[Private] A Little R&R

He wouldn’t dare make a joke about her moustache. She could and may possibly kick his ass.

“Religion, up for debate. I know more Lost see it in a negative light. I can get it, and have my own fights with the matter. Either way, it's a community - a place I can talk in a way that people will understand me - completely differently if I need too.”

It was nice to know there was always a place to go where you could let loose in a familiar tongue. The downside he had found to know more than one tongue is that when you couldn’t use it it was disappointing.

“How about you? Any place of worship for you other than the gym?”

As he asked he slid through the water and sat on the bench, jet right up against his back.

“I am settling more than fine. More so I have just stopped being a wallflower of sorts and decided to do more than come and see how much free food I can get out of these parties, and do more than the most minor networking. There has been enough interest. There is no lack of ability in Vegas, and there are plenty of Lost looking to show what they got - it only gets better when they know that the one looking out for them understands just how far things can be taken without being a problem for the community.”

“Still joyfully self employed, don’t have any need to go looking for options when there is plenty of room to let offers roll in on their own.”

He raised a hand, rolling it in a circle.

“Speaking of which, I never did hear how you make ends meet? What would you say your regular line of work is again?”

He had a curiosity about the relatively unknown (to himself at least) Ms. Rose.

“Day laborer? Kidding me, right? Take up dance seriously, work half the time, make the same amount of money. You already have a reputation for all the crazy things you have done at the parties and festivals. Like a professional diver really - all the wow, none of the splash really. I mean, if you weren’t hunting for mundane comforts I wouldn’t be surprised if you caught the attention of the middle nobility sooner or later.”

He offered a shrug with the compliment about her ability to drum up attention.

“You sound like an architect more than a day laborer - so in the broadest sense what are you trying to build? I think there is more to Kai Rose than coming to parties, being generally upbeat and positive, and doing a triple back flip - so to speak.”

He was curious, the talent was there and there was too much going on behind those eyes for it to brutish. Seldom did people focus so much on themselves without wanting to get somewhere.

“ICE? You’re pulling my leg that you’d get the boot. Never would have guessed, but I mean what should I expect anymore right?”

A basic curiosity, Rose had not struck him as non-American but it wasn’t always something he thought about right away seeing as there were more Fairy level things to worry about. Or maybe she was bullshitting him, he didn’t know much about her at all. She was generally a wall with a smile, not that that was a bad thing.

“I mean, admirable. If it's not too sensitive - did you manage to take your life back? After everything that is.”

Archie knew, but resisted the fact that he had been extremely lucky with his own situation. It was always a tug at his heart string when he heard how others weren’t able to get what he had. He was never going to regret, change, or shun his advantages - but it was always the kernel that his experience felt somewhat less valid because it did not have the same salt in his wounds.

“How much do you even remember? Do you know who you were or is it worse than that?”

He had heard of some pretty bad situations out of the hedge in idle minglings but nothing he had experienced himself. He attempts to tread delicately but appropriately, gauge her mood about it. Sometimes Lost just needed to talk about things, even if it was the most basic parts of their new life - so they knew others could understand without making it a suffering pageant.

“Were weapons always part of your religion?”

She had so little, it was scary to have that emptiness. The fog for him had cleared away quick enough that he was able to put something into motion - after all the crying of course. He had to muse for a moment just how much she did or didn’t know, or would admit. He wouldn’t fault her for holding back, the lives of the Lost were their own, their previous ones more so and they were often right to be guarded about them. This wasn’t an interrogation so he left that where it lay.

“Alright, alright, you know what - it is nice to meet a conversational Rose - hah, pun - for once. So let me ask this first things about this, you can dish it out but you are also one heck of a party goer, and I don’t mean the having fun type - I can see the roots from some kind of hosting in there and I will be shocked if you haven’t been known to host a mixer or two. How do you reconcile the role of Ruby Court, and its place as bastion for those filled with anger, rage, frustration, etc.”

“Not all Summer is soldiers, and not all soldiers are summer. Do you think the court is too synonymous with its duty? And I am not trying to take shots here - I am curious, I swore to the Antler Crown, and if there is a court with a reputation, wowza.”