alderwitch
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"I don't have any money for clothes but I'm fine," Robin pointed out as she stepped back to let the other girls out of the room, "I'm sure I can get in if I put my mind to it." That sounded from her tone that it might involve intimidating who ever was at the door which while perhaps effective, might cause more trouble than it was worth. Still, she gave a phlegmatic shrug to the other two as she was less invested in the idea of clubbing - although Robin liked the idea of dancing. She fished the flyer she had dutifully gathered for their erstwhile ringleader. "It's in a warehouse along the waterfront. Can you fly all of us?" That last was added with more interest than Robin had displayed for the entire escapade thus far but she'd not balked at the rule breaking. Which, really, was how this had come up as Robin had expressed her willingness to shuck curfew and Raina had encouraged Robin to put that towards more entertaining pursuits than vigilantism.
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"Hopefully not before I've finished," Talya replied, landing lightly on her feet again and offering Steve a pleased smile. "Although, it should be any minute now - at least for Erik. He said he'd not be gone all that long but, who knows. There could aways have been a mugger and that can certainly add time to any errand." Talya was cavalier with many things but not the potential safety hazards that dangling from the roof provided. As she spoke, she crossed over to pick up a smooth length of rope and with practiced effort secured it through the ring. She continued to keep up her half - really more than half by pure metrics - of the conversation with Steve as she tested her weight on it, putting one foot through the loop at the bottom like it was a swing and wrapping her other leg around it. "Would you bring me one of the weights there? Something lighter than the big one. Like a fifty pound weight?" Talya asked as she bounced up and down gently on the rope before being satisfied with the results. "Did you say that you teach children's classes here or I did I infer that incorrectly?" She asked then.
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Talya dropped one hand onto the one on her stomach in mute reassurance that she wasn't really going to kick him to the side and roll out of bed like they were under attack. Besides, she'd have been hard pressed to manage it. Talya was reasonably confident that she couldn't have escaped the two Espadas if they weren't willing to let her do so - which was both unusual and appealing, in a way. Absently, she threaded her fingers through Erik's hand as she tipped her head to the side to watch him as he spoke. Whatever had caused her flight reflex, it leached out of her slowly at the assurances that it was neither a flight of fancy nor a bad discussion. She relaxed once more, genuinely this time. "It was special," she confirmed as reassurances gave way to questions. Talya shifted slightly so she could tuck her shoulder against Erik's chest and look up at his wife, her lips curved in a small smile that was more natural, "Though I would hope not. You'd never get anything done t'all if that was the standard greeting." Her free hand came up to touch Min's chin with a gentle, light touch that ghosted along her jaw. "I don't, you know, do this at the drop of a hat either. Despite rumors to the contrary, I should note."
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Talya's posture had been languid, stretched out between the two with her eyes shut, and her lips curved in a small, contented smile. As Min spoke up, it was really downright admirable that neither her posture nor expression even twitched. It was only where her body touched theirs that the sudden tight tension that replaced her sleepy languor became utterly clear. Her eyes opened slowly, as if the urge to ninja right the heck on out before there could be discussions was not foremost in her thoughts. "Alright," Talya said, her tone just as relaxed as her expression as she opened bright blue eyes to look up at Min first, her gaze scanning the woman's features. She relaxed minutely in that the smile was still there although the tension had no where near fully left her. Her gaze flicked to Erik then, gauging his expression as well before she added, slowly, "What would you like to discuss in particular?"
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"I just call them bullies. It's the same thing, really," Robin agreed, relaxing now that the hard offer was out of the way. She smoothed her fingertips over the hole she'd worried in the worn spot of her jeans, "I know your world has a lot of flaws but... must be nice to know you're never really alone. People are so alone here. If you don't have family, you just get left with no one." Robin winced, her touch landing lightly and nervously on his hand, "Sorry! You really don't have anyone here either, I know. We'll have to sneak out though. They're probably not going to want to let you leave for a bit but it's not so hard to sneak off if you time it right. You're really good at hiding. I know that it... it was awful at the end but the sneaking around you did was pretty bad ass."
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Talya remained balanced in his hands, her thighs flexing minutely as she kept her balance while perched on the strong man's palms. As she did it with her tools in hand, it was an extraordinary display of balance to match Steve's feats of strength. It was likely fortunate that no one was in the dojo as they were doing a truly terrible job of not looking like super heroes. Or at least some sort of bizarre circus act. Talya's hands didn't stutter as she took in the series of staccato bursts of information in stride, even the last question about children. Her efforts in sinking the screw into the ceiling were easy, practiced as she continued to balance on Steve. "I do not have children, no. I had nieces and nephews but no children of my own - it wasn't the sort of lifestyle that led itself towards accumulating a spouse and children." She offered as if that were explanation enough, "Natalya Browning - Bombshell - the whole name will probably be easier to google than just Natalya. I haven't yet met her. You're the first of the family I've stumbled into working down here, I'm afraid." She finished putting the ring in and pointed across the room towards the last spot she'd marked, "Last one! Thank you again. Do you have children, Steve?"
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Robin nodded mute agreement, "I just..." I'm afraid to get comfortable. "I know that we're all odd balls here but I still feel like I'm a square peg in a round hole, I guess," Robin amended. She dropped her free hand down to her jeans, plucking the loose threads from the hole that was starting to wear through in the knee. She smiled at his story and agreed, "That was definitely a deserved car destruction. Those guys had it coming to them. It's like the guys I beat up. They're always coming around and starting trouble for everyone around them. So, I just even the score. Teach them what its like not to be on top and then dump 'em at the police station. I mean, at least I can protect someone else's family that way, right?" She gave a little shake of her head then, her curls bouncing around her face with the gesture before she pushed them back. Robin made a mental note to see if she could trade something for getting her hair re-braided. It was getting unmanageable even with a handkerchief knotted to keep it from her face. She bumped her shoulder against his. "Hey." Robin said. "I trust you, Riley. If you want, I'll help you get used to fighting the way we do here. And yeah... yeah, you can come see the Fens sometime with me if you wanna. The roof tops aren't as nice but, well, I'd show you 'round. If you wanted." It was delivered deliberately casually, her finger tips still plucking at the thread of her jeans. Robin had never volunteered to show anyone where she came from - although she had given an impromptu tour once to friends that had followed. It wasn't a pretty place and it wasn't a pretty story and Robin knew that some of it had made it into the rumor mill. "I don't... You know I don't have a house, right? Or an apartment?"
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"What size are you?" Talya asked then, having absorbed the comment about 'again' without reacting to it. She cast a judicious glance at the girl's feet, mentally judging the size before looking back at her features. Talya offered a smile, "Because if you wear heels regularly, I'm going to teach you how to run in them and fight if you have to. The worst men have to deal with is tight pants or slick soled shoes but lady's fashion dictates a whole host of physical restrictions that can be deadly in the wrong circumstances. Now a pump can be kicked off but if it buckles around your ankle - as most do - then you'll be hobbled in a way that your assailant won't be." Talya took a step back, letting Raina have a bit of breathing space once more. She turned slightly towards Erik, adding over her shoulder, "We could make that a class on its own, really," Talya told him as he seemed to be talking to the monkey, she turned back to Raina, "Well, it'll take time to master anything. That punch won't slow anyone down just yet. You're young - younger than I was when I started - so muscle memory will be quicker to develop." Talya paused and then tipped her head to the side, "Is there anything in particular that you want to learn?"
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Robin waited until Fred was out at the lab as she didn't want to worry her roommate with the implicit rulebreaking that was about to occur. Briefly, she felt guilty for leaving Fred behind but the young woman was still adjusting to life in this century and Robin thought that taking her to what was sure to be a rather sketchy - and probably illegal - venue was not likely to help matters. She paused to leave Fred a brief and uninformative note before she headed for the door on quiet feet. Robin fished the tattered flyer out from her pocket - having snagged it during the last weekend in the Fens and began picking her way through the hallways towards Raina and Cathy's room. Glancing up and down the hall to make certain there were no lingering RA's, she knocked on the door. "Hey, we should go if we want to make it. Also before anyone catches us heading off campus." As this was so very not a sanctioned field trip.
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"I am also sometimes a superhero," Talya agreed with a small smile as she glanced down at the man holding her up, the ring halfway into the ceiling. "I somewhat assumed that you were as well. Most people can't lift quite that much without breaking a sweat. Or their back for that matter. I'm ninety-eight years old - but I wear it well, I think. It's alright, I don't mind admitting that it was one of many hats I've worn over the years. I'm easy to google if one has the desire to do so. I don't really have much of a secret identity - well - that's not quite true. Regardless, I make more of an effort when here for Erik, Min, and their children." Sinking the ring into place, Talya pushed it up so that it locked out of the way and gestured over to another section of the room. "Would you mind helping me get a few more of these in? I can do it, but this is easier. And thank you, it's a valuable and under appreciated skill set. I was very, very good in my hey-day," she said with no small amount of pride. "That's an important skill set too. Strength and taking a hit are your ballpark skill set then?"
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Talya's arms went around Erik's shoulders encircling them once more as she was lifted. It was far easier to carry the willing - and Talya was certainly that! As Erik nuzzled her ear, a soft, throaty hum vibrated in her throat. "I will keep that in mind in the future. I get bored very easily, you know," Talya's voice was a soft murmur of sound. She did not make Erik's task of getting down the stairs easier - per say - but no one can say that it was not a fully enjoyable trip down the stairs. Talya, after all, was entirely willing to take advantage of Erik's sure footedness and egged on by Min's husky laughter; demonstrated at least one of the ways she managed to shed her clothes quite so quickly when on the job. Fortunately, any stumbles fell lightly enough on the stairs that there was no stirring from the rest of the Espadas apartment and the three were more than able to take advantage of the silence for very pleasant afternoon, indeed.
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Talya went quiet at the question, her fingertips touching the rim of her half empty glass deftly. Lightly. Her gaze dropped down to lines of her fine boned fingers, as she traced errant circles on the glass. Touching the tip of her tongue to her upper lip, Talya paused and then answered the easy question first, "Forever. You mourn forever when the people you love go. Some love again. Others... " Her shoulder lifted up in a half shrug, "Others not so much. I know immortals that turn to shallow relationships after a lover passes, unable to risk that level of intimacy. Others of us never give that much away in the first place, so there's less to lose when the inevitable happens." She answered the question, blunting aside any personal information from it but the words were still true, "As to worth it? No one can really answer that. Forever is a long, long time. If there's an immortal that hasn't longed for death at some point in their existence... well, I've never met them. You learn to enjoy the day to day, generally, without thinking too hard about how many tomorrows are still standing in front of you. Did I answer your question?"
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"Erik often appreciates my labors. It might take some time before he agrees that this was a good one though," Talya agreed with a sly smile even as she put one foot in Steve's hand to be hoisted up high enough to reach the ceiling. Her foot was bare but for a wrapping the toes and arch - the sort of sock a dancer wore to practice in on the floor. She balanced on his hand with a graceful ease, her weight on the ball of her foot as she went back to the task at hand. Her expression remained smooth and unruffled at the question, her lips curving into a small smile, "Most of the time. Most of the time, I'm a reformed criminal. I was a thief - among other things - but these days I'm a teacher." Pulling the pencil from behind her ear, Talya marked off the places for the screws on the ceiling and began to put the ring in place with deft, practiced hands. "It was mostly during the 1960s, though. I served more or less most of a sentence in jail for it so I am not currently a wanted criminal."
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Talya watched him, her blue gaze flicking over his features and taking in the faint scars that were more apparent up close. She retrieved her hand, tipping her head to the side at his precise speech patterns. "I'm also a friend of Erik's," Talya offered as if that might answer the faint question not knowing who she was, "I also am teaching a few classes here in the gym, as a favor. Well, as favor to me. I get terribly bored, I'm afraid and this is much, much better than bored." She left off the additional information that being bored invariably led into getting into trouble as that did not usually endear her to most people right off the bat. Talya lifted up the device she'd been using by way of explanation, "I was going to install some rings before Erik came back into the ceiling. To hang from. It's impossible to teach someone how to pick a lock while upside down if I have nothing to suspend them from in the first place." The fact that breaking and entering didn't fall under self defense or swordsmanship did not seem to dissuade Talya in the slightest from her course of action.
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"No, it's fine," Talya said with a light laugh, "And you're right. I was born in 1917. That's no great secret. I've had the advantage of watching a great deal change over the span of my life. Hemlines. Hemlines have changed tremendously from what I wore as a proper little girl, for one." Her blue eyes twinkled with amusement as she kept the topic light. Certainly, there was a lot that Talya had seen that was ugly but she kept the topic light. It wasn't all bad, being immortal. "I've found that most that are like I am - the few I know - staying frozen in time tends to mean that you don't age the same way your mortal contemporaries do. I spend far more time with those that look like I do than I do with any my actual age. Of course, that is an ever smaller growing crowd for those that age. It's easier to keep in touch with what current trends are when you don't fall out of that demographic ever. I own a smart phone. Terribly handy. I also play bridge when I can gather up enough players. Enjoy the best of all the worlds, I figure." She smiled then, extending one hand for her water glass. "Goodness. I would take you on patrol but most of the time I end up invariably arguing with police officers about my innocence so I think, perhaps, you might wish to wait a bit regardless before coming with me. For some reason, I have the worst luck in being mistaken for the thief in question when I show up. Most aggravating."
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Talya heard the bell ring and she scrunched her nose. This was what happened when one waffled about one's choices - it led to being caught in the act rather than feigning apology or ignorance after the fact. She paused, going still on her precarious perch on the off chance whoever was here might head directly upstairs only to glance over when the footsteps entered her peripheral view. She blinked once as he crossed to put the weights away, not so much from surprise at an unfamiliar face - she still didn't know most of the people moving through the space - but rather the casual ease at the way he hefted the weights. Talya had taken one look at the measurements and promptly turned around to find something else to do than clean up weights as she wasn't going to be able to budge half of them without some sort of additional aid. "Hello...?" She said as he moved over to put things away and pulled the stud finder from the ceiling, ignoring the cheerful chirp it made before she turned it off. Leaping down nimbly, Talya landed on the floor on silent feet before walking over to offer one hand. "I'm Natalya. Thank you - those are terribly heavy so I was going to leave it for someone who was not me." She added that with a bemused quirk of her red lips. "You're very strong."
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"Really? This was exactly how I wanted it go," Talya murmured to Erik with a ghost of her usual sass although the effect was certainly changed when the tone was genuinely breathless. Her blue gaze cut away, breaking eye contact before her expression could show the truth of her glib words. Min provided an easy alternative as Talya shifted to examine the elegant woman at her side, and the embrace she offered was a welcome escape from the difficulties that talking provided. Talya captured her lower lip between her teeth at the blatant offer in Min's words. Her fingertips came up to lightly tuck back one long strand of white hair behind Min's delicately pointed ear. "No one would say no to that offer," Talya replied before canting her body to the side to glance up at Erik. "But... only if its what you both want."
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Between working at the dojo and... other things, Talya was clocking an awful lot of hours at the Espadas School of Self Defense and Swordsmanship(!). Today was no different, except that the dojo was currently empty of students - and most other bodies - save for the blonde currently standing in the main work out area with a decent size ring in hand as she examined the ceiling. Talya was almost always in the 'do what you want, beg forgiveness after the fact' mindset so this indecision was new. New and unpleasant! It was a good idea, Talya told herself firmly. One couldn't have students practice hanging upside down and doing things without having something sturdy to hang FROM. If Erik had only been her employer, Talya would already have had this installed in a joist and been ready to smile prettily when asked about the new addition to the workspace. It was even designed to fold up when not in use. It was a good plan. Muttering under herb breath, Talya resolutely turned towards the wall and within a few seconds had scaled the wall to balance with one foot on top of the stand of practice swords and her palm flat against the ceiling as she began running the stud finder over the ceiling. She was going to be perfectly normal, darnit!
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"I've visited intermittently, just never officially," Talya admitted as she nudged a glass over for Tracy to fill with a nod of thanks. Adding Scotch onto the vodka would be fiiiiine. She nodded her head then in mute, slightly sympathetic understanding, "It's never easy when one half of a pair is immortal and the other is not. You look very fresh faced for an eighty year old. Is Pennington still an ass?" It was said with fondness, giving her pejorative the affectionate tone of a long standing insider's joke. As she accepted her glass, her fingers curling around it, she inclined her head once, "If you asked me something important - and I can answer it truthfully - I shall try to do so. One doesn't get to my sort of reputation without the ability to keep secrets but barring that sort of need... ask away. I will answer what I can and we'll see if I can manage an entirely truthful answer."
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"I felt it. It was a more solid hit," Talya confirmed, relaxing her stance slightly as she stepped forward to look over Raina's hands. "Boxers tape up their hands because its actually fairly easy to break a bone when you're punching a good deal of the time. Hit too solid a bone like, oh, punching someone in the shin for example, and you can crack your knuckles good. I've broken more fingers than I'd care to count, honestly, but I do a great many stupid things with my hands. Punching will be a last resort for you so your fingers will probably survive intact largely." Talya offered a quick smile, then, since she was standing close to Raina and looked her over, glancing down at her feet with a judicious eye. "What sort of shoes do you usually wear?" She asked which probably wasn't in the normal line of self defense but Talya assumed if the kids were coming from Claremont, they were going to lead very odd, rather interesting lives. "Not in uniform but when you're around and about most of the time and would largely prefer someone murderous to not leap out and attack."
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Talya could have told him that there was flirting and then there was flirting and then there was showing up here to test her own willpower. Talya, really, could have said many sorts of things but she wasn't good at truth. Lies had always come easier until they became second nature; like a warm blanket or a second skin. Talya wasn't here to lie, though, so she kept her mouth shut and her expression serene as Erik waffled. Never let them see you sweat, after all, was the first rule in a life of deceit. More observant eyes might notice the faint tension in her posture or the slight dimple as she held her lips just a little too tight to be a relaxed sort of smile. Her relief when the swordsman committed to a course of action was just as understated, the sudden relaxation under Min's steady hand and the soft sigh of a long held breath, quickly swallowed by a kiss as Erik closed the distance. Talya's fingers remained on Min's waist but the rest of her body relaxed into Erik, her fingertips sliding around his shoulder to tangle in the short hair at the nape of his neck. There was none of Talya's typical, cool control. The kiss was a raw, primal sort of thing that exposed a good deal more of the woman than she ever cared to express. Talya kissed, really, like if this was going to be her one chance then, by heavens, it would be a kiss to remember. She remain tangled in their arms when she pulled back, her own still looped around the married couple. Now would be the time to make a pithy remark - something clever to diffuse things and return them to the safely controlled arena that was more her domain. Talya's mind refused to offer any up. So, instead she went with honest, "I missed you," she told Erik before turning to smile sidelong at Min, a sweet sort of smile that looked very different from her typical cool confidence. "And, you - lovely lady - are in a league of your own."
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Talya gave Tracy a friendly smile and offered a sidelong, "She's going to be fine. I wouldn't set Klara up for any danger, you know. Well, not without her ASKING me to set up the danger ahead of time. Regardless, I'm not going to cause your spouse trouble. So, how has married life been? Are you retired? I hope not. It gets dreadfully boring, I know, after long enough without keeping busy." She reached for her water glass then, lifting it in a small toast, "How's London; still smelly and wet?" Talya asked with all the disdain one might expect a disavowed agent. "I keep thinking I'll visit but I don't think I'd be all too welcome still."
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"You know that's only going to encourage him in seeking out the relationship," Taylor sighed as their son stormed off with a resounding crash. She closed her eyes briefly, leaning into the support that Jack's shoulder provided. With her eyes still shut, she added, "Well, at least we know the fangs aren't the only thing he's woken up with whatever happened today. We'll have to keep an eye... make sure that it's nothing that he can't handle... Maybe one of my books..." Taylor's thoughts turned into fragmented mumbling that Jack was largely used to by this point. She stopped and patted his stomach, the gesture soothing, "It'll be alright, Jack. We can handle this too."
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"Alas, descriptions only go so far. Are you sure you won't reconsider the matter of your shirt?" came the laughing response as Talya dropped smoothly into a proper stance with her forearms raised. She held her hands curled closed but not quite into fists. It wasn't the posture she typically fought in, but she wasn't trying to dodge Raina's shots the way she'd have worked in a fight. Rather, he goal was to ensure Raina actually hit a solid target as Talya was more interested for the moment in measuring the girl's follow through than her aim. Her gaze travelled back to Raina as she repeated, "Plant your feet, twist from your hips and push all the way through. You want to hear a 'thwack'. It's a very satisfying noise. Not AS satisfying as the crunch of a nose breaking but still. Satisfying." "Whenever you're ready."
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"Boy troubles - and girl troubles - are frequently very trying. Especially at your age but also still at Dimitri's age," Talya offered her sage opinion on the nature of relationships before taking the shot that had been set aside. She set the empty cup back on the bar lightly. "It'll pass, as such things tend to. No one's first time is ever without issues. Mine certainly wasn't! Eventually it'll become an amusing story but for now, it stings." She turned around to run her fingers over the liquor as she didn't want to spend her afternoon drinking JUST Dimitiri's vodka. Heaven only knew what sort of trouble she'd get into if she ended up that inebriated before it grew dark, "Besides, vampires are always a little rough around the edges until they pass the hundred mark."
