She lives for others (Action/Video)

[jerks22]

[A gentle, inviting voice with just a pinch of sadness makes its way to the comms. A woman on a crummy couch is sitting there, with cats milling around in the background. The lines on her face seem to come from either the ravages of time, or sorrow. Possibly both.]

"Hello, everyone. You've probably never heard of me; I mean, I've never really been invited to any parties or anything. Oh, um, anyway, I'm Natalie. Ever since that scare with the ghosts, I've been a little afraid of leaving the house. My husband moved on some time ago, and it's been...difficult without him. I still have my cats, of course." She weakly smiled as one leaped over her lap.

"Oh, sorry about the sob story. Anyway, I thought of meeting people through the newspaper, but it looks like they've stopped making deliveries. We were very private people, my husband and I. No children, and we didn't do much entertaining. I guess it's been kind of lonely, now that that's gone." She sniffed, wiping her nose.

"So, if anyone would like some company, I'd really appreciate it. It's not much," she said, gesturing to her dilapidated surroundings. "but it's home."

[ooc: here begins the Empress plot. You can respond in the main comment body, or visit her house in a comment left below.]

Comments

Action: Introductions

[jerks22]

"Come in!"

Your entrance is marked by the ring of a bell, and possibly the scowling of a cat you bumped into. Their numbers make them hard to avoid. The voice was much pleasanter than the odor of the house, or its shabby aesthetic. Natalie clearly hadn't done much to maintain the space. It was a mess, with dilapidated furnishings and musky scents coming off the feline detritus everywhere. The litter box had taken quite a lot of abuse, when it was used at all. Watch your step.

Despite all this, Natalie was perfectly cheery at the prospect of a visitor, and seemed to take no notice of the rotten state of her house.

Outside wasn't much better. Judging from the gardening tools and bags of fertilizer, it was clear that some attempt at agriculture had been made. An attempt was all it was; even the flowers she had merely bought had wilted.

But at least you're here to make everything better.

[gammavirginis]

"Oh. You have a... lovely... respite block," Porrim said, trying VERY HARD to be polite. The smell was quite assaulting, and she felt herself itching to start cleaning.

"I brought cup cakes!" she shouted back to wherever the voice was coming from. She awkwardly held the plastic tin full of assorted pastries. They were sugar and 'gluten' free, which was supposed to mean they were easier on more delicate digestive systems, but it was all Lusus speak to her.

She walked around a bit, trying to find a broom closet. Maybe she could just get a bit of sweeping done before Natalie came out...

[jerks22]

Poor Porrim. Her polite resolve would be pushed much further.

"Oh." Was her response for the pastries. Not a bad gesture, but they would make you fat. One had to watch their figure at her age, you know.

The pantry, stocked with dry goods, held the cleaning supplies she so eagerly sought. The wood was cracked in places, but otherwise appeared in decent condition.

"I'm so glad you came; I thought no one would. And at such a good time; I wanted to show you the new flowers I've been..." She stopped as she neared Porrim's back. Natalie found her appearance unnerving. As soon as Porrim saw Natalie face-to-face...



"Oh!" She jerked, sending her plants tumbling. Dirt and pottery scattered on the floor. The state of the plant was pretty poor, to be generous, so not much was lost other than further mess being made.

That sickeningly pale skin. Those pupil-less eyes. Those orange horns. And those gaudy piercings! Natalie was speechless. She had been living alone to specifically avoid freaky things. And she sounded so normal, too. She stood there, stunned, waiting for Porrim to explain herself.

[gammavirginis]

"Oh, dear, are you alright?" Did she have a seizure or something? She took a step forward, hand outstretched concernedly.

[jerks22]

"I'm sorry, I just didn't expect you to be so...green. Have you come down with something? No telling what can happen to a girl out there. Let's go have a seat; I'll get to that later." She gestured towards the potted plant mess, then led the way to the living room. She shooed away some cats that were occupying the seats, brushed the dust off, and reclined with a sigh.

"So, how are you? I'd love to know more about your...condition. If you don't mind a little gossip."

[gammavirginis]

"Well it's more of a property than a condition," Porrim said, following Natalie unsuredly, the broken pot on the floor niggling at her to clean up immediately. "And I don't know if it counts as 'gossip' necessarily if you're just sharing things about yourself. Are you okay with leaving that on the floor, I can go clean it up. Where are your brooms?"

[purered]

Klaus stepped over the threshold and was quite stricken by the powerful odor. Cats.

Cats everywhere.

Gingerly he stepped around them, but true to their feline nature, they were constantly underfoot, winding around his legs and yowling in a great cacophony. Klaus held the potted peace lily as though it were his first-born and he were crossing some deadly chasm.

"Good afternoon, Miss Natalie," Klaus called, weaving around a particularly aggressive tabby before it clawed its way up his dress slacks. "I hope you're doing well?"

[jerks22]

Firstborn, eh? Wonder what that's like.

"Oh, well enough, thank you." She came around a corner to meet him. "What a strapping man you are." She got touchy, placing her hands on his shoulders to get a feel for his width. "My, what big teeth you have." A bit greedily, she plucked the pot out of his hands, and walked towards her backyard.

"You're so thoughtful; it's been a while since someone brought me flowers." Not like that other one who tried to send her on a one-way trip to diabetes land. "But enough about me; how are you doing, Mr...?"

[purered]

Klaus was not a man who was used to being touched. At all. He stood very still, waiting for her to finish measuring him up. It was everything in his power not to recoil.

"You're most gracious, Miss Natalie. Thank you for the invitation." He followed her to the poor, dilapidated garden. "Ah yes. I beg your pardon- Reinherz. Klaus Reinherz, at your service."

[jerks22]

"It's my pleasure. You're so polite, I'd have never have guessed, with that wild hair of yours. Are the Germans known for red hair? I thought that was an Irish thing." She set it down in a space next to some other dying plants; if it remained in Natalie's presence, Klaus' gift would soon join them.

"It really clashes, doesn't it? So colorful and bright. If only the rest could be like that. Ah, but then you're a man. Men aren't much interested in women's work like gardening."

[purered]

"It's more common in the United Kingdom," he explained. "But red hair isn't unheard of in Germany."

He let Natalie chatter on, examining the disaster that was the garden. Oh dear, this needed a lot of work to salvage.

"Work is work, Miss Natalie. Back home in Jerusalem's Lot, men and women were equally avid gardeners." Though most of them were on the elderly side. He hesitated when he spotted little shoots of green peeking up between the withered leaves. He knelt down, clearing away the detritus, and smiled. It was fortunate Natalie couldn't see him beaming - he was, unfortunately, cursed with a terrible smile, genuine as it was.

"Look here, how marvelous! I believe these are allium shoots." It was no surprise - Allium was one of the easiest flowers to grow, incredibly hardy, and quite beautiful. If anything could survive Natalie's black thumb, it would be allium. "Do you have much interest in learning baout flowers, Miss Natalie?"

Action: Introductions

[greenmagick]

The moment Terra caught sight of a cat she bent down to lightly graze her fingers against it's fur. She smiled at the animals feeling a strange connection with the purring beasts. Her bright blue gaze looks up at the woman who sought company.

"Hello?"

She slowly and carefully picks her way through the crowd of cats stopping a yard from the woman she remembers from the phones. "You have a lot of friends here." She meant the cats.

Re: Action: Introductions

[jerks22]

"Good afternoon, dear. There's cupcakes on the table if you like." They were the ones Porrim had brought. She wasn't going to lie and say she made them herself. But she'd definitely imply it.

"I'm so glad you came; I never would've thought getting on the comms would get me this kind of attention. And the cats seem to like you, too. They usually don't. You must be a good kind of person. You know me already: Natalie. What's your name?"

Action: Introductions

[greenmagick]

"I'm Terra."

A shy smile pulls at her lips as she steps forward. Her hand reached out towards whichever cat was near to run her thin fingers along its fur. "Is there anything I can do for you?" She felt awkward.

The woman had said she was alone and yet she has a lot of cats. That's more than Terra was used too.

Re: Action: Introductions

[jerks22]

"Branford! Your first name wouldn't happen to be 'Terra', would it?" She unstuck a magnet from the fridge, removed a piece of paper, and handed it to her.

"So polite! I'm glad you asked. Could you pick up a few things for me? The store's only about a twenty minute walk from here. You go down the street, take a right, and you get to highway 46. Take another right on the sidewalk, and you'll see the local place. There's a dear. While you're out, I'll put on something."

Action: Introductions

[greenmagick]

Terra took the little piece of paper with a nod.

"Alright." As she walked from the house she stopped to bid the cats farwell. It was bright outside and so as she walked to the store she took the time to enjoy the rays of the sun. She'd read and then reread the list in her hand to make sure that nothing would be forgotten.

Terra found the store without mishap and looked at it's selection. Once she found everything on the list she paid and then began to head back towards the woman's house.

Re: Action: Introductions

[redsnowangel]

Zelos wasn't sure what exactly made him come to help this woman out, really. If it wasn't someone he cared about, these sort of issues would - normally - be firmly designated as 'someone else's problem'.

But this time, with Ishtar out the house more and more often, and thus getting left on his own in their rather large house a lot...

Was that really it, though? Did he want company that badly?

No, there was something else, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was just something about her voice, he thought, that tired, sorrowful voice of an older woman tired of her lot in life.

Just like his mother.

Slowly, he picked his way through the doorway at the invite.

"Yo...um, Natalie, right?"

Re: Action: Introductions

[jerks22]

"That's me, 'dawg', haha." Natalie found her own slang affectations too funny. "And who is this? I can't believe I've met two redheads in the same day? Oh, be a dear and get the mail while you're out. Make sure to wipe your shoes on the rug outside, all right?"

Completely missed this tag, sorry :(

[redsnowangel]

That slang was definitely odd, but he just laughed it off for now. "Zelos. Zelos Wilder," he said as he wiped his feet on the rug, "Guess us redheads are pretty common around here, huh?"

For now, he quickly grabbed the mail, and kicked his shoes off one he headed inside, placing them neatly nearby such a mama's boy.

The Cleaning Never Ends (Open)

[gammavirginis]

Natalie didn't even need to ask Porrim to clean, although the troll probably would have appreciated a little more gratitude. Instead the human kind of seemed like she was entitled to her help. That definitely irked Porrim, but not as much as this terrible terrible mess did, and there was no way she could live with herself if she left anyone to live in such a state, even someone as unpleasant as Natalie.

Taking care of people who didn't appreciate it was kind of a thing with Porrim.

So she continued sweeping up cat droppings and dusting and scraping foul unidentifiable compounds off of surfaces and washing dishes and trucking bales of garbage to the now overflowing 'compost' barrel in the back.

[purered]

Klaus was in the garden clearing out the dead weeds. This was going to take quite a bit of work and he was thoroughly regretting stopping over. Something about Natalie rubbed him the wrong way and he couldn't put his finger on it. It was particularly odd because Klaus was a man who had nice things to say for just about everyone who wasn't on the scale of Ted Bundy.

He looked up when he heard the door and spotted a familiar face. More importantly, a friendly face.

"Ah, Miss Porrim. I didn't realize you'd come."

He stood, brushing a bit of dirt from his clothes, and strode over.

"I see you're helping out as well. She's quite a... unique lady."

[gammavirginis]

Porrim was also looking... younger. She was perhaps shorter Klaus might have remembered. Slightly less... filled out. She was also looking a little frazzled.

"Oh, Klaus. Hi." Seeing another face was a little strange. It kind of felt like she lived here now. How long has she been here, exactly?

"She's-" she paused and started again, voice lower. "She's a little batty is what she is. And judgmental to boot. I've half a mind to leave her to her filth."

[purered]

Klaus's sideburns weren't looking quite so full, and his face looked less lined.

"...Are you... Are you alright Miss Porrim?"

He was worried now. Something definitely felt off. And had Porrim always looked so young? Perhaps it was a trick of the light.

Surely it must only be that.

[gammavirginis]

"I'll be fine when she stops pestering me to get married, whatever that even means. I'm so tired of her fussing over me. I can't wait to move out of here."

She dumped the trash on the pile and looked at the garden. "This is looking a lot better now. She might actually get some plants with you around."

[purered]

"Not if there's something wrong with the soil, which is what I suspect."

Because no one could have a garden this dead. Something should be growing, if only weeds and nettles.

"I beg pardon for my bluntness, but... have you gotten smaller, Miss Porrim?"