Unexpected Expected Guests

[smartass_captain]

Jim's in between meetings when he feels the tug on the edge of his senses letting him know that 'the lady' is in the apartment again. Felix has managed to give Tiber the slip today so the kneazle has been holed up all alone in Jim's apartment while the captain works. The last few times she's shown up haven't been ideal--rebuilding efforts on the station and staffing for Jim's new ship have eaten into most of his time of late.

Today though, all he has are easily put-offable bureaucratic meetings with his head of departments. Frankly, Scotty, Spock, and Bones can operate fine for an afternoon without him and Jim more than trusts them to do just that. It gets him a bit of an eyebrow from the other men when he begs off but they don't question him more than that for now.

The apartment sounds quiet when Jim lets himself in. The lights are off. Everything's as he's left it. Except he can see the light outside his study door marked orange telling him it's been locked from the inside. He'd shown Isidor how to do that the first day she'd come over after all. A layer of security for her already frayed paranoia about being seen at anything other than her best.

Jim knows the feeling all too well. He's done what he could to accommodate her.

His work desk has long since been pushed off into one of the corners to maximize the floor space in the room. The captain's done what he could to remove anything unnecessary--coffee tables or the like. That's left is a spartan office with a desk tucked into the corners and the only window set to opaque to give a bit of 'natural' light to this otherwise empty room. If it weren't for the terminal at the door it would look almost normal. It's the little things that feel off to any Earth-hailing person. The wood of the trim and desk don't feel quite right. The sense of balance and gravity is ever so slightly odd. Even the glass isn't the same as a normal frosted window. And then there's the smell. Or lack thereof of modern day air pollution that permeates modern living. The air scrubbers of the colony keep Yorktown sterile and clean smelling.

Jim knocks twice on the door to let Isidor know he's there before he punches in the door's override code and it hisses open with the quietest swissssh.

"I've got a pot of coffee going, wanted to see if you were interested in a cup of something a bit different from the blends you usually have access to."

Comments

[smartass_captain]

Jim watches the first motion fail to yield a result. That's a bit weird. Normally at least something would happen, right? What drives the magic that Isidor wields? How is it different from the magic Felix and Stratos rely on? If her magic is all internal, shouldn't it be usable here too?

Either way, Jim doesn't look too surprised when Isidor has to try again. Not until the furniture begins to shake. Before he can tell her to stop there's a raucous clattering of wood ('wood' really, most things here are replicated after all) against the wall. He winces ever so slightly. "It's in space. Which, I mean, I know the Earth is too but...there's nothing here you're used to dealing with."

The captain folds his arms with a thoughtful frown. "Do athletes of your time do altitude training yet? Pushing themselves physically in an oxygen deficient environment to make their body more efficient at utilizing it? My ship and this colony are not old and do not have the energies Earth or other planets must. There is no magic out here, or at least very little. It's all I can think of to call it since pretty much every mage I've had into my world has had the same problems. There's a deficiency in whatever energy you utilize to control your magic."

[heirtothedragonsfire]

A wounded ego holds Isidor's scowl firmly in place while Jim explains, and then it deepens when he's finished. "Deficiency?" Her eyes slide off to look at the furniture. "That doesn't sound right. It doesn't sound like it feels right."

For the first time in a very, very long time, Isidor wishes her father was here. Not out of any fear, but for the sake of a simple explanation. He would know what was going on, she's sure of that.

But for now, she has half-answers and a sore spot on her pride. "You could have warned me."

[smartass_captain]

"I didn't want to turn your stomach again when you were finally looking something other than green. Plus, I didn't want to assume your magic worked the same way Felix and Stratos' does. Seemed kind of rude to tell you you couldn't do something before you'd even got to try."

Jim gives a weak shrug from next to the Durant mage but doesn't drop his posture from where he's standing arms crossed. All he can do is hypothesize, really. He's not the one with the abilities to test any of those theories out. He only gets data to study when mages come to his world. It's not a common occurrence.

"An energy deficiency, or something. I honestly don't know enough about magical theory to do more than study what happens and form my thoughts around the results I see. I imagine it would be easier on my Earth than it is out here. But that's untested as of yet."

[heirtothedragonsfire]

When Jim puts it that way, Isidor knows she would have scolded him for trying to deter her. That's not something she'll admit, though. As it is she gets to conveniently dodge that issue and save herself from looking any worse.

"It's been a long time since I cast something that wasn't as easy as walking," she mutters unhappily.

This place is becoming more like a world of discomfort for her than a place of sanctuary. No ground beneath her feet, no ease in using her magic. What kind of place is this?

It's not all bad. Being frustrated by all of this means she gets a burst of energy again. Ready to vent, Isidor steps across from Jim and prepares herself. "Right. Let's see how worried I should be about pissing you off in future."

[smartass_captain]

"It didn't take Felix or Stratos very long to get the hang of it. You'll get used to it. You've already gotten used to the artificial gravity just being here in my apartment like this. Give it a bit of time and you shouldn't hardly notice the difference."

So long as they don't go outside, Isidor should be more or less fine once she adjusts. It bodes well that she's getting ready to spar with him too. There's no padding or gear here, though they probably should have that given what they're about to do. It's not something Jim has laying around his apartment though. Jim Kirk doesn't do fights for fun.

Getting into a fight is either done when he doesn't expect to win and is looking for something to give him a physical pain to dull out an emotional one, or a legitimate threat to his person or crew. That's not to say the captain hasn't been formally trained, because he has. Combat classes are mandatory for all Starfleet personnel and advanced classes are doubly mandatory for anyone looking to be in the officer's program. His stance is different from her own. Less guarded, more open footed. At the end of the day Jim's a barroom brawler when it comes to any kind of fight that isn't one where his life is on the line.

To someone who's been brought up in a very structured and rigorous environment Jim doesn't look all that skilled. It won't jive with how he fought back in Tamriel.

[heirtothedragonsfire]

Martial arts were always considered a somewhat barbaric, but necessary part of a patron's training. It was Isidor's uncle who spearheaded her education in it, and it was her uncle's determination that she be properly prepared that saw she rarely trained with padding or gear. Instead she keeps herself in, her hands high and her stance ready to change at a moment's notice. Real fights would never give you time to put on protective gear, he often said.

First thing's first, though. She has no idea what kind of hand-to-hand combat Jim is used to, so that's the first thing she needs to rectify. For a start she decides to go for a basic jab to his face from her right, ready to counter if he decides to block and return the favour.

[smartass_captain]

There's no hesitation or holding back in Jim's movement trying to counter Isidor. Ducking and dropping back half a step to his right before putting all of his weight forward into his own strike, Jim moves with a dogged pace. Not bothering to fall back properly.

Frankly, the captain knows already that if he doesn't try his hardest it's only going to take one or two blows to knock him flat on his ass. Which might happen anyway as Jim's full momentum is easily countered and used against him by Isidor.

[heirtothedragonsfire]

Really, captain? Putting all your weight into a punch? If she wasn't busy acting out of reflex Isidor might have smirked.

Isidor shifts her feet, stepping backwards out of Jim's strike and then quickly stepping to the side. Grabbing his arm on her way to his outside, she sets her foot in front of his and tries to twist his arm behind his back. If she can just do that it should be easy enough to throw him off his feet.

[smartass_captain]

Look if he holds back then Isidor's going to make him look like a chump...is what Jim would have said if a spark of pain wasn't jolting through his arm. If his body wasn't twisting with Isidor's steady weight guiding his momentum when his foot runs into hers and he's halted from going forward.

Pain and getting the air knocked out of him when he hits the floor rouse something in him that wasn't there before. He lashes out in a kick before Isidor can try to pin him down. He doesn't expect to get her leg out from underneath her with this, but he does want to buy himself time and distance to get back to his feet.

This is still a simulation. It's still not Real. But Jim doesn't want to go down without a fight here either and it's starting to show. He won't have time to do much more than get up and throw up an arm to try and block when Isidor inevitably closes the distance again while he's still sucking in air.

[heirtothedragonsfire]

Perhaps it's because all the captains Isidor knows are military, or because he was so energetic in going to Cyrodiil, but the patron had not expected to be able to get him on the floor quite so easily. Once he's there, however, her eagerness has her moving in quickly, only for him to kick at her leg and stagger her.

A sharp hiss of pain and her determination rises. She barely waits for him to get up before she tries grabbing at his arm, his shoulder, and throwing him past her. If she can keep him unbalanced she can win this easily.

[smartass_captain]

Jim is many things but gracefully efficient in combat is not one of them. It shouldn't matter whether this is a simulation or not, but it does all the same. Just like his marks in his combat classes were never stellar despite the things he's lived through, right here and now Isidor is mopping the floor with Jim. Or well. Polishing the coffee table.

A loud clatter sounds through the apartment as Jim stumbles forward and knocks his big head against the coffee table leaning lengthwise where it fell on top of the couch.

"Motherf--!" And now he's on the floor bleeding like a little bitch. Truly the most formidable man in the galaxy right here. "Okay, okay stop! Ow. Fuck, oww. All I'm doing is looking like an idiot here."

[heirtothedragonsfire]

She's so sure he's going to whip around and throw a punch… right up until he smacks his head off the coffee table. Even she has to wince at that.

"Just because we're in space doesn't mean you shouldn't be grounded. You're as bad as Viatorus." And though she scolds him she goes over and helps him up. "Are you alright? I don't want you to have a concussion just because you couldn't stand properly."

[smartass_captain]

"It's fine."

The words sting almost more than the actual gash but Jim swallows his pride as best he can and grabs a tissue to press it against his face. It's tempting to snark and gripe but she's not wrong and that bothers him most of all.

"I'll have to practice if we're gonna make this a habit. Otherwise I'm just going to look ridiculous and you won't get anything out of this other than a laugh."

Jim pulls the coffee table off the couch and sets it down randomly on the floor before flopping down on the couch properly and heaving a sigh.

"At least my alchemy studies haven't been this embarrassing."

[heirtothedragonsfire]

"You should practice anyway if you can't even hold your own against me," she points out. It's almost inevitable that the captain will end up in dangerous situations more often than she will. Maybe she caught him on an off day. Yes, that's what she'll assume. Otherwise she might have to be more concerned for his safety.

Unable to do magic properly here, she can't even offer to heal him up. Instead she sits on the other end of the couch.

"I didn't know you were studying alchemy. I assumed those books were Felix's. Looking to turn lead into gold, are you?"

[smartass_captain]

It's for the best she doesn't know how reactionary Jim's fighting style really is. She'd be mortified by what she saw. Then again, maybe Jim would get some remedial lessons out of the deal. The captain sighs and leans his head back against the back of the couch to try and ignore some of the throbbing pain he's still feeling dulled as it is now to an ache.

Well, she's not wrong. The books do belong to Felix but Jim's the one who's been reading them the last couple of months. Just sitting around hasn't ever sat well with him and this seemed like a nice hobby that might actually help him bluff his way through any family meetings he's going to need to have eventually with Felix's father.

"Nothing that frivolous, I don't think that's an actual thing you can do with it. Trying to be able to help Felix organize and maintain stores mostly. Learning some basics to help him prep and grind potions. He's been showing me cold resistance potions. Says they're better than coin in Tanriel."

[heirtothedragonsfire]

It's hard not to laugh at Jim discussing lead turning into gold. Everyone knows that's not how alchemy works, but it would be cruel of her to tease him for a single naive comment. Especially after she'd just thrown him to the ground several times over.

No sooner has she quelled her smile than Jim says something that widens her eyes. "Cold resistance potions?" Her gaze slips away as the cogs in her mind turn, and then she settles a curious frown on Jim. "Felix makes those?"

[smartass_captain]

It's the classic use for alchemy in stories though! And for a man who didn't know his ass from his elbow until very recently when it came to magic of any kind it's best just to not doubt anything anyone says until proven or found to be untrue. Frankly Jim just feels kind of pleased to be pretty sure he knows A Thing for certain when it comes to alchemy. So much of it feels pretty overwhelming.

Questions like 'why does this work?' or 'how is this possible?' very often end up with answers like 'it just does'. He should probably not be learning alchemy or any kind of magic from Felix but it's the only teacher he's got.

"Well, in Skyrim especially. Greater Tamriel probably not so much. But since that's where the brothers are stationed these days it's best to plan for that." Jim nods. He's careful not to be too zealous about the action since he's still quite a bit sore in the ol' noggin. "I haven't made anything by myself yet, but I've helped prep the ingredients a few times now. Feels like a really weird kind of cooking, really."

[heirtothedragonsfire]

The more she has time to think about it the more Jim has her full attention. So the captain can't make any for her, but Felix is well practised in creating them. Admittedly, she's not sure she's so eager to trust Felix in making anything for her to drink, but the possibilities...

"How does it work? I mean, how does it feel when you use one? Is it instantaneous or does it take a few minutes to work, or an hour? Does it make it easy to hold snow, for example, or does it just keep the chilly air from bothering you?"

[smartass_captain]

"I need to be able to know how to do something from their world at the very least. His family doesn't know about the Nexus any more than my fleet does. We're both trying to keep our heads down when we're in the other's world."

Alchemy doesn't take magic to do the basics with though magical theory and a head for science definitely helps and those things Jim can do. For a man without magical aptitude it's at least a school he is learning to understand.

"Oh, I've had one before, actually. When Reynard was perpetuating his winter beyond the season in the Nexus. It works pretty quickly, makes everything way less harsh. The ice is still cold, you know, but it doesn't sting. The wind doesn't bite. You still know it's cold out but everything becomes well within the tolerable levels. It's kind of bizarre but since I was freezing my ass off at the time well worth it."

[heirtothedragonsfire]

"A smart move. There are some people in every wager who would do more harm than good if they knew about the Nexus. Even though it sounds tough, I'm sure it's for the best." She's still not sure if Jim and Felix's engagement is for the best, of course, but she'll share what approval she can.

That sounds good enough for her purposes. Or worth trying, at least. It's certainly the best solution so far. "Would Felix be open to supplying me with a few of these potions?"

[smartass_captain]

"I can talk to him about it, sure. trying to take lessons in frost magic I take it?"

Jim knows Harrowheart's tried to teach other folks that kind of magic before. It's not something Jim was interested in at the time and even now doing real magic sounds like a huge undertaking for potentially very little to show for it. He'd rather leave it to the professionals and focus on what he excels in.

But Isidor is a mage and she could probably learn something form that if she doesn't know it already. What else could a mage dating a living popsicle want with thaaaaaaaaaaa---

Stop staring Jim. Do not open your mouth. Do not. She will kill you and no one will find the body.

"Uh...huh." That isn't it. There's no way that's it. But the thought is there now and it's not going away.

[heirtothedragonsfire]

"Frost magic?" The confusion on her face answers that question. A bemused smile appears slowly. "... No. I want them because England is cold. So is Sweden for that matter, and I'm probably going to be over there more often."

Of all the things she could be looking for, at least frost resistance potions have plenty of excuses she can give. Jim better believe she's keeping her expression as perfectly composed as ever. That is until she raises an eyebrow at him, looking at him strangely.

"What's that face for?"

[smartass_captain]

Jim is suddenly very acutely painfully aware that Isidor only knows Captain Kirk. But for a few breaks in his facade, he's never been in a position to be himself around the Durant mage. And honestly if she hadn't come to him for advice in the first place he would only know Isidor Durant as the take charge no nonsense fun is a four letter word hard-ass she presents herself as.

"No, yeah. That makes. Ah, perfect logical sense."

He wants to make a joke so badly it's nearly a physical ache. But Jim doesn't know Isidor well enough to know if it would ruin literally any chance at a friendship or help them to bond. He suspects it's probably the former though. Harrow would be making jokes about Jim's appearance to get back at him and they'd be laughing now, and doesn't that just make him ache all over again, missing his friend.

"I just figured, what with all the magic and all you can do without any trouble. And especially for a firey earth kinda lady you wouldn't need potions. Is all. A guy can't be surprised?"

[heirtothedragonsfire]

Isidor folds her arms slowly, each digit of her hand falling to curl around her arm one by one as she tilts her head at him. Oh no, Jim, you don't get away that easily. She's an older sister, she can sniff out distractions like a pro.

"That's not surprise. That's the look of a man who already has an idea of what the answer should be, and isn't hearing that answer."

With that stare of hers she's just daring him to say she's wrong, or to prove her right. Either one will do. She likes a challenge, and she likes being right. This. This is the true Kobayashi Maru.

[smartass_captain]

Snort.

Isidor may look like she's ready for a fight but Jim leans his head back against the couch and lets the grin he's been suppressing spread slowly across his face. She wants to go here? Really?

With Jim Kirk.

Okaaaaay.

"Look, up until this exact second I hadn't considered what the implications would be of sleeping with a guy with a less than optimal for humans thermal readout. What is that even like? Cold feet would be a nightmare, and snuggling would be only welcome in the summer I'd think."

Jim's sitting up straight now, left arm folded as though he's going to mirror Isidor's posture right back at her but the left is gesturing constantly as he talks, opening up as if to grasp at an answer hanging unspoken with between them before waving is though to brush it away.

"I wasn't gonna ask, you know. I was gonna keep my goddamn mouth shut. I'll ask Felix about the potions. I can think of plenty of uses you'd get out of them." He's onto you Isidor, but there's lines you don't cross out loud unless pushed and he's grown up enough not to leap headlong over this one.