet. All things blow aside in her path." His voice becomes staccato as he intensifies the description. "She has no concept of how a wall, or the door to a house is meant to keep her separate from us. She cares not if it is a house of straw, sticks, or bricks. And she can speak. Oh yes, full speeches dripping with honey sticky enough to trap the most agile of flies. And she can tell you. Tell you that what you see-Out here-As a wolf is the bare tip of what a wolf can truly be. And where this wolf comes from, a day is like a thousand years. You'll nary find a brick that can stand more than a day or two like that. I think you've heard her, all her nimble words as she prowls outside your door, just waiting for you to fall asleep."

    He leans back, and the carefree Mason demeanor melts over the gravity like hot fudge on ice cream. "But, there's not so much to worry about, I think. Like I said, we're neighbors. We share the same dark forest. The same blue sky. And as I mentioned, I'm a friend."

Rage has posed:
"I don't think you can afford the mortgage payments to be my neighbor." Andrea hisses back at him with anger rising in her voice. "Take off his face. Stop looking like him. It's disrespectful." Her voice is growing quieter now, rumbling out with a growl.

The more he talks, the more she starts to look as if she may panic. "Rage isn't real." She whispers out to him. "She was a figment of my imagination from a traumatic experience. I'm fixed now. I'm not crazy. You aren't even real." But she can feel his breath. That's real enough.

Pushing herself up to her feet quickly, she almost stumbles over her chair as she snatches up her phone. "Just leave me alone!"

There is now whispered murmurs about the cafe as people hold their phones up, but she is so laser focused on the empty chair.

Straw Man has posed:
    And just like that, as she stands up, he's gone. Not in a pop of magic, or in a simple visual. It's as if the moment that a daydream snaps one back to reality, and it's realized that it never happened. All in the mind. Just an empty chair. Just a regular cafe. Just a number of strangers giving a curious stare at a celebrity who seems to be acting a little odd. It's that moment when a person may not be sure how much they actually said outloud, and how much would have been the appearance of someone lost in their own thoughts. It's hard to say, but whatever it was, it's gone now.

    Never did happen.

Rage has posed:
Giving a shake of her head, Andrea stares at the empty seat for a long moment, then pulls her phone a bit tighter against her chest. She gives a look around at her audience, then lets out a soft breath, tapping the side of her head. "Bluetooth. Sorry guys. Was arguing with a friend."

With that, she ducks her head and starts out the door quickly, glancing down at her phone again at the picture she took, and the screenshot. Will he still be there? The image of Mason?