Good clean fun

Nova snorted at what she was willing to take as a compliment and waved her hand. There were, she believed, a lot of different kinds of smart, and she had felt like a freak for being her kind of brains long enough to be unwilling to make other people uncomfortable about it. Besides, it was only a little bit about that anyway; Nova worked extremely hard to get where she was and that made a lot more difference than any natural talent.

She gave a little shrug.

"I just do my thing."Â?

She drained her drink as Alec described his rather extensive skill set. So, in with the mercs but not exactly one of them. Nova personally felt that was a good thing; this guy seemed to have potential beyond being a killing machine. Could certainly use a guy like this at Duibne, though if she ran him by Simon he might come up with some plans for him as well.

"Lot of different ways you could go then; once you get settled in I can introduce you to Marthinus, that's my boss, and Simon could have ideas for you as well. I can't imagine one of them not finding something you'd be interested in."Â?

She smiled genuinely at Alec's assessment of the Tacharan work ethic.

"Well yeah! I mean, look at all the cool shit we get to do."Â? Still grinning, she continued. "We have a rep as being a scrappy bunch but we also have a lot of vision and can really make things happen. There's not many places you can find that, plus good people that have your back."Â?

Nodding in agreement, Alec takes pause...

All the same...sometimes I do wish so many of us were not so ghoulish or morbid. The amount of casual violence within our family is somewhat startling at times, and though it certainly toughens us up for the long haul...I wonder how much talent is lost because of that exterior.

Honestly, at times I am curious how the intellectual branch of our family thrives at all with how...blatant...our hands on folk can get. Ah well. Not much that can be done about it, and it certainly allows for social misfits like myself to slip through the cracks as "relatively normal"...when dropped in a lineup with Machine Gun Kelley and Jack the Ripper I come off looking like Mother Theresa.

As far as getting the resume together...I'll be set to hit the ground running. I only have one or two more things to work out on my end to become self-sufficient, but the...ah...client list...hasn't been worked up yet.

Chuckling, Alec ponders another point he nearly missed.

So...Simon's kid, huh? Do you ever get the rockstar-slash-royal treatment? As far as the setup goes, that's about as close to a Princess as we can get. *wink*

Nova shrugged at Alec's assessment of Tacharan's violence level. While not all that politically active, she paid enough attention to have her own theories on the subject and, naturally, chose to share them.

"I don't think we're any worse than any of the other clans to be honest; we all get our hands dirty. Yeah, some of us get a little too into that whole deal but it's the soldier types who allow people like me to safely do my work."Â?

She snorted at Alec's comparison to Mother Theresa. "Sorry man, I don't think you can pull off the penguin look."Â?

Nodding at her fellow Tacharan's situation, she continued. "I would think there are some solid connections to be found within the clan, though if you're the 'work alone' type I imagine you'll get something together."Â?

Shaking her head, she smiled at the thought of Simon. "Naw...Simon pretty much treats us all like we're his own. He's a good sort."Â?

To be fair, sometimes said fatherly treatment involved a bit of 'tough love.' Okay, sometimes it involved pulling a gun out of his desk, though she'd never actually seen the legendary pistol for herself. No, one didn't want to fuck up near Simon, or any of the Tacharan leadership, but Alec seemed to know how to stay on his toes and should hopefully only see the good side of Tacharan.

"Naw...Simon pretty much treats us all like we're his own. He's a good sort."Â?

Taken a bit aback, Alec wonders how much of the clan he's missed out on due to his unfortunate clashing of personalities in the South...from the stories he had heard, and the way the clan portrayed itself there, the Tach were primarily mercenaries, headed by their Valkyrie Ellis and Simon, the master Strategist...the reality of the situation, as always, was more complex. Apparently Simon had his child quite convinced of his good intentions...and wouldn't that be something if it were true? At the same time...Nova is a very bright cookie and seems to be quite a cynic as well...it would be inordinately difficult to pull the wool over her eyes in that way.

For the first time, Alec really LOOKS at Nova...expanding his senses to their utmost. She almost radiates tension, from the well banded musculature, to the way she holds her glass...she seems to be an exercise in dynamic tension - one force pulling against another to balance itself within her. Her hands speak of both mental and physical labors - the creases of the pen, the flattened fingertips of the typist...along with the bandings of an exercise junkie, and the form to match. Her streaked hair is a testament to the lif she's lived - hard and fast - frozen forever before the rest of her body started to take pace with her follicles. The slight pinch at the eyes, he suspects, is from intensity in all she does...yet all of this is balanced by this trust of the Strategist, and obviously for other connections she has made, and the trust she puts in those connections. The balance of assertiveness and natural relaxation, of the mind and the body, of trust and wariness, of hard living and pride in her place.

For a moment, just the barest of moments, he feels envious...though she must have been through much more to get there...always a trade.

"Tacharan is certainly turning out to be a lot more complex here...that gives me hope."

Realizing that he's been staring at her for quite awhile, Alec shakes himself back to standard awareness, relaxing back into human senses.

Sorry...you got me thinking. That in and of itself is usually a dangerous thing for me, as something invariably goes awry. In this case...Tach seems to be a lot more than it gets presented as in some places. I supported the ideas before...now they're really starting to catch my interest in a way they hadn't. I'd somewhat felt that it was an inevitable conclusion to be drawn for a young one...now, I'm seeing the shadows of all of those ideas that get lost behind the curtain of doctrine.

Pondering again for a moment, Alec sips the dregs of his beverage.

Ah...best part. Sorry.

I think it is good I've come North. I'm already learning something, and I've not even gone to class yet. Maybe this'll be a good place to forge a future.

The look of furrowed contemplation is replaced with one of sarcasm and feigned irritation.

Crap. Here I go waxing philosophical and whatnot. If you make me think like this all the time, I'm liable to learn something big, and then I'd have to start bringing you apples and calling you Professor. You'll drive me to drink!

But not tonight...I'll still want to have my wits about me for my check-in. Just in case. Sometimes my mouth gets me in trouble, I'm told.

Jan walked back into the arcade and headed for his little group of people, wondering how they were getting along with the new guy. Alec seemed to still be upright which meant Nova hadn't decked him so that was a good sign. Amberelle had disappeared...interesting, he wondered what had happened.

Hearing the last of Alec's speech when he walked up, Jan said.

"Keep telling her stuff like that and she might decide to keep you."

He wondered just what kind of check in Alec was talking about, if it were anything like the reception one tended to find when coming into Nachton's Tacharan domicile then just dealing with Carol alone was cause for needing your wits about you, and she was a human! Though sometimes Jan doubted that and opted for "blonde demon" to describe her.

Grinning, he set a newly purchased pair of lime green chuck taylors on the table.

"Do you know how hard it is to find these in some obnoxiously loud colour?" Running a hand through his hair, he added. "Disturbingly not hard at all. These had your name -all- over them."

Spying the full glass of coke on the table, he took a seat there.

"Thanks. So uhm what did you guys do with Amberelle?"

Jan raised an eyebrow at Nova.

"You run her off already?"

Smiling at Jan... It is all part of my ploy to get rid of my surplus of apples, nothing more.

Looking to the *lime green* cons, Alec winces a bit at their vibrance, realizing he's never owned anything in that particular shade.

At Jan's cue... Thanks. So uhm what did you guys do with Amberelle?"

Oh, Nova beat Amberelle at Strip Skee Ball and she's out getting clothes from her car...

Ok...or not. She wanted to slip into something more comfortable...or perhaps to make me look a little less like the social retard I am by being the least dressed of the bunch by a longshot.

Nova peered at Alec, wondering what in the hell he was looking at. She was about to ask in just that manner when he pulled out of his apparent reverie, and she shrugged mentally, figuring the guy was, as he said, just thinking.

Grinning at his sentiments, she nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah, we stand out some for being rough, but we're a group that's trying to claw their way to recognition and sometimes that's just done the hard way. It's easy to lose sight of what you're about when you have to fight for any kind of acknowledgement or respect among your own kind, but I think we'll get there."Â?

Chuckling at the professor comment, she was about to mention that some people actually did call her by that title when Jan showed up. She lit up at the sight of the lime green chucks and immediately ripped off the tags and started on the laces.

"Jan, I was wrong; you're not a prince."Â? Pausing in her efforts, she crossed one hand over the other and made a little flying motion. "You're an -angel-"

Slipping her new shoes on her feet and finishing up the laces, she nearly bonked her head on the table in her effort to look up and give Jan an indignant look. She was cut off from saying anything by Alec's humorous explanation, instead following the look with a muttered comment.

"That's -right- I won."Â? Dismissing Alec's self depreciating comments, she waved her hand. "Naw, you're fine, only a little weird."Â? Completely oblivious to her own statement, she turned to Jan.

"And honestly, I -just- got done telling him how civilized we are and now you come in and screw it up!"Â? Laughing, she continued. "Though I guess there was no hope for it, he'll be seeing for himself soon enough."Â?

Alec gestures with his straw, freshly licked clean.

Mais oui, I am the strange one. Those lime green shoes must be for me...

Snickering, he stretches back again.

So...aside from checking in at the D, is there anything else I should get accomplished sooner than later? Don't want to put anyone off this early on.

Hoping that the list covers a variety of subjects aside from meeting any founders, Alec wonders what type of unspoken social issues might be on the list. With a society so complex, there have to be some unspoken rules and regulations that he could botch and make his life difficult with.

((OOC: The edits in this thread are to correct some tense and keystroke issues - I'll try to be a bit mroe careful in the future - dun wanna get bit, don'tcha know!))

So Alec was Tacharan.. what are the odds? He was beginning to wonder where the humans had gone in this town and then he remembered who founded it. Ah well he supposed like tended to find like. Maybe there was some vampire radar or something?

"Oh yeah, civilized... that's us, we take tea on Tuesdays and discuss the classics."

The pro wrestling classics perhaps, Jan smirked inwardly.

"If I had known you had wanted a pair I could have picked you up some. They had a nice set in hot pink but I was afraid Nova might consider those too girly for her. "

He smiled innocently at Nova, knowing she was just as likely to wear pink if it were loud and made a statement. Now ruffles and lace...that wasn't likely unless she lost a bet or something, which of course gave him mischievous ideas.

Amberelle might need a few suggestions on what to ask for if they did bet on a skee ball competition.

Answering Alec's question, he said.

"Well there's the merc training if you haven't gone through it." He rolled his eyes and looked bored.

"I suppose some people enjoy it but the whole beating people up and shooting things isn't for me. I personally feel that you're and doing something wrong if you've been noticed but then my skills move in...other areas."

He grinned and took a sip of his drink.

Indeed - cheers to that.

Pondering what merc training might take place here, in addition to any other formal indoctrination, Alec sits back.

Hm...I went through some of the training...wasn't my cup of tea, and my other skills were developed enough that no one really pressed the issue, since they weren't too fond of me anyway. They felt I was too careful, I felt they were too messy...just led to some unfortunate exchanges.

Wincing a bit at some of the more painful of the memories, Alec hops up and stretches out again.

Not the best times of my life, to say the least. Maybe things will be a bit better here.

Unsure how to continue from there, Alec freezes up. "Ah...and there's me getting too honest again. Hopefully they'll leave that one alone too."

Coming back from : Quick Change

Walking back into the arcade, the blonde made her way over towards the table she'd left a few minutes before. Noticing Jan's return, she smiled and suppressed a chuckle at the brilliant green shoes Nova was now sporting. She hadn't known his sibling long, but she felt the fun-filled color suited the redhead.

While she was much more comfortable in her new outfit she wondered how the three waiting would view her rather sudden shift from haute couture to army surplus. 'May be worth a giggle, or they may not even notice.' Stopping next to a bill changer she fished out a twenty from her pocket, fed it in and scooped up the shiny golden tokens.

Not the best times of my life, to say the least. Maybe things will be a bit better here.

Jingling the coins lightly in her hand, the Anantya slid around and into her chair and sighed in agreement softly at Alec's comment. Dumping them into the center of their table, she smiled at him. Picking up her cherry Coke, she saluted him with the glass and nodded.

I will drink to that! That was certainly my thought when I came to town, so I can relate. I see they didn't scare you off while I was gone, that's good!

And Nova cher! Those shoes are so cute..! Jan did good. I have a pair just like them, in pink.

Nova snorted. "Hey, I'm -a lot- weird, so I'm in a position to know."Â?

She played with her straw as Jan gave Alec the run down. She had been turned for other reasons but doing the training mattered; solidarity and all. While she didn't particularly mind playing rough and delving into the physical aspects of her kind was an interesting distraction, she had still been glad when merc training was over and she could get back to what she did best.

She gave Jan a wink and was about to make a comment on her brother's other talents when Amberelle showed up again, looking quite comfortable. She chuckled at the compliment on the shoes, smirking a little, and considered once again mentioning Jan's angelic quality before deciding to give the poor guy a break.

"Yeah, he knows me all too well. And hey, why does everyone think I'm going to run Alec off? I've been on my best behavior!"Â?

While she was fine with keeping up the light banter, she was admittedly somewhat curious; New Orleans must have been a rough place indeed to produce bad memories for both Alec and Amberelle.

"So what's it going to be? Shooting some pool?"Â?

Raising an eyebrow at the transformation from Southern High Society to Upstate Militia, Alec smirks to himself..."And there's the bamboo...proof that the clothes don't necessarily make the woman. I wonder which is closer to the truth." Leaning toward Nova conspiratorially...

They probably think you'll be running me off through no fault of your own. My rampant cowardice must be oozing out again. I keep meaning to see a physician about that, but I'm too frightened to go.

More loudly, he gestures to the coinage and states "It appears that a portion of my prophecy is coming true. A challenge of skee ball seems to be in the works. I'd prepare to defend your...um...little wooden ball rolling honor? Hm. Anything is acceptable, of course."

Leaning back from Nova, Alec ponders the new clothes, blue to the tone of black with a mercenary-leaning design...indicating that the padded points in her hands are no accident, but there by much more than casual practice. The society thief with a crew behind her? That doesn't make sense...more likely personal training as a contingency in case something went wrong on the job. More intriguing would be the possibility of the opposite - someone so confident in their skill that they turned to the thrill of theft, knowing that there would be little to stop them SHOULD something go wrong.

After a moment of contemplation, Alec realizes that he's been staring again...and that Amberelle is missing a portion of her wardrobe. As he begins to turn scarlet, he stands and stretches, turning away, hoping that everyone else doesn't assume the worst regarding his absent-minded gaze. "Yeah, and no one has ever heard Emeril say 'Bam!' And you were doing so well..."

Amberelle felt a twinge of remorse, she hadn't meant to imply anything to her fellow Southerner but had just wanted to tease the Tacharan some. Hopefully he was just playing with her. The blonde made a mental note to be a little more observant of the newcomer just to be sure she didn't offend him.

With a playful sniff and pout, she gave Alec a mournful, 'puppy-dog eyed' look. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you a coward, honest..!

Shifting her attention to the redhead across from her as Alec gestured to the coins, she nodded at the other woman and grinned. With a twinkle in her eyes, she slid a couple of tokens across the table towards her.

Indeed, prepare to defend your honor madame! Well, your skee-ball's honor.. or something like that. Or you know what.. She looks thoughtful for a moment. Maybe we should play guys versus girls. I do like to win! She winked at Nova. But if the gentlemen prefer, we could play some pool first and have our skeeball shootout later. Or hit some of the arcade games. There's a couple pinball machines that look fun, and the multiplayer virtual reality stuff could be interesting..

She had felt Alec's gaze on her but hadn't paid it any attention at first. But slowly it registered more. It seemed odd, the way he was studying her. More like a scientist then like you do when just watching someone talk. 'He's probably trying to figure me out, with the wardrobe changes and knowing what he does about my 'collection' habits. I'm definitely multi faceted. Or maybe.. he's just checking out my top.' She smirked mentally when she caught the direction of his gaze. A moment later when he stood and stretched, the young Anantya kept a straight face and ignored the embarrassed color on his cheeks.

Feeling a little responsible, Amby decided to try and help him out. Standing as well, she picked up her half full drink and tilted her head at the siblings.

Good idea Alec, let's get this party started! What's it going to be.. pool, skeeball, maybe some air hockey?

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you a coward, honest..!"

Considering her words for a moment, Alec shrugged and simply replied "No worries...if I felt at all bad about my 'cowardice', I would probably be dead or more frequently injured. In my 'family', I am frequently considered a coward...of course, I never show up covered in blood or sporting clothing with bullet holes, so I'd just call it 'tact'. Smiling, Alec considered further responses, and decided to roll with one. "Charging ahead may be brave, but careful calculation and flawless execution are much more valuable in the long run...in a pond of only big fish, being the one that escapes notice while growing is better than being bold and having hungry eyes turn your way...or causing others to view you as a threat."

Letting his blush fade, Alec completed his stretch and turned back to Amberelle, grateful that she did not make things more difficult for him than they already were.

I think we should get down to settling the burning, eternal question...will the persistence and poise of Anataya lead to eventual victory, or shall the facility with technology and heightened mobility that Tacharan possess ensure dominance in this greatest of challenges...skee ball!

You two have been looking forward to it...so let's start there.

"Besides, that way the only person who might notice my staring will be Jan...and he probably won't take it amiss...I've got to get out of that habit before it gets me in real trouble."

Gathering up the tokens Amby smiled, visions of a night of good clean fun dancing around in her mind's eye. Pausing in mid twist at Alec's comment, her head swung towards him. Her topaz eyes darkened slightly as she rolled his words around in her head for a moment, and realized something. Something rather important even.

I missed something while I was outside, didn't I? Anantya.. Tacharan... awww man! Sighing loudly, she looked at Nova. Her hand made a vague motion towards Alec and she pursed her lips, nodding. See, I told you.. there are no gentlemen left alive today. Mon dieu, you guys weren't even going to tell me? I'm hurt.

Pouting, she took a big swig of her cola, her free hand on her hip as she glanced around at the three clanmates.

Jan watched people go back and forth deciding what to play and it would seem skee ball had won out. Not bad, it was like the throwing rocks at things he did as a kid. When you were dirt poor there was very little amusement to be had other that what mother nature gave you to play with so rocks and mischief whiled away many hours.

He rolled his eyes playfully at Nova's defensive remark.

"It could be that I've known you a while.. for instance.. our last hospital visit, who had the oh so friendly relations with the one visitor we had?"

Looking around at the other's he said.

"I personally was surprised she didn't punch him but I think she got her point across just the same. Didn't you Sister Dearest?"

Jan smiled at Nova across the table.

Shrugging his lack of preference to the game, He looked up and smiled at Amberelle.

"Don't worry they didn't tell me either. I figured it out about the same as you, from the conversation. That's alright, you can make me an honorary Anantya tonight and I'll help you out against the evil Tacharan."

Jan smirked and made taunting gestures at Nova.

Pleased with Amberelle's reaction, Alec laughed aloud at the the gentlemen portion of the statement. Responding in French, with a pleasant gleam in his eyes, his body taking a somewhat stiff dancing pose...

*"Ah! First you accuse me of cowardice, then you accuse me of gentlemanly behavior! When will the insults stop! I would offer to waltz with you, but I am too frightened, my lady!"*

Chuckling, Alec turns to grab his forgotten coinage from the table and turns back to the assembled group. Switching back to English,

Well, to the pitch, then! Or...lane? What do they call that bit at the beginning? Ramp? Hm. Oh...and Nova...I hope you can carry the team here, because I can't recall the last time I played skee ball...

Nova gave a little grin to her newly appointed "knight in shining armor"Â? before smirking at her brother and returning the rude gesture with one of her own.

"He -so- had it coming.

She turned somewhat apologetically to Amberelle. "I was going to tell you. Only this was a lot more funny."Â? Seeing this as a perfectly reasonable excuse, she clapped her hands together, standing up and taking her high heels off the rung on the stool. "Anyway, let us throw balls into holes for the sake of clan honor. An epic struggle of good versus evil, to be sure."Â? Deciding that was enough of waxing poetic, she headed for the skee ball machines with a great deal more grace than her first attempt.

Alec strode up to the machines, selecting the one with the fewest obvious flaws in its ramp. He gingerly put his coins into the slot, making the wooden balls available. Reaching down, he grasped one of the orbs in his hand. Turning, he leans toward Amberelle and whispers, "Am I holding this right?"