Did someone say chocolate?

Aishe's eyes immediately went to the menu upon entering the little shop. She knew what she wanted; the question now was - did she want a lot, or a whole lot?

As she pondered that question, she let the others go ahead of her. Turning to where Dani was sitting, she called just loudly enough to be heard, "What should I order for you two?"

A nod of her head indicated both Dani and her now wide-awake dog. For herself, she was thinking chocolate yogurt with some chocolate sauce and of course, sprinkles. Mmm.

Not normally a fan of sweets, Nic studied the menu that was posted high on the wall. The store seemed to have many different type and flavors of frozen yogurt and ice creams, as well as other frozen treats. What caught Nic's eye was the frozen bananas, covered in chocolate and nuts. He loved bananas, but had never had one frozen, covered in chocolate. It sounded much more interesting than ice cream. And to Nic, yogurt was not really a food, so that wasn't even a consideration.

Walking up behind Aishe, he bent down to her ear, and whispered...

"May I treat?"

He was trying to startle her a little, just in fun, but since nothing tonight seemed to be going the way he would have planned, he quickly moved back after, in case she took a swing at him in reflex.

Deciding Aishe was too distracted by Dani and Fatty, Nic shrugged and walked to the counter. Before he could order though, he had a thought. Glancing around he saw a empty corner, next to the windows, and made his way there. When he was out of earshot, he pulled his phone from his pocket, and flipped it open. After a quick dial, he listened to the number ring. Unfortunately, there was no answer, but the recorder came on, instead.

"Addison - hey little buddy...I just wanted to say hello, and apologize for making a mad dash out on you at the ball. I came across some news that...well, for want of a better term...freaked the shit out of me. I also owe you another apology, but would rather make it in person. I...well, there is something I need to tell you about me, but it just wouldn't sound right over the phone. Anyway...hope you're okay, and everything is going well for you. I am still quite interested in having you help me find a hotel...and, or, a place to live. However...if...well, if you would rather not, I understand... believe me. But if that's the tack you choose to take, I just want to say again...I'm sorry about how things went...well, maybe not ALL things..."

BEEP

"Damn!"

The recorder ran out of time and hung up. Nic just stared at the phone for several seconds, and wondered what got into him. He wasn't a sentimental type, and he wasn't into guys...so why was he that concerned for Addison?

He hadn't forgotten about Ellis either...not for one second...even if he was having a nice time tonight, there was a constant voice playing inside his head, telling him over and over again just how much he had totally fucked things up. Even with the minor reassurances Kem had given him, he knew the truth. If he were to leave the Towers, and expose himself anywhere Ellis could get to him...he was gone from the face of the earth...never to be seen or heard from again. And no matter how much he liked Addison, or wanted to make amends, it wasn't worth losing his life over.

Once he came to temporary terms with that issue, he glanced back at the small group of Evenhets and smiled, somewhat bittersweetly. He sure wished he had come to the Towers when he had first arrived in town...but wishing wouldn't make it true, so he gave up that train of thought and rejoined the ladies.

Artemis and Pak arrived not long after the others. He was reluctant to let go of her hand, but grudgingly he did so. Stepping forward, Artemis opened the door and let Pak walk through. As it always managed to happen to Artemis, he stood holding the door while a small army departed the shop as well. When he was finally able to enter, Artemis gently brushed his fingers against Pak's back and whispered her name so that she would know he was there and not be startled by his sudden appearance. Scaring one's date was not the best way to go about things. Was this a date? Artemis looked over to where the others were seated and chastised himself. He really needed to break away from the chaperoned variety.

Artemis smiled to himself and looked around. It was clearly too busy for what they had in mind originally. They would have to leaving the experiments for another time. Artemis already knew what he wanted, so he looked at Pak as he reached inside his coat and pulled out his wallet and a thin silver flask. Holding the objects in one hand, he took her hand in the other. Thoughts quickly ran through his mind. He was determined not to say it. He was not going to ask if she wanted chocolate or vanilla. Would you like whipped cream with that? Hello my name is Artemis and I am socially inept. He allowed himself a playful grin. Just because he wouldn't say it, didn't mean he wouldn't provide her with the opportunity. Using his most seductive voice, though careful not to enter the realm of suggestion.

" So what will you have, and how would you like it?"

With the twinkle and amusement in his eyes, the statement was bound to leave her in fits of hysterical laughter, but he couldn't resist.

(ooc: Permission to drag Pak into the thread. Will be paying for it later no doubt. )

Why she was still carrying the car and not driving it was a damned fine question but the toy had been forgotten for the time being. She'd tried not to laugh as he got caught at the door, but decided that having a tall date had advantages, he was hard to lose.

OK so she'd done the safe thing and was trying to sort out what looked good, oh there he was. Crap, focus girl that was just... well. Ordinarily Pak might have recovered from that but no, Artemis just had to go and open a door and there went any chance of a remotely witty come back. There was nothing for it, she laughed tried to collect herself and wound up giggling again.

Straitening up she gave him a look that very clearly said 'I will get you back for that' she managed to find a good answer.

"Anything with whipped cream and a cherry on top sounds lovely."Â?

Woolgathering again. Aishe realized belatedly that not only had she missed Dani's answer completely if she'd given one, but Nic had also just spoken to her. She glanced around for him, but he was across the room on his phone. She shot him an apologetic glance and stepped aside to let Pak and her companion ahead of her in line.

Waiting for Nic, blushing fiercely at having been caught completely out in space, she shuffled her toes on the smoothly-tiled floor and played with the end of her long braid.

When Nic rejoined her in line, she gave him a sheepish look.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I was a little preoccupied just then. What did you say? I think I was cruising past Mars a few moments ago. Some little green aliens waved at me."

Smiling at her apology, which was totally unnecessary, Nic put a friendly hand on her back, just below her neck, and turned towards the menu.

"I would like to treat, if you'd allow me. I have been enjoying my evening, albeit a bit odd, and wanted to thank you and Dani properly."

A quick glance at Dani, and it appeared she still had business to take care of.

"I wonder if she ever truly leaves her job, even for the smallest amount of time."

Nic pondered, and smiled again at Aishe. Though he dearly loved acting, he also loved to play, and was glad one never got in the way of the other.

Aishe would have been perfectly happy to treat, but her parents had brought her up to observe certain niceties and accepting frozen yogurt from a gentleman was well within those boundaries. She didn't want to be rude enough to turn him down. So she nodded her acceptance.

Cocking her head in Dani's direction when Nic observed her working at a table big enough for all of them, she said, "I don't know her well enough to say. Although work has certainly been a big part of her night so far, she seems to enjoy it. So perhaps they're one in the same with her? I shouldn't speculate."

Glancing back up at the menu, she peeked around the tall man in front of her to read through it again.

"Yep, chocolate with more chocolate. I haven't changed my mind over the course of my mind's meandering. But chocolate makes everything better anyway, you can't go wrong!"

Though the question had been rhetorical, Nic just nodded at Aishe's comment. She certainly seemed the proper young lady, and he appreciated her manners. It had been a long time since he'd shared the company of someone of what he considered to be excellent deportment. Most young women he had met over the past several years, while friendly and good company, seemed to lack the breeding he had grown up with. Aishe reminded Nic of an old soul, and he felt strangely protective of her. That was not anything he would depart to her however, as he doubted she would approve of such from someone who was a virtual stranger.

Dani, on the other hand, appeared much more like the women of today. Yet there was something remarkable about her as well. Dani's abilities appeared totally second nature to Nic. While he was no expert on what it took for her to do her job, he had seen admiration in Arin's eyes, when he had addressed the woman earlier. She seemed to be the most well organized woman he had ever seen, and still believed her hand in 'assisting' Arin, was much more than she credited herself with.

Further thoughts of each woman were surrendered to the call of ice cream, and rather than wait for Dani to finish her business, he ordered the flavor Aishe pointed out, and chose a coconut flavor for himself. He would have offered to treat the Asian beauty and her prankster friend, had they not already been in the process of ordering for themselves.

Handing the small dish to Aishe, he took his, and then handed her the napkin and spoon as well.

"Would you like to sit down?"

He gestured to the large table ahead.

Though the question had been rhetorical, Nic just nodded at Aishe's comment. She certainly seemed the proper young lady, and he appreciated her manners. It had been a long time since he'd shared the company of someone of what he considered to be excellent deportment. Most young women he had met over the past several years, while friendly and good company, seemed to lack the breeding he had grown up with. Aishe reminded Nic of an old soul, and he felt strangely protective of her. That was not anything he would depart to her however, as he doubted she would approve of such from someone who was a virtual stranger.

Dani, on the other hand, appeared much more like the women of today. Yet there was something remarkable about her as well. Dani's abilities appeared totally second nature to Nic. While he was no expert on what it took for her to do her job, he had seen admiration in Arin's eyes, when he had addressed the woman earlier. She seemed to be the most well organized woman he had ever seen, and still believed her hand in 'assisting' Arin, was much more than she credited herself with.

Further thoughts of each woman were surrendered to the call of ice cream, and rather than wait for Dani to finish her business, he ordered the flavor Aishe pointed out, and chose a coconut flavor for himself. He would have offered to treat the Asian beauty and her prankster friend, had they not already been in the process of ordering for themselves.

Handing the small dish to Aishe, he took his, and then handed her the napkin and spoon as well.

"Would you like to sit down?"

He gestured to the large table ahead.

Dani slipped her palm pilot back into her purse, tucking the stylus behind her ear for the moment, then looked up to see how the group was doing. Nic seemed to be taking care of some business on his phone and was a ways from the group but Pakpao and Artemis had made their way into the shop and seemed to be getting along famously if Pak’s laughter was any indication. That was nice. She was about to get up and rejoin the group but her phone picked that moment to buzz. She frowned at the caller ID and decided to let her voice mail take that one, but made a mental note that she likely had a lunch appointment for tomorrow.

Pulling out a spiral notebook from her purse, she set that on the table to make it clear it was taken and walked back to join the group, smiling.

“Sorry about that. What did I miss?”

Fatty had, of his own accord, stood up and waddled behind her, and was now staring intently at the counter.

Artemis chuckled. He was glad he had ventured out of his lab, even though he knew he would soon be feeling the strain. His assistant Keri had seen fit to provide him with the solution should he not make it back to the lab in time or should find himself otherwise distracted. Smiling at the comely distraction, he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"Careful, that can be arranged."

Still grinning, Artemis looked up and noticed the other man had returned. He was about to add a couple of pennies to their discussion about Dani, when she joined them. He marveled at how she always managed to have perfect timing. She had certainly been able to catch himself and Alfarinn sprawled out drunk a few times. Artemis smiled and winked at Dani.

"Well while you were closing up your Stash and Go Satchel, we were discussing your apparently endless work duties. I was about to point out to my new friends here that the job did have a few perks, such as being able to spend time with someone as wonderful as me. But alas, before I could expound upon my greatness you arrived."

Artemis eyed the infamous purse for a moment. It had become something of a game to give it a variety of different names. The Purse-o-Matic 5000, guaranteed to hold everything Alfarinn and Artemis need to take over the world....or destroy it. Artemis smiled at Pak before turning back to Dani.

"Pak and I were just discussing our order. She wants something positively sinful. I believe this gentleman was wanting to treat the lovely lady with him. Can I get you and Sir Fatty something. Fatty knows far too much not to be treated properly."

Artemis smiled and let go of Pak's hand long enough to offer it to the others.

" I am Artemis by the way. Have you met Pakpao?"

(ooc: Permission given for the back story on Alfarinn, Artemis, and THE purse.)

Glad she would allow him the small favor of buying her treat, Nic too looked at the menu again. Being slightly taller than the other male of their group, he had no difficulty seeing it. Though he had already decided on the frozen chocolate covered bananas.

He was about to offer to treat Dani as well, when the other man beat him to it. The man also took that opportunity to introduce himself, something Nic had again forgotten to do. It had to be the result of stress. Though he had thought he was doing pretty good, under the circumstances. He guessed maybe the whole Addison/Ellis matter was still weighing a lot heavier on him than he had allowed for.

Taking the man's hand, and giving it a firm shake, Nic nodded, and reciprocated the greeting.

"Nic Lache, and yes, I have had the pleasure. This is Aishe."

And when he released Artemis' hand, he put it behind Aishe again, resting it lightly against her back as he introduced her as well. His hand then went into his pocket, as he smiled at Pakpao. Any previous irritations long forgotten. Nic was not one to bear grudges. Life was too long to carry around that burden.

Pak had a knack for looking un phased and innocent. It didn’t always work, but as she had been given a moment to prepare she nailed the look. He was a terrible flirt, of course of late, so was she. So Pak could hardly complain; not that she would. However, as they were more or less surrounded by people she didn’t know too well Pak chose to be discreet and sent to him.

[You probably look good in whipped cream, shame about the chaperones.]

Understanding a bit about Artemis’ thought process Pak really didn’t expect an answer to that. Instead she just smiled and turned her attention to Dani and the others.

“Well they must let you out sometimes. At least I hope they do.”

She really didn’t want to explain about meeting Nic. That had not been her finest, well nicest, moment. Granted it had evolved well and she’d learned a new trick, but that was not the point and it certainly wouldn’t do to explain to Nic about his shoe.

Glad that intros had been taken care of she decided to try and play nice.

“I may have miss heard but didn’t Dani say something about showing you both around? So you’re both new to the city?”

Aishe stepped away from Nic just slightly when she was introduced, so as to establish herself as her own identity; she didn't want anyone to get the wrong impression and think they were 'together.'

She was glad to finally have a name to put to the face of the enthusiastic dancer from the ball, and she smiled as she shook Artemis' hand. "I remember you from the ball the other night," she admitted. "Though truth be told I'm not sure if I should ask for your autograph or find shelter."

She hoped he didn't take offense at her humor, but she figured anyone with the guts to dance like that had to have a pretty decent sense of humor.

When he introduced Pakpao, she smiled and nodded. "We bumped into each other a little while ago in the stationery store, actually."

Dani raised her eyebrows, surprised that the conversation had been about her when she didn’t think she was doing anything particularly interesting. There didn’t seem to be any weirdness, though, as there might have been had they been talking and all suddenly stopped at once for no apparent reason, so she figured it was all good.

“Yeah, the people are definitely the best part. I wouldn’t call the work endless, though…just very fluid.”

She smiled when she spoke, deciding that was both a good way to describe her job and a bad joke, in a way. She knew she was more than a blood donor in the scheme of things, though, so the somewhat crass humor was acceptable in her mind.

“Oh, I get out quite a bit actually; as wonderful as technology is I can’t do everything from my desk…or my purse.”

She turned to Aishe, figuring she would be the least likely to understand the whole ‘familiar’ thing and wanting to explain. If Nic’s lack of shock when Theo let his shoe float around were any indication, he had the basics down at the very least.

“I do a lot of the ‘daylight things’ that need doing on Arin’s behalf; it’s part of the point of having a familiar.”

Well, she supposed that was true of some people and not others, but that was neither here nor there.

“But enough about work. You’re too kind Artemis, thank you. Ooh, they still have pumpkin flavored frozen yogurt; I’d love a small cup of that.” She looked down at Fatty. “No chocolate for you, big guy.” She looked back up at Artemis. “And he likes strawberry.”

Artemis felt the heat rise at Pak's comment. The amount of effort it would take for him to reply normally was extreme and usually required physical contact to help him focus. He could feel himself running out of time. That plus the flirting, the people, and of course the blushing there was no way he would be able to concentrate enough on Pak to answer. He would have to let her win that round. There was always next time.

Artemis smiled and nodded at Nic and then at Aishe when she was introduced. It took him a moment to figure out what she was referring to. He remembered setting the car alarms off, but to anyone who didn't know him it would have looked like an ordinary pen. It then hit him that she was talking about his dancing. Clearly some higher power wanted to see how many shades of red he could turn. recovering quickly he laughed.

" It is a genetic trait of Italians. We are born with the ability to conquer a room. The dividing comes when someone foolishly forgets to duck. What was up with the car alarms though, they caused quite a commotion?"

He hadn't been able to resist playing innocent to his mischief. Pak was the only one in this group that was present. Surely she wouldn't tell on him, she was guilty by association. Still amused, he nodded at Dani's, and Fatty's, order and then turned to the waiting cashier. He was relieved to see it was Keri's friend. The girl had come by the lab a few times and brought some ice cream. It had taken him a while to figure out that the shop didn't do delivery but that the girl was a friend and confidant to Keri. This also meant that she understood about his situation. Artemis's mind worked differently from most people's. Human doctors had now concluded that the minds of those like Artemis worked at a higher frequency. Not all with this trait were geniuses, that was an added bonus to make Artemis even harder to understand. Alcohol slowed his mind down to normal so that he could function around people, but it also caused an addiction, a need he couldn't escape. Artemis slid the silver flask over to the girl.

"With coke please. Also a cup of pumpkin yogurt, a cup of strawberry, and a triple scoop sundae with chocolate, vanilla, and rasberry. With extra whipped cream and a cherry on the last."

Artemis grinned wickedly as he placed the last order. Taking his flask when it was returned, he placed it back inside his coat pocket. He paid for the ice cream, making sure to tip the girl extra for her assistance. With a thank you, he put his wallet away and picked up the tray. Artemis walked over to the side a short distance, in the direction of the table Dani had been seated at. Now that he was out of the way, he turned and waited politely for the others.

(ooc: Permission to order Pak a mound of ice cream with whipped cream on top)
(ooc: The part on brain frequency was from a seminar and is from a theory on why some people a predisposed to become addicts.)

Once Artemis had placed, and received his order, Nic did likewise. He was handed Aishe's dish, spoon, napkins, and his banana, and carried them to the table as well. When he reached the table, he set everything down but his banana, so Aishe could decide where she wanted to sit and eat it. He chose to remain standing, and moved to the far corner of the table, so he would not be in anyone's way.

As the chocolate around the banana was beginning to soften, he took a good size bite, and relished the flavor and icy cold sensation. He would need to remember to get a couple bananas to keep in the freezer. He really enjoyed them, even without the chocolate.

As he stood aside, he studied the small group further. This clan Evenhet seemed good people...He hoped he'd be given time to get to know them all better. The luxury of remaining in one place long enough to do so, appealed greatly to Nic.

Once Artemis had placed, and received his order, Nic did likewise. He was handed Aishe's dish, spoon, napkins, and his banana, and carried them to the table as well. When he reached the table, he set everything down but his banana, so Aishe could decide where she wanted to sit and eat it. He chose to remain standing, and moved to the far corner of the table, so he would not be in anyone's way.

As the chocolate around the banana was beginning to soften, he took a good size bite, and relished the flavor and icy cold sensation. He would need to remember to get a couple bananas to keep in the freezer. He really enjoyed them, even without the chocolate.

As he stood aside, he studied the small group further. This clan Evenhet seemed good people...He hoped he'd be given time to get to know them all better. The luxury of remaining in one place long enough to do so, appealed greatly to Nic.

Aishe nodded at Dani, having wondered more than once how it felt to be a familiar. Dani didn't seem any the worse for wear over it, and she certainly seemed to have a mind of her own. She had met Alfarinn though, and remembered quite vividly his kindness and consideration. She would have had a hard time imagining him treating a familiar with anything but that. She wondered if that was the way of it for all vampires with familiars, or if perhaps there were those vampires who treated them... differently.

It seemed that for each answer she got, five new questions arose. Did all vampires have familiars? How often did they actually need to feed? If she were a vampire, would she have to have a familiar? On and on and on, until she simply had to stop thinking about it or risk spacing out again and possibly offending her new friends.

Aishe laughed softly when Artemis responded to her ribbing with his overview of the Italian divide-and-conquer strategy. It cheered her a great deal to be in the company of such pleasant people, and made her goals seem perhaps not so far away - even if she was mentally cataloguing a small novels' worth of questions.

When Artemis asked about the car alarms Aishe simply lifted a shoulder, her own face flushing now as she remembered her unfortunate collision with Alec and subsequent defrocking. "I'm not sure. I just have to hope it doesn't happen again. I can't remember ever being that embarrassed... we had a rather untimely collision with one of the couples on the dance floor and I ended up on a table, then on the floor missing half of my costume. While normally I might not complain too badly if the company's good, that was a bit, ah, public. And I think my butt is still sore." She flashed a quick grin, rubbing the part in question.

Thanking Nic softly for treating, she went with him over to the table where Artemis was already waiting and sat at the back side, so the others wouldn't have to squeeze by to sit down themselves.