The Perk- Wednesday evening

[solo_sword]

Jaina still didn't know exactly what her plan was for being here yet, but she felt more herself than she did yesterday and it was easy to sink into routine when she was here. She thought this meant that coming back, even for a few days, was a good idea. So with some free time and a refusal to spend any more time cooped up by herself than she had to, she headed to the Perk for a while.

Her datapad in front of her, she was trying to figure out how to respond back to Zekk, or whether she should at all. She'd sent a message this morning just saying that she was all right, without saying where she was for plausible deniability reasons. In her mind, actually getting in touch with someone after taking off meant that she'd maybe grown as a person since the last time she did it. A year ago.


[Totally open!]

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[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

Having been annoyed (http://fandomtownies.livejournal.com/6024761.html?thread=230701113#t230701113) out of Caritas, Hercules made his way to get a large coffee.

Partially to stave off the effects of having chugged an entire glass of ale in one go. Silly mortal metabolism.

So, in a tight black turtleneck and jeans, Hercules entered The Perk, ordered a large coffee, and turned around. He was about to leave when the pretty lady caught his eye.

"Is that one of those special iPads?" he asked, gesturing at her datapad.

[solo_sword]

"Datapad," she said, and then looked up from it. "These came first."

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"Oh, so like one of the older PDAs?" Hercules said, walking over to get a closer look. "I usually surprise people with my computer literacy. I even have a MySpace page." He gave her a little proud smile.

"I am Hercules, hero of the common people, and teacher at the school. May I ask your name?"

[solo_sword]

The hero bit got a skeptical eyebrow raise out of her, but she said, "Jaina. And this isn't from this galaxy. It's probably slightly beyond what you're used to."

[weetuskenraider]

The conversation with Raven had been emotionally draining, and one way or another Tahiri had needed to get out for a while; sensing Jaina's presence on the island made it imperative.

"I thought I'd get some coffee, and I get to see you on top of that," she remarked as she approached the table. "I'd say that qualifies as excellent timing."

[solo_sword]

"I'm not going to disagree with you there," Jaina told her, standing. Because after the last week, Tahiri was so getting a hug.

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

Herc scratched his bearded chin ponderously. "I suppose it might be more in line with the gadgets of Reed or Hank," he said. "They usually don't trust me with the delicate ones. At least, not back when I had super strength."

He gave her a happy smile. "So, fair Jaina, this means you are from a galaxy far away?"

[weetuskenraider]

Like Tahiri wasn't going in for a hug at the exact same time?

"It's really, really good to see you."

[solo_sword]

She nodded. "Just visiting for a few days. Then it's right back there."

[solo_sword]

"You, too," she said, meaning it. There was even a little smile when she pulled back, which was an improvement on yesterday. "How are you doing?"

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"So you must have friends or family in town," Hercules deduced. "It must be interesting, to come to this place to visit."

He gestured at an open seat. "May I join you, at least for a moment?"

[weetuskenraider]

"Trying to decide whether I'm grateful that I don't have much to pack," Tahiri admitted. "To be honest it might be a tossup. What are you doing here?"

[solo_sword]

"It was kind of a spur of the moment thing," she said. "Without the 'kind of'. I took a little break to help out one of the students and ended up here on the way back."

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri's eyes lit up. "Were you with your grandfather by any chance?" And then the way her expression turned worried asked the unspoken question: was it really bad?

[solo_sword]

"I guess a moment couldn't hurt," she decided, and shrugged. "I used to go to school here."

[solo_sword]

And suddenly she realized Tahiri would know about it. "Yeah," she said, answering both questions. "I'm not sure how long he'll be there. I didn't wait."

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"Ah, I see," Hercules said, taking a seat. "So... you visit former teachers?"

He scratched his head a bit. "Most of my teachers are long dead, I would be unable to visit them. That is the peril of having lived as long as I have. Only my family and their immortality make for such long connections. Oh, and his royal poncy-hair Thor, of course."

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri nodded, biting her lip. That said a lot more than any words did about how bad it was, and she knew it. "And you're headed home again after this," she guessed. "I guess in a manner of speaking I'll be right on your tail."

[solo_sword]

A lot of what he said sort of went over Jaina's head, which she blamed on the fact that her brain had been somewhere else the last couple days. "My grandfather still teaches here, some of my old teachers are friends now. Makes it easier to keep in touch without any immortality issues."

[solo_sword]

It wasn't till now that Jaina realized it was going to be really weird not having a Tahiri in Fandom. "How long are you here?"

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"Your grandfather?" Hercules said, wondering if he'd seen a teacher who could be more on the elderly side. He could not, of course.

"That is good, though, to remain friends. Compatriots and colleagues are one thing, but friends... that is precious in life. I do hope your life in another galaxy is not too perilous?"

[solo_sword]

Jaina shrugged one shoulder. "It's as perilous as it needs to be," she said. "I'm used to it."

[weetuskenraider]

"At most, another week and a half. It's going to be strange. The Academy was the only place I ever lived for longer than here." Tahiri looked around and smiled crookedly. "Even if the island does get the occasional urge to wander."

[solo_sword]

"That part does take some getting used to," she said, speaking from experience there. "On the bright side, you'll also probably be attacked by things or turned into anything less."

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri laughed. "Turned into things less, most likely. Attacked . . . we'll see about that, although I'd really like to hope not."

She tilted her head and looked thoughtfully at Jaina. "Do you miss it less after a while?"