Rain

Kalen Holliday

[How awake are we?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN7 (1, 2, 5, 5, 7, 8, 10) ( success x 3 )

Kalen Holliday

[And how distracted by Resonance are we?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 1, 3, 6, 7, 10) ( success x 3 )

Alexander Brandt

[Dices for Awares]

Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (2, 8, 8, 10) ( success x 3 )

Alexander Brandt

It’s late afternoon, although judging by the light levels it would be easy to assume that it was much later. The morning over the city had been clear and bright but, as is typical for the place, the weather has changed dramatically over the course of a few hours. Those with such things set up would have received warnings that a storm was approaching, spun off the mountains to the west. The promise for thunder, lightning and torrential rain has been filled. Streaks of lightning provide moments of illumination, followed at various intervals by the sound of the heavens being torn apart and put back together again by primal forces.

Which brings us to the small town of Morrison and the often-overlooked house that the Awakened of the city use as a gathering place from time to time. The magic that had been worked in the garden has faded away, leaving the only Resonance suffusing the place that of the Node itself. That feeling of rejuvenation is currently accompanied by one of... not cold – or not only cold – but the feeling of stasis. Of time being frozen for a fraction of a second at the heart of a comet.

Anyone arriving at the house wouldn’t see a blue bike parked outside – that’s been safely left inside the garage instead. The source of that static feeling currently clashing against the dynamism of the storm can be found out the back of the house, through the dining room doors and across the patio, mostly submerged in the pool. His head rests back on a stone and he almost drifts in the water, looking up at the stormy sky. Trying to lose himself in the storm.

A backpack has been left just inside the door, out of the way of the elements, and a bundle of clothing is stacked next to it with a towel on top.

[So we’re trying to meditate, but we don’t have any. So Int, +1 diff]

Dice: 2 d10 TN7 (4, 8) ( success x 1 )

Kalen Holliday

[Okay, because I need to know to write this post, how willing are you to touch water today?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 10) ( success x 2 )

Kalen Holliday

It might be possible to miss Kalen's approach with the actual storm to mask the sense of his Resonance and the sound of the rain to mask the sound of his approach. Still, it takes awhile before he appears. He does not leave clothes on the patio, but he does leave a couple of towels.

The first few steps into the rain he takes easily enough; he's perfectly at home in a storm. But his steps slow as he approaches the Node itself, and he eyes the pond warily. He can sense it, as he always can. He knows that it is warm, warmer than the rain. He has never more than touched the pool with his fingertips.

"Alce," he says quietly. He kneels at the edge of the pool, eyes on the surface of the water more than Alexander, just a little too wide.

Danny

(are we awake Danny?)

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 9) ( success x 3 )

Danny

*Danny had finally found his way to the house. It'd taken some time and a bit of getting lost, but he'd finally found the place. He got out of the car, pulling his collar up and huddling into it a little as he made his way up to the door. Then the natural ping of his in built echo location sent him around the back. It was with curiosity that he made his way around there. A large back on one shoulder, and a acoustic guitar case in one hand.*

Alexander Brandt

Storms have their own unique traits. Some are slow, brooding creatures which take hours to work out their anger on the world. Others explode with boundless energy, burning themselves out quickly. So when Kalen arrives, the feeling of him blends and merges with that of the storm overhead but there’s still enough differences in the qualities to tell them apart. He moves as he feels Kalen getting closer – close enough to have left the protection of the house – and sits up in the pool. The quiet calling of the name Kalen had chosen for him might have been drowned out by a rumble of the thunder, but Alexander knows that he’s there. And he sees the discomfort in his friend. He smiles, looking the other man in the eye, and tells him, “I’m ok. It’s ok. I’ll come out.” He moves to stand, showing off the swim shorts that he’d worn to come out to soak and watch the storm. He doesn’t have Ian’s belief that there are certain ways one should be attired when using such springs.

An aura of sparking – another mini storm, throwing off tiny bolts of lightning – announces the arrival of another. His head turns to look at the side of the house as Danny comes round. He sees the other man come round the corner, seemingly unbothered by the rain even with his cargo, and mentally shrugs. Physically, he nods and turns back to the house, heading towards the patio.

Kalen Holliday

Kalen nods to Alexander. He would have stayed out here - might have even tried to climb into the water if he got cold enough, but he does not try to convince Alexander that he is, in fact, totally fine to be near the water. And he tries not to look relieved when Alexander is out of the water, but as both Grace and Serafine have noticed, Kalen cannot stand people being in water. He may, once, have actually flinched when Grace mentioned SCUBA diving in Australia. He does reach out, warily, to skim the tips of his fingers over the surface of the water.

He always remembers water as so cold.

"One day," he says, more to the Node than to Alexander, and then rises and follows Alexander back toward the house.

He glances at Danny, who has a guitar out in the pouring rain and raises an eyebrow. "She'd've been fine inside," he says. "We're coming in anyway. Alexander is apparently not into waiting to see how long I can bear being by water today."

Danny

*What was he wearing today? Well, it was post noon in the afternoon, the weather was atrocious, so he wore what anyone sensible would wear. Jeans, combat boots that were undone as usual, but this time his dark green t-shirt was hidden by the done up leather jacket as he appeared from the corner of the house and made his way over and into cover quickly, running his hand through his hair.. it was too late, the wave in it was becoming more pronounced already. The smile at Kalen's words was radiate and warm as he followed them inside, then looked around the Chantry from what he could see, the big table. Then set the guitar case down and slowly removed his backpack.*

Hey... Thanks... Yeah she might've but... *He shrugs one shoulder.* How's it going? *he waves at Alce.*

Alexander Brandt

The first time Alexander had come here, he’d misinterpreted Kalen’s reaction to his touching the water as having done something wrong. Since then, he’d learned a little more about his friend. Experienced a little more and seen the aftermath of his watching a Nephandus drowning in the black, evil River Styx of his own making. He sees how his being there worries Kalen – more than his normal, background level of worry that the world is about to tip into disaster because he’s not doing enough to save it from itself – and he’s not a cruel man. That’s why he moves out of the water, regardless of what Kalen feels up to trying. If he chooses to, he’ll help. But he’s not going to force anything by staying put.

He does knock into Kalen as they walk back towards the door, though. “You alright?” he asks, loud enough for Kalen to hear but quiet enough to be drowned out before the words reach Danny.

Just inside the door, Alexander grabs the towel he’d left on top of his things and starts drying off. A couple more towels have made an appearance. He tosses one to Danny and then passes the other to Kalen so that they can both dry off too.

“Who are you two talking about? Is someone else arriving?”

Kalen Holliday

Kalen makes a little amused huff when Alexander knocks him, mostly drowned out by the rain. "Mostly," he says quietly, leaning into Alexander so that he can be heard without raising his voice. "Don't worry."

He takes the towel Alexander hands him and runs it over his hair. "No. No one else I know of." Was it not evident Kalen had just referred to a guitar like a person? He refers to the servers like people sometimes, but mostly only Grace knows that.

"Ah. That she. She's already here. And a guitar." Kalen smiles. "Though you know how it is. Now that we're here...." He slips out of his shirt, which is soaked and not the kind of thing one can dry with a towel. There are visible scars, Kalen's gotten in his share of fights with things with knives and claws and guns, but Kalen is used enough to those that he doesn't even think about them. Just not dripping all over the floor.

Danny

*He unzipped his jacket then removed it, the green t-shirt was missing it's sleeves and it left the ink on his arms on display. He lifted his hands with the towel in them and tried to dry off the worst without it turning into a disaster, no straightners... Then slowly removed his sodden t'shirt to try and dry that too before setting it on the back of a chair to dry.

Glancing to his hair he did what he could and smiled then carefully re folded the towel.* Huh? Someone else is coming? Who? Oh.. *Then he nodded, even frowning for a moment seeing the mess of Kalen's body. He himself, wasn't scarred. He did however have this wonderful beginning to his back peice started. The outline ran from down in his waistline of his jeans and up to his lower shoulderblades where it blossomed out as if a strange alien looking design was in the works. (See Picture)* Sooo.......

Alexander Brandt

Kalen says not to worry, but he does. He sometimes wonders if he really knows how many people do worry about him. But the question goes unasked and, instead, he nudges Kalen again with an elbow. They step inside and various items of clothing come off as people try to get dry. Alexander bucks the trend by putting on his tshirt – red, nothing interesting about it – and wraps the towel around his waist before heading towards the kitchen to get the kettle on. Not before pausing at the sight of Kalen’s battlescars. He absent-mindedly rubs his side at the reminder of what has, and what is likely to, happen as he stands with Kalen.

A voice comes through the door from the kitchen. “How do you know it’s a she? Did you ask it?” It was a logical question for the security system, so why not a guitar?

Kalen Holliday

Had Danny asked it? Kalen does not know.

Also, he doesn't quite understand the looks they give him when they see those scars. He's had worse, though Alexander never saw those scars. He saw the effect of them, but Kalen walks easily enough now, with lingering effects of explosions and comas only if you'd seen him before.

"Sooooooooooo...?" He asks Danny.

He swipes the towel over his hair again, then slips out of his shoes. His pants stay on, and he starts to follow Alexander toward the kitchen, still fussing with the towel in his hair.

Danny

Huh? How did I know? *he frowned at the question.*

She just is... And you can't refer to her as an it.. she'll get offended. No seriously, it's like engines. You know? *He smiled, reaching down to pat the case, then straightened again and kicked off his boots following suit as if he assumed he was supposed to, then followed after them.*

Well,.. this is... Bigger than I expected?

Grace

[Awareness/Perception! Resonances???]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 6, 7, 10) ( success x 3 )

Grace

The sound of rain disguises the sound of Grace's arrival, but it doesn't stop the sensation of her -- lighter, subtler that most, but still present and perhaps a bit discomfiting. The sensation of something honed to a keen sharpness -- and it's on the move. Like knives, jolted.

Someone else is coming. A she, even. Although she is not a guitar. She bursts in the front door, holding her gray jacket over her head to keep the rain off, then shakes it dry in the entryway. The rest of her remains fairly dry, and what else would she be wearing but jeans and a t-shirt? (This time, the tee is a gray one with a flux capacitor blueprint diagram printed on the front).

"Hey, guys!" comes a voice from the foyer, to announce her presence more than anything. Sneaking up on people with a lot of combat experience can be disastrous.

Alexander Brandt

Alexander is already by the sink, filling the kettle from the tap, when Kalen walks in. “Tea? Coffee?” he asks the two men, turning his head to look at them as they come through the door behind him. There’s a smile at Danny’s confusion, although it’s friendly rather than mocking. “You’ll have to get used to the strange conversations that sometimes spring up around here, particularly around certain people.” He glances at Kalen when he adds, “How’s the non-sentient robot laser tag coming along?”

He yells in reply to Grace’s arrival. “Hi Grace. Kitchen. Coffee?”

Kalen Holliday

"Totally not the question for me, Alce." Kalen grins and then turns toward Grace's voice. "Hey! Kit! Non-sentient robot gladiatorial combat, where are we at?"

He leans back into one of the counters, turned so he can see Alexander and Danny. "Yes," he says. "Anything warm. It was so much less freezing doing that in the desert." And, despite that comment, he doesn't seem terribly bothered by the cold.

"Once Grace is here, I can tell you about my day yesterday and we can see what we can see." He glances at Danny.

"Um. So. Alexander is in my cabal and Grace and I are pretty much partners in crime and I guess you're okay...so...welcome to planning sessions." And that might not sound like much. But this is Kalen. Getting to be in on his plans is kind of a thing. Getting to be in on his plans with a sort of relaxed, 'whatever' is...farther than most of Denver has gotten.

Danny

Coffee... *he calls then turns when he hears Grace, yeah there was that back art, the outline of some sort of skeleton of his spine that he's sat for, the shoulder blades, tribal ribs... hips and pelvis but it also looks slightly alien as well. There's bruising around each point on his shoulder blades, along his spine like a dark halo had been etched in around it, but he doesn't move as if it hurt him.*

Yeah, thanks, I guess I need to just get used to how things go on here.. *Then he nods to Danny's words before he moves in closer to Kalen and nudges his arm lightly.* You doing okay? *He sounded concerned, but wasn't going to linger too much.*

What goes on in planning sessions?

Grace

Grace's head pops in from the left of the doorway, quickly followed by the rest of her. "Coffee? Yes."

"Non-sentient robot gladiatorial combat? Well, uh... robots are yet to be achieved, but I've got some sensors and I've got some lasers," a deep breath arrives here, as her eyes start scanning the ceiling instead of looking at people. "Also infrared guns, and I've got some conductive thread to sew the sensors on to things. I also got these LED strips that you can make change colors, so when you get hit somewhere, you'll blink. Oh, and some buzzer thingies. I think it'll all work. Once I put it together..."

She slides into the room, still talking, not really paying attention to the state of the guys in the room, the ones with their shirts off or on? Yeah. She's watching the ceiling.

"Oh yeah! And a little recording device to connect to our servers so that we can keep score and track statistics and stuff. It will be awesome. But I figured we should work on the human gladiatorial combat first before the non-sentient robot combat, because I want to play laser tag."

What goes on in planning sessions, Danny? If Kalen and Grace are there, they talk about robotic gladiators and come up with detailed plans for their Danger Room. That's what.

Alexander Brandt

Kettle filled and set to boil, Alexander goes through the motions to make coffee. He’s been here often enough now to know where everything is with ease. So the counter fills with a bag of beans, grinder, French press, and four cups. Sugar is fetched and places on the counter island with a couple of spoons, and cream from the fridge.

“Sitting out in the rain? Or dunking yourself in a pond? And which desert?” There’s genuine curiosity in his tone. Like: how did Kalen end up in a desert?

What goes on in planning sessions? “Why, the same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world! Or, you know. Try to stop unpleasant things from trying. Have you been warned away from the Black Orchid, by the way?”

Grace walks in as a thought strikes Alexander, who walks out again. But just for a minute. “Be right back,” he calls as he goes to his bag and starts fishing around in its depths for something. The kettle can do its thing unattended and, if you believe the proverb, may do it faster for not being watched.

Kalen Holliday

Kalen doesn't so much exactly answer Danny's question. He does lean into him a little as he laughs at Grace's reply. "Okay, okay. We'll order the laser guns and a bunch of straw bales and you know...Halloween party with a straw maze and laser tag."

"Rain," he says, only slightly more seriously. "I don't get on with much more than puddles of water."

Try to take over the world. And here, perhaps not at all unexpectedly since he hadn't gotten to the thing he only wanted to explain once, Kalen flinches. Grace is mostly looking at the ceiling and Alexander is looking for something, so they might miss it, but he's leaning into Danny so there is really no way to play that off.

"That," he says softly. "Or part of that." Pause. "You know someone asked me if I was just another power-mad Hermetic intent on forcing the Order on everyone, yesterday?" And his voice is so carefully still soft and even and controlled.

Danny

*He laughs softly shaking his head at Grace's sci fi bumph, then shakes his head a little. Yeah, his hair had started to curl slightly at the ends, softening the effect of it all.* Man that sounds like Laser Quest or some shit... Or Pacific Rim...

*At Alexander's 'Brain' and the brain he grins, then comes out with a good impression of Pinky.* Narf!!

*His hand comes up to ruffle Kalens hair a little though then lingers just a little on his head before moving to rest lightly on Kalens shoulder before his eyebrows shoot up.* Really? Dayum.... *He shook his head.*

Grace

Grace actually cracks up at Kalen's description of what happened to him yesterday. "Seriously? Someone said that? Did you politely explain to them how you have a Virtual Adept in residence who's teaching you how to code and making robots? Or would that just be me, the power-mad Adept intent on forcing technology on everyone?"

Grace grins, looks over to Kalen, but then... he looks so serious, doesn't he? "I don't force. I just prove to people how awesome it is."

Alexander Brandt

“If you need victims to test-run the thing when you get it running, yell. I still think it sounds like a whole lot of fun once it’s up and running. I’d offer to help but…” But I can just about work out which end of a screwdriver is which.

“I didn’t think you got rain in the desert. On account of it being a, y’know. Desert.”

Then he’s in the next room, but not for long. When he reappears the towel has been discarded and he’s got black combats on, feet still bare. He’s carrying back a phone, but not the usual one that Grace and Kalen might have seen him using. This one? Is a near-the-bottom-of-the-range phone. One that he plans on using for… riskier things? He offers it to Grace. “I’ve been meaning to give this to you for a while to work your magic on.” He doesn’t go into any more detail that that – he doesn’t know if Danny’s invited to the super-special messaging club yet. The phone is unlocked and, should Grace look in the phonebook, there’s only one entry. Someone called Delilah.

Back to Kalen. He rolls his eyes as he makes his way back to the kettle. “Alyssa gave me some advice on how to deal with people who get hung up on the whole Orphan thing. You can probably imagine how it went, and I hope you offered similar instruction to them.”

Kalen Holliday

Danny gets to pet him, but then Kalen rarely shies away from contact. "Yeah, I know. But you guys kinda know me." He settles a little more heavily against Danny.

"But yes, really. And she was serious. I did not tell her I was practically living with a Virtual Adept or do anything I expect Alyssa would have suggested to you in regard to comments on your rater deliberate lack of a Tradition." And, here, at least, he sounds a little amused.

"But, I do think it raises the point that I should maybe...I don't know. Present some of this like more of a team effort? I just don't want to volunteer you guys for things. I mean, I have not yet asked you if you'll say run workshops on some basic self defense or some kind of security system set up. I mean, we could run monitoring from the Library, that's what we've been headed for, we just got derailed by both the people on that being comatose. And, you know, we could make the map more public knowledge. I've started to get a list of people willing to help with various subjects and things.

"I mean. I think they're only fighting because they think I want this for some kind of conquest." He glances at Alexander. "I mean, you know I don't hold refusals to join the Order so badly. But, I don't know. Maybe it could seem like I'm trying to just claim all the new magelings for my own private army? I mean...I don't get it. But I don't see the Order at all from the outside anymore."

He clears his throat and glances at Grace. "And, you know. You do practically live in the place they're quite possibly coming to do a lot of this. Not that you didn't know that was the plan the whole time, but it's been mostly just ours a long time now."

Danny

*He appeared content to just have his arm round Kalens shoulders and his hand resting there on it. It just seemed to be something natural to him, regardless to onlookers and their thoughts. He had this athletic grace to him, as if he was kept in shape by other means than actually doing anything like jogging or something. But he was by no means a meat head either. His hand moved down from Kalens shoulder to rest on his hip, a slightly more comfortable pose perhaps.* Hey, this is the first I've really actually heard about any of this... So... *he shrugs his other shoulder.*

Tell me what you need me to do, if I can help... Oh... and I know a guy that's really good with engines... IF that helps? * He looks from face to face.*

Grace

"Ooh. Speaking of forcing technology on everyone..." Grace says, taking Alex's phone with a happiness. "I'm glad to help."

With that, she sits at the table, unloading her laptop bag of its contents -- a sleek machine and some cables. The laptop hums to life, but it's not a loud noise, more a creaky whisper.

"Now, Danny. I am going to be installing the Ginger protocol for Alex today apparently. It's a thing we use in Denver to have discussions without the Techs listening in like they totally do. I have been put on a watch list before for my text messages. Another person recently got contacted by a fucking Technocrat for their Googling activity. So we need to be careful about what we do online, right?" Grace says, while setting up the device. The cables get perused as she looks for the right connector. The phone gets plugged in to her laptop.

"Sera told you it was a phone sex line, and that's kind of correct. It is a phone sex line that has been hijacked for our personal use. You call the number and you don't have my encryption, it works like a normal phone sex line. You call it with my protocol enabled, you get something different. But to your phone company, it looks like you really enjoy erotic phone conversation. Which, you might. I don't care."

She stops in the middle of her spiel to address Kalen. "I know. I am all for the idea. You know that. It just means that the laser training arena needs to be big."

Alexander Brandt

“First.” He leans back against the counter. “Don’t take what they said personally. If they were trying to be personal then they should have been looking past the particular cool club you chose to join and looked at what it is you’re trying to accomplish. Can this person say that they’re trying to create a safe place for us? Train us? Help us when we end up out of our depth? Because if all they’re going to do it hurl criticism from the back row then… well, they can take Alyssa’s advice and swivel until the world stops spinning.”

The kettle finally makes its presence known, so he turns to turn hot water into hot coffee. “Kalen, you do remember that whole little talk we had with Alyssa, right? I’m more than happy to train people where I can. To be honest, I’d much rather there were more of us beating on our pointy-toothed friend that night rather than us with two new guys who didn’t know what they were doing. I’d rather my allies didn’t have as much chance of hurting me as the guy they’re supposed to be helping to stop.”

He turns to look at Kalen when he asks, “At what point have you ever tries to keep any of this to yourself, or used it as a way of holding something over any of us?”

Coffee happens, and shortly after the press sits on the counter island next to the other bits and pieces.

Kalen Holliday

Kalen has not entirely caught up to the fact that for all he may have spent a considerable amount of time on his own at various points in his life and for various reasons, he is so completely not alone now that this notion that he's somehow still holding himself apart from the world is, in fact, ridiculous. He does not try to fight with that now, just smiles a little at what they all say.

A year ago he had stood in the House and casually told Shoshannah that nowhere was safe and nothing was safe. And now, here he is, with coffee he didn't have to make and friends. And maybe he knows that there isn't any kind of fortification he can expect to stand forever, but he feels safe.

"So I suppose we'll have updates for Ginger then." There is a slight pause, and he looks down at the ground. "Thank you."

Danny

*His eyebrows shoot up again in surprise at that revelation from Grace. Then he nods listening before he chuckles at the thoughts of his phone activities from the company's point of view.* Yeah, young male... sex lines are hardly unusual.

*He listens to what Alexander says and smiles a bit at his words.* Training is something I could do with, I mean, real training. Not too sure about the whole combat thing, I've never really had to fight apart from the one time in high-school. But that was more like... well, it wasn't a fight in the sense you guys mean. *With a smile he draws the fragile thing closer to him a little.* It's all good... Just roll with it okay? *His voice was lower, but the others would probably hear it.*

So, can I get in on this phone thing? *He had his other hand moving to pick out his samsung and hand it over.* And how exactly can I be of use? I know nothing about fighting, I know enough about musical programming to do that, but I guess with the right help I might be of some use?

Grace

Grace starts installation, opening up a console with its white text on black background that looks like she could be doing anything. For those who have seen her Work, it even looks a lot like this, but this is no Working. It's mundane. There's no spike of sharpness to the air while she does it.

"You can get in on this phone thing. If you're okay with it. It's illegal. Not that I think you're going to care too much about that necessarily," she smirks over at Danny. "Also it could be dangerous. There are a bunch of measures built in to make it so that tracking people down using their shared use of the program would be very difficult. Difficult is not the same as impossible. It's encrypted and hidden, but that doesn't mean that it's perfectly safe. Nothing is. It's just a whole hell of a lot better than sending your friends an email about the latest Magickal whatever. "

Tap tap tap. She actually starts humming while she goes.

"I think we're in business, Alex," she says, disconnects the wire, and hands Alex his phone back.

"You'll find a new contact in your contacts list. Ginger. Call it, say 'Hello, Ginger', and you'll get a voice menu. It's pretty self-explanatory from there."

Oh, Alex. There is another number in your contacts list. 1-800-FAT-GRLS. Enjoy.

Alexander Brandt

Alexander leans on the island, watching Kalen as he thanks them and looks down. Shortly after, a very ripe peach from the fruit bowl is sailing through the air at him. It hits his check with a very squish thud – not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to make a bit of a mess. “As Alyssa isn’t here to thwap you this time, I’ll step in for her and tell you to stop being an idiot.” He’s grinning as he says it, which fades to a smile as he continues. “Try not to forget that you’re not alone, eh? You don’t have to it all.”

Danny says that he isn’t sure about the whole combat thing. “We’re not talking about turning every one of us into a two-legged death machine. We’re talking about knowing enough to get the other guy down quickly and get away. Or, at the very least, have a hope of getting out of the way when there’s a piece of fruit flying towards you.” He pokes his tongue out at Kalen. “You want to help? Tell us, or tell Ginger, when weird crap goes down. It’s easier to deal with the Mage-eating nasties if we know they’re coming.”

He takes the phone back from Grace but doesn’t call up immediately. He’d prefer to be aware from anywhere important before he starts placing calls that might, one day, get tracked. Looks like he might have been listening, Grace.

Alexander Brandt

[And because it's late and I'm typoing like crazy. It hits him in the chest, and he doesn't have to do it all.]

Kalen Holliday

Danny pulls him closer and he does go with that, eyes closing for a second. And so he's listening to Grace and so ridiculously calm that he doesn't even see that peach coming. He startles a little, then realizes what hit him about when the poor (now very bruised) peach hits the floor.

Blink. Blink. And then he is laughing and his real laugh is a low, rich sound that isn't far off from that occasional amused purring tone.

"I'm sure she'll be very proud of you, stepping up when she's not here to throw things at me." He shakes his head and settles back against Danny again. "And yeah, will do."

Danny

*He nods to that.* Got it, difficult but not impossible and yeah.... *He smirks at that comment about the Fat Girls.* Uh, boys... Put mine to Pretty boys... *He didn't glance at Kalen, not in the slightest at that comment... Noope... but he did end up sucking both his lips in with a grin on his face and bit them slightly to keep his mouth shut, then his attention moved to Alex when he spoke again and he nodded, releasing his lips.* Okay... Yeah that I can deal with. Gigs can be a bit hectic, I dunno... *he shrugged that shoulder again.

Then he turned his head to Kalen... frowning a bit at the peach before he laughs at the look on his face.* I'm not going anywhere.. I made a promise, when I make a promise I stick to it. I'm here for the long term. *He would have to detach himself from Kalen slightly to give Grace the phone, but he did it and slide it gently across to her on the surface. Then just went straight on back to him. Affectionate little bugger wasn't he? Straight back to the body contact. Stealing glances when he could, enjoyment there on his face, his eyes a rich warm mahogany red/brown. Like morgans dark rum.*

Grace

Grace accepts the new phone with a little nod to Danny. Aww. Danny and Kalen. They're wrapped around each other, and it finally occurs to Grace that Kalen has found a new 'friend'.

He almost looks peaceful and happy again. Seems like that mood goes in a strange oscillating loop sometimes.

"Well, I'm not a two-legged death machine. That's not really where my talents lie. This is where I do my best work," she says, nods to the laptop. "But still, considering Denver is what it is, it would be nice to know how to get myself out of a bad situation. Like that one time when the theater rioted."

Alexander Brandt

“Better,” he says, still smiling, when Kalen laughs. Alexander pushes down the plunger in the press and starts pouring out four cups of coffee. “And what can I say, she’s a good teacher.”

He shrugs back at Danny’s half-commital response. “It’s a bit of a two way street. There are people in the city who will help dig you out of whatever hole you happen to land in. But, then, it’s only fair that you return the favour when they need someone with a shovel. Even if the only help you can offer is a warning that something’s coming… Like the whole vampire infestation out on East Colfax.”

To Grace, “I can teach you some of the basics of self-defense if you like?” Because he was genuine about his offer to teach. There are lots of things that he’s only starting to learn about himself but others – how to survive a fight – are things he’s happy to share.

He’s about to ask about cream and sugar and all the other paraphernalia that usually accompanies coffee but there’s a small interruption from the other room. The sound of a mobile ring tone. It’s not a particularly interesting one; one of the tunes that comes with the phone, but not the default. “Sorry, excuse me a minute.” He grabs one of the mugs and makes his excuses as heads into the other room to answer it.

[And fades into the background…]