sometimes it isn't what you know

[10_20_15_5_50]

Who: Evangeline, Zeran, Amon, and Sam.
What: Today's trash-witch introduces one of her extremely inquisitive friends, and her most responsible friend, to one of her newer friends... who happens to be a centuries-old vampire.
Where: Tombstone, AZ.
Warnings: Shitposting senior Granny Stevens, Sam's potty mouth.

“Take me to Tombstone,” Sam had said; she'd phoned Zeran, to grin to herself over his insatiable curiousity. “There's someone I want you to meet. Someone you would want to meet, if I told you anything more about her---though, maybe you already want to meet her, to see why I want you to meet her. I'm not going to tell you much more about this fairly recently made friend, but I will tell you I'm up for wherever you want to stay, wherever you want to go while we're in town, cause the last time I was there was also the first time I was there, and I was only tooling around for one day and one night. Not cause I was up to anything sketchy, but cause I'd bussed over from Pheonix after coming down for a concert. If Amon's overheard this call, you can tell him to be cool and not worry.”

'Take me to Tombstone,' had sort of been the start of it. The next part might've made a good montage; an airport reunion, some time traveling together, reaching their hotel---unsurprisingly, a nice one---unloading, having a bit of a break in a convenient cafe, and then moving along to Curated Curiousities. Twenty-four thousand square feet of bafflements, oddities, and freaks of nature, complemented by some pretty weird postcards and an institutional motto, if it could be called that, of 'WHY THOUGH'

The museum's contents would speak for themselves, but Sam was too excited to keep her opinion to herself, declaring “This place is great. C'mon!”

Comments

[socrowdedinhere]

Zeran was certainly eager. He was always happy to meet someone a friend recommended, but when it came to Sam he could almost guarantee the person was going to be... interesting. The museum was already kinda great, it was weird and wonderful and he couldn't agree more with Sam.

Amon, on the other hand, was not reassured at all when Sam had said to "be cool and not worry" because that told him he should worry, and this did not please him one bit. The museum was strange, but not the unsettling sort of strange, which had him particularly concerned about the sort of person was so eager for Zeran to meet. And him of course, but it was clear Zeran was her target audience, so to speak, for this introduction.

To be fair, the worry he had wasn't for safety at all, not really, he knew Sam wouldn't do anything that would harm Zeran, but more for the nature of the person, and more for his own... sanity than anything. He had a feeling magic or supernatural was going to be the theme of the day, and this made him completely uneasy...

[10_20_15_5_50]

There was a lot to see in the museum. Big-ass snakes, a hydra presumably resulting from some skillful taxidermy meeting a surplus of big-ass snakes, a record of strange rains with samples---small fish, mostly, but also frogs and seashells---strung up under glass. Man-made platypi, many of them endearingly awful, one certainly the gonkiest, wall-eyed aberration. A massive chunk of pyrite, fossils, geodes. Pamphlets, newspaper articles, and personal correspondence describing a comprehensive series of odd events; hauntings, vanishings, a singular talking mongoose, an electro-magnetic girl, the man who would not be burnt, blue Fugates, the Fox sisters, Marie-Julie Jahenny, Wild Peter, headless chickens both surviving and spectral, crisis apparitions, inexplicably oversized skeletons, unexplained caches of tiny tools, pteradactyls staggering out of caves on either side of an ocean, and, of course, the Kentucky Meat Rain making for a fraction of the material. Other items were more substantial; a glass-bottomed boat mounted on a unique apparatus; the mushroom cabinet, with its doors chained to open only so far and no further; a 'mechanical patriot,' which arguably resembled George Washington, if George Washington had escaped an imagineer's frightening fever-dream.

“There. The woman in the brown gown.” Sam jerked her head to indicate, smiling, but watching Amon. She wasn't sure if he'd be scanning someone because she said they were interesting, but she was sure he'd note some interesting details upon studying Eva. The other woman's aura had some very interesting details, (emotions? present! alive? not really, no, not with the 'health' indicators just... entirely absent) but there was no telling what would be between 'wait' and 'no. really???' tonight. “She's the one you just gotta say hey to.”

[socrowdedinhere]

Zeran was charmed by the museum, and Amon... didn't want to admit that he really didn't understand the appeal of some of it. The news stories he found interesting, especially when he found a few were confirmed anomalies, or at least assumed to be true and as of yet unexplained. Some of the things though were just a sort of odd that he didn't understand. Not that it mattered much, they were here for odd apparently.

Amon looked at the woman Sam indicated, and of course he scanned her. His expression remained blank, almost unnervingly so, but if he still had his LED it'd be swirling red as he very quickly noted this woman had no vital signs and had a body temperature lower than should be possible considering both the ambient temperature and the gown she wore.

"Yeah?" Zeran looked, finding the lady easily. "Alright," he said as he started to take a step that way only to have Amon catch his shoulder. He stopped, looking at his partner, noting the blank, yet intense stare. He smiled and patted Amon's hand. "Relax. Whatever you're reading, it's going to be fine. You know Sam wouldn't do anything to put us in harm's way."

Amon's mask broke at that, expression creasing into an unsettled frown as he let his hand drop and turned his gaze away with a relenting nod. "I know." That didn't mean he had to like what she did point their way at times.

Zeran gave Amon's shoulder a squeeze this time, trying to reassure him, and now extremely curious as to what has Amon so unsettled by simply looking at someone. He turns again, glancing Sam a quick grin before moving to approach this costumed woman with a charming grin.

"Hello, ma'am. A friend of mine said I should come say hi to you. Name's Zeran." And with the introduction, he offered his hand for a shake... or to play along with her costumed appearance and give her knuckles a kiss while giving her a shallow bow... it would really depend on how firmly she took his hand and how quickly (or not) she retracted her hand from his grip really.

[bloodbatsandbeyond]

Evangeline Stevens was where she could often be found today: milling about Curated Curiosities to provide entertainment and education to the guests of that fine, weird establishment. She wore one of her favourite afternoon gowns and, per usual, relished in the ability to stubbornly keep the fashions from her past. There wasn't really a functional doorbell this week since a cactus cat decided to get uppity about the quality of brew served on the porch, so Eva missed the entry of some new guests entirely. She was minorly startled when a group came into view, but resisted the urge to hiss in surprise admirably. It wasn't as though she minded, though! Eva was ever a social one.

"Delighted, sir!" She gave a warm, closed smile and shook the proffered hand with the delicacy of a Southern belle. "And may I comment on your name? It's delightful and unique, and I must insist you sign the guestbook. But who's the friend--Ah! Sam! Get over here, you."

[10_20_15_5_50]

There were a lot of things Sam enjoyed, as Zeran's friend, but his gameness to just go in a situation was up there (alongside his clear trust in her). Watching him close with Eva and strike up a conversation as readily as he did made her smile, but didn't distract her from Amon's discomfort; her smile became more sympathetic as she turned to the android, and she reached to take one of his hands. “It's true that I don't know this lady well, but I wouldn't introduce you if I didn't think she was okay... and after talking to her for a bit, I knew Zeran would want to meet her. I think she'll be a solid source of really interesting information, maybe the occasional embellishment, but also overall a good person to know.” She might've said more, just as a quiet aside, but then heard her name. Still smiling (and holding Amon's hand,) Sam turned and answered; “I'm coming, I'm coming. Like Christmas is coming,”

[socrowdedinhere]

"Happily!" Zeran truly meant it. And even as Eva spotted the friend she was asking about Zeran was turning to gesture at Sam. "The one and only!" Zeran moved with Eva back to Sam and Amon.

Amon let Sam take his hand, and gave hers a soft squeeze, though most of his attention was on Eva and Zeran. He managed to stay neutral as they approached... and as Sam draw him along to meet them. He didn't like dealing with things he couldn't explain... and this was one of those things. Or rather she, this Eva woman, was an element he couldn't explain.

[bloodbatsandbeyond]

"Welcome, everyone, welcome!"

Eva gestured to the museum around her with fond warmth and gave a sheepish expression to her visitors.

"I'm terribly sorry I didn't greet you when you came in. We had an incident earlier in the week with a drunk on the porch and I'm still waiting for some parts to fix the doorbell. Rather, our current owner Lav is waiting for those parts."

She looked to the other individual with Zeran and Sam and nodded warmly in invitation.

"As I said to Zeran, my name is Evangeline Stevens. I became acquainted with dear Sam a little while back and I see she took my invitation to bring friends down here very seriously. I like that! May I have the pleasure of your name? And, perhaps, might I know which exhibits intrigue you most?"

Phone tags while I'm stranded at Jon's

[10_20_15_5_50]

At the mention of 'an incident with a drunk,' Sam grimaced sympathetically, underscoring the sentiment with an exasperated huff. "Drunk rowdies are the worst, wherever you go. My own workplace sees very, very few, cause a small art gallery isn't a big draw on it's own, and there's no neighbour shop with that kind of clientele to overflow, but I've been at enough concerts and festivals and karaoke hours to speak from some experience." She gave a little shrug... and grinned up at Amon, indulging in a little light-hearted aside (which was nonetheless audible to all).

"I'm 'dear Sam' already. Told you, I'm charming."

[socrowdedinhere]

"Certainly sounds like you have nothing to apologize for, though my sympathies regarding the troubles." Zeran found himself eyeing Amon. He didn't need aura sight to know his friend was uncomfortable still, and likely would remain so at least until he had a better idea of the oddity before him that was Eva.

For the two that knew him, likely especially to Sam, Amon's discomfort would be painfully clear when he didn't tease back at Sam's comment, but instead merely gave a small nod, as if to concede her victory.

To, Eva, someone who didn't know him at all, he would just seem like a reserved type as he answered. "Amon. It's a pleasure, Miss Stevens." The greeting came out by rote, not entirely a lie, but not yet truly sincere either. "I'm afraid I can't really answer yet regarding the most intriguing exhibit, as we've only seen a small part of the museum so far."

FRICK GUYS I'M SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY

[bloodbatsandbeyond]

Eva smiled a winning smile, and extended a hand towards the rest of the museum.

"Well, since you've only had a chance to see a small section of our deliciously strange establishment, might I offer to escort you all around the place? We can start wherever you like, from bad taxidermy to mythical relics!"

Her stance was open and friendly, with just a tiny hint of mischief. She held her hands together in a genteel fashion, an antiquated gesture of a lady waiting on her guests.

you've had stuff happening!

[10_20_15_5_50]

Sam sidled closer to Amon, releasing his hand to slide her own across his back; hopefully, having a friendly arm around him would provide a little comfort to offset his unease. She'd expected some uncertainty, maybe some mild exasperation tempered by his fondness for her (and possibly a cautious appreciation of Zeran's glee) but not for her friend to be so discomfited he'd pass on a bit of banter. She didn't say anything about it---what she said was "It's up to the guys, since I got a good look before,"---but kept her hand on Amon's back, rubbing lightly to try and convey a wordless (and discreet) 'hey, it's okay.'

Ya. You never have to apologize for "late" tags. It's always "as you can"

[socrowdedinhere]

Zeran wished he knew what Amon's issue was so he could help his friend walk though his discomfort. Amon would tell him at times that emotions still felt so new, and he didn't know what to make of them or what actions were actually appropriate and what were not. He also knew his friend wasn't going to compromise his cover in front of strangers and potentially give away that he wasn't human. For now, so as not to draw attention to Amon's discomfort, he'd let Sam see to him, and instead put his attention back on Eva. "An escort sounds great! We'd just come around from that way, so maybe just continue on the way we were heading? You can make sure we don't miss any of the best things to see."

Amon just gave a nod of agreement to Zeran's suggestion, glad Zeran answered so that Amon would not have to. As much as he appreciated her attempts, Sam's reassuring touches weren't actually helping him to relax. At least, outwardly, he was managing to keep a neutral, if perhaps a bit stoic, expression.