Jack, huh? It seemed a bit run-of-the-mill for a guy with such an aura as he had. But she decided against questioning further.
Startled by Nyght's coughing fit, Aela was about to ask if she was alright just as she recovered, taking a drink from her mocha. After a longer drink, she expressed thanks that Aela had recommended it.
She smiled. "Anytime." After Nyght had introduced herself by name and Jack had shook her offered hand, Aela took her turn.
"Aela Peters. Pleasure to meet you Jack." She shook his hand firmly and in a bit more formal way than Nyght had. "As for that muffin, I'll be right back." Before he could protest, she got up from her seat and strode over to the counter, which was vacant of any line. She paid for the blueberry muffin, actually thanked Craig this time, and went to sit back down. Handing the muffin to Jack, she gave a smile that hopefully said "I'm really a nice person".
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on Oct 17, 2015 13:52:53 GMT -5
When Nyght began coughing, obviously due to her inhalation of the muffin, Jack looked at her with a slightly puzzled smile. "Slow down there, Speed Racer. Muffins not goin' anywhere." He said half jokingly. The young man hid his smile behind his pumpkin spice latte. Jack's corny little jokes and idioms were more about amusing himself rather than anyone else and he found it pretty funny.
So, Nyght and Aela? Pretty names. Jack thought. Also way cooler than his own. People often remarked that his name was a bit bland, more than a bit ordinary. But he liked it. The young man just couldn't imagine himself as Magnifico, Archmage Supreme! Or somesuch. He felt ordinary and his name fit that. He was comfortable.
Aela bought him a muffin and handed it to him before he could so much as protest. Jack didn't need strangers buying things for him. Not that he wasn't grateful for the delicious treat, half of which he ate with one bite, but it was unnecessary and made him feel like he was taking advantage of the generosity of others a bit. He did find it amusing though, looking at Craig with his mouth gaping open at a complete loss for words after being thanked.
"Thanks! You're good people!" The young man said, mouth full of muffin. He washed the huge bite down with some of his drink.
Post by Nyghtingale on Oct 17, 2015 15:24:27 GMT -5
Morgan sat there, watching the male and was taken a back when Aela suddenly stood up and went back to the counter. There, she not only bought a third muffin (man, the woman must be made out of money) and even thanked the cashier this time. Morgan shook her had, smiling a little and nibbled on her muffin. She looked over at Jack, and chuckled softly.
"I am not a Speed Racer, Jack. I do not even know how to drive." She was teasing, and at the same time being dead serious. She really did not know how to drive, and thus could not be a speed racer in any way even though she knew he was not meaning it in that way. She watched as Aela came back and gave the muffin to Jack as well, and her eyes went wide. She simply could not help herself.
"Wow....you must be rich..." She whispered, staring at the three muffins on the table. All three of them together where like....three days of good to Morgan, and she could not believe so much was sitting at one table. The coffee alone was a major treat, the three muffins where like....ice upon a cake she would never had. It was an incredible display of wealth, at least in her own mind.
Knowing your own darkness is the best method of dealing with the darkness of other people. -Carl Jung
Aela burst into a fit of hysterical laughter, throwing her head back. It lasted for about a minute, and when she finally came out of it, Jack and Nyght were both looking at her weirdly. Wiping away a tear, she leaned back in her chair, looking back and forth between her two new friends - could she even call them friends?
"Ah, sorry." She said sheepishly, her face reddening in embarrassment. "I didn't mean to laugh at your question. And, quite frankly, I don't usually laugh like that anyway." She paused for a moment, trying to regain her composure. "I'm not necessarily rich, but my field of work-" she pointed to her 1st Sergeant's badge "Pays higher ranks better than lower ranks. So, I have a little cash to spare here and there on the occasion."
Last Edit: Oct 17, 2015 16:16:31 GMT -5 by Aela Ward
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on Oct 17, 2015 17:08:17 GMT -5
Jack shrugged, smiling. "Half the people in New York don't know how to drive," He replied cheerfully. "And that's just counting the ones you'd encounter on the road!" Bwahaha! He chuckled inwardly.
Nyght seemed to think that three muffins constituted considerable wealth. The young man wasn't entirely sure whether or not she was joking so he just shot her a puzzling glance. Perhaps she was a bit more down on her luck than he'd initially thought. Luckily for her, Jack knew of a company with an opening that she totally qualified for! He scratched his chin, staring up at the ceiling in thought.
On second thought, Nyght didn't look like the type who'd want to prostitute herself for the Russian mob. Best not to bring it up, Jack thought.
Aela burst into laughter at Nyght's question and Jack just sipped his drink, face flushing slightly. Why? Because loud! It made him uncomfortable.
"You're a sergeant? Cool. What do you, like, do and stuff?" Jack asked, curious.
Post by Nyghtingale on Oct 17, 2015 23:07:32 GMT -5
It was Morgan's turn to feel awkward now. Obviously her statement was not one that was ordinarily said, and her point of view was clearly being laughed at. Looking down at her muffin, she picked at it slowly and dejectedly for a little while. She did not exactly enjoy the fact that she was was a broke, homeless urchin. At least she was a clean one, however because she took careful care of her cloths and her body. Having to live under a bridge, washing her cloths in a public bathroom sink and then usually wearing them wet or hanging them, if she was REALLY lucky, in the sun to dry a few hours before wearing them. Yea, that was not what she called really living extravagantly.
However when Jack spoke again, it instantly gave her a reason to change the subject towards something less personal. At least it was less personal for herself. She looked up from her muffin, and laughed softly and spoke loudly.
"Jack, what kind of silly question is that?" She gave him an extremely serious face for a moment, then began to grin. "It is obvious what she does! She runs around, shooting people and blowing them up!" She said excitedly, holding her hands up in mock imitation of holding some sort of rifle and began to pretend to shoot a fully automatic weapon, complete with an extremely cheesy rendition of noises created from her lips of fully automatic as she pretended to shoot Jack and several other inhabitants of the Starbucks whom all looked her way scathingly from all the noise she was making. She paid them no mind, however because she really did not care.
Knowing your own darkness is the best method of dealing with the darkness of other people. -Carl Jung
Again, Aela chuckled lightheartedly. "Ah, well. Shooting people and blowing them up is only about half of what I do. Sometimes even less than half." She leaned forward on the table, glad to have someone to explain her passion to. "There's also the campaign planning and targeting and also pinpointing enemy bases on radar maps." She used her index finger to draw an invisible radar circle on the surface of the table. "And then comes the fun part; if you get deployed onto enemy grounds, you have to always be on guard and armed with a weapon of some sort, most likely a gun. Then, even if it's the middle of the night and your commanding officer yells an order to be ready for crossfire, you bet your ass that you have to get up and be ready in less than a minute. I served in Iraq just after 9/11, and it was just like that a lot of the time."
She paused, realizing she was rambling a bit. "Ah sorry. just got carried away." She clasped her hands tightly in her lap, looking from Jack to Nyght, not exactly knowing what to say next.
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on Oct 18, 2015 0:52:39 GMT -5
Jack noticed that Nyght seemed to feel a bit awkward at her apparent lack of wealth and just generally poor standard of living, but he ignored it. Drawing attention to something like that would be jerkish. Luckily, he'd already changed the subject and a moment later Nyght was doing an impression of what was pretty much every action movie ever.
Aela described the other stuff she had to do. The not awesome stuff. The stuff ya didn't see too much in the explosion packed action movies. Basically, the boring stuff.
"All that sounds like a lotta work. Ever just want rub mud on your face and turn the tables against a predatory alien out in the jungle somewhere? That would be pretty cool." Jack said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He felt like he'd heard that idea somewhere before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Nah, probably super original, he thought to himself.
Post by Nyghtingale on Oct 18, 2015 2:09:13 GMT -5
Nyght listened with interest to what Aela was saying. She really did not know anything about the American military, hell she did not even know anything about the French military either or British. Even though she did know the SAS where a pretty badass group of guys, she knew nothing about them or anybody in the military program. So this was her first look inside anything military, and even more in depth in to the military of another country. Though she doubted it was giving anything away that might get Aela in trouble. Could she get in trouble for giving information away?
However at Jack's words, she began to snicker loudly. "I remember seeing that movie....with that big beefy Austrian guy who lives in America now. Scharwz something or another? He was also some robot with living skin over himself in another movie. Anyways, I do not mind your rambling Aela, it was very educational. Made me realize I would never want to join the army, in this country or my own. I would probably punch somebody in the face if they woke me up when sleeping.....oh wait I have several times." She laughed at that, shaking her own head and sighing. "Though I do wish I knew how to defend myself better. I am not a very good fighter."
Knowing your own darkness is the best method of dealing with the darkness of other people. -Carl Jung
Ah, right. Terminator. The title of the action movie starring Arnold Shwartznager came back to her as Nyght described it. She hadn't seen it in a few years, but hey, it wasn't that hard to remember Shwartznager shouting "GET TO DA CHOPPAH". She grinned at the thought of it.
When Nyght explained how she'd never want to go into the military, Aela really couldn't balme her. It just wasn't other people's cup of tea. Hell, it wasn't even her cup of tea. More like her flask of Fireball Whiskey. Nyght told how she had never really learned how to defend herself, and Aela perked up a little. "We have programs up at the base where you can take classes in martial arts, marksmanship with a variety of automatic and submachine guns, and basic survival skills. On top of that, every Friday we have spar-offs, where we narrow it down to one student who's better than all the other's, and they get to spar with the instructor." At the last few words, Aela grinned. "Of course, the instructor is always 1st Sergeant, and that's none other than yours truly."
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on Oct 18, 2015 15:36:20 GMT -5
"Mhm. Arnold is God's gift to action movies. It seems like Hollywood has a hard time finding beefy dudes who can also act halfway decent. Speaking of which, I'll be back." Jack said, nodding once reminded of the actor's name. The last part, though, he said in his best Schwartznegger impression, right before standing up and making his way over to the bathroom. It wasn't an emergency, but the young man didn't have much reason to hold it.
Anyways, he was back out a few seconds later. Jack had left his pumpkin spice latte and half eaten blueberry muffin unattended on the table with Nyght and Aela while gone, but he trusted that they wouldn't be tampered with. Wait. What if one or both of these women are psychos and they poisoned my food while I was in the bathroom? The young man thought to himself, suddenly feeling very paranoid.
Taking his seat, he smiled at the two, not betraying his sudden suspicion. "So. What'd I miss?" Jack asked with a smile. I'm not terrified. I'm NOT.
Post by Nyghtingale on Oct 18, 2015 15:46:19 GMT -5
Morgan laughed as the other man suddenly had to go to the bathroom. As soon as he was out of visual range, she reached over and simply shifted his cup from one side to the other. She simply winked at Aela and leaned back again, grinning and putting her arms up behind her head waiting for the male to return. As he did so, she looked around with a far to innocent look upon her face, trying really hard not to burst out in to laughter and/or grinning.
"Oh, nothing, you did not miss anything. So strange dude walked by, asked if a Jake was here then dropped something in your cup of coffee before leaving. Dunno what that was about...but he is right over there! Seems you have an secret lover!" She pointed at a massive guy who clearly looked like some sort of body builder with massive bulging muscles all over his arms, legs, and chest. The man looked like he could pick one of these tables up and snap them in half with a flex of his muscles. She watched Jake for some sort of reaction, trying to see how he responded and biting her lower lip to keep from bursting out in to laughter.
Knowing your own darkness is the best method of dealing with the darkness of other people. -Carl Jung
Jack excused himself, claiming he had to use the restroom. "Huh. Maybe the coffee got to him." She said thoughtfully, tapping her chin. Nyght snickered quietly, and moved his Jack's mug to the other side of his muffin. Aela promptly rolled her eyes. "Are you TRYING to make him paranoid around us, or what?" She accused lightheartedly.
When Jack returned, it was all Aela could do to refrain herself from bursting into another fit of hysterical laughter. "Seems you have a secret lover!" Nyght finished telling her tale, gesturing to a muscular guy sitting alone. Aela had to cover up an escaped laugh by coughing and taking a gulp of her nearly-gone mocha when she realized who the guy was; it was her next-door neighbor, Chad Benkins, who threw awesome Christmas parties that she was always invited to. Even though he spiked the drinks, he was a pretty cool guy to hang out with.
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on Oct 18, 2015 18:40:31 GMT -5
Jack immediately noticed that his cup had been moved. Gulp! It's ok, don't panic. I'm sure you're just imagining things. A cold bead of sweat ran down his brow as he stared at the cup. Who are we kidding! They're totally trying to murder you! Panic! PANIC! But being a fairly level headed guy, the young man merely smiled. Rather awkwardly, it seemed more a grimace than a smile, really. Nyght mentioned some buff dude tampering with his drink.
"What!?" Jack exclaimed, eyes darting to the complete stranger. "I mean, what?" He restated, more calmly this time. "You guys let some random stranger put something weird in my drink? What if it's poison or- Oh my Goddess what if it's alien eggs and they'll hatch in my stomach and eat me from the inside out!" At this point, the poor young man was starting to freak out, sweat running down his forehead. He tugged at his hair, terrified with indecision. He couldn't dump it out! What if the guy put a bomb in the cup and moving it would blow it up!?
Post by Nyghtingale on Oct 18, 2015 18:46:39 GMT -5
Morgan could no longer help herself. Jack was literally flipping out over such a simple thing as his cup being moved and threat of something being inside it. She bursts out in to laughter that rang around the room, her hands grasping at her stomach as she literally fell over cackling. Her head smacked in to the table hard, but she continued to laugh at the man's obvious fear and paranoia. She was laughing so hard, she was having problems breathing and actually began to snort loudly every time she tried to inhale. She simply could not help herself, the terrified expression upon Jack's face combined with the actions he was performing was just to much for her.
After what felt like an hour, but was really only about a minute or two she began to get control of herself. She was gasping for breath, her chest hurting from laughing so hard and she finally managed to sit up properly and look at Jack. This only made her begin to snicker a little more, and she could not help messing with the man just a LITTLE bit more. She reached out, grabbing his cup and picked it up. She shook it then brought it over to herself and took a large sip from it before setting it back down in front of the male, looking at him with a smile showing him there was nothing wrong with the drink after all.
Knowing your own darkness is the best method of dealing with the darkness of other people. -Carl Jung