Roleplaying
2004 Archive
2005 Archive
Seminars
| When: | 24 October 2004 ("Paradigm Shift: Peace to War" Plot Event) |
| Who: | Alexander, Elizabeth, Killian, Megumi, Melissa, Remy, Rufus, Tyrr, Zaman (as Zachary) |
| What: | A discussion of the prior nights events leads a few people to realize things are changing in Austin... and that something supernatural has formed at the site of Tombstone Arms. |
Fado Irish Pub and Restaurant
Fado's has become a hotspot for many of the locals. The place is split between three different sections, the bar and tavern in one room, another room for the restaurant, and an outside patio area as an extension of the restaurant; all of which are no smoking. The owner, Tyrr Ceallaghan, opened Fado's two years ago and has advertised and made enough deals to watch it grow.
The bar and tavern room has a counter top bar where any of the patrons can sit and talk with the bartenders or their fellow patrons. Near the bar there are a few tables where anyone can sit with friends, share a drink, and just have a good time.
The restaurant and patio area is your classic walk in dine-in restaurant, with different celtic elements on the walls and in the way the rooms are built. The waitresses and waiters are dressed in all black, and always very courteous, as the owners insist on top quality customer service.
Tyrr comes out of the backroom and sits at the edge of the bar closests to it. There's a few things on his mind, as apparent by the fact he completely misses anyone else in the Pub as he motions for his usual drink from Kurgan.
Alexander is sitting against the back wall in a bit of shadow, smoking one of his foul cigarettes. Spotting Tyrr, he clambers to his feet, stretches languidly, and heads towards the bar, trailing a tendril of smoke behind him. Taking a stool next to Tyrr, he rests his hands on the bartop. "So. Sorry I'm late - few thing's keepin' me busy, then got tole you were busy too."
Megumi had, of course, come here earlier only to find the bar closed in the morning. This taught her a few things, but it sorely dissapointed her because she couldn't give Remy a new hat. However, now the bar is open, and Megumi steps inside. She looks around, a Fedora in hand, and sees that Remy isn't present. She sighs, spots Alexander and Tyrr chatting, and then steps out of a doorway to look at a wristwatch. Nope, not morning any longer.
Tyrr turns, and the look on his face denotes he's angry. The reason? Tyrr's eyes look right toward Alexander's cigarette then up toward the no smoking sign. "Are you blind, or do you just think you are above the rules?" A rather harsh reaction for something that could be considered trivial, perhaps Tyrr has something else on his mind.
Alexander glances up at the sign before pulling his cigarette out of his mouth. "Missed that one. First time anyone's complained," he comments dryly, stubbing the cigarette out on the back of his hand without the slightest sign of a wince. He brushes a bit of ash off, tucking the remains of the cigarette back into his pocket. "And just what's got you twisted up? Last night was good - so what's gone wrong?"
Megumi watches as Alexander impassively puts it out on his hand. The wince confirms some things as well. She doesn't approach, however, instead she wanders around the tavern slash bar, clearly to make sure Remy isn't hiding under any tables.
It's apparently a somewhat busy day here at Fado's. Really, Killian didn't know what exactly to expect at this place, he'd never been to such an establishment. (That's what happens when you're, for all intents, a hermit for as long as he was). Looking slightly distracted, he moved towards the bar, taking a seat about halfway down from Tyrr and Alex, missing the extinguishing of the cigarette.
With a shrug, Tyrr takes the drink Kurgan walks up to him with and takes about a third of it back in one swig. "You think that was it?" Tyrr looks over at Alexander skeptically, wondering if the Gabrielite could be that short sighted, "That was just the first Act in the Play. Austin's open season now, and that means not only our side is going to be gunning for things, that means theres is as well. They went back late last night and torched the surrounding apartment complexes near the Warehouse. Not them directly of course, but some of their damn Hellsworn. The entire area is scorched earth."
"No, I'm not that stupid. But the War is what we're made for - not some 'Truce'." He frowns faintly at the mentioning of the burned warehouses, his lips curling slightly. "That sounds like a few sworn to Fire. Something I'll have to take care of, sounds like... but I was expecting something like that. S'why I kept certain people from doing something silly and getting killed. But you started this, Tyrr, you'n yer Boss. Y'can't be tellin' me you ain't gotta plan, or expect this sorta stuff."
Megumi continues her mighty search for Remy. And listens. She asks some random sorts in the bar about whether Remy has been around or not.
Elizabeth steps into Fado's, absently smoothing her hair with one hand. She scans the room quickly, noting the presence of Alex and what's his name the proprietor at the bar, and Megumi wandering randomly through the room. With a slight shrug, she finds herself a nice empty table out on the floor and sits down, opening up the menu.
"Actually, it wasn't any sworn to Fire, it was some sent by Baal. While he laid Semaiah out to the wolves, it appears he's a bit pissed off over the situation." Tyrr tightens his grip, and continues to keep his voice low. "The question is, is how to find these morons before they spread more chaos across Austin."
Roll by Megumi: (5) (1) (2)
Alexander spreads his hands. "I just look 'em up one at a time. You know we're not the ones for grand plans. So are ye done bitin' my head off? So ye can tell me just why ye' wanted ta talk to me?"
Megumi gets distracted from asking about Remy from talking to some chap about how she -isn't- talking about Gambit, and how it would be quite ludicrous to expect Gambit to be showing up because he most certainly does not exist in the realm of reality. At least, that's what Megs thinks. However, whether she manages to listen in or not, she sticks around.
Tyrr turns in the barstool to lean his back against the bar and face the tables, "I'm not chewing you out. I'm a pragmatist. I like to state the facts to get to what I feel has to be done. And right now, you've already figured out what I want you to do. Find those who caused the fire, and deal with them."
Alexander shrugs, and steps off his stool. He adjusts his jacket a bit before nodding once. "I'll see what I can do." He gives Tyrr a slightly mocking salute before turning and starting towards the door. Clearly, he hasn't noticed Elizabeth's presence.
Seeming to come back to earth, and looking less distracted, Killian took a bit of a better look about, admiring the decor and just generally trying to get a feel for the place. The atmosphere seemed nice and relaxed, a good place to unwind and--hey. That guy at the end of the bar looks familiar.
In case he was wrong, he made it look like he was looking elsewhere, say, at a piece of art hanging on the wall. He wanted to be sure that was the guy, and not look crazy.
Megumi walks on over to Killian and taps him on the shoulder, "Sir, have you seen a guy in a Fedora here, name's Remy? Honest Gentleman, looks like he spends his whole life in a library?"
Elizabeth closes her menu, setting it down. She watches Alexander head out the door with a faint smirk, but says nothing to him. Instead she turns her attention to the waitress who has arrived to take her order.
Tyrr continues to look across the room as Alexander moves off. He stops dead though as he spots Elizabeth. He's still not sure about her, despite being certain about a few things of what she is.
Killian blinked, his attention turning to the young woman who sought his attention. "Uh, Remy? Can't say that I have. Sorry, miss. If I see a man who fits that description, I'll let him know someone was looking for him." He smiled slightly in apology for being unable to help. He liked helping people.
Megumi shakes her head, "Oh don't worry, I know some other hangouts, but thank you.", she pauses, "I'm going to surprise him."
Alexander just walked out the door a few minutes ago.
Zaman strolls into Fado's with his usual precise, confident step. He seems to know exactly where he is going and doesn't bother to look around the room until he gets there. The man's hands are tucked into the pockets of his coat, adding to the air of casual confidence that is held in every inch of appearance. He makes his way towards the section of tables where Elizabeth sits, only now allowing his eyes to roam. As he spots her a grin spreads over his features and guides him to that table.
"Oh." Killian said. "Well then, I won't tell him." That was easy. Less work for him to do that didn't involve really important stuff. Like learning what, exactly, that was last night. He was still kinda in the dark about it. All he knew was that it was big, and likely unpleasant for everyone involved.
Stupid lectures and needing to be given.
The waitress returns, bringing Elizabeth her drink - a Shirley Temple. Any food she may have ordered evidently isn't ready /quite/ this soon, good service notwithstanding. She leans back in her chair and looks around the pub, people-watching.
Megumi says, "Thank you," she hms a bit and sits down by a table as she thinks about what to do next.
Zaman strolls into Fado's with his usual precise, confident step. He seems to know exactly where he is going and doesn't bother to look around the room until he gets there. The man's hands are tucked into the pockets of his coat, adding to the air of casual confidence that is held in every inch of appearance. He makes his way towards the section of tables where Elizabeth sits, only now allowing his eyes to roam. As he spots her a grin spreads over his features and guides him to that table.
Zachary's approach catches Elizabeth's eye, so she looks over at him. A sedate smile of recognition spreads across her face, and she beckons him over with a wave. "I'm glad to see you again, Zachary," she says. "Do, have a seat and join me - unless you're waiting for another party?"
Zaman slowly shakes his head at Elizabeth while he continues his approach to her table. "When last we were here the food was good, thought I would try it again." He explains , dimming his smile to just a tad as he takes a seat. "I hope I'm not intruding on anything personal, some rakish youth in the bathroom, perhaps?"
Killian resumed his staring off into space act. This wasn't a bad place to unwind, it seemed. It was somewhat noisy and kind of full, but it had that...pulse of life that wasn't found so often anymore. He liked that a great deal. He seemed a tad surprised when Kurgan not only asked for his order, a glass of water, but whispered something into his ear, which earned a simple nod from the lecturer. Mmm. Water.
Elizabeth snickers and says, "No, no. The rakish youth was last night, and not so young after all." She raises an eyebrow at Zachary and asks, "Are you planning to denounce me for my wicked libertine ways now, as you denounced my politics before?" The waitress arrives and places a Reuben sandwich (and fries) before Elizabeth, then inquires if the gentleman would like to order now?
"Why, Elizabeth, I'm shocked." But by Zaman's tone of voice and mannerism, he's not. "Do you think me so petty that I would pick an argument with you at a moment's notice?" He chuckles lightly, "I will, however, require that you carry mints around for the next two days with the sandwich you're about to stuff into your mouth." As the waitress turns to him Zaman grins at her, "Italian sub, if you will."
Elizabeth sticks her tongue out at Zachary and pointedly takes a bite out of the offending sandwich, making quite the production of it. "Mmm ..." She sighs with exaggerated contentment and swallows, exclaiming cheerfully, "That was quite good! Perhaps I shall make a point of ordering Reubens more often." She grins cheerfully and takes a sip of her non-alcoholic drink. "Not that you have any authority to require me to use breath mints at all, might I add."
Megumi eventually looks on over to Killian, "Are you alright?", she asks, with her politest voice, "You seem to be looking for something, or someone yourself."
"I'm a lawyer, my dear, my breath is expected to melt steel." Zaman replies with a grin, dismissing entirely that he has ordered a sub perhaps more potent than the mighty Reuben. "And the Reuben is all tang and no...diversity. Don't get me wrong, it's a good sandwich, but I'm feeling more like a sub. Anyway, enough about food." Zaman pauses, lacing his fingers in front of him on the table. "How are things going?"
Killian blinked. That was the one problem with, you know, having 8.7x10^6 things on your mind at once, you always seem distracted. "Huh? Oh. No. I'm quite alright. Just taking in the decor and...well...trying to piece together how authentic it is. It's a hobby, I suppose." No, he wasn't much of a people person, but at least he was polite!
Megumi blinks, "Authentic? What do you mean?", se looks around the Restaurant, "You mean, if they water down the beer or not?", she asks, uncertainly.
"Aside from the food?" Elizabeth asks. "To be honest, not so well. There was some sort of ruckus a few minutes away from here last night. A bunch of people went running to see what all it was." She takes another bite of the Reuben, this time without the theatrics.
"Oh?" Zaman inquires with just the appropriate amount of curiosity, leaning forward ever so slightly and cocking an eyebrow in Elizabeth's direction. "Ruckus, you say? What kind of ruckus? I'm afraid I was occupied with business last night."
"No, no. The decor. It's supposed to be an irish pub. It's close, but not entirely accurate. I guess I'm just a stickler for stuff like that." The bane of, you know, being a world historian and cultural 'expert'. It made Killian look intelligent, but it also made him look anal if he was too picky. Alas.
Elizabeth shrugs uncomfortably and says, "Well, I was here talking with Sarah from the university. Then Alex - you know, the bum who hates you? - went rushing out. Then one of the university librarians decided to follow him, and Sarah and I went with him; he's not the most practical type, and we worry about him. So we're following after the librarian following Alex, and then I hear gunfire! Sarah and I are more practical, and we eventually convinced him to leave, but as we were coming back there was an enormous explosion behind us!"
Megumi blinks, "Well, you see...", she murmurs, "You should point this out to the owner as soon as you meet him, otherwise he's lying to a lot of people, isn't he? If he passes it off as an Irish pub and all, it's false advertising."
"An explosion?" Zaman says, leaning back in his chair. "Some kind of gang violence around here? This doesn't seem quite the place where they'd do their thing...I'd expect this from the south-west parts of the city but not downtown." Zaman slowly shakes his head. "I hope no one is hurt? Even though that bum hates me, well, I can't say I'd want harm to come to him. Just seems like a confused individual."
Killian shook his head. "It's not that big of a deal. It's close enough for most people. REally, the only things missing are the passed out pub-crawlers, and the brawls." Heaven help the poor schmuck who started a brawl in /this/ place when Tyrr was around. He doubted there would have ever been an ass kicking that bad. Of course, he was just assuming, he didn't know for sure.
Elizabeth frowns, dabbing at the corner of her mouth with a napkin. "Well, I heard that it was gang-related, but I wouldn't know for certain - it was over on the other side of the border to East Austin, though. Sarah got a couple of nicks from the shrapnel, and I lost a pair of stockings to the pavement when I dove for cover, but that was it for us. I'm pretty sure that someone got hurt, though. Gunfire is usually indicative," she says dryly.
Megumi says, "Are you sure that's not just a stereotype that happens in some bars rather than something that happens in a majority? I have a feeling that the decor isn't really something decided by how many bodies there are."
"Well, those involved, yes." Zaman amends to his question, barely looking up at the waitress as she delivers his sandwich. "Sorry to hear that things got rough...What is this place coming to when you have to worry about bombs in the middle of the street? Could've been much worse." The lawyer concludes, now taking up half of his sandwich and biting into it.
"I was joking. Kinda." Killian had been to ireland. He wasn't entirely wrong. It was mostly hyperbole. "But, really. It's a nice place. Maybe I'll come here after work sometime and have a pint to unwind." Not like his day job was stressful at all.
"Given your profession, Zachary," Elizabeth says, "One would think that there's a chance that you may well come into contact with the survivors, if there were any." She takes another bite of her sandwich and swallows before concluding, "Or do I misunderstand how the legal system works?"
Megumi says, "Joking? I see.", she sighs, "Oh, if only Alexander were here, he'd say how it's not funny to call Irishmen Irish, or something.", she waves a hand in the air with a sigh, "Ah well, he's an amazing gentleman all the same."
Killian blinked again in a bit of confusion. "...I see." He had only heard of that Alex guy. Assuming it was the same person anyway. "Why isn't it funny...? Nevermind. I'm sure it's a pain to explain."
Zaman grins, chewing politely on his sandwich before putting it down. "You understand the legal system perfectly well, my dear. I doubt I'll see any of the poor gangsters, however, the state will have to appoint a defense for them and I am not likely to be included in that summons. Unless some patron decides to sponsor them, that is."
Elizabeth takes another sip of her drink, idly swirling the pink liquid around in the tumbler. "Ah, right," she says. "You are one the high-powered, high-paid lawyers, so gangsters are unlikely to be able to afford you unless their lives of crime have been exceedingly lucrative."
"You make me out as some kind of societal leech." Zaman replies with a grin, digging another bite out of his sandwich. After a good time to swallow and free his mouth, "We're all out to make money one day or another, I want to live comfortably and a public defense attorney doesn't quite get as much green from Uncle Sam as I'd like."
"You do me a injustice, sir," Elizabeth retorts. "I have in no way portrayed you as a societal leech; after all, your income doesn't come from the taxpayers' pockets. Why so defensive, Zachary? Have you been overly maligned in the past, or does perhaps a guilty conscience prick you?" She nibbles at her sandwich, focusing more on the conversation than on the food.
Megumi says, "Oh, it's just how he is, I suppose. An interesting sort. Are you an architect?", she raises an eyebrow curiously.
Killian shook his head. "No. I'm a historian. I'm the assistant curator at the Austin Museum of History." Most curators were old men with white hair, he seemed pretty young for such a job, but, hey. He was probably set for life by it.
"Common misconception and stigma is all." Zaman replies casually, continuing to take regular bites from his sandwich. "I have to jump to that defense; there are some ignorant souls in this nation that think my job isn't vital and that all I do is get Don Corleone off scot free so that he can do more evil. Not that I need to tell you this, you know how it works."
Elizabeth shrugs. "Maybe it's vital; maybe it isn't. Take a look around you." She gestures at the interior of the pub, and by extension at all of Austin. "Does it look like people are living on the ragged edge of starvation, or like the Hun is at the gates? This is a society that can afford luxuries, Zachary. If one of those luxuries someone choose to buy is the services of a lawyer such as yourself, who am I to argue?" She pushes away the plate holding the remains of her sandwich, apparently full for now.
Elizabeth is sitting with Zaman at an otherwise empty table. Plenty of available seats, if folks wish to converge.
Megumi is holding a Fedora and talking to Killian. "Oh, you're pretty young for the job, you must be a natural.", she wiggles the hat lazily.
"You seem awfully depressed tonight, Elizabeth. Not your usual self at all." Zaman notes casually, still munching on that sandwich. "Something on your mind? I know we have our little debates and discussions, and maybe I'm just falling asleep, but you seem a little short. Not like you at all."
Killian is sitting on a barstool, an untouched glass of water behind him as he yammers away with Megumi. "I suppose you could say that. It's a living, and gives me plenty of free time for my hobbies." Most of which involve books or battle axes, but he wasn't going to share this with a complete stranger.
Remy enters the bar with Sarah in tow. He doesn't pay much attention to the others present as he heads straight for the bar, though Elizabeth does get a glance of recognition, as does Megumi. He doesn't speak to her though as he approaches Killian. "Hello there."
"Do I seem depressed?" Elizabeth asks, her brow furrowing. "I can't think why. It is an odd conversational dynamic, I'll grant. It is not exactly common to find myself defending your profession against your own accusations, and I can't say that I like it much. I'm no psychologist to go around dealing with your hangups about your own work; perhaps that's why I seem short." She treats Zachary to an icy smile.
Rufus saunters in, not paying attention to much, and finds his usual stool, and begins perusing the menu, not really anything on his mind, at the moment.
Sarah's...pretty much just following Remy. She seems distracted by something, and for the moment is just letting Remy lead the show. She does, however, smile faintly and wave to Elizabeth (but not Megumi). She keeps behind Remy, for now.
Elizabeth's glance flickers over to Sarah, whose wave she returns with a wave of her own and a warm smile. Then her attention goes back to Zachary.
Killian blinked. New face. A very friendly one too, apparently. "Um. Hello, sir. Can I help you?" He looked a bit confused, as he wasn't used to being approached by strangers when he wasn't in the museum.
Megumi says, "Remy! I missed you when I visited earlier, and I got you a new hat!", her attention is diverted entirely from Killian. She notices she is more 'ignored' than usual, but doesn't mind. No eyes on her? She'll simply earn them. Again. And Again. She reaches out and tries to put her Fedora on top of Remy's. Very carefully.
"Of course I'm no expert either." Zaman replies neutrally, not giving that icy smile any facial response. "Just what I've observed. I think we've both become a little bit confused as to where this convseration was going. Or that we're both on the same page and don't know." He shrugs, taking another bite from his sandwich, not bothering to see who Elizabeth waved at.
About a minute or two behind Sarah and Remy's arrival is Alexander's arrival. He shoulders the door open, flicking his cigarette to the curb before pushing his way into the room. Pausing just inside the door, he notes both Sarah and Remy headed towards one of the people they mean to talk to. He also spots Zaman and Elizabeth. He scowls slightly, although whether it's at Zaman, or something else isn't very clear. He moves towards Sarah and Remy, trailing the scent of smoke - much stronger than it should be just from the cigarette.
Rufus has begun to realize he recognizes several faces here, and that's not a good thing, for all of 'em. Well, If nobody makes trouble, then he won't, for the time being, and just orders a beer and a sandwich like he came in intending to do, and, to his credit, he doesn't even flinh when Alex comes in the door.
Elizabeth thaws a little, and concedes, "Yes, this might be a case of what they call being in violent agreement on a subject. I, at least, have no objections to lawyers earning money. Perhaps we should change the topic to something more felicitous?" Her brow creases, and she observes casually, "By the way, you remember Alex? He's just walked into the building. I do hope that he's not going to cause a scene with you."
Zaman shrugs to Elizabeth's announcement, not even bothering to glance over his shoulder. "I hope not too. I really am enjoying this sandwich. Italian subs are my favorite, ever since I was a kid." He replies non-chalantly, "Maybe if does come over he'll just talk. I certainly won't try and...rile him up like I might have before."
Alexander doesn't appear to be headed in the direction of Elizabeth and Zachary's table - he almost started to head in that direction, but changed tack when he realized who the gentleman at the table was. Rufus is spotted, and noted with a hint of a grin before the bum continues towards the bar.
Remy is about to reply to Killian when Megumi gives him... Another hat. "Ah hah... Thank you, Megumi... But I don't really need another hat." He takes the second hat and offers it back to her, as he looks over to a nearby stool... And more importantly, the bartender. To Killian, he finally replies, "No, nothing in particular... Have you seen the owner about by any chance?"
Elizabeth raises her eyebrows. "You won't, Zachary? Are you sure that you're feeling well?" she asks playfully. "You're making me worry that you you've gone and gotten all complacent on me. What ever happened to that delightful tension that makes life so interesting, that abrasive quality that sets up a certain tension?"
Megumi takes the hat back and then puts it back on Remy's head again. "Oh but you never know when you'll be next to another explosion. Think of it as a spare.", she says.
"He was here earlier. I haven't seen him in a while, sorry." Strange question to ask him, why not any of the other patrons/ Curiouser and curiouser. Maybe it's because he's 'that friendly guy'. Could his reputation have spread so far already? Only the cosmos knows.....
Sarah, apparently realizing...something, pats Remy on the shoulder, then moves over toward a spare seat at the bar. She's digging in her purse for her wallet, but her eyes are /firmly/ locked on the bartender, ready to wave him over once he's got a second. Oh no, secret bar confessions, inbound!
Rufus is seated at the bar, actually, enjoying his meal. He doesn't do much when Alex approaches, unless you count very pointedly /not/ looking at him. If he IS actually nervous, he's doing a decent job of not showing it.
"What shall I say, then?" Zaman grins, "That should Mr. Alexander come over to our table and start to make a ruckus that he will suffer the same fate as the cameraman? That I should pull out the full weight and measure of my wit to verbally drive him into the ground without breaking a single law of this great land? No; I think not. Mr. Alexander presents a different puzzle, I think. He is neither abrasive nor stupid; he is noble. And to nobility, my dear, insult slides right off. If we are to make this interesting, which I believe we are, we have to play along a little bit. I have no intention of letting Mr. Alexander walk over me because of his conceptions, but he will fight. He is not a worm."
Alexander watches Sarah for a moment, and then nods his head. So the message will be getting to the right people. He scans the room slowly, looking at people he knows, and those he doesn't. Finally, with a bit of a sigh, he heads towards the table Elizabeth and Zachary are sharing.
Elizabeth tilts head head and looks at Zachary curiously. "That /is/ a fascinating perspective on the matter," she concedes. "So tell me, how do you propose to make the matter interesting? If insult is ineffective, then what--" She looks up at Alex's approach and says brightly, "Hello, Alex! We were just talking about you."
"Just see where the game leads you." Zaman replies cryptically to Elizabeth, turning around as Alexander approaches and flashing him a winning smile, "Alexander! I had not expected to see you here, of all places. Please, sit, take a load off and enjoy a drink. You look a little worn-out, might do you some good."
Remy takes the hat off again, and hands it back again. "No, no, really. I can replace my own hats. It wouldn't be right of me to accept something like this from a stranger." He nods to Killian in acknowledgement. Why did Remy ask him? Because he was the closest one to him at the bar, of course, and he didn't see the bartender, Kurgan, whom Sarah appears to have located. Satisfied that she will handle things, he takes his own seat.
Alexander pauses, and takes a moment to more or less stare at Zachary. It doesn't last long, as the bum just breaks out one of his dazzling smiles. "Elizabeth, Zachary. I'm afraid I can't stay long - f'give me. If you could excuse us for a moment, Zachary - pal - I have a private message for Elizabeth from a mutual aquaintence."
Killian frowned a bit. "It's a pity, too. I needed to talk to him about some business." What kind of business? Oooo...MYSTERIOUS. Or maybe he's just totally absent minded and such. Who knows?
Megumi says, "Stranger?", she stares at Remy as if he just spoke Blasphemy. "But we're hardly strangers, Remy!", she takes the hat back though and this time, she tries swapping hats! "We're friends, early in our mutual relationship, but still struggling to get to know one another.", she glances over to Killian, "My, the bar certainly became -busy- all of a sudden, didn't it?"
Sarah finally waves the bartender over, and uses the opportunity to do two things of note: One, order a drink (she needs it), and two, slip him a piece of paper, as well as a murmurred message to deliver to Tyrr - since Kurgan seems to /always/ be here, and all, he can probably tell Tyrr what he needs to know, and it's a doozy indeed.
Elizabeth chuckles at Zachary's enigmatic comment and purrs, "Oh, I certainly intend-- a message, Alex?" Her brow furrows, and she looks back towards Zachary with a frown and asks, "If you'll excuse me, Zachary?" She pushes her chair back and stands, looking up at Alexander and asking, "Can you tell me here, or when you said 'private' were you serious about it?"
"Oh, I would not want to intrude." Zaman says sincerely, rising from his chair as Elizabeth does. "I'll just run to restroom for a moment, feel free to have the rest of the sandwich, it's a little larger than I'm used to for an Italian. Still, delicious." The last is directed at Alexander.
Rufus is just enjoying his sandwich, not really doing much, beginning to suspect that he may be in over his head here but, as nothing bad seems to be hapening, Rufus, master of enjoying the moment, takes another sip of his beer, and just relaxes in one of his favorite locales.
Remy frowns as she tries swapping hats, and the librarian appears to begin getting a little irritated, as he takes the hat and tries to give it back while retieving his own. "Perhaps, but I would still prefer to keep my own hat. I do not need two, and I can replace my own." Sadly, he's unable to reply to Kurgan while Megumi effectively monopolizes his attention via hat.
"I can tell you here," replies Alex, inclining his head to Zachary as the man stands and starts to move away. "Thank you, but I'm fine." He does, however accept the offer of the seat, watching over his shoulder as Zachary moves away. He leans in close to Elizabeth, dropping his voice to barely above a murmur as he speaks to her, the words drowned out by the sounds of the busy bar around them.
Elizabeth resumes her seat, then, leaning over to catch Alex's whisper. Her eyebrows fly up, and she leans forward to whisper something back at Alex.
Megumi lets Remy keep his hat and she, herself, keeps her own, "I noticed you all returned at the same time. Hehe, You guys aren't conspiring against me, are you?", she phrases it like a joke, of course, "What have you been up to?", she puts on -her- fedora.
Alexander grins a little bit at whatever it was Elizabeth whispered to him, replying to her quietly once again, pitching his voice to low to carry after glancing over his shoulder one last time.
Killian let himself chuckle a bit at the hat-antics. He went quiet after, though, not really knowing these people and letting them have their conversation. Of course, he listened to them speak, but he wasn't going to butt in. He was sneaky. Or just unobtrusive.
Elizabeth pulls back, staring at Alex as a blush rises on her cheeks. "I ... see," she says slowly, covering her embarrassment by taking a hasty sip from her Shirley Temple. "That, ah, that is news, yes. Thank you for relaying that message," she says, a trifle stiffly.
Alexander grins a bit as he leans back, chuckling a bit. "And in less secret news - I hear that whole story about the gas lines in that warehouse blast is a complete load of hooey. Buddy a' mine says it was a bunch of crazy gangers who lit up the other fires - maybe pissed about the weapons goin' up." He shrugs a little, pushing the seat back and rising to his feet. "And ye're welcome."
Sarah, having relayed her message, enjoys a nice glass of good old-fashioned /ALCOHOL/. She needs it, after the last couple days.
Rufus has ordered, and is halfway through a slice of pie at this point. Goes good with coffee. He's still keeping to himself, and not sticking his neck out. Nothing much really seems to be bothering him, SO, he finishes his meal in peace.
Zaman emerges from the restroom looking just as content as ever, the fact that Alexander and Elizabeth just swapped words not seeming to faze him in the slightest. As he sees Alexander rise he returns to the table still wearing the same smile. "Business all done, then?" He inquires of the too, looking between them.
Remy shrugs, finally putting his own hat back on. "No, we're not. And what have you been up to lately? I assume your studies have been going well?" He doesn't answer Megumi's other question, instead looking to Killian... And since he is unable to think of anything to say to the man, he turns to the bar and orders... Some iced tea.
Elizabeth sighs, shaking her head. "Gangers, huh?" she say to Alex. "Same group as whoever the original hooligans were, or do they not know?" She looks up at Zachary and beckons him over. "I think it's safe to come now, yes." She takes another sip from her drink.
"Similar gang, they think," replies Alexander, nodding to Zachary. "Yes. Business is more or less done - and I hope you'll both excuse me, but I've got a few things to do before the evenin' gets too late." With that, the bum turns and starts towards the door, hands in his pockets.
Megumi is in a very good but bored mood, and the two don't mix very well. "Make that a double!", a glance to Remy, "Is that how it works?", a glance to the bartender again, "Of Iced Tea.", she looks back to Remy, "Oh, alright, I suppose, I could use some tutoring in History.", she looks over to Killian, "Actually, I was asking that fellow about you, did you know that?"
Gotta love uncomfortable silences. Killian reached for his, until now, untouched water and took a sip. Yep. Nothing going on here. And it was full of strange people. Interesting.
Zaman nods slowly to Alexander as he leaves, seating himself in his old seat and glancing at Elizabeth. "I hope that was worth your time, and not some of his usual ramblings." Zaman comments with a grin, "Or maybe a little more about the incident than you could divine from the 10 o'clock news."
Elizabeth ... blushes a deeper pink. "Actually," she says awkwardly, "He, ah, informed me of some sexual escapades of one of my students. And no, I'm /not/ going into any more detail than that." Well, she's not actually hungry anymore, but another bite of her Reuben suddenly seems like a preferable alternative to continuing on this topic.
Zaman's eyes widen, and it's clear the man wants to laugh but he manages to keep it in for tact's sake, but he does look amused. "Well, that is unfortunate. Hopefully nothing too...illegal? Could cause a problem in somebody's life soon..." As Elizabeth goes for the sandwich, "You're right. Not a proper or pleasant subject for discussion."
Sarah continues to drink. It's actually only one drink, but she's pacing herself. Yeah, that's it.
Remy blinks as he gets served... well, two iced teas. Megumi is being rather solicitous, it seems, and he looks over to the girl with a squinting eye. "Oh really? What about? And why are you being so... Overly generous?"
"She just wondered if I knew you for some reason." said the curator, looking a bit amused. "Why I'd know you in the first place is a mystery to me. I'm kinda new around here, and it's a big city besides, you know?" Killian took another sip of his, now, room temperature water. Ah well. It was still wet.
Elizabeth swallows, and gropes for a change of topic. Thankfully, Zachary's previous comment presents itself. "What he said about the gangers came later. I don't think that was intended to be particularly confidential." She sips at her drink, and is mildly perturbed to find that it's down to just ice now.
"Shouldn't have to worry about them, hopefully they all blew themselves to Kingdom Come." Zaman replies with a chuckle, watching as Elizabeth attempts to take a drink of nothing. His smile subsides to just a curve of his lips, eyes locked on the woman at the other end of the table. "You're far too shaken for just one little incident, Elizabeth. Not even your responsibility. The university has their check in the bank." He doesn't need to ask the question that follows.
"Yes, well ... um ..." ELizabeth writhes in her seat looking every which way but at Zachary. "It's not just that, exactly. The way he phrased it, ah ..." She leans forward and says to Zachary, "Look, can you keep a secret?"
Megumi is about to reach out and -take- the iced tea, but Remy gets curious about her generous nature (And Megumi is rather generous .. with words). Megumi blinks at Remy and seems to be at a bit of a pickle before she orders two more iced teas for Remy. "Clearly," she says, "I have to make up for the hat fiasco. And you said 'stranger' so I'm most troubled.", she looks to the curator, "Well he frequents this pub frequently, that's why."
Zaman's smile dims further to where it almost disappears; giving him a look of seriousness but also one that is inviting. "Of course, Elizabeth. I'm not in the business of pettiness." He leans in, awaiting the information transfer.
Elizabeth leans forward and cups her hand by her mouth, whispering to Zachary.
Remy doesn't move to stop her at all, but first he looks to Killian. "Ah. Well, I am a librarian at the University, so I suppose she may have thought we knew each other somehow..." He nods to Killian at that, and continues. "I'm called Remy." Now, he looks back to Megumi, and blinks. "You don't have to make up for anything. The hat issue was never your business or responsibility in the first place..." He pauses. "... Was it?"
"He is either a fool or insane to...boast, is that the right word? Of something like that." Zaman's voice has become uncharacteristically serious and his features strangely grave. "Poor taste. Do you suspect foul play at all? Forgive the stereotyping, but a bum?"
"I'm Killian, I'm the curator...well...assistant at the Museum of History. I'm pretty new here. It's nice to meet you." He idly wondered if he'd seen the librarian when he was on campus a week or so ago, but he couldn't remember off hand.
Megumi says, "The first hat business was purely for pleasure, the second hat business was because you denied it, the third hat business was a repeat of the second, but the fourth is what I'm referring to when we swapped and had upset you, and I am certain I swapped -those-, but no, I would rather avoid explosions rather than ignite them.", she looks over to Killian, "He's a lot like you, actually, now that I see it. You're both young and in interesting positions for young people, you should talk. Have...", she picks up an iced tea and tries to force it in Killian's hands, "Have an iced tea."
Elizabeth look around desperately. "Look, I, ah... my drink is empty," she says, holding up her glass, which is indeed devoid of all but ice. "I'm going up to the bar to get another here this should cover my bill talk to you later okay?" she rattles off in one continuous breath, slapping a twenty down on the table as she stands up and hurries over to the bar.
"Very well." Zaman says calmly once Elizabeth has departed, sliding the twenty over to his side of the table and fishing out his own wallet. "Alexander..." He murmurs, "Threw me quite a curveball. This will be interesting, oh yes." His voice barely a rasp.
Only if you were in the library. Remy watches Megumi's actions with an upturned eyebrow, but he shrugs. "I'm not all that young, and... Don't worry about the hat. My feelings aren't so delicate that you would need to compensate me in such a way." He looks back to Killian, and nods. "Nice to meet you as well. Perhaps we'll have more occasions to get to know each other in the future."
Killian made a surprised noise as an iced tea was shoved into his hands. "Uh...thanks." Strange, but. Hey. Stranger things have happened. He nodded once to Remy. "Maybe. Who knows, if I get done and published, you might be stocking my book on your shelves." Small talk was...something he wasn't good at. He absently took a sip of the tea.
Elizabeth hurries up to the bar, agitated, and orders herself ... another Shirley Temple. As the bartender - Kurgan? - mixes her drink, she edges over to where Sarah, Remy, and Megumi are talking. "Uh, hi everyone," she interrupts. "Could you guys all do me a favor and not mention to Zachary who I left with last night? Pretty please?"
Remy says, "Who, Alexander?"
Killian has no idea about any of this, so he just drank his generously free iced tea and listened. It was good to be meek and ignorable. It made things so much easier. He still needed to talk to Tyrr, though. That was the whole reason he came here, really. Eh. Not like he had anything better to do.
Sarah frowns, looking up at Elizabeth...then shrugs, chuckling. "Uh, okay. I guess I can keep quiet about that, sure," she says. "Not like I was gonna talk about it anyway..."
...and then Remy pipes up, prompting Sarah to chuckle. Typical Remy!
Elizabeth winces, and nods. "Yes, Remy. That would be the name I was asking you to NOT SAY. Oh God." She puts one palm to her forehead. "On the off chance that you didn't say it loud enough this time, could you please not repeat it?" Her attention is momentarily diverted as the bartender delivers her drinnk.
Megumi looks over to Zaman briefly. On the one hand, she -could- just tell Zaman. There's no reason not to. But then again, there is no reason -to- tell Zaman. Luckily for Elizabeth, only one of those paths requires effort on Megumi's part, and while she doesn't mind causing trouble for trouble's sake, keeping a favor may be more useful...and healthy... later. Especially considering how many angels she's been running into, and considering the war is starting in Austin. It's a pity, really. However, saying she won't under any condition tell Zaman would be lie and Megumi doesn't lie unless she lied to herself beforehand.
"I imagine...Zachary is of the jealous sort..?", she suggests, glowing signs of sympathy for poor Elizabeth. She doesn't continue her conversation regarding the hats, though, since this has caught her attention. Zaman doles out the appropriate amount of cash to fund this little meal, his smile returning with alarming quickness. By the time the lawyer rises he's whistling a little tune, a melody that accompanies his confident you-can't-faze-me stride towards the door.
"I, um... I really don't know him well enough to say," Elizabeth admits. "But it's not like that - I'm not actually dating Zachary, to the best of my knowledge. I mean, I enjoy his company and all, and I'm not sure that I'd turn him down if he made a move, but he hasn't any right to be jealous of me at this point." She stops and says, "I'm babbling, aren't I?"
Killian piped up for some reason. "Yep." Gotta love the input of a stranger. Then it was back to the iced tea. Mmm. Lemony.
Megumi nods to Elizabeth. And gets an idea. She says, "Very well, Elizabeth, I won't say a word about him. In fact," she smiles cheerfully, "I think I'll do you a favor. You have my word, not a word about him. But allow me to do this one favor for you.", and with that she tries to follow Zaman on out.
Sarah arches an eyebrow. "Yes," she replies, chuckling. "Yes, you are." Then she goes back to her drink. Mmmmm. Alcohol.
Melissa pushes open the door to Fado's having shed her business suit for a more casual - but tasteful - number in red silk. Clingy yet concealing, the dress is cut along tradional chinese patterns. A somewhat oversized purse over one shoulder, she slips into the resturaunt, taking a moment to glance around and let her eyes adjust.
Elizabeth justs gives Killian a funny look, but at Megumi's words she rushes to forestall the younger girl, saying, "Look, Megumi, why don't you tell me what you have in mind first, and let me decide if I want it done?"
Remy sips at his iced tea. "Of course, of course." Although to what question, he hasn't clarified.
Killian blinked. He must have said something wrong. Oh well. Lemony Goodness! And his mind resumed it's usual thinking pattern which meant that the real world got less attention. Mmm...facts and figures.
Sarah continues to drink. At the bar. She's still on number one, but she may not be for long.
Zaman nears the door, if Megumi wants to do anything she better do it fast.
Megumi continues following, but she slows down as Elizabeth catches up, and she says, softly, "Well, I'm going to ask him about his true feelings as a neutral third party and convince him to make a move if they are favorable,", she's not seated, she's heading towards the door. Presuming Elizabeth doesn't try to stop her, she continues on her way. Elizabeth surely wouldn't want to stop her from helping out. Either way, she says, "Sir, may I have a moment of your time?"
Melissa smiles a bit at Zachary, and then smiles more brightly as she notices Elizabeth. And Sarah - how wonderful. The smile dies slightly at the sight of Megumi, but the flicker of expression is gone in an instant. Rather than interrupt the annoying teen and the handsome gentleman, she slips around them and walks up to the newly abandoned Elizabeth. "Elizabeth, hello! What luck meeting you here."
Elizabeth just facepalms and heads back to the bar - but is interrupted by Melissa's greeting. "Melissa!" she says. "I'm glad to have encountered you again. Pardon me, but I'm on my way back to the bar to meet my upcoming humiliation at a somewhat greater remove. Care to join me?"
Killian sat at the bar, sipping iced tea and watching the goings on. These interactions were interesting and strange. Hey. A new person. Her face was filed away just in case they met later. You know how it is. It was neat meeting new people, even if he was, at the moment, surrounded by complete and total strangers. It felt kinda akward.
"Yes?" Zaman replies to Megumi, pivoting to turn towards her, assuming a wid smile at the youth. His hands are pocketed in his jacket. "A moment, but only if you're not trying to sell me some religion, coupons, or if you're a spokesperson for whatever snappy brand that is on your t-shirt there." The man replies with the same grin.
Melissa pushes her glasses up her nose and peers over them at Elizabeth with a slight frown. "Upcoming humiliation? Does it have anything to do with that horrid child from the other day?" This is said as she allows herself to be led over to the bar where everyone else has congregated. "I'd certainly be happy to join you, and to act as a buffer if it's needed."
"You remember Remy and Sarah, right, Melissa?" Elizabeth asks. "And yes, you are quite correct. That child is apparently going to accost poor Zachary with the intention of setting him up with me, if he's amenable." She then indicates Killian with a jerk of her thumb and asks Remy, "Hey, is he with you guys?"
Megumi says, "No, sir, not me. I-", she notices her t-shirt is Mossimo-brand rather than the 'Nietsche is Dead' says God one. She frowns for a moment and looks back up and says, "No, I just...", she looks around a bit before lowering her voice, "Sir...I come on behalf of my friend, Elizabeth. She is...uncertain about your plans for her relationship with you, and it seems to be affecting her greatly. Normally she is far more composed to me than this, and I mean no offense to her as I say this, but rather that she could use an answer. Sir, I request...", she frowns a bit and looks over her shoulder towards Elizabeth before looking back to Zaman, "Nay, I -insist- that you tell her your true feelings about her immediately. It would be for the best if you did so.", Megumi does seem very convinced herself.
Roll by Megumi: (5) (1) (2)
Melissa tsks softly under her breath when Megumi's dark plan is revealed to her, but she gives both Remy and Sarah a charming bright smile. "Yes, I remember - good evening, both of you." She glances at Killain for a moment, before turning her attention back to Elizabeth. "Well, he is a rather sharp dressed fellow - looks like the interesting sort to get to know."
Roll by Zaman: (5) (3) (3)
Killian coughed once, just a little. It was weird being talked about like he wasn't there. Kinda rude, but he had thick skin, so he made no mention of it. Of course, it probably made him look wishy-washy, but, well. He didn't know any better. Reflexively, he adjusted his tie before going to take another sip of tea and realizing it was just ice. Frowning slightly, he put the glass back on the bar and folded his hands in his lap.
Sarah waves her (near-empty) drink at Melissa as she introduces herself, but remains quiet for now. Apparently, she's got some thinking to do. Or maybe she just doesn't feel like talking. Or maybe she just hasn't been addressed directly enough to warrant a response!
Remy nods to Melissa in greeting. "Hello, Melissa." He doesn't seem all that talkative tonight, though the iced tea is being consumed quickly. "No, I've just met him." He smiles slightly to Killian. "Enjoying yourself? It seems to be rather busy tonight."
"I am not in the business of doing what is best, child. Poor choice of words." Zaman replies coldly, though the grin remains spread over his features, white teeth staring at Megumi. "Better luck next time." Then he turns away, leaving the restaurant.
Elizabeth ahs, and nods politely to Killian anyway. She takes a sip from her drink and answers Melissa, "Oh, Zachary is definitely a most interesting fellow; but I'd rather not have the girl meddling, you know? I like to think that I can stand or fall on my own merits."
Melissa smiles faintly as Zachary turns away from Megumi. "Yes, she does rather like to stick her nose in, doesn't she," the asian woman muses. She gives her head a little shake and murmurs her drink order to the bartender before turning to face Elizabeth again. "Mmm, I think I know precisely how you feel," she commissurates. "Things feel better... earned."
Killian smiled slightly, politely. He felt like the...6th? 7th wheel in this group of friends. He hated feeling like an outsider, but...well...he didn't really know how to fix it. He wasn't good at this social stuff yet. That's what he got for teaching 'Human 101' for centuries in Heaven. Thanks a lot, Michael. Ah well. At least he's out of heaven now, though going back wouldn't hurt.
Roll by Melissa: (5) (6) (5)
Of course, Zaman must be speaking the complete and utter truth there. For if he truly -does- what he thinks is the best, then he would have gone. But clearly, he does not, and that made this more useful than just earning a favor slash a practical joke. She heads on back to Elizabeth and says, "He agrees that it would be for the best for him to state his true feelings, but I'm afraid he doesn't like doing what's best, so the first move would have to be yours, Elizabeth.", she sighs, "Anyway, he totally digs you, he's just not gonna confess it.", she shrugs her shoulders, and picks up one of the other extra iced teas.
Elizabeth blinks, and stares at Megumi and the convoluted Megumi-logic. "Uh, whatever..." she says slowly, then turns back to Melissa. "Yes, they do. So has life been treating you lately?"
Megumi only vocalized Zaman's logic, Megumi agrees it's rather convoluted, however. "I have to get going, but I'll be seeing you.", she says simply as she moves to slide on out.
Melissa glances over at Megumi for a moment, trying to follow the twists of what the teenager is saying before shaking her head as well. Her drink arrives - scotch on the rocks. She takes a very careful sip from it, catching Elizabeth's eyes as the woman turns to her. She sighs at the question, setting the drink down. "Well enough. I've managed to get the funding we needed - and the tissue cultures are responding favorably to the latest version of the compound - very exiting." Her eyes do flash with supressed excitement.
Elizabeth raises her eyebrows. "My, that is good news; it's always hard to get funding for non-defense research. Tell me, what exactly is your group doing agin? I'm afraid that if you told me before I must have forgotten." She sips at her drink absently.
Remy finishes his drink and pays for it, standing up to tip his hat to those around him. "Have a pleasant evening, everyone." He then turns, and then begins to head out.
Melissa waves to Remy, watching both him and Megumi head for the exit. "Tsk. I seem to have come just as everyone is leaving." She sips again. "Hmm? Oh, we're actually a bit diversified. My personal field is cancer treatments - but we also have a brillain pair of geneticists, working on the genetic causes. Very exciting."
Sarah hears Megumi's rather complicated series of justifications, and frowns. Okay, she really doubts he said /any/ of that. She doesn't know Zachary that well, but that doesn't seem to be his style. "Strange girl," Sarah mutters, turning to the other two women nearby. She waves Remy a farewell, then pokes her head over toward Elizabeth and Melissa, arching an eyebrow. "Oh, you're a scientist?" she asks. "I must've missed that, last time we met. Interesting!"
Elizabeth takes over Remy's vacated seat gleefully, saying to Melissa, "Oh, really? You know, I've seen it specultaed that research into the causes of cancer may be the key to someday learning how to regenerate missing limbs. After all, cancer is growth unchecked; regeneration, would be growth under limited control."
Megumi didn't say anything complicated.
Megumi also apparently has a very bizarre definition of complicated.
Killian perked a bit. "A scientist? Interesting. That's not really my forte, but I find it incredibly interesting. Technology's changing so fast. How do you keep up with it?" Another reflexive adjustment of his tie, and he looked interested, a slight smile on his face. For once, he was able to keep quiet about historical facts and things. He was actually going to listen for once.
"That's actually very possible - if we could direct cancer's growth rate so that it worked for the body, rather than just burning up the resources... oh, the improvements to life that could be made." Turning from Elizabeth, she gives Sarah and Killian a bright smile. "Yes, I'm a scientist. I was rather caught up in grant applications the last time we met - the gentlemen feel I have a certain 'golden touch' with them. As for keeping up," she replies to Killian, "one must always be learning - follow the journals, and keep up with the field.
Sarah nods. "I'm a scientist of sorts myself," she comments. "Though not of the lab variety." She orders another drink - apparently going non-alcoholic this time, with just an iced tea - but then returns her attention to the conversation. She's not BIG on technology, but she knows her way around the modern state of things reasonably well. Well enough that she's not totally lost by this point, anyway!
Killian nodded once in agreement. "Makes sense. My field doesn't change. Or rather, it's already done all the changing it can, and now we just have to figure it all out." He hoped that wasn't too cryptic. In case it was, he added, "I'm a historian, I'm facinated by the things that have already happened, the things that have shaped this world to be what it is today." He only gushed a little bit, but he caught himself before he could go nuts and disturb people by his geeking out.
"It's rather interesting," Elizabeth comments, "How the effective shrinking of the world - better transport and communications, I mean - has influenced the rate of scientific discovery. But at the same time, people are getting flooded by too much data, and the difficulty lies in culling the wheat from the spam. So to speak." She mixes metaphors, grinning.
"Really?" asks Melissa of Sarah. "So... humanities, or mathematics?" She glances at Killian, and smiles charmingly at him. "Definitely humanities - of course, history can be fascinating. I much prefer the bleeding edge myself, but it's always good to know where you've been so you don't go there once more." She sips from her drink, letting her eyes linger on Sarah's for a moment before she turns back to Elizabeth. "Well. Everything has some drawback or another - nothing is perfect. But to refuse to go forward... that could do just as much damage."
Roll by Melissa: (6) (6) (4)
"Of course," said Killian, gesturing with one hand. "The thing is, if the past isn't learned from, all this that humanity has. Everything it's worked for since the dawn of Creation will be lost to the ravages of war, or any other ravages that humanity can come up with. It's why I instruct the young people about the follies of the past, so they can continue forward." He paused for a breath before adding another sentence. "The way I see it, the past is just as important as the future."
Sarah perks at the mention of history, and she wheels on Killian. The LIGHT in those eyes is almost /blinding/. You seem to have found her Topic! "Oh, me too! I'm an archaeologist, to be /particular/, but I'm a historian at the heart, y'know? The ancient world, the past and how it intersects with the presence...it fascinates me." She's probably just answered Melissa's question, too!
Elizabeth retorts to Melissa, "Did I advocate holding back? There will always be difficulties of some sort; the nature of those difficulties just shift over time. But I'm solidly in favor of progress. I rather like the direction the world seems to be heading in." She looks at Killian and says, "The lessons of the past may be as important as the lessons to be learned in the future, but the experience of the past is a sunk cost; there's nothing you can do to change it. The future, though - that you can influence."
Melissa laughs softly at Elizabeth. "You're right, you're right. I must agree regarding the past - it's useful in spotting errors one does not wish to repeat, but I firmly believe the eyes should be on the futurue - it is there that changes, improvements can be made." She smiles faintly as Sarah rounds on Killian, and murmurs softly. "Humanities. I really should have guessed, she doesn't have the wild eyed look of most of the mathematician's I've met - I think a large number of them are mad."
A kindred spirit! Tremble in fear, for a geek out of massive proportions is likely to come. "This is true, but without the lessons of the past to learn from, the future is doomed to nothing but a destructive cycle of repeating past failures." Killian said brightly, a similar light to Sarah's in his eyes. "The thing about the past that's so interesting is just the fact that things back then were...simpler. They were simple, but they still had this epic scope that seems to be gone nowadays to most people in the world."
Elizabeth says dryly, "And one of the meanings of 'simple' is stupid. Give me complex any day." Sarah stops long enough to turn back and look at Melissa, smirking. "They are. Crazy, the lot of them."
Then she looks at Killian and nods. "Yeah, I guess so. I more think that it's just...how we got /here/ from /there/. It wasn't all /that/ long ago when we were using spears and hand-made arrows; I should know, I've dug up more than my share of both. Yet nowadays, we have /bombs/ and /nuclear power/" -- notice how she carefully does not mention the fusion of those two powers! --" and the /Internet/. It's fascinating, from a historical standpoint, just how /fast/ we've advanced."
Melissa smiles faintly. "Oh dear. I think we've united two kindred souls." She laughs softly at Elizabeth's comment. "That is one way of putting it. I prefer to think of simple as 'boring'. Certainly, it was simple - but we've come so far, in both quality of life, and in things to do." She smiles faintly. "If you want to consider progress, look at my field. Medicine."
Killian nodded feverishly at Sarah. "Exactly! I mean, how exactly did we move from 'Ug, Fire /bad/' to the computers and modern warfare we have today. It's /amazing/ what a few thousand years can do to a society." Kindred spirits indeed. "My specialty lies in warfare. From the Roman Legions, to the Crusades and the American Civil War, to Vietnam. In a few short centuries, warfare changed from swords, arrows and spears to aerial bombings of napalm." There was a little bitter twist to his voce here, "Humans have certainly learned the most efficent ways of killing each other."
"Please, not /another/ ancient Roman aficionado!" Elizabeth groans. "I'm surrounded by them! I think this brings the count up to 4," she confides to Melissa.
Melissa pats Elizabeth gently on the shoulder. "Now, now. He said all warfare. He may be a World War nut, or one of those Civil War recreationists." She hears the bitter twist in Killian's voice, and turns slightly. "Yes, yes - weapons are bad. But they also brough advances in medicine, transportation... war may not be pretty, but it is a darkly effective laboratory - the drives of conflict fuel the engines of science - and while the suffering is horrible - there's no denying that - afterwards, there is often a better peace."
Elizabeth eyes Killian dubiously and says, "Warfare? Forgive my impertinence, but you sound more like an academic than a soldier. Are you an armchair general, then, or perhaps a wargamer with legions of miniatures? Or do you actually have any practical knowledge of the subject?"
"They've also," Sarah notes coolly, "learned how to heal each other rather effectively." She grins a little. "As our friend Melissa can well attest. I think that that speaks well for things."
"Nonono, my area of expertise is the American Civil War. It's my opinion that it was the last honorably fought war. In fact, the guerilla tactics of the Confedracy were the beginning of the dishonorable acts of war, or rather it made them alright to use. Ambushes, traps...no more would wars be about brave men meeting head to head in battle. Instead it'd become about who was the most underhanded in their ability to kill other men." A bit of a sigh. "What I wouldn't give to have witnessed it." So he was one of those Civil War afficiandos. "I'm not a recreationist. I mean, I'd have to invest in equipment and uniforms and...well...I just can't afford it." At Elizabeth's question, Killian smiled. It was a strangely knowing smile. "I have some experience. I was in the SCA in college. Learned to fight with a sword and shield, and a battle axe in full plate armor. It was fun stuff." IE: Grade 'A' Nerd. "Of course, I've never been in a /real/ fight...but...that's a good thing, right?"
Elizabeth's lips quirk up into a funny half-smile, and she says politely, "Well, it is generally considered a good survival strategy for the individual to avoid real fights. So judging by that criterion, it would be a good thing, yes." She shoots a glance over the rim of her glass at Melissa and raises an eyebrow.
Melissa nods to Sarah. "Yes - battlefield medicine was often the place where doctors of an age would learn new things - if I man is going to die anyway, best to try that new proceedure or method." She sighs. "Of course, that's mostly surgury. Which is less and less what medicine does now - a good thing, if you ask me." She listens to the interplay between Killain and Elizabeth with a smile. "Well, I can't say I've ever been in an actual fight like that - I prefer mine on the intellectual level." She catches Elizabeth's arched eyebrow, and returns with one of her own. "Unhappy truths, but truth's nonetheless."
Sarah shrugs, and busies herself with her iced tea. "I should say it's a good thing you've never been in a real fight, yes," she remarks. "And that's some pretty extensive credentials. I never went quite that far. I'm afraid I couldn't use a sword to save my life. Good thing more modern weapons are a bit more...easily-used, hmm?"
"Mmm ..." Elizabeth agrees. "Yes, I prefer intellectual conflicts as well - adore them, in fact. But come on, Melissa - isn't there just something intriguing about a man who can handle himself in a fight? Especially if he's got a brain and a sense of style as well."
Melissa mmms softly, closing her eyes for a moment thoughtfully. She shifts on her stool, opening her eyes and taking a sip of her drink. "Well... yes. There is something to that." She leans forwards and drops her voice into a conspiratorial whisper that still carries easily to those near her. "I just /adore/ those old pulp sci-fi novels. The ones with the adventurer scientists? Brains, brawn, square jaw and a deep resonant voice? Yummy."
Elizabeth chuckles and confides, "My personal weakness is for romance novels. Especially the ones with the regency rakes. I've a fondness for the polished, classy bad boy types." She takes a sip of her drink and rotates the glass in her hands, staring into it. "Although I have to admit that there is much to be said for a good voice, as well."
Brain: Check
Combat Capability: Check
Sense of Style: No
She obviously wasn't talking about him. At the mention of the pulp sci-fi stuff, he burst out snickering. "The Archaeology Club at my college had Doc Savage shirts. It was amusing, because we were all the classic nerd, not a dashing adventurer among us." Apparently he was comfortable with his nerd-dom. Better than some people. Wait. He was the only guy here in this group of women. How the heck did /that/ happen?
Melissa mmmms. "Doc Savage." She sips her drink, and turns to give Killian a wink after catching his eye, before she turns back to Elizabeth. "Well... I've read a few of those. Certainly, some of the villains in my pulp novels have a very definite... bad boy appeal. In a smooth sort of way." Her voice becomes slightly teasing at this point. "Why, that Zachary fellow could be perfectly cast as one - he definitely has the look and style to pull it off."
Roll by Melissa: (5) (6) (5)
Elizabeth arches her eyebrows and says, "You, madam, are teasing me now -and why yes, Zachary rather does, doesn't he." She licks her lips ostentatiously, then grins. "But be careful with the teasing, Melissa," she cautions in a husky whisper, "That sort of thing can get a girl in trouble." On that line, she slants a sideways glance at Sarah to check for reaction.
Sarah humphs, and mutters something about tricksy proffessorses before taking an intense interest in her tea.
Melissa pushes her eyeglasses back up slightly with a chuckle. "Now why do I think I'm missing a very interesting story?" She bites her lower lip for a moment, thoughtfully. "And while I was teasing, it was also quite true - besides. Sometimes the right sort of trouble can be a great deal of fun, hmm?"
Elizabeth doesn't chuckle, she laughs out loud. "At least one interesting story," she agrees with Melissa, "But it's not entirely mine to tell - why don't you ask Sarah about teasing?"
Killian went quiet again, listening to the two ladies chattering away about men. It sort of made him feel insignificant, but it didn't really matter. "I dunno. Trouble is...trouble. I'm not really into it. I guess I'm just really straight laced." He missed out on a lot of parties because of it. That was OK. For the moment, he was content to just listen to the banter. If there was something he could comment on, he'd do so. He gave a sidelong glance at Sarah, hoping they weren't bugging her too much.
Melissa oos softly under her breath. "I -adore- interesting stories. I will have to pester you to share some later. But first..." She twists around to face Sarah, a bright cheerful smile on her face as she leans forward. "Sarah. Dear. Please, please share the interesting story about teasing with me? As a favor? Please?"
"Let's not," Sarah replies. "Let's definitely not."
BAD MEMORIES FOR ALL.
She instead turns her gaze to Killian, though this may be primarily because looking at him involves not looking at the other two. She sips her tea and...listens. Intently. To things beyond mere mortal ken.
Roll by Sarah: (1) (1) (1)
"Well, I'll give you a bit of a hint," Elizabeth yields. "Ask Sarah about Twister," she says enigmatically, sipping at her drink.
Melissa pouts breifly at Sarah, and then laughs. "Twister? Well - that just brings up all sorts of interesting thoughts." She leans towards Sarah and murmurs, "So. Twister - you and Elizabeth. A sudden grasping of innuendo, or more interesting than that?"
Killian just blinked. Either not grasping the innuendo, or just ignoring it, Killian still listened. It wasn't very nice of them to pick on Sarah like that. She was a kindred spirit after all.
Sarah stares at Killian for a good solid few seconds, ignoring Melissa's inquiries and questions. Her eyes unfocus, for when she opened up to the Symphony, it opened up to HER. Completely. With Hosannahs and everything. She can see everything about Killian - everything short of exactly who he works for, anyway - written plainly across the world before her. For a human, this would be enough to make them Born Again, seeing the light of God lead the way.
For Sarah, it's surely enough to knock her off balance; given the circumstances, its actually pretty admirable that she managed to keep aloft upon her barstool for that long before toppling over, dazed and mumbling. It's also pretty admirable that it takes her a mere five seconds to realize she's on the ground.
"...ow."
Elizabeth swears. "Not again, dammit!" She kneels on the floor next to Sarah and demands, "Are you all right, Sarah? Please tell me that you didn't hit your head this time."
Killian blinked, wondering if he had something on his face before Sarah just...toppled. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, hopping from his barstool and dropping to one knee to offer a bit of help. "Hey, you alright? Earth to Sarah. Earth to Sarah!" His only question was why did she fall over after staring at him? He wasn't /that/ bad looking, was he?
Melissa watches as Sarah goes all wide eyed, and topples off her chair. She can't hear the hosana's responsible for the sudden change. She starts to almost say something as Elizabeth rushes over to Sarah. "What? This has happened before?" The teasing tone is gone from her voice, suddenly clipped and professional. "She has a history of seizures?"
Elizabeth shoots off over her shoulder, "A couple days ago she fell off a bench, but I didn't think it was a seizure at the time." She repeats her question, "Sarah, did you hit your head?"
Sarah grunts, waving off any attempts at help. "Yes, yes, I'm /FINE/. I just, uh..." She looks at Killian again and almost slips again. Dammit, that's DISTRACTING. It's like a big neon sign saying IMPORTANT INFORMATION, DO NOT IGNORE that makes it really, really hard to act like you don't have God rubbing your nose in something.
"Don't worry, I just slipped is all. No, I didn't hit my head. I just zoned out, is all." She starts to clamber back toward her feet, waving off any offers of help...though she DOES shoot Killian a look that seems to suggest that she wants to talk. Soon.
Melissa tsks softly, ignoring Sarah's protests long enough to grab a wrist and hold it - professionally - feeling for a pulse. Since it's not doing anything exceptionally crazy that couldn't be accounted for by adrenaline, and Sarah's not twitching, she sighs. "If this happens again, I would suggest seeing someone about it immediately." She sounds deadly serious. "It may be nothing - but it might not be."
Killian said nothing further, just frowned slightly, this was definately odd. At least she was alright and waving off help. That may be a bonus or a negative. She could be fine, or too bad off to know it. Then again, he wasn't a medical professional, and Melissa was. "Well...what she said. I don't know much about medicine, hell, I can barely put a band aid on right." More of that self-depreciating humor. "As long as you're alright." He didn't like to see people hurt, it clashed with his...true self. He caught the pointed look and just nodded once to it.
Elizabeth follows Sarah's gaze over to Killian and frowns. "All right," she says slowly. "If you're sure that you didn't hit your head. She leans in close to Sarah and stage-whispers, "I've heard of falling head-over-heels for a guy before, but this is a little silly."
Melissa tries to hold the stern severe look. But Elizabeth's stage whispered comment injects all sorts of cracks. The corners of her lips twitch one, twice, and then she giggles. "Elizabeth. Leave the poor woman /some/ dignity. Just because they share interests, and she's falling off of stools while staring at him..." She trails off. "I'm not supporting my own case."
Killian blushed a bit and coughed once, doing the standard thing and trying to change the subject. "So. Uh. Anyone like baseball?"
Laaaaaame.
Elizabeth smiles sweetly and makes the ultimate sacrifice for a friend. She loks over at Killian and says, "Gosh, I don't think I even got your name, sir. Why don't you tell us all about the Roman legions?" If this doesn't get Sarah chatting with the guy, nothing will.
Sarah coughs, chuckling. She allows Melissa to check her pulse, hoping that having God (or so she assumes...she's having trouble coming up with a better explanation!) in your head doesn't do anything odd to a vessel's pulse - you never know, He doesn't exactly make many house calls. "Alright, I will. Thank you, Melissa." Then she turns to Elizabeth, chuckling weakly. "Ahahahaha...eeeyah. Guess I just couldn't help myself?" she responds in a somewhat embarrassed manner.
Melissa sighs softly, and glances down at her watch. "Well. As much fun as this has all been, I have to be at the lab bright and early in the morning. Please forgive my utter rudeness, but I must be off." She smiles at Sarah, Killian and Elizabeth in turn before turning and heading out the door.
Killian gave a bit of a shifty eye. Well. "Whoops. Guess I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Killian Duran." See. That wasn't hard. "As for the Roman Legions..." He was about to start when one of the trio went to bail. "Good night, miss." he said pleasantly before returning to the subject. "Anyway, the armies of Rome were /very/ well trained, but a bunch of barbarians sacked the greatest city in the world of its time. Why do you think that is?" The tap has been open. Poor people.
Elizabeth says promptly, "Ineffiecient use of resources, both materiel and personnel. By not allowing the conquered peoples to gain full Roman citizenship, they wasted a large chunk of their available talented manpower for the sake of keeping a small group in power over generations." She may be mistaken, but she has an opinion!
Killian nodded slightly. "That was part of it. The non-citizens just let the Goths pass through."
Sarah turns, offering a wave to the departing Melissa, before returning her eyes to Killian, musing. "Name's Sarah, Killian. Nice to meet you." And know every drop of info on every relationship you've ever had, ever. "Over-reliance on infantry, wasn't it?" Sarah muses. "I forget, it's been a while, but I think that was part of it." She shrugs helplessly.
Killian nodded again. "The Legions prefered method of combat was the Phalanx, which was a rectanhular shield wall with pikes shoved through the spaces. It was /very/ effective against infantry and archers. Thing is, it was really, really slow, so the Goths and their light cavalry could harass the phalanx and break it apart because it just couldn't move fast enough." When he was finished, he flashed Sarah a bit of a smile. "A pleasure."
Suddenly, Elizabeth says, "Oh gosh, look at the time. Well, I'll be off now." She stands up to leave, pausing to give Sarah a quick squeeze on the shoulder. On her way out, she manages to grab a quick, quiet conversation with Kurgan - and pays for the next round of drinks for Sarah and Killian.
Sarah smiles at Elizabeth as the woman leaves, and waves. "Good night, Elizabeth!" she says. "See you!" She notices her talking to the bartender, but doesn't catch what she's saying. Sarah otherwise remains quiet...
...she's waiting for Elizabeth to leave.
Elizabeth walks out the door, grinning.
Killian gave Elizabeth a farewell nod, because he's just that nice of a guy. Now he had to deal with Sarah on his own. This was going to be...well..new. It was time to start a conversation in the good old fashioned way. "So...uh..."
Excellent start.
Sarah heaves a sigh of relief. "Thought she'd never leave." She turns her eye to Killian, and she looks like she's /all/ business. She leans in, and mutters, in a voice only Killian could hear, "We gotta talk. Now." She points off to a shady corner, which happens to contain the inevitable Obscure Table With Impenatrable NPC Apathy Barrier of the bar. "Shall we?"
Killian blinked again. "Uh. Sure." He was a tad confused, but she seemed harmless. And really. He was a frickin' angel. What could she do to him?
What's that? Someone's unperceptive? That's right!
He slipped from his barstool and gestured at the Table of Obscurity. "Ladies first, of course."
Sarah idly orders another drink - this one alcoholic. When it's served up, she stands, and nods, leading Killian over toward the Obscure Table.
The fact that she didn't have to pay isn't even registered. She's a bit occupied with her Grand Plan.
Manners dictated that he let her sit first. Once she was seated, he followed suit. With a bit of a cough, Killian dropped his voice to a bit above a conspiratorial whisper. "So. Uh....Why'd we have to move over here? What, exactly, do we need to talk about?"
Wasn't he cute when he was clueless?
Sarah...heaves a sigh. /Good God/ is he dense. But he /is/ kinda cute...
Too bad their bosses don't get along, huh?
She lowers her voice, leaning in so as to be able to talk to him without drawing overly much attention. Start with the small stuff..."My name is Sarah. I'm a Mercurian serving Yves."
There. That should be suitably small. Thank God for Impenatrable NPC Apathy Barriers.
Killian blinked a few times. Say /what/.
Well. That'd explain the need to talk to him so urgently. His voice dropped into that whisper, eyes darting about to see if they were being evesdropped on. "...How do I know you're not lying about that? I mean, I'm sorry, but a guy can't be too careful about stuff. Prove it if you can without, you know, making the place light up like a christmas tree."
Maybe he wasn't as dense as she thought.
Sarah leans in, and quips, "Well, I could /really/ convince you, but we'd attract some unwanted attention, so we'll have to be more subtle."
Whereupon she begins, in a quiet, even litany, and with lots of suspicious glancing to make sure no one's listening who isn't welcome, to recite what amounts to Killian's - or rather Afriel's - entire life story, the only omission being to replace any specific reference to his Superior with phrases akin to 'your Superior' and 'your boss.'
She abbreviates it, obviously, or they'd be there all night. But when she's done, she leans back, downing some of her drink before looking at Killian and arching an eyebrow. "Satisfied? You know as well as I do that I would have had to research you obsessively, if I were anything but what I claim to be, to know all that."
"Well." he said, a bit amazed. "I suppose you're right." His voice dropped again. "My name is Afriel, and I'm a Cherub in the service of Michael." That was simple and somewhat easy, he just hoped that none of the mortals were listening, or if they were, that they thought it was some sort of code for a secret society. Which, in a way it was. "What, exactly, do we need to talk about then, pleasantries and such aside." His tone changed, it was different from the clueless man from before, it was even different from the animated historian. This was all business.
Sarah sighs, and her eyes unfocus. "You 'heard' the commotion last night, I assume. That was two Superiors - one of ours and one of /theirs/- showing up and declaring some weird truce in this town to be over." She shakes her head ruefully. "Then the building blew up. Some demon or ganger or /something/, with a rocket launcher. It wasn't pretty; I saw it from outside." Then she finally looks up, into Killian's eyes. "The one on our side was your boss. You'll be happy if, I imagine, not overly surprised to know there weren't any survivors on the other team."
Way to go, boss. Good job. Killian smiled, it wasn't terribly happy, more...malicious? But it faded swiftly. "I heard it, alright. I wonder if that has anything to do with why I'm here. He sent me here to look for something. He said I'd know what it was when I found it. I have no idea what he meant." Silly Archangels and their cryptic-ness. "Since it's over, what's next? Or haven't you heard anything from up the ladder?"
Sarah gathers herself up, and takes another long pull on that drink - it's a deep one! (Angelic bartenders have many advantages!) Then she squares her shoulders, closes her eyes...and drops the big bomb of the evening.
"There's a Tether forming on that site right now, Afriel," she says flatly.
With that said, she seems to be having an easier time going on. "It's wild - fluctuating between War and /the/ War. I don't think I need to tell you which side we'll want it to land on...and only Michael can make it land there."
Sarah was lucky that Afriel wasn't drinking anything, or she may have gotten a faceful as he sputtered. "A /tether/?" He hissed in surprise. "I've never /heard/ of a fluxuating tether before! And I was in Heaven for /centuries/!" The businesslike tone was gone, replaced with sheer surprise. It was amazing that he could keep his voice down. "I'm sure he knows about how it's acting. I...need to talk to Tyrr as soon as possible then. He'll pass stuff on from the boss, I'm sure of it."
"Actually," Sarah replies quietly, "that's about how they normally form. They flip between multiple possibilities...until a Superior comes and affixes it. Which is why we should really, really get Michael here soon. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have him in charge of a local Tether than the other possibility, myself."
Killian managed to look sheepish for not knowing that. He didn't waste too much time feeling stupid, he just shrugged at himself before nodding. "I mean...I /could/ invoke him, but I don't want to bring every last one of us and them to the site, as it'd be obvious what I was doing. I'm still new at this 'earth' thing." At least he could admit it, which meant he wasn't guilty of hubris! "What do you think? Should I take the risk?"
Sarah...sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I...don't...know," she says slowly - not testily, but with genuine admission that she's got no clue, damned or otherwise. "I suppose, for now, our safest bet would be to talk to Tyrr before calling on him. But we have to hurry; if any Baalites notice what's going on, and Baal gets there first, we'll have a /big/ problem. And I don't think it'll end with just our Superiors frowning at us - or, perhaps in your case, pointing an axe at your head." She rethinks things in these terms, before sighing. "I just don't know. Waiting's a big risk. But I want to make Michael angry even less than you do - remember, he doesn't /like/ Yves." Which makes him a kook, in Sarah's opinion, but that was neither here nor there.
Killian personally had no problem with Yves, though he did understand Michael's beef with the guy. He assumed that he wasn't old enough to have gotten bitter at the Archangel of Destiny. A sigh and Afriel nodded once. "Kurgan told me Tyrr would be around tomorrow, I'll talk to him then and see what we're going to do." He had faith in a superior servitor that he's never met before. That was the nature of angels, afterall. He had faith that, in the end, this would work itself out.
Sarah nods slowly. "Yeah. That'll be enough. It'll have to be." Sighing, Sarah stands. "But for now, I gotta go. Work to do. I'll see you, alright? We'll talk later. Maybe meet here toorrow?"
Killian rose as well, nodding. "Yeah. Sounds good. I've got a few things that need dealt with at the museum, but after I can meet you here, and either I can, or we can talk to Tyrr, depending on...well...how brave you're feeling." He wasn't being rude. Tyrr was a Malakite of Michael and, from all reports, a hardass. "Well....I guess this is so long then." With a bit of a smile and a nod, he made for the door, looking a lot more tired than he was earlier.
Sarah's faced down Tyrr! Or, well, Tyrr's axe, anyway.
Stupid Infernal Interventions.
She smiles, and waves, staying long enough to finish her drink and pay before leaving, herself.
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