(Private)A personal talk

[Aurora]

Faye had mentioned to Striker that they needed to talk at the last meeting, and had sent him a text setting up a time. And that time was today. It was only right to explain and talk about her stance on relationships. She wasn’t perfect, but she had good intentions.

She busied herself doing some stretching before making a fresh pot of coffee, cause life revolved around caffeine. But she still had other drinks to offer, not knowing if he liked coffee or not. Her attire was a pair of shorts, black t-shirt and flip flops, her hair was up in a messy quick ponytail. And she had no make-up on.

Her iPod was in its docking station, a mixture of music softly coming from it. Right now it was on Sully Erna.

Striker

[Teeramus]

Striker wheeled up to the address Faye had given him with anticipation and excitement. He wore a simple pair of shorts and a T-shirt he'd picked up at a thrift shop with the Nike logo and their slogan "Just do it." on the front. His new sneakers were more comfortable to ride in than his usual boots, but comfort had been the last thing on his mind as he had pedalled his way over, the effort warming him from the inside. The Australian was a man of action and simple words, but if Faye wanted to talk, then they would talk!

He secured his push bike then made his way to what must be Faye's door and knocked three times.
Bugger. Should I have brought something? he thought as he waited.

[Aurora]

She heard the knocks, and worked at getting herself out of her pose on the floor of the spare room. Not that it was hard, but it wasn’t something she could just jump out of.

Picking up a towel she hurries to the door and opens it. A wide smile appeared as she saw Striker, “Hey! Come on in.” She says as she steps off to the side to let him in. The door opened into a small, but clean kitchen. The smell of freshly brew coffee had filled the room. Right off the kitchen was the living room, with couches draped in white fabric and hints of color here and there.

“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked after he entered and she closed the door. “Coffee, juice, beer, water?” she offered.

[Teeramus]

Striker stepped through the door with a smile of his own on his face. "Hey. Thanks." he replied as he took in the rooms he could see. It was a cosy looking place that seemed like every piece of furniture might have a story to tell. He recalled his recent conversation with one of his rooms and considered that they may in-fact be able to tell them.

His eyes lit up at the mention of beer "Beer'd be great cheers. Sorry, I feel like I shoulda brought something." he replied looking apologetic. As he moved a little further into the room he took a better look around and commented "Nice place. Looks like somewhere you can really relax. Is it all yours?" He wondered idly if she he flatmates or not even as he considered how comfortable Fayes place looked compared to his own Spartan furnishing back at his sanctum.

[Aurora]

When he mentioned wanting a beer, she heads to the fridge and pulls a couple out. Following Striker into the living room, she offers him one of the beers.

She laughs and shakes her head, “There was no need to bring anything.” She reassures him as she moves to sit on one of the couches, tucking her long legs under herself.

“Thanks! Pretty much all mine. They are mostly finds from flea markets and second hand stores. Add some fabric and a fresh coat of paint and things start to look brand new.” She says, obviously proud of her finds and creativity. “How’ve you been?”

[Teeramus]

Striker watched Faye as she lowered her gracefully onto her couch then, realising he was staring quickly sat on the seat beside her at a comfortably close distance and turned to face her.

"Looks real nice." he said before taking a sip of beer. "I've been ok. Work's keepin' me busy, but I've been goin' out doin' a bit of riding too. So that's fun. How about yourself?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in interest before taking another sip of his beer.

[Aurora]

She sips her beer as she listens, “Riding?” she asked, curious if he meant a bike or a motorcycle. “Oh, nothing too exciting. Training and working on various acts. Plus trying to secure a location to perform at, which has been a bigger hassle than I originally thought.” She shrugs, the show would happen when it was supposed to. “Might try and get permission to perform at the park.” Might be easier to secure.

“I was curious, what happened after Star called you out at the meeting?” she asked.

[Teeramus]

"Mountain bike. Though I haven't been off-road much yet." Striker replied enthusiastically. "It's a cheap way to get around town, though Sacro's a lot bigger than Rocky, so it's making for some long rides. Good way to get to know the town as well. I mean I'm not gonna say no to a ride in the GTO," he said with a grin, "but you see alot of stuff walking or riding that you wouldn't otherwise."

The Australian gave Faye a sympathetic look when she said she hadn't found a good venue yet. "Park'd be good. It's the fire your worried about isn't it?" He said, his eyes lighting up as he mentioned fire and a shot of excitement coursed through him. "There were a bunch of fire dancers I met when I first came to town, I could try an' find them and ask if they know about that sorta stuff. If you want." He offered.

Striker winced when Faye asked about the meeting. It was the first time she'd made him feel uncomfortable, usually having the opposite effect. But the expression of discomfort lasted only a second as he began explaining immediately. "Yeah, all the counsellors got together and gave me a couple of penances for breaching Secrecy. Once for when I first met you at the park, which I guess was fair enough even though I thought I'd sorted that with Leo already. The other time I thought was justified, but apparently it wasn't a trial, it was just the counsellors dishin' out punishment." he let out a sigh, looking downcast. This wasn't where he was expecting the conversation to go. But he wasn't going to try to hide anything from Faye either. If she wanted to get to know him, it would have to be the good the bad and the ugly.

[Aurora]

“Mountain biking huh? Never tried it, but it looks like it could be fun.” She commented. At the mention of her car she laughs, “Yeah, the GTO is fun, but I try and walk around town when can. You’d be surprised how bad that thing is on gas.” She says with a shake of her head. “And like you said, you see a lot more stuff walking.” Yeah, bad on gas, but a whole lot of fun to drive.

She kinda moves side to side as she takes another sip, “Yes and no. I need to be able to use fire, but I also need to be able to have the room to setup a suspension rig.” People would be surprised how much room those things took up. Her eyes widened, “Fire dancers?! Now that is exciting! I kinda dance with fire, well, use a hula hoop with it, but kinda dance. If you find them, I’d love to see them perform!” talking with others who used fire was great, they understood.

Faye catches the wince, and immediately feels bad. “I didn’t mean to upset you, I was only curious. Cause you know, in case I could help or something.” Her voice was soft. “We know each other, but we don’t. And I want to get to know you better, and that includes any demons, cause no one is perfect.” She was far from perfect, and if he was getting in trouble with casting vulgar magic in public, she needed to know.

[Teeramus]

"Yeah. You get what? 6, 7 kays per litre?" Striker replied with interest. "Man, totally worth it if you can afford it though." he continued with a gleam in his eye. There wasn't much better than a high performance machine working beautifully and blazing you around town. Sure you missed the little things on the side of the road that you might get on a slow meandering on foot, but driving such an amazing vehicle was a different kind of exciting as you got the feeling that the only things in the world that mattered was what was in the car and what was directly in front of you. Put Faye in the driver seat and Striker would think he'd died and gone to heaven.

"Suspension rig?" Striker asked, the interest on his face taking on a curious aspect "Is that something to do with those hooks you were gonna show me?" He asked before what she said registered. "Wait. Fire dancing with a hoop? So the whole things on fire? How do ya not get burnt then?" he asked in quick succession.

"Nah you didn't upset me Faye." Striker said openly, "It's just the whole. I dunno. I'm tryin' do my best, I just got off to a rocky start you know. Then Star brought up the thing months after I got it sorted. Thought I got it sorted." He almost started tensing up again, but Faye's manner was calming and while his breathing started getting a little deeper it remained even.

"I dunno how you could help." Striker continued with a resigned expression. "I just react to stuff, ya know, in the moment, best I can. But apparently it's not good enough for the counsellors. I wonder how many of them have actually been knifed before." He said with a hint of annoyance. He let out a sigh. "I talked with Pepper and Mace about all the Precepts. I mean I know basically what they're about. I guess I just need to be more careful."