A new friend welcomed to the Caritas ((tag Rhys))

[slayers_desire]

April walks through the newly opened PINpoint portal into the Caritas, leading Rhys through it. Even though they had just met, April's voices were already guiding her into supporting this decision. That positive benefits would be discovered for Rhys.

And perhaps, the Initiative members would learn a lot from him.

The Caritas was not as lively as it had been, when Lorne was alive and running the joint. In several ways, it was like the building itself was still mourning the loss of Lorne.

But as the new managers, the Initiative put their hearts and souls into keeping it as an Open Door sanctuary for any demon or human who might need it. They all had taken different jobs around the bar too. So it was Rhys' chance to get to meet many of them in person.

Hulk was one of the bouncers. He could be seen standing in one of the corners', his glowing green eyes a constant reminder to those who might consider starting an incident.

87 was the bartender today. She was chatting up a rather large demon, who took up several bar stools, as he drank away his woes for the day.

Mouse was playing the DJ for the afternoon, with her cybernetics hooked into the karaoke machine to give any singer their chance on stage. She had some great songs playing now in the background.

"Welcome to the Caritas." April smiled at Rhys. "Where not everything is black and white."

Comments

[slayers_desire]

"I am unable to carry a tattoo. My body heals too quickly." April notes softly.

"In my world, I am known as a Key. A person with incredible powers."

"It is genetic. My mother had the psychic voices. My infant son seems to have inherited some abilities too."

[thecompanyman]

"It's not quite the same, but it sounds kind of similar. No one really knows how Sirens are created but it doesn't seem to be passed down in families. And the markings are naturally-occurring."

[slayers_desire]

"Well I am not a Siren." April tells him.

"But, you should know I am a vampire."

[thecompanyman]

He frowns a little. "Okay, good to know." He vaguely knows what a vampire is, although a lot of the literature has been lost to the ages.

[slayers_desire]

"Does your world have vampires?"

[thecompanyman]

"You mean real ones? Not that I know of."

[slayers_desire]

"There are plenty of real ones here. In this building."

"It is my vampiric nature that provides other strengths. Agility. Speed. Strength. Enhanced healing."

[thecompanyman]

"Sounds pretty useful." He just plain doesn't know enough about them to be scared by that knowledge, which is probably a good thing.

[slayers_desire]

Right now, since there is no danger to him due to vampires, April doesn't feel like she has to provide the whole how-to details.

"Over this way, we have access to a Watcher's Library. It contains books on many different things about our world." The library itself is pretty impressive.

[Bed]

[thecompanyman]

Rhys whistles. "Wow, real actual books. It's been a while since I've seen one of those, let alone this many."

[slayers_desire]

"How do you keep your knowledge and history stored?"

[thecompanyman]

He's confused that she has to ask. "In computers or on the ECHOnet."

[slayers_desire]

"It seems different choices are selected by different dimensions."

[thecompanyman]

"Tends to be a timeline sort of thing too," he says with a shrug. "I'm from further in the future than most people in the Nexus, apparently. Looks like that's the case here too."

[slayers_desire]

"Oh, we are at the baseline, in the year 2015. It is just the supernatural influence has adapted our world slightly."

[thecompanyman]

"Baseline." He repeats the word, considers it. "Guess that's a good enough word as any for it. That's Earth years, right? My universe is tens of thousands of years ahead of that."

[slayers_desire]

"Indeed it is. I have a few friends who live in worlds who are also thousands of years ahead of this time. Or friends who are from an earlier time period."

"And a few time travelers."

[thecompanyman]

Rhys shakes his head a little, not disbelieving her, just trying to make sense of it all. "It's a bit weird sometimes, isn't it?"

[slayers_desire]

"For me? Not really. Many of my friends have been a valuable ally in times of need."

"I married someone from a different reality."

[thecompanyman]

He looks at her, a little puzzled. "I didn't think that people from other worlds and times wouldn't be valuable. Everyone has a talent."

[slayers_desire]

"Everyone does."

"I am just more welcoming to the Nexus, since I lived there for some time."

[thecompanyman]

"I've got a place there for now too... My home kind of crashed into a planet."

[slayers_desire]

"That must be a difficult adjustment."

[thecompanyman]

"It's really different, yeah. Kind of lonely."

[slayers_desire]

"I can understand that."

"The last place to show you is the hub of our planning area, when we need to gather for a situation."

April guides him to the gathering area, where some of the 'Scoobies' are just gathered for a drink at the mini bar. Spike and Wes are there, debating the most recent rugby match.