2019-12-09 - The Dark Roast

With a low droning groan, a diminuitive woman pushes through the door to the coffee shop. Today, clad in a big purple and black jacket emblazoned with a digital-looking sugar-skull, skinny jeans, and high-top Adidas, the Control Pad owner doesn't look as worse for wear. Sure, Abitha needed coffee, the murderous look would tell any onlookers, but the light bit of makeup wasn't haphazard. Maybe she was streaming later. After she pulls the hood back to reveal her hair pulled into a loose ponytail and tucked under a knit cap, also emblazoned with a Talon symbol, she shoves her hands in her pockets and approaches the counter, a slight shiver running through her as the warmth of indoors starts to sink in.

Ignacio sits at the same table he generally does. The summer over there's this abundance of free-er time and the illusion of a stable job. There's a metal coffee can that sits on the end of his table by one of the windows with paper taped on it that reads 'QUESIONS HERE'. The laptop is open and being poked at with some proficiency by the guy in the black Espania futbol hoodie and the Ramones style Avengers t-shirt. Looking up to Abitha he asks, "Sombra?" You know in lieu of a 'hi'

And again the door opens, and this time what flumphs through the door is everyone's favorite paranoid ginger beardo, James. The little dude is dressed, as ever, in jeans and a hoodie with the logo of some obscure nerd-rock band on the back. His eyes are slightly red- he either woke up recently, smoked up recently, or, hey, why not both? His gaze is downcast and he moves with a slightly pained gait, stiff and grumpy. Limping over towards the counter, he mumbles, "Your coffee. Give it to me." He then drops a few crumpled bills onto the counter. "Please?" Considering the barista behind the counter doesn't even bat an eyelash at that is an indicator that this isn't the first time a groggy James has placed that particular order.

Claiming a triple hazelnut latte from the counter, she eyes Ignacio flatly while taking a sip, responding, "Beeen heere all along." in her best accented impression, which is either pretty bad to a native speaker, bit also really close from the amount of times she's heard and said it. She eyes the sign, then Ignacio's face again, and her eyes start to widen as recognition hits her like a Doomfist. "Hiii." She says nervously, seemingly forgetting it had been a completely anonymous letter she had sent and he had very little way of knowing who she was.

Then she is briefly distracted as James staggers past, blinking in confusion.

Ignacio smiles a half-grin on the un-frozen side of his face. "Es de lache. It's cool." He translates up, and looks to his keyboard to ake sure it's typing what he intends and then goes to take a bite of his bagel; hovering there when James walks in. Says the man with his leg propped up to the other, "Hey buddy, you a'ight?" Spanish New Yorker. Lawdy does he stand out in a conversation. "I got some ibuprofrien if you need one." Brown eyes flit to teh window as if giving the 'warm weather' to him a dress down and back, "Cold ain't helpin anyone." Still his mood doesn't bend telling Abitha unsolicitited input, "Zen/Lucio main." His eyes go back to James curious.

James has, until this moment, ignored the other folks in the coffee shop. There's only one person that matters, the one that can provide him with life-giving, life-affirming caffeine. "... no pleasure, no rapture, no exquisite sin greater...", he murmurs as he's handed his coffee, which is either disturbing or not depending on how up to date you are on references to Kevin Smith movies from the late 90's. He inhales the scent, closing his eyes, then takes a small sip, sighing at the comforting scald to the tip of his tongue. And then, slowly, his senses take in the rest of his surroundings- oh hey look Abitha he's seen her before, was probably weird at her. And there's a voice directed at him. He blinks and glances at Ignacio. "... hmm? Oh. Yeah, yeah, I'm, uh, fine. Mostly.", he replies, wincing a bit as he turns, hunching down just a little, movements still stiff. "D&D last night, you know how it is.", he explains not so helpfully, before taking another sip of his coffee and glancing about to find a table where he can, as the shop owners once told him, 'stop scaring the customers you weirdo'.

Aw, what the hell, seemed to be the resigned body language, shoulders lifting then falling. Abitha lands her butt in a seat near Ignacio, letting out a, "Boop!" on impact and getting comfy, finding herselfnanother xhair tonflop her feet onto. Cupping her coffee in both hands for anotjer life-giving sip, she responds in kind, though her eyes seem to follow James in a bit of amusement, "Ashe, Sombra, Pharah." She turns her eyes back to Ignacio for the real kicker of the joke, though, "But also a pro Genji." Sip. "Whatcha writin?" She asks, feigning curiousity, like she didn't know exactly what he was probably doing.

Ignacio watches James and confides to Abitha as she sits, "I think he just described Dippin Dots." He leans over and fishes the bottle of aspirin out of his bag and sets it on the table in case James changes his mind. "You know I never played anything like that, but being Gray Harbor if you told me the dragons really did show up and you had to fight them? I wouldn't even asy tu es loco, man." His bar on his screen alerts and he flashes over to it. The senders aren't shown, true as anything he's professed on Friendzone to the nosy. "Eeeh working on tomorrow's column which I have to have in by 8 and stiiiiiill working on a letter to my father which has since become a small book which I dunno if he'll ever read, but... might do someone some good." The partial smile reappears from teh sea of deeper thoughts distracted, "Genji pro? At least you picked the better brother. I'll tell you what turns out I'm kinda a hell of a Junkrat, but only when I'm redding. Kinda whack. Or I sick and I was hopped up on Vicodin at the time and thought I was a god in the machine. I will allow variance for personal bias there." He pauses and looks back to James to keep him peripheral there, one guy that is a pro limper watching the now unfortunately similar. To Abitha he says, "Ignacio. Nice t'meet you. You got a name or just Fantasma en la Maquina?"

James glances to Abitha as she boops and starts throwing out vaguely familiar names. And then Ignacio mentions dragons while popping that bottle of aspirin on the counter, and he hesitates. "No dragons, just dungeons.", he finally says, looking between Abitha, Ignazio, and that aspirin cautiously, as if trying to decide whether this is a trap. Neither of them appear to be on fire or made of edible holiday cheer, so he comes to a decision. "Just... y'know. Fruitcake.", he adds, putting an ominous emphasis on that last word, as if they should be terrified of it. He makes his pained way over to the table, and puts a finger on the bottle of aspirin. "You, uh. Mind? If I take a couple?" He does wince a little again when he moves his hand to the bottle, lips twitching in a grimace he tries to hide. A quick glance at Abitha- she's still not a fish person, and this pleases him. "... hey."

Stefhan grumps a bit as he enters the coffee shop. "Crazy weather." he then dusts off the top of his suit, as if making sure it's still neat looking regarding of any potential thunderstorm. Even if it was flashing and booming, hopefully he didn't get drenched too badly. "Ah, but the perfect place." Yes, a coffee shop, caffeine is a good vice to have, especially since it gets to the virtue of 'getting someone up in the morning.' No matter what time of day it is, it can be helpful. He heads toward the main serving area, and plans to order a typical cup, black, no sugar or anything fancy. Awaiting the order in return, he pauses to look at the available reading material, likely headed there next.

Oh right, she should introsuce herself, since she was definitely not supposed to know his name, "Mac, not Major." She answers, able to puzzle out the translation from common language entomology, "And I think you mean Dippin Dots: Ice Cream of the Future." She quietly corrects Ignacio, "It lacks impact unless spoken of by its True Name." Again, the deadpan delivery, as if a matter of factoid. She sips her coffee again and letsbout a grateful breath, drawing the chair with her feet closer so she can bring her knees up, but also so James has an easy time accessing the painkillers as he wanders over. "Heyyy." She responds to him in a sing-songy voice, "Sounds almost like someone tried to beat the holiday cheer into you. But your beard is still red, so... There's that..." Positive? Negative? No telling, so probably just friendly teasing. There's a brief scrunching of her posture as the door opens and someone else lets the cold air in, but she tries not to make the glare in Stefhan's direction too lethal.

A bleary eyed Maggi pushes through the labeled door with a huff. Sporting her leather jacket, beneath is a 'Nirvana' Tee. High waisted black shorts drop to black tights and a pair of Doc Martins. She almost stumbles to the front counter, not seeming entirely awake. In a gravelly tone, she orders a red eye, glaring about the shops sunny inside with a hatred of the day star. Under one arm is a laptop coated in so many stickers, they overlap, peeling at the edges. In her other hand some flyers can be seen. She groans placing her head in her hand and her elbow on the counter. Why did no one tell her having a job was THIS difficult.

Stefhan offers a bit of a nod toward the woman giving the lethal glare. He doesn't look at her long. Assuming his coffee is brought to him, he wraps his fingers around the cup and takes a sip of it. "Quite a virtue." he says, then he spots Maggi, a bit of a familiar face and he offers a wave with his free hand. "You look a little out of sorts Sweetness." he tells the woman, "But, a red eye should get you going. Hopefully in the right direction." Didn't she just work at the bar yesterday? Must have been a rough night.

"Angel Hair!" Abitha seems forgiving of the draft this time as she sees the blonde enter, grinning. Once Maggi has her coffee, Mac moves her feet to the very edge of the chair she had them rested on, then pushes on it lightly, creating that scratchy vibration sound furniture with plastic legs makes. She taps her foot, strangely hopeful Maggi would sit near her. The scowl briefly returns as she hears the word 'Sweetness' though, something about the pet name making her bristle.

Ignacio arches an eyebrow to James and nudges the bottle toward him with a finger and then leans back. Okay serious offer. When he brings up the word fruitcake, "Nah, I don't judge. By all means man." Looking to Abitha there's a hint of amusement but he says, with all seriousness (really he makes his eyebrow furrow so concerned words come out), "I try to be careful when invoking names, but you're not wrong." Looking up to Stefan he shirps, "Yeah I can't believe it's not negative twelve or something." At greeting someone 'sweetness' his eyebrow elevates a titch but he comments not. He types and hits enter on his incoming mail for the site and from there his expression does a round of gymnastics of interest, concern, endearment, until his hands fold to be a chin rest and he murmurs, "Sometimes people kidna amaze me."

"Hallowed be Their name.", James intones as Abitha invokes the True Name of the Dippin' Dots. A glance at her, and he smiles a little weakly. "S'okay. It'll take more than a couple of ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bombs to knock the ginger out of me.", he says, before grabbing the offered bottle of aspirin and giving Ignacio a grateful look. "Thanks, man.", he says, and starts opening it up and pouring out... err... more than the recommended dose. He seems completely oblivious to any potential awkwardness regarding his use of the word 'fruitcake', after all, it's literally true. Sentient fruitcake was attacking him with cherry bombs not even 12 hours ago. Life comes at you fast in Gray Harbor. Stefhan and Maggi's entrances are noticed, but since he doesn't know either, he doesn't greet either. But he does keep them in his periphery, with the kind of overabundant natural caution you can expect from a man who's Patronus is a hedgehog: the kind of prey animal who's instinctive reaction to just about all stimuli is to curl up into a ball of spikes and hiss.

Stefhan peers over toward the exit as, he would imagine, the thunderstorm could still be heard or seen in some way. "Time of the year I imagine." he comments, "But, good to have the right caffeine it seems." Yes, another sip is taken but since the reading materials have caught his attention he heads over there. Some 'kitchy' things dealing with art and homemaking are ignored but then he finds a copy of CyberTrend. "Hmmmm, interesting." the magazine catching his attention, unless something else does.

Maggi is unaccustomed to such social recognition, especially prior to coffee. Genuine effort would be required here in order to not appear as murderous as she felt. Being handed her beverage she nods and pours her overly specific amount of sugar in from a six inch height above the cup. Hot as it was she could not help but take a sip, a certain immunity being built to the scalding during a life time of caffeine addiction. Closing her eye lids she breathes in slowly in a moment of peace before acknowledging Stefhan. "Hey Manners! It should, true. Good to see you" She gives a small little half smile which drops as soon as she hears Mac. Placing the lid on her coffee she turns dramatically, the smile falling in faux disdain. "Mac and Cheese." The statement is cold, but she can't hold the act, snickering at her own overly formal tone. She takes a seat near her favorite gremlin but leaves her shoulders somewhat open in Stefhan's direction in a state of openness to his joining. She tosses one of the flyers at Mac. "For your Bradley Hand Episodes."

The flyer is a replica of the information that went into the Gazette with Alison and Mac's specifications made.

Finch must be on a work break. She's in her Out on a Limb beige coveralls and her goggles are on top of her the beanie on her head. They just don't seem the same without the colorful hair. Beneath the coverall is a long-sleeved, thin black sweater, and work boots are on her feet. She didn't bother with a coat from the company truck (thankfully not Big Betty) to the door, so she's patting her arms for warmth as she shoulders her way in. She wipes her boots on the little welcome mat and shuffles to the counter, bleary-eyed. COFFEE. COFFEE NOW!

Theres a blank look and narrowing eyes made at James, a tilt of her head, getting the song reference, nur not sure how it was relevant. Abitha squints at the returned nickname, a reaction meaning it was probably among her least favorites. Reminded, that squint is turned on James as well, knowing she had heard him use some form of it the last time they parted. He better not get any ideas. Panicked as something flies at her, she has to fumble a hand away from her coffee to grab awkwardly at the flyer. She gives it a brief read once its under control, then her face goes dead again as she looks over the top of it at Maggi. She loudly crumbles it up... But it goes in her pocket. Environmentally friendly... Right... "See, this is that shit I'm talking about. Tough biker chick, classy librarian, now 90's grudge. Every time. I hate it." Mac glares over the rim of her coffee as she delivers the thickly veiled compliment.

She makes another little scrunch into her seat as the door opens again, with a whiney sound of discontent.

Stefhan finishes perusing the magazine and puts his empty coffee cup off into a nearby tray of sorts. It's certainly not his intention to leave any messes behind though he does raise a brow a bit in Maggie's direction. "Thank you, for the drink recommendation last night." he mentions, as if he is really trying to be polite. But, time is time, and for now he is out of it. With a bit of a grunt, he knows business calls elsewhere. Leaving a tip on the counter, he makes his way out, offering a friendly nod to anyone who may offer him the same.

Ignacio looks up, one eyebrow then teh others and that expression warms up considerably out of the thoughtfulness refiweing the message on his screen. "Diga, pajarito," Looking to the Barrista he holds up a hand, pauses, points to Finch and then himself in a put her on my tab, por favor. His leg comes off the chair propping it up and he nudges it out for her to join. The rest of the fliers and whatnot gets a witness. He does hold out his hand for the crumpled bit to Abitha asking, "If you're not hanging onto it. I have no idea what's going on." Looking around he gets further confused asking, "What's with grungy librarians now?" He slides his notebook oit of the way to make Finch a spot.

James entirely fails to notice the warning squint from Abitha because he's busy downing about twice the recommended dose of painkillers with his coffee (that's my secret, Cap: I'm always oblivious). Maggi's arrival at the table, the flyer-flinging, that whole.. thing that's happening there, he eyes it, cautiously. Sure, they're just flyers, but paper cuts are a thing, man. He pockets a couple of extra aspirin and then hands the bottle back to Ignacio. "Thanks again, yeah?"

Finch orders a large coffee with an espresso shot in it and two pumps of white chocolate syrup. Either the caffeine or the sugar should solve her sleepy issue. It's a busy time of year for Out on a Limb. Lots of people call for tree trimming before the winter hits, so the crews have been out a lot. She glances at her phone and a smile slowly makes its way to her face. She claims her drink then shuffles zombie-like to slump into the chair Ignacio pulled out for her. "Figgy. I've already climbed 8 trees today." She looks at the others at the table and gives them a tired smile. "Hi."

Maggi sets down the laptop with the additional flyers atop it. She nods politely to Stefhan at his exit. Raising the coffee to her lips she takes several long sips, relaxing back into her chair. Giving a side eye to Ignacio she elaborates on Mac's behavior as though she is narrating something for animal planet. "The wild gremlin is interestedly disinterested. I am a grad student in need of clients who has to dress like a grad student who needs clients when meeting advisers," she offers helpfully. Processing Jame's earlier comment a lightbulb moment flashes across her face, hand of coffee extends a finger in recognition "Runaways."

Blue eyes try to place Ignacio for a moment, then she remembers seeing his picture in the paper next to the advice column. "Your stuff is clever." She says towards Ignacio. The corners of her mouth raise at Finches arrival, a positive acknowledgement of the new presence.

"It's never truly gone unless you burn it." Abitha intones seriously to Ignacio. Yeah, clever story. Never one to miss the chance to tease, Abitha's face immediately gains animation as she hears the word 'Figgy', her hand going over her heart, expression lighting up like she'd just seen a puppy and a kitten curl up together for a nap. Adorable. She trades looks with Maggi, and holds back a giggle.

Her eyes half-lid again, back to casual as soon as the play-act joke was made. Returning both hands to her coffee, two fingers briefly move in some imitation of a wave to Finch, grinning. "I'm the one they fed after midnight." Her feet briefly shove at Maggi's chair, not to actually move her, but to give her a little start in revenge.

Ignacio looks up to james with a slow not of comisseration, "It's with this asprin I keep my limbs in motion." He'll match some Kevin Smith with some Dune for the injured. Looking to Finch, and the woman likely referenced int he paper by a lot he asks curiously, "Making sure the tops are still there and no one ran off with them to make tiny trees out of?" He observes the ruddy flush of her cheeks and ears from all the outdoor work and adds, "I need to get you one of those ear wraps with the bluetooth speakers in em. Keep you warm and entertained." Sure as shit the Amazon page is open and he's poking through it. Looking back up to Abitha he asks, "Like trolls? Good to note." Maggi's summary and compliment gets teh curious question with a flash of a half smile, "Thank you. It's genetic. My mom's kinda a snartass too. Soooo you are cosplaying as an alternate universe super responsible version of yourself for fun and profit?"

"She gets it in one.", James quips approvingly as Maggi points that finger at him- though he does flinch instinctively at the sudden motion, because he's seen what people pointing fingers can do in this town. The flinch causes him to wince slightly as whatever it is he has that is bruised or broken protests. "Mnf. But, ah, also, actual cherry bombs. They hurt.", he clarifies unhelpfuly. Finch's arrival and sitdown causes him to realize he's still just awkwardly standing there with his coffee. Seeing as awkward is his #brand, tho, he seems prepared to accept this. Ignacio's comment earns him a slightly brighter smile. "... it is by the willowbark that the limbs release from pain, the pain retreats from mind, the mind becomes at peace.", he replies, not missing a beat.

Finch sips her coffee, feeling her extremities finally start to warm up again. "Don't you dare buy me those," she notes flatly to Ignacio. "We need to save up money for the trip for your sister's wedding," she explains. Getting to and from NYC on their income is not going to be easy. "And yeah, at least none of the trees tried to punch me in the face today, so I consider it a win." She looks around the table. "I'm Finch," she states as an introduction. Those who live here likely know about her, at least her family, the Celaenos. Cursed they say. Mother tried to kill her when she was a teen. Great Aunt slaughtered a handful of family members. Both in the loony bin.

A momentary glimpse of fear was visible across Maggi's eyes at Jame's wince. Considering she had shredded someones shirt recently on accident, it took a moment for her to convince herself she had in fact not harmed him with some ability she didn't know she had. Wrapping her finger back around the cup, she attempts to hide this with additional coffee slurps before answering Ignacio. "The best kind of genetic disorder," she offers grinning. "Almost, they threw on me I have to complete a certain amount of unpayed hours prior to spring semester, so had to add manual labor to the list. Much less exciting."

While not as fast as Mac, Maggi manages to annoyingly not react with anything more than an eyebrow raise, "Try harder." Slipping into her own head for a brief moment, she pulls the cataloged file on Finch, she had heard of her. While not wanting to bring up any of it, a need to ask how she seemed so functional also arises. This is quelled for the sake of polite conversation. "Maggi Class 2010" is what she allows herself to say instead. She is happy with this, recognizing familiarity, but keeping it vague.

Abitha is oblivious of the fact of Finch's heritage, her ignorance owed to being a recent transplant, as well as generally hermetic.
"Mac." She utters in return for the second time that day. Ye'll not have my true name, demons! To James she glances, "Then you probably missed a step. See, it goes..." She begins counting said steps one by one on her fingers. "Light it. Drop it. Run. You forgot 'Run', right?"

To Maggi, she makes a show of pushing with her heels without actually applying any force. She gives up after a moment with a feigned gasp of effort, breathing heavily, "Can't do it!... Too... Statuesque!..." If that was a fat joke, she was doing it pretty badly. Either way, she giggles and pulls out her phone, messing around with something.

Ignacio holds up his hands to Finh, "Whaaat/ They're great and under ten bucks and you are freezing now. Also I think mom's covering the tickets and my tux sooo." He also murmurs something about AlsoRafisn'tgoing... Oh look coffe's empty! Terribly interesting that! Lookie here! He looks up to James and points to teh other chair. "You can loiter on your bad leg or have a seat and rest it up. You did save the city for food no one wants to eat or get hit by. Concussivly or gastrointestinally." He arches an eyebrow, "They got bright pink ones to kidna go with your hair." Not that her hair is dyed right now, but hey, magenta represent. To Abitha he says solmnly, "I keep forgetting the 'run' part."

Finch looks at Maggie and squints for a moment, trying to place her. "Yeah I think you were a senior when I was a freshman." A freshman trying hard to act like nothing horrific had happened a year prior, trying to look and be as normal as possible, from cheerleading to straight A student.

Ignacio's mumbling has her looking sharply at him. "What do you mean Raf isn't going? Why!?" She frowns sharply. "No Iggy, save the money, I have hats to wear."

James himself might be known in some local circles- the Hecker Family fire 15 years ago and all that, it made the local papers. Married couple burned to death in their bedroom, no other damage done to the house except a couple of scorch marks in the bedroom, left behind an orphan kid. And look at him. He turned out alright, yeah?

OK, maybe not so much.

"Oh, right, we're doing names and stuff.", James murmurs, still just standing there at the side of the table instead of having walked away by now like a normal person. "Hecker. James. Left town before graduating high school, so, y'know, Class of o'Never." And then Abitha is snarking at him, and he glances to her. "Oh no, I did the Run. What I should have skipped was the 'turn around and make rude comments', 'cause that's when they getcha." One of these days this guy will make an ounce of sense. Ignacio's invitation gets a blink from him. "Oh, no, leg's fine. It's more, y'know, kinda this whole area...", he says, motioning vaguely with his free hand at, well, himself. Or his torso. Such as it is. Such a fine specimen, our Mr. Hecker. Belongs in a museum, even. Like, one of those weird little museums where they keep a monkey sewn to a salmon and call it a mermaid. But he still accepts the seat offer because why not sit with strangers and continue to quietly weird them out? "Err, I mean. Thanks. Hello.", he greets the rest of the table once he actually sits down like humans do.

Maggi cackles at Mac, savoring her victory over the tiny woman. She swirls her cup with a single hand, taking in the new information. All info was useful in the correct context. Finches conventional high school success was lost on her, having spent a majority of her time thinking the cheer squad was being controlled by alien brain implants herself. Finch and Iggy were adorable together, were they not both clever she may have made vomiting sounds at their exchanges, but their intelligence garnered some amount of respect. Heart shaped face nods to Finch, she had seen her about at a time.

By the time James had settled his commentary had her giggling madly. "Careful with all that motion, Firefly Club may come offer you a job on the spot!"

Ignacio tilts his head with total understanding of what James is putting down. "Yeah, like a classic car it might handle a little funny, but it's got a lot of history and just needs some TLC, man. I hear you." As na out of towner, he seems to be treating people on merit or maybe a fan of second chances at first perceptions?

Dark eyes lifting to Finch and his mood shifts to being a bit guarded and in truth as she can read him something else, "He's pretty done with them. No facey time. No wedding. He's going to send something thouggh because it's the decent thing to do so... I'm in for Christmas and we'll go out for hte wedding." Yeah he's flying casual but there's some letdown there. "I mean there's time yet but...hey, I'd rather spend Christmas with you and, I got my brother here and I've never seen a small town Winter Thing before. It'll be good."

There's a snort of recognition at Ignacio's direction about not running. Abitha nods sagely to James' downfall, knowing all too well the pain and loss that came from ill-timed trash talk. "Same. Same." she agrees solemnly. She snorts a little in amusement just before Maggi's suggestion about James has Abitha rocking sideways and extending her tongue like she was gagging. She looks to the blond as if betrayed. "Why you do this?" She takes a heavy swig of her coffee as if trying to cleanse the bad tatse in her mouth, but her expression softens as she giggles and makes an apologetic raising of palms and bowing of head in James' direction.

James gets a bit of a nod from Finch, one of those secret club type nods, the 'our families are local disasters' nods. Fucked up solidarity, yo. "I was just swinging it to get a coffee to go. I gotta get back to the shop and pick up Cy, we have some two-person jobs this afternoon." She gets up and bends to kiss Ignacio gently, running her hand through his hair. "Walk me out to the truck?" No need to air his family's dirty laundry here. She heads for the door.

James blinks at Maggi's giggling commentary. "Gods I hope not. This town may be perched on the fiery rim of a hole straight to the heart of hell-", he replies, and really, why hasn't the city council put that on the tourism brochures yet?, "-but it doesn't deserve to see that.", he finishes, shaking his head and sipping his coffee. He's not even offended as Abitha literally gags at the mere thought of it. "See?", he tells Maggi, pointing at Abitha. Ignacio's comment gets a chuckle from him. "I mean... close enough, I guess. In the same way the AMC Gremlin is a classic." And then Finch gives him The Nod, and his eyes sparkle in recognition. Yeah, he gets it. He nods back firmly, then tilts his head and sips his coffee as the couple starts making to leave.

Maggi gives a little wave to the couple pending exit. "Good to see ya!"

"Because it makes you uncomfortable," is the beaming reply given to Mac. She turns her laughter toward her for a second at the motions. Icy eyes look back up towards James. "Don't sell yourself short, you're not bad, Mac hates fluids." This was an example of the correct use of gathered knowledge, Mac's original words, not her own. "Town's not that bad either, can't tell me it isn't far more interesting here than most places. Local community is almost magnetic minus a few here and there." It was the kind of thing you got or you didn't. Maggi had yet to figure out why any of this was the case, but if she continued stating it as vaguely as she could, maybe understanding was an option.

Abitha levels a finger at James at the mention of Gremlins, confirming at least that someone got her reference earlier. She sets her coffee aside and leans back in her seat, stretching her back and groaning.

"Untrue." She counters to Maggi's assertion, now moving her arms and hands in a few stretches, the types gamers are actually supposed to do to help prevent carpal tunnel. "I like coffee... And ciders... And Mountain Dew.... Those are all fluids..." The forced way she has to say those things, like she's specifically trying to give force to an idea she was uncomfortable with. The slight flush of her cheeks didn't help her case either. She tries to make the subject take a quick left turn, "Anyhow... Either of you going to that Jello thing later? Looks hysterical." Her phone reclaimed, her face lit by it, she was reading about it. "Sparrow asked me to donate something so it can be sold for charity."

"No, no, I'm pretty terrible, let me have that.", James protests as Maggi tries to say he's not that bad. He tilts his head. "... wait. Fluids? Shit, am I leaking?" His eyes widen and he pulls down on the neck of his hoodie a little to peer in at his chest and check to make sure nothing's started spewing bile or humours or something. The folks at the table might catch a glimpse of some pretty gnarly bruising and a few small cuts on the bare skin of his chest just below where the hoodie covers. Finding no major holes through which his organs and liquids might be trying to stage a jailbreak, he relaxes, before looking back up and noticing Abitha's leveled finger. Again, that instinctive, if tiny, flinch. After all, she could have Yu Yu Hakusho'd him earlier already but didn't, so, she probably wasn't going to do so now. Nevermind the fact that odds are she can't actually do that, he's just going to operate under the assumption that everyone in this godsforsaken town could rip him apart with their brains. Mention of the Jello thing gets a curious headtilt from him. ".... jello.... thing?"

A look of wholehearted 'really?' at Mac, a clear avoidance of the actual meaning. Her eyes light up at the mention of the Jello event, some chugging of coffee occurs before speaking. "I am so friggn excited. Your weirdo game is kicking my mystery boxes booty right now. I won't care so much after about six jello shots though. Sparrow is brilliant!"

The second flinch grants James a suspicious look, a kind of squint...he either knew things, or he was just odd, possibly both. Casually, Maggi slides one of her fliers on the table in his direction...just in case. "Jello festival is tonight, ya hermit. There is jello wrestling, jello shots, bidding on weird stuff. Basically everything a holiday should actually be about: Commerce, booze, and violence."

Ignacio headed out, limping all the way, with Finch, hands in his pockets and elbows in because he left his coat on his chair which apparently even she pointed out to him. If you like salt with your sugar snacks really look no further as she frets and he does the shivering 'I'm fine' dance and a discussion follows. A hug and what is clear heat theft later with a smooch and he heads on back inside, right leg pulling the rest of him behind.

Looking up curious and retaking his seat to unlock his computer he asks, "Jello? This like a small town thing? Cherry festival, strawberry festival, jello festival for people who get their garden trampled by rogue creatures or something?"

James' reveal of all his damage has Abitha full-on silent for a moment, eyes a little wide. She had thought he was joking. Her eyes slowly track aside, rhen doan at her pocket, then to Maggi. There was a thought process here a connect the dots of, am I really crazy or are things maybe, possibly... No... She shakes her head and returns to reality, picking up on the response to Maggi. "Just one bid though, even if for a ridiculous amount. Makes it feel kind of boring." There's an amused snort from Abitha at Iggy's query, "Don't look at me. Not my circus, not my monkeys." She sighs, tipping her head back and forth, looking down at the list of the auctionable items, "I tried to find something in-theme for wrestling.... My troll bid for 'tree fiddy' on the lap dance stayed up a terrifyingly long time before being outbid." A slight shiver runs through her.

James is used to being stared at suspiciously by women- if anything, it's a little reassuring. Things are normal. It's when women start being nice to him that he has problems dealing with it. So instead he just gives the flyer a slightly bemused look as Maggi describes the upcoming evening's events and Abitha stares at the glimpse into his wounded chest. ".... jello wrestling? In Gray Harbor?" It's more likely than you think. Ignacio's return gets a smile and a shrug from the little ginger beardo. "Don't ask me, this one's new to me."

Maggi rolls her eyes at Mac, "Boo you, a single $200 bid." The tone is as sarcastic as it gets without any actual malice to it. The flyer she had passed was for free therapy hours, James having shown some signs of PTSD and abuse given his injuries. Maggi felt more accomplished than usual this week and was ready to let loose this evening. "It's like a charity event thing. Way less stuffy than most of the Harbor's traditions. Plus, it feels like your last name has to be Addington to get in to half of them."

She moves a bit closer staring at Mac's screen, but also respecting her space. "I'm really hoping the box seems like a better buy to people when they are drunk. The intent is merriment via ambiguity, but I think the wrestling thing is cool. This is like the first fun thing I have done in a while, hella excite."

Ignacio winces faintly getting comfortable again and takes up his coffee once more. "Yeah that name comes up a lot. Some people love writing their name all over everything. Knew a kid like that in high school eventually sent to the principal's office for vandalizing property." He looks to Maggi with a hint of conspiracy, "Just wait." He considers and says, "I'd ask what's in the box but knowing ruins the mystique." There's a pause and the grin gets wider to Abitha, "Three fifty? Careful man. You get what you pay for with that sort of stuff." Looking round he hrmmms as an idea forms.

Abitha feigns pouting of Maggi's dismissal of her concerns about the low amount of bids versus the amount of money. "Thats what I mean though, its probably gonna keep climbing and be exciting, not something somebody just takes a single shot at." After a moment, she squints at Maggi. This girl did a lot of skeptical squinting. "Of course you're a psychology student. That's like, right in your wheelhouse." Her eyes flit to Ignacio, face contorting in a grimace, "Thats what I was actually, literally afraid of!" Her shoulders scrunch up, palms waving in a crossing motion of total N O.

James has done his share of therapy over the years- memory tends to go weird when you leave this town and he spent the past 15 years thinking he'd been having weird hallucinations and psychotic breaks during his teens. And then he came back to Gray Harbor and realized that maybe he was crazy, but that didn't mean he'd imagined it all. He gives Maggi a slightly awkward, but still genuine, smile. "Thanks.", he says, as he carefully folds the flyer and slips it into his pocket. He's probably not taking her up on the offer, but then again... shit's been crazy lately. Maybe he'd need to, sometime. The discussion of discount lap dances grabs his attention, and he shudders. "I... don't know if that whole thing is, y'know, in my wheelhouse.", he says, as if he wasn't almost certainly going to get dragged to it by his girl-who-is-a-friend.

Maggi's face is incredulous as she sees the carriage ride. "That price for some Disney shit is ridiculous," she says this pointing at it's place on the screen. Sensing the amount of anxiety caused by the idea of the lap dance she sighs, wanting to let them fret longer, but her inner morals couldn't handle it. "Pretty sure it is consensual bids only, funny as the other would be." She nods at Iggy's assessment of the family name. "Which part of being human do you hate so much?" she quips at James teasingly.

Ignacio laughs with a grin to Abitha and says, "Well you can gift it. I really think the mystery box is cool. Like cracker jacks. But bigger. And wrapped." Looking to James an eyebrow goes up with a shake of his head, "Not my thing either. I'd rather spend that time talking to people." He considers Maggi's question and gives the unsolicited answer, "I hate having allergies and being required to wear pants on not-fridays."

"See, you say that and I'm just curious on some of the T's and C's, but I'm most certainly bidding on one of these purely to weaponize." Maggi's intrusion into Abitha's space, while new, seemed to be allowed, familiarity breeding trust. She leans and turns her phone to Maggi, pointing to the Pizza Delivery one, a grin of pure mischief on her face. She then shrugs and sits back in her seat, "And if it's required to be used by me, I can just give them the address to the shop... When Kyle is working." Poor boy. "Ooo!" her hand shoots up, taking Ignacio's cue and also answering. "Dealing with other humans. Uh... Well a lot of them. Y'all are... O k..."

James raises an eyebrow at Maggi, and gestures vaguely around, about to answer when Ignacio pipes up. Ignacio's answer gets a nod from him. "Oh yeah. Allergies are terrible. Ambivalent on pants." And then Abitha's answer earns her a firm nod. "People are the worst." And then it's his turn to answer, and he returns to the vague gesturing as he focuses on Maggi. "The, ah, y'know... the part where everything is terrible forever and we live in a world that is only a paper-thin facade stretched to the breaking point over an unending hellscape of surreal senselessness, leaving one wondering if the very concept of finding meaning in one's existence is even possible?", he replies. After a moment's pause, he adds, "... also, Mondays. Hate those." Seriously, the city council should hire him to write all their brochures. He is a writer.

Ignacio doesn't type, nor drink his coffee, but listens to James. His head tilts processing the description of flimsy reality and there's a pause of silence, "Every world is paper thin awake, asleep, between, and books." He pauses and admits, "Most of mine have gone digital but that's not... that's not the point. I guess my point is maybe the purpose of our existance is part on all those elevations of ourself. Maybe it's up to us to tell others what our meaning is instead of looking for a place to be told?" Now he drinks his coffee wondering about that himself. Looking to James he asks, "You bowl? I'm fuckin terrible at it."

Maggi is in another fit of giggles, she surely meant in regards to the jellobration, but she deserved what she got. “You guys are hysterical! Though entirely correct.” She ponders the merits of Monday’s and pants. “People are exhausting though, started at the Pourhouse last night, wanted to kill some backwards patrons, don’t tell my boss that.”

She considers the bleak outlook with a frown. Generally negative herself, she doesn’t know if she could function on that level of nihilism. “You gotta make it mean something I think, can’t expect someone to do that for you.”

Abitha is just kinda silent from James' morose soliliquey, staring at him in a mix of alarm, concern, and maybe just that extra dash of pity. Slowly, her hand is lifted as she straightens in her seat, finger and thumb taking hold of a bit of Maggi's jacket and tugging very lightly, like a child trying to get someone's attention. Her voice is a little lower, slightly raspy, a stage whisper, "I think he needs to go before me..."

A long pause, then she hears him defuse all that serious tension with a Monday joke, and she can't help but roll her eyes. "Dammit, James."

Ignacio folds up his laptop and looks to James like he's powered by salt and optimism, "Look my editor moves at the speed of me unless she wants to start writing my content for me and she's not got the energy. But I am going to go see what Gray Harbor is up to and maybe...jus tmaybe, get a 70 today. Collectivly." Pausing he smiled to the two ladies genuinly bemused, "It was really awesoem meeting you both. Maybe I'll see you around. Usually parked right here."

"I might be worse. Gimme a week at least so I no longer feel like... like...", James replies to Ignacio, searching for the correct metaphor. "... like I got hit with a cherry bomb by a murderous piece of sentient fruitcake." Nailed it. "And I'd be happy to find out who's worse.", he finishes, smiling. "Bowling doesn't suck." And then he shrugs a bit as both Ignacio and Maggi hit on similar points while Abitha gives him that look that he knows so well from many, many others across the years, and he shrugs. "Oh, I know. If nothing matters, then all that matters is what we decide matters, and it matters most of all. I get it. r-whack-Stoicism what what, and all. But sometimes in this town..." He trails off, and shrugs. "I dunno. S'a fucked up place, and I'm pretty sure I'm trapped here, because if I ever leave I'm getting committed. This is the only place where my crazy works." He smiles faintly. "Maybe that's my meaning. In the land of the senseless, the fool is king? I sure as hell don't know." He then pauses as if realizing he's gone all bleak and philosophical. "Ah fuck, sorry folks. This always happens if I haven't had a joint for over an hour." He starts to get up, glances out the window at the rain that has yet to stop, and gives a resigned sigh. "Fuck you too, nature.", he mutters at the scene outside the window, then back to his tablemates. "I gotta get back so my house can yell at me some more. Sorry about the heavy at the end there. Jello wrestling tonight, right? Woo? Heh... heh heh.. Yeah. Ahem. Nice... uh. Meeting y'all. Gonna go get real damn high now. Bye." And then eerybody's favorite ginger beardo is slinking away towards the door, before the barista notices the looks of dismay at his former table and decides to finally ban him.