2025-02-23 - The Grey Lady Plays

Brunch is in full swing at the Spookeasy and Artemisia is haunting the piano with a deftness that shows off her abilities on the keys, playing off a jazz tune with a bit of a ragtime. "That'll be all for the moment, ghouls and gentlemen. I'll hope you'll forgive me an unearthly repose," Artemisia croons lowly into the microphone looking like a pale shade of herself. She's dressed in a black off the shoulder gown with a flounce and her skin painted so pale as to look like crackling parchment and red rings that are somehow flattering below her eyes.

There's applause as she glides down from the stage to the bar to order a drink. Non-alcoholic. Artemisia is working.

It's not long before someone is sidling up next to Artemisia at the bar. Cedric leans forward to catch the attention of the bartender, lifting his empty drink to indicate he'd like another. It's not one of the usual brunch offerings, neither a mimosa or a bloody Mary, instead something served in a lowball glass, which he sets down before turning.

"I'm impressed," he tells Artemisia as he rests an elbow against the bar. "Very nice work, Lady Grey." Smiling, he says, "Good to see you again, Arte."

"Are you?" Artemisia inclines her head towards the compliment, a pretty if mild smile on her face. It spreads into something broader as she realizes who it's coming from. "The Earl of Grey, himself. It's nice to se you, Cedric. What are you drinking?"

There's a visible widening of Cedric's own smile when the recognition hits for Artemisia, and his eyes are bright, amused by the change and the reciprocity of their little nicknames. "A whiskey sour," he says, as he isn't on the clock technically for another several hours still.

Then he tilts his head at Arte, questioningly. "How about yourself? Let me buy it for you?" he asks. "It's the least I can do after that performance."

"An excellent if atypical Sunday choice." Artemisia smiles soft as he offers to buy. She taps a finger on the counter. "Just coffee for me. I'll be doing another set in a bit." She rests her cheek in her palm. "So you like jazz?"

Cedric nods when Artemisia requests just a coffee. "Understood," he says easily, and then twists to face her a little bit more fully, rather than the half-turn he'd been standing in. "I like just about any kind of music. It depends on the mood. And jazz seems perfect for a quiet Sunday morning."

"Trust me, my heart wants peppermint schnapps in it. But I'm a lightweight and those aren't player pianos," Artemisia jokes, a crinkle in the corners of her eyes. She tucks her gown under her and carefully hops up into one of the bar stools. The gown is long enough that it covers her legs, draping to the ground. "Favorite kind of music," she quizzes with a quick smile to the bartender as she makes her order. Coffee. Milk. Sweet.

The joke earns an amused smile from Cedric. "The heart wants what the heart wants," he agrees, and when Arte decides to sit on one of the barstools he joins her, sliding onto the one next to her. He's not dressed near as fancy, of course, just in a button-down shirt and a pair of trousers, nice if understated.

"That's a tough question," he says, musingly. "If we were to go by what I listen to the most, then it would be synthwave. I have that going whenever I'm working, helps me focus. Not sure if that's my favorite, though." Cedric thinks on that for a moment, and when he still doesn't have an answer, he turns it around on Artemisia, asking, "What about you?"

It is nice for Sunday brunch. Artemisia is playing a part, although the patrons are being kind enough to give her space between her acts to rest her voice. It's a question what her features really look like, if Cedric would even recognize her outside of the dark paint and pale skin.

"Synthwave? So like electronica?" Artemisia queries with a slight tip of her head. "I'll have to look it up. I'm not super familiar." She hums for a moment, considering. "I mean, my default is KPOP. But I actually have been listening to a lot of movie scores to get ideas for my outdoors playing in the park. The idea of using music not to just create a song but a sense of place is really interesting to me right now."

"It's very retro," Cedric gives a quick nod as he explains, though how much can you really explain music without hearing it as an example? He's trying, anyway. "Reminds me of old movies from the eighties."

He listens as Artemisia gives her own answer, and while he does know some K-Pop, it's the film scores that he latches onto. "You know the TRON sequel? I have that entire soundtrack on my playlist, it's mint." But the rest of what she says interests him, and his head tilts a little bit, thoughtfully. "So you're trying to create a soundtrack for the park, then?"

Artemisia laughs at something being called 'retro'. "I play pieces that were written like hundreds of years ago, I admit I don't have a good grasp on retro." She smiles brightly, thanking the bartender with a nod when her coffee arrives.

"Didn't Daft Punk do that one?" Artemisia asks with a lift of her brows, tapping a finger against the coffee mug before she takes a sip. "Kind of? Or at least atmosphere for the areas where I end up playing."

Cedric's drink is dropped off a moment later, and while he reaches for it immediately, he doesn't take a sip yet. "The sort of thing my parents used to watch," he says, as a correction to retro. And then he lifts his glass for a drink, but not before lightly knocking it against Artemisia's coffee mug in a joking sort of cheers.

"Yeah, that's them." He nods. And then after Arte's mention of atmosphere, he makes a thoughtful noise. "I can see that. Feels like you could pull from horror films as inspo for this area, yeah?"

"I have to just listen," Artemisia admits with a tip of a smile. "Horror movies scare me. I end up checking the curtains and the locks if I watch them alone."

"That's fair," Cedric agrees. And then he leans a little closer, to admit, "They scare me too. But I keep watching anyway."

As he pulls back, he takes a sip of his whiskey sour. After, he says, "I remember watching one film when I was too young for it. Had to keep my lights on as I slept for weeks after."

Artemisia giggles at the admission, her dark eyes flickering with pink. "What movie was it?"

Cedric shakes his head at the question, saying, "I don't even recall the name. But the monster could get you in the dark, so you had to stay in the light." He gives a little faux-shiver at that, the memory that clearly haunted his childhood.

Then he catches the change of Artemisia's eyes and finds himself staring, so he ducks his head and looks away, glancing down the length of the bar to the others doing some brunch-approved day drinking.

"That would be exhausting," Artemisia says thoughtfully, fully unaware of the flicker of color in her eyes. "Also difficult. All light casts a shadow. They don't exist in opposition."

"It definitely seemed like it, in the film," Cedric says. He folds his arms against the bar, affecting a casual lean against it as he does so. "I got over it eventually. Don't remember how, but I remember one day not being scared any more. Maybe I just grew up, realized it was all fake."

Artemisia counters his lean, propping her chin on her cheek as she sips her coffee. "It's funny the things we get over but stick with us." She cocks her head. "Or maybe you realized that the fear wasn't all there was. I used to be scared of the dark as a kid, so my Amma would take me out to sat goodnight to the stars. Maybe to remind me there was still light. Even if I couldn't see it."

Cedric swirls what remains of his drink around in its glass, looking down at it wistfully as he does so. "That's a nice memory," he says, to Arte. "Very sweet. It's a universal fear though, isn't it?" He shakes his head. "Guess it's just something we all have to get over, when we're wee little tykes."

He lifts his glass up, but it stops halfway. "Do you ever do that, still?" he asks. "Star-gaze, I mean."

"When I was a child, I saw things with a child's eyes," Artemisia misquotes with a mild smile. She takes a sip of her coffee, himming in agreement. Then, she laughs- the note bright and fluid. "You know, I haven't in awhile but I should."

"Might not be all that easy here," Cedric says, with a general wave of his hand skyward, the amber liquid in his glass nearly sloshing over the sides. "On account of the, what's it called? Light pollution?" He supposes with how bright the park is at night, yeah, it might be difficult to see anything. "But maybe it's worth it anyway."

He takes that sip he's been meaning to have, then sets his drink back down on the bar. "Never met anyone into astronomy, like. But lots who were into astrology. So I feel unqualified to talk."

"Actually, the lake tends to be pretty dark," Artemisia points out. "I bet the view from the shore would be spectacular." She smiles. "We should do that."

Then, Arte has to laugh. "I dunno if I'm into astronomy so much as I think nature is pretty."

Cedric's eyes widen in surprise at that bit of information. "I've only ever been on the ferry, between islands or the mainland," he admits. "So yes, let's."

The laughter makes him grin. "Well, I'm pretty sure Mercury isn't in retrograde because today has been good so far. Cheers," he says, and lifts his drink to polish it off.

"Well, then you're missing out," Artemisia says, taking a sip of her coffee. "Cheers."

"Sounds like," Cedric agrees with a smile. "I'm not much for swimming or anything but a good shore, that's mint. So count me in."

The bartender comes back and asks if Cedric would like another, but he gives a quick shake of his head and a "Thanks but no thanks, mate," before he's turning back to Arte. "How much longer before your next set? Should I leave you to relax?" he asks, sounding sincere.

"I have..." Arte pulls a her fluffy, charmed pink phone put of a pocket of voluminous dress. "About fifteen minutes. So stay or go as you like. I'm enjoying the company."

No reason not to swap out his drink for a water then, which Cedric does via brief conversation with the bartender. "I should probably head out myself, get some errands done before I have to be a responsible adult," he says, though he makes no immediate move to abandon his barstool.

If Artemisia wants to talk, he's happy to do so. Though if she'd rather rest her vocal cords at the moment, Cedric is perfectly capable of sitting in relative silence too.

"You sound very excited about that," Artemisia quips with a note of amusement. "What grand errands take the earl of grey?"

"Mostly trying to figure out what foods my newly acquired pet will eat. It won't eat any veg, so it's not like a normal rabbit," Cedric says, a note of complaint in his voice. There's a lot of vegetables in his kitchen that might go to waste now. "That's really it, though it'll probably take a few stops."

"Oh!" Arte chirps, setting down her coffee. "Is it a pink rabbit? They prefer sweets. I have one too."

Cedric reels backwards slightly, surprised to see Artemisia recognizing his plight so quickly. "It is," he confirms. And then she solves the conundrum for him. "Sweets? That's... well. Alright. Not healthy, but I can work with it."

He laughs, amused by the coincidence. "Thank you."