Siren's Pull

[ Early morning, sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of coffee. He flicks through the newspaper on the hunt for a particular page and passes commentary as he goes. ] Now that woulda made for a good ghost story, if only they hadn't printed that cop explaining the twist right at the end. [ He turns a page, squints at the personal ads. ] People just place these to futz with people... I'm sure it was in here -

[ Flick. Flick. ] --Ah. [ He finally holds up a full-page spread with the Slamfest logo at the top. ] You should really be there. Fate's provided for an interesting set-up. I'm gonna settle this little beef of Taylor's tomorrow, for sure.

[ He rolls up the newspaper and sweeps it about like a baton. ] Obviously I'm gonna be busy for the next few days. So while I'm here, if you knew Chane I've got a letter for you - stop by or give me a call sometime before the tournament. I've been left in charge of her affairs while she's on vacation. [ There's a little rueful sigh at being inconvenienced by her departure - but nothing more. So maybe the "vacation" back home was lasting a little longer than he expected. That doesn't mean it's permanent - it's just an extra test of love. He grins at the camera, putting on the semi-aggressive fist raising gesture the organisers had been suggesting to him for crowd baiting and scrunching up the paper in the process. ] See you at the fight!

[ Scene: A room in the Sector 4 Boarding House, completely bare except for the furniture it was supplied with and several cardboard packing boxes. Claire's sat on the bed, leaning an elbow on one of the boxes that's perched next to him and thumbing through a deck of playing cards. He is Mayor of Box Town. ]

A few weeks back Firo Prochainezo vanished into thin air. Now, I know a lot of people here like to keep their messages short and sweet when a friend goes home, but I've never been too good at wearin' my heart anywhere but on my sleeve. I didn't really get around to sayin' this to him while he was here but - you couldn't ask for a brother more loyal than him. I missed him when I was back home and travellin', and I guess I'm back to missing him again now. The world's a lot emptier without him.

[ He shuffles the deck of cards once and grins ruefully at the camera. Eulogy over. ] This does actually have some relevance for you people out there who didn't know him. All you new fellas - and the dames too - there's another room open at the boarding house now. The rent's low as it gets in Sector 4, and if you pitch in with the upkeep Chane'll give you a deal on top of that. I spend a lotta time here and can vouch for the neighbourhood, it's quiet as they come -

-- Get back here, amiga!! I’m not done with you yet! [ There’s a crash as two lovely ladies enter the room momentarily, knocking over quite a few of the aforementioned packing boxes in a flurry of swords and knives. Chane herself is one of them, the other the resident Maria, too occupied deflecting her blows to contribute to Claire’s pitch much at all; but granted, she’s at least angling her defensive swipes so that the arcs of the blades don’t nick the walls or any furniture as she’s pushed relentlessly back. Fortunately for Claire’s business proposal, the two women are as fast as they are ferocious, and the battle’s only visible on camera for a moment before the scuffle makes its way back out of view. Hopefully they won’t get blood on any carpeting that might be around.

As the dust (and several fragments of playing cards that got cleaved out of his hands) settles Claire looks back at the camera. His ears are pretty red for some reason. ] - Yeah. You don’t need to worry about the folks outside.

[ And cue Claudia marching into the room, holding a bucket that is presumably filled to the brim with water. ]

Felix!! Come look at what I caught! Look!

[ Claire leans in to peer at the bucket, levels of naivete and trustingness off the charts. At least Claudia is one bastion of unwavering love and support in his life. ] Hey. You hook a shark yet?

[With that, Claudia bursts out laughing, swinging her arms back with the bucket secure in her hands as she spreads her feet apart in preparation for her attack. Her demeanor is more or less the same, but there is an underlying hint of mischief in her wide-set smile.]

It’s you, silly! [She heaves the bucket up and forward, spilling the contents over the front of Claire’s chest … and face … with impressive accuracy and speed.] Surprise!

[ After blowing a spray of the water out of his mouth and wiping it off his eyes Claire looks three times as baffled as anyone else would in this situation. He doesn’t know whether to scold her, laugh at her, or praise her for being the first person to land one on him since her great-grandma.

The camera sustains some water damage and short-circuits. Replies will come once Claire fixes that, or from the ladies: Maria, Claudia or Chane. ]