September Catch-All for Klaus Von Reinherz

[purered]

Characters: Klaus and YOU!
Date: September 2015 (2016 in game)
Location: Various
Situation: September (aaaand some of August probably) Catch-All
Warnings/Rating: Will be given as needed in the headers.



A. Closed to Enjolras and Backdated to 8/11

Klaus was hard to miss, especially in a fairly quiet cafe. He was seated with his back to a corner with a cup of something that might have once been coffee but the wanton use of cream and sugar and foam had mutated it into some sort of caffeinated abomination from sugar hell.

Klaus had a bit of a sweet tooth. The strawberry danish had never stood a chance.

Getting his phone charged had been a blessing. At the present time, he was playing a rousing game of Prosfair on it. Not against anyone but the phone itself, and it was a simplified version at that. He enjoyed it nonetheless, and it made for a pleasant distraction while he waited for Enjolras.

B. Closed to Raine - Cooking up a Storm (Hotel Kitchen)

It was, of course, a phenomenally bad idea. But it was something he'd have to learn to do for himself. He wasn't a child for God's sake, and Gilbert wasn't here to handle the cooking. It was embarrassing, really, that he'd never learned. He was perfectly good at any other sort of housework, but something about mixing ingredients and staying in one spot to make sure they didn't congeal was somehow beyond him.

That being said, Klaus tied the apron around his middle with the grim determination he reserved for dealing with the most unpleasant of vampires. He set his jaw, and picked up the small book of recipes, deciding to start with something simple.

How hard could pancakes be?

C. OPEN - Flower Shop (Wood District)

It was a small shop in the Wood District that had a smaller greenhouse attached to the back. The owner was an elderly Kedaan gentleman and he handled the floor of the shop. Klaus was being paid very handsomely to tend to the plants (and only the plants) on account of his rather... extreme features nearly sending an old woman into cardiac arrest.

That had been an interesting day. He'd mentally filed it under 'never speak of this again'. Much of that mental file seemed to have Zapp's name recurring frequently.

The afternoons were nigh unbearable, especially in the greenhouse, though you'd hardly know it looking at Klaus. He was more than content to see to the plants that were blooming beautifully in spite of the heat and drought.

He really had a green thumb.

D. OPEN - Daily Constitutional

He took a walk through and to various districts when the evenings were cool. He was getting a feel for the city the way he had a feel for Jerusalem's Lot. The ebb and flow of her people, the trends and lingo - Klaus found the best way to get over any culture shock was the act of simply immersing himself in it. He stopped at stalls and asked about wares, he wandered the back alleys quite sure no one would be keen to pick a fight.

In another month or so, he'd know the city well enough that he may as well have lived there all his life.

He may or may not have been keeping an eye out for any trouble with the city's most recent visitors. Klaus was a trusting man in general, and always willing to give the benefit of the doubt, but there was a low key tension that left him worried about what might happen next.

E. OPEN - Letter (forward dated to 9/16)

This makes it the third time in so many months.

Please consider some restraint. He would have been worth questioning.

Klaus was seated outside the Midnight Hotel on a stone bench. He stared at the small, neatly folded letter that bore his unmistakable handwriting. He stared at it for some time.

Then, with great care, he removed his spectacles and dragged his hands down his face with an exhale of frustration.

...This really was getting to be a bad habit.

Comments

[ruinsprofessor]

Despite living outside it, Raine still stopped by the Hotel every so often, to check on the people who did still live there. She realized who and what the kitchen contained a few seconds after she passed, and stopped, backtracked curiously.

...Klaus was quite tall in person.

But besides that, he was cooking, and he looked puzzled, and Raine was sure some people would have things to say about her being in the kitchen, but none of them were present and it was entirely possible she could be of assistance! "Good afternoon," she said from the door, and came inside a little bit, already smiling. "What are you making?"

[purered]

"Ah, Miss Sage," Klaus straightened immediately from staring at the small cookbook (though just about anything looked small in his hands. The book was actually quite normal sized.) "Good afternoon to you as well."

He shifted a little, casting an abashed look to the ingredients he bought for the express purpose of getting comfortable in the kitchen.

"Ah... I'm afraid nothing too exciting. I'm trying to learn how to cook so I thought I'd start out with something simple. Are you fond of pancakes at all?"

[ruinsprofessor]

Raine laughed, though it was little, an only quietly amused sort of sound. "My brother is especially fond of them," she said, and came the rest of the way into the kitchen, peering first at the cookbook, then giving Klaus' ingredients a more contemplative sort of a look. Yes, there was potential there, but he wasn't thinking nearly expansively enough. "They're a good breakfast. What did you have planned? It looks like you have only the conventional ingredients...?"

[purered]

He gave a small nod.

"Conventional pancakes, I'm afraid. I thought something relatively easy would be my best bet."

He realizes this sounds a bit pathetic.

"Though I may add some fresh fruit to the mix or perhaps as a garnish?"

Klaus wonders if that's how Gilbert did it. The butler could make even simple toast the most heavenly of meal and though Klaus would never get to that point, he wanted to be able to feed himself without having to rely on take-out if Gilbert wasn't there.

[ruinsprofessor]

Raine waved one hand in the air, a little dismissively. "Pancakes are relatively simple," she said. "I've certainly seen Genis make them enough times. However, most pancakes are also fundamentally the same, allowing for minor variations in topping or shape. The real achievement would be finding a way to make them unique while still pancakes. Hmmm..."

She went to the cupboards, apparently having decided she was going to 'help' Klaus whether or not he outright asked for it. "Fresh fruit is a start," she said thoughtfully, rifling through the ingredients Anton had stocked in search of inspiration. "What about something not sweet?"

[purered]

"Ah! Are you suggesting something savory? Rather like a crepe?"

He hesitated. Sweet was good when it came to simple things. So was savory. The two combined, however, sounded like a disaster.

Though perhaps not necessarily - he'd sampled a number of things that had combined the two nicely. Nonetheless, it seemed a little beyond his skill-level at the moment.

"I'm really not sure where to begin in that regard. What would you suggest, Miss Sage?" Because now he's made the dangerous assumption that Raine knows exactly what she's doing.

[ruinsprofessor]

"Yes, I think so," Raine said, still with an air of great contemplation. She considered the cupboards a little longer, then moved on to the refrigerator, searching for something that would suit. "Perhaps not exactly crepes, but a combination of savory and sweet..."

It didn't come up very often, she'd observed, in breakfast food. Raine nodded to herself, pulled a pair of eggs from the refrigerator, and turned back to Klaus. "Why don't we begin here?" she said, quite cheerfully. Any number of things could be combined with eggs, and that way it would be much simpler to fold the sweetness in.

C

[oceantier]

Finding Lapis on the streets in the city was no small thing. The Gem preferred the high-up sanctuary of the rooftops where she could watch without being seen, learn without being understood. She risked the street only rarely -- generally in the quieter evening hours or in the minutes before dawn, when few people wandered and she was left to her own solitude. Staring down from the rooftops, she made her own deductions, chose her own impressions, and imagined that she was safe.

Why she risked this now for Klaus, for an idea that was almost too wild for reality, she couldn't quite say -- but she went, landing bird-light on the earth near the flower shop where she'd found him working, quickly shifting to behind a large, potted tree left as part of the store display on the walk.

Biting the inside of her lip, she waited for him to emerge, surrounded by the heady aroma of blooming flowers.

[purered]

Klaus wasn't long in the greenhouse. He emerged, pushing a wheelbarrow of compost. He was, for once, dressed down. He'd forgone a waistcoat, though he'd still had a collared shirt. It was red, and a bit faded, with the sleeves rolled up and no where near as well-tailored as his usual attire. His employer had provided him a long, green apron. He kept a few gardening tools in the deep pockets.

He hadn't noticed Lapis at first, more preoccupied with spreading the compost evenly for the outdoor plants. It was only when he paused to mop some sweat from his face with a handkerchief that he got a glimpse of blue behind one of the trees.

"...Good afternoon," he greeted, standing upright. "Are you alright?"

[oceantier]

She peered around the tree at the sound of his voice -- wide, blue eyes that studied him, took him in. She was blue completely -- from hair to clothing to her bare, blue feet. And still poised, slightly forward on her toes, as though she were ready to take flight at any moment.

"It's Klaus . . . right?" Her voice was quiet, small. "It's . . . I'm Lapis."

[purered]

Klaus nodded, his movements deliberately slow now that he noted the young lady's poise. She was the one from the network, and she looked even more skittish in person.

"That's right. I'm glad to finally meet you, Miss Lapis."

He stood, giving a small bow.

"Would you like to come in for some tea?"

[oceantier]

She eased just a little at that. Emerging from behind the tree, she stepped forward, arms wrapping around herself. Her smile was small, but there -- a tiny, hesitant ghost of a thing.

"I don't really drink. But. Thank you."

[purered]

He removed his gardening gloves and draped them over the handles of the wheel barrow. He moved it to the side so that the smell of rotting plant matter and eggshells didn't overwhelm.

"Are you more comfortable talking out here, Miss Lapis? Or would you prefer to go inside?"

Super Late! I apologize.

[solo_patria]

Caffeinated abominations from sugar hell were one of those things they were good at here. Back during the war, Enjolras had usually opted to keep alert as much as possible, with the help of more concentrated espresso, and enough of it that it was a good thing he was dead, or he'd have probably ended up with some kind of heart problems before very long.

But afterwards, with things calming down a little, he'd done some branching out, settling on lattes as his own caffeinated poison. He slipped into the cafe, gave Klaus, because how COULD he miss him, yeah, a little nod, and went up to the counter before he joined him a few minutes later.

"I hope I did not keep you too long."

no worries!

[purered]

Klaus returned the nod when Enjolras stepped in and got his coffee. When the man had finally seated himself, Klaus was nearly half done with his own abomination unto the coffee gods.

"Not long at all. You arrived shortly after I did."

He gave a small incline of his head to Enjolras.

"It's a pleasure to meet you in person."

:D

[solo_patria]

"Ah, that's rather mutual. It's rare I have the chance for actual conversations with anyone these days. It makes rather a nice change, you know."

Enjolras also notes that he feels rather at ease straight away, which helps rather a lot. There's something about being able to do this on so casual a level that's pretty great, he decides, settling in.

"I don't believe you've been here, on the turtle very long yet? This must be an adjustment."

<3

[purered]

"I forget there are many from places where communication via machines is rare. I confess, however, that I prefer speaking in person as well."

There was a hint of a smile, though perhaps it was the way he tilted his head and those rather prominent teeth pulled at the corners of his mouth. Klaus didn't have the kind of face that lent itself well to discernible expressions.

"And you believe correctly. Though it's less of an adjustment than you might think. My work involved a fair bit of traveling and I am used to more... unusual circumstances, so to speak."

Re: <3

[solo_patria]

"It did become much easier to adapt to its existence after a while here." Enjolras has to admit. "Before the war, when there was more technology around, it certainly made a few things much easier to do, and to envision."

He thought, rather wistfully, of the press that hadn't been, and the radio news program that had almost been. They had some of the technology to restart the second, he supposed, but...

"Ah unusual circumstances. THOSE are to be found in spades here. It's strange, how used to them I have become myself, when I consider it. But your world has more of that sort of thing, then?"

[purered]

"Considerably, though it may be your world as well. There's no way of knowing for certain since our own times are so far apart, but the possibility remains. Such oddities did not become common knowledge until recently."

Klaus was, after all, a product of such 'oddities'. He took a sip from his rapidly cooling coffee, his brow knit.

"You speak of the war with Malicant, yes? Perhaps what you envision may still be possible."

D. EARTH SECTOR; 20 SEPT

[peacefullywreathed]

Though Solomon had sworn not to busk again, he'd made a few good contacts during his two weeks on the streets and there was no reason to burn those bridges. Especially since they gave him a few extra contacts within the general population. He'd never had musical contacts before, however, and without sheet music or a way to get it ... well, the unofficial music group was convenient.

Every now and then they'd meet in a park or courtyard in one of the sectors. Initially the kedanese buskers were more interested in Solomon and his mental library, but by this point they had incorporated a good deal of what music he had to offer into their own. And, in return, kedanese music was something new for him.

So, while Klaus was passing a courtyard in Earth Sector one day, he (and all the other passersby) would get treated to a medley of various songs, with strains of familiar melodies. One, in particular, might sound especially familiar.

I JUST HAD A HEART ATTACK THANK YOU

[purered]

It had been a quiet day at the flower shop. Not many were out buying but Klaus had made a few purchases of his own to help build little food gardens for those who had been displaced by Erskine's little 'incident'.

He paused, however, when he passed through a courtyard. There was music playing and the air was heavy with heat and humidity. It was an ideal time to sit for a bit in the shade on a nearby bench.

And then there was a particularly familiar melody, and Klaus froze. It was one of his few guilty pleasures, and here it was, ever so familiar.

When the buskers finished, he was among the gathered who gave a rather polite but enthusiastic applause.

"You're very skilled," he said. "And I don't see any sheet music - do you play from memory?"

NP, NP :3

[peacefullywreathed]

There were a few of the kedan making requests, and Solomon stepped away from the cluster to find his flask of water, resting on a stand which looked like it was made of obsidian, except for the fact that it cast no shadow. Because it was shadow. The kedanese buskers had accepted the magic by now, fortunately--primarily due to Solomon's need to use it.

Unlike the other buskers, his stand, as the man observed, had no sheet music on it. Solomon turned his head in the direction of the voice, recognising it from the network. China's little friend.

"I do," he said. His gaze stared into Klaus's shoulder, and Klaus would be able to see now the small, faint scars around his eyes. Not disfiguring--but visible in the right light. Solomon rested his violin on the stand, and the bow with it, and motioned at his face. "Sheet music won't have been much good, anyway. How are you today?"

No comment on the choice of music. Possibly Klaus simply didn't recognise it, which was far more preferable to jeering.

[purered]

Klaus was rather used to odd things by now. His life was comprised of odd things. My comparison, Keeliai was shockingly normal. But the flask did catch his eye- it looked like a flask-shaped hole in the universe.

Klaus adjusted his spectacles, and decided not to stare directly at it.

"Ah, you're blind. My apologies." The scars were enough of an indication. "And I am well. Thank you for asking. I hope the same goes for yourself?"

[peacefullywreathed]

"It's isn't as though you blinded me," said Solomon with some amused exasperation. He'd heard enough of Klaus on the network to know the man dropped apologies like a lawnmower dropped daisies. Easy to manipulate, irritating to talk to.

He really shouldn't have led with the small-talk. Stupid of him. He'd been lured by their previous conversation on the network.

"Fine," Solomon said, and moved right along before they could get into the weather. "I'm not the only one playing without sheet-music--as long as some of my companions here are to be believed." He raised his voice a little and heard a scattering of laughter. "So I'm going to assume there's a reason you picked me out specifically?" He lifted one eyebrow inquiringly.

[purered]

Klaus nodded. He may as well admit to his guilty pleasure - it wasn't as though Zapp or Steven were here to give him merry hell for it.

"Aside from remarking on your rather excellent rendition of Mamma Mia? Yes. We've met before, though only on the network."

He bowed, quite deeply. "It's a pleasure to meet in person. Would it be too bold too assume you are a fan as well?"