<> (I go to get grasshopper cookies and a soda.) <> (I prefer, "liberated") ( *watches. Watches you ALL* ) (Shar likes to watch.) (Vwoof.) <> ( You betcha. Vwoof vwoof! ) (Meanwhile, Deme arrives at the alley below, and Vwoof won't shut the hell up.) (All is well in ATC2land!) ( Wah-hahaha ) <> <> (I can simulate her. I've hotglued this card reading "hat" to a stick.) (Yes.) <> <> (I did? Okay. ^_^) ( Wait. Am I actually playing, or is that just saying that Vwoof and Deme h ave settled in? ) (Just saying.) (You might not find it very interesting, but we're not going to stop you. >.>) (Yeah. You could just waltz into the place if you really want.) * Katherine walks in the door, and stretches. "God, what a fucking long day." * Leopoldo looks around and takes a seat. "Seemed the same length as every other day on Mars." (...*whap*) (*Ba-dum ching!*) * Katherine walks back to the back of the room, and slings the bag into the closet with a thud. "Don't go all literal on me now, Leo, we've still got a lot of pounding to do." * Sharyna is now known as Demetreia ( Just in case. ) * Leopoldo raises an eyebrow. "So... you're going to teach me how to defend myself by pounding me?" (...) <`> ( * Segev lurks quietly. ) (j0.) ( *feeds Segev to Vwoof* ) <`> ( *is fed* x_x ) * Katherine grins to herself. "No, first I'm going to teach you how to attack and defend yourself. Then I'll pound you." * Leopoldo sighs. "Lucky me." * Rochelle walks in, flops on the couch, and eyes Echidna. * Katherine says, "Well, you're lucky. You might hurt my hands instead. We'll see when we get there." She then walks into the closet and closes the door. Muffled movement sounds ensue. (She's negotiating with the bogeyman.) <> ("I'll give you 50 creds to give me back my damn pants.") * Leopoldo puts his hands in his pockets and waits patiently. * Katherine comes out a short while later in a pair of tight shorts and a loose t-shirt that's had the midriff cut out of it, and walks over to the large punching bag, gesturing for Leo to join her. "Alright, let's see what I can do." * Leopoldo follows and joins Kat. "What do you want me to do? Hold it?" * Rochelle turns her attention to Leo, calmly says, "You're screwed", and wanders over to her duffel for one of her few changes of clothes. * Katherine gets a chuckle out of Roch's statement. "No, you're going to hit it. Just as soon as I check that you can make a fist." * Leopoldo nods and makes a fist? * Katherine grabs it roughly and eyes it. "Alright, so it's a start. Now, when you punch," Kat lets go of his hand and stands in something that could charitably be called a stance, and slowly punches out. "You do it like this. As cheesy as it is, yelling out when you do it can help you focus, but I think it just sounds dumb most of the time, so you make the call on that one." * Katherine does one or two normal speed punches, and thumbs towards the bag. "Now you try." * Leopoldo nods and goes into a poor excuse for a stance, and he's leaning a bit more forward than a normal person would. He pulls his arm back and punches the bag, not flinching with the impact. * Rochelle wanders off into the bathroom! Yay, bathroom. <> (It's a full bath!) (Very nice, GM, now if you wouldn't mind turning your head the other way and not watching me change.) (It explodes! Rochelle ascends to a higher plane of being and causes Anders to spontaneously combust.) (AWESOME.) <<<... the GM blushes and proceeds to summon "censored" bars.>> (Thank you.) (...) (Hehe.) Like... that? * Katherine frowns. "Not bad, but you're going to havee to keep from leaning forward so much so you don't get off balance. You've got that tail to counter, but leaning forward's a bad idea unless you want someone to flip you." <> * Katherine opens her mouth to continue, and then closes it. "Dammit. Who is it?" * Leopoldo looks at the door. <> "Samuel and Ouka." ... Weird. Well, buzz them in. <> * Katherine turns back to Leo. "You've got a lot of mass, so try to make sure you put your body behind your punches. It'll make them hurt more... " <> "Hi. Carry on, I'll just go sit down." * Leopoldo changes a softer shade of brown. "Do you want me to try that on the punching bag? I might break it." * Ouka is very short, looks 16, has short auburn hair and a very boyfish face, and is wearing a long shirt of a dark green/blue plaid that hangs well past his knees and blue jeans. He is also carrying a wine bottle. It should hold up. It's rated for strength. If you're really worried, though, I can get something stronger for you to hit. * Katherine turns to eye the entrants, then eyes Ouka's wine bottle. "Hey, you remembered! Fucking awesome. Have a seat, and what's with the artifacts?" * Ouka also has his bokken. He smiles at Kat and closes the door behind him, putting the bottle on a counter. "I found it at home. It's... a..." He eyes the label. "Larkmead cabernet, 1940. My father liked Napa Valley wines, and you'd never been to Earth, so." * Leopoldo stands as straight up as he normally does. "Good evening. And who may you be?" * Katherine pales slightly. <> "One of them is for Leo, and the other for Ian. Or so Anders said. He also said they're safe for use indoors." (Translation: I have no idea how expensive the wine I brought actaully is.) * Rochelle steps out, in a fresh change of clothes and toweling her hair. She blinks at the newcomers. "Didn't know we were having a party." She looks directly at Ouka. "Who're you?" Uh... well, thanks, Ouka. <> (Hence the paling. ._.) * Katherine smirks. "I didn't know either, Roch, so don't feel bad." <> * Ouka folds his arms in front of him and bows at the waist. "My name is Ouka. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Rochelle, Mister Grahovac." * Leopoldo folds his arms and bows at the waist as well. "Pleasure to me as well, Ouka." * Rochelle waves at Ouka with her free hand. "Nice to meet you too, I guess. Anders?" * Katherine turns back to Leo after they're done introducing. "So, do you want the sturdier target or not?" * Ouka stands back up, tilting his head at Rochelle a moment before looking Kat-ward. * Leopoldo hmmms... "Yes please." Yo, Steely! Get over here! * Rochelle doesn't seem to care about getting no response, as she has a seat on the couch, next to Sam. (I didn't even know there was a question. ._.) (Anders?) (That's... a name. ^_^;) (Depends on your tone. ^_^;) (Even if it were a questioning tone, I wouldn't know where to start. ._.) (Anyhow.) * Ouka looks between himself and Samuel a moment, then at Kat. "...do you mean me?" <> "READY" * Katherine smirks at the robot. "Not unless your name is Steely, Ouka." She pats the robot on the head. "Just stand there, Steely, and let the nice man punch you." Better, Leo? * Leopoldo chuckles. "Well, that is more sturdy." * Ouka blinks a few times, then nods. "I see." He looks around for somewhere to *be* and, finding no such place, stays right where is, locking his fingers together and letting his arms fall in front of him. <> "How are you?" <> * Leopoldo leans back somewhat, then puts his weight into a solid punch at the robot. * Rochelle shrugs. "All right. Got a shower, that's a plus. Those artifacts are taken care of now?" (The couch has Roch on it and she hates me.) (It's okay, I hate everyone.) ( Except Vwoof. ) (Yup.) * Katherine nods, then eyes Leo's legs, and tail, and chuckles. "I have no damn idea how to teach you how to kick." * Ouka smiles embarassedly at Leo. "I was going to ask why you were punching, when it seems like kicks would make much more effective use of your physique." * Leopoldo blinks. "I guess, but all my tail does for me really is balance." <> "Of course. Anders says we've managed to secure three of the ... I believe he said it was the Phase Modulating Nanofabric Capacitance Inhibitor. We have only to secure one more and we will have foiled the Concordat's plans." * Ouka clears his throat. "Well, actually, it also lowers your center of gravity. Think about a tyranosaurus and their short arms. You can put more of your weight into a good kick by using the force of your lower body rather than pulling along your torso." He pauses, then blushes faintly. "If I may hazard an observation, that is." * Katherine smirks. "Hell, take over if you want. I trust your pedigree, so to speak." She smiles thinly, then says, "Roch, you want to start work tonight? We better get going, if so." <> <> Fucking christ! Who is it? * Leopoldo nods. "You're correct about that, Ouka. Then again, my arms are also not so small in the relation to the rest of my body." * Ouka walks over, still smiling at Leo. "That's true. Maybe it's better if I showed you... If I may, Mister Grahovac?" * Demetreia replies, sounding kind of panicked. "It's me!" Demetreia! What's the big hurry? Vwoof is barking at me! I think he is hungry. What do Vwoofs EAT?! * Demetreia sounds desperate. ... Oh, for christ's sake. Correction. Roch? You're going to work tonight. <> We'll be down in a second, Deme. Thank you.... * Leopoldo motions. "Be my guest." * Rochelle starts. "I am? * Rochelle thinks about that. Damn. * Katherine walks back to her closet, and grabs the shoulder holster, still filled, and her coat. "Yes, you are. Grab the MexiChinese leftovers from the fridge, and let's get going." * Ouka hmms distractedly, then takes two steps back, closes his eyes a moment, and then with a not-quite-mighty shout takes a short step with his left foot and swings the right leg in a nice wide hook kick at 'Steely'. (You can take rolls if you want, guys.) (Or just RP it. Your call.) (Do I need to roll to hit an inanimate object? ._.) * Rochelle stands, just a little hesitatntly, and goes to grab her jacket and the leftovers. (Okay. ^_^) (Just RP it. I'll fail every roll. :P) * Rochelle waves at Deme as she passes by her to the fridge thing. (Deme's not inside, Roch.) (Remember. Buzzer is downstairs. ^^;) (Your apartments confuse me and hurt my head. >_<) * Ouka then presses his right fist into his open left palm and breathes out slowly before turning and smiling at Leo again. "I'm not disparaging your punches, but rather, noting that kicks might be more to your advatange. It's a shame I don't know capoeira. It would be well suited to you." (My apartment confuses me and hurts my head. I just live here, chica.) * Katherine walks to the door and opens it, "C'mon." (No wonder you have constant headaches.) * Rochelle sighs and walks out. Not even so much as a good bye. She's so rude. <> * Leopoldo blinks confusedly at Ouka. "Capoeira?" <> * Ouka nods, taking a step back. "It's an old Brasilian fighting style. It was a bit like dancing." * Ouka then looks around in confusion. "...where did everybody go?" They went outside. (Alone in Kat's aparment with strange men! Scandelous.) (Strange LEEZARD) <> * Ouka blinks a few times. "Is it alright for us to be in her apartment like this? Hitting her, uh..." He eyes Steely. "...robots?" Really? I'll have to look into it. Hmmm... Something tells me she doesn't care. "She is the one who left. I think it's fine." * Ouka hmmms. "Maybe so." He eyes Leo curiously. "Can I ask, what were you doing? Practicing?" * Leopoldo takes his foot back and swings a kick at the robot, his tail following his foot and impacting the robot right below it... knocking him off balance as he falls backwards. "Ow... well, I'm stuck gathering artifacts because fate says so. And so far, it's ran into nothing but fighting, something that I'm not any good at at all, as you can see." * Ouka ehes and rubs the back of his head with his hand. "Well, that's alright. Nobody starts any good at it. I trained for 12 years and I'm still a beginner." He reaches out a hand to help Leo up. "Hm. I might be able to help you, though, if you'd like." * Leopoldo takes his hand and is helped up. "I'll need all the help I can get." * Ouka oofs at the effort, then nods and takes the bokken from behind his back and lays it on Kat's bed. "Well, then, I shall humbly dedicate myself to assisting you as best I can, Mr. Grahovac." <> "I'm more used to my foam whip, but I might be able to help, too." * Leopoldo smiles. "Well, at least I'm getting help where I can use it." * Ouka nods once at Samuel, then pairs off with Leo at a respectable distance. "The first step is to remember the key principle of unarmed combat: always know exactly where you are, and where your opponent is." * Leopoldo nods and tries to assume a stance, which will have about ten different holes in it. Easily. * Ouka points. "I know a little bit about Tloral'cal'mae'thu, among some other styles. I wonder how you could adapt them..." <> * Ouka stands straight up and shakes himself out, not in a stance, just as if he were casually standing there. "Okay. Let's try something simple. Try to punch me." * Leopoldo stands up. "You sure?" * Ouka smiles and nods. "Completely." * Leopoldo shrugs and does just that. (We should roll this just for the humor value.) (Leo crits and knocks me out! Hoohah.) (You want to? :P) (.07% chance of happening!) (Go Leo!) 2d6 * Atom rolls for Leopoldo (2d6) and gets 5. (Woot! I made it!) (Come on Ouka!) 2d6-5 * Atom rolls for Ouka (2d6-5) and gets 2. (Full defending every round is helpful.) 2d6-3 * Atom rolls for Ouka (2d6-3) and gets 5. * Ouka slips an arm up and inside Leo's arc, pushing his arm out of the way, and puts a nice shotei punch in his chest to boot; not enough to hurt, just to push him back. (Well, you might be able to defend counters. That's up to Cham.) (You can.) 2d6 * Atom rolls for Leopoldo (2d6) and gets 5. (Voot! no.) (Was a pulled punch anyway. I think the most you can drop it to is 1 damage, right?) * Leopoldo is pushed back a little, but punching him felt like punching an armored suit. "A lesson in humility?" (Yes.) * Ouka laughs and shakes his head. "No... hm. How to put it." He stands up back up and arches his back a moment. "Think about this. You know what your strengths are, correct? But what are your weaknesses?" * Leopoldo shrugs. "I can recite the lyrics or theme to any song I've heard, but I don't see how that would cover any of my weaknesses." (*snickers* Not disputing that hitting Leo might hurt, if you weren't talking about someone who punched rocks for training.) * Ouka blinks a moment, looking confused. "Okay... maybe we need to examine your strengths, then. From a fighting standpoint, anyway. What do you think your strengths are?" * Leopoldo hmmms... "I have good balance with my tail as long as it's down, I can lift around five hundered pounds, and I have thick skin." * Ouka smiles and actually goes to sit on Kat's bed next to his bokken, putting a hand on it idly. "Alright. And what do you think your weaknesses are?" I don't know how to fight, I'm stuck gathering artifacts, and... I'm not sure what else, considering I have no clue how to do it. * Ouka ehes embarassedly. "Let's stick to fighting, for now. So you don't have any fighting skill. Which is, indeed, a weakness, but..." He puts a finger to his head. "This is the most important weapon you'll ever learn to use." I'd like to talk to people so there wouldn't *be* fighting, but people never listen. * Leopoldo looks cross-eyed at the finger. Not counting the fact that what we're doing is illegal. * Ouka manages a little worried laugh. "Your mind." * Leopoldo smiles. "Mind over matter, as it were?" * Ouka grins. "Maybe a little. The truth is, you don't need to know how to do incredible backflipping acrobatic kicks or high-speed punches that can shatter glass to be a good fighter. You juat have to cultivate a sense of awareness and the ability to react to danger." * Ouka stands up and shakes himself out. "For example. Let's say we're squaring off. If I were fighting you hand to hand, where would I direct most of my efforts?" Most likely to my head, the upper arm, groin, and knees. Joints in the human anatomy are weak compared to most other parts of the body. * Ouka nods. "That's a good start. Where else?" He shifts his stance a little, pushing his right leg forward and bending slightly at the waist, letting his torso sway back a bit. The legs to throw off balance, and the rib-cage to put pressure on the lungs and cirulatory system. As well as the neck for obvious reasons. * Ouka nods again, smiling, and stands back up. "So, you could say knowledge of anatomy is one of your strengths, too. The rest is just how you apply that. It's all form, and anybody can teach you form." ( Deme comes up to teach Leo form! <.< ) (No, Roch. Roch should teach form.) (Oh, come on. We all know that Deme has a hidden combat mode where she bristles with missile racks and other stuff.) (Isn't it obvious?) ("You hurt Vwoof..." *KCHAK* "GENOCIDE MODE ENGAGED.") (All you have to do is hit the switch behind her ear.) ( <.< ) ( No, no. ) ( Deme has a Kung Fu module installed. ) ( Like in the Matrix. ) (;_;) * Leopoldo looks at him. "How would a form work with me, though. I can't exactly balance myself like most people." * Ouka puts a finger in the air. "But how can you turn that weakness into a strength?" (Meaningless aphorisms, that's how!) * Ouka smiles again. "Something to think about. Another human will expect you to fight with your fists, maybe a gun. In reality, people have expectations about how fights are won and it guides their actions. But you have unique gifts that let you act outside those norms, and thus have an advatange." * Leopoldo nods. My suggestion is to go into Sleythintown, and find someone there willing to teach you a few tricks. 2d6 * Atom rolls for Rochelle (2d6) and gets 8. 2d6 * Atom rolls for Rochelle (2d6) and gets 6. * Ouka takes his 'sword' back and slides it into place along the back of his torso, walking into the apartment proper and looking at the door. "They've been gone quite a while. I hope nothing has gone wrong." He blinks, confused. "...whatever it is they're doing." They're fine. I trust their ability to stay out of trouble they can't get out of. (It's worked so far!) (^_^_v) * Ouka glances over at the couch. "If you don't mind my asking, Mister Samuel... why bring me along?" <> * Leopoldo blinks. ... ... (...) ".... interesting." Definetly. (... wait, what? Samuel's thicker, or the banana's a clone? @_@) * Ouka manages to eke out: "...is that *wise*?" I'd guess not, but something I've learned is people aren't wise in general. (He's Big Bertha.) <> "There. That's an interesting trick." <> "That one's yours. And if it was dangerous Anders wouldn't have let you keep it. Well, very dangerous, anyways." (Deme grows wings and becomes Dinah Soar.) * Leopoldo catches it. "Yay, I can turn into a blimp." * Ouka laughs. "I'll trade you for my 'massage cube'." He pats himself down. "Oh... drat. I think I left it at the hotel." "That's just one of the settings. I've been playing with it while you were practicing. You can actually make yourself look like anything reasonably close to your own shape." "It's an illusion, but a damn good one. Can hardly tell." * Ouka hmmms, eyeing the artifact carefully. "How useful!" There's a pause. "...but why is it a banana?" * Leopoldo chuckles, then blinks. "I think they're themed on fruit." * Ouka sighs, breathing out. "It certainly would fit the rather improbable theme of all this." ( What about Vera's gun? ) (Vera is the fruit in that instance.) ( Ahh. ) (Duh.) Tell me about it. "As for your question, Ouka, you're here to meet some more of the others. The next operation will have you working with them, or so I'm told." * Ouka makes his way to the couch and has a seat, smiling away and looking like a total ditz in the process. "I must say, it's gratifying to finally have a firsthand experience to match with the mental image." He pauses, putting a finger to his lips. "Although you seemed a little more... kaiju in Ian's mind." He blinks at Samuel. "I see." (I am thinking drunk Ian's reluctant mental image of Leo was a little off compared to the real thing.) ( Come down and meet me and Vwoof! ) * Leopoldo hmmms... "Kaiju, kaiju... Sorry, that doesn't ring a bell in any of the languages I know. It's an old-world term, is it now?" * Ouka blushes a little. "It's Japanese. It means 'great beast'... it was how they referred to, er..." He swallows and looks away. "...Godzilla." (Man, that brings me back. Isis: "Maybe we can have someone follow you around with a papier-mache moth." Taluun: "...what is that supposed to mean?") ... Ah. (Hehehe.) <> He wouldn't be the first one to refer to me in such a way. * Ouka waves his hands in front of him. "Please bear in mind Mr. Savolino was quite drunk at the time, and not used to that kind of mental exercise..." From what I know of Ian, being drunk makes him more sane. * Ouka ehes. "Well, maybe... but to a telepath, inebriation is like trying to read in a mirror. You don't always get a true image of what you're doing." * Leopoldo nods. "I'll have to ask my sister about it sometime." * Ouka tilts his head a little. "Your sister is telepathic?" One of them. She's still in high school, of course, but yes. * Ouka mmms. "She must be very strong to deal with it. I suspect it's a family trait." He smiles. * Ouka glances toward the door again, trying to hide looking antsy. "Well, I believe I've met everyone Dorian mentioned. Though I'm afraid Vera and Rochelle don't like me all that much." (This is, in fact, true. He didn't say a word about Roy or Deme.) (No, he mentioned Deme.) (Girl that lives in alley behind Kat's place.) ( yeah. ) (Now, Roy, he fogot.) (... he didn't mention Roy? o-O) (Yep.) (Why does nobody ever correct me on that stuff?) * Leopoldo sighs back. "Not really. I'm the only one that inhereted the 'ugly' gene, as it were. I know she was looking at the ATC security forces last I saw her." (I thought I pointed it out to you. Perhaps you missed it. >.>) (I hate you.) (It's fine, as they mentioned it at Momo's anyway.) * Leopoldo nods. "They didn't mention Fitzroy or Demetria?" Or Vera even? * Ouka tilts his head a little. "I don't remember Fitzroy, though come to think of it, Katherine mentioned his name. I don't remember a 'Demetreia'. Is she the one who lives in the alley?" * Katherine comes in through the door with a smirk on her face, and looks around. "Hey, the place is intact. Good show." * Leopoldo nods. "Thinks she's an android or something like that. Read one too many books, if you ask me." <> "I should be on my way. I have a few hits to make tomorrow, and they're likely to be well-guarded." * Ouka blinks at Samuel, all innocence. "'Hits'?" How many laws will you be breaking this time? * Katherine picks up the bottle of wine, and eyes it, ignoring Samuel. "Two artifacts to steal and a chemical recycling plant to disable so that there's the correct amount of some chemical or another in the air so that a complicated chain of events occur that end up in the Concordat losing thirty-two members to a particularly virulent strain of NuFlu." <> "Working for Anders is like that." I can imagine. * Ouka just... blinks a few times, then looks uncomfortably upset and turns away without saying anything. (You know, he doesn't mean "kill". But he knows you think he does. It's amusing.) (It's not amusing to us.) * Leopoldo sighs and frowns, espically after looking at Ouka's reaction. "If I wanted to join the spy-team, or whatnot, I would have taken some of the more physical studies in school." * Katherine smirks. "You finished school?" She frowns at herself, then her eyes widen, and she mutters, "Wait a damn minute..." <> "Thank you for your hospitality, Kat. I'll see you later." <> * Ouka mutters to himself as Samuel leaves and he sits up on his knees on the couch, looking over the back. "How thoroughly unpleasant." * Katherine mutters a faint, "Yer welcome," then shakes her head "Ouka, come here." * Ouka tilts his head, then gets up and walks over to Katherine as requested. "Hmm?" * Katherine frowns. "That's not right at all." She continues to have the frown on her face as she puts down the wine and absently walks over to where Steely is, and shoves him back into the corner. * Leopoldo raises an eyebrow at Kat. "What's wrong now?" * Ouka turns on his heel, watching her walk away with the continued little boy curious look on his face. "I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" He suddenly looks worried and eyes the wine bottle. "Is it not any good? I'm sorry, I don't know anything about wine." * Katherine suddenly laughs loudly. "Oh, god no. The wine's going to be amazing, I'm sure. Momo priced it for me." * Ouka turns back around, headtilting. "How much did she say?" * Leopoldo chuckles. * Katherine smirks. "Up to a thousand creds." ( Ha ha. Give some to Deme, see what happens to her. XD ) * Ouka blinks, eyes widening. "...oh. I see." * Leopoldo whistles. "That's impressive, my friend." * Ouka looks at the bottle. "It certainly is. I should have asked before paying for it." * Katherine blinks. "Yeah, seriously. And it's only the second time you've been to my apartment, too. Expensive taste for a second date, eh?" She grins wickedly. (Isis: "Say, 'Yeah, and this time you're sober!'" Thren: "SHUT UP, Mom.") (*falls over laughing*) (I love this game.) (I love the Isis comments.) * Ouka blushes total, unabashed crimson, pushing his hands together. "Don't make such silly jokes, Miss Katherine," is about all he can manage. * Leopoldo chuckles. "Should I make my way to my apartment if you're going to be doing somthing else, then?" His skin changes a shallow green. (*snort*) * Ouka does not blush more, on account of if he did, his head would explode from the pressure. Instead he makes his way over to the couch and has a seat, meekly adding, "There's no reason to leave." * Katherine chuckles, "Well, unless you want to do some more punching practice, there's not much to do here. Books and Net, really. Pet the cat." (*sighs. This would be so interesting if I made a 'student' of Taluun for this game...) (I told you to go to Sleythin!Dojo for training.) (An NPC of one would be the next best thing.) * Katherine eyes the bottle. "Might be worth cracking the bottle tonight, though." * Ouka blinks, coming out of the blush-induced head rush and looking around. "What happened to Rochelle?" ( See the alley kid. See the alley dog. see the alley kid freak out about the alley dog's problems! ) She's mixing it up at Momo's. Making some cash, which is good, because I can only feed two people for so long. (*eyes the TV* I hate you, nihilism.) (Shin is Kaiba!) (HA HA HA Ahem.) * Ouka ahs distractedly. "Well, it's good to have something to do." He looks between Leo and Kat. "Did I say something to offend her?" Nah. * Katherine walks over to a cabinet, and pulls out a corkscrew of the FUTURE. "Roch just doesn't take to people much. She's had it rough, so I can't blame her. (It looks a lot like the corkscrew of the past.) * Ouka mmms faintly, turning back around and looking out the windows. "It's for the best that I know, then..." He half-turns his head. "Samuel says I'll be working with the rest of you from now on." * Katherine frowns. "That's all anyone but me knows, Ouka. If she wants you to know more, she'll tell you." * Katherine uncorks the bottle with care. <> * Ouka frowns also, uncharacteristically. "I meant more that it's better to know if I'd offended her or not." He looks down, a little stung expression. "I know very well how people's pasts can hurt them." * Katherine frowns herself, and pulls out a pair of glasses. "You can have one glass, Leo, if you want it, but only one. Ouka?" * Ouka shakes his head. "I think after my last encounter with wine, I'll pass, but thank you." Come on. You spent a month's spending money, for me, on a bottle of wine. Have some. * Ouka smiles wanly. "It's alright. Money's meant to be spent, you like wine, and I'm not so sure I do." * Leopoldo chuckles. "Only give me a half a glass, please. I know how rare this kind of wine is. And you should learn how to appreciate wine, it's one of lifes finer pleasures." * Katherine licks her lips and shrugs. "Well, I won't force you." She pours herself a glass, Leo a half-glass, reseals the bottle, and puts it away. Then she sits in a chair. * Ouka shakes his head. "My last great adventure with alcohol had some unexpected and disquieting results," he says primly. Ah. Should drink more water. * Leopoldo takes the glass, sniffs the wine, then takes a small sip, letting the taste go thru his mouth. <> * Katherine takes a small sip of the wine, as well, and mms. "God, that's good." * Ouka allows himself a small grin. "Make it last, because we're even now." <> * Katherine laughs. "A thousand bucks for a glass of wine is even? You're my new best friend, Ouka.' * Leopoldo sits down and laughs, saying sarcastically. "Can I be your best friend next?" * Ouka laughs, good spirits returning. "A promise is a promise. I don't know I'll be offering much in the way of expensive wine, anymore." He indicates the hilt of the bokken with one hand. "But I can offer my help, however humble it may be." (My first offering is to slay the GM.) * Katherine chuckles. "Well, as long as you don't crack my head open or force me to spar with my much worse swordswoman skills, it's welcome." She takes another small sip, and mms again. "C'mere, Eck." ( Ouka has made The Offering. By equipping it, he has been granted 4x attacks per round. ) * Ouka looks absolutely agahst at the thought. "I don't kill. If I fight, it's only to defend myself or others." * Leopoldo nods. "Thankfully." * Katherine mumbles. "Yeah. Funny thing, that. Sometimes it gets awfully blurry." She takes a larger sip. <> * Leopoldo takes another small sip, holding the glass in what looks like a painful but elegant position. Stupid rich people always making stupid things stylish and 'correct' ettiquete. * Ouka frowns at the mumbling, but is instantly aglow at the kitty to hold and pet, which he proceeds to do unless it objects. <> (Good cat!) <> * Ouka basks in the cat's indifference by petting it. <> * Leopoldo fiddles with the bananna he got. "I wonder how this works..." * Katherine sip sip sips. "If you get bored with the cat, Ouka, there's a lot of books over there. Some of them might even be good." She chuckles to herself. * Leopoldo sips again. "You'd be surprised what is 'good' among literature." (Poor Cham.) Not really. It was a joke. * Ouka blinks, looking at the cat, then for the books. "What do you like to read?" (... that means it's time to wrap this up.) Christ, just about anything at one point or another. It's mom's fault. There's a random bunch of poetry, retro-fi, nonfiction, romance, even some classic high fantasy, despite not being very common. Some modern street stories too. Always liked those. * Katherine sips. * Leopoldo sips as well. "I'll need to take a look, then. Reading is never a bad thing." * Ouka blinks, setting down the cat. "Interesting." He stands up and stretches, looking out the window again. "My mother loved real books, old ones... I never had the taste for them she did, though." (There's a lot of window.) (It's a corner.) (Wrap up before my conn dies again.) * Katherine makes an mming noise, and frowns again. (Someone needs to leave so I can deal with the stupid thing that's been bothering me.) (I'm going already. c.c;) (Hooray!) * Ouka turns back around. "It was a pleasure to see you again, Katherine, and to meet you, Mr. Grahovac. I'm sure we'll be meeting again soon, but for now I'm going to take my leave." * Leopoldo gets up and finishes the last sip of the wine. "Quite excellent selection, Ouka. I shall see you soon, then?" * Katherine speaks up. "Ouka, I need you to stay for a sec. I've got a question." * Ouka smiles at Leo and bows a little again. "We appear to be partners from now on, so I shall make a point of i... eh?" He straightens, looking at Kat quizically, then at Leo sheepishly. "If you don't mind? I'm really sorry." * Katherine waves at Leo. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow at noon, Leo, unless someone asks to take a day off. Be sure to check your mail tomorrow." * Leopoldo smiles. "Hey, it'll be nice to have another level head, as it were. And I shall take my leave then, unless you have any questions?" * Ouka shakes his head. "I'm fine." * Leopoldo nods. "Farewell until next we meet, then." He puts on his jacket and walks out the door. * Ouka rubs the back of his neck as Leo leaves. "'Level head', huh..." * Katherine finishes her glass, and stands. "You seem pretty level headed, overall. And you don't want to hurt people, which is a plus in his pacifistic little book. Come on, we need to take a short walk to test my theory." * Ouka blinks. "Uh... sure." Since he was standing and ready to leave as is, he waits to follow in Kat's wake. * Katherine walks out the door, making sure to grab the keys on the way out. "My mind hasn't been acting up all night, and you're here. Considering how lousy last night was, there's got to be something I'm missing here." * Ouka furrows his brow a little. "I'm not sure I follow the logic. To me, it would just make last time seem like a freak occurance. You were fairly drunk, after all." * Katherine shakes her head. "I know better. There have been other things too, now that I think about it." She walks a ways down the hall, and then stops walking, clutching her head. "Ow. Oh yeah. The nightmares, the mind, everything. One of those artifacts is screwing with me." <> * Ouka stops just short of running to Kat, and tilts his head. "Screwing with you how? What nightmares?" He pauses, then sighs. "I won't suggest letting me, er... 'inside'. It seemed to bother you." (Man, I tried to think ofa way to make that not sound bad? And there wasn't one.) (Hah.) ( ... ) (o/~) * Katherine stands there, and says uncharacteristically softly. "Yes. Yes it does. Thanks for the wine, Ouka, and taking care of the apartment while I was out. I'll see you around." ( This is why the disturbing thread in #seekers. Ard, you're my witness. >_< ) * Ouka grits his teeth, and finds himself saying in an uncharacteristically sharp tone, "Never wanted to share *anything*. Was fine to focus on whatever. So long as it meant staying at arm's length to everyone you met." * Gallagher is now known as ` * Katherine does look hurt at that, then hisses, "I get damn close to people, Ouka. Damn close. But come on, 'Ouka'," she twists the word to mock it. "You have things to hide too." * Ouka puts his hands to his head, shutting his eyes tight. "Let me tell you this. The feeling that there is someone else riding around in your mind, when you're a telepath, is the single most terrifying thing in the world." * Ouka opens his eyes and his voice takes on a disturbing tone of desperation. "There's so many people riding around in HERE. Every minute of every day! If I hide things, it's because..." There's a pause. "It's because it lets me focus on being the one person I am." * Katherine shoots back, "At least you don't have to live with someone you hate." her eyes widen, and her tone softens. "Nevermind. Nevermind." She looks back towards the apartment. * Ouka looks away. "I don't know where what I just said came from. It doesn't even sound like something I would say." (Talking over eachother! Haw haw.) (... I'm afraid I'm going to have to get to bed and miss the rest of this angstfest.) (Naw, Thren's forcing himself to leave right nowish.) (And Kat's doing the same.) (Well, less forcing.) * Ouka continues down the hallway. "I'll see you later, Katherine. I need some rest." * Katherine smiles thinly. "Later, Ouka." She walks back to her apartment, and manages not to slam the door. (Angst over!) (Awww. You're just like your parents.) (SHUT IT.) (Hahaha!) (Die.) ( *snickers* ) (Okay, so we're done.) <>