Logfile from Brass&Steel. Kathy's Bar and Grill Off-white walls, decorated with photos of regular guests and the occasional state or county limits sign from somewhere else in the country. A picture of Jesus Christ, complete with beatific smile and halo, is hung apart from these other decorations near the swinging door to the kitchen. There is the smell of beer, coffee, and grease, in various combinations depending on the time of day. A jukebox plays blues, soul, and country tunes in various combinations that are likewise time-and-clientele-dependent. The tables and floors are chipped and cracked, but homey. Waitresses in flannel and denim mill about dropping down beers and burgers and coffee and pie on the tables of truckers and bikers who want to catch a quick meal or a quick buzz before passing out in their rigs or heading home. The overall effect is one of Early Modern White Trash; while the folks here may possess a civil sheen of politeness, do not ever mistake them for intellectual or cultural giants. Zach wavies! :) Harriet waves! Mick waves Zach will hang back to get the scene first. Mick nods, "Sounds rare. Where'd you get it?" He speaks to Harriet, of course, who is sitting with him at a table by the jukebox. They're eating cheese fries and drinking milkshakes. Harriet is a woman in her early twenties. She's below average in height, and thin and pale, as if she doesn't get out much. She has short-cropped, unruly, dark brown hair, and green eyes. Her round, open face seems as if it's used to doing a lot of smiling. A pair of gold-rimmed glasses perch--slightly askew--on her nose. Harriet is wearing a longsleeved, man's shirt, at least two sizes too large. Although originally a sedate white, the shirt has been tie-dyed and studded here and there with tiny spots of glitter. The shirt flops over paint-splattered blue jeans, with the blinding yellow of her sneakers an oddly appropriate accompaniment to the whole thing. Harriet is also wearing a large, thick denim jacket, which has been patched, whether it needed it or not, with numerous squares of rainbow and tye-dyed cloth. Mick seems in many ways to be a typical teenage boy with a slender build. His dark hair is kept fairly short and just a tad spikey. His face has a remarkably attractive quality however, especially with the color of his eyes being ice blue almost to the point of being white. This produces an optical illusion of glowing faintly due to the way they contrast against his skin. He has on a warm sweater over a button down shirt with a sparse plaid pattern along with a pair of baggy blue jeans. All over the pants are scribbled nonsensical phrases and psychotic doodlings. On his feet are an old pair of white Nikes and he also has with him a warm winter coat. Harriet sips her shakes. "It was a Christmas gift. Obsidian itself isn't very rare, but this piece is large, which /is/ unusual." She smiles. "It's not like finding a Stradivarius, but it's pretty cool, you know?" Mick nods a bit, "Brittle you say? Wouldn't be useful in any musical would it?" Mick says, "Hmm...musical WAY." Harriet ers. "I actually have /no/ idea, you know? It's glass, with all the properties thereof...maybe you could make chimes or something, but I just don't know." She spreads her hands. "What I know about musical instruments could be summarized in 'they sound pretty'." The door opens to admit a tall man in form the dark and cold Outside. He closes it quickly behind him to avoid too much heat sneaking out, and then lets his eyes sweep over the room. At this hour the crowd's a bit thin, so he doesn't take long in spotting a familiar, colorful little person. He beams as he makes his way to the bar, and waves to Harriet. "Hey there pretty face, you're up late!" Harriet just looked at you. Zach(#777PXcen) Zach is a tall man, probably about 6'3". Slim, well built and rather handsome, his apperance is one of goodnatured machismo. He carries himself well, with an air of cheerful confidence and a flirtatious sparkle showing in his green eyes. Movements are smooth and precise. His hair is relatively short cut, black and wavy. A workman's tan is visible, and hints to much time being spent outdoors. In the clothes department he sports black jeans, a black armless t-shirt and a black leather jacket. The jacket is a typicel biker's jacket and has obviously seen a lot of wear. It is however well cared for with no visible tearings or holes. The boots are black Doc Martens. On his hands he wears black leather gloves. Mick nods and takes another sip from his shake. He glances at the man who waves in his general direction, straw still in mouth. Seeing that the man seems to be on good terms with Harriet immediately elicits an expression of suspicion from Mick. Mick just looked at you. Harriet starts to smile at Zach, to beam with recognition, even, but her expression falters when she sees Mick all supicious again. She does wave back, though, giving both guys apologetic looks, for entirely different reasons. Zach buys himself a big cup of scalding-hot coffee at the bar, adding liberal amounts of sugar to it. He is a mite puzzled by these elaborate expressions though, and saunters over to Mick and Harriet's table to see what this is all about. He smiles a warm, friendly smile to Harriet and then to Mick as he walks up to them. "Hey there sweetie, what's with the long face?" He nods to Mick in greeting. Mick edges his seat from the table. Nothing terribly noticable, just a few inches, but enough to allow him to leave at a moment's notice. He watches Zach warily. Harriet sighs, and says to Zach, "Long story. Er. Zach, this is Mick. Mick, Zach." She forstalls any attempt Zach might make at shaking hands by placing her own on his free hand. She glances at Mick. "I told you one of my friends played the guitar, you know? This is him." Then to Zach, she says, "I don't suppose you know if obsidian would be of use in any kind of musical instrument?" Thus firmly establishing (hopefully) nonthreatening topics, Harriet lets herself stop talking. Zach gallantly bows over Harriet's hand and kisses it, winking a secret wink to her to put her at ease. Straightening up again he smiles warmly to Mick. "Hullo there Mick, nice to meet you. You a musician too?" He tilts his head about the obsidian, shaking it slowly. "I'm sure one could find a use for it in percussion at least..." Mick allows his guard to drop just enough so that he can nod to Zach and reply, "Hello mister." He still regards Zach however like one might regard a member of Heaven's Gate coming to invite them to the next Hale Bop party. Zach's player utterly fails to recognize those names. <:) Help? <:) Mick says, "Suicide cult. Went to go join God by riding on the spaceship comet He sent, or something like that." Zach says, "Ah! /Those/ lunatics. Thanks. :)" Mick grins and nods. Harriet doesn't seem terribly at eased, but does smile a bit at the gallantry. "He is," she supplies, "but I can only vouch for the singing, which he's quite good at, you know?" She smiles reassuringly at Mick. "Zach knows a great deal more about music than I do. I'm just a listener, myself." Zach chuckles softly. "I'm not claiming any brilliance on my part, but I do enjoy playing. My sister is the family's top notch singer and percussionist though. Mind if I sit down with you? If you're having a private conversation I'll go away," he says in a pleasant light baritone, standing perfectly at ease as if he hasn't got a care in the world. From afar, Harriet cuddles, and can always count on Zach to be nonchalant! Mick nods his head slowly, and seems to give Zach somewhat something of the benefit of the doubt for at least the endorsement Harriet just now gave. Still the thoughts fluttering in his head seem to be read on his face, common interests...isn't that just the way cults lure people? No stress? How is that possible? Is he brainwashed or something? He remains tense. "Um... well." he starts and then shoots an uncertain glance towards Harriet before shrugging a little. He looks towards the door, almost as if to be sure just where it is and "What...sort of guitar do you have?" he ventures to ask. Long distance to Harriet: Zach has a certain minimum of People Skills! :) Thank's to his beloved Boss! Harriet looks neutrally back at Mick, letting it be his decision. Zach would probably notice that she's being exceptionally careful in her body language, especially in the area of sudden movements, and keeping her hands where Mick can see them. From afar, Harriet huggles Zach's Boss! And hers, theoretically. ;P Zach floomps down on a seat that places him with his back to the bar, and leaves Mick with a free, unobstructed way to the door. He puts his cup on the table, takes his gloves off and then proceeds to warm both his hands on the cup, smiling happily to Mick. "Thanks guys. My guitar is a six-stringer. Spanish guitar built for me by a n old friend of my dad's. Antonio Ferrera's his name. Brilliant instrument maker, but not very well known sadly. It's a real beauty," he beams. Mick allows himself a little smile. Something about the talk of the guitar at least touches some part of him. "Really mister? Sounds like a nice one. I just have a Fender, a Rickenbacker, and a little Martin I take with me sometimes." he says, almost with a little cheerful excitement now. "You...you say your sister is a singer?" Mick says, "Oh. Zach's pretty old. ;P" Harriet throws Zach a grateful look, and settles back in her seat to let the guys talk about the esoteric world of musical...stuff. She munches on her fries, and nudges the basket towards Zach, in case he wants one. Harriet steps up in Zach's defense. "But young at heart!" :D Zach says, "Hey! Am not old! Just....matured a bit. :)" Mick grins. Harriet snorts. Mature? Zach? ...no comment. Zach says, "HEY!!" Harriet blinks innocently. Zach grins to Mick. "Indeed she is. She moved the crowd to tears over at the Bluebird just before the holidays. She hangs out all over town so you might even have bumped into her for all I know. Her name's Hachilah. She's about your age." He gulps down some of his coffee and gets a wistful expression on his face. "I want to get myself an electric guitar once. When I can afford a decent one.." Mick suddenly fall silent. He looks into his milkshake as he sips from the drink and shifts once at one point uncomfortably. Harriet also twitches at something that Zach says, and does her own share of looking uncomfortable. Of course, that's going around lately, so it's probably nothing. She pops a fry in her mouth, and chews with determination. Zach takes this in stride and tilts his head as he smiles a soft, sympathetic smile in Mick's direction. "I'm sorry dude... Let's get back to guitars eh? I know she can have a bit of an impact," he says in a soft voice and slurps some more coffee. "The Rickenbacker - is that a bass or regular guitar?" The right side of his mouth tries to put on a smile for Zach, but the left side doesn't seem to want to follow. There is a hint of the old suspicion flaring up behind his eyes but he regards Zach with uncertainty so he nods, "Um... The one I have is a regular guitar. A 325 if you're familiar with the models. But I...um...I want to get a 12 string Rick when I can." Harriet rises slowly from the table, and smiles at the guys. "I'll be right back," she says, and pats Zach on the shoulder before heading off in the direction of the ladies' room. Harriet has to idle for a few. Feel free to pose around. :) Zach smiles lovingly after Harriet and lets out a very, very tiny sigh that Mick might or might not notice. Turning back to Mick he nods, "I don't know them very well, but the 300 series are semi-acoustics aren't they?" Alright, Mick gets a bit uncomfortable about being left with a complete stranger at the table, but at the same time it's not every day somebody knows about Rickenbackers so he seems drawn enough to remain at the table. He nods, slowly at first, and then a bit more confidently and says, "They are indeed. The 325 has f holes!" almost as though he felt that made a big difference. Zach leans back, nursing his coffee cup with both hands, thinking. His squinta a bit as if that will help him think. Slowly he smiles as he recalls.. "Oh yes... I think I know the model. They're quite old right? Vintage. It's got one f-hole at two o' clock I think?" Mick allows himself to smile a little again and nods, "The other side has that pickguard that gives the Rick their 'look'. My one is black..." and then he sighs a bit, "Well, I know. That's probably cliche. But I liked it. I still like it." Zach nods with enthusiasm. "Sounds like a real nice piece. You play in a band or something?" Harriet returns from the ladies' room, looking a little less untidy, at least. She smiles as she sees that they're both still there, and slips back into her seat. She wiggles her fingers in a little wave, and reaches for her fries again. There aren't that many left in the basket. As the subject turns to bands, something about it seems to make Mick a little uncomfortable again. The way his eyes played, it might be deduced that the cause was just some further link in some sort of chain of association that ran through his mind however. He shrugs a bit and mutters something about how he used to... Zach finishes his coffee, but continues to nurse the cup. It's always nice to have something to hold on to when you're navigating unknown waters. He doesn't lose his general good cheer and just relaxes, beaming to Harriet; happy she's back. "I've wanted to do that form time to time myself, but I'm a bit restless. I usually don't stay long enough in the same place. So I sit around in parks and play for the ducks mostly." Harriet chuckles. "Do they appreciate it, you know?" she asks with a smile, inbetween fries. Zach snorts. "No. They're the most ungrateful little bastards. If you give 'em food you're king, but anything else... Pfft! Forget it!" He chuckles again, his eyes all twinkling with humour. Mick finds the relentless cheerfulness a bit eerie, but he doesn't bolt for the door or anything. He listens to the others quietly while drinking his milkshake. He finishes his milkshake. He wants another milkshake. Mick hasn't spent enough time around Harriet to realize that for her, this is almost depressed. Scratch the almost. She smiles over at Zach's remark, then looks at Mick look at the empty milkshake. "Want another, you know?" Mick nods his head, "Okay." and before she can order anything he adds, "And maybe some dessert?" "Sure, order what you like," Harriet says, and arranges her seat so that she can lean against Zach. "The ducks obviously have no taste in music," she murmurs. "Perhaps they'd prefer the triangle?" Mick orders a slice of pie to go along with his milkshake. He rubs his nose a bit puts that old flyer back into his wallet for safekeeping while the adults have their adult talk. Zach smiles to Harriet and puts an arm around her shoulder, letting her rest more comfortably against him. He gives the top of her head a hug for good measure. "I seriously doubt it. You could probably train them to recognize it as a feeding signal, but these buggers regard /people/ as a feeding signal." Quietly he asks her, "You okay hon?" Harriet nods. "They're certainly enthusastic. I think it's cute, you know?" To his question, she just shrugs. "It has be a long night. And it's...good god." Her gaze rises from her watch to look at Mick. "Are you still on Winter vacation? Otherwise, it should be noted that it's almost dawn." The current time in Kansas City is 05:05 AM, Thu Jan 02, 2003. Mick nods a bit and says quietly, "School doesn't start until Monday." Zach glances at his own watch. "Wow, I didn't realize how late it was. Or early.. And the coffee I just had's gonna keep me awake for hours yet." Contemplating this he adds, "That might not have been the cleverest thing I've ever done..." *sigh* Mick chuckles softly, in spite of himself. And then he notices he's chuckling and stops. Harriet nods to Mick. "That's good to hear, at least," she says, and smiles. The smile widens just a bit at his chuckle. To Zach, she murmurs, "Well, it could have been worse. Chocolate covered coffee beans, you know?" Zach sighs and just grins ruefully. "Why didn't you stop me Harriet? Tell me to get cocoa or something instead? /You're/ the one who's got the common sense after all," he complains with a teasing wink. Mick shrugs just a bit about the notion of school being a good thing. He sips from his new milkshake, which had arrived, and eats some pie. He looks at the others and then just decides that they could never relate to what it's like to be in school and more than he can recall what it was like in preschool, so he just eats silently. Zach laughs! :D Harriet hehs, with more bitterness than amusement. "You realize that the idea of /me/ being the one with the common sense fills me with apprehension beyond measure, right?" She, for one, doesn't really sound like she's teasing. But then, she's obviously tired. Zach gives Harriet a reassuring squeeze and a kiss on her temple. Warmly and softly he murmurs to her, "Take it as the compliment it was, hon." He gives har another sideways hug. Mick glances at the adults, and can't tell if they're fading or just being sentimental right now. He seems to be considering the possibility that these are indeed the best years of his life if it is the former. He quickly finishes the pie and shake, in case they want to get going. Harriet is, indeed, fading, but she makes a masterful effort to rally. Mostly by smiling at Zach, and saying, "I know. And I shall," and sitting up. She rubs at her eyes, and looks at Mick as he finishes his food. "So. Is there anywhere else you'd like to go, you know? Home? You never did call your parents..." Mick shrugs, "Well, if I call now things would just get messy." He gives Harriet an odd looks as he says, "I mean, calling at this hour...they might think I'd been kidnapped or something. I think it'd be easier all around to sneak in at this rate." Zach kindly strokes Harriet's cheek gently and sits up a bit as well. "Do you guys need a lift to your homes? I have my truck parked over on Minnesota," he offers, being extremely awake due to a caffeine and sugar overdose. Harriet flinches at Mick's words, and looks extremely guilty for a moment. "Well, then. I guess I'd better just take you there, you know?" She hesitates at Zach's offer, then says, "I think I'd better take him myself. But, ah, if you're going to be up for a little while, could I drop by your home after? For a few minutes?" Mick glances at Harriet and then Zach, and then just sits there and waits for the adults to make whatever plans need making. Zach smiles to her. "Sure, whatever you wish m'lady. I'll be up." He smiles to Mick as well. "It was good meeting you Mick. So long and take care now." Zach gets up and dons his gloves, getting ready to face the Outdoors again. Mick nods politely at Zach and says, "Good bye Mister..um..?" Harriet also stands, leaning against Zach for a brief moment in thanks, before smiling at. She fishes out the money for the tab and tip, and lays it on the table. "Um. Right. Are you ready, Mick?" Zach smiles warmly. "Ellis. Zach Ellis - but just call me Zach. Everyone else does. See ya," he brushes a kiss over Harriet's cheek, waves to Mick and heads out. You step outside. You head up into the flat. Upstairs Flat -- 789 Minnesota -- Downtown -- KCK(#321Rhng) You see a tiny flat laid out before you. It's a cosy little place painted in bright and lively colors; yellow and green being prominent. On one wall hangs a tie-dye poster of Che Guevarra looking his usual heroic self. Underneath the poster stands the combined bed and couch. It is far from new, but covered in a bright red blanket. A small coffee table stands in fromt of it. In the corner to the left of the couch rests a guitar case, covered with stickers from all over the world. In the other corner stands a big toolbox. Next to the window stands a small warderobe freshly painted like a rainbow, and a fridge. To the right of the entrance a door leads into a closet sized bathroom. Next to the bathroom there's a small nook with a 3' working bench with a sink and cupboards above and below and a cooking stove. The window has five pots of healthy-looking plantlife residing in it. Harriet pages: And now Harriet wants to whine at poor Zach. :) You paged Harriet with 'That'll be fine! :) I'll brb! He left the door open so she can walk straight in.'. <<