<< The scene is the Scone of Mars, on Sunday the 22nd of September. >> * Katherine is sitting in the Scone of Mars, a small coffee place in the middle of Red NYC, at a table near the window. She's wearing a standard t-shirt and leather pants outfit and her jacket, with one strange addition, that being a long bundle of white cloth that's lying against the wall next to her. She's tapping her claw on the table idly. * Threnody enters, still violet-haired, but otherwise unremarkable, wearing a jeans and black shirt combo that might give the impression of an old Earth Japanese schoolboy. * Katherine grins faintly, and tries to catch Thren's eye by looking right at him. * Threnody walks over without needing to be guided, and has a seat, folding his arms in his lap. "I very rarely have trouble meeting people anywhere. It's a nice perk." (Mainly because I almost never meet people anywhere.) * Katherine looks confused for a second, then chuckles. "Right, right, telepathy thing." Her finger starts tapping more. "Listen, I've been thinking about going to earth, and I don't think we can wait to deal with this... mental crap we have together." * Threnody raises an eyebrow. "I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific." * Katherine leans in towards Thren, and says. "The whole talking to eachother in our heads. The memories. You know. The really fucking annoying stuff that'll make it hard to fight with." * Threnody frowns, looking out at the street. "I only used that to talk to you so Dorian couldn't hear. If it bothers you that much, I don't need to do it again." * Katherine shakes her head, and says slowly, still tapping her finger. "It's not that. Okay, it is that, but it's not all that. It's... can't you feel it? The way my head's just... full up with her?" She makes a grimace. * Threnody turns back and shakes his head solemnly. "No. I never looked." * Katherine sighs, and says faintly, "That's my thing. You say you hear voices, I see memories. And if I don't get used to it..." she pauses slightly, and you can see a flash of something in her eyes, "... fighting like this is going to be a fucking bloodbath." * Threnody tilts his head a little. "I'd think it would be helpful. My mother only had the greatest respect for her as a warrior." (He said, carefully diplomatic.) (Heh.) ( As a person, she was a lousy bitch!) * Katherine sighs, and says, "It's... it might not make it harder to fight. But... " She takes a deep breath. The more I'm her, the less I'm me. * Katherine suddenly pulls her hands together and starts drywashing them. (she's snapping. quick aim for the throat!) * Threnody looks down a moment, then looks outside again. "What are you asking me to do? I mean... doesn't take a telepath to see how distressed you are, but what could I ever do?" * Katherine says softly, but firmly "I have to fight like this. I need to get it all under control when I'm fighting." She looks up, and adds, "And you're the only one I can fight with." * Threnody blinks, turning back around (again) suddenly, eyes slightly wide. "Wait a minute..." (Note: He IS unarmed.) (That's not safe.) * Katherine is still sitting there. Her hands have stopped moving, but they're still clutched together. * Threnody lowers his eyelids, looking away a bit. "What exactly are you planning? Are you going to try and kill me?" He looks back up, calm. "You wouldn't be the first to try." * Katherine blinks. "No, no. Well, yes, but no. Oh, you know what I mean." * Threnody looks pained, and sighs. "What's fighting me going to accomplish?" * Katherine hmphs. "Well, who else am I supposed to fight? You're the only one around that knonws how to use anything but a gun." * Threnody sighs again, looking down. "You're determined to go through with it no matter what?" * Katherine chuckles to herself. "Not no matter what, but..." the smile fades, "... if I don't, what's going to happen on earth? When the voices are loud, and it's not just us there?" * Threnody breathes out, but appears to be not quite so depressed about it for the time being. "I don't have anything but my bare hands at the moment, but if you're bound and determined to do this, I'll acquiesce." * Katherine smirks faintly. "And I even brought my practice sword. I somehow feel cheated out of a good match." * Threnody blinks. "Well, it's not like the Red and Gold is so far away. Besides, where did you have in mind for this, anyway? Your apartment hardly seems appropriate..." * Katherine shakes her head. "No, no..." she smiles thinly. "When you need to do something nobody will see, do it in the PT." * Threnody blinks. "I don't understand." * Threnody also winces. "But I don't like the 'sound' of it." * Katherine stands, and picks up the bundle, which is probably the practice sword she was speaking of. "Prototyping Sector. Nothing but druggies, homeless, and factories." * Threnody frowns as he stands. "Is that safe? There's got to be a gym, or a dojo around here somewhere..." * Katherine walks over to Thren, and puts a hand to his shoulder, saying softly, "I'd rather not have them asking questions, you know?" * Threnody mmphs and looks uncomfortable, thought at the concept or at being touched is unclear. "Whatever you say. I just don't want trouble." * Katherine shakes her head. "No trouble that a nanopak can't solve, I promise. Come on, let's get your weapon." * Threnody sets his mouth in a line, but goes as ordered. ( WE FIGHT *whimper*) (They seem to do things like that a lot. *cough*) (Really should have decided on those CT abilities if I'd known I'd be fighting tonight.) (Well, I wasn't think we'd need to roll. Kat's nowhere near your equal in armed combat. ^_^;) (Now that's not true.) * Katherine wanders to the Red and Gold! And probably follows Thren to his room. * Threnody goes to the Red and Gold, and leads Kat to his room, opening the door. "Wait here. I'll be right back." * Katherine smirks faintly. "What, scared of what I'll do if I come in?" She makes no move to move, though. * Threnody calls back, from behind the half-closed door, "Yes." There's the sound of rummaging. * Katherine chuckles a little, "That really hurts, Thren." * Threnody returns, wearing a blue mesh shirt and more pleather, and carrying his bokken. "I thought I should break them in while I had the chance. And you should have thought of that before you pushed me down on your bed. Shall we go?" * Katherine nods, frowning. "Yeah, lets." (You went there, not him. :P) (Yeah, well. Kat didn't think he'd take it _quite_ that bad.) * Threnody indicates the elevator with the bokken. "Lead on?" * Katherine snapes herself out of whatever distracted her. "Right, right." She walks to the elevator. * Katherine waits for Thren to get in, and hits the button. "Listen, Thren... about Tuesday." * Threnody raises an eyebrow, the model of poise, his arms folded in front of him over the bokken. "Hm?" * Katherine exhales, and starts walking when the elevator hits the bottom. "Just... don't worry about it, alright? I thought you'd be OK with it, apparently you're not, I won't do it again. I'll stick to teasing." * Threnody looks blank a moment, then follows with a tired expression, lips set. %% It's not that I regret it, it's just... I wish if such a thing were to have happened, the circumstances would have been different. I'm sorry for what I said. I've had a lot to... process recently. %% * Katherine blinks, and says, as she walks to the tube, because the PT is too damn far away, %% Apology accepted, I think. I'd hope you didn't regret it, but... I know it can make people uncomfortable. %% * Threnody mms faintly as he follows along dutifully, speaking again. "You never explained why you did it." * Katherine chuckles out loud. %% First times always make someone uncomfortabl--%% She stops mid-thought, and doesn't respond immediately, instead going through the turnstiles and onto the train. %% Gimme a sec. %% * Threnody follows s'more, managing to pass the complex technology of the subway turnstile without a manual. ( *tries to find good combat music for this* Haha! This might actually work. ) (Mmm?) ( Battle Theme 4 from USaga. ) (I feel deprived?) (Cham has it, considering I sent him the whole OST.) (Could always go with Jam's theme.) * Katherine sits down, and looks up at Thren, as he's not sitting. "It will be easier to explain after we fight, I think. If you can wait that long, that is." A small smirk comes onto her face. (I hate your reliance on GGXX music.) (No, the GGX one.) (I don't have the GGXX one.) (At least, I'm pretty sure it is.) * Threnody shrugs his shoulders and looks around the subway car with unaccustomed wariness. "I can." (I expect they're the same) (Sticks and Stones?) (Babel Noise in GGXX.) (Yeah.) (But I don't think the actual SONGS are different.) (*snicker* Roy should come officiate!) * Katherine nods once, and waits out the ride to the PT sector. When they get to the stop, she stands and hops off. * Katherine will walk up the stairs at the terminal, and into the wonderful world of the Prototyping Sector, where everything's a factory, and nobody's around. (S'okay, if they're not sorted by disc, easy mistake to make) * Threnody follows behind, and is now quite visibly on pins and needles. "What are the people like around here?" Well, the homeless people... in Box City, where Roch used to live, they're nice, usually. People down on their luck. Scientists, techs, people running from something. * Threnody mms faintly, looking around. "All I can really say is, I have to be careful of people from Twilight City." * Katherine steps over a small flow of condenser runoff. "I do remember that from being drunk. Don't worry 'bout it. Nobody from the gangs would be here." She comes to an intersection, and turns around. (Now, hold on.) (I never said any such thing. c.c;) (You did too!) (And Kat's making a 'gangs' assumption) (I never mentioned TC, though.) (* Ouka frowns. "Especially if any of them are from Twilight City.") (Feh. Fine.) * Threnody walks carefully. "They don't have to be in gangs, but I'll take your word for it." (Do I have to turn this mini around?) * Katherine starts unwrapping the bundle, and an extremely dull sword is pulled from it. "If they're from TC, but not in gangs, and they could kill you, I'd have to ask what the fuck they were thinking." * Threnody slips the bokken into his belt loops and does a few stretches. "They don't need to be in gangs. They just have to like money." * Katherine shakes her head. "No, I mean... if you're anywhere near competent, you'd be in a gang." She frowns. "But that doesn't matter." She takes a deep breath, and holds her sword two-handed, in front of her. * Threnody mms as he straightens and faces Kat, then clasps his hands together in front of him and bows before straightening again, not drawing the bokken but instead pushing his left foot back and crouching slightly, hovering his right hand over the 'hilt'. "Whenever you're ready." (See, if Roy were awake, he could be here doing the DBZ/Kenshin thing.) * Moogle is now known as Fitzroy (Okay.) (Should we roll this? And if so, using normal combat or opposed rolls? ^^;) (You can do what you like.) (You can pick.) (Okay, 1 for dice, 2 for no dice.) 1d2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Katherine (1d2) and gets 2. (No dice! Hooray.) * Katherine nods. "I'm ready." She then steps forward and slashes downward from the right towards Thren's chest. * Threnody nods once, but says nothing, making a concerted effort to backstep out of the way and only avoiding the swing by a hair, his hand and posture more or less unchanged when he comes to a stop. * Katherine frowns, and continues moving forward, slashing back across Thren's body. * Threnody also takes a step forward and in an instant grips the 'hilt' of the bokken and swings it forward in a wide arc designe to push Kat's sword out of the way. * Katherine 's sword is indeed pushed, and she quickly tries to move her sword back in front of her body to block Thren's next move. * Threnody makes no such move; he takes a step or two back to regain his footing, slipping the bokken back between the belt loops and assuming his previous stance, his face completely devoid of previous worry or, indeed, any sort of expression. (*switches to one of the Grandia X fight themes*) * Katherine frowns, and says, "I thought we were gonna spar?" She then jumps in, thrusting straight for Thren's stomach. (Which one? ^^;) (Combat 4) * Threnody doesn't say a word, and again moves to sidestep but is too slow; the dull blade grazes across his stomach and he winces a bit, but comes up again in the same stance, unflustered. "I didn't learn the sword to hurt people." * Katherine smirks. "Then why'd ya learn it, kid?" She plants a foot and tries to twist to bring the blade around in the direction he dodged. * Threnody is, however, already there; the force of the sword-drawing technique is enough to literally slap the blade out of the way and nicely turns itself into a counterattack aimed at Kat's left arm. (This doesn't seem so terribly unbelievable stat-wise; he's been full-defending the whole time.) (Oh, no, of course not. ^^) (I'm trying not to twink out.) * Katherine tries to side-jump out of the way, and ends up taking a hit herself, glancing off her arm. She takes another two steps back, and stands there for a second, taking deep breaths. * Katherine smiles weakly. "This... is harder than I thought." * Threnody is back in place as if he never moved. "I learned it for peace of mind, and to defend myself... that's all. I swore never to use it in anger or murderous intent." * Katherine gets in her stance again. "That's... really strange. Peace of mind in fighting?" She starts circling to Thren's right side, and then comes at him with a strike that would go straight across the stomach. * Threnody again draws the bokken and holds it horizontally, intercepting the practice sword and locking blades. He grits his teeth at the effort, but manages to say: "Isn't that what you asked to do this for? Peace of mind?" * Katherine pushes back. "Yeah, but not a peaceful mind, you know? How can you be at peace when someone's trying to kill ya?" She grins. (You are not ready.) (Hrm. Todd's everywhere idle. Probably got pulled away.) * Threnody would shrug, but he's gripping the bokken in both hands, now; it's an awkward way to block and it's taking effort to fight the swing away. "It's not about kill or be killed. It's about finding your center through purity of purpose!" (You'd be right.) (Heh. If Thren were cockier, he'd say a very mean thing after this.) (He might still say it. It's something Isis would say.)\ * Katherine doesn't respond, but she's still pushing. Her face is starting to take on a sneer. * Threnody sets his jaw. "Someone who only thinks of a sword as a tool..." And with a sudden jerk he slips his right foot back and twists his upper body, pulling Kat forward with her own momentum and knocking her sword clear out of her hand with the bottom of the 'hilt' in a single loud *smack*. "...doesn't have a chance against me!" * Katherine stumbles forward slightly, but doesn't fall over, instead twisting herself to deliver a wobbly roundhouse kick, the sneer now fully fixed on her face. (It is an Isis line without question. It just popped into my head.) (Heh.) (You two are going to kill each other. ._.) * Threnody reaches out and snags Kat's foot, holding onto it and looking at her face calmly. "Give up. I don't like fighting friends." * Katherine 's panting now, and is staring right at Thren's face. Suddenly, the sneer drops off it, and she wobbles in her balance, whispering, "Fucking christ.' * Threnody watches, impassivity giving way to something that might be regret as he slips the bokken back into his belt loops. (And lets go of my foot?) (I need that, you know!) (I thought that was implied by her getting her balance back.) (Ah.) (He let go, yes.) * Katherine shakes her head. "... Right. Right. I don't know how I'm gonna manage this." She turns and slowly walks over to grab the sword, and then what she wrapped it in. "No goddamn clue." * Threnody sighs, continuing to watch Kat gather herself. "Didn't have the intended effect?" * Katherine shakes her head, and wraps the sword up slowly as she walks back over towards Thren. "I... no. No it didn't. I don't think I'll be able to hold up much longer if I have to keep fighting." * Threnody pauses a moment, then says, somewhat quietly, "I know how you feel." * Threnody turns and looks around at the scenery. "My mother is a very different fighter. She goes instantly for the kill. Exploits any weaknesses. She fights like you do: kill or be killed. When I have a sword in my hand... I have to fight down the part of her inside me." * Katherine nods faintly, and says, "So did mine." She touches Thren's shoulder. "To answer your question, now. Feeling like her makes me feel... less human. I..." she actually blushes very faintly. "What better way to feel alive?" * Threnody blinks, face returning to his normal somewhat ditzy confused look. "I guess I can understand that, but..." He sighs, then looks up. "Why would you feel less human? It's no different than being a 24 would be, isn't it?" (He would only say 'is' if he knew she were a 24, and he doesn't) (... As I continue to say, the ears and claws don't give it away?) (Hey, Brett.) ( 'Lo ) (If he were the type who paid attention to such details, yes.) (Hah!) (He didn't think it was totally abnormal for someone to suggest he get a tail.) * Katherine shakes her head. "It's... not that." She taps Thren's shoulder. "Thanks for the help, even if it didn't do any good." * Threnody turns back around and nods a little. "It was my pleasure, I guess... I'd rather not have to do it again, though." * Katherine exhales again, and grins. "I don't think so. That was a little too much, even for me." * Threnody blinks, suddenly concerned. "Did I go too far? It's been a while since I fought someone who was serious." * Katherine laughs faintly. "No, no, just..." she looks off into the distance. "You get the blood pumping, and it's hard to stop." * Threnody mms and walks forward. "If you say so. I don't like fighting. Kataki has always been the one who enjoyed combat." He suddenly grimaces a little. "He should be the successor, really. Not me." (Are we turned to leave, or is 'walking forward' towards me?) (Toward you.) (*snickers at Winamp* Good choice for this scene.) * Katherine quirks her head a little, and the dog ears twitch. "I'm sure she had a good reason." (BoF 5 - "A Small Departure") * Threnody blinks. "What do you mean?" * Katherine shrugs. "Well, why would Isis have chosen someone who wasn't suited, you know? " * Threnody stops, then looks around. "Do you really want to know the whole story?" * Katherine shrugs, and gives a faint smirk. "Only if you want to. Sound familiar?" * Threnody shakes his head and starts walking for the subway. "It's fine. In a way you have a right to know. But not here." * Katherine follows. "'Kay. I can respect that. Well, I better, all things considered." Another grin, although Thren can't see it. * Threnody nods, but he doesn't turn back around and keeps walking. Not that he's in a hurry to leave or anything. * Katherine walks too, in silence. She's rubbing the sword-holding hand with her other hand. * Threnody reaches the turnstile and says, without turning around, "Sorry. But you had a deathgrip; it was the only way to get you to let go." * Katherine blinks, then shakes her heads. "It's fine. Part of the match. Christ, I'm still not used to that telepathy thing." * Threnody pauses as he gets on the train, then turns around before sitting down. "Me too, believe it or not. I've... been using it a lot more frequently these past few weeks than normal. I'm a little paranoid being on Mars." * Katherine nods. "Good habit." She sits down and lets the bundle rest on her lap. * Threnody also has a seat, looking around. %% While we've got a minute... care to explain 'splicing' now? %% * Katherine snickers. %% Right. Splicing. %% She leans back in her seat and stretches out. %% Splicing is genetech. Sorta like having someone give you custom 24 powers, except it's pretty much limited to being body things. Tails, for instance. %% * Threnody blinks, but doesn't open his mouth. %% Sounds... a bit blasphemous. %% * Katherine smirks. %% You and the rest of society. Admitting you've had it done is also like screaming out that you do drugs and like to rape children, to most people. %% * Threnody frowns, rubbing his chin despite not saying a word. %% Is that where your ears came from? %% * Katherine flushes slightly, then looks a little annoyed. %% No! Of course not. 24, all the way. %% * Threnody suddenly chuckles, and shakes his head. %% I usually don't call people on lying, as it's rude, but you can't really fool me there. %% * Katherine grimaces. %% Goddamn telepathy. %% * Threnody shakes his head. %% I don't mind. It's not like it's hurting anything or anyone. %% * Katherine mms faintly, and is quiet for a second. Then she responds, %% Thanks. Pretty open for someone that thought it was blasphemous a second ago. %% * Threnody tsks and waves his finger. %% I never said I thought it was blasphemous, only that it sounded that way. You shouldn't jump to conclusions. %% He blinks, then stands up. "Excellent. I think this is our stop." (I have a special surprise for Kat. Mweh heh.) (Oh god. You and your surprises.) (Although if she knows RNYC, and she probably does, I doubt this is a surprise.) (She does.) (What stop is it?) (He checked the stop near Sleythintown.) (... Oh dear.) * Katherine stands, and quirks an eyebrow. "Sleythintown?" (Cham, you wanna make me up a Sleythin!Cafe or should I?) * Threnody smiles primly. "I suddenly wanted some tea." Oh god. <> <> * Katherine follows, and looks around with a faint smile, the bound up sword over her shoulder. * Threnody walks along with some confidence. "I've made a few stops here since I came. I've always liked the Sleythin, ever since I went there as a child." <> (...*snerk*) (This is why he likes them. This is why his mother hates them.) (Oh?) * Katherine mms. "I... never stopped by much. I always liked the architecture, but..." * Threnody heads towards FOR GREAT COFFEE. "I can sort of see why you wouldn't, all things considered." * Katherine nods. "Yeah." She follows FOR GREAT COFFEE. * Threnody actually walks inside, smiling as he looks around. "My mother always wondered if there was a little Sleythin in me, but she stopped after I got old enough to have very disturbing mental images as a result." * Katherine snickers. "What, you with a tail?" * Threnody stops for a moment at that, then holds his head with his right hand. "I only wish." * Katherine doesn't seem to get it, but gestures. "We gonna sit?" (Dunno. I have no idea what FOR GREAT COFFEE looks like and Cham is trying to do eight things at once.) <> <> <> * Threnody hmms, then shakes his head. "Drinks first. Then seats." He heads to find the nearest Bulbabarista at the counter. (Bulbaristasaur!) * Katherine follows! Sure, why not? <> "Hello! May I help you?" * Threnody smiles. "Just a moment." He turns around to look at Kat. "A preference, or shall I pick?" * Katherine smirks. "Just as long as it's not whatever you ordered at Momo's." * Threnody laughs, then hmms and turns back to the bar, then clears his throat and attempts Sleythin. "[I'll just have some tea, please... and something cold and sweet for the lady.]" <> [You've got it, sir.] <> * Threnody smiles and produces a hand to pay. "[Thank you. May you have clear waters.]" (Yes,he said it wrong. He's a yokel.) (Ouka the slack jawed yokel... doo dee doo) * Katherine picks up her mocha. "You know Sleythin? Maybe your mom was right." <> * Threnody takes the tea gingerly. "I lived in the City of Refuge from my 12th birthday until my 13th," he says, walking toward the human tables. "It was her idea, actually." * Katherine follows. "Ah. Yeah, that would do it." She sits down. "Me, I've never been beyond Mars orbit. Earth'll be my first time." * Threnody mms and blows on the tea a bit as he sits down. "You should be glad. It's a big universe that's worth seeing." * Katherine takes a sip. "Yeah, well. Never really had the money to worry about sightseeing. Maybe in 20 years." * Threnody looks a little disappointed, then perks up again. "Well, just think. In 20 years there'll be even more to see." * Katherine snickers. "Probably, yeah. That's assuming Anders lets us go." * Threnody frowns into his tea, then sips it. "I don't like it, though I can't tell who's saying that in my head." I don't either, but whichever of the two things in the apartment that's making it so I can sleep was totally worth it. * Katherine takes another sip. * Threnody blinks, teacup halfway to his lips. "...what?" * Katherine takes another sip, and frowns. "I haven't had a nightmare for a week now. Like I said. The sleep is well worth having knives be thrown at me." * Threnody blinks again, cup still up. Will he ever get to sip again? "...knives?" He pauses, actually sips, then sets the cup down. "No different that seven angry Russians, mostly with axes or guns." Probably not, no. Although if that's where you got that cube thing, you totally got screwed. * Katherine grins, and drinks. * Threnody nods once, then smiles. "You never thought who your decoy was?" * Katherine blinks, then chuckles. "No, I didn't. Why would I? Samuel said we had a decoy, and if we didn't, wouldn't have been able to do things any differently. Good job, if you were all alone." She raises her cup slightly, then back down, in a mock toast. * Threnody mmms faintly. "It wasn't easy. I got very lucky, I think... Luanne was very helpful. I like her a lot more than the others." * Katherine grins. "Oh? That was the good looking woman, with red hair, right?" * Threnody nods. "A 24... she can teleport from place to place. I caught a glimpse of her when I met Dorian, but I only just met her the night of the 'operation'." * Katherine nods. "Anders said something like that." Sip * Threnody frowns and looks out the window. "I can sort of see what you mean, now. Wondering which thoughts are yours and which aren't." * Katherine mms faintly. "Yeah. It sucks." * Threnody mmms, looking perplexed. "Does it, though, really? In a way, you're right, it does. It's confusing. But in another respect... what if I didn't have this nagging suspicion in my head, and something really does happen?" * Katherine leans forward, elbows on the table. "Then you'd have missed it, just like anyone else who wasn't damn paranoid. Besides." Kat takes a sip, and swallows. "I don't think it's gonna go down well either. It's been too easy." For a legendary secret organization, they sure haven't done much other than sit on their hands. * Threnody nods slowly. "I don't know much about these kinds of things, but I agree. Just simple logic says the math doesn't add up. Anders may be clairvoyant and all, but he's still a child." * Katherine nods slightly. "Whether he was 10 or 100, I still don't think he can know everything. Just... doesn't seem right." * Threnody shrugs. "It's like I said. I don't believe in Fate. Think about his 'network'... it's just as plsusible all this 'fate' is him pulling the strings behind our back." (His mother's son to the end.) (Yeah, really.) * Threnody frowns. "I want to trust him, but..." * Katherine waves her hand. "That's a hell of a lot of stringpulling. Now, if he were a front for ATC, I'd believe it." She takes another drink, and then puts down the empty cup. * Threnody keeps frowning. "ATC... just the name gives me headaches, especially considering what I know about it." * Katherine leans forward. "Did Anders tell you about the list?" * Threnody shakes his head. * Katherine nods, and leans forward a little more. "When we were taking an artifact that ATC had out in the middle of nowhere in a town as an art sculpture, or something, Roy found a highly encrypted list that has several hundred artifacts listed on it, their locations, and tech-speak for what they do." * Threnody blinks, mug to his lips. He pauses, then sips and sets down the cup. "Funny. The words 'Sounds like the cube' just sort of flitted through my mind." * Threnody knits his brow. "Then something about spiders." * Katherine shrugs. "Got me. I don't trust them none, but they haven't done anything except toss Leo and Ian's ships. But that list..." * Threnody blinks again. "...those were Ian and Leo's?" 'Those'? Whaddya mean by 'Those'? * Threnody sips the tea again. "The first thing Anders had me do was enter an ATC facility and... delete some computer records. The incident was about officers investigating ships in orbit for art theft..." * Katherine rubs her neck. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Well, at least they're gone. It'd be nice if Anders told us this shit, though." * Threnody shrugs. "Knowledge is power... I hate to admit it, but he has the power, and we don't." Well, not that I think it's sane, but how do you fight shit like that? There's only so much you can do, unless you've got some sort of prediction machine? * Threnody sighs. "I don't really know." * Katherine nods. "Yep. So we gotta go with what we got, and that's Anders. As much as he's an ass." She stretches again. "Ugh. Didn't stretch before or after that fight, and then I sat around." * Threnody laughs a little. "Or maybe you're just a little out of shape?" (BRB.) * Katherine looks insulted, and taps her arm right on the well-defined bicep muscle. "Does this look out of shape to you?" * Threnody smiles placidly and sips his tea. "I was teasing." (g'night all) (Night.) * Katherine blinks, and then chuckles to herself with a faint smile. "Good shot. Didn't think you had it in you. Now don't do it again." * Threnody lowers his eyes into the mug, but doesn't let up on the smile. "If you say so." (Gotta z. you two finish up, cut log, unoddadrill.) (Right, right.) (Night.) * Katherine smirks. "Oh, come on. Do you really want to see who's easier to tease, cutie?" * Threnody raises an eyebrow. "Now that's a strange question." * Katherine shrugs. (Heh. We're probably done, unless you either jog his memory or change the subject.) * Katherine stands and picks up her sword. "Well, I think I'm going to go back to the apartment. Wanna join me, or you going to go back to punking out?" * Threnody giggles a little, but shakes his head. "I want to get a last look around Sleythintown for a while before I have to leave. I can't afford to stay at the Red and Gold forever." * Katherine grins. "Where you gonna go? Live in Box City?" * Threnody shakes his head. "I'll probably start wandering again." Well, after next week, at least. * Threnody mms faintly. "Maybe..." ( Night. Gonna play FFXI ) (Finally alone!) (Now Atom and I can finally explore our love.) (I'd better go, then!) * Katherine taps Thren on the shoulder, to bring him back to the real world. "It's been fun. I'll see you around, I'm sure." She smirks. "We've had good luck with that. And the clothes still look good." She licks her lips. * Threnody smiles weakly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh... thanks. So do the ears," he finishes lamely. * Katherine grins. "Gotta work on complimenting a girl, Thren. See ya." She turns and walks away lightly, sword resting over her shoulder again. * Threnody watches Kat go, over tea, then proceeds to look out the window and think. <>