Tiger Blood Campfire, Sunday Afternoon

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie was pacing around the firepit outside her bouncy castle. In a slightly ill-fitting 1920s style frock. This had not even remotely been her plan for the afternoon. But plans changed, especially when Fandom got involved.

Like she'd intended to, Natalie had brought her stuff over to the campsite early. Then she'd gone back to the dorms and gotten Mr. Moxy, and brought him with her into town. The plan had been to let him roam around the Boards for awhile, while she met up with Jim there to fulfill her promise of a private piano concert of a sort. But of course, they'd gotten there early, before Jim. And of course, Mox had chased out a gremlin from somewhere behind a curtain, and before she'd known it, it had stuck its venomy teeth right into her calf.

So long story short, now she thought her name was Myrtle, and she was pacing around the firepit outside the bouncy castle, in a slightly ill-fitting 1920s style frock which she'd grabbed from the costume racks at the Boards before coming here (and a flapper-ish headband, and some nice red lipstick), and was wringing her hands because she'd promised her boss, Mr. Moxy of Moxy Pictures (... who was still roaming the Boards, whoops), that she would acquire the refreshments for tonight's party in honor of Mr. Fairbanks, and she was waiting for her supplier to show up.

"Come on, Jack."

[ooc: Open! And up early for timezones and stuff. Nat now thinks she's more or less Myrtle, a Prohibition era Hollywood secretary from the short film Bitter Orange. Starring her PB opposite Alec's 20-year reunion PB. So we had to do something with that. Also, the Boards and Jim both modded with kind permission.]

Comments

[nottrivial]

Alec had been on his way to his own campfire, suitcase of black clothing in hand, when a stinging pain in his right ankle suddenly distracted him from where he was going and what he was doing for just long enough for the gremlin saliva properties to take effect.

And while that wasn't quite enough time to grow a mustache, it did leave Alec -- well, strictly speaking it was Jack now -- enough time to change into a suit and tie (normally reserved for dances rather than secret booze deliveries to flappers) and comb his hair before making a beeline for Myrtle's house (read: Natalie's campfire).

He didn't knock, just strode on in with his suitcase raised.

"Hello, Myrtle."

[whenshewasnice]

The fact that there wouldn't have even been anything to knock on was probably pretty inconsequential when Natalie thought she could see the Hollywoodland sign all lit up in the preserve.

Hallucinations were so fun.

She turned at the sound of his voice, immediately starting for him. Well, his suitcase. Whatever. "Jack, finally."

[nottrivial]

"Eager to see me, aren't you?" he noted, a note of playful smugness in his voice. Swinging the suitcase perhaps a touch more loosely than he might have if there had really been a bottle of liquor inside, he asked, "Where do you want it?"

[whenshewasnice]

She smiled at him, but it was a little less authentic than some might have hoped. This was serious business! "Just here is fine," she said, gesturing at... one of the logs around the campfire.

As if it was a table.

[nottrivial]

"You sure are keen to get your hands on this," Jack observed leisurely even as he set the suitcase down on the log, laying both hands on top of the case to stop Myrtle from opening it right away. "What's your hurry?"

It wasn't any of his business, but why not drag this out?

[whenshewasnice]

Myrtle sat down on the log anyway, her own hand on the case too. In case it might disappear otherwise. "I need it for the party. Last minute bash for Mr. Fairbanks ––" She just barely didn't roll her eyes, although she pouted a bit in a discontent fashion. "–– and my boss's cellar is as dry as powder."

Damn you, Prohibition.

[nottrivial]

"So he put Susie Secretary on the case," Jack said with a knowing smirk. Typical Myrtle to hop right to a task, no matter how tricky and illegal.

[whenshewasnice]

Hey, she was going places! You didn't go places if you weren't willing to take chances. Like dealing with second-rate shady characters from the underworld. "Who else?" she asked. "It's funny, he won't give me the assistant director job, says it's too much for a woman, yet he has no qualms with me fraternizing with criminals."

Hm. She half smirked at him when she said that.

[nottrivial]

"Criminals?" Jack repeated with a smirk of his own that turned into a more genuine smile. "Shucks."

Maybe don't take that as a compliment, Jack.

[pursuedthestars]

Jim didn't get stood up. It just didn't happen but today? Today, it happened. When he'd gotten to The Boards, he'd found Natalie's cat but no Natalie.

So, he'd waited. And waited. And started talking to the damn cat even. When he realized that Natalie wasn't gonna show, he picked up Moxy and headed back to the campsite.

And that's where he saw her, looking perfectly okay which meant she'd just stood him up for no good reason.

"You forget we had plans today?" he asked, still cradling the cat in his arms.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie – well, Myrtle – looked toward him at the sound of his voice. Her eyebrows bounced in surprise.

But she was looking at the cat. "Mr. Moxy! I didn't expect you to be back so soon!"

Sorry, Jim.

[pursuedthestars]

"You're talking to the cat?" Jim asked, glancing down at said cat. "Seriously? What's your deal?"

[whenshewasnice]

Mr. Moxy meowed.

This seemed to mean something to Natalie. She was quick to smile reassuringly, and widely, still at the cat. "Why, not yet, Mr. Moxy. But it's perfectly under control." She nodded, and that was when she seemed to actually notice Jim for the first time, looking up, then looking him over.

He didn't look familiar, but that didn't mean he wasn't anyone important. She stuck her hand out and smiled. "Good evening, sir, I'm Myrtle. Mr. Moxy's assistant."

[pursuedthestars]

"You're...what."

Yeah, what had started out as a question ended as a completely confused statement. He did shift the cat a bit to shake her hand.

"Jim Kirk."

Something was starting to dawn on Jim here. It'd take him another moment or two to really get it.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie was going to be raising her eyebrow at how the dress alone hadn't weirded him out. Of course, she was going to be doing that while hiding from him to live down the embarrassment.

But still. He could see some of her legs! Rare thing when she was out and about.

"Jim Kirk," she repeated brightly. "And what do you do, Mr. Kirk?"

[pursuedthestars]

Yeah, he was beginning to realize that she wasn't herself. Something had happened which meant she didn't think she was Natalie and now the question was to exploit it or not...

"I do..." He was so tempted to say 'you' but he didn't. "A lot of things. What do you do?"

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie gave her a cat a brief smile again. (He was starting to squirm to be put down on the ground, now.) Then she looked back up at Jim. "Oh, I do everything Mr. Moxy requires me to do. All the different kinds of errands and day-to-day business in the world that Moxy Pictures requires."

[nottrivial]

Jack knew that showing back up at Myrtle's place empty-handed wasn't going to end well, but what else could he do? Sweetie wasn't handing over the goods. He'd pointed a gun in Jack's face. And maybe Jack was a criminal, but he wasn't a fool -- no way was he sticking around for that, even if getting the goods would have impressed Myrtle.

"Well," he said, "looks like we're both up the creek, Myrtle. I went to get the gin and my seller gave me the bum's rush."

[whenshewasnice]

Myrtle? Definitely not impressed. Here she'd been fretting with her fate in the hands of a scoundrel like Jack, and he hadn't even come through for her. She was raising her eyebrows high. "What? That's baloney. You don't know anyone else?"

Uh, maybe not without the money, Myrtle.

[nottrivial]

Yeah, flyers for past theatrical productions weren't really taken seriously as currency for some reason.

"None I haven't already tried," Jack said, and he did look sincerely remorseful at that. With a heavy sigh, he said, "This game takes more than I got, Myrtle. Maybe I oughta go straight."

Again, that comment would be funny tomorrow.

[whenshewasnice]

Myrtle sat down on the log again with a quiet sigh of her own, eyeing him. Some help he was. Now they were both ruined, and now he was talking about quitting. "You're too soft-hearted for this line."

[nottrivial]

"You're not," Jack sighed, sitting down on a log of his own. "Maybe we should trade places. There's plenty of room for advancement in the underworld."

The weird thing was, he meant it. She'd probably be good at it. Myrtle was good at most things she set her mind to.

[whenshewasnice]

Myrtle looked away, some mysterious faraway look on her face. "You think so?" she asked, softly. "Some man came by with Mr. Moxy while you were away. He was very rude and I told him to beat it." She sighed. "Guess he won't be trouble again, as I'll be fired."

[nottrivial]

She was probably right, and Jack didn't know what he could say to comfort her about it. Maybe he didn't even want to try to comfort her at all.

Instead, he leaned over to try to press a kiss against her neck.

[whenshewasnice]

Because Alec would just love that memory.

Myrtle let him, and leaned into the touch, and even turned her head, like she was about to reciprocate somehow. But no, her brow pulled down into a frown. "My apartment has this darling orange tree in the yard..."