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 Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 2:15 pm
Ugh... 27? From what she'd been told, she was around the 35 mark herself... and Aris was not going to mention that fact to him. Was she getting too old to be doing what she was doing? Maybe... but that hardly mattered. She could still toss drunks out on their asses just fine, and she wasn't the one getting drunk off her a** more than a couple of times every couple of weeks. She spent enough time in the bars for work, she preferred to find fun elsewhere if she could.
"You sound like quite the worldly fellow." She said dryly, teasing him lightly. "Kinda nice to have someone throw a blanket over you when you pass out... Hopefully you don't do that too often and wear out her charity." She had a feeling it was his mother who covered him... she'd have woken him up and made him more, herself. That was a saint right there.
Had her own mother been like that? She didn't remember, and there had been very little Kam could tell her about her family. She'd been estranged from them even back then, but so had Kam, really. Maybe that had been part of what had made them compatible once.
Mulling her thoughts over as they walked, she did more listening than she did talking, suspecting he'd probably not remember a lot of it tomorrow anyway. She'd end up being just the buff bouncer chick who'd walked him home...
"Dad's a surgeon huh? Your folks must be loaded. Makes sense I guess." He had his own house, at twenty seven. Most people his age were still getting over college and trying to find their feet, from what she knew. Probably why he could also afford to go on benders like this, which sounded like they happened notably often.
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2022 9:12 pm
"Yeah, we're not poor or anything," Rob nodded as he ambled along next to Aris. "Grew up with a nanny, went to private boys' school, that sort of crap. Still have property in London. How I turned out a punk musician is anyone's guess, really." With a shrug, he glanced up at her. "Wouldn't say I'm worldly, though. Haven't been many other places besides England an' here. We'd take our summer holidays in Spain, but that's it…" He fell silent for a few moments, thinking about his childhood in Britain. "Don't go thinkin' I'm some kind of spoilt rich kid, though, cause I ain't," he suddenly snapped. "My parents worked hard to give me the freedom to pursue music as a living." Snorting derisively at himself, he glanced up at Aris again before glaring ahead grimly. "Sorry, I'm kinda tetchy about that s**t. I'm no upper-class twit, despite my privilege. Guess maybe that's why I fell into punk – it's DIY socialism, giving to them what doesn't got an' all that. Dirty an' bloody proud of it." He fell silent again as they walked. "Anyway, me band are all back in London. Been tryin' to make a go of it here, but not had much luck. So I busk down by university, not far from the Dragon's Den in fact. You know that tea an' coffee shop down on the corner near the Yard? That's my usual spot." Rob grinned. "You should come listen sometime. I'm pretty good, if I do say so meself," he beamed proudly.
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2022 8:30 pm
She half smiled as she listened to him, her eyebrows rising at his sharpness. She put her hands up in surrender, rolling her heavy shoulders.
"Hell if I know how you ended up a punk. I don't know if I'd be busking on a corner, if I had the money to do other stuff." She said as she tucked her hands back into her pockets. He might be touchy about his background, but it was hard to deny that, punk or no, it was written all over the details of his life. He busked because he could, because he didn't need the kind of money people like her needed to survive. He could hop to London and back when he wanted to, and as a kid, he'd spent summers in Spain.
Aris didn't begrudge him his cushy life, though. He could as easily have not cared about the social justice punks seemed to favor. It also wasn't his fault he'd been born into this family... and he didn't seem to throw around his money for clout.
"Oh yeah, that place? I know it. Maybe I will stop by sometime." She said. Coffee shops weren't usually her handout spot, but why not? Might be a nice change.
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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2022 12:04 pm
"You should," he grinned up at her. "Definitely pop round. Listen to my music, grab a cuppa, nice way to kill a bit of time." Cocking his head, he raised an eyebrow. "Dunno if you'd like what I play, though. I do kinda punk takes on English trad tunes, plus somma me own s**t, songs I've written, which tend to skew that way too. I dunno, people seem to like it, I make a bit when I'm playing. Usually end up buying a cuppa then giving the rest to the maker space near me house." They turned a corner that bordered on the Arts District, filled with colorful warehouses that had been converted into live-in work spaces. "Not too much further," Rob nodded. "Almost home." Slowing his pace a whisker, he studied Aris for a moment. "What about you, luv? Here I've been carrying on like th' drunk I am," he laughed, "not giving you any time to chime in. What's your life like? How'd you become a bouncer, for one? Not many ladies choose that profession – not many ladies could, if I'm bein' honest. You know what though?" He stopped abruptly. "You would make a killing as an MMA fighter. Beatin' up lesser ladies… Hah, I could be your manager! I've a head for business and promotion – ******** me, I've been doin' if for meself and me band for years." He beamed up at her as if he had the solution to everyone's problems. "What d'you say?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2022 8:47 pm
She grinned as she tilted her head, considering the music he said he played. It didn't mean anything to her, but it couldn't be that far off the rock and roll she preferred. Even if it was, though, she liked a bit of alternative stuff from time to time... sometimes it was nice to listen to something different than you were used to.
His sudden questions got a laugh from her though and she rolled her shoulders, feeling the muscle shift under her coat.
"My life is boring and ordinary!" She assured him, even if that was a bald faced lie. "I do bouncing because its easy and it was easy to get into. The first boss or two I worked for didn't really care I didn't have any ID or paperwork, and once I got established, you know, one club is happy to poach from another if you're good at what you do. And when I'm not working, I'm drinking at the bar, or working out at the gym. Hoofing it on my own, don't have any family or anything to fall back on, so its just me really. Been thinking about getting a cat, but that's like... the most exciting, and more boring, part of my life. I got a nice little apartment not far from the bar, makes stumbling home a short jaunt. Ride my motorcycle, when the weather's nice."
Aris grinned at him for his enthusiasm, unable to hold back another laugh. "Oh, I don't know about that. For one, you're drunk and drunks like to exaggerate. For two, I've never fought anyone like... officially, in a competition. I'd have to like... do training before I could attempt something like that."
Fighting bad guys in her off hours probably didn't count much for that. People with magic fought differently, used different techniques and were just physically different than some beefed up bunny from the gym. She might be good at fighting them, but real people? She'd be constantly making sure she wasn't doing something against the rules, when she was used to a war that had no rules.
"I mean like... maybe. Put a pin in it, get sober, maybe we see where we fall out then, huh?" She said, giving him a clap on the shoulder to make sure he knew she wasn't just dismissing him out of hand. She wasn't sure she could really take his offer seriously, but it was kind of nice of him to offer.
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Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2022 6:36 pm
"Fair enough," Rob replied with a nod and a grin. "I'll hit you up when I'm not pissed to the gills– I mean drunk to the gills." The next block over the warehouse lofts ceased abruptly, and up sprang the Victorian houses of the Arts District. Some of them had been restored to their former glory, others modernized and modified into student flats; some were detached, others were duplexes. As the two walked down the sidewalk past a particularly colorful house, Rob pointed across the street to a robin's-egg blue duplex with neat white trim. "That's my house. I think I can make it the rest of the way on me own, the drinks have kinda worn off a bit." Stopping, he looked up at Aris. "I really appreciate you makin' sure I made it home in one piece, luv. I won't soon forget this. An'," and he tilted his head and pointed at her with a mock-serious expression, wobbling a bit as he did so, "don't forget t' come round to me corner sometime to hear me play. We can have a cuppa whatever makes you happy and a good laugh about tonight's happenings." He poked one of her leather-clad arms a couple of times for good measure, then spread his own arms wide. "T'was a pleasure to meet you. Aris. I'm sure I'll see you again, hopefully under more convivial circumstances."
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2022 7:29 pm
Aris shook her head as she came to a stop, unable to stop smiling as he spread his arms.
"Make sure you sleep on your side, just in case you puke in your sleep." She said as she pulled a hand out long enough to wave at him. "I'll catch you around. And if you make a fuss in my bar again, I'll rough you up a bit before throwing you out on your a**."
She saluted him as she turned to head back the way she'd come, feeling light and happy in a way she hadn't expected. He was a good kid, for all the ruckus he'd caused. She hoped she did run into him again, even if most of the night had been drunken friendship.
She could use more people to know. It made her world feel a little more full.
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