The Park, Monday Morning

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

It was getting cold, but the chill was bracing, truly, nothing more than that, and so, armed with a coffee, Rosalind could be found wandering the park that morning, looking contemplative.

Leaning against a bench that overlooked the duck pond--yes, she could sit down, but Rosalind didn't feel like it at the moment--she idly wondered what Elena was doing right now. Which Elena?

Well, both of them. And how things were going back home--the reports she got were hardly the same thing as being there, after all, and Rosalind itched with the urge to know more. Or musing on what radio considered being 'sassy' at Reno.

For now, though, there were no answers all she could do was push away from the bench, sip her coffee and continue her walk through the park.

That was soothing, in a way. She did like nature. Even the quiet and sleeping sort there was to be had this time of the year.

[Ooopen as an open place is, la.]

Comments

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

Quinn didn't normally do anything more ambitious with her morning break than trying to wheedle Gunther out of a cup of skim hot chocolate, but something about today had her out for a walk despite -- or maybe because of -- the cold air.

She wasn't sure she wanted company, but the blond girl she vaguely recognized from school got a smile and a "Hi" anyhow. Wouldn't do to be too publicly miserable.

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

Rosalind glanced at the other girl, mid-way through a sip of coffee, and nodded back pleasantly enough.

"Good morning," she offered, her voice carrying easily in the cold air. "It's not a bad time for a walk."

Mmm pleasant observations. Well, it was a way to get started.

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"Officially," Quinn said, glancing back to the hotel, "I'm on my break from work. I just didn't feel like staying inside."

She added a resigned, "I'm Quinn." She thought they had a class together, but she'd given up on expecting people in Fandom to recognize her.

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

A faint smile played around her lips. She'd known that--a Turk would.

"Rosalind," she said, almost lightly. "I cannot claim to be on a break--officially or unofficially."

A beat.

"It's not a bad day to want to be outside," she observed. Rosalind doubted her conclusions were correct--she didn't know the girl, Quinn, well enough to make a solid guess. "Though I suppose that depends on the reasons. Some people care not for being restless, while others embrace it."

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"That's all zen," Quinn observed, not unkindly. "The staff's just going a little nuts decorating for Christmas. I think if I stick around on my break, I'll end up working through it."

"So," she added, with a little smile, "do you embrace being restless, or the other thing?"

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

"Another holiday so soon?" she asked, a bit curious. "And, I suppose I would take both options--it depends on the day. Today I do not mind it overly so. The wind and the cold are enough to soothe it into something more pleasant."

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"Mmm, an even bigger one," Quinn said. "Huge religious thing, and then we have the New Year. You're one of the 'not from around here' types, huh?"

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

"An evasion would be pointless," she said lightly. "True enough, though I lucked out in that the technology I understand--it is merely the culture that is different."

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"Is that really lucky?" Quinn wondered. "I mean, a light switch is a light switch is a light switch -- you can deal -- but not knowing culture comes up in thirty seconds of small talk."

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

"I prefer culture shock over dealing with culture and technology shock both at the same time," she said dryly. "And one is connected to another. Someone who lacked the technology but knew the culture would likely be from an earlier time period, no? That sort of displacement might be more difficult than a more total sort."

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"Maybe," Quinn said thoughtfully. "I got lucky -- I'm from now, so I don't have to worry about either one. Except my now doesn't have people with superpowers or vampires or whatever."

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

Rosalind sipped her coffee thoughtfully. "Was that--or is that--an easy adjustment for you?"

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"I'm still here." It wasn't yes, it wasn't no; it was just a statement of fact. "Doesn't really do any good to obsess about how weird it is, right? Besides, most days the place is pretty boring."

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

"I would say 'quaint' over boring," she observed. "But then, I suppose that depends on what you're used to as well."

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

Chill? What chill? Yeah, Jake was still just wearing a t-shirt and that wasn't likely to change.

The most abnormal bit here was that he was actually awake instead of sleeping in when he didn't have classes. Honestly, Jake was wondering about that too. Maybe because Bod had been sort of absent lately and somehow that was less fun.

Anyway. Somehow he was awake and because he was polite, he wandered over when he noticed Rosalind. "Hey."

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"Quaint's not really a word I use," Quinn shrugged. "It sounds like we're on a farm or something to me."

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

She looked up at him. (And up.)

"Good morning," Rosalind said, lips twitching slightly. "Will it ever get cold enough for you to bother with a jacket?"

Said the girl in the suit that never changed no matter the season...

It was a Turk skill. Looking badass no matter how hot or cold you were in your suit.

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

"I could wear a jacket," he said easily, shrugging. "I just don't need it. It's a perk."

And honestly, she did leave herself open there. So she only had herself to blame when he glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. "Is it ever going to get too hot for you not to wear a suit?"

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

"Never," Rosalind assured him dryly. "Much to your dismay, I'm sure."

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

Rosalind shook her head.

"It's a very small place," she noted, eyes amused. "My home is--quite large in comparison."

... Midgar was quite large in comparison to most cities, truly.

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"Lucky," Quinn decided, finally moving toward taking a seat on a bench. "Why'd you leave it? Part of the reason I came here is that the town I'm from is sort of in the middle of nowhere."

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

"Yes," he nodded, attempting to keep serious. "It's all I ever think about lately."

Just to be sure, he took a few steps back from her, eyes twinkling with mischief as the whole keeping serious thing hadn't lasted long.

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

She sniffed and took a sip of her coffee, deliberately turning and walking away from him.

He'd follow, she was sure--it was fairly obvious that she wasn't pissed about it--and why not walk through the park?

"You think?" she teased.

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

"I was assigned here by my superior," she said, leaning against the back of the bench, but not bothering to move around it to sit down.

"Government work," Rosalind added, "and at the time I'd just come off medical leave."

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

"Sometimes," he said easily. It wasn't too hard to catch up with her and he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "When I'm really, really bored."