2568/By the Dawn's Early Light

By the Dawn's Early Light
Date of Scene:	24 September 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Karen Page, Breath, Punisher

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Karen Page has posed:
It had been a LONG shift.

The Sisters of Mercy had dropped off the evening load of sandwiches, and the large carafes of coffee that were being used to fill the disposable cups the volunteers were handing out were in fast rotation. When evening had hit, the crew had dwindled down some, to a bare skeleton of a team, and the first responders were hauling ass to them now, taking sleep in shifts.

Karen hadn't signed up for a double, but in the end she'd stayed, dirty and sweaty and achy from the exhausting work.. she just couldn't seem to drag herself away.

Before she knew it, it was nearing dawn. You could tell by the birdsong. Odd, even in this, a disaster area, the birds sang.

Wearily, she sat herself down near the point where the trucks came in with the food and waited. When this morning shipment came, she was catching a ride back towards home. It was time.

Breath has posed:
Breath has Mail! Fricking fracking errands sigh, but they *literally* signed up for this. Because when Fate blinks their puppy dog eyes at people, that's what you do. Because Fate is just really good with people like that. And makes cookies. So many yummy cookies. Sigh.

And so a costumed figure comes roaring in across the sky and whooshes to a landing out on the grass out of the way, pulls out a picture and studies it, then goes venturing into the chaos looking for somebody. because somebody has to go looking for the needle in the hay, after all. Siiigh. They show the picture to some of the younger homeless looking folks around.

Punisher has posed:
    Frank Castle comes walking towards the mission. He is wearing a long black coat as the nights are starting to show some chill as October approaches. His coat looks well worn however and perhaps not terribly thick. He has a Yankees cap pulled down low over his face but still manages to see where he is going.

    "Still got some coffee?" he asks in a rough voice that sounds like he might have been smoking hard for years. He turns his head as the costumed figure approaches. He acts as if he is pulling away, nervous, of the costume and the figure. It appears he has had some bad history with the costumed folks.

Karen Page has posed:
Karen doesn't answer with her words so much as point at the industrial urns on the nearby table. "Cream and sugar over by the tent. No, I don't know why they aren't closer to one another. Just a volunteer. And done my shift." Shifts, she thinks mentally, but she doesn't need to make that distinction. She does feel a little guilty in not getting up and helping him with the coffee. She just can't seem to work up the energy. And her feet *hurt*. They'd been hurting for hours now. Sneakers next time for certain.

She's not noticed the needle in a haystack looking girl. And really, if she had, she mighht not have blinked twice anyway. She's not just tired, there were all sorts here, crawling out of the woodwork all over the city to come and help out. It was really satisfying in a way to see how everyone was pulling together.

Breath has posed:
Breath is literally just walking up to random people, showing them a picture of some teenaged homeless girl, asking if anybody has seen them because their friends are worried, "No, no, not their *family*, their *friends*.. I have mail for them..." and hoping to get lucky with somebody actually recognizing who they are looking for.

Punisher has posed:
    Frank begins moving towards the coffee. He pours himself a cup and lifts it to his lips. He takes a sip and makes a face before moving toward the sugar packs. "God, you think you wouldn't want to torture us with bad coffee on top of everything else too." He begins to rip and dump the sugar packs into the coffee. He looks around at the other homeless types around. They don't seem to be commenting on coffee or the sandwiches. He should probably be careful what he says too else he be remembered too much.

Karen Page has posed:
Karen gives a weak laugh at the man's complaints. "The sandwiches are decent. Look like hell, but they taste good. More'll be coming shortly. I'm catching the van back. The coffee.." She shakes her head in a helpless manner. "Can't help you there. It's all donations. They do what they can. Bottled water is in the coolers, if you'd prefer."

Of course, he's already dumping packets of sugar into his coffee, grumbling.

The girl stopping the various homeless who've wandered by to grab up sandwiches and hot coffee finally catches her attention. With a groan, she gets to her feet. "Hey, can I help you?" Lots of people were trying to connect with loved ones displaced during the last invasion wave. She could at least point the girl in a better direction. There was actually a tent set up for just that thing.

Punisher has posed:
    Frank turns as he hears Karen addressing Breath. He puts a stick into his coffee, turning it slowly, as he watches the hero trying to find someone. He shakes his head, but moves a little closer so as to hear what is going on. Never hurts to have the ear to the ground after all. That is why he was out here. He stands behind Karen as she approaches probably about six feet back.

Breath has posed:
Breath nods, yes still in costume and all. Not even trying to blend in, but a few of the homeless kids seem to recognize the costume, so that's not a totally bad thing in this case. "Hey. Yeah. I got sent to go looking for this guy. His boyfriend says he didn't check in, and, you know. Stuff is happening." She holds up the picture of the girl again. "Last time anybody we know saw him, he was going to be in this part of town. So if you know if anybody heard from him.."

Karen Page has posed:
Karen regards the photo - a girl, but notes the pronoun. "Right. So.." It's not a face she recognizes. Then again, she wasn't back here at the staging area, she'd been out amongst the first responders, taking things to them all day. It was only now, pre-dawn, that she'd had time to settle in near the tents and persons in charge. "Uh.. okay, we have a tent over there set up to help folks like you find their people. YOu can register them, and if we find them.." She falters over the 'dead or alive bit' and carries one, "We'll let you know. Sound good?"

If she notices how closely Frank is hovering, she doesn't make mention of it yet.

Punisher has posed:
    Frank takes a drink from his coffee. He still winces but it is better with all the sugar piled into it. He is listening to the exchange, but then takes a couple steps forward. "How do you let anyone know if we all don't have homes? Seems like the post office doesn't really like me hanging out there to try and use a post box."

Breath has posed:
Breath gives a thumbs up. "Sure! Awesome. Do they use legal name or what people know them by? Oh..." She stops and lets the new guy ask his question, since he probably had a worse day than she has had. Well, minus the firefight, that sort of wasn't super fun happy times. Plus, this whole situation is a little bit not her usual scene, obviously. She's trying not to trample on things.

Karen Page has posed:
It's just as easy to answer them both together. Karen puts on a bright smile. "We take your information - so, in your case," she tells Breath, "We'd take all that information. Legal name if you have it. What their street name is.." She sighs. "Not everyone made it hon, anything you can give us helps us put people back with their loved ones." This time the 'dead or alive' is heavy in what she doesn't say. Unmistakeably missing.

"And," she tells Frank, "The staging area works both ways. You can come back and check in and ask if we have any new information - for those who don't have any other ways of contacting them. And if you do have other means we use those. I think they're working with several of the churches and shelters throughout the city to relay information, so you can check in there too. The folks inside the tent will help you."

And, in fact, they'll confirm what she says: There are checkpoints throughout the city where people can find out every day who has be located or relocated. The coffee may be lousy, but someone with brains put this part of the system together right nicely.

Punisher has posed:
    Frank nods once as Karen explains. "So are we doing anything against the invaders?" He looks towards Breath. "And you," he grunts slightly before taking a sip of his coffee. "You seem awfully optimistic on finding anyone in this hellhole." He looks at the coffee once more and tosses out the brown liquid, but crumples the paper cup and slips it into his jacket.

Breath has posed:
Breath says, "Awesome. I'm going to check there, and, um, you look really tired. Does anybody need anything done here really quick? Hopefully not more fights with guys with blasters? Because I already had enough of those to last me the rest of the week. I mean, I'm not quite sure what I would do, but you know. I can ask!"

She fixes Frank with a GLARE, then grins strainedly. "It keeps me from crying, okay? 'Cause like, I'm all for curling up with a teddy bear and chocolate and ice cream and crying it out, but Not Right Now, you know?""

Karen Page has posed:
Karen nods with a quiet grin. "I am tired. Been doing this for longer than I came for." Of course, she thought he'd meant her with the optimistic comment, and shakes her head with a slight roll of eyes at him. "Look, you have to be, okay? You want to go around telling folks there's no hope? Do you have any idea what sort of chaos that would cause. Shit, use your brains.."

And that's about where she catches herself. It's definitely late if she's swearing at the folks she's supposed to be helping. Even if they are doing their level best to make another one of the folks she's helping cry. "Woah.. woah.. okay. There will be no crying, alright? Look, uh.. how about we get you," Breath "a sandwich, and then off to the tent. And Groucho here," Frank "will pour you a coffee. Okay? Lots of sugar, right? It's going to be okay."

Frank gets a glare. He might be another refugee in this sea of displaced in the invasion, but he's not the one about to break down in tears.

Punisher has posed:
    "THere is hope," Frank says with a shake of his head. "Never said there wasn't, but it comes from us fighting back. Take those bastards down at their own game." He does fall quiet then however and steps to one side so that Karen can lead Breath towards the sandwiches. "And yeah, the coffee needs a lot of sugar. Hope isn't going to help that one."

Breath has posed:
Breath nods vigorously. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'm sorry if I am being a bit twitchy. I already got in one firefight today, and those really kind of throw me off my game for awhile. I'm not like one of those guys who stand in front of rifles and giggle. And now I just want to pass on this message and maybe try to sleep." She gets lead toward sandwiches. Yummy sandwiches. Kind of. Ish. Better than ramen, though. That was the plan for dinner otherwise. "Um, I'm the Breath. If anybody asks."

Karen Page has posed:
"Yeah, I hear you. I'm not fight crew. In fact, I only just signed up for this the other day. Figured I'm not the superhero type, but I could do something. And if you're tired, there are some cots and blankets. They're for the first responsders, but you could probably pass." There's a grin for Breath's cape.

She does manage a laugh at Frank's appraisal of the coffee. "He's right, you know. It's horrible. But it wakes you up. And!" She raises her voice some so he can here, "There are plenty of folk fighting back. You can join them if you want. But that's not what this area is about. The folks here have been through enough." Her voice lowers again. "I think we're all just tired."