2019-06-30 - No Bones About It

It is, presumably, about an hour after the texting with Vivian. Vyv is exactly where he said he'd be: in his apartment. He didn't mention he'd be reading a book and sipping a cup of tea, but these facts are unlikely to be particularly pertinent to anyone's plans. The place is spotless and tidy, and smells pleasantly like baked goods at the moment. And tea, if less notably. He looks none the worse for yesterday's wear, and not being at work, is of course not wearing his whites. Instead he's in a chocolate-brown three-piece suit with a dark teal pindot shirt, with the top two buttons undone in lieu of a tie and peacock-feather patterned silk pocket square sprouting cheekily out of the jacket's breast pocket. Yes, he is in fact still wearing the jacket inside his own house.

Presumably. Vivian was given the apartment number, both by Vyv himself and Byron, so it doesn't take long to actually get to the right apartment. When her and Byron arrive at the door she reaches a hand up, knocking against the door before commenting to Byron, "Hopefully this isn't just a wild goose chase." The words are spoken very quietly, though, so that no one that might be passing in the hallway can overhear them.

Coming straight from the boardwalk to the Apartments and then waiting another hour before the pay Vydal a visit, Byron accompanies Vivian to the pastry chef's suite on the topmost floor of the building. Well, beneath his Penthouse of course. He's dressed casually for the weekend and with the chaos that happened earlier that day, he's canceled at least one of his video conference calls. Donning the same long-sleeved navy, green and black watch plaid buttoned-down shirt with dark slacks ensemble, he's at least changed out of running shoes from earlier and into some loafers, but that high-tech sports watch still clings to wrist.

When Vivian knocks, he almost has this urge to call out in that authoritative voice that he sometimes uses as a landlord to announce that it's Thorne, but instead he'll let the knocking do the speaking for him until the door is open.

Yes. Beneath it. Of course. Why the place couldn't have had the foresight to have one of the other two available...

Vyv has other things to occupy his thoughts at present, and is distracted from one of them by the knock that heralds another. The bookmark is shifted to his spot in the book, the book closed and set aside on the end table by his mug as he rises and heads over to answer the door. No dilly-dallying, but no active hurry, either. The door opens, and there's a quick down and up glance that takes in the pair there, silently appraising, before he smiles very faintly, giving them a small head-tilt of greeting. "Good evening. Lovely suit, Vivian. Do come in." He steps back, bringing the door along with him, to allow them to do just that. "Tea?"

"Vyv." Vivian greets as soon as the door is open, and she moves through the door, pausing just a moment to give Vyv a kiss on the cheek before she heads further into the apartment, "Thank you for making the time to let us drop by." She glances towards Byron, offering him a quick smile before she turns her attention towards the apartment, looking everything over quietly, "Tea would be fine. But I'm just going to cut to the chase if you don't mind my skipping the extra pleasantries just this once? I think the situation might warrant it."

Obviously, one of the first things that Byron automatically on entering any tenant's unit is to give the place a good visual sweep. He's looking to see how clean the place is being kept or if anything looks damaged. From what he can see, this place is impeccable. Unlike a certain other suit he'd visited not long ago. Obviously, the other thing that he's looking for just happens to be some random box with a skeleton inside. Nothing strange at all.

"Mister Vydal. Thank you for having us." This is said half-distracted as he's finishing up with his once over, dark eyes turning to Vyv for now. "Yes, some tea would be great." He follows by putting on his landlord hat for the moment, "I hope that you've been enjoying the suite and Gray Harbor as whole since your arrival." Small talk when it's unnecessary.

Vyv gives Vivian a french-style air-kiss in return, though just the one, on the side conveniently presented by her kiss, and closes the door behind the pair once they've entered. "Mn. But we haven't even covered 'fancy meeting you here' and 'what brings you to town' yet," he replies, brows lifting slightly, and he strolls toward his kitchen to pour a couple more mugs of tea. The tea is already made, either in preparation or simply because he wanted some himself. "Pleasant to see you, Mr. Thorne. Milk or sugar?" That bit's probably for them both.

There's no sign of a cardboard box nor any bones, and honestly the general impression of the place is that the bones would be much more likely if either were to be visible. At least they might look decorative. If it's here somewhere, it's behind a door of some kind. "The suite is quite satisfactory, thank you. The emergency generators powering the refrigerator is a thoughtful touch. The town... is intriguing." A glance toward Vivian, with that. "But given you're here together after those texts, I suspect you know that. Please do have a seat."

"Milk and sugar, please." Vivian replies as she moves towards a seat when invited to sit, "It is fancy meeting you here, but I came here for Byron." Which she gestures towards him, avoiding the Mister Thorne part of things. Instead she crosses her legs, hands folding together as she settles into the pleasantry since it seems to be being pressed on her for the moment, "What brings you here, Vyv?"

She then waits, all of five seconds, before she skips right ahead, "We're looking for the bones because whoever else is looking for them is willing to kill people for them."

"A little bit of both if you don't mind." Byron says when asked for Milk or sugar. He's not so much a tea drinker, but he knows what color the concoction is supposed to look like in the end. Looking between the pair, he decides to say, "If I knew that you both had already met before, I would've brought Vivian over to your shop the day I'd stopped by to pick up my gifts. Everyone who received either a box of pastries or the gift basket raved about it." He'll say that much.

He then moves to take a seat beside Vivian, his eyes looking to Vyv when Vivian explains why they need to know where these bones are. He had some concerns that the man would have brought the thing here, but as he doesn't see the box out in the open, he sort of wishes that he did. "If these bones belong to the person who I think they do and I'm not completely sure at this moment, then yes there is someone out there looking for them as well."

"If you'd come here for me, I'd be surprised on multiple levels," Vyv replies, one corner of his mouth and the opposite eyebrow both quirking up slightly as he glances across his shoulder and the breakfast bar toward Vivian. "As it is, I'm only surprised here on the eighth." He pauses in the tea arranging to focus on Byron again, the appraising look clearer this time, lingering a fraction on various details of his presentation. "I'm sure there are worse reasons." Despite the phrasing, it still gives an impression of general approval. Aren't you glad? The impression increases with the mention of the pastries being approved, which evens out the smile, though it stays small. "Thank you. Ms. Velez came by to mention it, but I am pleased to hear there was general appreciation." Not surprised, mind. But pleased!

He brings over a small tray with both cups of tea, two spoons, and a small sugar bowl and milk jug, setting it on the coffee table before them. That general sense of faint amusement's lessened, then, though he hasn't immediately replied to the parts about the bones. It's not until he sits down as well that he says, "What brings me here is, first, that I had to decide to open somewhere, and second... I suspect perhaps what happened yesterday." It's said a bit delicately, as though it might be all too easy to put a foot wrong. "As far as the bones, specifically, we did what we could to have them cremated as quickly as we could manage." If there's more to say, he doesn't yet go on, instead reclaiming his own tea to have a sip, attention still on them.

"Cremated." Vivian glances towards Byron at that, frowning a moment, then she glances at Vyv, her expression remaining thoughtful, like she's wildly grasping for the silver lining in this situation. Being unable to actually find the silver lining, though, she reaches for her cup of tea, doctoring it before she takes a very small sip from it.

Then she crosses her legs, letting her attention drift towards Byron to study him, the cup held in her hands as she takes a breath, then lets it out. "Well, damn." It's about all that she can manage to think of to actually say before she looks back at Vyv, "Are they actually already cremated, or waiting to be cremated still?"

Byron gives Vyv an appreciative look when handed his cup of tea and he's just about to take his first tasting sip when the word cremated comes up. It doesn't leave him choking on his drink, already rather careful as the content within that cup is hot. Oh yes, he sees the look that Vivian gives him and he's not contemplating the situation. "Is that what the ghost or whatever it was wanted? To be cremated?" He asks, leaning forward to pour just the right amount of milk and sugar, stirring lightly, though that quiet ringing sound of spoon hitting against porcelain is heard.

That furrowing of his brow makes him look like he's pondering quite a bit on this predicament. "Right, is the body already cremated? And if not, where can we find it. And who is it with?"

Now that Byron has two invidiuals who were there during the dream in Downtown, he comes to ask, "Vivian tells me that there was writing on a wall saying that Billy is or was alive? Mister Vydal, do you think that these bones belonged to this Billy? Otherwise, whose remains could they be?"

"No," Vyv says, answering Byron's initial question first. His mouth opens again, and there's a pause, followed by a sigh and a glance off the side that probably chats with eye-rolls at family reunions. "...I can't believe I'm saying this." Focus back on the pair of them, and he goes on, "No, the bones wanted to be buried. Very, very much wanted to be buried. They actively did not want to be burnt." There's a hint of a one-sided smile again, but it's not quite the same one; doesn't touch his eyes in the least. "The bones also very much liked the idea of... what a woman there called 'Them'. Shadows that eat you?" He is not entirely clear on the details of this, even if he got enough from the combination of her explanation and the reactions of the bones to be subtly satisfied by the idea of not giving them what they want.

He settles back in the seat a bit, crossing his legs and making the lounging look fairly elegant as he takes another sip. "I can't be certain whether they're already cremated," he say, and irritation bleeds into the tone, "We gave them to the mortician. A Ms. Allan? She informed us that she legally can't simply burn randomly found bones, but if we left them, perhaps someone would take care of them." There's a dryness to the last clause, and a lifted brow, suggesting the strength of the implication. "So either they are, or they ought to be at her funeral home. As long as it hasn't convinced her to bury them instead. She was warned." His fingers tap lightly against the arm of the chair. "The writing said 'Billy Lives'. All capitals. Red. Of a shade that could have been blood. And although I certainly can't be sure, it seems somewhat unlikely to inscribe that above the shuffled-off mortal coil of the man in question. Who else it might be, I've no idea. I just know I don't much care for him. So. Who do you think might kill for them, and why? Does this sort of thing happen... a lot, here?" He somehow manages to make that question sound entirely casual, almost off-hand.

"Evidently these things do." Vivian supplies to the last question, but the rest of them she doesn't seem to have a ready answer for, instead she takes a sip from the tea like she might just wish that she was drinking something a little stronger than just tea.

The mortician, though, that is something that causes her to look in Byron's direction, as the local. "Someone you know, this Ms. Allan?" There is a hopefulness in her voice, like this might fix it all. But also a resignation that she expects it won't actually fix anything.

Byron listens carefully to everything the man says, lifting his dark brow when told of what these bones had requested, but for the time he says nothing more. Then a name is given and he immediately pulls out his phone to do some sort of search for a number, even if the name sounds familiar. "Why did you want those bones to be cremated if they asked you to have them buried?" He doesn't look on Vyv when he inquires of this, seemingly busy saving a certain number to his phone. "Because the bones liked the idea of these shadows?" Only then does his gaze lift from his phone and across the way to the now lounging man.

"During the big storm a week or so ago. The one that flooded Elm street. There was a man looking for Billy. Calling that name out. He caused a lot of havoc in his wake, even killing a man. Nearly killing several others." Byron starts, those eyes focused on Vyv, "Now, I don't know whose bones they are, but I do know that someone is looking for a Billy. Either way, I'm hoping to get to the bottom of whose bones those are and who Billy is. Whether they are one in the same or not."

Turning to Vivian, he murmurs, "I don't know her personally. Hell, I know the coroner only slightly better, but I've found her number. I'll have to check and see if she'd done anything with these bones or not at all." He looks to be typing just that, even as he responds to Vyv's question, "Things happen here. It's a... special place, let's put it that way." He finally looks between the two then asks the chef, "What did you say drew you to Gray Harbor again? When you could go anywhere else?"

Vyv arches a brow. "Essentially," he replies, sounding not the slightest iota ashamed of that. "Perhaps it's because I was the one carrying the box, but I could feel how... eager it was for these shadows to come and eat us. How pleased it was for them to be mentioned. How very much it enjoyed every moment we argued over how best to handle things, once we were back. If we'd been a high school, it would have been the entire circle in the courtyard chanting 'fight fight fight'." He tilts his head. "I don't like things that want to harm me trying to play with my mind and lure me into aiding them, Mr. Thorne. I wouldn't be terribly fond of it even if they didn't. Quite possibly it was responsible for the entire situation we found ourselves in to begin with."

He watches Byron right back, when he's focused on. "Whoever's looking for Billy doesn't sound like someone I'd be particularly inclined to make an effort for either. But I suppose the question itself is interesting. As for the bones -- we spoke to that coroner first, I believe, but she hadn't access to a crematorium. And I don't know that I said what drew me here at all, actually." Another sip of his tea, and or a moment, it seems as though he's going to pretend that answering the literal question is sufficient. Vivian's likely seen him do that sort of thing in the past. This time, though, it may simply be a matter of considering, either his answer or the pair of them, before he says, "Various reasons. The one I suspect you care about is that I discovered there were... a few odd things I could do. That doing it on purpose was easier certain places I visited. Haunted places, by local legend. So I began looking into that. And I found a book that started me looking here." A pause. "It's interesting."

There is a moment where Vivian looks like she's about to respond, but her pocket starts to ring and she pulls her phone out. Whatever number is on it causes her to frown a moment, then she sets her cup of tea down, "If you'll both excuse me, this is a call I need to take." She gets to her feet, a hand moving to Byron's shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze before she heads towards the front door, answering the phone as she goes, "Doctor Glass."

Listening further to what Vyv says about these now, not so innocent, but malevolent bones, Byron's eyes turn to Vivian as if looking to confirm this story. He looks as if he's weighing some pros and cons within his mind, one of his hands now taps a finger upon his lap. "I've already contacted the mortician to see whether she'd burned the thing or not and if she'll allow me to inspect the bones before doing so. If anything, I want to know who this person is, the deceased, I suppose."

When Vivian rises to stand, he turns to her once more, flashing her this smile. "I'll be right up. I have a few calls that I need to make." Then returning to Vyv, he considers a moment, then states, "As for the one looking for Billy? Myself and a few friends of mine were hurt during that ordeal. I have a feeling that unless we figure out who is doing the searching and why, then incidents like that will continue to happen all around town."

Though now that Vyv reveals that he knows about the Veil, well, knows about these places and the power that they hold. "Ah. You were drawn here because of the power then." There's this light shrug of his shoulders, before he reaches over to the teacup to take a deep drink of the slowly cooling beverage. "This is lovely tea by the way." After that's said, he murmurs as he, too, begins to rise, "You know, that when I called The County's office the other day, they told me that they were just about to head out for Tea Time and that I needed to call later. Strange isn't it?" He then ends with, "Thank you for the tea and speaking with us. I'll most likely stop by for more of your pastries at some point in the near future. He then turns and starts heading to the door, before adding, "And if you'd like to discuss the mysteries of this town, while I don't have all the answers, I know a few people who might be able to help."

Vyv gives a small sigh. "I rather wish you hadn't done that," he says, "Given the whole 'I can't do it but perhaps someone can' thing, it would have been a good deal better to let me do the checking in. I suspect she would prefer not to have many more people knowing she could potentially have something to do with a situation of perhaps less than spotlessly legal appearance." He glances after Vivian as she goes, with a soft, thoughtful noise, and then back to Byron. "I would be interested to know the who and why. Including 'why now'? Why hasn't whoever it is been causing incidents to try to find this Billy before now, or has this been going on for ages?"

The compliment to the tea gets a faint smile, and an acknowledging inclination of the head. "Thank you. Perhaps my ancestors needn't toss me out of the family tree just yet. Do you know we do tea at the shop as well?" He sits up a bit more, setting down his own tea and standing as well to follow his guest to the door. "I would, in fact, very much like to discuss said mysteries. Anyone who might be willing to address them with me? I should very much like to be introduced to. Thank you."

He closes the door behind Byron, and flips the lock absently, heading back toward his chair. "Well, that's... progress, I suppose," he murmurs, sitting back down and picking up what's left of his tea. And no one seems to think what happened yesterday was all that strange.

That's strange.

He picks his book back up and does his best to pretend it isn't.

His best is pretty good.