Distraction

**Varyx** · Dec 1st, 2015 04:56 PM

So... Maybe she and July had gotten a tiny little bit distracted once she'd actually made to the bar last night.

Varyx was sitting in the big, overstuffed wingback chair in her living room, dressed in nothing but an over-sized t-shirt, drinking coffee and reading out of a well-loved, dog-eared book while waiting for him to wake up. She wondered idly if he'd want to stay for breakfast, and briefly considered making eggs, but decided against it. That would be a little presumptuous. Some people got weird about the morning after. Some people thought breakfast was somehow "code" for certain expectations. She didn't expect July to be the kind of person who bought into that sort of thing, but she also knew she wasn't necessarily the easiest person to unravel, and didn't want him thinking it carried any kind of implication for her, either.

Sometimes, sex was just too complicated. Best just to keep things simple. There was enough coffee in the pot for at least another cup, and she could offer breakfast whenever he woke up.

And if he said no? Well, she supposed their conversation would have to be quick. Because there had actually been something she'd intended to talk to him about last night. but it wasn't exactly urgent, or anything. It could wait until he woke.

Dec 1st, 2015 05:50 PM

You know that moment between completely asleep and completely awake? The time for lucid dreams and half-remembered thoughts? That's where July found himself. It was in that moment, the quasi period, when he realized he was not in his own bed. That was also the moment when memories of the night before with Varyx flashed through his head. He opened his eyes, looking around to confirm that he was not in his room but Varyx's. He stretched a little, standing up and putting on his pants before wandering to where she was in the apartment.

She looked even more stunning than the night before, all because he found it incredibly sexy when a woman sat around in a big t-shirt. He was still yawning slightly when he said, "mmm, morning." A smile crept onto his face. "Last night was...good. Really good." He noticed the coffee cup near her and the excess coffee in the pot. "You mind if I have a cup?"

**Varyx** · Dec 1st, 2015 06:37 PM

She looked up at the sound of footsteps as July came down the hall, and put her book down when he wandered into the room. He led with a compliment. She certainly couldn't fault him for not knowing what she liked. "Glad you enjoyed yourself," she answered, smirking. "I did, too."

Standing at his question about the coffee, she wandered into the kitchen to get a mug for him. "Of course." She handed him the mug and motioned to one of the cupboards. "Sugar's in there, if you want some."

Then, with a curious expression, she went into the fridge to get out the milk and came out with both the jug and a carton of eggs. "Interested in some breakfast, or do you need to go?" She left the "need to go" part purposefully vague. If he wasn't into sticking around for breakfast, that was his prerogative. She wasn't going to make him stumble through that awkward set of excuses people used for when they didn't want to stick around after their one night stand.

Taking a seat on one of the stools next to the kitchen island, she watched him finish preparing his coffee before she continued. "So, there was something I actually needed to talk to you about before you so expertly distracted me," she teased, chuckling. "I didn't actually go out last night with the intention of sleeping with you. Not that I particularly minded that outcome."

Dec 1st, 2015 07:20 PM

Hearing that she enjoyed herself as well was certainly good news. He wasn't as practiced as he'd like, though she did say 'practice makes perfect' last night, or something like that, so maybe there was more fun in his future. "I'm glad," he said with a smile.

He stretched a little more as she handed him the mug. "I like my coffee black but thanks," he said as he went to the pot to pour some for himself. As he started to pour she suggested breakfast and for a brief moment he was surprised. Not that she could cook, but, look at Star. He could cook great but July doubted everyone would assume as much, at least from first impressions. Maybe they did. July certainly didn't. It was more of a pleasant surprise that she left the option available for him to stay a little longer. He enjoyed her company so far, so he figured 'why not'. "Breakfast sounds great, thank you."

He went to sit near her on a stool at the kitchen island. Just as he went to take a sip she made her joke and set up business, which didn't bother him. In general July preferred business to emotions since he was better at it. He smirked at her joke about his expert distraction abilities, which rang more true than she really knew. It seemed lately that he made a pretty good distraction. "Oh I didn't go out thinking I'd end up here either. Would have liked it, glad we did, but didn't think it'd happen." His face then went serious as he took a sip. "But what'd you want to talk about?"

**Varyx** · Dec 1st, 2015 07:41 PM

Varyx finished her coffee and stood, stretching once, before padding over to the stove to go about making eggs and bacon. As she started heating the skillet (with a generous helping of butter), she glanced over her shoulder at him.

"There were two things, actually. One of them was just that I wanted to get to know you. Seems like a good idea to become familiar with our only Sentinel. Which, in fairness, I suppose this could be called getting to know you better, even if it wasn't exactly what I meant." She shot him a cheeky grin before her expression grew a little more serious and she continued, "But more to the point, Avis mentioned something about relations with the Golden Consilium in San Francisco being... tense. She mentioned something about a spy or sleeper agent, or... something like that." She paused to crack a few eggs over the heated skillet. "I'm from San Francisco. Born and raised. I Awakened there. Seemed like a good idea to let you know before something bad happened and I started to look guilty for omitting that particular piece of information. The other thing is, if it comes up, I'd like to help. I wasn't really much involved in the Consilium there after I Awakened, so I don't know what help I could be, but the offer is there."

Dec 1st, 2015 08:09 PM

He watched her cook, listening as she spoke. He smirked at her comment and said, "it is a good idea, and we certainly did get to know each other." Noticed her seriousness and kept the tone with her.

He vaguely remembered conversations about the Golden Consilium. The hard thing was July hadn't dealt with the issue since he got to the city. All the focus for him had been on other things. "I appreciate you letting me know. It's always good to get ahead of a potential problem. I will say I haven't had to deal with any problems with the Golden Consilium since becoming Sentinel."

With her offer to help he took a sip of the coffee and thought. "Well I don't know how much you know about what's going on, but other than the past stuff with San Francisco I've been working with some people investigating some strange murders and a banisher drug problem. That one's pretty serious." July had already felt first hand how serious that issue was. "What I'm getting at is what do you have in mind to help. What are your strengths?"

**Varyx** · Dec 1st, 2015 08:29 PM

She shrugged, turning her attention back to the eggs, tossing some bacon onto the skillet with them. "Yeah, Avis said there were other things taking up the Consilium's attention recently, too. I wasn't that concerned about it coming up soon. It was more that I wanted to get the information out there."

There was another pause, and she took a moment to gather her thoughts while she focused on the food. "As for my strengths... I'll tell you now, I'm not one for a physical fight. I could defend myself with magic, if it came down to it, but I'm much better suited to getting what I want without bloodshed." She flipped the bacon. Nearly done.

She turned around to face him again, a wicked grin gracing her features. "You could say I'm good with my tongue," she told him, chuckling. The way she figured it, she owed him some cheese of her own after the way he had flirted with her at the bar. "And I have some friends in low places, which might be useful in tracking this banisher drug. GLO, right? Pelican mentioned it."

Dec 1st, 2015 08:38 PM

"I understand," he said casually, "it's smart to get it out there now." With the shift to her strengths he said, "well talks always good. I personally excel at the physical. Sadly I have found that my idea of getting information tends to involve plenty bloodshed. But obviously it's good to avoid bloodshed as much as we can. Currently I'm work with Star and Avis, both fairly good at talking so I've been acting as the muscle."

She mentioned her skill with her tongue and he was not going to argue against her. She was absolutely telling the truth. But her potential contacts and Pelican brought him back to the conversation. "You mention Pelican, are you looking to connect with Fateful Watch?" He was curious to know what she knew.

**Varyx** · Dec 1st, 2015 09:15 PM

Varyx looked up suddenly from what she was doing, amusement flashing across her features. "I'm sorry, Avis? Good at talking?" She shook her head. "I fear that woman will never cease to surprise me. She certainly has never come across as the social type before now." She turned the stove off and began piling the eggs and bacon from the skillet to the plates she'd gotten out.

She placed the plates down at the island and took a seat next to him as he asked about Pelican. "Looking to connect with those of us currently without a cabal, actually. I hear that includes Pelican and Miach these days. Arthur mentioned that there were others recently arrived in town, and we've been discussing the possibility of forming a cabal of our own." Since the Consilium, she'd been turned off of the idea of joining an existing cabal, leery of the baggage that might bring. Whether she'd be willing to do so or not remained to be seen, but she was hoping the cabal they might form at the meeting would be something new.

Dec 2nd, 2015 08:10 AM

July continued to smirk. "Well I've seen her in action. She's not the buttering-up type, but she can certainly get the job done with words. I wouldn't underestimate her skills."

Seeing the eggs and bacon July took a breath in. "This smells delicious, thank you," he said as he leaned over and gave her a kiss.

As he started eating he said, "Pelican and Miach have had a hard road with cabals. First time I met them I was cabaless and we had a meeting where we made Fateful Watch. Week or so later Star invited me to Veiled Threats. After talking to him it just seemed like a better fit. That's nothing against Miach and Pelican, I just wanted to get really involved with taking down the Banishers and VT had a bead on that. This was of course before I became Sentinel. Then the old Sentinel Striker joined them before he left suddenly. I wish you luck with the search, cause finding a good cabal takes that worry off your chest. Also gives you a group to work with. I can understand the concern with joining an already made one. You can feel like a secondary member, like you have less authority in the group. Bad part of it all, the politics. I don't think we have any room in VT at the moment, but if you need any help just let me know."

He took a couple big bites and a sip of coffee before talking again. "Oh, and I believe they're looking into the Banisher issue their own way, so you could always try to help there. I suspect those two need someone who knows how to talk."

Lightbulb. July had a thought he decided to talk to her about. They had become very friendly after all. "You know, I've actually got a question of my own. How many people have you met so far? You probably heard the Hierarch ask for me to suggest an additional Sentinel for the next meeting. Problem is the people I had in mind are either Councilors and can't serve both roles or just left town. Sadly we have that problem at times. People don't think they fit or have problems and just leave without saying goodbye. Makes me worry though sometimes that someone's getting to them. Seers, The Golden Consilium, Banishers. Could be one of them. Could be nobody, I don't know." She was much more social than July was, maybe she'd heard some clues to a potentially good Sentinel.