2019-10-19 - People Are Strange: The Arrival

Octavius is a tall man, and with some of the men running about the area he sticks out with the way he's dressed and the height. He's in a pressed three piece suit in a charcoal color with a hat perched on his head. He's standing in front of a non-descript sedan with a cigarette between his lips. Those cold eyes of his seem to survey the surrounding area with someone that likes to memorize details of places.

Bennie's in the Waffle Shoppe, currently idly working on a plate of the namesake food piled high with whipped cream and strawberries while she waits of Easton to close down the bar in a few hours. Her companion is a book, cracked open and held to the current page with her thumb, though the topic isn't really appropriate for a public setting, being a tome relating to forensics and blood evidence.

Nasir was both, drunkenly staggering his way back home while also holding a box of Chinese takeout between his hands, making a mess out of himself while using the chopsticks and forcing noodles in his mouth. He wasn't really drunk, but tipsy for true. Eventually, he resolved to throw the sticks aside and use the hand to hold that bottle of beer tucked under his arm with, and tilted the box against his face to force noodles into his loudly suckling mouth. His beard was a mess, his face was a mess, his entire visage was one spilled-over, slobbered mess, and it didn't help his already messy get-up; cargo shorts, sleeveless shirt, flip-flops. Far from suitable for the night, especially after he stops only a few arms distance away from Octavius, eyeing the man as if he was a ghost.

Cole gets out of his little blue sedan, having decided to go out to get some late night food when he found that he couldn't sleep. He makes his way from the car over toward the Waffle Shoppe, glancing up to note that the stars are obscured by the thick clouds and the lightning crackles across the sky. Hurrying inside, he waits inside the doorway to glance around and find himself a seat.

Greg has his van parked near the Waffle Shoppe, and he sits in the back with the back doors hanging open, smoking a joint. The smoke wafts out across the parking lot as he smokes, his legs dangling out of the back of the van to swing idly and tap his heels on the bumper. While he smokes, he watches the drunks walking with an amused expression.

He holds the joint out to his companion. "Those two look like they just met tonight," he tells Frankie, pointing at a couple hanging over each other and making out while they fail to make any appreciable progress on walking home. People watching makes a great date!

Erin loved a good storm. The best ones were the ones that rolled in from over the ocean bringing the salt scented winds and white capped waves. Though this was an interesting second, the wind through the tall trees moving the branches and causing the shadows to writhe like serpents beneath the trees and over the welcome sign. Despite the risk of the rain, Erin climbs out of her car, not really giving away any reason she is here. But here she is, closing the door behind her and dressed in the clothing she'd worn to work at Kelly's Gym earlier. The only addition is a thick hoodie with the hood on sort of concealing her identity. Though most could guess, with it being the Maserati she climbs out of.

Haven isn't working tonight. Instead, she's lurking. For pleasure rather than /professionally/ lurking. She's in a corner of the Waffle Shoppe, a giant waffle on a plate in front of her. It has been christened with butter and maple syrup as God herself intended. Fork in hand, she people watches. Next to her in the booth is a knit hat and a wool coat. She's currently clad in a form fitting blue henley and a pair of skinny jeans. Hiking boots, complete with a generous sampling of mud and pine needles, are on her feet.

Okay, there's a storm a-comin', yeah. And it's nearly midnight. But there are waffles with whipped cream and strawberries and maple syrup and random packets of jam in the Waffle House and there are not in Aidan's house (well, trailer) even if he can cook things without accidentally burning the place down nine times out of ten these days. So he's just ended up leaning over the back of the opposite-side bench at Bennie's booth, greeting her with a bright, "The Bens! Room for one more or is it all full up with," he squints at the book cover, "...Blood Evidence and You?"

"You think so?" Frankie wonders when Greg directs her attention towards the couple in question, shaking her head absently at the offer of the joint. "Maybe." She lifts her hands up, folding them before she sighs, "They look like in love." No. No they don't. She is being dramatic for the sake of it at the moment. Either way, she seems inclined towards continued people watching.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
Greg points again with sudden, excited conviction. "No way!" He puffs on his joint excitedly. "You see the way he just looked at her? Homie has no fuckin' clue how to act right now." Over yonder, our hero the random dude does seem to a little anxious and awkward, come to that. He doesn't seem to know where to put his hands.

At Inside The Waffle House:
"Oh Em Gee, please." Bennie motions to the booth around her with her fork, indicating for Aidan to take any seat he chooses even if it's the one next to her. "Save me from myself. I started reading these sorts of books when I was staying at Alexander's and now I can't put them down. Did you know that our blood makes up eight percent of our body weight?"

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
Octavius blows that cigarette smoke into the midnight air as Nasir drunkly staggers towards him. He doesn't smile, he really doesn't react to him, "You look a little rough." he tells him in a tone that doesn't seem to fit the visage of the man. It's an almost airy voice. Someone doesn't speak much. Then the man looks off towards the entrance of the parking lot and frowns, "She'll be late for her funeral." he mutters to himself.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
Nicole There is nothing worse than having a junk food craving late at night and just not being able to stop thinking about it. This is what brings Nicole out to the Waffleshoppe at near midnight. Her hair is up in a ponytail and she's tossed on a pair of jeans, her white converse low tops, and a flannel shirt with large red and blue squares. She is certainly not dressed to impress. She is just here to get a dang waffle, with strawberries and plenty of whipped cream, thank you. She pulls up, parking, and heads towards the doors.

"Really? I woulda thought it was more," Aidan says, coming around the side of the seat and ropping down into it opposite Bennie. "I mean, aren't we supposed to be like 90% water or something?" He considers that a moment. "Maybe 80. But, you know. I would've thought more of that was blood. How's it going, aside from the forensics addiction? Forensiction."

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
"To be fair...they could have known each other for years, and just he lacks confidence." Frankie points out as she slides to her feet, her hands sliding into the pockets of her jeans before she peers around the doors of the van, then towards the couple before she shrugs her shoulders a bit, attention turning towards Nasir and his takeout, "And least he looks like he got what he wanted tonight."

At Inside The Waffle House:
Once safely inside, Cole makes his way over to an empty table by the windows, where he can watch the oncoming storm from the safety of behind a cup of coffee, which he orders as he settles in, glancing around at those seated inside, and then out the window at those out in the parking lot area.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
"What?" Was all Nasir could muster to the man. he was so shocked to find that Octavius even talks his grip on the box of take-out went loose enough so that it slipped between his fingers, falling unceremoniously at his feet. And then the man mumbled, and he'd ask yet again to the nightlight; "What?" with an equal sense of loss. Fearing to summon a re-telling of Pulp Fiction's most famous sketch, he walks a trepid set of steps towards Octavius and looks up - for the first time in a while - to see his hatted face. "Are you the devil, or something, man?" he wondered just about loud enough to make it a proposition for Octavius, but not enough so it'd leave their little distance of conversation. After the incredulous question, he took a sip from his bottle. Or a mouthful, what was the difference?

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
Greg follows Frankie's gaze over to Nasir and he nods with a slow grin around his smoke. "Yeah babe, he's the real winner here tonight for sure. That's true happiness." His gaze slides from Nasir over to Octavius at the brief interaction between the two, and he laughs a brow to Frankie, laughing. "Check out Mr. Slick Suit here, yo. I think he must be lost."

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
"I bet that he likes waffles." Frankie offers in regards to Octavius, but she does sit up a little to pay closer attention to Nasir and Octavius when the former seems to confront the latter. "You think that there is going to be some kind of..." She lifts her hands up, making fists to indicate what exactly it is she is getting at.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
Erin slips her hands into the pockets of the hoodie, not really looking out at anyone in particular. Her interest more lies in the storm moving in. A flash of lightning, a crack of thunder, some counting, only to repeat the process. She meanders through some of the undergrowth across the parking lot towards the welcome sign only to hear the two voices there. Hearing another noise though, she turns and notices Minerva. But there was something off about Minerva. Instead of hailing her though, she alters her direction to follow her. Why not?

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
Octavius gives a bit of a head shake when Minerva decides to come over, "You took your time, Irvriya." he states in one of those tones that tries to sound 'mad' but it's not really. Then there's a look towards Nasir and back to the Occultist that is there. He looks to her face and then back to his watch. Something was bugging him. It was written all over his normally expressionless face. He gives a look over the womans shoulder to Erin and quirks an eyebrow at her.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
"Huh?" Greg asks Frankie, as his attention has already moved on, to the study of a woman walking home alone with one shoe. He drags his gaze back to the confrontation in front of the shop just in time to see Minerva join it.

"Could be trouble," he agrees, and reaches up under his brown jacket for reassurance. He finds it and, withdrawing his empty hand, slides down out of the back of the van to watch.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
Holy shit. And then, of course, Minerva was approaching. Minerva of all people. He drew a mental image then, of Octavius and the girl, while taking yet another idle sip of his beer. Or mouthful. It was just about enough to clear his head for a response of his own, one he made demandingly; "Yeah Minerva, what the hell man? What took you so long?" and he stepped forth, standing beside Octavius, while furrowing his brows at Minerva. He was the side-kick at hand, clearly. Entirely on the red side of the fence, it seemed like.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
"What?" Frankie wasn't trying to indicate trouble, so Greg's agreement and his need for that reassurance catches her off guard for a moment, then she shakes her head, "I'm sure..." She trails off, because she's really not sure at the moment. She glances back towards the group of three, getting to her feet as well to take a few steps away from the back of the van.

A square of deliciously saturated waffle is hewn from it's mother waffle by means of Haven's fork and is speared before rapidly being stuffed into the off-duty cop's mouth. A little happy sound escapes her lips and she chews slowly. The approaching storm outside? It doesn't seem to be bothering her in the slightest. Nope. Not when Golden Waffle Fantastico is to be had. No. She cranes her head to look out the nearest window at the weirdos outside, a saccharine smile on her face.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
Nicole arrives at the door just a moment after Minerva. Spotting Erin, her hand lifts in a friendly wave before she notices Minerva "Oh hey, Minerva," she smiles and is about to walk in when she heads Nasir, noting his apparent drunkenness. Making a wide berth to walk towards the door, she whispers, "excuse me," and makes her way inside, heading for the counter instead of one of the tables. Taking a menu in hand, despite basically knowing what she is here for, she peruses it a moment.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
Erin catches sight of Nicole and lifts a hand in a return greeting to her hairdresser. "Hi Nicole." Though Minerva does keep her attention and the group she goes to. "Nasir, Hello." Approaching at last. "How is your foot?" It was an excuse to approach and get a really good look at Minerva. Once she does, she gives her a once over. "Your patch is gone." Maybe she's suspicious there was an eye under there all along now. She does look a little suspicious, but maybe not for that. "You are Minerva, yes?"

At Inside The Waffle House:
Bennie leans slightly towards Aidan, flipping the title closed over her thumb bookmark. "Right? But I guess our cells jelly accounts for most of it." With one more 'hmm' of thought at the book, she slides it down into the seat next to her. "You know. I'm actually beginning to feel that things are getting back to normal?" She answers as to how things are going. "Thanks, by the way, for looking out for Easton and doing...what you had to do. I know it couldn't have been easy." Her gaze flicks out the window, brow furrowing at those loosely gathered outside. "They know a storm is coming, right?"

At Inside The Waffle House:
Cole has been watching Minerva through the window of the Waffle Shoppe, and the fact that she has two eyes now is not lost on him. That he can't hear what's going on seems to be irrelevant when he sees her eyes go white. That seems to cause his brows to furrow a bit and he forgets the coffee that's in front of him. "I don't think that's Minerva," he says aloud, but not /to/ anyone in particular. That curiosity has him continuing to watch the goings on outside through the window for now, even though he can't hear what anyone is saying.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
"Greg..." Frankie seems to clue into something probably far too late for her own good, or anyone elses good, for that matter. She moves towards him to try and get his attention, leaning in towards him to hiss quietly, "There really is going to be trouble...something is off. Like, big time off, and..." Gods help her for asking this, but she does it anyways, "You're not armed and holding are you?" Because that might double-down on how bad shit might be soon.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
Octavius reacts to the hunched shoulders and the growl, but it's the eyes that get him though. Somehow he knew it wasn't Minerva and well...he felt less quilty about pulling his gun. He centers the gun and squeezes the trigger. And it hits right in the intended spot. Which is something that might jolt everyone. That gunshot was loud.

At Inside The Waffle House:
Gunshots are not something Nicole is overly accustomed to hearing (even if mildly used to it enough to know what it sounds like). Especially not when in the middle of ordering a Belgian waffle. She turns, gasps, and slides off the stool to crouch down, looking around to see what others might be doing, where it came from, why. Before she can ascertain anything, thunder cracks and makes her kind of squeak in more surprise before pressing her lips closed. Her eyes are opened wide with fear as she looks around.

At Inside The Waffle House:
"Cell jelly sounds way less appealing than, like, strawberry," Aidan observes, but looks like yes, maybe that would explain how the blood/water discrepancy might happen, beyond something to do with the whole 'thicker than' claim. Her remark on things being more normal gets a grin that fades a little, but not fully, at the thanks. "You're welcome, I mean, not gonna aim to make it a yearly event or something, but either of you guys'd do the same for us, right?" Even if it wasn't exactly easy, no. He follows her glance out the window, head tilting. "Well, if not, they're gonna find out pretty soo--" The eye thing might've been a little subtle to interrupt chatting. The gunshot is not. Aidan squeaks in startlement, starting to drop down in the booth, but peeks over the bottom edge of the window when no others quickly follow. And that... is not usually what happens to bodies. Right? "What the fuck?" he asks no one, though the glance toward Bennie has a question for her: did you see that too?

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
"Not tonight," Greg tells Frankie, or at least he starts to, and then that gun shot goes off, deafeningly loud. Without thinking he does the only thing his reflexes scream at him to do, and that's to tackle Frankie in a perhaps misguided attempt to protect her.

At Inside The Waffle House:
Cole was looking right at the pair as Octavius drew his gun and shot Not-Minerva with it, so it's a little less startling than not knowing what was coming. That doesn't stop him from jumping, even inside the shop, spilling his coffee onto the floor, the cup crashing and cracking. He doesn't even really notice. "Whoah, shit..." And then there's the shrivelling and the oily smudge on the ground and he just stares, mumbling something to himself that sounds like the word demons.

At Inside The Waffle House:
"Holy Snickers on a Popsicle!" Bennie's conversation with Aidan by the sound of a gunshot, the blonde immediately shrinking down in the booth, her body already half underneath the table with her fingers gripping the edge as she looks wide eyed across to Aidan. Hey, you survive the shoot out at the TIBS and see if it doesn't make you a little jumpy. "What the bleepity bleep fuck is going on out there?" Yes, the bleeps are actually said. Swearing is not Bennie's strong suit.

It's a sad freaking day when one can't finish their waffle in peace. When Haven sees the gun come out through the window she's watching, she's already moving out of her booth. The gunshot has her instinctively ducking for cover. She pulls a pistol from concealment at the small of her back and comes up with it leveled at the window, her RBF firmly back in place. So much for that Waffle Haze she was experiencing. With purposeful feet she heads towards the door.

Let's just say by the time she makes the door and sees the puddle that was a person, the gun is lowered and she's just staring at those outside, brows furrowed. She doesn't /say/ it. WTF is all in her eyebrows.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
Octavius straightens and reholsters the glock. After watching that Indiana Jonesesque melting job he almost shudders, but he pulls his badge out, "Just please stay calm...or as calm as it ever gets around this god forsaken place. For fucks sake." the agent states. Oh shit, when did the FBI get in town? He crouches down to look at the puddle, "Christ..." he mutters as he rubs his hand over his face and then starts digging his cell phone out.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
It's not like she's the target, right? But Frankie wasn't expecting to get tackled, and she goes down like the too-small kid on the football field, a squeak erupting from her as she hits pavement and the reality of what is happening hits her, "Holy shit!!"

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
Erin doesn't scream exactly but she puts her hands to her ears to muffle the sound a little. Watching the Minerva being shot and killed doesn't confuse her. Or surprise her. Nothing does that so much anymore. But the man just shooting her there on the spot. "What if you had been wrong?"

At Inside The Waffle House:
Slowly, Nicole begins to rise up out of her crouch. It is a deliberate motion, and were her hands not held together at the back of her head, it might resemble tai-chi with how slow she moves. Wide-eyed she looks around, seeing wariness but no real panicking, no running, and the lady there has a gun and looks like she knows how to use it. "What happened," she loudly 'whispers' to anyone who can here her, though she is now looking out the window as well, confused.

At Inside The Waffle House:
"Snickers on a popsicle sounds really good," Aidan says distractedly, because most of him is busy thinking about dudes shooting people and those people going all witch in the Wizard of Oz and whether or not that's actually what just happened, but look he hasn't even had any waffles yet and he's hungry and that does actually sound kind of tasty. "Did, um. ...it looked like that suit dude shot the goth chick and she-- kinda melted." He pauses, taking a quick glance to see whether someone's about to contradict that, and looking slightly uncertain if that would be better or worse than not.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
Greg rolls off Frankie and rises to his knees. Eyes wild, he tries to figure out just what the fuck is going on. But badges speak pretty clearly, and his eyes widen while his hands do a fair job of being as far away from the inside of his coat as possible. In fact he feels a distinct urge to put his hands in the air, and not wave them in any way, careless or otherwise, but he resists it. After all, he just tackled Frankie, so he looks at her apologetically and reaches out to help her up. "....sorry baby," he says lamely. "I'd take a bullet for you?" He offers this spin in an optimistic tone.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
"Ow." Frankie points out, but she doesn't actually look or sound that hurt as she reaches up to take the help up, checking her knees and elbows first for any scrapes. But then she looks towards the Minerva-that-wasn't, and of course that leads her to looking at Octavius. There is a serious frown for him before she tugs her shirt back into place, brushing off dirt before she starts towards the man at a rather quick clip, regardless of things like guns and badges.

Haven's bitch face doesn't so much as twitch as she stares at Octavius. The badge and glock from him do nothing to temper that stare. Her big baby blues shift to the goo spot that was Faux Minerva and then she reaches back to tuck her Sig back into concealment. She turns away and heads back into the Waffle Shop. Taking her time, she heads back to her booth and plunks down heavily in the seat. Clutching her fork once again, she resumes eating her Waffle. Shot fired? Human Goo Spot? Nope. Nope. And.... nope.

Octavius gives a look to Erin and there's the first flicker of an emotion there, "I'd have been very upset with myself." he tells her in a soft tone. "But that eye has been gone for years and it was just wrong. Plus the whole animalistic growling. She's not really been the bitey type. At least not when I knew her and her fiance." he tells her. "Wonder what the hell this is..." he breathes out."

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
"I knew her eye was gone. It was strange to see her like that. But this is Gray Harbor, things sometimes appear as other things then turn back to what they really are when the facade slips. It still could have been her. Maybe make sure in the future." The Addington scolds lightly the FBI guy. "Maybe the fiancee doesn't tell you everything," she laughs just a little, searching for levity.

At Inside The Waffle House:
Cole, a little rattled from what he just witnessed, hastily pays for the coffee, a tip, and the mug, leaving the cash tucked under the sugar dispenser on the table, and he heads outside toward the parking lot and his car, and also to get a little bit closer eye on what's going on out there, now that the guy with the gun doesn't seem to be shooting anyone. Curiosity and clamoring nerves seem to collide as he slips out into the encroaching storm.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
Greg draw a deep breath as Frankie gets up and marches towards the persons-shooting federal agent. With a world-weary expression, he climbs to his feet and, per usual, tails her.

"You're going to be the death of me," he mutters, but he mutters it with love. While he walks his dark eyes assess Octavius, and he doesn't really care for the match up at all. He shoots an anxious expression at Frankie, then resolves himself to wait and see what she does like an anxious ginger shadow.

"Given her fiance got gunned down in Boston three years ago, he's not been able to tell me much." Octavius tells Erin with a touch of a frown. "But I shouldn't have just shot. I'm just...getting used to this place. Didn't believe the stories I used to hear." he admits. "I'm going to get this cleaned up. If you'll excuse me." the man dips his head to them.

At Outside The Waffleshoppe:
"Hello! Excuse me." Frankie doesn't seem to mind that she's approaching a man that just shot something, or that she'll be the death of Greg. "Do you even know what you just did?" She gestures wildly towards where the Minerva-that-wasn't ....was. "You could hav..." She then stops when the man just chooses to dip right out. "Fucking asshole."

At Inside The Waffle House:
Nicole no longer wants a Belgian waffle with strawberries and whipped cream, it seems. Hands shaking slightly, she digs into her wallet for a five dollar bill, leaving it on the counter for the waitress. This wasn't her fault, after all, and she still needed to make money. She starts to head outside when the storm hits hard. Standing at the door, she looks up at the angry sky with a sigh and trudges back to the counter. Doesn't look like she's making a mad dash for her car just yet. "I'll have a Belgian waffle with strawberries and whipped cream,"s he says, forlornly. "And a chocolate milkshake." Cuz... that sounds good after gunshots apparently.