bookbrawler | All the World's a Stage

[The clippings book had a two-fer that day. Even though Apep had been defeated and the ley lines had gone back to normal, there were still artifacts, new and old, popping up here and there.

And apparently, Cass, Baird, and Flynn won the rock, paper, scissors battle and got to go to the Bahamas. But it's cool, cause who doesn't want to see a mysterious new play that opened up on some obscure little theater in an out-of-the-way street in New York?

Something was up as soon as they got to the theater. It was an old, run-down refurbished previous movie theater from the 1930s that seemed to not show up on any records on the internet, and apparently this address used to be a laundromat? But after interviewing the people who lived around there, supposedly the theater had been there forever, just closed down until some rich guy bought it and refurbished it.

And said rich guy was doing a one-man show for what seemed like the tiniest audience in existence. There was nobody in line for tickets, that is, if they were even selling tickets because apparently you could just walk right in? The weird thing was, everyone who had seen the show--which was all of 15 people over the course of two weeks--had either ended up arrested, in the hospital, or locked themselves in their homes and refused to answer the door.

Jacob decided to see if he could see what was the fuss with the show--maybe it was something in the play itself--and asked Ezekiel to snoop around backstage to see if he could find anything magical going on.

Three hours later, and Jacob still hasn't exited the theater yet. Maybe he fell asleep?]

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[So that is a little weird. (Almost as weird as a completely empty theater, but hey, the economy really isn't what it used to be?)

Then again, Stone gets ridiculously excited over buildings and things made out of clay so maybe there is something that Ezekiel is just not--

No. No, the guy is just bad.]

Stone? What are you doing?

[He finally seems to notice Jones, turning around slightly in the middle of wiping his nose. And he's furious!]

Will you shut up?

[An irritated scoff as he turns back around to watch and be moved by a middle-aged accountant bemoan his nihilistic point of view with a ten-minute metaphor on food forgotten in the refrigerator.

There's something weirdly out of place though--despite the rather meager props on set, there's a well-carved plain white face mask perched on the edge of the stage, dead center, like a cast-off decoration left by the last play. It's hardly noticible, a rolled-up carpet blocks most of the view. But there's something odd about it, how it looks to have a mother-of-pearl inlay around the eyes and mouth.]

[Oookay. Clearly Stone is feeling quite strongly about this.

Ezekiel leaves him for now and walks over to the mask instead (because what kind of thief would he be if he didn't spot that?). He snaps a picture of it while he approaches, might ask Jenkins about that thing later. Or maybe... He wonders if he can snatch it away without the audience or the guy noticing.

Might be a challenge.

Then again, he's Ezekiel Jones.

He waits until the audience gasps for a particularly dramatic turn of events – something something mold on the surface of our perishable hearts and seriously, ew – before he makes his move to steal the mask out from under his talent-less nose. And then hopefully Stone as well.]

[As soon as Ezekiel would touch the mask, a sudden flicker of bright light is cast over Jacob and disappears. The mask disappears as well. Whoops.

Meanwhile Jacob doesn't seem to notice anything at all, not even the weird burst of light, and he tries his best not to cry over plight of spoiled vegetables and sour milk and the inevitable heat death of the universe.]

[Huh! At least now they know Magic is at work? He's a little annoyed that the Mask just disappeared – totally not fair, he would absolutely have succeeded in stealing it – and that light thing, well. That's probably not good.

If he can't get the Mask he'll at least get Stone then. Shaking his head Ezekiel rejoins him in the auditorium and nudges him with his elbow.]

Look, I'm too bored to even make fun of your ridiculous taste at this point, so can we just get out of here?

[Suddenly Jacob's struck with a ridiculous, blinding rage. It's an immediate, mindless overreaction, as he suddenly strikes out, trying to grab Ezekiel's elbow in an attempt to twist his arm.]

You're being RUDE!

[What the--

The move takes Ezekiel by surprise and suddenly his arm twists painfully. Luckily it's a move that a thousand guards all over the world have tried on him before and he shifts, turning and using momentum to break free.]

What the hell is wrong with you?

[This is too much. Jake gets up and out of his seat, murder in his eyes, looking like he's going to strangle Ezekiel right then and there.]

What the hell is wrong with you!?

[He reaches out, attempting to grab him again.]

[Okay, that is not good. For a second concern flashes on Ezekiel's face.]

I asked you first! [He starts dancing backwards, keeping his eyes on Stone, trying to keep an eye on his movements and draw him towards the theater's exit at the same time.]

So what the hell is wrong with you?

[Luckily, Stone is pissed off enough to follow him, angry enough to abandon his precious play to turn his ire to Jones.]

There's nothin' wrong with me! You're makin' a scene! You're ruining one of humanity's oldest and most revered traditions!

[He tries to grab him again. Best not get caught, Jones, because he looks like he could kill.]

Edited 2018-04-27 09:27 (UTC)

I'm making a scene?

[Ezekiel jumps back again, hoping that whatever has Stone in his clutches will stop working once they hit the street. Otherwise...

He's not really sure.]

If there's someone who's making a scene it's you. And that guy sucked!

All the World's a Stage - for luckythief

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