InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "This isn't real, he isn't real"

Idris Khalid|| Σήθ (Set/Seth/Sutekh) (counterbalance) wrote in paxletalelogs,
@ 2011-07-31 23:43:00

Entry tags:

nephthys, set

Who: Idris and Vanessa
What: Staying in at night is getting to be far too boring, so Idris decides to check out a local pub...
Where: Muldoon's, downtown Newport Beach
When: 10:17 P.M., July 29th, 2011.
Warnings: Slight foul language, but otherwise nothing else as of yet.
Notes: None as of yet.

Work had been a pain in the ass this past week, to say the least. Idris was more than happy to leave Friday afternoon after he'd gone through a stack of new invoices for what seemed to be the fifth time. It wasn't that he was a slacker--well, all right, he could be, but hadn't he managed his own dealership for how many years? It was only that simply getting out and about was definitely foremost in his frame of mind the entire drive home. Other than taking care of menial activities such as grocery shopping and finally, finally! finishing unpacking, he hadn't had much time for himself since moving to California. Well, that was about to change tonight, even if the only thing that happened was a nice glass of whatever available ASAP in his hand. The sooner, the better.

Idris, in a bad mood? No, certainly not. But you couldn't blame a man for wanting to get out of the confines of the daily grind at least once in awhile.

While Idris wasn't big into surfing the internet (unless he was really, REALLY bored, and then he mostly played Farmville--hey, in his defense, his sheep always stayed fed and the crops...ah, well, they might suffer a little, but he was still proud of his level 30 accomplishment), he'd come across an interesting forum note made by yet another new tenant to the Pax building. The new arrivals seemed to be popping up like daisies in the middle of a particularly warm Spring, but Idris didn't mind. The more people that were around, the more chances he had of finding someone that'd definitely be into moving and shaking it on the weeknights and preferably the weekends as well. Everyone needed a break from their every day lives, it was only a matter of finding the right person. Or people, as it were. Yeah, people sounded a lot better. The more the merrier!

And so he quickly googled the location of the pub the new tenant spoke of, writing down the directions on a handy post-it note. He'd get the hang of this city soon enough, but for now there was no sense in getting lost. Maybe he'd even hail a cab--in fact, that sounded great and 100% more safe than driving home, no matter what his eventual state of intoxication would be.

Having made the necessary ride accommodations (the post-it note now forgotten), Idris quickly dressed for the evening: dark slacks and a simple tan dress shirt. Basics were essential when scoping out a new place, but it didn't hurt to look put together overall. Adjusting his hair and checking for any slight signs of looking definitely not put together in the bathroom mirror, Idris finally deemed himself ready. Checking his watch, he grinned when he saw that he still had ten minutes before his cab would arrive. He left the bathroom and grabbed his billfold from the kitchen counter and slipped it into his back pocket. Making sure he had his keys, Idris gave the main room of his apartment a once-over before nodding to himself and locking the front door behind him. He jingled said keys good-naturedly along his walk to the elevator, making it out of the building with three minutes to spare.

The ride to Muldoon's was quick and painless; Idris cheerfully paid the cab driver and headed inside the establishment, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from turning upwards in a somewhat self-satisfied smile. Nice. For a Friday night, the pub was decently packed, filled with people from all sorts of backgrounds mingling together and sharing drinks, stories, and even spit at the side right corner table. Again, nice. He headed to the bar, taking a seat on one of the bright red stools after casually glancing around the room at what sort of pickings there'd probably be as the evening continued. For a Friday night crowd, the assorted patrons seemed primarily jovial, but in situations such as these there was always the chance for a fight to break out, unsettling the pleasant evening activities. To be perfectly honest with himself, Idris wasn't entirely opposed to such a thing happening, not as long as he had a drink in his hand first and could watch from a safe vantage point.

Tapping his fingers on the bar counter for a moment, Idris then sat forward to take out his billfold, removing one of his credit cards. He motioned to one of the bartenders that seemed to be less busy than the others--she was pretty, with tousled, dark curls pulled half upon her head, the rest of them falling free. A particularly bright green bow adorned her hair, and Idris had to smile, for surely she must be playing along with the Irish theme of the place. And, it was amusing to note, it seemed there was no shortage of curly-haired women in this city, something that Idris had to admit he didn't mind in the least.

"Say, you got a minute?"

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obscurityfalls
2011-08-05 06:21 am UTC (link)

Vanessa smiled as one of her favorite Flogging Molly songs started to play over the entertainment system. There was something about a good upbeat song while she was drinking that just made her want to tap her toes or get up and dance. She thanked Connor, the bartender that served her the Jameson and took a long drink from the glass.

She turned on the red stool to face Idris, stirring her drink with a tiny black straw. Vanessa couldn’t help but laugh at his comment, inwardly completing adoring his smile, it seemed to light up the room. To think that she hadn’t intervened at least partially to impress Idris would’ve been a lie. However, it was also who she was, she certainly wasn’t a quiet wallflower, and better that he know that sooner rather than later. “Oh that’s me, I have quite the temper, you better watch out, never know what I may do.” Part of her wanted to just chug her drink right down, but she didn’t want to appear to be an alcoholic, especially since he was still on his first beer, so she took another sip. “Oh I don’t know, something tells me you handle pressure very well.”

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counterbalance
2011-08-05 07:05 am UTC (link)

Idris turned in his seat as well to face his companion, resting an arm upon the bar counter. From the equally light tone that Vanessa used, Idris decided that it was perfectly safe to keep up with the banter. He laughed at her remark about her temper, feigning a look of horror.

"Remind me to never find a cause to anger you, then. I prefer my floors to stay silent, and something tells me you're pretty good with a broom." He finished his beer and waved at the bartender for another, informing the man on duty of what he'd had. Another would be wonderful, though he hardly had to stay intoxicated--even the slightest--in order to enjoy himself.

His stein refilled, Idris chuckled at Vanessa's remark, unable to keep the amusement from his face. Feigning indifference, he shrugged, though there was a serious look to his eyes.

"Oh, I don't know. Depends on the type of pressure, I suppose. But don't you think that makes things a little more fun?"

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obscurityfalls
2011-08-05 07:19 am UTC (link)

“Oh I’m very good with a broom, it has an extra long handle for proper ceiling reach-age and everything.” When Idris ordered his second beer, Vanessa took that as an okay to completely finish her drink. To slow it down a bit, this time she ordered a jack and ginger-ale, which somehow, someway tasted exactly like cream soda. Mixes were very interesting to her, and she often wondered how it was possible that a drink that held no cream soda tasted just like it, or how a long island iced tea, which was almost straight alcohol, tasted like an non-alcoholic iced tea.

At Idris’s last comment, Vanessa couldn’t help it, she started to laugh beyond a typical flirty laugh. Their flirting had gotten so ridiculous that she just couldn’t take it anymore and broke out into laughter. “You are absolutely horrible, you know that right?” She shook her head and rested a hand on Idris’ leg, taking the flirting to a completely different level, but casually, not aggressively so. "I have a feeling that I am never going to be bored with you in the same apartment building, am I?"

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counterbalance
2011-08-05 07:49 am UTC (link)

"And yet you don't seem to mind in the least." With an almost wry smile, Idris turned his attention to his refilled drink, taking a hearty swig. Vanessa's laughter was pleasant and Idris remained pleased that his new neighbor, and dare he say acquaintance, was clearly enjoying herself. With time, it was possible she might officially become something akin to a friend, which Idris wouldn't mind in the least. With only a floor separating the two of them there was no doubt they'd run into one another outside of Muldoon's.

And more importantly, though he wasn't going to waste much time thinking of it right now, Idris couldn't deny the perplexing feeling of ease he felt around this woman. It was normal for him to feel self-assured, to not be overly self-conscious when pursuing someone, even if it was only for a short period of time. Suffice to say that for Idris, such a part of life was a form of ease within itself, though he never could settle down for long enough to satisfy any serious commitment wanting partners. Perhaps then it was simply the action of roving, of playing the field, that allowed him to feel peaceful.

As peaceful as someone like Idris could ever feel, that is. And this odd ease he felt when speaking with this woman was different in a way he couldn't quite put his finger on; it was merely enhanced by her hand upon his leg, a forward action, just another way of her asserting her presence. He made no outward motion of noticing what she had done save for a direct look at her, his smile smaller now but still clearly, though faintly, amused.

"Well, I'd hope that's true. I don't think I could stand living at a place with nothing but one boring tenant after another. And you," he said, "don't fit that description, if tonight is anything to go by." He glanced downwards, noting the striped socks she wore that showed just barely from within her boots. "I'd say it's going to be plenty of fun living near you."

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