2013.04.30 - Ship Shape

Spring day! Sun is shining, and the temperatures are rising in the city. The water of the harbor is smooth; wind off the ocean is at a low. The boats that are in the water bob gently, and those on the water are finishing up cleaning up from winter. The season is beginning, and the harbor will be busy soon enough.

Kurt's asked. He's a firm believer in the simple request, Come with me? to Domino, his glowing yellow eyes looking.. almost playful. Upbeat. He's going on a new adventure, as it were, and he wants someone at his side to share it. A special someone.

Now, Kurt walks the wharfside, dressed in a short sleeved shirt, jeans, and a light jacket as proof against whatever wind might be there. His hands are tucked in his pockets, his tail is free, and swaying gently as he goes. He's looking at the boats now, and with each step, he's getting more and more excited about his being there..

It's a sudden request but there's time to squeeze in yet one more thing before Domino throws herself back into the maelstrom that is Madripoor. Besides that, Kurt wouldn't be here looking for a boat if it hadn't been for her. If this is what it takes to turn his attitude around towards the half million dollars she passed his way for the bounty (it's not blood money, darnit! No one died for it,) then she's willing to go the extra mile.

The only thing that's different in her presentation are the deep purple hued sunglasses nesting around her eyes. It isn't said, but she never liked the warmer weather. Not only does she run the risk of sunburning at the speed of light (there's a pun,) but she really needs some manner of overlayer in her wardrobe to hide the tools of her trade. Then there's the armor, which while lightweight still adds a full layer of heat-absorbing black to her person. Short of running around in a heavy downpour, she just can't win against the sun's heat.

At least in Madripoor she can ditch the trench. -Everyone- shows off their iron around there. Anarchistic countries do have some things going for them.

"Anything catching your eye or do you want to buy the entire harbor?" she teases.

Kurt is virtually dancing in that blue, fuzzy skin of his as he looks. Pulling a piece of paper from his pocket, he looks at the numbers that he's scrawled. Dock and slip number. He's reveling in the warmth that is the sunny day, allowing his dark inky hair to soak up the heat, the blue fuzz warming. "I have considerations that must be met," he quips back, his yellow eyes flickering back to his companion by his side.

"The mast has to be strong enough to hold me.." Should that go without saying? "Und.. the bow, leibling.." That should go without saying, however.. Kurt looks at the boats in the slips, and points, "No.. no.. too small.. I want something that may find its way safely out of the harbour, too. A sloop, I think.."

"Ja.. but I won't drape canvas across you before I climb on top.." Kurt begins, and anything beyond what is said is more.. murmured. In German. Quietly.

As the pair walk, Kurt's looking to the boats, but he does catch the distracted responses. Now.. there are some things that demons and cats share, and other than the desire to walk across paperwork, shed on clothing before one is ready to depart for an evening, that is.. curiosity. Looking beside him now, he's trying to catch what it is that she is so.. intently looking at as her own distraction is sidelined for the staring woman.

As if on cue, Kurt smiles widely if not quite impishly, making sure those canines are showing, and with a swish of his tail, he teleports from one side of the albino to the other.. and back again, as if to make his point.

And there.. just beyond, is the boat that Kurt is hoping to buy. She's.. large. 43' from stem to stern.. with a main mast, forespar and jib. She's large enough to have a small boat up on the stern.. and looks more than ocean-worthy. "There," and he points with his three-fingered hand before he reaches out to take her arm.. and they're on their way to her deck!


 * bamf*

Dom's grin only grows further at the German words which follow. It's followed with a playful shove to your nearest shoulder. "Benimm dich." Behave.

The screen isn't easily seen with the glare of the sun reflecting off of its surface, a problem which is plaguing the phone's owner almost as badly as her companion. With the back and forth bamf she finally hides the screen against her sternum, shooting you a completely not serious glare and a "Do you mind?"

Not usually, no.

The announcement does earn her attention, however. Her phone is ignored for the moment in favor of the sailboat, neatly colored for her in various shades of violet. Granted, a 'big' sailboat to her is the kind that has a below deck living area, complete with a bedroom, though for a one person show it strikes her as being plenty of boat to keep one's hands full with. "I--"


 * bamf*

"--think it's a great fit for ya, Fuzzy."

Kurt barks a laugh at the exhortation to behave, and he looks absolutely unrepentant. Completely.

As for privacy? What's that?!

It's when they arrive onto the deck, however, and Kurt lets her go, that he starts his manic *bamfing*, looking around in every little nook and cranny. "It has a kitchen!" comes from belowdecks. "Und a bed-- two bedrooms!"

In the next heartbeat, Kurt is back up, and off to the stern. "It could fit.. two easily. Three comfortably. Four.." and he smiles again, showing teeth, his tail swishing back and forth, "...would be swimming with the fishes.." comes in a distinct pirate-y drawl.

It's one more *bamf* that lands the blue elf onto the main-sail, balancing easily on the spar. "Yarr! I could sail the Seven seas on this! The Dread Captain Bluetail!"

Privacy is that thing which Domino effectively had no choice but to give up the moment that she allowed you into her life. She's still trying to come to terms with it. Being a very private person, one that doesn't have an interest in having that 'one special someone' in her life, she'll never be comfortable giving up her secrets.

Whatever's on the phone isn't all that important.

"It -does?-" she asks, surprised. The full size of the boat is taken into account again as she tries to draw a mental map of what the interior of it must look like. "Huh. Never woulda thought." She pokes her head in belowdeck for a quick look around, quietly thinking to herself "I could stash a good bit of gear in here..."

Back on deck the sudden reappearance of you doesn't disrupt her like it used to, that much she's gotten used to some time ago. "Four's a crowd, anyway. Three can be cozy." Then you're taking high ground, and calling out on top of it all. "Get down from there before you scare everyone, goofball."

Not that she really cares, it's all quite entertaining.

Kurt believes in.. sharing privacy. A little fact learned is a fact held in trust. He would go to his death before revealing even a quarter of what he now knows of the merc he calls friend.

"Ja.. it does!"

Bamfing back down from the mainsail, Kurt lands beside you again, and reaches out for that light touch before the two are off again, belowdecks.

"There are lockers," he begins again, and as he moves down the corridor, he opens the cabinets, revealing the room within. Looking back, those yellow eyes land directly upon you, and he smiles, "I am buying this not only for me.. but for us." Him. You. Amanda.. for the time being. "A place to go." And for no other reason but because he shares all he has with his friends.

Teleporting back to the main berth, he perches upon the bed in his usual gargoyle position. "Three is cozy.. ja."

Purchasing something with the intention of sharing it with others, right off the bat, seems almost foreign to Dom. Still, it's your money! If you suddenly asked to use one of her cars, she'd let you, wouldn't she?

''Well..probably. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, here.''

"The real trick will be finding the downtime to enjoy any of this," she mutters to herself once more while idly exploring the guts of the boat. "At least Warren won't be able to hold the keys over your head anymore." And to think, he's got his own mother to thank for all of this. In a roundabout sort of way. With some carefully adjusted odds in their favor.

Once at the bed she turns in place and -flops- backward onto the mattress, arms already folded up behind her head. Apparently she could care less if it reveals the guns tucked beneath her arms. "You're gonna do it, aren't you. Go on, no sense in stalling the inevitable. This is your moment, Blue."

Kurt would like to think that you would lend.. after all, you'd pretty much put your life on the line to help him. That, right there, says a lot to him.

"I come across downtime more often than you do, leibling," and he follows your progress through the boat, watching you as you check here and there. He grins as you flop on the bed beside him, and he looks under the bed, at the foot.. and jumps off his spot to land gracefully.

"Ja. It would be all mine. No holding anything-- I have always wanted something like this." Kurt looks back at you, over his shoulder, the excitement plain on his face. "So long in coming." He has so little that is 'his', truly his.. but this? And he won't blink an eye if, say, you wanted to store things here.

"Which would be better, do you think? Anchor her out und keep the dinghy und row out, or.. keep her berthed?"

"Ah hell, I'm not qualified to answer that sorta question," Dom counters. "Depends on how much privacy you want and how much you enjoy the waves, I suppose. Why not try both and see which one you prefer?

It's while saying this that she retrieves her phone and turns on the screen, sliding it across the bed cover toward you. Outside of the sunlight it's much easier to see what's on the tiny display. She left it focused on a matte black sport bike, listed as a YZF-R1, to the tune of over fourteen grand. Nothing compared to the pricetag on the boat, though also not exactly cheap.

"Lost my last bike some time ago. Just like you and boats, the bug never goes away. Nearly a thousand CC's of displacement at the fingers and less than five hundred pounds to haul, hard to go wrong with that."

There she goes, letting you in again. This time without having to prod. It's all about picking her battles.

Kurt jumps onto the bed, but it's so lightly that it doesn't seem that the bed actually shakes. He does flop rather ungracefully, however, onto his belly, tail out and to the side as he takes a look. He rests his weight on his elbows as he takes the phone to look at the pictures. "Privacy is out on the water." A smile creeps across his face, and he turns his head to look at you. "I could always anchor it out und teleport out." Ten miles out is international waters! How that would work, well.. probably not well. But he's thinking!

He looks back at the phone. "Did you dump it? Too much damage to fix?" Or.. better lost and not retrieved, which is always a possiblity with you! "It is.." and his smile grows, "I could easily see you on it, leibling. Und ja.. easy enough to haul. Und it would fit on storage here, if you wanted to sail it."

Handing the phone back, he rolls to his side, "When are we going to give it a test drive?" And by 'we', of course he means 'you'. "After I write out the cashier's cheque for this?"

"That it would be," Domino agrees with a thin smirk. "If you teleported you could easily strand a person out in the middle of nowhere, you know. Might be a fun prank. Just don't forget where you park."

The questions which follow are met with a dismissive sigh, hesitating for a moment before she cryptically replies "I ran out of bullets at the time." Nonchalance! "Hadn't thought about lugging it onboard, but if I did then we wouldn't be docking off shore for long. I can't just drop some skis onto it and hit the open waters."

Taking the phone back and tucking it away, she says "I didn't buy it yet. Been considering my options. The GSX-R 750 and 1000 are worth looking at as well, but..y'know. That ass," she kids. "Dual exhaust tucked under the seat, not as interesting from the side but since everyone's going to be staring at my taillight I may as well make it look sexy."

"Ja.. I would have to study the tides, und the drift.. und.. it does have vier.. four anchors, however.." It's a consideration! As far as pranks go, it'd be amusing. Mostly. But, he's going to be rather protective of the boat. It's.. a haven.

Kurt's brows rise as he lies on his side, and he laughs softly. "You used it as a ram, then." More a statement than a question. He can easily see that happening, even if it didn't. "You could put it on, we could sail to a destination, und you would be frei. You would have wheels, und not have to worry."

Kurt's smile turns to a grin, and he moves theatrically over as if to assess your.. taillight. "You have no worries, liebling.." He lies for a moment or two longer, quiet, before his tail moves to wrap about you lightly, though it moves like a little blue boa constrictor as it does. "When you come back, we will take a sail. If you wish, I will come with you to look at bikes- before or after your return."

A ram? "Yeah..something like," Domino replies with a faint but wicked grin. "Once you hit a ramp with one of those at speed..." More of a four hundred pound projectile than a ram.

"I'm always free, Blue. Vehicles are simple to acquire in a hurry. Not that I'm opposed to the idea of bringing it with. Fitting custom bike holsters can be a real pain."

With the appraisal that follows she scowls a little and reaches around to swat your shoulder, yet nothing is done about your tail. It's become a thing of comfort, almost like the symbiotic relationship of her having a weapon in her hands. There, unobtrusive, but always ready at a moment's notice. "It'll probably have to wait for my return," she says with a faint trace of regret in her voice. "If I did manage to get one before heading out it would end up sitting in a garage somewhere until I came back. It can wait. Then once I -do- get it we can see just what she'll top out at."

Teleporters are great for crash avoidance!

Kurt whistles softly, and laughs, "Boom." As if it's needed? His hands make that particular gesture, echoing his word. "Full tank of petrol?" If so? He can just imagine the firebomb. "You.." and he starts again, leaning over to kiss you on the nose. "I am glad you are so lucky. Whenever I begin to worry about you, I remember that things could always be worse without your brand of.. survival streak." He puts up a finger, "It doesn't mean I won't fuss if you are injured, though, leibling."

He grins at the swat, and there's that .. European shrug that gives one shoulder a bit of a rise. He enjoys teasing you, offering bits of compliments rolled into the obviousness of affection. His tail remains curled, a presence. "I will miss you, leibling. But I do not wish for you to do anything but what you need to. Und forgetting me while you are there is safest for you." Head in the game, he can understand. "When you return, then, we will go shopping for your bike, und.." A laugh comes, a sure sign that while he'll miss you, there is tacit understanding of the life led. ".. I may even put in with you just to see it crash. But," and his voice lowers, "In case you didn't know? Physics still works in my teleport. If you run in.. you run out. If we top out at speed, und I teleport us, we will land with your tires still turning." He'll just be sure he takes the two somewhere safe! "One day, I'll show you how it works in combat.. running, und spinning in a teleport, und landing on the other side still moving." A hint at Kurt's 'just keep moving' credo!

Welllll, maybe not -full,- but "Enough," Domino states with a bit of growth to that formerly insignificant smirk. "Hey. It keeps things moving forward for me." Maybe one of these days she'll tell you a little more about the secrets behind it. Maybe. Definitely not here. Not until this boat is paid for in full and well out in the middle of nowhere. Maybe then.

"I'll be back. Jubilee still needs to learn defensive driving. Bobby's not done hitting on me. Laura still needs another woman to connect with. Logan ..doesn't -need- another drinking partner, but I'll be damned if I don't test those waters at least once. And, someone needs to be around to tell Scott to go to hell to his face." It's finished with an amused look, it's anyone's guess as to how much of that is a joke and how much of it is real.

"I know the physics behind your bamf, got to experience that whole 'preservation of momentum' deal before. Now, what we -should- do sometime..." she trails off with a snap of her fingers, "Base-jumping. Put on some chutes, get a bike up to speed, jump off of a bridge, fall, teleport a few hundred feet straight up, then deploy. Hah, I know what -I'm- gonna be doing over Summer break."

Kurt's grin widens as your own does, and he looks so very interested in the story. One day, over drinks in the middle of the Atlantic.. "Ja.. a few gallons of petrol, warm pipes, und a good deal of momentum.." He can just imagine it.. and the Amazing Domino rolling away, singed but (mostly) unharmed. The stuff of great 'no shit, there I was' stories.

"Ja, und Amanda likes you. I'm certain you and she can think of things to get into as well." Oddly enough, Kurt LIKES the idea of the two of you to get together. In a way, perhaps it's a gentle nudge towards.. stability for you- knowing those who truly care are there and are happy to see your return. In Kurt's case, tail wagging! He barks a laugh about Scott and nods, "Ja.. though.. there are times when I worry about him. But.." There are times when the release of 'Go to hell!' just feels good.

Kurt begins to retract his tail, and makes to rise from the comfort of the bed.. soon to be his. His brows rise, and his expression turns thoughtful in the suggestion, and as he considers it, his smile grows wider and wider, showing those pearly whites. "That would be.." Awesome! ".. unglaublich.. I.. where could we go to do this? Over water? Over a cliff? Over.." Now, you've got his mind racing, and it's going to be fixated on the hows and whens of it.. for some time to come.

Holding his hand out to you, Kurt gives that smile of impish, playful glee. That'll be great! "Let's go pay for this, und stop for a drink on the way home to celebrate?"

Hah, now Dom's got your attention! There's an honest laugh in there at the sudden explosion of enthusiasm from your end, leaving her shaking her head. "I'll have to find somewhere. Something like that is going to end up costing me a lot in motorcycles. Maybe--"

Oh. Oh, that's a bad idea. But oh so awesome.

"Bullet train. Catch a ride on the roof, oughta build up more than enough speed off of that. We could keep hopping so long as we had forward momentum and you had bamfs left in ya. Now -that-..would be an excellent way to fly in under enemy radar. We've got some major field tests ahead of us. Hell, maybe Piotr wouldn't mind throwing us both off a cliff sometime."

Then the offer to get a drink comes up. Of -course- she's game for that. All she does is reach out and lay a hand upon your forearm. "And bottoms-up for the glasses, not the ship."


 * bamf*