Off the Clock

[Gaston Marceau]

Thank goodness for Friday night. The Immortal currently aliasing as Etienne Marceau has had an exceptionally busy few months getting his fledgling air frieght and passenger business running. In fact, he's just now getting off from work.

The 2010 Harley cruises through the streets of Downtown Seacouver, quickly delivering Etienne to Joe's. Yeah, so it's a bit of a predictable spot, but he's been out of touch lately, but he enjoys pestering Adam and provoking a disapproving frown from MacLeod.

And of course there's Veronica...and Phoenix...who knows what attractive bits of scenery will be about this night. The thought brings a grin to Etienne's face as he removes his helmet.

He strides easily into Joe's, still dressed in the form fitting flightsuit he wears for cargo flights with Air Theriot. It;s navy blue with gold name tape and accents...and of course the four Captain stripes across each shoulder. Naturally, his wings are situated over the left breast...and only a close looker and someone appropriately detailed will notice that they are vintage United States Naval Aviator Astronaut wings...an antique from a past life.

Moving to a spot at the bar, Etienne surveys the crowd and mulls over what drink to start with tonight.  

[Immortal Ghost]

Really the warning buzz was something she had finally gotten use to, didn't mean she didn't have to resist the urge to roll her eyes, still got her to turn in her seat to glance about. Kalika still held her drink in hand and absentmindedly took a sip, though paused when she spotted the immortal in the room. There was a slight pause, partly of surprise, though it was barely noticeable in her eyes, really most emotions weren't really noticeable with her anymore. Dying seemed to have brought her some calmness.

She stood, hand on the table to steady herself, there was maybe one too many drinks in her system, how shameful of her, wasn't like she had anything else to do on a friday night. Still she was fast enough on her feet as she made her way to the bar, true while they had never been friends she was still, oddly, lonely enough to say something to him. Besides she could be the first to tell him the news, after all last he saw her she was just a crazy watcher lady who'd been reduced to a waitress.

"Etienne, this is a surprise, I figured you dropped off the face of the planet." She had managed her way to the bar to lean against it, drink still in hand. Course as per her she stood out a bit with the normal laid back crowd of Joe's Pub, she was in clubbing wear, which was about normal for her really. Still Kali was pretty sure he was getting more odd looks than her, if nothing else he was apparently one of the few she'd talk to.  

[Gaston Marceau]

The way Etienne sees it, when you're an eccentric millionaire who owns his ownj business, you can dress any way you please.

However, this is indeed a surprise...walking into Joe's. especially on a busy night, an Immortal can rightly expect to pick up at least one buzz. This, on the other hand, is a new one. Funny how all the newfangled tech and weapons of the past century are so good at breeding new Immortals.

Kalika warrants raised eyebrow when the buzz is linked to her, but other than that, Etienne is his usual friendly self. "Kali, good to see you again too. Just had a busy time of it, is all." After ordering one of Adam's favorite imported beers for himself, Etienne grins. "I'd ask if you've been keeping out of trouble, but I think it is obvious that you haven't."  

[Immortal Ghost]

She gave a mock look of offense on that, even holding a hand to her chest like his words hurt. "I didn't do anything at all I'll have you know, I am, and have always been innocent." Alright so that was lying through her teeth, besides she ended up smiling a moment later.

"But no really I was hit by a car, it's a medical miracle that I didn't die according to doctors." Which in her book was a good thing, moving was a pain she didn't feel like dealing with, course she still kind of moved, but it wasn't a total start things from scratch move.

"I have been keeping out of trouble, even been doing my homework for my classes and not shooting anyone." All rather big pluses for her, she been down right civil since the whole being hit by a car incident.  

[Gaston Marceau]

Etienne laughs, both at the faked offense and Kali's subsequent words. "Good for you! Many people would be surprised how much simpler one's life becomes when you're not shooting people."

A beat and he goes for a serious moment. "And I'm glad you came through the car accident as well as can be expected. Been in a few wrecks when I've been behind the wheel, and they're harrowing enough."

He takes a first swig from his bear when another employee of Joe's drops it off. "Why Adam likes this stuff, I'll never know...still it's not a total loss, I guess..." Another beat. "And I imagine someone has taken to showing you the ropes already?" He knows Methos likely won't want to bother, MacLeod might do it just for an excuse to be a stick in the mud...the sudden idea of Phoenix taking on a student of her own prompts Etienne to drain the rest of the beer while waiting for Kali to answer.  

[Immortal Ghost]

"Oh I wasn't driving sweetie, I was walking down the sidewalk, it was a drunk driver, fate decided to play with me." Which made the whole kind of funny, well now anyway, at the time she had been shaken and closed off. Having to rearrange what she was going to be doing with her life had taken a lot of thought and self control.

Kali almost laughed on his question, really she had a right, "Yeah, Duncan got stuck with me, much to his displeasure let me assure you, we're getting along a bit better now." Not that they hadn't ever not gotten along, she had made it a point to never piss off any immortals while she wasn't one, pick on them to no end but not piss them off, unless they started it.

"You should have seen how Adam reacted when he found it, it was a trip let me tell you." She took a moment to finish off her drink, bourbon and coke and set the empty glass on the bar top. "And I'm learning that learning to shoot was far more fun and took less time than sword work." No Kalika still wasn't fond of swords in general, she could use one by now, she wasn't very graceful with it, but she was trying.  

[Gaston Marceau]

Etienne grins at the the thought. "Oh, I wish I could have been there to see that. For as long as I've known him, Adam has NEVER liked surprises." Heck, he was downright angry when he brought a friend to their impromptu training session a few months back.

"As for Duncan, you're probably lucky. As long as it takes to pick up, he's got the reputation of being damn near unbeatable when it comes to sword work. Course, that's why I always carry a gun, too." He winks. Not that he'd shoot Duncan. Well, sure, there can be only one and all that, but he has no beef with Duncan. Yet. Blah blah blah. "My old pappy used to tell me not to let 'fairness' get in the way of surviving, which seems to make sense."

So as to not get Kalika back into the mindset of shooting people, he moves on, by ordering another beer. "You can sit if you want...I'll probably be here a while, and even though chivalry is dead by all reports, there seems to be something ungallant about having you just stand there."  

[Immortal Ghost]

Kali had to give a soft laugh on that, chivalry wasn't something that was ever directed at her anyway, still she slid onto a barstool, he was right that there was no point in standing about. Besides sitting she could order another drink comfortably, she really needed to remember drinking in high heels was something to be avoided, now matter how cute the shoes were.

"I take it you've just blown back into town so haven't seen anyone else? I've pretty much gotten just about everyone's phone number, can make an impromptu party. No promises on who'd show up though." It was late enough in the day she didn't think anyone would be busy, but it was hard to guess with the crowd in town, they liked to up and go poof randomly.

"Bird chicky is suppose to swing by, she's always late though, always." It made some sense that Kali and Phoenix would hang out more, they were the youngest immortals in town after all, and once they got talking had a great deal in common. Well once Kali got over her violence issues. They normally sparred every couple of weeks to see how far alone Kalika was in her learning.  

[Gaston Marceau]

"Yeah, had a seperate contracting job for Balance back in DC." Both with his past exploits and her time as a Watcher, Kalika likely knows at least a little about his background...or at least enough not to be completely shocked or anything. "They're getting involved with NASA's next generation space transport program...the moon, Mars, and what not...and since I'm the only active pilot they know about who's been out that far, they figured I'd be pretty good as a trainer." he pauses when his second beer arrives. "Plus, they hooked me up with a pretty sweet contract with the Navy for my business, so it all worked out in the end."

As for the rest, he seems quite intrigued. "Bird Chicky?" The reference to Phoenix has to provoke a laugh. "Yeah, it'd be nice to catch up with everyone, and I could always go for a party. You have to promise me a dance, though...can't let your outfit go to waste, can we?" So the question probably makes him predictable, but who cares.

"Either way, make sure there's plenty of beer for Adam. He's the only man I know who can get a Quickening by taking the head off a Heinekin."  

[Immortal Ghost]

Had to roll her eyes on that note, really it was more like Etienne and Adam were more like siblings than anything else they way they talked about each other. Otherwise she didn't seem to surprised about his work, she'd done her research when he had first showed up in town, she was paranoid like that. Besides now she was glad she had looked everyone up when she was able, she certainly couldn't now.

Kali pulled out her phone, not really needing to glance at it except to pick the right numbers, sticking to texting, while the noise level wasn't loud she didn't feel like trying to call people. "Hey have you met a blond chick? Veronica?" A pause, mostly to smile to the bartender as her next drink showed up to be added to her tab. "Met her a few weeks back, she's pretty chill, long as you don't ask her about her job."

Might as well send an invite to the blond woman, if nothing else Kali noticed the woman tended to show up at Joe's most Fridays, might be more a warning than an invite but oh well.  

[Gaston Marceau]

Adam and Etienne as siblings? Maybe...they have grown out of the student/teacher dynamic since Etienne went out on his own all those years ago, so it's possible. Dysfunctional cousins, perhaps.

"Veronica? Yeah, I met her." Etienne smiles and laughs again. "And I already asked about her job...though it wasn't a bone of contention when I last saw her." The semester must not've gone too well.  

[Immortal Ghost]

Kali shrugged on that, "Lucky you, I got a rant about stuck up kids setting things on fire." While it had been somewhat amusing at the time, being ranted at wasn't all that great, no matter what the subject matter was. "The after-rant was fun, talked her into bar hopping and she had to call out sick the next day."

So maybe Kalika wasn't the best influence on people, didn't bother her a touch. "Her and birdy chick don't get along too great for some reason, not too sure why really." Another shrug, didn't matter to her, was funny to watch though.  

[Vesta Shade]

It had been at a light that her phone went off with a jingle alerting her to a message so she took a few spare seconds to look at it, pausing only a moment before shaking her head and dropping the phone back in the cup holder. Really Veronica figured she should have been use to the backwards invitations to places, though really she wasn't sure how off hand insults were the way to get people to show up. Apparently it worked though as she found herself turning at a light instead of heading straight towards home.

She wasn't far from Joe's having been headed from work, so it wasn't a hassle to swing by, if nothing else Veronica had learned not ignoring the insane woman was better in the long run for everyone. Pulling into a surprising close by parking spot she paused to at least take off the lab coat and toss it in the backseat. Was about as far as she needed to go towards looked presentable without having a mirror to fix her hair that was starting to escape it's normal bun. Still she ran hands over her skirt to try to smooth out wrinkles and made sure nothing had been spilled on her during the course of the day before turning and heading for the door to the pub.

Stepping in Veronica paused a moment to adjust to the lighting before looking around, took a few seconds longer than normal, mostly because the sight of Kalika was slightly blocked by someone. A someone that got her to tilt her head and absentmindedly wish she had taken the time to go home and change instead of coming straight here. Too late now, so she picked her way along to the bar to say ello to the two immortals seated there.

(Thanks for the message Ghost)  

[Gaston Marceau]

Well, it's not like Etienne is dressed in high formal wear at the moment, though he did design his company's uniforms with a mind as to how good he'd look in them. Still, it's fortuitous that Etienne wasn't doing maintenance today and isn't therefore covered in grease, hydraulic fluid, and other such things.

As the buzz of another approaching immortal reaches him, Etienne resigns himself to an evening of looking over his shoulder. However, he's pleasantly surprised to do so this time. "Veronica!" Some will note with some amusement how his Cajun accent suddenly returns full force when he's around a woman he likes. "Fortune smiles on me yet again, cherie, by gracing me with your presence."

He gets down off the stool to kiss Veronica's hand. "How have you been? Someone mentioned to me your students were lighting things on fire..."  

[Immortal Ghost]

Really Kali tried really hard to not roll her eyes, and failed horribly, they might make her drink more, it was a sudden realization, but then she hadn't known that apparently there was a thing between them either. Was a way to feel like a third wheel in thirty seconds or less, not that she seemed too terribly bothered, or if she was it was well hidden.

"Really, with accents and hand kissing, way to show age there Etienne." She made sure to keep her tone light, though teasing just because she couldn't help it.