Aside from the buffet at the housing... I've got some backing since I was vouched for with my job. Won't risk any place in the Up, but there are a few in the Down. Cafe Leblanc?
[ He's going to have to scramble a bit to make it in that time, as he's across town job hunting but speed walking is no big deal. Especially when he's hyped up to see her already.
He makes it to the cafe with two minutes to spare and ducks inside. It smells fantastic, like coffee and something almost spicy-savory? And there's Carolina, sitting against the far wall watching the door. ]
[She'd have given him longer, had she known, but of course York hadn't said anything. Not that she's been waiting long anyway, having arrived a few minutes earlier. It's hit and miss moving around this place, especially when the natives get some notions in their heads.
Her face does brighten as she catches his arrival, and it's been a while since anyone really called her that. Boss, Cee, other more colourful terms...]
[ Old habits. York takes the seat across from her and smiles, just taking her in. There's plenty to complain about regarding this city and his current state, but he also gets to go for dinner with Carolina so... things could be worse. He feels a little guilty about that sometimes. Like he traded D for her, but he just reminds himself he had no choice in this, and he was dead. This is his second chance, he doesn't get to bitch that it isn't perfect. ]
Of course I made it. I can even pay for myself this time, I got some day labor under the table the other day... still looking for something steady.
[She understands better that partnership between an AI and oneself. Her first go at it had been a failure, but with Epsilon? She understands. There's a quietness there now, and she hadn't even been with him as long as York had been with Delta.
She does scan his face in turn, as if looking for any signs. This place is hard enough without adding more hardships. She gives a snort though, a roll ofher eyes.]
Pretty certain I invited you... I can ask where I am though if they're hiring? It's just a security gig.
[ Although York seems happy and energetic that's not the whole story, just his mood right now at getting to see Carolina. A close examination will reveal to her that he's very, very tired. Not sleeping well at all, it would seem. ]
If you would, that'd be great. A job's at the top of my list but I'm hitting nothing but dead ends that sound like 'where's your Dom?' or 'come back with a Dom.' How the hell have you been surviving here without one?
[ And of course it would've been too convenient if one of them had been assigned that role. ]
[She wouldn’t expect him to be doing well, although in some regards York had been better at controlling himself, especially compared to Carolina. She’d always been as fiery as her hair, but she’d also let it burn through her. She’s worked on that, although she’s still got her flaws.]
You’re not. People here at least are willing to vouch for you if need be. Only reason I got mine.
[She’d met with the second in command, and had made enough of a good impression that she had been hired.]
Think a new club also opened that was hiring.
[Not that she had gone to it, but she had noticed something in the network. Glancing up at him, her lips purse slightly. She knows that people said you should, but ‘contracting’ to some stranger... It didn’t sit well.]
Haven’t looked.
[Offhand, casual, only not at all. She moved to flag down a waiter for a drink order.]
[ A new club... he'll check that out too, in case Carolina's word isn't good enough to get him a security job. But when she says offhandedly that she hasn't looked, York blinks at her for a moment... then leans in across the table. ]
[If anything, it would be if there was a position open. But she’s seen a number of gigs for work like that. Can’t say she would be a good waitress or sales person though.
[ Okay, that's not as bad as he thought. He relents a bit, just as the waiter arrives at their table to take a drink order and hand them menus. York orders and thanks the fellow with a smile, then turns his full attention back to Carolina. ]
Have you at least met anybody interesting?
[ Not necessarily a contract prospect, just. People. ]
[She follows suit, placing her order, before leaning back in the chair.]
There's a woman with a pet hyena?
[She had reminded her a little of Caboose, actually, although not quite the same childhood innocence that he had. And, she finds the corner of her mouth twitching in memory, trying to keep her expression from turning too devious.]
There's a wide variety. Some guy even ate a whole tube of lube. Hypothetically. I... may have teased him a little, but what idiot does that?
[Even if there had been something familiar about her, or rather her personality. She would call it shenanigans that the Reds and Blues got up to. She hadn't told York about Wash's beard yet, had she?
She blinks, before rolling her eyes.]
Because that makes it better? Donut flavoured though.
[A pointed look. What could she say? She had been bored that day... And maybe she had gone looking for similarities in others. He'd had a quality like the guys that she hung out with, because she could see Tucker or Grif doing something like that.
The question does bring a stillness to her. Being bused off to camp... isn't something that Carolina desires to talk about. After that?]
You met Doctor Grey? A bit... eccentric and very chipper? She, uh, helped me last month.
[Arching an eyebrow. Heck, her eyes already turn towards a sugar packet on the table, and a little container of butter. Either would work nicely. Truthfully, she hadn't thought too much about sex outside of this place and only here because she was forced too, too busy with cleaning up all their mistakes back home. Never again... She didn't want anything from Freelancer to fall in the wrong hands again. And, after him...
It is a moment, a lingering pause, almost reflecting back on times long gone now, before her fingers curl into his.]
She patched me up enough on Chorus- and don't get on her bad side- but he had been having issues anyway. The idiot tried to play it off, but he ended up sacrificing himself in the end to save us by dematerializing. He was with Tucker then, if only because everyone expected him to be with me. We ended up on 'retiring' on a moon. Not Grey. She stayed on Chorus. The Reds and the Blues and Wash. They helped with losing him, since he meant as much to me as he did them.
[ York squeezes her hand gently as he listens, wanting her to know that he's there and he understands. It doesn't sound like she had the same neural issues that he's having now without his AI, but the emotional hole is real too. At least neither of them were alone -- she had the Reds and Blues and Wash, and he has her. ]
I was bored out of my fucking mind. I even went and asked for lessons on how to be lazy. And Wash? He grew a beard.
[Ignoring dinosaurs and mushrooms and wars on gravity and a robot army... She needed to keep busy, to keep herself occupied. Doubts it will last, whether it's because Donut blows up the whole planet, or something else comes up.
But her face skims over his again, shifting. Once, she might have been too preoccupied in herself and the leader board. She'd let things slip. She tries harder now to be better, to be the kind of leader that they had deserved her to be.]
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I've got some backing since I was vouched for with my job. Won't risk any place in the Up, but there are a few in the Down.
Cafe Leblanc?
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when can i meet you?
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20 min?
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see u in 20
[ He's going to have to scramble a bit to make it in that time, as he's across town job hunting but speed walking is no big deal. Especially when he's hyped up to see her already.
He makes it to the cafe with two minutes to spare and ducks inside. It smells fantastic, like coffee and something almost spicy-savory? And there's Carolina, sitting against the far wall watching the door. ]
Hey, Lina.
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Her face does brighten as she catches his arrival, and it's been a while since anyone really called her that. Boss, Cee, other more colourful terms...]
Hey. Glad you could make it.
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Of course I made it. I can even pay for myself this time, I got some day labor under the table the other day... still looking for something steady.
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She does scan his face in turn, as if looking for any signs. This place is hard enough without adding more hardships. She gives a snort though, a roll ofher eyes.]
Pretty certain I invited you... I can ask where I am though if they're hiring? It's just a security gig.
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If you would, that'd be great. A job's at the top of my list but I'm hitting nothing but dead ends that sound like 'where's your Dom?' or 'come back with a Dom.' How the hell have you been surviving here without one?
[ And of course it would've been too convenient if one of them had been assigned that role. ]
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You’re not. People here at least are willing to vouch for you if need be. Only reason I got mine.
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Guess I should start meeting Doms anyway, huh? Three months sounds like a lot but it'll probably pass in a blink. You got any prospects?
[ He tries to sound casual about it, like he's not practically asking about her sex life. ]
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Think a new club also opened that was hiring.
[Not that she had gone to it, but she had noticed something in the network. Glancing up at him, her lips purse slightly. She knows that people said you should, but ‘contracting’ to some stranger... It didn’t sit well.]
Haven’t looked.
[Offhand, casual, only not at all. She moved to flag down a waiter for a drink order.]
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Wait, how long have you been here?
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Her eyes sidle over.]
Almost two months? I’ve a month or so.
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Have you at least met anybody interesting?
[ Not necessarily a contract prospect, just. People. ]
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There's a woman with a pet hyena?
[She had reminded her a little of Caboose, actually, although not quite the same childhood innocence that he had. And, she finds the corner of her mouth twitching in memory, trying to keep her expression from turning too devious.]
There's a wide variety. Some guy even ate a whole tube of lube. Hypothetically. I... may have teased him a little, but what idiot does that?
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[ Wow what kind of idiot eats a tube of lube indeed? York gets taste testing it if it's supposed to be flavored, but-- wait. ]
...was it at least flavored?
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[Even if there had been something familiar about her, or rather her personality. She would call it shenanigans that the Reds and Blues got up to. She hadn't told York about Wash's beard yet, had she?
She blinks, before rolling her eyes.]
Because that makes it better? Donut flavoured though.
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[ He gives her a sideways grin. ]
You've been making quota somehow, right?
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[A pointed look. What could she say? She had been bored that day... And maybe she had gone looking for similarities in others. He'd had a quality like the guys that she hung out with, because she could see Tucker or Grif doing something like that.
The question does bring a stillness to her. Being bused off to camp... isn't something that Carolina desires to talk about. After that?]
You met Doctor Grey? A bit... eccentric and very chipper? She, uh, helped me last month.
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[ Would you sleep with Tucker or Grif, Carolina? Not that York knows who they are. But standards!! ]
I talked to her about... [ He gestures to his head as if to indicate the mess going on in there without Delta. ] We haven't met, though.
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[In her defence, he totally deserved it for eating it!]
Ah. Mm. She knows something about them. Epsilon.
[To clarify.]
She's smart. Really smart. ... can be a bit... [Scary.] Intense.
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[ He's grinning, but that mellows slightly when Carolina mentions Epsilon and he reaches across the table for her hand. ]
Did she help you with losing him?
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[Arching an eyebrow. Heck, her eyes already turn towards a sugar packet on the table, and a little container of butter. Either would work nicely. Truthfully, she hadn't thought too much about sex outside of this place and only here because she was forced too, too busy with cleaning up all their mistakes back home. Never again... She didn't want anything from Freelancer to fall in the wrong hands again. And, after him...
It is a moment, a lingering pause, almost reflecting back on times long gone now, before her fingers curl into his.]
She patched me up enough on Chorus- and don't get on her bad side- but he had been having issues anyway. The idiot tried to play it off, but he ended up sacrificing himself in the end to save us by dematerializing. He was with Tucker then, if only because everyone expected him to be with me. We ended up on 'retiring' on a moon. Not Grey. She stayed on Chorus. The Reds and the Blues and Wash. They helped with losing him, since he meant as much to me as he did them.
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You, retired? That's hard to imagine.
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[Ignoring dinosaurs and mushrooms and wars on gravity and a robot army... She needed to keep busy, to keep herself occupied. Doubts it will last, whether it's because Donut blows up the whole planet, or something else comes up.
But her face skims over his again, shifting. Once, she might have been too preoccupied in herself and the leader board. She'd let things slip. She tries harder now to be better, to be the kind of leader that they had deserved her to be.]
You- you're not sleeping well, are you?
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