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 Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:19 pm
Glowering slightly as KX informed her she was small, as if that was that, she stuck her tongue out at him. Not entirely sure if he'd see, but still feeling better for that childish show of defiance. "You're taller than my brother, and he's tall. That makes you big." Shrugging as if that was merely common sense and logic, a sly smile returned to her face. It was funny that a stranger she'd only just met could slip into a role as easily as he had, behaving as an older brother to her, and as parent to the android bodies. She was curious as to what else he did, for she'd concluded there really was no way possible he was merely an engineer of androids. His ability to fall into roles as necessary, in her mind, placed him as either a student of psychology or acting, perhaps. Engineering would also fall into the category of jobs where you would study people, but wouldn't account for the ease with which he took on new mantles.
Mentally shrugging to clear her line of thought as he started talking again, and annoyingly childish music was heard in the near distance, she started to laugh. She hadn't completely expected KX to actually take her to a kiddie restaurant, and the thought of him actually going into one and playing around amused her. Raising an eyebrow as he almost flat out said she'd be playing in the ball pit, too, she grinned as she shook her head.
"How about you can play, and I'll keep a look out for trouble for you?" Giggling a little as his grin grew, she rolled her eyes, "Somehow, I think that would take years." Nodding her head at the gaudy building she added, "And I'd rather not be in there for years, you know."
Snatching the door to open it and nodding towards it, indicating she'd hold it open, she gave a small laugh, "Age before beauty!" Removing her hand from his as she gestured through the door with a silly and flamboyant bow.
Grimacing internally at the apparent condition of the place, she decided that while she was looking forward to amusement at KX' expense, she wasn't exactly looking forward to dealing with the obviously harried parents, or the smelly and oily teenage attendants that were running about. The place had food littering the ground - and she wasn't even sure that the toys had even been cleaned recently. Watching all the little kids running around, a soft smile touched her face. She enjoyed being around kids, but she quickly concluded that she was definitely NOT going to be playing in that ball pit.
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:31 pm
"You remember that age before beauty comment when I'm calling you kiddo again, shortcake."
KX made his way into the building, passing Adalia with a stride that made him seem confident and eager all at the same time. Sure he had come here for the purpose of playing in the ball pit and easing his mind, but now he was also here for the purpose of perhaps getting information about the Hackers out of Adalia.
It wasn't that KX was a stranger to them, far from it as he had one of his own companions, but he felt that the more information on them he could possess, the better. After all, he could one day be doing permanent business with the shop should those two from before find the bodies he made to be perfect for their needs.
As he finally made his way into the entirety of the building, KX took a deep breath and scanned the horizens. It was business as usual, with kids and parents and emotional staff running about like animals in heat, and he chukled as he noticed the table he often used sat empty. It wasn't unsual, considered the table had blood stains on it from an accident almost two decades ago, and many people avoided it out of fear something may happen to them should they sit there as well.
"Over here, there's an empty table that's actually clean and stocked. We can grab a seat and then order when someone comes over...or we can browse the arcade and see what games they have. Your choice."
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 6:26 pm
Rolling her eyes as she followed after KX in entering the building, she pleasantly retorted, "I'm not a little kid, so you still can't call me kiddo." Her tongue flicked out of her mouth at him, punctuating her statement - and belying the fact that she was, in fact, 20 years old. Adalia knew her childish antics often made people think she was a lot younger than she actually was, and she preferred it that way, but she still didn't enjoy being called "kiddo".
Frowning a little at the over excited children running around, she vaguely hoped she didn't wind up stepping in gum or in anything a bit more vile. Fiach would be absolutely furious with her if she tracked anything into his home.
Tilting her head at the indicated table, she gave a small shrug. Grinning mischievously she laughed, "Depends on how good you are at games!" While she was a fair game player, she had a feeling this man had spent a good deal of time here. And if he had, then he'd be a tough adversary in a video game. Definitely a lot tougher than her brother ever was, at the least.
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:29 pm
"You're younger and smaller than me, shortcake, so I can call you whatever I please. It's not like you can do anything to stop me. You could try to go back to the headquarters if you got fed up enough, but I'd have a strong enough hunch to say you don't have any idea where we are."
KX turned his head quickly left and right, popping it effectivly, and he turned and grinned at Adalia. He did the same by rotating his right shoulder and leaning back with his left, and although the motions sounded a little ridiculous it came out alright in the end with him doing it. No one even gave him a double-glance as they went about their business, though one of the younger female clerks did blush a bit as KX turned in her direction for no reason.
"As for gaming, bring it on. There hasn't been a game made yet that I can't beat, let alone an opponent to do so. I'm really skilled at the table games, like air hocky and fousball, but I'm not so bad on the machines either."
Sure it sounded like KX was bragging heavy on himself, but it was mostly true. Whenever he wasn't working or working, he spent his time trying to find ways of beating the many video games the world had to offer. It kept his brain occupied at least, and when he was playing video games he wasn't smoking a cigarette. It was sort of a win/win situation for his body, as his brain was going and his lungs weren't being melted, and so he took extreme measures to find a way to play.
"So we can play first, I guess that's what you're saying? In the process I can order us up a pizza and we can pause for a bit when it gets done."
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:52 pm
Glowering up at the man as he guessed it half right, she'd been off in her own little world for most of their walk, and only vaguely remembered which direction the shop was in. Shrugging, she said, "Well, I could cry or attract a bad sort of attention in your direction if you bothered me enough..." People tended to listen to a woman that was crying faster than a man explaining, and very few people weren't susceptible to a woman's tears. While she somehow doubted KX would have much of an external response to it, she figured it would at least give him a pause. Bringing up a hand with three fingers raised she matter of factly added, "Not knowing where we are isn't a problem. I could call a cab, take the bus, or ask for directions if the need should arise." At each solution she ticked off, she lowered a finger, before smirking up at KX at the conclusion.
Raising an eyebrow in an amused fashion as he popped his neck and shoulders - and at the young lady who blushed, Adalia shook her head at the curiosity of it all. She didn't get what the woman was blushing at, but found it amusing that all it had taken was a glance from KX. Snickering a little, she couldn't help herself as she had to ask, "So do you just come here to have young ladies blush and bat their eyes at you?"
Grinning at the bragging, she struck a pose of pondering, tapping one finger on her chin before nodding. "Sure, let's game. I vote for air hockey!" She hadn't played it since she'd gone to the fair with Fiach, and was sure she'd be a little rusty, but figured the game would be an amusing distraction if nothing else. It wasn't often she ran into someone who just wanted to goof around all day and act like little kids.
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Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 7:41 pm
"Air hockey, eh? Alright then, why don't you go grab a table for us and I'll grab a few tokens and meet you over there? If you don't lay claim to something early on in this place you'll end up losing it to someone else while you're struggling about. That's how things are in real life too, but here gives you more of a direct view of it."
As Adalia walked over and managed to secure a table from two snotty kids that were using it as their 'base', KX made his way towards one of the token machines and slipped a bill into it, sighing a little. Of course he was a bit relieved to be out and about like this, but the fact that he was going to be spending a bit more money than normal while at this place rubbed his wallet the wrong way.
Oh well.
Finally arriving at the table, he bent down and placed the tokens in the slot before quickly popping back up and taking hold of one of the paddles. He slid the other one towards Adalia, and as soon as the younger girl had it in her grasp the game was off...and then quickly over. KX hadn't been lying in his skill, as he pounded her down within five minutes, the score being 2-11 in his favor.
"I think I warned you that I was good at this, but no matter. And don't think your comment earlier about me coming here to pick up girls passed me over either. I'm not interested in brats or kids, so that narrows down my list."
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Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 8:22 pm
Shrugging at the man's words, she flounced over to a table with a couple of young teenage boys. Winning them over with a pout and bat of her eyelash, she rolled her eyes as soon as their backs were turned, and leaned against the table waiting for KX to return.
Grinning as he returned and slid the paddle her way, snapping it up just before he slid the puck her way. Glowering in determination as the game quickly ended. She hadn't played a fast and furious game of air hockey in a while, and even though she pouted at her loss, she was enjoying herself. She was a bit rusty, she had to admit, but it was fun playing with someone who was as good as he was.
With a fierce grin, she shrugged at his mention of a warning, "You can't always win. So let's play again." A small giggle escaped her mouth as she couldn't help but ask, "Then why do you come here so often?" It didn't exactly look like the sort of place some incredibly intelligent engineer would be found at, after all.
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Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 8:51 pm
"We can play as many rounds and you want and I can gaurentee the results will be the same. I've simply got an edge on you that you can't shake off, kiddo."
KX fished into his pockets for a moment and pulled a ciagrette, one he didn't light but simply placed between his lips. It was now acting as something more along the lines of comfort towards his addiction, as he smacked himself over the thought that before the video games had distracted him, but now the desire to smoke outweighed most conventional means of prevention.
"And to answer your question as to why I come here, it's simple. My family owns this place."
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Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:04 pm
Sticking her tongue out at KX for his cockiness, she rolled her eyes in an exaggerated fashion as he put the cigarette in his mouth. Raising an eyebrow as she glanced around at the kids, she gave a nod in their direction, "You're a really bad influence like that, you know."
Setting the paddle down, she leaned her elbows on the air hockey table, placing her chin in cupped hands. "Why do you smoke, anyway?" It wasn't a healthy habit and it seemed like the addiction was really starting to get to him if he'd just leave a cigarette hanging in his mouth. Too bad she didn't have any gum or anything for him to chew on, maybe if his mouth was distracted, he wouldn't want a cigarette as bad.
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Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:49 pm
KX shrugged off Adalia's comment about being a bad influence, though he did take it into thought and pull the cigarette from his lips. He broke the stick in half and pushed it back into his pocket, his eyebrow raised in a nonchalant manner over the whole incident.
It was when she asked him about his smoking addiction that he actually lowered his eyebrow, a bit annoyed, and narrowed his eye slightly. It was the same at work, people always trying to get into his head. Not very fair, now was it?
"Something to pass the time. Why, you gonna offer to be the replacement occupation for my cigarettes or something?"
He smirked, but suddenly blanched when he realized what he'd said. KX didn't like sounding mean to anyone, and yet here he was smarting off to someone he'd just met over something as simple as his smoking habit. His face clearly paled as he thought about it, and he did his best to remind himself of that promise to always be kind to everyone - regardless.
"....Sorry."
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Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:02 pm
Tilting her head curiously as he broke the cigarette in half, Adalia wondered at his behavior. Mentally flinching at the way the man's eyes narrowed at her question. He was a lot bigger than her, and she didn't really know a thing about him. For all she knew, he might have a temper nastier than Fiach's. Regretting her question only for a moment as he gave her an answer, her eyebrows raised slightly in disbelief. She hadn't pegged KX to be a man to give a response like that, and she made a mental note that he seemed to have a problem with talking about anything that went beyond the surface in regards to himself.
Standing up with a small smirk on her face, she shrugged, "I thought you couldn't stand brats and kids?" Crossing her arms in front of her, she sighed. She hadn't meant to upset the man, but it was clear that she had. Yet she couldn't resist responding in a flippant manner, "No - but I will buy you some gum or something to occupy that mouth of yours if you want."
Tilting her head curiously at the way his face had paled, she gave a small shrug at his apology. She was used to people snapping at her for digging a little too deep. After all, her brother snapped at her quite regularly for it.
Waving a hand to dismiss the apology, she said with a tight lipped smile, "You don't have to apologize. I asked a question - you answered. Simple as that."
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 9:37 pm
The reponse to Adalia's concern over his apology sort of relieved and irritated KX at the same time, as it was an excused form of reasoning he'd heard many a time. It was a person's way of almost saying 'I'm used to it', which was one of the phrases he hated the most. His mother had oftened used it, and so had he growing up, but that didn't make it any less annoying as it buzzed about his skull.
"You shouldn't say things like that."
That was all he had left to say on that matter, as to take his mind and perhaps hers off the subject he placed more tokens into the machine and placed his hand over the surface as the air began to blow out. Once the puck was into play his serious look slowly melted from his face and was replaced by the former more goofy one, and as the puck contacted from paddle to paddle, side to side, he soon was smiling again.
And then he was victorious again. 7-11, in his favor. The kid was picking up her skills, but KX had enough pride to smash her down in the end.
"Told you, kiddo. An edge."
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 9:44 pm
Tilting her head in silent curiosity over his simple statement, she gave a shrug as he picked up his paddle and started the game once more. Determination took over the frown and thoughtful look that had been in place just moments before as she frantically tried to defeat KX. Sighing each time he scored, but giving a victorious grin each time she managed to make a score. The game was close enough she felt her heart rate increase out of excitement, but not so close that she thought she might taste victory.
Pouting over at the man as he smashed her once again, she sighed, "Yeah, yeah." Grinning a little she laughed, "Do you do anything other than build robots and play kid games?" He was certainly good enough to have spent copious amounts of time at this game, but she was determined to defeat him at something today. Eventually.
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 9:55 pm
"Of course, I go to work every day. What, did you think building those androids was my real job?"
KX raised his eyebrow at Adalia as she continued to pop off question after question at him, and he good-naturedly answered them without any hestitation.
Of course he wasn't going to tell her anything really personal about himself, like what he did for a living or how he lost his eye (if it was missing and he just didn't like the style), so answering simple questions of hers like this was no trouble at all.
"We have a table at my work in one of the rec rooms, along with some video game consoles. I usually play my co-workers there along with other people."
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 10:18 pm
Laughing with a shake of her head, she grinned, "No, I knew you couldn't just make robots. You're too clean and well kept, for starters." Shrugging offhandedly, her grin turned to a simple smile. Many questions were brewing in her mind, but she had concluded after the last fiasco with Fiach to take things a little slower.
Adalia let out a small giggle at the thought of KX playing against other people at work with as much excitement as he did air hockey. Really, just the thought of him playing video games at all with as much pleasure as he did was entertaining. He didn't really look the type to play games all the time, giving off that superior intellectual feel half the time.
Tilting her head a little, she looked around them, still slightly unsure with all the uproar the place had going on. Returning her eyes to KX, she tapped her paddle on the table in an idle manner, "So, did you want to have another go, or play another game?" Smiling almost impishly at the last, she knew that if they played again, she'd almost likely lose, but had a feeling he was enjoying trashing her. Besides, she was sure she'd win eventually. Just had to give it time...or perhaps lots of luck.
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