Book Nook [Jonah]

[Peter Parkman]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

<Jonah> Jonah sat behind the counter of the store. Char had not shown up for work for a number of days. He continued to write her checks and covered for her but wasn't sure he could keep on doing this. Luckily, this evening was rather light on traffic which allowed him to study some of the manuscripts that Harper had brought him. He had been meaning to disucss them with Notte but kept forgetting since he rarely saw the wraith who kept herself busy learning about the new world.


<Peter Parkman> Peter's routine was a strict thing. Although he couldn't thoroughly explain it to other people, it made sense to him. Panic and anxiety threatened his psyche should he step out of his routine - at least, he supposed, it was reasonable enough that he could introduce new things to his life. He just have to have warning, and it all had to measure up properly. He was also aware that having other people in his life meant that there would be distractions - and so he'd put aside a certain amount of time each week that he could use to catch up with those who might wish for his company. There weren't many who asked for him, aside from Jersey. None, actually - though he did remember Jonah's suggestion. And so, he found himself wandering into the shop, curiously.


<Jonah> Jonah had a small sensor that chimed when the door was opened and he looked up and the words rolled off his tongue on their own. "Welcome to the Book Nook, how can we help you?" Before he even saw the person that was walking in. More than a few times, he had greeted nothing when some passerby had merely shoved the door and kept on walking. This time, there was a body that he recognized. "Oh, Peter, good to see you. I wasn't expecting you."


<Peter Parkman> Peter blinked. He glanced back at the door; he had a scarf around his neck, and his long fingers fidgeted with the ends. He'd never been in this shop before and generally, the mall sent him batshit crazy. Literally. It was too sprawled out and there were too many people disrupting the balance. Even in here, his gaze bounced to the books - he tried not to look too hard. If they were out of alphabetical order, then Jonah wouldn't be able to get rid of Peter until they were organised properly. Peter cleared his throat. "Well you didn't give a specific date and time," he said, matter-of-fact, turning his gaze to the proprietor and keeping it there, slowly making his way toward the counter.


<Jonah> He chuckled, remembering the comment that was made on the boards. "Sorry, I kept meaning to reply with a few times but didn't know when would be best for you." He came around the counter and offered his large hand to the other Vedarian


<Peter Parkman> The comment had thrown Peter. It rocketed around his head and it wouldn't stay still. I wasn't expecting you. He didn't like being unexpected. He didn't see the offered hand, but instead glanced back toward the door. "I can go. I can uhm... I can call you and we can organise a specific time, that might be best," he said, glancing back at Jonah, then to the door again, halfway inching toward it.


<Jonah> Jonah's brow perked up. "Honestly, it's fine. Would be nice to have something to do. Char..." he trailed off, his voice cracking more than normal for a second. "She hasn't been around and it would be nice to have some company for a bit."


<Peter Parkman> "It's not... it's not really," Peter said. He didn't explain himself. He knew that his own tendencies did not apply to other people, but he did try to relax. His gaze landed on a few books on the shelf next to him - all by the same author, but the titles were out of order. He quickly swapped a couple of books and pushed them neatly back into place. He took a deep breath and released it, before pushing his hands into his pockets. Inwardly, he scolded himself. He tried for a smile that sat awkwardly on his lips. "You said you... needed help?" he asked. He couldn't remember the exact phrase.


<Jonah> "Yeah," he said as he watched Peter re-arrange the books and bit his tongue to keep from pointing out that they had previously been sorted by publication. "I think I have some things you might be interested in. Some manuscripts about how things used to be."


<Peter Parkman> "Yes," Peter said. It's not really in answer to anything, except that he would be interested. He tore his eyes away from the shelves, his fingers curling in the pockets of his coat. "I mean I do, think that I would be interested," he said. "Do you have a back room somewhere?" he asked. A risk, really, because back rooms could be more cluttered than rooms open to the public. But it could also be bare.


<Jonah> He nodded and lead the man to the receiving office. A shipment had just been delivered and the books were still in their boxes on a pallet and carefully arranged. The walls were covered with shipping supplies and while they were reasonably organized, there was a level of clutter throughout the room. The central table was bare though and Jonah left the room for a moment to bring a few of the manuscripts that were written out on college ruled paper and sat them down.


<Peter Parkman> Peter shuddered. The first thing he wanted to do was measure the room. And then he wanted to measure the boxes. He wanted to re-organise them, to put boxes of like size together, like a big game of tetris. Of course he would not have been aware that clusters of boxes should remain with their invoics - it would not occur to him. But he also had to try to deal with it, even if it did give him a very visible eye-twitch. He sat at the desk and pushed his hands between his knees. He focused forward, he focused on Jonah. "Char. Charlotte? Ruse?" he asked, maybe a bit belatedly.

[Jonah]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

<Jonah> He nodded but did not offer any further information as he opened the first notebook. "Ok, have you ever heard of the Karankawa?"


<Peter Parkman> Peter shook his head. No, he had not heard of Karankawa. But his mind was still stuck on the previous topic and he failed to pick up on the hints that Jonah didn't want to talk about it. He merely commented on a thing that had annoyed him. "She said she wanted sword parts. She hasn't responded. Where'd she go?" he asked, assuming Jonah knew as he was the one who'd mentioned she hadn't been around. Or maybe she'd just dropped off the grid.


<Jonah> He sighed, as he brought up Char again. In a relatively flat tone, he replied. "She's not here. I don't know hwere she is but I think..." he trailed off and couldn't say the words. "Anyway," he swallowed and his tone grew slightly more friendly, "the Karankawa were a tribe in Texas. They were cannibals." He gestured to the notebook. "They say that a goddess came from the water and taught them how to be strong by feeding on their enemies."


<Peter Parkman> Peter disliked unfinished sentences. They grated on his psyche, much like unfinished rooms or open spaces did. There was another twitch that he couldn't control - a spasm in the nerve of his cheek, just below the eye. It was, by now, obvious that Jonah didn't want to talk about it. Peter understood that, now, and yet... he tried. He swallowed. He cleared his throat, and nodded. "And you believe the Karankawa have similarites to Harper Rock...?" he asked, though that unfinished sentence still hung in his brain.


<Jonah> He nodded. "I think they came here." He gestured to the second notebook. "They tell of a journey to the north, to the land of ice, and how their goddess made a fortress here that was destroyed."


<Peter Parkman> Peter reached out for the manuscripts. His curiosity was piqued - almost, almost enough to banish the unfinished sentence from his brain. Green eyes hungrily swept across the pages. "Can I... can I take them or would you prefer they stay here?" he asked, glancing to his left and regretting it. It was hard not to stare at a couple of haphazardly stacked boxes as if they were a monster that needed to be slaughtered.


<Jonah> "They're yours if you'd like them. My thrall wrote them out for me and I have other copies. She's part of the tribe if you'd like to talk with her sometime as well."


<Peter Parkman> Peter's fingers curled around the manuscripts as if they were gold. He'd probably end up typing them up - because that's how he was. But they were valuable, nonetheless. He nodded, and cleared his throat again. "You think... what is it you think about Charlotte?" he asked. He couldn't stop himself.


<Jonah> The question caught him off guard and he looked at Peter with a level stare. "That she might be in the SR."


<Peter Parkman> "Shadow Realm," Peter stated matter-of-fact, stating it more to himself than to Jonah. Confirming, to himself, that's what the letters stood for - preferring to say the words out loud, in full. "How?"


<Jonah> "I don't know. I just...I felt her hurt herself," he tapped the side of his head.


<Peter Parkman> "Oh," Peter blinked. Another thing that he himself was not capable of. But, it made sense, given her cryptic 'goodbye' on the Crownet. He cleared his throat again and dropped his eyes to the table. He didn't know what to say.


<Jonah> He took a deep breath, having not expected the conversation to turn to the woman so many times. "Would you like me to send Harper around sometime?"


<Peter Parkman> "Yes. Maybe," Peter said. "Just... warn me. Let me know. Or I can... around this time? This day? next week. Just let me know," he said, and blinked back up at Jonah. The deep breath was noted. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.


<Jonah> "I'll have her here. She works a few shifts from time to time." He forced a smile at the other man. "No, it's fine. But thank you."


<Peter Parkman> Peter wasn't sure that he believed Jonah, but he wouldn't push the matter. If the guy didn't want to talk about it, then he didn't want to talk about it. It was within Peter's nature to want to help, to want to smooth frazzled surfaces. But perhaps Jonah has other people to talk to, and his own way of dealing with things. Peter nodded. "Okay." It was uttered in response to both statements.


<Jonah> "Feel free to stop by any time though. I like talking to you.


<Peter Parkman> The awkward smile graced Peter's lips. "We haven't talked much," he said. He wasn't being modest, not really. He wasn't being contradictory. He was just stating a fact. "I don't really do random, Jonah," he said, letting the man know that 'dropping in' wasn't his style, and not to expect it.


<Jonah> He frowned. "How about we make this regular then. This time every week."


<Peter Parkman> Peter's eyes brightened. The smile was a little less unsure - more confident. He liked that word. Regular. He liked what it meant. "Same time, same day, same place every week. Yes, I like that," he nods.


<Jonah> "Good. I'm looking forward to it."


<Peter Parkman> Peter straightened, and hugged the manuscripts to his chest. It seemed like the kind of thing a person would say when a meeting was concluded. He was unsure. "Yes. I look forward to it, too..."


<Jonah> The other man looked ready to panic so he smiled and walked back in to the main store. "Stay safe in the darkness Peter."


<Peter Parkman> That was a thing that Keara said, too. Peter didn't particularly like darkness. He preferred a little bit of light. He just nodded, accepted, and realised he'd been given his freedom. "You too, Jonah. See you next week," he said, before scuttling away - braving the mall before breathing deep of the fresher air outside.


<Jonah> Jonah watched the other man go before moving back behind the counter and studying his own copy of the stories.