playing

who: kayos and hunt
where: lower harbor park
when: midday

She'd worked a good lot of the night with Doc, fixing her building up, but there was still a ton to do. Tons. Whole scads. Like way more than she could possibly face at the moment, so she'd gone for a walk. Or, more specifically, she'd started to go for a walk, then got distracted by the playground in the park that her building overlooked. So what had started as a walk turned into playing in the snow. Sure, she could call it necessary stress relief, or slap some fancy psychobabble term on it, but she was a realist, and decided to call it exactly what it was.

Playing.

Cuz seriously, it was a wicked cool playground, if one was willing to climb over the snowbanks to get there. She was willing. There was a section of the playground above the snowline, the wooden structure all castle-like with a bridge and everything. She went and sat on the ledge of one such bridge, looking out over the blanket of snow that covered what looked to her like the whole world. The only place it wasn't was the lake, it's dark blue uneasy as it crashed up against the side of the harbor now and then.

Things felt too quiet around here for Hunt. He was wrapped up well against the cold, and had decided to go for a walk. But, it was lunchtime as he approached the park and it was, well... quiet. Or, reasonably quiet. Even though there was snow on the ground, he expected there to be at least some kids around, getting away from school for their lunchbreak. But there weren't any. So - strange. No kids, no teenagers pretending they were far too cool to play on the swings, nothing - just... Some woman sitting on the top of the castle-thing. He stopped and watched her for a moment or two, wondering if she was alone and, if so, what she was doing there.

Kayos was an observant little bunny, and she tended to notice things like people staring at her. This was aided by the fact that she recognized him. Hard not to when you spent on and off periods of downtime spending what some might consider quality time with a guy. What didn't help her observations, or, say, anything else ever, was the fact that she jolted when the recognition hit--and she was suddenly not on top of the castle anymore. Nope, she slid right the hell off and plunged down into a snow drift bigger than she was, so one second she was there, the next there was a brief squeak and then she was disappeared into the fluffy white stuff, with just a tuft of it blowing upwards to show for it.

"Shit," Hunt exclaimed as the girl suddenly fell, and he hurried as best her could through the snow towards her - or towards where he'd last seen her, digging through the snowdrift until he caught sight of her coat and pulled, heaving her out again. "Ma'am - are you okay?" he asked her, brushing the snow off and looking concerned.

Okay, you can do this. You really flamingly fucking failed the last few times, but you can do this, okay? Okay. Right. So, speak. And try to do it normally, okay? She told herself as she was getting hauled up. "Hi! Um. Right! With the--and yes! Sure, I'm pretty sure my pride is on the critical list, but physically I'm peachy. Just...really really cold." she said, reaching up to get snow off of her face, and she shook her head to get it out of her hair. Or she made an attempt, anyways. Snow wasn't that cooperative at the best of times.

"At least you landed in something soft?" Hunt suggested, quirking a smile which backed up that the comment had been meant to be humorous. "There had to be an upside for all our six months of winter - it catches you when you fall," he added, reaching to brush bits of snow out of her hair.

She noticed that the scar wasn't there. The guy she'd known, he'd had a scar. A really, really prominent one on his face. This one was all nicely perfect and ruggedly handsome. And yeah she should knock that shit off right now, she wasn't meant to notice that he was a good looking guy, particularly since she didn't know this one and just because she'd had some rather good times with other-him didn't mean she should even go there because then she might start behaving weirdly and she needed to quit thinking about it and just answer the man. She laughed a little, flashing a grin at him with one eye squeezed shut as he got some snow out of her hair for her. "It's true! And here I was thinking all it was good for was making cheap renewable ammunition for unsuspecting joggers. So I'm going to call it good! Um...hi, my name's Kayos..." she introduced herself, feeling weird that she needed to, but that particularly trippy sensation was about to start getting old had if people kept popping up out of the damn woodwork.

"Kayos?" Hunt asked her, clearly thrown by the name. Which, in his opinion, wasn't a name at all. It was a description, maybe a state of being, but not a name. He wondered if her parents had been a really odd brand of hippy or something. "Interesting name - bet you hated it as a kid though," he teased, lightly. Of course, he knew he couldn't exactly talk, but then he went by his surname, rather than his given name. There was nothing particularly odd about his first name, he just really didn't like it.

That had her laughing and it was a natural one as she started to try and stand up, but the thing about falling into the snow was you were in the snow. So she was a little stuckish. She grinned at him brightly and held her hands up. "Help?" she asked. "And It's my last name. My handle, as it were. I could always promise you that I'm not for really a force of nature, and wouldn't ever presume to be, if that makes you feel better." she added on top of that, having a little trouble taking her eyes off of him. It was nice to see him again. And for once, it wasn't a bad reaction. It wasn't someone being gruff with her, or growling and threatening, accusing her of being a demon. It was just someone who had a smile for her, a little humor to share, and was helping her out. That she could roll with a whole lot better.

She was only a smallish thing, so Hunt bypassed her hands and just lifted her up and out of the snowdrift, deciding that that was easier all round and might save her just a little of being incredibly wet and cold. "Okay, so surname - I can go with that. I kinda do the same thing," he told her, setting her back on the ground again and letting go. "I go by Hunt - which is also my surname. I think parents have a lot to answer for when it comes to naming policies," he told her, assuming she also didn't like the name she'd been given - and not asking for it for that reason. If she didn't want to use it, then she didn't want to use it.

Kayos hadn't really expected him to do that, but there, he did it. She grabbed on for a moment, then tried to steady herself on her own feet. Being picked up and moved around wasn't generally an everyday activity for her. But it got her out of the snow. "Thanks." she told him. "That was...way easier than trying to crawl out on my own." she observed. "And Hunt. Nice to meet you." And your first name is Cameron, and you hate it. "I'd go demand answers from the parents but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have much to say on the matter. But if you're looking for a new nickname or the like I could start calling you Sir Lancelot or something." she offered with a bright grin, to show him she was teasing.

"Well, I wouldn't know where to go to do that, so I think I'll just stick with Hunt, Kayos," he told her, trying out the odd name. Nope, even said aloud and at her, it was still an odd name. As for his parents, he hadn't seen them in years. An old family argument, far enough back that he couldn't even really remember what it had been about, except that the end result had been him cutting ties and moving to Marquette. The whys and wherefores weren't important. "I don't think I need to be renamed after some legendary knight. Especially when the nearest I've ever come to rescuing anyone is lifting a damsel in distress out of a snowdrift she could have got out of on her own." He paused, looking her up and down. "Though, if we wanted to go with this new-found hero streak of mine, I could offer you a coffee, so you can dry off and not catch your death of cold," he added.

"Ooh. Not catching my death sounds awesome." she said, grinning. "I'm sold. Hit me up with coffee. Lead the way?" she suggested, wondering about his statements. She knew he'd hunted with family, though it had taken a long time of knowing him to really suss that out properly. And he didn't have the scar, and he didn't save people...unless he was just really downplaying everything and say, not coming off like a total lunatic that was going to claim he fought monsters scarier than pretendy dragons. Yeah she really needed to not leap to ridiculous conclusions.

He set them off walking across the park, headed for the nearest place that would serve something hot and coffee-like, with an easy stride through the snow. It wasn't like he had anywhere else to be today - or any other day for that matter. Since he'd quit his job teaching at the high school, he'd had trouble finding enough to do to kill time. In fact there were some days where he just didn't know where time went. He figured that laziness was making him sleep a lot more than he used to, but it was undeniable that he was still having blank spots - possibly substantial blank spots. He'd seen his therapist about them a few times, and at their last session she'd suggested he go to his physician about it, concerned that there could be a medical cause that should be investigated. So far, he hadn't - but he was going to. He had an appointment for the beginning of next week. "So, Kayos - do you often leap off of castles? or is this a new thing for you as well?" he asked her, keeping the topic of conversation as silly and light-hearted as it had started out.

She fell into step with him easily enough, even if she could feel snow down the insides of her boots, and that was wicked uncomfortable. She'd get it out later. Like when they were inside someplace. "I used to be an up and coming world class castle-leaper, but that was back before I blew my knee out and lost my shot at the pros. It's a tragic story and there are several studios that want to option the rights to my story, but it's a little too personal to see up on the silver screen. Plus, they'd probably get someone lame to play me, like Paris Hilton or something so I just can't allow it." she rambled easily, watching him out of the corner of her eye, even if she was being covert about it.

"Castle-leaping?" Hunt asked, as though fascinated, though the bright twinkle in his eye and the edge of humour in his voice betrayed that what he was really doing was carrying on the joke, running with it. "There good money in that these days? How's the benefits package? And, do you have to wear any kind of costume for that kind of thing, or is it strictly low key?"

"Oh yes, it's the next big thing. I mean, it's going to be as big as midget-tossing soon, you'll see!" Kayos assured him, nodding as if to confirm her own point. "And the money's only so-so, really, so are the benefits. Really, with castle-leaping, you've got to be in it because of the love of it. It's got to come from the heart, ya know?" she said patting her hand against her chest above her heart a moment. "As for the costumes, that's really up to the individual. I mean some people get really flashy with it, I used to be fairly functional with mine. I mean, you have to have a little flair, but there was this one chick one time who had like, this whole repunzel theme going on? Well one time the wig got caught? Meeeessssyyyy, let me tell you."

Hunt made a show of wincing at that. "Yeah - you're probably best out of that. So, now that you've had to find a new track in life, what fills your days?" he asked her, a roundabout way of asking her what she did. Which made him wonder what he'd answer now if anyone asked him. A once-upon-a-time history teacher that was no more? An unemployed guy who sat around trying to figure out his life and ignoring the fact that there was more than enough money in the bank, even though he didn't know where it came from? Maybe it would be best if the doctors told him he had some kind of brain tumour that was causing the blackouts. At least then he could stop thinking about the other possibilities - possibilities that were just, well, impossible.

"I occasionally play good samaritan, and rework old buildings?" she suggested. "Or, that's kind of less what I do with all of my time and more what I happen to be doing in Marquette. I bought a building and I've been kinda trying to fix it up, since it was falling down. It's been hectic so far. But a friend actually got the shower going last night? It's awesome. I have running water! That I can bathe in!" she said as if this were novel and something noteworthy. "Life is good."

Hunt stepped forward and opened the door to the shop they'd just reached so she could go inside first. "Renovating buildings? That's kinda neat. Though, around here, most people would probably not do that in winter. I know I have enough problem with just maintenance in this weather, without thinking about tackling improvement. That said - running water? Always a plus."

"I'm a trooper. Plus, I just got in to town and don't have anything better to do. Also noplace to stay, unless I want to shell out for a hotel, which granted I could afford? But eh. Not really feeling it, especially since there's so much work to be done." She smiled and stepped gratefully inside the cafe, glad to be out of the cold for the moment. "Yay! Maybe soon I'll be able to feel my toes again! That'd be pretty sweet."

"Feeling your toes is definitely a bonus," Hunt agreed, stepping in after her and shutting out the cold behind them. He was a fan of being in the warm for a while as well, definitely no complaints there. He'd been out because he couldn't stand sitting at home any longer, and for no other reason. "So - did you just randomly decide to up and move to Marquette to do mid-winter renovations, or is there another part of the grand plan?" he asked, aware that he may be prying now.

Kayos didn't so much mind the prying, as she went and found them a corner booth. She dropped down on one side, then started to get her boots off so she could dump the snow beneath the table. "A friend of mine lives here. He's kind of sort of the only family I've got left, so, I figured I'd venture here, see what was up. Stick around for a while, see if I like the place. So far it's not too bad. I mean, cold, yeah, but that's workable. What about you, are you from here?" she asked.

"Me? Kind of yes and no - not originally, but I've been here for long enough now that it feels like I was. Came here for college, then stayed - and that was far too long ago now," he joked, settling down opposite her and relaxing back, feeling some of the warm starting to seep back into his body, enough that he unzipped his thick winter coat.

When the waitress came by, Kayos ordered coffee and pie, then went back to her conversation. "C'mon, you can't be that old. I mean, you can't be a day over seventy seven." she teased, winking at him as she propped her cheek on her closed fist. "What did you go to school for?" she asked. "Anything interesting? Nuclear physics? The art of rubberband ball construction?"

"Damn, that cream must really be working - I'm actually a hundred and seventeen," Hunt quipped as he added in his own order for the same. "College was history and education - though I took an interesting course in bubble design, sophomore year," he joked. "The rubberband ball construction course was all signed up by the time I got there - I've been cursing my life ever since. Ever since I was a little kid, all I'd wanted to do was create the world's biggest rubberband ball and I was thwarted! Thwarted! My life has meant nothing since."

"Aww, pookie!" Kayos cooed, leaning over the table to muss his hair affectionately, a gesture that really was a throwback more to the fact that in her head she knew the guy, and she sat back and hoped he didn't find it too ridiculously weird. "I'm sure if you really want to, you can start one! And since it also appears you've found the secret of everlasting life, you can do it! I have faith in you! I'll even pitch in to start off your rubber band funding. I can totally float you a buck fifty for your first bag of them. It's not too late to give your life meaning, and rubberband balls are such a worthy pursuit!"

Hunt didn't find it too weird, simply because their conversation so far seemed to have just floated from one joke to the next, and he was good with that. He'd always had a keen eye for the ridiculous, after all. once he would have said that it kept him sane, but then again, he'd been in therapy for years, and now he was dealing with long periods where he didn't remember anything about what he'd been doing, so he wasn't entirely convinced that argument held water any longer. "You'd give a complete stranger money? Just to make his life complete? I think you missed your calling as a wish fairy or something," he teased.

Kayos dropped a wink. "Sweetheart, you have no idea. I am a very good little wish fairy, when the mood strikes." she told him. Which was actually the truth. If she liked someone, or thought they truly needed something she could provide? She was all about handing it out. It was just her nature, and while she didn't get to indulge it that often, when she did, she liked to really throw herself into it.

"Well, now I think that maybe I should have had a more ambitious life want, if you're handing out wishes like that. I don't know - the next guy'll probably get a huge yacht and I'll be stood here watching him sail off, with my bag of bands," Hunt laughed, picturing that.

"Well, I could give you a special, one time offer of being able to trade in your wish, when you find what your heart truly desires." Kayos told him. "But just the once! And it has to be special, just between us. It wouldn't do if people started finding out that I hand out wishes in the first place, and I'd never hear the end of it if people thought I'd let just anyone trade them in for a new one." she said, lowering her voice and leaning closer to further the illusion of conspiracy.

Where do I go when I can't remember? Yeah, because that was something to share with someone he'd just met! That was tantamount to saying 'hi, I'm a crazy person - you want to finish your pie first, or you just gonna go screaming for the hills right now?' "I wouldn't like to be greedy - or to bend the rules. I think I'm good with my rubberband ball," he told her, inclining his head a little, though the jokiness had slipped slightly with the more serious thought.

Keeping her blue eyes fixed on him she just smiled. "Consider the offer open." she told him, tone warm, a little lighter. "I've decided I like you. And I'm one of those 'does anything for a friend' types." she told him. Which was also true, really.

Hunt looked at her for a moment, wondering if she'd still be saying that if she knew more about him, but he wasn't there to purposefully scare people off. And since Brian disappeared, he could do with more friends in his life. "Well, I might just do that then - though I'm not a particularly demanding person, so you've probably lucked out there," he told her.

She laughed. "Well, sweet. I've had a lifetime full of demanding people, so a bit of a break and only having a moderately demanding friend would be nifty." she told him. "Of course, people tell me I can get demanding as well, but really, it's just a matter of me knowing what I want. People tend to percieve that as demanding, I just say I'm cutting to the chase." she shared, pausing as their order came, and she started adding sugar to her coffee. "So what do you do for fun 'round here anyways? Other than dig girls out of snowbanks."

"Fun? You want fun - oh yeah, you're a demanding one. Tsk - fun? You sure - that's kind of a tall order, you know. Not sure I know how to do that," he teased, just adding creamer to his coffee and leaving it to cool a little as he tackled his pie. "Mostly, I go for walks waiting for girls to drop into snowbanks - though I have been known to take time out to go see a hockey game or two," he told her, between bites.

"I know! I'm terrible, I freely admit it. Looking for entertainment, such a tall order and all." she tsked and shook her head. "Ooh, hockey games. That could be entertaining. there's the college here, yeah? They got a good team?" she asked, thinking she remembered something about Northern having a hockey team. "You know I could be convinced to accompany you to a hockey game if you really wanted." she added, as if this should be terribly enticing an offer.

"I've seen worse teams. And you could be convinced, could you? Question: are you actually interested in hockey, or just buff guys being generally violent towards each other?" he joked, giving her a look. Not that he really minded - he wasn't a hard core sports fan, so he wasn't the type to get offended if his company wasn't in it for the right reasons.

She made a little bit of a face, nose wrinkling cutely for a moment. "I've seen enough violence in my day to not really want to seek it out for entertainment." she told him. Which was the truth. She'd seen a lot. Hell. She'd seen Hunt in the middle of it. Everyone she ever really cared about, one way or another, she'd seen in that kind of a situation, so she didn't really find it all that awesome. Didn't mean she couldn't go enjoy a sporting event, but that was very much not why she'd go. In reality, especially in this case, she wanted to go because if she could possibly strike up a friendship again with Hunt? She wanted to do that. It was making her feel better on a fundamental level. The other encounters had gone so poorly, but his was going well. It felt nice. She'd been thinking she didn't belong, that she was an ill fit. But this gave her a little more hope.

Hunt pursed his lips a little. "Hmm, still not sure that that's an answer - since the violence goes with either option. Kinda highly contact, even for contact sports. Not that it matters. I'm just kinda interested in your motivations. Inquisitive - so, which is it? Love of the game, or men in uniform?" he teased, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table as he cocked an eyebrow at her.

She laughed. "I like to watch games." she said. "Or I like spending time with people in social situations. Movies are good too." she said. "Plus there's popcorn. Though at hockey games, there can be beer and hot dogs, so really, it's kind of a toss up there." she admitted. "Though like, I wouldn't go to a movie or a game by myself. But if I've got someone to go with, I'm there." she explained. "I'm kinda one of those people who're game for just about anything, if you sell it to me right. Or just really really don't want to go alone."

"I'm okay by myself," Hunt told her, starting back in on his pie again - or starting to, then he paused and gestured at her with his fork. "Not that I wouldn't enjoy your company, or anything. And you're always welcome to come long, but I've never been one of those people who's uncomfortable being alone," he explained.

"I guess with my upbringing and everything, I just...well, here, I'll put it out there bluntly, cuz I don't usually like beating around the bush anyhow, but I've lost people." Kayos said, not sounding like it was hamstringing her existence, but that it affected her. "And so when I find people that I appreciate, I want to spend time with them, because you never know when that time is going to be over." she said in a thoughtful sort of tone. "But cool, thank you for the open invite, I'll be taking you up on it. Though if I get annoying or whatever, just tell me to piss off, I will." she promised.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Hunt said, automatically, but with genuine sympathy. The only thing he'd lost was his dog, Mutt. She'd wandered off some months ago - he never did find out what happened to her. Some days he really missed her - the house felt empty without her. He could have added in a joke to that, about how he'd better get his time in, but he didn't - he had some tact, for all he tended to look on the lighter side of life.

"Thank you." she said, munching on some pie. "I still carry people with me, a bit. I like to remember good times." Even if her good times were fairly few and far between. She'd had good times with him! Like when they'd met, and didn't watch a movie. Which she decided she should not think about. Then she decided to ask the question. "So is there a missus Hunt or significant other of some description?"

Hunt paused without really seeming that he was doing so, setting down his fork and reaching for his coffee. He took his time, taking a sip of the liquid and putting the mug down again before answering her. "No, neither. I'm going through an... interesting time in my life right now. Relationships really aren't on my agenda," he told her, phrasing that lightly, giving information, but also addressing the potential other reason she could be asking, just in case.

Kayos smirked a touch. "I'm not hitting on you yet, tiger." she told him playfully. "I just have already had to deal with a jealous woman, for y'know, like, existing in the same room as her man, so I wanted to know if I had more people to dodge, or if I could talk hitting up a hockey game or movie with you without stepping on toes." she admitted. Cuz wow did she ever not want a repeat of that noise.

Hunt chuckled a little at that. "My life is toe-free. And I didn't say you were hitting on me - just explaining quite how toe-free things are right now," he added, though he had offered the extra explanation as a baffle in case she had a mind to turn things in that direction, he had to admit.

"Duly noted." she said firmly, not taking any offense to the vibe of 'by the way, I'm not dating right now'. She wasn't either. While she wanted to spend time, that didn't mean she wanted to rush into anything, and relationships with her never seemed to work out. There was always something that went sideways. Whether it was because people couldn't hack her relationship with Doc, or too much other nonsense was in the way, things went belly up on her. Which really, had been kinda why it had been nice when she and Hunt in her time had hooked up. It was nice. Pleasant, and non-heavy. There weren't huge strings, nothing that really weighed either of them down.

"I take if from all of that that there's nobody in your life either?" Hunt asked, moving on from the point without any regrets. "In my experience, woman don't feel as threatened by 'taken' women as much as they do by those that are all free and single," he observed.

Kayos laughed. "Actually, I got that reaction like before I could even introduce myself." she admitted. "Someone's a jealous little bunny. But it's true. I'm unattached." she said. "I suppose you could say I'm looking for the right guy? But I don't really think I'm actually looking. Like sure, if someone comes along and all that's awesome, but I'm not writing in my diary on tearstained pages every night about how I don't have a man." she said. She'd never actually been the type who needed to have a boyfriend. Probably due to the way she was raised, mostly by Doc, and how that wasn't really top priority. Little things like survival were way more stressed.

"maybe someone's got an insecurity complex - or her guy's got a wandering eye," Hunt joked, finishing off his pie and pushing the plate to one side. "As for your diary - maybe it needs a bit of watering every now and then. Isn't that the point of a girl's diary anyhow? Aren't they like pot plants? They dry up and get dull if they don't get a regular watering. Lack of prince charming's always good for that kind of thing. Tsk, tsk, Kay - I think you're doing it wrong..."

That made her giggle, most certainly, and she beamed at him. "Oh my god you're right!" she gasped. "I have so entirely been going at this the wrong way!! Well that's it, I've got to go find myself some eye bleedingly pink diary and whip up some tears and angsty haikus to toss in there on a regular basis! However could I have gone this wrong?!" she put her hand to her forehead and mock swooned back against her seat. "Whatever shall I do?" she drawaled. "To make up for it I'll have to randomly come down with a case of the vapors!"

He openly laughed at that. "Vapours? I think you're being a little out of date right now. And all the cool kids these days have these little Hello Kitty diaries - at least, I seem to see more of those hanging around than anything else," he told her, rolling his eyes. He didn't see the attraction himself, but the girls in his class seemed to go crazy over the brand and some things really did sink in.

"Hang around with hello-kitty girls, do you?" Kayos asked, laughing. "And damnit, I always thought I was one of the cool kids. Guess not. I'll have to trade in my decoder ring at this rate. I'll have to ride the lamer's bus and everything. Does this mean you're not going to be able to be seen with me now? I know how important the cool kids approval is to society at large today." she said sagely, nodding. "I mean, if that's the case, I'll understand, and it'll give me more to cry on my diary about."

"Not so much hang around as I used to teach over at the high school - you pick these things up. Though I never really understood the attraction of an only pink cartoon cat, really. Which probably means you should keep your decoder ring and get me a spare..." he joked, giving her a smile.

Kayos blinked. "Wow, seriously? You used to teach?" she asked. "And highschool? Man, you must've had patience to spare. Why'd you quit? Are the kids today wearing you down?" she asked. She'd not really gone to proper school. It had been too dangerous, really. When people wanted your guardian dead all the time, you didn't put your ward out where they could target her. "And I'll look into getting you a nice decoder ring, since you're hip to the cool cats." she said, again using terms she knew were out dated.

Hunt shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant about it - something he did pretty easily, all things considered. "That interesting time, really - I couldn't give the job the attention it needed, or the kids the attention they deserved. It's a pity - I really loved the job. Hopefully I'll get to go back to it someday. Too many of those kids need someone in their lives, even if it was a blue moon when you could get any of them to admit that."

"Well, teenagers are fairly positive that they know everything, and no one understands them." Kayos said. "So yeah, getting anyone to admit something I'm sure would be a task. That's cool though." And wicked weird, considering, but she guessed that was the difference between there and here. Here, things hadn't spiraled down yet. Nothing was circling the drain, it was all okay for now. So Hunt hadn't had to ditch everything to start hunting full time. He could indulge in say, being a teacher. Interesting indeed.

"Something I always wanted to do - which probably means I should have been committed a long time ago," Hunt told her, laughing at himself, and in more ways than one. "But, I'll settle for a decoder ring - and do you get a pair of cardboard x-ray glasses as well? Or would I have to earn those?" Okay, he needed to stop that now, he didn't know what he was talking about here.

"I don't think it's a commitable offense." Kayos said. "And some people would consider it noble, considering. As for the x-ray glasses, those you have to earn. I mean, the decoder ring, that's a given, but all the other snazzy stuff you have to earn. It wouldn't be right if we just handed it out! Have some pride. Strive for your achievements!"

"So, I'm noble, but without pride? I'll have to remember that," Hunt summarised, ditching whatever else he'd been saying to move on a little. "So, what do I have to do to strive for my x-ray glasses?" he asked her.

"One thing you should probably understand about me straight away is that I do not claim I make sense." Kayos told him matter o factly. "It's a thing, just roll with it." she advised. "As for what you have to do, well, we'll just see. I mean there's a whole lot of things you could probably do, but it's a secret. I'll just give out merits when you manage to stumble upon something."

"I work with teenagers - I can deal with not making sense," Hunt reminded her. Rolling with things he liked to think he was okay with as well. In most circumstances, anyhow. "But, okay - secret things. Is this like how the rules are made by women and men don't know what they are til they break them?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow as he sipped once again at his coffee.

She grinned at him for that. "Much like that, yes." she said with a nod. "Only it'll work out much more in your favor! So just think, it'll be a fun surprise instead of a 'well when did that become not okay?' and a headache. It'll be fabulous." she told him with a firm nod.

"So, good surprises - you know, I'm starting to think I should rescue people from snowdrifts more often," he said, musingly, but clearly teasing with that. That felt like a while ago now - but that was no bad thing. At least he was warm now, and she was looking a little dryer.

"Yes, you should. Though really I think I'm the only one idiot enough to accidentally drop herself into a snowbank, so you might be a little shit out of luck on that score, if you were thinking of making it into a new career. Though maybe if you moved to Canada or Alaska or something, there'd be more of a choice, but if you want to stick around here, it might be difficult for you to really get into properly." Kayos told him, finishing off her pie. It was definitely good pie.

"Damn - another plan foiled," Hunt said with an over-exaggerated sigh. "I guess I'll just have to keep it to you then. So, there's a game on Saturday night, if you're interested. I could meet you by the north gate or something," he suggested, wanting to keep it an open invitation, casual.

"Saturday night, hmm?" Kayos said, narrowing her eyes as she pretended to think about it. "Sure! I mean, I had been thinking about washing my hair that night? But that sounds far cooler. So, sounds like a plan to me. Want my number, in case anything unforseen happens?" she asked, pulling her phone out. "And if you could give me yours, I'll be able to call, just in case the end of the world is happening or something."

"You'd let the end of the world get in the way of a hockey game? Kay, I really don't think you're taking things seriously enough," he admonished, lightly, but pulled out his phone and slid it across to her anyhow.

She punched in her number, and she handed over her phone as well so he could do the same. "Hey I didn't say it would make me skip the game." she said. "But it might make me late. you know how it is. The world starts ending, there's chaos in the streets, detours to go through...it's a big mess. But don't worry, I wouldn't let a little thing like that get in my way. There's hockey to see." she said.

He took her phone and added in his number. "And, hey, if the world's ending, then may as well go out with a bit of fun - I mean, what else are you gonna do? End of the world, right?" Hunt pointed out, still carrying on the joke, but with a belief behind that - he was no fighter, it would never even occur to him to stand up and try and stop an apocalypse, even if other people were. He really would just sit back and take it. Well, this personality would, anyway. This personality was still subject to the ragged remnants of the spell he'd cast over himself.

"Yeah, what else?" she said. Even if well. She was a girl who took action. In fact, she'd come here specifically to try and stop the impending downfall. She'd already gone through it once and had signed up for a second tour as it were. Some people sat back and did nothing, others were built to let nothing stop them. She was in that latter bit. "What timeish?" she asked, so she could actually try to be there on time and such. That would probably be best. And it wasn't like she had anything else to do. She'd be working on her building, and trying not to be knocked sideways by everything this world had already swung at her head. She could possibly deal with this new Hunt better. Even if she thought it was a bit of a shame that he was now of the opinion that there was nothing to do. He'd been a damn good hunter, when she'd known him. But she'd rather see the loss of a hunter to getting a life than death in the trenches.

"Around seven?" Hunt suggested. "I think the game starts at eight, so that would give us time to get tickets and seats. And... whatever else you might want to get," he suggested to her.

"Oo, can I get obnoxious pompoms?" she asked. "And a little megaphone so I can yell even louder?" She beamed at him, teasing, but doing so with her usual bright, playful sort of demeanor. She could do that when she wanted to, and she was looking forward to going to the game. It'd be nice. And weirdly, something normal.

"If you want to - though I draw a lign at one of those giant foam hand things. And I reserve the right to confiscate a megaphone if you use it to holler into my ear," he warned her, finishing off his coffee and setting the mug down on the table. "I know - I'm no fun."

She laughed, and finished her own coffee. "The foam hands are creepy, so no worries about that. As for yelling in your ear, I prefer breathy whispers if I'm doing any kind of speaking into people's ears, so I think you'll be safe." she told him with a wink. "Y'know, just so we're on the same page here."

"Breathy whispers," Hunt mused, as if seriously considering that option. "Well, you know, I think I might just be able to cope with that," he told her with a somewhat flirtatious smile. After all, he'd set out his position earlier on, which meant that there was no problems with harmless flirting, as far as he was concerned.

"Okay! Well now that that's covered." she said firmly, fishing her wallet out of her pocket since she'd forgotten that they'd come there with the intent that he buy her coffee. "I suppose I should get back to little things like making my place habitable." Which she wasn't really looking forward to so much as she knew it needed doing.

Hunt put up a hand and pulled out his own wallet, fishing a few bills out. "I got this one, Kay," he told her, dropping the bills on the table. "All part of the rescue service - and to assuage my guilt, since I would have had lots of that if you'd caught cold and gotten sick..."

Laughing, she put her wallet away. "Okay, thank you then, dear sir, this has been quite the wonderful rescue. I'll have to consider dumping myself in the snow more often if this is the treatment I get." she told him. Then she gave him a smile. "Seriously, this has been a good time. I'm glad I met you." she told him. This has made being here less stupid.

Hunt chuckled a little, sitting back, an arm draped over the back of the booth seat. "Glad that I could bring a little sunshine into your day. Was nice to meet you as well," he told her, with all honesty. He'd been keeping himself away from people more than usual, recently, he knew. He didn't always know where he was, or what he was doing - involving others in that was just too scary a prospect. It made him wonder if he should warn her that he might stand her up. Saturday was a few days away yet, he had no idea what was going to happen. Then again, he didn't know what would happen in the next hour, never mind the next few days. For all he knew, in the next moment it'd suddenly be Monday and he wouldn't have a clue what had happened in the between times.

"You certainly did. And I needed it. So, I'm appreciative." she said, standing up and stretching. "But, my torn the hell apart building calls, so I have to go pretend I know how to fix things for a while before I burst into tears and call professionals. So, I'll see you Saturday?" she said, really rather hoping that she didn't say, get herself caught in the middle of a gunfight or something when she was meant to be going to the game with him. That always sucked.

"Hope so - end of the world notwithstanding. And, you know, if either of us doesn't make it, for the record, that's what I'm gonna be blaming," he warned her, lightly - introducing the idea that maybe he wouldn't be there in a casual way. "So, y'know, if you don't turn up I'm probably gonna end up going home and sleeping in the bathtub, or hiding under the bed..."

She laughed. "Hey now. if the world starts ending, I promise I'll try my best to hold it off at least until the game's done." she said. "So, I'll see you then. Have a nice rest of the day, Hunt." she said, waving to him before she started off. That, mostly because she didn't want to do anything ill advised like hug the guy or something. Even if she wanted to. He'd been a positive influence in her life before, and he'd brightened up her day when she'd really needed it. She definitely owed him a hug. She just needed to hand that out when it was appropriate, not like nowish where it was going to wind up being strange and probably offputting.