Lunch with "James"

by **West** Sun Apr 26, 2009 2:06 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh arrives at Dagwoods and grabs a table for her and West. She picks up the menu, browsing the selections even though she already knows what she wants. She decides to wait until West gets there to order, sitting patiently.

Lunch with "James" Tn_keira-knightley-61

Lunch with "James" Tn_keira-knightley-61

by Guest Sun Apr 26, 2009 2:11 pm

West arrived in his usual tacky suit, looking around, then spotting Ankh. Giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, he sat down. After sneaking a glance at her legs, he decided not to comment on her apparel; considering all the 'conversations' they'd had in the past about it, she might take it the wrong way.

"Hey stranger," he said, "What's new?"

Lunch with "James" Westbannerblue

by **West** Sun Apr 26, 2009 2:34 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

She shrugs. "Not much, just trying to figure out why Tyria seems to know your name and I didn't."

by Guest Sun Apr 26, 2009 2:39 pm

West studies his menu for a few moments. "Well, she's the head of the Mysterium, I'm sure she knows everyone's names. Besides, you've never told me your name..."

Mao Zedong said the best defense was a good offense. Even Lombardi agreed.

by **West** Sun Apr 26, 2009 2:45 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh frowns. "You've never asked and you told me not to. Tyria being Mysterium is all well and good. So, why is she telling me your name then? She assuming I should know it? Because I didn't and it made me look like a moron in front of other morons."

She turns to a waiter and flags him down. "Chef's salad please. No krutons, extra black olives."

by Guest Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:01 pm

"Maybe she thought you knew," he mumbled. "Or didn't want ummm... the other morons? to know who she was talking about."

"Shimp salad," he told the waiter. He had to do something about the bavarian creme's he'd given in to last month.

"So... what's your name?" he asked. All sorts of jokes and euphemisms sprung to mind about sleeping with someone and not knowing their name, but this was quite different.

by **West** Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:14 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh quirks an eyebrow. "Now you want to know? Before you told me I should never tell anyopne my name. Why should you be different?" She said it in a half joking manner, but she wasn't sure if it really was a joke. What if their relationship went south? Did she really want West to have that kind of information about her?

by Guest Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:18 pm

"Fine," West sighed, not really knowing what else to say.

Why were things with her always so difficult?

"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?" he asked, in a halfhearted attempt to change the subject.

by **West** Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:30 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

"Maxine." She says quietly, wondering why this man was so over sensitive to everything she said and did. Or maybe she was just callous?

"Yes, Tyria wanted me to let you know there is a sleeper named Ryan you need to speak with. I think it's because of..........what you do. And apparently we have an eye eating willworker killer on the loose but I have Ollie, Zero, and Ghoster on it. Why are you so over sensitive?"

by Guest Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:51 pm

Maxxiiine, he tried it out in his head. Sounded good, for her.

"Am I overly sensitive?" West looked up. "I was just trying to respect your privacy, I didn't want to upset you..."

"Sleeper? Or SleepWalker?" he asked, suddenly curious, glossing over the other information.

by **West** Sun Apr 26, 2009 4:08 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh leans in close over the table and whispers to him in a husky voice. "Upset me baby, it does sooo much for me."

She leans back in her chair laughing silently to herself. "Yes, sleepwalker I suppose, if that is what you call them. Either way, she thinks you should contact him, meet him, help him to uh, see the way the world really works."

Their food arrives and she eagerly digs in, her stomach no longer a big knot since she had gotten West's answer. Maybe she did look too much into things. That woman just drove her mad sometimes just thinking of her trying to sink her claws into him. She was probably just jumping at shadows. Besides, she was the one Ankh should be irritated with, not West. He was so damn oblivious he wouldn't notice a woman liked him unless she shoved her tongue down his throat anyway.

by Guest Sun Apr 26, 2009 4:16 pm

West blushed and started picking shrimp out of the salad. He was glad that she had accepted his answer, but he was going to have to talk to Tyria.

Playing games with Ankh was not part of the agreement.

"Probably," he responded to her statement. "I haven't had a chance to do something like that in a long time." He gave her a speculative look. "Want to help?"

by **West** Sun Apr 26, 2009 7:25 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh stops eating and stares at West for a moment. "I wouldn't even know where to begin to do something like that. I have no experience in that area at all."

by Guest Sun Apr 26, 2009 8:49 pm

Well, that's what I get for opening my big mouth. She is a Master of Vivomancy, though..

"Yeah," West visibly debated with himself, "and I still have no idea if this Ryan kid is a good candidate. I need to observe him for a bit, see what kind of a person he is."

"So when will you be home, Maxine? I have a present for you, I suppose True Name day is as good of an occasion as any," he said with a smile.

by **West** Sun Apr 26, 2009 8:57 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh shakes her head. "No, I can help if that's what you need James. I just might need a bit of coaching. And don't use my name, I've always hated it."

She looks a bit surprised at the mention of a present and smiles. "Oh really? And when would you like me home dear?"

by Guest Sun Apr 26, 2009 9:11 pm

West paused with his fork still in his mouth, looking at her with a sardonic grin forming. Finishing the last shrimp, he said, "I like your name, a lot. Max, too."

He wiped his mouth and dropped his napkin on the bed of untouched lettuce. "Well. I guess when you open your present, we'll find out if we disagree on everything," he teased.

"I'll probably head back to the house after this, I'm trying to figure out how to convince the Consilium we need a swimming pool after I get my Sig fixed up." His tone suggested he wasn't entirely joking.

by **West** Sun Apr 26, 2009 9:19 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh quirks an eyebrow. "Ok, you got me. Why do we need a swimming pool?" The look of utter confusion on her face is almost comical.

"I'm so glad you like my name, James, but I have never been fond of it really. It's so..........masculine." She says, making a face like she just took a bite of rotten food. She watches him ignore everything but the shrimp and frowns. "Why didn't you just order shrimp if you weren't going to eat it all?"

by Guest Sun Apr 26, 2009 10:14 pm

"To swim in, dear Liza, dear Liza," West replied to her confusion. "I do triathlons, and sometimes it's just a nice break from running."

He shrugged at her explanation of her name. "Fair enough, what the lady wants, the lady gets." Looking down at his salad, he stuck out his tongue. "I'm just not wild about lettuce, to be honest. If it were a spinach salad, it would be different -- Iettuce for lettuce sake just doesn't do it for me."

by **West** Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:33 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh opens her mouth to ask him exactly what it is that "does it" for him, but shuts it quickly. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable in public.

"Ok, a swimming pool isn't a bad idea. I'll rally behind you on it if you want. I mean, it's not like the Consillium doesn't have the money to install one or anything."

She finishes her salad and wipes her mouth before speaking again. "So, do you want to go back to the house? I can drive you, free of charge." A wicked smile comes across her face. "Well, I won't charge you cash anyway."

by Guest Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:45 pm

"Oh, yes," West replied, thoughts of his Sig evaporating.

He probably wouldn't have to shoot anyone today.

"Aaaaand, I can give you your gift," he said, with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. "Then take it away again."

This was... nice. He hadn't felt this way in a long time.

by **West** Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:50 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh frowns. "Take it away again? That isn't very nice. They have a word for that you know. Indian-giver I believe it is."

She stands and pays the bill at the counter, then motions for West to follow her to the car. "Soooooo, can I get a hint at least of what this gift is? I mean, if it's slimy, I don't want it."

by Guest Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:08 pm

"Oh, no," he replied, suddenly self conscious. "I think you'll want it. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing, but I think you'll like it." West stopped speaking. When you say the same thing twice in two sentences, it's really just time to be quiet.

A hint?

"It's something we've talked about, a lot," he offered.

by **West** Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:23 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh laughs. "Do you realize how many things that could be, West? Speaking of, where did that particular name come from anyway?"

They got to the car and Ankh unlocks it and slides into the driver's seat. One of these days she is going to teach this man how to drive if it kills her.

by Guest Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:36 pm

"Kipling," West said, feeling himself trying to withdraw from the explanation, but pushing past it.

"'Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet'," he quoted.

"It's to remind me of some things," he finished, then asked "And Ankh?"

by **West** Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:41 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

She shrugs. "It means life, death, and everything in-between. It's also the last thing my parents gave me before they died. A gold ankh necklace. Very pretty, lots of diamonds. It's locked up in a safe box."

She glances at him as she drives. "What is it supposed to remind you of?"

by Guest Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:56 pm

West watched the traffic as they drove, and studied the traffic light patterns.

Finally, he said, "That some things happen, no matter what you do; and that other things can be changed, but shouldn't." Sighing, he added, "I know that isn't what you wanted to hear, but... some other time?"

He turned to give her a smile, "I do mean that, too."

by **West** Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:02 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh smiles back. "Good cause I plan on holding you to it."

She pulls into the driveway of the house and gets out of the car. "So, when do we get to move in to a bigger room anyway? I mean, your room is nice and all but I'd kind of like to move my clothes and such out of my room. We need one of the master bedrooms with two closets. And we need a bigger bed. You're a restless sleeper and I get squished up against that wall sometimes."

by Guest Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:28 pm

West knew that he was a pretty calm guy. That was probably an understatement, at least when it came to being an Arrow. No guy, though, is really ready to have a move-in sprung on him. Sure, they lived in the same house. Sure, she slept in his room. It was still his room... and she had her room.

Using the word 'we' three times in rapid fire succession as she had done was so... commitment-y. Which may not be a bad thing. It had been a long time since he had smiled as much as he had the past few months.

Then again, it had also been a while since he'd actually wanted to defenestrate someone.

Who was he kidding?

"Whenever you want, I guess?" he answered, as most men do. "Did you have one picked out?"

by **West** Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:32 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

"Oh no." Ankh says with an emphatic headshake. "I wasn't going to go that far until I had talked to you about it. I mean, wouldn't that be kind of presumptuous if I assumed you were just going to give up your space without a care? I would be really upset if someone did that to me. I was thinking we could take a look tonight and maybe try a few out. See which one we like." She finished with a wicked grin.

by Guest Wed Apr 29, 2009 12:30 am

"Oh," he said, trying not to blush. She had a habit of catching him off guard with her forwardness. Not that he minded -- it just caught him off guard. "Yeah, that sounds like the best way to pick," he said, getting out of her car with a smile.

Unlocking the door, he followed her in.

"OK, wait here," he told her, and trotted to his room.

Pulling the box out from under the bed, he looked at it critically. He had forgotten to wrap it. Details, details, god is in the details. The devil, too. West clicked his tongue as he picked it up; there was nothing to do about it now. Well, nothing reasonable. Altering the temporal flow just to wrap a gift was... insane. Perhaps the fact that he had considered it, albeit momentarily, was also.

Returning to the living room, he handed it to her. "Here," he said, a bit unnecessarily. Was he nervous?

by **West** Wed Apr 29, 2009 10:55 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh takes the box and opens it.

Her eyes get wide as she pulls the dress from the box. "West it's......beautiful. Where did you get it? I've never seen a dress like this before and I do try to keep up on fashion." She says with a small smile as she holds it up to herself. Realizing that it looks like it would fit her perfectly she frowns. "Did you have this specially made?"

by Guest Wed May 06, 2009 12:24 am

"Yeah," he said, with a smile. "Ummm..."

There's this fetish club I sneak off to, and they had a fashion show.

West wasn't a stranger to omitting details. There was an amazing amount of deception one could accomplish and still be speaking the truth; he had learned that from the counter-insurgency work he had done for the Army.

Lying was different. To him, at least.

Everything changes the first time you lie to someone.

"Hmmm," he stalled, then pushed past it. "There was a fashion show, there were flyers for it at Avalon, so I went. I saw this dress, and thought you'd like it -- but then the designer never called me back, even though I talked to her about having this made for you."

Why did he feel like he was apologizing? Or making excuses?

"Anyway," he continued, "I still wanted you to have it, so I had one of the Mysterium's Materiamancers make it for me."

'It makes it much less magnificent to think it was done by a mage to me.'

"It was the only way," he added, remembering her words in Paris.

by **West** Sat May 09, 2009 12:34 am

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh laughs. "That fashion show at Asylum? The fetish club? You went to that? Well shit, I wish you had told me. I wanted to go myself, but thought you would........er.........have an issue with it. So, I decided to stay home."

by Guest Sat May 09, 2009 12:56 am

"What?!" West asked and exclaimed.

Shouldn't he have known? From the first shopping trip? Well, no -- that could have just been a taste for that type of clothing. Just the clothing. That might still be all it was. But. She named the club, and not the clothing.

"Have you ever been?" he asked, intently curious.

by **West** Sat May 09, 2009 9:30 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh shakes her head. "Not officially, no. I went inside once to see if it was a real fetish club or just some poser place. I've seen a lot of those in San Fransisco. Once I realized it was legit, I wanted to go back. But then I got busy and things got.........complicated." She shrugs.

by Guest Sat May 09, 2009 10:30 pm

West rubbed the back of his head, as if it were a genie lamp that would provide answers.

"Do you mean 'complicated' as in, we met?" he asked. It still felt odd to have such frank conversations, and especially about something like this -- but she kept surprising him.

It was also nice not worrying that Kai would walk in at any minute.

Would Asylum regulars recognize the dress?

by **West** Sat May 09, 2009 10:47 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh looks a bit sheepish. "Uh yeah, complicated like that. Then the whole Consillium thing and well, I just haven't really hadf the time since. You know?"

by Guest Sat May 09, 2009 11:26 pm

West nodded. Probably wasn't the time to tell her that Calligan Wellmer, an Apostate named Rip-Tide, and a fellow Arrow had all been brutally murdered.

He still needed to figure out who could be sent to talk to this new owner of Avalon, since Davis was gone.

"It's ok," he said, "things have been crazy lately. Maybe when things calm down, we could make an 'official' visit?" he asked, carefully neutral.

West unconsciously wiped his hands on his slacks. Damn, was he nervous? Excited? Both?

by **West** Sat May 09, 2009 11:41 pm

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh nods, forwning, noticing West's sudden nervousness.

Ok, was it something I said?

She leans forward and kisses him, making it last a big longer then usual. Pulling back, she smiles. "Yes, I'd like that. I think we could both use some release. Especially with all the strange things we've encountered lately."

by Guest Sat May 09, 2009 11:59 pm

"Ah," he sighed, smiling as she pulled away, "Yes, I'd think I'd like that, too. A lot."

Maybe Fate had stopped hating him.

"You could wear the dress," he added. "I don't think anyone else spoke to the designer -- she seemed really surprised that I would want a specific one."

"Or that blue velvet dress," he said with a grin. He still hadnt' seen her in it.

by **West** Sun May 10, 2009 12:03 am

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh laughs. "Well, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"

She looks down at the dress and shakes her head. "Although, this seems like something for a much more formal occasion. The next Consillium meeting perhaps? But I do love it."

by Guest Sun May 10, 2009 12:25 am

"Sounds good," West replied with a grin, happy that she liked it.

"So, you want to go spy on this Ryan kid with me? After you show me how much you love the dress," he leered at her.

Well, hell, if she could be forward, he could too, right?

by **West** Sun May 10, 2009 12:30 am

Active Spells: Pulse of the Living World, Aura Perception, Organic Resilience, Doppelganger

Ankh smiles, and places the dress carefully back in it's box. "Sure if you'd like."

She puts the box aside and stands, stretching. Then, smiles deviantly. "So, which bedroom do you want to try out first?"

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