((The following scene takes place between Alison Yates and Nightfall. After "He's Dead Jim"))

Alison pulled up to the Glissade on her red and black Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle. She wore a black helmet, red and black motorcycle leathers, boots, and a backpack. She flipped up the visor of her helmet and looked at the front of the building and through the window. She sat seriously remembering why she came here today and psyching herself up. She was here because she was not strong enough and because of her weakness a packmate had died. This was something she owed it to Kari and herself to do something about. After a couple of minutes she got off her bike and made her way in through the front door. She paused in the entryway and took off her bike helmet and looked around for someone who could help her.

Neil had seen off his last class, and was sitting on the floor stretching while he ate a lettuce wrap. For all that he did; dancing, fencing, even his new love of parkour, required he be limber as a newborn. He looked up in surprise as the door opened, and gracefully slid to his feet, retrieving his wrap and the cellophane it had come in. "Hi?" he said/asked the leather clad woman.

Alison shook out her blond hair and turned to the man and smiled. "Hi, I'm looking for someone to talk about concerning some Kung Fu training. I'd like to pick it back up."

Neil smiled and his eyebrows raised slightly at the woman, a bit surprised at her attractiveness... and interest. "Sure, we teach that... you have experience?" A lot of people said they did, but it mostly consisted of watching The Karate Kid and then yelling and kicking at themselves in a mirror.

Well, maybe if he's teaching I might have a better time here than I thought. Ok, focus here Alison, Kung Fu. She nodded and replied, "Yep, just about a year's worth of classes or so, enough to get a good grounding. It has been a few year since I've practiced intently though and kind of miss it."

"OK," Neil replied, taking the last bite of his lettuce wrap. He looked around for a trash can, but finally just folded the cellophane and put it in his pocket. "Know any katas you can show me? And how far are you wanting to go with this? Just exercise, or...?" he let the last bit trail off. He had a lot of women come in for self-defense training, but usually not in hand-to-hand.

"Well, I don't really need the exercise I get enough of that as a climbing instructor, I'm looking to seriously study and for mastery. I've got some training in striking vulnerable points of the body and conditioned myself and my body to absorbing some force of my opponents blows. I haven't really focused a lot on specialization in a particular style."

Neil scratched at the back of his neck, and held out his hand to shake. "I'm Neil, by the way. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? Why you want to learn this? And mastery..." He paused, then added, "Teaching someone to hurt people... it's not a small thing."

Alison grabbed his hand firmly and gave it a friendly shake, "I'm Alison. Well, I work as a climbing instructor for Capital climbing school, I love racing my motorcycle, sparing, base jumping, and basically being active and outdoors." She got serious and continued, "As for my reason, I was with a close friend who died not too long ago because I wasn't skilled enough to protect both him and me at the same time. I want to be able to protect myself and those people close to me so that if something happens again I know that I'm ready to help them."

"Fair enough," Neil answered, brows knitting slightly as he listened. She sounded so matter-of-fact, but if she was this driven, there would be sorrow there. Sorrow he could take and turn to Glamour... but he wouldn't. This one needed her sorrow; more importantly, she accepted it. He finally released the hand, tempted as he was to continue to hold it, and ask her about her hobbies, very similar to his own. If he could afford a motorcycle... But that was neither here nor there. "OK, Alison the climbing instructor," he said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood a bit, "Let's spar a bit so I can see what you know, and where we'll begin." Neil walked back to the center of the room, assuming a martial stance. It was so fluid it appeared lazy and careless, but an experienced eye would see perfect balance and a stance that could flow easily into multiple techniques.

Alison laughed at his little joke and set down her helmet. She took her stance watching his movements. He certainly looked relaxed but ready Damn I wish I could shift to Dalu, he looks good. She watched and then suddenly moved to strike Neil.

Neil nodded and motioned for her to try again, moving into a more offensive stance.

She nodded and threw several more strikes his way.

"You're strong," Neil remarked, grimacing at the dull aches in his forearms from shielding himself. It had no surprise in the tone, as one might expect when speaking of a woman, just cool assessment. "Do you want to see what I'm going to teach you?"

"Thanks," Alison grinned broadly at the man and continued, "Hell ya, I'd love to see what you've got."

Neil hands flashed out, trying to find their way past Alison's defenses. Whether it was the numbness in his arms, or the way the leather stretched across her body, his first two attempts missed. Irritated at himself, he threw a third strike, hitting harder than he'd intended. "Fuck," he exclaimed, frowning at his overall sloppiness. "Are you OK?"

Alison dodged his first two strikes and her grin grew even larger. Then he connected with his last strike and she grunted as he landed the blow. Her grin returned and she shook off the damage quite fast. In fact it looked like it really didn't phase her all that much. "I'm a tough one. It will take more than those love taps to put me on my ass," she chuckled a bit. It was clear she was enjoying herself and laughing from the rush and not at her very attractive opponent.

Neil smiled slightly, and his brows furrowed a bit as he tried to figure out if her words were flirting, or if that was just the way she spoke, finally deciding the former. "OK," he laughed. "Well, honestly, we're just talking about technique with you. You have a great foundation in the fundamentals, and you're strong." He paused, then added, "You could use some speed drills and work on getting what you know into muscle memory, but that's more," he gestured vaguely, "fitness in general sort of stuff. Sound good?"

Still smiling Alison nodded in agreement, "That sounds great. I've got plenty of room for improvement in the speed department and getting used to the motions. Looks like long grueling hours of practice and difficult strength training...sounds like fun. So when do we start?"

"Any time," Neil shrugged. Although the tournament had brought in surge of business, it was a lot like working out: most people quit after a month. Especially once they found out that working out, stretching, and aerobics were all good things. Few were like this one, who seemed well beyond having to drop bad habits and learn good ones. "My last dance class ends at three-thirty, and there's nothing after that, on weekdays." Cocking his head to the side he looked at Alison's figure, then asked, "Do you dance? Have you thought about it? Great exercise and kind of breaks the monotony of more conventional stuff." This was the part where he'd put his hand on a girl's waist and draw her close to take her other hand -- but he hadn't gotten any sort of vibe from Alison other than what she had said she was there for.

Alison watched the man's gaze as he gave her an appraisal. Her thoughts turned to Neil's hand on her waist and holding her close. Catching herself her face flushed crimson. Too embarrassed to look him in the eye she looked at the wall just behind him only to realize she was now staring at his ass in the mirror. She quickly looked back to his face and answered him, "I don't really get the opportunity to dance very often. I guess I kind of scare a lot of them off. Most guys don't like strong women. But, I hear dancing is great to learn for sports and martial arts. If it means more time with you the company would be pleasant enough."

Neil smiled at the blush, and the words. All things considered, she was quite the tomboy, but he'd never been one for girly girls. Well, not for long, at least. He stepped closer, putting a hand on the hard leather covering her hip and began softly humming Mozart's Piano Concerto 23, 2nd Movement. He reached out to take her other hand, and swayed into the beginning of a slow waltz to match the sad tune, seeing if she would follow. He closed his eyes as he hummed, so that if she blushed again, she'd be saved him seeing.

Still blushing she didn't put up any resistance when he reached for her. Used to being treated as one of the guys she wasn't sure what to do at first and then when he began to dance she smiled a little. She let him lead her along to the music and was a little awkward at first, but soon she relaxed and quickly got used to the way he moved with her. He is sure light on his feet and he seems pretty sweet. She though to herself.

"Tell me about your friend," he stopped humming to say softly. He was curious, but more than that, the Archer wanted to share this one's sorrow. He drew her hand in his chest, and gently pulled her closer, moving his hand on her hip up, rather than down as most men in this position might, to the small of her back. He resumed the sad concerto, humming loud enough to provide accompaniment, but softly enough it wouldn't interfere with her words, if she chose to speak.

A small, sad smile spread across her lips as she looked distant. "I didn't know him very long, but he was a great guy. His name was Michael and was goofy, shy, and completely awkward around women. The kind of person you can connect with and feel close to. He was like a little brother to me and I wanted to look out for him. I was out with a girlfriend of mine and him when we got jumped by some guys. Kari and I were doing fine but were busy dealing with these guys, but Michael wasn't doing to well. They were getting him pretty good and he tried coming closer to me for help, but I couldn't fend of my own problem fast enough to save him. We fought them off, but Michael died in my arms, because I was too weak to save him," Some tears began to fall down her face as she barely avoided choking out her last sentence. She wasn't exactly being dishonest they were men he didn't need to know that they were rat men.

Neil dips his head and softly kisses each cheek, tasting the salty tears. Her sadness is like a gentle rain, with a breeze coming from thunderclouds in the distance. "To everything there is a Season, and a time for every purpose under the sun," the Archer whispered, quoting Kohelet. "We'll make sure you're ready, if there is a time to rend, OK?" Neil stopped dancing and brushed flaxen hair away from the alluring features, and his eyes were bright with understanding and a reflection of her sorrow. He understood Lost lives.

Alison felt his lips brush her cheeks and she smiled weakly at him, her embarrassment gone. She found his words seemed to help her a little and she looked at him gratefully and smiled warmly, "Thanks, Neil. I'm really sorry to dump all this on you since we just met and all. Your sweet for caring." She leaned in for what looked to be a kiss, hesitated for a bit like she was uncertain how he would react, and then changed direction and gave him a big kiss on the cheek and held him close.

The Fairest watched the woman, and felt a prick of disappointment... but he knew that he could have changed the moment, or even now, it wasn't too late. He didn't, though. This was Winter's moment, and he wasn't one to take advantage of the moment, anyway. There was a time for every purpose, if her hesitation had been purposeful. He held her tightly, hugging her --ignoring the strong muscles beneath the leather and softness pressed against his chest-- before pulling back to speak. "Listen, Alison, you mentioned base jumping. One of my friends and I were talking about doing one. Want to come? A celebration of life..." It certainly sounded less corny in his head.

She pulled back a little and looked at him with her grin slowly returning, "Would I like to come? Hell ya I would. But, I wouldn't be getting in the way between you and your friend would I?" She finished with a concerned look.

At the question, he laughed. The only thing that could ever come between him and Al-Adin was a good dose of common sense or perhaps a bag of M&Ms. "No, no," he finally got out between snickers. "If anything, he'd be thrilled to have someone else join in, especially someone who owns motorcycle." Neil reluctantly released her as she pulled away, letting his hand slide over the leather. "So I'll put you on the schedule, and call you for the jump?"

She looked relieved as her smile returned. "Definitely. I wouldn't miss it." Alison reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a business card with her name and contact information on it. "You'll probably need this."

"Cool," he said simply, taking the card. He glanced at it, then paused for a few moments, debating on whether or not to ask about a home number. Despite not wanting to push things, he had the feeling he'd be irritated as hell to find out later she had met someone. He compromised. "I look forward to seeing you again, Alison," he said sincerely, with a warm smile.

"I'll look forward to hearing from you. Oh, that's got my cell number on there so feel free to call me anytime. I keep pretty busy so my cell is the best way to reach me, but don't worry if it's you I'll make the time," she finished smiling.

Neil's smile grew, and as he walked Alison to her motorcycle, he wondered if one day he would look back on these moments as a beginning.

As she walked to her motorcycle with Neil she wondered why she had opened up to him so quickly. He was handsome certainly, but was it just because she wanted a connection with someone and he was a sympathetic shoulder to cry on? Perhaps it was because she hadn’t been in a relationship of any sort for the past few years and craved one?

No, that’s crazy. I respect him cause of his skill with fighting so obviously there would be a connection…and that’s the only way he sees me right? I’m just being silly thinking it could be otherwise. She thought to herself unconvincingly. Well, our date should be fun at least. She mused silently before suddenly catching herself. No! I mean it’s not a date. It is just a couple of friends getting together. Right? Thoughts like those could get me in trouble. She gave Neil a smile and waved goodbye before riding off.