2019-08-29 - Break Up Tequila

This evening the sound of an entertainment system can be faintly heard to stream from Geoff's trailer, the doors and windows left open to allow the scent of the warm summer rain to permeate the house. The front door has been left open onto the covered porch as a welcoming invite to the expected guest. Geoff himself is clad in a pair of worn jeans, and a misfits band tee that seems to have seen better days even if it is broken in to the point of being comfy. The man is settled on the couch, texting on his phone and listening to the sound of the rain outside.

Evening brings the rain and Harper. She's got her arms full as she makes her way through the warm summer rain to Geoff's trailer. With one arm she holds the pizza box. The other arm clutches a bottle to her chest and a pack of bottled cane-sugar coca-colas from Mexico dangles from her fingers. Trying to keep the pizza level, she steps up to the open front door and pauses. She smiles an amused bit of a smile at herself as she can't really knock. "I'm just coming in," she calls, ".. so you'd better be ready for company."

Stepping up and in, Harper hurries to the nearest surface in time to drop the pizza box abruptly so that she doesn't drop the six pack of coca-colas from her fingertips. "That was a close one." Cokes and rum bottle are deposited as well and Harper turns to survey how Geoff's abode may or may not have changed since her last visit. Her brown-eyed gaze finds him and she softens her smile. "There you are." Tonight Harper's quite casual, wearing pair of army-green cargo pants, a soft grey tee shirt and a denim vest. She sweeps over to where Geoff is sitting and nudges her sneaker against one of his feet. "Time to regroup and get your groove back, Turner. I've got you."

Geoff laughs as he hears Harper's voice and calls to her "Yeah come right in." watching her carry in that large array of items he notes in an entirely wry manner "You do know if you'd asked I would have grabbed them from the car for you." Of course she knew, but of course he was still going to point it out. Scooting over he makes room for Harper, because of course in his house he'll be sitting right in the middle of the couch, arms spread along the back when no one's around, and in most situations probably even with company.

"Yeah, time to regroup and climb right back out of the dirt to brush myself off." With a snort he says "And of course you've got me. I seem to remember a mousy girl asking me to dance when I looked out of place by myself." A flash of a genuinely warm smile aimed at her before he is gesturing to the tv "There's a payperview wrestling event on tongiht, I thought we could watch it for old times sake while we drank."

Harper taps Geoff's toe with her sneaker-clad foot one more time, then swings around to drop to the sofa beside him companionably with an exhalation. "What fun would that have been? If I come to the rescue, I've got to at least do with with some autonomy, don't you think? Though if it would provide some masculation, you're welcome to carry the Rum and the Cokes back out to my car and carry them back in. I hope you have ice." She shares a grin with her friend from school, playfully challenging.

"Was I mousy? At least you didn't say 'nerdy', I suppose. That was a fun dance. It was my first, actually." Harper shrugs a little shrug and patpats Geoff's knee in response to that charming smile of his. "Wrestling! I haven't watched wrestling in forever. I can't believe you remembered that. Of course we're watching wrestling. So, what stage are we in? Denial? Anger? Wearing angsty band tee-shirts and talking about the way she braided your hair? Bargaining? Should I have brought you someone for a one-night stand?" Harper shoulders her way in under an arm while toe-ing off her shoes and dragging her bare feet up beneath her on the sofa. "Let's get this party started." There was never any need to pull punches with Harper.

"Yeah my first dance too, it was fun after I actually got to dance and all." His arm falling about Harper's shoulders once she works her way under it "And definitely mousy, but cute. I don't think you'd quite gone full nerd on me yet at that stage." his lips tugging upwards in a mischievous smile at that. Taking the remote he flips to the pay per view event where two announcers are hyping up the grudge match of the century, but first they are locking twenty C tier wrestlers in a cage and only the last one standing gets to get out.

Falling into the routine of old times he looks to the television as if this were their average Friday night "First off, we don't need to bring up the angsty shirts and that one time with the hair. Never again." a small shudder running through his muscular frame as if remembering an all together nightmarish scenario "Honestly I think I'm just at acceptance here. I went to her, I was open and she met me at every turn that night with trying to put distance between us, I kept objecting till finally I just went with it. If the first place she thinks I'm heading when I'm being vulnerable is that I want to break up, and then at every turn after that she suggests us taking a break or ending it then she was obviously done there and needed an excuse."

Geoff tacks on "And no bringing me one night stands, if I'm gonna end back on my feet I need to do it myself."

"That's because you're a pretty good dancer for a guy who comes off all reluctant. I remember you being something of a hit." Harpers gaze slides to the television. She listens to the hype with a reminiscent smile. "I call the one with the blue spangles. He's going to whip Lightning-Tattoo's butt."

Harper smells faintly of summer rain and her rosemary-mint shampoo. "Do you want a R&C?" An amused smile tickles at the corners of her lips at the joking and she looks sidelong at Geoff and listens to him as he elaborates a bit about what happened. "Yeah... no. You go vulnerable and she goes distant? That's not a good thing. I mean, I don't know the woman's hot buttons, but there's just so tenacious you need to be before it starts to get masochistic. You've got to have known her well enough to know her blind spots by this point. If you were laying it all down and she read it as break-up talk, then that sounds like some cross purposes at the very least. Don't get me wrong, Geoffrey. I want you to be happy, you know this. You know yourself too well not to go with your gut." Harper turns a little to face Geoff a little more. "I mean, if you want me to give you a pep talk to go win her back, I can do that. I've got all brands of Harper here tonight. Just none of them approve of you getting drawn and quartered in order to make a girl happy." Harper nods at the last bit from Geoff about her needing an excuse. "Sounds like. I'll find you another girl, don't you worry."

Geoff idly toys with a lock of Harper's hair while they talk "Oh you've got it wrong, the dude in the luchadore mask and the banana hammock is going to wipe the floor, I can feel it." shifting slightly he turns to look to her "Nah, I'm not looking for a pep talk to win her back. I learned that lesson in highschool, you don't keep fighting for someone who doesn't want you." his shoulders hitching up in a light shrug at that "Plus, I like to think I'm a lot more used to the world now, to let this blow make me listen to the cure and write bad poetry."

Side eying the match he admits "I tried poetry in prison. The shame I live with for what I did to the english language there is a prison I'll never escape." his lips quirking up in a faint grin at that admission "Anyways yeah, hand me one of tho---Wait...Are you in charge of finding me a girl now?"

Harper has never been bothered by Geoff in her personal space. She's too comfortable a friend to be edgy that way. Her raven hair is soft to the touch. No product. "You think?" Harper contemplates the bulk fight. "I want to see some face smearing." She adds, "Of course, crammed that full, it's likely to be more of a smother-fest of muscle-bound bodies than anything else. So romantic. Probably smells terrific, too." Dryly stated.

Poetry. Poetry in Prison. "Did you have some Friday-I'm-in-Love themes? Or was it more rhyme-y couplets of misunderstood woe? Lots of allusions to Ulysses and his journey home from the Trojan Wars to Penelope? No, no, I've got it. You ghost-wrote 'Just Like Heaven', didn't you? Actually, that would be a little hot." A teasing smile is offered up as she tangles the poetry writing in prison with the love-sick theme. Harper's prepared to get up off the sofa and grab drinks when Geoff changes direction. She agrees amenably to matchmaking, "You know I could. You might have to open your mind a little to some different demographics. But you've proven you're able to do that, right? Tell me what you look for in a girl and I'll get right on it."

Geoff glances at his phone and sends off a quick text before tossing it aside and out of reach, using his free hand to point to the screen "Holy crap, do you see how oiled up the guy in the middle is...I'm not entirely sure this isn't some sort of porn parody now, pretty soon it'll be time for a little ground and pound." This is offered with a roguish grin as soon Harper is claiming the entirety of his attention once more.

"Oh no it was worse, it was the unholy poorly written thought bastard of Sartre and Angelou. Seriously if one of the CO's had found it I would have taken time in the hold and a write up for that abortion of prose." This is all stated entirely sardonically "As for what I look for in women...There's no one thing that really does you know? It's not just about finding someone who likes to be pinned and ravished, or has an ass tight enough to bounce a nickel off of. There as to be that connection of just being able to hang out or knowing I could drag them along to get in trouble. I'm weird like that."

Harper watches the screen, laughing at Geoff's commentary about how oiled a particular C-level wrestler is. She points out another wrestler with a pony tail. "Jenny McCarthy there really wants someone to pull his hair when it all goes down. Are you sure you didn't accidentally buy something on an after-dark channel? I'm learning new things about you, Turner. Disturbing new things." Harper tips her temple against Geoff's bicep and sparkles a smile at him in response to his grin and playful narration.

"Sartre and Angelou? Oh no, Geoff. Say it isn't so. And tell me you saved some to break my teenaged heart. I'd dot all my i's with hearts just for you." The phrase 'abortion of prose' sets Harper laughing. "That's just .. so bad. Really, really bad, Geoffrey. I was hoping for Bob-Dylan-meets-Chaucer. Or cummings-via-Beowulf? Now I demand you write me some horrific poetry. Next time you're waiting for that poor, harried teenager to clean your chair at work, romance me with lyrical poetry. You know you want to." A challenging bit flash of Harper's brown-eyed gaze. "Do an awful enough job and I'll have you come do a reading at the library. Because I /would/." Harper quiets and watches Geoff face thoughtfully as he speaks about his preferences in the opposite sex. "Likes ravishings, nice ass." Harper highlights. "Comfortable company and game for trouble. How hard can that be?" She tips up a brow at Geoff. "Anything else? Because I think this conversation requires alcohol." She lifts a fingertip to tap Geoff on the chin. "You're weird in all the best ways."

As the match draws to a close it turns out that none of the favorites to win actually won, no it was a wrestler in a latex unicorn mask and rainbow sequined spandex pants called the 'Midnight Prancer' who won. This gets the commentators in a frenzy talking about what an upset this is as they clear the stage for the next bout.

"First off I'm pretty sure we were just talking about you finding someone for me to romance, no stealing the limelight from whatever poor girl you trick into going on a date with me by getting me to share my heart melting prose with you." This is said with a faux seriousness that doesn't quite extend to hide the devilish mirth that dances in his eyes "Second if you want me to do a reading at the library I will do it in a heartbeat. I'll even give the kids life advice I've learned. Like how to make a shiv from a bookmark. This conversation definitely requires alcohol, you going for the rum and coke, or do you want some jack I got jack." And just like trailer park David Blaine he reaches down between the cushions and pulls out an untouched bottle of jack.

Harper flickers a glance from Geoff to the television and breaks into laughter as she catches sight of the winner. "Who would have seen that coming? Not me! I suppose it's a life lesson to never underestimate the sparkly folks. Though I think there's probably a reason he's wearing a mask. Someone showed up late to work and didn't get a choice about which outfit they were wearing on television tonight. So sad. Fortunes of war."

"She will be lucky! And she /will/ allow me to enjoy your poetry. That's a requirement. I mean you can't have your girl card, Geoff, and not want some man to write you bad poetry. It's a real thing, that craving. Along with the wish to be carried around like a damsel in romance novels and wanting a man who makes all the other girls blush. You have to understand what women have to work with. We're pretty simple if you learn to navigate a few complications."

Harper contains her amusement enough so that she can solemnly give Geoff a melodramitc, imploring look. She holds his gaze an extra few seconds, then slides her feet out from beneath her to scoot up to the edge of the sofa. She regards the bottle of jack. "I'm going to be walking all the way home, aren't I?" She shakes her head slowly, already regretting her response. "I don't think you're familiar with the tenuous relationship alcohol and I have, Geoff. Beware the drunken librarian." Pushing to her feet, "Tell me where to find glasses." Harper starts going through cupboards randomly until she happens upon them or Geoff tells her where to look, then she opens a bottle of coca cola using the side of the counter and a pop from the heel of her palm to the edge of the cap. "You sullying with coke or going straight up?"

And it appears the next match is going to be a one on one between a rather dapper looking gentleman in a speedo and suit jacket that has its arms ripped off and a competitor that has to be the favorite of every edge lord in high school, the eyeshadow so caked on that he all but looks like a muscle bound raccoon tweaker.

With a sigh Geoff relents "Fine fine, maybe I'll let you in on some of that bad poetry of mine. I wouldn't dream of impuning your girl card or making you go without something you definitely need." Raising his hand he points out where the glasses are while she is searching "And you're not walking, you're staying the night. You can have the bed I'll crash on the couch." This is said as if it was already long ago decided that that is how it would be "I welcome seeing the drunken librarian." with a laugh he watches her grab the glasses "Remember that summer we had a book club, where it was just you reading, giving me the summary and I'd practice throwing rocks? I won't forget the last meeting where I actually got you to down half that case of PBR I stole. With your librarian powers I can't help but imagine you'll dewey decimal at me in cant or something."

Harper glances to the television while she goes about her drink making, coming back to grab the bottle of jack from Geoff with an 'I'll take that'. She grabs some ice from his freezer and mixes her drink with a healthy dose of the jack with the Coke. Then she either preps a straight shot for Geoff or makes him a mix, too. "Now that's some hard-core eye shadow. You should try it sometime." One glass is offered to him, her fingers around the rim. "Don't forget there's pizza." Then Harper climbs back onto the sofa on her knees and rocks back to her hip and Geoff's arm. She holds up her glass in toast. "Acceptance," she states simply. "And what comes next."

"I'm staying the -- well, that's not very sporting of me. I'm smaller. I can fit on the couch better. Agree and I won't try to find my way home in the dark."

She drinks when he does. "That was one of my favorite book clubs ever. Even if you weren't much of a fan of 'Jane Eyre', no matter how bloody romantic I tried to convince you it was. To this day I think Charlotte Bronte improved your aim." Harper utters a rueful little scoff. "That was the first time I ever got drunk. I still don't remember much of that meeting. Or how you got me home without my dad finding out." Her dad who died horribly in their home just before Geoff ended up in prison. She clucks her tongue, "Gray Harbor doesn't need to see me lose my inhibitions like that very frequently. It's not a pretty thing." Harper smiles ruefully at Geoff and takes another drink, swallowing past the burn and clearing her throat. "Do you always keep fresh bottles hidden behind your couch?"

"Of course there is pizza, but first we need alcohol so we aren't eating completely sober." Geoff replies as he tries to make out what sort of gimmick the raccoon is going for before simply shrugging. The match commences with the two modern gladiators glaring at each other and throwing out the occasional barb, clearly mugging for time while the real acts warm up backstage.

Raising his straight shot of whiskey he tips it back and downs it in a go before leaning forward to place the upended glass on the table before him "Still not entirely sure about that, Bronte was bad....Though not as bad as when you got into flowers in the Attic. Only highlight was watching you try to figure out how to explain what was happening."

Standing he walks over to grab the box of pizza and swing by the liquor cabinet to grab the tequila before he is making his way back to the couch, dropping the pizza box off on the table in front of them. Settling back down beside Harper, he slips an arm about her shoulders once more before he endeavors to pour himself a shot of the tequila with one hand (and seeming surprisingly practiced at it)

Harper does keep tabs on the pre-bouts now and then. "Ask me how glad I am that you didn't follow up on the cage-fighting plan." she teases. She takes another drink when Geoff downs his shot. "If you think I can keep up with that and maintain coherent conversation, you're sadly mistaken, Mr. Turner." She reaches over to set her still kicking drink beside Geoff's upended glass. "You have to give every high school girl a 'Flowers in the Attic' stage. There's something about dreaming about an off limits brother that I think hits the virgin teenaged girl's hormone cocktail in spectacular ways. Don't knock it."

She starts laughing as Geoff describes how entertaining her summaries were. "And here I was excited that you were finally showing interest in books. You were using me as cheap entertainment. I see how it was. I'm glad I amused you, Geoff." She smacks the back of her hand against Geoff's abdomen in punishment.

Harper watches the pizza retrieval. Why didn't she think of that? Time for another drink healthy drink and pizza retrieval. "I hope you like Deluxe Supreme. You said to surprise you. And that was the only way to try to guarantee I got something you'd like along with something you didn't like." And Harper would intentionally do just that. She's not above playing unfairly. Swaying into that arm, Harper finishes off her drink then watches the one-handed tequila serving with an amused expression, not offering to help. "You're going hardcore, huh? Just let me know when you start losing the abiity to walk so I can get you to bed first. I'm pretty sure I can't carry you."

The librarian sets down her empty glass and sighs as she settles into the spinning feeling that is tipsy. She has learned no tolerance since the PBR incident junior year. "Tell me some things you don't like in a girl." A pause. "In the name of thorough research -- whoa! He's gonna totally swan dive from that corn--ouch!" Harper always had her own lingo for the wrestling.

Geoff bumps gently into Harper "Oh come on, I did the cage fighting thing in spades. For the record I got pretty good at it behind bars." running his tongue over his teeth he admits "You know I kind of miss it...The violence, the jungle hierarchy of the biggest and smartest dude being able to set the rules. It's nerve wracking but like..." he shrugs helplessly "It's hard to describe, but after drowning in it for a year I learned how to swim and then thrive...And now it's like being on dry land and every thing you learned and were good at is frowned upon." Geoff tilts back the shot of tequila and downs it with an exhale "You know I never showed you that caged bird tat I got done behind bars. It's not bad, not good, and decent for prison ink."

"Deluxe supreme is my jam, could eat it all day and night...Just not the biggest fan of the jalapenos. As for the book club I think even you knew there was no one else who would have gotten me to sit down and learn the premises of books, amusing nascent incest fetish or not." Arm snugging about her as she sways with the booze beginning to take effect.

Pausing for a second, he takes a moment to think about what he /doesn't/ want "Let's see, venereal disease, nagging, drama, dishonesty." a click of his tongue accompanying him tapping on his chin as he continues to mull it over "No Ukrainians....A cellie from there, he told me about the chicks. That's a hard pass just..." A shudder runs through him, whatever was shared between them being brought to mind." And then his attention is finally snagged by the tv once more, it looks like a move went wrong and now the dapper fellow is down two front teeth, oops.

Harper settles affectionatlly against Geoff while he deals with the tequila, a little fascinated by the single-handed feat. "That's because you've got brains and brawn," Harper replies easily. "I'll bet the challenge was exactly what you needed: a way to be free while being locked down. You are a force to be reckoned with, my friend. And if you miss the violence, I think a solution is evident. You find activities that feed that part of you. Things that give you that rush without putting your life in too much jeopardy. Keep the balance but play with fire a little." He continues and uses the swimming analogy. The tattoo. "Well show me, then!" The tattoo. Harper needs another drink anyway. She pushes up and away from the comfort of leaning into Geoff and goes about making herself another Jack & Coke.

"You say the sweetest things." No one else, indeed. "Yes, yes.. there are some obvious answers you don't need to hit." A whole category of no-thank-yous that Harper can figure out all on her own. "Ukranians? Really?" She leans a hip into the counter where the bottles and the coke are resting. "Do you keep up with any of your friends from prison?" She has no idea if he has shoved that part of his past down or still holds onto that identity beyond what he's just revealing this evening. Harper glances away from the television and watches Geoff when the dental injury occurs. "I'll bet some of the Shadow hunting you've been doing primes that adrenalin rush in ways you don't dislike." Harper curls the glass in toward her tee-shirt-clad chest as she looks Geoff over measuringly.

Geoff needs no further encouragement then his, reaching back he grabs his shirt by the collar and with a fluid motion pulls it up and over his head. With the shirt gone it's clear that the man keeps in excellent shape, at least dedicating an hour or two to it every day. The next obvious thing are the scores of tats that cover his chest and upper arms, not to mention the various scars that by now are mostly faded and old "See I've been thinking about doing that. It's why I got a bike at first, going fast wearing minimal gear...It's that adrenaline rush of taking your life in your hands and relying purely on yourself from tossing it all away...But then that grew old, there's no payoff at the end, nothing to justify the risk."

Opening the pizza box he grabs a slice and takes a bite from it, chewing it slowly before swallowing "I still write some of the lifers I got to know. Most of them have nobody so getting that lifeline from the outside saves you from going mad. A few of the guys I liked better I toss about twenty bucks onto their commissary each month...Being able to get that ramen and enjoy a meal that wasn't made by Big D in the cafe and has who knows /what/ in it every now and then is worth its weight in gold." This just comes earnestly as if the events of prison still weigh on him "Fuck...I look forward to those dreams sometimes. I've been in some pretty fucked up ones but throwing myself into the fight is like I'm able to breathe again, you know?"

Harper watches the shirt removal with nothing more than an uptipping of a brow, then she pushes away from the counter and pads barefoot over to Geoff and crouches down, balancing on the balls of her feet, her elbows on her knees as she looks for the tattoo he was going to show her. She listens thoughtfully to the adrenaline commentary. "Right. I'm pretty certain that you'd need real risk. Maybe even enough that you seek out a little punishment to go with it." She tips her head as if to turn her statement into a query.

"That's generous of you. A good-hearted thing to do." Writing letters. Putting money into their comm accounts. "You're a good man, Geoff. But your secret is safe with me. I promise not to tell anyone." Harper doesn't have any pizza just yet. "I'll bet you do. I hear the yearning in your voice. I heard it after the paintball match, too. Have you given any more thought to doing more paintball?" For the pleasure of shooting again. "I don't know if your friend Marshall really wanted me along if you two played some more, but I'd enjoy shooting paint at you, too." A smile rises that she hides partly by taking another drink from her glass. She lowers it and gestures with the glass toward his tattoo-heavy torso. "What am I looking for here?"

Geoff taps lightly near his heart, there inked on his skin is what looks to be a caged sparrow mid song, the inking crude in comparison to his other tattoos no doubt a reflection of the tool used to do it, "This guy right here, I was rather taken with the poem Caged Bird. I mean it is the equivalent to finding Linkin Park deep as a teen, only behind bars, but still."

"Of course I'm still interested in paintball, and Easton was serious when he said he'd place with us. I'll have to pick one of them up and we can take turns out back shooting cans off a fence." Setting the pizza aside on top of the pizza box he says "It'll be a blast, and once we have some skill we can provoke some other teams into play against us." Apparently to Geoff the best way of getting a match is to pick a fight rather then to simply ask

From where she crouches in front of Geoff's knees, Harper takes a drink of her J&C and follows the journey of his hand to the bird on his chest. "Look at that." She reaches out with her free hand to stretch over his knees and trace a feathery circle over his skin around the tattoo. "Now that's some legitimate ink. I think I need to know how you give a tattoo in prison." She rolls back to her crouch, not elaborating on what ink she finds legitimate and what she doesn't.

"When your friend -- he goes by Easton, then? -- and you teach me to shoot a paintball gun I think you should keep your shirt off." Her eyes dance with laughter. "You're a walking bullseye." Harper rises to her bare feet and turns to the pizza box, "Is the pizza any good?" Setting down her glass of J&C on the table, she pulls out a piece and takes a large bite before setting it down atop the box with Geoff's piece. Around a full mouth she announces, "Yep. It's good alright. I think I forgot to eat today." This is a common problem for Harper. She drops with a bounce to the sofa and flickers a look to the wrestling. "Hey, an all-silver glimmer-cape. I think you need to buy me one of those. I'd wear a silver bikini and moon boots with it and everything. We can have a wrestling-themed read-in at the library." Midway through that last sentence she starts laughing, tears filling her eyes. "Can you imagine?"

Geoff gives small gesture "I've actually got a rigged up prison tattoo gun that I made so I could show some guys around the park. I'll show you later if you really want." with a thoughtful expression he muses "I could give you a prison tattoo if you want, I'll go get a bit of soot, mix it with shampoo and melted plastic and bam we'll be in business. We can put 'Don't Talk' on your knuckles so everyone knows you're reppin' for the library."

Grabbing his slice of pizza again he resumes eating "What, you don't got someone around reminding you to eat every now and then? You're gonna fall apart at this rate." eyes turning to the tv he he muses "Yeah yeah, I'll get you the glitter cape if you can source the bikini and moon boots to go with it."

Harper pokes Geoff in the ribs with the hand not holding her slice of pizza. She takes another large bite and chews it while contemplating his multiple tattoos musingly. "I've never understood the 'quiet in the library' thing. I mean, I'm not encouraging games of rugby in the stacks, but the library should be a welcoming place. There are quiet rooms if people need them. And people can listen to music on headphones if they're distracted." Harper realizes she's gotten inadvertently onto a Progressive platform for her soapbox and reaches over to set her pizza down and picks up her glass. Hmm. "Tell me about these other ones. I don't usually get to see them." She reaches with her cold glass to press it into one tattoo with a playful little bump. "That one. When, why? I want the scoop."

"I've got Jessica," she answers first of having people around. Jessica went to high school with them and was the closest thing to a best friend Harper had. The pair are still close and a bit overwhelming to be around, at times. "I've also got Everett. Though he's obsessed with carbs, or I suppose really it's more with avoiding carbs. All in all, it's really quite aggravating." Harper has the slender gene. This means that she avoids anything that could ever be considered working out for working out's sake. And she continues to be mystified by those who do work out, though she refrains from judgment when the topic has come up with Geoff. "No, no. The alcohol will destroy me, not my relationship with food." Her easy smile is somehow easier. Her comfort with Geoff's personal space and currently bare torso is complete. The second J&C is doing its work. As for wrestling wear? "We need a good alter-ego for you, then. 'The Inker' just sounds embarrassing. And I need some surprise-moves for when I destroy you in a shocking twist of events with my fearsome strength and wrestling skills."

Geoff laughs and leans away at the glass pressing coolly to his skin, the tattoo highlighted is grayscale and depicts a woman in victorian dress albeit she shows a bit of leg and leans towards being built like a pinup, held intimately to a skeleton dressed as a gentleman, complete with officious wig "That's because danse macabre is awesome. Death courts us all, why worry about it? Enjoy life, no one is so high and mighty that they won't feel the scythe" wobbling his hand his hand he admits "It might not be why the church popularized it but I think we can say that safely today."

At the mention of Jessica he lets out a low whistle "Damn, it's been forever since I've seen her, how is she doing?" with a playful grin he says "I can't help you on the Everett front or any one who worries that much about food. It's a pain in the ass." Wrinkling his nose at the name she's come up with for him "I'm pretty sure if I call myself the inker I'm not going to be allowed within a hundred yards a school zone purely on principle of the matter. What if we went with like, Son of Ares and I just went with the 'I like to fight' demeanor. I mean it's worked out well for me so far."

Harper draws back her glass with a twinkling smile. She contemplates the voluptuous yet Puritanical woman and the courting figure of Death on Geoff's skin, reaching out with her free hand to touch a finger to the figure of Death. "Leave it to you, Geoff, to be both literary and spurnful of such things at once. Your sense of irony is one of my favorite things." She lifts her glass to toast to said things and takes another sip. "'Don't worry about it. Enjoy life.' I think we're playing on the same team."

Harper tips a grin at the mention of Jessica. "She's excellent. Some bumps in the love life recently, but she's a survivor and she's gonna get some soon, if I have anything to say about it. You know she works at the paper? She works with Kevin Walters. You know, the guy that got it in the face first thing? Magnolia is a demon." She lifts her hand to her mouth and looks briefly shocked at herself. "You didn't hear anything about Jessica's love life from me. You got that? I really should stop drinking now before I lay waste to the city with my loose tongue."

The librarian quirks a brow, "Have you met Everett? I think you two have a couple of things in common." Harper's attention shifts yet again to Geoff's reaction to her terrible wrestling name. "Strange. You think? I can't imagine you being a danger to children. Not at all. To other adults? Definitely. But kids don't seem like they'd be in your wheelhouse. But what do I know? Son of Ares. Hmm--okay. That works. Though I think you'd have to explain the name to a good portion of the wrestling world. I suppose there's nothing wrong with a little education along with one's broken teeth and torn muscles. Do me a favor, though. Keep your teeth. I'm particularly fond of them."

Geoff turns his palms upwards in surrender "What can I say I am who I am, and I'm not beyond admitting when there's something I like or taking a concept and twisting it to better suit me." arm resting about her shoulder once more, he snugs her in against his side with a light squeeze "I didn't hear anything about her love life from you, no. I think love life problems are going around in spades right now."

At the mention of Everett he thinks to if he'd ever met the man "I don't think I've ever met him, and I'm not sure how much I have in common with someone who watches their carbs that heavily." His eyes falling to the pizza as if this should be evidence of such "Nah I wouldn't be a danger, but 'the inker' sounds like a name for a pedophile. Just like naming a mascot for a juice company the grapist would draw certain comparisons." returning to idly toying with the librarian's hair he makes a show of considering over that last point "I don't know Harper, I was planning on getting them all bashed out. But for you...For you I'll keep them." And just to show he means it he flashes Harper a pearly white smile.

Understatement of the month. Harper falls easily into a comfortable cuddle with Geoff while holding out her glass to keep from spilling it. "You may be right about that."

Geoff speaks to what he may or may not have in common with carb-watching and Harper laughs low. "I know, right? It's ... disconcerting." She thinks about it. "He came by the paintball arena but I think you'd left by then. That's probably for the best because he did horrible things to my cotton candy." The implication being that Geoff wouldn't have liked that. "Really, though, I think you two might get along. He's not really one to spout philosophy or literature though. That's definitely your niche. And I'm keeping you."

"The Inker sounds like someone with bladder control issues," states Harper dryly. She dissolves into laughter. "The Grapist. Now with three more levels of super flavor. You'd get into his van just for a taste of the purple. Ride the rainbow." She lifts her glass to trace an imaginary rainbow in the air, then muses over it for a bit longer, her gaze tipping back to the television as Geoff plays with a lock of her hair. Tonight, she's pulled the sides up in a clip at the back of her head. Taking a drink as she tips her attention back to Geoff and his toothy smile, Harper murmurs an amused sound. "The sweet, sweet favors you do me, Geoffrey."

Harper adjusts how she's sitting so that her denim vest clad back presses into the bared skin along the side of Geoff's torso and tips her head back against his shoulder. "How's the tequila?" With that murmur, her attention slides back to the television and she watches two wrestlers tag-team another, much larger wrestler. "The big guy is going to find a way to slam the Wonder Twins into each other. You watch. I see skull smashing in their future."

Geoff closes his eyes and shakes his head "You're right, I don't think I could have stood to have seen what he did to that cotton candy of yours. I'd have had to have said something. Then fought and kicked his ass." He says this as if the ass kicking were a natural end point of what would have happened, and with all the confidence that he could take on whoever.

"Oh of course I do you favors, someone has to look out for you when you forget about yourself. All those years in prison I expected to get the worst case news that you'd fallen into an open manhole and been eaten by alligators because you were too distracted by reading." And then it's back to the tv and much like the oracle Cassandra, Harper was right and the wonder twins were coming skull to skull for a good quality thud "Damn, looks like you called that one right there." Leaning forward he manages the little balancing act that is pouring himself more tequila, but he manages.

Harper utters a small scoff. "If you think I would enjoy watching you and Everett fight, you'd be sorely mistaken. Now watching you fight together against other people? That I wouldn't dislike at all." No. No, Harper doesn't mean to imply some sort of relationship between the two men or to express any predilections of her own. It was just her simple, whiskey-tinged reply. "But my cotton candy's virtue thanks you."

"That's why I visited a couple of times a month. I missed you terribly. And I didn't want you to think I was practicing unsafe manhole. Or other injuries due to Extreme Reading." Yep, she just said that. "We have a lot of Christmases and Thanksgivings to make up for, you know. Maybe we should start a semi-annual celebration in June next year." She reaches out with her free hand to steady the tequila glass while he one-hand pours. "I've never had tequila. I've heard it messes you up. And looking at a wine glass messes me up. So I've kept my distance. You like it?" She waits until he stashes the bottle then holds up the glass for him.

Harper grins as the predictable wrestling ends up being ... predictable and pumps her hand when it's free. "I am mighty. Speaking of, I'll rent the paintball accessories. I don't know how much the protective gear costs, but if it's reasonable I'll cover that too. You and Easton will have to deal with any obstacle creation needed. And if you want to invite others, maybe we can get them to chip in on equipment. Or maybe you need the gear as a late Christmas gift. Hmm." Harper is going to make this thing happen. The more intoxicated she gets, the more she'll push at it, which is ironic given that she'll likely remember it less in such a case.

"Oh no, I was simply saying I'd have to defend the virtue of your cotton candy. Can't let such things go unsaid." This is said with an imperious sniff as he collects the tequila and immediately procedes to down a portion of it, having prepared more then just a shot of it for himself. Gesturing with the glass and a perhaps somewhat unsteady hand towards the tv he says "Shiiit, looks like we're about to get to the grudge match." Oh and indeed the grudge match is being set up for, suddenly the ring is partially set on fire, filled with chairs and a spiked cage that is subtly different then the initial one is lowered down ominously from the ceiling. Oh and from inside the cage there is a briefcase full of money, the announcer points this out as if it is /the/ driving point of the match.

"Yeah...You coming by a couple of times a month is probably the reason I didn't just sink into it all. Give up hope and just fully run in those circles. Had someone I knew would miss me if I vanished." another light cuddle coming from the man, though it is warm and appreciative in how he holds her there closer to himself form a moment

"First thing is we get the paintball guns and masks, those should be easy enough to come by." Geoff explains as he switches gears into paintball "Then it is just a matter of us running around and getting used to assaulting each other, and then working as a team."

Harper casts a pleased smile up over her shoulder at Geoff, then leans forward to set her J&C glass down and pick up the other shot of tequila. "This for me?" She lifts it to her nose to smell the strong alcohol. "If I start crawling into your head with my super powers, it'll be the tequila's fault. You sure you want to live with that?" Harper falls lightly back against Geoff's torso and thumps his chest with a fist. "S'dangerous." She singsongs the last.

"I wish I'd had more money during college to put on your Com tab. I should have done that more." Grudge match set up begins. "Now I remember how fun this was." The rolling, heightening superlatives of the announcers, the hype and colors and dramatic shots of the money. Harper tickles her free fingers against his where it wraps around her shoulder. "Should we wager? If I remember correctly, I always won those." No, she didn't. That's a very selective memory.

"You have no idea how badly I wanted to take you out of there when I visited. I tried to be upbeat and bring you sunshine, but it killed me to get up and walk away." Harper's tone is somber as she shares this, quiet.

In regard to guns, masks, and protective gear, she asks, "Where should I look? Will you have to try them on for size, or can I just blindly order a men's size large?" Apparently one of Geoff's lost Christmases is already in process. "I'm going to be very, very bad at it. I hope you and Easton don't mind comic relief." A rueful little smile, then Harper lifts the extra tequila Geoff poured and downs it like he did. There's a quiet growl of displeasure from the librarian and she quickly sets down the empty glass to reach for her J&C to swallow a drink of the sweeter drink around her laughter. "That tastes horrible." The alcohol burns all the way down. "But it feels warm right away." To the screen once more. "Which one do you think is going to win? I like the flames on that one's outfit." Because Harper calls wrestling gear an 'outfit'.

Geoff grins broadly at that "I don't think I've ever wanted anything more then to see you try to crawl into my head with your librarian powers, bring it on." His shoulder jostling against hers "Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die." Once again gesturing to the screen with his glass he says "Sure let's bet on it, I bet El Fuego Mundo there wins the match and comes out as the new heavy weight champion. Willing to take that?"

Sobering momentarily, Harper's words steal his attention and he places a fraternal kiss to the side of her head "You were my sunshine when I was in prison, and I'll never forget that or be able to pay you back. I could tell how much you hated it there, how much you hated me being trapped in there. I do my best to stay out not so much because I'm afraid of going back, but because I couldn't do that to you again." there's a pause, and then a quiet "Thank you."

Harper twists where she sits to look at Geoff curiously and notably more starry-eyed than when she arrived. Her words are fluid on the edges as she pokes a finger to the center of his chest. "Are you daring me, Geoff Turner? I mean, you want to risk that kind of attention just to see if I can sneak my way into your brain?" Sneak. Poke. Way. Poke. Brain. Poke.

"That would mean I would have to bet on The Undertaker? Hmm." Harper considers the opponent in the bout, listening to the announcers chatter about him. "I'll take that bet. What are the stakes?" Back to Geoff, her brows tipping upward with her slurry challenge. No one remind Harper that taking a bet before choosing the stakes is the proper way to do such things.

Harper's eyes flutter closed as Geoff kisses her temple, only to slowly open once more afterward. She listens to what he says about that dark time with the world behind her eyes. "No, if that's what's keeping you out, then I think I've got to thank you, Geoff. I don't think your life should be all about me, but a piece of me would die if you went back." She searches his blue-green eyes for a long moment to measure what he says. Her words abruptly sound in his mind rather than from her lips.

Tell me you wouldn't, that you won't.
Harper's voice is strange in the mental link, as if someone had played with the sound and echoed her voice back over itself a few times, shuddering in and out of audio 'focus'.

Bringing a hand up he brushes a thumb softly against Harper's cheek "I know, and that's why I could never do that to you. You've been there with me in my highs, you've been there with me in my lows. I know that, and I'll never forget that and that's why I'd be with you to hell and back." With those words speaking into his mind, he leans in and bumps his brow to hers, eyes looking into hers "I wouldn't and I won't, I promise."

Harper watches Geoff as he brushes her cheek so gently, intent on what he's going to say. "To hell and back," she agrees. "I think we've been a few times. We're regular commuters." Close-close Harper smiles into Geoff's eyes. "That may be my favorite promise ever." She blinks slowly once twice. "I think your trailer is turning into a centrifuge." Two bites of pizza, some R&C and then tequila. Harper's definitely hit critical mass. "I showed you mine," she observes. "You show me yours." Glimmer. She's talking about Glimmer. She's loath to draw back away just yet. The room spins less when nis brow is close. Finally, she straightens. "You're gonna have to hit harder if you want a KO, Geoff. I mean, really."

Geoff lets out a low chuckle, his cheeks flushed with the warmth of the alcohol that's now filled him "I know it's definitely my favorite promise that I've made." The corner of his lips pulling up in a smile he says "Then let me try for the knockout." Bringing his hand up, he cups her cheek, thumb stroking over it as a golden warmth spreads from his touch. The warmth washing away fatigue, stress and all those little aches and pains that one learns to tune out as they grow older. A sort of ethereal sweetness sweeping along with it, indescribable and yet wholly positive. His eyes search hers as he does this, drinking in just how she reacts to what he can do.

"Your very favorite?" she echoes. Harper's lost track of the bout, of the terms of their wager, of the drinks and food, to focus singularly upon Geoff as he speaks warmly and stirs at her affection. And oh, that smile. She lifts a hand to touch fingertips to the back of his hand when he cups her cheek. The brush of his thumb drags a hushed sigh from her lips and she closes her eyes, at first misperceiving that warmth as the intoxication.

But it grows and spreads and her eyes drift open, then widen as what he said belatedly mingles with what he's doing. She catches her breath now and holds it as if any stray motion might cause the sensation to dissipate. Geoff's searching gaze seems to fascinate the librarian, holding her breath and rivetted. Finally she exhales and moves a little, experimentally, rolling from her hip to her knees on the sofa, facing him, the television droning ignored behind her.

"You did that? Geoffrey. Wow. I mean..." She trails off, distracted by the thought. "-- it feels like a cross between the after-effects of a really good massage and waking up after a real night's sleep." Those are rare for Harper. "I don't think that's a good way to fight, though, if you need to. You'd just make the bad guys get a crush on you. Then things would get messy." Her brown eyes sparkle with the thought, playful, despite the almost reverent hush of her words.

Geoff actually seems delighted to see how Harper receives it, unable to hide the broad boyish grin that hasn't seen the light of day since sometime before he robbed that store oh so many years ago "It's amazing isn't it...You're actually the first person I've tried it on. I /knew/ I could do it, just never was a time or a person I cared enough for to actually chance it." With a final caress of his thumb he teases "I think I'd settle for you having a crush. For others who are distinctly more hostile I have a whole host of other less pleasant powers I could use to deal with them."

Oh that grin that Harper remembers from a decade ago. She sinks into the softness from the hard man and smiles. "Amazing doesn't begin to cover it," she replies drolly. She doesn't bring up the recent ex-girlfriend when it comes to people to use that ability on. "Well, feel free to use that on me, anytime, Mister Turner." Librarian voice shifts to friendly. Harper tips her head into that caress then smiles softly. "Me? Having a crush on you? I'm pretty sure we'd bring about the apocalypse if I had a crush ... um. I don't mean you're not crush-worthy. Because you so are, Geoff. I mean, I have the biggest friend-crush a girl could have."

Harper stumbles verbally as if she'd been dropped to a floor covered with mousetraps. Her brain isn't cooperating much with her desire to fix the mess that she's making worse. "Maybe a little more than that, junior year." That would be news. Harper leans in quickly to drop a kiss to Geoff's cheek, her flushed face even brighter than before. "I wonder if you could teach me how to use less-pleasant powers or if you're just born with them." She settles once more on her heels, kneeling there on the faithful sofa. " Let him change the subject. Let him change the subject. Let him change the subject.

Geoff snorts softly and rolls his eyes, grin dropping to something a bit more like something he'd been wearing earlier "Yeah yeah yeah, I get it Harper." the kiss to his cheek drawing a faint upward quirk to his lip though there is a contemplative look behind his eyes. After a pause he finally speaks up again "Sure though, I can teach you more about the more destructive powers...It's mainly breaking people on the inside, severing tendons, cutting veins that sort of thing."

Turning his attention from Harper back and back to the tv, it looks like El Fuego Mundo had won the match in his own fiery style, with the commentators going wild over it and trumpets blasting a victory tune "Huh, looks like I won the bet. I'll let you know what the stakes are later, I'll have to think about what I won."

Harper watches the eye roll with a little relaxing of her shoulders. Relief floods through her. "I'd like to learn -- if they're not impervious to it. Does using it with them work? Does it make them more powerful? How do you practice it?"

Harper rolls to her hip and uncurls her legs from beneath her, sliding one leg atop her other. "You think about it. Think about paintball gear. I think that would be a good prize." She regards the television with sleepy eyes. But she feels too good to be bothered by the alcohol in other ways. She reaches over and patpats Geoff's knee. "You know, I came over here to try to remind you why you're a good catch and to make sure you knew we were going to find you the perfect girl. But I think you already know that. Well, okay. For the wrestling, too." The last bit is dry. Very dry.

Geoff lazily stays relaxed there with Harper as he explains "The way I visualize it is a bastardization of will and representation. You have what you perceive, and then there is the will and ideal of its form which we cannot perceive. For healing I attempt to rectify the two, bringing the person, object, device before me back to its ideal form. When I break it, well I dismantle that, I change my perceptions and use my will to force this change. Necks can be broken, eyes can be gouged, cars can fall apart." he says all this as if it were a rather casual concept to grasp. "I can also repair and break devices."

With a playful bump of his shoulder he says "You know after this I think I'm going to be just fine. I needed this, the hanging out again. The just bull shitting about everything and nothing to catch up. Thanks."

Harper rolls her head against the sofa back to watch Geoff as he explains his Philosophy of Spirit. "That makes sense. How long have you been able to do it? When did you first learn?" She's relaxed again, she feels too good not to be relaxed and she folds her arms across her slim chest and shifts to fascinated researcher. It's still Harper there, but the sense that she'll unwrap everything Geoff has to tell her is palpable. He has a captive audience.

Geoff bumps her and she curves a small smile, only partly jogged from her thoughts. "Yeah," she replies. "You are. And I'll come over anytime you want the company. It's a service I provide." Her smile rises. "You know, I think I might be okay to walk home. The rain stopped. I can leave you my keys and you can bring the car over tomorrow." She holds the question in her eyes rather than speaking it. Would he?

"I learned in prison, I honed it there, learned to fight mainly. Though learned that I could fix them back up if I wanted." Geoff explains with an easy going grin "You know I thought for the longest time I was alone with this power...I don't know how I missed that you glimmer'd too, probably altogether just too happy to have you back to talk with."

Rolling his shoulders he says "You know if you walk, I'm walking you home and there's nothing that can stop me right?" Gesturing with his thumb out the window to the town at large he says seriously "It's not safe out there, and I wouldn't rest right if I let you go by yourself. I'm happy to bring your car over tomorrow though."

The fact that Geoff learned what he knows while in prison startles Harper, but it makes so much sense at the same time. "It all makes a person feel alone. The power. The secrets. The dreams. The attacks. I feel like they were formed on the premise that each of us had to fight our own battle. I doubt working together is something that the Others bargained for." Harper thinks a minute. "Let me ask you something. The times I've encountered that side, well... most of the times I've encountered it, some clearly Other creature has told me to do something or asked me to. Do you find that it helps or hurts you to use the --" Harper waves a hand as if for a word and then simply just uses Geoff's. "-- Glimmer? Does it make them more powerful?"

"I'd hate for you to have to walk that far," she argues. But really, a walk with Geoff on a clean summer night isn't such a bad proposition. And Harper is trying to avoid spending the night on his sofa. Something about that seems inappropriate to the be-glimmered librarian.

Geoff 's shoulders hunch slightly "I don't know if it makes them more powerful, but I know if you're talking about /them/ whatever they ask you to do is a step in the road to making someone suffer or to trapping you." chewing lightly on his tongue he says "And no, us using it doesn't make them stronger...I've felt one look at me before, it knows me. It's felt like it was just darkness, a sea of black, and we use our gifts they know, because we offer up light and they're drawn to it. Then they feed by making you miserable, by hurting you, and trying to remove your hope. Or they offer you a deal, you live in fear of them and you spread suffering so they can feed off it." with a yawn he says seriously "Either way it's not good." His eyes searching Harper's to see if she quite understood what he was saying.

Then he shakes his head, changing the subject "Remember, to hell and back, Harper. A walk down the street is nothing and it'll give me a chance to sober up a bit. Plus I'd enjoy a nice walk with you and enjoying the night."

Harper draws her bare feet back up to the sofa and pulls her knees to her chest to rest her chin atop one. She listens carefully to everything Geoff says. She's experienced pieces of it here and there but has never had the vocabulary to express it. Suffering or trapping. Harper nods her chin against her knee at that. "Have they fed off of you, Geoffrey?" Hope. "I'm always here to give you hope. Don't forget that." A deal. Harper frowns, her brown eyes darkening to something closer to stormy. "How do you destroy them? Physically like your power? Because I don't think thinking at them is going to help me or anyone else much." A resigned smile. She nods in agreement to neither option being good. "I wish there was a way you could show me how to handle them without us having to involve them at all." Harper makes assumptions there that Geoff would be inclined to do such a thing. What are best friends for, after all?

Her smile rises at the echo of what they agreed to earlier, re-cemented. "To hell and back. Another lap." Her smile softens as he offers the walk in the sweetest way possible. "You know, Turner, you may try to keep it secret, but you're a very good man." She takes a breath,"I think I should sleep at home. I know we're okay, and you know we're okay, but I don't want Everett to feel strangely about it." Her smile fades a little. "And a walk sounds really lovely."

Geoff nods somberly "They've tried, and I guess to an extent they have. Like I told you before, a chick came into my shop and asked for a tat. I did the work and while there she offered me the choice between serving the dark men, or suffering and being their food." with a wry grin he tells Harper "She was strong, stupidly strong and did mind shit. She stalked me for a while attempted to recreate those feelings of me being locked in prison, the isolation, the hopelessness. Then every now and then I'd feel one of /them/ try the same thing and it was an order of magnitude worse." With a swallow he dips his head "It was bad, but through it I was able to keep up my spirits. After all I'd chosen this path for myself, and rather then being a prisoner of fear, I was a free man walking a path with obstacles. Ended up kicking her ass and she got out of dodge, it's lessened up significantly since then."

Standing and stretching his arms upwards he says "Nope, I'm a terrible person and an excon. Can't trust me don't you know." With a roll of his eyes he says "If he thinks you have it in you to do anything strange, then he doesn't deserve you. You're a straight shooter." with a crack of his knuckles he tells her "Remember what I said back at Pens and Needles." shooting her a look a serious look that suggests what was said was definitely a promise "Now let's get started before it starts to rain again."

Harper goes from listening with interest to frowning darkly as she listens to Geoff's story. "That makes me want to bring the pain. And I'm talking medieval, Turner." On their asses. Pulp Fiction style. "How did you -- that's just plain formidable, that attitude, that confidence. And then you kicked her ass?" Those words sounds strange coming out of the librarian's mouth. "I'm glad it's better." Harper lifts her head off her knee and takes a slow breath. "So I've recently come to find out that there are Others who aren't malevolent. Imagine my surprise. I'm working tentatively with one. She's a librarian, too. Apparently some books from over there shifted to our reality and they have powers to draw the readers into them, never to escape. So I'm retrieving them to send back. It was a bit jarring, speaking with her the first time. She was pleasant and not at all what I've come to know when dealing with -- the Dream. I called it the Sideways for a long time. But both you and she called it a Dream. I'd never heard about the things abilities and the shine called a Glimmer before, though. It's a good word." She nods once more as she thinks it over. "Never forget who you are, Geoff. Because that man is dauntless."

She watches Geoff stand and stretch. She slides her bare feet off the sofa and pushes up to grab her sandals by the door. These are pulled on. "A straight shooter, hmm? Who'd've put us together as best friends?" She straightens and offers another of her winning smiles. "That -- what you did really cleared my brain. I feel extraordinary." Then she adds, "If we do play paint ball I have a feeling you'll be the straight shooter. I will just Jackson Pollack it and hope for collaterol dammage. " She nods then, "I remember. That means the world to me. Okay. You keep the rum and if there's any left the next time I come over I'll have it then. But drink it and the soda, okay?" She reaches for where she set her purse down and pulls it over her head to hang at the opposite hip. "Thanks for walking me home. I owe you." Because she'll walk him home next time? Not likely. No one is going to avoid meddling with Geoff's fine self because Harper's along for the walk.