fandomtownies | Parents' Weekend Meet & Greet, The Park, Friday Afternoon

Parents' Weekend Meet & Greet, The Park, Friday Afternoon

The day had dawned crisp and clear, but by the time afternoon had rolled around... it was really still kind of ridiculously warm for fall. People could probably get away with not wearing a sweater, even.

Which made rather good weather for a picnic, convenient since that was the traditional way of kicking off the Fandom High Parents' (and assorted other relatives, friends, acquaintances, or sometimes even enemies, but that was harder to fit nicely on a banner) Weekend. So there were rows of picnic tables decked out in blue and yellow, laid out with just about any sort of foodstuff one could imagine. And just in case there was any lingering doubt as to the purpose of the picnic, a glittery banner (Petra's work, naturally) adorned the registration tables:

[ooc: ocd up! registration / security / food & drink / mingling / post two ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ludmilla eyed the man, sniffing the utterly contradictory scents (as it were) of both Law Enforcement and Easy, Easy Mark wafting off him. Iiiiinteresting.

"Of course I have powers, young man," she answered, playing up the thickness of her accent for all it was worth. "What kind of terrible person would charge money for things they can't do?" Oh, those clear, innocent eyes, not a hint of irony floating around in their freakily-blue depths.

Yeeeeah, he'd busted the Amazing Yappi's chops for claiming to find clues that weren't there. But he's also been fooled into believing an alien scam perpetrated by homicidal little girls. It was amazing how that aroma was so unique.

"The kind of person who probably only wants a donation after their reading of a client, since that's what's legal, right?" Mulder smirked a little, and sat down, still hopeful at finding real psychic powers. "Okay. Go ahead. Let's consult."

"Psh, local laws can be so antiquated." And it paid to be aware of them, so you could break them properly. "You understand is purely for entertainment, of course, no medical or religious guarantees can be offered. Payment is for spiritual experience!"

She placed her open hands on the table, palms up. "Give Sister Lidunka your hands, now."

Mulder smirked and put his hands in hers, confident she wouldn't figure out anything real. Unless she was psychic. "Well, that puts you ahead of the Amazing Yappi. You seen his commercials, or is he finally off the air here?" He paused, re-reading the sign. "How much Russian do you have to speak?" He could order lunch in it. Did that count?

"Bah; commercializing God-given powers." Was nice work if you could get it, but a risky proposition to let people get that familiar with your face; small-time might pay less, but it was a hell of a lot easier to disappear when you needed to. She narrowed her eyes at the man's question, while also filing it away in her cold-reading cabinet. "Can read Brothers Karamozov in original Russian?"

"No," Mulder admitted. If he could've done that, he could've left Alex Krycek in the U.S. when he want to Siberia, which Krycek probably would have appreciated. "So you're a God-fearing woman, Sister Lidunka?" Profiler mode was so hard to get out of. Sister Lidunka's accent sounded legit, if overly thick; the outfit, on the other hand....

Good; that meant she was safe to use that speech from page 327 when she needed to rant at the spirits. "Of course. I sense that you are not, though." With her, you know. Sarcasm sense.

Edited 2011-09-30 20:55 (UTC)

"I could be a believer," Mulder said in his flat deadpan voice. Okay, it was also his sarcastic voice. "I want to believe." That sounded more wistful to his own ears, and probably gave too much away. Okay, stop explaining, Mulder. "I've seen things Science can't explain, I'll say that much."

"You'd like to believe in higher powers, but you've been hurt and disappointed before, no?" She didn't even really need that moment of vulnerability to play that line out. Who wouldn't it apply to?

Edited 2011-09-30 21:03 (UTC)

What he'd said would trigger any good 'psychic', and he'd seen them grab the possibility before, but give her props, Sister Lidunka knew how to make with the sympathy. "The past is the past. I'm more interested in... the future." Like, would it ever be possible to turn Scully back into a real adult again.

"Aren't we all, young man. Aren't we all." 'Sister Lidunka' studied his face for a moment before starting off with, "You're worried about something. Someone?"

[And I disappear for a bit as it is work-fleeing tiems!]

Edited 2011-09-30 21:26 (UTC)

[see you when you're back]

Okay, good reading on that. "I'll concede that, yes. Someone." She'd probably figure out it was a young someone too, given that it was Parent's Weekend, and he was here. Mulder got distracted studying her back; those eyes were very distinctive, as was the Russian-- had he met anyone similar the last time he was here? He was fairly sure he hadn't, and Scully hadn't mentioned practicing her Russian with anyone yet. So, a fairly new student's relative, then.

"A woman, I think..." Fifty-fifty shot, with a trail that left her the opening to switch if he seemed to be heading for a negative reply.

She got an eyebrow-raise before Mulder could stop himself, one that would probably confirm her guess; also, he was a little impressed that she hadn't taken the obvious 'student' route. "Sure," he said equitably. "Well, yes."

He didn't think about it, but Ludmilla would probably also notice he wasn't so intense or defensive about it that she could be a child or family member, or lover.

"Someone here on this island?" He could be a local or not, but he was here, so either he was visiting, or someone was visiting him. "A friend."

Mulder smirked a little, then nodded concession. Then decided to see what Ludmilla would say if he dropped in a little truth.

"She's under a curse. From a djinnayah. So far, I still haven't found a way to break it." Aaaand it was his fault. Which was criminally frustrating, because he missed his best friend and the best partner he ever had and he still hadn't found Jeannie in over a year of looking, and what if Scully wound up like this forever...?

Ludmilla tried not to let actual dollarsigns show up in her eyes. Also, no ka-CHING sounds. Oh, the smart but crazy ones, bless them so.

"A curse, you say? It so happens my family possesses the gift of lifting those. For a modest fee, of course."

"Of course," Mulder said, his voice dry, but not as dry as it could be... look, the djinn were real, Scully was really cursed, and like his pride cared if he got his partner back? The one time he was sure someone was a fake could be a test, for all he knew. "To show good faith. And for supplies."

Heeey. "You sound as if you'd done this before." Which was not necessarily cause for alarm, but.

Edited 2011-10-01 20:40 (UTC)

"Maybe a couple times," Mulder hedged. "Met more charlatans than the real thing, but I know the real thing is out there."

That's more than a couple, Mulder.

"Well, of course is out there." Ludmilla - sorry, Lidunka - snapped fingers at herself. "Is right here. But belief... it matters, you see, if client is familiar with how fakers work. Can interfere with the vibes."

"Vibes." Mulder was giving Lidunka a dubious look again, then shrugged mentally, and pulled out a twenty. "I'm willing to invest this much for the beginning of the answer to a question. How to find someone. Whether or not you've got the answer."

Vibes. Which suddenly got a whole lot stronger. Funny how money (even weirdly monochrome American money) could do t hat.

"How to find someone. Not this friend of yours." Or he'd be more worried. "The one who cursed her?"

"Bingo." He was 75% sure Lidunka was a fake, but even on the off-chance of an inspiration. "French. Goes by the name Jeannie. And she's disappeared with the object used to fuel the curse."

She hadn't missed the first reference to a djinnayah, even if she didn't believe any such thing existed. "So, you can't break curse on your own, can't find this dark spirit who cast it. What you must do is make her come to you."

What? It was bullshit, but it sounded good.

"What does such a creature want? Find it, offer it to her in exchange for lifting the curse."

Re: Food & Drink! [PW1] - and Psychic Readings!

fbismostunwantd.livejournal.com - 2011-10-02 00:30 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only