“Heathen! Malt vinegar. Has no one taught you these things, some one would think you were a child.”
Pak rebuked Dawn for her use of ketchup while casually fishing for the girl’s age. As her son had pointed out Dawn could be the oldest vampire in the city.
Meh the chowder wasn’t bad, not great but OK. The beer was good though, and unlike the high-class joint, she wouldn’t have been able to have her smoke.
Pak ripped of a chunk of the bread bowl and did a double take. OK that’s where the quality came in. that was great. She dipped it in the soup and the chowder came a live. She enthusiastically repeated the process and did her best not to chew with her mouth open.
Ok, this didn’t sound like a college application or a job interview Pak decided. Which seemed to confirm that Dawn was not exactly human.
“So you’re applying to the mafia is what you’re saying? Once you’re in you can never get out. No changing sides, ever. If that’s the case screw the advice what do you want?”
She shook off the offer of fish, it had been contaminated.
No Soup for You ((open))
Dawn had neglected her riding for awhile, and thought she should use the precision in her life. Smiling slightly at the joy about to unfold in her life, she slid into her leathers. Glancing in the mirror, she started for a moment. This had been the first time, ever, that her hair was not dyed before riding. Was she actually growing up, or simply becoming lazy? Did it amount to the same thing?
Walking through the manor, she paused in the garage area. So many vehicles that were simply stored here on the off chance that their owners would one day wish to use them again. How many had been forgotten, or pushed aside for newer toys? Were some being stored for eternity, their owners having perished to another predator...or their own hands? Sliding her helmet on, she shrugged. Slightly morbid, but anything beat trying to figure out which Order to be in. Try as she might, she just kept banging her head against the problem with nothing to show for it.
Pressing the door release, Dawn mounted up and started the engine. Feeling the familiar vibration, she grinned. Everything seemed to be moving smoothly. Starting slow on the grounds and the surrounding streets, she wound her way toward the Strip. Typically, she would have stopped there, and found someplace to water herself, perhaps get into a fight. That wasn't what she was hungry for, though. Too many thoughts in her head. Opening up down the center line, Dawn startled several drivers with her burst of speed and disregard of traffic policy. But the adrenaline wasn't there tonight. Bringing it back down, she found herself coming to the end of the line, where she turned aside and wound through side streets. There were areas of Nachton she still had not explored, and some of them were in these coastal areas.
Some of the areas off the Industrial District, near the Waterfront, were somewhat familiar to her, but the more civilized areas by the Marina...not so much. Turning around, she headed in that direction. She had heard that the chowder at the place at the end of the Marina was excellent. Unsure what she was looking for, but certain that it would be obvious when she arrived, Dawn pulled up and powered down near the front of the lot. Pulling off her helmet, she was assaulted by the sea air, and discovered that she missed it.
The Atlantic smelled different than her Pacific, but it was welcome. Smiling, she tucked her helmet under her arm, ran her fingers through her hair, and started walking down the marina. All of the tourist crap was the same on every pier anywhere. The gems were always found in between.
Pakpao
16 years ago
Dawn Ratana
16 years ago
Blinking, Dawn raised an eyebrow and wrinkled her nose yet again, shaking her head while making the universally understood pukey face.
"Malt vinegar can lick my ass. That's for old folks and Englishmen. 'Sides, th'ketchup is for th'fries, not th'fish. Th'fish's good 'nuff without any'a tha other shit."
Laughing, Dawn nodded.
"Yeah, somethinglikethat. I look good in th'goomba suits an' love pasta. An' I guess th'trouble's that I dunno what I want...other'n to be appreciated an'good a'wha I do."
Sniffing at the tartar sauce, Dawn pushed it aside. That was supposed to be good on fish, too, but what the fuck did the English know about condiments, anyway. Hell, mustard was supposed to be a staple condiment along with ketchup, but it was originally used to hide the flavor of rotting meat. Yeah, awesome. She didn't know if the English came up with mustard or not, but she was comfortable blaming them for most of the crimes against food in the world.
"I bet you're a mustard eater, too."
"Malt vinegar can lick my ass. That's for old folks and Englishmen. 'Sides, th'ketchup is for th'fries, not th'fish. Th'fish's good 'nuff without any'a tha other shit."
Laughing, Dawn nodded.
"Yeah, somethinglikethat. I look good in th'goomba suits an' love pasta. An' I guess th'trouble's that I dunno what I want...other'n to be appreciated an'good a'wha I do."
Sniffing at the tartar sauce, Dawn pushed it aside. That was supposed to be good on fish, too, but what the fuck did the English know about condiments, anyway. Hell, mustard was supposed to be a staple condiment along with ketchup, but it was originally used to hide the flavor of rotting meat. Yeah, awesome. She didn't know if the English came up with mustard or not, but she was comfortable blaming them for most of the crimes against food in the world.
"I bet you're a mustard eater, too."
Pakpao
16 years ago
“What the fuck! Are you calling me old? My age has nothing to do with the fact that you have no taste.”
Dawn clearly looked younger than Pak did, not by much but enough that it was noticeable.
The more Dawn spoke the more Pak became convinced what she was. But what exactly was she talking about? She’d ruled out Evenhet, unless they had some sort of secret society she wasn’t aware of. And giving her gift for hacking… er… creatively locating information… Pak didn’t think that was the case. So that left one of the other two, and very simply Pak didn’t know enough about either to make a much of a guess.
“If you love what you do it’s easier to be the best and once you’re the best it’s easy to be appreciated and that logic follows no mater what you do.”
Prostitution or programming; or anything else.
“You’ve got to be the one to take pride in your job, not wait for others to recognize it.”
She hadn’t started out more than a little computer savvy or head of a scary ass department, nope she’d done her job and worked her way up like any one else and if she expected to keep that job for the next few hundred years she kept up on things.
Popping another bite of chowder and bread in her mouth she nodded.
“Only the spicy brown kind, can’t stand the straight yellow stuff.”
Apparently the food was keeping her son quiet, as Pak realized with a start she hadn’t heard from him in a while. Well that was good.
Dawn clearly looked younger than Pak did, not by much but enough that it was noticeable.
The more Dawn spoke the more Pak became convinced what she was. But what exactly was she talking about? She’d ruled out Evenhet, unless they had some sort of secret society she wasn’t aware of. And giving her gift for hacking… er… creatively locating information… Pak didn’t think that was the case. So that left one of the other two, and very simply Pak didn’t know enough about either to make a much of a guess.
“If you love what you do it’s easier to be the best and once you’re the best it’s easy to be appreciated and that logic follows no mater what you do.”
Prostitution or programming; or anything else.
“You’ve got to be the one to take pride in your job, not wait for others to recognize it.”
She hadn’t started out more than a little computer savvy or head of a scary ass department, nope she’d done her job and worked her way up like any one else and if she expected to keep that job for the next few hundred years she kept up on things.
Popping another bite of chowder and bread in her mouth she nodded.
“Only the spicy brown kind, can’t stand the straight yellow stuff.”
Apparently the food was keeping her son quiet, as Pak realized with a start she hadn’t heard from him in a while. Well that was good.
Dawn Ratana
16 years ago
"No taste?! I'm th'QUEEN a Tastiness! We're located jus' North a Oldtimersformaltvinegarbourg, an' we don't trade with them, no ma'am! No profit innit! Next you'll be puttin Worchestershire sauce onna hamburger."
Laughing, Dawn continued along with her vinegar-free fish. Calming down, she listed the continued analysis. The difficulty was that she knew she was good in one department, and only suspected that she would be good in the other. How to test.
"Ok, ok. I guess th'issue's tha' I know I'm good in one direction - I mean, sure, I'll do well at it...but it might not be interestin' enough for a long term thing. Th'other, I'm kinda untested on, but have some natural aptitudes that'd help a lot in th'long run. Could be great at either. Also suspect that I'd get more use on th'second, but not sure. Also, everyone knows where everyone stands in th'first...th'second is...more...nebulous. People don't seem t'trust'em. Not sure I like that."
Raising an eyebrow, Dawn gave an uneven smile and quipped
"Well, I suppose if ya gotta eat th'crap, th'brown's better'n th'yelle. Of course, those Grey Poupon commercials kinda suggest that brown's for oldsters..."
Laughing, Dawn continued along with her vinegar-free fish. Calming down, she listed the continued analysis. The difficulty was that she knew she was good in one department, and only suspected that she would be good in the other. How to test.
"Ok, ok. I guess th'issue's tha' I know I'm good in one direction - I mean, sure, I'll do well at it...but it might not be interestin' enough for a long term thing. Th'other, I'm kinda untested on, but have some natural aptitudes that'd help a lot in th'long run. Could be great at either. Also suspect that I'd get more use on th'second, but not sure. Also, everyone knows where everyone stands in th'first...th'second is...more...nebulous. People don't seem t'trust'em. Not sure I like that."
Raising an eyebrow, Dawn gave an uneven smile and quipped
"Well, I suppose if ya gotta eat th'crap, th'brown's better'n th'yelle. Of course, those Grey Poupon commercials kinda suggest that brown's for oldsters..."
Pakpao
16 years ago
Pak jabbed her spoon in Dawn’s general direction.
“Yeah well your majesty you make one more crack about my age and I’ll Worcestershire you.”
OK it was official she didn’t like being the old one. See this is why she generally avoided cracks about other vamps ages, it could come back to haunt you. Besides one day she might be –really- old and then where would she be? Not that she had any concrete evidence about Dawn’s situation but she was taking things personally tonight.
Personally no not though it was sort of funny and she let a one sided grin slide across her face. Settling down again she considered the position Dawn was in. There didn’t seem to be a good answer.
“No test drives huh? Well… hmmm…”
She tore another hunk from her bread bowl and thoughtfully dipped it in her fast disappearing chowder.
“OK so the second one is nebulous and people don’t seem to trust them. How do you feel about being lumped in with that. I mean can you go through life with little or no direction and not having people know for sure what you’re up to and not entirely certain you can trust your associates? I know I couldn’t. I’d go off the deep end and knock some one off. But some people can manage it, for some people its fine and dandy they even like it. For the rest of us its not so hot.”
No, she needed to know she could trust her team, her clan and her friends. God, if she didn’t have Kem to lean on once in a while she’d have some major issues. Hell Aishe too had helped, even if Pak wasn’t quite as open with the new vampire on the block. Just having them around even if she didn’t always see them made a big difference in Pak’s life.
Sentiment, however, gave way to irritated amusement as there was another jab at her age. Without thinking about it, Pak tossed the chowder soaked bread at Dawn’s head with unnerving speed and great accuracy.
“They don’t have any Worcestershire here. But damned if that wasn’t a waste of good chowder.”
“Yeah well your majesty you make one more crack about my age and I’ll Worcestershire you.”
OK it was official she didn’t like being the old one. See this is why she generally avoided cracks about other vamps ages, it could come back to haunt you. Besides one day she might be –really- old and then where would she be? Not that she had any concrete evidence about Dawn’s situation but she was taking things personally tonight.
Personally no not though it was sort of funny and she let a one sided grin slide across her face. Settling down again she considered the position Dawn was in. There didn’t seem to be a good answer.
“No test drives huh? Well… hmmm…”
She tore another hunk from her bread bowl and thoughtfully dipped it in her fast disappearing chowder.
“OK so the second one is nebulous and people don’t seem to trust them. How do you feel about being lumped in with that. I mean can you go through life with little or no direction and not having people know for sure what you’re up to and not entirely certain you can trust your associates? I know I couldn’t. I’d go off the deep end and knock some one off. But some people can manage it, for some people its fine and dandy they even like it. For the rest of us its not so hot.”
No, she needed to know she could trust her team, her clan and her friends. God, if she didn’t have Kem to lean on once in a while she’d have some major issues. Hell Aishe too had helped, even if Pak wasn’t quite as open with the new vampire on the block. Just having them around even if she didn’t always see them made a big difference in Pak’s life.
Sentiment, however, gave way to irritated amusement as there was another jab at her age. Without thinking about it, Pak tossed the chowder soaked bread at Dawn’s head with unnerving speed and great accuracy.
“They don’t have any Worcestershire here. But damned if that wasn’t a waste of good chowder.”
Dawn Ratana
16 years ago
It sounded like the kite lady hit the nail on the head. How WOULD she feel about being lumped in from a social perspective. Certainly a new angle to think from. She'd mainly been looking at how affiliation with one Order or another would make her feel independent of outside factors, but Dawn knew herself well enough to know that a limit on her ability to socialize would drive her nuts. Hell, could she even talk about what she was doing as a nightie? Probably not.
"I'dn't lookt a'it from tha'direction. Kinda makesa'uge diffrence."
Grin turned to an "O" of surprise as the chowder grew larger in her vision. Moving with the amazing agility inherited from her creator, Dawn arced her body to the side and caught the bread bowl by palming it on the crusty, flat bottom and cupping it back to contain as much of the remaining chowder as possible. Laughing, she said
"Y'slipt. 'Ere!"
and tossed it right back at Pakpao.
"I'dn't lookt a'it from tha'direction. Kinda makesa'uge diffrence."
Grin turned to an "O" of surprise as the chowder grew larger in her vision. Moving with the amazing agility inherited from her creator, Dawn arced her body to the side and caught the bread bowl by palming it on the crusty, flat bottom and cupping it back to contain as much of the remaining chowder as possible. Laughing, she said
"Y'slipt. 'Ere!"
and tossed it right back at Pakpao.
Pakpao
16 years ago
“From the sound of it a lot of people get to live with your choice and since your one of them…”
Best to know how –you- are going to be able to handle it.
Pak left that bit unsaid. It was, or could be, a selfish perspective to look at things. But if Dawn didn’t think about that then not only would she be miserable but the folks she worked with would be as well. She’d seen it before and it wasn’t pretty.
Those were some amazing reflexes, almost Matrix like if Keanu had been a woman, wearing less leather and dodging bread instead of bullets. Regardless Pak was impressed and was about to say something when the bread and soup was tossed back at her. Unsure if she was dealing with savvy vampire or innocent human Pak was cautious and only used her telekinesis to deflect the bight sized morsel slightly to one side giving her a little more time and room to dodge it.
She looked sadly as it finally landed on the ground.
“I was saving that for later. But I don’t think the five second rule applies where there have been sea gulls and tourist lurking about.”
Immortal or not no way was she going to eat it now… YUCK.
Best to know how –you- are going to be able to handle it.
Pak left that bit unsaid. It was, or could be, a selfish perspective to look at things. But if Dawn didn’t think about that then not only would she be miserable but the folks she worked with would be as well. She’d seen it before and it wasn’t pretty.
Those were some amazing reflexes, almost Matrix like if Keanu had been a woman, wearing less leather and dodging bread instead of bullets. Regardless Pak was impressed and was about to say something when the bread and soup was tossed back at her. Unsure if she was dealing with savvy vampire or innocent human Pak was cautious and only used her telekinesis to deflect the bight sized morsel slightly to one side giving her a little more time and room to dodge it.
She looked sadly as it finally landed on the ground.
“I was saving that for later. But I don’t think the five second rule applies where there have been sea gulls and tourist lurking about.”
Immortal or not no way was she going to eat it now… YUCK.
Dawn Ratana
16 years ago
"Yeah, I bes figgerit ou'wi more'n me'n mind. Jus...hard'n when no'ne wants t'give th'straight skinny, knaw?"
Saving it for later? Crazy or no, she was certainly entertaining.
"Aw, sure does. But prolly best not'a cut in on that bird's chow. As a people, bird flu did a number on us. Not that y'gotta worry 'bout it now. But why risk?"
Chowing down the last of her food, Dawn grinned. Not what she'd planned for the evening, but she'd still made progress, added more angles to evaluate and was a step closer to a decision. And she'd been in a not-really-a-food-fight, so that was something.
"Well, thanks for th'input. I'll think shit over sum'ore, an' maybe even come t'a decision this decade. Thanks."
Saving it for later? Crazy or no, she was certainly entertaining.
"Aw, sure does. But prolly best not'a cut in on that bird's chow. As a people, bird flu did a number on us. Not that y'gotta worry 'bout it now. But why risk?"
Chowing down the last of her food, Dawn grinned. Not what she'd planned for the evening, but she'd still made progress, added more angles to evaluate and was a step closer to a decision. And she'd been in a not-really-a-food-fight, so that was something.
"Well, thanks for th'input. I'll think shit over sum'ore, an' maybe even come t'a decision this decade. Thanks."
Pakpao
16 years ago
“Screw them wanting to give you the straight skinny. Take it. There are always ways to get information… that whole stupid cliché about beating the bush and the birds fly out on the other side.”
Pak could be a bit aggressive when it came to information gathering and didn’t see why others wouldn’t be. You could never rely on any one to –give- you complete and fair information and you were always the best judge of what –you- needed to know.
She laughed a short hard sound at Dawn’s observation about avian flu.
“I think it takes more than one aggressive sea rat to take us out.”
One last bite polished off her seafood snack. The question was, was she still hungry? Maybe. She had a kite and she was still looking forward to a beverage, especially as she could hear her son stirring again.
Her young acquaintance seemed to be looking to take off and that was fine by Pak. Fishing out another clove and lighting it up she slid a very basic business card across the table, all it had was her work email on it.
“Just in case you start to think you’re out of practice or something. But don’t waste too much time, there’s only two years and a few months in this decade you know.”
With that she picked up her kite and sauntered off.
((OOC… Pak and her kite out))
Pak could be a bit aggressive when it came to information gathering and didn’t see why others wouldn’t be. You could never rely on any one to –give- you complete and fair information and you were always the best judge of what –you- needed to know.
She laughed a short hard sound at Dawn’s observation about avian flu.
“I think it takes more than one aggressive sea rat to take us out.”
One last bite polished off her seafood snack. The question was, was she still hungry? Maybe. She had a kite and she was still looking forward to a beverage, especially as she could hear her son stirring again.
Her young acquaintance seemed to be looking to take off and that was fine by Pak. Fishing out another clove and lighting it up she slid a very basic business card across the table, all it had was her work email on it.
“Just in case you start to think you’re out of practice or something. But don’t waste too much time, there’s only two years and a few months in this decade you know.”
With that she picked up her kite and sauntered off.
((OOC… Pak and her kite out))
Dawn Ratana
16 years ago
Somehow Dawn didn't think that smacking the shit out of the Anantya elders until they coughed up the secrets of their orders was a viable option. It would probably be A Bad Thing. Looking for a smaller fish to shake down would be less useful, and library time was boring...and only marginally productive. It yielded facts for the most part, fewer impressions, and very few secret directives.
"Well, hopefully science won't build us a better gull, then."
Taking the card, Dawn nodded.
"Happy flying."
((Dawn out, lock up))
"Well, hopefully science won't build us a better gull, then."
Taking the card, Dawn nodded.
"Happy flying."
((Dawn out, lock up))