Nina Clarke: ᴍᴀʏᴏʀ, ᴀᴜsᴛɪɴ ᴛx & sʜʏ ʙʟᴏʙ (commonlaw) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-01-12 22:23:00 |
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The White Trail had been called something else the last time Dani made the trip through the decaying streets of Austin to visit the bar. Of course, that had been months ago. So much had happened since then that the change in name and management never made so much as a blip on her radar. Someone had mentioned it, probably, but Dani, who always had more important things on her mind than the status of the city’s only so-called neutral territory, simply hadn't registered it. That is until Helen, in the process of lending Dani keys to a car that belonged to either the nurse or one of her friends, felt it her God-given duty to fill in the gossip about the White Trail at the same time. Once she entered the bar and saw Nina waiting, however, all thought of these changes went straight out of Dani’s head. Nothing in Austin was permanent anyway, except the undead. A morbid observation, one which she pushed away as she approached the table where her friend sat. This occasion was not going to be marred by the everyday doom and gloom if she could help it. “Happy birthday!” Dani said in greeting, wearing a slightly larger smile than usual. It was a touch forced, but settled into something more natural as Nina stood to greet her with a hug. “I'm so glad to have the opportunity to return the celebrations.” "And I'm glad for it, too." Nina's smile was genuine as she sat down, her mood bolstered by her friend's presence. She hadn't had the highest of hopes for her birthday, but so far all was off to a wonderful start. Her morning had been spent with Demi and Isaac for breakfast, and lunch was already shaping up to be just as nice an occasion. "Thanks again for meeting up with me today." “Of course!” As she slid into the seat across from Nina, Dani waved a hand dismissively. As if she wasn’t going to see her friend for her birthday. Her oversized purse, filled with canned goods for trade, fairly clanked as she set it down and signaled the waitress. “What will you have?” "If they still have the makings for a whiskey sour, it seems to me that would be the most fitting." The look she gave Dani was nothing short of conspiratory. "And I've got cans to pay with, too, so don't get any ideas." “Too late. It was always the rule in my family that no one paid on their birthday, so I walked in with the idea. At the very least, you have to allow me to get the first round.” Her tone was firm, but her expression amused. "All right, but only because you insist." It was obvious from her tone that that Nina wasn't bothered with putting up much of a fight about it, though, and she smiled as the waitress approached and Dani reached for her bag again, digging out a pair of cans. Once the drink orders were placed and the first trade made, Dani turned back to Nina. “I've never eaten here. Do you have any experience with the food?” The menu lay on the table, but she hadn't yet looked at it. "I've had lunch here, once." That hadn't been one of the best days; her and Jadyn's meal had been cut short by the what had happened at the LBJ that morning. Nina was looking forward to trying the food once more, without an interruption or emergency. "And it was better than I expected. I'm guessing you're asking because this is your first time eating here?" Dani nodded—yes, it was her first time having the food at the White Trail. Eating in anything even remotely like a restaurant was such a rare occasion now, when once it had been so commonplace. Food was the one thing everyone was united in mourning, and Dani supposed she was no different. “My tastebuds are hardly discerning at any rate. The kitchens at the UMCB get a little experimental at times, depending on what ingredients are available,” she said. Of course, they probably didn’t have that problem at the Capitol, based on what she’d seen there during her brief stay; Nina opted to stay quiet on just how often she had bacon for breakfast. With a slight grimace, she picked up the menu, scanning it. “If you could bring back any of Austin’s restaurants, fully-stocked, which would you pick?” "Taco Joint," Nina said without hesitation. She smiled despite the immediate longing that even just the name of the place brought to her, shaking her head at the thought of all that they'd never be able to have again. Still, her love of her city couldn't be extinguished so easily, and she was happy to reminisce for the time being. "Hoovers. El Mercado. What about you?" “Freedman’s,” Dani replied, with almost as little pause as when Nina had answered. “Maybe naming a BBQ restaurant is too cliche, but I suppose that's the Texan in me showing.” She shrugged. Right now any of the restaurants they had named would have been welcome. Nina leaned forward to look at the menu, quickly scanning the options, then lifted her gaze to look up at Dani once she'd made a selection. She didn't often speak impulsively, but something just then compelled her to ask: "If the dead hadn't started walking, do you think we still would've met?" It was easier to imagine herself stumbling upon one of those restaurants in today's world than to picture what a Nina Clarke in a normal 2019 would be doing. "Would you have stayed in Austin after graduating?" It was Dani’s immediate impulse to answer in the negative, sensible of the fact that there was little that would lead a successful lawyer and fledgling lab assistant to ever bump into one another under ordinary circumstances. But she hesitated, closing her mouth again before she could speak. Stranger things could and had happened. And after all, hadn’t they simply met in a bar? Circumstances didn’t get much more ordinary than that. “We might have met, I think. Austin is smaller than it seems. And if we did, I’m certain we still would have become friends.” For a moment she fell silent, fingertips tapping idly on the tabletop imagining that other, zombie-free universe. The reverie didn’t last long. “At any rate, I’d be here, probably in the exact same place I am now, to be honest, or doing similar work at one of Austin’s other hospitals. Graduate programs weren’t completely off the table, but my primary objective was to get out in the field for a while before making that call.” "I'd likely be here, too. So friends it is, now and in that circumstance." Nina looked up at Dani with obvious fondness, glad her impromptu question had been well-received, before she directed her gaze back to her menu. Showing sentiment had never come easily to her, but the complications of the zombie uprising and the political turmoil that followed had made it even harder for her to express that sort of thing. And as much as she liked Dani, they'd never quite ventured into this sort of conversation topic. Not overtly, at least. "Working as a public defender, likely, though I always thought I'd like to eventually move into politics after getting the experience for it." It came as no surprise to Dani to hear that Nina had once been interested in shifting her focus to politics. It hasn't occurred to her before that her friend’s ambitions might lay in that direction, but it seemed a logical course for someone with an interest in justice to pursue. “I imagine you would have been talented in that sphere too. My legal residence was in Corpus Christi, of course, but if it had been Austin, I could see myself voting for you.” She paused, lips curving up into a smile. “Not that I could claim an unbiased perspective on the matter.” "Either way, I'm honored to hear I would've earned your vote," Nina replied, returning the smile with ease. "Hypothetical or not." As Dani opened her mouth to continue, the waitress interrupted to set down their drinks and take their lunch order. By the time that was all sorted, Dani was left with no idea of what she'd been about to say. Oh, well. There was a more important matter to attend to now. Raising her glass, she looked across the table at her companion. “Happy birthday, Nina. Here’s to having drinks again at this same time, next year. Salud!” |