ArchivedLogs:Form and Function

Form and Function
Dramatis Personae Emma, Lucien, Sebastian, Shane
In Absentia	2013-10-14 '
Location some electronics shop somewhere
Having finally done the prerequisite leg work to prove that her damaged electronics are both non-salvageable through the IT department and still necessary to her work, Emma strides into the nearest store that contains the make and model of both of the phone and tablet she requires, armed with the company credit card. She is dressed for the crisp autumn weather with a light weight white trench coat over her clothes, a gauzy, frilled scarf wrapping her neck and brushing up against the base of her up-pulled hair. Like a woman with purpose, she strides over to the tablet display and opens her mouth to make her requests, but the fluorescent lights bounce off of one of the new displays and catches her attention. Shiny. Lucien is here, too, though he's not shopping. He's sitting on a stool near the entrance, his mind its usual sleek-slick void of glassy tranquility, revealing about as little as his currently neutral expression. He has his own phone in hand and is very diligently focused on it. /Very/ diligently keeping up with his Words With Friends games. He's casually dressed today, fit for his current mission of escorting teenagers on shopping outings. Jeans, a soft green henley shirt, a black leather jacket open over top. Somewhere in the recesses of the store, Desiree is poking around at sleek new phones. He is paying no attention to this. Important Business to tend to. He does glance up, when Emma enters, a small smile twitching upward at one corner of his mouth. "Emma." His voice is quiet, and warm. Already tucked in among the tablets is a pair of tiny blue teenagers; though identical in features they're dressed radically differently, Shane in pinstriped vest, dark slacks, dress shirt, bow tie, deep grey peacoat draped over his arm. Bastian has blue fishnet tights layered over solid silver ones, a pleated black skirt with blue plaid pattern in between the pleats, long-sleeved black top with its sleeves zippered on and silvery ribbon laced corsetlike through silver D-rings studded down its front. Bastian is looking curiously through the newest model of Stark tablets, tapping absently at its screen. "C'mon tell me you have to get at least a discount on that or something." Shane peers over his brother's shoulder at the tablet. "I -- don't know," Sebastian admits with some distraction. "I make enough money to buy a /tablet/, though, dude." "Do you make enough money to buy /me/ a tablet?" Shane asks this with a BIG GRIN. Distraction lifts slowly as Emma hears her name behind her. She straightens and reaches out with her mind first, turning to look behind her in a much slower motion. Her gaze dances over Lucien's features as her lips pull back into a warm smile. Her mental presence brushes affectionately against his mind, but respects his space and that void he projects. "Lucien, darling," she pushes away from the counter to begin crossing back to the entrance to greet him properly with an air kiss to either cheek. "It has been far, far too long. How have you been?" The other minds in the room are examined quietly and distantly, letting surface thoughts feed her curiosity. "I don't suppose you're here to upgrade your technology, are you? If not, you should come help me. I get so distracted by some of the offerings, I forget that I've already done my homework and know what I want." Lucien presses his cheek back to Emma's, one and then the other; his touch comes with a soft wash of warmth trickling through her. "Oh, busy. As ever. And you?" His lips curl upwards, flicking a hand out -- towards the twins, towards his sister off in the distance. "No. I am just playing chaperone before the children need to get back to school. What /do/ you want?" He submits his word -- CONQUER -- and tucks his phone back into his pocket as he slides off his stool. "You don't make enough money to buy yourself a tablet? Even without rent to pay?" he chimes in to the boys' conversation. "Do you really /want/ a tablet or are you just hassling me?" There's no real annoyance in Sebastian's tone, his head leaning slightly to one side to bop up against his brother's as Shane rests on his shoulder. His thoughts at the moment are mostly concerned with exploring the new features of this tablet, and weighing whether he cares enough about them to buy it. Especially when his dad could probably use so much financial help, soon. He quiets when he sees Emma with Lucien, his posture seeming to shrink slightly; he presses back a little bit more against Shane. "Sure I do," Shane answers shamelessly, "but he makes so much /more/. He's all posh now. He should think of the little people." His eyes sweep up and down over Emma when he notes her conversing with Lucien, a reflexive bristling in his mind that has nothing to do with her and is just a habitual wariness with strangers. Where Sebastian shrinks, he stands straighter, nudging his shoulder in front of Sebastian's now with an unconscious protectiveness. "Yo. Friend of yours?" "Chaperoning duty, dear?" Emma's eyes sparkle, her lips fighting to keep her smile from blossoming into something even brighter, the thrill of warmth hitting her system enough to nudge her toward joy. At the question of what she does want, she quickly lists the make and model of a tablet - not the most recent release, but the one just prior to it, with the appropriate memory add-ons, and that of a phone nearly exactly similar to the one she had last time she spoke to Lucien. "But in white, of course. I hate to sound fashion conscious, but I do not want a larger sized screen - which is pretty much my biggest weakness, because I do not have the income to buy new purses and cases to accommodate it. You know my work and how much those damned bags cost." Emma's attention then diverts to the twins, her words growing more hushed the more they notice her. Her smile cools to something polite and reserved, in respect to their nervousness. "Hi. My name is Emma. Lucien and I have been coworkers from time to time. I hope you don't mind me interrupting your search or distracting your chaperon." Her gaze shifts to the tablets the twins seem to be focused on. "Stark Industries fans?" "It comes with the territory, sometimes, with family." Lucien drops a hand to rest fingers lightly on the display of tablets, running his fingertips down along it as he drifts down the row, stopping when he's come to the one Emma lists. "The display model is black. I suppose you'll have to ask after the white one. -- I did actually want to ask you about work," he adds, thoughtfully. "For your recommendation, if not your services; it's not a lucrative job by any stretch. Just an, ah." His eyes settle on the tablet, looking it over thoughtfully. "Likely a controversial one." Sebastian doesn't answer Emma; not verbally at least, though the mention of Stark Industries draws a flutter of excitement and pride that /might/ denote him a fan; a brief flicker of memory of Tony Stark himself watching a small robot in flight, of sitting down with the man to go over schematics. Outwardly, he only creeps further behind his brother, eyes dropping back down to the tablet he's been examining. "You work together?" Shane's brows raise and /his/ mental image of this is entirely inappropriate, briefly imagining the two adults naked in bed together. His lips twitch. "Neat. Lucky you. Interrupt away these tablets are rad." It's a small shift of posture as he drops his hand to rest lightly against Sebastian's, not particularly noticeably save for the protective mental flare that accompanies it. "Nah, not fans exactly -- well /okay/ I'm not saying B's desktop image /isn't/ a montage of Tony Stark glamour shots but." His grin flashes wider. "He works there. He's kind of a genius." "I called ahead. If they were truthful, they have white in stock. Though, I wouldn't mind brushed aluminum." Emma balances her amusement at Shane's mental image with the bright spots of information she receives from Sebastian. She processes the information as she turns her gaze on the twins themselves, taking in their physical appearance. Then she is back to tablets and Lucien. "Were you looking for a written recommendation, or are you asking for advice? Both are available to you, dear, but you may need to call me tomorrow and remind me about a written recommendation after I get my equipment synced up properly. I feel rather scatterbrained without then." More professional work out of the way, she focuses on the twins once more. "Works for Tony Stark, eh? That certainly does speak well of his intellect, especially since you two look somewhat young. But tablets aren't your department, though, as I imagine you'd probably be walking around with the latest prototype instead of stuck here perusing the store models." She leans against the counter top as she smiles at Shane. "Oh, and yes. I'm an event planner. If you need to know what goes into a very fancy dinner, I'm your girl." "There is something elegant about the silver." Lucien taps his finger absently against the tablet in question, looking up afterwards to Emma. "You have heard of the Mendel Clinic, opening next month? One of our club members is on staff there. They are looking for a planner for their gala. Unfortunately, a new non-profit -- their discretionary budget is not overlarge, I imagine. Though services rendered to non-profits can be claimed on taxes. Still, the kind of institution they are -- there's some professional risk associated with taking on jobs for them. Surely, though, /someone/ out there must want the cachet." His eyes drift over towards his sister with this, but return to his present company soon after. "From what I hear you are both brilliant. Just -- rather differently /inclined/ in your application of it." "Ohh. That kind of coworker." There is distinct disappointment in Shane's mind. It takes a moment longer before he leaves off imagining LucienAtWork to nod at this. "Pfft. Daiki's organized and has connections and Desi's -- I mean, they'd do it for free. It'd just, you know. Be a gala thrown by /teenagers/." The idea amuses him, though. "I don't know what it looks like on a resume if you have huge parties /bombed/ though." The mention of brilliance just makes him scoff. "Pffft. B's the brains. I just stand here and look pretty." /This/, at least, prompts Sebastian out of his silence. He shakes his head emphatically, though he doesn't quite make eye contact yet. "Shane's smarter than I am," he insists, softly. "I just really like the work. I'm in robotics, miss," he explains. "I do a lot of work in AI." This comes with a reflection of a robotic fish, exploring a lakebed and recording its findings." There's a small blush before he nudges his identical twin and answers him quietly: "And everyone knows /I'm/ the pretty one." "Oh dear," Emma smiles at the twins as she shakes her head. "I have a feeling you two are trouble - brains and good looks. And artificial intelligence? Incredible. Personally, I never got past the beauty of form and function and left the programming to others. Still can't quite tear my eyes away from a beautiful circuit diagram." She glances back at Lucien and allows her expression to sober a little, giving his questions serious thought. Her right thumb lightly traces the ridge of her upper lip, her gaze unfocused in thought. "Off the top of my head, I can't think of anyone who is both mutant friendly and experienced enough to be noticed as a rival. It could definitely be someone new to the business, taking the opportunity to learn as they go and take away nothing but experience -- but that comes with the double edged blade of inexperience to start." She falls silent for a moment, pressing the thought to Lucien's mind before daring to voice it. << I could mentor your sister in the business if you weren't against putting her at risk by allowing her to attend. >> "I think Desi and Daiki would do an admirable job, if they had a bit of coaching through it," Lucien agrees mildly. "With what you've just said you were working on, Sebastian, I would be fool to assume they'd be lax or incompetent simply because of youth. Everyone was inexperienced, once." There's a very faint tightening of Lucien's jaw, but his answer rises to the surface of his calm mind with every bit as calm a /tone/: << My sister is old enough to make these decisions herself. I think she would leap at the opportunity. From both a business and an ethical point of view. The clinic needs allies. >> "Oh come /on/," Shane tips a questioning gaze up to Emma, gesturing between himself and his brother. "You look like you have excellent taste, /tell/ me honestly who's the pretty one here." Sebastian smoothes at his skirt, standing /just/ a little bit taller, though he still hasn't managed to look /up/. "I think that's obvious." "B does /make/ things that are pretty," Shane allows. "/Sleek/ robots. Form and function." He pictures in his mind a dragonfly, slim and metal, hovering overhead. "So you're -- not mutant friendly?" Sebastian ventures, a little timidly. Shrinking back behind his brother again. "Maybe she's just not suicidal," Shane says with a snort. "Not everyone who's on our side has guts enough to admit it." In his mind there's disdain for this viewpoint. In Sebastian's there's only practicality: "People on our side still need to pay their rent." "The issue, primarily, in this situation is - as Lucien has already noted - the charity's limited funds and I am a single venue event coordinator. They could not afford my venue on whole, and I have not been in my position long enough to get away with freelancing - which is why he only asked for a recommendation rather than my services directly." Emma explains the situation compassionately, eyes shifting between Shane and Sebastian, perhaps resting on Sebastian a while longer, dwelling on Shane's image of the dragonfly robot. "And I refuse to pick. You two are lovely and I am not interested in choosing one of you over the other after our first meeting." << Yes, but you are important to me and I do not wish to hamper our relationship with an offer to your sibling, who I know very little about. But - as you do not wish to bar her the opportunity... >> "I have an idea," Emma chirps as she turns back to Lucien. "How about this Daiki and Desi work with me. I could mentor them. I have the experience necessary to pull off the entire show, but not the time or freedom - something they may have in spades." She studies Lucien's expression for a hint of a reaction before turning to the twins once more to gauge theirs. "I think they would be delighted at that. They both have skills that incline them towards such work -- it would be a great boost to either. I will make sure to get the three of you in touch with each other -- whenever your schedule permits, Emma; I am sure they can make space outside of school hours to suit you." Lucien's smile curls wider, quick and amused, "And I am hardly above a touch of nepotism to further their goals." His bright green eyes hold amusement in them, as he looks back towards the twins. "Emma does have excellent taste," he agrees, "but I am going to have to choose and say that Sebastian is certainly the prettier." There's only a beat of pause here before he continues, "-- But Shane is far more handsome." The twins both smile -- Shane /bright/ and very sharply toothy, Sebastian small and shy and closed-lipped, but the delighted amusement in both of them at Emma's answer is matched in their minds. It blossoms further at Lucien's, and Shane slings his arm around his twin's shoulder with a light jostle. "I can see why you two get along," he tells Lucien and Emma. "Daiki has a job," Sebastian adds, "only but he does a lot of it remotely so he can usually schedule things -- as he needs to. I think this sounds," << scary >> << dangerous >> "Pretty great." "They'll be thrilled. And probably the clinic'll be thrilled," Shane adds cheerfully, "cuz hey cheap child labour." Which is mostly just a joking comment, he's largely thinking of how much work the two of them will be juggling and how much they'll both /enjoy/ it. Because they're crazy. But it's a fond sort of because-they're-crazy. "I wouldn't get too excited, you two. The number one thing I've discovered about cheap, child 'volunteering' is that they always find ways to get their friends to pitch in long hours." Emma raises an eyebrow at the twins and smirks. "All I am offering is information on the planning end. They are still going to need to staff their event and labor hard to make it happen." She turns the sweeps a few loose curls behind her right ear, "Very diplomatic of you. Don't depend on my schedule yet. Send me a frame work of what their schedules are like and we will work from there." "Daiki is rather adept at getting people to help out," Lucien agrees, softly amused. "Good, then. I will check in with the children and get back to you shortly. In the meantime, you should probably speak with an associate here as to your tablet." His eyes skip across the room towards his sister. "Make your decisions," he adds to the twins, "we have more to do before returning you to your caretakers." "It's okay, Bastian loves ridiculous hours of annoying work," Shane volunteers cheerfully. "And I'm /excellent/ at pestering him through this." Bastian ducks his head at this, his smile curling a little bit wider as he bops his forehead lightly against Shane's shoulder. "I don't think I'm going to get it," he answers Lucien. "We can go. It was nice to meet you, miss." His voice is quiet, shy, but the warmth there is genuine. "Yeahsure. Was swell." Shane even holds out a FIST. For a fistbump, clearly. "See you, maybe." "Thank you, dearest." Emma replies to Lucien, the reminder drawing her back to business focus. There should be no surprise from Lucien at the speed in which Emma is helped, or why her quiet requests garner no attempts to up sell her at all - probably because she states she called ahead. She turns and eyes Shane's fist for all of one breath before returning the gesture. "It was a pleasure." Lucien's lips twitch upwards, at the fistbump. Just a brief flicker of amusement in his eyes. He leans in to touch a light kiss to Emma's cheek, and then gestures to his sister, calling her near so that he can shepherd the children off to the rest of their day.