2024-12-01 - Lamplight Loitering

It's closing time, and thus the last performances of the night have officially wrapped at the amphitheatre, if anything was even scheduled to conflict the tree lighting ceremony. Probably, right? It's not as if everyone in the park was gathered there for it. The show must go on, and all that.

Feeling a little bold, Ari has taken the ferry (all by himself!) back to Castle Island and made his way here, only semi-nervously flashing his brand spanking new badge when questioned by other employees. Official business! He even managed to find a spare toolbelt in one of the back areas that someone let him borrow for the evening, which he has slung over his shoulder rather than... y'know, belted on. As toolbelts generally are.

For now he sits on one of the high steps of the amphitheatre, sketching into a notebook he has propped on his thigh. He's still dressed in layers, coat over hoodie over flannel over t-shirt, so the chill of the night really isn't bothering him too much... aside for his fingers, which he keeps shaking to ward off the cold.

Theo had to come back to Castle Island because in his haste to make it to the tree lighting ceremony on time he had left his dress bag that contained what he wore when he performed. He's trying to step over to where the staff's dressing room is as that is where he remembered seeing his bag last.

At first he did not notice Ari as he was so focused because he knew Auggie might be calling last rounds on the ferry soon and he still had cookies to deliver to Jett. The hot chocolate long gone since he drank it. Whoops. Theo must be use to cold. Sort of. Being from North Carolina and all. Still in that crazy Christmas sweater, jeans and boots. He should probably have gloves and a scarf on but he also must be one of those that has high metabolism and runs hot.

Slowing when he notices he's not alone. "Hey!" He calls out to Ari, "Were you at the tree ceremony?" Pointing to himself, "Theo or as you might have heard around, Prince Theo. " That must be his stage name when he's doing his act. "New?"

The scratch of pencil against paper stops when Ari realizes someone is approaching, and his insides momentarily seize up before he blows out a steadying breath. It's funny how sometimes talking to one person is harder than being in a crowd, but he finds that his social battery wasn't completely drained during the ceremony (and the brief pitstop for drinks the Warners took after), so. Yeah. He can do this.

He stands up, awkwardly holding his notebook with both hands as he looks over. "Hey!" he calls back. "Oh, uh, yeah! I was there with my sisters." He was sitting at the edge of the amphitheatre steps, so it's not super difficult to close the gap between the two of them so that speaking is a little easier. "Nice to meet you Theo, I'm Ari. Uh... Arizona Warner. You might know some of my family, they've been working here for a few weeks now, I think?"

Should he offer a hand to shake? Except his hands feel numb, and then that might lead to awkwardness, oh no. So instead he settles on remaining a few steps away, which is probably good. He doesn't want to intrude on any personal bubbles. "You're one of the performers?" He's so new he doesn't even know yet, but he feels it's a sound assumption to make. "I'm going to be working on set design," he adds.

Theo tends to use his social skills the most when he has to perform. But he is a friendly and he is eager to know his co workers. Especially those on Castle Island with him.

"Hey Ari, Arizona. That is a unique name. Do you get teased for it? Considering there is a state and a tea with that name?" Yep, Theo is going to ask all the questions. He's curious and interested in learning about others. "Yeah, I have seen your siblings around. I don't know who but one of them helps with the lights for my show. I am the act right before the fireworks." He explains. But tonight was different because of the tree ceremony so his act was done earlier during the day before the sun set.

"Yeah, one of the performers. You probably will see it on the list, Storyteller's Corner. Oh yeah, set design? That sounds cool. I don't really know what that entails." If it isn't an invasion Theo will step closer to offer his hand if Ari wishes to shake it and if not he will move his hand and run it through his hair instead. "Glad to meet you formally."

"I mean, sure, kids can be mean, but for the most part I just go by Ari so it's not a big issue. But I'm from the state and I like the tea, so I don't mind my name!" That said, he shrugs.

Then Ari's head bobs up and down at Theo's mention of his sibs, and one in particular prompts him to say, "That'd be Neve, she's a lighting tech." He shuffles his notebook under his arm so he can take the offered hand and shake it, quickly, before he pulls back. "Uh, yeah, nice to--nope, I said that already, didn't I?" He laughs, surprising himself by not being too self-conscious about the slip, and then when asked about his work his eyes gleam. "Mostly it's just building the set to match the vision of the production team. It's a mix of artistry and engineering, because you have to be able to build something structurally stable, and on top of that there are usually a lot of moving parts, so. Uh. Yeah."

He gestures to the amphitheatre's stage, momentarily stalled. "I was just trying to get familiar with things, kind of get a layout in my head. I'm planning on catching as many of the performances that I can in the next couple of days too. So, if there's anything I can do to help with your setup, let me know. So long as it's not something to do with props, that is one of my other sister's job."

"Ah okay." This is in response to Ari telling Theo he's from Arizona. "I am from North Carolina." As he speaks Ari should be able to catch the drawl if he knew of the accent. To Theo it is just normal speech to him.

"Neve." He repeats that name as if remember it because he has no paper or pen to write the name down. He's probably seen her around well enough. Grinning as he watches Ari speak about his work. Theo looks to the stage when Ari points it out and he's nodding. "Oh yeah, I get that. When I first came here in July of 2023 that is the first thing I did. Walked on that stage to get a feel of how much space I had to work with. I like to move a lot and engage the audience. It seems to work and they are entertained." Looking a little amused as he says that.

"I will definitely let you know. I was thinking it might be fun to do a Roman piece maybe a play off of Gladiator since the 2nd one is out in theaters." He says a bit quietly, "I did hear it isn't doing to well but maybe for my version I can make it exciting. I sing and tell stories so for that performance maybe I'd look into doing Roman myths." He's not sure yet and he's literally brainstorming as he has this conversation with Ari. Ari must have sparked something within Theo as he speaks and he's already creating in his head. "How many of you are there? I have a younger sister back in Asheville."

At the mention of North Carolina, Ari perks up. "I remember having some of the best barbeque of my life near Charlotte, when we were driving through one time," he says. Said drive through isn't enough for him to pick out the accent specifically beyond genericizing it to being somewhere south of the Mason-Dixon line, unfortunately.

He nods along when Theo shares his own memories of starting here, a similar tale to precisely what Ari came here after hours to do himself. "Well, I'm looking forward to watching you perform then!"

It sounds interesting, as does the concept of a Roman-themed play. "Oh I love Roman architecture! I have a book about it actually, which uh... will hopefully be coming in the mail sometime soon." He pauses. "That would be a fun stage to put together, though. Did you know that a lot of the Roman statues that we all know are in white marble were actually painted with really vibrant colors back when they were originally made? It's a totally different vibe."

So great is his interest in Rome that he has to visibly draw himself back to answer Theo's question. "Total? Like... too many of us. But here at the park there's six of us, right now, all working at the amphitheatre," he explains.

"You are making me hungry." Theo laughs when Ari mentions about best barbeque. He sees no argument in that.

"Thank you, I hope I do it justice and you will want to come to another when you are not scouting the area." He laughs as he says that. "You will have to share with me this book about Roman architecture. It sounds interesting. I should look up things myself. It may inspire me to figure out what stories and songs I'd do for it. If it really happens how do you feel about being a part of the concept? The building of the set, I mean." Now that he has invited Ari he really will have to pull this together but he seems pretty confident that he can accomplish this. "Oh wow, no I did not know that. Thank you for telling me that. I like learning things and now I have." His response about Roman marble. His words are sincere and there is no mockery behind it.

"Oh wow." That must be his favorite expression. "I guess when you were growing up you never were not in want of company."

"Oh for sure! Happy to share resources," Ari says, and he means it. He smiles, his earlier anxiety momentarily forgotten in the wake of what clearly seems to be a like-minded individual. At least someone who shares similar enthusiasm for performances, even if there's a clear demarcation between front and back stage.

His smile only grows wider when Theo suggests he take part in the building of the set. "I'd definitely be down. Another thing on my to-do list is to take stock of the materials that are available here for building, and maybe source some less common stuff too. Whatever your vision is for your performance, we'll make it happen."

That's not a royal We, more a collective one meant to encompass himself and his brothers and sisters. Guess he just volunteered them as well as himself. "You could say that," he agrees, laughter in his voice. "I've been separated from them for 5 years because of school and I really missed them, even if the quiet was nice at times. Too used to the chaos, I guess."

If there was any anxiety to be found on Ari maybe Theo was able to pick up on it since his magic is empathy. He doesn't call on it. But on his wrist is a copper bracelet and eventually he may share that his roomie made it for him to keep his anxiety at bay when he performs. Yes, it is true, Theo has performance anxiety and goes out there and does it anyways.

"When we are not out in the cold like this maybe we can go get coffee or something and talk it out." Nodding at the sketch book at hand that he had seen on Ari. "Can't drink. Not 21 yet so you know I don't want to break the rules around here." He explains. That is why there is no offer to meet at Lucky's one of the bars around here.

"I am glad to hear that you are reunited back with them. Family is a big deal to me and I'm always happy to hear things like that. I miss my little sister and hoping she will come out for a visit soon." Theo admits.

Oh there was definitely anxiety rolling off of Ari there at the beginning, but it's mellowed out as the danger of new acquaintances and uncomfortable social situations faded. He's pretty steady now, emotionally.

"Sounds good! Speaking of, let's get out of this cold now, huh?" he suggests, feeling the prickle of goosebumps up his arms underneath his sleeves. His hands have gone numb at this point. It takes him a moment to reorient himself, but he nods towards the general direction of the ferry docks, ready to get out of here.

The mention of Theo's sister gives Ari pause, though, and he frowns in commiseration. "Yeah, it can be hard to be separated like that... but when she does visit, what a great place to show her around! So many sights to see."

"Yeah sounds good to me. Give me a minute." Theo practically runs to the staff dressing room to grab his garment bag and then he's back to Ari again. As they walk to where the ferry is he goes in easy conversation with his new friend (hopefully) asking simple things such as where was he living? What kind of coffee he liked and so on.