| Benjamin's Balloons |
| Summary: | Manifold and Pixie run into each other in the park. |
| Date: | 2016-09-15 |
| Related: | None |
| NPCs: | {$npc} |
| Scene Runner: | {$runner} |
| Social/Plot: | Social/Plot |
| Players: |
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Strawberry Fields — Central Park
This meditative and peaceful memorial was dedicated on October 9, 1985-what would have been the 45th birthday of John Lennon. Created by Yoko Ono, landscape architect Bruce Kelly and the Central Park Conservancy to honor the late singer-songwriter, the space was named after the famous Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever." Located at Central Park West and West 72nd Street, Strawberry Fields is situated across from the Dakota-where Lennon lived from 1973 until his death outside that very building in 1980. Inside the memorial is a large, black-and-white mosaic with the word "Imagine" in the center-a reminder of one of Lennon's most famous songs as a solo artist and his message to spread peace and love. During the spring and summer, flowers bloom throughout the area, and visitors can be found at any time during the year leaving their own dedications and floral arrangements in honor of the late peace activist.
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Pleasant day, slightly cool in the low 70s, blue skies. Couldn't be a nicer day. Cool enough one can feel hints of fall in the air. Warm enough one can wear shorts under the sun and feel nicely comfortable. Eden is enjoying just that weather himself. He has tourist'ed it up currently, white t-shirt with a USA vibe to it, probably went to see the Statue of Liberty recently. That and some long cargo shorts, just past his knees, with some dangly string things out there, in case he needs to cinch them closed or something, who knows. Cargo shorts always have extra things there. Doesn't matter, he's meandering around Strawberry fields. He's forgotten about memorials to John Lennon and all, as he has a strawberry icecream in his hand, and it looks pink and delicious, but its melting in his hand. He's not eating fast enough and he has no napkin. Right hand is holding the cone, left hand underneath collecting drops as he licks away. Until he licks too hard and pushes the last scoop over the edge. Its too much, he could catch it, but insted, he lets it drop, onto part of the memorial. Eyes wide, he pushes it with his foot as if to hide it, or remove it, like he's mired the memorial here or something. Its outdoors, probably happens all the time, but he's shifty eye-ing, making sure now one sees his foot pushing the scoop away as it leaves a pink trail behind that scoop that is just mushing more than rolling anyways.
Likely, Pixie has about zero clue who John Lennon is. Doesn't matter. It's part of Central Park, so she's exploring it. The carousel was next on the agenda, but there was time. Lots of time. Like a tourist herself, she is dressed in a pair of denim capri's and a button up dark blue shirt over a white tank, the blue is tied around her waist. Strolling oh so casually, she doesn't have anything in her hands and they hang loosely at her sides, but the vendors are tempting her attention in their direction now and again. Finding a bench, she opts for people watching because that's what she likes to do in the park. Watching a man in a business suit and tie talking on the phone gesturing wildly with his hands, she pretends to herself to be at the other end of the conversation. "Yeah?" She counters whatever it was he said as he moved an arm emphatically. "Well I think you're wrong." A smug look accompanies when the man hangs up the phone with force and looks about to throw it. As he storms off, she shifts her attention to the ice cream eating man. When the scoop falls, she murmurs, "Let me just push that over here, pretend no one sees it." Though she's openly watching. "Come back and get it tomorrow.." she grins to herself, this pretending game was fun.
And amusing.
He's scooping it along, with his black sneakers, like it will help. Manifold doesn't mind anyone's busines. Still shifty eye of course, just in case someones is watching. She's off on her bench, minding her own, filling in thoughts and conversations to the world around her, no way he could hear or single out her voice maybe. But then, right before he pushes the remnants into the grass, he turns and looks. Maybe the grin, maybe just her in general, pink hair and all, it grabs him and he looks. And he may see he is being watched finally, not embarassed either, he gives it a good final kick scoop. As if showing that he's doing it, right into the grass for ants to get to quicker even. "Mission accomplished, phase two!" Said, thick australian accent and all, to her, enough to she can hear, and he visibly takes the cone and snags a bite of it. That is phase two, the good part, it is waffle cone after all, would of been a travesty to have dropped it all. Chewing he takes a few steps towards her bench, "They give free scoops to visitors, right?"
Pixie tilts her head when he seems rather unabashed about it, the playful smile intensifying at the action. When it reaches the grass, she applauds, since she's been found out. "Now tomorrow, there will be strawberry ice cream trees growing. It gives new meaning to Strawberry Fields." Not that she was aware of the original meaning. "I see now that it is so aptly named." His accent catches her and she tries to place it. "Where are you from?" Scooting over a little, she gestures to the remainder of the bench. "After such work, you should have a seat, relax, enjoy your meal." Her own is from England, fairly discernible.
"Ah, yeah?" A slight question, raised about strawberry fields and how they are made. "Right then," grins Eden, "Seems I'm doin' my job, Keep 'Merica Beautiful?" Rounded the Australian way, not the cool 'merica way some folks like to stay state side. "Yeah, 'xactly how it got its name." Moving closer, "Depends, you gonna stay there when I park alongside ya, or ya gonna up 'n move away on me. I haven't rightly cleaned up yet, I'm a down right mess." Still taking the seat, he holds the cone for a bite with his teeth, showing his hand with the drops on it from where he had collected them earlier.
Course being English, should be a sin Pixie doesn't realize right away about John Lennon, but it is what it is. At the question, she looks down to the place beside her and laughs as if having not thought about vacating her spot if he joined. Now that the idea is planted, she gives a whimsical smile. "It's a fifty-fifty chance you're taking there. The question you have to ask yourself is if you're a gambling man?" The grin goes crooked and she watches him with a curious look. As soon as he takes the seat, she pretends to be getting to her feet, but hesitates in the motion. "To sit here, you have to play a game with me. We make a conversation like we're those two over there," she motions towards a married couple in the park as a toddler plays around at their feet. The couple are in a heated discussion and what looks like is going to be a pretty lengthy argument while the toddler blissfully ignores them both and chases a bug walking on the sidewalk. "Deal? Should I stay or should I go?"
"That right," he ponders again, about being a gambling man, watching her as they exchange roles of sitting and standing. Slowly Eden takes his eyes from her towards the married couple. "S'that right?" Seems that's just a habit of the man, to buy those moments to ponder the thoughts and turn over his answer. Looking at the couple, the toddler, then back to Pixie, he nods. "Deal then. We make like we're filling in the conversation. See where it goes." He pats the bench again, like he's the 'owner' now cause she got up, but is playing the game to have joined her. "Yer company, s'worth it I imagine. That I look like a fool here." Then a chuckle, "Which I'm managing well and fine on my own, but lets try this game of yers." Watching to see if she returns to sitting or not, he says, "You start us off, so I get a feel for this game."
Pixie pretends to contemplate as he pats the bench beside himself now, pondering it with an amused smile. "I hope it's worth it," she says in a blase manner before retaking the seat without any further fanfare. Once seated, she uses her hands to clutch the edge as she leans forward a touch to watch the couple. Just then, the woman crosses her arms over her chest and glowers at something the man is saying. As soon as he says something, she looks disgusted so Pixie growls and goes right into playing the game. "I told you, Ferdinand," she even ad-libs the name, "That it's your mother that's the problem. I mean when I caught her going through my sock drawer looking for my diary, I knew she would go to any lengths to get us to fight. And look at us now!" Though she keeps her voice low, she makes it emphatic at times to stress points. "What about poor Benjamin," Pixie says as the woman glances down at her toddler then back to the man. "He's pondering running away to the clown with the balloons at the ferris wheel." Barely containing the amusement on voicing an argument that's likely way off base. She falls silent now as the the man begins speaking.
"Yeah, that mate with the balloons, I don't blame Benjamin," returns Eden, leaning back on the bench himself as the man counters the woman by waving his hands and pointing a little. "He thinks he could just fly up outta here and I'm with him love." There is a grin to his voice though he's trying to sound upset and all. "I mean, come on Esmeralda, she knews about the one time you did drop socks with the Balloon man, can ya blame her for wantin' to find yer diary, I was trying to look myself." It happens the man goes suddenly silent mid thought, so that works as a breaking point. Eden does look to make sure 'Benjamin' is still looking or playing with the bug, rather than wandering further away too.
Leaning back as 'Ferdinand' Eden does, Pixie crosses her arms over her own chest, trying to keep the amusement out of her expression and voice, but it bubbles out anyway. "So you want to fly away, what's stopping you, Ferdy?" Pixie uses a nickname now, but pauses dramatically before starting again, "Your mother knows about the balloon man? And the pilot? And the Garbage Truck driver? And.. and the astronaut?" Pretending to be quite aghast at the very idea. "And the television evangelist?" The woman gestures madly while Pixie tries to keep it together and not outright laugh. "If you touch my diary," she threatens with a glowering look, "You will regret it, because then you'd know about the ice cream truck driver and that man in the park by the pink haired girl." She giggles a touch and looks at Eden, "And don't call me love." Still pretending to be the woman.
A good smile through it all, and a chuckle in his voice, Eden follows the string of culprits who Esmeradla has been with. There is a suck in of air, aghast himself, at the revelation of the ice cream truck driver. "You said," he starts to counter, but then there is more, the man near the pink haired girl. "Him of all people, some scrub from Down Under? Look at him, ya musta had a bag over that mug a'his, and hopefully gave him a good scrub, he probably has sand from out back all over him. That's the last straw, the very last straw. I'm taking Benjamin and our balloons and we're going to fly out of here, you just watch me." Then the guy does glance lightly in their direction, "And look, how could ya, with him, he's trying to hook up with that shiela right there. And … I don't blame him, she's way prettier than you. Jeese, I should be on that bench. I'll fight that out lander for that girl with the pink hair. I bet she hasn't been with the ice cream truck driver …."
He seemed quite accomplished at ad-libbing, Pixie gives Eden a look as he goes along, continuing the story as it plays out. Giving a triumphant look, she nods decisively, "Indeed, the man from Down Under. Why do you think they call them from Down Under?" She smirks as the woman with the toddler also looks rather triumphant at something she is saying. "Oh, not a chance, Ferd. He looks much better than you do and he's quite accomplished at that Down Under thing you keep scoffing about." Tossing her pink hair with a move of her head, she continues the play on the conversation. "Oh he's dirty alright. He's good and dirty." The words delivered with a growl in her voice. "You can go run away with the balloon man, but Benny is staying with me. I'll not have him raised by the likes of your mother." As the guy glances over, she can't help but to laugh as she looks at Eden, perhaps letting the fight go for only a moment as he says she's way prettier. Even in jest. "She hasn't," she grins, then looks back at the couple, prepared to voice something else, but the man has taken the woman in his arms and is kissing her!
"Right, that bloke," nods Eden on behalf of the man, "I can't have you taking Benny. He can't be broken like that." THen in a husky voice, "She hasn't, she doesn't know what's good fer her." Then he makes a kissy like noise, "I need you Esmie," he says as if kissing in a romantic movie, deep husky voice. Accent in all, "Lets fly away together, baby, to the moon, or something." Then he's laughing. And looking at her, "So you like dirty?" He is teasing, she played on those words, and he did drip strawberry icecream on his hand early. Play on words even. "Well, now you must determine, did I win or lose the game?" He rubs his chin a moment, "Y'know, you are still sitting here. Maybe you won the game then?" All smiles, that man from the out back.
The woman's reaction to the kiss wasn't what Pixie had expected. When she returns the kiss, even dipping hands into the hair of her husband, she is a little taken aback. It's the words of her cohort that bring her attention back from the very emotion filled kiss, bringing it back enough to continue the game. "Oh Ferd," she makes some mmm, mmm, kissy sounds before wording something else. "To the moon and back, baby. You and me and Benji." Deciding to give the couple their privacy and taking the cue from the man from the out back, she grins. "I dunno mate," trying her best Australian accent and not succeeding well. "Depends on how you define dirty." There's a shake of her head, the whole jest of it all striking her as hilarious. "Maybe I won, thank you for the fun and conversation."
Just the same, Manifold is all too good to give them privacy, even hitching one elbow on the back of the bench to look over at his bench mate. "I'd imagine it involves getting that smile in the end." She is the chuckling playful sort anyways, but he's saying he likes it. "Thank you, what say I'm not sure I'm done with games." As if thank you for the fun was an indicator she was going to go soon. "What's it take to come up with some more fun. Or you just like to sit around here on your time off, imagine what everyone else is doin?"
"Don't you ever wonder?" Pixie sees him settling in and finds herself in no big hurry to head off into the sunset. Not yet. She indicates an old, old man seated alone at a bench with an old photograph in his hand. He's not even looking at the photo, but at the large Imagine sign on display. His hand clutches the photograph though, as if afraid it would be ripped away from him. "Don't you wonder? Like what in his life brought him here." Then she focuses solely on the Australian. "For that matter, makes me wonder what you're doing here, finding conversation with me, after planting your strawberry seeds in strawberry fields." She doesn't immediately ask though, perhaps keeping the mystery.
"Do I wonder," he says, considering it himself a moment, "Ya mate, I suppose I do. I wonder that but its more like, I wonder now that he's here what's his next step." He looks over at the man, "Like, infinite possibilities. Anything could happen. He could be changins his mind right now, right? Maybe some accident a few rows over sends someone here that takes him from that thought, he thinks about something else, goes home, all is right." A shrug, "Anything, anything is possible. Me, I wanted to see the park, find its secrets, taste some ice cream. Talking with a cute sheila is a bonus, I had to change heading to the lake next, you seemed more a sectret and all. I think it is good, you're still this secret and ain't no rush to find it out. Just chat it up, see what comes next." Then a half squint and chin just at her, "What about you fer that matter, talking to random strangers in the park. I hear tale its dangerous in this city." Or that was at least the old central park maybe. He doesn't know, he's a tourist
"Exactly. That's the kinds of things I wonder. What brought him here? Who's in the picture? Where does he go from here? Does he have friends? Family?" Pixie doesn't bother voicing more, the general gist of it is out. "So have you found the secrets of the park then? Of the Strawberry Fields?" When the discussion becomes more focused, more on her, she lifts a chin and catches that half squint. "I think you're not so random. Maybe I wanted to talk to you specifically?" There's a flirty grin directed to him, fairly open instead of there being any subterfuge. "If the city is dangerous, should we save it together?"
"See, you wonder how he got here, and I wonder where he'll go next, that's like dynamics," chuckles Manifold. Then he shakes his head and sighs deeply, gruffly, "Nah, no secret's here. Guess I need to listen to the song before I come for a walk about." But a shrug, "I think you're a cunning little fox, ya'got me here. Not so random at all." Another chin rub, then a nod, "Definitely, dangerous and needs saving. I think I saw some shady bloke over by those horses on the round about. We should go patrol over that way I think." He points to the carousal, using the one hand with the elbow on the back of the bench.
"Dynamics. Sounds like we could have a lot to talk about." Pixie gives an impish grin though, quite enjoying herself and not afraid to let him know it. "Strawberry Fields is a song?" She snaps her fingers. "That country song right? Leeann Womack?" Strawberry Wine, she's thinking. Ah well, can't win em all. His take on her gets another laugh from her. "A fox? Or a Pixie? Maybe sly, maybe cunning, maybe impish. We'll see what the future is. That's your forte. Mine's pondering the past." Like with the old man. When he mentions patroling, she stands and smiles, "Lead the way, oh wise one."
"Ah, an imp, its good luck to find one of them, I hear." A chuckle from Eden, matching her laugh. "Nah, that song by the Beatles. Its a classic one. Where I'm from at least." A shrug, maybe he's just older, who knows. But he stands, "Wise one, I'll have none a that, the wise one was my Guru." Said as if it might be a name, close to her play with Pixie. "Oh sly and cunning Pixie fox. I shall lead us blindly, while you come out the wiser. To the horse race thing." He points over as he stands, to get going. "And its Eden." His name, he gives her that much, but doesn't ask for hers in return. She can give it or not.
"Is it? I'll have to remember that. I was thinking more along the lines of Tinkerbell." Pixie wrinkles her nose at the comparison even if she did make it herself. "I have heard of the Beatles. I never heard any of their songs, I guess." As he stands, she tilts her head back and grins, "You have a wise Guru? I suppose that's better than a foolish one." And as he leads, pointing out where they are going, she sets out on foot so he can follow. His name though, that brings a smile. "Megan. I'm Megan, Eden. Nice meeting you."