2014.02.10 - Not A Weeping Angel

Buy More. Your every day, run of the mill, electronics, music, movies, appliances, furniture, computers, gaming, anything you can want, and some things you can't imagine store. It even has their own 'Geek Squad', those individuals at the back, the nerdy guys with glasses and ties - that aim to help individuals with all manner of electronic woes. (Mostly computer related.)

At the current moment, the place is fairly rushed with people. It's Monday, time for sales! And the weekly ad came out with some of the best of the season on movies. So most of the crowd you can find are hunched over the aisles, looking for their favorite television series, or that old show from the eighties that had that talking car? Or - of course, movies too.

Into this mix is a figure standing before the Geek Squad table, speaking ever so adamantly with a youth there. The guy in the tie is a classic case of a nerd who's still living with his mother, plays video games in the basement, and hasn't eaten vegetables since he was twelve. He's about three sizes over the average weight, the tie about his neck is tied askew, the glasses on his nose are the only thing kept in good shape, as his chubby cheeks are flushed from having to stand up for however many odd hours of the day, waiting on people.

His voice is annoyingly high pitched, as he speaks to the slim figure of the girl. Or should that be /elf/. Her hair? It's magenta, and long, held in check by a single rubber band that hangs down from the nap of her neck. Her skin.. what can be seen at least (she's currently wearing a hoodie and jeans and gloves that do a really good job of keeping her skin covered), is /lavender/. And the most unique feature? Ears. Pointed. Like Spock. Only real. Or so it appears.

"Sorry lady, that tablet's at least two years old, and it hasn't been bought from here, not to mention it was crap when it was purchased."

"But - isn't there anything that can be done..?" The voice idly pleads, soft intoning, "I was in the middle of this fabulous story about this young orphan - who was raised by horrible relations, and was finding out he was more than he ever realized as he was able to understand /snakes/, and had strange things happen around him, and I was just in this part where these owls were attempting to give him a letter and.."

"Yeah yeah, don't care, can't do anything about it. Next...!"

"Excuse me," a voice calls from behind the figure of the slim girl.

Behind Clarice stood a young blond man, dressed casually for winter with a blue woolen sweater, an unzipped overcoat, and thick jeans. The posture was more 'friendly, warm, polite', helped along with the smile. "If you don't mind waiting for me to finish what I'm buying, I could take a look at the tablet for you."

Holding up his shopping basket, full of electronic parts and cables, the blond man offers up the items for registering. "Name's Doug Ramsey. I could take a look at the tablet, maybe fix it up for you if it's not a hardware issue."

If the sinking shoulders were tell-tale signs of disappointment, the voice behind the elf caused those shoulders to lift back upwards, as Clarice's head swivels slightly, turning to view the voice from behind her. If it wasn't absolute apparent that the figure was a mutant before, the sharp angular features, wide eyes without a single pupil - full of infinite green tend to give away everything else. (Well, not to mention the triangular markings around her forehead and eyes..!) Still..

A wide, ever so impish smile plays about the elf's features as Doug offers his assistance. The basket of items is glanced at briefly, before the figure's slim fingers lift up the tablet. Even in its day, the thing was one of those second generation, cheap to get, not worth even the cheap amount, tablets. The kind where if you try to get onto the Internet, it takes an hour just to load, so don't even /attempt/ to do much - but is great for low key things. Like reading comics. And books. Cheaper than a kindle, but still having the kindle application available.

"Thank you." She begins quietly, before her eyes shift to the tablet clutched into her hand. "It just .. stopped working." The figure states with confusion etched into her voice. "I can't seem to get the power button to work. I should have a full charge, as I charged it over night, but it's still just ... dead." Her mouth twists downward, gaze intently upon the small, blue tablet there, before shifting back up to Doug. "Oh and .. ah, Clarice. Clarice Ferguson, at your service Mr. Ramsey."

The cheap tablet is met with a slight faltering of a smile, as Doug frowns, regarding it. It's fairly clear that he wasn't going to lie about just how -poor- that might be for watching things, but at the same time, there's an slightly calculating look that seems less to do with Blink and far more with what he -could- do with the tablet. The sort that girls might usually see when the boys are far more interested in their -boy- things than in what they were interested in.

"Maybe the battery's worn out," Doug says, in a half-speculative manner while looking at the tablet and considering. "Um... oh, sorry. Your name...?" A sheepish grin crosses his face as he realizes he's been thinking more about how to fix the tablet than on the mutant girl before him. "Um. Clarice! Okay, Clarice, give me a minute to... ah,"

The cashier was impatiently looking at him, as Doug pulls out and hands over a credit card.

"Okay, um.... let's see. I probably have some spare batteries we can test it out on before we buy the thing, and... I've got some screwdrivers handy. I'm no Kitty, but we'll get by."

Meanwhile, as Doug's scrutinizing the tablet, the elf is..? Well, she's scrutinizing /him/. Though it might be difficult to tell - given her eyes don't have a pupil to them, but then again, they're furrowed slightly, head tilted to one side. Her steps draw her to one side, even as people move past fairly quickly at times, gawking at others. Mutants aren't quite so hated, naturally, but there is still that gawk-worthy appearance that Clarice has. It's something she was fairly insecure about, now though? Well. She just embraces it.

Those scrutinizing, luminous eyes of green continue to scan Doug's features. Now if only she had been with the team that went to Avalon, and met the boy that gave up his life for his adopted mother. Alas, Blink was not with that particular group, so she does not know him. Nor of him. As it is, Clarice offers another slight lifting of her shoulders up and down, gaze turning back to the tablet, before gazing upon Doug again.

"You do not look like a cat." She offers with a quizzical raise of her brows, "However, the chord is here - if that is needed." From within a small pack, the chord is produced, and perhaps right away one might notice that it is as frayed as the hoodie sweatshirt that clings to her slim figure. The black plastic of the chord has been pulled loose from over use, away from the plug, exposing the wires within.

As Clarice offers it to Doug, along with the tablet, her voice continues. "I can't think you enough for this. I had just purchased this wonderful story - it was about this orphan boy, that was more than he appeared, and lived with these terrible relations."

Well, it was rather obvious that Clarice was a mutant. Of what sort, Doug wasn't sure. Maybe another relation of Kurt's? They'd been bamfing out of the woodworks lately, so it wouldn't be terribly surprising if, somehow, Clarice was yet another relation. Regardless, Doug blinks, before realization sinks in. "Oh... no no, Kitty's my best friend - she's really good with hardware," Doug comments as he automatically takes the proffered equipment.

"Okay, kid, move it along, move it along," the cashier replies.

Sheepishly, Doug grabs his purchases and starts towards the exit, falling in side by side with Clarice as he inspects the cord and the cablet, turning them over. Those things -had- looked like they'd been overused. "Maybe it might not be the battery, after all... let's try one of the tablet cords first," Doug muses as he offers the tablet and the cord back so that he can re-balance his purchases in both hands. "And mmm... did you buy Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone? Or Philosopher's Stone, depending on where you're from."

"Yes, that's it! Harry Potter!" Comes Clarice's fairly joyful tone. "Have you heard of it? It's a delightful story." Like a child with her enthusiasm, and as though even if she's obviously at least over eighteen, has never heard of it before. At all. Or she's just really pulling Doug's leg. Which could be. Still, the elf makes her way outside, idly taking back the tablet and chord, as she eyes the two a moment, then turns back to Doug.

"At least so far, I haven't gotten too far, when the tablet cut out. I've greatly enjoyed having it, though. There are so -many- different books that you can find on there!" Her eyes practically glaze with delight as she speaks, enthusiasm etched into her voice. "Where I come form, it's.." There's a pause, before she clears her throat. "Well, no why-tie connections available, very secluded." She lies, and does so terribly. Even saying 'wifi' incorrectly. Her eyes shift nervously to the ground, her hands, then back to Doug as she changes the subject. "So - anyway. Ah. I.. what were you saying now?"

If her body language hadn't been so earnest, Doug might have considered that his leg was being pulled. However, the problem with such child-like innocence was tht it had to be really genuine, not a play-act. Play-act, one could tell the difference by the coyishness involved.

"Mmmm, you're really not from around here, then?" Doug smiles, as he walks along, pulling out gloves and balancing his bags on his forearms as he puts them on, before pulling on a woolen hat. "I was just thinking I should check over the tablet. It's a bit far to my place, and I figure it'll be easier to stop by X-Factor's. Where'd you get it anyway?"

"Well, see, last November, there was this one day - a Friday." Clarice begins. "Where all these insane sales were going on. And people acting like.." One hand lifts upwards, as splayed gloved fingers run through her bangs, sending the locks to tumble about her face, before her hands drop again. "Well, they were very intense. And so many out at the wee hours of the morning! It was so strange." Her head shakes briefly, voice offering an astonished tone to it that is as honest as one can be, when one first finds out about 'Black Friday'. As she speaks, the tablet and cord are stuffed neatly into the small pack on her arm. "All of the stores ran these really great deals, even the used stores. I found this for just twenty dollars at a.."

It's there that Clarice pauses, she can't quite tell him she found it in Los Angeles, now can she? "A used store, I don't remember the name." She lies, again, eyes shifting around, before returning to Doug. Everything else she said, she meant, with as much enthusiasm as one an have. "And I'm so glad I did! It has been such a fun toy. Did you know you can play this game on there, with cards, and it was a little difficult to understand at first, but it's called 'hearts', and if you have one of those why-tye connections, you can play with other people! I even win, ever so often."

It's an almost child-like innocence that she speaks, as a deep breath is taken in and let out slowly. Clarice's voice offers a soft. "I'm not from around here, no." She states truthfully, before her brows arch upwards finally at the last word. "X-Factor?"

"Well, it was that or the Xavier Institute," Doug admits. "And it's a long train ride over there, so better we just stop by X-Factor... it's a detective agency. Specializes in mutant and odd cases."

Digesting what Clarice had told him, Doug puts it together. Black Friday, yes, and judging from her age, she can't possibly have missed too many of those, unless she wasn't from America. Of course, given she was a mutant and Professor X had been doing a worldwide search for a long time, it was more likely she'd just popped in from somewhere else. But that wasn't -something- that had to be answered just now.

DThat she -was- lying about not knowing where... well, yes. She did know where, just wasn't comfortable saying so, apparently. But it didn't seem to be a -bad- lie, and Doug's returning smile is meant to reassure, calm her down. "Look, we won't be investigating anything unless you want us to. Though I really do hope you'll at least let me investigate why your tablet isn't working."

Rather freverently, Doug hoped Jamie's porn surfing dupe wasn't in the office at the time. Hopefully the filters he'd installed at Rogue's request would hold firm.

Porn-surfing dupe!?! Eek?! With any case, Clarice simply doesn't want to give too much away, that much she's learned from her time far, far away. A wry grin twists upon her lips, as the elf's head simply bobs up and down. Though with a sudden pause, the elf's head swivels about and eyes Doug from top to bottom again. Xavier? Xavier. Where has she heard that name before? Where!? It wasn't here and now. It was else where. Else when. A name that was spoken with hushed reverence, whispered words of awe and honor and - well. Everyone else Clarice has met is different, changed. Altered. Not the same. Lets not even begin to describe her dear Mister...

A variety of emotions twist about the elf's features as her intent gaze focuses upon Doug. She isn't so good at poker, this elf. Her body tense, fingers balling into fists without her even realizing it. Not entirely due to Doug, but due to the mixture of memories cycling through. Finally, Clarice relaxes a bit, and returns to smiles. "Lead on, Mister Ramsey." It isn't like she can't teleport away at a moment's notice after all. "I have never heard of such a place, though it does have a unique name to it." She offers innocently enough. "What do you investigate? Are you an investigator? A ah.. IP?" That should be P.I.

Right then. It would make things so much -easier- to just be upfront and straight whenever possible, if only to keep the trust available. Trust was hard to gain, and easy to lose, Doug knew that much.

"Oh... I'm kind of an investigator. I like mysteries, and putting puzzles together and solving things, so this seemed like a good way to go. A ... Private Investigator, yeah. P.I."

Tilting his head towards a turn, Doug navigates his way towards the office Jamie kept. "We've had a missing person case, and a locked room mystery recently. And I think Jamie was asked to find someone's missing cat once, but he won't confirm it. Just smiles."

Trust!? That is something you earn, at least in the elf's opinion. And you have to do a lot /to/ earn it. Still, Clarice has to laugh, softly at the idea of rescuing a cat as important business. Did felines and canines even exist in her world? If they did they were meat. The smile wanes a bit as a shudder runs down her spine.

"So what is a locked room mystery?" Clarice inquires suddenly, as she walks alongside of Doug, pausing a moment to cast a glance around her - noting the location of where they are at, and where they are going. After all, to Clarice, there are no 'locked rooms'. Seriously. There are none. They just don't exist.

"So this 'X-Factor'." Clarice suddenly inquires, before she gets a full answer one way or another. "How did that name come about? It is .. unique." A breath, before the elf continues. "Did you find the missing person, by the way?" So many questions, but then - for the elf? Everything she sees is another question, and having someone to ASK them to? That's priceless.

As if she's realizing she's asking a million questions, Clarice pauses a moment to state. "I don't get the opportunity to talk much, my apologies. Not many want to help - I mean, it's a lot better than where I come from..! But I still get.." As if on que a person coming down the street pauses before Doug and Clarice, takes one look at the elf, and dashes across the street to the other side. "That." Comes Clarice's sheepish tone, a shrug to her shoulders once again lifting upwards and back down, humor written on her features. "So you're the odd duck out, I think, Mister Ramsey. Unless there is more to you than meets the eye, mister private investigator from an investigating place with an 'X' in its name."

"Oh. A locked room mystery is where, normally, a body is found in a locked room with no obvious signs of entry or exit. Normally, we have to do a lot to eliminate things like teleporters, or someone who can just duplicate himself into a room, or shapeshifters before we can say a room's truly locked with all the people who have special powers out there," Doug comments as he walks along. "And yeah, we did, actually. Turned out the missing person was an alternate dimension self of someone," Doug sighs. "It's a really long story."

Slowing down as the person who looks at the elf, and walks off, Doug shrugs. "It happens, for a lot of people. X-Factor was meant to give people who had nowhere else to go a place to get investigators. Because the X is for the X-factor in our genes that makes us mutants."

Leaving that as an answer to Clarice's last question, Doug grins, motioning towards the entryway to the X-Factor building.

Taking all of that in, Clarice remains quiet as she steps through the door - casting a glance around the interior. So X-Factor investigations is located in mutant town! How fascinating! As Clarice's gaze moves from the outside, to the inside, her thoughts rummage about. So much to process! A frown furrows across her brows as her thoughts rummage from the idea of people trying to find the cause of a single murder. A single murder. How interesting. How unique. How different. To an opportunity for those that need help.

She would really like to trust Doug. She would. She'd love to sit down, talk with him. To tell him everything. About where she came from. About herself. She just feels comfortable about the youth. He's open. Friendly. Not bad to look at. Seemingly kind. And the elf's mouth parts open, her entire stance seems more open, friendly, not as reserved - only to close again as old walls slam back down into place. Her shoulders stiffen upwards, a line draws across her lips, and she almost shrinks back into herself.

Finding a place to sit down, Clarice offers once again the tablet and cord to Doug, "Well, it's a great idea. I hope it goes well for all involved." She intones softly, "And I hope you can get my tablet to work again! I have found so much enjoyment out of reading - there are so many fabulous imaginations out there. It's fun to get immersed into the stories they provide."

Well, it -was- clear that the elven girl had something more about her. Doug just didn't quite figure what triggered the change. The mutant-town atmosphere? If so, then likely she must have come from a place very much like it?

There was a slight shift then, in Doug's body language, where it was more 'Okay, I get it, not going too far." More in the way he holds the door open so that she can enter at her own pace, look around, and find a seat at her pace before he steps in all the way and closes it. Doug moves about more easily, freely, taking the tablet and the cord along.

"It's really interesting, though some of the people who work here are kind of... well, disturbing. I mean, one of them says he's the Son of Satan," Doug replies as he roots around a drawer, taking out electrical wire tape in order to test a theory, as well as a bunch of pliers. After taking a look at the tablet's attachment end, Doug fishes out another cord to give -that- a shot and see if it charged up... if it did, then the culprit had to lie with the frayed cord.

"Still, there're benefits to working here. We've got... well, a Changeling. A clairvoyant woman. Power absorber. Linguist. Duplicates. And uh, a Son of Satan."

"Oh, and a magnetic field manipulator," Doug adds, as he pokes at the tablet to see if it'd start up.

"Quite the diverse group!" Comes Clarice's interested tone, as she watches Doug work with great interest, herself. "I bet things are always very interesting." She offers, the pack on her arm placed onto the floor, as she crosses her legs at the ankles, hands planted in her lap. Mauling away at her bottom lip, she finally offers a fairly nervous. "Do you really mean the Son of Satan? The devil?" As a Christian, well, Clarice has issues with this, "And he.. wants to do good?" Devils. Angels. Mutants. Why not! Her eyes widen a moment, before again a slight shrug is given to her shoulders. "Wow." She breaths out softly, not really sure how to take that, and not really sure if she /wants/ to know how to take it!

The tablet, for its part, is still in fairly good condition, it has scratches and is certainly -used- and -used often-. The cord is the key culprit, however, as frayed as it is, power simply isn't getting to the tablet, so no matter how long it is plugged in - no current is flowing through. A fact that the elf simply has no clue, or frame of reference to.

Education? Yeah. She's lucky she knows how to read. Clarice's still idly glance about the establishment, before her eyes move to Doug. "So - ." And then, she closes her mouth again. That's just rude! How about yourself, indeed. Ask about his powers. When she isn't willing to tell her own. Instead. She shuffles it to one side with a quiet, and fake cough, followed by. "So do you think you can fix it?"

"Yeah. So he says anyway." Doug's body language expressed enough skepticism, but that he would take it until otherwise demonstrated. He certainly -was- odd enough. "So he says."

Since the spare cord -did- indeed charge it up, Doug considers, before turning the tablet on. "Careful with the cord. It's a different one. It should work, but you should be careful with it. Turn it on and see if it works."

And while Clarice was busy, Doug tinkers with the cord, glancing up with her expression. That it was the question she wasn't going to ask was clear, and rather than drag it out, Doug nods. "Yes. And yes, I'm a mutant. I'm the linguist... well, mostly. I can translate anything you want." Languages, after all, were informational in nature - a means of communicating information back and forth. And as such, Doug was discovering, it meant that he could translate information when expressed in a means of communication.

With a mind that works through everything, Clarice considers Doug's words, even as she's careful with the cord, a smile playing about her features as the tablet boots up, "Oh! It works!" And she just -barely- avoids hugging the tablet close to her chest with the extreme of emotion. Even as she's idly flitting with the tablet, making certain everything is still working correctly, which - it is. (Or at least, she will do so when the slow thing boots up, which again takes -forever- to do. It's a slow, slow, cheap tablet after all.) The elf's gaze flickers to Doug, then back to her tablet. "Languages." She muses. "So does that include body language? Animal's language?" Suddenly, Clarice is a little self conscious, as her mind whirls through the full implications of just how much 'complete translation of all languages means'. Though it doesn't last long, as the tablet's reader device comes to life, and her story is there, right where she left it.

Besides Doug, with a sound that can only be described as a /blink/, a glowing dark, black portal appears. Another is right next to Clarice's free arm, as her arm extends from the one next to her, to the one next to Doug, idly patting him on the back with a swift, and sweet gentle tap of appreciation, before her hand is once again back where it belongs, and the portals close with that same 'blink' sound.

"I'm a teleporter. Teleportation portals. Myself. Other things like that.." Clarice offers, the tablet still on and now in her lap as her eyes lift upwards to Doug. "It's .. not easy for me to trust anyone. So - you'll have to forgive my distrust from before. I was raised to not trust anyone, so it comes very slow for me to open up and even tell another mutant what I can do. Mister Ramsey. I do appreciate your help, however."

"Well, yeah, it includes body language," Doug admits, after a moment's pause. Which means, in theory (and in actual practice) Doug -could- lie with it. Though that way laid confusion, and ich, trouble. "Haven't spent much time trying to talk with a lot of animals, though - not much chance, and... hnh." It wasn't an insane idea, actually - dolphins and great apes could, in theory, communicate with each other, so why not? But to extend that to -ants-' ability to communicate with pheronomes? Doug couldn't even -do- pheronomes. Not like, say, Rogue. (Of course, hers were natural, but still...) --- what was that?

Oh.

"Your secret's safe with me," Doug adds quickly, after glancing over his shoulders, having dropped the stripper and frayed cord in his surprise, then back at Clarice, regarding her with some surprise and curiousity. "Just, uh... take your time looking around. If there's anything I can do to help...?"

Rising upwards, Clarice's soon as the tablet off, and the cord gently handed over to Doug. "No, just a question. Where do I get the cords for this? Looks like I need a new one!" The thought hope it isn't too expensive crosses Clarice's mind. She could, in theory, rip one off easily enough. Without any troubles. And she has stolen to survive, though mostly food and items that people wouldn't miss. It's called 'surviving' and Clarice knows how to do it. Still; she doesn't -like- to do so, it feels morally wrong in this world. Thus. The question. Innocent enough, as the elf ponders how much she can spend on cords and extra items.

"And it would be interesting to talk to animals." Clarice offers with a smile. "Can't imagine what they'd have to say, but I bet it'd be fascinating to find out. You should try." As her pack is lifted upwards, and sling around her arm, Clarice moves to leave, waiting for Doug's answer to her question.

"Oh um... at the store, or you can just take the one here and keep that. I'll just keep the old one and fix it, if that's okay with you?" Arching an eyebrow, Doug picks up the frayed cord, holds up the striping tool, and shrugs. "Just be sure to pull the cord by the plug, not by the wire next time if you want to have it last longer."

"I'll have to try it, but I'd feel foolish doing it in public," Doug admits, laughing. "Though maybe I should let Rogue give it a shot, see what it's like."

"Thank you!" Offers Clarice to begin with, as she stuffs the cord into her pack, along with the tablet. At the idea of how to correctly pull the plug, she hmms and bobs her head, "Okay so from the outlet itself." It makes sense. "And of course, if you can fix it - I can trade you this one back for that one. When it's done?" The question is offered with a quizzical tone.

Clarice is still moving towards the door, offering as she does. "Don't feel foolish, give it a try. You never know what you might discover. Like teleporting to a new place, without ever being there. Sometimes it can be paradise, other times it can be hellish, but if you don't try, you wont find that paradise." So says a mutant teleporting elf.

And just as the door is open, and Clarice is starting to move out.. Rogue. Her body stiffens as straight as board, head lifting upwards any measure of a slouch gone. She can't help it. It's a name she knows, and in the same company as a mutant establishment. A /good/ mutant establishment. Maybe /she's/ still a good person. She was such a nice one. So kind. But this isn't her world, and those aren't the same people. Of this, the elf has to keep realizing, and that stiffening of her shoulders and tightness she feels in her chest is still something Clarice has to get use to. Not her world. Not those she knew. Not even close.

A breath, a sigh, and Clarice turns around to inquire, quietly. "Aaanother linguistic?"

"Um... if you want to trade, sure," Doug replies, as he settles back in his seat, cutting it up where it frayed and stripping the rubber off so that he can re-attach the wires. Maybe if he melted it a bit with something...?

Glancing back up, Doug smiles. "I'll try it, I promise..."

There was a slow blink, then, as Doug tilts his head. She -knew- the name. Huh. So she might have been from somewhere that knew Rogue. "Uh... no. Power absorber," Doug says, tilting his head, the body language indicative that he was rather curious about how she might have heard of Rogue.

A dodged look crossing Clarice's features as she tries really hard not to show just how happy she is to hear that. (And still realizing she must stand out like a human in an all mutant pen). Linking her hands behind her back, the pack on her arm sliding down to her wrists, there to hang against her thigh, the elf takes a breath. Pauses. Then just grins. "Ah. I ah.. mentioned I wasn't from around 'here'. 'Here' being a strange new world. Like that show. Trekking through space, or something.. Where that one world, where everything was different, and all the good guys were bad guys? And you could tell by the facial hair?" One hand lifts upwards as Clarice idly makes a brushing gesture around her chin. "I kind of feel like that. Been here for a year now, and some times I hear names that I recognize, and they're completely different from the ones that I knew. Other times - they're not. But. It's .. always nice to hear about those that you use to consider, family. Mister Ramsey." A glance down, before Clarice's luminous green eyes shift back upwards. "Though I'm guessing you already had /guessed/ that much."

"A little bit," Doug replies, the smile that -both- knew was understating matters. Even if Doug didn't know exactly how, that there was a Rogue connection -might- make her feel better about stopping by here to say hello. Though Rogue certainly hadn't mentioned a friend who could teleport. Speaking of which...

"I understand. Um... if you don't mind my asking, those teleport portals of yours... they don't, like, cut through a demon realm, do they?" Doug asks, a bit of tremulous reverb in his voice.

"No. Not in the least." Clarice states with a slight note of confusion to her voice. "It's just straight through, one point, to another. No dimensions. No demonic realms. Just.." And with that, another *blink* sound emerges, as twin portals open upwards. Clarice's upper body disappears from the doorway, only to appear next to Doug, so half of her body is in one spot, the other in another. "Just instantly." And Clarice's voice is now next to Doug, of course, as a wry grin plays about her features. Playing with portals? That's fun. "The strange thing though." Clarice starts, as she disappears once again from Doug's side, to re-appear whole again next to the door, the portals disappearing with that same *blink* sound. "No one has even heard of me here. Maybe I don't exist! Or.. never existed. Or maybe I died here. Or was killed ... Or maybe the universe is strange and this self was transported to the other world." The way she talks, Clarice has had /some/ time to ponder this question.

"But I'm probably boring you." She offers, those luminous green eyes still flashing with hidden humor, something buried deep within and only shows well.. when her guard is done. "I really appreciate the time spent helping me, Mister Ramsey. You've been very kind. I still think you should try speaking to others beyond humanity, though. Where I come from, animals are gone, almost all of them, so it's very fascinating to me to wonder what they're thinking. What they want. Or don't want. I've often pondered getting a cat, or a dog, or even a bird! But just don't really have the resources to keep them. And .. I'm rambling again." A quiet, soft laugh, before Clarice turns to go. "Take care. Mister Ramsey. And good luck with you and your associates private investigations."

Doug mutters something that sounds roughly like 'Good, no hellpuppies', before he stands up, moving to see Clarice out the door properly this time. "Yeah. Better to not think too hard about what happens to your mirror universe ... or dimensional self... or whatever." Wrinkling his nose, Doug tilts his head. "You really have watched a lot of Star Trek recently, have you? We'll have to show you more."

Holding the door open, Doug laughs softly. "I guess I'll give it a shot, and let you know what they say. Come back and visit, okay?" He motions towards the table. "And if you need to earn more money to, well, upgrade that computer, give us a call. I'd have to pass it by Jamie, but I think he won't turn down a chance to save expenses on cabs."

It's tempting! Clarice bobs her head slowly, taking a ponder on that - being part of something again? That would be nice. Or would it? It's difficult to say. To the first, though, Clarice offers, "It's one of the few shows that you can watch for free on the tablet." She begins, "And there's just something fun about it. I haven't watched a lot, but a few." Another beat, and Clarice draws out the door, answering the last with. "I will think about it. Thank you for the cord, your help, and your time." Though stepping into the street ..? Not really too much of an option for a teleporter. Soft *blink* sound, and she's gone with nothing more than a bright flash of hot-pink for her departure.