Participants:
| Scene Title | Raw Fish |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Two people with dangerous powers meet by chance in a sushi restaurant, and miraculously…. nothing happens. |
| Date | August 24, 2010 |
Located in the Upper West Side, West Side Sushi is a small sushi bar and restaurant that caters towards a medium income though manages a more upscale environment. The decor is tasteful and modern, vibrant in the tone of wooden floors, reflective glass bars, tricky lighting fixtures and artwork on the walls. A winding bar occupies one side of the building, the other devoted to private, comfortable tables with booths and armchairs. A decent range of Japanese cuisine is offered, from light meals to proper dinners, with a focus on sushi of varying prices. A full range of liquor is also available, including sake.
It has a trendy kind of vibe that implies temporary success and limited lifespan, but while it's in its prime, it's a nice place to go, with a casual if still sophisticated ambience with prices that aren't out of reach of the common man but quality that doesn't guarantee it will be overlooked by the wealthier patron.
It's been a very stressful past few days for Elle Bishop. Life just gets more and more complicated for the little electric blonde. Fake birthdays, fake people, being a pawn in some insane game of chess, unlikely offers of friendship, and discovering that she of all people, a sociopath, has somehow become the anchor of sanity for an even crazier fellow known as Warren.
Elle's decided to get away from the stressors this evening, and escape to her favorite little place of zen. There's nothing that a little bit of sake and sashimi can't help mend, at least for a little while. Currently, the petite woman is seated at the sushi bar, quietly enjoying a nice warm bottle of sake and the peaceful Japanese music playing in the background.
You get tired of the food you get at soup kitchens and the like after a while, so Luke decided to splurge on some sushi today. It was easy enough mugging some nerd for his wallet. As he counts out the cash, he walks up to the door, shoving the money in his pocket and going up to the counter just a few seats away from Elle. He glances over to her, clearly checking her out.
Blue eyes turn to peer briefly at the entering Luke, one brow arching for a moment. Young man, late teens, average clothes, looks normal…except for the scar that is identical to a Moab scar. The woman arches a brow quietly, not saying a word just yet. Instead, she pours herself another bit of sake, knocking it back with a soft sigh and turning to watch the sushi chef work…but she's watching the boy out of the corner of her eye.
After a moment, she pulls out her phone, peeking at it as though reading a text message. Then, with a grin on her face, she taps out what must be a response, before pocketing the phone.
Luke is, naturally, unaware that Elle is part of the organization that had tracked him down, locked him up, and erased some of his memories a few months ago. All he sees is an attractive woman in her mid-20s who seems to like her alcohol. He orders some sushi, then glances towards Elle. "Is the sake good here?" not that Luke's old enough to drink… legally.
Little does he know that she also has just alerted her superiors to the fact that she's staring at a Moab scar, even as he's ordering. Elle blinks a few times, as if surprised, then turns to peer over at Luke. Her brows raised high, she almost makes a pointing gesture to herself, before shaking her head, and offering a warm smile to the teen. "Best in town, really. All kinds of varieties." She pours herself another cup of the clear liquor, tossing this one back with another sigh. Nothing better than hot sake.
They're already keeping tabs on Luke since they bogged him down with a sentence, a probation officer, and community service since they let him go. "Come here often?" well that's just a cliche way to hold a conversation. "I come every once in a while for the sushi." wow, he's actually being nice for a change, must be because she's a girl.
The little blonde arches a brow, leaning back in her seat to peer over at the man. She tilts her head to one side, before smile. "Yeah, fairly often. This is kinda my little zen place. I come here when I just need to get away from the bullshit of everyday life, you know?" She finishes off the bottle rather quickly, tossing the last little cup back. Then, she's moving on to her water. "Hmm…I'm Elle Bishop. What's your name?"
Luke hesitates when she introduces herself, but people can find him through his probation officer, so there's no point in hiding it. "…Luke Campbell." he replies after a moment's pause. "I only like the cooked sushi, raw's a bit too much for me. But yeah, it's nice to eat something different once in a while."
"Well, nice to meet you, Luke." She smiles cheerfully, leaning toward the boy for a moment. Then, she straightens as her sashimi arrives, picking up her chopsticks with a cheery smile. "Oh, but the raw part is the best. Have you ever had salmon sashimi? It's the most amazing flavor you'd ever expect." She giggles softly, pouring herself some soy sauce.
Luke moves over one seat closer since she's not giving him the cold shoulder. "Well I've eaten lox before, same thing, right?" not quite, lox is smoked salmon, but eh.
Wrinkling her nose, Elle shakes her head. "No way, definitely not the same thing! This is salmon in its most delicious form." She grins, picking up a piece of red raw fish with the chopsticks. "Tuna is pretty good, too." She dips this into the soy sauce, and pops it into her mouth, smiling.
Luke shrugs one shoulder. "Eh, I prefer the cooked stuff all the same. Raw stuff could have diseases or something. Salmonella." yeah, salmon with salmonella… not. "If people were meant to eat everything raw they wouldn't have invented microwaves." that's… not quite right.
The woman arches a brow, and laughs. "Well, sushi actually isn't entirely uncooked. The raw stuff goes through this special steaming process. In any case, it hasn't killed me yet, and it hasn't killed off the Japanese, so it can't be entirely wrong, can it?" She grins. Then, she jumps as her phone jingles. This is pulled out, and another small grin forms on her face as she types something in, before quickly pocketing the phone once again.
"Whatever." Luke doesn't seem interested in continuing that particular conversation anymore. "So, you live around here, or something? Or work near here?" chatting up a girl is perfectly natural, right?
THe little blonde raises an eyebrow as she pops another bite into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Then, she smiles charmingly. "Oh, I work all over the place. This is just the best place in town to grab some good sushi." She waves a hand idly, taking a sip of her water.
"Well yeah, there's that." Luke gets his order at that point, and it's got stuff like shrimp rolls, crab meat rolls, and other safely cooked fish. "I don't come here often because I'm between jobs at the moment." much like many people are!
The little blonde seems quite happy consuming her uncooked fish, a bright smile on her face as she does so. "Oh, I have no shortage of jobs. I have a shortage of free time, myself." And peace of mind, but the kid doesn't need to know that.
"Oh? What kind of jobs?" Luke doesn't say the first thing that comes to mind, fortunately for him. "Free time's not all it's cracked up to be. I've got to clean trash in the park in my free time." Luke grumbles. "For a crime I didn't do." or maybe he did, but what they got him for was bullshit!
The girl tilts her head toward Luke, her brows raised. "To be quite honest, cleaning up trash in the park would be a welcome change to my life. You don't know how good you have it." She pops a piece of white raw fish into her mouth, closing her eyes and sighing. Then, she smiles to Luke.
"Well maybe I should try some raw fish since you seem to think very highly of it." Luke comments, having finished his own sushi. He orders some of the raw salmon sushi, glancing at Elle. Aww, he's trying to impress her.
The little blonde's eyes crinkle in a soft smile. "Good idea! I'm sure you'll enjoy it." She grins, popping another peice into her mouth. "In any case, you shouldn't knock something until you've tried it at least once. Otherwise, how will you learn about new things?" She grins widely, leaning back in her seat.
When the raw fish comes, Luke hesitates. He said that, but now that he sees it, well… hmm. She wouldn't notice if he pussies out and heats it up a little, would she? He picks one up, and it's git some nice microwaves aimed at it, just enough to cook it a little. Then he pops it in his mouth. So what, he's cheating a little.
The girl smiles softly, crossing her legs as she eats her own sushi. "Good, huh?" She leans back. Well, at least he's a nice Moab escapee. She'll have to ask Harper about this one. He seems way too easy to catch to still be running out and about after the big bust way back when. Yet there's that scar.
Ryans would have to be the one to ask, Luke was under his nose (literally) at least twice and got away both times. "Well I won't know if I'll be getting some disease yet so…" Luke smirks at Elle.
Finishing off her sashimi, Elle waves down the waitress for her bill, patting her flat little tummy. "I'm sure you won't. I've been eating it for years, and it's never made me sick. Especially not from here!" As the waitress brings her tab, Elle presents a nice pretty credit card, handing it to the woman.
When it's Luke's turn to pay, he pulls out the handful of cash he got from some guy's wallet, and counts out the right amount of bills, stuffing the rest back in his pocket. "I'll keep that in mind." Luke played it safe anyway. Then he stands up. "Well, nice meeting you." he offers her his hand. Shake?
The woman offers a faint smile to Luke, reaching out to take his hand once she's signed her credit card slip. "Hey, I come out here every Tuesday night, if you can make it. It's nice to have someone random to talk to." She offers his hand a firm shake. Then, she's making her way to the door, a small smile on her face.
Luke nods in replies. "Tuesday nights, gotcha." hey, who knows, maybe she likes younger guys. He waits until she leaves, and then follows suit, going off on his own. Well, that was somewhat successful, he got a name and a potential repeat visit!