2009-10-16: Misplaced

Starring:

Eric_V4icon.pngGillian_V4icon.png

Date: October 16, 2009

Summary:

Two different people meet up in a museum in the midst of misplaced shadows.


"Misplaced"

National History Museum

The Museam of History. Late in the day, not quite closing time yet though. Not quite but most people have cleared out already. Most but not all…

In one of the exibit halls, staring up at a few large skeletal remains of dinosaurs is a young man with close cropped hair and his arms crossed over his chest. The cloasing shadows don't seem to bother him in the least, infact he welcomes them. They happen to be old friends of Eric Lancaster they do…

The floors of the museam carry sound rather well, echoing shoes and footsteps as people mill about. Especially when there are few feet. Still there's nothing that gives warning before the voice that sounds behind him. No footsteps, no clicking of heels, no running of clothes… "Scary when you think how Godzilla is bigger than these guys. No wonder the Japanese dudes always keep running away." The voice is raspy and whispered.

The young woman standing nearby is of a comparable age, with easily visible dimples on her cheeks as she smiles, dark hair and eyes, and fashionable clothes. Minus a coat and a purse both. The high heels might make it difficult to believe she managed such stealth in her approach.

And she doesn't have a shadow.

"Yeah but the neat thing about thease guys is the fact that they actually existed," Eric's voice is slightly rougher than it used to sound as he turns towards the voice behind him. A smile crosses his face, little of the embarassment or hesitation that used to be there. Now more confidence, but still an easy enough smile towards the strange woman standing there. For just a moment it seemed that his eyes were silver, but naw. Thats just a trick of the light isn't it?

"Quiet one arn't you?" He asks as he turns to half-turn towards the woman. His arms still crossed as he glances up and down the woman for a moment, a slight start as he notices something. Distrubing. He doesn't feel a shadow from the woman.

…thats…not normal.

"I didn't think anyone else would be here this late." He adds after a moment.

"But it'd be scary if it were real, right?" Gillian says, shrugging her shoulders visibly and then stepping forward again. There's still no sound, for which she remarks, "Special shoes." Even if they look like run of the mill high heels from first glance. With sisters and women in the family who love shoes, it's easy to guess that they'd be the more expensive kind by appearances.

"Nothing else to do right now, so figured I'd see what's all going on. Not much changes here, though." She glances up at the bones, tilting her head to the side. There's visible shadows on her face, but something about them doesn't seem right. Like they're cosmetic.

"Lots of things could be scary, if they were real," Eric replies with a flash of a grin towards the other. He doesn't seem to be bothered by her stepping towards him either, or her being just so very very quiet. However he listens for something, breathing, the rustle of clothes the subtle movements that everyone makes when simply standing around. "Nice special shoes." He adds after a moment as he turns to offer a nod towards the figure.

"No, not much changes here. Guess thats why I like it a bit sometimes," He replies as dark eyes turn again towards the bones with a slight flash of a highly amused grin at something or other he said. Then those expressive eyes flicker back towards the woman, and just on a whim, on a hunch he reaches out. Just to see something, to see if that shadow across her face will move a fraction of an inch…if he can grab and manuiplate it like he can the others. If its a normal shadow…well she won't notice the flicker…

…but if its not…thats something alltogether more intresting.

The shadow doesn't shift, almost as if there's nothing there to grasp at at all. It's also cosmetically off. Anyone who understands shadows and prespective would see after a few moments that it's not sitting exactly as it should. It shifts when her eyes lower and settle on him instead of the dinosaur bones, but it's still off. Like the lighting in the room is even dimmer than it should be, or it's coming from a slightly different angle.

"Yeah, getting used to everything around here is nice," Gillian admits, focusing her eyes back on him and watching him curiously for a moment. "It's not like the grocery store getting rearranged every few months and going 'where the fuck did you put my ramen noodles?'"

Curiouser and Curiouser.

Oh Eric understands shadows very well, and by nature of that perspective as well. He just watches her for a moment with a slow smile growing on his features before he chuckles softly and shakes his head. "I havn't been back in town in awhile so I thought it nice to come here first. See someplace that hasn't changed much before finding out just what /has/." He admits with a quiet tone.

"Yeah," Eric agrees with a fast laugh towards the woman as he finally ends up turning fully towards her. "Exactly like that." A pause again before he reaches out a hand towards her, a silvery scar marks the back of that hand but its small enough to miss in the dark. "Name is Eric by the way."

"I've never really left the area so I don't know how it'd feel to be gone that long and come back and find everything's changed," the young woman admits, that smile staying on her face, making dimples in her cheeks. But his offered hand gets a look, there's visible hesitation, and then a hoarse laugh. Like she thinks it's silly to be hesitating. Or finds shaking hands to be silly. "I'm Gillian," she says, taking in a breath and reaching forward to take his hand. Or that's how it looks. But then there's nothing there. Her hand goes right through his.

There's a frustrated sound that follows and she pulls back quickly, likely expecting him to not have noticed. Most people probably wouldn't. "I should get going. This place is about to close." And then she turns and starts to move away. Rather quietly again.

Now if Eric hadn't seen what he's seen, hadn't done what he's done, or couldn't do what he can do…well…that would freek him the hell out that would. Alright. Fine. That /does/ freak him the hell out just a little bit. Twitch. Twitch. Then he shakes his head lightly as if to clear it.

"Projection is it?"

The voice is quiet, tinged with even parts amusement and curiousity. Not quite fear though, nope not that. "Place is about to close though, but time enough to get out I supose." Pause. "Nice to meet you though Gillian."

That makes her stop. There's not enough people around for this to be an issue. There's almost no sign of movement from her and she's suddenly standing right in front of him again. "What do you know about it?" Gillian asks, voice raspy but distinct. "Do you know someone else like me?" She twists around enough to look and make sure that no one's walking up, but they have the place mostly to themselves. No doubt soon a security guard will wander up and try to talk to shoo them toward the exit, but for the moment.

A hand even raises up near his face, pointing at him. It seems she wants answers. "Everyone else is just 'oh, you're running off' or 'do I have smelly hands' or whatever. But you…" Point.

"Well not exactly like you," Eric says with a shrug, hands still in his pockets as he watches the woman. Though he /does/ step back a half-pace from the sudden appearance of the woman right next to him. "And what do you mean what do I kknow about it?" A pause. "You havn't met anyone else like you then?" He adds with a raised eyebrow. Yes. The place to themselves is just fine.

"Yes. Me…well the shadows on your face were wrong so I thought that it might just be something a bit off…you /just/ confirmed it for me."

"The shadows on my face were wrong?" Gillian asks, stepping back a few steps. They look like steps anyway. There's a light touching on her face, then she lets the hand drop. "No, I haven't met anyone who's like me. Special unique little snowflake and all that." There's sarcasm in the way she says that. "How do you know about shadows on my face?"

"Well…" Eric drawls out with a slight shrug. "I'm good with shadows." He adds lightly as he makes a shrug of one shoulder and the shadows around the man pinwheel around him for just a moment before stilling once more. "Call it a hidden talent. See though, thats it…your letting light hit your face there when there shouldn't be any light…" Pausing a moment the millionare tilts his head to one side as he regards her curiously. Studing her. "Unique little snowflake is it?"

"No one except you would even notice that, would they?" Gillian asks, looking a little frustrated for a moment. It doesn't last too long, because she straightens and looks at him. "You called me a projection, right? I honestly never knew what to call it, so that works. But I hope you keep these kinda talents hidden and all that, cause I like being able to walk in and out of places without paying." Cause museams cost money, and so do movies, and if she can skip that part and still enjoy it, more fun for her. "Nice meeting you too, by the way," she says, before backing away again.

"First thing I thought of," Eric confesses towards the woman with a flash of a smile towards her. "And yes, I'm pretty good at keeping things hidden. Its what I do best." He adds with a flash of a smile. "Nice meeting you too Gillian. Maybe we'll bump into each other some other time eh? And no, I don't think I'll tell about yours if you won't tell about mine." He adds with a flash of a smile towards the woman as he just watches her leave. "…but yeah…I'll see you around…"

"Bumping would be a bit difficult, but I might see you later," Gillian says, raising a hand as she turns in a kind of a wave, glancing down the hall and then… suddenly she's not there anymore. Then again, as far as shadows and light had been concerned, she'd not really been there at all.

"…one night back and you meet the most interesting people…but…guess I'll have to be going too…" Eric replies with a slight shrug of his shoulders as he watches the projection of the woman dissipear. A smirk comes to his face, an amused one. "Home Jeeves!" He says softly as his own little personal joke…

And the shadows swirl around him and when they vanish…so does Eric.

No mess for the nightwatchman to even worry about!

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