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Karlan Nobles Kjerag is, put bluntly, a cold place. The air is thin in the mountainous region, although none of the locals seem to have much trouble scurrying around doing whatever it is townspeople do in the early evening hours. The warpgate deposits potential visitors right at the foot of Mount Karlan.

A car is already waiting at for John when he arrives. Should he accept the ride, it'll be a fairly straightforward ride to the monastery that Pramanix calls home. It's a fancy-looking place without being excessively gaudy about it, with a large gathering hall for visitors and a large balcony that she could presumably delivery speeches and sermons from comfortably. There's statues and murals all about, including large brass ones depicting various important figures of the Karlan faith.

Pramanix, meanwhile, is just lounging in the main gathering hall. She's not even doing anything beyond staring at an off-colored spot on the ceiling, apparently trying to deduce something about it without going through the trouble of getting a ladder or binoculars or something.
Zephyrman      John is, to put it bluntly, really glad for his scarf and coat. He's pretty sure he'd be freezing to death if he'd tried to come in a tee-shirt or something (not that he would - he knows how to dress himself like an adult, for God's sakes) for warmer climes. He does take a bit to gawk at the place like any tourist, because, well, at the moment, he is one. It's cold as hell but he's not really used to this kind of big, snowy mountainous region - he comes from a city, after all, and they tend not to be built in places like that. At least not modern ones.

     He accepts the car gratefully, because, hah, he has no idea where he's going, and worst comes to worst he can probably beat up the driver. He makes small talk, cheerfully asking about the weather, about the local foods, about stuff he should try while he's in the area. He's got a genuine curiosity about him, the kind that you don't hear from most tourist-y types.

     When he gets out in front of the huge temple, with its massive brass murals and statues, its balcony, its gigantic gathering hall, it wouldn't be incorrect to say it takes his breath away.

     "Awesome," he murmurs quietly as he shoulders his bag and walks in. He does the little 'turn around to look at everything' as he enters, staring up at all the art, the trappings, the seatings...all the things that make a temple a temple.

     And then, when he notices Pramanix, he sits down, lays himself out next to her like they're stargazing, and looks up at the spot with furrowed brows.

     "Hi."

     "What're you looking at?"
Karlan Nobles The weather's pretty standard for the region: Cold, kind of windy, but otherwise relatively temperate. Only two climbing-related injuries this quarter!
The local food is hearty stuff, primarily stews using strong spices and dense ingredients to really keep people feeling warm and full inside. Thanks to Karlan Commercial, imports keep the cuisine from getting too stale or repetitive. Spicier stews are recommended to help stave off the cold, but being careful to dry off before heading outside is a must.

Hearing John's approach, Pramanix doesn't get up right away, instead continuing to stare at that spot for a while before pointing at it. "Does that look like water damage, or just the sun coming in at a weird angle? I'll look at it again tomorrow when the lighting is different, but... I don't want the roof coming down anyone."

It's totally water damage, but the sunset is lighting up in a sort of weird way that sometimes looks like it's just the reflection of a weather vane or something.

"Anyway... Ahem. Welcome to-" She finally remembers to get up, brushing the back of her coat off once before dipping into a more formal greeting. "-The Karlan Monastery. The main one, anyway. This is where I do my daily everything, attending to visitors, meeting diplomats before bringing them to more decorated meeting rooms for them to speak about the most important of matters."

She rolls her eyes a little at the last part. "Everything starts in here."
Zephyrman      "Hmmm."

     John squints at it. When he finally says, "It's water damage," he adds, "Do you want me to go up there and fix it? I'm not bad at that kinda thing, y'know."

     She stands up. He sits up, but doesn't move. "You don't have to get up. I don't mind. I actually kinda like laying out like this. It's nice, sometimes, to just lay on the floor and look at the ceiling. Relaxing."

     Speaking of looking at something, he tilts his head slightly. His face goes red. OK. Her brother was right on the money.

     "Besides, I'm not a diplomat or anything. I'm just a visitor. We don't have to go anywhere if you don't want to. And you definitely don't have to bow to me, Miss-"

     There's a pause.

     "Can I just call you 'Pramanix'? Calling you 'Miss Pramanix'...well, it kinda sounds like I'm addressing a much older teacher, you know?" He scratches his cheek and grins up at her. "Or something like 'Pram'? Something a little bit less formal?"

     There's a beat. His blush disappears. "Oh, right! I remembered, you sounded really down last night. So...since I don't have anything else to do today - it's Saturday, after all - I thought I'd come over and see you. Bring a card game. Bring you your present."

     He produces a deck. "And maybe ask you some stuff about you and your religion and your hometown and all that stuff."

     "You sure you don't wanna just stay on the floor? We can play right here, if you want."
Karlan Nobles "Eh? No, no, that's what the yearly budget is for. We're quick about getting repairs done, if nothing else." Pramanix chuckles lightly, resting her hands on her hips. "We people of Kjerag take a lot of pride in getting things done quickly when we really need to! Just not if we don't."

She settles back down quickly after that, raising an eyebrow slightly at John's face-turning red for that moment. She doesn't quite seem to get where it's coming from, at least.

"Miss Pramanix is a little formal, isn't it? Just Pramanix is fine, even though I'm probably old enough to really be one of your teachers." She laughs for a moment, stops, then peers at John closely for a moment before pulling over one of the many cushions scattered about.

"Hm.. Sure, why not? Tonight wouldn't have been a good time for me to sneak out and do anything fun outside, anyway. Ask away, and I'll see if I can't keep up with whatever card games you have up your sleeves! Although I have a question of my own: How old are you, anyway?"
Zephyrman      "Old enough to be into older women," John says wryly as she sits down, shuffling the deck as she does so. "But specifically nineteen. Why, how old did you think I was?"

     He deals out the cards. It's a simple two-player game, something relaxing enough to converse over while still playing. He remembers what SilverAsh said about her competitive streak, though. His fingers play across his own cards thoughtfully. "You don't think I'm some kind of innocent kid with a crush, right?" He asks after a moment, hiding a grin behind his cards, "Trust me, I'm not."

     He tosses a pair of his cards and draws two more. "Anyway...since you said I could ask you anything, I'll return the favor. You can ask me anything, too."

     Thoughtfully, he taps his fingers across his cards again, then lays one face-up. "Alright. Let's start with you. What kind of foods do you like? What kind of hobbies do you have? What kind of music do you like?"
Karlan Nobles "You're honest about that much, at least." Pramanix chuckles again, leaning back on one hand while stroking her chin lightly with the other. "I would have guessed perhaps... Early to mid twenties, actually. So I wasn't too far off!"

She sounds mildly proud of that.

As the cards are picked out, it's pretty easy to see that Pramanix has her eyes on a specific few. Her poker face basically doesn't exist. "Ah, don't worry about me not noticing how not-innocent you might be. I didn't get this far being blind to the obvious signals, after all."

She chuckles proudly again, even puffing her chest up a bit at that. "Let's see now... Although I don't eat them often in front of the followers of Karlan, I do enjoy burgers from time to time. Burgers, tea, those little potato sticks."

"When I'm not working and not doing things out in the Multiverse, I like to just.. Lounge around without having to think much. Although if I were to do something more specific, it'd probably be reading. Fiction, mostly! I haven't really heard much in the way of music, though. At least, not much beyond what they play here for ceremonies and the like."

She's really bad at this card thing. "What about you? What do you usually like to eat when you're out on the job? Or when you have more time to just sit down and relax?"
Zephyrman      "I'm honest about a lot of things." John says cheerfully as he watches her puff up her chest. "Yeah, you were pretty close."

     He's good at multitasking, evidently, because even as she puffs up her chest, he's also got eyes on her eyes. He's also good at reading people when they're playing games - so he watches those cards thoughtfully. When she plays, he's already thinking about where to go next, and unlike last night - where he was playing gently for a group of people - here he's playing competitively. He's a little ruthless, too. Not so much that he makes her feel bad, but enough to stir that competitive spirit SilverAsh talked about. He wants to see that, too. He's seen her cute side, her excited side, and her quiet resignation - now he wants to see what she's like when she's really fired up about something and trying to win.

     "Burger, fries, and tea, huh? I can get behind that!" John discards and draws again. "Fiction. What kind of fiction? Anything specific?"

     She mentions not having heard much music, and that immediately settles into his mind. John Will Remember This.

     "Ahhh, hm. What do I like to eat...well, if I'm being honest, I like foods you can take on the go. I'd forget to eat if not for things like energy bars and veggie juices and stuff like that. I get really wrapped up in my housework or my schoolwork or my play and then, whoop, the day's gone." He laughs and scratches the back of his head with his free hand. "Plus I'm on the go a lot. I have to be, since I have classes scheduled all over the days - except Saturday. This is my day. But I don't really get a lot of time to sit down."

     "Kinda trying to cram a whole degree into a year's time." He scratches his cheek again. Seems to be a nervous habit. "Hoping to get it over and done with so I can move on to political science."
Karlan Nobles John's efforts to get Pramanix's competitive spirit kindled don't go unrewarded, as she starts actually playing almost competently! Almost is the keyword, though, since she keeps almost making good plays before doing something stupid like discarding a useful card she would have otherwise been able to use.

"More specific than fiction... Oh, whatever happens to come in with the traders. I'm not too picky about any of that as long as the world-building is good. Although... I've noticed a lot of them tend to have a lot of badly written romance and confusing logic in them. I'll still read them, but it does make my head hurt trying to figure them out sometimes."

There's probably a very good reason the traders keep bringing those books. "Travel foods, hmm? Those are quite useful, yes. I usually keep some in my room in case I find a really good book and... Erm. Forget to eat for a couple of hours." She laughs lightly, setting aside another card and peering at her current hand.

It's not a good hand, but she'll try to make the most of it! That's not a lot.

"You mentioned you were in college the other day, right... Political science doesn't sound like something that would tie into your Zephyrman work easily, though. What got you into that?"
Zephyrman      As he sees her playing more and more competent, he starts grinning behind his hand even more. It's super cute. He doesn't want to point out her mistakes as they go, for obvious reasons - he knows *that* makes people angry - and he doesn't want to play less than well enough for her to feel challenged - holding back and letting someone win is just insulting - but it's basically a teaching game. He's guiding her with her own competitive spirit. Trying to show her points she can do better at without actually saying as much.

     "Badly-written romance, huh? Do you like romances?" He discards his hand with a 'terrible' and then draws a new one. "World-building aside, I mean."

     "Well...the Watch." He tilts his head sideways. "It doesn't help me with being Zephyrman, but nor does Bioengineering. The latter's something I want a job in. Political science is there so I can be a better member of the Watch. Understand the machines we're working against. Help make things better."

     He stares at his cards very hard. "I want things to be better. For everybody. I want people to be able to smile and feel like they can do anything they want if they just put their mind to it and work. And if I want things to get better, I need to understand how they're broken. Just saying some inspiring words is nice, but there's way more to it than that."

     "Hmmm...what's your favorite color? And what did you want to be when you were a kid?"
Karlan Nobles "Sometimes. They're... Well, it's like reading about anything else that you wouldn't be able to do in real life. It's escapism." Pramanix chuckles again, although there's another hint of resignation in that one. Her mood isn't dampened for long, though, as she sees an opportunity to press the advantage!

Of course, being in an advantageous position means she's even more likely to make careless mistakes again, bringing her right back to square one.

"Gearing your education towards the Watch... It certainly sounds like you've got things figured out on that end. It's admirable. But... Do try to find something you'd be happy doing, too. I want to fix things just as much as the next person-" She overstates "-but I still need my breaks from it all. If you focus everything you have on what'll help your work with the Watch, you might burn yourself out. So.. Please, be careful."

She takes a moment to get some tea poured for both of them, and then it's back to more pleasant topics! "Lighter blues, I think. Those are always nice to look at... Ah. Before I became the Saint, I... Supposed I would have just wanted to stay at home. Reading, relaxing, trying different clothes... I didn't think much about work, at least not back then. And before I knew it, this all happened. But... Joining the Watch has given me some of that freedom back, and it's given me the chance to try and do that for others that might not even have that much."

"What of your... What of Zephyrman? How did you decide that would be what you wanted to do?"
Zephyrman      Aha.

     *Escapism.*

     That *definitely* clicks into John's head.

     Yeah, okay. He's got a plan now.

     When he sees her making another mistake, he quirks a grin behind his cards again and plays a little bit lighter. He's trying to get her to see how to play better, and she's a difficult student, but it's still fun to watch her. And it's fun to see her smile.

     "Oh? I thought I was doing something I'm happy with." He grins. "I'm sitting across a beautiful woman I really want to spend time with, spending time making her happy, and talking to her about what she likes. And it's Saturday. Like I said. Saturday is *my* day."

     "And right now I want to share it with you, so!"

     She pours him tea. He's never experienced that kind of thing before. He thanks her and scratches the back of his neck as he sips some of it. "Wow, this is amazing. I've never been much of a tea-drinker...what's this made of?"

     He watches her for a long moment. Then, as she asks him That Question, he purses his lips and looks away. "Promise me you won't tell anybody. It's kind of an actual secret."
Karlan Nobles "Oh, you know what I mean. You should have stuff to do that's not even remotely  work-related. If I dedicated that much of my free time to the Watch, I think I'd go nuts within a week."

Pramanix laughs again, and she rubs the back of her neck lightly while actually looking just a bit more relaxed than before. "I do appreciate you coming out here, though. Sneaking out is usually pretty easy these days but it's still a pain to have to do that every time."

As she learns more of how to actually play the game, Pramanix's skill is finally consistently above an amateur's! It's still not even close to someone with natural talent not giving a damn about what they're doing, but there's steady, if slow improvement there.

"This one? I believe it's a Victorian tea. I usually brew tea using local ingredients, but the trader said this was a popular type, so I figured it'd be worth a shot."

Raising an eyebrow at John's sudden request for secrecy, Pramanix snickers and pantomimes closing a zipper across her mouth. "It's not as if you don't have stuff on me if I said anything."
Zephyrman      "I'm happy to." He smiles. "I'd like to do it again, too. And I'd love to have you back over at my secret base, but I know why that's not viable for you most of the time."

     He sits there, watching her play. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't impressed by how fast she's picking things up. His teaching gets a little more advanced after she wins a few hands. He's not letting her win, just playing to her skill level.

     "It's good. I like it. You made some really good tea."

     John avoids the answer for a minute, then smiles. "My dad."

     "He's a judge. And for a long time, I was prouder of him than anything. But I started noticing that some people got some punishments, and other people got worse punishments, and the punishment never really fit the crime. So...I started protesting. Activisit in high school. And one night I got arrested. My dad paid bail, we had it out, and my mom kicked me out and cut me out of the will."

     He shrugs. "They said, 'grow up. It's just the way the world is.'"

     "And, well." He waves his hand. "There you go, right? You can see my answer to that. My answer to that is to say that 'grow up' is a terrible pair of words. And that maturity is something totally different. And that 'that's the way it is' is an awful excuse for anything."

     He smiles at her. "Hence the Gale Whistler."

     "Speaking of..."

     He fishes into his backpack and pulls out what looks like a wand. It's got a snowflake on the end. It sparkles, it's pretty, and there's a button on it. Carefully, he hands it over to her.

     "It's your present."

     "I told you I'd make a suit that would fit you. All you have to do is press the button, record a transformation phrase, and then...it'll put you in a suit."

     "You don't have to try it now, but..."

     He beams. "I really wanna see you in it. I made it just for you, so it could fit your awesome figure."
Zephyrman      "Oh, and it should work for ringing your bell, too. I thought it'd be neat if you could use it with your bell." John scratches his cheek. "I got the idea from that lady with the prosthetic hand and the laser katana."
Karlan Nobles "Another time, certainly. It was a fun little gathering, and I'll remember to bring some tea for that one." Pramanix replies, chuckling before tapping a finger to her chin. "And maybe some sugar and ice for the non-tea drinkers...? The secret's in preparing the pot and the water properly!"

Once again, a point of pride for Pramanix that's illustrated by brief flicks of her ears.

John explains his motivations, and she sits back while furrowing her brow. "That's... Although it is the type of world we live in, it isn't something I like all that much. It's also one that my brother's all too comfortable navigating, for... Everything that means, too. But knowing that I'm not the only one that wants to change it is refreshing."

She smiles softly at that, closing her eyes for a few moments and looking almost peaceful. She opens one eye, glancing around for a moment to make sure nobody else is in the room before adding quickly and quietly "Although between you and me, I think I'd rather take it easy if I really had the option from the start."

For better or for worse, she's incredibly honest about that much.

When John produces the wand, Pramanix's eyes glaze over briefly as she has to take some time to process what she's looking at. "A awand...? Transfo-wait, did you make a...?" She takes the instrument as carefully as he hands it over, inspecting the thing and being careful not to depress the button just yet as she needs that extra time to just keep processing.

"You made a... An entire suit? That's... Ah, you're so sweet!" She laughs, not in a mocking way, but in a heartfelt amusement sort of way. "I didn't think you'd go as far as this. Oh, thank you. I'll have to figure out a good phrase first. And you got this idea from the fast one with the mask, right? I wonder how she can do all those moves without tripping up all the time."

Alas, Pramanix finally piecing together enough of all of this to purse her lips, almost as if she's staring at John somewhat dangerously for once. "When you say a 'suit that would fit', what did you mean by that?"
Zephyrman      The ear flick. His heart.

     It's *adorable*.

     "...yeah. Well, that's why we're all together, right? The Watch wants to change the world. And..."

     When she murmurs that, he just kinda grins. "Obviously. Isn't it more fun this way? I wish it could be like this every day. But that's what we're fighting for, right? So it's a nice goal to have, that one day we can just relax like this all the time."

     The laugh, the delight in her voice - his hand goes to his chest as he hears her thank him. He's smiling at her the whole time, just watching her handle the device, watching her look at the device. "Well, I got the idea for the wand, yeah. But I told you I'd make one for you. I told you!"

     John notices the dangerous lip purse and grins. The man....might be a little bit fearless. "Well, first, it's got room for your ears and tail. Also, your hair. Your hair's too pretty to just let it get scrunched up in a helmet. And they don't tell you that when you start, but it definitely scrunches up." He laughs and messes with his own hair. "I used to have long hair. Four out of ten. Would not recommend."

     "Second..."

     John also looks around to make sure nobody's present.

     Then he leans over the card deck so he can whisper in her ear. He gets real close, too. She can feel his breath on it.

     "Your body is insane. It's unbelievably sexy. Especially your hips. And your thighs. You're so my type it's a little scary."

     Then, his face gets really close to hers, and his grin widens a little more. He actually wore cologne. The good stuff, too, not some cheap spray-on crap. He is, indeed, not just a little kid. "Third..."

     A bright, bright blush. "I really wanna kiss you right now."

     "Really, really badly."

     "Will you let me?"
Karlan Nobles The explanation sounds pretty tame at first. Normal, even. That lip purse relaxes, and it seems for a moment that Pramanix might have just been overthinking John's intent in the matter, especially when he turns that joke from last time back at her. She laughs, he laughs, and then...

He just goes for it. It's not as if Pramanix isn't aware of it all already, but hearing it said so brazenly does short-circuit her briefly as she struggles to come up with a proper response beyond sputtering briefly and clearing her throat to keep her face from turning too red at the more brazen compliments.

"... You're so hopeless. Even if bravery isn't a bad thing, there's still a time and a place for-" And then John's right in front of her, and Pramanix is suddenly more conscious of how close he's getting. The smell. His face. What he's asking. It's enough to give her that deer in the headlights look for several awkward seconds while her mind races to understand what he's just asked her.

If she freaked out here, everybody would know.
If they escaped from the window, nobody would know until morning.
Did she leave the stove on?
If he fell out the window, nobody would know it was from HER window.
The Goddess would probably know all of this by the next time they speak.

Instead of addressing all those possibilities, Pramanix slides herself (and her cushion) back in one smooth movement, her face undeniably red even as she clears her throat to try and regain her composure. "That's... Th-there's a time and a place for everything, John. You... Th-that's definitely way too hard, even compared to the other day." She has a scolding tone in her voice, but there's a distinct degree of flustered confusion in all of that.

"Much too fast.. Ah. But thank you for the gift! I'll... I'll have to figure out a good opportunity to use it. And a... Phrase! Yes, a phrase. That's for another day, though. Right. Yes. But it is getting a little late, so..."
Zephyrman      "Hey, you asked."

     "Your ass is incredible."

     And then she runs away. John sits back with a bit of a sigh and scratches the back of his head. There's a shameless grin on his face. "Yeah...you said you read trashy romance novels for escapism, right? I kinda..."

     "I wanted to give you a taste of what you think you can't have in the real world."

     He looks, briefly, at the ground, so she can't quite see his eyes as he picks up his cards. "Sorry. It was a little too forward, huh? You must really hate me now. I apologized and then I did something like this."

     "I did mean it when I apologized then and I mean it now, I just..."

     He rubs his arm and puts the deck down. "..."

     "...I'm too honest, huh."

     "...hey. You can practice with it for a while. You were getting really good when I messed up."

     "So...if you don't mind letting me come over again, next time, you'll probably be able to beat me for real."

     "And if you do mind, I get it."
Karlan Nobles "I... I mean, I know, but.. But still!" Pramanix can still feel her face heating up while she takes a few deep breaths to steady herself, although it doesn't work quite that well when John reminds her about what she's reading. "Th... They're not that trashy! I mean, not most of them. Just... More than half."

When he explains why he did all of that, she's still in a rather confused state overall despite managing to laugh again. "It's a... I-I mean, it's not a complete first, but it's a... Technical first? I just never thought it'd be turned on me like... Like that." Another laugh, and she takes a deeper breath before resting a hand on her chest.

"I.. No, no. I don't hate you at all. Far from it! I just... You need to give someone time to get to know you first before you get into... All of that. N-not that I'm saying I would get... That! But you should-er. Shouldn't..."

It's fairly obvious she's still flustered after all that, although there is definitely a desire to maintain some distance for the time being. After one more breath to steady herself, she slips the wand into an inner jacket pocket before finally smiling softly again.

"You can certainly come by again sometime. I'll try to come up with a... Some kind of phrase for your gift by then. Although nothing impressive really comes to mind that I haven't already heard from someone else already, so I might need a hand with that."
Zephyrman      John looks up when she says she doesn't hate him.

     It's obvious that he actually was really worried about that. His face blossoms into a smile again - not a grin, not a cheesy smile, but a big smile, broad and happy. "I'm really glad. I would've...really been sad if you'd decided you wanted me to go away."

     "I'll definitely help you with your transformation device. And if you want me to change the colors or anything, I can do that, too. I'll make sure that it's something you can have a ton of fun with. Because..."

     He scratches the back of his head and grins. "Seriously, the smile on your face when you saw HurriKaiser was just amazing."

     "And even if I wasn't into you, I'd want to encourage anybody who wanted to have fun like that."

     He stands there for a minute, looking somewhat awkward. He's put his foot in his mouth with her twice trying to push things. He's not sure how to approach her, but...

     ...she said 'before you get into all of that', right?

     And 'far from hating you.'

     That's a spark of hope. So he can't be doing it all wrong.

     "Hey, how about same time next week? I'll bring you some novels. Some good romance, some good fantasy stuff...and then we can play cards again and you can show me how much better you've gotten."

     John puts a hand in his pocket. "And I promise I won't try to kiss you unless you ask me to."
Karlan Nobles "No, no, of course not. It's as I said bef... Did I say it before? Ah, whatever. You wouldn't be the first person to ask, and you certainly won't be the last." Pramanix laughs again at that smile, finally relaxing her posture again while getting the tea stuff gathered up.

"I appreciate it. I've never seen one of these up close before, so it'll be interesting seeing how this-" She takes out the wand, inspecting it again. "-does its... All of it. Really, I appreciate the gift."

At least on Pramanix's end, the awkwardness seems to have abated a little bit, and she chuckles once more before nodding at John.

"Next week sounds fine. I'll try and have some test phrases ready by then. Take care, John, and..." She snickers after a moment, pouting briefly before sticking her tongue out playfully. "Don't push your luck too much now."
Zephyrman      "I'd really like to be the last."

     With that, John walks out. "See you next week!" He waves over his shoulder. Then he turns around and grins. "I won't bring it up again..."

     "But one day you'll let me have that kiss."

     He gives her a finger-gun and a wink, because he's a huge dork.
     And then he heads out.