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June 5, 1998
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Yosannah and Damen are making plans to
go out...
Yo stands and reaches for Damen's hand,
"Let's go cause trouble."
"What are we going to burn?"
"We could start with the Club. On second
thought, let's just start off at the WEB."
Damen nods at her,"I presume you have a
trump for that?"
"For what?"
He grabs her hand. She offers,"What kind
of loser would..."
The World's End Bar...
"...have a trump of the ... Hey!" Damen
lets go of her hand though she is obviously erked. "You need to warn
me when you're going to do something like that."
He nods, "Okay. I'll periodically do
that. You've been warned."
She crosses her arms and watches Damen
before following him to the bar.
Cairo steps into the bar proper, still
yawning. "Hey, Damen"
Damen yawns back, coupled with a smirk,
"Hey, Cairo."
Cairo nods to Yo, "Yo-Yo."
Yosannah pointedly ignores Cairo.
Cairo snorts, "Your name is Yo-Yo, isn't
it?"
She regards him cooly, rolls her eyes and
then sits at the bar.
Damen peers at Cairo. "To you it's Mrs.
Damen."
Damen winks, turning to Yo, "What's your
poison?"
Cairo gives Damen a curious glances, "Oh.
It's like that."
At the bar Merlin says something about
marriage to a woman sitting nearby, "If you ever find the right - or
the necessary - person"
Aat the bar Jago wrinkles her nose as she
says to Merlin, "I have no time for such sillinesses." She waves a
hand. "And how are you, Daji?"
At the bar Merlin smiles. "I am well.
Just sitting and having half a conversation with the cyberpunk
here."
Damen, in the mean time glances at the
bartender, "She took too long. A whiskey sour."
Yo turns her attention back toward Damen.
"is that for me?"
He laughs, "Too foo-foo for you?"
Yo just grins and orders a shot of BV and
a chaser. She downs her shot and slams the glass on the bartop.
Damen leans forward and whispers into her
ear, "I love the way your throat just seizes up and closes after
doing something like that."
Yosannah mumbles, "I can't believe you
just said that."
The bartender quickly refills her empty
glass for her.
Damen orders a drink, "Black velvet..
equal parts Guinness and champagne."
Damen nods politely at Merlin, "Hey,
Merle."
She thumbs in Merlin's general direction
and mutters, "Who is that?" She downs her second shot.
Damen smiles,"Cousin or uncle ..
something or the other twice removed. Good friend of my dad's"
Merlin nods, "Something like that. Really
just think of me as the crazy coot who lives next door."
Yo hiccups, "Hey! You live next door!"
Merlin smiles,"Figuratively speaking."
Damen smirks. "Either way,"
She turns back toward her empty glass.
"You're both a shot behind."
Damen says, "Forgive her, Yo doesn't get
out much. That's why I like her. She hasn't heard all the horrendous
things I did in my youth."
Merlin smiles, "She also drinks like a
fish, it looks like."
Damen pushes his drink aside and grabs a
shot glass, pouring from the bottle that Yo coerced from the
bartender.
Yo smiles at Merlin, "I do pretty good
keep'n up with the Amberite I think." She winks at Damen.
Merlin laughs, "I imagine it's a game
that ends up badly for one of you."
Damen drains his shot, "Seen Luke lately,
Merlin?"
Merlin shakes his head, "Luke is as
invisible as ever."
"You should grab him," Damen suggests,
"Get him away from his duties.. He needs a break."
Damen seems thoughtful, "I'll go look
into it. Rhian might have some ideas as well."
Merlin nods. "She has such thing fairly
often."
Damen turns back to Yosannah, aware that
politics, no matter how trivial, bore her to tears. He
smiles.
Jago murmurs softly, "Speaking of
relatives. I have an appointment for tea." She slips off the stool.
Merlin says, "See you Jago"
Jago rises up on tiptoe and leans over to
very chastely kiss Merlin' s cheek.
Merlin's eyebrows go up, "what was that
for?"
Jago shrugs, "I am fond of dagi-Merlin. I
see dagi-Brand; do I give him your greetings, dagi-Merlin?"
Yo makes a face and mumbles to Damen,
"What's a diijee?"
He whispers, "It's a new Hostess
product."
Yo nods seriously.
Damen explains, "Similar to the Devil
dog. Brand's all about Twinkies."
Merlin says, "It's a term of respect."
Yosannah turns to Merlin and offers, "I
knew it wasn't about Hostess..."
Cairo finally opens his eyes after
ingesting the last of his coke float, "Merlin, I have a question for
you..."
Yo cuts him off. "Merlin? You're name is
Merlin?"
Merlin nods. "Spot on."
She smiles at Damen, "Nifty name."
Cairo continues, "How do you reconcile
having relations on both sides of things."
Merlin shrugs,"It hasn't been easy. But
since I left the crown, it's been easier."
Damen smiles faintly, "I heard the crown
was made of tine."
Merlin smiles and shakes his head, "Not
that I remember."
Cairo motions to the bartender and nods
in Merlin's direction, "Yeah, but there has to be points when you
have 'conflicts' of interests."
Merlin shrugs, "I do my best to remain
neutral."
Yo asks, "Cairo, aren't these questions
sort of personal?"
Cairo huffs, "Yeah, well maybe I'm just a
basket case, Yo-Yo"
Merlin smiles at Yo, "You're name is
Yoyo?"
Damen laughs,"It's a new kind of Hostess
product..."
Yo squirms and eyes Cairo, "Knock it off,
Cairo. No. No it's not."
Merlin smiles at Damen, "Creamy filling?"
Y
o eyes Merlin, "You don't know me well
enough to be talking about my creamy... whatever."
Damen almost spits out his drink.
Merlin shrugs, "Just following the
obvious thread of puns."
A trickle of water begins to fall from
thin air and lands atop Yo's head in a quick gush.
Damen turns his gaze to Cairo, "She is
going to Clock you."
Yosannah doesn't move as water drips off
her body, "No. No.... Though, he might want to get out of my line of
sight as quickly as possible." She eyes Damen, " Though, I'm going to
clock you for letting him do that. How 'bout that?"
Damen glances at Yo, "I can't win. I step
in. You belittle me for not letting you take care of yourself. I
don't. You belittle me for not doing anything. Tell you what. I
bought you a Glock. Shoot him."
Yosannah pats down her jacket, "Ah. I
left it home. Damn."
Cairo turns his head towards Merlin and
looks almost shocked. "I think it's time to say goodnight, Gracie."
Damen rolls his eyes as Cairo's image
flickers.
Merlin says, "Maybe I scared him."
Yo hopes off the stool and removes her
jacket, "Nah, he's a sucker." She hangs it on a nearby chair and runs
her hands over her wet hair.
Damen smirks, "Seems to me you're the one
who's wet."
"Bite me."
Merlin orders another beer.
She nudges Damen's arm, "Gimme your
jacket"
Merlin smiles, "Yes. Be a gentleman"
Damen begins to resists, "It's an
Armani..." he sighs, "whatever." Damen takes off his jacket and
offers it to Yosannah. She wanders off to the restroom. Damen yells
after her, "Will you let me wear your bra later?" She humphs and
slams the door. Damen grins and turns back toward the bar.
Merlin shakes his head, "Happy marriage,
I take it."
Damen laughs, "We're not married,
actually" Damen glances at the door, "But she's the best."
Merlin says, "Oh, I thought she said she
was."
"Engaged," Damen explains, "and I was the
one who said it."
Yo pops out of the restroom and lays her
suit-coat next to her jacket. She climbs back on the barstool.
Damen twists a silver ring encircling his
right ring finger. "feeling better"
She nods, "Thanks." She plants a smooch
on Damen's nose.