Laughing a little bit, she nodded her head. "Staircases," she said, a matter-of-fact one word sentence that explained what the bane of her clumsy existence. "But never down. Always up. Especially staircases where each step has one of those little lips over part of it?" She couldn't count the times she'd tripped over those. "Once, I was doing one of those charity runs up a skyscraper's stairs? And I tripped on the thirtieth floor." She couldn't help but laugh. "I sprained my ankle, and I felt so bad that I ended up paying for the rest of the donations I'd gotten." Was that telling of her lifestyle? Of how much money she had? If it was, it didn't occur to her right away.
"It's like a cat," she laughed a little bit "When you put the bell on the collar and you can hear them coming, but then in the middle of the night, it's more of an inconvenience." The joke was suppressed by the truth of the statement, a fact which he probably wasn't aware of, considering he didn't know her from a hole in the ground... aside from her slightly lacking safety tendencies. "Good to know. Especially if he's a double agent," she said, trying to continue the joke to hide from the unpleasant truth.
Her eyes widened at where he took the joke, and after she blinked, she nodded twice, an amused smile coming to her face. Maybe a little bit surprised, too. She didn't usually joke about things like that. "Something like that..." she said softly. "Oddly, I was thinking more about space herpes," which was even more uncharacteristic of her, but she didn't bring that up. The bathroom at the coffee shop. It was what nightmares were made of. She shook her head. "No. No way." Her voice was completely horror-struck. "I took one step in there and then held it until I got back into my room," she joked. Well... half-joked.
A little laugh escaped, and she turned her head to look at him. Was he flirting with her, or was she crazy? "I'm definitely a merciful leader, yes," she insisted. "The cruel-hearted dictator thing isn't really my style." She was way too much of a pushover for that, honestly.
This time, the laugh was a little bit self-deprecating. She'd always been taught to be accountable, own your mistakes. They'd point her mistakes out and make her accountable. Bold actions usually got her into a lot of trouble. "I'm not sure," she shrugged. "Especially when it comes to actions like this, when it would've hurt more than just me." He'd've probably been hurt, too.
"I'll make you a deal," she said with a smile. "If you bring some of your best pictures, and I'll learn and play the song of your choice?" She nudged the bridge of her guitar, moving it—once, twice, three times. "Sound fair?"
Humming thoughtfully, Noelle shook her head no. "I don't think anyone's contribution is valueless, to be honest. Unless, like... they're actually hurting someone." Maybe she shouldn't have spoken so broadly, but it was how she felt. "Exactly. And even if people don't see it as useful? It keeps you occupied. Makes the whole thing easier to live with, right?" If people couldn't see the merit to that? That was on them.
At least he understood what had happened. Noelle laughed. "It's okay. You covered your tracks well," she joked.
As often happened, Noelle found herself getting a little bit lost in her music. Actually, it was odd, but she almost forgot he was there, except for the flashes in her periphery. It was fortunate, though, that she looked up when she did. Because shambling in between them and the door was a pair of the slower undead.
Noelle's face twisted into alarm, and she swallowed nervously. "We... we have to move," she said softly. "We have to get out of here." Before he could even respond, she stood up and started looking around for another way to get into the building nearby.