Participants:
| Scene Title | Petty Theft and Happy Gypsies |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Ash and Tzigane start out eating at the Nite Owl, and end up eating at Biddy's, with a bit of theft in between. |
| Date | 09/24/09 |
Took place at the Nite Owl, then a Salvation Army, then finished at Biddy's Pub
Ash is sitting in the Nite Owl, the man hunched over a simple plate of steak and eggs. He's got a soda sitting near him, and a cup of coffee as well. He's chatting with a waitress between his mouthfuls of food, thinking about something or another, just idly chattering with her. The man seems to have quite a bit on his mind at the moment, eating slowly, cutting off pieces of the beef and munching on them. He lifts his coffee cup, draining it and getting a refill from the waitress, who has to stop flapping her gums to go refill her carafe.
Waitresses are paid to flap their gums.. increases the tip sometimes, and hey, that's the name of the game. Tzigane enters the diner, with a pocket full of change and an appetite. She looks around, and grins when she sees you, but gives you the option of speaking. She takes a seat, and dumps out change onto the table to begin to count out money for food. Mostly dimes. The waitress looks thrilled. Really.
Ash has bent back down to the steak on his table, slicing off a piece of egg to go with every piece of steak that he eats, mixing the flavors. He tilts his head around slowly as he listens to the cheesey diner music, head bobbing of it's own accord. He looks up as he hears the change dump out onto the table, blinking a bit at the pile before his eyes find the little gypsy. He snorts in amusement, his head shaking before his glass of soda is lifted to his lips, a long sip taken from it. Ash sets the soda down and leans back in his seat, waiting for the amusement to begin.
Hardly amusement, at least not as far as the waitress is concerned. If there is -anything- that's more annoying than a patron with change, it's a patron with change taking up valuable tip-space to count out loose coins. Tzigane orders.. pancakes, bacon, coffee, milk… as well as eggs over light on toast. A tiny little woman like that, ordering that much food, she's gonna get fat. At least, the waitress hopes so as she scoops up the money from the table to re-count at the register.
Ash can't help it, the sight of it all, the money being counted out coin by coin, the waitress looking all kinds of pissed off right now as she stomps off towards the register with the money in hand. Ash chuckles rather heavily at the sight of it all, swallowing his food so it doesn't choke him up or anything. He arches a brow over at her, the little gypsy, the question obvious on his face. What's she going to do with all that food.
Tzigane glances over and smiles at Ash, waving a hand as she slides in the booth, back to the window, feet on the seat, and fishes out a book from a pocket in that skirt. She catches the questioning look, and gives a 'duh' look in return. She is going to -eat- it, of course. The milk and coffee are the first to arrive, and Tzigane picks up the cup, sipping at it and grimacing. "Excuse me, do you have any that isn't three days old and lukewarm?'" she asks, in a pleasant enough voice. 'If I have to pay before you'll order my food, the least you can do is give me coffee from the bottom pot. thank you." Yes. butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. But she's a little cheesed off at the waitress herself.. so the whole pissed thing is mutual.
Ash shakes his head, lifting his hand to run his fingers back through his short hair. "Come on over here gypsy." he motions to the spot in the booth across from him. "No point in sitting alone if you don't have to. Besides, you're… intriguing company." he smirks a bit, finishing off his steak and eggs before pushing the plate away from himself and turning in the booth to lean back against the wall much like she is in her own booth. "And be nice to the waitress." he comments off handedly to her.
Tzigane slides out, and carries her milk and coffee over. "Might as well.. might get better service..' she mutters a bit, "And I will if she will! Just because i sing for a living… gah.." she sticks her tongue out in the general direction of where the waitress disappeared. "some gringo skipped out on her without paying, and -he- was a musician, and now.. we all have to pay in advance.. it's not fair! I never skipped!" she protests, hand to her chest in an 'i'm innocent' gesture. "I've heard it from others. I bet -you- get the -good- coffee." she grumps a bit, sipping at the stuff in her cup. Which, admittedly, is darker than yours
Ash looks up at her, a rather skeptical eyebrow lifting upwards. "Well, when you bring her 10 dollars in change she's bound to be irritated yah know?" He looks towards the waitress, offering the woman a rather charming smile, odd seeing such a smile on Ash's face. But when he turns back to you it's gone and he sighs. "She's got a shitty ass job, and you bring her all that change. I'd get fucking pissed too, might just tell you to leave." He smirks a bit before he lifts his soda to his lips, draining the glass in a long drink before setting it down on the table. "What have you been up to Z?"
Tzigane looks to you, 'It's money. I'd be damn pleased to get that kind of money in one shot.. and it was fifteen. The rest is her tip. I know she does, but you know, life sucks when you are chained to posessions. If she really didn't like what she's doing, she could find something else, or just quit and leave.. I know I would! And asking me to leave? She can't.. the owner would have her ears for refusing a sale, most likely. Even in change. Times are tough." She leans back and sips at the evil brew in her cup. "Scouting, mostly.. looking for some place that isn't Biddy's to busk.. few on the ground, that aren't taken by beggars." she wrinkles her nose. "I'm going to have to resort to scavenging if this keeps up."
Ash shakes his head in an obvious show of irritation. "She might not have any actual skills to get a different job you know? What if this is all she can do? Just quit and leave? And then what's she supposed to do for a living? Your lifestyle can only support so many people yah know." He smirks a bit, lifting his coffee up to take a sip of the thick black liquid. "You might, and times aren't that tough. If they were this place wouldn't be in business." Ash shrugs his broad shoulders slightly before he settles back in his seat.
Tzigane laughs at that, "My lifestyle supported …" she counts on her fingers.." Eight, at one time.. then we lost grandpa, then grandma.. it only supports one now because I'm all that's left. You can do anything you put your mind to, you know." she knocks back the rest of her coffee as her food arrives. "Times are hard, because they're always hard.' she smiles a bit, nods to the waitress, and proceeds to tuck into her food with no special ceremony. A swallow, and she points with her fork towards the waitress, who is refilling the coffee to make a pot. "She is like most people. They think they have to have a house, a steady job.. the classic American dream.. never knowing the real dream is out there."
Ash glances over to her as she says that you can put anything you put your mind to. He offers a loud and very disbelieving snort. "Yeah… you go ahead and think that Z. Doesn't make it true. This world seems to take divine pleasure in stomping people with dreams into the ground until they lose all sense of self importance and purpose." He sighs, shaking his head a bit before he finishes his coffee off and puts the mug back down. "No, what she wants is a simple and comfortable life in a simple and comfortable home, that's all. Not everyone wants to roam everywhere, never feeling like they belong in any specific place. SOme people like normalicy and regularness." He points his fork at her, the gypsy woman before he plops it on his plate with a metallic ding.
Tzigane shrugs, "Different dreams, I guess." She forks up the last of the pancakes.. sucking the griddlecakes down in no time, and picks up the milk. "Life can stomp on you, yes, but the trick is to be like the cockroach.. " she grins and looks to you, "Life stomps, you snap your fingers, and then run like hell when he lifts his foot to check for goo." half the glass is downed, and the milk moustache is stark against the dusky skin of her upper lip. "There is no normal. There is only what you -think- is normal." she tucks into the eggs next.
Ash rolls his eyes when he's told that there is no such thing as normal. "There is such a thing as normal. Normal is the common mean amongst a given group in any given region, and in the US, normal would constitute a nine to five job, a house, husband, and two to three kids, that's normal as far as the standard goes in this country. Doesn't mean that's everyone's ideal life, but that's the simple truth of the matter. Your idea of normal, is anything but. Maybe it's regular for you, but it's not a normal life." He shrugs his shoulders a little bit agian, looking to the waitress, hoping for a refill of his coffee.
Tzigane chuckles and shakes her head, 'Normal is what you make of it. I'm normal. For me, I'm quite normal. You are normal, for you." The yolk is mopped up with a bit of toast, and she nibbles at it daintily. "Some would call me a freak. I'm short, I'm a gypsy.. among other things.. " she shrugs. "I don't care. i'm happy with me. If you're happy with you, then.. you're normal. If you're not happy with you, then you're not normal." she glances over the rim of the glass she drains. The waitress comes over and smiles as she refills your cup, then Tzigane's, because it's there and the little gypsy is holding up her cup.
Ash snorts a little bit at the words you exchange. "And if I were to tell you that I kill people for a living? If I were to say, hypothetically that I'm an assassin, or an enforcer or something like that, some other criminal thing, and I hurt people to make my living, would you call that normal? If I were to tell you I'm happy, which really? I'm not, but… if I were to tell you I did that, and that I'm happy, you'd say I'm normal?" He shakes his head, leaning back again after thanking the waitress with another of his little smiles. The scars on his face don't really mar his features, if anything they kind of add to the rough look he's got going.
Tzigane shrugs, "Whatever. There are predators for every species. There are people who are needed to do things others won't." she sips at her coffee, and leans up, 'My papa once said, it takes all kinds to make the world go around.' hands wrap around her cup as she considers her next words, "if you are as you say, then, so what? You do what you have to do, what your talents dictate.. as do I, as do we all. You have to make peace with your demons, or they devour your soul. It's not what we do, that condemns us, it's guilt over who we are. I have no guilt. Therefore, I am happy, and normal."
Ash barks a soft laugh at that little statement. "So the serial killer that tortures people for pleasure and kills for no reason at all shouldn't be put down for what he does? He's happy and satisified with his life and with what he does. yes, that's an extreme example, but it's still the example I'm going with." He takes another drink of his coffee, his eyes looking a bit tired at the moment. "What have you been doing with yourself Z? Just riding around in your… vando? Vargo? Vardo that's it…."
Tzigane laughs, 'An extreme example.. predators don't kill without -some- reason, and I doubt you're that sociopathic.' She stacks her plates neatly. 'killing for pleasure is not a good example, Ash. Reasons.. we are a thinking species. Self-aware. Conscious of good and evil. Killing for pleasure makes us no better than a rogue animal. A true predator kills for a -reason-..usually, in the animal world, for food. We do not eat our prey.. unless you're a sociopath, in which case all rules are off. A serial killer -wants- to be caught, that's why he leaves clues. Always. He wants to be put down." she lets you change the subject, though, and shrugs again with a little smile. 'Vardo, yes.. Chester, to be specific, and yes I named my van.." she winks. "No, I've actually been working on Roosevelt Island, at a little bookshop, in return for parking in the courtyard behind the store and shower rights. Evenings I go out and search for a corner to call my own.. but.. no luck, as I said earlier. I'm thinking of going to Manhattan and scout around, not for a place, no, but to see what there is left to scavange. It's getting on, the year, and I don't have proper clothes yet."
Ash folds his thick arms over his stomach as he listens to the little gypsy talk of going to Manhattan. "I wouldn't. Some very… unsavory types like to lurk in Manhattan, and Staten Island as well. I'd recomend leaving it alone if you can. Go to the Salvation army, get shit cheap if you need winter clothing." He purses his lips a moment. "Or…" he hmmms softly, thinking about something. "What kkind of skills do you possess Z?"
Tzigane chuckles, "Dahlin'…" she drawls, 'I am Romany.. I go where I will." she winks, 'And I can take care of myself. Salvation Army, yes, that's an option, but even cheap stuff costs, and I just spent a week's take on breakfast!" she laughs and scoots to put her feet up. "Worth it though." She eyes you, "I sing, I dance some, I play harp and guitar. Among other things.. Why do you ask?"
Ash nods his head slowly, a light sigh coming from him. "I need someone to do some espionage type work for me. Spy on a guy and I was simply asking you what kind of skills you had for that purpose. I was going to pay you, and well for it if you could do it. But unfortunately, music skills aren't really what I'm in need of." he sighs again, a heavier sigh as he finishes his coffee off. He pulls out a few dollars from hsi wallet for tip. "Well, I'm done, and my ass hurts from sitting. Care to walk with me?"
Tzigane looks out the window, "Night.. finally!" she murmurs, and moves to gather up her things, which includes a ratty backpack with the name Selena Menendez inscribed prominently in black sharpie ink on the top. She looks to you, and laughs, "Oh gajo…. " she shakes her head, grinning mischieviously, "You want a spy.. Tell you what. Come with me.. walk on the wild side." she holds out a hand as she hops up. "I'll keep you safe.. if you don't let go. I even promise not to go to Manhattan tonight, if you will."
Ash furrows his brows together a little bit when she calls him gajo. "What's a gajo?" His voice a bit confused as he slips out of the restaraunt and onto the streets of New York. "Walk on the wild side?" he snorts in amusement, his eyes twinkling with that same amusement. "LIttle gypsy, trust me… you have no idea just how silly of a statement that is for me…" He smirks, looking around the streets a moment, in the dark New York gets even more dangerous, and he's alert. His motions go… very graceful, smooth, a predator's movements, no wasted motion as he walks along, his body rolling with the steps, ready to spring into action if something should require it.
Tzigane isn't concerned.. not even when the steps lead them into a rather unsavory neighborhood.. she bounces along, laughing and chattering about this and that.. explaining 'gajo'. "It's a term for someone who isn't gypsy.. Gajo, singular, gaje, plural." She cuts you a look from under her lashes, not really paying attention to her surroundings. After all, he's doing enough of that for both of them. "We don't think much of those who are gaje, really.. as a general rule. After all, Romany are -special-. Singled out by God to live a free life, one unfettered and uninhibited.." she pauses, tilting her head, 'Well, if you're -male- Rom you're uninhibited. God forbid you be born female!" she shakes her head. "But that's for another day.'" She stops, in front of a large building with windows blackened.. mostly because the lights are out inside. "Here we are.." Eyes adjusted to the dark may read 'Salvation Army Warehouse' painted in large letters overhead.
Ash looks over at her with a bit of a frown on his featureas as she tells him what a gajoj is. "I thought I was honorary ROm." he actually sticks his tongue out at her, though the playfullness vanishes as he spins around, peering into an alley. There's a couple of unsavory thug types in the alley, that had started to move seeing the two people walking, but at realizing the size, attentiveness, and speed of Ash's motions they don't move any farther. He eyes them a few moments more before he turns his head back to face forwards. "Sorry, like I said, some bad areas and the streets are extra dangerous after dark." He looks up as he finds himself in front of the salvation army, a few blinks before he huhs. "Well, you need winter clothing. Let me repay your kindness that you showed me with the meal. I'll buy you some winter clothing."
Tzigane shrugs, "I'm not worried about them." she grins, "And you continue to try to negate the whole obligation thing.." she tsks.. and tugs your hand towards the alley, out of sight of the thugs, "C'mon.. let me show you a gypsy trick.." she grins and looks around, making sure that whatever homeless that may be in the alley are gone or asleep.. or at least too drunk to care. "Just promise me one thing..' she looks at you, all mischief gone, 'Promise you won't let go of my hand, until I say it is alright."
Ash glances over to her, a smirk on his lips. "I do. I feel that I owe you for the kindness, and I'd like to repay it with further kindness…" He looks at the wall of the Salvation army as she leads him down the alley, a faint frown on his lips before he huhs and glances to her hand. "Why?" He asks, ever the curious and careful one. He doesn't take her hand either, peering at it, then up at her. He frowns a little bit, his eyes suspicious.
Tzigane sighs, "Suspicion, from an honorary Rom." she looks to you, and then shrugs. "Either take my hand, or remain out here to watch for o shanglo.. Either, or." she smiles and shrugs. "Your choice. Honorary Romany is still gaje, you know. To be true Rom is to be of the blood, to trust the blood." She looks around, "Shanglo is a policeman. O shanglo is 'the police'."
Ash sighs a bit and he reaches his large hand out to clutch hers gently, a heavy sigh escaping him. He simply stands there now, waiting for her to do what she's going to do, his eyes curious, his manner a bit stiff. He's not happy being asked to trust her, but he is doing it for the moment.
Tzigane smiles brightly when you take her hand. "Remember. Do not let go, no matter what." And with that, she turns around, and tugs you towards the wall.. and walks through it. unless you let go, you go as well. Wow, cinderblock from the inside is really… grey. boring. Thick. But it's only for a few seconds, and then you're through.. in a large, dark room… it echoes, and the smell of old clothing and leather shoes permiates the area.
Ash doesn't seem all that horribly surprised by the phasing through the wall thing. A bit of mild surprise, but that's all that registers on his features. He stops inside, looking around before his eyes fall back on Tzigane and he chuckles lightly, a faint smile flickering across his lips. "Regular old Kitty fucking Pride huh?" He looks around the place, then back to her, a much more thoughtful look to his eyes. "That's a pretty damned useful ability you know…" He purses his lips before he hmmms and tucks his hands into his pockets, glancing around a bit, then just waiting to see what the little Z will do.
A flash of white teeth in the dark, "Yes, though I prefer 'O Mulo' to Shadowcat.." she laughs. Tzigane wastes no time, headed for the children's clothing section. She'll be more likely to find a fit there, given her size. From the backpack, a baseball cap is produced, with a cap-light affixed to the bill. She turns this on and begins looking through piles of clothing. "And yes, it is. When I first did it, my father was so proud, he upped my bride price.. You would not -believe- what he was asking!" she laughs in glee, finding a bright red faux fur hat. 'That is, til my mother found out… " she stuffs the hat into the backpack, and continues rooting around.. "Oooo.." A blue scarf is stuffed into the pack.. as well as a pair of orange snow-boots, and a pleather jacket that's just her size. More rooting sounds
Ash watches her go off and just begin to root through the clothing like that. He keeps note of what she's taking and what the prices are from the racks and bins she takes things from. He keeps track of it so he can leave that amount on the counter before they go to leave. "Your parents didn't think it was wierd that you could phase through things Z? Seems rather… odd." he chuckles a touch. "I got my powers at an eclipse before the bomb went off." he says simply, still tallying up the cost of what she's collecting, his eyes following her every movement.
There are no prices. This is the sorting house, where they bring things to be sorted and tagged for various locations. The location determines the price based on the income of the area, usually. She looks up, though makes sure not to blind you with the light. "Romany believe they are special to begin with. We are chosen of God to be … well, sounds stupid, but better than everyone else. A very ethnocentristic belief, but.. we have little else to be proud of, really. I suppose it's all for the best, considering." she shrugs, "My papa was raised by parents just one generation from the Old Country. Perhaps my mama would have been frightened, but.. I was her daughter. she loved me." She looks back down to the clothing. "I was thirteen.. it was three years before … that day. I woke up on the ground under our vardo."
Ash reaches into his back pocket, and he pulls out a hundred dollar bill before he looks around to find somewhere to put it, in the end he tucks it into an envelop he finds at a desk and leaves it there for them to find. He turns and heads back over to her, watching her go through clothing. "Ahh, well I've no idea what that means, being one generation from the Old Country, but okay." he chuckles softly, his eyes looking over her selections with no small amount of amusement. Gypsies and thier colors.
Tzigane doesn't notice the donation, she's eyeing blue-jeans.. and three pair are bundled up and stuffed in the pack, along with two sweatshirts and three tee-shirts. A hoodie is found, and stuffed, and the backpack is now bulging.. "Shoes…" she mutters, looking around. "My grandfather was looking for a husband for me when I was eight.. In the old country, girls had betrothed at nine.. married at twelve, mothers by thirteen.." she grins, "My mother held her tongue til grandpa died.. then, when she found out about the bride price? The top of her head blew off.." she laughs. Two pair thermal underwear are found on her way to the shoes.. "Excellent." she beams.
Ash makes a face as you tell him that people were trying to marry you off when you were still a little girl. "Married at twelve? Mothers at 13…. good god…" He shakes his head a little bit before he looks around nervously. "Can we… try to hurry? I'd rather not end up having the cops come down on us, and who knows what kind of security they have here." He seems a bit nervous, wanting to get out of the place, or maybe it's the theft of stuff when he offered to pay that has him a bit out of sorts.
Tzigane finds her shoes.. a pair of leather high-tops that have seen better days, but are still servicable. She laughs, " There is no security here.. they never have security in these places. Who would break in?" she shrugs. "These clothes are for the poor. They would give them to me any way, Ash. Don't worry. The only reason I come here, now, is the selection is better." She shrugs again and smiles. "I am taking nothing that is expensive, or that would bring in some outrageous sum." She hefts the pack, and reaches for your hand. "But, we will go before the shanglo show up."
Ash nods his head, slowly, reaching his hand out to take her own. "Sorry, I just don't like thieving when I could pay for the clothing for you. Pointless crime bothers me." He shrugs his big shoulders a little bit, but doesn't continue the conversation, just stands there, his eyes looking around as he waits for the little thing to phase him through the wall. "I'll take you back to Biddy's. I'm hungry again and need a beer. Biddy's okay with you for a little while?"
Tzigane laughs, 'I am -starving-, so, if you really feel the need, you may buy me dinner." She just put away a large meal, didn't she? Well, takes energy to do what she does. You're back through the wall in no-time, and she sighs. "I do not need for you to clothe me, Ash. No man does for me. I do for myself. It is a point of pride, one that … " she shrugs, sighing again, 'Let's just say i do not like for any man to own me, or .. anything.' she wrinkles her nose as they walk along.
Ash turns and snorts aloud as she says she doesn't wish for any man to own her. "I would have been repaying a kindness done to me, not owning you." he grunts in irritation, shaking his head as he leads the way down the street to his car, opening up the door for her and gesturing her inside before closing the door, hopping in his side and taking her to Biddy's for a meal on him.
Biddy Flannigan's Irish Pub
Ambient lighting blankets the establishment in a soft luminescence, glowing in tones of appealing orange from the front face of the bar and low hanging light fixtures overhead. Old style brick walls given the pub an appealing depth, reflecting the tone of lights in a more amber hue down upon the lengths of the polished, wooden floors. The bar counter of lacquered dark wood stretches along the northern wall, the forefront for shelves of numerous liquors and the substantially sized LCD televisions spaced liberally behind it. The screens flicker with the latest games and news as the labeled spirit bottles wink from lighted shelves with a beckon of their own. Barstools and high tables welcome tipsy patrons to their support, scattered with throughout the barroom with a few wedge into the darker, quieter, and more secretive recesses. Over the bar are a few banners of sports teams, most notably one of English football club Manchester United.
The thick wooden door to the west is fitted with a single neon sign sponsored by one of the brews on tap, glowing in the door's center window to shed its light onto the sidewalk outside and summoning in new customers when the bar is open for business.
Players:
Objects:
Exits:
<o> Upper East Side
Tzigane has arrived.
Leonard has arrived.
Ash is sitting at the bar with Tzigane. There's a beer in front of him, and a drink for her if she wants it as well. He's speaking quietly to her as they wait for the waitress to come take thier orders. When she approaches he looks up and orders a rather hefty burger and an extra order of fries before letting Z order. His attention is then focused on his beer briefly, a long swallow of the stout taken and downed with some bar nuts.
Tzigane's drink is soda. Coke, specifically, from the deep brown color of the sparkling liquid in the glass. She isn't shy, ordering a porterhouse steak and baked potato, with salad.. though where she'll put it is a mystery. She sits with perfect posture on the barstool, and occasionally twirls around on the thing and giggles, just because, apparently, she can.
Leo, being Leo, has his usual thug's swagger firmly in place. He's in black fatigue pants, worn jump boots, a dark hoodie and t-shirt. But his expression is thoughtful, rather than dour, as he comes in. Might be something of a busman's holiday, considering he works at Old Lucy's now and then.
Ash on the other hand, sits with his broad shoulders hunched, his back slumped, the large man's big hands wrapped around the glass of beer. He turns hsi head at the sound of the door chime and watches Leonardo for a few moments, offering him a light nod of he catches the man's line of sight, then turns back, draining his dark beer, setting the empty glass down on the bar. "Mack… another stout man." He calls to the bartender, then turns his head to look at the little gypsy sitting next to him. "For the life of me I can't figure out how you manage to eat as much as you do.
Tzigane twirls on the barstool, laughing in glee as her eyes zip past him, head looking straight ahead as she spins on the barstool. 'Metabolism. It's a blessing, and a curse, and i'm going to enjoy it while I can." the man coming into the bar gets a glance from laughing brown eyes, and a nod, as well as a small fingerwaggle wave; before Tzigane's off and spinning again. Even money she falls off the darn thing before someone gets annoyed enough to stop her from making a funhouse ride of the furniture.
Happily, not his problem. Leo watches her play with a mild expression, even as he places a murmured order for a Heineken. He takes a stool a few seats down from her, blinking over from his seat.
Ash blinks slowly as Tzigane begins to spin like that, her stool spinning around. He huhs softly and shrugs his shoulders, turning his eyes towards the bar, then back a moment. His lips part, something on teh tip of his tongue before he just lets it go, snickering softly and shaking his head. He looks over as Leo settles down near by, Ash looking him over for a few moments before a new stout is put in front of him.Ash then turns his attention back on the stout, and he picks it up, sipping slowly from it.
A 'Hello" is given to the gentleman at the bar, before she's off and spinning again, the posture is not helping, as she begins to sway. Tzigane is having fun, thank you, her drink untouched as she twirls around on the barstool. Most likely to the severe disgruntlement of the bartender. They don't -like- people doing that, really. Bars are for drinking, and besides, if she gets sick doing that and pukes who do you think has to clean it up?? She is beginning to get dirty looks from the man.. which she ignores as she grabs the bar and -spins- again.. "I -love- these things!" she crows happily.
"You'll only need the one drink, you keep that up," Leo opines, voice mild, as he gives Tzigane a bemused look. "I guess it makes you a cheap date?"
Ash looks to Mack behind the bar, flashing him a little smile. THe bartender wouldn't be truly aggravated. He sees alot of … odd things in this bar, so a spinning gypsy probably wouldn't irritate him much. He glances Leo's way, a loud laugh emerging at the man's comment. "She would be if she was dating I guess." he looks back to Tzigane and he smirks a little bit. "Why don't you put one in Charlie? Wait, it wasn't Charlie, what's the damn van's name again?" He waves a hand a bit. "I know I got it wrong." He lifts the mug, taking a long guzzle of his beer, setting the thing down on the bar top, then looking up as his food is set down in frontn of him, didn't take long, he ordered the burger medium rare.
Tzigane stops spinning, 'Whoa…' the room's still moving.. and she grins at the fellow. "I don't drink alcohol.. it's against my strict moral code, at least til I decide it isn't. Which isn't today, apparently." To the great relief of the barkeep, she doesn't spin again, instead turning to Ash, "Are we on a date? I wasn't aware this was a date. I'd have dressed up or something.' she turns to Leonard, and sighs, "I don't think it's a date, me. He'd have told me. At least, I think he would have. He don't say much." Poor barkeep.. there she goes again. Having regained her equilibrium, Tzigane sets out to lose it again, with a whee! and a laugh. "You oughta try this.. it's fun, and laughs are good for you." she informs both men equally, though the words are rather oddly inflected with the spinning and all. Acoustics are tricky when sound goes in circles like that.. "Chester.' she supplies the name. "It's a molester-mobile, so it's Chester the Molester-mobile." she announces cheerfully enough. Well. it -is-.
Nor is it against Leo's, as he lifts his green bottle to her. "I just fall off," he says, simply. "I used to love to spin in circles until I fell down when I was little, though."
Ash shakes his head at all of what's being said between the two, a heavy snort from him. Instead, the large man reaches his hands out and picks up his burger, biting into it with a heart appetite. It's nice to eat free at your favorite pub. He munches away at his mouthful of burger, his head still shaking. He glances over towards Tzigane, his head nodding when she corrects his name he gave for the van that she owns. "Laughs are good for you." he murmurs around his mouthful, swallowing and washing it down with a mouthful of beer.
At 4'11", one could argue that Tzigane is -still- little. "You should do it again. Just because." she informs Leonard as she stops spinning. Her food is brought, a little after Ash's.. well, the steak is thick, the potato took longer to cook than the fries, and there was the debate about dressing on the salad.. she didn't specify, so she gets house dressing. Fine by her, apparently, as she tucks in with a vengance. A few bites, and she tilts her head, 'Why do things have to stop being fun, just because you grow up? We're the same people, really. A little older, a little wiser, if we're lucky, but the same people. Everyone says.." she gestures with her fork, "It's not dignified.. it's beneath us, and to act our age.. Everyone should mind their own business, and find a sandbox to play in, I say. Nothing like sand in your drawers to make you feel six again." Ain't that an image. "And six is a good age to be." she smiles and shrugs, "Not all the time, of course, but … wouldn't it be nice, just to forget, for a bit? Pretend, if only for a little while, that we're about to be called home for dinner, but we're going to get one last sandcastle in, or one last bicycle race, or one more game of marbles…" She tucks into her steak, cutting off dainty bites with deadly efficiency. The slab of dead cow doesn't stand a chance.
"That's very wise of you," Leo says, after mulling over this little speech for a few silent moments. "And….you're right. Got my head injuries taken care of, so I don't fall down in earnest." He pulls a face at that idea.
Brian has disconnected.
Ash looks over at the little gypsy, his eyes darkening with her words. Not with angry, but with sadness. He doesn't speak for a long little while. He turns back to his food, eating slowly, fries dissapearing into his mouth, chewing slowly and swallowing. Most of his fries are gone by the time he speaks. "I disagree. I am not the same person that I was when I was a kid. In any way. I was integerally changed by something that I went though, and nothing could ever being me back to the person I was before it all. You know I used to be the school geek? Always reading books and studying real hard…" He arches a brow at Tzigane, then glances to Leonardo, a curious look to the man's eyes, but he doesn't pry into the man's business."
Tzigane snorts, "Nah,I wouldn't say wise. My mother would tell you, if she were here, that I can justify anything.. give me enough rope and I'll hang myself with it, she'd tell me. And she ought to know. I learned it from her. My mother was … fun. Every once in a while, she'd let go of being a field marshal… and she'd jump rope with me and my sister. Or play jacks.' she smiles, "We had the most amazing tea parties." she shakes her head. "Doesn't mean I didn't get my tail tore up when I screwed up, mind you, and that I didn't watch my tone, even when she was playing.. but she skipped a mean rope." Another few bites, "She said that was why she insisted on daughters, to keep young, and to have someone to play dress-up with." She looks to Ash, "You can be, if you truly want to be, Ash. Everything changes, some things for the better, some for the worse, but … nothing changes, at the same time. YOU don't change, inside. You are the same person, or it wouldn't hurt so now. The trick is, you have to remember, without the pain. Let it heal. Then, remember the person you are, again. You'll be surprised at how different that person looks, when you take out the pain-haze."
There's no further comment from the dark-haired man. He finishes his beer in a few swallows, slaps down tip and tab, and makes his way out. His expression is oddly rueful.
Leonard has left.
Ash turns his head, watching Leo leave rather abruptly. Ash grunts softly before his shoulders roll backwaards. He resumes eating, taking bites off his burger with slow enjoyment. He listens to Tzigane speak though, listens to her talk about how he can become who he was again. He turns his eyes on her. "That's the thing. It doesn't hurt anymore. It hasn't hurt in a long time. I cannot go back to who I was after what I've been through. There is nothing left of my childhood left in me." He seems utterly certain about this fact, turning his eyes back to his meal, finishing it in a few more bites, then pushes the plate away from himself. His gaze flickers to her again. "You can't know someone else's life until you've lived it, so to tell them what they can and cannot do, and what they are and are not capable of is extremely arrogant Z."
Tzigane chuckles, nibbling at her salad.. The dead cow is -gone-.. and half the potato. "My grandmother used to say that arrogance is a privilege of the young. But, you know best.. if you cannot go back, go forward, create something new. That, anyone can do, if they wish it. Creation is given to all of us, just as destruction is. I see your eyes, Ash. You cannot hide, and that irritates the hell out of you. I know this, but someone must tell you the truth, or how else will you see it? You aren't seeing, you simply look. You hurt, you are sad, you want something, but I do not know what it is. Absolution? justification? only you can answer that, and only you can find it. I would like to help you, you are a good man, but I can only be a map. You must travel the road alone."
Ash is silent as she speaks, the man sipping from his beer slowly. His plate is cleared, and his second order of fries brought to him. Ketchup is dumped onto the plate, and fries are quickly dunked and dissapear into his mouth. "That's the thing Tzigane. There is only so much I can do. I don't know you well enough to share… anything about my past. But my future is extremely limited. And there really is not a single thing I can do about it. Believe me when I say that, because these things aren't reversible…" he shrugs a bit, not too worried about it all really, or at least it seems that way. "Trust me, my life now… is far better than I could have hoped it would be honestly. So I'm not too worried about my future right now."
Tzigane looks at you, 'If this is how you wish it to be, then… bater." she smiles and shrugs, "So be it.'' she nibbles at the green stuff, pushing the tomatoes aside for now.. possibly forever, if she has her way. She pushes the plates back, and hops off the barstool. "I need to get back, though. Gotta get all those clothes washed.' she smiles.
Ash watches Tzigane leave with a soft little sigh, but there's no more words from the ELoE enforcer, just a sigh, sometimes wishing he could actually tell people stuff about himself.