[OPEN] patience is a virtue

[nascensibility]

Who: Evelyn and you!
Where: Various (see below)
When: 3/5
Rating: PG-PG13
Summary: Forays into mildly-charted territories and the usual locales.
The Story:

kitchen

[As a woman forced to learn the art of patience over the course of her stay in this gilded prison Evelyn has taken to adopting (read: attempting) a number of hobbies, even if they won't stick with her once she's gone - if she leaves at all. Usually this falls to learning additional languages for the mental challenge it provides, but languages aren't all that fun when they can't be utilised and Wonderland's handy translation feature makes it difficult to engage properly. February's chill still lingers in the early hours of March, and so she has resorted to perusing the contents of one of her Christmas gifts in the kitchen, modifying and adapting elements to try to recreate something she had at a dinner once, in America.

The little box of index cards sits open on the counter top and Evelyn, the consummate proponent of propriety, is addressing a rather sorry excuse for a Beef Wellington.]

What absolute bollocks-

[She swears loudly, picking at the limp and lacklustre pastry that was supposed to have puffed up. What feels like a thousand steps in and she can't even execute the last one to satisfaction, duxelles and pâté all for naught. Unwilling to better examine what went wrong she picks the entire sheet up with a sound of disgust and chucks everything into the rubbish bin.

She rolls up her sleeves to try again.]

library

[Post-cooking disaster Evelyn can be found doing her daily milling through the stacks: shelving, re-shelving, making idle comments on book subjects before disappearing down another row. She eventually wanders to the archives for a 'bout of - admittedly early - spring cleaning, files spread far and wide across the west wing sitting area. It is a variety of sorting, for the express purpose of putting older materials away into a kind of storage when they aren't reference all that often.

On occasion she will greet the stray library patron with her usual friendliness, though she looks a little frazzled and will occasionally pause to write something down in a nearby notebook.]

Oh! Hello there.

various

[The late afternoon sees a desperate need for respite out-of-doors, and Evelyn can be found at the stables, then the outside gun range. At the former venue she is most likely to challenge any visitors to a race for the sheer thrill of it, and at the latter Evelyn professes a deep interest in the firearms made available after her era, asking about them in well-meaning curiosity.

Keeping excessively active tends to serve her best: all the easier to avoid lingering for too long on fears based in an ancient world, from another time. Sitting still isn't exactly an option.]

Comments

stables!

[thecourier]

[Dan has kept a horse here for some time, though not many people know about it. His mount of choice is a massive beast, a Percheron with a grey and white-dappled coat, and a long black mane.

Often, when he disappears for several hours, he's here. Anyone could tell he often treats the horse better than he treats himself, and he takes his time with grooming and ensuring that everything in the stable is spick and span.

It's after some time spent doing this, when he's finally working on keeping his own gear in top condition, that he hears a tell-tale light step and looks up with a crooked smile. With dirt on his face and a few pieces of straw in his hair, he looks more the part of a well-travelled courier than he usually does.]

Well, hey, princess.

[There's a soft chuffing sound from the stable behind him, and his dog emerges in short order to greet her, wagging his tail enthusiastically. The horse in the stable makes a low huffing noise, but doesn't venture out.]

Been quiet in here all day. Thought y' might be down.

[nascensibility]

[Sometimes she tries to imagine what he might look like - officially - in his own element. In his own world. Filthier, for one, but that's more a product of the time and place - keeping clean is a luxury when water is at a premium in the Mojave. Perhaps more grizzled, more stubble, longer hair. Seeing Dan this disheveled is always a little nostalgic.

Evelyn smiles at him in greeting, bending briefly to rub at the German shepherd's snout as she makes her way over to Dan. Cinnamon trails along after her, a dozen feet behind and snuffling at a bale of hay.]

It was quiet in the library, too.

[Overwhelmingly so. She curls her fingers into his dusty collar and leans up to kiss him.]

[thecourier]

[The dog accepts the attention quite happily, but finds the presence of Cinnamon to be far more interesting as soon as he notices her and bypasses Evelyn to go and bother the small spaniel instead.]

Huh. Wonder wha-- [She catches his collar, and he stops speaking instantly to return the kiss with a warm, firm press of his lips to hers. As a rule, Dan has always disliked being interrupted, but when it's for something like that he finds that he doesn't mind in the least.

It's been a long time since the courier was as filthy as he was when he first walked into this place, fresh out of the desert and stinking of sweat and sand. Now, he revels in being clean, keeping himself relatively neat, long after the novelty of clean water for showering has worn off.]

... Wonder what everyone's up to. [He smiles at her, bumping a kiss to her forehead when they part.] Lookin' t' get outta here fer a while? 'M jus' about finished up, but I can wait.

[nascensibility]

[Cinnamon is thrilled for the company, as always, and Evelyn leaves the dogs to their own devices - she is more than happy to grin against Dan's mouth while he does the same to her. Evelyn has needed the physical comfort of touch since her return, leaning against him as his stubble scratches her temple before leaving his space once more.]

Well, it's still chilly out, I suppose.

[Evelyn concedes, glancing over her shoulder at the dismal sky outside the barn. This sort of weather tends to make her lethargic.]

I just thought I might see what you were up to.

library!

[voidfished]

[Lucretia finds herself in the library when she needs some comfort. Books and the written word have always been the thing that makes her feel the most connected to herself, and simultaneously very in- and out of- her own head. She's idly browsing, trying to find something to concentrate on so she can process some thoughts, when she sees Evelyn. This isn't their first talk, seeing as Lucretia lived in here during the event where they first spoke, but she is a bit remiss that she hasn't found the time to properly connect with the woman.

She waves, though it's impossible not to notice her stress.]

Forgive me if this is obvious, but you sort these books yourself? I thought the library reorganized itself.

[nascensibility]

[Evelyn glances up so swiftly she very nearly gives herself whiplash, blinking at the woman across the way. Lucretia, wasn't it? Having neglected to better know the more recent, frequent patrons of the stacks she smiles apologetically, moving away from her desk.]

It depends.

[An annoyingly vague answer.]

Sometimes it does a bang-up job on its own, and sometimes it sorts things incorrectly just to be an inconvenience to people.

[voidfished]

You're trying to catalogue a moving, sentient library?

[That's. Hm. A fool's errand, but someone has to do it if they want information to be found around here.]

That sounds nearly impossible, especially if you can't predict the way it will move. Seems like it doesn't want something to be found.

[nascensibility]

...oh, I know how it moves.

[Evelyn says plainly, matter of fact. The statement requires no embellishment because six years of working in and around stacks that shift at their leisure has afforded Evelyn a certain clarity. The organisation is idiosyncratic, yes, but has patterns if one spends enough time watching them.]

There are a number of factors that influence it, but on any given day I have an approximation of its methods.

The gun range because Frank Castle

[scoutsniper]

[ At first Frank doesn't see her, because he's got other stuff to do--namely punch holes in pieces of paper from ridiculous distances.

He pauses, eventually, to change magazines, and catches sight of her. ] What.

[He looks a little guilty, like he's been caught out at something.]

[nascensibility]

[Evelyn has an older, simpler sporting rifle slung over one shoulder, stepping lightly to the safety area where Frank Castle - predictably - is situated. Perhaps she should have assumed he would be out here, knocking off however many rounds to knock off however much stress. She knows this place doesn't suit him.

The firearm he's wielding reminds her of the Barrett that Bucky once allowed her to use, but then, all modern rifles look the same to her. Blocky and characterless.]

I didn't expect anyone to be out here.

[She offers half of a shrug, lifting the shoulder with the leather strap. Frank appears to be mildly uncomfortable but she can't imagine why.]

[scoutsniper]

It's a range.

[As in, WHERE ELSE do you think Frank hangs out when he's not in the library doing a little friendly surveilling?] I'm out here just about every day.


Better question is what you're doing out here.

[nascensibility]

It's a range.

[Surely he didn't expect that to not be used against him. Evelyn shifts, shouldering the leather strap of her gun higher and stopping just a few feet from him.

It occurs to her that he has never seen her handle herself in a real fight - any argument they've had has included such weaponry as verbal barbs, and only once did Evelyn use a firearm in Frank's presence. At the time he'd been grousing, however, and thoroughly convinced of her inherent helplessness.]

...did my rifle not give it away?

kitchen.

[mulletrock]

I guess it takes more than reading the recipe to perfect the art.

[Dean grew up cooking for Sam and on some days his dad when he was worn out from a hunt or too drunk to care. Not that either bothered him, more like so many nights of spaghettios could whip up a mean case of acid reflux that he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy. To date, Dean still couldn't look at the bulk cans without tasting it in the back of his throat.]

Need a hand?

dean heating up spaghetti-os doesn't count as cooking!!!!!!

[nascensibility]

[It's early - early enough that her sleeplessness has led her here and early enough that normal people might still be abed - hence her shock at the arrival of one Dean Winchester, who appears to be appraising her (admittedly petulant) act.]

It usually does.

[She says wryly, wiping her hands clean on her apron. For a brief moment Evelyn looks to the small box of index cards on the counter, a guilty twist to her brow before she adds:]

...and I might, yes.

:( he was seven don't judge

[mulletrock]

[There's no such thing as early for Dean, not when you get up at 4 am to get on the road. Definitely not when every sound is a reason to wake up, he's been trained for way too long to have that die out just because he was Wonderland bound.]

I'll see what I can do.

[Dean takes a glance over her shoulder at what she managed to whip up, it might not be restaurant quality or his mom's handiwork but it's still something.]

First thing's first, when'd it go from Gordon Ramsey to Paula Deen? There's usually a crossover point.

[Dean is in no way comfortable enough yet to dump this garbage down the chute, or go for the cards. So, small talk it is. For now.]

no judgment here but has he improved his culinary skills since then

[nascensibility]

[Evelyn looks at him in helpless confusion, presuming (naturally) that his tendency to make cultural references is still relegated to his century and therefore not entirely known to her.

The dismay is evident in both expression and voice.]

Dean, I don't know either of those people.

range

[like247]

[After being entrusted with a pistol, Wendy is very careful with how she handles it. Kept in a case, locked as if her brothers might find it, and cleaning it every time she uses it.

While she's good with the crossbow, and fired a hunting rifle a few times, she hadn't much experience with the pistol until Wonderland. So much of her days included putting in some time with a box of ammo and the pistol. Wendy almost misses when being bored and doing nothing was subversive. Here there's no one to tell her to get to work, and it gets boring pretty quickly.

And if the targets she used might have things like zombies, unicorns, and gnomes, well so be it.

That she sometimes made pew pew noises as she fired was something else entirely. Not that she isn't taking things seriously, but more that she is just finding ways to entertain herself.]

[nascensibility]

[Children are rare sights at the range - even teenaged ones - and for good reason.Weaponry is so easy to come by; it's a marvel more of them aren't asking the closets for things and hurting themselves.

All that said, the girl behind the table has a fair stance, is pinning her targets well, appears to know precisely what she's doing...even if the sound effects post-shot aren't the norm. Evelyn waits until she stops to reload to approach.]

Getting practise in?

[like247]

[Wendy glances up as she realizes she's been spoken to. Smiling, she carefully sets down the pistol, removing her headphones she wears to protect her ears and turns to face Evelyn.]

I'm trying, though I think I'm anticipating the jerk of the gun. I figure if I ever need it here, I really need to know what I'm doing, you know?

stables!

[spycurious]

[Ben has been more pensive than usual lately, but as he is no less passionate, he has increasingly had to find more activities with which to occupy himself. Though unspoken, they apparently share a similar restlessness that moves them from place to place every day.

The horse Ben adores, a fierce-looking war horse of a handsome bay coloring, draws him to the stables very frequently, especially during the long winter months.

His affection for Gaius is so great that he hardly notice Evelyn's arrival while he brushes Gaius' coat and murmurs to him softly. She only catches his attention when Gaius turns his head in recognition and flicks his ears (though is otherwise unperturbed, being apparently of good temper).

Ben raises his head and smiles.]

Evelyn! Come say hello. Gaius is in good spirits today.

[nascensibility]

[Evelyn thought she might manage actually sneaking up on Benjamin, but her efforts are in vain: he notices her too soon coming around the corner in her riding habit, but the greeting is friendly all the same.]

I expect nothing less from him.

[Comes the easy remark - oftentimes when she drops by the stables to feed and see to Aqila, she will visit with Gaius as well, if Ben hasn't already taken him out for a ride. Evelyn steps around a bale of hay to bump elbows with her friend, holding out her hands that Gaius might snuffle at them curiously.]

Do you intend to take him out?

[spycurious]

[Ben gives Gaius' muzzle a few affectionate strokes.]

I do. He's pampered, compared to the camp horses. Bless them, all the work they do for us and the winters they endure. I think he's ready for more exercise though.

Oh, I stopped by Aqila to say hello. I hope you don't mind.

stables

[middlefinger]

[for her twenty eight birthday doc trained a horse for wynonna, and she hasn't always known what to do with it since then. artemis is a sweet and patient dappled appaloosa which with wynonna's....everything was probably part of why doc had selected her for her in the first place. she tries to remember to come out to the stables to tend to her horse, feeding and brushing her, in fact she's the middle of brushing out her horse's main when she sees the other woman approach.]

I didn't expect to see anyone else out here

HORSIE GALS

[nascensibility]

Likewise.

[Wynonna isn't the first person Evelyn has seen in and around the stables, and she certainly won't be the last, but the winter months are not particularly kind to animals even when they are kept indoors. It is nice to have a daily opportunity to go outside and allow some of the horses to mill about as they like, as well.

Meandering over to the stall she flashes a friendly smile, holding out a hand for the mare to smell.]

What's her name?

YES.

[middlefinger]

[wynonna gets stir crazy if she spends too long inside the mansion so even though the weather has been less than ideal she still makes an effort to go out and do things, and taking care of her horse is as good of an excuse as any.

artemis sniffs at evelyn's hand before bowing her head in approval.]

Artemis.