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 Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 7:19 pm
"I thought the gap between my two front teeth was adorable. I could whistle like no one's business." She told him seriously, but no, father had to had the model looking children. A smirk was tossed his way though, and it was hidden behind her coffee cup as she took another sip. "Father begged you to go everywhere else with me, too." She then let out a loud snort. "Her a** was threatening to flatten my croque monsieur when she kept leaning to talk to you." She made another amused sound. "Yes, thank you Alexei, just what I wanted, a flashback to the disgust of envisioning you two down to ********." She then snapped her fingers and pointed at the picture box, indicating it was his turn again.
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Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 7:32 pm
Claude left far too many openings for Lex's innuendos, and he intdended to fully take advantage of them. "Your sandwich would get its revenge if you let it continue, I assure you." Lex chuckled, finishing his cup of coffee and reclining fully, patting Claude's arm. "Please, I have eternal memories of all the Caribbean boys you brought back to the beach house."
Speaking of which, the card Lex pulled was a later one, a few years before Deus. Lex was still in college, and Claudia had just graduated high school. They were in swimsuits, standing on white beaches, with a backdrop of clear blue. Too picturesque for Lex's liking. "Heh, we always had the cheesiest rich people vacations." Lex smirked, shaking his head. "I swear, your father and his idyllic lifestyle. I wish we could have seen more of the world, y'know? What was actually out there."
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Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 7:41 pm
That brought a smirk to Claude's lips. "I had class with my company...unlike you." She teased, and was still working on her cup, not content to finish it right away, but to savor it. She peered over at the newest picture pulled from the box, and snorted softly. "Hey, at least they were fun, and got us away." Claude paused, mulling over Lex's words for a moment. "Seen more...are you thinking like going off the beaten trail?" Claude pondered that for a moment longer before she perked up again. "Hey." She started. "This is...off subject from what we're currently discussing but...what are you passionate about, Lex?" She asked, her tone expressing genuine curiosity.
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2015 6:55 pm
"Oh, they were fun for sure, and I was glad how far away they took us from those two." Lex snorted, taking a leisurely amount of time to refill his coffee cup before setting the mug down on the table and picking up a knife, beginning to cut small slices of the cake. A brief snapshot of his mother and Claude's father came forth, two rich wannabee tycoons drinking champagne and dressed in clothes they could hardly afford. Disgusting. "I just feel like out world view was skewed. It wasn't until I started working jobs at mom's clubs that I realized how shitty life could be to people."
More snapshots as Lex picked up his cup and sipped lightly from it, inhaling the aromas as a sommelier would with wine. Men with bloodshot eyes and dry throats throwing the last of their money on the bar counter for an overpriced shot of whiskey, young girls taking pills to forget and have fun, people of all shapes and colors ending their nights in tears as alcohol and drugs dredged up painful memories. And, the cherry on top, the streets being prowled for coin and passion, because one did not escape the sex industry.
Passions... "Psychiatry, believe it or not." Lex chuckled, previously dark face shedding the ghoul with a smile. "The brain - and what influences it - are quite fascinating." He sipped at his coffee, placing it back on the table with delicacy. "Norse mythos, as well. I have a theory that some of it isn't myth at all, but actual historically accurate recollections of the Old Gods and how humans overcame them before Deus Ex."
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2015 7:30 pm
She watched him with a lidded gaze over the rim of her cup. "Mn." She uttered, her usual sound of acknowledgement of what was said, but she pondered it for a moment. "No. I think we always knew." Claude finally answered. "We just didn't acknowledge it until then." She knew she was ******** fortunate to have grown up the way she did. Even if her beloved mother had passed away when she was young and she disliked her father and loathed her step-mother, she knew she had it good growing up. Well...she knew she did once she was older. Until then she had found herself truly wishing to be a pirate and just cruise the oceans forever on a ship. She could afford the luxury to day dream about that. She knew. Her gray eyes focused intently back on Lex though as he answered her question, and she couldn't say she was surprised, but she was utterly delighted to hear it. She wondered if she'd see even a glimmer of enthusiasm and excitement about it like Chance with his stars. "Tell me about it." Claude stated. "The brain, and Norse mythos."
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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2015 7:57 pm
Lex's lighter gray eyes wandered away from Claude's stare, back to the cake. No, he didn't want any yet. It would be too much of a distraction, and they were finally getting to the meat of a good conversation. Not that reliving his childhood wasn't good - it was more of an intense and satisfying appetizer. "I suppose we did." Lex smiled, taking another sip from the white mug and inhaling deeply.
His eyes lit up when he began to talk, words carrying an unusual focus and lilt that were absent from his laid back Nevadan drawl. "Well, for one, the mind is fragile and easy to effect with proper influence. It's built from childhood, and using those experiences and all that come after it to shape or to unburden mental blockades, or create new and empowering thoughts, is easy with the right tools and knowledge. For instance, if I were to hypnotize you and have you focus on, let's say... an old flame. Through suggestion I could either have you forget that man, or yearn for him."
Lex sat back, finding himself having leaned forward with an intense posture. He smiled at his sister, snorting a bit. "Though, I'm simplifying things. I don't want to do therapy; too much personal involvement. Analysis is what I find more intriguing. Picking apart the mind and diagnosing the problems with it. Fascinating stuff."
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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2015 8:19 pm
Claude was intrigued. Not so much by the subject, while it was very interesting, but by how passionate Lex was getting about it. It really was something to see someone become enraptured and euphoric about what they loved. They let go of the facade they sported, and she was treated to something genuine and inspiring. Once again, it made her wonder...was there anything she became that way for? She snorted softly. "I don't have any old flames." Claude dead panned at him, and shift the cup to one hand to rest her head in her hand with the other. "I see..." The trainee trailed off for a moment. "So...you don't want to help others necessarily...but you find satisfaction in figuring out what makes them tick?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2015 8:59 pm
"Fine, fine. Bed buddies." Lex chuckled, waving her comment off with his free hand. He leaned forward slightly, eyes set on Claude. "But that's exactly it. The way people work, what shaped them and continues to shape them; that's what I find fascinating. It allows me to help, but from a distance. I can prescribe and diagnose without needing to be with a person for hours per week, building a false relationship with people I, quite frankly, don't care for."
Lex sipped at his coffee, then stopped. "Not that I don't care for you, or certain other Hunters. The fact is, I don't want more relations to weigh me down when they... when I won't be seeing them again." Lex drawled, passion leaving him. Admitting his selfish way of being aloof to Claude was sobering, especially when she knew a much more personable Lex.
He sighed, serving her a slice of cake on a napkin. "This island changes people." His eyes made the apology.
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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2015 9:14 pm
Silence followed on Claude's end for quite some time as she finished the last of her coffee. She took in his words, all of them, and thought them over, carefully. She then set her cup down and poured herself more coffee, taking the time to prepare her cup like the last. As Lex served the cake, she eyed it briefly before glancing back up at him. She'd been rather excited for it, and would be again, but only when it was time, and it was not right now. "It sounds like you're contradicting yourself." She finally murmured, musing. Claude stirred her cup with a spoon. "You help someone because you have an interest in them. There's no in between. You don't help people you don't care for unless..." She quirked a brow at him. "You have a messiah complex." She took a sip of her new cup of coffee. As for the other subject... "I don't think it's much different here than...not being here." Claude said in earnest. "People come and go. People get close or don't. People will live or die." A pause. "The only difference here...everything's accelerated."
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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2015 11:09 pm
Lex huffed, shaking his head. "Don't see it as such a black and white thing, Claude. I help them because it helps me look better, furthers my social standing. It's not a Messiah Complex, it's altruism." Lex rolled his eyes, sipping away at the coffee. "Don't try to play my own game with me, Claude. You're a talented girl, but you won't win this."
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 5:12 pm
A game. Claude smirked, and took another sip of her coffee, amused. "Challenge accepted." She replied, and paused a moment. "Also to keep you in check." She took another sip of her coffee before she set it down, and replaced it with the slice of pineapple cake Lex had so kindly made and served her. She tore off a piece, holding it with reverence with her fingers, but she did not try it yet. Instead she looked back to her brother, her gaze lidded. "I don't have anything I'm passionate about." She told him in earnest.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 12:18 am
A soft chuckle, familiar and full of mutual comfort. Lord knew the man needed someone who wasn't Ami to keep him in check. She called him out when he was being pretentious, but not for his mind games. "Good. Just like old times."
He crossed his legs, giving Claudia a small squint, smile fading slightly. "Are you sure about that?" Lex questioned, a little iffed. "Passions are necessary to move forward, hon." Genuine concern leaked into his voice, Nevadan drawl coming out more. "You need to find something, or your life will be a bore."
The 'and sex doesn't count' part was obvious.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 8:58 am
She gave him a look. A look that said if I wasn't sure I wouldn't be speaking about it. "Ah, I'm well aware." Claude replied to all of the spoken, and unspoken, concerns. It was then she finally took a bite of the upside down pineapple cake, and even with the matter at hand, it was pure bliss. The trainee sank back into her chair, quietly savoring, silent while she did so. Her posture and actions spoke everything about how divine this cake was. Claude turned her gaze to the cake, pulling off another chunk with her fingers. "It came to my attention the other day. I went to Sint Maarten with my friend for a day trip, and towards the evening we star gazed on the beach." She paused, recalling how awed she was about Chance's passion for the stars. "Looking up at the stars in the sky, talking about them...he became someone else. It sucked me in. Not the stars, but his enthusiasm for them." She glanced over at Lex. "It was inspiring. As are you. You became someone else when you spoke about your passions." She took another bite of cake, and finished it before speaking again. "I'm very interested in piracy, and everything surrounding it...but I don't feel it's the level you two are...so it's another thing to add to the list while I'm on this island."
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Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 5:52 pm
Lex was not as enthralled by the cake as his sister, making a small face when he bit into it. Too much rum, he thought, not enough nutmeg. It was too moist, the crumb wasn't uniform. Still, it was enjoyable.
The older sibling turned to his sister, eyes narrowed. Piracy? She had always talked about pirates, dressed like a pirate, even talked like a pirate for a month (he nearly lost his temper with Claudia multiple times in that hellish 30 days.) Still, that could lead to something he supposed. "There's plenty of nautical beasts out in the world that need researching." Lex started, leaning forward. He could suggest, but Claude would need to discover her own passion. "Plenty of ghost ship legends."
Lex cleared his throat, blotting the corner of his lips with a napkin. "So this friend of yours, the one who likes stars - should I know him?" It wasn't an accusatory tone; Claudia had a good head on her shoulders and knew who to play with and who to stray from. Lex's question was purely curiosity and professional interest.
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 6:41 pm
Claude ate her cake in silence as Lex narrowed his eyes at her, and tilted her head to indicate she was listening as he spoke. She gave a thoughtful hum. "I suppose." Ghost ship legends though...that seemed really interesting. "What's the value of researching ghost ship legends for Deus?" The trainee questioned, glancing at him with a quirked brow. The expression held as he questioned about her friend. "Should you?" She echoed back at him being a brat, of course, despite the non-accusatory tone he took. "I do believe that depends on what you think, brother." Claude smirked a bit, taking another bite of cake, and swallowed before answering: "He was at your meeting for the school mission. Black curly hair. Sun, as well."
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