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 Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 7:54 am
((Vague physical descrip so I don't have to write it into stuff a million times awkwardly. XD 5'2, petite. Mint green hair up in a bun, yellow eyes. Glasses and a few freckles. Dressed like secretary, black pencil skirt, silk white blouse, sensible heels.))
It was still fairly early in the day, and people were slowly filtering off to their chosen outposts. Very few people seemed tired, and Menthe herself couldn't imagine trying to sleep yet.. not with everything so strange and new. But the suggestion had been made that people help set up the training room as a base for sleeping nonetheless. And it was a valid suggestion. With the stress of the day it was very likely that as soon as someone realized they were tired they'd be quite ready to pass out. Best to always be prepared.
Menthe had heard that there were a few actual bedrooms on the second floor, but they were already fairly well set up, and with 50+ people roaming around they'd certainly need more than four. So she'd set off to the training room, eyeing the small collection of sleeping bags when she got there.
Where was the best place to put them? Would the bags even be good enough on the wooden floor? The wall of mirrors drew her attention, and she frowned a little as she noticed her appearance. Her heels clacked softly on the wood floor as she neared the mirrors, carefully trying to tuck some loose strands of hair back up.
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 10:21 am
Gilbert was in a much more fine humor than he had been for the majority of his time in out space, mostly because all of his wounds had been healed right up at that Virgo Outpost. He wasn't sure exactly how it had happened, but he was grateful for it, especially considering he could now take deep, satisfying breaths without wanting to pass out. Of course, now that he had himself under control, the most logical next step was to figure out where he could be most useful.
Virgo Outpost? No. He knew basic first aid, but that place wasn't very big and there were many more skilled people there already. Leo Outpost? Gilbert could cook decently well, but he wasn't about to get himself stuck in the kitchen constantly churning out food for everyone. That Leo guy was big on community help and everyone pitching in, and frankly, he wasn't going to waste his time doing menial work for everyone else that someone else could do. Sure, he'd be properly grateful when a hot meal was set in front of him, but he was no line cook.
Chronos Outpost might have been the most logical considering it was headquarters, and he still might head there after a bit. First, though, he wanted to examine the Aquarius Outpost, see if there was any insight to be gained at the records office. Well, that, and he wanted to see this Aquarius person that he had yet to meet.
Gilbert didn't like not knowing all of the key players in an unknown situation.
Still, he would make himself useful. While he didn't want to be stuck in a kitchen or be in the way in a medical bay, he could do grunt labor and set up bedding and whatnot easily enough. It still gave him freedom to move around and gather information, anyway, and that was what he wanted.
It seemed like only one other person was setting things up at just that moment, though. He poked his head into the training room, gray eyes scanning it for life, and they settled on a woman's form in the distance. Short, trim, with unusually colored-hair, but she was dressed professionally, and that probably meant she was at least somewhere around his own age. Thank God. Someone to talk to that hadn't just hit puberty.
He knocked on the wall, an easy, charming grin settling onto his face as he greeted, "Hey. Bet you look just fine, miss."
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 9:36 pm
So many loose strands. It wasn't as if she really cared about her appearance.. she wasn't really trying to impress other then simply looking presentable. It was more the annoyingness of hair getting in the way when you were in the middle of something. But taking the whole thing out to put it up.. that could take some time...
Menthe was barely able to keep in the 'eeep' that had tried to escape her when she was startled out of her fussing. Almost immediately she pivoted on her heels to see who had joined her, eyes widening in soft surprise as she spotted him. Oh! He might not remember her, but she had remembered him.
A soft pink flush was clearly apparent on her pale cheeks in response to his statement, her hands lifting to fiddle with her glasses just a little. "I... thanks..." It was probably just politeness but it wasn't often she got complimented anyway.
To keep herself from turning the color of a strawberry however, she was quick to change the subject, stepping away from the mirror and closer towards the taller and older man. "Hello Officer."
"Did you come to help set up camp too?" It certainly would be easier with two people then just herself. He looked considerably stronger then her too. Not that sleeping bags were heavy or anything.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 8:54 pm
Gilbert glanced around the room, gaze traveling briefly over what had already been set up before it settled back on the woman's face. She was pretty, in a subdued, ultra-professional sort of way, and he imagined entirely out of her element. He might have been who-knew-how-many-miles away from the precinct, but he supposed he ought to still act like the police officer he was and offer some comfort and support. Not much he could do otherwise, right? Someone had to keep their heads on their shoulders.
Though he had to admit he was somewhat impressed by the Zodiacs who were running around. Obviously they had the intellectual upper hand, knowing exactly where they were and what the hell was up with the place, but they were doing a good job organizing and maintaining calm overall. Gilbert was content to remain in the background for now, working under the radar to help maintain the peace unless it became apparently that someone in the civilian group needed to step up and raise their voice.
No sense in causing trouble in an otherwise tense situation unless it was really necessary.
"Yeah. I've got two hands and a strong back," he said, grin widening a bit at her. "Why not? So what needs to be done, Miss..? Don't think I got your name."
After a brief pause, he offered his hand. "And the name's Gilbert. Gil's fine, if you like."
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 8:22 am
Her hand paused in the air for a brief moment, as if deciding if she really HAD to shake it, almost as if he'd offered a snapping dog instead of a simple hand. But after the momentary pause she relented, fingers brushing against his for a quick shake. "Menthe Sylvia"
She wasn't particularly used to being asked what to do, or to leading anything. But it seemed that yet again, just like book stacking, being the first one there working had put her into the position again. So.. she'd do her best she guessed.. and maybe he'd take over eventually?
"Oh um... well there are a dozen or so sleeping bags.."
"But on this wood floor..." A heeled shoe slid carefully across the floor, tapping it a little as if to make her point.
"Do you think.. I mean it wouldn't be too much work if maybe... we brought some of those training mats over and laid them down first. And then put the sleeping bags on top?" It wouldn't be too much trouble right? She didn't really want to burden him with all the extra work. If he said no then she'd just leave it at that.
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 11:40 am
This one was shy. Gilbert wasn't really used to women treating the prospect of touching him with apprehension, so it made his eyebrows tick up slightly. Still, he didn't comment on it; whether she was just shy or had some kind of aversion due to other circumstances both wasn't his concern and wasn't his business. He kept the handshake as brisk as she wanted it, barely even squeezing his hand around hers, and then eased his hands onto his hips again.
"Sounds good. Sleeping directly on this floor would be murder on your back. I hear one of the other outposts has beds," he added, beginning to meander toward the training mats. "But apparently not enough for everyone, and they're in pretty bad shape. So it's a good idea to get other places ready."
He began to roll up a couple of mats, pushing down tight on the first so that he could hoist it up on his shoulder. The second was a little more difficult, as he only had one hand, but he managed to roll it up his leg and rest it against his hip.
Turning, he grinned at Menthe. "I'll drop 'em, you lay 'em out?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:03 pm
"It's probably best that the worse off have the beds anyway. The hurt.. the young.. the old" She nodded softly to the offered information, her own smile brightening a little as he accepted her idea. Menthe hadn't actually seen how many they had of 'the young or old' but she did imagine there were quite a few injured after the whole mess.
She'd started to make her way towards the mats as well having thought they'd maybe... awkwardly drag them all over, but Gilbert beat her to it, making quick work of the mats.
"Yes I can do that." She agreed, waiting for him to set the mats down.
"You're very strong" A soft and sincere compliment, really it made her feel all the safer with the officer. It was silly wasn't it, even with strength it wasn't like he could protect her from some giant space creature but she felt more contented and safe nonetheless.
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Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 10:11 am
He liked having busy work to do, if only because it gave him something to do with his hands while his mind continued to work a million miles an hour. Sure, there was no telling if the secretary would be able to provide him with any useful information, but he'd learned through his years on the force that you couldn't discount anyone. Sometimes, the most reliable witnesses were the ones that you'd never expect, just because they didn't stand out.
People who didn't stand out, after all, tended to overhear a lot of s**t they weren't supposed to. Not that he was treating his stay in space as an investigation, per se, just... he wanted to keep his ears open in case anything interested popped up. Occupying himself and making small talk while he did it? Well, that was a perfectly harmless way to turn ferreting information into a friendly, trustable activity!
Yeah, he'd been a cop too long. He was kind of proud of it.
"I think most everyone's injuries have been healed by that Virgo outpost," he said, dropping the mats a few inches away from each other. He figured that Menthe would rearrange them as she saw fit, and as long as he didn't stack them on top of each other, it would be all right. "But yeah, I think the ones who are having the most difficult time adjusting ought to get the beds. Might make them feel a little more calm and safe while we're temporarily stuck here."
He was on his way back to Menthe with his second load of mats when she complimented his strength and he laughed, but not meanly; it was a sincere, appreciative one. "Well thank you. I don't like to toss it around unless I've got to, but yeah, I can hold my own or be a pretty decent pack mule." After a pause, he offered her a charming smile and added, "Usually pack mule. The ladies in my apartment complex have always got something heavy they need moved, seems like."
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 7:18 am
"It's a good idea." She had just been being nice when she offered the beds to everyone else. But the logic behind Gilbert's decision also made sense. "I've read quite a few books on survival techniques and things.. and sometimes it talks about keeping people calm because upset people are more likely to hurt themselves and everyone else."
"I seem to have been lucky. Only got a few little bruises and one minor cut so I haven't really been by Virgo. I was with the group that found the Leo outpost. But I came here later once I heard about all the different places.."
Upon first glance Menthe definately seemed timid, and maybe even like someone who would prefer to squish up against the wall and pretend she didn't exist. But when the opportunity arose to showcase it, it was just as obvious that it didn't keep her from being a hardworker. The moment the mats were dropped for her she didn't continue to lolligag or stand around chatting. Her hands immediately grabbed the first of the mats and begin to pull and drag it towards the wall. The process was slowed a little bit between the 'fun' of heeled shoes and a fairly taunt skirt limiting her bendability, but nonetheless it pulled itself together pretty quickly.
Pausing to access the situation, she brushed back her bangs with a thoughtful huff of air. It appeared she was making a squareish shape with the mats four mats wide and two high. If they ended up having more mats then eight they could just extend it further.
There was a soft laugh that responded to his comment about playing a good pack mule. She was too shy really to ask that kind of thing for herself, but living in an apartment too she'd witnessed the neediness of single female tenants. She almost had to shop in double to deal with all the "oh can I borrow some eggs" and other requests that often came knocking at her door.
"Some people do always seem to need 'something'" She replied honestly, and then seemed very... taken aback by the admission, almost wishing she could take it back. It wasn't necessarily their fault after all! Maybe it was just how they were raised or they really did NEED it.
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 12:44 pm
They settled into a comfortable working rhythm pretty quickly, which was fine by him. He could appreciate a woman who got down to business, just about as much as he appreciated a woman who was all play and no business -- just about. Typically, when he was looking for one sort he didn't want anything to do with the other. Given their current circumstances, however, he was glad the timid secretary was proving that she could hold her own and get things done. Raised his estimation of her a bit, and made him more likely to smile genuinely at her as they worked.
"I don't really mind so much. It's a good idea to be friendly with your neighbors, you know? If I ever lock myself out and need to get buzzed into the apartment, they're far more likely to let me in if I've helped them move their TV than if I just flipped them off and went about my business."
Most people would enjoy the other fringe benefits of living around a lot of single women, and sometimes Gilbert regretted that he didn't. He actually lived around a lot of choice prospects, when it came right down to it. He wasn't looking for anything permanent, however, and anything beyond casual flirting with someone you lived around was just asking for trouble.
You couldn't really escape your downstairs neighbor when she wanted to know why you hadn't called to follow up on that booty call, after all.
Dropping more mats beside Menthe, he took a moment to admire as she bent over and arranged them. If anyone had asked, he would have shrugged it off easily enough, but there was no sense lying to himself: she had a nice little figure underneath that pencil skirt, more than likely. There was some sort of mysterious art to women's dressing that hid problem areas, but for the most part, he'd gotten enough women out of tidy little numbers like that to know that it couldn't hide all.
He was pretty glad that there were some people around his age, anyway. Even if he didn't intend to act on any stirrings of interest he might have had, due to the reasons he'd mentally outlined before, window shopping was more than allowed. Kept him from going a little crazy.
"Anyway, most of my neighbors are cute." At this, he winked at Menthe. "It's crazy how easy it is for a pretty woman to get a man under her thumb."
This last bit was said with a little significance, and a harmless eyebrow waggle as he went back to grabbing mats. A little casual flirting never hurt anybody, after all.
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 1:41 pm
The secretary was certainly no super model, but she wasn't terrible on the eyes either in the end. Most of it probably had to do with her slight frame and semi frequent spa pamperings, and therefore nice milky skin and cute freckles. Really Gilbert could probably bench press her. Not that.. she'd ever been bench pressed or anything even remotely like it! Nor did she have any idea her apperance was even being judged at the moment.
It was very lucky for Menthe that she was oblivious to the bit of checking out that ended up going down. Not because she would have been upset about it... no.. she'd be more confused then anything and have probably turned about as red as an apple. Maybe even with some stuttering.. definately with more then a little glasses adjusting and fidgeting.
Instead she simply offered a soft smile when she looked up and made her way to the next mat, agreeing though perhaps for different reasons. "Oh it's definately a good idea I think. To be friendly with anyone that you have to deal with often enough. Neighbors, coworkers, the local delivery people and store workers. You just never know." Menthe really really hated confrontation. Enough so that she was willing to oblidge almost anyone in hopes of avoiding it. So nice to anyone and everyone. It really was the best option in her eyes.
"Most definately. A lot of the girls at work seem to try to get the guys to do as much of their work as possible." Or her depending on the task. She'd certainly typed up more than her share of someone else's memos. Or had extra stacks of paperwork stacked on top of her pile on her way to copy machine.
Her expression shifted a little as she noticed the eyebrow waggle, a momentary confused look as her nose scrunched up just a little. Wait he wasn't saying she...? Was he?
Her eyes quickly went to the floor, but the smile stayed in place as she added on nervously. "Do you have many woman where you work? I've always assumed police work was a fairly male centric field"
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 3:09 pm
Gilbert was the picture of non-imposing male. He was just going about his business, picking up the heavy mats and moving them along; sure, he was really lightly flirting, but he considered that kind of just regular conversation. For all he knew, the lady had a boyfriend back home, and that was just fine by him. Healthy, attractive adults flirted with each other just fine and never took it any further.
"Yeah, I find it's to my advantage generally to be a nice guy rather than a total a**." He dropped another couple mats by her, and this time, set about straightening them with her. "Maybe if you took your shoes off you'd have an easier time? Seems to me women put themselves through a lot of extra effort for a pair of nice shoes."
Not that he wasn't admiring the way the heels tipped her feet up and showed her calves to advantage, he was just making a point. He didn't want her falling over and hurting herself. Damn, he did like heels, though.
At the question about female cops, he laughed. "Let me tell you what -- police academy taught me to respect women if nothing else did. Sure, you get more men than women on the force, but the women who are on the force? I've been taken down in three seconds flat by a lady who meant business. Tough as nails, and they don't take your lip."
He shook his head, thinking of some of the women he'd worked with. Definitely ball busters.
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 6:25 am
It was a good piece of information that he apparently tried to be nice. A soothing piece of information. It was entirely possible he was lying of course, but unlike her original uncertainty she was becoming comfortable with his presence. She wanted to believe him.
Her shoes? She paused a moment at the suggestion. The shoes weren't exactly the most well made for the place, even with her so used to the certain fashion. It had simply been routine that had really kept them on, so when he mentioned them, Menthe could only nod and slip them off, pushing them with a foot out of the way. "You get used to them after enough time, but they still continue to slow you down sometimes." And really.. the LAST thing she needed was to break or twist an ankle while being stubborn about her shoes.
The strong reaction and answer to her question brought forth an actual laugh from the secretary, hand lifting as if to try and hold back the strangely loud noise from her usually quiet mouth. She was most definately none of that, nor did she know of many girls that fit the description.. except maybe back from highschool? "Sorry..." She offered mildly of her laughter, as if afraid he might think she was laughing at him. "It's just hard to imagine. But they sound quite impressive."
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 12:23 pm
The nice thing about Gilbert was that he generally knew what people wanted to hear. Whether it was actual care or just him weighing his options and deciding what would be best to keep everything running smoothly didn't actually change the fact that he was pretty good at putting people at ease, and this was a talent he tried to employ as often as possible. In his professional life, it served him well when he was dealing with families of victims, witnesses and possible suspects, and in his personal life, well.
In his personal life it certainly didn't do him wrong, either.
He watched Menthe slip off her shoes with a smile, and was a little amused when she laughed and then tried to cover it up like it was some kind of mortal sin. He liked when he made people laugh; it meant he was coming across how he wanted to, friendly and easy to talk to, and that was a good thing. Either she was just a remarkably shy woman, or she was a little more stressed by all the goings on than she wanted to admit. Well, that was fine. He didn't really have anywhere else to be, and he was having a little fun, actually.
"Really impressive," he agreed, tugging his mat around until it was in place, and then straightening and dusting his hands together. "I'm not going to lie to you, Menthe. I walked into police academy thinking I was tough s**t, and it only took about five minutes for my instructor -- Officer Parker -- to give me the once over, decide I needed an ego p***k, and lay me flat. She kept on my a** the whole time, and I'm a better cop for it."
He grinned at her, apparently not embarrassed in the least by being taken down by a woman. Nowadays it would be much more difficult for the same officer to take him down, so maybe that was why.
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 10:23 pm
"It sounds worth it then I guess." Another wide smile crossed her face at the admission. She certainly wasn't a super woman's rights person or anything, but the story was charming. And it was comforting to think that the academy worked like that, with people testing each other to make sure everyone was at their best and keep them on their toes.
"I don't have any stories that interesting about my office. Just your average everyday secretary unfortunately." She offered after a moment. She was good at it no doubt.. but it hardly made for rivoting entertainment. Answer some phones.. make some copies.. order supplies.. set up schedules.
"Hmmm..." It looked like there might have still been a couple mats left rolled in the corner, but amid their chatting they'd already succeeded in covering a fairly large chunk of the training room floor. Shoes off, Menthe took a step forward and onto one of the mats curiously, testing out the softness of it with a few subtle bounces. It was no bed.. that was for certain. There were certain to be some complaints and gripes about achey backs from certain people. But the inch or two of firm cushioning would certainly be better then the plain old ground.
Seemingly pleased with the results, she stepped off the mat again and turned her attention back towards the doorway and the pile of bedding supplies that had been brought by earlier.
"Should we start spreading out some sleeping bags and pillows? Or would you like to finish with all the mats first?"
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