The blonde woman starts slightly, seemingly surprised at being spoken to or perhaps forgetting that there were people around her at all. She looks uncomfortable and stares at the hand in her lap. Her left hand, the one wearing a wedding ring.

"I...I don't do anything right now. I was in school but not...not right now." She replies, voice just loud enough to be heard.

In reply to Serena Wyndham (msg # 119):

"Mittens is impressed with Serena's chugging prowess and subconsciously feels challenged to attempt to one-up her.  (A feat she likely can only accomplish by cheating through the use of portals.)

"But the soft-spoken brunette's complimenting the fake fire-breathing tempers the eccentric cat's natural proclivity for one-upmanship, so she instead turns her attention Sir John - the dude who she's liking more and more every time he speaks.

"Me to!  I've aspired to becoming a hero since I was little!  What sort of hero were you aiming at?  There's so many possibilities!"

Serena looks like she wants to talk but isn't sure how to start a conversation. She's obviously had something very traumatic happen to her and anyone sitting next to her can smell alcohol metabolising.

"What about you? What do you do?" She finally blurts out in a rush.

Antoinette says softly, "I work at my parents' farm. And I work for The Think Tank. I like to help people."

With a small smile, Antoinette looks to Mittens and says softly, "If you want to challenge someone and win, challenge me." it is hard to tell if her matter-of-fact way of speaking makes it look like she was serious about that.

She looks back at Serena. "Why aren't you in school?"

Serena looks down at her hands which begin to tremble slightly. "I...lost my husband so I left school. I left everything."

Her voice cracks and she looks away, out the window into the parking lot.

In reply to Mittens (msg # 124):

"I plan on registering soon. It'll keep the government off my back at the very least".

One of the may advantages of alien tech is the ability to interface with terrestrial tech hands-free and voice command free.  So Mits secretly does two searches on her smartphone: One on an online obituary search engine for anyone in the area that recently died who is survived by a wife named Serena, and a second search for "How to comfort a perfect stranger."  While Mittens does have a heart, and it is breaking for Serena's loss, she doesn't have the first clue on how to help.  Maybe if Serena were 5 years old, a silly cat puppet might be of some comfort.

Meanwhile, figuring that the soft voice and non-muppet appearance of Antoinette to be far better for a hungover grieving widow, the puppet nods to John.  "Freelance, then? That's really interesting!  I've been taking a crash course in law at the local college in hopes of being accepted at the Interpol academy.  My parents insist that having a badge opens way more doors than my magical portals ever could.  What would be your specialty, then?  And please don't say, 'Rescuing cats out of trees.'"

Seemingly not worried about social rules concerning people one has just met, Antoinette gets up from her seat, takes a few steps over to Serena, and hugs her. She says nothing for the time being.

Serena freezes when Antoinette hugs her. She goes absolutely still for the length of a heartbeat and then her arms wrap around the young woman and Antoinette feels hot tears begin to soak her top.

Antoinette keeps an arm around Serena, slowly reaches up with her other hand and pets her. "Sorry for your loss..." she says softly, her eyes showing compassion and sorrow for Serena.

Serena holds onto Antoinette as if the young woman is the only thing keeping her anchored to the world around her. She cries great wrenching sobs so strong that no noise is heard from her, despite the grief wracking her body.

As the young woman holds her she feels something change inside her. The massive, gaping wound in her souls closes just a bit; healed by the compassion of strangers and she feels strength enter her that she has not felt in too long.

Her eyes are closed and turned towards the window but, were anyone to look in and see them they would note they were gold and flames licked up her forehead.

Antoinette knows that words are not enough and never will be. On that note, she sobs some herself, crying on behalf of this poor lady. She just continues to pet Serena. She does not seem to notice the flames. At least for now.

Serena cries a bit more before appearing to cry herself out. As her emotions release with the tears so too the fire fades from her eyes. She lifts her head up from the young girl and gives a weak smile, wiping her face with a napkin.

"I'm sorry. You don't know me at all and I just lost control. Thank you for the concern." She says, her Aussie accent thick as she wipes her eyes.

Antoinette's cheeks have obvious tears on them as Serena looks at her, a look of compassion still on the gal's face. "I do not know you. But I know you need love. I will be your friend." she says softly.

Serena makes a noise halfway between a sniff and a giggle. "Thank you but I'm afraid I'm not a very good friend. I've been a wreck since...since it happened. I only left the house today to get things from the store; otherwise I don't leave unless people drag me out. I don't make for good company."

A tear slides down her cheek again.

Antoinette says softly, "If doctors shied away from their patients because they were bad company, nobody would be healed. In that way, people must not shy away from those who need help just because they are bad company."

Her hand reaches to wipe the tear away.

Serena gave that little hiccup-giggle again as a few more tears slid down her cheeks.

"You're very kind, thank you. I'd...I'd like to have a friend."

Antoinette goes to sit back down, if now making sure to sit next to Serena. She offers Serena a card that has her address and phone number written on it. "May I have your address and phone number?"

Serena nods and rattles of her address and phone number as requested.

"It may take multiple attempts at ringing me before I answer and multiple knocks on the door. I tend to sleep. A lot. And...drink. A lot. Until I pass out."

Serena had no idea why she was telling Antoinette this but the woman had a presence about her that made Serena feel she could share this without condemnation.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:53, Mon 16 Oct 2017.

After interrupting Senator Derring's dinner with his family briefly, Dane went back to sit at his table just as his food arrived.

He thanked the wait staff who brought his food, and began to eat.

He ate slowly, taking small bites; he wanted to enjoy his food and not overeat. Maintaining his physical conditioning was of paramount importance.

Antoinette pauses for a bit and says softly, "OK."

She then asks Serena, "...do you have any pets?"

"Oh god no. I can't take care of myself so I certainly couldn't take care of a pet. Ian..." She turns away for a moment. "Ian and I had talked about getting a German Shepard. We were even thinking of going to the shelter to look for one the week..."

Her voice trails off.

In reply to Serena Wyndham (msg # 144):

Dane ate slowly and deliberately, yet kept a surreptitious eye on the emotionally-charged situation at the other table. Firefights in the desert did not bother him, but crying women? Not at gunpoint.

Antoinette softly asks, "Would you like a robot pet?"

"A...robot pet? What exactly is a a robot pet besides a robot that's a pet. Do they look and act like pets? Can they offer company when I feel lonely."

She asks, head facing down towards the table.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:00, Wed 18 Oct 2017.