Passive Aggressive Panda Campfire [Sunday, Evening]

[withasword.livejournal.com]

Not twenty four hours here, and this place was already giving Kate the twitches. It was warmer, and as a Southern girl she could appreciate that, but that didn't mean she liked it any better.

The day wasn't helping her bad first impression. It just brought back a thousand horrible images that she'd just as soon forget. There were anniversaries for everything, and this was one she remembered, and would always remember, no matter how much she wished she didn't. Hitting things hadn't done anything but bruise and add a few new future scars to her knuckles.

Now she'd moved on to repressing her residual anger at things she couldn't change by roasting sausages over her fire. While she waited for the first couple to brown over her flames, Slayer was out on her lap as she smothered a layer of some greasy mixture onto the blade. What better to toy with while twitchy as hell and cranky to boot. Slayer's pale matte blade was never designed to shine, but the way Kate was working on it, you'd think it might by the end of the night.

[[ open campfire! ]]

Comments

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

Bruce was coming back to the campground from a quick jaunt off the island when he spotted Kate by the campfire. And then he spotted the sword. "I have to admit, you do look much less domestic with that thing."

[withasword.livejournal.com]

Kate huffed a short laugh, barely looking up before she continued buffing some imaginary smudge. "Just the way I like it," she said.

"I'm better at this than I am at pie." Or anything else remotely domesticated, actually.

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"I'd believe it," Bruce said, watching the way she was cleaning it. If you could clean something with whatever she was using. "But if I didn't say that, you might come at me with the sword."

[withasword.livejournal.com]

"I'd think about it," she admitted. "Not worth it, though. I might burn my sausages..." That would be a shame, now wouldn't it? Kate shrugged, looking up at him as she folded her cloth over to expose a less waxy side. "One thing I don't do is waste good food."

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"As long as you have your priorities straight," Bruce said. "We wouldn't want anyone feeling threatened."

[withasword.livejournal.com]

"Come on. How threatening am I?" Kate shot him a not-entirely-reassuring grin, as if to prove her complete innocence.

"I take my aggression out on things more deserving, or less alive than anyone in this campsite," she added, leaning over her sword to twist the stick with her sausages on. "Care to take a log?"

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"Depends on how you're holding the sword," Bruce noted, taking a seat. Something she said piqued his interest, so he had to ask, "You said, 'less alive?'"

[withasword.livejournal.com]

Kate's lips twisted in distaste. "Some of the worst things where I'm from, are the dead ones."

"Here..." She had to admit, the lines were a lot more blurred. "My fake sibling is a vampire who likes a lot of glitter." Aside from making her feel ill, Caroline didn't seem so horrible.

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"Not even the people who are used to strange things can avoid culture shock here, can they?" Bruce asked, showing a slight smirk. Actually, he dealt with the culture shock pretty well. But he was an odd one.

[Not a problem! Depending how things line up, I may not ping back to that until after work, though. We'll see!]

[withasword.livejournal.com]

"I get the feeling, it's better for me than a lot of people." Her roommates for example. Neither seemed to have handled things particularly well. Although as far as she knew, at least the most recent one was holding out. "Who knew my crazy-stupid world would be good for something, right?" When she lived in it, she mostly thought it blew.

"You've been here long enough nothing fazes yet?"

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"There are still surprises," Bruce said. "But I have a good poker face. That has come in handy here."

[withasword.livejournal.com]

"I'm going to have to remember never to challenge you at cards, then," she decided, shaking her head. Because Kate sucked at all that.

Or, well she had learned to play with a shifter who could listen to all the signs her face couldn't hide, So having a poker face wouldn't have helped her.

"I'm a bad loser."

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"Probably a good move. I'm also pretty good at counting cards, so you'd lose a lot of money," Bruce said.

[withasword.livejournal.com]

"And now I also know you cheat." Kate snorted a little laugh. "You're just making yourself sound more and more trustworthy, aren't you?" Or not.

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"And my being honest about this isn't helping?" Bruce asked. "Anyway, card counting isn't cheating. It's just good strategy for people who can pay attention and do quick math."

[withasword.livejournal.com]

"Also a good strategy if you want to get thrown out of any casino," Kate pointed out. For all that she could read multiple languages and knew mythical creatures inside out, most maths was a completely alien concept. She wouldn't know where to start with counting cards.

"They tend to be bad losers too."

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"That depends on what's at stake," Bruce said. "If we're playing for fun or charity, I can be a gracious loser." That left a wide range of circumstances where he was a terrible loser, of course.

[And I'm off to work!]