Log:Records and Regret

Records and Regret
Participants Rowan, Levi	14 October, 2017 Levi aspires to become the best at selling records. Rowan pays a visit.
Location Majesty Records
Levi is putzing about the record store, doing her best to acclimate to the sections and genres and all the other things she's never had to worry about before. She has a little pocket spiral notebook and is jotting down artist names, song names, album names, and omitting all other details to try to test herself when she's done. She looks like someone with a sense of fashion dressed her this morning- she's wearing jeans that are just short of too tight, and a loose blouse belted at the waist as a makeshift tunic. She looks a little worried- the practice might not be going great. Rowan enters with a bit of flair, as if she's expecting her entrance to be accompanied by trumpeting horns, or at least a little bit of applause. Alas, she is, as usual, disappointed. But there is music to be found! And the littlest giant as well! She spots Levi and grins, striding over to her as she calls out, announcing her presence, in case it's not already been noticed. "Hello again, friend! What a surprise to find you here. We've gotta stop running into each other like this." Levi seems faintly startled, judging by the speed of her turn towards the voice, but relaxes easily at seeing Rowan. She lifts a hand in a wave, one corner of her mouth sneaking upwards a bit. "Hello, Rowan. I disagree. I like meeting you out and about. Though it won't be a surprise next time. I'm working here." She glances at her notepad and sighs. "Trying to work here." Rowan beams at Levi, slightly patronizing, to be honest, but sincerely happy. "Oh really? That's grand, like. You're settling right in. I'm quite impressed." Levi pushes at the thick fall of her hair. It's all one stone mass, though it looks quite smooth and reacts like a thick ponytail when she tries to push it out of her face, and the small smile it's wearing. "Thank you. It's- a lot of it is Miss Green. But I'm... settling some. Learning." Her face falls a touch. "Not all of it good, but...learning." Rowan offers a sympathetic smile as she leans against one of the racks, casually crossing her legs. "Ah well, it's not all rose gardens and parties anywhere you go, now is it?" A rhetorical question, though she does wait just a moment as if she might be expecting a response. But she continues quickly, "Haven't met Miss Green, I'm afraid. She one of us?" "No, no, but." Levi looks both embarassed and upset, just a little of both. "I didn't... realize. That my- host. Wasn't the only one. That there were more. Lots more. Found out last night." She shakes her head at that last question. "No, but she's in on things. Knows more than me. She's with Teagan. Like. WITH Teagan. Knows C.B. pretty well." "Ah," Rowan says with a wrinkle of her attractive nose. "I thought you hated Teagan?" This is noted before going back to the first point, "Oh yes, there's a disgusting number of Fair Folk. But that's why we all band together, yeah? Safety in numbers and all that. Plus, very few of them venture out. That's what they've got minions and such for. We're lucky in that, I suppose. If they were out wandering the streets all the time we'd be buggered." "I- don't... hate Teagan. Green made them apologize and explain. I thought their line about it being for my own good was bullshit, but- I told them everything they needed to know about how to piss me off. They just put it to use. I forgot I'd shared all that, figured it'd been a fuck-up and not- on purpose. I'm... not super happy with Teagan, over-all, but. I'm not mad anymore." "They mentioned those. Loyalists. Privateers. I can't believe anyone would work for them. Green seems more understanding, says if they got turned into something super cool, maybe they just like their bosses, but... I don't know. I can't imagine selling someone to them." Rowan shrugs and says, in a tone that suggests she doesn't /agree/ with it, but can kind of understand, "We all stuck around once, right? Some may be too afraid to leave, some may have forgotten entirely they ever /wanted/ to leave, and as Green says, maybe some of them are just so cool or what have you that they wouldn't dream of it. It's hard to guess the motives really. And as for selling, well, some people are just greedy fuckers, aren't they?" She has the Irish gift of using the word 'fucker' to particularly good effect- something in the inflection, perhaps, but there's a real beauty to the insult. "But hey, at least we're free, right? And if we're ever mad enough to make a go of it, I suppose we could always try to stage a coup and free some of the others still stuck there, though it'd likely just end up with us being dead, and the only story told about it a cautionary tale about what /not/ to do when you're out on the piss for a night." "Some of us -couldn'- leave. I was a rock. In water. That's it." Her tone says she's not entirely positive that's all there is to the story, but it makes the point she wants. "Can- can people be rescued from there? It's not just a lot of escapees, They can be beaten? Maybe?" That's an interesting thought. It intrigues -and- terrifies Levi to consider it. "... I don't want to be a story. I want to live a life." A shrug and a retort, "Life /is/ a story, love." Rowan considers, then says hesitantly, "Maybe, I mean, it /should/ be possible to get back there and storm the castle, as it were. It isn't the smartest idea, of course, and not many people would be stupid enough to try it. But at the very least, I suppose you can harry the edges of their kingdoms, I suppose. Cut down their loyalists, stop the privateers. Catch them before they get folks as far as being turned into rocks and such." Levi nods a little, but frowns. "... not many? But- I've seen some incredible stuff that we can do. I've seen people with... way more power than I've ever touched. Wouldn't they be willing to try? To bring a few back? Would it be that hard to find people?" Rowan another shrug, "Ah well, hard enough, and most people are much too traumatized to want to find out if they can win, you know? I mean, do /you/ want to go and face down your old boss? Do /you/ believe you could win a fight against them and their whole kingdom? Do you believe you could even slip in without being forced back to the position you were in before?" She shrugs and adds, with a little smirk, "Also, if you start talking about running back to the Fair Folk, even to fight them, people may think you're in league with the bad guys, you know? Trying to lay a trap or something." Levi looks more and more despondent with each point that Rowan makes. Her head hangs, her shoulders rise, her hair drifts to rest across half her face. "... no. I don't think I could. But I'm- just me. I can't turn invisible or throw fire or enchant people. There's people who can. I-" She falls quiet a moment. "... no. You're right. It'd be shitty to ask someone to do something I won't do myself." Rowan grins and points out, trying to perk Levi up, "Ah well, you're fresh out still. I can practically see the scars from the thorns. And after a while, you can learn some more, figure out that invisibility trick and enchanting people and all that. Not hard to do, really." She shrugs as if it's no big deal. Though there's something in that pose that suggests she probably can't do any of that either. "If you get proper desperate, there's always the goblin folk." Levi frowns, puzzled. "Goblin folk?" Rowan seems rather pleased to be able to impart some knowledge, "Ah yes, there is a place. Well, there's many of them, depending on where you go. Different reasons, different rules, different wares, but most anyplace there's enough of us Lost to keep business booming, you'll find one. A goblin market," she leans in, whispering loudly to make it sound more ominous. "A place where dirty deals are made, anything, and I do mean /anything/ can be bought, sold, traded or bargained for, and where the most wonderous things can be found." She smirks as she returns to her laid back leaning, and adds flippantly, "It's generally a bad idea, those hobs are sneaky fuckers, and you'll usually end up paying more than you want or should for most things, but if you get proper desperate, or proper curious, I suppose, it can be a good place to go. Just gotta keep an open mind and such." Almost as an afterthought she adds, "And bring a guide,if you're smart." Levi listens, wide-eyed, clearly absolutely astonished at the idea. "I- mm. Okay. Maybe Teagan will. If they're not upset at me. Or busy." She glances at her list and gestures to Rowan. "Walk with me? I'm trying to teach myself where things are. The way customers ask for them. Album name, or song name, stuff like that." Rowan shrugs and says, "You could ask around, put a note up at the Wayhouse or something like. I'm sure there's plenty of folks willing to make a run to the goblin market. In fact, if you go, let me know. I might tag along for a bit." She tags along now as well, following Levi and beginning to leaf through records absentmindedly, "Ah well, you can always go for the disinterested, under-paid employee aura. You know, just perfect your blank-eyed stare and shrugging." She does her best impression of this for Levi to illustrate. "Pisses people off, but that can be nice. Give you a bit of a boost /and/ you don't have to work as hard." "Okay!" Levi sounds faintly excited at the idea of going gobboshopping with Rowan. "I'll let you know what I hear." The latter comment, though, makes her frown. "But Miss Green owns the store. She's letting me stay with her. It'd be awful rude not to do my best." Rowan nods, immediately changing her opinion on the subject, "Oh sure. I mean, you're probably right. It's smart to have a good work ethic, and you certainly want to do right by those who d Rowan nods, immediately changing her opinion on the subject, "Oh sure. I mean, you're probably right. It's smart to have a good work ethic," here she falters a bit, it's not her strong suit, surely, "and you certainly want to do right by those who do right by you." This, at least, she can say with utter honest agreement. "And perhaps your right, and it's best to workhard to help people get just what they want, fulfill their every musical desire." She eyes Levi a bit, clearly trying to feel out what motivates her. Levi nods- she seems to agree with what Rowan is saying, and if she catches any hint of the dissonance, she shows it not one bit. "That's what I thought. I don't know that I'll be all that helpful to the customers, but if I can help Miss Green out, that's good enough." There's a faint set of fissures on each cheek, and as she speaks of Green, they deepen, darkening the color of the stone there. If one didn't know better, that might look like a blush. A LITTLE one, mind. Rowan nods and offers a little smile, "Of course. I'll have to look out for this Ms. Green. She sounds like quite the interesting creature." After a moment of thought, Rowan stands up straight and looks around, "Now, why don't we practice a bit. A bit of role-play if you like. I'll be the customer, you be the...well, /you/." She clears her throat and takes a moment, then says, in a fake, very bad American accent, "Hi there. I'm looking for an awesome vinyl for my neice. She likes this band...Arcades on Fire or something? Can you help me?" Levi fights to hide the smirk that attempts to swamp her expression at that accent, and- mostly- manages. Mostly. She listens in, and tips her head. "Arcades on Fire? Um. Hrm. I don't know -that- one, but... think... Arcade Fire? That's a band." She thinks. It's CLEARLY a guess, and not a band she personally knows, but it's not a bad guess either. "Here, follow me. Let's see if we've got anything from them on vinyl." Levi spends a moment pondering, then heads towards the indie rock section. Rowan follows obediently, snapping her fingers and offering Levi a big grin and a wink, "/Thats/ it," she says, delighted, in her American accent, "I can never remember all these silly band names." Levi seems pleased, and flashes a small smile back Rowan's way. "I know the feeling. I'm trying, but there's so many and there's no rhyme or reason!" Pause. "Well. No reason, anyway." She stops and flits through the A's in the indie rock section, nodding firmly when she finds what she wants. "Looks like there's a couple albums? I don't know much about them, specifically, but you've got your choice of what's here." Rowan claps her hands, an overly dramatic show of excitement for the successful find. "Fantastic! You've been such an /awesome/ sales-person, I'm going to take them /all/." She swoops the vinyls into her arms, perhaps not as carefully as she should, but not enough to damage any of them, and heads toward the counter. "I hope your boss is planning to make you saleswoman of the month, because you've got this /down/." She offers a little wink and drops the fake accent, leaning now agains the front counter. "See, it's easy. You're going to be amazing." The cracks in Levi's cheeks deepen at the extravagant display and lavish praise as she rounds the counter and works out the total, reciting it once she's sure she has it right. "You're just being nice. It's easier when it's a friend. There's bound to be some music snobs who'll rip into me for not knowing their precious bands by name." Rowan shrugs and waves off the concern, "Just tell 'em you're new and you've a wider range of interests, and a need to hold more important things in your brain than every bloody band name on the planet, and why they are worth listening to. Don't let the music nerds bully you, my friend. In the scheme of things, they don't even matter, and you've got bigger fish to fry, I can promise you that." Levi seems a touch reassured by that, and she nods slowly. "Okay. I'll try to remember that. Not to get bullied, I mean. Probably a good thing. I don't- want to lose my temper. Anymore." She settles back against the counter, and watches the people walk by outside. "... hey. Rowan? Would... you go back? If you could? To before. And just live normally?" Rowan shakes her head emphatically, "No." She pauses, giving it a moment of belated consideration, "I mean, I suppose everyone wants to be /normal/ or what have you, but...We lived in blissful ignorance. I'm from Ireland. The land there is riddled with traps the Fair Folk set /ages/ ago. It's like living in a bloody minefield. I'd much rather know what I know now. And move forward, forwarned and forarmed, you know?" She grins and adds, with a little laugh, "besides, if I hadn't had this happen, I couldn't do this," and with that, she waves her hands and a spray of colorful flowers float down around Levi like a delicate rain before disappearing at her feet. "And such tricks are delightful, even if they do come with a cost." She winks and leans in, noting to Levi. "Regret is an entirely unuseful sentiment, my friend." Levi smiles a touch at the display, but at the last, she curls her arms in around herself and shakes her head. "I don't think it's entirely unuseful. Alone, maybe. But it can bulwark against worse emotions. More dangerous ones. To refuse to regret... would be refusing to learn, I think." Rowan considers that and nods, smiling a little, "Perhaps you are right. But I find one can learn just as well through other means. Everyone's a bit different though, of course." She leans over and gives Levi a little pat on the shoulder, "If you find yourself getting too morose and regretful, you should find yourself a Winter to cry it out with, and have done with it. Let it out and move on through, and then you can get on with life and what it has to offer, challenges and all." Levi nods a bit at that, smiling faintly. "That's what I want to do. Get on with life. Thank you, Rowan. I'll go see Nathania if I get feeling that way. She's the only other Winter- well, wait! Ziv, too. Maybe I could go see Ziv instead. But... I mean, you're not wrong. There's other ways, I guess. But I feel like regret's the first step to learning to change something." Rowan shrugs, smiling a little and giving off a very 'agree to disagree' vibe. She nods and says, "Yup, visit the knitting circle if the blues hit you too hard. Me, I'm going to go pretend to be Spring for a bit, and drown my troubles." She gives a wink and heads for the door. "Congratulations on the job. I'll see you around, I'm sure." Levi offers a little smile back, and a friendly wave farewell. "You will. Stay safe, Rowan. I'll see you again. Thanks for the encouragement. Really."