Zoe Washburne (warrior_woman) wrote in we_coexist, @ 2009-04-29 01:56:00 |
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Entry tags: | schmendrick, zoe washburne |
And he survived the cold [Schmendrick + Zoe]
Schmendrick had gotten used to the City. He'd learned to take the oddities in stride - not that he enjoyed the strangeness, but he'd accepted that there wasn't much that could be done to change it, so he'd stopped trying. Instead, he sat quietly on a park bench, slowly flipping the pages of a newspaper and enjoying the Spring sunshine. It was early afternoon, and for once, he had shed the ridiculous robes that marked him some sort of magician. Or, well, some sort of weirdo or Jedi. Take your pick. It was just too hot for all of those layers.
The page flipping stopped abruptly as he patted about for his coffee and knocked it over in his fumbling. He made a sound - a hiss of air, but no swearing - and then bent to pick up the paper cup before it could pour out the last of his drink.
Zoe wasn't sure what to think of recent events. She'd met Book, another of Serenity's crew that was supposed to be dead; she'd nearly told her captain, a man she'd die for almost as quickly and willingly as she would for her own husband, that she wasn't going to go with him should Serenity ever fly again, and she had been found by a messenger that delivered a note from one Bruce Wayne, a man she couldn't decide if she liked or not. He had something, but she wasn't sure she liked what he had. Then there had been that moment in the grocery store, one she still hadn't discussed with Wash, but did she really need to?
The Amazon had parted ways with Book and Mal, heading home on her own, home in this case being Serenity. Her mind was on what she wanted for her future, not on what was right in front of her. So, it was her reflexes that kept her from tripping over the bent over magician; honestly, there wasn't any excuse for her really to trip over him in the first place - it would mean she was walking much too closely to the bench, but there she was.
"Pardon me."
"It's not a problem, my dear la--" Schmendrick started to launch into a polite reply, but he was caught off-guard as he straightened up. He knew this woman. "Oh." He said, forgetting momentarily about the dripping cup in his hand as he straightened up. "Hello," he greeted. "What a stroke of fortune; I been meaning to try and find you. You were right about the coat." The smile beneath the man's long, prominent nose turned lopsided. "It was too cold for a cloak. I've been meaning to thank you."
He started to get up, but thought the better of it and set aside his encumbrances first. The paper found its way to the bench, followed quickly by the mostly-empty cup. He brushed his hands on his knees, and stood.
Zoe's brow lifted slightly at the beginning of "my dear la--" because she had a feeling she wouldn't like the rest of it. Zoe had never been one of the "ladies" not one of the evening, not one of fashion, just not a lady. She worked hard to become the woman she was, and she certainly didn't need to have that particular term associated with her. Not that all ladies were bad, but she hadn't met one who could say she was honestly her own person. Not even Inara could do that, and Inara was a pretty strong lady. Then again, some would say Zoe wasn't exactly her own person, not the way she lived for Wash and Mal, and before that the Independence.
"I'm glad to see you made it through. That was an interesting bout of snow. No need to thank me for pointin' out something you would have figured out yourself eventually." She gave him a slight smile, stepping back as he figured himself out. "Are you getting along okay here?"
"As well as can be expected," Schmendrick said, matter-of-fact. He lifted his bony shoulders in a shrug. "I've grown accustomed, and it's really not so bad. I won't complain." Not 'can't' - he certainly could complain, but again, there was little sense fretting on things he couldn't change. Not without his magic, at least, and that was still irritatingly erratic. "And you? I'll have to admit that I don't remember all of our last conversation, but I think I recall that you weren't entirely happy with the place."
"I'm not sure how I feel about it; things happen here that couldn't happen any other place, but sometimes I wish they wouldn't happen." It was vague, and maybe she wanted it that way. Then again, if Zoe said something a certain way, she usually meant it to be said just so. Her thumbs hooked absently at her gun belt as she looked at him.
"Not wearing robes either. Got tired of the looks?" The Amazon ignored most of the looks she got; she knew she didnt' look like she fit in exactly, but then the City provided so many different styles it was hard to tell exactly what fit and what didn't sometimes.
"Too hot," Schmendrick replied. "Maybe once fall rolls around, they'll be back out." He lifted his shoulders in an expressive shrug, and grinned. "Besides, a true magician doesn't need them to prove what he is. The magic will give him away." And, to demonstrate, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin. His fingers closed over it, and when they reopened, the object had turned from copper to gold. He offered it to Zoe.
"...I wouldn't try to spend that," he warned after a moment. "Sometimes it stays. Sometimes it turns back, and, ah. That's always awkward."
Zoe smiled softly, understanding. The clothes don't always make the man, but they certainly helped sell the con when it was necessary. She nodded slightly before watching his hands with only a hint of curiosity. Oh, sure, she was curious, yet she wasn't one of those little children who could be easily pulled in by a slight of hand. Her brow lifted at the offered coin, and she took it, turning it over a little.
"I don't think I need to worry about spending anything. And, I don't think you'll have to worry about fall; the snowstorm we got not long ago was the first the temperature has changed much. Let's hope that might be all we have to bother ourselves with weather wise for a bit." She looked up at him before looking at the coin again. "I can't keep this, but it's a nice trick." With a flick of her wrist, the coin was on its way back to its original owner.