Owner	Pose
Zorro	Tonight was a big night for the otherwise quiet Rain Day Books. Barring the unlikely event of a supervillain attack, tonight was the night where the Bookstore was to hold a autograph signing for copies of the Scarlet Pimpernel book, with the autographs themselves being provided by Hector Rodriguez himself, the newest Pimpernel to grace Broadway.           The venue itself had a line going out the door, If one were to peek in through a window, they would see a atable set up in the middle of the store with a stack of books on it and a red chair, obviously meant for the star of the hour.
Venom	Thankfully, the queue lining out the door was roped off, with signs suggesting it is for people who want to get an autograph with Hector Rodriguez. But those who weren't interested in getting one, could come in through the other door, and explore the rest of the book store. It was still a business open to the public. Eddie took one look at the people lined up, shook his head, and started walking past it on his way in. He was actually on a mission, trying to find something. Unfortunately, he had no idea what he was looking for, just that he wanted to get a book as a gift. As he passed through the regular door, he made his way towards the new releases table, picking up one by some financial tycoon, giving it a quick flip, and then putting it back. The next was by some celebrity chef. He rolled his eyes, and started looking around, hoping to catch sight of something more interesting.
Nick	Opting to keep a low profile when not performing or promoting something of his own, another reasonably known performer is dressed in his Goodwill best with his trademark locks tucked away under a knit cap. Nick had been in the store just a few days ago but there had been a flyer advertising the signing so today seemed like a good day to shop for more books. With a rather worn copy of the Baroness's work in hand, he waits his turn, not minding much. The wait just allowed for him to start reading through it again. Step by step. Page turn by page turn. Book obscuring his face from others in line, he is slowly getting closer. On the bright side, he's at least IN the bookstore and nearing the front of the line.
Berri	Just because one had ended up in a life of crime, didn't mean they didn't like to read! For the right people, crime did indeed pay and for Berri? She liked to spend some of that cash on a luxury here and tehre. Today? It was books, and she had a night off. She might be dressed more 'plain' than usual, a pair of black jeans and a white spagetti-strapped top, but between the parasol held at her side and those two-tone locks? She would certainly stand out a little. It didn't look like she was in line, but strangely enough those who were seemed to be parting to permit Berri through the door almost instinctively.
Zorro	A man walks to the center of the room and says," Ladies and Gentleman, Hector Rodriguez is on his way out now. Please, no flash photography and only one one autograph per customer. Thank you.      % Hector Rodriguez than walks out. But, instead of a tuxedo or at least formal clothes, Hector is dressed up in a Harley-Davidson t-shirt and blue jeans, one of his more casual wears. Considering this wasn't a formal event, Hector figured that he would not have to dress all fancy. He grinned as he sat down and began signing autographs. After a few minute of signing copies of the Scarlet Pimpernel, he looked up and grinned when he saw Nick in front of him reading the book. He then says," Enjoying the book amigo?"           His grin briefly fades once he sees the mute girl from the Penthouse walk in, but he manages to shake it off and grin again.
Buffy Summers	Buffy Summers wasn't a big bookworm herself, and so she came in through the back door, browsing books in the store while peering every so often at the famous author with a smirk. Willow would get a kick out of this if she were here. Especially with the biker look he's wearing. But she's probably busy with bigger things at the moment, and besides, Buffy is pretty sure her copy was already signed before. It's still amusing to watch the crazed fans out of the corner of her eye, before she goes back to browsing the shelves for a particular book Giles wanted for his collection at the Magic Box.
Venom	Eddie wore a grey t-shirt with the New York Knicks t-shirt logo on it. His black baseball cap had white accents, and some popular logo, denoting the manufacturer. He wore black jeans below the grey shirt, and a black jacket, unzipped. Clearly he was going through a bit of a grunge phase. All he lacked was the customary long hair. Instead, his was kept short and tidy under the baseball cap. Continuing to explore the book store, he picked up one that was called 14,000 Things to be Happy About by Barbara Ann Kipfer. He began to give it a quick read, trying to see if it would appeal to him. He didn't seem too fussed about the celebrity in their midst.
Nick	He smiles as he gets to the old woman and the plague scene. The horrified reaction of the guard was priceless in that book. Nick blinks as he hears a voice he's heard a few times in tv adverts for the show and lowers the book, "Everytime I pick it up to read." He closes the worn, decades old book, handing it over to Hector. "Orczy wrote a good one."
Berri	For her own part, Berri moves deeper into the store and away from the line. A small pause comes as something crosses her awareness. A familier face perhaps? Certainly her gaze flicks towards the direction of Hector where he sits and signs all fancy-like. Curiousity crosses her face, but there's no book for her to have signed in her hand. The eerie staring lasts long enough to just bridge on uncomfortable before Berri turns, moving towards the shelves and the other patrons, Nick and his discussion earns a glance, Eddie and his 'grunge' is hard to miss, although his choice in title earns a quirk of amusement from the girl with the bright hair. Buffy? She similarly is looked over with those missmatched eyes while Berri makes her way down the isles.      What was she looking for? Who knows?
Zorro	Hector smiles at Nick and says as he takes the book from Nick and signs it gently," Si. The Baroness Orczy has written a classic character. One that i have come to enjoy playing."' He then hands the book back to Nick and takes a sig of a water bottle. All the while, he feels like he is being watched. But, when he turns to see who is staring at him, they are gone.
Venom	One of the nice things about having a symbiote was that it could become any article of clothing you might desire. Today, it had opened for black. Black and white, for whatever reason, were the easiest colours to mimic, so the only colour was the orange and blue of the New York Knicks logo on his chest. The rest, was black, white, or grey, right down to Eddie's shoes, which were converse sneakers. By now he had made his way to the used book section, pulling out some book that was rather dusty. As he looked it over, he gave it a big blow to get some of the dust off, sending it into the air. Now he tried to read the title, "the source of... I can't quite seem to make it out. Something Grimoire. What's a grimorie?"
Buffy Summers	Buffy Summers glances around the store at the other potential customers, although she recognizes no one. She IS in the used part of the bookstore however, and when Edie nears her, blowing all that dust off of a particular musty book, she frowns a bit, peering at first it, and then him. "Grimoire? Oh..I wonder if that's the book Giles was looking for. I think that's kinda like a spellbook." she peers at him thoughtfully, wondering for a moment if he's a practitioner of magic.
Nick	"It does seem swell, to be playing that damned, eluuuusive, Pimpernel." Nick replies, giving a bet of a smile as he does a play on one of Sir Percy's better known lines. He takes back the book, giving a nod to Hector as he cradles the book, knowing full well where he is in the tale. "Thanks for helping to get more people interested in the story again."
Berri	A grimore? That earns a glance from the silent Berri, a curious tilt of her head as she simply lingers nearby. Magic was often thought of by some as literal nonsense, but after seeing some of the mystics, sorcerers and magically-empowered on both sides of the law? Well, it was hard to be a skeptic. Besides, the girl herself was a telepath, so it was a little hard to dismiss other flavors of strange!
Zorro	Hector smiles and says to Nick," Thamk you for the complement Amigo. It does me good to think that this play and my performance are working to make the Scarlet Pimpernel be back on the public spotlight."
Venom	'Apologise!' came a loud thunderous voice in Eddie's head after he had blown all that dust in some girl's direction. It wasn't intentional, but he blew, and that's the way the air aircon flowed. "Oh, sorry about that, didn't mean to get you." He began to awkwardly dust her arms and upper torso, before he realised just how incredibly awkward and inappropriate that was. His mind was very much in the right place, but he apologised again, "sorry again, yeah... I... look, if you want the book, it's yours, providing of course you pay for it from the store first." He held it out to her. "A spell book? So you're like a Witch? That's cool." That voice in his head began to speak to Eddie again. 'We're being watched,' and then proceeded to describe Berri as surreptitiously as possible while making an easy identification. Alas, Eddie wasn't able to think back to the symbiote. He had to speak words, words that other people could hear. So he let out an awkward, "ok... I mean, are you okay?" The symbiote then added, 'nice save.'
Black Alice	A Very gothy boot kicks the door of the bookstore as her hand works the handle giving it some extra uuummfff as it opens, good thing it is rigged to not just slam open without a door stop. The young woman that follows the boot is the same sort of gothy sort. Black mini-skirt. Black mesh and leather top. Pig tails. It is definitely a look. "Okay.. now.. where the hell..." she has a compass in her hand it looks like, good old fashioned sort of thing and Alice peers down at it and then looks up around the room very slowly a she walks inside.
Nick	Autographed book in hand and knowing how the lines have to be kept moving, Nick gives another nod as he steps away from the table. Hmm. Maybe one day he'll get to play a literary character that DOESN'T end up dead, the bad guy, or utterly miserable. The odd thought is short lived as his phone starts to ring. "Dammit." He mutters, stepping out of the way to go answer it. Only one person he knows that would be calling at this time...
Buffy Summers	Buffy Summers did get quite a lot of dust on her from that musty old book, and she can't for the life of her understand why Willow or Giles would want that musty old tome. But apparently it's rare and ancient enough that it would be hard to find new editions of it, and while she's relieved to have found it, it's a bit frustratingt that someone beat her to it. Furthermore, she's now covered in dust. Not that it bothers her as much as it probably should, as she's used to being covered in dust from her many patrolling missions. Of course, she's not really expecting him to start invading her personal space and wiping the dust off, and she flinches a bit, stepping back, holding out her arms to keep him back. "Woah, that's er..Very considerate of you, but I'm fine, really.." she laughs a bit, as she takes the book. "Oh, really? You sure?" she smirks, shaking her head. "Well, I was *totally* gonna steal it, but since there's a witness.." But who knows if he's gonna take that seriously? And Buffy just has to wink to let him know it's a joke. "Um but seriously, thanks! I'm not actually a witch, but I have a witch friend and a librarian-turned-magic store owner, both of who would be very pleased to add this to their collection, so..Thanks!" However, when he starts talking to himself, she arches a brow, peering around. "Um..I'm fine? You seemed a bit..Out of it for a moment though.." She is aware of the others in the bookstore, but seems to have no fears of being heard or watched, even if she could hear his inner thoughts.
Berri	The book had peeked interest, but now Eddie got to be the focus of the stare for a moment. There was a tilt of her head the other way and a small squinting from Eddie. A man with two minds wasn't something you saw everyday, and while she'd only 'felt' surface thoughts rather than risking the noise in her head of actively listening to all the people around her, it was like hearing a ventriloquist talk while making his dummy talk at the same time. Seemingly impossible. Huh.      Witch friend? Magical Librarians, the girl flicks her gaze towards Buffy with a raised eyebrow and a quirk of amusement. Maybe the blonde should be writing a book of her own. She'd yet to notice Alice arrival, her back to the door for the time being.
Zorro	Hector grins as Nick walks off and continues to sign people's books. He then hears the door being kicked in and looks up, only to raise an eyebrow at what he saw. He saw a Goth girl looking around with a compass. Hecotr then continues to sign the books, while occasional glancing at the Goth.
Venom	'We have so much to teach you about personal space,' comes the voice of the symbiote in Eddie' head. Oh, now it was on. Eddie looked like he really wanted to say something, and bit his tongue instead. He must have looked like a crazy person in front of Buffy, Berri, and anyone whose name was five letters long and began with a B. "Stealing is bad. Especially from a bookstore. The way media is going, they're a dying industry. But I just like something tangible, the feel of the pages against my fingertips. It just feels more real than digital." Next he pulled out another book, and heard a noise coming from the back of the book shelf. "What was that?" he asked, and took a look into the crevice. It seemed the bottom had a gap. Something must have fallen behind the stack. Kneeling down, he tried to see if he could find it on the bottom. But it was really buried in there. He had to get down on the floor, and reach under the bookshelf, pulling out what looked to be a used journal. He flipped through it. Hand written. Lovely penmanship. "Interesting. I wonder what this is?"
Nick	Off to the side, Nick lifts up an old Nokia with the tiny screen smushed. Hitting the center button, he brings it up to his ear, "What do you got, Wade?" The less than amused expression lightens to a bit of surprise, "Really? What brought that on?" As the conversation on the other end of the phone continues, Nick ends up giving the shop owner a tilt of the head indicating he was going to head out back. Getting a nod in return, the musician scoots towards the exit. Looks like another last minute gig has popped up.
Black Alice	Alice is definitely up to something. She peers at Nick as he walks out and then brushes past Berri as she walks further inside. She seems to be walking right towards Buffy and Eddie now and the Grimoire they are holding. She walks past them both then looks down and turns around and stares at them both. she glances down now looking between them both and the compass in her hand, sort of pointing it to one of them then the other. "Hmmm"
Buffy Summers	Buffy Summers does notice Berri peering over at her, and she just shrugs and smiles warmly at her. Is she eavesdropping on them or..? You never know, with all the weirdos and metas around. But so far she hasn't sensed anything particularly *demonic* nearby. "Yeah...Too bad my friends weren't interested in more popular, modern stuff, like the famous author over there.." she nods towards Hector with a smile and shrug. Glancing back at Eddie, she can't help but chuckle a bit more. "Easy, I'm only joking. I'm no juvenile delinquent, even though my paranoid, crazy highschool principal sure thought I was, just because I was carrying a sword in sch---" okay, maybe she shouldn't go there, this guy seems..Nervous. Or odd anyway. She does notice the goth girl which causes her to smirk a little. "Wow, love the outfit. Faith would definitely approve..Not really my style though." And then Eddie finds a journal of all things, and she arches a brow, peering at it. "Wow, weird, I didn't think a bookstore would sell someone's personal journal..Wonder what it says?"
Berri	Of the many things Berri was, demonic wasn't one of them! Curious however, certainly was. It was like a tale unfolding out in front of her with this journal's reveal...and she wasn't exactly going to be able to strike up conversation of her own in here anyway, so this was a suitable occupation of her time. Buffy's smile? It's met with a little bow of her head and a little smile returned, but the sudden bump against her back from Alice has her blinking and turning to fix her mismatched gaze on the girl with a frown. Rude.
Venom	Eddie continued to idly flip through the hand written journal. He found a name, William Goldman, and the more he looked into it, the more intrigued he became. There was a ticket stub from 11 November 2018, New York Knicks and Orlando Magic. That was old, really old. Almost nine years to the day. And the title of the journal was Buttercup's Baby. This was something he would have to purchase. Looking up to Alice, he protectively gets a better grip on the journal, offering a simple and straight forward, "hello." He wasn't sure why she was sizing them up, or had a compass. She was acting almost as weird as Eddie. He then put the journal to his chest with one hand, and reached out with the other, offering his hand first to Buffy, then to a Alice, introducing himself as, "my name's Eddie."
Black Alice	"Hm" is all Alice says for a moment then rolls her eyes and shakes Eddie's hand. "Black Alice." Then she glances at the compass then at Buffy and the older dustier book she is holding. Are you buying that book?" she sounds, peeved perhaps that someone is holding it. "Are you a collector of grimoires?" yeah she didn't read the binding nor was she in here when it was discussed.
Buffy Summers	Buffy Summers blinks slowly, peering over Eddie's shoulder as best as she can at the contents of the journal, while trying not to pry too too much. "Wow, weird.." she does chance a glance at that ticket. "Might be priceless. Don't worry, I'll let you have that one." she grins, hugging the dusty grimoire more tightly. There are a lot of roving shoppers around and she's not about to lose it to anyone else either. Nice to meet you, my name is Buffy. You guys frequent this bookstore much?" she smirks at Alice and shakes her head. "Me? a Collector? No, not really...It's more a favor for a friend, who runs a magic shop. Perhaps you've heard of the magic box? Me, I'm not much of a magic user really, although I do find magic quite fascinating.."
Berri	Not addressed directly and not really able to chime in her own introduction, Berri lazily braces the tip of her parasol against the ground before leaning forwards and tilting her head. Hector's signing is ongoing, Nick had fled, the others were as much an engagement of her time as she was going to find. That and, between two-brain Brock and magical Buffy/Black Alice? It was entertainingly different to what she'd expected when she went shopping for some distracting tale.
Venom	"It's a gift," Eddie said to Buffy, though still looked like he was worried someone was going to try and wrestle it from him. If it was what he thought it was, it certainly was priceless. In fact, the symbiote asked, 'who is Buttercup and why does it matter so much that she have a baby? Don't most human females have babies eventually?' But Eddie could hardly answer that and not come across like some kind of weirdo, still, he tried to do both. "I think... I might have found an unpublished book. A sequel to the Princes Bride." "Haven't been here before, but that's going to have to change. This is an incredible find." Moving away from them, "gotta go pay," he aid, he headed for the register, wanting to confirm his purchase as soon as possible and get a receipt.
Black Alice	Alice looks after Eddie there and his purchase then shakes her head and focuses on Buffy. "Oh son of a bitch.. the old British guy...." yeah the last time she swung by the magick box she had a pretty scornful encounter with a bunch of asshole magic types. "Are you sure you need to give it to McDuck there... I mean I really don't want to pay his markup but I can.. if I have to.. but it really would speed up my work on scrying other realms..."
Buffy Summers	Buffy Summers peers at Alice quizzically for a moment. "Err...Who know? Hope you're not talking about Giles.." her smile does fade a bit, feeling a bit protective of her mentor and friend. Thankfully she is briefly distracted by Berri's parasol, which is actually pretty cute, and as she heads towards the till herself, she smiles and nods to her. "Hey! I like your parasol..I had once..Probably lost in my pile of junk at home somewhere.." She grins at Eddie, "Well that'd be an awesome gift for someone. I'm sure they'll like it. Wonder if this place does gift wrapping?"
Berri	A smile comes, closing of her eyes in exaggerated expression of thanks. Generally, most people didn't understand ASL these days, so Berri had to compensate a little for not being able to simply -say- thank you. Even so, the girl does nod and then continue her quite clear eavesdropping. Magic boxes and Brits? All things to alight the curiousity, but when the talk of the journel content comes from Eddie's mouth? Now that had her attention. Certainly it was worth a bit of money if it was legit but hey! Even criminals loved a good story! The shorter woman simply leans forward, trying to catch a glimpse and perhaps even make to try and grab the thing for herself...but already he was moving. A pout, a frown and a thought follow. She was going to have to find the two-brain man and that book later.
Venom	"I don't know, but most bookstores will at least wrap it in brown paper if you ask." Eddie explained to Buffy as she joined him in the queue to pay. The symbiote, not missing a beat, said in Eddie's head, 'that woman just tried to take our gift book. Can we eat her?' Eddie said "no," aloud, making a bit of a fool of himself, "I'd say I have tourette syndrome, but that doesn't even begin to cover it. It's a long story." What a sad state when pretending he has a terrible condition is preferable to explaining the real situation.
Black Alice	There is a glance when Eddie says no to himself and then she snaps her compass closed and looks back to Buffy. She is contemplating bad behavior and not guarding her thoughts. "I mean.. Rupert Giles is Old and British isn't he... I didn't think that was insulting.. I mean it is rather descriptive isn't it." she considers unsure for a moment. "Fine you got the book first fair and square.. I'll have to stop by sometime and talk to him about it Buffy.... are you like his student or something?"
Buffy Summers	Buffy Summers arches a brow at Eddie. "Tourette's huh? Is that where you're all jerky and say random, funny stuff?" she can't help but smirk, but he is kinda odd. "Sure. No worries. I totally understand. And yeah, looks like they'll wrap it in brown paper. Guess they don't have anything shiny. Maybe I can put stickers on it or something.." she arches a brow at Alice. "Oh..Sorry. For a second, I thought you were calling *him* son of a bitch. My mistake!" she waves to her cheerfully as she pays for her book then heads towards the exit, nodding to Eddie as she goes. "Nice meeting you, hope your friend enjoys the journal?"