Living with an extremely busy person leaves for much alone time, which is just fine for most things. This current time is a perfect example of the living arrangement working to her advantage; she can be out to get the materials that she needs and return without him really knowing that she's ever left. It honestly isn't comfortable walking out on the city streets alone but she does so anyway. There are many stares by those who recognize her but she plows past all of them, several binders held close to her chest.
Faith Rose Tyler is not a vampire, obviously, as she's out in the sunshine! The thought of stopping for a warm drink before returning home crosses her mind as she continues walking. Right now she's ignoring the general populace, even those who stop to stare at her. Thankfully many are far too busy to realize that they're so dangerously near someone who supposedly killed a man.
"…iddance, asshole. Tell your fiancee you're screwing your secretary, see how that works." Muttering and scowling, Josephine leaves the coffee bar, tense fingers holding on to a large caramel macchiato - with the cap on. She's leaving the bar walking partly backwards, too absorbed by the arrogant man who jumped the lengthy cue to pay much mind to people walking on the sidewalk. Until she turns sharply though, and bumps into the woman with the binders, chest first. Coffee splashing second.
Oh, wow. If only London were around. Faith finds herself standing there, shocked, half of her binders now on the ground. Those binders fortunate enough to remain in her hands are now covered with coffee, just as she and this other woman undoubtedly are. Coffee shower. Where some people would normally be outraged, or sad, or embarrassed, Faith just stares at the woman. Her mind takes a while to react to what it's witnessing.
Eventually she snaps back to reality and her face turns bright red. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" It wasn't her fault, and she knows this. In her mind she isn't blaming herself, or the other woman really. Accidents happen. Even with the question asked, she's bending down to pick up her dropped binders. « I can't even go for a walk right. No wonder why people seem to baby me. » The thought can't be helped. It seems to clash with the seemingly calm and almost cold exterior the woman is showing.
"Oh… Shit!" Josephine stands still as a rock, apart from a hand lifting the wet and hot t-shirt away from the skin, dropping the container to the ground, maybe even on top of a stray binder. Using the other hand to wipe more of the brown liquid from her hair, picking up a bit of caramel syrup with it, she just stares at Faith, big green eyes filled with frustration and a fair share of incomprehension. "Say what?" The taller woman blows frantically underneath her shirt, trying to cool off, "So… You weren't looking. Nice going."
The container does fall atop one of her binders. Once she has her own belongings settled Faith also picks it up, handling it delicately. She is sticky, it is sticky and now all of her college information is sticky. At least she's trying to be nice. Still, when Josephine opens her mouth Faith can't help but be her old, cold self.
Standing as tall as she can she gives Josephine a rather icy glance. "Excuse me? I don't seem to be the one who walks around backwards." Anger is kept from her tone; in fact, she sounds quite neutral. Her mind, however, is a different story. « Sure, blame the crazy. It's always their fault.» Yes, Rose is actually quite bitter about things. "Perhaps we both should be taking equal blame."
"For fuck's sake, are you crazy?" So maybe it's that time of the month, Josephine's alto filled with ire and meant to sting. "Walking backwards would've meant I was the only one soaked. We can clearly see I'm not." She shakes an angry hand to the ground and drops actually fly off. "Do you know how bloody long I've been standing in line for this? Shit!"
« She's trying to get me angry. If I'm angry, then I'll lose it on her and have to go back to the police department. It's a trap.» Yes, all of this comes to the young woman as she just watches the irate woman spout off. Faith's upbringing has taught her to try and mind herself when in such situations, so she won't exactly air her thoughts. She will, however, stare coldly at Josephine. It's an unintimidating sight, most likely, but she likes to think of herself as one tough cookie.
"I'm merely pointing out that had you been paying more attention as well, this collision would not have happened." Neutrality is attempted but it is getting difficult. « That blond vampire didn't seem to get my blood boiling this bad. » Despite the reactions of Josephine, Faith seems rather content to stand there covered in sticky coffee. It would seem as if she's been exposed to far worse things.
Josephine doesn't seem to care much if people are staring at the pair of them, passers by and people inside the coffee bar, instead, digging a hole inside Faith's head with eyes only. She barks a disgusted laugh, right after licking a finger, the one picking up the caramel. "Feeling angry yet? Girl, you'll pay me a new macchiato or I'll sue you for a dry cleaning bill like you've never seen." Gotta love America, somewhere the tall woman clearly's not from. Somewhere northern Europe, maybe. Angry hands dig into a pocket for a pack of cigarettes and she lights one. "You're so lucky I'm no vampire, you'd be squirting blood by now I'm sure." Maybe just intended to make Faith feel a little less threatened.
Whatever Josephine may be attempting to do, it likely isn't going to work. Faith doesn't react well to threats no matter what the circumstance. Unlike the way she was while in Green Oaks, she won't just cave, either. "No." Wait, what's that? Such a short response, too. "I'm not going to pay for it. If your precious dry cleaning worries you so damn much you can talk to my lawyers about it." The same cold demeanor remains in place, made easier now by the so called threat.
A sly, almost evil smile slides into play at the mention of vampires. "That shows just how much you pay attention to the news." A tongue runs along her teeth as she exposes them, showing the fangs that she's not had removed by a dentist yet. « I'll show her a vampire, or two. Lucky for her it's daytime. » Only a sick individual would find humor in this part of the conversation but Faith can't help it. She may be shorter and younger but she can be an immovable force when pushed. "Although I'm honestly not afraid of being bitten again."
No sooner does Faith show her teeth, or a portly woman walking by shrieks, wide eyed stare at the young woman's mouth. She takes a step away, colliding with another woman (who drops her grocery bag so oranges are now rolling in all directions), telling her in a frightened voice, "It's that girl from tv! The mad vampire girl!" As quick as she can manage, she hurries away, leaving Josephine to finish the puzzle. The correspondent started out with mild appreciation dawning in her eyes, but right now, that's gone altogether and she reaches out for Faith's chin, if she can, to turn it this way and that, "Wait, /you/'re Faith? Ivan's Faith?"
People can be so annoying. A look of passive annoyance is given to the shrieking woman before Faith shakes her head. She does bend down to pick up a few oranges and keep them with her binders. The mostly empty drink is still in her other hand. « If I exploit the fact that people are stupid, maybe I can keep getting free food. »
When she stands again she doesn't even try to move away from Josephine. The fact that she knows Ivan doesn't surprise her as much as the link catches her off guard. « He talks about me? » Despite the fact that she's openly annoyed at this point she doesn't prevent the other woman from examining her teeth, at least that is what she suspects the woman is doing. "They're fake." Obviously. The icy gaze remains but at least she's not openly trying to pick a fight. "I'm Faith, but I don't really belong to anyone. Although I prefer to be called Rose."
Not so much the teeth, it's Faith's face that gets studied, Josephine obviously by now recognizing her from the pictures in the papers and/or tv. "Of course you do, 'Rose'," the taller woman shrugs, dropping her hand from Faith's chin, plucking the oranges instead from her hands and returning them to the owner rather straightforward. "So… You turned up again? Got 'de-vamped'? Must say those images were rather… Disturbing. Did Ivan find you? He let it slip, see."
It actually bothers her that the fruit is taken from her. If people are going to react so poorly around her, it would serve them well to learn a little bit of food. Besides, it isn't as if she's made of money to buy anything and everything she wants. Hence part of the refusal to buy Josephine more coffee. Then Josephine makes her mind flash images of her capture and it's all she can do to push them away. "I was never a vampire." This is said cold and dry, as with most other things. Though I'm glad you are just as disturbed by me as everyone else I run into."
Including her parents. Again Josephine mentions Ivan so this time Faith raises an eyebrow to address her. "He did, and then he didn't. In the end I'm here because of injury caused by that bombing." The silver bombing at the event she dropped in on. « She's looking for something, but it's none of her business. » Still, there's no harm in answering some questions. They don't seem to be too informative. "He likely was commenting about how stressful it was."
"Ouch." And Josephine at least seems to mean that one, retrieving the little coffee with the container, a rather pointed look at Faith as she does so. "So that nibbling you did on… Ouch." She shivers, looks inside the container and with regret, splashes the last of her longed for macchiato onto the sidewalk. "Anyway," sounding like she is struggling with herself, "You okay? I mean, apart form owing me one massive coffee."
So now she's without coffee, other than that which is saturating her clothing, binders, hair and skin. The ironic part in all of this is that Faith doesn't even like coffee. "That video was put on air by the people who you know, no. Really, not trying to be rude here, Misses Stranger, but it's not really something for you to know. Too complicated." Besides, she could be working for them, which means Rose could be in a lot of trouble if they know that she's cured.
The sudden change in Josephine is putting Faith on edge. « She's one of them. She has to be.» "Again, not to be rude, but you don't seem the type to care." A deep sigh surfaces as she tries to make sense of this whole situation. "If you know who I am, then you know I've seen a lot lately. I'm still standing, so take that as you will. I can't ever say that I'm alright though." She doesn't actually comment about the coffee, but she's almost giving in to the idea of buying it.
Josephine nods, cocking a brow, "Correct, I'm not, but hey," with a healthy dose of sarcasm, "Only human. Seriously though, what did you say, who do I know? The ones behind the video work at one of the tv stations or something?" She surely seems interested, eyes narrowing as she works out scenario's - while licking the remainder of any caramel off her fingers.
It's too soon. It is far too soon for her to be interacting with the general populace. Faith stares at Josephine for a minute as she replays what she said in her head, trying to figure out what she actually said. It wouldn't be the first time she's spoken without thinking ahead of time. "I what?" She scratches the back of her head in confusion, transferring more of the sticky liquid.
Then she finally understands what might have gone wrong. "Oh, no. I was just commenting about how it isn't important." That is what she was trying to say, anyway. "I don't know who is responsible for the video. I mean, I know some faces but no names. And I just don't want to delve into it, you know, because there's no point in getting you involved." « Or in her thinking that I'm crazy. Err, crazier than everyone else, anyway. »
There's a little smile playing with Josephine's lips at the end, the woman even averting her eyes momentarily, needing the privacy for an inside joke. "Oh, don't worry, I usually don't get involved, but I suppose it can't be helped, curiosity killed the reporter? Listen." And here she searches another pocket of her jacket and pulls out a business card - with a curvy coffee stain. She carelessly hands it over to Faith, "It's my job to talk to people, so if you care for it…?" On the card is a name, 'Josephine van dern Bosch', as well as her job title of correspondent for a magazine named Time NL. Has the lettering of the famous magazine as well, so might just be.
The card is taken as it is offered, stain and all. It isn't as if her stuff isn't all ruined at this point. It takes a moment to read it all carefully as she's not wearing her reading glasses. « Well, that explains a lot. Actually, it explains everything. » There's no hiding this point. Faith is still keeping herself at a distance; had Josephine met her before she was fixed she would already be spilling the beans on everything. "I don't think that there's anything I can tell you. I'm just a mental patient, after all." Not to mention all the people that she's protecting, but that's not actually something she thinks about. "There's no telling if what I'm saying is even real."
"Sweety," Josephine's alto comes a lot more gentle of a sudden, "I've met normal people crazier then you. If you think there's a story to tell here, maybe I can help, neh? I'm doing a series of articles on America and everything even remotely vampire related, and since you got a handful of silver blasted at you by those fanatics," no doubt in her mind who's responsible, "I'm sure you've got an opinion." Her grin is back when she finishes, "You're owing me a caramel macchiato anyway." She takes a final drag from her cigarette, then tosses it away in the gutter.
« People are not supposed to want to talk to me. » This sets up all sorts of red flags in her mind. Despite her hesitation on the entire subject, Faith does not get rid of the business card. "Fanatics?" Josephine actually really needs to be careful on this subject or she may set Rose off. The girl knows someone everywhere, after all, but none of this is set off in her mind. "You're talking about the church? It wasn't them." On that she sounds certain.
The reminder that she was blasted with silver causes her to shift uncomfortably. « If she even asks how I'm doing well so soon I'm going to just run away. » Maybe she can get Hope to tell this woman off if she pushes too much. "I wasn't in my right mind when the attack happened, so I don't really have all that much to tell." Oh, she knows a lot but she's not going to focus on it at the moment.
"You so sure it wasn't them?" Josephine pushes her hands in the pockets of her jeans (with a little work, them being moist and coffee brown), tilting her head now in her study of Faith. "Listen, Rose, I'm offering, alright? I'm not going to hunt after you with a mike at the ready, I'm not asking how you feel or what went through you." And there's plenty emphasize there. "But you were there and call me silly, but I think you have an opinion on the matter. And that's just what I'm trying to do, you get? I'm not here to promote vampires, or promote that sun church, but I do want to tell people what's out there, left /and/ right. From where I'm standing, seems to me you're right in the middle, hm?"
Stuck in the middle; that's exactly where Faith is. For a moment she can't help but feel out of place, being noticed and actually listened to. Other than Hope and Ivan, this just isn't normal for her. Despite all of her hesitation, all of her reserve, she is quick to comment on the one thing she feels. "No, I don't believe it is them. I've been told a few things about them by all sorts of people, so don't think I'm uninformed. I just have very good reason to suspect it's a different group." A group that she has absolutely no idea who they are. "My opinions aside, as they are extremely messed up, I believe that the church is telling the truth." « Hope and Bobby would never do anything like that. »
A mild pause, then Josephine smiles warmly, "Well, one can /hope/, neh. Listen, you got my number, right. What say you give me a call later today, or come by the Belmont, I'm staying there. Gives us both a chance to clean up some. You bring the coffee, I'll give you a soap box." Which reminds her, the woman quickly digging up her cell phone, flipping it open to check if it's still alive. It is. She sighs with relief.
Ivan is going to kill her. Hey, wait a second: she can actually talk to him first. The business card is placed inside of one of her binders so it doesn't get lost. "Getting cleaned up would be a good thing." Faith looks up to the sky, actually using that as a clock as opposed to a watch. "I should be getting back, anyway. I'll call you." Even if she's going to decline the offer, she really will call. "If you're willing to listen to insane ramblings, I'm sure that it's worth a cup of coffee."
Josephine's smile grows wider now, looking past her phone to Faith, "Excellent, thanks Rose." And she sounds like she means it too. Could be she just needed a break. "Yours is a story not everyone can tell and I'd love to hear you tell it, not some speculating journalist, you understand?" Just adding to the honey, hopefully. The cell is tucked back in her pocket and the woman shivers, this time as she notices how the wind has cooled the spilled coffee, chilling her something fierce. "Just not here and now. Will you take care of yourself? Promise me that?"
She would love to believe that this woman, this journalist, actually cares about what she has to say. That it isn't just some story she can get. If only Josephine had run into her days prior that might even be a possible thought. Right now, however, she just can't do it. Faith finds it hard for anyone to care about her, especially now. "I promise that I'll be safe." That's something she's had to say to many people. Her fangs are shown once more, this time as she grins. "You should do the same. This is a dangerous city. I'll call you soon."
Josephine makes a dismissive gesture and actually rolls her eyes, "I've seen more dangerous," she shares in an offhanded manner, "But if it makes you feel better…" There's a wink in her voice, not on her face. "I'll promise not to ruin any more clothes with coffee." She bends for a moment, picking up an orange the one with the groceries forgot to pick back up and after a second worth of thought, she hands it over to Faith before she turns to be on her way. "Be seeing you Rose."
