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You walk towards the Fruvous Bar and Grill.
Fruvous Bar and Grill
Contents:
Tara
Target
Obvious exits:
Java Quarter
You walk here from the Java Quarter.
Niko is taller. How bizarre. Oh, no, see, he's wearing those rollerblades--and no protective gear. Apparently, he's done this before, as the sight of the tall guy on skates isn't getting any looks. He makes his way over to the bar. At least he's bright enough not to be ordering alcohol.
Tara is, uncharacteristically perhaps, having a nice quiet meal (what appears
to be pizza, sort of) and enjoying the music of the band. Despite dark
circles beneath her eyes, she seems to be in a fairly good mood. But the guy
on skates definitely attracts her attention, and her eyebrows rise.
"Commander," she calls softly, "Just ain't getting around fast enough these
days?"
Niko turns, a glass with a blue-can logo in hand. "Valentine," he says amiably, though a hint of concern flickers across his face as he notes the dark circles. "Can't ever get around fast enough. This is just my own way to cheat death, as hang-gliding isn't all that feasible. Not here, at least."
Tara gestures in the direction of the mountains whose name she can't remember.
"Not here, true, but you could manage it up in the mountains most likely.
Though frankly tempting death like that is not my idea of a good time." She
pauses, eyeing his glass, and nods slightly as if in agreement as she passes
off her empty glass to a waiter. "Refill, please."
Niko grins rather drolly, gliding towards the table where you're sitting. "You have another method? Clara'd probably agree with you, and Ela. I don't know that either of them are particularly thrilled with the thought of me on skates, but, hey, I'm doing a lot better than I was." He peers in the vague direction of the mountains. "And a trip out that way might be good, yeah. Depends on... lots of things." Like whether Ela will let him go.
Tara grins up vaguely. "Can't you just walk like everybody else? Or are ya
still proving yourself?" Eyebrows rise. "Lots of things? Oh... Getting leave
would help, I'd imagine. Not such an easy thing around here, from what I've
heard."
Niko grins amiably. "I can walk. Generally do in the Complex, but I go up
there--" A vague gesture towards the park. "--to skate, and it's just as easy
to to keep the skates on." He nods at the mention of getting leave. "I've not
done much in the way of vacationing in a while, but I'm kind of saving it."
There's a quick grin. Whyever it is that he's saving up his leave, the
thought of it makes him happy.
Which arouses Tara's curiosity quite a bit, and it shows. "What're you saving it up for? Planning a long trip? And what in heaven's name will the Chief do without you in the meantime?" A glance is cast in the direction of the park. "They play chess up there too. It's rather relaxing." There's a pause before she notes, amused, "Commander, sit down before you fall down. You can help me finish this pizza if you like, and if you don't mind a lack of sauce."
Niko does, in fact, take a seat, though he does it with relative grace. With a
gesture towards the pizza, he inquires, "If you're sure you won't mind?" He's
male, he exercises a lot, he's -always- hungry. "And not a long trip, but I
want to make sure I've got the time when I want it. The anniversary's coming
up and all, and Ela'd like getting away, if we can swing it." There's a hint
of interest, and he inquires, "You play chess?"
Tara shakes her head, gesturing toward the pizza as she takes a slice herself.
"Help yerself. Ah, the first anniversary... Paper, isn't it?" She chuckles
quietly. "I don't know anybody who wouldn't like to get away from the
madhouse they call the Complex now and then." A couple of quick bites, and
she reaches for her refill as the waiter brings it over. "Sure. Gotta keep
the stretegic part of my mind sharp somehow."
"Paper," Niko agrees. "Or clocks. I figure I'll get her a paper clock, and cover both bases." Maybe he's joking? He does, though, help himself to a slice of pizza, with a decidedly grateful look. "Thanks, Valentine. And chess is a great game. Ever play with the old guy who's up there most days--Bobby? Great guy. Wipes me up and down the board, every time."
Tara chuckles. "Well, at least you're thorough." She shakes her head, grabbing
stray cheese trying to slide from the slice in her hand. "Ahhh... I tend to
play with the younger ones..."
Niko says drolly, after devouring a massive bite of pizza, "Smart. Bobby's
brilliant, but I think he's unbeatable." Hey, maybe his last name is Fischer?
"So you've probably played with Jackie and Jiang-qing? Those folks? Or folks
other than the regulars?"
Tara swallows before smiling, rather amused. "Commander, I've been back for all
of perhaps two weeks. I discovered the chess players just a few days ago.
While the name Jackie sounds familiar, I'm not all that familiar with who's
who up there just yet."
You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.
Niko chuckles quietly, looking just a bit sheepish. "Sorry. It's just I don't
really talk to the only other person that I -know- plays chess there. So I'm
a little eager, I guess--see, comparing notes is good, then I'd be able to
figure out if Jackie's really as good as she seems, or if I'm just kind of
stupid when I play her." Jackie's got these... attributes, see. They're
distracting, for some.
Tara's eyebrows rise. "Well, why don't you talk to 'em? Schedules conflict?" She snickers quietly. "If it helps, I haven't been able to beat any of 'em yet. But then I haven't played chess in years either."
Niko shakes his head. "Nah, personalities conflict." He says this just a little
bit too lightly. "No big deal. And, hey, chess is a skill. It'll come back,
though--like riding a bicycle. Or a unicycle... ooh." Yes, gears are turning.
He's coming up with more things to do on wheels.
Tara laughs, "Oh no... I'm not sure if seeing you on a unicycle'd be a good
thing. Skates are bad enough. Unless, of course, you started selling tickets
or something. You may be stumbling... and I /do/ mean stumbling... onto a
whole new career in show biz."
Niko offers an altogether too innocent look. "Aww, I'd be -great- on a
unicycle. I'd wait a while before I tried to take it down stairs, at least.
Tickets, there's an idea. It'd sure be an easier way to supplement the
budget." He wrinkles his nose at the mention of stumbling, but is apparently
amused.
Tara's eyebrows rise. "Stairs? You're insane, man," she denounces cheerfully.
"But you might be onto something there," she muses, not entirely serious.
"You can take your act on the road... or the spacelanes, at any rate. I'll
print up the tickets, transport you... Mrs. Casymed can tell fortunes or
something... Hey, we could get quite a nice little gig going." She winks,
reaching for another slice of pizza.
Niko looks really altogether amused by this as he, too, snags another piece,
folding it in half to eat. "Oh, sure, Ela'd be thrilled with that. And
Riley--wow, that'd just be great!" Yes, he's kidding. "And, hey, learning how
to rollerskate down stairs is a good thing. That way, I'm less likely to
-fall- down the stairs. That's a bad thing."
Tara winces, snickering. "That sounds like the voice of experience talking.
Next time, take the ramp."
Niko nods seriously. "The voice of experience. And I wasn't wearing a helmet."
He taps the one that's attached to his belt, so he doesn't have to worry
about carrying it. "I do learn, it just takes a lot. I do still take the
stairs, though," he admits. "It's fun, now that I can do it. And it gets me
good reactions."
Tara shakes her head. "You SecOffs are all alike- taking chances when you don't
have to. Good reactions? Applause?"
Niko shakes his head. "Horrified looks," he says, looking rather innocent.
"And, hey, at least I'm taking chances on my own time. That'll make it less
likely that I will when I'm working, when it's a lot more likely that taking
chances will get me injured." And, yes, by the way, he's armed, even though
he's off-duty. The weapon's tucked away somewhere subtle, but it's still
there.
Tara shakes her head a bit. "So young. Don't ever lose that, Commander."
Niko's expressive brows quirk upwards a bit. He polishes off that piece of
pizza, then locates a napkin. "Youth? Sorry, but that's going to go away
eventually. Time's not going to stop just because I tell it you told me to
stay young."
Tara smiles slightly. "Let me rephrase. Don't throw it away, eh? Ah! How dare
time defy me?"
Niko nods amiably. "Not throwing away my youth. That I can manage, maybe. Lots
easier than stopping time, that's for sure." There's a pause, and then he
inquires, with a hint of humor, "So you see why they call me Junior now,
maybe?"
Tara chuckles. "Yeah, I guess I do." Another slice is reached for, though she bites into it rather absently, an appraising gaze on you.
Niko has apparently reached his pizza limit. He rests his arm on the table,
returning your appraising gaze with an inquiring one. "What, do I have gravel
in my hair or something?"
Tara shakes her head a bit. "No, you look fine..." She shifts uncomfortably. "I
just find it odd, that I keep running into you. If I didn't know better, I'd
think you were keeping an eye on me."
Niko shakes his head. "Chance happens," he says, with a brief grin. "I'm not
keeping an eye on you. I'm just entertaining myself while poor Ela suffers
through meetings."
Tara nods slowly. "Then why were you carrying a weapon during your workout the
other day?"
Niko looks just a bit puzzled. "Because I always go armed anymore? Not that I'd
like to draw attention to it, but I've got a tangler now as well." He pauses
for a moment. "What, you thought that was because of you? No. See, the job's
made me some enemies. Might as well make use of the perks, and make sure I
can defend myself."
Tara ducks her head, possibly in time to hide the blush. "Ah, call me
egocentric, I guess. It just seemed a bit odd- you were chatty, more amiable
than I can ever remember you being, and the holster just did not match your
workout suit."
Niko deadpans, "I know. The fashion police accosted me. They were quite annoyed." With a faint grin, he adds, "I've grown up a little while you were gone, maybe? Don't take myself quite so seriously, at least."
Tara snickers quietly, glancing back up. "And what momentous happenings made
you grow up?"
Niko ponders that for a moment. "Got married, got used to the new job, that
sort of thing. Maybe the Complex is having an effect on me or something. I'm
not altogether sure."
Tara's mouth quirks, and she reaches up to catch a stray piece of cheese. "It
does seem to do that, doesn't it. So... increased responsibility has changed
your outlook?"
Niko tips a hand in a soso gesture. "Maybe? Something like that. And, really, how much is worth getting knotted up over? Easier just to deal with the things that need fixing, and try not to worry about the ones that don't."
Tara chuckles. "Easier said than done, when you're a knight in shining armor?"
"Armor's overrated," Niko says, with feeling. "It's heavy." He does murmur something about vanquishing dragons, looking a bit amused.
Tara nods. "I'll have to take your word for that, i'm afraid. Never been the knightly type myself. So... you've changed. I've changed. The Doctor's changed... Rather interesting to see what a single year will do."
Niko intones, one finger lifting, "Time is a many-splendored thing. Or something like that. And speaking of time..." He peers at his chrono, and shakes his head. "I should be heading back. Ela might be home by now."
Tara chuckles softly. "Ah time, the master of us all." She nods, making shooing motions with the non-pizza'ed hand. "Go enjoy your wife, Commander."
Niko is a gentleman. He doesn't say what his player's thinking. Instead he just smiles amiably. "Thanks--and for the pizza as well. Have a good evening." He gets to his feet, fortunately remembering that there are wheels attached.
Tara nods amiably, watching with some amusement. "Anytime. You too."
Niko glides towards the exit, with the occasional pause when the crowd doesn't move quite quickly enough. As this puts him a heck of a lot taller than most non-Edreeni in the room, his lifted hand of farewell is kind of obvious.
You walk towards the Java Quarter.