plaguedrat | Big bright accent, catty smile, Oscar Wilde confrontation

"Can I think about it and call you back?" Rat looked at the script in front of him as well as the drafted contract. The casting agency's offer was far more than he'd expected, especially for an 'out-of-towner' and Rat needed the money more than he was actually willing to admit. The city stipend paid his bills bu. Marius but Rat had a little more pride than that.

"Okay, Mr. Nezumi," the casting agent said, looking a little less than pleased with it. Rat felt strange being addressed as a Mister anything, much less a stage name he'd made up because he didn't have a real last name.

Besides all that he liked working. Television was a new prospect and it wasn't the stage, but there were plenty of actresses here. They didn't need to put a dainty man in a dress and hope the audience was forgiving the way they had in the West District. There was only so much call for Shakespeare too. Rat had to either diversify or embrace his niche.

But playing an effete gay secondary character, a drag queen? Rat wasn't sure about the script. On paper, it wasn't much of a part or even much of a show. It was a miniseries, apparently, with hope for renewal as a full time show. Dark stuff, they promised. Very edgy. Rat wasn't impressed, but he was hungry and he needed work.

"I'll call you first thing in the morning with my decision," Rat said, letting himself out through the lobby.

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Rat screws up his face, a little troubled at the idea of being cute. "I am no such thing," he says, taking a long drink of his coffee. Now that he's said it, of course, it will only serve as provocation for Marius to insist upon it more.

"I'll have you know I have a roll of gaffer's tape in my bag and it will be very effective for stopping the flow of idea," Rat warns. It's an empty threat, largely because gaff tape is painful to remove from someone's face.

"Apparently dying released a lot of power. She's quiet though. Doesn't bother me. Scares people sometimes, which is a bonus."

Rat kind of undermines his own protestations when he screws up his face like that; it only endears him to Marius more. He beams at the other man around his own coffee, taking a long sip himself before remarking on it. "You're positively adorable," he assures Rat, with a nod and a knowing look in his mirthful eyes. "Or maybe precocious is the better word." He really hasn't ever had much of a nerve for teasing anyone like this, and Marius finds he rather enjoys it.

"And deprive me of coffee, in the mean time," he deploys his faux pout again. "Ooh. Coffee bees! Those could actually prove useful, even if painful!" In his thoughts, he wonders if, perhaps, he's been indulging in too many books of the science fiction and fantasy genres lately. He makes a mental note for his next book of choice to be something historical and less tempting to his vivid imagination.

"You almost sound fond of her," Marius observes, again teasing.

When Marius calls him adorable and then continues to throw ideas into the air, Rat puts on a blank face and goes into his bag to retrieve the tape. Picking off the end, he stretches out a long strip and holds it up in front of Marius as a threat.

"Keep going and I'll tape you to the chair and stiff you with the bill." The latter half of the threat is moot when their drinks are already paid for, but it's one he can also use at a later date if necessary.

He does nod, regarding Agatha. "She's a walking cataclysm. What's not to like?"

"Okay, okay! You win," Marius says at the sight of Rat pulling out the tape, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender. Still, he can't quite wipe the amused smile from his face, and the caffeine provides him with energy to keep teasing, regardless. "That bill you already paid for? I see."

He drinks from his coffee, still eyeing the tape. "Do you always have that tape handy or is this just a special occasion?"

"I'm sure there's more to her than being a 'walking cataclysm,' as you put it," he points out.

"I'm likely going to be part time at another theater doing stage crew," Rat explains. He needs to go and sign the contract but he'd been waiting to see how today's audition went. "Apparently this sort of thing is indispensable."

Rat spins the tape around two fingers before letting it pass to his wrist like a bracelet, a subtly present threat.

"She's very powerful. It makes her both fearless...and very kind."

"So would you work at the theatre while working for the television show?" Marius asks, curious. He understands loading himself with more work than he knows what to deal with. Not that he doubts Rat's abilities to handle both jobs, but it does seem to him as though the schedules for both jobs could wind up interfering with one another. "Tape does seem to have many uses," he says, thinking of the suggestions in the repair manual he'd read the other day while trying to fix his broken faucet. Eventually, he'd given up and called the plumber.

His gaze follows the rapid movements of the tape as Rat swings it around his hand, lingering for a moment when it settles on his wrist, like an odd piece of jewelry.

"That's not a combination you usually hear," Marius muses, thinking of Enjolras then. He had certainly been fearless; kind was another question altogether. "She sounds like quite the personality, this Agatha."

"Maybe. The miniseries won't take long to shoot. Their schedule is for two months." It's more time than he's ever really had. The theater in the West District had given him a script and demanded it be memorized by the end of the week and he'd been able to do it every time. "And I'm not counting on it being renewed, so I'll need work lined up."

He huffs a quick laugh and nods. "She also walks her cat on a leash. It's not even the strangest thing about her."

"Two months? So that's shorter than normal for acting work then?" He asks. Even for the brevity of two months, it sounds to Marius like such an amount of time requires an intensity from its actors. And Rat seems to embody intensity, so it sounds like the job itself suits him, even the role itself lacks in depth from the script. "Well, stage crew is good. It'll let you get close to a theatre for more of the stage roles you like, right?"

"It sounds like you've decided to go for the role, then," he also observes, taking another sip of his coffee. Marius will support Rat, whichever endeavor he chooses.

At that, Marius grins, further endeared to this Agatha though he's never met her. "I've a friend who walks her cat on a leash. Jennifer. I've thought about trying it, myself. I suspect Shelley would enjoy it. Courfeyrcat would likely claw me at the attempt."

Big bright accent, catty smile, Oscar Wilde confrontation

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