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It was dire. It was sore when I poked at it.

[ And never suggest, of course, that maybe she could have just not poked at it. She takes a swig of her beer, and then wriggles her fingers at him, still blushing but trying aggressively to look incredibly cool - ]

Thanks.

[ Then she shakes her head. ]

And no, that's something I had back home. Though it got stronger here, a bit. It's kept me alive more times than I can count, having an immunity to magic.

[ She stands up, then, to wash her hands again. ]

Edited 2016-08-31 01:24 (UTC)

[he's gentleman enough to pretend he doesn't see the flush, although he's smiling privately as he stands with her. He goes to put on a pot of coffee while she washes. Not the best thing to pair with the spicy cajun meal they're about to have, but nice for after, especially if he pours of the rest of his glass of whiskey in it.]

Right, you told me 'bout that. [about the mages of her world and how goddamn awful they are, specifically.] So let's see now... charmin', funny, resilient to magic and can turn into a goddamn tiger... I'm startin' to wonder what you can't do, Miss Jones.

[he knocks his hip against her lightly as he passes to return to the table, smiling.]

Speakin' of that last one - if your offer to go flyin' is still on the table, I'll be free this weekend. [a word here with multiple meanings, given that will be after his parole hearing.]

Oh, well, you know.

[ She can't help but giggle just a bit at that. God, she wishes she could just grab him and aggressively snog him. Yeah, true, she's got a boyfriend. Two boyfriends, plural, actually. But she has been a bloody saint since she got together with him, them, whichever, hasn't so much as kissed another person, and they've both had their fair share of sex with other men. She deserves to kiss the hell out of a handsome man, damn it. She is a good person. She deserves this.

She sticks out her tongue at him, and then wiggles it a bit. And then she pulls it back into her mouth and explains - ]

I can't roll my tongue. A wretched shortcoming.

[ Then, as she sits back down in her chair, the full weight of his invitation hits her - ]

So you're out of trouble, then, are you? Off probation?

[a move which surprises a laugh, and he has to move his glass of whiskey from his mouth so he doesn't sputter it over his food.]

Oh, tongue-rollin'. sure. Your only weakness. Guess everybody's gotta have their kryptonite.

[and he briefly considers offering to help her practice that skill, but - he hasn't even finished this first glass yet. Better at least get a little something warming his stomach before he starts entertaining dangerous ideas of flirting innuendo. Kitty's still a good decade younger than him, it still feels off.

The trouble is he also can't help remembering how good it felt to have her pressed against him.]

Assumin' this hearin' goes off without a hitch, yeah. And it should. I crossed my i's and dotted my t's, much as it was a pain in the ass. [Chilton gets more than some of the thanks for that.] So we should set a flyin' date. If you're still interested.

Too right I'm interested.

[ She grins at him, joyous and unselfconscious. Cute guy, a nice night, the wind in her feathers...Nothing sounds better. She leans forward eagerly. ]

There's a mall, just a little bit outside of De Chima - it's the best place to go flying. You get these big heat bubbles off the parking lot - you scarcely even have to move your wings. You can spend the whole afternoon aloft. It's really, really lovely.

Good. [he mirrors her look.] Good. I don't know about you, but I could use it. If you know the best flyin' places, you feel free to guide me. I don't mind learnin' a thing or two from you.

[even if it's not the same for her, even if it's all magic or power from the Porter, Kitty's the closest link Sam has to another shifter. He could use that comradery in his life. He always could. Without Luna here to ground him, he needs it even more now.

He nods to her bowl.]

You had a chance to try it yet?

Oh! Right. I was too distracted by - [ Flirting. ] Talking with you.

[ She picks up her spoon and dips it in, then raises it to her mouth. A noise of surprise and delight answers her first taste. ]

Oh. That's so interesting. That's so good. Oh.

[ She covers her mouth with her hand as she chews - ]

Spicy.

[every cook loves compliments, but the real bonus is how expressive Kitty is in doling out hers. Sam laughs, smiling boyishly, and tears off a paper towel to offer her.]

That's that Cajun seasonin'. Nothin' quite like it. Glad you're enjoyin' it. Can you believe I'd always get people who wanted to dump half a bottle of hot sauce in their bowls even after tryin' it?

You're having a laugh.

[ She fans a little bit at her mouth - charmed rather than displeased. ]

I'll grant I'm an English girl, and so spicy foods aren't something I'm used to. But that sounds mad.

Oh, I'm serious. I don't know how their stomachs didn't rebel against 'em, but the people who love spice really love their spice.

[he waggles an empty fork at her.]

Tell you what, if I ever end up goin' down to Louisiana while I'm here, I'll take you with me. There's a lot more good food to try than just this. I haven't even covered boudin or beignets.

Really?

[ She beams at him, awfully pleased by the fact that he's even just thinking about that sort of thing. Wouldn't that be really lovely? A part of the country she's never seen, ample opportunities for seduction...not that she's exactly good at seduction. She tries to give come-hither eyes and they mostly end up just looking like she's got a twitchy eyelid or something. Sigh. ]

Beignets - that's the donut things, right?

Yeah, you've got it. [Sam's smile is dangerously bordering 'smirk' territory, but lacking any smug judgement. Kitty's bedroom eyes might need some mirror practice, but the shifter can tell interest when he sees it.

And he's just reckless enough to encourage it. To shove that little angel off his shoulder in favor of that lonely part of him which remembers the strength of Kitty's thighs and can appreciate the curve in her smile.]

I think we'd have a real good time together.

[ She smiles and decides to be a bit daring, reaching out and touching the back of his hand. ]

I do too.

[ Then she pulls her hand back, cheeks a little flushed with beer and with spice and with a bit of embarrassment. ]

And it could be cost-effective, too, couldn't it. We wouldn't have to pay for a hotel. We could just sleep out in a park as squirrels. Or in a river as alligators.

[Sam rewards the motion, gently turning his hand over so they're palm-to-palm. An invitation, if a careful one. He smiles as she pulls hers back, briefly flexing his fingers before he returns them to his glass.

She's cute as hell when she blushes.]

Well, we might still have to get the hotel. Just so park rangers aren't kickin' my naked ass out of a forest - I shift back when I sleep. Could get awkward.

Oh -

[ A little cluck of regretful sympathy. ]

Do you really? That's really too bad. There's really nothing in the world better than turning into a bear and having a nice sleep. No one knows how to sleep like a bear does.

Yeah. It's... made things awkward a time or two, for sure.

[only try "a time or twenty"]

Bear, huh? That your favorite? Your go-to? Every shifter I've met has one. S'supposed to be the form you feel most comfortable in.

Really?

[ Curiously: ]

That's been the case for the shapeshifters I've known, too. Well. Shapeshifter, singular. Though it was a person for him. Anyway. I guess mine is a cat. Or a sparrow. What about for you?

...Am I allows to make cat and "Kitty" comments, or is that too on the nose?

[a smirking question over a sip of whiskey. How could he resist? He's only human.]

Mm, but... mine's a dog. Always has been. With the shifters back home, that go-to form is almost always the first shift you take. And the one you have to shift into, when the moon's full.

You get anything from that? Full moons?

[ She shakes her head. ]

No. Nothing from it.

Do you have any trouble with silver? Or iron?

Also, no Kitty comments, thank you. The name came before the shapeshifting.

No, no, nothin' like that. Vampires do, back home - silver burns 'em - but weres and shapeshifters don't deal with anything like that. You do?

[weird. But he has to admit these little differences are interesting.]

S'gonna be hard to resist. [he scratches at his face with mock solemnity.] Might need incentive.

I'll turn into a dragon and stay at it till you forget all about me being a cat. How about that.

[ She grins - mostly just pleased to be able to brag about being able to become a dragon. ]

Anyway - yeah. Silver and iron's the worst. And some herbs, too - rosemary is wretched now. Makes me sicker than anything. Rowan, too, and mistletoe...I'm bloody dreading Christmas. What about size? How big can you get? If I try to go too big I turn into a puddle.

[it's a boast that works. Sam offers a jealous, incredulous look.]

A dragon? Goddamn you've got me beat there. [chances were good he wouldn't run into one to imprint on, after all.]

...Glad I didn't add any to this dish then. [sincerely.] You should've warned me about that, I'd have hated for the first meal I cooked you to make you sick.

But I can get as big as whatever it is I've seen, never had an issue with size. [a beat.] ...D'you mean that literally? When you say "puddle"?

[ She wrinkles her nose. ]

Yeah, I ought to have done, but - I forget about it a lot. [ A little wave of her hand, and she goes on - ] Anyway. Yeah, I turn into a literal puddle. I'm not really made of flesh and bone any more - I'm sort of half that, but also half made out of magical essence, built into the structure I want to be. If I can't sustain my form, all that essence loses its structure and collapses.

[ She glances at his expression, then adds, just a bit guardedly: ]

It's a very pretty puddle, I'm told.

Prob'ly liable to win every puddle beauty contest they've got. [agreed with mock seriousness, honestly just trying not to think too hard about a person turning into a puddle, pretty or no. Mostly because it just makes him think of the pile of bloody gore vampires become when their un-life ends, and that's not an image that'll help him finish dinner.]

So that bein' made of part magic - that a new thing for you?

[ She nods, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. A little self-consciously: ]

Yeah. Erm - you were around...when the Soviets invaded, right? I got killed during that. [ A little smile that doesn't look terribly happy. ] And came back, and was like this.

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