2019-07-11 - Sarcasm And Surrender

Genevieve was expecting the thunderstorm. The weather had been too agreeable the last few days, so when thunder rumbles overhead and rain starts to fall, it's almost comforting. She's perched on a stool, legs crossed, a mug of tea in both of her hands. She's wearing a tank top, a pair of sweatpants and flip flops. The humidity of the day caused her to pull her hair up into a messy bun. The inside of the dispensary is not busy today, a few people drift in and out, the sound of the bell a tinkling counterpart to the music playing on a bluetooth speaker.

Jessica is a local so she's used to thunderstorms nearing summer. The magic of the north-west. Doing her best not to drip too much as she enters the store, she offers a wave to Genevieve. "Hey. How's business? Sorry I missed the opening." A pause. "And sorry I'm dripping all over your floor." At least she will wipe her feet on anything present.

Genevieve looks up when Jessica walks in, slipping down from her stool to aim a smile at the woman. "Business is good, and it's okay, you're here now." At the mention of dripping on the floor, blue eyes shift down to watch a small puddle forming. She grabs the wet floor sign from behind the counter, bought just for this kind of issue and walks it out to set it near the door. "Don't worry about it, it's going to be that kind of day." She pulls out a mop and gestures Jessica further in, passing her a hand towel. "Want a cup of tea to warm you up? I've coffee too."

Thunder... is fitting, as far as Lex is concerned. And as a more-or-less native, rain is just expected. Lex is pushing backwards through the door, only pulling off the black motorcycle after her hair is safe from the downpour. The rest of her is draped in black trench coat that, judging by the beading water that streaks down the dark material, was waterproofed long-ago.

She stays near the entryway to do most of her dripping, before shrugging the coat off, turning the body of the garment inside out -- keeping the wet parts tucked away -- and draping both it and the chin strap of the helmet over her ... less-tattooed arm. The other one is left clearly visible, with her usual black tank, and today, a pair of black skinny jeans to go with the black boots. Silver hair has been drawn into twin braids, though the word 'pigtails' seems a little... wrong... when attached to the rest of her appearance. Whatever the case, there are two braids, and the part between them is more-or-less even. "Hey, doll," she's drawling toward Genevieve, and then turning an unreadable look toward Jessica. Not unfriendly, just... well, unreadable. She's good at that.

"Lex." Genevieve greets, giving the woman a once over. "I'm glad you stopped by, how are you doing?" She's been worried by the tone of the text messages she's been getting, her concern clear on her features. She retreats behind the counter to fetch another towel, holding it out toward Lex. "You know Jessica? She's a reporter." Once towels have been handed out and people seem to be more or less drying after they were exposed to the downpour, Eve retreats behind the counter to pick up her mug of tea. "Get you something to drink, Lex?" She shifts her blue eyes toward Jessica to see if she decided on tea, coffee or nothing.

"Tea would be perfect, thanks" Jessica replies as she takes the towel and starts to pat at her dripping form. "If you still have people dropping in here with that weather outside, then you're going to be rich in no time." And speaking of customers, here comes a tattooed woman in pigtails. Pigtails! Jessica offers a smile in return to the unreadable look. Though it is an unreadable smile. At being introduced she adds a, "Pleased to meet you. I work for the Gazette, the premier news site and paper based in town." The only one too.

"I'm sober enough to drive," Lex makes her less-than-helpful response to Genevieve as the shop owner speaks, giving the other woman a slight smirk. A friendly kind of smirk. Because Lex can do that. Something about cheek piercings, probably...? Built-in dimples. "And I'd rather not be. You?" Her gaze lingers for a moment on Eve, maybe even giving her time enough to respond, before jade eyes turn toward Jessica. A reporter? The arched 'brow doesn't seem entirely... impressed. But that might have something to do with piercings, too. It's all a matter of perspective, and Lex has lots of it. Them. And pigtails.

"Mmm, yeah, figured." That's her flat response to Jessica's mention of the Gazette. But Jessica is also smiling, and offering one of those 'socially acceptable' greetings. And so Lex is putting her smirk back on, and lifting her chin in that slight way that maybe-sorta-could pass for acknowledgment. "Lex. I draw on people with needles." Yeah, a not-sober Lex might be a better option right now. "It used to be a hobby, but now they pay me. Nice to meet you."

"You still good with what we talked about?" That's spoken as she sweeps a look back to Genevieve, expression and eyes alike set back to 'unreadable' mode.

Genevieve gets another bowl-like mug from a cupboard, pouring hot water from the electric kettle in. She adds a tea bag and sets it down with some sugar and creamer so Jessica can doctor it the way she wants. All while she's doing this, her eyes flit from the reporter to the Lex, a brief huff of laughter escaping her. "I'm stone cold sober, sweets, and yes -- I'm okay with what we discussed." She makes her way over to the register, pulling out a container so she can shake it at the tattooed woman. "Gonna need you to sober up eventually though, I think I know what I want in terms of ink." She taps something into the register and holds out a slender hand. "Let me see your ID, please.. and.." She names a price for Lex, only briefly looking toward Jessica again. Once the transaction is complete she'll turn to regard the reporter with a smile. "Did you come in to get something today, Jessica? Maybe want to try the edibles?"

"Yeah, I figured" Jessica deadpans in return about Les's career choice, nodding at the art on the pigtailed woman. "Do they know you're drawing on them?" she adds with a wink. And, really, talking secretly in front of a reporter. Jessica's eyes flit from woman to woman, though the transaction is totally legal. If that was what they were being secretive about.

"I was actually expecting you to do some herbal tea" Jessica laughs to Genevieve's query. "But if you have some edibles in stock, I could try some. Sure. For the purposes of research of course. I actually dropped by to see how things were going. A follow-up piece on business and whether you'd been hassled by the cops again."

"You're fucking amazing," Lex compliments Eve as the transaction is made, and probably due to that whole 'cop' issue, she's tucking her purchase under the leather coat rather than... doing whatever it is she plans on doing with the container's contents. "Yeah? What you got in mind?" She questions in response to Eve's mention of ink.

Her gaze is back to Jessica then, and she snorts softly at the word 'herbal'. "The ones who pay me generally know I'm doin' it, yeah. You pass out near a tattoo gun... well, you asked for it." There's a smile that's bright enough to look entirely insincere.

"I try to be." Genevieve murmurs, leaning against the counter, a slight smile on her face. "A dream catcher, go figure. Actually I have a few ideas, and money to spend so.. we might end up with more than one by the time we're fully done." She laughs out loud as Jessica mentions herbal tea, tapping the tea bag tag. "Chamomile, which is herbal enough." The laugh peals again as the cops are mentioned. "I haven't been hassled, I actually made friends with the cop in question. Though, he's still very grumpy." She gestures back toward the cooler. "I have gummies, chocolate dipped cookies, brownies and some plain cookies." She gazes over at Lex, smirking. "You'll need to be semi-sober for my sessions, I'll be nervous enough to begin with."

"You made friends with the hassling cop?" Jessica seems disappointed at this news. She was hoping to do an expose on police brutality. "Oh...I guess I won't hassle him back then." She doesn't add anything to the tea; what savage would? A blow over the liquid before she enjoys a sip. "Chocolate dipped cookie sounds good. Even without any enhancement." Another smirk for Lex...she brings the smirk out. "Nice to know your customers are aware of you. Would hate for them to pay all that money and sleep through it. I should get some ink one day."

"If you talkin' about Ruiz, 'grumpy' is his natural state. Though that's not the word I usually use." Because of course the tattoo artist is roommates with the Police Captain. It would only be logical. "Oh," she offers then, seemingly in response to Eve's last statement. "I may drive high and-or drunk, but I'm sober on the job. It's kind of a... professional policy." She winks at Eve, then looks toward Jessica. "Babe, I'm good at what I do. Damn good. So if you wanna give me shit, pick another topic." It seems she's also a very humble person.

"It's a really small world sometimes." Eve mutters, turning to pack up some of the chocolate dipped cookies. She flashes a smile at Lex when she states her policy, raising her mug in a brief toast of sorts to acknowledge it. "Damn good, well that makes me very excited about letting you get under my skin. I'll show you a picture I have in mind and you can tell me if you think you can do it." She gazes toward Jessica, indicating the bakery box she's packing. "Do you want the daily limit, or just a few hon?" Her gaze turns apologetic as she smiles at Jessica. "I invited him over for dinner, he's going to bring a plus one. I don't like being at odds with people, no matter how grumpy they tend to be."

"You've been hassled by Captain Ruiz too?" Jessica asks Lex. Not having any idea it was probably an argument over who was washing the dishes. She holds up her hands in mock surrender at being called out by the woman with pigtails. Jessica is fixated with those pigtails. "Sorry. I think we got off on the wrong foot. I apologise for calling into doubt your abilities." A conciliatory smile before looking to Eve. "Just the bare minimum, thanks. I...umm...haven't ever tried it before, remember? I guess when you run a store like this, you have a very tranquil way of approaching the world" she smiles warmly. "Trust me, I'm all for people getting on with each other. Would make my job much easier."

Lex may've relaxed at Jessica's 'mock surrender' gesture, and she actually begins to do so, before Genevieve... well, who knows what actually triggers the tattooist. Whatever it is, the tension is returning to inked shoulders, and her new smirk is of the genuine quality now. Nothing friendly here. "Ruiz... isn't the Captain of shit, as far as I'm concerned. We're roommates," she informs both women at once, openly abusing the either-or-tense of 'we're'. "I'm guessing his plus one will be the other roommate. I'm sure you'll like her." Tranquility doesn't seem to be resonating with Lex at the moment, though the agitation that has been bristling off of Lex since she stepped into the place doesn't seem particularly directed toward either of the women. Not at the moment, anyway.

"Dreamcatchers are pretty popular," she informs Eve, keeping her tone even, despite the intangible bristling. "I'm sure we could find somethin' you like." A look back to Jessica, and a one-shouldered shrug. "Sorry. It's been a bad week." Streets blowing up and the like.

Genevieve can see the tension, one doesn't even need to be sensitive to realize someone is unhappy. So she simply picks her tea up and takes a deep drink from it, her eyes shifting from Jessica to Lex and then back again. When she finally sets the mug down again, she's got a slight smile on her face, ready to keep the peace. "I'm sure it will be interesting, if nothing else." That's all that needs to be said, as she turns to finish packing up a few cookies for Jessica, moving to the register. "I'll need your identification, Jessica." She announces, holding out a hand as she names a price. "I have a few ideas, and I'm curious to see which idea makes you smile, because that is probably the one I'll go with." Eve keeps her eyes on Lex as she says this, but then she gazes back toward Jessica to see her reaction to the price, and to get her ID from her.

"No problem" Jessica nods to Lex. "We all have bad weeks. The whole town has had one. Murders. Explosions. Cops hiding information. Editors shutting down stories. It's all been happening." A smile for Eve. "This place really needs your wares." She produces her ID and doesn't seem shocked at the price. Jessica doesn't really know how much they are supposed to cost, but Eve's price seems to be a lot less than what she expected. The next time she reports that the police discovered drugs worth a hundred thousand dollars, Jessica will know they pay about four times as much as the rest of the town. Time for another sip of her tea.

"I've done... fuck, I lost count. I'll print some out for you, I got them all on digital." Lex offers Eve. "Toss me a text and we can set up an appointment? Then I can make sure I'm not intoxicated." If the shop owner really was looking for a smile from Lex, the one that Lex offers is probably about as genuine as she can manage at the moment. "In the meantime... I'm gonna go get intoxicated." She lifts the hand holding that bag, almost like a sarcastic toast, before tipping Jessica a slight nod. "If you think that's bad, you ain't seen anything yet. I got all three of those in one day. Enjoy this lovely afternoon, ladies," she drawls with justified sarcasm, pulling on helmet, trench, and then tucking her precious wares into one of the trench coat's inner pockets. Can't be getting that wet. And with that, she's shouldering her way out of the shop.

Genevieve watches Lex as she walks out the door, she barely got in a goodbye before the woman was gone. Turning back to Jessica, she shrugs and smiles. "She's something isn't she?" She picks up her tea and steps from behind the counter, nodding toward the seating area. "So how have you been since I seen you last, Jessica?" She sets the edibles down on the table so the woman can enjoy them now, or take the box with her. "You mentioned something about..people shutting down stories? Having a hard time?"

Jessica is rather bemused by Hurricane Lex's exit. But, hey, who doesn't want to spend their days intoxicated? She offers a wave before laughing at Eve's comment about the pigtail girl. "She certainly is." No argument there. "I've been busy" she says with the sigh of one who carries the world on their shoulders...and the world is not aware of it. "Yeah. Kevin...my co-worker...and I wanted to look into some incidents at Byron's apartment block, and the explosion too. But we've been informed that there is no need to investigate as it is all fine and the police are in control. That last part rings alarm bells in itself, but being told to mind our own business?" A shake of her head. "That's just asking for us to look deeper. I'm trying to organise a time with Byron but he's a very busy man. Or he's avoiding me. What about you? You must have gone through your five plants by now."

Genevieve keeps her tea in her hands, listening to Jessica but keeping her expression blank. "It would be far easier to just give you some access and answers, than to warn you off of it completely. Now they'll have you digging like gophers for information." She watches for a few moments, her wine-red finger nails tapping on her mug. "You seem the type to dig for something when you know that someone is keeping something from you, so I feel a bit bad for whomever is trying to hide something." She nods to the box. "Try one, and give it some time before you try another. I've put a packet in there that will detail how much is in each cookie and what you might expect from them."

"People who love censorship are rarely smart" Jessica notes with a wry smile. "Oh, yes, they've unleashed the hounds. And we bite." Speaking of biting, at Eve's advice she plucks out the packet to check on what to expect. "Can I drive under the influence of this? Sorry, I'm a weed virgin if you remember." A sigh. "Born again virgin at a lot of other things too." The cookie is eyed off like she expects to be attacked by it. "Any advice from an expert would be appreciated."

Genevieve sets down her tea and curls up on her beanbag chair, shaking her head toward Jessica. "If you're a weed virgin, I'd wait until you're home to try it. I wouldn't drive under the influence until you're used to it, and there are laws about how much you can have in your system. It's detailed in the packet, so do be careful." She manages to hold back her laughter as Jessica eyes the cookie. "Just take it when you're at home, when you're relaxed or trying to relax, and don't get anxious. It won't hurt you."

"I shall live by your words of wisdom." Jessica offers a slight nod of respect before packing away the cookie. "I should try them while I'm researching on the internet. It might give me perception I wouldn't normally have." She peers out at the driving rain and frowns. "Guess I'd better get home before it gets worse. I live on a boat. It's probably three feet higher than this morning. Always a pleasure, Eve. I hope your business continues to be successful."

Genevieve nods at Jessica, getting to her feet a smile on her face. "Be safe going home, Jessica. Stay dry." She turns to move back behind the counter, setting down her teacup as she gives a look to the time. Might be just about time to close up shop anyway. "Come back again, especially if you like the cookies!"