2019-12-05 - Ergonomic Office Chairs

Isolde was working on packing for her upcoming trip to New York with Itzhak. She was a mix of excited and nervous. Excited because she was going to be meeting his family. Nervous because, well, she was going to be meeting his family. But also because Isolde was pretty certain she still had a few warrants out for her arrest in the state. She had finally gotten down to the DMV too, filled out all the papers and gotten herself a nifty State ID! The picture was terrible, but it would suffice.

She was twittering back and forth with Luigi, keeping an eye on Blue Bell if she was out and about as well. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and she wore a pair of jeans with a black, short sleeved shirt. All the warm clothes were going in the duffel bag!

And Alexander has been working on various things, but the twittering and sounds of packing eventually draw him out of his office, and he leans against the door frame and smiles at her. "You'll be okay on the trip?" he asks, quietly. "You've got my phone number, if anything happens." Not that he really expects anything to happen that Itzhak and she can't deal with, but who knows? The way things have been going, it never hurts to have some backup in your corner. Luigi calls at him, and he whistles back to the bird.

Isolde looks up at Alexander as he comes into the livingroom and flashes him a bright smile. "I will be okay. Sure of it. But," the redhead nodded, "will call if not the case. " She finished folding a shirt and put it in the bag. "You will be okay? Hopefully no crazy things. " though there were always crazy things going on in this town.

"There will be crazy things," Alexander says, with a smile and a shrug. "But we'll get through them. I'm glad you'll have a break from it all. I've never been to New York, but they tell me that it's got it's own, entertaining, brand of crazy. So have fun." He glances down at his feet for a moment, then looks up at her. "How are you doing? Itzhak told me that you saved his life. Over There. With lightning." His smile turns to a brief grin. "That's a long way from where you were."

"It will be fun. To see it in a. Different light." Isolde agreed with a nod, "There will be lots of pictures!" She shifted a little, lowering herself on to the arm of the couch. Rubbing the back of her neck there was a shrug and a little bit of an uneasy look. "It hurt him though. Bad." Like, did he see the scar? "I know there was no other way....but," She shrugged and looked down a moment. Then back to him. "But, I am okay. Over all. Portland was...interesting. We were really close to. My home. But I wasn't-I wasn't ready to try and face that." Whatever that mess was. "You know they call me. Iron Queen. Over There. Pwill and his friends." She actually had no idea if Alexander knew who Pwill & Co were, but time to find out!

"I'm pretty sure he thinks the scar makes him look badass," Alexander says, with a small smile. "It's Lichtenburg scar - it's really quite beautiful. There's nothing wrong with a scar or two." He sidles closer, although not quite within arm's length as she looks down. "Hey. Isolde. You did what you needed to in order to save him. That's nothing to regret. He'd say so just as quick as me." He subsides as she talks about Portland, his eyes flickering with some sort of emotions he doesn't voice. "If you ever want me to go out there and figure out what's going on, just let me know, Isolde. You don't have to go into that blind, even if you ever decide you want to go in at all." His smile reappears, faint and dim, at the nickname. "Those are the people you met Over There? It suits you."

Isolde drew in a soft breath, nodding again, as if trying to reassure herself of Alexander's words. "You're right. He does, and it was that or he died and...he can't die so." A soft exhalation and she put on a bit of a smile. "I had to do it. Like you said. And I am happy I could save him, that he's still here, just not about how it had to happen." She shrugged. "I appreciate it." When he talked about looking into Portland. "Maybe. I am thinking about it still. I want to know but...at the same time...." Well, it's just been so long already. "Yes. Pwill is a satyr, and there was a unicorn! A...Dreamrunner? I think that's. The name over there. For them." She tilted her head a touch, maybe curious. "Why does it suit me? I've been. Wonder. Can't really think of. An answer."

"Him dying would be suboptimal," Alexander agrees, "and since he's determined to go Over There like it's a goddamned fantasy novel, then it's good that there's someone he's willing to have along to have his back. And I know he won't let you get hurt, if he can stop it." He moves to sit on the arm of the sofa, arms crossed over his chest as he watches Isolde. "Although I guess a unicorn is a nice thing to see." His smile reappears. "Because you're Iron, Isolde. You survived this long, pretty much alone, and you didn't lose the ability to care about other people or want to help. You've got your shit together better than half the people in this town, myself and Itzhak included, and I don't mind saying that I admire the hell out of you. And," he grins, "you're great in a fight. Warrior queen, for sure. You've even been growing in your abilities in leaps and bounds, without - as far as I can tell - accidentally breaking anyone's brain. Which...isn't always the case."

"It was nice. Nothing like who the movies portray them, but that's okay. He was still a good thing." Isolde agreed, shifting a bit to look up at Alexander as he took his perch. Listening closely as to why the nickname was good for her. There's another twitch of a smile. "Sometimes it doesn't feel like I do." There's a touch of a chuckle and a brighter smile when he adds her being great in a fight. "You're pretty good in one too you know. And I think you have been getting better. Getting things together and stuff. How is Isabella?" Her hand runs through her hair. "Hmm. Not that I know of. I think lots had to do with..Pwill jump starting me when we were escaping. I hope I don't accidentally. Break someone's brain."

"Trust me," Alexander says, his voice very dry, "compared to many other people? You absolutely do." He grins at the compliment in return. "Isabella's good. She's finishing up her thesis. Which will be brilliant, I'm sure - I'm amazed that she's even been able to concentrate, but I don't think she lets much stop her from what she wants." The grin shades into something more complicated and a little sad. "She has to go back to England to defend it. I feel like...she'll mostly forget what happened here, and probably look back and wonder what she was drinking in the water to hook up with the town psycho. But that...might not be the worst thing. For her. She's got her whole life ahead of her, and she doesn't need to be tied to this place, you know?"

He shakes his head, dismissing the melancholy thoughts. "Just remember to not touch without permission, unless you have to in order to protect yourself. Or other people."

Isolde's expression softened somewhat as Alexander explained that Isabella would be leaving for England. "I don't think she will forget. I hope she won't. You're good Alexander, a good person. You deserve to be happy." Isolde said softly. "This town is...gray. So very gray. But the people are not. Most things don't....last forever. But I hope they last longer, for you. Both of you. You are cute." She gave him another little smile and then nodded. "Yes. Not without permission. Never without."

She paused a beat. "I talked to the Captain. In here." She tapped her head lightly. "He sounds nicer that way. Not so grumpy."

Alexander just makes a noncomittal sort of noise at the idea of him being a good person. There's a flash of mock-outrage, though, when she says the dreaded 'c-word'. "We're not cute. We're adults in an adult relationship. Nothing about it is cute." Grump grump grump, to hide the little flash of pleasure there. When she mentions talking to Ruiz mind to mind, his expression softens into something fond. "Yeah. He's got a beautiful mind. Dark, in some ways. Dangerous. But still beautiful, and a pleasure to link with. I wasn't aware you were hanging out with him." His eyebrows go up, and he studies her with more than the usual intensity.

Isolde smirked a little, giving his foot a little nudge with her own when he grumped. "Anything can be cute. Eye of beholder and all that." There's an odd little look that comes over her features when he brings up hanging out with the Captain. "I'm...not. Not really. Itzhak is...hanging out....with him." Like she carefully chose that phrasing. Not really sure how else she wanted or could phrase it. "So I thought...maybe could know him a little better." She shrugged. "Easier for me. To talk like that. So we did, for a few minutes." She pushed a hand lightly through her hair. "He is okay."

Alexander doesn't twitch away from the foot nudge, just grumps again. More loudly, so that she knows her foot magics don't work on him. "Yeah, I know," he says, about Ruiz and Itzhak, and not without an exasperated sigh. "Javier's a good guy. Sometimes despite his tremendous capacity for making self-destructive decisions. But there's no one more solid when it comes to trying to protect people, and despite all the grump, he's actually pretty sweet. I was glad when you called him when I was going...weird with Gohl. Even if I tried to kill him." He shrugs. "He could use more friends who aren't interested in, ha, hanging out with him, but I get that it might be awkward."

"Mostly I'm just jealous." Isolde admitted, probably for the first time. Well aside talking to Cameron some about it. "For stupid reasons." She relaxed back in the couch, looking up at the ceiling. "I don't care that he's sleeping. With other people. Itzhak. I just don't like. That he holds back with me." There's a touch of red crawling up her cheeks. "He treats me like. I'm breakable. and I'm not. And I should be. Telling him this. Sorry." She covered her eyes with one hand for a moment and took a breath. "I would like to. Be friends with Javier. One day maybe. Rebecca too. Whenever I meet her. I need more friends."

Alexander slips off the arm and to the couch cushions beside her with a THUMP. "You should be, yeah. But that doesn't mean you can't talk about it with me, too. We're friends, and talking to friends is good, right?" He gives her a wink. "Or, I mean. With Itzhak, I'm not sure talking is always the way. You'll have him in New York for a few days, all to yourself, and I'm not saying you should jump him and show him exactly how you'd like to be treated, but I'm saying that if that happened, I suspect he'd go along with it pretty damn quick. Just a feeling that I get." He grins, briefly, at her. "And friends are good. Weird. Painful. But good."

Isolde couldn't help but giggle a bit, peeking over at Alexander when he plopped down next to her. "Talking to friends is good." She agreed, lowering her hand, letting it lay back in her lap. "True. Actions are better sometimes. Than words with him." She looked back up towards the ceiling and then started laughing again. "Jump him. In his. childhood bedroom. While his family is right nearby." The idea itself was a good one. It was the location she was sure they would be staying in that was potentially an issue. But...time would tell. Isolde looked towards Alexander again and returned the grin. "Yes. Good, but complicated sometimes. Many times...but Good."

"If that goes terribly, by the way, it wasn't my idea. I'm an innocent soul," Alexander claims, all fake pious, his hand pressed to his heart. "But I'm sure that, theoretically speaking, somewhere in New York City, there will be a place and time where you can ride Itzhak Rosencrantz like a grumpy, musical pony, and he won't object." Is he trying to make her blush harder? Maybe. At least, he seems to be watching her reaction as he says that. "But yeah. Friends are good. And you're good, so you should have lots of them."

If he's trying, or even if he wasn't, Isolde was blushing harder anyway. Well on to looking like a tomato. There was another bit of giggling before Isolde nudged Alexander gently, briefly. "Jerk." She murmured, sitting up some and drawing in a breath. Flashing him another smile "Yeah. There will be. Probably. I'll have him pick a place and he won't even know what hit him." She nodded, keeping a straight face for all of maybe 5 seconds. "Reminds me of college." Isolde mused. "When we got caught. In that professor's classroom." She winked, rising to her feet and heading towards the kitchen. "Do you want any ice cream?"

"I'm being helpful, Isolde. Very helpful!" Alexander's grin is boyish and brilliant as she turns that delightful shade, and he only laughs at the nudge, without any sort of regret. "I'm glad, though. That you two like each other. You're both good things." Then his eyebrows go up at the reminder of the college days, and his laughter returns. "Oh. Yes. That was great fun. And was really Dr. Stanton's fault - you can't have a chair shaped like that without expecting people to get experimental. And we did, in fact, prove that it was ergonomically designed for all sorts of activities. He should have thanked us for our review, really." The words are rapid and playful, a bit more like college age Alexander than he usually lets show, just a little cocky and devilmaycare about certain things. "Mmm. Ice cream sounds nice. Thanks."

"Precisely." Isolde's eyes sparkled with amusement. "I wonder if they still. Make chairs like that." She tapped her chin lightly and then grinned again. It was nice to see Alexander like this. A bit more vibrant, confident. She peeked her head around the corner with a devilish look. "If so. I will get one for you and Isabella." Then she disappeared back into the kitchen. A few minutes later she was returning with two bowls of moose tracks ice cream. "Here you go!" Offering him a bowl as she sat down beside him again.

Alexander takes the bowl. "Oh god. Isolde, it's been twenty years. I don't know that I could bend like that anymore. Might just get Isabella's hopes up, you know?" He takes a bite of the ice cream, makes a pleased sound. Once it's gone, he waggles the spoon at her. "Anyway. You should be focused on getting together a deposit and such. I understand the cabins are almost complete. You still interested in them?"

Isolde grinned. "I dunno, I think you could do it." She teased as she takes a bite of her own ice cream. "Oh! Are they?" She nodded. "Yes I am. I have been saving!" She'd been doing various little odd jobs around town. Running errands for people or helping with minor things. She may or may not have to get an actual bank account next. "I will have to keep an eye out. Hopefully I can get one. Javier was looking too. I said maybe we would be neighbors." She giggled, wouldn't that be extra awkward? "Do you know? When they will be done?"

"Yeah, well, don't mention it to Isabella. She'll take it as a challenge, and then I'll end up in the hospital with an old man sex injury, and there's no way I'm calling one of the healers to help with that," Alexander says, but he's still grinning. He takes another spoonful of the ice cream, and nods, making an affirmative noise. The spoon comes out, and he tries again. "Yeah. I think they should be just about ready to talk to her about when you get back. Name of the owner is Liven. Love Liven. She's also bartending at the Cabaret, but you'll probably want to contact her through more professional channels than that. Whatever company she's using for the real estate." He smiles. "Javier mentioned that, yeah. They seem like nice little places when I've walked by."

"I won't say a word." Isolde giggled. "It would be very bad for that to happen. Though. You are not old. Yet." She relaxed into the couch again, taking another bite of the ice cream. "Ohh that's a pretty name. I will try to do that then. Call her. Or the company. Or something. When I come back. To find more info." She nodded. "If I bring back a souvenir. What sort of thing would you like?"

"I didn't say I was. I said it was an old man's sex injury, and 'tearing a tendon while attempting acrobatic sex on an ergonomic chair' is definitely an old man's sex injury," Alexander says airily. "And do. She's nice." At the mention of a souvenir, he blinks a couple of times. "I. Um. Hm." He has to think about it. "I would like something very New York. I'll probably never go there, so...something that's horribly touristy and completely of the city would be nice." He grins. "I leave it to you, beyond that."

"It definitely is." Isolde agreed with another little giggle. "Hmm, okay! I'll find the most touristy, New Yorkish thing to bring back! Maybe multiple things. We will see what I find." She dug up another spoonful of ice cream. "Maybe if I like it enough I will drag you out there some day myself! But we'll see. I might still hate it." She mused. "Well, maybe not hate. but...still might not be a favorite."

Alexander nods. "Good. That sounds absolutely wonderful. I'll display it with pride." He's also making his way through his ice cream at a leisurely sort of pace. His smile goes all crooked when she suggests dragging him out there, and he shrugs. "Maybe." Another bite, before he studies her reactions. "Well. Sometimes places are different when you're going there with someone you care about. Give it a chance. And if you don't like it? Fuck it, we've got Seattle. And Seattle ain't terrible."