I Can Do 'Not Hippy'

[Wanda Johansson]

"Oh? Do tell."

[Miriam Bell]

"I manged to bluff my way into the place with a fancy dress, scraped together what little cash I had and sweet-talked a poker table into letting me join in. It's really hard to hide how good your hand is from a telepath." she laughs.

[Wanda Johansson]

"Impressive. I'm surprised they don't do something to curb that, but I suppose it's not really possible."

[Miriam Bell]

"Huh... That's an interesting point, actually. They might simply not have the means to..." she says, seeming at least slightly lost in thought for a moment.

[Wanda Johansson]

"I would guess telepathy is rare enough that you can write your own check for what you want to do and who would want to work security at a casino?"

[Miriam Bell]

"Well there's security and then there's... more writing your own job description? I could catch any cheater, not just telepathic ones and the best way to do that would be by just pretending to be a patron." she muses, the beginning of a grin on her lips.

[Wanda Johansson]

"Is that a plan I see formulating in your head?" Wanda smirks.

[Miriam Bell]

"Maybe a little. Hey, it's more legitimate than just taking their money, right? I'd be like one of those good guy hackers who expose security risks. Only much better looking in a dress." she grins.

[Wanda Johansson]

"Being legitimate is preferable."

[Miriam Bell]

"To you or just in general?"

[Wanda Johansson]

"In general. I could certainly accept some flavors of 'not legitimate' depending on the individual." She smiles at Miriam.

[Miriam Bell]

"I'll take that as a compliment then." she chuckles.

[Wanda Johansson]

"You should." She nods and raises her glass. "I'm personally fond of 'and it harm none', even as insufferable as some others who hold to that are."

[Miriam Bell]

"If you play at or own that kind of Casino there's very few things that I'd consider serious financial harm." she chuckles, raising her glass as well.

[Wanda Johansson]

"Yes, it's a hard definition to pin down, but you're likely right. Never been one for gambling myself. Too many variables."

[Miriam Bell]

"Can't be as complex as the weather, right? That always gets heralded as this incredibly complex and chaotic system."

[Wanda Johansson]

"It is, but the cause and effect of weather doesn't really rely on human nature and rarely does someone put their finger on the scales."

[Miriam Bell]

"You're saying people are more fickle than the weather?" she says with a smirk. "Because I don't think I'd argue with that."

[Wanda Johansson]

"In a manner of speaking," she laughs. "I'm saying I understand the weather. People... I gave up on understanding people while I was at the Institute."

[Miriam Bell]

"You're not missing out on much. People are mostly about bottling up or justifying the terrible shit bubbling up from the worse parts of their minds."

[Wanda Johansson]

"How society continues to dysfunction, I guess," Wanda says with a shrug as their food arrives.

[Miriam Bell]

"Sorry, I'll try not to bring down the mood too much. I'd be doing the food and the company a disservice." she says with a small smile.

[Wanda Johansson]

"Don't worry about it," Wanda says, reaching across the table to touch Miriam's hand. "I'm enjoying myself."

[Miriam Bell]

"Good." she says, her smile broadening a little bit. "Now then, bon appetit." she adds as she puts down her glass and picks up her eating utensils.

[Wanda Johansson]

Wanda smiles, picking up her own utensils, "Bon appetite."

[Miriam Bell]

Miriam takes a couple bites, making bit of a face when she gets to the caviar.

"You know... somehow I expected this to be better. I don't think I actually like this." she laughs.

[Wanda Johansson]

"It's not bad. It's certainly unusual. Never had caviar before?"

[Miriam Bell]

"It's a small miracle I had the chance to go to college. Luxuries aren't really a thing where I'm from, unless my mother somehow managed to strike it big since the last time we talked." she says with the face of someone who just brushed against something slimy while swimming in the ocean.

[Wanda Johansson]

If Wanda noticed the look, she politely moved past it. "I've only had it once before. I snuck some at a university function that I attended with my mother when I was little. The taste really hasn't changed. It's still just as strange."

[Miriam Bell]

"Oh, your mother works at an University?"

[Wanda Johansson]

"Yes, at Uppsala University. She's a professor."

[Miriam Bell]

"Impressive." she says, genuinely trying not to be jealous. Or to at least not let it show that much. "Thinking about following in her footsteps?"

[Wanda Johansson]

"I honestly don't know what I want to do. I don't really feel like I'm cut out for anything."

[Miriam Bell]

"You're hardly alone in that. Most people aren't doing what they enjoy and just accept whatever life throws at them. Not ending up like that is a pretty good motivator."

[Wanda Johansson]

"With my abilities, I could write my own job description of course and could probably get work anywhere I wanted it, but it's not like I want to be 'proactive meteorologist to the world'."

[Miriam Bell]

"Fair enough. But how about your own little corner of the world, maybe an island, with perfect weather. You could turn any place into a tropical paradise or drive any mosquitoes and such out of an existing one."

[Wanda Johansson]

"There is a certain appeal in that," she acknowledges, "But part of me thinks it feels like a bit of a waste."

[Miriam Bell]

"No one says you couldn't also strike down Nazi airplanes on the weekends." Miriam smirks slightly, casually waving her fork and the impaled piece of bird on it at Wanda.

[Wanda Johansson]

"You heard about that, did you?" She smirks, waving her own fork back at Miriam.

[Miriam Bell]

"I don't think everyone knows it was you, but it wasn't hard to put two and two together." she chuckles.