The Salle, Monday Morning

[bitchprince]

It was morning, Arthur was well-rested, and that meant it was time to get back to work after four days of relative slacking. (What was slacking for Arthur seemed to involve a great deal of physical exercise anyway, but that's because he got bored if left to his own devices, and no one wanted him to start taking chunks out of the Wayne Manor walls with a breadknife)

He was wearing his chainmail this time, just the shirt, for added weight. Might as well make it a good one, work up some sweat...

His sword flashed through the air, and his mouth crooked in frustration as he tried to get the new pattern down.

[[ ooopen. ]]

Comments

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

And Merlin was terribly busy with--his phone. He'd finally managed to get a song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDZQGS6hoC8&feature=related) on hit, but it wasn't exactly what he wanted.

And it just kept playing every time he pushed things in an attempt to change it.

[bitchprince]

"What is that noise?" Arthur said, after the fiftieth bloody time it had sounded. "Will you stop it? It's distracting."

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"I don't know!" Really, he didn't!

[bitchprince]

"It's on your phone," Arthur said, throwing him a weird look. "Make it stop."

Yes, because rephrasing that was going to work, Arthur.

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"I'm trying!"

And the ballad just continued.

[bitchprince]

"Then try harder!"

Was Arthur going to have to do this? Of course he was. He was an expert on phones. He was, in fact, already headed for Merlin.

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"It's not as easy as you think."

[bitchprince]

"I'm not thoroughly incompetent," he said, sinking down into the seat next to Merlin, holding up a hand. "Let me see that."

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Handing the phone over, Merlin shot him a look. "All yours."

[bitchprince]

Arthur shot him a cheerful look in return, and began to prod at the touchscreen. "I don't know why you put music in this in the first place," he said, eyes darting back to Merlin.

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"Dinah mentioned that you could make songs into the noises it makes when people call."

[bitchprince]

Arthur had to take a moment. "You took advice from Dinah?"

That was like taking advice from a kitten on nip.

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"She said it was easy!"

[bitchprince]

Arthur stole a disbelieving look at him.

If his eyes momentarily scraped by Merlin´s ears, so be it. "And of course you believed her."

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Merlin flushed suddenly and without any cause. At all.

"It worked. In a way."

[bitchprince]

"In a way that it now torments us with its noise," he said, some of the exasperation evaporating. He poked at one of the buttons, shooting Merlin another glance.

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Which only made the bloody flushing worse. There shouldn't be any of this! None!

"It's better than some music here."

[bitchprince]

Arthur was a strong, experienced, manly sort of guy, which meant that there was absolutely no light answering flush.

"Oh, you're the expert on modern music, are you?" he asked, flicking his eyes back to focus on the settings.

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"More so than you," Merlin replied, shoulder bumping against Arthur's without his say so.

[bitchprince]

"I already know it's trash," he shot back, but the bump had made him snort, putting a smile in his voice. "What more do I need to know?"

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"Ass." But, at least the pressure was less so now.

[bitchprince]

"Unless you were looking for an excuse to shine your light."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Hey guys." Dinah came in on time, yawning. Back to the grind. She considered, and headed over to the staffs today.

[bitchprince]

"Dinah," Arthur returned, "Looks like you've managed to recover from home. Good."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Smirking at him, Dinah said, "Yes, I managed to rest up from all the food, and sliding down banisters, and the dancing and running around." She looked briefly mournful. "No way I get to play in Wayne Manor again so soon. Thanks for coming home with me this time so I could."

[bitchprince]

Arthur shrugged a shoulder, flashing her a quick, smug smile. "Someone had to brighten up the place." Someone was... in a decent mood. "I wasn't sure whether you'd be jumping off of cliffs or not."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah stuck out an equally cheerful tongue back at him, then said, "Harder to get away with that there. Helena would show up and spoil it." Or do it better, and sometimes that was fun, but sometimes she just wanted to do it on her own. "Did you get down to the garage to see her motorcycles?" Dinah started practicing the forms that went with the staff, twisting it back and forth. "Someday, someday I'm getting one."

[bitchprince]

"I didn't get the chance," he said. One day, he was going to ask Katchoo to teach him how to drive a motorcycle. It would be amazing. (Probably disastrous) "You'd best make sure not to fall off if you do. Professor Ziva would be quite distraught."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"This is why we have leather jackets and pants, and helmets," Dinah said, slashing downward with the staff. "Professor Ziva rocks, but sometimes stuff just happens!"

[bitchprince]

"Not if you know how to do it properly," he shot back, "But I realise who I'm talking to."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Pbtttt." Mature response, as usual. "Have you even ridden a bicycle before? Helena's let me ride her 'cycle lots of times!"

Translation: Couldn't stop her from 'borrowing' it.

"Besides, it's not as dangerous as Jak's zoomers."

[bitchprince]

"I've driven plenty of vehicles." Which he had. "How hard can a motorcycle be?"

... Squint.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Difficult," Dinah insisted, no matter how unsure she was about how difficult it would be for him. "It's not alive like horse, so you have to be aware at all times, and there's the clutch and the gears and the brakes as well as the gas--" Okay, he took Driver's Ed twice, he'd know all that. "Plus! All the cars never pay enough attention, it'd be easy to get knocked off. Although it's really fun to jump over things with them."

Helena would so be complaining about that scratch on her Triumph, if she knew that's where it came from.

[bitchprince]

Arthur did manage a cursory scowl at her as she tried to explain things he already knew. "I told you I've driven many vehicles," he threw back at her. "I do remember when the things I'm riding aren't alive, you know-- jumping?"

No, Dinah. No. NO, DINAH. STOP HIM NOW.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

The universe laughs at that request from Narration. Especially to Dinah. Laughs.

"Duh! You get up enough speed, get something ramp-like, a good cycle can go at least fifty feet without trying too hard." Or if you're insane. "Of course, the world record's something like four hundred, I don't know... Evel Knieval used to jump over buses." And broke nearly every bone in his body twice doing that stuff. But, details!

[bitchprince]

"Eval," Arthur repeated, slowly, "Knieval."

It was only two steps away from that to 'Lance... a lot'.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

It really kinda was.

"Professional daredevil. He jumped over a pit of snakes, too. And I think he tried to jump a canyon, I can't remember if that worked." Dinah grinned wickedly. "He's not even meta or superpowered. Just really really brave."

Or insane. You make that call.

[bitchprince]

Arthur had a thoughtful look plastered all over his features. "I don't suppose there's any teevee or something about this guy..."

...We could only hope Katchoo would talk him out of this mess.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

She'd have to grab both of them at this point. The rooftops of New Gotham were definitely at risk.

"Wide World of Sports? I think they have some of his old stunts on DVD by now," Dinah said speculatively. "His son does the same thing. Family business, death-defying."

[bitchprince]

"Hm."

Yes. Hm.

"Well, don't get any fancy notions," he said, finally, "Because I'm fairly sure you would break your neck. Look at your footwork."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah automatically did look down, then back up again fast, protesting, "It's good footwork. And I'd be good at that! I'm jumping off a bridge with Jak in another week or two." On top of everything else.

[bitchprince]

Arthur shot her a look. "That's not really helping my faith in your abilities, you know," he said, conversationally, "Just my lack of it in your mental faculties."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Bungee-jumping," Dinah clarified, then, realizing that there is no word for 'bungee' in Medieval English, she added, "With a rope attached. So there's no dying or anything. Seriously." She stopped and tilted back her head, as if imagining it already. "Like flying!"

[bitchprince]

"...In order to break into something?" Because that's the only way that would make sense.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"No! Just to have fun!" Try to remember who you're talking to, Arthur. "Although you could probably use it that way later," Dinah added speculatively. "Once you got the hang of it..."

Just say no, Arthur.

[bitchprince]

"I'm not throwing myself off a cliff for no good reason, Dinah." Jumping with a motorcycle, on the other hand...

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Fiiiine, that's what I have a boyfriend for." Dinah spun the staff sideways, then swung it forwards. "And Zack! He needs something to do too." She gave Arthur a sideways look. "If I get a motorcycle, though...."

[bitchprince]

"...I will alert the proper authorities," he filled in.