23:15 <banana> The workday ends, the sun sets. As the year enters its final form, these things are closer together. 23:16 <VoxPVoxD> It actually sets a bit later in Manchester than in London, which adds to the sense of desolation. She's practically in Finnmark. 23:16 <VoxPVoxD> ...wonder what the vampire situation is like up there. 23:17 <banana> It'd make life easier. Or things easier. 23:19 <banana> Down here, even in October, they have.. nine and a half hours a day? Something like that if they want to be safe. You just can't do as much. 23:20 <banana> Some of the Kindred are trying to make up for it when they first wake. Willie's got messages in multiple apps by the time the moon clears the horizon. 23:22 <VoxPVoxD> Probably going to have to get used to that. 23:22 <VoxPVoxD> What's the damage? 23:24 <banana> On Signal, from Baron Weaste: <attachment Alex_Gardener.png> 23:24 <banana> <attachment ruth_henning_Gardener.jpg> 23:24 <banana> <attachment SalfordCountyStatementFY20.pdf> 23:24 <banana> <attachment Gardenergravesite.kmz> 23:26 <banana> On Bumble, from Sergio's still-Snoozed account: <Willie, may we meet?> 23:26 <banana> Ordinary text message, from an unknown number: <Entertain Me.> 23:28 <VoxPVoxD> Willie responds to the Signal, then the noise, then to Sergio. 23:30 <VoxPVoxD> Baron Weaste gets: "<acknowledged + forwarded. preliminary work begins. initial engagement is circumspect as our most talented investigator has an Entanglement with the WASC. also great resistance to Vampire Work among more conservative corners of the team. but we proceed apace. updates as warranted> 23:31 <banana> There's no immediate response, but two green ticks by the message mean he's seen it. 23:31 <VoxPVoxD> Good enough. 23:31 <VoxPVoxD> The mysterious stranger gets: <why> 23:32 <banana> The sunset stranger: <See if You're just like the rest.> 23:32 <VoxPVoxD> Why Bumble? Why back in Bumble? Does he have read receipts on for his texts? Did he look at the text Willie sent? 23:33 <banana> Sergio doesn't have read receipts. He was using a Samsung. 23:36 <VoxPVoxD> A scenario unspools in Willie's mind, untethered by evidence. Sergio struggling to decide whether he feels betrayed, disappointed, or simply disinterested... weighing pros and cons... reliving those early, delicious nights... drawn to the photos and the chatlog... a decision is made, enacted through the already-open app. <I'd like that> 23:37 <VoxPVoxD> Willie responds to the mysterious stranger: <I don't know if I can Perform under these conditions. the judgment of strangers is harsh and I am something of an Acquired Taste> 23:38 <banana> ...and your wires crossed; Sergio sent another message just before Willie replied <Could be too soon? Even so, I'd really like to see you. I have a bungalow near Inchcape, on Aldred Street.> 23:39 <VoxPVoxD> Aha! She smells fear now. 23:39 <VoxPVoxD> She relaxes a bit. 23:40 <banana> Sergio: <🕊️ Same. Is after midnight too late for you?> 23:41 <VoxPVoxD> But then maybe this is just one of those sensory disruptions that starts firing off when your brain is dying. 23:41 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: <my sleep schedule is a bit off at the moment. becoming a Night 🦉> 23:44 <VoxPVoxD> That's basically the same way Willie goes to visit Bob. Just... farther. 23:45 <banana> Sergio: <We're actually a little sensitive about owls. It's a creature of the night thing.> 23:45 <VoxPVoxD> <duly noted! no offence intended> 23:46 <banana> <I think they're quite majestic myself. Did a bird study once.> 23:47 <VoxPVoxD> Willie types and then deletes most of <should I bring anything?> Habits. 23:48 <VoxPVoxD> <midnight it is! ❤️> 23:49 <VoxPVoxD> Eddie would get a real kick out of landing a man she can't cook for. 23:49 <VoxPVoxD> She wonders if Eddie knows. 23:50 <VoxPVoxD> Not about Sergio specifically, but about... all this. Maybe not the kind of thing you get brought in on when you want a supercontinent between you and the family at all times. But the sort of thing that, upon learning, might make you want that in the first place. 23:50 <banana> The stranger didn't respond for a few minutes. Then: <Spicy, are You? Accept this prophecy.> 23:50 <banana> <1 (within hours): The lion. 2 (days): The false unicorn. 3 (weeks): The dragon. 4: ME.> 23:51 <VoxPVoxD> ... 23:52 <VoxPVoxD> Is this a real number? Is she being Jacked? Is this a new variant? Deltajack? Spicyjack? 23:56 <VoxPVoxD> <does that make you a red deer? or perhaps a Harp> 23:57 <VoxPVoxD> She's gotta get her workout in now if she's seeing Sergio at midnight, so this is now happening while her phone is locked into her stationary bike. 23:57 <banana> There's no response to that, or not before it's time to go. 00:02 <VoxPVoxD> She feels good! Long workout, nice hot shower. A leftover croissant and a double ristretto. Her outfit is casual, which is pretty close to 'business casual' - silk blouse, slacks, cute belt. 00:03 <banana> All-dread street - why are they like this - actually, it's just Old English and means.. something. Earls or wise men. Whatever, the place is ominous at night. There are disconnected sets of rowhouses alternating with bungalows and a semicircle of poplar trees hemming them all in, hiding the little development from the A6. 00:05 <banana> Sergio's address is near the middle. It's a 1.5-storey house with a sloping roof made of solar tiles. There's a garden out the front, recently tended - you could see a profusion of colours if it wasn't midnight. 00:05 <banana> The lights are on inside, which is not the case for any of the other houses on Aldred Street. 00:06 <VoxPVoxD> Making hay while the sun shines. Good on you, Sergio. 00:07 <VoxPVoxD> Are there a lot of cars out front? 00:07 <VoxPVoxD> Does Sergio even have a car? 00:08 <banana> You can't see a car - or a garage. There are wide verandas, which would probably preclude one. Actually, what's that... 00:11 <banana> Lumps and shadows. A small noise, cut off. The moon is very high now. 00:14 <VoxPVoxD> Spooky. 00:14 <VoxPVoxD> Nothing for it but to go up and knock. 00:14 <VoxPVoxD> Or go up and have the door creak open as she approaches. 00:15 <banana> It doesn't creak. Sergio opens it just as she gets there, dressed down a bit but smiling. 00:16 <VoxPVoxD> Don't make an invitation joke don't make an invitation joke. "Sergio." Her formal affect is belied by the smile on her face. 00:18 <banana> He's wearing jeans and a blue t-shirt advertising HAWAIIAN SURF CHAMPIONSHIPS 1989... as well as some fairly expensive leather shoes. 00:18 <banana> Sergio: "Two nights in a row I'm lucky enough to see you. Want to come through to the studio?" 00:19 <VoxPVoxD> "Absolutely." 00:20 <VoxPVoxD> Sergio claims to be 35, which is old but not '1989 surf champion' old. It's a cute shirt though, in a kitsch way, and his chest and shoulders wear it well. 00:21 <banana> The inside of Sergio's home is kind of utilitarian. There are nice clean wooden floors and all the windows have matching sealable security shutters. Willie sees glimpses through open doors - a bedroom with shag carpet. A library containing some tech. No kitchen. 00:21 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Was this place custom-built?" 00:23 <banana> He leads her into a large back room with a drafting table and some covered canvases, art supplies on shelves. Some look recently touched, others very long disused. 00:23 <banana> "Renovated, anyway." He laughs - of course there's an edge to it. "We have plenty to talk about but, um," 00:23 <banana> Sergio turns around, hands clasped together overhand. "No matter how this goes, there's something I wanted to try at least once. Will you please indulge me?" 00:23 <VoxPVoxD> He has a studio. She feels light on her feet. "Mmm?" 00:24 <banana> Sergio: "Take a seat, wait a moment, keep an open mind." 00:24 <VoxPVoxD> Sit... where? Is there a place for models? 00:25 <banana> There are two chairs in the room, one by the easel and another one at the drafting table. They're identical, tweaked regularly by someone who bothers to adjust the wheels. 00:25 <VoxPVoxD> Willie sits by the easel, unless Sergio dissuades her. 00:26 <banana> He's happy with that. He holds up a finger to gesture, wait, and opens a bathroom door. 00:26 <VoxPVoxD> And then out come dozens of piranha-ravenous flesh-eating bats, and 00:27 <banana> None of those things except for a single elderly tomcat. It waddles forth lazily, sees Willie, and stops. Raises a sluggish paw, upon which appear gleaming claws. 00:27 <VoxPVoxD> Willie tenses a bit. 00:29 <banana> Sergio: "No no no." He wags his finger at the moggy and begins to trill and miaow. 00:30 <banana> There's a bit of an argument. The cat turns to him, hisses, grumbles in complaint. Sergio makes noises and contorts his face into comically feline shapes. 00:30 <VoxPVoxD> No fucking way. 00:30 <banana> The cat lies down. "Willie?" 00:31 <VoxPVoxD> ... "Sergio?" 00:32 <banana> Sergio: "Mr. Blimp is willing to receive you." 00:32 <banana> "Borrowed from a neighbour. Named by an unkind child." 00:32 <VoxPVoxD> Uncertainly: "Are you sure?" 00:32 <VoxPVoxD> "I don't want to upset him..." 00:33 <banana> "Very little upsets him these nights." 00:33 <VoxPVoxD> "Enviable." 00:33 <banana> He kneels down by the cat and takes one little paw in his hand, up with which it actually puts. 00:34 <banana> Sergio: "Shake." It doesn't. 00:34 <VoxPVoxD> Willie gets up, and crosses the floor, to kneel down beside the cat and Sergio both. 00:34 <VoxPVoxD> Tentatively, she reaches out for the paw. 00:35 <banana> Mr. Blimp watches Willie very closely. There's something like surprise in his fairly stupid eyes. He suffers his paw to be handed over, but withdraws the other three under his body in order to become bread. 00:36 <VoxPVoxD> "Hello, Mr. Blimp. How very good to meet you. Do call me Willie." She's on the verge of tears. 00:36 <banana> The cat purrs a little. There's a query at the end of it, and Sergio purrs back. You have no idea what it means, but he - the man - looks very happy. 00:37 <banana> There would be worse things to do than play with a cat for a little while. 00:37 <VoxPVoxD> Willie sniffs. "What a majestic creature." 00:38 <VoxPVoxD> No moment-ruining questions rise irresistibly to spoil this. 00:38 <banana> Sergio: "I don't believe he's ever caught a rat. But he could." 00:39 <banana> He strokes Mr. Blimp's fur a bit, which the cat pretends not to enjoy. 00:39 <VoxPVoxD> Ohhh. What a stately old cat. Rotund with dignity. 00:39 <VoxPVoxD> She actually is tearing up a bit now. 00:40 <banana> Sergio will offer a shoulder to lean on. 00:40 <VoxPVoxD> Willie doesn't lean so much as melt. 00:41 <VoxPVoxD> She doesn't know how many moments like this it would take to make the danger and opprobrium worth it. But it's a fixed number, and not an enormous one.