2007-09-23: A Pirate's Booty

Starring:

McAlister_icon.gif Cass_icon.gif

Summary:

Ali drops in on Cass to give her some presents after the Pirate Rave. Hence the booty. Ye of dirty minds.

September 23rd, 2007:

A Pirate's Booty


Bat Country Labs

Sometimes, there shouldn't /be/ explanations for things. It detracts from the sheer oddity of the moment.

For instance, when the door to the labs bangs open and admits a certain Midnight DJ with a wide grin and a bounce in her step? Not a spot of timidity there, no - that's /something/. But have her wearing a giant foam unspecified "number one" hand? That's another. Add in the pirate hat (with /very/ bedraggled feathers - and normal street clothes! Honest!) and not one but /two/ shoulder bags? Well.

Either she had a run-in with a vintage store, or the Yanks are playing the Pirates in an epic duel to the death over macrome handbags. Something.

But Ali's not stopped by paltry things like fashion - or the door. Instead, she's bawling, without even really looking, "Hey, Cass! Are you home? Er. Here? Home? Whatever?"

If the door opens, it certainly means that Cass is here. She's actually in the actual lab part of Bat Country instead of the main room. The door is open to the main room, so she hears Ali calling out. Actually wearing a lab coat over her jeans and button down shirt, she's looking at something in the microscope, frowning. And jotting down notes on a pad of paper next to it. As soon as she hears Ali, however, she straightens and makes for the door. "Ali?" Then, seeing her, she looks confused. And then concerned. "Are you okay?" Minus the feathers and pirate hat.

"Probably not. Who is? I mean, when you get down to it." Ali grins, and heads for the couch, starting to divest herself of /accoutremont/. "Erin's probably going to kill me - and I wish that didn't have at least /sort/ of a ring of literal in it. And I was at the library last week - so this thing sort of hit me and then I started reading and I thought of /you/, which is par for the course, probably, and.." A pause.

She clears her throat. "I'm kinda babbling, aren't I."

"Sort of. But that's okay." Cass is used to babbling. She does it herself when she's confused and doesn't know what to say. "Erin? Who is Erin? And what exactly is it that you were reading that made you think of me?" Following the woman to the couch, she makes sure to not step on any of the feathers or pirate hat on her way there. Dropping onto it on the other side, she watches Ali and then gets up to go get some tissues for her.

"Well, I got to thinking - " Ali grins - "And trust me, this is probably gonna be more than a /little/ rediculous sounding - and you've probably looked at it before. But. Here's the thing - there's people who can do really amazing things, right? So.. where did it start? Have we always been around, or is it just kinda a new /thing/?"

Ali idly fishes in her usual bag, the other left to the side, coming up with.. a rather large and thick envelope. Offering it. "Here, by the way."

And then she goes on, "So if we were always here, right? There'd have to be /something/. Science is just the newest religion, kinda. So I started to go back - I remembered what my comparitive religions professor went on about, and dug pretty far into the mythological."

It's an interesting question, to be sure. Cass gives a bit of a smile and holds out the box of tissues for Ali. "It's not ridiculous at all. I think it makes sense. If this is a mutation in our genes that has been passed down through children, it had to start somewhere. And with the amount of people who have it now, well, it has to have started quite far back." Looking at the envelope, she takes it from Ali. "Oh, wow, what is this?" Starting to open up the envelope, she continues. "And one of my employees was actually trying to think things through that way. She was taking it more from the fairy tale angle. I should actually get back into that thought. See what it may be able to dig up."

"Mostly it's pretty simple stuff - " Ali drops on the couch, doing more rummaging, this time in the /other/ bag. "I mean, take Hercules and strip away the mythological exaggerations, and you've got a /really strong guy/. Or take Achillies, and.. well. Who knows, right? But Orpheus's journey may not have been symbolic - but what got me, and why I kept digging? It's in every culture. Anasazi or Raven's Son all the way over to the persian stories of Sorcerers and men whose magic was all in themselves - "

Ali's just babbling, the jersey accent somehow out of place. "But - okay. You can even go back to ancient Sumer. Enki and the /me/ - it's all part of the same dance, right? I kinda identify with him - " Wryly - "He told people what to do, you see - and they did it. Of course, the creepy bit is when you realize they /needed/ him to do it."

Then envelope.. is rather stuffed with cash. Small bills, mostly - fives, tens - and Ali adds, almost absently, "half the take from the Rave. I told people it was for a good cause - the other half went to the United Way, you know? But - with everything you're doin' for me, it seemed like the least I could do. And I know I don't have a lot of cash, and I figured this place has got to be expensive, right?"

"The problem with myths and fairy tales is there no way to guess and check." It's not like archeology where they can know they existed. Or have artifacts to garner clues from. "I mean, I think a lot of myth is symbolism and cautionary tales to model ourselves after. However, seeing proof of some of what you can do…well, that could mean that everything has a bit of fact involved in it. It brings everything to a whole new ballgame." Maybe she should go through that short mythology and fairy tale section she has in the store again. See what she can find. As she finally opens the envelope, the lab rat blinks, stunned. "Ali." She's not even sure what to say. "Wow. I'm…I can't take this! This is from your rave! And I don't really need the money. I'd feel better knowing it was donated to a cause that could really use it." She blushes. "I mean, thank you, honestly, for thinking for me. But you don't need to pay me back for anything."

"It's not paying back." Ali's firm - serious - "It's paying /for/. Look - Cass - you're my friend. I hope." A pause, but she shrugs that off, and goes on. "I don't have a lot of those. So sitting around? Talking? That's what friends do."

A pause - and she looks up - taking a moment to watch Cass as she sets a few books down, then, with a shrug, dumps the bag out on the couch. Books. A good dozen. "I did the rave to help, right? And if it's just pizza money for a while, that's helping a little. It's going to sound really stupid, I know. But - it's just money. I'm not much help otherwise, and I wish I were - you're giving me my life back, one piece at a time. So. Just …" She breaks off, with a faint frown, rephrases, rarer these days - "Let me help a little? Please?"

It's not like the Lab really needs the money with their funding. And Cass feels a little bad for taking Ali's money when she's really happy to help her for free. "No, I am your friend. That's why I feel weird taking the money," she smiles sheepishly. "I mean, I'm grateful that you want to help. But I don't want you to think you have to pay me to keep coming around here." Flipping the lip of the envelope closed again, she sets it down into her lap for now. That will be her answer for the moment. "I also…I can't promise you anything, Ali. I really wish I could and I'm going to do my best to help you take control of your abilities, but this is all experimental. At the very least I'm going to be a friend that will listen to you."

"I'll take it." Ali flashes a warm, bright smile. "And I'd probably come around here anyway - but maybe that's enough that you can.. oh, hell. I don't know. BUy a microscope. What do they go for these days anyway?" The books are neatly stacked, and the bag folded and draped over the couch. "You've already helped, you know. Anyway - I didn't mean to keep you from, you know, whatever - and I have work." She moves to stand - "I called your friend - Mr. Gomez? There's.. somebody I know who needs your help. More than me - for a lot of reasons. I'll even step aside if you only have so much space, you know?"

Watching the pile of books with a curious glance, Cass starts to look at the spines and helps Ali stack them up. "Wow, are these for me too?" Ali came bearing many gifts. "You're going to spoil me." There's a bit of a grin and Cass stands, scoping up the envelope so it doesn't fall to the ground as well as keeping the topmost book. "No, it's fine. I was just looking at some samples in the lab. "Oh, microscopes? They start about nine-hundred for a good lab one." They're not the fifth grade science set microscopes, that' for sure. "Oh? Well. Tell her to come see me. I'm thinking of getting some help here, anyway. So it's not just me, you know?" There's a smile. "I'm glad I've helped. Hopefully I'll help you more. And next time you come, it'll actually be for a session. Or for pizza or something. I'm fine with either."

"Maybe both." Ali smiles, reaching up to tuck hair behind her ear - the books are mythological studies, fairly standard texts for perhaps four cultures. "Those are sort of a mutual gift. I saw the library, and thought, well - if I'm gonna /read/, might as well have a place, and it was worth it, right? My little bit of the rave went that way." She picks up her own bag. "I.. gotta get to work I'll tell her. And hey - I work for pizza and beer. Just to say it."

"You're welcome to read them here or at the store," Cass tells Ali warmly. Placing both the envelope and the book back down on the couch, she moves to walk Ali back to the door. "I'm fine with both. Thanks for stopping by, Ali. Maybe we'll try working with pizza and beer." She doesn't exactly run the most serious lab ever. Of course, even that's a little outside of her practices.

"Well - I figure testing the effects of beer on conversational skills is a good start, right?" A wink. "In large quantities." Ali tugs the door open - apparently she wasn't kidding about that whole /work/ thing. But she does pause, just there on the threshold. "Thanks for everything, Cass - and yeah. A session or something, soon. It'd be nice." A quick flash of a smile - a deep breath taken as though she'd say something more.. but she doesn't. Instead, she, well.. just starts down the hall, shouldering her customary bag again.

"We can test how recreational alcohol use affects your ability," Cass shoots back a grin. Never in doubt about the work thing, she keeps the door open for Ali long enough for her to step outside. Tilting her head a little, she waits for Ali to add what she seems to want to, but then the other woman's turned away down the hallway. "I'll see you soon, Ali." She watches her walk away for a bit before moving back to the couch to scoop up the books left behind and head back to the lab.

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