Kidd Spring Park
The remnants of the dense forestry are located in here, as paths lead from the woods to the more entertaining features of the park. A jungle gym, complete with a small clubhouse and slides make up a play area designated for children, as do a few sandboxes. A community rec center can also be found in the park.
Separating the trees from the busier points of the park is small lake. During the summer months, a life guard can be found on duty so swimming is allowed, and there is also a small dock from which paddle boats and kayaks are available for rent.
Just after midnight and the park is empty but for a lone figure sitting on a bench near the playground. The pale chunks of Raven's hair stand out in the dark, her head tilted back over the back of the bench with her two toned hair cascading down. She is bundled against the cold, slouched down so far it looks like she might slide right off to the ground with an inglorious thump at any moment. Sitting on the bench at her side is a bottle concealed in a simple brown paper bag.
For some reason Mischa is out and about at this time of night. He's bundled warmly in his leather jacket, though he looks to be wide awake — something unusual for him at this hour of night. When he spots a lone figure on a bench, he inches closer in order to see if they need help. When Mischa gets close enough to recognize the waitress from Holy Water, he looks more concerned than he was previously. "Excuse me…do you need help? Or are you just having a late night?" The bottle is noted, but not commented on. His eyes don't linger for very long upon the brown paper bag.
The sound of a voice, and one that's vaguely familiar at that, has Raven lifting her head somewhat grogily to peer at the man addressing her, "Whodowhat?" She frowns a little, her hand slipping automatically into her right pocket to grip something there, "Huh?" She does seem more than a little confused at being spoken to by another living person at this hour when she isn't actually at work, "Oh. Um… yeah." She gives herself a little shake and offers a half-hearted smile, "I'm fine. Just enjoying the evening." From how her words are slurred, she's pretty deep into that bottle at her side. She scoots over just a little so that she isn't seated in the middle of the bench anymore and gestures vaguely for Mischa to join her, "Have a seat."
The tall librarian nods to Raven in thanks as she motions for him to take a seat, doing just that. He reaches upwards to adjust his glasses and take in a deep breath before turning to look over at Raven. "You don't remember me, do you? Well, I guess…why would you. You probably have tons of customers. You waited on me a week or so ago though. I ordered the coquito." That should jog her memory — coquitos probably aren't too commonly requested. He eyes the bottle for a brief moment before returning his gaze out towards the park, leaning back on the bench. "I hope it warms up soon. It could be colder, I guess." Ah, the weather. The proverbial subject that one makes small talk with.
A small frown draws Raven's dark brows together at the reminder of having met the tall man before and she has to think about it for a moment before the mention of the drink jogs her inebriated memory and she sits up, "Oh, yeah. The librarian, right?" See, she /does/ remember him, "How're you?" She smiles faintly and snuggles deeper into her thick coat, "Cold never bothered me too much. I can always put on more clothes, after all." And she's layered within an inch of her life at the moment in jeans, long johns, boots, and everything else.
If Mischa notices that Raven is drunk, he's doing a helluva job concealing that fact. He turns to look at Raven for a moment, nodding to her. "That's right. Librarian extraordinaire." He motions towards the small gash in his hairline, grinning at Raven a little bit. "I'm doing fine. Had a bit of an incident with my car and a tree, but I'm healing. Slowly but surely. How about you? How has work been?" There's a pause after that final question, Mischa considering something silently.
A very smug look crosses the bartender's face at the confirmation that, no, her memory isn't totally shot at the moment, "Thought so… I never forget an order." Raven sounds vaguely smug about that. She winces in sympathy for the accident and shakes her head carefully, "That stinks." She shrugs a little at the inquiry about herself, "I'm getting by. Had to work Valentine's, but I really didn't expect anything else." Bars being the perfect place for a date to end or for lonely souls to spend the romantic holiday and forget the fact that they are alone, "Had a boat load of Fellowship members show up." And that has her rolling her eyes, "Don't see why they couldn't have had some sort of 'religious' meeting instead."
Mischa nods to Raven a little bit. He doesn't seem to note the vague smugness, though he does casually put his arm around the back of the bench, his fingers accidentally brushing Raven's neck as he does. "That sounds about right. Actually, I was curious about that. We had a strange incident down at Bloody Mary's. I have no idea what to make of it. I was wondering if you'd had any trouble at Holy Water. The whole thing was just so bizarre…" He still looks troubled about whatever he speaks of, stopping after that sentence to gnaw at his lower lip as he adjusts his glasses with his free hand, then runs his fingers through his hair.
A small gasp meets the brush of his fingers against Raven's neck and she shivers, closing her eyes and pressing the heels of her hands to them. He might be able to hear her muttered groan, "Oh, crap… Not another one…" Maybe it's another of those headaches that she'd had that day at the bar? She fumbles blindly for her bottle and unscrews the cap with a breath of strong, cheep whiskey; lifting the bottle to her lips for a long pull, "Um… What happened?" She doesn't quite look at him when she asks, the skin around her eyes suddenly tight.
The gasping and sudden need for alcohol is enough to make Mischa withdraw his hand and vaguely wonder if he's done something wrong. But she's not screaming at him or telling him to get up. Mischa scoots over just a bit away from Raven though, watching her very carefully. "Are you going to be alright?" Then she asks about what happened and Mischa shakes his head faintly. "I wish I knew the specifics. All I know is that the festivities were being kicked off and some old woman stood up and started to scream about how vampires were filthy and they were just toys, puppies for humans. It was…" Well, the look on his face describes it all. It's been days and he's still bothered over the incident.
Raven shudders once more and cautiously recaps the bottle, taking a deep breath of the frigid air, "Yeah, I'll be alright… Just…" She pauses, as though trying to decide what exactly to say, "Migraine hit all of a sudden." It's the simplest explination, anyway. When he tells her what happened, her eyes widen a little and her breath catches, sure signs that something has her upset, "Oh wow. Sounds kind of freaky." She gives herself a little shake, as though trying to clear her head of some unwanted thought, "Glad I didn't make it."
"Mmm. I kind of wish I hadn't gone. The whole thing… there's definitely something up with it. But in that same respect, I'm not a vampire so I guess I shouldn't be worried." And yet, he is. Mischa stands up from the bench and looks over Raven carefully for a moment, frowning at her with concern. "Is there somewhere I could take you?" Pause. "Well, given the fact that my car is totalled, I can't give you a ride, but I could make sure you got a taxi or something if you need one. You shouldn't let that migraine get so bad that it's hard to see or anything like that."
"Yeah, I'm sure glad I'm not afflicted with that little problem." Raven shudders again and mumbles something about hearts and ceilings and red hair. She looks up at him a little confused when he's suddenly standing, her attention having been elsewhere when he stood, and shakes her head, "No, I've got my car parked just over there." So she can drive home drunk, "And I've got my pills with me. Just have to wait another hour before I can take a dose."
Mischa frowns a little bit at Raven still, obviously not wanting to leave her all alone at night. The fact that she's sauced seems to elude him completely. "I hate to do this, but I should be going. I have a friend staying at my place and I'm afraid that she'll wake up to go to the bathroom and notice I'm not there, then worry." There's a pause, and it's obvious he wants to ask if she's alright again. But he simply smiles — a bit strained. "If you don't feel like you can drive home, please call a taxi. Normally I'd offer for you to call me, but with my car out of commission…" Then he realizes that she's mixing whatever medication she has with booze. Hrm. Nothing is said about that, though he does quirk a brow.
"Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." Raven is almost cocky about that; probably something to do with the booze, "Wouldn't want to make your friend worry." She pauses for a moment and frowns a little, rolling her eyes at herself, "Ya know, this is the second time we've spoken and it totally didn't occur to me to introduce myself either time." She offers a little waggle of her fingers, "Hey, I'm Raven. Raven Graves." Maybe it was the offer of a ride if he still had a working car that earned that little consideration. She waves off his concern, "Oh, I can drive. I haven't killed anybody yet, after all." She ignores the look she gets for mixing alcohol with painkillers.
"Mischa Alexandrov. The only M. Alexandrov in the phone book, I think." Mischa smiles at her and nods a little bit, although he's having some sort of crisis of morals with his decision. Eventually he sighs and moves to turn around, nodding to the woman. "Alright, if you insist. Have a good night, Raven. Please be careful." Sure, he sounds like a mother hen, but he also sounds genuine in his gentle nagging. He makes his way to the bus stop, figuring it a good idea rather than a walk clear back to his apartment alone.
Raven offers another little wave, "Nice to meet you Mischa." She smiles a little, looking more amused than anything else about his nagging, "I do. You have a good night, too. Don't let any of the weirdos out get you." Although she probably should be a little more worried about herself and the weirdos since she's still sitting in the park after midnight.