2022-04-01 - Nothing With Legs

What would a day off be without a chance to go out and enjoy the town a little? Spring is here, and Perdita intends to celebrate it with Garrett, even if the weather hasn't quite made up its mind to be warm yet. And that means a stop for coffee and breakfast at Espresso Yourself.

And isn't every day better when one is a little extra?

That's Perdita's philosophy, anyway. Her long hair is in beachy waves, her make up perfectly placed, and her outfit is straight out of a fashion look book from somewhere adventurous, like New York or Paris, rather than a little town like Gray Harbor. A rose pink dress in layers of sheer fabric, each embroidered with butterflies and flowers of varying sizes until there's enough coverage for modesty, but still an illusion of seeing more... and a positively massive faux fur coat in blue and gold, picking up on the tones of some of the butterflies. Her final piece to this outfit... black combat boots embroidered with more butterflies. No heel, today, it seems... though she's still moving quietly.

"Come on, my treat." She tells Garrett as she leads the way inside, grinning.

Garrett does not even try to keep up with Dita on her Extra days. That doesn't mean he can't still have some extra pep in his step on account of spring. He's in tan khakis, brown leather shoes and an electric blue hoodie against the lingering early spring chill, happily letting Dita lead the way.

"Oh, well, if you insist." He must be in a good mood, not even putting up a token resistance to Dita's generosity today. He grins back, considering tables, then nodding towards one on the edge of the shop as getting his vote. "So, we have any other stuff we need to get done today?"

"I do insist." Dita tells Garrett with a smile, shrugging out of the faux fur and draping it over one of the chairs at the table Garrett's indicated, smiling. "I don't think so. Seventh floor's finishing touches are done, paperwork's handled to make it all nice and legal," only the faintest twitch of her expression, there, as Dita still isn't a fan of legality and red tape, "and demo's under way on the floors that need it, and repairs are done at Dr. Brennon's office after that explosion."

She starts heading toward the counter to order, glancing over one mostly bare shoulder with a wicked smile, "We've got the whole day to do whatever we like. Speaking of... what would you like?" she gestures toward the menu with a smile.

Garrett helps with the coat, as one does, making sure it doesn't make excessive contact with the floor as it's removed. "Look at you. An absolute pillar of the community," he says. There's a little teasing when Garrett says it, but mostly pride as what Dita has been putting together.

"A hardware store run might be in order. I may or may not have agreed to build a greenhouse," he tells Dita with a little shrug. But responsibilities are easily dismissed for the time being, given both the wicked grin and the consideration of breakfast. "Mm, my usual," he answers. Predictable creature, Garrett, with his green tea and your giant banana nut muffin.

Perdita orders Garrett's usual, and then, after a moment's consideration, a bagel and schmear for herself, along with a chocolate frappe. Yes, it's still chilly, but she is going to will the warmth here with her food choices.

"Oh, a greenhouse? Who for? Have you ever built one before?" she asks, bringing their orders to the table with a smile, then slipping into a seat across from Garrett. "I'm still thinking about turning the one side of the roof into a giant greenhouse and donating the excess veggies to the HOPE Center. Ravn's made me all... civic minded." a faux pout. She was already civic minded, he just made it worse.

"Dr. Brennon, under the condition she stop planting shit that doesnt belong in the woods, in the woods," Garrett answers. Has he built a greenhouse before? He snorts and shakes his head. "No, no I haven't. Gonna be leaning real hard on the internet for this one." But then he brightens a bit. "It'll be a good test run for doing the one on the roof. Or at least doing repairs on it in the future. Probably want a professional to do something of that size, I'd guess?" He smiles wider at the faux pout and its cause.

"... I may need to swing by Dr. Brennon's place with some brownies or something just to watch this madness happen." Dita tells Garrett with a grin, tilting her head slightly as she looks at him from across the table. "She was planting things in the woods? What sort of things? Illicit things or just... invasive species of flora?"

"As for getting a professional... I might see about contacting an architect, because I want it to... fit the period. I hate beautiful old buildings that get renovated with ridiculous updates that look entirely out of place, you know? One of my apartments when I was in San Fran was like that. Beautiful old building, but they gutted it and stripped it of all the charm inside, then slapped this Cubist mess on top for a penthouse." Indeed, most of the renovations inside have been to restore the building to its former glory while allowing for modern conveniences like safer wiring, rather than simply modernize it.

The fact that he's now putting on a show gets an amused eyeroll from Garrett. "Very, very non-native flora," he answers with a briefly stern look on his face. "Like.... extremely not-native." In case he hadn't driven the point home yet.

Hiring a professional does not seem to offend Garrett in the slightest, and he's nodding his agreement with the reasoning. "Yeah, no, that makes sense," he concurs, sipping his tea. "Now I'm picturing some, like, wrought-iron work of art," he admits, eyes half-closed. "Too extra?"

"... Oh. Like... Oh." Dita nods and pulls a face, getting exactly the kind of flora Garrett means. "The kind that might eat the fauna if given a chance." Dita murmurs, taking a sip of her frappe, before she starts smearing her schmear.

"Drágo, we live in the penthouse of a seven story Italianate building with marble walls in the lobby and marble Terrazo floors original to the building. It's about as extra as you can get in this town, short of buying the Addington's house or something." she grins, "I like your idea, though. Something wrought iron would be beautiful... and would keep the fairies from taking up residence in our garden." she says this deadpan. Because of course Gray Harbor has fairies.

"Yeah. That kind. I think I might go for a walk through where I ran into her just to make sure she hadn't already planted some before we crossed paths," Garrett says, nodding.

He lightens at how extra his suggestion really isn't, given the context, letting out a little laugh. "Okay, that's fair," he concedes. "And.... yeah, fringe benefits of iron," he agrees, slightly less cheerfully. "Probably need more professionals if repairs are needed, but hopefully that won't be often. Because, you know. Iron."

"Although... Apparently Ravn and his neighbors have managed to make it eternal summer in their back yard. That would be nice on the roof..." and negate the need for a greenhouse, but then they'd have fairies looking in all the windows all the time, and Tsinyorri would probably go bonkers with them.

"If you want company, I'm tentatively willing to go back into the woods... as long as we go during the day, with plenty of time to get back to the car before nightfall. I don't relish the idea of a repeat performance of Bayu Bayushki Bayu... or meeting the singer." Dita shivers, just a little.

Garrett can't help but be at least a little intrigued by an eternal summer roof.... "That would be nice..." he muses. But sighs and gives his head a shake, the same setbacks that ran through Dita's head probably running through his own.

"Daytime. Early. Agreed." He nods. It takes zero convincing. "Possibly with a flamethrower," he tacks on, only half joking. "I don't know how fast these things grow. Or, honestly, what they look like. I'm just going on a limb that I'll recognize them when I see them," he admits.

"... It would be... especially once we get the hot tub out there." Dita murmurs, her smile just a little sly, now. There's plenty of privacy up on the roof, after all. "Or even... eternal autumn would be nice. Just... cool enough that you want to sit at the fire pit and warm up, but not so cold that you need a coat." a soft sigh, and then she smiles, "Or we could just treasure the weather as we have it, I guess."

"Don't joke, I will bring a flamethrower. Smokey the Bear can eat my ass. I don't wanna start a forest fire but if it gets rid of whatever creepy shit is singing in the woods, a bitch might."

"Oh, now you're just being a tease," Garrett accuses, sticking his tongue out across the table. It is, though, delivered more as a compliment than anything, and he gives her foot a little nudge under the table with his own. "But yeah. it's not like the winters are super rough here," he points out. "I'd maybe be inclined not to try altering climate, even on a micro-scale." Stupid ecology person.

"How about just really sturdy gloves and an entire bucket of herbicide to drop anything we pull out into?" he suggests. "Not that I'm not keen on getting rid of less-than-ideal woods denizens, I'm just not convinced burning the woods down would do more than piss things off." Pause. "Or maybe amuse them. Honestly, seems like it could go either way."

The foot nudge is met with one in return, with Dita's combat booted foot sliding up Garrett's leg a little, playfully. "Good point. And a green house would be more than enough protection from the worst of it... with solid glass."

"Sounds like a plan. Maybe a machete for back up, too. Just in case." Dita doesn't quite frown, disguising it with a bite of bagel that somehow doesn't even slightly smudge her lipstick. "Because I'd rather not deal with burning the forest down. I feel like that might be against the rules for your job or something."

The return nudge is completely expected, but still brings a smile to Garrett's face. "Greenhouse it is, then," he agrees, giving a satisfied nod even as he moves his leg a little against Dita's foot, amusement dancing in his eyes over the edge of his cup.

"A machete is a perfectly reasonable thing to carry in the woods," he reasons. "So is a walking stick." That has been sharpened at one end, just in case. "Firefly forest is, technically, not my jurisdiction or responsibility, but I'd still feel pretty bad burning it down, yeah."

"I'm pretty sure it'd at least be a write up and a meeting with your boss with a promise not to burn down any other woodlands." Dita points out, trying not to smile. She doesn't quite manage. "Well, we'll swing by the hardware store, get the tools you need to build the greenhouse, and a machete or two, and see where we go from there?"

"Yeah, it wouldn't reflect well for future job prospects, either," Garrett agrees, laughing outright. Watching Dita try, and fail, to not smile probably contributes. "Yeah, that seems like a reasonable plan," he says, nodding. "Should go to her clinic and drag the doctor out with us," he grumbles as an afterthought.

"Let's not drag our paying tenants out into the creepy forest... even if they did blow out all the windows on three floors." Dita isn't grumbling, not really. She knows Ava didn't mean any harm, after all, and shouldn't have had that happen. "But it might not be a bad idea to pop in and ask if she managed to plant anything before you stopped her."

"...okay, that's fair," Garrett concedes, taking a bite of his muffin and considering. He washed it down with his tea before speaking again. "Yeah, that's probably better than just wandering aimlessly. Maybe she didn't plant anything and we won't have to go!" he offers up optimistically.

"We can talk to her, then. While I wouldn't mind spending an afternoon with you in the woods," and there's a surprising thing for Dita to say, "I would prefer if it wasn't those woods, sadly. Which is a shame, because they're pretty... when they're not literally trying to murder you."

"Not-these-woods is a reasonable request," Garrett says, offering a pleased smile. He will turn Dita into an outdoors person yet! "Speaking of woods, Jules asked if I wanted to go on a hike some time. You're obviously also invited," he tells her. "Olympic, not here," he clarifies.

"Jules..." A slight tilt of her head, and one can almost imagine Perdita opening a rolodex of people in her brain to find the relevant information. "She lives with Una, right? I haven't met her, yet, but I'd love to... provided the two of you don't mind an amateur slowing you down. If it's going to be one of those high speed experienced hiker trails, you'd better be prepared to have me on your back, Yoda style."

"...maybe? It didn't come up," Garrett says of roommates, giving a small shrug. "We mostly talked hiking and school stuff. She's going to school for Forestry, so..." So Garrett is a reasonable person to befriend.

The Yoda image gets a laugh, then an arched eyebrow. "If we're going with the Yoda comparison, shouldn't it be me, the comparative master in this specific scenario, being carried around?" he teases.

Garrett and Dita are situated at one of the tables along the edge of the room, with a luxurious faux fur coat on the chair behind Dita, her outfit a froth of layers of sheer fabric spread around her. "Well, one can never have too many friends in the field. Or... forest."

When Garrett points out that she should carry him, Perdita arches an eyebrow and tilts her head. "That would be manual labor, Drágo, I don't do that. I am small and delicate, after all." though she probably could carry Garrett fireman style if she had to... and she definitely does manual labor, even if she's careful to wear work gloves whenever she does.

"Yeah, can't hurt to have more nature nerd friends," Garrett agrees, nodding. He continues to pick at what's left of his muffin as Dita argues against manual labor, fondness and amusement both dancing in his eyes.

"Fine, I suppose you don't have to Yoda me through the woods." He gives in immediately, letting out a dramatically exaggerated sigh. A sip of tea is taken. "I can't imagine we're going to go too nuts on a first hike, anyways," he assures.

Is it spring yet? Because Robin doesn't seem to be feeling it. He's got a windbreaker on over a thick sweater, along with a knit cap that allows only a bit of his curly hair to peek out over his forehead and at the nape of his neck. At least he hasn't busted out the heavy mittens... He pauses only a moment in the doorway to take in the unfamiliar scenery (pausing only a moment on Garret and Perdita), then starts toward the counter to place an order.

"Good, because I would twist an ankle and we'd both go over the side of an inexplicably inconvenient cliff, and frankly, I don't think your Goofy yell would pass muster for a moment that dramatic." Perdita smirks across the table at Garrett, tilting her head slightly, before she takes a long drink of her frappe. Robin gets a once over, the slightest quirk of a brow, then a friendly smile, before she turns her attention back to Garrett. "But yes. You deserve to be out in nature as much as you like... and I'll try to learn to appreciate it."

"Just bad news all around," Garrett agrees of the inevitable disaster, returning the smirk. And then following her gaze to the newest arrival. A small, polite nod is offered to Robin, then he's looking across the table again. "I appreciate the effort," he says sincerely. "I suppose I could try and keep up with you when you're getting all done up, balance things out a little," he muses.

Robin returns friendly smiles in turn. At the counter, he orders a flat white, pays the barista, then lingers near the counter for a bit, taking in the decor with some interest. Once his order is ready, he picks it up at the counter and carries it over to an empty table, where he settles in with his back to the wall, where he can sip his coffee and people-watch.

"I don't think you'd look good in any of my outfits, though." Dita points out, tilting her head to one side slightly to look Garrett over, before shaking her head. "Besides, you'd break a leg in the heels." she teases, "You dress how you enjoy dressing. While I wouldn't mind seeing you in a suit sometime, not everyone can wear all... this." she gestures at her outfit with a shrug, "I'd rather you stay comfortable and true to yourself. Honoring your own truth is important..."

Her eyes move back to Robin, and she tilts her head slightly, before pitching her voice a little louder, to indicate she's not talking to her companion, "New to town? Has anyone given you the spiel, yet?" She definitely Glimmers, as does her companion, and she can see the 'glitter' on him.

"Oh, I don't know, I bet I could pull off some of your looks," Garrett argues, sticking a leg out the side of the table, pointing his toe, making a show of checking out his own leg. He looks slightly more serious when a suit is mentioned, and nods. "I'm sure we can find a reason for me to get suited up," he assures. But doesn't go further than that.

Then Dita is addressing the newcomer, and Garrett looks that way. He doesn't actually say anything, but does offer a friendly smile to the stranger.

It's hard /not/ to overhear Perdita and Garrett's conversation, and Robin's gaze eventually wanders to the latter to catch him checking out his own leg. When Perdita calls over, he's caught at his momentary eavesdrop, and gives a slightly abashed, crooked grin. "There's a spiel?" he asks, by way of answering. "I haven't heard it, as far as I know."

"Garrett, if I catch you trying on my stilettos I'm going to be cross. Don't stretch my Jimmy Choos." Dita's grinning, though, and includes Robin in it. "Unfortunately, there is. You seem... sparkly. Like us." she gestures to herself and Garrett, the gesture fluid and encompassing all of them.

"Just... be careful. There are things here that aren't... elsewhere. Especially in the sewers... and the forest... and empty rooms that haven't seen much use?" she glances to Garrett, tilting her head slightly, as if trying to decide if she's forgetting any places. "Oh. Basements... Some friends and I got dragged down the street by goblins pretending to be kids at Halloween." yeah, no, don't bother easing him into it, Dita, this is fine, terrify the new folks, or make them think you're insane if they haven't encountered this shit before.

"Shoes are off limits, stockings are fair game. Got it," Garrett says, nodding, trying and largely failing not to smile. His attention is quickly turned to Robin, though.

"Yeah, there's a spiel, and you'd know if you heard if," Garrett confirms. And then Dita gives said spiel, and at no point does Garrett give any indication she might be messing with him. "...yeah, that actually sums it up pretty well," he says. "Avoid the sawmill, too," he offers up. "It's allegedly fine these days, but..." He trails off, shrugging.

Robin blinks rapidly at Perdita and slowly sips at his coffee (which is mostly milk, but hey). There's no indication whether he's reacting well or poorly to this information. After a moment, he gives a little clearing of his throat, and remarks, "Don't climb down sewers, wander into the forest, or invade people's basements. Got it." His lifts his cup in a dry toast, and glances between the pair, thoughtful for a moment, before he sets his coffee down. "The... sparkle. That's related to the Shadows, isn't it." It doesn't have the tone of a question, but he looks to the two for confirmation, since Perdita has set them up as the local experts.

Dita looks like she wants to make a comment to Garrett, but is actually making an effort to remember her surroundings, for a change... though she doesn't tell him no, either. "Oh, and the Carousel and apparently the pond where we went skating is super fucking haunted." Dita tells Garrett, with a little shrug. She's very blasé about this.

"It's how I experience... the weirdness around us. When I see people that can do things, it's like you did an arts and crafts project and got glitter on your skin... but... Shadows?" she looks curious, now, wondering if this new guy knows some strange new thing they don't know.

"...fucking rusulka," Garrett grumbles at the pond being haunted, shaking his head. Honestly, they are both entirely to matter-of-fact about all of this. He looks back to Robin.

"Well it sounds ridiculous when you say it like that," he says. "...not just other people's basements. They're not picky. Basement is a basement." He tilts his head. Shadows? "...don't know I've heard that before, but probably."

Robin glances between Garrett and Perdita, like he can't quite tell if they're serious or playing some sort of prank. "Just testing," he claims and drains his coffee, leaving the empty cup on the table. "You know, you should start some ghost tours. Get some tourism going."

"... don't joke. Baba Y'ga is real." Dita eyes Garrett, one hand going up to touch the unicorn pendant dangling from a gold chain. She knows. She's met her, gave the Witch of the Woods a lovely pair of opera glasses for her troubles. If she's pulling anyone's leg, she's got an amazing poker face. Dita also says the old woman's name like a proper Slavic girl, with a touch of fear and reverence, both. "... don't know if she still has the hut. Last I saw, she was hanging with a goat."

"If I wasn't so busy already, that would be a great side hustle, actually." Dita tells Robin, looking a little contemplative, now. "Oh. I'm Perdita, and this is Garrett."

"I wasn't joking! I wouldn't be surprised if there were rusalka in that bloody pond," Garrett grumbles, sipping his tea. Ghost tours get a heads hake. "Can you imagine the insurance costs when people start vanishing on the tours?"

Back to Robin, a polite nod is given. "Nice to meet you. We're not nuts, I promise."

Robin smirks at Garrett, then Perdita. "Robin," he offers in kind. "Nice to meet you. I mean, either we're all nuts or none of us are. But I don't believe in ghosts." He pulls out his wallet and digs through it for a moment or two, then produces two business cards. They have a certain homemade look, like someone designed them in Word and printed them at the library. In bold letters, each card declares, 'ROBIN LANE' and just underneath, in slightly smaller font, 'Finder,' followed by contact information. "If you ever lose something, give me a call. Nothing with legs, please."

"No, sadly, it's the ghosts of murdered people." Dita says, her expression a little more serious. "... point. Insurance rates are already high enough with 'gas leaks'." All that original glass needing to be replaced cost a pretty penny, too. But at least it was covered, and now those floors have custom double paned glass that mimics the look of the original but lowers the heating bill.

Perdita accepts Robin's card and smiles, tucking it into a pocket on her bag, then produces one of her own, handing it over. The card Reads 'Shanamarie Johnson, Gallery Manor Realty' and has a photo of a pretty-plain white woman with an 'I want to speak to the manager' haircut, and an EEOC logo in the corner... and Dita seems to realize what she's done, laughs, and rummages. "Sorry, that's the lady who sold me my home. Trade me?" she has another card, this one with 'Perdita Leontes, Bauer Office Building' and two phone numbers, one for emergencies in off hours.

Oh, are we being proper grown up? Garrett pulls out his wallet, and then a card that's offered over to Robin. It was definitely designed, approved, and issued to him by the National Park Service, identifying him as Garrett Marcus, a park ranger at Olympic National Park.

"Nothing with legs? Perfect. See, my pet snake just escaped...." He trails off, grinning. Definitely a joke.

Robin stares at the Shanamarie business card, nonplussed, until it's replaced with one that seems a little more appropriate. "I see. Shanamarie, that's an interesting name." He takes Garrett's business card as well, and rummages in his pocket for a tiny stub of a pencil. A quick note is made on both cards, before he tucks them away in his wallet. He glances up at Garrett, dubiously, only to give a little grin and roll of his eyes as he catches the joke. "Listen. I just about caught hypothermia trying to find some old lady's cat. So until you can change the weather, nothing that moves on its own."

"... That was bad and you should feel bad." Dita tells Garrett, though she's smiling. She takes another bite of her bagel as she adjusts the inside of her purse to make sure that particular flub doesn't happen again.

"She's an interesting lady, it suits her." Dita tells Robin, though the way she says 'interesting' makes it almost sound like an understatement. "Sadly, I've yet to develop the ability to change the weather. Seems like a lot of responsibility, though. I'll stick with pushing things."

"I don't. Not even a little," Garrett responds, looking entirely too pleased with himself over his stupid joke. Then gives Dita a contemplative look. "I bet you could pull off a Storm look for Halloween if you wanted, though," he muses.

"...it wasn't stuck up a tree, was it? That's the first place to look," Garrett says, as of this is sage, secret advice he's offering.

Robin levels a dry look at Garrett. "You know what? /That's/ where I forgot to look. The trees. I'll remember that next time." He laughs quietly and reaches for his empty cup. "I ought to be going, but it's been really nice meeting both of you." He offers his hand to each for a shake, as he stands. "And thanks for the warnings."

Garrett gets a look back from Dita, eyebrow raised, but doesn't comment further on his cosplay request, smiling at Robin, "Nice to meet you, as well. If you ever need office space, check out the Bauer Building, I'll give you a good rate." she shakes his hand. Hers are soft, perfectly manicured, her nails long and currently painted rose gold... and the tourmaline and diamond ring on her middle finger looks like it's worth a small fortune, if it's real.

"Be careful out there, okay?"

Handshake is given, Garrett's hand about as opposite to Dita's as possible, being calloused and nails filed as short as he can manage. "It's a nice place and getting nicer," he adds in of the Bauer Building. "Nice meeting you, Robin. Take care." Another polite, sincere nod and smile, then his focus is shifting back to Dita. "Didn't like the Storm idea? Was just a thought."

Robin's hand is more akin to Garrett's than Dita, with callouses from some sort of mechanical work. Amusement turns one side of his mouth up at Dita's suggestion, and he shakes his head a little. "I have a feeling that's above my pay grade. But if it ever comes up, I've got your card. And... you too. Have a good rest of your day." And then he's off to put up his mug, wherever it's intended to go, and takes himself out.

Once Robin has left, Perdita turns back to Garrett, quirking a brow in amusement, "No, I was wondering if you'd been peeking in my closet, again." she murmurs, tilting her head to one side with another of those wicked little smiles.

Oh.

"I am partial to surprises, so do little to no snooping in your closet," Garrett informs Dita, but now can't help but be intrigued. "I take it I'm not the first person to pitch the idea to you?" He sighs dramatically. "I'll come up with an original idea eventually," he 'warns', though the wicked smile has himn swallow heavily and give a much more intrigued look.

"Oh, no... you are." Dita smiles, "I just... may have dabbled in cosplay." Because Perdita is a nerd, after all. Not a major nerd, but a nerd.

"I haven't shown you the Wonder Woman cosplay, have I?"

"Oh, well. Good for me." Garrett sits up a little straighter and grins before shaking his head. "No, I'm pretty sure I'd remember if you had. I feel like a lasso of truth would've been involved at some point," he reasons, winking.

"... Later." Perdita promises, with another of those wicked smiles. She finishes the last bite of her bagel and tilts her head. "Ready to go get your tools for your project for Dr. Brennon?" she asks, arching a brow.

"Later," Garrett agrees, nodding. "Yeah, should probably get to errands," he adds, finishing his tea. "Think she'll see the humor in a tabletop greenhouse?" he asks, clearly joking, as he rises and moves towards, the behind, Dita, getting her coat for her.

Dita slips into the coat with a smile, cleaning up their table quickly and efficiently. She probably had at least one or two grifts as a waitress, after all. "I feel like she might... or she might hate you forever if you do that." Perdita tells him with a grin.

"You're just saying that because you want to see me getting all sweaty building a greenhouse," Garrett accuses, tone playful. "Definitely not to help me stay away from the coroner's bad side." He helps grab anything still on the table before heading for the door. "Shall we?"

"Staying on the coroner's good side seems like an excellent idea, in my experience." Perdita points out, "Never mess with the ones who determine if there was a murder." she takes Garrett's arm, letting him lead the way out of Espresso Yourself and out into the larger world once more.