[open] bars & bookstores

[specifiercity]

ONE

Arthur has visited a number of used book stores in the past year. Sometimes he wanders into them when he has a few minutes to spare on his way to and from the train, and on occasion he makes a point to visit one and sift through their collections to find something interesting. He'll read just about anything, but his old client taught him what to look for in everything from old fairytales to modern journals, how to see the clues left behind by the supernatural world that no one would pick up on if they didn't already know. Arthur is accumulating a small bookshelf's worth of books with high-lighted passages, with everything from children's nursery rhymes to new journalism from the 60's and 70's.

That's where he is now, standing outside of a small storefront on a sunny day, looking down at a bin of cheap books for something that he might be able to analyze just for fun. It'd be a shame if someone were to interrupt him.

TWO

Arthur's not a guy who hangs out at a bar alone for an hour by choice. Maybe this is obvious by his slouched posture and frown as he stares down at the remainder of his second beer, some shitty draught that seemed a safe choice when he arrived. Having politely rebuffed all of the bartender's attempts at conversation, he must look stood up - and he has been, only not for a date. He was supposed to meet a witch here, someone who could offer a bit of a different insight into what's been going on with Circle Midnight, but she never showed.

He knows he can't expect everyone to be perfectly punctual, but Arthur's in the process of giving up hope that she'll ever walk in. He checks his phone to confirm that it has indeed been fifty eight minutes since he sat down, and then he sighs as he puts it back in his pocket. Guess it's time to polish off this crappy beer that he paid too much for and then head out - that is, unless someone else happens to distract him.

WILDCARD

[Please hit me up if you'd like a different situation!]

Comments

[falsify]

Well that gets a look of incredulity from Eames, but he decides 'better things' means 'other work' and that settles that. He shrugs though, completely lacking any sympathy for an understandably annoying situation, "you should be used to this kind of thing. Sources aren't often the most reliable."

[specifiercity]

"Depends on the source," Arthur says, draining his drink. He's now just buzzed enough to be less annoyed by Eames than usual, so he sighs (again) and turns to his new companion.

"Anything new on your end?"

[falsify]

"I assume you know about Bexley and Bromley, but otherwise..." He trails off, shaking his head with a frown and a sigh. "There's a storm on the horizon between the circles, but getting close enough to a Daybreak witch to find out is... Difficult for someone like me."

[specifiercity]

Arthur nods, tracing a finger around the lip of his glass thoughtfully.

"I can ask around, see how they feel about Enfield. Can't imagine it's anything good, but it's hard to say whether they'll retaliate and how." He sits back on the barstool with a sigh. "Are Bexley and Bromley stabilizing?"

[falsify]

Eames makes a soft noise to the affirmative, "there was hardly any resistance to begin with. At this stage it's largely a matter of making sure our presence is felt in the right way."

It's an implicit move against the Council in much the same way as Circle Midnight's is against daybreak. He's not foolish enough not to expect there won't be any complaints on their part. For his part, he's kind of excited to see if and when they're planning to do anything about it.

[specifiercity]

Arthur nods again, glancing around the bar.

"Will it be dangerous for anyone if they try going in there?"

[falsify]

"Not unless they start trying to close doors." Or, you know. Catch the eye of a fae, but that's a danger anywhere.

[specifiercity]

"Those things are dangerous," Arthur says, frowning down at his hands. "They're going to want them closed."

[falsify]

Well if ever there's a way to get Eames riled up, there it is. Nothing like the infringement of his personal freedoms to get under a guy's skin.

He laughs harshly and looks down down at his drink, "dangerous, are they?" Taking a final drink of his beer, he puts the empty bottle down and sighs. "Mm. Maybe you humans should pay a little more attention to where you're going."

[specifiercity]

Arthur rolls his eyes and sits back on his stool.

"I don't give a shit, I know where to look, and I know what to do if I end up in your world," he says with a scoff.

[falsify]

Wait what.

He was all amped up to argue and now there's nothing to argue about. He kind of wants to needle Arthur just to get a rise out of him so he can use up all this... Ampedness, but that would be embarrassing. Instead he flags down the bartender so he can order another beer and sighs, putting his attitude on the back-burner for now.

"Well then on behalf of all of Faery, allow me to thank you specifically for not trying to police us."

Okay, maybe it's not entirely on the back-burner.

[specifiercity]

If Arthur could roll his eyes any harder, they'd be staring at the back of his skull. He orders another beer when Eames does (not a draught this time), and then leans forward onto the bar.

"I'm just telling you - humans walk into those things and more often than not, bad things have happened to them. If you don't want the Night Council interfering, you should do a better job of keeping to yourselves."

It's the beer talking. Well, it's Arthur talking, but the beer is certainly loosening his mouth.

[falsify]

Eames raises his eyebrows like he's totally astonished by this statement - he's not, he's heard this argument several times before and it manages to piss him off every time.

"It's... adorable that you think this is about safety." He snorts and shakes his head, much like one might when watching the antics of children on a playground, "If it was about safety, Arthur, why didn't they approach us like they did the vampires? Try to come to an understanding instead of reaping the benefits of their proximity to us without having to actually deal with our presence?"

[specifiercity]

Shaking his head with a sigh, Arthur leans forward onto his elbows. "I don't like them either, just so we're clear," he tells Eames, "but you have to admit they might have a point if they pursue this."

[falsify]

Eames really could not give less of a shit if they 'have a point' or not - as far as he's concerned, it's downright abhorrent for some humans to come along and try to dictate how he can behave - but he can appreciate that people who are aware might think the fae pose a threat.

"Perhaps." Eames says flatly after a thoughtful pause, "that doesn't stop them being totalitarian overlords in the making, however."

[specifiercity]

Arthur doesn't harbour a lot of respect for the Night Council, and even less so when he's had a couple drinks, so he shrugs a shoulder and looks around the bar again.

"How much power do they really have over what the fae do? Redbright can't exactly mobilize any of the factions against you unless she wants a conflict on her hands."

[falsify]

"Not a lot, especially given the embargo on the, ah... Dark arts. But if Redbright gets enough territory under her belt, she can effectively lock us out of London altogether." He takes a swig of his beer, looking mighty perturbed.

He is aware that it may sound like an overreaction on the fae side of things - having to travel like everyone else is hardly the end of the world, but it's an affront. And one has to wonder how long it'll be until they figure out how to prevent fae magic or ward them off from particular areas altogether.

"Either way, I imagine Redbright's too busy being enraged by Midnight to move against us just yet."

[specifiercity]

He sits up again, taking his cue from Eames to take a drink.

"Maybe Midnight will keep her distracted. If they keep growing... you never know, it might pay to find allies. Even among the witches. The enemy of my enemy..."

Arthur doesn't bother to finish the saying, waving it off instead.

[falsify]

"Oh, might it?" He raises his eyebrows at Arthur, tone just a hair shy of mocking. He's already got that in mind, it's really just a matter of figuring out which witch to ingratiate himself with.

[specifiercity]

"Yes," Arthur says, electing not to tell Eames to shut the hell up, "it might."

He swirls his drink idly, trying not to be annoyed and failing, as is betrayed by his tone when he continues speaking. "I assume you already have some contacts in Circle Midnight."

[falsify]

"You'd be correct." Delighted as Eames always is to get under Arthur's skin, he doesn't seem to enjoy the moment for long. Absently tapping his fingers against the bottle in his hand as he thinks about this whole... Situation.

"Fragmented as they still are, however..." He sighs, "'connections' aren't too useful unless they're one of the coven leaders."

[specifiercity]

Arthur shrugs. "Maybe. When it comes to getting information I don't always want the coven leaders knowing that I'm poking around. They'll start to want loyalty if they think I know too much."

[falsify]

"These ones are young. Already biting off more than they can chew." Eames leans back on his seat a little, raising an eyebrow in thought. They can expect all they want, doesn't mean they're in any position to demand it.

He sighs and takes another swig of his beer, "anyway. Surely you'd love to chance to play bodyguard for some witches again."

[specifiercity]

Frowning, Arthur shakes his head.

"That would mean compromising what I'm doing at Hillingdon. These covens are big enough to protect themselves, and they have the Night Council to appeal to if they're under threat. The witch I worked for was alone - and always finding trouble."

[falsify]

"The Council would never help them, and you know it." Eames sighs as if he thinks this is some great tragedy, (he doesn't,) "I suppose if they can't count on you or the Council to protect them, then some friendly Unseelie will have to fill the gap."