Nighthawks

[Winter]

"Hmph", he utters, figuring that she hadn't studied at Harvard or MIT, because had she done so, she would be no doubt be bragging about it.
What's next? A dick measuring contest? And he can't help but think how astonishing the similarities were.
Next, he wonders about why a diner wouldn't number an Espresso 1 or two. Seventeen, what a horrible numbering convention.
"A colleague of yours stopped by last year, briefly", he says, "I don't sleep much"

"Criminal justice?", he asks.

[Naga]

It was Stanford, as it so happens, but she wasn't the bragging sort. The Warlock sampled the new coffee and found it to be what she wanted. Smiling, she took a deeper drink.

Why must Guardians be so frustratingly vague? It's like they get off on it. "A colleague of mine? How do you mean? Is it something about which I should be concerned?" Did he mean a fellow Théarch? Mastigos? Lawyer? All the above? There was only so much that could be said in this public setting, of course, and she didn't expect more than another veiled reference, if that much.

"Yes, and civil rights work. Just making sure people without much in the way of means get a fair shake," she stated, taking a fresh sip of her caffeine-rich brew.

[Winter]

A snap of his fingers, and a crimson barrier springs to life. But its fundaments are unsteady, and soon the structure collapses.
The Guardian grits his teeth, pumping a bit more of his will into this second layer. And it works.
She had some balls on her, he'll give her that. "Don't", it's all he says.

  failure

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2020-04-05 14:53:09		Winter rolls 4 to Mind Shield (10 Again)		2, 7, 3, 1		failure

  1 success

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2020-04-05 14:53:25		Winter rolls 3 to Mental Shield - 1 (10 Again)		5, 7, 9		1 success

Spells: Mental Shield [pot 1]

[Abyssalstar]

Crap, wrong account

[Naga]

Naga paused, coffee cup held in both hands, and looked carefully at the Theurgist. The sudden spat of casting had her suddenly guarded. Slowly, she set the cup down and dared a glance about the diner, as if she were looking for some potential threat. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Except him.

Was he concerned about her doing something? She'd heard Guardians could be paranoid, but this was something else.

"Don't what?" The Warlock didn't appear frightened, she had better control of herself than that. Her expression, though, seemed a mixture of caution and confusion. She made no sudden or threatening moves, though mentally she prepared to defend herself in case Winter went completely off the deep end.

[Winter]

What did the Jesuits use to say all the time? Dictum sapienti sat est?
His memory is good, his Latin not so much. It should mean; Few words for the Wise. Whatever, something like that.
Still, Mastigos, they really were the scum of the earth. This one had some nerves, though, to her credit, she wasn't as scatterbrained as the other guy. What was his name? Papillion, papilloma or something.
He taps a finger against his temple, once, twice. "Don't", he says.

Spells: Mental Shield [pot 1]

[Naga]

She watched the gesture, keeping her hands in plain view on the tabletop, fingers interlaced. Did he really think she had invaded his mind? Or was this a preemptive warning? Either way, it was insulting.

Now her expression was one of mild indignity. "I haven't, nor will I."

"This is because I'm a lawyer, isn't it?" It wouldn't be the first time, thought it was obvious her career choice wasn't the issue.

[Winter]

"They say you can tell when a lawyer is lying", images of cats fill his mind. A good memory had its upsides, "her lips are moving", he deadpans.
"Your coffee", he says, gesturing toward the fuming cup, "it's getting cold"

Spells: Mental Shield [pot 1]

[Naga]

"I've heard that line, and a hundred others. Everyone loves lawyer jokes. We're easy targets," a smile played at the corners of her lips as she sat back, giving Winter an appraising look. "I'm used to it."

She picked up her coffee cup and brought it up to chin level, rising steam veiling her face for a moment, "Of course, everyone distrusts us as a knee-jerk response... until they need our services." She took a sip and set the cup down. "I'm used to that as well, though I did hope for better here."

[Winter]

"Trust is a currency in short supply", he says, "it must be earned"
"Besides, you shouldn't trust your own lawyer either. The client's best interest", he shrugs, "it's just a fancy redressing of future cash-flows"
"Civil rights, uh? Tell me about that"

Spells: Mental Shield [pot 1]