[D5 LA] Tiff's Tiff and other Miscellany

[Tiffani]

"What good is being a counselor with people too prideful to admit any wrongdoing? I mean none whatsoever - not even an apology for how she made me feel which is usually just common courtsey if nothing else."

She picks up her piece and devours half of it before saying anything else.

"As a counselor I can tell you this with absolute certainty. If she wants this motley to survive, Chantelle is going to have to decide what is more important to her: this motley or her pride. It's that simple. If my word as a counselor means so little that my warning is ignored, then what am I even doing here?"

She stuffs her mouth with the last of her first piece while pouring herself a glass of soda.

[Jack Doyle]

Jack listened intently as he ate.

"The roles we took in our oaths, I didn't think they're meant as definitive positions within the group." he finally said after a gulp of soda. "I'm like to learn new things, especially having been away for so long. My curiosity will lead me to explore new ideas and try new things. Anything of value I learn, I'll gladly share with the rest of you. But, there's a lot I don't know. A lot I can learn from each of you."

He took a bite from his second slice. "If you'll teach me."

[Tiffani]

Tiffani gulps down most of her soda in one go - as if she hadn't had anything to drink in days. When done, she licks the sweetness from her lips and dives in for a second slice of pizza.

"I'd be happy to teach you whatever you wish to know, Jack." She says as she lays the second piece onto a paper plate. "But I'm just a teenager, ya know? I mean, granted, I'm 50 years old in truth, but most of that was spent in ... well ... there's not much from that place that I learned that I could pass on. If that weren't bad enough, I'm more than three decades behind the times. Hell, I just used the internet for the very first time."

She looks down at her pizza that she hasn't touched yet. "But ... I'll do whatever I can."

A rather long silent pause.

"So tell me, Jack ... what do you think I should do about this craziness? Just give me your honest opinion."

[Jack Doyle]

"You already taught me about pizza." he smiled. "I'm sure there's more you can show me."

He ate quietly while contemplating her question.

"I need to talk to the others. Help them understand why you reacted the way you did, how hurt you were." he said after finishing another slice. "I think they'll understand. They probably do already. But, it will be good clear up any lingering misunderstandings. Hopefully, you'll get another chance to see how they feel. If that reassures you that you can trust us, then stay."

[Tiffani]

Tiffani studies the slice of pizza intently as if all her answers are somehow written there among the slices of pepperoni and the mottled colors of sauce and cheese.

She doesn't respond right away, obviously her mind whirring as she thinks it over - until finally she jerks her head up suddenly and looks at Jack.

"Alright ... I mean, I can understand why they might have been a little suspicious. I guess what hurt me most is that they didn't ask first before judging me. It was a simple issue and ... well, I just want it all to go away."

She then starts devouring her second slice and already reaches for a third. "Damn," she says around a mouthful of food. "I haven't had pizza in soooo long I forgot why I used to eat it all the time."

"What should I do, then? I suppose I should make myself scarce while you talk to the others. My being there probably won't help. In fact, I was thinking about trekking down to a furniture store and outfitting my room. You want anything? Seriously ... you know the money is legit and I'd be happy to do something for you. So ... aside from pizza," she chuckles, "maybe I can get you something you've always wanted. It's not charity, Jack, it's me wanting to make the lives of you and the others less of a burden."

[Jack Doyle]

"You're very generous." he smiled. "Honestly, I'm not sure what I would want. Very little resembles what I'm used to. A bookshelf? I intend to get some books eventually."

"What desserts do you like?"

[Tiffani]

"I'll try to find you a good bookshelf, not one of those compressed wood shelves that sag in the middle when you actually use it for books."

She starts picking pieces of pepperoni off her pizza and eating them individually.

"My favorite dessert. Hmm."

Another drink of soda while she mulls that over.

A big-ass strawberry banana split. Yeah. The kind that comes in a plastic boat. No nuts. Now I'm getting a craving for one." Tiffani smirks at Jack, saying in a teasing voice, "See what you did? You're trying to fatten me up for something."

She winks at Jack playfully.

[Jack Doyle]

"Well, I made Chantelle an apple pie." he explained. "It was made with apples from a cosmic vampire, but I think I should make something for you and Marcus."

[Tiffani]

Tiffani nearly chokes on the last bit of soda she was drinking. She draws her hand across her nose and scrunches up her face. "Achh, soda is coming out my nose ... a wait, what ... a cosmic vampire? You mean things like that exist? And ... they have apples?"

She shakes her head unbelievingly.

"I think you have a hell of a lot to teach me. I mean, I really didn't run across, uh, things like, uh, vampires and stuff in my durance since my Keeper was trying to mimic the mortal world - and most people don't believe in things like ... you know, cosmic vampires."

Then she offers a demure smile to Jack.

"But, um, yeah... if you want to make something like that for me, I'd really like that."

[Jack Doyle]

"It's something I need to tell all of you about." he nodded. "I don't know what it was, really, but it was old and had a vast, incomprehensible consciousness. And, it wanted blood sacrificed to it in tribute, at the least."