2025-01-08 - Midsummer Night's Dream at Paradise Beach Club!

The doors have been closed to keep the chill coming off the water out, letting the music almost pulse in the air. The club has been festooned with draping garlands of fake flowers, cascading over the tiki bar, and long pale garlands of white and glittering gold. The theme? Midsummer Night's Dream. A man in a donkey mask dances past Artemisia who stands in clattering heels, pale green skirts spinning and her wings fluttering as she dances to the pulsing music. With her blond hair and fey green dress, she looks more like a misguided tinkerbelle than one of the fairies from the Bard's play. Dots of glittering makeup dances along her cheeks, the peak of her lips highlighted with a sheen of pink as dances across the floor.

DJ Escape is up in the booth, keeping the music going for this midsummer revel in the middle of winter. He's already got a bit of a look due to the black horns that sweep back to a point amidst his waves of dark hair and the slightly too-sharp teeth. But he's added some leaves to his hair and a bit of eyeliner, a smattering of copper and green glitter to the look.

The leather pants Alan wears look painted on, and the green and gold loose-sleeved shirt light enough to stay cool in the warmth of the club. There's a vest to go with it, but it hangs nearby in the booth, discarded for now.

Since Scarlett has been staying at a luxury suite at the resort while she's here, it was a no-brainer to show for this.

She's bouncing on the dance floor in an outfit that's half-faerie and half-beachy: a white silky shirt worn open and unbuttoned over a white polka-dot bikini top and paired with a very fae skirt in light yellow. To help her avoid being recognized, she's gone with a bold, bright makeup look, with green-blue eyeshadow and light pink lipstick. Her feet are clad in sandals - just in case she does decide to dive into the nearby pool. That vibrant red hair of hers is as curly as ever, falling loose around her shoulders.

The redhead is just moving past Artemisia when a nearby dancer bumps into her, pushing her against Artemisia from behind. "Shit, sorry!" she yelps, trying to avoid knocking the blonde over before turning to glare in the direction of whoever bumped her. After a moment, she turns back to Artemisia, lips curling upwards. "I love your wings. Totally would have worn some, too, if I could find any in time."

The DJ gets a look from across the dance floor, as Scarlett flashes him a friendly smile. "Good job!" she yells, flashing him a thumbs-up.

The blond fairy - never known for her grace - falls toe over heel into the crowd leaving her sprawled amid the dancing feet. Artemisia squeaks and rolls, trying not to get stepped on while fighting with the wings flapping against her movements on her back.

"FAE DOWN" Alan shouts from the DJ booth and then follows up with, "Hey, give her some room, yeah?" The dancers nearby back away to let Artemisia get some space, a couple offering her a hand back up. Only once she's safely on her feet does he go back to bobbing his head along with the music, giving a thumbs-up to the crowd for following directions. No fae left behind up in this club.

Since Scarlett was already on alert after getting bumped, she reacts quickly when Artemisia falls over. She throws herself after the blonde, forcibly shoving her way through the crowd and getting over to shield her--

But then the DJ beats her to it, and somehow manages to command the whole crowd with a few words. Impressive!

Scarlett flashes Alan a grateful look before glancing down at Artemisia and offering her a hand, still breathing a bit heavier. "You okay, hon?" she asks, helping her up.

A pink flush deepens on Artemisia's cheeks as Scarlett offers her a hand up, Artemisia managing to have right herself - somewhat. Her blonde hair hangs in curly tufts around her ears and one of her wings is crooked. "Thanks," she says softly, placing her hand in Scarlett's as she carefully climbs to her feet on top of platform heels. They still don't make her very tall, nearly the same height as Scarlett without them.

"Looks like I've got a guardian..." Artemisia glances at Alan and his horns and giggles. "Devil. Or something."

Coming in through the doors off the beach is Brandon, a sandy-haired young man with an open face and a relaxed, casual attitude. He's dressed for the theme in loose, dark pants, black boots, and a white linen shirt with billowing sleeves, cuffed tight at the wrists but open at the neck. It's the sort of thing the arena performers wear under their armor, actually.

Getting his bearings in the sudden onslaught of dance music and flashing lights, Brandon first heads toward a familiar landmark-- the bar.

Alan gives Scarlett an up-nod and a thumbs-up from his position in the booth. It does afford him an excellent view of the dance floor and a microphone with which to shout at people. He's a guardian something-or-other anyway, with those horns and that sharp smile.

The music keeps on pumping and the dancers keep on dancing now that the calamity is at an end. Up in the booth, DJ Escape dances along and keeps an eye on things, shifting the tempo of the music to shift the vibe to something a little more ethereal for this particular song, swaying in time.

Uh oh, it’s the fuzz.

It is at precisely this moment that elements of the fun police (security) come to ruin everyone’s night (make sure everyone’s safe and sound) like the jackbooted thugs they are (… okay, they’re just boots, actually…). Perennially on-duty Officer Charlie Underwood is dressed in the usual security attire, along with the personal additions of heeled leather boots and felt cowboy hat.

For the moment, he seems to be content lingering at the door, chatting with the security folks posted up there doing the ID checking. His narrow, piercing eyes do wash over the crowd every once in a while, though, like a hawk peering out over the prairie.

Without a second thought, Scarlett straightens out Artemisia's crooked wing and reaches up to adjust some of those blond curls a bit. "There. Looking good!" she crows, grinning.

The redhead eyes Artemisia, taking stock more fully before continuing. "Since I knocked you over, can I buy you a drink to make up for it? On me."

Artemisia could be anywhere between the ages of 18 and 28. Damn genetics. The petite blonde flashes Scarlett a pretty smile. "Yeah. I'd like that."

It's easy to sway with the more ethereal vibe of the sound as it evolves, easy to just get lost in a melody. Brandon closes his eyes and breathes deeply as he reaches the bar. One of the bartenders, a slender brunette with a pixie cut, keeps an eye on him, only appearing to take his order once the young man's eyes open.

Listening and nodding curtly, the girl behind the bar smirks as she turns to the liquor shelves and measures out a double of some single-malt Scotch. Brandon hands her a credit card to open a tab as she slides him the drink, which he sips indolently as he turns to study the dancefloor, more a people-watcher than a party-goer at first. He's in the act of lifting his Scotch in salute toward Alan and the DJ booth in honor of the blissful, dreamier vibe when his gaze settles on... Scarlett.

"No f---ing way," Brandon mutters to himself. He squints for just a moment, then nods slowly, once only.

Brandon glances toward the beach doors as if for an escape-- but seeing the fuzz looming, instead draws another deep breath and pushes off the bar in the direction that Scarlett and Artemisia are heading.

Alan grins at the salute from Brandon and continues his gentle sway and bob along with the dreamier music that fills the space, a sweet feminine voice rising up to hit the high notes and then a harmony of voices following along with the heavier beat that underlies the melody. He gives him a little salute of his own and then spots Charlie over by the doors, studying him for a moment from cowboy hat to boots. Alan is new to the park, very new, only having arrived in the past week, so he doesn't know all the security very well yet. Glancing around, he checks on Scarlett and Artemisia but they seem fine, no lingering limp or anything from the fall.

Scarlett links her arm through Artemisia's loosely and leads her over towards the bar, being very careful now to avoid getting bowled over again. She seems ready to throw hands if needed.

The music is definitely up Scarlett's alley, earning a small smile from the redhead as they head over to the bar. Their path puts them on a direct collision course with Brandon, who she doesn't recognize yet.

Charlie doesn’t exactly loom, he’s more prone to swaggering – which is precisely what he does once he’s finished checking in with the door-tenders and begins his ponderous approach towards the bar-tenders. Soon he will be inspecting the chicken-tenders, mark my words.

Though the bar staff are quite capable of handling age verification checks themselves, it’s occasionally beneficial to have someone armed with a taser and a pleasant attitude help out. So while he’s not exactly staring at Brandon and his reactions, Charlie does make a note to check on the guy once he’s done his ‘gaze out over the crowd at the bar and look out for stupid people’ thing.

First offering Alan a nod of gratitude, Brandon moves slowly through the throng before arriving down the bar concurrently with Scarlett and the blonde fairy, Artemisia. For the moment, he's unaware of Charlie's scrutiny.

Sorry for taking too long, I'm definitely keen to move things along too. 😀

With enough songs queued up to give him a bit of a break, Alan slides on his green and gold vest that matches the loose billowy shirt that he wears and descends from the DJ booth to mingle among the dancers and make his way over to the bar, himself. Leaning over it a little he grins when the bartender hands him a bottle of water and lofts it to her in a salute. Then he's wandering over toward the little cluster of people that are gathering nearby.

"Everybody having a good time?" he asks everyone in general as he lifts the bottle and takes a long drink from it. It's warm up there, and the water is a welcome refreshment.

Artemisia is happily drawn along with a grin, arm looping comfortably thought Scarlett's as they approach the bar. The little blonde pixie half dances as she steps, keeping up with the music. "What's your name?" She asks Scarlett with interest.

Charlie gets a wave when Artemisia sidles up to the bar. "Hey Hey," she greets sunnily. She's been at the park practically since it open, so under that glitter might be a face that he recognizes. The pianist does end up in positions all over the park.

On the edge of where Artemisia and Scarlett reach the bar, Brandon closes his eyes and takes a slow sip of his Scotch. He nods to himself as if in silent agreement with... something... and then leans in toward Scarlett as Alan asks if everyone's having fun.

"Yeah, but not as much fun as I had singing along with 'Velvet Heart'," Brandon says in a wry, casual tone. It's not a fervent fan thing or a pickup line. If anything, it's a simple statement, peer to peer... an odd way to address anyone you've never met. But that's what he says to the girl with the red hair.

Alan glances between Scarlett and Brandon with a little bit of an amused smile as he overhears the comment between them but doesn't comment on it. Instead, he leans up against the bar comfortably and looks out over the floor from this perspective. It's not as good a view as he has from the booth, but there's something to be said for being closer to the dancing itself.

Given how clumsy she is, Artemisia does indeed end up in positions all over the park. Usually fallen over, running into something, or someone, or all three at once. Charlie evidently does recognise her, bestowing upon her the honour and dignity of a light upnod to indicate as much. As for the others at the bar, Charlie vaguely recognises Alan – the way two people working in the same mall recognise each other, not having met but there’s a general ‘at work’ vibe that is readily understood. The other two? He doesn’t know them from Adam nor Eve, despite both being apparently famous for something or other.

Charlie is like everyone’s mother: If there’s a celebrity around then he hasn’t heard of them, the kids these days are talking a made up language, and good music died with Buddy Holly and John Denver.

Sometimes Artemisia gets stuck in something. Or on something. Ride operators cringe to see her coming. Or her roommate keeps an eye on her through the security system. Charlie's upnod gets a little wiggle of Arte's fingers. "You set was epic," she informs Alan, not really knowing him - but that's never stopped her from starting up a conversation. "Thanks for the save. I was worried the crowd was gonna squish me."

Shakespeare wasn't really Ruby's strong suit. But she vaguely remembered fairies being a theme in Midsummer Night's Dream. So she arrived at the Beach Club after her shift dressed vaguely as a water nymph with seashells braided into her hair, a bikini top, surrong. Her new shiny blue and pink scales that were scattered in patches on her shoulders, legs, and torso did the rest of the heavy lifting to complete her kind of costume. It's not that Spellbound needs any more Fae creatures, real or otherwise.

Upon arrival, she waves to those she recognizes, then makes her way to the bar to get a drink immediately feeling a bit out of her element.

The bartender is doing some of those fancy spins and pours. She tosses her head with a laugh as she leans to light a series of shots on fire for some cheering patrons. Her tips are going to be good tonight.

Artemisia leans back as to not accidentally catch something on fire. "Hot drinks on the bar! Charlie, are you working? Or just like - lurking?" She asks curiously. She is delivered a pink cocktail with a slice of lime hanging off it and a salted rim. She flashes the bartender a grin and takes a sip of her drink.

Having leaned in to make his remark to Scarlett, Brandon sips at his tumbler of Scotch with an easy, unhurried demeanor. His eyes catch the water nymph sweeping into the club-- he'd have to be a zombie not to-- but his attention is immediately pulled away by the sudden gleam of fire.

"Thanks," Alan says to Artemisia as he takes another sip from his water. "I'll be back up there in a few. Just taking a little break." The tunes keep playing though, from the tracks that he'd queued up before coming down to the bar for a breather. "Don't worry, I've got a good vantage point out there. I won't let anyone get squished if I can avoid it."

He chuckles when she asks Charlie if he's working or lurking. "Can't it be a bit of both?"

The firelight plays beautifully on Charlie’s profile, like the man was made to be viewed over a campfire rather than neon club lighting. He props his foot up on the rail around the bottom of the bar to enhance his lean, edging closer towards the looming he was accused of earlier. “Lurking is working,” Charlie retorts, aiming an appreciative nod towards Alan for his similarly intentioned comment. “Why, is my cheerful disposition dampening the ‘vibe’?” It’s like when your mom uses slang. Charlie saying ‘vibe’ just feels wrong, deep in the youngest part of anyone listening. A young man a few feet away actually cringed, that’s how wrong it was.

The fancy pours get a golf clap from Rubes. Shortly after, she ends up with a sparkly blue drink topped with a tiny umbrella and gummy dolphin. "Is it blue raspberry?" She guesses, taking a sip. "Oh wow," whatever it was, it was good. "Oh damn," she could die happy.

She doesn't get far from the tiki bar as she surveys the party. But it doesn't take long for seafoam green eyes to go wide in recognition. "Oh my gosh," she says, whipping back toward the bar and leaning close toward Alan and Artemisia. "Is that Brandon O'Donnell?" She practically gawked. "The one from The Silvertones?" Had she died? Was this heaven? Did these people realize they were around Indie Music Teen Girl Royalty?! WHY WAS NO ONE FREAKING OUT?!

Scarlett pushes through the crowd, finally joining everyone else at the bar, only to be immediately greeted by Brandon naming one of her most obscure songs - one from way back in her SoundCloud days.

"Oh-- fuck. Uh, thanks," she mutters, jaw clenching as she leans in closer. "I'm trying to avoid drawing too much attention, so let's keep that between us, yeah?" the redhead says softly, just loud enough for only Brandon to hear, before pulling back.

Her attention returns to Artemisia then, a smirk curling onto her lips. "Sorry - I'm Scarlett. Don't think I caught your name, darlin'." A bit of a southern drawl slips out at the end there, just for a moment.

But then--

Ruby is calling out poor Brandon's name, giving his identity away. Scarlett's gaze whips back over to him, eyes widening, before she moves closer to Ruby. "Yes, it totally is. I totally know him. Want to meet him?" she asks conspiratorially, flashing Ruby a small smile.

"Oh uhm. I'm Arte," Artemisia manages after a beat at that drawl. And then the ATTENTION. Her eyes go wide. She glances at Charlie. Do you know who that is? She's failing at youth culture, but she's almost 30 so...

For one last moment-- and probably a fleeting one, at that-- Brandon remains blissfully unaware of Ruby's recognition, or the enthusiasm she brings to it. It's as if he really doesn't expect anyone to recognize him.

More than ironic, that, given he himself realized quickly just who Scarlett is. He's more than happy to follow her lead and let her remain anonymous but then-- oh, then-- she slides over to Ruby.

You don't have to be a telepath to read Brandon's mind. His eyes register that "Oh, shit," moment plainly enough.

Smiling wanly, not upset but going a touch pale nonetheless, the one-time Silvertones vocalist raises his Scotch to his lips-- and knocks back the rest of the liquor in one hard shot.

"Yes," Alan says in answer to Ruby's question without really missing a beat as he finishes off the remainder of his bottle of water and offers it back to the bartender, who takes it and tosses it. He'd recognized Brandon, but then, he'd also recognized Scarlett. But sometimes folks are just on vacation and want to be left the heck alone.

But then Scarlett is stepping in to make introductions and he can't help but chuckle a little. "Have fun," he tells Ruby with a sidelong smile. And then the horned DJ gives a little wave to the group to go return to his booth and keep the tunes grooving, swapping from the ethereal sort of trance that's been going on to something with a little more lively beat.

Arte’s almost thirty and Charlie’s… in his early forties. If she doesn’t know, there’s no way he would. His attention flicks quickly from Arte to Ruby to Scarlett to Ruby to Brandon to Alan to Arte, to whom he offers a small shrug.

"Yes, I want to meet him!" Ruby practically squeals. Then she actually focuses on Scarlett. And, oh God. Oh God, this is all too much. "You-" She was Scarlett. What kind of dream had she crash landed into. She drinks her drink in a hurry. She couldn't handle this. Where was Roman? Act cool. Act Cool.

Ruby forces herself to take a breath. But she is practically bouncing out of her skin.

"You're Brandon O'Donnell and Scarlett Nash! AHHH!!!!:LDJEF:LSKJD!!:LSKDJFLSKDJ!!!!" Oh no, she was supposed to act cool. She takes a breath and then lowers her tone. "Sorry... are you guys," she gestures between them. "Together?" She could keep a secret.

Louise is wearing jeans and a t-shirt, so at a glance one might be forgiven for thinking that she missed the theme entirely — on second glance, the white shirt bears text that reads boldly Lo, what fools these mortals be! because what’s a party without a little Puck energy, right? She shows up just as Alan is heading back to the DJ booth, so all she gets to do is cross his path and point at him. “You!” Then it’s onwards to the bar.

“Ooh, that’s pretty,” she says of Artemisia’s drink, but the order she places is just for a Diet Coke. Doesn’t take but a minute, then she puts her back to the bar while she sips, because there is plenty to look at with all this sudden hubbub, the exclamations over the Silvertones that draw interest, but her brow pinches. “I think I might have their t-shirt,” she says idly…. But it’s Scarlett that gets a longer, thoughtful look… right up until Ruby starts naming names with all the squealing. All this excitement has her look over at Charlie with a shake of her head. “Youths.” Amiright? Shh, ignore where she’s near two decades his junior.

"It is delicious," Artemisia informs Louise with a smile. She gets a thumbs-up for the t-shirt even if Artemisia currently looks more like tinkerbelle than one of the fae ones. Leaning an elbow on the counter, she watches the naming of names with an increasing rise of her eyebrows. "Well. I think they're famous or something." This is declared in a kind voice, rather than a wry tone.

“Famous, huh?” Charlie says, more to himself than anything. “Shall we their fond pageant see?” He does make a mental note of the names mentioned, if only because famous usually equals troublesome – years of law enforcement and security detail will attest to this. But he’s a good security officer, so what he may or may not see, hear, or learn doesn’t leave his brain unless it is legally required to do so. As far as he’s concerned, he’s never met Scarlett… whatever or Brandon... whomst.

He grins in Louise’s direction when she makes her elderliness known, never mind that she is totally one of the youths.

Oh, God. This is not what Scarlett thought was going to happen.

"Okay, yes. Let's meet him," she tells Ruby, readying herself to bring the blonde over, but then she sees the spark of recognition in those eyes and audibly groans. "No, I'm--"

It's too late, as Ruby shouts their names out. "Okay, let's fucking calm--" She cuts herself off, forcing herself to calm down slightly. It helps that Ruby is cute, and not a tall bearded man like the one Scarlett threw her beer on for being an asshole when he recognized her. "Yes, that's me," she finally says, exasperated.

The final straw, though, is that question over whether they're together. Scarlett whips around to look at Brandon, glaring at him for a moment before looking back at Ruby and sharing her head vigorously. "No. Nope. Definitely not. Nice guy, but men are not on the menu for me. I'm more interested in all of you pretty ladies." Scarlett gestures to Artemisia, Ruby, and... Louise? She gets a wave and small smile.

It's apparent to anyone watching that not only did Mr. Brandon O'Donnell seem to think he could go without being recognized, he's also thrown entirely off guard by the sudden collusion of people and events. Magic might be a real thing in these islands, but the sheer chaos energy at play here tonight is no less real-- it's simply more subtle.

"Well-- no," Brandon splutters, his eyes cutting over to Scarlett Nash before back to Ruby, dutifully answering the blonde girl's questions because, well... that's what you do, isn't it? "I mean, just because she-- not that I wouldn't-- I mean, if you--"

He glances between Scarlett and Ruby again, looking bewildered as his face pales, then buries that face in his palm. "Look, I'll be right back," Brandon says, rushed but as politely as possible, before slipping away from the girls, passing Charlie and Louise and Artemisia on his way toward the restrooms and escape.

Artemisia lifts her eye brows at the messy goings-on and just siiiiiiips her drink.

"Like, the most famous!" She says ina loud whisper to anyone listening. Ruby's brain under her mess of blonde hair is short-circuiting. If someone looks closely, they'll probably see her soul leaving her body.

"Which one?" She asks Louise about the T-shirt.

At Scarlett's encouragement, Ruby nods. Yes. Calm. Calm. "You are so talented. I love your music so much," she tells Scarlett. "You have the voice of an angel. Why did you stop?" So many questions. So few boundaries. Someone get the tranquilizer gun.

But as Scarlett corrects Ruby's very wrong assumption there is a wave of rose that washes over, well, all of her. Just as Scarlett is attempting to introduce Ruby to her idol, he leaves. "Did I do something wrong?" She asks Scarlett bewildered.

While he doesn’t typically carry a tranquilliser gun (except that one time around the animal enclosures), Charlie is armed with a taser. Though he has excellent judgement; therefore, the taser has remained holstered and is likely to be so for the foreseeable future. Letting out a soft sigh, Uncle Charlie, Security Department, goes to work and with a sharp clearing of his throat he makes himself known to both Ruby and Scarlett, looming as he is a clear foot taller than the latter.

“Everythin’ alright over here ladies,” he manages to use question-asking words but put them in a not-question-asking way. If one were clued into subtext it would seem that he’s aware things are very much not okay, and would like for them to become okay.

Louise nods gracefully at Arte’s thumbs up acknowledgement, at least someone gets her cleverness. But all the chaos distracts, and she’s just sipping her Coke with eyebrows raised up until she overhears Charlie’s comment. Fond pageant. She snorts, shooting him a look that says I understood that reference before moving on.

These poor beleaguered celebrities. She just observes, fascinated and smirking as Ruby…happens to them both, right up until Brandon is driven to flee and she takes pity, in her small, commanding way. “Hey,” she says, waving a hand towards the soon-to-be less incognito Scarlett, and of course Ruby as well. “Come hide over here, blend in, we won’t out you, right guys?” She’s assuming Arte and Charlie are cool. Pretty drink. Charlie seems hip. “There are very pretty drinks.” Just so they know.

"Totally," Artemisia encourages softly about hiding and keeping their heads down. She offers Scarlett a small smile, then nods as Charlie steps in. Good Security-ing.

Poor Brandon. Scarlett winces as he tries to explain himself, eyes lighting up with amusement. "I appreciate it, buddy. You're..."

And he's gone. Oops.

She turns back to Ruby, and is suddenly met by a wave of questions. Normally, such questions would make her stressed and angry and annoyed, but luckily Ruby is charming enough to pull it off (for now). "Thank you, honey." Once again, the southern drawl slips out on the last word. Ruby's question about why she stopped is ignored for now, though.

She puts an arm around Ruby's shoulders and guides her over towards Louise, who's welcoming them to anonymous safety. The blush by the blonde is definitely noticed with amusement, too. "Not sure what his deal is. Maybe he's going to get more of his bandmates for you to meet?"

Just as they're getting closer to Louise, the two of them find themselves greeted by Charlie, who definitely looks over the shorter Scarlett. This fact doesn't bother the redhead, though, who looks up at Charlie with disdain. "Yeah, we're fine, buddy. You alright, security man?" She glances past him and grins at Artemisia. "Hi. I'm back."

Ruby's gaze shifts to the security officer, and she nods. "Yes, sir," she looks a bit bashful. Not only had he noticed the two megastars, but several other partygoers as well. With all the attention, Louise's offer to bring them into what she perceives to be VIP is met with a nod. "That's probably for the best. People have started to recognize you," she says quietly to Scarlett, utterly oblivious as to who blew their cover. Rubes sips on her pink drink as Scarlett guides her.

"Do you think?" She perks up. But then shakes her head. "No, that'd be massive news if they were all together." It just wouldn't make sense here.

"Hi," Artemisia greets Scarlett flatly at that display of disdain. Her brow furrows, dark eyes flashing pink for a minute. But maybe that's just the lights of the club. "I gotta get going. Nice meeting you," she says to Scarlett. "Charlie. Louise." The other two are given a tip of her head and a smile before the blonde disappears into the crowd.

Security man sure seems alright, so alright in fact that one might say he’s alright alright alright. Indeed, Charlie isn’t even fazed by the distain with which he was met from the former supporting act turned flame-out who didn’t even have the decency to be properly famous before her star fell. Cough.

“I’m doin’ just fine ma’am,” he says, all calm and cool like. He jerks his thumb over his shoulder towards where Brandon escaped to and, shifting his gaze between Scarlett NoHansen and Ruby Tuesday, speaks again. “What was that all about?”

Arte’s departure is met with a a wink, a click-cluck of the tongue and a nod, “Don’t run into anythin’ I wouldn’t.”

Scarlett asks that 'you alright', with that tone. Her eyebrows lift a little. Louise answers on Charlie's behalf -- does she know him? No, but she has ears like a bat and picks things up, and all too often her mouth just runs on instinct. "He's vibing." Can't they tell? She raises her coke at him too, for good measure. She's got him.

Arte's departure gets a wave, a "nice to meet you" thrown after her, before she addresses Scarlett with a "What'll you have?" She'll flag down the bartender.

"Oh yes. People. Have to keep an eye out for them," Scarlett murmurs to Ruby, corners of her mouth quirking up in a wry smile.

She glances over at Arte and Louise, taking in their reactions, before glancing back up at Charlie, some of the disdain vanishing from her expression. "I think he's okay. Just a famous guy that got spotted - he probably just needs a moment." She looks at Charlie a moment longer, sizing him up. "Where are you from? Always nice to find a fellow southerner this far out."

The redhead guides Ruby over to the bar by Louise, who she flashes a big, sweet smile to. "Hi. I'm Scarlett. Don't think I caught your name, darlin'." As for what she wants, Scarlett decides on tequila, telling the bartender just that.

"So. Do all y'all know each other already?"

Ruby rolls her eyes at the old man, questioning them. "That was Brandon O'Donnell," Duh. "Didn't you react this way when you saw The Beatles?" He seemed of that age to her. Sip sip.

Rubes waves to Arte. "Nice to meet you! I loved your outfit!" She didn't get the chance to compliment her in honest, and she did look so cute.

She seems happy enough to stay on Scarlett's arm as long as she'll let her perch there. "No, I don't think we do," Ruby says, flashing Louise a big smile... and a lesser smile to Charlie who seemed about ready to yeet Ruby into the water if it came to it. "I'm Ruby."

Finally taking a moment to actually peer off towards where Brandon went, Charlie sets his hands on his hips and nods slowly at Scarlett’s explanation, “I see.” He probably noticed Scarlett sizing him up, so he does her the courtesy of still peering off yonder while she does so. “Fellow southerner,” he replies with a small smile, “Well. Bless yer heart.” He doubles down on The Southerning by over-emphasising his Kentucky-fried accent then letting it slip back into the rounded syllables and light drawl. “Kentucky, originally.” He does actually answer the question, though. Just because Kentucky’s better than Georgia there’s no need to be rude.

He turns back towards the bar, long enough to be able to see Louise without Scarlett or Ruby being able to see his face. Charlie widens his eyes and takes a deep breath, the universal sign of ‘da fuq?’ but his features smooth over (well… rugged over) into a banal half-smile as he returns to peering out over the crowd.

Oh, the Southerning is happening. It’s like an overly polite melted caramel duel, and Louise watches appreciatively between Scarlett and Charlie, taking sips of her drink. This is good entertainment right here, with the all y’alls, and a legitimate, in the wild ‘bless your heart’, whew. If only there were popcorn. She observes, uncharacteristically quiet, until she’s called on to contribute, with a quirk of the mouth for the darlin’ of it all. “Lou.” As for if they know each other, she jerks a thumb towards Charlie. “We go way back.” Ten minutes? That far? The other she doesn’t know, though, and nods at Ruby’s introduction.

Louise is always down for a confidential shared look - she meets Charlie’s with a a beatific smile and a subtle nod because she knows exactly what he means. But. Her soda is running low and somewhere in there there’s a glance at her phone to catch the time, which means… she’s then going to offer him a deeply reassuring, “I have complete faith in you.” Might have more merit if she’d ever met him before, or, you know, knew his name, but she sells it with a pat on his arm before she slips off her stool. Yep, she’s abandoning him. “Work time,” she says, and gestures towards her empty stool, should either of the other two want to steal her spot. “It has been something,” she adds, and it’s pleasantly said for Scarlett and Ruby, even if she doesn’t clarify what that something is before taking her Shakespeare tee and disappearing off through the sylvan crowd.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lou. It's definitely been something. Hopefully I'll see you around again sometime?"

Scarlett's sweet smile to Louise widens and she waves as the other woman heads off. Her drink arrives, then, and she sips the tequila, more than happy to keep Ruby on her arm. Arm candy!

She winks at Charlie. "Ahh. I'm from Georgia - but I won't hold being from a worse state against you. Not your fault."