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 Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 5:54 pm
Angelina chewed on a carrotstick. "Its been two months?" Angelina thought to herself. "Well, maybe I'll have a little time then. Do you know what they said you were...going to be?"
She looked back over to Ambrose and gave him a small smile. She knew how important fencing was to him.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 6:01 pm
For the most part Amaya remained silent, watching Angelina, Ambrose and Jamal talk. She was finding herself becoming less and less of a talker these days... maybe it was because of the iguana inside her, or it could have just been all the going ons in the past few days... she didn't really know.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 6:07 pm
Rayanya began to quietly sketch in her book, taking down little bits of images both from her imagination and from the cafeteria. She found her eyes wandering to the other table, and, chewing another piece of honeydew, she began to draw simple sketches of its inhabitants.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 6:14 pm
Ambrose's ear flicked back and he gave a rueful twist of his lip to Jamal. "Yeah, I'm talking about fencing again. It's really fulfilling, you know. Much more elegant than boxing." He countered. "It's about precision and speed... not brute strength." He commented flippantly.
He shook his head, though. "But two months... wow, has it been that long, Jamal?" He seemed surprised. "It's been.... nearly four for me...." It seemed longer. His entire life had been turned upside down and closed away from everyone else.
"You alright, Amaya...? You've been quiet." He gave a small smile. Tension... he didn't need tension. He wished he could paint a perfect picture of the island for Angelina.... even though it was anything but that. Everyone seemed to be down or snappy recently... even before he pulled himslf away from a lot of it. Except for when he was working with Chubbs. The guy was sometimes refreshing company admidst everything else. He wondered if that would change when he ... changed. But... no one seemed to have changed recently - even joliette and Jamal... people who had been here a while. Awen too, last he had seen her.. he wondered if that was still the case.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 6:21 pm
Jamal grimaced a little at her question and sat back in his seat. "Naw, I ain't asked 'em yet. I ain't so sure I wanna find out. Knowin' them bastards, they gonna pick sum'thin' I ain't gonna like, but it ain't like I kin do nuthin' 'bout it now, so at least right now I kin pretend dis ain't happenin'." He passed a quick look to Amaya and Ambrose in succession, an odd look overtaking his features. "Not like I can really 'scape it when I got peeps like dis 'round. At least I ain't freakin' no more."
He prodded the top bun of his sandwich, feeling an odd aversion for the bread rise in his chest out of nowhere. Mmph...he always liked hamburgers before...
Ambrose did manage to get a bit of a spark back to Jamal's eye with his veiled irritation, however. He lifted his gaze to steadily fall on Ambrose's lupine face and though there was still a good-natured aspect to the black man's face, Jamal clearly wasn't in agreement with what Ambrose said.
"Look, brotha ain't carin' how elegant o' fulfillin' fencin' be. When it come down to it, if someone gonna kick ma a**, I rather know how ta hit wit' just ma fists than stick 'em wit' a fake sword. Plus if ya look at me, ya seein' anythin' elegant 'bout me?" He prodded an arm muscle to emphasize this point, casually flexing at the same time. "These ain't sayin' nuthin' 'bout bein' quick on ma feet. These be sayin' I'll knock a b***h out."
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 6:26 pm
Angelina actually started to open up talking to Jamal. "Thats exactly what I think," she said, leaning forward. "I mean, here I am all paranoid they're going to turn me into a cockroach or something, so I'm too afraid to ask. I figure I can lve in ignorant bliss for, well, at least a little while before I have to face the reality of it all..."
She looked over him again. "Well, if it means anything I hope its not something really, uh... like a slug or something."
She took Ambrose's hand and tried to preimptively calm hiim down from Jamal's insults, while she watched him flex. She could help but shake her head ruefully and shake her head a bit.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 6:33 pm
"Huh? Oh, yeah... I'm fine." Amaya lied. A lot of things had happened since the last time she saw Ambrose but right now she didn't want to trouble him with them. Angelina was here, he needed to focus on comforting her through all of this.
She listened to Jamal and Ambrose calmly argue, but didn't interject. Right now she still felt very exposed and out of place. The less attention brought to her the better.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 6:35 pm
Rayanya had, by now, abandoned what was left of her steak in favor of sketching. She really should head back to her room, but being around other people , though not interacting with them, was starting to grow on her. It must have been caused by all the time she spent shut up in her room...
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 6:44 pm
Ambrose ruffled a bit, although there was a smile on his face in response to Jamal's banter. "well, learning how to use a 'fake' sword teaches one how to use a real one. And... anyway, dueling is the gentleman's combat... just... well... people dont' tend to carry swords around anymore. But it still teaches me to be quick on my feet and deflect a blow.." He responded defensively.
"Besides... ladies tend to like a man with a leaner build instead of being all... musclebound... right Angelina?" He grinned to her.
"But I'm glad that you're doing better. Hell, not many people have been changing recently it seems at all... maybe their process is breaking down or something. That would be nice."
HE gave Amaya a couple of patts on her shoulder. He hoped it was true.
"You know.. as strange as it is... it's nearly Christmas. Can you believe that? Not that the weather would make you think so. I don't think it's dropped below Fifty."
He took a few more bites of the steak, nearly polishing off the second one. HIs ears picking up the skritching of Rayanya's pencil on paper, his ears pricked and he looked over to her curiously. SHe was drawing..? His thoughts flashed to Hargun... and her now grossly distended fingers. HE hadn't seen her draw in some time now.... he wondered if she could anymore - or if she had had the courage to try.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 6:51 pm
Jamal nodded in agreement with Angelina, casually checking her out as she leaned forward but hopefully not in a way that would get noticed by a third party, i.e. Ambrose.
He wasn't trying to really make Ambrose mad with all his trashtalk on fencing, but Jamal did like to create some controversy when he could get away with it. Arguments like this were commonplace where he was from...that was something he sorely missed. He and his friends used to rip on each other so bad. Maybe it was how he developed a thick skin to most things people said. However, the comment on lean men getting the women, well, that was -highly- laughable. He had many reasons and ways to disprove that.
"Depends on da ladies ya be talkin' 'bout, Ambrose," he said with a sort of cheshire-cat smile, glancing again at Angelina for the briefest moment. "Maybe some of 'em like it...maybe othas just pretend...or maybe they ain't so picky ta just pick guys like you o' guys like me and you just ain't knowin' it."
He passed a look to Amaya and Rayanya also, wondering why they were both so oddly quiet. Rayanya...well, he had his owns thoughts as to why she wasn't saying anything, but he thought he'd remembered Amaya being more talkative.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 6:56 pm
Angelina snickered, looking between Ambrose and Jamal. "I guess it just really depends on personal preference..."
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 7:01 pm
After the pats on the shoulder, Amaya finished her fruit salad. "Well... I better go. I can't stay in air conditioning that long anymore." She forced a tiny smile to them and stood up. "It was nice meeting you, Angelina. I'll see ya later." Giving them all a nod, even the woman she didn't know, she then bussed her tray and headed out of the cafeteria.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 7:05 pm
Ray was now staring with utter intent at her sketchbook, apparently done with something and adding some sort of a detail to the piece. The dark woman was utterly oblivious to the world around her, and she didn't even see the scaley woman leave.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 7:13 pm
Ambrose licked his chops after another juicy mouthful, a wry smile on his face. "Ah, but see - matching an opponent with a sword is the physical version of a witty banter... not too unlike this one. I bet you'd like it if you tried it." He replied, pointing at him with a clawed finger. "Although I'm sure both of you are right about ladies having various preferences... " Ambrose very nearly said something about how precision and agility had... other merits, but bit it back with a glance to Angelina, a blush coming to his face. He couldn't discuss... that sort of thing with her right there - especially as that sort of thing had not exactly been comfortable to discuss with just them let alone at the lunch table. He glanced to Amaya as well, she was hardly more than a child. But he couldn't just submit entirely.... "Well... and let's say not everything is best dealt with by a heavy hand or fist.."
He blinked as Amaya stood up. "I... I'm sorry, Amaya. Perhaps... perhaps we'll practice some other time." He gave her a small smile and a wave.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 7:17 pm
Jamal watched Amaya wander off, wondering what her problem was, but shrugged it off.
The black man just smiled and shook his head at Ambrose, getting a vague idea of what the blonde was getting at. He was hardly stupid with matters of -that- kind.
"Maybe," he said, though he didn't look at all convinced. "But dat's a diff'rent matter entirely, ya know?" He chuckled and picked up his burger, which was now suddenly more appetizing than moments ago, and took a big bite from it. It wasn't quite five-star quality, but it filled an empty stomach just fine.
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