Hollow/Holly (January 2018)

Seek the places where light meets dark, there you will find tales of inexplicably intertwined realms both near and far.

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Claire Gallows
Legendary Adventurer
Legendary Adventurer
Eternal Light

Posts: 1578
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2013 8:03 pm
Location: Dunmovin (Outside of Rhydin City), Underwood (New Haven), or Caelum Training Center

Hollow/Holly (January 2018)

Post by Claire Gallows »

Mondays. Nobody liked Mondays. Not Claire, not anyone. Or those that enjoyed Mondays usually didn't have to work them. But on this Monday, a frigid morning in January, she left the manor on Underwood Avenue in New Haven and ventured further north toward the new Caelum Training Center. Dressed not for a morning in the gym but rather casually in jeans and hoodie beneath a heavy winter coat, she parked the Jeep and hopped out into ankle deep snow. Note to self, get the plow out here to clear the lot before others had to tromp through this crap when it got deeper. She shouldered through the front door and offered a wry smile for the greeting desk lass. "Do me a favor? Page Romeo MacKenzie to my office, please."

As she headed to said office, the overhead PA crackled to life, sounding out for all to hear. Ro MacKenzie, please report to the office. Ro MacKenzie to the office. Thank you.

With Addie making progress, it seemed only appropriate that Romeo would go back to work. He eased himself in slowly, his hours early to accommodate making himself available to her and working his way back towards the full schedule he had been vigorously working before the incident. That morning saw him working hard on one of the weight machines, rebuilding some of the muscle mass that eased away with his time away from work. He had just finished a second set of reps on the military press when he heard his name over the intercom and grimaced.

"Ooooooo." It was the ominous tease on the lips of a half dozen other gym rats, all looking at him with expectant grins as he rose up from the seat and rolled his shoulders.

"Alright, lads," he made a face then. "To the principal's office with me."

And so the big blonde bruiser went, hands tucked into the pockets of his sleeveless workout hoodie until he had to withdraw one of them to knock on Claire's door.

It wasn't an office that saw much use. There were records and employment files, promotional paperwork and the like. It where she conducted interviews for new additions to the gym and where she and Cooper made a mess of the papers on her desktop. Just the same, she wasn't sitting when Ro finally made it to her door and rather than make him come in on his own, she popped the door open and cut him an earnest smile. "Morning. Grab your jacket, I need to borrow you for something."

"Uh... hey, Cl-- Oh. Alright." She seemed to have a specific purpose to whatever it was she needed him for, so instead on making a joke and greeting her proper, Romeo redirected himself immediately back to the locker room. He donned his sweatpants and winter coat in haste, quickly rejoining her.

She waited at the front door for him, her hat and gloves still on, her coat still zipped and her keys in hand. Once he rejoined her, she gave him a little grin and pushed out into the cold, holding the door behind her until he stepped out too. From there it was a matter of retracing her steps back to the Jeep, gesturing for him to get in on the passenger side as she climbed in and started it up. "We're taking a little field trip. Hope that's okay."

Blonde brows furrowed, he gave her a curious look for the grin and followed her out. Once in the passenger seat of the Jeep, he buckled in and cut her a sidelong look. "You're the boss and I'm on the clock. It's fine by me, if not a little unusual."

"It's unusual, sure. It's not like I'm gonna make it a habit of it. But I also didn't want to call you on your time off. Soooo here we are." She shrugged, clicking on her seat warmer and pulling out of the lot. The angle of their drive took them south through New Haven, toward the city at large. Dragon's Gate rumbled past at a sedate pace appropriate for the weather as they headed toward the south side of town. "It's my understanding that you and Addie are living together now. Where were you staying before?"

"We are." Romeo drew in a deep breath. He didn't regret the decision. Not ever a little. But it was still a big one, one that he was still trying to come to grips with the ramifications from. There would be issues, if there weren't already, with his old home; its people. "I've lived in the Hollows in West End since I was in my mid-teens, after the universe stole me away from home and spit me out here. It's an apartment complex."

Now? Now he was cautious. He liked Claire. Respected her. But this was dangerous ground...

What Ro might not realize was that seldom did Claire ask questions she didn't already know the answer to. A game of telephone had passed the story of the Hollows from Ro to Addie, from Addie to Raven, and from Raven to Claire. This turned into a conversation between Claire and her pseudo-god daughter and now to the ride from Dragon's Gate down into Old Temple. They didn't seem intent on stopping there though, continuing onward toward Dockside. "I've heard of it. I'm told the area is a little rough, might be on some bad leylines. But it's home, right? Or what passes for it in a place like this?"

He should have known better. As the moments passed, it came to him.

"Not everyone who ends up here gets to have the fairy tale life," he said eventually in reply. "There are people no one wants to help, all sorts who slip through the cracks and get forgotten about. They have to end up somewhere. Plenty of us ended up there. It's... yeah, bad leylines. Hellmouths. Whatever. It's not safe on its best days but a lot of those people have nowhere else to go. A lot of us banded together, looked out for each other. The ones who didn't? They didn't last long. Before Addie, them and Delia were the closest thing I've had to family. Making the choice to leave was hard."

"Do you still worry about them?" She asked after taking all of that in. Again it was a question she already knew the answer to if only because over the past year she had gotten to know the young man too. It came in bits and pieces but she was fond of him and not just because he was dating Addie. He was an example of tenacity of a level rarely seen in this place. It reminded her of herself when she was younger. Stubborn, sure, but he was a survivor. They turned down a narrow street set between older buildings, refurbished warehouses and similar sorts. Pulling to a stop she parked it in front of a six story building that declared itself the Hollyoak Bottling Building on the front.

"It's what made the decision so hard. I've bled with those people. For them. We've suffered together." Romeo sighed. "Sometimes I still feel like I've abandoned them, but... I love Addie. I want to build somethin' with her, someday."

"My home world's gone at this point... a few made it to a new world but I've otherwise had to leave them behind too." She confided in him, killing the engine and tugging the keys from the ignition. Popping out of the driver's side, she waited for him to get out and shut the door before locking it up with a double chirp of the security system. It wasn't the best neighborhood by all means, but it was by no means terrible for Dockside. Standing in the shadow of the building before them, she craned a look upwards at it. "You're probably wondering why I'm telling you this. But I think it's possible to nurture and look after your past while still building your future. Right?"

Ro nodded while he listened to her, tracking her gaze to the big building and then eventually sliding out of the passenger seat to join her outside. He stared at the building long and hard before her words led his attention back to her face, the words. "Most of my money still goes towards helping them. Food, stuff they need, especially this time of year. I just... someone else has to lead. I'm a terrible leader."

"I've heard otherwise." She said with a sidelong smile and climbed up the short two stairs to the building's door. To one side, there was a control entry box but all of the slots were blank. It looked newer, as did the front door, made of tempered glass and steel to compliment the access. But Claire had a key and thusly, she let them in to the entryway. Stairs to their left went up, up, up, and to their right an elevator listed six floors it could go up. "This place has six levels on one end and eight on the other. The first six floors each have eight to ten apartments ranging from studio size to three bedroom. Small three bedroom, but still. The top two floors are all two bedrooms, but there's only six apartments on each floor. There's a little courtyard in the middle, some green space but it's not very green right now. About how many people are still back home? At the Hollows, that is."

Romeo took it all in with a silence that wasn't entirely stunned, but close to. The implications of what they were doing were plain as the nose on his face and not lost to him, but even as Claire explained and he was doing the math in his head, keen eyes were seeking out the security features and the known exits to file away. It was habit. It just had to be done. When she finally stopped be swung around to look at her. "One hundred thirteen, some of them families. That's not including me, of course. And there's some others... I dunno."

Sixty-six, give or take a few, apartments might do the trick but it could also not quite be enough. Claire scratched at her cheek and ran the numbers in her head again. It would be heavily dependent on how many were roommates and how many were families. With doubling up, there could be room to spare. "The building's been remodeled from the foundation up. There was a... fire here about a year and a half back, when all of those fires were happening around the city. It's now up to code as far as fire and safety regulations. Not quite fully handicap accessible but the elevator's finally working again, which helps. I brought you here in hopes of showing you that your past is important even if you feel like you're leaving it behind and sometimes letting go of one thing allows you to accept another. I'd... I'd like to sign the building over to you. Or to someone you designate. It's fully paid off and the property taxes are taken care of for the next... while. Is that something you'd be interested in?

He had started to say something. In retrospect, later, he wouldn't have been able to recall what had been on the tip of his tongue, though perhaps it was just some semi-superfluous details regarding the numbers he had quoted her. It all halted the moment Claire finished speaking her piece and left Romeo staring at her incredulously.

"Me? For them...? Claire, I..." Ro swallowed hard and took a step back, his eyes dancing wildly around their surroundings again. It took some time to haul all of the loose threads of thought back in but his throat had since gone dry and, when he spoke again, he was going hoarse. "I'll... I'll take responsibility for it... for now. I guess I'll, uh, figure it all out and... Lady Above, Claire... ****, I dunno what to say..."

"For them, yes." She nodded, her gaze level on the taller youth. The building in which they stood was nothing impressive. It wasn't swanky or excessively modern but it was shelter. Safe shelter at that. His reaction had her mouth curling with a flicker of a smile and finally she filled in the blank for him. "Just say yes, that's all you have to do. If you need it, we'll find someone who can help manage the place but I thought that you would be best to at least make the transition and get it all back in motion again. I just want you and Addie to have a shot at building whatever it is you're building without you constantly feeling guilty or like you left them behind. You're a good kid, Ro. You deserve this."

"I'll... yeah, I'll take care of it." He spoke quietly, almost is if this were all some dream. "They'll... well, most o' them will be thrilled, I think. Some... maybe not. Might be too big of a change. Some aren't there because they have to choice. But if it were my decision alone, I'd move them all here and then burn that ****in' place to the ground. This is a good thing for them. I don't know how I'm ever gonna even up with you for this, Claire, but I'm gonna try. ...Thank you..."

"If you need help, just ask. That means with getting people over, managing things, or whatever. I've got a lot of people in this city that need an excuse to be put to work so don't hesitate." She meant it. Between Jericho's boys and some of her enforcement team, there was never enough work to go around. Most of them got paid just the same but still. "This isn't just for you. This is for me too. It's time I let this place go and if it can go to help those who don't have what they need, then that's a fitting end of its place in my life. Just... do right by your people, okay? You're welcome."

One of them was slowing down. Or one of them was speeding up. Either way, it was Romeo who surged forward suddenly to thrown his arms around Claire, hugging her in a crushing squeeze that might have even impressed her husband a little. "Always have. Looks like I always well. You're my people now too..."

"Ooof!" She managed to squeak out as he crushed her against him. The sound was followed by a chuff of a laugh and a light hug for the blonde bruiser. When she let him go, she did so to dust his shoulders off for him. It was almost a motherly motion for the young man before she stepped back and looked around. "It goes without saying but keep doing what you're doin' for Addie. She and I haven't always seen eye to eye but she means just as much to me as the little one does. I know you won't let me down."

Giving the keys in her grasp a twirl, she stopped the motion to wiggle free the key she had used to get them into the building to begin with. It was offered out with a grin. "I'll have Gio draft the paperwork today, just drop by the office to sign whenever and it's all yours after that."

"I'll do the best I can, Claire. That much I can promise." Romeo took the key gingerly and stared down at it.

"I know you will." She told him and stepped back toward the front door. "Let's get back to the gym."


((Thank you to Ro for this little scene.))
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