Logfile from Brass&Steel.

Harriet is engaged in a smiling, uh, discussion with a bewildered looking
security guard near the door of City Hall. In one hand, she waves a yellow
measuring tape as she talks, while the guard keeps shaking his head
patiently.

Zach comes strolling up 12th and soon reaches City Hall where he sees a
familiar face. He stops to take in the scene and then grinnig broadly
walks up to Harriet. "Hey Harriet, are you harassing this poor man?"

The 'poor man' does look a little harassed, in an amused sort of way.
Harriet turns and grins delightfully at Zach. "Hi! And of course not. I
just want to measure the door frame, you know?" She smiles at the guard.
"Alas, he says it's against regulations, so I suppose I'll give up." She
drops the tape back in the bag by her feet, and a look of intense relief
passes over the guy's face. "How are you doing?"

Zach shakes his head and chuckles. "You know you coulda just placed a soda
bottle over here and taken a photo to get the measures? Or even do a
sketch?" He winks to the security guard. "Relax pal, I'll lure her away
now."

Harriet shakes her head. "It's not precise enough for true accuracy. I'll
just wait until I can see the plans, though. Or until the guard changes,"
she mutters under her breath. "Oh, and before I forget..." she walks up to
Zach and gives him a big hug. "Thank you, Zach, you know? The breakfast
was nice." She smiles up at him.

Zach drapes his arms around her waist and lifts her up and swings her
around once while the hug lasts. "You're more that welcome, my dear. I'm
glad you enjoyed it."

Harriet goes wheee as she is swung around. She chuckles. "I did, indeed.
And how has your week been?"

Zach beams at her. "Oh, I've been fine. I saw you got back together with
tall, blond and gruesome?"

Harriet punchs him lightly on the arm. "Yes, I did. And he's not gruesome,
you know?" She levels a playful glare at him. "Actually, that was what I
was originally carrying the tape around for. I wanted to measure Lucian's
head."

You say, "Excuse me? To measure his /head/?!"

Harriet laughs and spins around. "Yes, his head. I'm going to get him into
a Halloween costume and drag him to a party. Or throw one, you know?" She
grins. "While I order costumes from a place I know, I make my own masks.
Thus, I need to measure his head."

Zach blinks. "Well... I certainly didn't see that coming. What sort of
costume do you plan to get him into?"

Harriet rubs her hands together gleefully. "Hopefully, neither will he,
you know? And I was thinking...there's a lizard man costume in here. I can
probably make some wings, and with the mask, it could easily become a
dragon, you know?" She smiles. "Lucian likes snakes, so I figured I'd have
a better chance with something scaly."  She chuckles. "It should be
amusing, at the very least."

Zach very slowly and obviously mightily constrained, carefully asks: "Let
me get this straight. You're going to make him dress in green, scaly
spandex from head to toe and stick batwings onto his back?"

Harriet grins with slightly wicked cheer. "That's the plan, you know?"

Zach exhales in a mixture of a laugh and a splutter. "Oh that would be a
sight for sore eyes."

"If it succeeds, I do plan to have a camera on hand. For posterity, you
know?" she says with an innocent smile. "Are you planning on dressing up?
Handing candy out to the kids, and all that?

Zach considers. "I haven't really thougth about it, y'know. I might spend
the evening with the kids up at the shelter, perhaps. That's what my
sister does."

Harriet nods. "That's a good idea. I was going to hang out at home until
the trick-or-treaters (or the candy) run out, and then find a party, you
know? With Lucian because," she shakes her head, "recent conversations
have convinced me that someone has /got/ to show that man the fun."

Jolene arrives along Oak.

Harriet and Zach are standing a little bit away from the entrance to City
Hall, chatting and laughing.

Zach hmms and nods gloomily. "Well, yeah. I guess."

Harriet hugs Zach again. "Hey, now. Cheer up. It's a lovely fall day,
everyone's safe, and halloween's coming up. Life isgood, you know?"

Jolene walks down the street with her arms folded across her chest. She
slows down as she approaches the two, looking at Zach curiously.

Zach drapes an arm around her shoulder and smiles a fond smile to her.
"You're right of course, hon. Wanna go get something to eat?"

Harriet thinks about it. "I could eat." She notices Jolene looking
curiously in their direction, and looks at Zach. "Friend of yours, you
know?"

You see a short, thin middle-aged woman. Her hair is black and short, and
her skin is pasty. Her striking deep brown eyes search the world. She's
wearing a comfortable red button-down shirt, along with skin-tight
cream-colored pants and matching sensible shoes. In general, she seems
intense.

Jolene cocks her head to one side as she regards Zach. As she gets up to
them, she says quietly to Zach, "Hello again. It's been a while." She
sounds serious, as if she expects Zach to have some kind of recognition of
her.

Zach looks over at Jolene curiously. "Hmmmwhat?" He frowns and tries to
think. "Hm.. I can't say I recognise you, ma'am? And I'm sure I would have
remembered those eyes.."

Harriet smiles in amusement at Zach, one eyebrow raised. Then she offers
her hand to Jolene. "Well, I know we haven't met. So, hello. I'm Harriet,
you know? And you are?"

Jolene rolls those eyes. "It's *Jolene*, *Zach*," she says,
over-emphasizing both names. Her arms remain folded across her chest. "You
don't even call me, and now you call me Ma'am when you do have the bad
luck to run into me?" She glances at Harriet and adds bitterly, "Or are
you just playing dumb in front of your next target here?"

Jolene realizes that Harriet's been speaking to her. She reluctantly
shakes Harriet's hand, and then refolds her arms. "Jolene," she introduces
herself to Harriet, with the tone of someone who's upset but forcing
themselves to be polite.

Zach looks mildly confused at this tirade. "I'm not playing dumb...Jolene.
I honestly don't remember ever having seen you before. Who are you?" he
asks bluntly.

Harriet looks at Jolene with sympathy, and turns a hard look on Zach.
"Perhaps you two need to discuss this...alone, you know?" She smiles at
Jolene. "I'm sure there's been a misunderstanding of some sort."

Jolene shakes her head in disbelief. She leans towards Harriet and assures
her, "I'm sure you're a good person, so let me tell you. You've got to
watch out for this guy. He's not who he pretends to be. He'll lie right to
your face and tell you what you want to hear. He's flighty and heartless.
I hope you can get the benefit of my bad experience." She looks at Zach
then and says sarcastically, "I suppose it's hard to keep track of all the
people you toss aside, isn't it, Zach?" She shakes her head again. "Other
guys wanted me, you know. I was just too dumb to realize you'd forgotten
all about me. I kept thinking you were coming back," she adds bitterly.
"Only now do I realize what a fool I was."


Zach frowns a little and gets a concerned look added to his mounting
confusion. "I'm not in the habit of 'throwing people aside', ma'am. Nor am
I heartless. And i _never_ make promises I can't or won't keep. I'm sorry
you're upset, but I can assure you that if we'd ever been together I
/would/ have known you. Who are you?" Zach has removed his arm from
Harriet's shoulders.

Harriet looks from Jolene to Zach and back again, frowning. "Zach. It's
obvious that she's very upset. And she knows your name, you know?" Harriet
looks up at him with serious eyes. "Even if you didn't mean to, it appears
that you hurt her feelings very much. You should apologize," she says
sternly.

Zach sighs and gestures confusedly with his hands. "I'm sorry that I'm
apparently causing you pain right here and now, ma'am. But... I honestly
don't know you."

Jolene gives Harriet a small, humorless smile. "Thanks, but it wouldn't
mean anything anyway. I wouldn't believe an apology from him any more than
I should have believed any of the stuff he said in what I thought were
happier times." She shakes her head again and looks at Zach. "Just let him
pretend I'm confusing him with another Zach Ellis who's a mechanic. Must
be a lucky guess, right?" She turns to stalk away.

Zach regards her intently.

You paged Jolene with 'I try to resonate to find Answers in my
mystification. :)'.

AutoJudge:  Zach rolls: 2 + 2 = 4 . Check die: 2

Harriet glares at Zach, and trots after Jolene. "Hey, wait, you know?" Her
expression is concerned,as she says gently. "Look, maybe there's some way
the two of you can work this out? Zach's not a bad guy, really he isn't."

Jolene pages: And we figure that'd get the rider and not the mortal host,
right?

You paged Jolene with 'Ok, I get your most and least noble act the last
week. I'm unsure whether I get the shedite or the human, though,. The
SJGames IN FAQ says I get the 'controlling personality'... :)'.

Jolene pages: The most noble thing I did was decide to slowly corrupt
someone instead of getting them killed immediately, and the most ignoble
thing I did was forego an opportunity to steal drugs from the police
evidence room.

Long distance to Jolene: Zach nods. Thanks. :) Now Zach will put two and
two together and get three. :)

Jolene turns back, considering Harriet's words. "He's not really a *good*
guy, either," she tells Harriet. "I mean, the orgasms are good, but
they're not worth all the heartache that goes with him."

Jolene pages: Three is an excellent number. ;)

Zach stares at Jolene and stiffens, his nostrils flare. He walks
measuredly over to the two women and keep his intense green eyes fixed on
Jolene. "You need to fight the whispers, ma'am. Whatever's got into you,
it ain't doing you good."

Harriet blushes beet red at Jolene's words. "Um, ah, er," she stammers. "I
wouldn't, uh, know, you know?" She trails off into wounded confusion as
Zach approaches, a confusion that only deepens as she listens to him.
"Whispers? Zach, what are you going on about?" She looks around.

Jolene shakes her head in disbelief. "Now this guy acts like I'm some sort
of crazy woman," she tells Harriet, as if it were some sort of shared
joke. "Can you believe this? First he doesn't know me, despite me knowing
all about him, and now he acts like he does know me enough to know I'm
wacko? What's next?"

Zach keeps a measured stare at Jolene. "My name and profession is stated
all over the sides of my truck. In big letters. You haven't exactly come
up with earth-shattering evidence so far. Fight it."

Jolene just looked at you.

Harriet is a woman in her early twenties. She's below average in height,
and thin and pale, as if she doesn't get out much. She has short-cropped,
unruly, dark brown hair, and green eyes. Her round, open face seems as if
it's used to doing a lot of smiling. A pair of gold-rimmed glasses
perch--slightly askew--on her nose.
 Harriet is wearing a mint-green, long-sleeved, silk blouse, a colorful
patchwork velvet vest, and an ankle-length skirt made of the same material
and in the same pattern as the vest. Her ancient, paint-encrusted sneakers
go oddly with the rest of the outfit, as do the numerous flakes of dried
plaster that coat her hands and speckle her face.

Harriet takes a step back away from both of them, and shakes her head. "I
don't understand what's going on, here, you know? Jolene, I'm really sorry
Zach hurt you...but..." she looks at Zach, helplessly. "I...I think you
two need to work on this alone. I, um, yeah..." she pivots on her heel and
starts to walk away.

Zach nods absently to Harriet. "See you later.."

Long distance to Harriet: Zach . o O ( Good. Get her away from sheddie! )

Jolene shakes her head again. "Good plan," she calls after Harriet. "Zach
needs some serious, serious therapy. He's sick, and tries to act like I'm
wrong for getting hurt. I hope you save yourself!" She then turns to look
all the way up at Zach again. "What's next?" she prompts him.

Harriet pages: Heh. She doesn't like Conflict, and doesn't know *who* to
believe now, especially since Zach started his crazy talk.

Harriet heads West on 12th.

Harriet has left.

Zach regards her quietly. "Why don't /you/ tell /me/, Corruptor?"

Jolene waggles her eyebrows. "Beats me. Or maybe that's it? Want to beat
me? Knock the evil right out of me?" she taunts. "Take a swing. You kick
way more ass than I do, and I *know* you have no lack of stuff to do it
with. Beat me up with your t-shirt, a phone book, a passing lawyer, or
whatever, right?"

Zach smiles humourlessly. "Wish I could. But seeing as we're in the middle
of a busy street you're pretty safe. For now."

Jolene winks. "I'll make sure to go get someone who has boots I can shake
in," she assures him. "I just wanted to come mess with you because I
could. And you can't really mess with me, because you're just you, and you
don't know me. Good call on what I am, but I knew you first."

Zach shrugs. "I assume you heard it on the choke-vine. And please do
cuddle up nice in your feeling of safety, Dark One. It'll make it that
much easier for me when the time comes."

Jolene grins. "I hope that time comes soon. I don't suppose you have a
flaming sword, do you? I've been hoping to pick up a trophy. Prove me
wrong, jerk. Show me what a manly man you are. Or are you just going to
suffer me to live indefinitely?"

Zach crosses his arms and measures Jolene carefully. "No, I am not."

Jolene nods, still grinning. "The sooner the better, then. I'll see you
around. I wonder if you'll see me."

You say, "Yes, I guess you do..."

Jolene mock-pouts. "Aren't you going to say anything about how I'll rue
the day, or try to convince me to mend my ways, or anything? I don't feel
like it's a real conversation with one of you if I don't get one of the
classics."

Zach bores his eyes into hers. "I'm thinking you already know it by heart.
So I don't have to inform you of anything."

Jolene shakes her head, grinning again. "You're too much. Anyway, is there
anything else? I have evil to perpetrate while you let me walk around the
streets unmolested."

You say, "One small hurt on your soul isn't worth this woman's life."

Jolene nods. "And whose life will it be worth? Just going to wait for me
to bounce off someone? You might be waiting a while. I'm good at what I
do." She shrugs and turns to go.

Zach softly states: "There are ways.."

Jolene turns her head to blow a kiss as she walks away.

<OOC> Jolene says, "Thanks for the RP. :)"

<OOC> Zach grins. "You too. That was cool and interesting!"

<OOC> Jolene says, "We'll do this again, I suspect. ;)"

Zach glares after the departing woman with a dark look in his eyes.

<OOC> Zach fears that this is indeed true. :)

Jolene heads South on Oak.

Jolene has left.

You head West on 12th.


Downtown -- Cathedral -- Sanctuary

	Walk softly in the house of the Lord.

	Pews line the cathedral fore to aft, a central aisle easing the
eye upwards to witness vaulted symmetry, architectual perfection spun into
the painted faces and figures of saints and angels. The benches are padded
at the back, but not the seat, and are of a heavy, stained wood that
catches the light with a glossy sheen at the right times of day, and
flickers by the light of votive candles at night. Two confessional booths
are along the right-hand wall, while small stained glass windows are along
the left. These things, too, reflect and refract daylight and candle-light
in interesting ways, creating an interplay of shadow of substance.

	This place is never empty, and never closed. The peak hours are
during services, of course, but folks straggle in even during the work
hours or the late nights to have a quiet moment alone with God, or seek
the counsel of the clergy.


Zach walks silently in and slides into a bench at the back to contemplate
stuff. He looks mightily troubled and rather irate.

Harriet is also near the back, sitting in a pew, staring fixedly at the
play of lightthrough the windows and across the altar. She looks a little
lost.

From afar, to (Zach, Harriet): Boh tries to decide whether it would
stretch credibility to swing by in a different body. You guys are fun. :)

Zach leans forward and rests his forearms on the back of the bench in
front of him. He is frowning and keeps rubbing the bridge of his nose. He
hasn't spotted Harriet yet.

You paged (Boh, Harriet) with 'I can imagine..:) I'll only be on for
another half-hour, though..'.

To (Zach, Harriet), Boh pages: But, of course, if you would like to RP
without evil, that's cool too. ;)

To (Zach, Boh), Harriet pages: Oh, that would just be cruel. Terribly,
terribly cruel. :)

Harriet sighs, shakes her head in apparently disgust and stands to make
her way out of the church. As she turns, she sees Zach, and pauses.

To (Zach, Harriet), Boh pages: Awww. Well, I can leave you two alone for
now, then. Until next time. :)

You paged (Boh, Harriet) with 'See ya Boh!!! *hugs* *gets slimed* *ick!*'.

Zach rests his head on his thumbs for a moments, idly scratching his
forehead at the same time. He sighs heavily and frustratedly.

Harriet hesitates, and looks at the exit wistfully. Then she takes a deep
breath, and quietly walks to Zach's bench and sits down beside him. "Would
you like to talk about it, you know?" she asks, softly.

Zach starts and whips up his head to see... "Harriet! I didn't see you
there.." Harriet nods. "I noticed. I take it the talk with Jolene did not
go well?"

Zach nods darkly, not looking happy _at_all_. "You could say that, and
noone would call you a liar." He adds very quietly: "Poor woman.."

Harriet sighs, and looks at him sideways. "Did you really not know her,
you know?" she asks, then looks rather ashamed of saying anything, as she
jerks her gaze back to the front of the church.

Zach sighs softly. "I've never seen her before in my entire life, Harriet.
I would have remembered. I'm not pretending to be mister chaste knight
here, but I nither do I use and throw away people or forget about the
women I've been with. That would be... That would be the anti-thesis of
who I am."

Harriet gingerly pats him on the shoulder. She smiles wanly at him. "Okay,
then. It...doesn't seem like something I thought you'd do, you know?" Her
expression turns a little bit sharp. "Although, I didn't think you went
around accusing strangers of schitzophrenia, either." She shakes her head.
"But that is obviously just another in a long line of things that are
probably none of my business, right?"

Zach remains quiet for a while, then turns to look at her. His eyes are
uncharacteristically intense and probing, like he's trying to read her
very soul. "I had my reasons, Harriet. I saw something about her. It was
wise of you to leave."

"You...saw...something about her? What does that mean, Zach?" She pulls
herself up, and shakes her head again, sharply. "Nevermind, you know?" She
puts one arm over his shoulders and gives him a comforting hug. "I told
myself I wasn't going to ask anymore of these kinds of questions, and it'd
be doubly unfair to do so while you're so upset. Just remember, we're
always friends, you know? And if you ever want to tell me...anything," a
quick, tired smile, "I'm always here."

Zach holds her tight, taking great comfort in a hug freely given. "Thank
you, Harriet. You are a treasure." He releases her. "And if I ever told
you..."anything", you might end up wishing I'd kept my gob firmly shut."
He smiles just a little. "To change subject completely - how old are you,
Harriet?"

Harriet smiles and throws him an odd, searching look. "I'm twenty-five.
Twenty-six in November, actually." She raises an eyebrow. "Any particular
reason for asking, you know?"

Zach smiles. "Apart form curiosity, you mean? Maybe. I sorta had you
pegged around twenty twosih... Have you taught art at all, or just
practiced?"

Harriet chuckles softly. "I get that a lot. I do tend to act a little
young, you know?" She winks. "And no, I've never taught. I was thinking of
doing an art club thing at one of the poorer high schools, but the
principal hasn't gotten back to me." She stops. "Do you know who Taz is?"

Zach lifts an eyebrow. "Taz? Like in the cartoon?"

Harriet nods, then sighs. "Yup. You pass." She smiles a secret smile.
"Until I find a better question, you know?"

Zach blinks and looks mightily mystified. "Er. What are you on about
Harriet? What did I just pass?"

Harriet pats him on the hand. "Don't worry about it. Now, why were you
asking me if I'd taught before, you know?"

Harriet pages: Although, since Zach passed her preliminary Space Alien
test...

Zach blinks and blinks. "Well, you have this great talent for art - you
are really, really good at what you do. And you're also a great
personality and good with people. Combining the two would to a lot of
good, I think. And the idea about a workshop at a local school is great!"

To (Zach, Harriet), Boh pages: Hmmm.

You paged (Boh, Harriet) with 'She's close to gitt'n in me knickers!
Hilfe! Hilfe!! :) I might just make a nice little cliff-hanger here just
to frustrate her. >:)'.

Harriet blushes at the enthusiastic praise. "It's kind of you to say so.
But, I don't stay any place for very long, you know?" She spreads her
hands, "It doesn't seem fair to get a bunch of kids attached to hme, and
then leave." She shrugs.

To (Boh, Zach), Harriet pages: I'm not getting in your knickers! And in a
church? Perish the thought. And you being a good guy, too...*tsks*

Zach smiles a little. "Maybe it'll be the other way around, Harriet. You
getting attached to them?"

You paged Harriet with 'Space Alien test...? 0.0'.

Harriet smiles, a little sadly. "I get attached to /everybody/, Zach. And
I've left before, you know?"

Harriet pages: Lucian baffled her with his complete lack of pop culture
knowledge, and now that Zach's apparently become psychic, well, she's got
an active imagination.

Zach nods. "I know. I'm a travellin' man myself. But you can teach
wherever you go. that's the great thing about art. And sometimes a little
encouragement and a couple of tips is all it takes to kindle the flame."

Long distance to Harriet: Zach chuckles. Oh! I see. :) You should have
asked him about mr pop art himself - Andy Warhol. Lu knows about him. :)

Harriet sighs. "Maybe." A frown flits across her face. "And how did we get
back to talking about me? This always happens, somehow." She turns to him.
"How old are /you/, Zach?"

From afar, to (Zach, Harriet): Boh is just sad to hear about such getting
it on after Jolene's performance. Oh well. :)

Harriet pages: Ah, but Harriet isn't terribly fond of Warhol. She's a
classicist, when it comes to her painting.

You paged Harriet with 'Hee! In that case you /really/ should bring up
Warhol. I did. It was fun. ;P'.

To (Boh, Zach), Harriet pages: We're most emphatically *not* getting it
on, so no worries, mate. :)

Harriet pages: How are we ever going to Redeem him, if you keep picking on
the poor snake?

Zach pats her arm. "I'm /old/. Thirty seven summers."

<OOC> Zach should go now.. Sorry.. <:|

Harriet snorts. "That's not terribly old, you know?" She pats his cheek
and grins. "And at least you're still cute!"

<OOC> Zach says, "Let's wrap up neatly. :)"

<OOC> Harriet says, "By all means."

Zach smiles and winks, in spite of his currently glum frame of mind.
"Thank you for that, Harriet. I would be lost without my...er...cuteness."
More somberly he adds: "And thank you for being such a kind, gentle soul.
I really needed that hug. I'm afraid I have to go now. Got cars and a few
bikes to fiddle with. I'll see you later, yes?"

Harriet nods, and stands to let him out. "I hope you feel better, you
know?" As he leaves, she places a hand briefly on his shoulder. "Oh, and
Zach?" she says casually. "Ignorance? It ain't bliss, you know?" She lets
him go and smiles faintly.

Harriet pages: Okay, she's not going to /ask/. But she is going
to...prompt. Gently. :)

Again Zach's eyes become intent and probing, looking into her very being.
He turns slightly and quietly says: "I wouldn't be so sure... See ya
later, doll." Then he carefully picks his way out of the church.

You head out to the foyer...