(no subject)

[huntersdaughter]

Who: Jo and the people she invites to stay with her.
Where: Her house which is also the Continuing Hope Art Gallery
When: Sunday - Monday - Tuesday (all three days can get clumped into this one post. Just put the day in your subject!)
What: Duh. People have been locked out of the castle. This is because of that.
Notes: Sunday, we will assume she invited people in their own journals or they knew they had a standing invitation to stay if things went crazy. Those people, I've oocly contacted. On Monday, she will be making a journal entry opening up space in the gallery. She didn't want to do it if it was just a one-day thing. So if you want your character to get some CR with Jo, or anyone you see tagging into this post - feel free to throw a Monday or a Tuesday up in this post and direct someone toward it! You can reply to their comment with an OOC note or just send them a PM. None of us bite and we want more CR! -- also -- 3rd person narrative OR [commentspam] are okay by me.




It was... weird. Well, not as weird as hearing that before she had arrived in the castle no one had been actually "arriving" for a month. That had been around Christmas, nearly two years ago, and that was when apparently people were moving to the city convinced that they were 'from' the city. So far, it didn't sound like the stories she'd heard from those days. If anything this just felt like the castle was having her time of the month and didn't want anyone to touch her.

Or, maybe the castle was tired of everyone saying that it was a horrible place to be. The damn thing seemed to have a mind of its own, why not feelings too? Whatever was wrong with it, there were leaves piled up, people stuck outside and a lot of residents not feeling exactly welcome in a place that had kidnapped them.

That was the most ironic thought of the day.

Jo had a few friends that she knew would show up if they needed a place to crash, so she spent most of the early morning hours making sure she had clean towels and that the pull-out couch had clean sheets on it. Lucky for anyone staying with her, she'd gone grocery shopping the other day -- it had been on her list of things to do along with the inventory for the Lux -- and so her fridge was just fine. Besides, she assumed that this wasn't going to be a week-long thing.

Well, she hoped it wasn't going to be a week-long thing.

For the moment, Jo was just wondering what she was going to do with her time. It had been a while since she'd had a day off from the Lux. Not since... before the pirates. When her bar was destroyed. Man, she really hopes her bar isn't destroyed.

Comments

[itwas-raining.livejournal.com]

Julia really had nowhere else to go.

Not that she couldn't have figured something else out on her own, of course, if it had come down to it. That was the sort of thing she'd been doing for the past three years. Wandering from place to place, never staying too long, keeping a low profile. Constantly in and out from one grungy bar room and one crappy apartment to the next, completely and totally on her own. No, she'd had more than enough experience with being set adrift. In fact, it had become so routine it was almost comfortable.

But the fact that Jo had offered her a place to stay made life that much easier, and she was grateful. She had to admit, it still struck her as strange that this woman she practically barely knew was offering her such a kindness. It'd been a while since she'd experienced anything like that, but maybe it was all right to let her guard down a little.

So that was how she'd ended up here, after following the directions that she had been given. She approached somewhat cautiously, not really sure what to expect.

[gwaine.livejournal.com]

It's an unamused looking Gwaine who's strolling without any set destination. He'd woken up that morning, had shirts magically disappear anytime he tried to put them on and been forced to rely on Arthur who, despite his protests to the contrary, does not know how to dress himself, much less someone else. But of course the joys of the day wouldn't be complete unless he was also forced to return to yesterday's pub by said prince in order to work off his debt.

He'd said it before and he still stuck to it. Arthur is a thoroughbred little braggart.

However, it's not just a lack of desire to return to the house that prompted his roundabout through town. Used to wandering himself, he's keeping track of the roads and points of interest for future entertainment's—and a quick escape's—sake. When he catches sight of a familiar fountain of golden hair, he stops in his tracks and then hurries after Julia. When he catches up to her, he's smiling.

"My lady! We meet again."

[itwas-raining.livejournal.com]

Julia is standing outside of the house, lost in her own thoughts, when suddenly a familiar voice pulls her out of them. It takes her a moment to place just why it's familiar, but then it occurs to her. The vaguely amusing gentleman she'd met at the bar yesterday. It could be worse.

She turns to acknowledge him, and though she's not quite smiling, her expression is pleasant.

"Hello, Gwaine."

Well, she'd told him to call her Julia, but, for this time, she'll let it slide.

[gwaine.livejournal.com]

His smile widens. "You remembered my name. That alone is enough to make this day great. Is this your house?" He peers curiously behind her at the house while he asks.

[itwas-raining.livejournal.com]

She lets her glance focus on the house again. As she does, she shakes her head just slightly.

"It belongs to..." She hesitates for a moment. What's the best way to phrase this? ".... a friend."

[gwaine.livejournal.com]

"Ah." He remembers something going on with the castle and wonders if she was affected. "Were you among those forced out of the castle?"

[itwas-raining.livejournal.com]

The castle. "Something going on" was definitely an understatement. Last night had been quite a headache for her. Not only simply because she'd been locked out along with everyone else (a minor inconvenience at best), but also because of something else that had happened. She couldn't get it out of her mind, no matter how hard she tried.

She sighs, and it's clear she's somewhat distracted. "One of many."

[black-dog-bite.livejournal.com]

It came as a surprise to Jet that he'd been invited to stay with Jo. He knew so little about her, aside from the fact that she seemed to be friends with Spike. As weird as Spike was, he was a great judge of character. Because of that, he didn't give it too much thought.

Although, if she knew Spike, perhaps she knew Jet? It was a valid thought process, especially knowing that he'd been here before. After all the research and inquiries, he couldn't quite seem to be able to remember. He was even more compelled to take her up on the offer, knowing the possibilities.

Reaching the location to which he'd been directed, Jet felt more than awkward knocking on the door. Technically, he hadn't met Jo in person before; he'd only briefly spoken with her through the journals. He stood at the threshold carrying just a small bag of things he'd picked up in the city. After all, he didn't want to be a mooch.

[huntersdaughter]

People came back to the castle a lot. Jo could probably consider herself an expert just in the number of times Dean, Ben and Chase had bounced around the castle. Having Jet back wouldn't be much different, at least, she didn't think so.

He wasn't a high-maintenance guy and for the most part he'd been pretty quiet. It was a good balance to Spike and she could see how he'd get along with most anyone. She was shocked that Spike hadn't mentioned it to her earlier, but he'd been slightly distracted lately. When she heard the knock at the back door, she thudded down the stairs and opened the door.

"Jet! Hey! Which is probably a very odd, super-excited greeting for a complete stranger."

Okay, Jo was experienced at this, she wasn't perfect at it.

"Come on in."

/slides in

[gottaknockhard.livejournal.com]

When it came down to it, Spike didn't have a lot options for free places to stay; at least any that weren't a little dicey. Practically anyone with space had it filled up with the displaced castle residents, so avoiding a crowd wasn't going to happen. Ultimately he decided on Jo's after weighing it with the company he'd be facing at the cabin. (At least Jo was never Vicious' new best friend, right?) Jet agreeing to go meant he was taking a risk, but he'd already made up his mind that it was really his only choice.

So after wading through more leaves than he'd ever seen in his life, Spike managed to reach her place shortly after spotting Jet heading inside. There was no waving or cheery greeting from him, he just walked up like he lived there. No need to stand on formality at that point.

[huntersdaughter]

In a way, it was fine that Spike just moved past her as if he lived there. Honestly, before he started to avoid her she figured in a way he did live there. She let him stay in the guest room, except those few times when he didn't, and she didn't mind if he ate her food and drank her alcohol.

She glanced back at him as he moved up the stairs, then back to Jet, "As you can see, most people just make themselves at home here."

SORRY! I had an unexpected mini-hiatus. IRL ate me.

[black-dog-bite.livejournal.com]

Jet, not completely understanding the entire situation, found himself almost in awe at Spike's lack of acknowledgment of Jo. His bearded jaw didn't quite drop, but it went a little slack as Spike waltzed in. "That one's no exception, is he?" Jet said after taking a brief moment to regain his calm, gruff composure. After all, he was almost in awe.

You never have to apologize for RL with any of us. <3

[huntersdaughter]

Jo laughed, giving Spike a quick glance as he moved upstairs.

"Spike's spent a lot of time here. I don't mind if people come and go." Jo took a step aside, gesturing to allow Jet inside and up the stairs to where Jo's place was. "The art gallery is open for everyone too, but my place is upstairs. C'mon, we'll get everyone settled."

D'aww! You guys are awesome!

[black-dog-bite.livejournal.com]

He followed her lead, walking inside after her gesture. An art gallery for a house sounded pretty interesting. But he didn't comment on it just yet. "Thanks," he said quietly, following her up the stairs.

After everyone's arrived!

[huntersdaughter]

If she had known that everyone already knew each other she might not have gone to the trouble of introducing them all, but apparently saying the wrong thing was going to happen more than once tonight. She cut away from the group and grabbed another beer from the fridge before she moved over toward where Spike had settled.

"Need another?" She offered, glancing up at him.

[gottaknockhard.livejournal.com]

Spike had spent the short time since he arrived trying not to look like he was sulking over his bad luck. Fortunately, he was never the most social company, so he felt that he was being fairly successful. As long as no one picked up on the way he kept stealing glances across the room.

When Jo came by, he didn't turn her way but gave a nod once he figured out what she was asking. He hadn't realized how fast he'd gotten rid of that first drink.

"Sure."

[black-dog-bite.livejournal.com]

Jet, who's own bottle was still half full, thought he could tell that there was something a little off with Spike. It had always been difficult to put a finger on, but after years of getting to know Spike on the ship, he had at least begun to decipher the Spike code. He hadn't been paying too close attention, but he may have noticed a glance one or twice.

"Something eating you, Spike?" he asked, having gotten relatively comfortable in Jo's chair.

[gottaknockhard.livejournal.com]

Of course, Spike might have gotten away with it if it weren't for Jet being there. His comment was enough to momentarily bring him back to the present.

"Just wondering what's going on at the castle." As far as lies go, that one was fairly blatant. No matter what the castle did, Spike couldn't bring himself to worry about what it was planning. (He should, but old habits...) "This is probably the first stage."

sunday night }

[whatialways_do]

Not wanting to keep herself cooped up all day, Max didn't swing around to the gallery until that night and the weather really started to cool. Her higher-than-normal body temperature kept her warmer than most, but there's only so much a thin tank top can do against a fall chill. So when the sun started to go down, Max went to find some shelter.

Everything seemed pretty quiet when she strolled up to the gallery. She gave the cursory glance around streets before she opened the door and made her way inside.

"Yo." Announcing herself tended to be the smart thing to do around this crowd. "Anybody home?"

[huntersdaughter]

"We're all... drinking apparently," Jo called to Max as she heard her enter downstairs. She knew that she'd see that familiar brunette head popping up the stairs in a few minutes, so warning her that they were drinking seemed like the wise move.

[gwaine.livejournal.com]

Gwaine's already well into his sixth shot by the time the newest member of the party shows. Drunk as he might be, he's still aware enough to stand up when the women reenter the room and he'll remain standing until they take a seat first. He bows, but it's more reminiscent of an awkward stooping since his sense of balance was shot to hell two whiskeys, a beer and a cranberry-rum cocktail ago.

"My ladies."

[itwas-raining.livejournal.com]

By now, Julia had completely lost count of the number of drinks she'd had. Which was, by no means, a common situation for her to be in. She wasn't typically one for allowing herself to lose control. Not when she felt like so many things in her life hadn't been in her control. Sure, she frequented bars, but she usually had her reasons. There were limits, and she wasn't so keen on testing them.

... But, then again, the situation she'd found herself in at the present moment was by no means common.

She'd only meant to have a drink or two, just to alleviate some of the awkwardness. But, one thing led to another, and while the alcohol kept flowing, she kept partaking. Maybe it'd been brewing for a while. Whatever the reason, though, once she'd started, she wasn't ready to stop just yet.

For now, she was just content to observe Gwaine making an idiot of himself the scene while sipping on yet another glass of who-knows-what.

[whatialways_do]

Max strolled into the room, looking over the scene for a moment and realizing that she knew ... none of these people, with the exception of Jo. Blondie she might have seen around before, but Medieval Times was definitely new.

"Hey," she said with a wave. "I'm Max. What are we drinking?"

Just because it doesn't hit her unless it's strong doesn't mean she doesn't like doing it.

[gottaknockhard.livejournal.com]

It wasn't until after Max entered that Spike came back through the door after a necessary smoke break. Might not have been the smartest decision he'd ever made, but he rationalized that he had more to lose by not knowing what was going on inside. To add to that, there was a small risk of being buried alive by leaves if he stayed out there too long, as witnessed by the collection that he quickly shook from his hair once he was inside.

In any case, he wasn't drunk enough to feel comfortable about anything in that setup. Instead of glaring at everyone having a good time -- or at one person in particular -- he found a good vantage point to stand while being purposely out of the way. Max got a nod, but other than that, he wasn't planning on joining the party.

[huntersdaughter]

"We're drinking whatever I brought in from the Lux last weekend. Which is a wide variety of things."

Jo gestured over the group of people she'd amassed while waiting for everyone to arrive. She even patted down against the empty seat on the couch beside her, "Plenty of room for another."

The way things were looking, she might end up with Max or Claire sharing her bed, considering the fact that she only had the spare room and then the large living room. She figured she'd sort out all of that later. For now, she was just enjoying some drinks. Mostly because she needed to enjoy some drinks.