2021-12-10 - On Not Being Dead

Business has not exactly been hopping at Clayton Investigations. But that's fine. It gives Alexander time to do...things. Which mostly seem to be moving a fair number of his books on murder and forensics from his home office to shelves in the gleaming, antique cabinet. The door is cracked, just a little, so he can hear if the elevator goes ding. His door is unmistakable - in perfect condition, with the frosted glass marred only by bold, black letters: CLAYTON INVESTIGATIONS.

One day, Alexander's wardrobe might catch up to the office. But right now, he still looks like a hobo, shuffling around, unpacking books.

There is a moment where he does in fact here the elevator go ding. The sound of footsteps can be heard drawing closer and then a light knock on the door before it's pushed open a little wider. Revealed to be standing in the doorway is none other than Isolde! Who has been relatively withdrawn and quiet since the weird time skip thing, but she's trying to come out of it. "Alexander!" She says brightly, looking around at all the boxes and then back to him. "I like this place." Her hair is pulled back in a loose ponytail and she's wearing a pair of dark jeans with a black sweater and her ever present frog charm bracelet.

Alexander is waiting. As soon as he hears the ding, he goes to stand a bit awkwardly behind the desk. Then he sits. Then he stands again, adjusts the tattered jacket, runs his hand through his hair. And then there's an Isolde, and the awkwardness goes out of him, replaced by that uncomplicated, beaming joy that so rarely emerges. "Isolde! Hi!" He comes around the desk without hesitation, although he stops where other people would hug, and just spreads his arms. "It's good to see you. Are you okay? And yes, it's a wonderful office. Only tried to kill me once, so far. Sit down!"

Isolde's smile brightens when Alexander comes around. "It's good to see you too! It's been too long. I'm glad it hasn't tried to kill you more than that. And that it didn't succeed the first time." She chuckled softly, moving to sit down where indicated. "I thought about bringing like maybe a plant or something but then decided I should see the place first." There's a shrug in response to if she's okay. "More or less. I'm okay now at least. I'm not really sure how I was in the weird time stuff." Her head tilts. "Did you miss time too?"

Alexander plops down beside her on what is almost the only sitting thing in the small, narrow office; a high backed padded bench long enough to sleep on. "If you've grown any flowers, I'd love to have one. I brought some of mine," he waves at the window, "and having one of yours would be nice." His joy dims at her shrug and response. "Yeah. A few months. Most of the people who stand out have. It's...difficult. Some people ended up in weird situations." He turns that blank, reptilians look on her, thinking. "Did something happen? While you didn't remember?"

"Oh I haven't grown any, but I've seen some pretty ones on my walks lately! I'll see about it." Isolde offers. She shifts some, turning to face Alexander better and there's a hint of hesitation before nodding. "I think so. I don't know what but I know it shook me enough to take pills again." She doesn't look proud of this, but quickly adds, "I haven't taken any more though! When I saw the bottles. When I woke up like 'for real'? I tossed them." Even if it had been extremely difficult to do. "I don't know if I want to know what it was though....What about you?"

Alexander smiles. "You don't have to. But it'd be nice. To have in the office." He watches and listens - there's a flicker of disappointment at the mention of taking pills again, but it smoothes out into simpler concern as she continues. "There's a fellow in town. Henry Covington. He's a psychiatrist. He stands out. I knew him when he was a kid. Sort of. He's offered to try and do something to recall the memories. I don't know if it'd work, but...I don't like not knowing." There's a baffled sort of shake of his head. "Nothing big? I apparently had some cases. I paid my bills. I didn't fix my floor when it flooded, so I had to tear out the carpets just a few weeks ago, and replace them. But that's weird." Isolde's lived with Alexander, after all; while he may dress like a slob, his housekeeping has always been impeccable.

"Henry Covington." She repeats the name. "Maybe I'll talk to him. It might be smart to talk to him anyway just to talk things out with a professional, like I did when I was in Portland." Isolde decided. "I will look him up and if I end up remembering anything, will let you know." The idea of remembering doesn't entirely sit well but if Isolde had the choice, she knew knowing was better than not knowing even if it was unpleasant. Her brow raises when Alexander explains his own missing time. "That is weird." She agreed. "I wonder why you didn't fix it. Speaking of your house! ...How is Luigi? I should come by and see him sometime soon. I'll be he's annoyed I haven't come by to say hi." She laughed. "Oh! And the cat!...Whose name I can't recall...how is she?"

"Luigi would be very happy to see you," Alexander says, with a warm smile. "I think he misses you. No one else speaks French to him." It's lightly teasing. "And Bluebell is fine. It's getting cold, so of course she wants to sleep on my chest all night. It helps. Fewer dreams." Mention of the missing time makes him squirm with discomfort. "I don't know. And I'm missing my boots. I loved those boots. They were very sturdy." He shakes himself out of the mourning, and refocuses. "He works at the hospital. I could try to arrange an introduction, if you'd prefer?"

"Bluebell! Yes. I wanted to call her Princess and I knew that was wrong." Isolde laughed. As for Luigi, "I'll come by soon then and say Bonjour." Amusement sparkled in her eyes though she did give a sympathetic look at the mention of missing boots. "Maybe you will find them! Or find better ones. I will keep my eye out for any sturdy looking boots." She offered. "Ah, yes! An introduction is probably better. You know, I met the strangest man the other day. In the middle of a rainstorm. I let him crash on my couch." Isolde shifted again to relax back in the seat. "His name...I never got his name now that I think about it. But he kind of reminded me of me. When I first came to town and when I ran into you."

"Princess is a natural assumption, since she is very much royalty," Alexander says, his fondness for both the cat and Isolde shining through. "But Bluebell is her name. I only call her Your Highness when she's being very imperious." A soft chuckle, then a nod at the mention of keeping an eye out for boots. Then, as she continues, he settles back into concerned, studying her thoughtfully. "Huh. Well. Not everyone you find out in the rain is as good-hearted as you," he murmurs. "But you know that. And you're not helpless." A pause. "You shoulda gotten his name, though."

"I know I shoulda." Isolde wrinkled her nose. "He said he was out there tryna talk to God. And then we just got to talkin - I kinda talked out how I've been feeling. It was good to get it off my chest. Maybe it was easier cause he was a stranger." She mused. "He kinda sorta said he was a priest but I don't know if I believe that. Cause he was drinking and barefoot. More likely maybe he was homeless? But since he let me vent I figured it was only right for me to offer him to get outta the rain for a night." A wry smile crosses her lips. "I've been keeping my eye out for him though. Even if only to ask him what his name is." She would also give Alexander a vague description of the man that probably described at least a third of the men that lived in town. Just in case maybe he sees him first!

"Talking to God is easier when you've been drinking," Alexander says, dryly. "Priests know that as well as anyone else." Still, the description intrigues him, and it's clear he's making an internal note, and that he doesn't immediately recognize the person from the description. "I'm glad that you had someone to talk to. Sometimes, strangers are easier." A brief smile. "Did it help you? That's the important thing. If he helped, then I like him already."

"It did help." Isolde nodded. "Especially helped me realize that keeping myself holed up in the apartment and only leaving to go to work wasn't a good thing. " She smiles again. "So I'm trying to get out more in general. Like coming to see you! And I'll go visit Luigi too." She nodded. There's a moment of thought and then she asks, "Have you heard from Isabella? Is she still overseas? I hope she's doing okay."

Alexander's expression falls at the mention of Isabella. "She's in Alexandria. She's on a dig. She's fine, as far as I know," he adds, hastily. Because sometimes people get Lost, or die, especially around Alexander. "I don't...know if she remembers the town. But if she doesn't, then that's good. She's brilliant, and has great potential. But not here. Here would only kill her."

While Isolde doesn't reach out and hug Alexander - cause she knows better! - He might feel a light little nudge against his mind, a comforting sort of feeling - like a mental hug! "It's good that she's fine. Even if she doesn't remember here. Maybe you could go see her some time. It wouldn't be a bad thing to get away from town for a while. I still think about it sometimes. But then I feel like no matter where I go, things will follow me. So maybe I should stay. BUT. But. There's nothing wrong with a long vacation now and then."

Alexander shakes his head. "What would I do in Alexandria?" he says, with a murmur and his eyes skipping away from Isolde to look at the wood paneling. "It's good that she's fine. That she's doing what she loves. That's all I need to know." A faint, sad smile plays over his lips. Then he takes a deep breath, and looks back at Isolde. "But you shouldn't feel tied. You should go on a vacation, if that's what you want. I approve of anything that gets people to leave," he adds, voice dry. "And outside of Gray Harbor, everything's weaker. Just stay away from thin spots and you should be fine."

"I dunno, I bet you'd be able to find something to do." Isolde mused, but nodded her agreement. "She's doing what she loves and she's safe. And that's good for now."

There's a shake of her head when he says she should go on a vacation. "I don't even know where I would go and I wouldn't want to go alone. Maybe once I widen out my circle of friends again I'll think about it." Isolde rubbed at the back of her neck lightly. "I kind of have an inkling of going back to Oklahoma. But I don't think that's a good idea. They'd probably arrest me on the spot. But maybe I'll plan a day trip to some nearby museums! That would be good. And relevant to my art classes."

Alexander grimaces. "Don't get arrested. There are other states. Although no one has any real evidence against you, it sounds like. One day, it might be worth resolving those things, just so it's not hanging over your head." He leans just enough to gently bump his shoulder against hers, and smiles. "Museums are fun. Day trips are also fun. Those both sound like good plans." He straightens up again. "How are your classes going? Nothing slipped during the lost time?"

"Maybe one day." Isolde agreed, smiling a touch at the nudge. She'll think about it. When he asks about her classes, she brightens again. "They're going good still! I mean, I did see some stuff where I fell behind - probably whenever that bad thing happened? But I guess I reached out and got extensions and things. But now that I'm here and present I've been keeping up. It's a good distraction from things. I think...I only have a couple more semesters maybe and I'll be done with the first bit. Then I have to decide what I actually wanna do with it in the end."

Alexander's shoulders relax a little when she brightens, and it summons an answering smile at her enthusiasm. "Art? You'll never get...famous or rich in Gray Harbor. But maybe you could talk to that gallery person...Hera? And see if there's anything she'd like to put up in her gallery. And people buy art. Sometimes." His brow furrows, since he doesn't really know anything about how that happens. "But you have time to decide. You can do anything you want to, in the end."

"Well, it's not so much doing art as studying it. More like what museum people learn I guess. Though I do have some actual art classes I'm taking too and they're fun." She chuckled. "Hera is a good idea! I've passed by the place a few times. Don't think I've been in though. Could be good to talk with someone who's kind of in the business! Maybe that'll be the first stop on my list of museums. Even if it's not technically a museum. A gallery is good too." Isolde decided. "And you're right. Can do whatever I want in the end. I'm just enjoying learning right now."

"Oh!" Alexander looks first sheepish, then pleased, even as he says, "Sorry. I forgot. But that's fascinating. Working in a museum would be fun. Maybe you should see if Addington House is hiring." Then he stops, makes a grimace. "Or...maybe not. It's very easy to get Lost there. And possibly has something horrible in the basement. But it's still beautiful, and it's probably hard to get someone who actually knows anything about the artworks there to stay here and take care of it." He shrugs. "But, it might kill you. So. Y'know. Pros and cons." His eyes twinkle.

Basements are the perfect breeding ground for horrible things. "Ohh possibly. I've been there...once maybe. I should peek at it again too. I wouldn't mind the getting Lost part...that's just part of living here really." Isolde mused. "Getting killed would be bad though, yes." There's a laugh here. "I'll have to see. " She shrugged her shoulders lightly, still looking content. "Enough about me though. Tell me more about this place! How did the room try to kill you?"

"I don't want you to get Lost," Alexander says, with a scowl. "You're my friend. You shouldn't be hurt. Definitely not killed." He glares at her, like that's something she's set out to do, then rises from his seat to prowl restlessly around the office. It's not very big; prowling takes up most of the room. "Um. I fell into a Dream here. There was a guy. He came in, fell over, started to bleed out. I dragged him into the bathtub, and there were these gangsters with the heads of wolves looking for him. We tangled...I lost." His voice is dry. "Luckily, I got dumped out of the Dream before they killed me."

"I know you don't. I don't want to get Lost either. I'm just saying...at least it's something I'm already familiar with." Isolde clarified with a fond smile. It was always nice to know people cared. Then she was listening closely and wide-eyed as he explained about the Dream he fell into. "Oh gosh. Wolf-headed gangsters? That sounds scary as heck." She agreed. "I'm glad you didn't get killed. That would have been a very bad thing. Do you know who the guy was that was bleeding out?"

Alexander shoots her a stern look. "Well. Okay. Just don't get too familiar. You don't deserve to be scared, or hurt." Not that it's going to stop the town from inflicting either of those things on her. He shakes his head to her question. "No. White guy, mid twenties, dressed like a millworker from the 20s or 30s, I'd say. The wolves were very vintage gangster, too. I didn't get a good look at the victim's face, but I doubt it's a real person. Or, at least, a real person living right now. I figured I'd wait to see if it happened again." He shrugs. "I'm not giving up the office, either way. Dreams can just fuck right off."

"Oh wow, that's a long time ago!" Isolde tilted her head slightly. "It probably isn't a now-real person." She agreed. "It would be interesting if it happens again. Though maybe preferably without the near death experiencing." Unlikely! "This is a good office though, I agree. You definitely shouldn't let the Dreams run you off." She rose to her feet now as well, stretching some. "Is there anything else in this building? It didn't quite seem like there was. It looks like it still needs fixing up in spots maybe."

"Perdita lives in the penthouse. And we found a dead kid in the basement," Alexander says, like both of these things are equal in emotional impact. "But nothing else, yet. I think she plans to rent some things out as offices and apartments. It's not a bad building. Neglected, but the bones are good." He flashes a smile. "And you never know. I mean, you've been in the office now, so maybe it'll try to kill you too." The joke suddenly reverses, as if Alexander just realized what he said. He frowns. "I'm sorry. I don't want that to happen. It was stupid to say."

"Oh, that's sad." Isolde frown a touch when he mentioned them finding a dead kid. "Hopefully there's nothing else bad that pops up. It seems like it has potential! Potential is good." She grins a touch at Alexanders joke and then laughs. "It's okay, Alexander. I know you don't, but it wasn't stupid to say. Maybe it will try to kill me. But maybe that means it'll try and kill us together and we can just show it who's boss."

"No, I shouldn't say things like that. Sometimes they happen." But Alexander still smiles at her grin. "But...yeah. Maybe we'll go together. Nothing could stop us." With that, he sighs. "But I should probably pack up for the day. I'm supposed to be looking into a case. It's...been really nice to see you, though, Isolde. I'm glad that you're okay. Don't fall out of contact like that again, please? It's worrisome."

"Nothing at all." Isolde agreed wholeheartedly. "It was good to see you too. I promise I'll keep in touch better. I'll stop by the house soon too to see Luigi too. Have a good rest of your day!" She gave a little wave and then turned to head out the door.