Work In Progress (Open)

It was slightly unwillingly but Pak was forced to smile. And at least he understood she was cross. There might be a good reason. She kept telling herself that rather than go right into grudge holding mode. Hell if she could... well forgive was to strong a word... tolerate Bao she could at least talk this through with Artemis.

This was getting worse. She kept learning things fro her relationship with him! Pak swore to herself to knock it the heck off and try hating him again. It wouldn't work...

[Do I get to tease you about it? Are there pictures?]

Shouting was later, for now well... it was now.

Pak followed along to a slightly less prominent spot and after polity shaking Jin's hand studied her shoes. Trying to decide if she'd ruined the heel. They seemed in good shape.

Oh and Aishe was in on it. Pak grinned again at the memories. But quickly got herself back under control.

"My AI seems to like him. But she has been known to have strange taste."Â?

And this was what happened when you let a computer play match maker Pak decided.

With his mischief managed, Artemis made his way back to the table where he had been sitting. One couldn't help but laugh at the situation he found himself in. Only a few hours back in the city, and he had already "accidentally" hacked most of the computers on the block, displayed pornographic ad ware on them, had his friends nearly get him arrested, and saved the girl. To top it all off, he could now honestly say he was hearing a voice inside his head.

[Could I stop you if I wanted to? As to the pictures, it depends on whether you have your camera handy. I have smoothed everything over with the cafe. The job of making sure none of this ends up on Youtube is one I will leave to you.]

Artemis returned to the table to every pranksters worst fear. Stories of past exploits. When you have a reputation like his, it was never wise to leave your friends alone long enough to compare notes. Taking his seat, he quickly shut his laptop before anyone noticed the less than manly wallpaper on his desktop. All things considered, there really wasn't much more damage to his reputation that could be done, but just in case....

"Not all of that was my fault. Well, ok most of it was. But I had nothing to do with that boy's damned shoe."

Artemis turned to Jin and shrugged.

"He was wearing loafers, but seemed surprised when he kept stepping out of them. I am not certain, but I think one of our younger members offered to super glue them to his feet."

A small grin appeared at the thought. He wondered if the shoe problem was ever fully resolved. Hopefully, there would be time enough later to find that out. For now, he would sit with the others and do his best to survive the next few hours. The way things have been going, he should probably check for emergency exits.

Jin listened with interest at the long list of strange events that Artemis was involved in that Aishe was a witness to. He nodded gravely at her and shook his head.

"You had to witness the dancing..."

Jin raised his glance to the Roman with a satisfied cat type smile upon his face. It clearly said, he knew something but had refrained from mentioning it. Weren't you pleased?

The incident in question had nothing to do with a prank actually, he was not even certain which of the two Order members had started it. There was an arguement while doing research for a scouting mission that involved knowing how a certain local dance was performed. Alfarinn and Artemis had two different opinions on it. They both decided Emma and Jin needed to help them break the tie. Alfarrinn prepared to swoop the Elder of their Order up into the dance but she backed away and said that she would be a -much- better judge from the sidelines . If the two of them wished to prove themselves correct then they would just have to dance with each other. And they did. In fact, Jin doubted either man found that a particular threat. It was however quite the sight; with a great deal of fussing as to who was going to lead.

He was still not certain which one had won the arguement and he suspected that he would get two different answers if he asked them.

"We have known each other for quite a while. We used to work together."

Jin laughed at the tale of some poor guy having trouble with his shoes. He wondered if it was really a prank of if the man had bought the wrong size, or perhaps both.

"And you had nothing what so ever to do with it? Not even the slightest tiniest bit?"

Perhaps his friend had changed a lot since he last saw him. Jin could not imagine Artemis not helping the situation along in some way.

Aishe had nodded to a blonde woman at another table. She had been looking over at them; which was not surprising with all the disturbance that they had caused.

"Do you know her?"

((OOC: Permission sort of granted by Artemis to fabricate such a memory. If you don't think they would such a thing then I will change it. I figured people would like a chance to tag while I was at work.

Btw, Alfarinn would like to let everyone know...."I was right."))

Aishe nodded at Jin with mock sadness. "Yes, yes. It was afterward, during one of the many subsequent therapy sessions, that I realized my life had been changed forever. I can no longer watch Dancing With the Stars. It's traumatic."

She was sad that Amberelle didn't seem about to come join them, but then, they did have the largest party in the cafe at that time and they hadn't exactly started out quietly. She didn't blame her.

Nodding at Jin Aishe said , "Yes, although I haven't seen her in a while. She's nice, her name's Amberelle."

Mulling over Aishe's obvious "come join us" invitation for a moment, Amberelle studied the other three people in her party. It was quite an eclectic blend. A boisterous one. The blond glanced around at the dozen or two shopping bags she was sitting in the midst of and her mouth scrunched. She decided she'd have to leave them unattended but make sure she kept an eye on them. Standing and slipping neatly out of them she walked over to the table with her coffee in hand.

"Hey Aishe.. How's it going?" Amby smiled warmly and made sure to include the others too.

(been one of THOSE kinds of Mondays =x )

It was far, far too easy to fall back into easy banter with him. Far too easy to forget she was mad. Pak was not known for her generous and forgiving nature. Confused, a little stressed, and rather conflicted it didn't surprise Pak at all to hear from her children. Her son's voice didn't surprise her in the least.

"Mama, I thought you were mad at him?"Â?

"I am. I think. No, I am... I just can't be right now. It is complicated."Â?

"Why?"Â?

"It would be rude. I'll explain more later. Go play."Â?

Fortunately, that seemed to satisfy him and better yet it seemed she managed to keep the whole exchange in her head. At least no one was looking at her too oddly.

Shaking her head to clear it, she drew up her focus again enough to keep sending.

[You could.]

Her mental voice was tinged with hurt. It hadn't been intentional, but she'd not been able to stop it. Although Pak also made a note to hack the Qwerty's security system and get some of the pictures and hopefully video from their systems. Unless her attack on the net work had ruined that.

[We'll see about YouTube though... I make no promises... yet.]

Apparently his dancing was the stuff of legend, famous in song and story. Poor Jin.

"Witness? No... dance with him... yes. We can form a support group."Â?

Oh lord the shoes! Pak had forgotten when she'd started that trick, but she'd used it a number of times since. It was just -too- good not to. And it was impossible to pin on any one.

She tried -very- hard not to give the game away, but there was a slight smile that just couldn't be hidden. Of course, that could simply be because she was amused at the story... it had nothing to do with guilt at all.

In an attempt to avoid discussion about the shoes she raised her eyebrows curiously at Jin hoping he'd elaborate about their working together.

When the blond, who Aishe identified at Amberelle, came over Pak managed a smile and a nod. She'd never been overly social. Besides she'd greeted Aishe not her.

Artemis took his seat just in time to hear the exchange regarding his dancing ability. He met Jin's look with a lopsided grin. Thinking back on it now, the exchange had been pretty funny. He had been right of course, but there was no telling Alfarinn that. Fond of dancing, he could be quite good when he wanted to be. Getting him to take it serious enough to prove it to you was another matter. Allowing his grin to widen further, he answered Jin regarding the shoe debacle.

"With my sage wisdom and advanced years, I advised the boy that a different style of shoe might work better."

He didn't mention his recommendation for sacrifices to the loafer gods. No need to give everything away.

Artemis bent down to put the laptop into his bag. It seemed the best way to stay out of trouble, or at least avoid finding more of it. He gave a hard look at the silver flask filled with Irish Whiskey sitting on the table, before bending to put it away as well. Artemis looked up at the sound of hurt in Pak's 'voice'. He just wasn't sure if it was for pre-existing reasons or something new that he had said or done.

[Nah, go ahead. I currently jingle and clack whenever I move my head. Hard to pass that up. The real trick will be slipping into the towers without anyone else noticing. What sort of bribe would be required to prevent you from calling ahead?]

Glancing up at the blond who had joined them, he smiled. But not too broadly, he was already in enough trouble. Artemis gestured to one of the empty chairs.

"Please join us"

Jin laughed at the comments from both the women. He could just imagine all of them sitting in a circle telling each other how much trauma the sight of the tall Roman doing the twist or the mashed potato had caused them.

Hello everyone, My name is Jin. I saw Alfarinn and Artemis dancing the Salsa....

Yes, he could definitely envision the necessity of such a group.

Aishe said the blonde was named Amberelle. A few moments later and the woman was stepping through her shopping bags and headed this way. Jin wasn't sure she wanted to leave them there unattended but he supposed they could all see them. If he or Artemis couldn't manage to run down a would be thief then they both would need to hang up their dancing shoes because they had obviously gotten too old.

Turning to Pakpao, Jin explained.

"I have worked many government jobs in the past. In fact, I was just arrived from DC. Artemis was a research and developer of all kinds of wonderful things. I am sure he still is."

He just no longer made them for Anantya.

((OOC: The dance they were arguing about in the prior post was -not- the salsa. Apparently Jin is just amused by the thought. And of course the only two people overly qualified to run down a thief would be the two people he knows to be vampires. It wasn't a male thing at all. Honest! ))

"Amby! I've been well, how about yourself?"

Amberelle was invited to have a seat and Aishe obligingly moved hers over, closer to Jin, leaving a spot for the blonde in the empty chair on her other side. Once space was made she stood and offered Amberelle a friendly embrace.

"Well, this group of innocent bystanders are known by the following; that's Pakpao, next to her is Artemis, and this gentleman here is Jin. Everyone, Amberelle."

Regaining her seat, Aishe waited for Amberelle and then nodded at Jin. "Oh, he's been keeping his hand in."

She hadn't seen anything recent but she knew of a multitude of gadgets and fun things that had the Artemis label on them at Meridian.

"I'm not sure he had the good sense to take that advice."Â?

It was amazing how many people still wore loafers. Pak was occasionally amazed no one tried to pull her shoes off. Perhaps that had something to do with her reaction the last time her shoes were damaged. She was amazed they cleaning crew had gotten her foot prints off the lobby floor.

She was making very little sense and bouncing around from idea to idea and impulse to impulse. She was trying to control it though. She really was. She just didn't have have any idea how well she was doing. It was on the tip of her tongue to suggest they just go and take a walk, but she'd driven and wasn't about to leave Aishe here.

Pak decided to take the offer tease as a semi apology though. Real or imagined that was good enough for now.

[Hmmmmm I might have to think about it. The cheap shot just won't do the... er... look justice. You are a -brave- man to let me name my price.]

Pak turned to look at Artemis with a half smile and a raised eyebrow. She had no issues carrying on an entirely separate conversation this way. It didn't even occur to her some people might think it was rude.

[Tell me a story? Tomorrow night? The night after?]

It was only natural Pak wondered what had happened and where he'd wandered off to, but she had no idea how long he'd been back in town and thought it would be only fair to give him some time to settle in.

She muttered an polite greeting and a little nod as Aishe introduced her. Her attention was already divided a few different ways and it was getting hard to keep up.

Not fully trusting the government she gave Jin a much more through once over.

"I don't owe any back taxes and I swear anything in the file the FBI -might- have on me is highly exaggerated."Â?

Things seemed to be settling down a bit. He was still the topic discussion and general mocking by his companions, but that was nothing unusual. The important thing was there were no sirens sounding in the distance. Yes, that was very important. Just because he could break out of jail, didn't mean he necessarily wanted to go. But far more important, Pak seemed willing to at least consider not staking him with his own number two pencil. It was a start.

[Not so much brave, as the concessions of a desperate man in a desperate situation. The word and photographs travel fast in the Towers. It would only be a matter of time before Alfarinn hired the seven year old girl to be my permanent hair dresser.]

A far greater tragedy would be the fact that he would have to drink less in order to remain sober enough to prevent such a thing. Or to at least prevent Alfarinn's attempt at recreating the look. Putting aside thoughts of his friend, Artemis smiled and nodded at Pak.

[Yes, that would be good. I am sure we both have plenty to talk about. How about tomorrow? I will be spending most of the day cleaning my lab. You know I can't work until every spec of dust has been completely eradicated.]

The conversation had changed from discussions of his dancing and the trauma it supposedly caused, to his many gadgets. It seemed that Jin was intentionally being vague about the true nature of their association. Artemis had not introduced Pak or Aishe as members of his clan, or otherwise in the 'know'. It was probable that that was the reason. He could certainly clear that up, but now there was the new arrival Amberelle. And, she was a complete unknown to him. Artemis decided to follow the scenerio that Jin had supplied. He had no doubt that Pak and Aishe could put the missing pieces together.

"Yes, Jin and I worked quite well together....in DC. Then I was offered the position at Meridian with a few extra perks. My own lab and permission to blow things up whenever I wanted. How could I turn it down."

He was tempted to give his best 'Mad Scientist' laugh, but decided that would be a little over the top.

(OOC: Sorry Amberelle, I went ahead and posted. Posting during the day is a bit harder for me. My boss is not friendly.)

"I've been good," Amberelle replied automatically when asked. The embrace was a suprise but she didn't show that. She reminded herself that not everyone was as aloof as her family.. it was nice.

Her head nodded to each as she was introduced and she murmured a soft greeting. Sitting beside Aishe she took in the conversation and nearly jumped right back up at Jin's mention of government jobs. Pak's response made her grin though she kept a firm hold of her coffee cup.

"A fed and a squint? Hope y'all don't mind if I don't touch anything or leave my cup behind." Her tone went light and teasing, but there was a lot more truth behind her words than she let on as she added, "There's a few unsolved cases I'd like to have stay that way. Not saying I was involved or anything.. ya know." A large grin to add to her "just joking around" tone followed. Maybe she was teasing, after all Amby did her best to never leave forensic trace behind but nowdays you just never knew!


((OOC - No worries!))

Jin was somewhat amused that DC had somehow become a code for working for Anantya. He leaned over to Artemis and said. They could sort it out later if it was necessary. In the meantime he would wait to learn more about the people he found himself with.

His eyebrows raised over his glasses at the words from the blonde. A Fed and a squint? Jin rarely came across such terminology these days, at least not in polite company. He would not make a huge scene over it here, for the sake of harmony. She clearly thought there was nothing wrong with what she had said, nor did she appear to be very serious.

"You need not worry. I am not a Fed. I suppose I am guilty of the other but I will say that I am not interested in your dinner plate or drinking glass. If that makes you feel any safer."

He turned to the others that had asked him what he did and how he knew Artemis.

"Do you know him from Meridian or was he dancing out in the streets?"

Aishe nodded to Amberelle. "Yeah, I understand you have to be careful, otherwise the coppers might find you and throw you in the big house."

She made a face at Amberelle and laughed at the other woman's somewhat outdated terminology.

To Jin, Aishe said, "I first witnessed this dancing thing at the Creation Ball a few years back at he community center. It took several therapy sessions before I could discuss it. But we've seen each other around Meridian as well."

She smiled at Artemis, hoping he wasn't taking the jibes at his dancing too badly. He seemed to accept them with good humor though, for which Aishe was grateful. Because she didn't really know too much about him otherwise. Just what she knew from Pak, and that wasn't a whole lot either.

Pak's laugh didn't fit the flow of the verbal conversation, she didn't notice that right away either. Maybe no one would notice. If nothing else Aishe would probably guess what was going on. She wasn't worried about it.

[Then you are going to need a hat. You can't possibly expect to walk in like this and -not- have MARI at least notice. And it is all down hill from there.]

She was also relived to hear the daughter involved was only seven. Not that it mattered she tried to tell herself. Except it kind of did.

[Or do you need help with them now? Dear god it could take hours... maybe you should get the hat.]

Granted she'd been the one to ask him to tell her what had happened, but Pak couldn't help being nervous. But she nodded.

[You can borrow my dust buster if you need. Other than that... just say where and when. I don't have any meetings the next few nights.]

And suddenly Amberelle had her full attention. Funny one second she was barley aware of the woman the next she was bristling. Squint could be taken two ways, unfortunately for Amberelle Pak fit both categories. And then there was the simple fact that if any one was going to take Artemis out... well it was going to be her.

She started watching the woman's coffee cup. If she set it down, even for a second Pak would probably knock it over. Her people skills needed work. But she smiled her best sweet and innocent smile.

"Dangerous to upset people like that. Skills, resources and lack of basic social mores can make them problematic."Â?

'Now set the damned cup down and let me prove it.' Pak thought.

Jin was apparently more polite than she was and she let him distract her. It was fairly apparent that he was trying to work out exactly who was safe and who wasn't. Funny how they had these broad hints and codes. But, it worked.

"Aishe is in security there I'm over in IT. Neither department is safe from him. Although I'm sure he'd tell a different story about IT harassing him..."Â?

Laughter was a good sign. It meant that he might not have to watch for flying objects. Well, he still might but hopefully they wouldn't be the fatal kind.

[ I am not sure they make a hat that will hold all my hair. Perhaps a Rasta style hat? Though I am not sure it will go with my look.]

Artemis cringed at the thought of what he would look like walking into the towers with a Rasta cap. Definitely not his style. The beads might actually be better.

[I may have to resort to bribing MARI as well. Although it is close to Halloween. Maybe I can say they are part of a costume? An Italian Hippy Cowboy? A pirate and I forgot the eye patch? Or I could just throw a sheet over my head and say I am a ghost.]

At that moment, Jin leaned over and said that they could sort it out later. He gave his friend a smile and a nod. There really wasn't anything to sort out. He was sure that Pak and Aishe could figure out the association. Although, come to think of it, he may not have mentioned his origins to Aishe. Somewhere between loafers and ice cream, it didn't appear that it ever came up. Oh well, no harm done. Either way, it was good to see Jin again. Perhaps he could no longer share his toys, but they could still be friends.

And just like that, his musings were brought to a screeching halt. Squint?! Seriously? Is this girl socially stupid or just blind? Artemis could feel his temper rising. Thoughts of using his abilities to pull her chair out from under her, and various other permutations, began to cross his mind. Taking a deep breath, Artemis tried his best to remember his lessons with Mai before his temper got the better of him. Chase the furry white creature through the forest. Feel the wind against your face and the ground against you feet. And SMACK! He hits his head against the damn tree. Some days, visualization was not his forte. Artemis leaned across the table to look coldly at the blonde.

" I am assuming by squint you mean my position as a scientist. Which by itself would be considered quite rude. Surely you didn't mean the more racist definition of that term, given present company. Perhaps you should learn all of the meanings of a given slang, before you start using it."

He didn't ask for an apology because it was not his to ask for. Truthfully the girl should offer it on her own. If she didn't, he might have to knock her on her ass after all.

Her brows knitted and Amberelle glanced at Jin, confused by his words. Guilty of the other? He was a scientist? It hadn't sounded like it. And, something about his reaction seemed off. The way his eyebrows had risen.. the Creole wasn't sure, but it felt like she'd said something wrong. Aishe's joke made her smile slightly, but she was still confused by Jin.

Her golden eyes went wide, her mouth opening with a gasp as Artemis spoke. Her free hand flew up and covered it while the other clenched around the half full coffee cup. Blinking rapidly she glanced at the other three before looking back at Artemis. Swallowing hard. Amby squared her shoulders and wiped the shock and embarassment off her face though it was there under the surface, her red cheeks evidence.

"Yes I meant that you were a scientist but no I didn't mean it offensively! I guess I am the only one here who watches the show "Bones"? The FBI agent on there is always calling people on his scientist team squints... nothing about that ever said it was derogatory." Her gaze turned to Jin and she added passionately, "And I did NOT mean it in a racist way. I didn't even know it was something people said like that."

Right now she wanted the floor to open up and let her slink down into a nice deep hole. Not even thinking about it anymore she set the cup down near Aishe and her hands disapeared under the table to clench tightly together. Was this what happened when you hid yourself away so much.. all social skills evaporated? Amberelle wasn't sure but as miserable as she felt over the way everyone had interpreted her comment it might be worth investigating. Maybe spend the next few decades at Heolfor. She could do her shopping online.

((OOC - yeah... neither of us knew it was something racist *blush* ))

Jin looked around the table at the various people and back at Amberelle. Well its good to know your friends have your back should you need it; even the scoundrels that defect to other clans. Artemis did not seem overly upset for himself. He supposed Squint was not an unheard of piece of slang and apparently not all that horrible.

"It is an honest mistake on both our parts. Do not trouble yourself over it."

He smiled and reached over to Amberelle in a soothing gesture, bumping the coffee cup as he did so. Jin saw it start to tip and was able to reach out and catch it with the other hand. Thankfully, the only person he managed to slosh any on was himself. He was now stretched rather awkwardly over the table and probably invading Aishe's sense of personal space.

Jin gave both of them a sheepish smile and drug the coffee cup back with him.

"What did you have?"

He shook the somewhat emptier cup.

"I will get you some more. What kind of show is Bones? I don't watch much television these days."

((OOC: Grace personified.. yes,we are. Someone can tip over the next one and it will be full! ))

My goodness the natives were jumpy... and disinclined to meet newcomers apparently. Aishe didn't think for a second Amberelle had meant the term as a racial slur; she didn't know her well of course, but everything she did know didn't scream "racist."

"Of course you didn't mean it that way," Aishe said. Someone had to take Amby's side, after all, and she was the one at the table who knew her. She shot a glance at Artemis and shrugged. "Modern media," she said. "I didn't know they used it on that show either."

Jin's response was gracious, if not graceful, and there seemed to be no harm done. Moreover, Aishe hadn't had coffee spilled on her lap, which seemed like a pretty good outcome.

Leaning close to Amberelle Aishe said, "You'll have to forgive them. Sometimes, some of us lock ourselves in closets and apparently don't watch any TV for years at a time. Myself included."

Aishe returned Jin's smile with one of her own, not insensitive to the fact that he was trying to smooth things over. "Why don't I buy this time?" she suggested. "I came in for hot chocolate and this has turned out to be a two cocoa night so far."

She waited until everyone had given her an order or a 'no thanks' and then headed to the counter to place their order and pay. She returned quickly to the table; the barista would bring their drinks when they were finished.

((Ooc: Muahaha, drink-paying privileges ganked! Mine is an evil laugh))

[Dear lord. Please don't tease her, I'm not up to answering questions. ]

Wow she hadn't been thrilled by the term but was down right surprised by Artemis' reaction. Pak placed a hand on his knee. Whoa back big fella.

She actually felt a bit bad about her own reaction. Of course she'd been called worse, but, some days you got touchy about things. Either way once Amberelle explained herself it became a moot point.

"Who knew letting pop culture get away from you could cause a massive miss-communication? Does this mean I have to start watching Jersey Shore?"Â?

Dear god she hoped not.

It didn't surprise her at all when Aishe took the bond's side. That, to Pak said something about Amberelle's character and let her let things go completely. At least enough to beg for a super frilly what's the point coffee.

"Am I going to have to take you back to Kem with coco on your breath?"Â?