Out on the Town (active)
Ambrose had mentioned this little pub when she'd asked about restaurants, and since it was the first one she recognized as she and Dayle strolled along the streets, Ysabel pointed it out. "lannigan's," one of the neon signs in a narrow window proclaimed. From the sounds of it there was a crowd inside, but it didn't sound like anything too terribly stuffy.
"Shall we?" Ysabel pointed out the building from where they stood across the road.
The light at the intersection turned red, bathing the twins in its eerie luminescence as they trotted across the road, Ysabel with her skirts lifted slightly. There were a surprising number of patrons smoking not in the building, but outside it. As they opened the door, they were greeted with the pleasant aromas of cooked food, and not with a cloud of smoke.
Ysabel figured that was one thing already in its favor, and dropped back behind Dayle a bit to follow her inside.
((ooc: please feel free to join in :) ))
"Hungry enough for food, or d'you just want something to drink?" She assisted her sister into her seat, then sat as she asked the question, and fiddled with the food menu lying on the tabletop.
(( previously described here ))
She glanced around the pub, well aware that speaking of snacks, she'd been deprived of one earlier that evening. Pleasantly deprived, but deprived nonetheless. Too bad the pub was so clear of smoke. She hated it, but it did provide adequate screening for snacking in out-of-the-way corners.
"A drink, at the very least. Maybe some chips, as well?"
Her eyes scanned the room, but she didn't see anything that was to her liking immediately.
Looking up, she noticed her sister's eyes roving about the room. Reaching out her foot, she lightly tapped the solid object she felt there... And felt the table vibrate almost like a bell. Reaching around the center support of the table, she found a leg and nudged it. When Ysabel looked at her, she pointed her eyes over her shoulder to the hall behind her, then the sign above her own head.
"Restrooms." Dayle wiggled a brow at her sister, then waited patiently for someone to come serve them.
She shook her head at the notion of a beer. "I think I'd prefer water, anyway. I don't have the courage to try anything else here yet; you can tell me how it is if you do."
Dayle was giving her twin-speak for "let's wait till some hapless human goes to the bathroom and ambush them there," but Ysabel shook her head slightly at her. Dayle was welcome to, but Ysabel had neither seen anything (or anyone) she wanted, nor was she horribly hungry. And even though she wasn't terribly picky about when and where she ate, restrooms in pubs weren't exactly her idea of the perfect venue.
"Later," she murmured, as a waitress approached them, "but don't let me stop you if you see something you'd like."
"Can I get you ladies something?"
"Hi, Donna," Dayle said. "Could we get two waters, a Coors Lite, a big plate of chips - I mean fries - big enough for two, with plenty of salt and vinegar on the side please?" Dayle glanced to the edge of the table and noticed the ketchup was empty. "And a fresh bottle of ketchup, please."
Donna nodded, repeating their order, and replied, "Sure thing, but there's one thing I need from the two of you before..."
Her voice stopped and there was a snorting sound as if the woman was trying not to laugh when she saw both Dayle and Ysabel holding out their IDs for inspection. After a moment, she nodded her acceptance. Leaning over, she whispered, "You girls might want to get American IDs if you're planning on staying a while, because not many places around here that are this far from the docks and airports would recognize British cards." Standing straight, she said audibly, "I'll be back with the drinks in a jif, but the fries will take a bit."
Dayle replied, "Okay, and thanks."
When the woman was out of earshot, she commented sotto voce to Ysabel, "You know, on one hand I'm glad I don't look my age. On the other, I wish I looked a -little- older so we didn't have to deal with being carded all the time!"
Ysabel would never have reproved anyone in such a manner. It just went to show; there was no substitute for both good manners and equally good breeding.
To Dayle, however, she smiled moderately and murmured, "The rules are the rules, love. I don't mind, as long as it's just a little flash of a card."
"I wonder what'll happen when ID becomes implanted or genetic. Or retinal scan. Especially if u-vee is used. That... might hurt." Dayle shuddered a bit. She was distracted by Donna returning with their drinks. "Thanks."
"Your fries will be out in a few minutes." She set a small bowl of assorted sliced fruit on the table and walked away.
Dayle was glad the water glasses had an appreciable amount of water in them, as well as a decent amount of ice. She looked at the pale golden color of her Coors Light, still foaming a little at the top with a minute head. "I'm finding it difficult to withold jokes about the size of the head..."
She picked up the tall glass, and sipped a couple times, avoiding getting the foam on her nose.
It somehow managed to meet her standards so she continued to nibble in bits and pieces as she listened to Dayle's speculations. She simply shook her head over the idea of implanted ID. There would be a way around that, as there was with any normal liscense. Vampires would figure it out before it ever became a problem.
As for the beer, Ysabel raised her eyebrows at Dayle and slid the last bit of melon off her fork with her teeth, chewing thoughtfully and swallowing before replying, "Well fortunately, the head isn't the only good indicator. It's just the start - it's the rest of it that really does the job."
With a little smile, she speared a strawberry and nibbled that down to nothing as well.
"Enjoying your fruit salad?"
"Think they could have spared the fruit?"
"You sure that's not just garnish?"
Instead, she set down her glass and, picking a tiny wedge of lime up in between her thumb and forefinger, dropped it splashless into her glass of water. As she swirled it around, she looked at her sister. Her eyes were saying "see silly, this is what you should have done with it," and took a sip. At the exact moment she would have swallowed, Ysabel dropped her bombshell of a comment. Dayle snorted, then her shoulders began to shake as she chuckled. Her mouth full of lime-flavored water wasn't making it easier to laugh, so she paused painfully and forced herself to swallow. She laughed finally at her sister's joke, then after a moment, took a deep breath and forced herself to be calm.
Glaring at her near-mirror image, she cracked a smile, nothing but affection showing in her eyes.
"What's the matter, something gone down the wrong pipe?" She opened her blue-grey eyes wide in an expression of childlike innocence, and continued, "I was merely observing that the body of a good brew is what's really effective."
She sipped at her water, before adding, "When speaking of beer, of course."
Ysabel pondered that for a moment, then figured she had better add a qualifier. "Although I suppose that could apply in more cases than just alcohol."
The humor was slightly crude, but they were sitting in a pub after all, and Ysabel adored making Dayle laugh, regardless of what was in her mouth at the time. The topic of conversation reminded her that barely an hour ago she'd made a date for the coming weekend, and she sobered as she regarded her sister.
"You don't mind my going out this weekend, do you? I hadn't planned on it... rather, I had of course, but not with a man. It just... happened."
She had fully intended to spend her weekend with no one but Dayle, not expecting to really know anyone in the city yet. Ysabel felt slightly guilty that Dayle wasn't coming along, but her more vibrant twin was perfectly capable of hitting a club or a bar and livening it up a bit.
She took a third sip. The beverage was chilled, as most beers should be served. It was light, which wasn't so bad; honestly Dayle preferred the darker ales such as Guinness. It had a gentle aroma, but something in the body reminded her of liquid sawdust. She decided she would never choose Coors Lite again.
"What sort of sister would I be if I minded you going out on a date? I'm glad you are! You need it, and just think, you'll either end up with a tasty meal, a fun partner, or get plugged into a network on your way to either or both. Go, enjoy yourself, I'll either be buried under a bodyslide of work or maybe I'll get lucky enough to find a date of my own." She winked and sipped of her beer.
"Of course I reserve all rights for the telling afterwards!"
She immediately felt bad for being so disparaging, but she was still holding a bit of a grudge against their high-and-mighty waitress. At least the beer didn't have any feelings she could hurt.
Ysabel had pretty much expected Dayle's reassurance, and she had no doubt that if Dayle wanted a date, Dayle would be able to find one. "Perhaps you could find a few more boxes to throw out in your underwear. You'd have a date then for sure," she said with a grin. "And naturally I'll tell you all about it," she added. She and Dayle had never kept date-talk a secret.
Then again, Ysabel hadn't actually seen the same man more than two or three times since her last marriage. Her date this weekend was just that - a date. They would probably smile and converse and have a pleasant evening, and maybe make arrangements to see each other again, but that was it. Ysabel had no expectations beyond that. If anything else happened, well, she would take it as it came.
What she held back from her sister was that she didn't see this particular date as a snacking opportunity. She was actually more interested than that. Ysabel chose not to mention that and was glad when their chips arrived and became the focal point for their interest for the next few moments.
When her twin suggested throwing out a few more boxes in her underwear, Dayle stuck her tongue out. "You should empty more of yours, because all mine are empty. Then we could try it." She snickered. "Or, if I really wanted to be bloody daring, I could borrow some of your underoos."
Dayle would never voice it to her sister, but she secretly wondered how her sister - with her strange attire habits - made out so well in the manflesh arena. She also would never mention how she felt better when date information was shared; it made her know that her sister truly was a woman of her own, and didn't have to worry about her more than she did. Which, if Ysabel had any comments on, was entirely too much...
The chips finally made it to their table, though thankfully weren't delivered by Donna. A bottle of ketchup made its way back to the table shortly thereafter, as well as two small plates, a dipper bowl of vinegar, forks and napkins. They were well-fried; golden brown, the way Dayle liked them, with lots of salt. Pulling a pile onto her plate, she split several in two, and dipped into the vinegar. Chewing, tasting, swallowing, she sighed quietly. "Not bad, not bad 't'all."
She turned up her nose at the idea of even sampling such cabbage water and pinched two slices of lemon into her own glass of water. "I'd have emptied more boxes by now if a certain someone hadn't had a yen for a walk and a bite. You can hardly complain!"
The idea of Dayle in her 'underoos' made her chuckle. Not only had she seen that before, but she wouldn't have been surprised at all to find out Dayle owned a pair or two of authentic Underoos. Now, if she could wear those and run out to the dumpster...
The idea made her giggle and she just shook her head at Dayle rather than explain it. When her sister proclaimed the chips edible, Ysabel skewered one on her fork and salted it, then dipped it in the vinegar and nibbled just as daintily on it as she had on the fruit. Dayle was right, it was tasty. She ate two or three and another piece of melon before placing her fork back down. She had never been a heavy eater, even before being turned.
Smiling widely at her sister, she bowed her head respectfully and tugged the chip off her fork. "Really do respect magnetism like that. It's a wonder you didn't set off the checkpoints at the terminal on our way over. Or attract all unburdened bits of steel in the city." Winking, Dayle laid her double entendre as well as her fork on the table.
"And you know," she said with a sigh, trailing her fingernail through a pile of salt on her little plate, "I left just about all my date clothes back at the estate."
She also couldn't deny the fact that of the two of them Ysabel did indeed seem to be the more likely to draw male interest. Not just because of her style, she imagined. Somehow her manners had a way of making them think she was helpless or meek or mild... Ysabel wasn't sure exactly what their impressions were to be honest, but just because one preferred to keep one's opinions hidden didn't mean one didn't have any at all. She lifted a shoulder at Dayle and gave her that quiet, knowing smile again.
"If you end up with a date," she said, "you're welcome to borrow my date clothes. I shouldn't think size will be an issue."
That was said with a little grin; Ysabel knew full well that their ideas of 'date clothes' were about as opposite as night and day.
Dayle finished what she estimated would have been exactly half of the chips, and downed the remainder of her Coors Lite. Shuddering gently from the small of her back up to her nose, she licked her lips daintily and sighed. "Maybe I won't worry too much about dating right now, and instead focus on getting used to this new city. And live vicariously through you, just a tad, maybe." She winked at her twin.
"Some companion I am," she murmured ruefully. "I can cancel my date and stay home with you this Saturday. We can rent a movie or three and do nothing but lie around on the couch, if you like!"
While she hadn't intended to remain at Dayle's beck and call, she certainly also hadn't expected to fall for a pickup so soon either. The fact was, she was more adaptable than she was given credit for - or at least she thought so. The move hadn't phased her one bit; if anything, she would enjoy exploring Nachton. Although she'd made a few trips here in the past, she hadn't seen it for well over fifty years.
"I will be starting my own job soon, even if it is just a few nights here and there, and I still have to move into the Manor as well."
There had been a delay with her belongings; she wouldn't be getting them for a little while longer, but she could stay in the condo for now.
"Speaking of which," she said, poking her finger in the air as she remembered. "Our condo rules. No politics, right?"
The condo, as Ysabel saw it, was their neutral territory. They were a Tacharna and an Anantya, but inside their shared condo, they should be nothing but sisters, first and foremost.
She tilted her head somewhat at Ysabel's change of subject. "No, no politics at the condo. Besides, we barely know anything about American politics..."
Winking, knowing that her sister meant otherwise, she amended, "No politics."
"Very well then. If we had any interest in that sort of politics, then I suppose they could be considered acceptable. But as for the other, strictly forbidden once we cross the threshhold!"
Sipping at her water, she raised a golden brow at Dayle. "Any other rules we should lay down?"