Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was getting towards late afternoon when Nora climbed out of the basement. She could tolerate the place, sure, but after that last mission...Well, between the infected encounters, the ghastly visions, and the nightmare that came after, being in the bloodstained cell of a dorm she had just wasn't going to cut it. She'd bug either Evan or Gale later about bumming again. For now, she was going to treat herself.

Some of the bonus $500 had been graciously used for this purpose. Nora climbed up the stairwell to the roof with a bottle of wine, a basket of sandwiches, and a towel to lay out on. Maybe try to get a little sun for once without burning up. She missed having windows.

She blinked owlishly when she realized she wasn't alone. Looked like rooftop relaxation wasn't as uncommon as she thought.

"Afternoon yourself," Nora greeted with a grin as she walked over, perusing the spread Cee had made. Someone had been making progress. "Mind some company? I wanted to get away for a bit, but I've used my leave up so this is the best I could come up with." Buying food and new clothes had been important, though. The bonus day would need to be saved for something special.

"What, this? Just some chicken salad sandwiches and crackers," Nora said dismissively. "You're welcome to some. Ah, you even got chairs, excellent." Setting the basket and wine bottle down, she laid her towel out on the one closest to Cee and slipped out of her shirt and shorts.

This was an island, right? Might as well tan in a bikini while on this fake vacation. Good thing Cee had sunglasses already, though, seeing as Nora's skin was somewhere in the don't look into the light end of the spectrum, broken up only by scattered freckles here and there.

"You been alright since the thing?" she asked. "Got a little crazy back there."

She frowned thoughtfully. "Bix...I think Gale mentioned him a few times. Ah well, good to know I'm not the only pasty skinned person here!"

And then, either on purpose or by coincidence (no, wait, definitely on purpose), Nora got out the sunscreen next and began to languidly apply it as Cee ogled.

"You tell me. I haven't been on missions for very long...My first one was that sandworm one a few months past," she recalled, making a face. "That one wasn't too bad. Then that confusing mess in the Tower. And now zombies! Of course there are zombies. There's always zombies somewhere."

Pause.

"I don't do well with zombies," she admitted. "'Specially not while sleeping in that godforsaken basement."

She almost flinched when Cee said our people. That was the real issue. Calling them zombies made it easier to think about because those were non-people, things, just animated corpses they got to cut down. Remembering that the things trying to bite her were not only still alive but people she faintly recognized? That she might have worked with without realizing? That was a little too much for this trainee.

"Ta, sweetie, but don't get up on my account. I got it," Nora replied, and she did. Mostly. Her nightmares tended to include the person zombie that had almost bitten her right off the bat; she could still feel its clammy hands on her. Being admired? Absolutely fine. But being touched at the moment was just a little too much. Restless leg might crop up on accident, and she'd hate to ruin the budding friendship like that.

After some awkward maneuvering, Nora deemed the job adequate and wiped the rest of the sunscreen off on her towel. "How's about no more talk about our seedy employers, eh?" she suggested with a renewed smile, leaning over to grab a sandwich half from the tupperware container inside her basket. "We're off the clock, let's enjoy ourselves: wine, food, and a little chat in the sun. Gods know I need to get out more..."

"Honestly? If you count grocery runs, two days ago. If you don't, never."

Nora eased herself onto the lawn chair and began to nibble her sandwich. "You only get 24 hours' worth a month as a trainee, right? I'm such a miser about it," she sighed. "You get the ability to go almost anywhere in the world for fun, and suddenly it's as if you've got no idea where to go at all, you know? The world just gets too big. Suddenly all you can think about is if you need to resupply the fridge or not."

Nora blinked owlishly--and then her expression darkened. "I'll have to have a word with the comedian who told me otherwise. Two days... Oh, the things I've been missing!" The rest of the sandwich was sacrificed to appease her before she languished in the lawn chair dramatically, airy sighs and all. Her arm then stretched out and dragged the basket over, pulling out a wide-brimmed hat to complete the ensemble.

"Let's see...Hrm." She tugged at her hat thoughtfully and sat up, her gaze wandering from Cee to the sky to the shining Cee once more. "I've never left England, so...hah, my horizons aren't exactly broadened. I like museums, funny enough. Just the history of things, you know? Fine wine, baking, cats, tv series, games, little black dresses and fashion from the 20s to 40s. Oh, and armor." She chuckled at herself. "But I guess if I had to pick something to do, the first thing I'd want to do is see New York, cliche as it sounds, right when they've got the cherry blossoms in bloom, visit SoHo, see what the fuss is about on Broadway."

"Really? Excellent." She lit up like a child about to be given a present and bounced a little herself in anticipation--and then frowned. "Wait. You're 'allowed' to go there now?"