2025-05-13 - Just an ordinary day on the beach

Yeeeessssssah!

These are the nights that Avery has been waiting for since she arrived on Spellbound. The weather was warm (enough), people were playing games, music was playing from... somewhere, and it was a full-on beach night with bonfires.

With a drink in a plastic cup, swaying to some music, Avery was hanging out near one of the fire pits rocking a white tank top, jean shorts and bare feet. Toes in the sand! Yep! That's the way to do it.

Emerson is dressed in some plain jeans and a white t-shirt. He's got the cuffs of his jeans rolled up a bit and his sneakers dangling from his fingers as he enjoys a barefoot stroll through the sand, himself. The weather is so much nicer here than it is on the mainland, so consistently more even and temperate, and it's a beautiful evening to be out. He doesn't seem to be headed anywhere in particular but the bonfire draws him in that direction, like a moth to a flame.

"GET... GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SUMBITCH!" Carl shouts as he comes running down the beach from the opposite direction, going as fast as his middle-aged knees will take him. He's not particularly out of shape, but he is a smoker, and from the look of him he's been at this for a while. His hair is damp with sweat, his black-and-yellow checkerboard shirt is starting to stick to him in spots, and one of his shoes has come untied.

What is he chasing? As far as most people can see, nothing at all. He nearly barrels into Rhea, his attention focused so totally on his possibly non-existent quarry that he didn't spot her ahead of him until it was almost too late, swerving out of the way so suddenly he nearly loses his balance.

It's a great evening for being out for a light jog on the beach, which, in Zack's case, means a flat out sprint. He goes bounding along, surprisingly sure-footed over the shifting sand, kicking it up in a cloud around his cheap sneakers. There is no way he's not going to be knocking out hills of the stuff when he gets home. Hopefully BEFORE he gets home, but we'll see. If he wasn't coming up BEHIND Carl at mach 1, it'd be easy to associate the much older man as yelling at him. Someone has probably yelled that at him in the past. LOTS of someones have almost certainly yelled that at him in the past.

"CARL! Hey, who you chasing? I'll git 'em for you."

What's going on? Who knows! Certainly not Zack! That's not going to stop him from taking off like a shot at whoever Carl points him to, though.

Rhea is full on people watching. Which is to mean that she is staring at everyone. Her first catches onto Avery, then Emerson's movement in that direction catches her attention. She winces at something, her gaze on his shoes. But that is all forgotten the moment she hears the shouting Carl. She hops to the side as he barrels at her and then reached out to grab ahold of his shirt to try and haul him upward. At the very least she can keep him from falling over?

"Hey you o-"

Then she catches sight of Zack also full steam sprinting in her direction and she turns her eyes skyward, her body tensing as if she is bracing for an oncoming impact.

Eunice is not the most social of beings - it seems to be both her choice and that of everyone else in the world - but she's dragged herself out to sit near the bonfire. The flames so bright, she has to wear shades. Along with frayed jeans, an oversized Feuerschwanz band t-shirt (black of course) and with a 'special cigarette' in one hand and a bottle of 'beer' in the other.

A familiar noise disturbs the reverie; the noise of Carl and imminent catastrophe. She peers in that direction, the straight line of her lips even quirking a little with amusement. As for what he may be chasing, it has to be questioned whether it actually exists.

There is suddenly a lot of activity with someone running, or was it two? Avery stops dancing to the music playing so that she can watch in humour surprise as she sees Carl and someone else chasing something...

It doesn't cause her to move locations from beside the fire, but she laughs all the same, watching from a distance. "What is even going on right now?" She asks to no one in particular, anyone around her, and then takes a drink from her plastic cup.

Emerson smiles at Eunice and Avery as he approaches the fire, but the sound of shouting draws his attention, first in Carl's direction, and then trying to see what it is that he's chasing just in time to witness the near collision with a wince. Then he's looking off down the beach in the direction that Carl was going, expression puzzled as though still trying to figure out exactly what he's chasing. For the moment, he just watches, curious how this is all going to play out. "I have no idea.." Emerson answers Avery even though she wasn't asking him in particular.

Having semi-successfully dodged Rhea, Carl wobbles side to side, kept on his feet and carried forward mostly by momentum. It seems very much like he's going to take a spill, but he stabilizes, and drawing deep on some reserves it really doesn't seem like he ought to have he puts on an impressive burst of speed, arms pumping. He races like a maniac for several more yards then skids to a stop and turns, dropping into something like a wrestling stance.

Panting and dripping he crabwalks left and right, cutting off the escape of nothing-at-all. "Awright you little shit, the game's up," he says, breath misting like it was colder out than it is. He takes a deep breath, stamps his feet like a Sumo, and lunges forward in kind of sweeping motion. "GIT!"

His gaze follows nothing up and out to sea, like a golfer watching the ball soar off into the distance, and a satisfied smile spreads across his face. Then exhaustion catches up, and he falls more than sits, planting his ass right on the beach.

Initially, Zack took off after Carl, because he's not sure who Carl is chasing, but he's gonna be there to back him up, but as he blows past Rhea, catching sight of her out of the corner of his eye, he becomes distracted, and lopes down mostly to a halt, then turns and hop-jogs backward over the sand, on the crowded beach, so that he's facing her.

"Hey! I know you, don't I? I'm sure I seen you somewhere before."

So... hopefully Carl doesn't need backup.

Rhea's fingertips close over thin air when Carl stabilizes and then rushes forward further. She watches on with a mix of confusion and concern when he begins crabwalking back and forth. She takes a couple of careful steps away, but still close in case her services end up being needed. She drags her gaze away from Carl to the human embodiment of whiplash that is Zack. Rhea squints for a second and says, "Dr. Richards from the clinic."

She slides a glance in the direction of Carl and asks, mildly, "Is he alright? Does he have a rescue inhaler?"

Doctor brain takes over and she glances toward the people at the bonfire, trying to catch the gaze of Emerson or Avery as she calls out, "Do you have any water? Or soda. Anything non-alcoholic over there?"

"Nothing to worry about" Eunice assures Avery and Emerson. "It's all over." A mouthful of her drink to soothe her throat a little to yell over at Carl. "Well done, Carl! That one won't be bothering us anymore!" They're workmates, she will believe in the invisible threat if Carl needs it.

"Nice moves too!" is added about Carl's skillful evasion of a seemingly worried Rhea - doctors never have time off. "He's fine, doc. Just give him a few minutes. Probably better off worrying about whether that thing can swim." What thing? Whatever Carl saved them all from obviously.

Looking over at Emerson, Avery grins, "At least it's all in fun, right?"

There is nothing to worry about. Cool. Cool.

BUT then Rhea meets her gaze and is requesting water or something non-alcoholic, and Avery says, "Uh, Maybe not..." Jumping into action she pops open someones cooler and grabs a bottle of water. Sprinting over to Rhea, "Shit, Sorry, I thought this was all fun and games." looking to Carl, "Are you ok, Dude?"

Emerson's brow furrows a little as he watches Carl. The last time he'd seen the man was on this very beach when they encountered the Shadowmanders for the first time. But this time, he can't at all see whatever it is that Carl seems to be shooing away. "I guess so?" he says to Avery, uncertain.

It takes him a moment to realize that Rhea is even talking to them before he glances back and says, "Oh.. uhm.." He has no idea. He just wandered on up here, so he glances around, looking for a nearby cooler. But Avery's already on it and he looks a little relieved.

Then he glances over at Eunice and asks, "Uh, what exactly, was bothering us?"

Carl is not afraid of ghosts, or magic, or danger, generally speaking. He saves his fear for reasonable things, like doctors, and embarrassment. What a great evening he's having. He waves off all the concern, nodding along with Eunice, giving everyone a shaky thumbs-up. He's fine, he'll be fine, he's fine. He does take that water, though, and drains most of it in one pull as soon as he's got enough air back in him to do anything but breathe.

"Sailor," he gasps, answering Emerson. "Dead sailor. Likes to, to steal people's clothes out from the changing room, throw 'em in the lake. I gotta get rid of him once a month or so. Thanks for the water. I'm good."

"Oh, hey right! The clinic!" Zack snaps his fingers together with making the connection. Thankfully, he has stopped half-running backwards short of any point where he could trip over anything or collide with anyone.

Rhea's concern for Carl reminds him that he had initially planned on backing him up against... whatever he needed backup against, and, a little bit guilty, he turns to look over his shoulder in the other man's direction, only to find him sitting on his butt in the sand, chugging water.

"What, Carl? Aw, he's fine." Another careless smile for the doctor, sunny and bright and lighting up those warm hazel eyes. "He just old."

"Thank you." Rhea says to Avery when she finds water for Carl. Eunice gets a nod, the doctor glancing at her briefly as the younger woman speaks to her. When Carl starts talking about ghosts, she loosely crosses her arms over her abdomen. Rhea's forearms rest lightly against the hedgehog print of her scrubs. After a second or two of looking at Carl curiously....

She bypasses the talk of ghosts for a moment to stare at Zack. His comment on Carl's age and his sunny disposition seem to cause some splash damage on the doctor, her shoulders drifting downward as if she were just reminded of her own years.

"You know." She says to no one in particular, but sort of in the direction of Emerson and Avery, "Earlier tonight I was thinking about getting a puppy..."

Eunice points to Carl, for Emerson's benefit, when he explains what he was chasing. Though she will also add, "Soooo many ghosts around here. For a place that was practically uninhabited, you have to wonder where they all come from. But drowning victims usually wash up on shore here. Blame the currents for that. And so do their ghosts. And don't get me started on all the gangster body dumping that went on here" she sighs. Not only does she have to deal with all that, she also has to clean toilets!

"Maybe we should banish it if it won't behave" Eunice suggests to Carl with a shrug. Though that does seem like a lot of effort so the idea is immediately put on the backburner. A drag on her joint, holding it in, and then slowly blowing the smoke into the air. "Anyone want a hit?" she asks, holding aloft the 'cigarette'.

"A puppy? We have plenty of animals on the islands already, sure another one won't make a difference. But you might want to check with the bosses. Don't want the guests tripping over it, or getting bit by it, or stepping in...stuff" Eunice deadpans.

There is now talk about a dead sailor and she blinks back to Carl, "A dead sailor?"

All this talk about ghosts has Avery looking a little... iffy? Looking from one face to the next. Are we seeing ghosts on the beach right now? There is a worried looks at Carl as the water is passed, "Alright."

The mention of the puppy gets her attention, "Oh eeee.... that's a lot of responsibility I'm not prepared for. I don't want anyone or anything that is dependent on me."

"Puppies are great," Emerson says, deciding to leave off the topic of ghosts for the time being. He works at the Boo'edwalk after all. There's more than enough ghostly and ghastly over there in his day-to-day. Then he nods over to Avery and says, "I'm not really in a getting-a-puppy sort of place right now. But I think if you have the time and energy, you should totally do it."

"So. Old." Carl agrees with Zack, anciently. "My dust. All my beautiful dust. Took me centuries to accumulate all that dust. All shook off, and for what? Some ectoplasmic pervert." He sighs the sigh of immeasurable sorrow, then drains the rest of the water bottle. He's got his breath back, more or less, though part of him clearly wants nothing more than to collapse onto the beach. His job have gotten him in pretty good shape, but cardio is not something he enjoys.

"Puppies are boring. You should wait for something cooler to crawl out of the water," he suggests to Rhea. "A psychic crab, maybe. Or one of those spikey pokemon." These are both actual things he has seen on the beach, though one could be forgiven for assuming he's delirious.

"He's banished," he says to Eunice, gesturing out over the water and putting on a more serious voice. He's speaking in his professional capacity, as the park's foremost janitor-exorcist. "For a while. It only lasts so long, unless you get 'em just right. Think that was a pretty good one, though."

"Aw, don't be like that." Zack's smile to Rhea turns encouraging. "He prob'ly still needs a doctor checking up on 'im, right? Like, he mighta had a heart attack or something. I'm sure I ain't qualified to tell."

He has, in short, caught the change in Rhea's demeanor and ascribed it to her being let down that she won't have any doctoring to do. That, and maybe this is the chance to step into the role of wingman.

"C'mon, let's go see."

Rhea is still very carefully side stepping all the conversations about ghosts. Eunice's words are nodded at but not responded to. She lifts a hand and bites on her pinky nail, chewing on it idly while she listens to everyone. A nod of her head is given to both Avery and Emerson on their comments on puppies. Her dark gaze is settled on Zack as she says, "Yeah, I'm beginning to think I might not have the energy for a puppy."

"I definitely wouldn't want something weirder than a puppy, sir." Rhea says to Carl, giving a shake of her head. "If I'm too tired for a puppy, what would happen if I had to deal with a psychic crab throwing a tantrum because it wanted to go to the beach and I didn't have time? I'd hate to see what nightmares a psychic crab would give you."

Rhea turns back to Zack, reaches up and gently pats him on a shoulder. Something suspiciously like 'good boy' is muttered under her breath, but louder she says, "It's ok. I'm glad he doesn't need to see the clinic. I'm just old, like him."

At the confirmation of banishment, Eunice gives Carl a thumbs up - that would explain the energetic performance. And if no one wants a smoke, all the more for Eunice. Talk of ghosts is ceased since it obviously makes people uncomfortable. Eunice wishes she could have a life without them too, but it is not to be.

"You're not as old as Carl, doc" Eunice assures Rhea. "No one is" she adds with a wink for the man in question. Though, since she is wearing shades, that aspect may be missed. "A psychic crab? Have you been breathing in the cleaner fumes again, Carl?" Some more consideration of the puppy dilemma. "Very mature response, Emerson and Avery. I'm sure you'd have the energy, Doc, but you should also consider how a puppy would handle living here, with everything that happens, you know? Would they be howling at things you can't see all night?" Eunice holds up her hands in apology. "Sorry, not talking about that stuff."

"Umm...how about that local sporting team?"

Rhea turns to stare at Eunice when she asks about a dog howling all night at unseen things. Her expression can only be described as horror. It is followed by a full body shudder.

Emerson looks over at Eunice as well, a puzzled expression on his face. "There are lots of folks with pets who don't howl at anything. There's a guy I've seen out walking like half a dozen dogs and they all seem fine. But, still, puppies are just a lot of work and a lot of time to train and all." He shrugs his shoulders, not seeming to think it's that strange of an idea to want one.

"I mean, it's a magical park and magical weird stuff happens all the time everywhere, but on the other hand, there's a lot of times it's just.. really normal." He makes no comment about people being old or otherwise, however.

Carl rises to his feet, groaning in an exaggerated performance of decrepitude. He gives a stretch, seeming more or less recovered, minus whatever aches and pains he's bought himself for tomorrow. "Is it just me," he says sotto voce, leaning over toward Eunice, "or do people get weird talking about ghosts?"

"You ain't just claiming to be old so's I'll tell you that you're not old, are you?" Zack puts teasing hands on his hips when he calls Rhea out on this. "Well. My ma raised me to tell the truth and treat a lady right, so I'll oblige. You ain't old." A pause, and then he adds, because he hasn't quite let go yet of his wingman dreams: "And Carl ain't really older'an anyone else ever been. He's just regular run of the mill old."

He is doing such a good job of just completely dodging around the subject of ghosts that it can't, at this point, be an accident or and act of pure cluelessness.

"Is that the one with the chihuahuas?" Rhea asked Emerson, a spark of interest lighting her face up. "I saw a guy walking like six of them the other day. They all bowties and flowers on their collars. And they had those split leash things? Where you like two or three dogs attached to one leash? I definitely don't have the energy for a chihuahua, though. We had one when I was a child and she was so hyper active that sometimes when she ran she'd end up running on just her front paws with hind quarters in the air paddling away. Though I think that I might be able to handle a pet line of a livestock dog. I've always, always, always wanted a Turkish Boz Shepherd but I don't know if management would let me have a dog that big! You know that their breed standard is up to a hundred and eighty pounds? Outliers can get well over two hundred pounds. Then there's the Caucasian Shepherd. Or maybe a Tibetan Mastiff. Or-"

She stops suddenly, her cheeks coloring just a little bit and she says, "Sorry, I just like dogs."

She rolls her shoulders a moment and glances at Carl to say, "Ghosts are scary."

Zack and his attempt at wingmaning for Carl goes completely unnoticed in her sudden infodump about dogs.

Eunice nods in agreement to Carl's whisper. "They sure do. Which is odd, right? Proof there is life after death and no one wants to know" she replies just as quietly. "Still, plenty of subjects people get weird talking about. I'd list them but I think we'd get thrown out of the party." A beat. "Is this a party? I just rolled up and people were everywhere."

A smirk for Zack's flattering words. "He's all bright and bouncy. Mustn't work custodial" Eunice suggests to Carl, offering him the joint if he wants it. "You still Brownies only?" A shrug for Emerson. "I stand corrected...sit corrected" about dogs and the supernatural. "Can't say I know everything about anything. Or anything about everything. One of them. Or both." She turns her head to Carl. "Am I babbling?"

"Nothing wrong with liking dogs, Doc. You do you." Eunice zips her lips about ghosts being scary. No more talking on that subject from her. Nope.

Emerson shakes his head when Rhea mentions the chihuahuas, looking intrigued. "No, I must have missed that. I think this is the guy who has the dog circus, They're all different types of dogs." As for big dogs, he has no idea. "I've only seen mid sized ones but can't hurt to ask right? Worst they can say is no."

He drifts back toward the topic of ghosts and says, "There's definitely something upstairs in the attic room in Spider Walk. You can feel it. Not to mention the creepy dolls and stuff that look at you."

"Regular my ass," Carl says to Zack, tugging at the long white beard he hasn't got. "I'm exceptional."

"Only until you get to know 'em," he reassures the doctor. "Then you find out they're really just like people. A huge pain in the ass." He can't help but be a little impressed with the avalanche of Dog Facts (TM), blinking once in surprise as they tumble out and chuckling once the dam is patched. "Need to introduce you to Danny. He's got a whole swiss army knife of dogs, one for every occasion. I think sometimes he even is one."

He glances at the joint that Eunice offers, experiences temptation, and waves it off with a little sigh. It's becoming a ritual. "It's always a party when I show up," he deadpans. "And I don't know? Not worse than you usually do, anyway."

At Emerson's mention of whatever's in the attic at the Spider Walk he makes a little face, making a mental note. Another mess to clean up, that's the vibe.

Zack meets Carl's imaginary beard stroke with a grin and some shameless finger-guns, then trots over to the other man. He seems about to settle in to join in with the Dog Facts (tm), which are apparently less of a subject to be dodged around (for whatever reason) than Ghost Facts (tm), when an alarm starts going off in his pocket. He takes his phone out.

"Aw, heck. How'd it get so late? I gotta get to work."

And, now, re-orienting himself in terms of what direction to go charging off in, be gives Carl a last wave.

"Nice seeing you, Carl! Nice meeting you for real, Dr. Richards!" He never did get her first name. A certain unspoken caste system in most hospitals between the EMTs and paramedics and the doctors might even leave him with the impression that he shouldn't be using it, if he were to know it. "And everyone else!"

... And off he goes.

Rhea shudders a little bit at the mention of something being in the Spider Walk attic. She crosses her arms a little tighter now, rubbing her palms over her shoulders. She rocks on her feet, from heel to toe, a couple of times while seeming lost in thought.

"Oh, I should go see the dog circus. That sounds like so much fun." Rhea says, before glancing between Emerson and Carl once more. Her eyebrows pinch together and she asks, "Is Danny the person who runs the dog circus? Being a dog for a while would be cool, I guess. I mean, I wouldn't personally want to be a dog."

"Oh, bye!" She lifts a hand to wave to Zack as he leaves. His departure making her realize...

"I'm Rhea, by the way-- Or Dr. Richards, I guess." She introduces herself, shifting her body so she can try and face Emerson, Carl and Eunice all together. "I'm working at the clinic, mostly taking care of accidental injuries and the like."

"If there's a dog circus, does that mean there's also a flea circus?" Eunice deadpans before jabbing Carl with her elbow. "Get it. See what I did there? Dogs. Fleas. Circuses." A sigh. "Please yourself. I have to."

Bouncy, bright boy is leaving so Eunice gives Zack a wave as Emerson's comment about the Spider Walk attic has her giving a meaningful look at Carl. And then she remember to remove her dark sunglasses and she tries again. Meaningful look with bloodshot eyes. Sounds like this is a job for the Spectral Clean-Up Ministry...or SCUM. "Creepy dolls too? Nice."

"Hey, Doc. I'm Eunice. Your elderly patient is Carl. I'll introduce him because he sometimes forgets his name" the blonde greets. "Wish I could forget my name."

Emerson watches as Zack takes off and lifts a hand in a wave. "That guy has a lot of energy," is his idle observation. It's perhaps a little impressed. Then he shakes his head a little at Carl. "I think they like it there.. for the uh, ambience. Pretty sure they would have told you if they wanted to get rid of it."

When Rhea asks about the dog circus, he nods and says, "Yeah, pretty sure that's his name. I don't think I've met him personally, just seen him about with the dogs."

Nodding to Eunice he confirms, "Creepy dolls," before offering, "Emerson. I work over at the Chateau des Tenebres over on the Boo'edwalk."

"Seeya, Gilligan," Carl says, giving Zack a wave as the EMT rushes off.

He squirms a little the doctor-word, far scarier to him than any apparition, but he keeps his discomfort off his face. They're on the beach. It's fine. Out here she's just a nice lady who likes dogs. "That's Danny," he nods, "when he's not helping raid Victorian laboratories and uncover the secrets of the universe, anyway." Again, it's hard to tell if he's referencing some actual event, or just a very strange man. His fashion sense suggests the latter, but you never know on these islands.

He nods very seriously to Eunice, confirming that he did get it and it was very funny. When she takes care of his introduction he shrugs and gestures his assent. He is Carl. "Custodial," he says, pointing at her and at himself, since everyone's sharing jobs as well as names. "Aww. But your name fits so well. You're so nice. You nice. Speaking of SCUM, though, I got a job to talk to you about, straight from the head of the new nerd brigade. How you feel about doing a seance?"

He brightens up a little when Emerson mentions he probably won't have to deal with the Spider Walk spectre, nodding in gratitude at the good news.

"Why forget your name?" asks Rhea with a tilt of her head. She shakes the curiosity away and says, "It's nice to meet you all. If you stub your toes, I'll happily give you an ice pack."

At the mention of Chateau de Tenebres she says, "Oh, that's cool! I've wanted to try that place out, but they never have reservations available during the times when I'm actually off. Oh, Eunice, thank you. Emerson, sorry if I'm over stepping but her joke about the flea circus reminded me. You should be careful spending too much time in the sand barefoot. Sand fleas actually bite humans too, and while they aren't dangerous the bites are pretty annoying. And if you happen to have an allergic reaction it could go bad. Plus what if you accidentally step on glass someone broke and didn't clean up? If you get the sea water in it... there's a lot of bacteria and bad stuff in sea water. And then also being barefoot near a bonfire is risky too, again burns and sea water is bad and a risk for infection. Plus, who knows if someone with athlete's foot has walked through here. Or even things that are worse. If someone had-"

She stops, takes in a deep breath and holds it for about fifteen seconds before letting it gust back out. A sheepish smile is given to Emerson and she says, "I'm sorry about that, you did not ask for a lecture. My doctor brain took over my mouth."

It seems that SCUM are not being called to check out the Spider Walk attic after all as Emerson speaks. At least not in a professional manner. Eunice frowns at this but her level expression is soon back when she realises there are still creepy dolls to check out. "I guess we won't banish them then" she shrugs.

Eunice tilts her head as she listens to Rhea's dissertation on bacteria and infections. "Wow, it seems I have the most dangerous job in the world. I need to be paid danger money." For it is she who is picking up broken glass all over the place and cleaning up all those things the doctor is worried about walking through. "Remember me not to talk shop with you, Doc, you may have a fit. And, um, my name is Eunice. Do you think anyone wants to be called Eunice?"

And as for Carl's attempts to make her name into a positive, he just gets a look. "People usually say it like 'You nice?' in a mocking, questioning way. Or they just keep one syllable and say 'Hey, you!'." A sigh. "They never seem to keep the syllable that is pronounced 'nice'." And a job from the very top? "A seance? Cool. Anyone we know? Being summoned I mean."

Emerson says, "Well, if you want to come by after hours, you can always just ask for me and I can fix you up something," to Rhea. It does seem to be an open offer to any of them, though. "Employee bennies." Though when she starts to talk about sand fleas and then it just keeps going, and going, and going, his brows start to creep up a bit higher, and higher. And finally he says, "Ya know what.. I think.. I may just head home and scrub myself down for a day and a half... Not that I couldn't.. heal it if anything happened, but now I'm itching all over just thinking about it." He glances down at his feet, dusts them off a bit and shoves them back in his shoes before lifting a hand to wave. "Nice to meet you all." And then he's wandering off, back up the shore toward the way home.

Rhea frowns slightly at Eunice and says, "I'd assume you were using proper P.P.E, Eunice, and not picking up anything that could be a biohazard with your bare hands."

A little shake of her head is given and she says, "I mean, you could always legally change it. But I like Eunice, it's a nice solid name. And at least your parents didn't name you after their favorite TV Show character. Or something ending in 'lee' that doesn't need it?"

She winces at Emerson's reaction and says softly, "Sorry?" A little shrug is given.

After he's headed out she ponders out loud, "I wonder if he'll still make me food if I go by there..."

The awkward doctor glances down at her own feet and she says, "Anyway I think I need to go send an email or something to management to see if they will let me have a dog that could reach two hundred pounds..."

She lifts a hand to wave at Carl and Eunice before heading out.

Medical Facts are much less charming than Dog Facts, at least to Carl. By the time Rhea is finished, Carl has turned a little pale, and he's looking at her a little like he just caught her dumping a dead pig on his bedsheets. He tries to think of something to say in response, but he doesn't manage it by the time she goes to leave, just giving kind of an anemic wave as she exits.

"It's also kind of a slant rhyme with weenis," he says to Eunice, so long as they're making observations about her name. It's certainly one way to change the subject. "Couple of scientists from the 1850s, ones who were involved building the big machine that makes magic and's supposed to send people to other planets. So far everyone's just working off their journals, so I thought if we could actually talk with them that might be one better."

"Night, Doc. Emerson. Have a nice night." Eunice waves off the pair before screwing up her nose. "Eunice is a 'solid name'?" she mutters to herself before turning to look at Carl. "Is Rhea from a TV show?"

"Weenis? That's a stretch...as the actress said to the bishop." Eunice takes a last drag on her joint before stubbing it out and pocketting what's left. "Are we sure these scientists died around here? Maybe they ended up going to another planet and died there? Maybe, dun-DUN-dun, they aren't even dead." She does a quick impression of the Twilight Zone music. "But we can give it a go. You can't keep SCUM down, right." An offer of a fist for a fistbump, unless Carl's too old to understand that.

"Outbreak, maybe," Carl says, looking off in the direction she headed and allowing himself a little shiver. Then the subject returns to talking with dead people, and he's much more comfortable. "No clue, really," he shrugs, "but worst case scenario it doesn't work, right? Or, I mean, you get possessed and start climbing the walls and throwing up pea soup all over the place, but that's what I'm there for. Either way I bet you get overtime." He gives her a fistbump. Maybe he learned about them from cable television or an instructional phonograph or somewhere else that old people get information. "I'll give Waverly your number. I gotta run, need a shower before I start my actual job. Wouldn't want to stink up all the garbage. Stay scummy." He gives a salute, and starts dragging his aching carcass back toward the Fox Run.