Beat and Heat II

[Fisher]

"Who said I was hitting on you?" Fisher asked coyly and then added teasingly, "Someone seems kind of full of himself."

This time it was Fisher's turn to look a little flustered at the compliment. She had never really put any effort into looking good, mainly because she was not very confident in the way that she looked. She didn't think Rick was making fun of her and so thought that his taste in women might be a little suspect if he was calling her attractive. She took a sip of her drink to hide her own embarrassment.

"Attractive? Me?" she asked laughing at the absurdity of it. "I think you have me confused for someone else."

At the mention of beer and food Fisher's interest is noticeably peaked. In fact, she gave the distinct impression of a puppy with ears forward and tail wagging happily at the idea.

"Well dang...maybe I did pick the wrong section of the country. Cheese, beer, brats...that all sounds rather...tasty!"

Was that drool? No of course not...must be a little cider. She shook her head before the thought of it all clouded her mind too much.

"...anyway, I don't think that I've heard of the Badgers before, they a college team? But all those trees sound nice too. I'd love to get lost out there sometime I think. I might even decide to come back someday! And with all those breweries it sounds a little like my section of Canada, it's hard to get most of it down here in the states though. Have you been out here in California long?"

[Swami M]

"Yes, Ramona is good people. She's someone I can trust."

Alex leaves it there, not sure if there's a good way to explain to an outsider why two people so different from each other ended up as friends.

"If you like it loud, you'll like this place. Metal, punk, industrial... mosh pits, crowd surfing, all that. If you like it quiet and just want to hang out with Norm, Cliff and the guys at Cheers... not so much."

[Lesingnon]

"I mean, I might be somewhat oblivious when it comes to flirting. But I'm not completely hopeless. I pick up on it eventually." Usually about when it became blatantly obvious. But he still counted it.

At her assertion that me must be confused...he simply shrugged. "Nope, not confusing you with anybody else." Though he also didn't elaborate any further.

There's a soft chuckle at her reaction to the description he gave of his home. Perhaps he could've been a salesman. "Oh, you have no idea how tasty. Ever had a cheese curd so fresh it squeaked when you bit down on it? That's when you know they're good. And if you have one back in Wisconsin that doesn't squeak? Man...that's a disappointment." He didn't really have cheese curds much over here, a shame.

"And yeah, the Wisconsin Badgers, college team out of Madison."

"I hear you with the breweries too. There are a lot of small places that brew good beer. And then you can't find it anywhere else. So...when you are elsewhere you just find the good breweries around there."

"But California. I suppose I first showed up here...seven years ago." Man, in some ways it didn't feel like it had been that long. In others he could scarce remember what it had been like before he'd arrived and found the Freehold here. "Though I haven't been here the entirety of that time. Wanderlust takes hold at times, I suppose."

[Fisher]

"Oh good, I'm not the smoothest, but I figured even I could pull it off without coming right out and saying it," Fisher said plainly.

She wasn't sure if he was serious about his comments about her or not but she decided to let it pass. He could just be telling her what she wanted to hear.

"Squeaking fresh huh? I don't know if I've had any that squeaked at me, but It sounds really good. But, it always sucks to find a beer that you like only to have to start all over again in a new city." Fisher took a long drink of her cider before continuing. "I guess I'll just have to try and find a new favorite. Won't I?"

She was really going to have to stop talking about beer and food because she was starting to get hungry. It would be some time before she could get something to eat too.

"Wow, your like an experienced hand at all this out here then huh? It does take some getting used to. I've only been out here about a month or just over that. Still getting the hang of things out here. It is pretty different down here than what I'm used to. I'm getting by, making new friends that have less that four legs and are relatively non furry even." Fisher said with a short laugh. "I've wondered around a little, bit, not as much as you it sounds like. For me it is just feeling a little uneasy in a busy city like this. I usually spend most of my time in the wilderness on some trail somewhere. That's part of the reason I'm out here. Get out and see the other side of things. Get some schooling maybe and help out the community where I can. That kind of thing."

[InvertedMonkey]

Ah yes. That was an acknowledged, nay anticipated, side-effect of tonight. That a, ahem, "potential partner" might see Ramona working, showing off both skills and muscles, and fresh from the forge. And see Ramona where she sees herself as at her best, emotionally at least. Though Vivian's body-language seems a little unusual, widening her eyes and such. As is the fact that her question essentially parrots Ava. None the less, the praise of her friends only fuels her confidence tonight. "It's a bit more than I expected, honestly," she admits with a smile, "But, I called my friends, and I guess everybody else did too, the other smiths I invited? And people showed up!" She laughs, "It's great. Alex was asking me if I'd be doing more of these things. Even thought it might be good to pair it with a sword fighting demonstration some-time." Like that's not an insurance nightmare waiting to happen. Though that tends not to be a huge concern at the Forge.

Some people are moving through the club past them, so Ramona steps out of the foot traffic, closer to the wall, and incidentally closer to Vivian, whom her eyes have been admiring perhaps just a little bit more than Ava and David. She lowers her voice, just a little, taking advantage of the new proximity to say, "You look amazing, by the way. I'm glad you came, and that you're having a good time..." They're still new to each other of course, but Vivian cared enough to show up, and seems genuinely interested. In the work, and in Ramona. That's worth acknowledging, worth appreciating.

[Lesingnon]

Well...he'd thought that had been coming pretty close to just coming right out and saying it. But he wasn't completely hopeless in social situations...so he kept that thought to himself.

"Well, there are worse fates than having to explore the local beer scene to find something good. Certainly worse places to do it, too." The entire Pacific coast was a hot-spot for craft breweries, really. And he certainly didn't mind seeing what it all had to offer. "I mean, Otra Vez," he hefted his bottle again, "Probably the best beer for hot weather I've ever stumbled across. So long as you like sours."

"I suppose I have gotten pretty used to the city, over the years." To say nothing of the local Hedge here. At times he wondered if there was anyone in the area who knew it better, "But there are those who've been here longer than me, and could probably tell you things about this place that I've never heard." He shrugs slightly, not like he was particularly bothered by that truth.

"And I suppose this isn't a bad place to be if you want to transition a bit more ti cities. Enough forests and mountains nearby to run to if things get a bit overwhelming. And I think the city can get like that for almost anyone, from time to time. Always nice to have places to escape to."

"Schooling, you said, though...what are you studying?"

[Fisher]

"True, finding any excuse to drink massive amounts of beer can only be a good thing I guess." Fisher said with a nodd. "But I guess I'm kind of a girl and like sweeter things more than I like sour. Maybe something citrusy would be good for summer."

"That's kind of what I was thinking, the location looked good. It wasn't too big, there were the mountains and rivers here, and trees in Northern California. A friend of mine knew some people in the area too so I thought it would be a good in."

Fisher took a large drink of her cider and looked down at it. She figured that maybe she should have had that water after all. But if it came down to it she could sober up instantly so she decided to let it go.

"School? Oh yeah, Um...I guess I was thinking about either art or social work. I volunteer down at the shelters and other stuff. I was thinking about doing something like that? You know helping people or pursuing my art. Did you have something that you were interested in or looking to do in the area?"