Caffeinated Conversations (Zombie of My Heart.)

[Anonymous]

Every once in awhile you just needed a good coffee. One of those drinks that was impossible to make at home. All that whip cream and chocolatey sauce. Those little pieces of chocolate in the icy drink. Satori got happy just thinking about it. She licked her lips and cracked her knuckled before opening the door to the coffee shop. She hadn't indulged herself in a long while with something like this.

That wave of coffee smell make her think about a lot of things. The more recent mornings waking up and automatically starting a pot of coffee without even thinking much about it. That sort of bitter taste than cuts through pain like a cigarette. She wished she could have taken up smoking, but she could never stomach the things. Made her stomach turn whenever she got too close to one.

That coffee smell also made her think of easier times, waking up at Marshal's and making the pot of coffee with the same two mugs no matter what. It was a relationship that had been easy. That time felt like years ago, something she could remember but only just. She spotted Liv moving passed her to head out of the coffee shop. She arched a brow watching him go past, he didn't look very well around the eyes poor guy. Her eyes followed the line of where he had come from and she spotted Bart. Another Pilot, she smiled.

Maybe she could sit with him or something? She walked over to the counter and ordered her coffee and waited tapping the counter with one of her black nails somewhat impatiently. She was hoping that Bart wouldn't take off all of a sudden while she was at the counter. Satori had realized how much she did not want to sit by herself in a coffee shop where almost everyone was paired off.

She took her coffee and headed over to him crossing the cafe easily to reach his table. His scruffyness really reminded her of Dominic, that one romantic comedy guy that Lamb always had in movies that she brought over. The only one that Satori could really stand to watch without feeling too ill. She felt a little warmth come to her cheeks as she looked at him then regained her composure quickly and put her coffee down on the table.

"You're Bart right? I'm Satori. I believe we haven't met outside of work yet." She grinned giving her best smile.

[Anonymous]

The talk with Liv hadn't really gone well, but Bart hadn't much hope for that. Mostly he just wanted to get the kid out of the Citadel. Guy had been pretty messed up. Hopefully he was going to get his head together. Smashing kids heads into a door wasn't really the best way to vent rage.

Ah well. Wasn't really his business. Maybe if it happened again he would see about doing something about it, but for now, didn't seem a need too. He glanced down at his empty cup. He had drained that pretty fast, maybe he should get something else. Probably shouldn't have more caffeine, but he was pretty well addicted. Coffee and cigarettes. Poor Callista must have fits whenever she looked at his habits.

He felt Satori enter, her shields marking her as different. Bart lifted his head and recognized her as another Pilot. Marshal's candidate girl. He couldn't remember her name. Susan? Sarah? He was pretty sure it was an S name.

Luck was with him when she came over and introduced herself. Bart gave her one of his slow smiles and stood up. Rude to sit with a lady there, "Hello there Satori. Ya got my name right. Would ya like ta join me here?" She seemed like a sweet girl, but it was hard to tell with anyone involved with Marshal. He didn't tend to like the good girls and the good girls were generally smart enough to avoid him, "What did ya get? Smells real nice. I was thinking about gettin' another drink."

[Anonymous]

"I would love to!" She grinned sitting down across from him and setting her coffee down. Sometimes she worried in the back of her mind when meeting new Pilots, well really meeting them. In the Pilot blog they had a tendency to judge right off the bat it seemed. She really hated that in people, but not all of them were that way, after all she wasn't like that, right? At least she hoped not. She tried not to judge people by the company they kept.

Fantastic, now she wouldn't have to sit alone and neither did he! Plus she had gotten his name right! That worked out perfectly, even though she felt something weird in her stomach at sitting with a man again. One that wasn't Wulf, she tried to ignore it. She needed to move on, meet people get back to old Satori before Wulf, or at least a new Satori after him.

"Oh! It's a Mocha Chip." She grinned and leaned in closed talking behind her hand like she was telling a secret. "With an extra shot of espresso. That way it's not only delicious, but it still tastes like coffee." She leaned back to her side of the table and took a long sip of it making a happy noise as she did so.

"I'll probably end up getting another one before I leave. they should call it the Satori with all the times I've ordered this." Her sweet smile on her face, as she looked at Bart.

[Anonymous]

As Satori sat down, Bart took his own seat, getting comfortable again, "Yer lookin' real happy today. Nice to see such a pretty smile on a pretty girl." The tail was a little intense, but Bart had seen worse.

"Mocha chip, eh?" Bart glanced over at the counter, "That ones real tempting sounding." The girl seemed a little skittish, her posture a little tense, "I'm surprised that ya knew this place. Pretty unknown."

Bart had been coming to this place for years and it was nice to see that other people had found it as well. Keep it in business, "Nice ta get away for a bit, yeah?"

There is plenty of work for you to be doing back here. Nuriel's voice was a teasing purr in Bart's head. Bart just gave a small snort, ignoring his dragon. He knew Nuriel wasn't serious.

[Anonymous]

She actually felt a warmth come to her cheeks when he called her pretty. She looked down into her coffee for a moment hoping her cheeks weren't pink. She had a distinct feeling they would be though. A small smile was on her lips though. Damn overactive blushing, what was the use of that in the body anyway? Why did that even happen? It made no damn sense. She pouted in her mind, then looked back up at him hoping it would be gone.

"Thanks...oh it's delicious you can try this one if you want." She held her cup out to him the straw pointed towards him, trying to appear as confident as she could. It probably wasn't really working. She had been off her step for awhile now. Hadn't taken the time to get her groove back in the world of conversation. She was sure it showed.

"Ah, yeah it is nice to get out. I haven't gotten out much into the world lately. Sort of been all locked up, nice to not feel so closed in sometimes. Life is there to enjoy right?" She hoped she sounded convincing.

It was odd for Satori sometimes looking at another Pilot. She always started to think about things. How no matter how they acted, who they were, all pilots were addicted to information, addicted to the high of the network. No matter how nice they played, they were hooked. She knew it about herself, about all of them. It was such an odd thing to know about a person, normally those things weren't broadcasted. As a Pilot you didn't really have much choice, the other was that they would, or may have already killed someone or several someones. As a candidate she never thought that much about it. But now? She always tried to fit the pieces together when she met a new Pilot outside of the Citadel.

Maybe because she'd be scared they were missing a few pieces.

[Anonymous]

Bart smiled a little at her blush, amused by the response. Nice to know he wasn't a total failure with woman. But he didn't comment on it, he couldn't imagine many Pilots wanted it pointed out that they blushed. He wouldn't say no to the coffee though, reaching out he took the cup from her and took a larger then necessary sip.

"Whoo. That's sweet!" Bart gave a small laugh and handed it back, "And that's with the extra shot?" It wasn't bad, though it was a bit sweet for Bart's taste. He loved his coffee a little bitter, "Not bad though. I think I'll stick ta my shot in the dark."

Bart rested back against his chair again, long legs stretched out in front of him, "Yeah. Sometimes ya just gotta take a break. I'm startin' to forget what my apartment looks like I spend so much time in that office."

[Anonymous]

She gave a laugh at his reaction to her coffee and shook her head as she took it from him. She held the cup a bit of a distance away from her like something else was in it besides coffee.

"Is it really that sweet?" She giggled and then took a long drink out of it as she looked back to him as he spoke. She watched him as he spoke, he had such a relaxed vibe about him. Something you could rarely find in a Pilot, it was an interesting trait for him to have. Her eyes were watching him with interest. Plus, he wasn't bad looking. Which wasn't that rare in Pilots but the two things together? It was odd to find.

"Oh jeez, I understand that." She did understand it, except her problem was a different sort of one. She spent too much time wallowing in her apartment. She had started to believe there was no world outside of The Citadel. Of course he had more paperwork than her, and more responsibility. She just hoped he wouldn't pry into her comment and just leave it where it was. At the moment she felt somewhat back to Satori, the happy one.

"I need to start scheduling regular outings, even if it is just for coffee." She smiled at him and took another drink from her cup and gave a satisfied sound after she swallowed it. "About the only time I get out with regularity is to go running, and that's normally just around The Citadel." She smiled. "Do you ever go running, just to run?" There was sort of an odd tone to her voice, like she was somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Bart gave Satori another bright smile, "Well, I just ain't that used ta things that sweet. Ain't bad though." Satori seemed like a sweet girl, not as hard as most of the female Pilots. It was rather pleasant. Hard to imagine her with Marshal at all.

He nodded at her comment, "Yeah, always seems ta be more work ta get done. Nuriel is gonna give me a hard time for this outing later I'm sure." One of his eyebrows raised at Satori's tone when she spoke. She seemed a million miles away, thinking about it. He wasn't sure if she was thinking about a particular memory or she just loved running.

Though Bart could understand loving to run. There was something relaxing and almost zen like about working out. And running in particular. You could just zone out and forget about everything. No memories from the war, no blood on his hands. Just the ground under his feet and the wind, "I love a good run. Ya should join me sometime if ya don't mind company." Bart kept in very good shape for a man ten years his junior, let alone for someone who was almost 40, "But I'll push ya pretty hard, just ta warn ya."

[Anonymous]

"Yeah Lanty is normally pretty good about bothering me when I'm out." She giggled as she felt him watching her in her mind as he had heard his name mentioned. "But maybe that's because I always bring him Peanut Butter." She smiled wider. "He just loves that stuff." Lantenac was then more in forefront of her mind and spoke briefly to her in his quiet voice.

...And I have just decided that now you owe me some... She shook her head and gave a little half nod.

...Of course, I'll grab some before I get back...

...The crunchy kind... The dragon was talking about peanut butter but his tone held much severity, like it was a mission she had to go on just for him. In a way of course, it was. A dragon couldn't easily go shopping after all. They couldn't really fit in the stores.

"I'd love the company once in awhile." Her smile was full force now, just thinking about being able to spend time with someone new. It always was so stimulating, new things to talk about, stories she hadn't heard. Satori really did love people, and she finally felt like she was getting out of her self imposed hermit existence. A new friend might just help seal the deal.

"It gets boring to run by myself all the time." She grinned and let it fade off as she went to take another drink of her coffee. The sugar was starting to make her feel bouncy and more excited than before. She leaned forward as he said he would push her hard. She toyed with the idea of flirting saying something with a little double meaning but decided maybe it was too soon to say anything and stopped herself right off before it slipped out.

"And I love a challenge."

Well, that wasn't quite innocent.

[Anonymous]

"Peanut butter? Really? I donno if Nuriel's ever had any."

I want to try some. You will bring some to me.

Oh really?

Yes. I am told the crunchy kind is best.

Sure sure. I'll bring you some. Bart gave a soft laugh, shaking his head, "''pparently I am ta bring him some to try." His smile got wider as Satori mentioned she would like the company, "Great. I love havin' someone ta run with. But it can get so hard ta get the time with Roman or Alesku. We're all so busy. 'Sides, much rather run with a lovely lady then one of them."

[Anonymous]

"Well I guess I'll have to show you the ropes in dragon peanut butter buying." She grinned at him and slid the cuff that was around her drink off of the cup slowly and then pulled a pen from her pocket. She wrote down the name of the store she went to and what brand she bought, also the clerk she normally asked for.

"This guy, Carl, he will give you a deal. Tell him who sent you." She grinned as she spoke in conspiratorial tone. "He'll give you a much larger size of container." She slid the cuff across the table towards him then took another drink of her coffee. "I recommend the crunchy. It probably remind them of chewing the bones of peasants." She giggled and shook her head then took another drink.

She was surprised when he called her pretty. So few people could get passed the giant tail. Sometimes she thought about getting rid of it, going under the knife. Her Dad would have been broken hearted though. Maybe when she was older she would. It could be so easy. Satori couldn't bring herself to do that though.

"Thanks Bart." Her face flushed slightly. "You can definitely go running with me now." She smiled as he mentioned his friends. It had to be difficult to be a higher rank, everyone you worked with closely would be busy. She knew Marshal was always busy, of course he was a Seeker which probably piled on tons more work. "I would imagine that it's hard being a higher rank. Sometimes I'm glad I'm lowly."

[Anonymous]

Reaching over, Bart took the cuff and pulled it closer, reading it over. He knew where that place was. Grinning at Satori again, he slid the cuff into his pocket, "Well, thanks. That'll be real helpful. Crunchy it is." The eating peasants comment got a small laugh out of Bart. He could all to easily imagine Nuriel snacking on something crunchy and remembering the days when he used to eat people.

Bart's smile just got a little wider when she flushed. Always nice to know he still had it in him to make a good looking girl blush. Sure, she had a scorpion tail, but it wasn't that bad, "It ain't that bad bein' a high rank. Long as ya don't want much of a social life. Never really been sure if all of us got to our higher rank 'cause we ain't much of the social types or if the climb ta the top beat that out of us."

As much as he was enjoying himself, Bart really should get back to work. He could already feel it piling up. As as talking to a lovely blond was much more exciting then paperwork, it still had ta get done. Standing up, Bart popped his back before leaning down slightly to shake Satori's hand, "Well, it was a real pleasure ta meet ya Satori. Let me know when ya want ta do that run."

[Anonymous]

Satori grinned at him, looking up as he extended his hand. He was running off to do his dragon's task she'd have to find something else to do. She took his hand in hers though standing up and holding it for a moment.

"Maybe I should try for a higher rank, I don't have much of a social life anymore." she chuckled and released his hand somewhat reluctantly. She didn't want to have to go find something to do by herself again. She needed to try and keep the high energy going, maybe she'd go for a run or plug in. The latter sounded far more appetizing.

"I will call you soon for that run." She nodded beaming at him slightly, appearing every bit the sweetheart she wanted to seem. "So be on the look out for a 'pretty',"she air quoted the word, "pilot wanting to get sweaty with you." She grinned grabbing her cup and heading out the exit ahead of him. Someday her flirting might get her in trouble again.

She sort of hoped for that to happen.

Satori headed back to the Citadel towards the dragons. Lantenac was waiting. She had a large bag that was pulled over her shoulder sort of roughly. She grunted slightly as she carried it the weight starting to push her down more. She gladly set it down when she reached her big green dragon. She tapped his toenail with her finger and he made a show of looking around for her then down.

You know you really are too short. His warm but gravelly voice comforted her.

Sorry you had to crane you neck Lanty. His chuckle pushed into her mind as she lifted the plastic bag off of the big container. It was the peanut butter. Lantenac actually physically smiled, it was sort of terrifying. Big giant teeth...as big as her arm, maybe longer. He moved suddenly dropping close to the ground, his eyes wide and expectant. Despite how cold dragons seemed he had very expressive eyes. She took a long knife out of her pocket flicking it out and cutting through the plastic of the container and flipping the lid onto the ground.

As the large tongue came down towards the container she climbed up his leg and into the compartment on his back. He chewed happily loud crunching noises coming from him. Not even a thank you. But she was about to be repaid anyway. She grabbed a long green cord and plugged it into the connector on her wrist organized. She winced as it pierced her then her eyes closed. A hiss of air escaped her teeth as about twelve spiked came down of the wrist organizer into her arm.

A soft moan followed though. Her breath was hot as she felt the physical and mental high that went along with this. Her hands loosened on the arm rests and she started to breathe evenly her worries floating away slowly, easily. Perfect. Maybe she could actually sleep tonight and then call Bart in the morning.

You can stay here as always Sati Bee. Marshal's old nickname for her, Lantenac had adopted it quickly but was using it a lot more recently since she got upset. She sent back a warm wave of gratitude to him as a soft moan passed her lips again as she moved slightly in the chair.

Good night Lanty.