056 red letters

[eat_me_beat_me]

[There are smudges of red paint on the journal as Nora opens it. She sighs softly. For once the mess isn't because of some art project. Her fingers have been covered in wet paint since yesterday. She's not about to let it keep her down, however. She's going stir-crazy enough as it is. She needs human contact, damnit!

Her voice is more demure than usual as she dictates.]

So, uh, sorry if anyone's been worried about me since the quake. I was in the Gallery when it struck and... well let's just say I've been stuck in the clinic in town since. I'm heading back to the castle today, though, so that's something.

Um... so I'm still not really walking around much yet so I haven't seen how bad the damage is but I think most of the building is still okay. I'm mostly hoping that the art made it through in one piece. [She pauses. Oh man she is SO not used to asking for help. This is a new and foreign concept for her. Almost as foreign as running a business. WAT DO?!]

[She clears her throat, suddenly feeling extremely self conscious]

I guess the real reason I wanted to say something was that I'm running the Gallery now and I kinda need some help. I'm not even completely sure who's working there now. I have a lot of ideas of how to set everything up again but I'm gonna need someone to help get everything fixed up since I'm fairly certain having the ceiling on the floor isn't a great selling point. Oh and if you have any art in there and want to check on it or want to put anything in there once it's open again let me know. I'm also going to be trying to restore anything done by people that aren't here anymore that's been damaged... as best as I can, anyway.

[Pause]

Hey, uh, and does anyone have any tips for how to get around on crutches. These things are a pain in the ass.

((OOC: Open for journal or town clinic. NOTE FOR ARTISTS: If you have art in the gallery I'm leaving it up to you whether anything got damaged. I'll be doing an OOC post about the gallery in the next few days so keep an eye out.))

Comments

dictated;

[panicswitched]

I could give you a hand cleaning up. It'll give me something to do.

[ something that isn't in the castle, anyway. ]

As for the crutches? You get used to them after a while. Eventually it's a kinda swinging thing and you can totally use them as pointers.

[eat_me_beat_me]

Hey thanks! It won't be today but I want to try to get down there soon to take a look at the damage.

[She chuckles] I was kinda looking forward to hitting people with 'em.

[Dictated]

[schrodingersghost]

[Danny is careful touching the journal, but he still can't avoid a few fingerprints stained in blood and ectoplasm.]

Are you doing okay, Nora?

[is_mafia]

[When Giotto hears that Nora was okay, but still in the town clinic, he makes his way over there and finds her room, knocking on the door frame and giving her a smile. He looks like a mess, though, with his clothes wrinkled beyond repair and little blood stains bleeding through them. There's also the fact that one of his eyes is mismatched to the other. He would hope she wouldn't mention it, but he's resigned to explain if she does ask. Giotto knows Nora isn't one to beat around the bush.]

Hello, Nora.

[eat_me_beat_me]

[She eyes the... goop... on her page but decides not to say anything.]

Yeah I'm alright... tired of laying around, though.

[eat_me_beat_me]

[She looks up at the knock and grins when she sees who it is. She's still got a whole mess of bumps bruises and scrapes. Her left leg is in a cast up to the knee and she's got a bandage on her forehead mostly hidden by her hair]

Hey yourself! Christ you look almost as bad as I do. [What was that about beating around the bush?]

[hard_talker]

[not long after she's done with her request for help, Mark wanders in, a backpack over one shoulder]

Hey. You ready to go?

[is_mafia]

[He smiles wryly at her, and makes his way over.] I also think mine might be a bit more superficial than yours.

[eat_me_beat_me]

[Why look it's just the man she wanted to see. She grins up at him, looking a lot more rested than she had the first few days she'd been there. Her hair fell forward, mostly hiding the bandage on her forehead]

You kidding me? I've been ready to go home since, like, three days ago.

[eat_me_beat_me]

[She shrugs]

What can I say. Ceiling - 1, Me - 0.

[hard_talker]

Figured as much. And I even thought of something. Hang on.

[he sets his bag down on the edge of her bed and rummages until he finds what he's looking for - a stainless steel thermos, a roll of duct tape, and a very long neon blue crazy straw]

Lemme see your crutches.

[eat_me_beat_me]

[She raises an eyebrow. Maaark. Wat u doin'?

But she grins, reaching out to grab the crutches leaning on the wall next to her bed. It takes a bit of maneuvering but she passes them his way]

Here ya go. What is this gonna be my own personal version of one of those hats with the straws on 'em?

[hard_talker]

Well Jesus, when you put it that way, it sounds lame. But this is just phase one.

[he sets about taping the cup to one of her crutches - and for the record, the duct tape is black with neon paint splatter patterns on it. once it's secure, he pokes the straw in. the mug itself, she'll find, is already full of tea - one of the ones she keeps in their room, but iced so it won't screw with the straw.]

I'll do the rest when we get back. [he quirks one eyebrow at her] These are gonna be the Mom's Jeep of crutches.

[eat_me_beat_me]

[She watches him curiously. Okay. Yeah. That's bad ass. Any residual annoyance she had at his waiting to come visit her starts to dissipate.]

Oh I can't wait to see the final product.

[She swings her legs over the side of the bed, careful not to hit anything with her cast. She smiles up at him, loving that oh so familiar glint in his eyes. In that one looks he can see everything that made her fall head over heels for him in the first place. She holds out her hands to him, both to help her up and so she can be closer to him.]

Thanks, Mark. [Her eyes soften] Let's go home.

[is_mafia]

It still could have been much, much worse. You were quite lucky. [Even with a broken leg and a head injury. She could have been dead.]

[schrodingersghost]

On the bright side, if there was ever a good day to stay inside and not talk to anyone? Its today.

[eat_me_beat_me]

Yeah... Yeah I know. [Her voice drops off and her eyes lose their sparkle. She knows how lucky she was. Oh man does she know.]

Yeah. I... I was trapped. I'm just lucky Danny heard me and got me out.

[eat_me_beat_me]

Oh man yeah. People have been bitchy today.

Dictated

[princelyspirit]

[She doesn't know Nora, and this is the first Utena's heard about the gallery. But, like a lot of people around here, she needs something to keep her mind off of the castle's latest games. So, why not lend a hand? It's the most productive distraction she can think of]

Well, I can't say that I'm handy with a hammer, but I can help lug stuff around, at least. Just give me a time and a place, and I'll be there.

[both_neither]

I might be able to put in a few hours here and there. I'm trying to help the guys at the bar put things back together, but I can multitask.

[panicswitched]

Sure thing! That's what I would've done with them if Mom hadn't warned me not to.

[ and when helen says no to something like that... ]

How're you doing? Still stuck in bed?

[is_mafia]

[Giotto gives her a small, comforting smile and reaches out to clasp her hand. On his knuckles are written 'Cosa Nostra' but he doesn't seem to notice or care.]

Very lucky. But... You're alive. You survived it.

[schrodingersghost]

Good reasons for it.

[silentrunning]

[There's a Chellish scrawl appearing in your journal.]

I'll help. Gladly. Just tell me how when you figure it out. I've never been an artist, but I'm strong and I'm stubborn.

Crutches? I take it you broke something? God that's terrible.

[Chell's fingers leave smudges of... ash? Is that ash? Yes. Yes it is.]

[eat_me_beat_me]

[Oh hey someone she doesn't know. That's always good.]

Hey thanks! I'll probably be down there a little later this week to take a look and see what we'll have to do to fix everything up.