2012-10-22 Conversation Near a Blinky Gas Cap

Evening in Brooklyn. It's fall. Witches love fall. Mostly. Rain's hardly an exception though, she's loathing the pigeon population. O how she wishes for the immolation of the pigeon population. Sharing air space with them is positively awful. Happily, the afternoon giving way to evening is cool, with all of the city scents mingling to form an odd amalgamation of smells. Sweet bakeries, warm spices, people, cars... Foot traffic is unrelenting, and cabbies vie for spots in traffic. Rain herself is sitting beneath a tree, at an outdoor table. Today, she splurges. She has some food and drink in front of her - though weirdly? The violet eyed woman looks totally zoned. "Where did it go..." She's divining, though the amount of concentration required is leaving her spaced out. Danny Ketch coasts his bike down the street into a careful park along a nearby sidewalk and brakes it to a stop. He dismounts the bike, which switches off upon his removing contact from it. He removes his helmet, unzips his jacket and pulls a small package from its inside pocket. Danny glances up along the door numbers and locates his destination, then goes to that door and knocks. As Danny makes his last delivery of the day, the fuel cap on his bike glows intermittently. Not a steady glow like it usually does when the bike senses a nearby act of violence, something Danny would notice if his attention wasn't elsewhere. Where could it be? Where did Rain set that tome? She's mad at herself and more than a little worried. Her expression is still dazed, as she sits at her table. Her spell is still reaching, searching. Waitaminute. Her left eye narrows a touch. "What the." That's not her tome is it? There's SOMETHING magic, something powerful, maybe. She shakes her head. Deep breath. She takes a sip out of the hot tea, peering around, trying to match magical senses to physical one. She tucks the pastries and noodles into a takeaway bag and peers around. She's awkward, in a Level 5 Dire Introvert sort of way. So trying to be subtle about this is working as well as solving food hunger with a Hungry Hungry Hippos game. It isn't. She nearly bumps into a businessman on a blue tooth, who just smiles, lifts a hand and keeps going. Where is it? Squint. Rain moves around a tree, trying to find that -magic-. Maybe her book got set on someone's stuff and ... her path unwittingly takes her towards Danny and his bike. "Thanks again," Danny says to the person he just handed the package to. He zip his jacket back up a bit and starts to put his helmet back on... then notices the blinky glowing on the bike's gas cap. He approaches the bike, used to the regular solid glow but not this. Is Ghost Rider needed, he thinks, or does this mean something else? He starts to look around a bit for anything amiss, not recognizing Rain as someone to take notice of just yet. Rain wouldn't normally stand out too much - maybe, her eye color aside. It is both convenient and inconvenient that her magic is subtle to those without senses. To those with senses, she's a klaxon on a fog light. Yikes. Regardless, she brushes past a couple of kids towards - a dude with a motorcycle. Her expression falls. "... seriously. THAT is not a book," She grumbles to herself. Maybe he HAS her book? She peers over, trying to be a little sneaky... but not so much. Hmm, no books... Danny glances over to Rain, now aware that she's approaching him. He glances to the gas cap, which is blinking a bit more frequently, then back to Rain. "It's reacting to you." His tone is cautious, his brow creased in confusion. "Who... or what are you?" This coming from someone who's thus far had to deal with fanged light-killing assassins and psycho contortonists in scarecrow outfits in just the past month. Up until now? Rain was mostly worried about her book. There's a baffled look on her face. "Um. What's reacting to me?" She plays the confused card. Is someone on to her? "That's just silly unless it's a motion sensor..." A peer over. She admits -nothing- for now, rubbing the back of her head. "Um. Well, honestly, I usually go by Rain if you're worried..." She looks curious, tilting her head. Fortunately, she doesn't seem to be much for bluffing or lying for now. "Frankly, most people don't react like that when I walk by." Danny sets his helmet on the seat. "Sorry, I don't mean to sound defensive. The bike... it, um, it senses things. Usually bad things, but..." He looks back at the blinky gas cap. "That reaction... it's not what it usually does. So... are you someone I have to worry about?" He keeps near the bike, a hand resting on the gas tank near the cap, not touching it but close enough to before she could close the distance. Hmm. Rain blinks a little, relaxing. "Oh. That's okay. I'm not really evil. I DID eat the whole box of peanut butter girl scout cookies, but I think that's my biggest sin today..." She rubs the back of her head. Gluttony! For shame. She smiles faintly. "I - don't normally admit to this sort of thing, but I was looking for something. I left a book of mine somewhere..." She glances around. She's trying to make sure no bystanders are in earshot. "I guess I have to admit if that thing senses magic..." She looks thoughtful. "That's kind of impressive." Danny looks back to the bike for a moment. "That's the thing though, I didn't know it could. Usually the only time it does that is when..." He lowers his voice to block any eavesdropping. "...when innocent blood is spilled. And usually it just glows steadily. Not blinking like this." He sighs. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given what it's capable of that I *do* know about." Pause. Rain blinks owlishly. She peers at him and the bike. She looks thoughtful. "Well, for what it's worth... I was just trying to divine the location of something." She seems a little more sympathetic. She keeps her voice low, too. "I guess you haven't ... had the bike long?" She peers up to him. "Um, look. I startled you... I can get you tea or something. I feel kind of bad." She totally isn't a creeper, really. Danny finally relaxes and smiles a bit. "Thanks, and you're right..." His smile falters just a bit when he looks at the bike and remembers the circumstances under which he came to own it. "...I haven't had it long. A month or more at most. And it's okay, really. If you were a threat, the bike would have reacted differently." He offers a handshake. "Danny Ketch." Rain smiles as he relaxes too. Though, she tilts her head. "I see." Poor guy. Rain seems genuinely sympathetic. After the ole boot from the Easy Bake Coven, life was a whole lot stranger. "Well. I'm not sure what to say. I don't know - a whole lot about it. I mean, I just kind of bumbled into you looking for one of my tomes," Sigh. Then a pause as he offers a handshake. She carefully accepts his hand. "I go by Rain. My real name is - embarrassing." Her eyebrows furrow. She smiles at the handshake though. "I guess the simplest way to put it ... Technically, I'm a witch. Haven't turned anyone into a newt though." Danny nods. "I guess that explains why the bike reacted the way it did, probably 'heard' you looking around for your book. Nice to meet you in any event." At that point, however, the cap ceases blinking and glows brightly. Danny instantly notices and he sighs. "Remember that 'innocent blood' thing I mentioned?" He climbs astride the bike, and kickstarts the engine into life. "Sorry to cut this short, but, um, someone's needed. Hope you find your book," he says as he straps his helmet on. "..." Huh. Rain smiles a little. "Nice to meet you, too." She pauses and peers as the glows brightly light comes on. "Oh. Sure thing. I understand. Be well." A wave. "I'm um, sorry I startled you. Feel free to wave if you see me and have questions." Either way, she lets him go without event. "Oh, and by the way... you didn't see this." Danny waits for traffic to clear then pulls the bike at brisk pace into an alley nearby. Seconds later, what seems like the outer embers of a massive fireball lick their way out of the alley, followed by the sound of a much growlier engine. Said engine belongs to the monstrous black motorcycle that roars out of the alley, it's tires engulfed in flames. The person astride the machine is not Danny but a creature dressed in chained and spiked biker attire with a flaming skull for a head. With purpose and unsafe speed, Ghost Rider roars off into the concrete jungle.