2020-04-24 - The Boss is Bossed Around

Alisha has been called in for assistance as things start to take on a new 'hue' to Stefhan. It would only seem natural that the next person on his speeddial, if not the first person, would be Ainslie. When she comes inside she can see that The Hub is a bit disorderly. NOTHING in this place is ever disorderly and the door is locked to customers. The head employee can easily enter her security code to get in though and when she steps inside, she sees her boss in a far off corner, shivering a little and siting there with red eyes. There's no smell of anything strange so he hasn't taken on a 'weed' habit but there is the smell of alcohol.

That's a huge red flag right there as NO WAY would he let alcohol in here. In fact, he's very picky about his employees drinking.

These days when Ainslie comes to the Hub to straighten up, it's all about maintenance. Stefhan, whose cleanliness is militant in it's efficiency, typically keeps everything in order. All Ainslie has to do is pick up and straighten up after customers come treading in, organize stock that is brought in, etc etc. So needless to say when she is contacted and sees herself in... what Ainslie sees is disturbing in it's own right, before she sees the most frightful thing of all.

She's not clad in her work attire, as she is not on the clock: a tight pair of black denims that love her bottom half; a tight black tunic-length camisole with a large plaid (red-and-black) flannel shirt left unbuttoned; her hair up in a high messy ponytail with wisps framing her face. Regardless of how she can kill it, in her 'nice duds'... Ainslie is happy in her natural style. But right now she sure is shit doesn't feel happy.. she's anxious.

"'ello?" She calls into the space, brow furrowed at the sight of disorderly tables and floors. A delicate sniff... something is off. There's a 'tang' to the air where, typically, it's meant to be the sterile scent of computers. Then she sees him.

"Stef!" Ainslie cries, and jogs toward him.

Stefhan looks way beyond distressed and he coughs when she comes closer. The cough is clearly an exhale of something he drank, and there's an open bottle next to him. It's whiskey of sorts and something he shouldn't be ingesting. What's even worse is his dark jacket is tossed to the side, wrinkled and...on the floor?! He's really really really out of it apparently but he doesn't seem to be passing out.

Though the notion sure as hell is tempting.

Normally he would offer a smile to his favorite employee but this time, he winces as he sees her. One thing is for sure, she may notice a strange glow about him that shows things aren't as they normally are. This town obviously does things to people, and now, maybe finally, it's done something to him.

"I see things that, aren't right." He says, "I think I've snapped and, gone fucking insane. I need a doctor....I need a doctor. Alisha, she'll stand by me but, I need a doctor."

The woman's nose wrinkles at the 'puff' of stink in the air.. alcohol stink. This, after Stef coughs of course. Dark eyes flit to note the discarded jacket tossed aside in a supremely un-Stef-like move. The woman inhales deeply, flutters her eyes closed for a moment. She saw it.. she did. That shine... that 'glimmer'. Oh no, noooo not him too. To Ainslie, the force of Glimmer is a 'scary' thing; something to fear and be wary of. She doesn't wish it on anyone... even a year-ish into her stay in Gray Harbor, where many seem to shine... for some reason it troubles her to see Stef bear that glow.

Ainslie, bless her, is calm... her eyes open and she isn't going to panic or worry. She cranes her neck slowly to look upon the man and hear his words. She eases forth, knelling before him. Her arms reach out and if allowed she will try to collect him into a hug... right now she is Ainslie the friend, not the employee. "C'mere.. ya gotta breathe. And keep that fucking garbage away from yer lips." She indicates whatever garbage remains, of his alcoholic binge. "Ain't going to help ya. Ya need me to talk to about this."

Stefhan is a trash heap of sorts, and this is clearly not him and not what he normally appears to be. Unless it's a pretty blonde, he's normally somewhat composed. Even in the best circumstances, his resolve appears to be gone. "Part of me just...doesn't want to breathe." he says, "As if it hurts my soul. Alisha seemed to indicate that, seeing strange things wasn't unusual around here, it wasn't unusual at all. I, see shadows, and these shadows are frightening. Then the other day I thought I saw teeth reaching out to me. Do I need to go into a padded room or, something worse? I had to shut down the business today because I just...can't think. I can't think."

Poor, poor man. Ainslie won't hold or crowd him for long... she eases back to look at him worriedly, reaching desperately into her strong mind for anything helpful. She has never thought herself to be a comforting presence at the best of times so THIS is new. She lowers to seat herself now across from him, right on the floor, long legs folded lotus-style beneath her butt. "Okay, Stef, look at me." Hey she's safe; she's not blonde! Hair the color of dark chocolate and golden-brown eyes... as remarkable as a starling, but there is a hard, blazing look of resolve to Ainslie's face.

"Talk to me, I'm gonna look after ya. But I need to know more. Sometimes glimmer needs a trigger.. it's how mine started." She leans in. "Can ya see a glow 'round me now, Stef?" It may seem off-point, but important. If he does see her 'glow', it's a pulsing, golden aura. She watches, waits. "Did something trigger ya? Can ya remember?"

Stefhan switches roles for a bit. Whereas he is normally the manager and leader of the company, this time, he finds himself in the position of being a follower. His lips tremble as he's nervous but he doesn't seem to be too closely on the brink of flipping out at this point. She is, indeed, a safe zone, at least he hopes as much. Her lovely locks of amber hair might be a bit of a reprieve as compared to the honeyed ones who easily cause him to act insane with little thought. But there might be a reason for that, or it might be completely senseless.

She is right though, there has to be a trigger, and there was one. "I shamed myself in front of the queen." he says, "Her lashes were so lovely and the way she played with her hair, and knowing my romantic nature does, and likely will never, find a hearth in which to burn, her motions tempted me, and I lost my grace. Then, I remembered my past and I drank and reconnected with another of my flaws. Then." He shivers and wraps his arms around himself, "I heard voices and now, yes, I am starting to see a glow."

Whatever the reason, it's a damned good thing that Ainslie is dark-haired. Imagine if she came to him with a halo of blonde locks? The man would've prolly lost his final shred of sanity.

Ainslie listens closely to Stef's words, her frow furrowed. Basically what she gathers: a blonde woman, likely a society woman, either came here to use the shitter or buy an antivirus or WHATEVER and caught Stef at a weak moment. Was it here? Elsewhere? No matter... he went past his point of composure. Ainslie eases her long body forth, clamps a hand warmly and safely upon the man's shoulder. "So a bombshell made ya go overboard.... what did she do? What did ya do to shame yerself? I need to know everything, Stef... I swear I won't judge." A beat, her eyes flash. "Don't be fuckin' saying that either.. you will find yer person but right now ain't the time. Don't give up. So what'd ya do? Hug her? Kiss her? What?"

She nods quickly re: the glow.... everything is confirmed. "Ok.. I understand.... so what next? Did she hit ya? Yell?"

Stefhan shakes his head as he continues to try to sort out some things. "I didn't try to hug her, but this time, was the second time I offended her. The first, I called her a lesbian. I wouldn't think a woman that beautiful would be fortunate enough to, like men. She's a queen, a true queen. Far outside of my realm but." He sighs, eyes glistening as he recalls the true moment of shame, "I lost it. She complimented me and, I leaned into kiss her. She could have slapped me, and for all sensibilities she damned well should have, but she didn't. She was a true lady, a true empress of charm. She said she had her king and she peacefully left but, the shame of it. This was the second time I offended her. It was a horrible horrible thing to experience."

The slender woman listen, her brow furrowed. She doesn't even bat an eyelash at Stef's explanation, but nods quickly. She is sure the woman was beautiful and... aw hell, she'll just talk. No need to pussyfoot. "A true lady I'm sure, Stef... ain't doubting it, but her shit smells the same. Ya can't be putting people on pedestals... she may be beautiful and have hair like spun gold and whatever the fuck else, but yer setting yerself up for pain when ya place these women high, high high up. Nothing against her, I swear... but I'm trying to give ya some advice." She stares hard at him, worried about him, "It's a classy thing that she kept her peace and left.. but then afterwards the shame ate ya, right? Ya started on the drink? I promise she isn't dwelling or wishing ya ill. I know yer feeling awful but.... if ya keep beating yerself up yer..."

A sigh. She stands, reaches down. "Up, up.. we have more to say but come with me." She is going to try to bring him to a chair. Provided he sits, Ainslie will begin making strong coffee.

Stefhan whimpers as he tries to get himself going in the right direction and with assistance, up up up and up he goes. Fortunately there's a chair nearby, thanks to being in an office type setting. Being disoriented, he is fortunate in that he doesn't fall flat on his face or his ass. With a heavy sigh though, he says, "You're right, you're absolutely right. I'm getting better at my, shortcoming. It may always be a shortcoming, but I am getting better at such." But, messing up with Atli isn't the main concern, it's the shame then the shame brought on angst and then the angst brought on, other things. "It didn't, make me cry though. Atli, didn't make me cry but what I started hearing, to say it made me cry would be an understatement."

Thank Goodness, he can move. Gradually Ainslie shows Stefhan to a nearby, handy-dandy chair. Carefully she eases him down. "Easy does it," She bids... she's not hugely strong but she has the grit and stubbornness to see things through. "First off..." She shrugs a shoulder and drops her bag onto the table, digs into it's folds and pulls out a small plastic container. Two brownish-colored pills are produced and she sets them down in front of Stef, "It's ibuprofen... yer gonna pop both of these and drink some water. Else yer going to have the hangover from hell tomorrow." Those orders given to her boss she gets the man a tall glass of water and returns to the coffee prep.

"I'm sorrya ya had an awful scare, Stef... but yer in the right place for it... there's people who can understand, who can help. I fled here terrified of myself, settled in and.... well..." She watches him. "I've never heard voices... but I've had things happen too, Stef... I have. It scared the shit out of me and I just about got ruined because of it, but I worked through it. Finding out about the shine is the hardest part.. now ya gotta be strong enough to work through it. Alisha's been helping, ya say? Let her help."

Stefhan can move, but how long, it's hard to tell. He isn't a weight lifter by trade either but in this case he is more physically weak that he should be. "I hate hangovers." he states, "Hate them, with a passion. Coffee, is your best friend in these cases." Obey the woman...yes, obey. That much is what's easy for him to discern and he takes the pills and swallows them.

It was a horrible scare, truly horrible but, Alisha, she is more impressive than I realized. I swear I think I saw lightening bolts come out of her fingers or, am I loosing my mind? Seriously?" Hearing how Ainslie was ruined because of it he winces, "Here, you fled from here because of all of this?"

The woman nods with approval as the pills are taken. "Drink the water, every bit." Ainslie orders. She is not one to lord 'this' over Stef's head either. Guaranteed if (and hopefully when) he is back into sorts on a normal work day, this won't even be spoken of. Ainslie nods once, "I hate 'em too... I know how to drink to not get 'em." A little smirk, she presses 'brew' on the percolator.

As the machine begins making those distinct sounds, Ainslie settles down across from Stef, seated as she waits. "Alisha is pretty rad... she glows too." Said simply, "Yer not losing yer mind." She looks into his eyes, "If anything, yer finding another part of yer mind.. it's woken up. Now ya have to figure out how to channel it and work with it. It ain't bad Stef.. it'll be bad if ya don't accept it and work with it. If I hadn't of figured out my gig? I would be a hermit somewhere..... I fled because I did something bad where I come from. All in self-defense.... but it ate at me and I had to leave, start over. I'm better for it. But if ya lose yerself in a bottle of grog, the world will suffer without you in it. I swear. Ya gotta take yerself in hand..."

Stefhan takes a deep breath and tries to center himself. "I need to get myself focused, I need to stay in order, to keep things in order. Mr. Snuggles depends on me. I need to do right by you and right by Alisha. I do need to gather myself and, figure out more of what this is. Can this, new sight, can it be used to better humanity? Make the world a better place?"

AS the coffeemaker finishes up it's bidness, Ainslie pours a cup and fixes it just the way Stef likes. It's slid over in his direction.

She waits as he speaks and poses his query, and quickly she nods, "There ya go... as I said, waking up is the shitty part. Ya fuckin' hate yerself and think yer a freak. But yer in the right place... I mean it. See me glowing? We're one in the same in a way, now. So we can help each other out, yeah?" She pours herself a coffee now, fulling intending to stick around to make sure Stef is safe. He needs watching... not a doctor. She can provide that service. "It can be used to serve instead of hurt. If ya use it with a good mind and a good heart, sure ya can use it for good. But ya gotta get yer head straight.... and it starts with drinking the coffee, getting yerself cleaned up..... have a coffee and cuddle yer son while I tidy this place up, ok?"

Stefhan brings the cup up to his lips and takes a generous sip. Then, exhaling the luscious aroma, he begins to try to put things into perspective. That's not an easy task. Far from it. But He nods to show that yes, he truly does want to obey. "I would like to think that I have a good heart, but I need to start thinking first."

"That's the main part... took moving here for me to figure it out, for myself." Ainslie smiles... kindly. No snark, no awkwardness. She can't fault Stef's reaction because she, herself, drank like a fiend to cope with what she 'did'. But this isn't about her awakening; it's about that of the man in front of her. She lifts a slender finger to her temple, "My shine doesn't work from here... not quite as I reckon your does. I can help keep ya safe and grounded, but something tells me yer gonna have to give a lot of trust over to Alisha." Not that she knows the nature of Alisha's glimmer but... call it a hunch.

"Ya got a damned good heart, Stef.. ya gave someone like me a chance to work in this place. Do ya want me to stay closeby tonight? I can sleep on a couch or something... but if yer really nervous, I can drive ya to a clinic."

Stefhan hears from his number one employee that maybe he's not as crazy as he thought he was. "I don't know, if I'm safe to myself if I stay alone. That sounds, pretty damned crazy. I don't want to impose Ainslie, I really don't but, would you mind? I just feel like I'm going insane and then, I feel like I don't."

Hearing it put that way, it decides Ainslie. Even if he said no from here, she's damned well sticking around. "... it's settled." She lifts her mug, drains the coffee right down her throat, and is already dumping grounds into a compost bin and cleaning up from that. "I'll stay here. I don't need a lot... just a toothbrush and a blanket." Hopefully there's a spare.. she hadn't expected to stay here but she will make do. She knows of Stef's living quarters (professionally... get out of the gutter) and as moments pass and she reckons him to be able enough, she will close up the rest of the storefront and get the shaken man set up and comfortable with his cat and safe surroundings.

Ainslie is true to her word: she stays the whole night, on a couch... it's not her best sleep, but it's better than what she would've gotten had she left Stef alone.

Stefhan tries to keep his son close to him as safely as he can. The claws come out now and then but the feline is definitely a good source of serenity for the frazzles fellow. "Thank you." He tells Ainslie, "Thank you." But the words may be the last thing he saw for tonight because as soon as he's in a comfortable position in the bed, he feels his heavy eyes fall to welcome him into, what hopes, to be a peaceful world.