The Boards, Sunday Evening

[furnaceface]

It had been a long weekend. The sort of long weekend where, after Jonothon's broadcast yesterday, he'd packed himself up and made his way to Glacia, where time went a little faster, where the day in Fandom passed like two. Where he'd finally been given the chance to honour those of his troops that hadn't survived the escape from Yllestad.

He'd even returned to the island without complaint when the ceremony was through. His Healer had given him one look once it became apparent that the cold Glacian air was still too much for him to handle, and had instructed him to get out of the Darkness-damned cold and back to the last days of summer on the island before they were gone.

He'd been too tired to argue, and now he was sitting in his office at the Boards, a cat on his lap and something that at least nominally resembled a class syllabus finally sitting on the desk beside him. Pearl Jam was playing on the stereo beside him because he desperately needed something familiar and loud and angry, and he was flipping through scripts one last time before making his final decision about what show to put on this fall.

[OOC: A light is on, and the door outside is unlocked. Open Boards!]

Comments

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

So, like, she hadn't asked in class because... well, it wasn't class related, much, and Karina was totally standing on the doorstep.

Stalling.

Rolling her eyes at herself, since that was pathetic, she knocked, just to let them know she was there, then tried the door. It opened easily and she stepped inside, letting it fall shut behind her.

"Hello?" she called, just in case the door being open was some weird Fandom thing and not at all because someone was home.

[furnaceface]

Jono blinked up at the voice outside his office door, and then reached over to turn his music down.

"In here," he called, though his voice cracked and he was forced to cut the statement a little short. He took a deep breath, held it for a moment, scowled at his apparent inability to raise his voice, and then tried again. "Box office door, on your right, luv."

That one was a little quieter, but probably loud enough to carry out into the lobby, at least.

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

It was! Though even if it hadn't been, the music volume going down would've been a pretty good hint.

Unless the island was seriously trying to freak her out.

... don't do that, island.

"Hey," she said, leaning in the doorway. "You okay? You're awfully quiet compared to normal."

That was probably a bit casual for addressing a teacher, but she didn't think he'd mind.

[furnaceface]

"It's been a tiring past few weeks," Jonothon replied, offering her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Of course he didn't mind. He might be a teacher, but he was hardly a stickler for formality. "I can honestly say I've been better."

He'd been worse, too, but he didn't need to get into that.

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

And she didn't really want him to go into that, so it worked out, right?

"Hopefully you're getting better," she offered, meaning that much at least. "It'd be worse, right, if you weren't?"

[furnaceface]

He bowed his head a little, reaching down to scratch a purring Joni behind one ear.

"I suppose so," he agreed. "I've dragged my way back from worse, at any rate. And this isn't even the first time I've had to step away from a cause due to circumstances beyond my control, either."

This one had the added bonus of not ending with him in a coma.

The casualty count was about the same, though.

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

Oh.

Karina wasn't quite sure what to say to that. Her first thoughts were pretty sarcastic and while he was laid back, there was a difference in outright sassing a teacher rather than a fellow student.

"I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be an example of not doing that," Karina said, smiling a bit instead. "Though I guess you could argue since it's not your class topic, you don't have to be an example for staying out of trouble."

He wasn't doing a very good job of it...

[furnaceface]

"War is war," Jonothon replied simply, shrugging his shoulders. "There's a difference between running into trouble, and standing up for a cause that you believe in. Some things are worth fighting for."

That much, he'd stand by.

"Can't imagine that's why you're here, though, is it?"

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

Like, say, her idol career? Karina even agreed with him on that!

"It's not," she admitted. "Though I can't say this is uninteresting either. I just came to see if I can use your stage some time to practice a dance routine?"

[furnaceface]

Karina's priorities were sort of kind of a little bit crazy. A smidgen.

"So long as nobody's on it, I don't see why not," Jono said with a shrug, actually kind of grateful to put down the topic. "We'll be doing another musical this fall, so there'll be a few nights a week that I'm going to need it. But any time other than that, you're more than welcome to. Will you need a key, or would you rather work out a particular evening and just use the stage then?"

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

Excuse you, her priorities were in tip-top shape!

"A key would probably be easier," she admitted, after giving it a bit of a thought. "I'm still bouncing back and forth between here and home a lot, so I wouldn't want to say I'll be here then not be."

A beat.

"Can I ask what musical or do I have to wait to find out?"

[furnaceface]

"A key it is, then," Jono replied, scooting his chair back a little and going through the desk drawer for one of his spare theatre keys. "And I haven't decided yet, honestly. I had it narrowed down to two, and then I remembered another possible one, and it's days like this, I swear..."

He shoved three scripts across the desk at her along with the key. One for meta for Fiddler on the Roof, one for also meta RENT, and one more for Jekyll and Hyde.

"They're all excellent in their own right. If I could do them all at once, I would make the attempt."

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

And that was one key being slid into a pocket with a thanks and a genuine smile, Jono! You just made her night.

Getting to look at scrips was even better.

"Ooooh," she said, picking up the first one and paging through it. "I'd say toss a coin but there's three of them. Maybe try names in a hat?" Karina suggested. "Unless you were feeling ambitious enough to try and do a medley musical."

[bluhblahbluh.livejournal.com]

Did Jono smell smoke? How about burning leather?

Well, fine. *Thwackthwackthwack*

"Hello?"

Bat knocking on your window and trying to avoid the last rays of the sun, here.

[furnaceface]

"Er?"

At least the bat wasn't the strangest of things that had come visiting Jono since he'd first come across the island. He raised an eyebrow and reached over to open the window, rolling his chair aside a little to let the bat have plenty of room to come inside.

"You know, I do stay open past sunset if you call in advance," he noted, wryly.

[bluhblahbluh.livejournal.com]

"My apologies," Drac flew in and fluttered a moment. "Is it too late to be calling? I am still getting used to operating on this type of schedule."

[furnaceface]

"Not at all," Jonothon replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "Well, perhaps, if you ask any of the Healers I know. But I don't sleep much on a good day anyhow. Bit of an insomniac."

He settled a hand on Joni's back as the kitten perked up, ears alert as she eyed the big flappy mousey.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company tonight?"

[bluhblahbluh.livejournal.com]

Sorry Joni, but the flying mousey was now wrapping up in a swirl of purple mist and then was no more.

Drac brushed at his pant leg and then gave Jono a slight bow. "Actually, it was simply the desire for company. As I mentioned before, I don't have much to do in this town. And I am apparently not teaching this semester."

[furnaceface]

Jono actually coughed out a bit of a rough-sounding laugh at that. If someone had told him even a month ago that Dracula would be paying him a social call out of boredom, he probably would have thought they were insane.

"I must've inherited your class slot," Jono replied, glancing sidelong at his syllabus. "I hadn't been intending to teach at all this semester, and then, suddenly, I am."

He blamed the moose.

[bluhblahbluh.livejournal.com]

Speaking of moose...

Drac leaned a little closer, concern plastered all over his face. "Are you all right? You sound different."

[furnaceface]

"It's mostly nothing," Jono said, though the look of chagrin on his face and the fact that his voice still sounded more gritty than usual probably wasn't doing wonders to make him sound convincing. "Breathed in something I really shouldn't have while I was off helping a friend of mine fight her war. Won't be singing for a while, or flying, for that matter, but I'm alive. That'll have t'do."

He was going to go stir-crazy.

[bluhblahbluh.livejournal.com]

Drac frowned. "How do you plan to stage a musical if you can't sing?"

[furnaceface]

Jono dropped his gaze at that.

"I've been trying not to think too hard about that, admittedly."

Which was to say, he had no idea.

[bluhblahbluh.livejournal.com]

Drac tried not to gape; the young man looked so forlorn!

"Do you have an assistant director, perhaps?" He'd mentioned a lack of staff, but perhaps with the injury there had been one hired?

[furnaceface]

"Not since Troy left, I'm afraid. He was actually th'one running the place until something came up and he had to go back to New York. I've been doing this solo since."

A beat.

"Why, do you have experience?"