4949/3 am

3 am
Date of Scene:	29 December 2016
Location:	Bar and Grill at the Edge of the Multiverse
Synopsis:	Three Paladins find themselves in the Bar and Grill for late night food and talk.
Cast of Characters:	20, 300, Heinkel Wolfe (Dropped)

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Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Lots of people stop by the Bar and Grill now even after what happened. Perhaps because it's one thing that still feels the same; offering a place to meet, hang out, play some games, relax. And also to eat.

    One figure who has frequented this place a lot has decided to stop by right after the clock strikes 3, the time when the tired truck drivers has stopped by to get their dark and smelly coffee. When some ladies are on their second pack of cigarettes at the bar as they talk the ears off of anybody willing to listen. It's not something the young guest is interested in as she walks up to the bar, scratching her bunny pajamas covered butt, her face barely visible under that enormous ball of messy, dark hair. After food has been ordered she turns around, reaches up and picks at her nose and then walks off to find herself a table. Upon finding a free booth she flops down, yawning... and lies her head down on the table as she waits for the waiter to come on over with her food.

Richard Stadler (300) has posed:
There's the sound of a throat clearing, and then the word, 'Beifong' uttered, not as a question, but as a matter of fact statement. If Toph was able to pay a bit more attention than her sleep addled mind was capable of, she probably would have spotted Rick in the opposite end of the booth, looking at first concerned, then amused, then /be/mused at the fact that Toph was sitting across from him. The steaming cup of coffee (strongest that could be made at this place) was resting in his hand, Class A jacket neatly folded across the back of the booth, tie loosened and top button undone. Another, louder indication. "Beifong. I didn't see you on any of the mission lists for late night action." That was more polite than saying, 'what the devil are you doing her in bunny PJs at this ungodly hour?'

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    The initial throat clearing doesn't get a reaction from Toph where she has parked her butt and forehead. But when that familiar voice speaks up again the teenager sits bolt upright, her tired eyes blinking underneath that wild mass of hair. "... huh? Oh, heya Stadle--" Her sentence is broken off by a long and drawnout yawn. Seems somebody really is tired. "No, I... just woke up and wanted some grub that isn't leftovers from Christmas. Dad makes good food, but after some days in the fridge... you know." The blind girl rubs tiredly at her eyes before she leans on the table again. "Not signing up for late night duty when mom's about to pop anytime soon anyways..."

Richard Stadler (300) has posed:
Stadler may be /slightly/ disappointed that there wasn't a stronger reaction, but can certainly understand it. A lift of his mug for the moment, emblazoned with USAMRIID's crest, another sip of the lifeblood of coffee, and then a remark. "Do you normally have a habit of starting your day at three AM? Because most of the people I know don't leave a warm bed half asleep and trudge through time and space because the fridge of their rich father doesn't quite have what they're looking for." He notes. Another pause. "Are you... sure everything is all right? No trouble sleeping, insomnia? Dreams?" He says, prodding just a little bit to make sure. He'd heard about the meeting she had with Amalthea, and teenagers tended to make some big deals out of things. When those things themselves were already big deals... well.

Heinkel Wolfe (Dropped) has posed:
  Growing up on the streets of Austria, Heinkel Wolfe had heard an interesting story from the more poetic minds among Salzburg's criminal elements. They had described the 'Hour of the Wolf,' that hour of the morning when one can't sleep, and all one can see is the troubles, the problems; the ways life should have gone, but didn't. All one can hear is the sound of one's own heart.

  Heinkel Wolfe and the Wolf are on a first-name basis. She lives, unironically, in the Hour of the Wolf; has lived there for seven or eight years now. Most of the time she can manage herself well enough, but some nights, she hears only the sound of her own heart, and can see nothing but the troubles.

  Tonight is one of those nights. That might explain why the door to the Bar and Grill bangs open, and through it strolls the lanky androgynous priest. She must have been up for a while, for she's dressed and looks more or less composed, if tired. The solidity of her suggests she has her weapons with her, although she doesn't need them in this place. It's only habit that she wears them.

  The priest has a cigarette hanging from the corner of her mouth, and her hair looks just a little bit more unkempt than usual. Her boots are heavy against the floor, unmistakably solid, and a few spare shells jingle in one coat pocket.

  Voices catch her attention. She hears them before she can even see anyone familiar. Keen ears can pick out the sound of Toph, and Richard Stadler... there aren't any other familiar voices here. Heinkel's heavy boot treads slow in an indecisive pause. Should she go be sociable? She doesn't really want to. All she really wants to do is empty her wallet here and tell them to bring her the strongest rotgut they have in the casks.

  ...That rotgut is awfully tempting. There's a sigh, though, and the priest turns on her heel, shuffling back over to the table occupied by Toph and Stadler.

  "Guten tag." Heinkel looks pretty bad. Although her eyes themselves are hidden by her sunglasses (who wears sunglasses at three o'clock in the morning?), the haggardness of the rest of her face suggests sleeplessness. "Vasn't expecting to see either of you here..."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Sometimes," Toph responds tiredly at Stadler's question as she picks at her nose some more. The waiter eventually walks over with a tray of food for Toph. She's... ordered quite a lot. Hash browns, bacon, lots of greasy eggs, but also some lighter foods. But clearly she can't eat all of this, now can she? A teenager she might be, but she's rather small sizewise.

    When Stadler pries further into Toph's reasoning for coming here her expression turns slightly stern, and she lets out a tired huff. "/You/ aren't my father," she points out, then reaches out to grab the mug of tea from the tray before she pulls one of her plates close, then begins stuffing her mouth. "But no, it's fine.. just... hungry," she manages to get out between bites. "And couldn't grab food in Malibu, so... I went here. This place has good food."

    Then there's the familiar voice and foot steps of... Heinkel? Oh yeah, that's her. "It's not exactly day yet, Squirrel Lizard," Toph half-yawns, waving a hand at Heinkel in greeting before she uses that same hand to stuff some greasy bacon into her mouth. And then she wipes her hand on her bunny print pajama bottoms.

Richard Stadler (300) has posed:
Richard Stadler observes the food that's brought out... and brought out... and brought out. A bit of a sigh. This wasn't a high-class restuarant, but it wasn't exactly Denny's either, and all of that added up. For his part, the only plate placed in front of him was steak and two scrambled eggs, which he leaves alone for just a moment. "I'm not, that's true. From that reaction, I can guess he's already asked. I am an officer, though, and working off limited sleep because something's keeping you awake at night lowers performance." Another sip of his coffee. Do as I say, and not as I do. "But if you're fine, you're fine. I'm suprised you universe-hopped instead of trying to find hole-in-the-wall Chinese. Certainly it would have been a shorter trek-"

He turns to the new comer, eyebrows raised in suprise. "And more coincidences... though given where we are, I shouldn't be suprised. Hello, Sister Wolfe. To be blunt, you look worse than she does. Have either of you considered something stronger than coffee?"

Heinkel Wolfe (Dropped) has posed:
  Despite her nonchalant body language, there's an edge of tension to the priest; a shadow of lingering restlessness. Indeed, her hand in her pocket is absently fidgeting with two of those spare shells. The metal jingles brightly even over the restaurant's ambient sound.

  Her head turns to look at Toph directly, and the earthbender might sense the subtle shift in weight as she does. It's mostly for the benefit of her company, since most people don't know where she's looking with the sunglasses on; this lets them know where her attention is.

  "Vell, it's more of a generic greeting," Heinkel explains, shrugging with a rustle of heavy fabric. The cassock she usually wears is made of sturdy fabric, but the coat is so reinforced that between its construction and its enchantments, it basically serves as light armour. It sure sounds like it when it moves. "The sun's not going to be up for a few more hours yet, in Rome."

  It's a little ironic that Toph's settled on a nickname she'll absolutely refuse to change for a thing Heinkel doesn't even do that much. Honestly, she was just up that tree for a vantage point. Ferdinand Luke's doesn't have a convenient watchtower.

  Heinkel makes an idle note to buy herself a pair of binoculars later in the week. In passing, she catches a member of waitstaff and puts in an order. She leans an elbow on the table, cupping her chin in her hand. A few minutes later, the waitstaff drops by with what looks like an omelette and an aromatic cup of coffee.

  She's already busy shaking salt onto the omelette by the time Stadler notices she looks haggard.

  "Hunh." It's mostly a noncommittal grunt. "I haf an uncommonly high tolerance for alcohol. Takes a lot more to get me drunk than I usually haf the budget for. Also, I haf other vays to distract myself from things than drinking. Drinking is just a temporary fix, und then you haf to deal vit a hangover." She pauses, setting the salt aside and rubbing at her jaw. "Vell, hangovers for people who aren't me, I guess. Excuse me."

  She lowers her head over her plate, murmuring what sounds like it could be scriptures, followed by a prayer.

  "...Amen."

  She picks her head back up, and proceeds to stuff an eighth or so of the omelette into her mouth. It's a few minutes before she can talk again, because she's apparently ravenously hungry.

  She arches a brow behind her plate when she does. "Besides," she adds, shrugging one shoulder. "I vould think the career soldier und Paladin vould advise things other than drinking to address von's problems."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Trust me, dad already has stuff covered, so no need to alert the authorities all worried about my parents not taking care of me," Toph reassures Stadler. No, Toph has never spoken badly about her home in Malibu, not even when she's been disciplined for various things. There's no risk of her running away from /that/ home. As a matter of fact she was pretty clear that she /was/ going home for Christmas to spend time with her family and not staying aboard the Ad Coelum.

    Something stronger than coffee? At that Toph snorts, blowing some hair away from her face. For some seconds at least. "I don't even like coffee... and I'm going back to bed soon, "she informs Stadler and Heinkel.

    As for why she didn't find a hole-in-the-wall Chinese place? "I did, but... it was noisy when some punk tried to rob it with a knife," the blind teen calmly explains. "That place has amazing fried prawns, but after I dealt with the punk it's not like I could demand that the lady make me food after all that, she was shaking." The blind girl stuffs her mouth full of egg. "Sho Ah went heh insteahd."

    Unlike Heinkel it appears that the blind girl doesn't bother with prayers and such before eating. As for drinking? "She's got a point... I don't think dad and mom would be happy if I got drunk," Again, "after going out to grab food. They might even veto it, and where else am I supposed to find donuts, bacon and other nice stuff this time of night?"

Richard Stadler (300) has posed:
Richard Stadlergives a nod to Heinkel, now taking the time to grip his steak knife, making a cut into the steak and popping it into his mouth with a fork. The slightl grimace on his face indicates that perhaps it isn't as /rare/ as he would have liked it, but.. well, steak was steak. He won't speak to Hienkel's prayer. She knew where she drew some of her strength, and if God was on speaking terms with her, who was he to say otherwise? Instead, he addresses the last part of her statement, once she's down eating everything except for most of the porcelin.

"Everyone always assumes I mean alcohol. As if whiskey's what one uses to keep awake and alert. I suppose my other solutions aren't quite the thing to offer someone who's knocking on the door of 16, but I might send you something if you make late nights like this a... habit, Wolfe." The last word was just a bit deadpan, but he was up at 3 AM too. "Even I owe it to my daughter to actually get some sleep-

"There was a sudden look over to Toph as she mentioned exctactly what she did. "You... really." He says, unable to keep the suprise out of his voice. "Well, I suppose giving you a bdage does pay dividends over time. Though I... hope you realize you might have to head to the local police department to make a statement tomorrow. Not that you had much choice in the matter, but paperwork /is/ paperwork." He notes. Perhaps not the /best/ thing to say to a sleep deprived teen shoving food into her mouth. "But, again, no alcohol. Maybe when you're 21 I might recommend a glass of Guiness to ensure you remain a tee-toller, but that's for another time.

Heinkel Wolfe (Dropped) has posed:
  The priest spares a bland look for the soldier's meal, but she offers no comment. Others can eat what they like, and the food is certainly good in this place, but the kind of temptation brought on by a rare steak isn't worth waking the Wolf. At the same time, it's been a very long time since she's been able to enjoy something like that, and the food /is/ very good here...

  ...It's nights like these that she perfectly understands the struggle that Yumiko faces with every living moment.

  "Oh, you mean stimulants." Heinkel wrinkles her nose. "Nein, danke. I haf to take too many, und then I just feel uncomfortably paranoid, jumping at efery little thing for the next however many hours. Tried thatvonce. Not vorth it either." The omelette must be good; it's vanishing at a rapid rate. Either Heinkel regularly half-starves herself, or she just didn't realise she was hungry.

  She glances briefly at Richard. "I know somevon who has excellent scotch, und that's been enough for me, lately. Normally I'll just talk vit my partner. She has a vay of being very understanding... but since the incident, Iscariot's been scattered across the globe, trying to put out fires." She grimaces. "Guess I got the short straw, und I'm the bodyguard for Ferdinand Luke's, for the time being. I mean, I guess I should be flattered they trust my skills so much, but..."

  "Ach, stop calling me 'Miss Volfe,' Stadler. I'm not that old--" She doesn't look a day over her early thirties, "--but that makes me sound like an old grandmother."

  "Anyvay... I alvays haf late nights. It's part of vhat ve do, as soldiers of Iscariot. Don't vorry too much about it, und you're certainly not obligated to send me anything." Heinkel waves a hand dismissively, before scraping up the last of her omelette and pushing the plate aside. Her elbow returns to the table, chin cupped in her hand; the slight tilt of her glasses suggests her eyes are fixed on a point between Richard and Toph.

  She arches one brow at Toph's story. Sounds like it was indeed a dividend to issue the earthbender a badge. Heinkel even manages a faint half-smile. There seems to be a very slight point to her canine teeth, but maybe that's just the lighting and imagination.

  Heinkel snorts. "You know, there's nothing wrong vit vine. I don't drink it myself any more, but they say a glass of red a day /ist/ good for your health, you know." She reaches for her mug, wrapping her hands around it. "Yumie likes an occasional glass of vine. I used to. These days I just drink coffee. Tea, sometimes. That's vhy I don't really need stimulants." Heinkel snorts, amused. "Heh. I drink too much of that stuff."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Dad's promised to take me on a trip to France when I'm older," Toph asides tiredly to Stadler, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "I don't feel like being a rebel aside from tasting champagne and stuff during events with the family either, I don't see the point." She already got drunk once by accident, and she doesn't want to repeat that situation as she felt like total crud.

    Why does Stadler sound so surprised when she tells about what happened on the way here? It's not the first time she's stopped small incidents like that in Malibu. "What? Was I supposed to just stand there while he was swinging that knife around at that old lady?" she asks, clearly awake enough to do some light sarcasm. "And I already gave a statement to the officer who came there to arrest the guy, it's not like they could have gotten the metal I bended onto him off by themselves!" Sheesh.

    Toph lets out a burp where she sits, swinging her feet a bit from her seat. It appears she's slowing down on the eating, but... there's still lots of food left on her plates. "Staying up late sucks," she comments to Heinkel, all before she gestures for the waiter who walks by. "A doggy bag, please."

Richard Stadler (300) has posed:
Richard Stadler notices the look at his steak by Hienkel, a bit confused for a time, then slightly frozen as he realizes what that might mean, exactly. She had mentioned... well. Devouring it quickly might not be the best of ideas. Chief of which would be he wanted to enjoy it, but possibly because a Wolf seeing food vanish so rapidly might get desperate. So he just cuts off another chunk, and eats at a more sedate pace... while adding steak sauce. THat might help.

"Most stimulants, I imagine, aren't strong enough. I've made a personal study, admittedly, of some good ones. Haven't really plied them on someone with a few... metaphysical properties, but I would relish the oppurtunity if you ever need a pick-me-up that isn't conversation. Though I do feel sorry for all the late shifts... Sister Wolfe." Well, if Miss Wolfe doesn't work, there were /other/ titles he could use.

And then a look toward Toph. "I don't suppose a glass of wine would hurt with a parents permission, certainly. It's the... European thing to do, I hear. And not to say something aganist your father, but Stark has always been the type that might be okay with a bit of experimentation... Or not. A lot of people change when they become fathers, and I admit, I haven't spoken with him all that frequently." The steak was almost gone now, and he obviously wasn't looking to leave the eggs for later. A sip of the blackest of black Coffee. "Though that means I should take a look at the records. Call myself happy that my judgement of you was right from the first." A slight grin. "I would even wonder if you know the exact crime the man you stopped was charged with."

Heinkel Wolfe (Dropped) has posed:
  If Heinkel notices that Richard deliberately takes a more sedate pace with his meal, she doesn't acknowledge it. To his observation, she only flashes a very slightly toothsome grin. "I don't know vhat you're talking about, Stadler. I just haf an extraordinary constitution."

  The joke serves two purposes; one, it lightens the mood a little since he seems a bit nervous about his food, and two, it reminds him that it's not a fact she likes to flaunt publicly. Or at all. The fewer who know about her particular curse, the better.

  Even in coming out into the open, becoming public entities, Section XIII doesn't advertise the various properties of its agents. They don't talk about Yumiko's split-personality berserkergang, they don't talk about Anderson's Regenerator technology, and they don't talk about the fact that Heinkel Wolfe is a literal wolf sometimes.

  "Things like that never had much of an effect on me, even earlier in my life." Heinkel takes a sip of her own, mulling over the flavour. It's not roasted too much, and it even has hints of things that are not straight-up bitter or too strong. A good blend. "I preferred not to rely on them in my previous line of vork. Even if they vork, they're compromising your head, ja?" She taps a finger to her temple, just above the frames of her sunglasses. "Too jumpy, too villing to squeeze that trigger, especially vhen it's vhat you /shouldn't/ be doing. Besides, I haf to drink too much of it to haf any effect, anyvay. Coffee's more of a suggestion."

  It doesn't really wake her up in the morning, not unless she drinks an entire pot of the stuff, and that just leaves her uncomfortable for the rest of the day. The only reason she does any more is because it had become such a morning routine that even pointless habits are hard to kick.

  "Hunh." Heinkel leans back in her chair, folding her arms. "You're good at finding loopholes und technicalities, aren't you? You haf an aversion to using peoples' names, or vhat? I don't know about you, but I'm not on-duty right now. Also, I really don't care if you call me by my first name. I know some people are a little veird about that, but not me."

  The priest reaches for an ashtray. "Sorry. Hope you don't mind if I smoke. I'll keep it avay in the other direction. Reasons," she adds.

Heinkel Wolfe (Dropped) has posed:
  It means she won't smell that delicious stake or be tempted to order her own. Meat has a way of waking the Wolf, and of waking aggressive, dangerous instincts she would rather not give the time of day to. She'll indulge once in a while, but giving it up for the most part was probably the healthiest choice she could have made at the time -- for herself as well as others. Especially for others.

  ...Really, though. A priest who drinks and smokes? Heavily? What kind of church is that, anyway?

  Rather than cut in on Toph's answer, Heinkel pushes herself to her feet, shrugging out of that coat. It looks a bit like a cassock in its stylings, but once it's off, it's clear that it's not the coat that bears a collar, but the sleeveless garment she has on under that. The coat is uncerimoniously tossed over the back of the chair, and Heinkel settles back in. The first that's obvious is that she's not nearly as solid as the coat makes her look -- more lanky than anything else, all limbs.

  The second is that her job has not been kind to her. There are scars everywhere, of all kinds of different denominations; but the one that takes the cake is a broad, white stripe that tracks halfway around the left side of her neck and shoulder. /Something/ tried to take her head off, and nearly succeeded. It looks very suspiciously like an animal of some kind tore into her throat.

  Oh, and the third thing is that Sister Wolfe is definitely a Sister. One can see how she might use clothing like the cassock and coat to conceal that, though.

  Ditching the coat, however, is a lot more comfortable. She twists, fishing into the coat pocket and producing a carton and a chrome lighter. Lighting herself a cigarette, she lets it droop from the corner of her mouth and drops her chin back into a hand. A streamer of smoke is exhaled, but Heinkel is considerate enough to breathe it in the opposite direction.

  Curiously, she hasn't ditched the sunglasses. Wouldn't most people get rid of those as soon as they went inside a building?

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Whatever looks Stadler and Heinkel give eachother and her are missed.

    The talk about Tony though, that makes Toph snort. "He can be strict... in a good way though. You should talk more with him though if you haven't, even I've noticed he's changed after he got married." Before that, really. After they all became a family. Who would have thought that Tony Stark would look forward to family movie night, dinners and just spending time with the family he's managed to gain after losing what he had? "Pepper wears the pants though, she's kinda the highest authority."

    A snort is all the reply that Stadler gets regarding his judgement of recruiting Toph for the Paladins. Regarding his crime? "First degree assault and attempted robbery," Toph mutters tiredly as the waiter arrives with a doggy bag for her, and she begins packing up the leftover food. "I stopped him before he could harm the old lady, of course. Malibu is my turf now, and damnit that old lady should get a medal for all the times she's made me food late at night," the blind girl adds.

    It's a good thing she's eaten already, as Toph makes a slight face at the talk of smoking. Though rather than comment on that, Toph nods. "He seems to have an allergy for first names, doesn't he?" With that Toph reaches for her mug of tea... and downs the rest of it. Her body language looks less tired now, though she doesn't appear to be completely awake yet either. "I say we punch him until he learns our names when we're off the clock," she half-teases. "I should get my ass headed back to Malibu before Jarvis decides to get all whiny and nag at me, or worse... wake dad or mom up." With a heavy sigh she rises from her seat.

Richard Stadler (300) has posed:
Richard Stadler gives Heinkel a look, a very quick one, but one of his skills was the keeping of secrets, and Heinkel seemed to want this one under a few different locks. "Oh, certainly, certainly. But that still doesn't mean I wouldn't like to tick that box off for seeing a woman of the cloth take them. I hae a bingo card that, for some crazy reason, hasn't had 'chaplin' checked off on it." Another smile, now that the metaphysical comment was neatly cleaned up. "But that feeling is prefereably to being bone tired. The perfect solution would be to get a full six hours," Who the hell could count on 8?, "but we all know that isn't possible. So, when it isn't, it's good to have something to relay on beyond black coffee, ammonia capsules, and the odd amphetmine bottle- The last ones I would /not/ recommend, Beifong." Important to say that.

Another bit of a smile to both of them, this one just a little bit smug. "Of course I am. I live in paperwork and I've been involved in public health for a while. You start to learn the little places rules can be moved past, other laws being used as a bridge, and such. A bit of a lesson for our newest agent here, perhaps. Or perhaps she's right. And I'm allergic to first names. I am a soldier after all, and figuring out which John out of 15 in a company you're refering to is a tough one. I'd advised /aganist/ pummeling me, though. Mutated monsters couldn't get me to use first names often. And they have tried."

The cigerrete smoke was something he wrinkled his nose at. Not because the smell was bad, but because, if Hienkel had a weakness to steak, he had a weakness to Nicotine, and it had not been as long as he'd like since his last pack of them. "Can't complain about it, but try to blow it another direction. Don't want to be digging into my own stale stash when I get home; that stimulant I can keep with out." A pause. "Wolfe, I must ask, It can't be easy to see in those things." He says, finger moving up to indicate his own glasses (of the non-sun variety). A bit of an entry in there.

FOr Toph, though, Stadler can't help with a grin as she qoutes the crime. A bit of a debate if she new the difference between second and first degree, but... that would be later. There was a scaffolding of an idea to be pursued when people weren't completely dead from tired. Instead, he simply nods to Toph. "I think I should visit him more often. Keep the lines of communication open... but I don't doubt you should get back to it. YOu're sure you don't need a ride back?" He says, the questioning tone at least /something/ that should be uttered to a teenager walking the mean streets of rich Southern California right after the bars close.

Heinkel Wolfe (Dropped) has posed:
  Heinkel looks down over her ashtray, intermittently tapping the ash on the end into it. She even holds her cigarette like men often do, the base close to the join of her index and middle finger, the rest of her hand splayed across the lower half of her face. Her brows are slightly furrowed, as though considering what the others have to say.

  Or maybe her mind's just wandering. It's hard to say, since Heinkel is the kind of person who keeps her emotions close to her vest.

  "Heh. Guess I'm not surprised. Fraulein Potts alvays struck me as somevon vit a spine of titanium." Heinkel grins around her cigarette. "Not that Herr Stark ist any less, but she's tough. I vouldn't mess vit her."

  When Toph comments on Richard's aversion to names, she looks over, shrugging one shoulder. "Ja? I vas thinking just shoot him in the kneecap. Efer been shot in the kneecap? It's really unpleasant. Has a vay of making somevon agree vit you real quick." One has to wonder how a priest knows that kind of oddly specific trivia...

  "You did good." Heinkel reaches out and claps Toph on the shoulder, offering a lazy wave when Toph make a comment about excusing herself. "I'll recommend you for a raise if you keep that up. Auf wiedersehen. Try to get some kind of sleep, ja?"

  Leaning back in her chair, she turns her head back to Stadler.

  "I prefer tvelve, actually. That's the downside." To the curse, that is. Heinkel sighs, stubbing the end of the cigarette around the ashtray before taking another drag. "Metabolism is ten different kinds of fucked ofer. I need a lot of sleep, I eat a lot of protein. I kick a lot of ass vhen I need to." The passive benefits are great. She can now do the same horrifying things that Yumie can do when Yumie's in full berserker mode.

  Heinkel shrugs at the issue of stimulants. "Maybe for you, ja. I told you, they don't haf much effect on me. I start hafing to take so much I overcompensate. Iscariot's doctors haf never really been able to find a steady dosage. It's like my body rejects things like that. Foreign agents. Survival measure, I guess."

  That look from Richard over the cigarettes is telling. Heinkel sighs, casting him a bland look. "Ach, don't gife me that sad puppy-dog look. You vant von? I haf pletny."

  She tilts her head at his comment. The sunglasses do look very opaque, but if he looks very carefully, there's just a hint of a gleam behind them suggestive of an eye. She shows her teeth again. "Maybe not for you. I can't see vitout them. Yet another product of that." The curse, that is. A finger taps the temple. "Efen vitout that, I vas born vit veak eyes, but as that kind of thing goes... vell. You efer see me go down in battle clutching my head, it's because some idiot knocked my glasses off my face."

  All trace of play fades from her expression; her features turn grave. "I'm effectively blind in daylight vitout these, und the pain is like nothing else I'fe efer experienced. They vere designed by Iscariot engineers to help. Unlike Toph, I can't go do my job if I can't see vhat I'm doing. I'd show you, but the room isn't dark enough."

  "Trust me vhen I say the pain ist crippling." Her bland smile suggests she has firsthand experience with that. "My partner usually looks out for me, und makes sure my glasses are safe if I'm not vearing them. I do the same for her glasses. Ach, but she's not like me," Heinkel adds, hastily. "Hers are just normal prescription glasses."

  "Ach, she'll be fine." The priest waves a hand dismissively. "I think if she can handle herself in a holdup situation, she von't haf a problem valking home by herself. She got here, didn't she?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "If mom was born in my world she would have been an earthbender, she's /that/ stubborn," Toph mutters, not without a degree of affection. It should be no secret that the blind girl cares deeply for both her adoptive parents. And that they're one of the few people she listens to without needing much persuasion nowadays.

    Of course the best thing for tiredness is to get enough sleep. So Toph snorts when Stadler speaks of other things. "If you don't recomment it when why are you taking it yourself though...?" she snorts. Silly Stadler. "And I don't think there are other people in the Paladins with my name. Toph isn't THAT usual around the multiverse from what I've heard." Maybe she should stop responding to him unless he uses her first name or something... yeah, there's a plan!

    With the leftovers packed Toph seems intent on leaving. "You can always come on over and visit after Bitchin' Camaro pops out... I swear, we've been waiting for weeks now, and that little brat is just sitting still. I mean, he should have arrived in time for Christmas!" Huff. The praise Heinkel gives her for clearing up the small situation at the takeout place does make Toph arch an eyebrow. "It was just a tiny robbery that I stopped." Heck, she did far better when she stopped one of Serori's beasts from causing massive destruction on Hawaii.

    The offer of a ride home however, that makes Toph shake her head. "No need to wake the house, and I managed to make my way here on my own, didn't I?" She's a big girl! With that she offers a wave to the two, then heads off, scratching her butt a bit as she walks off, doggy bag in hand... and then lets out a massive parting burp. One might wonder how she is a first class Earth Kingdom citizen and raised to be a fine young lady, considering she doesn't act like it most of the time.

Richard Stadler (300) has posed:
Richard Stadler eolls his eyes slightly. "Oh, shooting in the kneecap. Yes, I know how painful that is. Went to town on someone with a chunk of rebar once. Misadventures of youth, I don't recommend it, either. Too much paperwork and regret afterward." He notes, before realizing he's in somethingof a side track. "Still. I'd also advise against that. I have standards, you know, and that sort of pain will get you nowhere. I suppose plying me with cappucino might work for a time." He notes, before nodding again to Toph. "And on the case of stimulants, I'll start recommending them in... hmmm. A decade should be long enough. Until then, it's not my place hand over things that can be rather addcitive. It's different when your fifty. I'll be sure to schedule a visit one of these days, Beifong. If you're sure, get home safe. I'll see you... soon." A bit of a wrinkle at that belch. Well, no need to tell her that they'd be sitting next to her next time Amelthea runs a training excercise... better she be suprised.

After Toph does walk off, he looks back to Wolfe, waving his hand slightly. "Quite a girl, that one. Be wonderful to see how she looks when she's 30. And no, thank you. It's incredibly tempting, but I learned along time ago that nicotine withdrawl in a survival situation might get you killed. I limit it like I do scotch. Only when I need it, and I don't need it just yet. Despite whatever my big ol' puppy dog eyes say." At least he can smile at that.

In terms of the glasses, what jovality he had runs off his face. That... was something he hadn't known about. "I see. A rather... well. More debilitating danger than my astigmatism, it seems. I'm sorry to hear that... but I am glad you've got a pair of them. Last thing we need is you on the floor because some idiot can't watch his hands."

But with that, his plate is empty, his cup is done, and he's buttoning that shirt button back up. Tie straightened, as he goes for his jacket. "That's Deckfast. Or Binner. Really should invent a work for this sort of meal in this sort of shift, but I've got to get back to the paperwork. Some /fascinating/ stuff on renovating one of our nuclear weapons facilities that the Department of Interior asked me to deal with. Small priced to pay for some forest rangers every now and again. I'll see you tomorrow, Wolfe?"

Heinkel Wolfe (Dropped) has posed:
  "Had it done to me before. It's not fun." Heinkel grins. It's not a very nice expression. "You should haf seen the other guy vhen I vas finished vit him."

  That show of teeth suggests it was not a pleasant outcome, for the other guy. The tough and independent-minded priest does not react well to such things. If she's threatened and the other person's gone over that event horizon, well, she tends to react with shocking violence.

  To think that she's one of the most moderate personalities within her organisation might be a little bit scary.

  "At thirty? Probably about the same as she ist now, only taller. Just as snarky, just as ass-kicking, und just as tough." Heinkel grins, a little fondly. "Reminds me of... me. I vas a jackass vhen I vas young. Ach. I still am, but I like to think I'm a little less frustrating to deal vit."

  Tilting her head, she seems a little nonplussed by his sober expression. "Ja. Normally my partner puts herself in charge of them, but..." The priest shrugs expansively. "Iscariot ist scattered to the vind right now. There are too many fires burning east und vest, und too few of us to put them out. Ve can't rely on the Paladins at all times to manage our own problems. There are as many as a few hundred Iscariots, now, but there vere never that many of us to begin vit. Those few hundred are now scattered across the globe to help vit the upsving in freak und ghoul incidents."

  "Ja. It is. But it doesn't happen too much." She smiles, a little hollowly. "Maybe if I'm lucky, my partner vill be reassigned to me. Eight years I've vorked vit her, so ve know each other pretty vell. Ve don't efen need to communicate vhen ve're in the thick of an incident to know vhat the other vants to do. Probably scares the piss out of the two-bit freaks. I hope so."

  She looks up as Richard straightens himself up and reaches for his jacket, and she pushes herself up from her boneless sprawl across her chair. Honestly, if she hadn't been bitten by a werewolf, it probably would have been a big cat. She certainly has the behavioural patterns of the latter.

  Shrugging into her own coat, she fastidiously adjusts her clerical collar, settling the lay of the coat over her shoulders. One hand digs around for her wallet; once she finds it, she leaves payment for all three on the table, slightly crumpled.

  Cigarette dangling from her lower lip, she shows her teeth to Richard again, although it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Ja. I think I'fe had enough of crowds und light. I'm going to go home und try to get some sleep." Heinkel hunches her shoulders, slipping her hands into her pockets as she turns for the door. Long and lanky strides taking her straight to the door. She doesn't look back as she lifts a hand in a lazy wave. "Ja. See you later, Richard."