exsiliumlogs | [open] there's a patch of snow on the ground

Date & Time: December 9-12, various times
Location: Around Winter Wonderland Exsilium; options within!
Characters: Saul & YOU!!!
Summary: A defense attorney adapts to his new environment.
Warnings: Stupidity and probably also feelings, but nothing out of the ordinary. Will update if needed.

[OPTION A, out & about —

Saul spends the bulk of his first two days planetside getting familiar with the new landscape as best he can. This involves a lot of walking and a lot of talking to people who seem entirely too suspicious of him; he can't blame them, of course, so he tries to look as non-threatening as possible.

For him, this is not difficult.

The information he gathers from those who give him the time of day is scarce, but it's better than nothing — and it leads him to the important conclusion that re-establishing the Department under the New Initiative is, perhaps, not the wisest decision right now. A lot of things are up in the air; with timeline-changing missions still in the works, he wonders whether or not it's worth the trouble.

...and then there's the little problem of so many of them still being on the moon...

He winds up dedicating a lot of his time to hanging around the building housing the Transport Pad. Mostly, he wants to keep an eye out for anyone he might know who hasn't yet decided to make the trip down (and spend some time checking in on the people who have via text), but part of his reason for being there so often is that it's warm and convenient and feels a hell of a lot safer than traveling by sled team or on foot in yeti territory.]

*

[OPTION B, along the river Thames —

All things considered, the moon is still worse.

"All things" being the relentless cold, the seemingly bottomless snow, and the angry walrus charging after him on the frozen Thames.

Fun fact: Walruses can move as quickly as a man can run. So it's a good thing Saul's on ice skates, but even that isn't enough to make him feel any better about the fact that he somehow managed to piss off a two thousand-pound tusked beast and now it's out for his blood.

But Saul! you say. What about your stupid anime powers? Surely you could take this creature down!

To which he would say, Screw you, the last thing I need to do is freak out the locals.

Not that anyone's impressed by his current display as he races down the ice, but. Details.]

*

[OPTION C, for his ~~family~~ apartment-mates —

It's weird.

Saul's thought of this place as home for a while; he's pretty sure he started using that word when his relationship with Jesse solidified and things were, for the most part, okay. And then Steph came along and it felt more real, and then they found their way to the moon and to each other and ever since then, he's known that this is where he needs to be.

But something about living in an apartment with her and Ahiru and Dick is just —

It's weird. He doesn't really think of Ahiru the way he'd think of, say, a daughter, but he knows he has a tendency to treat her that way. And when it's just the two of them, it's fine, but when Steph's around, it's different. Awkward, almost. It's nothing Steph can't defuse with a bit of playful joking, though.

But then there's Dick, who he's pretty sure hates him.

That's less weird; Dick has a perfectly valid reason and Saul hasn't tried to convince him otherwise just yet, mostly because neither of them have crossed paths at a convenient moment.

Saul finds himself home alone often, keeping the place tidy and monitoring the network and thinking. Planning. Pacing.

He needs a job, but this is the deal for now: he cleans, he cooks. He tries not to let himself get too comfortable in this new setting of theirs, because he knows better. It's difficult, though.

And weird.

Don't forget weird.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ooh.

[He shivers, grinning, then holds his hands up like, You got me.]

It's like we're in court. I love it. Alright, Karimov — guilty as charged.

[And she makes a sound of disgust deep in her throat.]

Don't grin at me like you're proud of yourself.

[Did she say don't?

Because he apparently missed that part.]

What's my sentence, Your Honor?

Your sentence?

[Sourly:]

Going and fucking yourself, how's that sound.

Sounds like something I've heard a million times before.

[Maybe more!]

C'mon. Here, free shot.

[He steps back, arms spread wide.]

[And she, in response, crosses hers.]

Yeah, you ever hear the one about the lawyers and the piles of horse shit?

I've heard a lot of things about lawyers and piles of horse shit.

[She launches at once into her joke - the whole thing told aggressively - ]

Two lawyers walking along, one new, one a bit more experienced. They come across a pile of horse shit. The older one says to the newer one, "I'll pay you twenty thousand dollars to eat that horse shit." The newer one thinks about that a moment, then decides, sure, worth it. He eats the horse shit, older lawyer hands over the twenty thou. They walk along a little further, see a pile of horse shit. Younger lawyer says, "I'll pay you twenty thousand to eat that horse shit." Older lawyer things, sure, good deal, worth it; gets on his knees and eats the horse shit.

They walk along a little further. The younger lawyer says, "You know, I gave you twenty thou, you gave me twenty thou. We're both exactly where we started, except we both ate horse shit."

The older lawyer scoffs, and says, "What are you, an amateur? We can both list this as a disbursement and each get reimbursed for our expenses by our clients."

[Saul's listening intently until he's laughing.

And then he's just laughing, slightly bent over.]

Wow.

Edited (HTML why) 2013-12-27 02:48 (UTC)

[She narrows her eyes at him a moment, trying to see if he's being genuine with his laughter. He...does seem to be, and so she softens just a little bit.]

It was a joke about economists, first. [A slight beat - ] I edited it for our noble profession.

And a beautiful edit it was. [He's still chuckling.] That was great. But — does that mean you really, honestly don't want to chuck a snowball back at me?

We'd just both end up with a lot more shit on us. Or snow, as the case may be.

[And cue the most melodramatic of siiighs.]

You're no fun.

Maybe not, but you can't deny that I'm pretty fucking smart.

[Her mood's a bit restored; she jerks her head a bit.]

Let's find a better place to hang out. I think my feet are gonna get frostbitten and fall off.

I would never deny that you're pretty.

[He drops his arms back to his sides, hands quickly finding his pockets.]

This is your first time down here, yeah? We should find you some snow boots.

I'm not sure if you've cottoned onto this yet, Goodman, but calling me pretty doesn't really do much for me.

[Still, she gives a bit of a shrug.]

And I guess. Me and snow aren't exactly good friends, so anything that would help me with this shit.

Yeah. Doesn't do much for me, either.

[Did he just wink?

Yes.]

I know a guy. Follow me. Unless —

[Cue some vague hand gestures.]

It's a bit of a walk, so if you're not keen on doing the walking part...

[Then, less vaguely, he points to his shoulders with his thumbs.]

[She lifts an eyebrow and narrows her eyes, very much not following.]

Are you trying to beg a ride off me? I'd puke on you if we flew, fair warning.

What? No! No, not — that's weird. No.

[So weird.

So, so weird.]

I'm offering you a ride. Piggyback, you know?

[Uh]

Oh, yeah, 'cause that's not weird.

C'mon. It's comparatively less weird.

Me getting a ride from you is less weird than you getting a ride from me, notwithstanding that I can fly.

[Dryly:]

Yeah, go fuck yourself.

Perhaps weird is the wrong word. Maybe it's better if I frame this in what's more inconspicuous, which would be the former — or do you want the lovely, maybe-not-to-be-trusted locals to know there's a flying human hangin' around?

[Okay, touche. She does relax and relent a little, because that's a solid reason.]

Okay. Well, my legs work.

[open] there's a patch of snow on the ground

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