Fesitvals and Fun (Jack)

I guess I thought you were more of a good guy. Someone that likes to let his hair down and have fun occassionally but for the most part stays on the straight and narrow.

The grin only deepened. "Oh I'm good at what I do. But I also have a reputation among the other alchemists in the city. There's a reason buying from us could lead to the death penalty. So .. what kind of person are you then? If you are not what I first thought?"

{In our defense, we only made the poisons. We didn't use them. Much like how you never blame a weaponsmith for murder.}

Blue's reaction to the World's Biggest Pumpkin was not what Jack had expected. Had he struck a nerve?

The Cultivator's Exhibit is probably in the back, where people aren't as likely to trample the showcases. If that's what you want to see. There is a few Elven Vineyards here, a dance area, and I am not exactly sure what else. I have not been to a festival in a while so I am going off of a childhood visit here.

Blue shrugged.

So giant vegetables then?

"Next you're going to say there's no petting zoo or Midway," he said with a playful smile. Except he would have loved to have seen those. He was a beast at the Frog-a-pault game. "Now this dance area....do I have to know any dances in particular or can I just let my freak flag fly? And yes, I intend to hit the vineyard since neither of us drove here."

{Oops.}

"Well you sorta did. You can crash at my place until if you need to. Or is Elven wine not that strong?"

Jack knew that to be untrue. Some of the good vintages could knock a human off his ass in one glass. His being one of them. In his social experiences though, Elven wine was labeled the girly stuff of the Other drinks. Dwarven ale being be the blackout drink of the party.

Blue watched as his grin deepend. Her brows rose again, curiously, as she watched him saying that you could actually get in trouble for buying things from him. Perhaps it was what he sold, she wasn't sure, she hadn't much paid attention and she didn't know much about potions and their ingrediants. So she couldn't be one to say anything about what he did other than making potions of some sort.

Oh no, no, that isn't fair at all. I think it is your turn to tell me what kind of person you think I am. So that I can understand where you are coming from. I am quite curious actually. If you can peg me correctly.

He mentioned that they could hit the dance floor but he was curious if he had to know certain special elvish dances or if there was any sort thing he needed to know or if he could just enjoy himself.

Sometimes there are special dances, but they warn you, so if you dont know it you could leave the dance floor and watch. But for the most part, they just let you fly your freak flag. she chuckled.

She was not used to hanging out with people. It was completely out of her element and she knew that it was probably really good for her. She chewed on her lower lip while they walked towards the back of the fairgrounds as he mentioned something about the winery area. He said they could both enjoy some since neither of them had driven here... though she had driven to his place, and he seemed to realize that moments later. She chuckled and gave a shrug.

It depends on who makes it and if you're elven and drink it often or not. But, I am sure that I will be fine. If I am not, I can make arrangements, it isn't a big deal. We can figure it out when we get to that point.

Blue walked towards the back when they got to that area. There was a large dance area to the left where people were moving and having a good time to several Elven bands. Some of them were very modern in their ways, and others were more folk-ish in nature. Right now it was a folk band that was going at the moment. To the right was the wine area, with large barrels and bottles set out in tons of stalls that were ready to sell bottles, glasses, or even let you just have a taste. And in the furthest back area were where all the large vegtables that he had mentioned earlier were.

Your call where we start. she told him shoving her hands deep into her pockets.

Oh no, no, that isn't fair at all. I think it is your turn to tell me what kind of person you think I am. So that I can understand where you are coming from. I am quite curious actually. If you can peg me correctly.



"Well, you did meet me in a dumpster. I look in other less....socially accepted....scrap yards. Got in my fair share of scraps in disputes with the property owners. I tend to cheat though. Nothing below the belt, but I have tricks up my sleeve."

Sometimes there are special dances, but they warn you, so if you dont know it you could leave the dance floor and watch. But for the most part, they just let you fly your freak flag. Blue chuckled.

"Oh good, I didn't want to make a complete fool of myself."

It depends on who makes it and if you're elven and drink it often or not. But, I am sure that I will be fine. If I am not, I can make arrangements, it isn't a big deal. We can figure it out when we get to that point.

"The offer still stands. I've seen how stiff the police get on these nights when celebrations abound."

Blue walked towards the back when they got to that area. There was a large dance area to the left where people were moving and having a good time to several Elven bands. Some of them were very modern in their ways, and others were more folk-ish in nature. Right now it was a folk band that was going at the moment. To the right was the wine area, with large barrels and bottles set out in tons of stalls that were ready to sell bottles, glasses, or even let you just have a taste. And in the furthest back area were where all the large vegtables that he had mentioned earlier were.

Your call where we start. she told him shoving her hands deep into her pockets.

"I think...." Jack had that mischievous look again. "We should get a glass of wine, and then see what colors are on your freak flag. How does New Dawn cut a rug these days?"

He dodged the question. Deciding, apparently, not to answer who he thought she was merely by knowing her for a day. But she let it slide. He probably didn't want to hurt her feelings or something, which was fine, she would rather not know she supposed. Though Blue was eternally curious, she knew that it would bug her but she wasn't going to ask again. It wasn't as though it was that important anyway.

Yes, well, I could technically order what ever I needed through New Dawn, but there are days I enjoy going through the dump. Solitude and the fact that there are great useable pieces in there. I doubt Terra minds the recycling either.

He still offered her his place to stay. And she may crash there, she supposed it depended on how the rest of the night went. He was right in the fact that cops always knew when there was a party and people driving were under more scrutiny than ever before. So she may very well but it depended on how much wine they had. A glass would do nothing to her, a bottle however, she would probably either sleep in her back seat or she would hang at his place and crash on a couch or something.

He said he wanted to start with wine and then they would head to the dance floor. Blue's face lit up in a blush. She wasn't sure she danced much. She could she supposed, she never, in theory tested it out though. She wasn't much for cutting a rug, besides that, she never really had time. Sometimes she had music going in the lab and she might find herself bobbing along while working on things. But for the most part she kept it quiet.

New Dawn does not cut a rug she laughed softly. But I will try for you. This once. But no laughing. You laugh, and I will leave you to the Elven girls that are looking for lifetime mates. I am certain you'll have fun with them.

They walked together over to the wine bars. Blue's blue and green eyes scanned all the different ones and saw one of the better bottle makers. Their bottles, when purchased, were actually collecters items. Some people turned them into lamps, or vases, or other things, but there was no doubt they were beautiful. But you paid for the beauty.

Could we please, get a glass of the red? Blue asked the man behind the bar. He sized them up. A half breed and a human. Figured. He grumbled something about 'half breeds' but poured them both a glass of wine in a disposable wine glass. Blue paid for the wine, since she figured that Jack could pick up the next or whatever she wasn't real worried about who paid for what and handed one of the glasses to Jack. Blue was used to such comments from people like the vendor. Her entire life she had been a half breed and she didn't really care. She was proud of who her parents were and didn't care at all that they were not both Elven.

Try the first sip slowly, it .. is not like human wine. It's strong. But it is very flavorful. If you drink it fast you will miss most of the greatness you get out of Elven Wine.

Blue didn't look satisfied with the answer. She might find out one day. Or tonight depending on what rabble rousing Jack could manage to scrounge up.

Yes, well, I could technically order what ever I needed through New Dawn, but there are days I enjoy going through the dump. Solitude and the fact that there are great useable pieces in there. I doubt Terra minds the recycling either.

"I, unfortunately, do not have that kind of budget. But thank God for recycling." Jack smirked again. "And thrift shops. Can get an awful lot of good materials from them."

New Dawn does not cut a rug she laughed softly. But I will try for you. This once. But no laughing. You laugh, and I will leave you to the Elven girls that are looking for lifetime mates. I am certain you'll have fun with them.

"Might not be a bad thing if they all cook like your friend." Jack nodded back to the food tent. "I could eat those Shepherd's pie things every day. And I'm not about to win any dance competitions either."

Jack's eye got caught on the wine bottles. They'd make for some pretty cool potion containers. Give him something to stand out of apothecary crowd. He's just might have to track down the glassblowers who crafted them.

Could we please, get a glass of the red? Blue was met with a comment about her 'muddied' heritage. So much for the city of unity. If anything, Jack expected a comment to be directed at him for not being an elf. Blue seemed to think nothing of it, so Jack didn't push the envelope.

He did try to push some credits, but Blue had already footed the bill. Jack squinted his eyes at her briefly. This wasn't a date, but he had asked her to come as his guest. It should have been him.

"I got next round. If you were a full human," Jack added when they were out of earshot. "You would have given him hell for that statement. Shows him who's the better person."

Try the first sip slowly, it .. is not like human wine. It's strong. But it is very flavorful. If you drink it fast you will miss most of the greatness you get out of Elven Wine.

Jack gave that impish smile as he took more of a drink than a sip. He did savor the flavor though. There was that spice element no one else seemed to utilize as well.

"The kind of guy I am developed a tolerance to all compounds, alcohol included." That was a little stronger than he thought. Jack's eye twinged a second. "Purely profession, I assure you." He held up a finger. "Except for Dwarven ales. That tolerance was peer induced trying to fit in at the city's inception.

Unfortunately, I will be a terrible surgery patient. You will probably need lycanthrope sedatives to put me under. I test my products that I don't collapse in my equipment if I accidentally get exposed. Or in case my competitors try to poison me and make it look like an accident."

Jack took another sip, a sip this time.

"Told ya it was a cutthroat business."

Blue looked up and over at him. She shrugged.

Thing is. I heard it a lot. Half breed and all that. And some more, derogatory ways of saying the exact same thing. But regardless, I am unfortunatly used to it. I am proud of my parents. They were one of the first elven human couples that could be proud of what and who they were together. I am not ashamed to be half.

Truth was, she hoped that one day she could find something like they had. Love. But that kind of love that just lasts and lasts. As far as she could tell, that wasn't a very common occurance. And she felt like it should be. But love was a fickle word. Used wrongly it could leave the deepest of scars and used correctly it could heal the worst of them. Blue didn't know if she really had time or was the kind of girl that could fall in love. But she wished to at least try, some day.

He explained to her that he didn't need warnings about alcohol because he drank a lot. Though, not because of leisure, but instead, because of his job. He was constantly testing things that didn't blow up the lab on himself and her eyes grew wide. That was certainly a risk. She was surprised he hadn't eaten his face away or something or maybe had some kind of weird ill effects on his skin or body because of experimenting with all this. But of course, it wasn't like he was experimenting in the act of making acid or something, it's just... she never would have imagined someone experimenting on themselves with potions.

Wow. I know that you have to see if they have side effects or, work, or whatever, but, that seems kind of dangerous doesn't it? Do you ever hurt yourself because of it? I mean, you try out .. and experiment on yourself, that has to be dangerous at some point right?

Thing is. I heard it a lot. Half breed and all that. And some more, derogatory ways of saying the exact same thing. But regardless, I am unfortunatly used to it. I am proud of my parents. They were one of the first elven human couples that could be proud of what and who they were together. I am not ashamed to be half.

Jack clinked their wine glasses together. The plastic made a wimpy sound. Oh well. The planning commission was probably concerned about impromptu weapons running about.

"That's the true spirit of Librium," he said in a toast. He gave a wink. "Plus I'm sure you came up with a few doozies in your day."

The alchemist went into the hazards of his job. It must have freaked Blue out a bit because her eyes went wide.

Wow. I know that you have to see if they have side effects or, work, or whatever, but, that seems kind of dangerous doesn't it? Do you ever hurt yourself because of it? I mean, you try out .. and experiment on yourself, that has to be dangerous at some point right?

Jack laughed. "It's not like I grabbed bleach from under the kitchen sink. My mom had that locked away in the chemical closet. Seriously though, my mom's side of the family has been dealing with holistic medicine since the days of Shakespeare if not earlier. I was tutored and supervised very closely. If anything went wrong, Mom had the antidote at hand.

Although, I had to learn a few things on my own since the return of plants with magical effects. You never know what you're going to find in this melting pot."

She was still very surprised that he tried his concoctions on himself. It seemed as though that would not ultimately be a great idea, but he seemed fine with it and she guessed that was fine. If he was more than willing to do it there was no reason for her to say otherwise. Even though she seriously thought he was insane. She did build all kinds of things in her lab, but she was good at it, and there were very very few times that she had ever blown anything up. With her abilities she could usually tell if something could possibly blow without having to even turn it on. Came in handy.

Her phone rang in her pocket and she pulled it out. She would have answered it mentally but she didn't want to be that rude. So she held it up to her ear and she exchanged a few lines with the person on the other end. Checked her watch and then chewed on her lower lip. Then she hung up and looked over at Jack.

I can't stay long. Something came up and I have to get back to work. But I have about half an hour before I have to go .. so... is there something specific you want to do before I have to go? I hate to do this. It's just... work... it comes first, like.. a lot, and.. this is probably why I never leave my lab. she chuckled and gave a shy shrug.

She wondered what they should do. He had wanted to dance, but they both sucked so she wasn't sure if there was something better that they could do for a little bit before she had to get back to her car and back to the lab. She hated emergencies. Because it meant she would be up all night rushing on something she would rather take her time with.

So. What should we do? she asked curiously. As she didn't want him to feel like they had to rush, or that he got jipped on the whole.. date as a whole. But even still, she hoped he had something in mind, that or she might have to improvise.

Jack watched his compatriot pull out a cell phone. He gave Blue a mock glare. "I thought we were trying to get away from all that," he said as she hung up.

I can't stay long. Something came up and I have to get back to work. But I have about half an hour before I have to go .. so... is there something specific you want to do before I have to go? I hate to do this. It's just... work... it comes first, like.. a lot, and.. this is probably why I never leave my lab.

Blue chuckled and shrugged. Jack sighed playfully.

"That's what I like about the private sector. I can set my own hours. Unfortunately, it doesn't give me the resources. I guess I should let you get back to being all responsible like.

But if you ever want to get into trouble any time after tonight, you know where to find me."

So what do you want to do?

"If you have to go back to work, we should probably stop drinking. Oh look, the craft tent." Jack downed the rest of the wine glass. That little bit wouldn't
affect him. Plus he walked there. "Our next project might be waiting in there."

Jack liked looking in trinket shops. He always tried to find a magical purpose for them. Sort of like window shopping.

Blue shrugged.

Unfortunatly, I don't always get to control my life. It kind of came with the New Dawn turf. I try for days off. Or time off at least. But half the time I get called back because someone thinks only I can fix whatever needs fixing even though, I'm not the only one there that owns a freaking screwdriver.

She was glad that he understood. There were times she thought about outsourcing her skills. Working from some sort of building that she paid for herself and letting people buy her services and inventions as needed. She could be a neutral place. Where she would make things for just about anyone that had the money to pay for them. The biggest problem with that was funding. How would she be able to get all her parts and things without the proper funding, and there in lay the problem. That and she kind of secretly enjoyed having the nest egg of money she did in the bank since she didn't spend much of her own money on much more than rent and food.

I'm still very intrigued by this.. mischevious side of you Jack Masters. I will have to witness your capabilities at some point. she gave a slight chuckle and a shrug.

He seemed interested in the craft tent and so they finished up their wine, and she motioned for him to keep the bottle it had come in if he wanted it. She rose and walked with him to the craft tent where there were all kinds of people that had their ideas and crafts on display. Blue herself sometimes could get ideas from here, she was not the only genius in the world. And she truly believed that everyone was capable of having a few moments of genius in their life. Sometimes they were just never recognized.

So.. tell me something that you've done that was so mischevious. Becuase I am seriously dying of curiosity. You still don't seem like that sort to me. she said with a small grin as she walked beside him, hands in her pocket.

So.. tell me something that you've done that was so mischevious. Becuase I am seriously dying of curiosity. You still don't seem like that sort to me.

"You just aren't going to let that go, are you?" Jack returned the grin. "Alright, fine. Do you remember a few years ago on Mischief Night when they thought someone stole the benches in the park? The reason why the culprit was able to sneak them back into the park the next morning was because he never stole them in the first place."

Jack stopped walking so that Blue went right by him. He snapped his fingers and activated the perception filter he put into one of the watches he bought off of Gabby.

"Slow down a moment."

The alchemist knew his companion would turn around to see what the hold up was. The thing was....she wouldn't see him. Jack wasn't invisible. He had just triggered a spell that forced everyone around him to look to the side. It was a simple trick to avoid detection as it didn't need nearly the same amount of mana as an invisibility spell. Unfortunately, it could easily be overcome if someone was looking hard enough.

He asked if she was gonna let it go.

Blue put her hands on her hips and leveled her gaze at him. Seriously? Do you know who I am? You have GOT to know what I'm like. You think I'm letting a mystery go. Nu uh, spill it, Hippie-boy

He let on about the story about the benches in the park. About how they had not disappeared but they he had made the perception of their being there, gone. He told her to slow down a moment and she turned and.. he wasn't there. But he had just been there a moment ago because they were talking. But, now.. now he wasn't there. Blue's brows furrowed and her eyes shifted all around trying to figure out where he went.

She swore she could 'hear' him.

She peered around. Trying to find him. But since she didn't know exactly where to look so she couldn't even see him just because she was trying to find him.

Okay... where did you go and how did you do it? she asked folding her arms across her chest.

"Hippie Boy?" Jack asked through the filter. Now that he was speaking directly to her, the effects should be wearing off soon. The key to the enchantment working was to be stealthy. He snapped his fingers again to fully dispel it.

"How do you think I got past security in the first place?" he grinned. Jack shrugged it off. "It's a simple enchantment really. Tricks the brain into looking off to the side and the mind into thinking nothing's there.

You didn't think making bottomless bags was the only trick up my sleeve, did you?"

{Where's the fun in that?}

Blue grinned.

She figured that might get him to speak up. And she was right. A girl liked almost nothing more than being right. He was now visible, the enchantment ending because she knew exactly where to look now.

One doesn't know what everyone has up their sleeves, I assure you dumpster diving is not my largest skill set. she chuckled with a shrug.

They walked into the large tent where all the crafts and creations were on display. Blue never entered these kinds of things. Firstly, because most of her inventions had metal, and human made parts to them. And even though it was an Elvish festival, and even though they were in Librium, there were some people that would have disqualified her, or tried to, for just that. Secondly, if she didn't use anything man-made and went straight for hand made, then she would win. And it wasn't fair to these people. They worked hard, and she had enough awards and commendations from work, she needed nothing more from these people. Let them have their day, she thought.

Besides, she was much too busy.

So.. what else do you do? I mean, aside form enchantments and invisiblity. And making addicting herbs and what not. What do you see as your main.. talent? she wondered curiously.

Blue grinned at his little sleight of eye, or so Jack thought. It went over his head that she called him out on his vanity.

One doesn't know what everyone has up their sleeves, I assure you dumpster diving is not my largest skill set.

"What is?" he asked. "Making award winning household appliances?" That seemed to be the status measurement back when Pops worked for New Dawn. Sort of like how salesmen compared commissions.

So.. what else do you do? I mean, aside from enchantments and invisiblity. And making addicting herbs and what not. What do you see as your main.. talent? she wondered curiously.

His eyes quickly darted around the curiosity shops set up about the tent.

"I'm a bit of a Renaissance Man. I dabble, but I guess you can say gizmos and gadgets are my specialty. Always have something on me that can get me out of any situation. Although they tend to get me into more trouble than out of it."