Starbucks Mingle

[Star]

"Knock it off...

...or...

...stop."

He's just staring while digesting that. Did he really just say that? And some people object to clarifications being made when nuggets of wisdom like that are being bandied about. His eyes are ever so slightly narrowed, but it's the furrow of contemplation rather than any menace. Because Mobius. Really, if she only knew how he used those words compared to most.

Wait, what? Sad?

"I lose her all the time." Snrrrrk. He can't help it, and a laugh peals out that's just shrill enough to be mildly annoying. No, they don't know. "I'm sorry." Long fingers come up in a 'pause' gesture. "I wasn't laughing about your family. That's not funny. I just, you know. In my head. Inside joke, party of one. Just bad timing."

And this is how it ends. Dying on the hill of a mis-used word because of pride and vanity. Were you watching carefully? Because when this card flips over, it'll show the most dangerous person at the table: one who's wrong, knows he's wrong, and refuses to admit it. Shodan's just going to keep being wrong willfully with a splash of grade school copycat mockery to try to grease it. Y i k e s. Take note when an actual situation arises and remember this, yo.

"Man. You're so tall for a Sicilian."

[Spark]

Did he really say that? Spark bit his lip then...couldn't hold it back he laughed. It was a chuckle, but the tension broke at last. "Yeah okay, you got me on that one. Didn't think my words through." Guess he wasn't a threat after all, irritating, but not a threat.

Spark turned his attention back to the others, he listened but didn't really have much else to add, aside from being new to the city any relationships he had in the past fizzled out quickly. No one liked being someone's second concern, especially when that first concern was a girl whose been dead for years. Spark's lull in the conversation ended up with his phone in his hands, he paused as he often did at the unlock screen a picture of a child with strawberry blonde hair, face stained with paint smiling at the camera. Spark's coffee cup got a lot emptier before he unlocked it and checked his texts and any messages.

Spark's ears did perk at the mention of an 'Archery club' not something you see everyday. "Archery always looked fun," ​That said a gun was a lot faster and easier.

[Mobius]

The tension seemed to dissipate slightly, and Mobius was always quick to forget hard feelings.

"Wait.. really?" Her eyes now already wide at the realization that Kaze was referring to the no-nonsense seeming First Talon that she had seen briefly at the consilium meeting. Thinking it over, they must have made a strange pair, but maybe that's what made it work. "Yeah, she definitely seems like the motorcycle type too. I'm not sure I have the nerve to ask her." she laughs to herself. In truth, she was intimated by several of the new mages she had met, and although the consilium was small in number, there was no shortage of strong personalities - her own notwithstanding.

She listened passively to the back and forth between everyone else and Star, scrolling on her phone the way all the other kids do when they don't have anything to contribute.

[Kaze]

Kaze smiles as Shodan rallies. Then he listens, actually cocking his head as the stranger speaks. "Oh, no problem; it was a long time ago. I'm glad your...'situation' isn't a sad one anyway." he says, smiling and seeming genuinely happy.

When he hears the 'Sicilian' comment, Kaze cocks his head again and chuckles, "You really do remind me of someone. Do you spend a lot of time, well, thinking about time or...watching it?" Kaze asks the stranger, in kind of an in joke tone, not necessarily expecting a response or acknowledgment of his words.

Kaze chuckles again at Spark's comment about archery. "It's a funny club, to tell you the truth. I don't remember anyone in it actually doing actual archery. Just talking about arrows, really seriously."

"Really." Kaze says to Mobius in a tone of complete sincerity. He smiles at her confession of finding Phoenyx intimidating. "Sure, your choice. I think if you decided to, it could be' the beginning of a beautiful friendship'." He says, like he's quoting something. "But I could be wrong; I'm pretty optimistic, generally, sometimes too much. I know she's seriously interested in different subjects, like history. She'd probably like talking about it. Is that something you're interested in? All my books lately tend to be about biology, botany, zoology and anatomy."

[Star]

Spark gets a grin and a shrug. De nada. But there's totally bonus points for the admission. This guy, he can work with. As for the other? It's like a kid who's raked together a little pile of pine needles and set them on fire to watch them burn. Because fire. Nobody cares about the ashes, yo.

"Who? Me?" He blinks at Case. Really? All this talk of archery and motorcycles is weird. It's like being set up, but it's not a setup. They don't know how We flew through the city and rained down arrows and judgment on the wicked. "Not really? Other than, you know. All the great girl bands. 'Time, time, time, see what's become of me' and 'Caught up in circles, confusion is nothing new'. Of course there's also Yaz, but only Alfie is a girl."

There should probably have been a warning sign: Hard Tangent Ahead. You know what they say, though. Keep up, or check your Inbox for offers on the little blue pill.


"What's next? Karoake?"

[Spark]

"Just talked about arrows..." Spark rubbed his temple, he thought it was a joke but wasn't really sure. "Then but...uhh..." Spark shook his head, nope this rabbit hole wasn't worth going down.

The Obrimos put his phone away when Shodan brought up the subjects of sports, he had a long winded reply in mind but decided to shorten it up. "Not anymore, just lost interest. Used to play in school though, football, then basketball then just track and field."

Spark balks at the suggestion of Karoke. "Hard pass on that, I couldn't sing if I had gun to my head."

[Mobius]

"Not my best subject in school." She shrugged at Kaze, lifting her gaze from her phone. She'd have a hard time telling you which one was her best. "But I can give it a shot." If she had the opportunity to meet the First Talon outside of consilium, that is.

She suppresses a frown when sports becomes the topic, unpleasant memories of being forced to go outside and socialize and sweat. "I used to play softball in high school. Fast pitch. Pitcher, believe it or not." She didn't specify whether or not she was any good. "Want to get a game together?" She joked.

"The Bangles?" she turned her attention to Star, picking out a song she recognized from his tangent. "Rain-check on the karaoke for sure, but only if you sing first." she answered directly with a grin, unsure if the offer was legitimate or just some other subtlety. "Maybe Case can come and bring his girlfriend." She looked back to Kaze, hopeful. Still thinking about that motorcycle.

[Kaze]

Kaze smiles at Shodan’s subject choice, “Sports are good. I played football for UCLA a little, still like watching it.” He says. “I haven’t played anything in a while though, just been focusing on martial arts since then, mostly kung fu.” He offers. “Not for competition though.”

“Don’t forget, ‘Time after time ‘, “ Kaze responds with a grin to Star, “Cyndi Lauper is amazing.”

He nods in Spark’s direction, possibly acknowledging the confusion and resignation with comprehending the local arrows club, possibly empathizing.

Kaze smiles at Möbius, “Cool. I’m pretty sure she would appreciate it if you wanted to hang out and talk history or philosophy away from work.” He says sincerely. “Do you have a favorite subject?” He asks, interested.

Kaze laughs at the suggestion of karaoke, “That’s great! I don’t know if she’d sing, but she’d probably come and watch me goof around! I don’t really sing, but I don’t drink either so I guess that balances out!”