Log:First Day At Kip's Bookstore
| First Day At Kip's Bookstore | |
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"Uh hi, welcome to Homepage. Now open." | |
| Participants | 21 April, 2017 The first day that Kip's bookstore is open, several people come to check the place out. |
| Location | |
| It's a bright overcast dismal sort of morning, but that doesn't matter to Kip. He's actually beaming, or as close as he comes to it, as for the first time he flips the OPEN sign on for the shop and turns the door hanger from CLOSED to OPEN. The neon open sign has a book on it. It's ridiculous. But well, so is he. With a mug of coffee in hand, he settles in behind the register to peer about his new kingdom of books. A tall slender fellow wearing a well cut suit and an expressive hairstyle enters the bookstore with a curious gaze, his strange eyes rove over the scene with interest before he allows them to absently pass over the bestseller table. Strix picks up each one of the various choices to examine front, back and spine in a studious stride before placing it back down. He continues to meander his way through the establishment with a persnickety regard and a dour look on his mechanical features. Strix had not been waiting outside for the store to open but he is an exceedingly punctual individual. omgomgomg. First customer! Most people would be, you know, giddy about such a thing. Kip looks almost terrified, though. Until Strix picks up a particular book. Then he finds a common ground to utilize and ventures a library-quiet "That uh, that's the second one in a series. The first is out but the uh... the last one is uhm, not done yet. September. It'll be done. September. But it's good. The series. I mean first two. The ones that are out." Wow what a salesman! He stays behind his little register area like he's almost afraid to leave it. Strix wheels his odd gaze to address Kip and the Manikin's eyes move out of time from one another in an obvious manner. His left eye exists below a telescopic gold shutter with flutters sharply when the white eye finally lands on Kip. The gold shutter spinning down to a pinpoint above the cold grin he wore as he spoke, "I wasn't inclined to purchase it, informative though..." Strix lets his odd eyes drift away again but the left one lingers just a moment too long... trailing after the right. "You could do with a few less uhm and -ers. Is it a stutter or are you just a nervous sort?" His curiosity is open to the point of biting and he asks these questions with a conversational indifference. The dismal is the ONLY reason the bug crawled out from under whatever godforsaken porch he was infesting this week. He was tall, lanky, lean like a sinew ready to snap into action, though oddly without any of the anxiety that might normally follow. He was weird though, both strange and in the unfortunate way. Like something was very, and profoundly wrong with him on a medical level. Still though he came up from the back. he had on a pair of large, dark woman's stylish sunglasses that looked far too nice and extravagent for the punk to own, but alas, so it was to be. Worn and faded combat boots with some paint on them carried his forward handing a notebook to Kip giving the place a nod. He leaned on the side of the counter and held up a book, used, and found in the back. Apaprently the Roach found material to adopt. The note read, 'almost done with your canvas. Chester kept trying to change it. It's safe though'. Chester being the cricket that was riding around on shoulder and notoriously loved to change the colours of things... could crickets even see colour to know what was happening? Did Rorsch even know cause that goddamned mantle of his wa desaturating colour like an invection leaching colours into shades of grey. Rorschach looked to Strix and arched an eyebrow, He signed with a flash of fingers referecing himself at least once, and fingers drifting in a gesture away fro his forehead quizzically looking at the Owl. very. carefully. Sure the bug was famed for hunting nightmares the Dreaming over, but one didn't accomplish this by being stupid. The door opens, slowly, following Rorshach, even if she isn't actually following him. She doesn't head for the front, or interfere with any existing conversations: Gisa steps off to one side, hands resting on her bag, and the golem tilts her head up, perusing the closest shelf to the door rather idly. Her usual blank expression remains. "I uh, no. I just-- like books. And uh like telling people about them," Kip stammers awkwardly. A hand moves near his head for a moment. "Sometimes I think faster, mouth has to catch up--" And then it is saved by the Bug. As Rorschach appears, Kip almost looks relieved for a moment. He takes the notebook and glances it over, nodding and giving a little smile. "That's great," is responded in regard to the note as he passes it back, his gaze turning toward the door as it opens. "Uh hi, welcome to Homepage. Now open." Look at how conversational he is today! "We have books." Strix looks over when the bug fellow with the powerful Mantle appears and he tips head to the side... /way/ too far to the side in an Owlish expression. "Huh." Not quite the cliche 'Who' but close, he follows it up with, "And you use your hands." Strix purses his thin lips at Rorsch, "I genuinely apologize, if I ever knew sign language in another life... I don't have access to that data now..." He has a rehearsed presence despite the openly biting questions he flung at Kip. "This is a very lovely shop." Pert plastic manners persist in a scripted monotone with a mildly smug inflection. Strix smiles to Gisa when she enters and the grin takes on a condescending edge as he agrees with Kip, "Yes, many books." A hand raised from her bag, and Gisa wiggles her clay fingers at Strix absently. "Hey. How's it?" Her chin tips up at Kip, and she offers, "Thanks. This is good. Nice." The golem has never been much for words words words -- at least not unless they're written down. Perhaps she's just watching the other folks, happier to do so, but when Rorschach signs, she smiles just a little. Strix may not understand what Rorschach signed, but Gisa appears to. "I'm Kip," Kip offers to Strix. "Thank you. I mean it's my shop. It just opened today. You're the first one here. My friend talks with his hands or notes." He must mean Rory since he nods toward him. "I'm going to learn. To talk. With... with hands. I uhm, have lots of books. I didn't know what to get so guessed. I tried to get lots of things." He seems to almost be babbling, which might be painful with his frequent pauses and stammers and that annoyingly quiet voice. " Gisa is given another look and a wavery smile before he awkwardly lifts his coffee mug to his mouth and gulps some down as if that will somehow help him swallow back his awkward anxiety or something. Strix glances to Gisa when she pulls his focus, "Well enough as ever.." The clever whirring of gears accompanies his gaze when he looks back at Rory and then to Gisa, "You understand him?" The question almost rings as a rhetorical statement in Strix's wry inflection. "Endlessly fascinating. I'll have to learn..." At the sound of an introduction Strix turns a broad illuminating grin toward the shopkeeper, "My name is Strix, Mr. Strixton Nebulosa if you're feelin' a mite bit sesquipedalian." He bobs his head and looks at the small group gathered in the shop, "I think Athena would approve..." His eyes drifting off to the books around them, "That an Owl got here first." He might have said that /I/ got here first but he mutters that last sentence so its a tough call. The golem raises her right hand and makes a little knocking gesture with it, adding, "Yes." Since apparently that gesture and the spoken English word yes mean that same thing. "It is important to speak many languages, when you are me." Whatever that, exactly, means. Kip gets a small glance from Gisa, and she offers, "It is not the hardest language to learn. English was harder. More irregular. Less intuitive. If you can speak English, you can learn nearly anything, I think." Kip sort of mimics the motion, but it's more an attempt at it than actually full-out doing it. Like 'Oh something along these lines huh' than 'This is how it is done!' Apparently it is good to know. "I don't know any other languages. I don't think. Just this one." Strix is given a look. "Strixton Nebulosa," he drawls in an echo. "That sounds like a name from a book. And uh... I hope Athena approves? Do you mean someone named that or uh do you... like the mythology?" "I pick up things quickly but I have to teach myself, I make an awful pupil." There is no apology in the stolid Strix's tone, "Strix Nebulosa is actually a genus of Owl, the great gray, oddly enough." He says this off handedly without much fanfare present for his name, "It isn't my birth name, of course. That went out of fashion some time ago for me." There is a hooting laugh, "Mythology, of course." Kip's long fingers wrap around his mug. Nope, that's not a tiny bit of lightning zipping along his fingers and diving into the ceramic of the mug. Nope. "Oh, it's nice," he mentions to Strix. "I hope... I hope Athena approves of this place." Is he sincere or just playing along? Possibly some of both? Hard to tell. He looks like he'd rather be hiding behind the door marked STAFF ONLY with his face buried in one of those hardcover books on the table that he was talking about earlier. The bookstore has that New Book smell since this is the first real day it's open and there are a couple of people milling through the place. Although she's not as much of a bookworm as some, a new shop draws Max's attention. Wandering into the store, she's pleasantly surprised to see a few familiar faces already there. A hand raises to those she knows as she makes her way further inside, her pace slow so she can look over everything with her bright-eyed and curious gaze. The mortal is dressed in her normal casual attire, a hoodie with jeans and sneakers, with her hair worn down in loose curls. "Cool place to whoever owns it," she compliments, glancing over to the various gathered Lost. As more mundane patrons start to file into the shop Strix bobs his head to Kip first and then Gisa, finally Rory if he was still around, "It was a pleasure making your aquaintances," And in an aside to Gisa, "Seeing you again, real treat," Before he goes on to add to the group, "I should be on with my work for the day... standing around jawing all morning just wouldn't do." He offers that wane smile, passing Max in his exit, "You lot have a wonderful afternoon." Rorschachwas in and out of paying attention some days. He might also be totally lit, it was hard to say. truth in this instance was the chair was comfy and it was mid afternoon. the roach was fighting for consciousness. He did wander back over though with a different book after taking great pains to put the last one back. carefully. he had a thing about being a guest in someone's domain. but he got lost in biography for a but and returned giving the owl a curious nod and Gisa a more familiar wave. the book, though, was held tightly to his chest. Kip lifts a hand in farewell to Strix. "Thank you," he offers Strix as he leaves before glanceing at Rory. "You like that book?" he asks, seeing the way he's clutching it to his chest, not knowing if it's a motion of keeping it safe or just clinging to it because he likes it. Max is offered a quiet call out of "Welcome to Homepage!" but even his attempt at shouting is a weird whispery thing. "And uh, thank you. It's-- I'm Kip. It's mine. I mean I-- it's mine." He's sort of stammering over his words, more an awkward sort of thing than anything, like he's not sure if his words are going to come out right or be taken the right way or something. He's so skittish. "I like books so... books." Max gives a curious look to the book that the bug has clutched to his chest, attempting to read the title if there was one. Then those bright blue eyes of hers drift over to Kip as he speaks, a smile spreading her lips as she listens to him. There's apparent amusement at his demeanor. "I don't think we've officially met yet, though I remember seeing you at the cafe once," she states. Instead of offering a hand to shake, she lifts one to wave at him. "Nice to meet you, Kip. I'm Max. And books are totally cool. You have any on like, local stuff?" she asks him curiously. Kip returns the wave from Max and gives a little smile. "I like the cafe. I go there... a lot," he admits. "I'm surprised anyone would remember me. I'm... not memorable." He does peek around and slowly shakes his head. "Uhm, not-- no? But I can /get/ something. I didn't know what to get. So I just checked boxes and they sent... well, books." He perks up a little. "I can special order things! I tell them what I want and they send it." He seems ridiculously happy about this power he has. Rorschach was clutching a biography of Anne Frank. There was no context with this but he hesitated and responded via sign seeming to have enough trust with Gisa to let her proxy as his voice in this. <<It's about this girl someone told me about. Kinda in a similar situation. Different predators. Trying to find an answer to somethin>> He was skittish about sharing that. The heavily Gentrified Roach-man was likewise a bit of a cautious personality. Some folks were just frighteningly closer in common with Them than people anymore. Rorsch, for all of his horrific features, seemed to be ardently trying to keep that gap bridged. Not well, but he was trying. The shin on Gisa's forehead flares slowly, and she translates for Rorschach, while responding in her own sign, which she doesn't translate, the Nazis were not nearly as clever as the Gentry. Stupid, efficient brutality. What do you hope to learn from her murder? How to hide? She doesn't speak aloud, just leans on the wall near where she came in. Max's arrival gets a small wave, but she's mostly focused on Rorschach. 'Listening' to Rorschach explain his choice of book, Max watches the bug for a few moments. A small nod was given to him, one of understanding. The enchanted mortal occasionally liked reading about those in similar situations as herself as well. "I read the book of her diary awhile ago. I'm sure you'll find the story interesting," she tells the bug. Then she looks over to Kip again, smiling a bit more at him. "Well, obviously you're memorable if I remembered you," she points out with a bit of a chuckle. "I'm interested in reading local stuff, particularly any legends. But anything really." There's a pause before she lowers her voice and adds, "Especially with that second body... Maybe something like this has happened before or there's some pattern that can be found, you know? That'd be cool if you could special order some stuff like that." "Oh," Kip says quietly as he spots the title on the book finally. "It's a good as far as a story and a study of humanity, but terrible as far as having been true," he admits. Max is given a smile and is that a hint of a blush? Awww, look at his little sparkles flare up a tiny bit! "I'm not, really. Memorable. I tend to... blend. But uhm..." He trails off a little and tilts his head a tiny bit, peering at Max for a long moment. "I can order most anything, but not sure how much there is on... uh, patterns of things happening." Rorschach looked up to Gisa with a furrow of his brow and a sort of mild distress or mealoncholy that tinted his generally curious demeanor. He signed to Gisa pressing his lips together. For the rest of the room there was a slow nod of agreement. He signed to Max witha clear indication of -WHAT second body-? There's a sort of weariness on Gisa's face as she watches Rorschach's hands, his body language -- sign is a full-body mode of speech, after all -- and then she finally answers him with a much shorter series of signs. None of those things are translated. Whatever Gisa has to say back, it isn't for the group. She does, however, explain, "We found a second one. Kip, is it only us in here right now? No one back in the stacks?" Well, you never know. She hasn't investigated. Long distance to Rorschach: Gisa signs: "She was caught. Possibly sold out by the people she trusted. But I respect seeking her hope. She did have hope." Kip's eyes glance around at Gisa's question. Not as if he's looking around to check for others, more like he's not entirely quite sure what she's getting at. "Nobody else came in," he mentions slowly. The expression of 'Why?' is clear on his face. A quick smile is given to Kip, apparent that Max might argue how memorable he is ir not another time. The smile doesn't linger long though, as she glances over to Rorschach with a more serious expression. She nods to Gisa's answer, offering the golem a soft look for a moment. The mortal doesn't say anything further on the matter until Gisa's questions are answered about their current privacy, but she does look back to Kip again. "The patterns are for me to find. I just need books on local history. Especially anything violent like what's been happening or any local legends and whatnot," she explains, again keeping her voice low as to not be easily overheard. Rorschach shook his head and indicated that other people were for the moment not present. Whatever Gisa signed to him made him hug the book tighter maybe as if reflexivly protecting the contents. He didn't sign back and in fact retreated back forom teh group a bit. There was a lot of static the Bug was coming to terms with. There was almost a twitch suggesting he might just flee fast and far, or just try not to hyperventelate. As it turned out neither seemed entirely necessary and he stood just very still coping with whatever distressed him "A second body in the Hedge," sighs Gisa, once Kip confirms that the only people in the bookshop are the Lost or Freehold-sworn that the golem can see. "We found tracks but did not have a group to go after them. From what I can tell from having seen both bodies, the -- " And here she stops, folding her hands tightly together until the ceramic of her fingers squeaks, "-- we have our own Mengele. Torturing people to see what they can take. I washed and prepared them both. The bodies." "It shouldn't be too hard for me to scry on the killer since I got a good look of him in my vision," Max says, attempting to offer some sort of comfort to the terrible situation. "But, if he's mainly on the other side of things... Well, I can paint or describe the location I see him in but won't be able to pinpoint it exactly," she admits with a faint frown. "I can look on the location that he's apparently torturing or at least killing these poor women next time one goes missing, too." She grimaces a bit, not looking forward to seeing such a sight. Rorschach sat very, very still. His skin got slightly darker grey. Let's make no mistake he was hearing everything. Everything spoken and a lot of things unspoken, and some things people have the decency to not speak about. Antennae didn't curl down but instead stuck out, stretching like satelites searcing any and all signals. The only other sign of movement came from the only fleks of colour near him being flashed of colour like pixels on a screen flashing in teh black sockets of his eyes. "You -- get visions?" Kip asks Max as if surprised. Because to him, she reads as totally mortal. He's not used to the Not Quite One Of Us status. "Woah, woah, wait," he says, the hand not holding his coffee mug raising a bit. "Bodies?" he inquires. "I-- torturing and killing women? I don't-- I don't know about that. I just moved here. I thought this was a nice place." Glancing to Kip, Max grins a bit at his first question. "I can look into the past and the future. I could even tell your future if you really wanted to know. Though, the future is less concrete than the past is," she replies. Then once more, her expression becomes more serious as she changes subjects. "Even nice places have bad people in it. You can't really escape that no matter where you go." A small frown tugs at her lips a bit more, offering Kip a bit of an apologetic look. "Don't let that discourage you from the town overall. My experience here has been mostly positive, and I'm pretty new here too." "Nice is relative. It's nicer than being Lost in Russia," Gisa comments mildly, leaning her shoulder against the wall. "Or Maine. Or the Everglades. Or Uganda. But we are always what we are, and we have the troubles we have, no matter where we go." Well, thank you, Philosophical Golem. Kip can't disagree with Gisa so he just gives her a little nod in agreement. This is true, the Word of Golem. "I've liked people I've met so far," he ventures. Like Rory. He gives Bug a glance as if to encompass him in that statement and upon realizing Rory's state of mind for the moment, he kind of reaches his empty hand out toward him, not close enough to touch but the meaning is there. It's okay. Kip is doing his best to make this a safe space. No need to be on hyper alert status here. But then he turns back to regard Max again. "I don't want to know. My past. Or future. I'll know my future when it comes and my past--" he lets the words trail off. Rorschach wasn't um... might not be breathing. He was a dark grey and squinting on and off trying hard to concentrate. so... much... input. Knodledges tearing him off in fifty perceptions of right now all at once. There was, however, that cricket that sat on his shoulder and seemed to ignore the larger roach and seemed to not understand what was spoken, though oddly seemed to startrubbing his wings together likethe world's tiniest violent quartet to bust out some "Remember the Time" by MJ. It was startling when it was right in your ear causing the bug to become actually startled that there were people around him again. But hey, it did cause him to gasp a breath and not passing out was a good feature to anyone's day. He looked to the hand near him and made zero attempt to make contact with it but gave it a nod. Antennae still drifted and explored the airwaves around him as if searching for signal while knuckles blanched as he hung onto that book. He was Moon Court. There could be any number of odd details no one really knew about, but in this case he made no effort to interject or interrupt either. "Don't worry. I don't like, read people without their permission," Max assures Kip with a comforting smile. "And I can totally understand it freaking people out sometimes. That's why I don't usually advertise all the things I can do," she tells him, followed by a light shrug of her shoulders. Then she looks over toward Rory, the bug causing her to furrow her brows with light but genuine concern. "You alright there?" she asks him. Unlike Kip though, she doesn't attempt to reach out to him. "I didn't mean--" Kip stammers to Max. "I... sorry. I didn't mean to imply you'd be... impolite." The last word is almost questioned as if he's not sure that's the appropriate word to use or not. "You just didn't seem... like you were... someone who could do that." Human. She seems human. And though he does glance over at Rorschach, he doesn't move toward him or make any further motions at him. He already made the one little one and hopefully with the way that some people can read into body language and movements, Rory has sensed what Kip has meant. One can hope, anyway. Rorschach didn't stab Kip, remove fingers as a souvinere, and flee into the hedge. One might safely guess that the Bug had some sort of inkling of intent. He backed to a chair, that was not far and not far from Kip and curled up, uncomfortably in a way that suggested he had more joints in his limbs than he should. PEOPLE DON"T BEND THAT WAY! Max watches Rorschach for a few moments as he curls up on the chair. Figuring that he's fine enough and doesn't need immediate help, she turns her blue-eyed gaze back toward Kip. "Oh, I wasn't saying you implied that, but, people usually like being reassured of such things anyways," she points out, chuckling lightly. "And yeah, I'm not one of you guys, but, I have a few tricks up my sleeve to help me out," she tells him with a grin. Obviously she likes her various abilities. Or at least most of them. "I'm assuming you have a phone or something you can be reached at?" she asks of Kip. "We should exchange numbers if you're going to order those books for me, right?" Rorschach looked top Gisa and the signs were erratic and perhaps angry. There was a significant about of static in his field. A hand smudged his brow, and then nervously, or thoughtfully pulled at his antenna. His head shook and a notebook came out. Fucker wrote really fast when motivated and he was going all sorts of Beautiful Mind on that poor notebook. Though it doesn't linger, Kip's attention goes to Rory for a long moment. Just making sure that he alright. He seems to maybe sense something, but he lets it go. At least for the moment. He doesn't press. But Max speaks and he turns to her and gets a 'DUH' expression, as if he is chastising himself for forgetting it. "Uh, yeah," he says before going back toward the register and picking up a business card to give her. It has a phone number written on it in pen instead of having it printed. "Sorry. This is my cell number. I don't have a separate line yet for the store. Soon. I'll have more cards soon." And speaking of, his phone rings. "Uh excuse me-- Hello, Homepage Books how can I help you?" He pauses, puts a hand over the phone. "Sorry, there's a delivery out back I have to go see about... It was nice meeting you. I-- I have to... thanks." Aaaawkward. He slips to the back room. The door marked STAFF ONLY. "Yeah I'm on my way to the back door," he says into the phone as he disappears through it. | |
