Xaviers!

"Drinking is fun. I'm still adjusting to being able to buy myself beer. Other than that, computer games, am pretty close to getting a tabletop D&D game going. Procrastination is probably my favorite pastime though," he joked.

"Art museums, reading, training and working out... all that good stuff I guess." Victor chose not to discuss Emilie's offer at that time.

"I've never played D&D before, I think I'd like to at least sit in on a session sometime."

"I'll play!" Emilie chirped. "I mean... If you need a body." She added after realizing She was inviting herself.

" It's been a minute tho so you'll need to refresher me. The last time I played was a homebrew with a copy if first edition as the basis. The book was passed down to someone as secondhand junk but the person who passed it to the owner was so diefied in the owner's mind he kept it in use until you couldn't open it without the very real fear of ruining his 'precious', but to suggest he take it out of rotation was tantamount to sacrilege."

"I just wanna play an archer. Or a wizard. Maybe a necromancer."

"Dude. We need more people--that was half the reason we hadn't started yet. This is perfect!" Trev grinned. "You're both welcome to play. I can have some characters to try out for the first session or two, and then if you like it, you can roll up your own. Or if you know what's up, even a little, I can help you roll up a character."

"Sounds aces. I prefer bard or rogue, but I'll play just about any class. Just not a healer. I don't like being made responsible for life or death situations." She laughed.

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Having to deal with all those game mechanics right at the beginnin' is the most daunting part of the stuff, having a hand in actually making a decent character would be great."

"Man. This day just keeps getting better. Okay. I'm gonna email you both with some stuff--background fluff that you can read at your leisure or ignore. We can also work up a character to start together, and if you find you need to make changes, we'll make it work in game."

Trev proceeded to give quite a bit of background on what he thought his campaign was going to shape up to be like in terms of theme and tone. Everyone was going to be a prisoner/slave/gladiator for lizardfolk who more or less ruled the ruins of an ancient human and dwarven empire, and as the game went on, they'd probably have a chance to escape and start causing trouble for the lizard overlords. By the time he was done explaining things--he seemed a bit excited to finally have enough players to pull off what he wanted to get started--they had arrived in Maldon.

Emilie was a very good and attentive listener, at least when it came to nerd rambling anyways. She had this unusual habit of making verbal recognition without actually using words, more like a series of 'm'. 'Mmm? was very clearly "Ohh?" 'Mmmhmmm' meant 'Yes, I am following. 'Mm-!' seemed to mean 'Ah! Okay!'.

There were a few more in there that weren't used as consistently while Trev talked, but either of the boys would probably learn all the language of M if they stuck around her enough.


As Trev wrapped up his story and they enter the city limites, Emilie finally added commentary that could be considered actual input. "Sounds interesting enough, though I'll be honest it could have been totally boring and I'd still be in just to have something to do. I get bored pretty easily." She admits with a casual laugh.

"Oh good, town! Food soon."

"So the classic pit fighters leading a revolt scenario? I like it. I'm going to have to practice my Vin Diesel voice. I heard he loves DnD."

Victor had his hands in his coat pockets, looking around curiously. "Do either of you know the town very well? Other than coming through on the bus I've never been in it."

"I studied it in the Danger Room so I know my way around a bit, but I forget what establishment we're off to." Emilie states, tilting her heart shaped 'eyes' at Trev.

"I've been to town a few times--it's not super big, so we're not at risk of getting lost, I don't think. Pub's just around the corner--the Rose and Crown." Trev led the way down the street, and around the corner, and as promised, the pub, some beers, and fish and chips loomed before them.

"Perfect. When buildings get higher than four stories I start feeling claustrophobic." Victor walked with his hands in his pockets, the slightest of breezes ruining an attempt at a well-combed head of hair.

"Back home I'm not old enough to drink, so I guess this will be a first. Well, first legally anyway."

"I don't think Trev has enough money to spot me to make me drunk, so I guess it's your turn to drink then, virgin." She smirked and reached out to open the door for them all.

"Eating fish and grease and getting drunk, why what could possibly go wrong?" Victor wasn't so insecure that he'd object to a girl holding the door for him; he could get a door for them some other time.

"That sounds like a challenge," Trev grinned. "We walked here, so we can clearly all get hammered if we want. And I've got plenty of money from my summer gig saved up, and Gran just sent me some dough, so fuck it, I'm buying."

"It's not a challenge, it's a fact." Emilie stated with a nod. "But I'll have 'a pint' if it makes you awkward for me to be T-totalling while you two are knocked off your ass."

"Right then. Do you guys want to order first, or should we find a seat?"

"I weigh the same as like three of you, I think you're delusional," he smirked at Em.

"Think we order up at the bar. If you guys want to find a seat I can grab the food and beer."

"I am best seat finder." Em stated, taking the lead on finding them a spot. The best spot seemed to be the most strategically advantage spot, somewhat near the door where they could bolt if necessary, but also where they could see everyone else as well as the people outside.

"Here we are." She stated, flopping down.

"Ask 'em for a pint of bitter for me, thanks." Vic left Trev to order and found Em already sprawled out and took a seat to her left.

"It's still legal to vape in pubs, if you wanna look cool while we wait."

"Gotta conserve my last cartridge champ. Besides, it was never about looking cool. I always look cool, even without smoking.

Almost everyone smoked between the 1920s, until the cancer thing became scientific fact in the 1960s. It's just something you did if you were regular folk." It would seem like a random factoid to a passerby or Trev if he returned, but to Victor it *should* offer an explanation on how she ended up being a smoker in the first place: to blend in.

Trev returned a few minutes later with beers as requested and a number for food. "Should just be a few minutes," he said sliding the beers across the table gingerly before taking a seat. "Think they bring it to us. I think. The girl was kinda hard to understand."

Because you were staring at her chest the entire time perhaps

"I will admit, I've always been a bit jealous of people who don't have accents like our own. There is like, no mystique to the American or Canadian accent. No offense boys." She laughed.

"Thanks Trev." The boy waited for him to sit down before taking his glass, letting his hand warm it a bit.

"Well, the girls from the continent seemed to find my accent pretty decent." He lifted his glass. "As the saying goes, cheers mates."

"Whatta talkin' about?" Trev said, hamming up his Chicago accent. "Chicahgo's got plentya mystique *and* polish sahsage."

He held up his glass to Vic's, "Cheers!"

"DITKAH." Emilie recited back by rote memory. " Cheers to all!"

After slamming back nearly half of the first pint, Emilie set the glass on the table firmly in front of her with a huff.

"Phew! Damn, it's been like, two and a half months. Thought I might have a withdrawal."

She seemed pretty enthusiastic about the liquor, but whether or not she could hold it down as well as she claimed remained to be seen.

Victor nursed his, not much of a drinker it seemed.

"I don't know much about Chicago, other than Bob Newhart is from there, and Al Capone visited Moose Jaw a lot."

Trev nodded, impressed by the chug. "Damn, girl. More than meets the eye there for sure," he teased.

Not one to be outdone, Trev put down a respectable volume of his own drink, though he grimaced as he set the glass down. "Jesus. It's way easier to do that with High Life."

"That's because American beer nowadays is pisswater." Emilie joked.

"Things about Chicago... lesssseeee...

Mostly I just shopped and visited things and friends. You can take the Hiawatha service out of Milwaukee or the from the Hartford Wisconsin station to Chicago.

I liked the aquarium. Lots of fish at Shedd."

"Awesome city. I miss it. Great food. The lake is awesome in the summer. Cool architecture. Did an architectural boat tour of the city a bunch of times with Gran.

"It's always nice when a city is on the water. Shame there's none around here like that." Victor took another sip of his beer.

Emilie knew Victor was being sarcastic as per the use', but she went with it. "It's okay, I hear the ocean brings itself inland regularly so you won't have to miss it for long."

"I bet London has a lot of nice buildings too Trev, if that's yer bag. Maybe that is what you should do as your schooling back up in case teaching doesn't work out? Buildings?"

"Making them? Or blowing them up with my voice?" he chuckled. "Only the latter. Architects are cool but I suck at both math AND drawing."

"Well there's always buildings demolition. Travel the city, see amazing and historic properties, reduce them to rubble."

"Get the money upfront." She laughed. "That way you know you were *supposed* to take it down."

"'Oh...this is awkward. You wanted to keep the building and restore it? I...I heard destroy it. Well. Sorry. So hey. About my fee...'" Trev laughed.

"If anyone complains you can always claim that there's an important archaeological burial site beneath it. You've got at least a fifty-fifty chance of being right depending on how deep they dig."

"You know, in all seriousness, if you like breaking shit for the greater good, you could always join DC."

"DC?" Trev asked.