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Post by armelle on Dec 11, 2011 14:22:58 GMT -5
Armelle was still not quite at ease in this city. It was vastly different from the place she had grown up: bigger, older, more hostile, more dangerous. There were no bums in Roche Harbor, while in Paris there was one on each corner and a few in between. Last night's drunks were still stumbling about, and every day she passed a crazy person or two. But Armelle was not worried. She had Lugh. She had all the confidence in the world that her giant Irish wolfhound would protect her if ever she needed protecting. She took him everywhere with her...the people on the metro sure hadn't liked that, but Armelle was willing to put up with glares from squished, intimidated people, as long as they remained intimidated. From experience she had learned that few people messed with a girl with a three-foot-tall dog bred to kill wolves.
Armelle had learned early that disobeying traffic signals rarely got you killed, but here cars had the right-of-way and drivers were less mindful of and concerned for pedestrians. After a close brush soon after arriving, she had been much more careful when walking anywhere. Now she arrived at a café she had never been to and sat down outside in the sun, unsure of whether she was allowed to seat herself. A waitress noticed her and smiled, so Armelle took that as a "you're good", lifted one leg of her chair and slipped the loop of Lugh's leash around it, and got settled. She kept her camera bag, containing various lenses, extra cards, her cash, and her phone, between her feet, but her camera she set on the table should she need it.
Armelle was not nervous about meeting this guy with whom she would probably end up living. She had talked to him over the phone and he'd seemed nice enough, and while the notion had crossed her mind that he might not turn out to be the person he had presented at first, it had not stayed there. The same was true of anyone. The human race was unstable and unpredictable; risks had to be taken each day. Armelle was indifferent to these risks. She was flexible. Adjustable. While she had grown up in a rather sheltered environment--pretty damn sheltered, actually--she was quickly getting used to Paris, where she felt like she was just another good person trying to live a life. In Washington she had felt like a big deal, because she kind of was. She had not yet decided which she liked better.
The waitress brought her a menu, which was very short with less than a dozen items on it. How disappointing. She glanced over it and put it down quickly, and soon the waitress returned. Armelle requested only a coffee, then brought out a worn copy of her favorite book, Watership Down. How adventurous those rabbits were. She wished she were one of them, running around the hills instead of in a grimy, gray city, far from home.
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words - 515
tags - keith
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Post by keith on Dec 20, 2011 23:55:26 GMT -5
 I 'V E. B E E N. C O L L E C T I N G. Y O U R. W O R D S.[/color][/font] L I K E. P R A Y E R S. I N. M Y. P O C K E T S.[/color][/font]
Keith wasn't really too keen on the idea of a roommate but at this point he needed one. Yes, he got by well enough with his job but just barely some months. Unlike his siblings he didn't have a posh career in entertainment. And he didn't really like relying on their parent's money to et by. Not like Keith really got along with them anymore. He had barely gotten through two years of college as he waan't keen on school. Even then he just took as many classes related to architecture and building without that major to get by. That worked out well for him as his metalworking skills had landed him this job in Paris. While his parent's and him had issues, Keith at least got along with his siblings in the way he could get along with them.
He wasn't a very chatty person but he still supported all of them. When they had events or performances he made sure to show up. But he never really sought out quality time to just chat. If they had something big happen, he was only a text away. That was the best way to get a hold of him as he hated actually talking on the phone. Because of his lack of communication people assumed he was unapproachable. That wasn't the truth at all; he simply had nothing to say that was worth saying. Keith woke up, went to work, came home and eventually ended up in his bed. Now, with winter upon Paris, a roommate was a good idea to acquire.
After posting an ad up at the local housing authority, he had gotten a couple calls. Some seemed sketchy after meeting but hopefully this one worked out better. She worked in photography or something and wasn't able to afford her own place. She had a dog-a rather large one after some research-but he could deal as long as it didn't go into his room. All Keith cared was they could pay their half, didn't party too hard and didn't being anything harder then weed in their place. And in this case, looked after their dog on their own. With hands tucked in his jacket pocket, Keith looked back at his locked truck. He never had much of a problem with sketchy people and his car because it was junk but he still valued it. He needed a truck for his job and couldn't afford a new one. Satisfied, he turned a couple corners before reaching the cafe.
It wasn't hard realizing who Armelle was because of the dog. It sat like a statue because of the sheer size. Part of him wondered how the dog would fit in their place but the building had a small yard out back and rooftop access. The dog would get their energy out in various ways. For a moment he studied her. She seemed to sit semi-properly and almost like there was a timid nature about her. Maybe she was a quiet girl because that would work out. With sex not really on his mind, her good looks passed over him for the most part for now. She was easy on the eyes but he wanted a roommate, maybe a friend, but no complications. Finally deciding he had been creepy long enough, Keith approached the table and waved at the girl to get her attention. "I'm Keith." Not being conversational he shifted in the spot before sitting down. "So....what brought you to Paris before finding a place to stay?" One flaw was he often jumped into subjects and other bits of a conversation a bit....awkwardly. Not being a shining sibling he preferred his silence and solitude to being around people. It's why metalworking was good for him; not much of human interaction while he worked.
[/center] tagged;; armelle
word count;; ?
outfit;; here
notes;; nada
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Post by armelle on Dec 27, 2011 3:26:41 GMT -5
It was around ten minutes before Keith Arlington arrived, ample time for Armelle to get caught up in Bigwig's infiltration of Efrafa. A brief lapse in her attention occurred with the advent of her coffee, into which she heaped sugar until the level of the liquid was almost to the brim. The she returned to the English down, her coffee untouched.
So enthralled was she, yet again, by the story that she didn't even notice Keith until he spoke; she started a bit, then did her best to recover, setting her book aside and giving him one of her more sociable smiles, which was kind enough, if still not outgoing. "Hi. Armelle." As he sat down across from her Lugh leaned forward to sniff the pants leg of the stranger. In his movement Armelle saw the personality she knew he possessed but few others recognized: Her dog was very calm, even stolid, but assured of himself, taking everything in stride. He had rarely barked since he was a puppy, and while he needed ample exercise he was aware that inside was not the place for it. He would be a wonderful apartment dog, just as he had been a wonderful outdoors dog back in Washington.
At the moment Lugh seemed at least indifferent to Keith, which was his reaction to most strangers, and he lay down sphinx-like partway below the table. Armelle kept a pleasant half-smile on her face to welcome conversation and tried to maintain adequate eye contact, which was not her strong suit. "Well, I came for the art school," she responded, remembering that she had mentioned her photography over the phone. She figured he would want to know what kind of job she had, to be sure she could pay her share. "I work at a...sort of a photo studio near la Place de la République. It's part studio and part darkroom. People develop and print their film there, and sometimes they'll donate copies and we display them. Of course, most people prefer digital now, but there are a few..." Feeling like she was talking too much, Armelle shrugged to a conclusion. "It pays well enough...plus, free use." She couldn't help but grin. It had been quite lucky that she had found such a place in Paris, and that it had had room to hire her. The transition of photography from film to digital was practically complete, and Armelle often felt guilty when she used her DSLR, but made sure to drop any change she happened to have in her pockets into the jar on the counter at the studio. It was important to her that such places remained at the heart of the artistic world; artists could not forget that doing something the quick, convenient way was not always the best.
Armelle reciprocated Keith's question, and while he talked she both listened and studied him. She liked to read body language. Some people were inherently terrible at it; some had a talent. Armelle fit into neither of these categories. She was good at reading movements but only because she had spent so much time around animals in addition to time spent around humans. Humans were animals too and used body language similar to that Armelle had observed in dogs, cats and even the whales that frequented the oceans around her hometown. Now the girl could see the aloofness in Keith's body, but not much else, for aloofness tended to mask other qualities. He was like Lugh in this sense, if Armelle really looked for it. She expected he would get on well with her dog.
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words - 602
other - are we assuming they're speaking English or French? |
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Post by keith on Jan 7, 2012 13:55:23 GMT -5
I 'V E. B E E N. C O L L E C T I N G. Y O U R. W O R D S. [/color][/font] L I K E. P R A Y E R S. I N. M Y. P O C K E T S.[/color][/font]
As Keith sat his hat in his lap, the dog sniffed at his pants. He had no problems with dogs just never saw the point in having one when he worked such weird hours. And before that not relaly having a steady place to live. But, as long as she could pay, he could learn to live with it. Just the apartment was so...small. How could a beast like this dog fit in there. Wrinkling his nose, Keith just ordered some water as he listened to Armelle talk. "My brother and sister go there. Doubt you three would run into one another.” Though there were some basic classes, there weren’t many. If she worked at a photo studio then it would seem she was a photographer or an artist of some other sorts. Shifting in his seat, Keith wasn’t used to long conversations. Even his siblings knew that and kept things rather short. Unless it had to do with their careers. Then he could be interested even if he didn’t show it in his face. He always had a look of disinterest in his face but that was something he was unable to control. It was a mask he had learned to keep all through high school as he put up with his perfect big brothers. Well, almost perfect.
"Sounds...interesting. I have to admit I don’t know too much about photography. What I do know is my brother who’s an actor and my sister who models.” He knew their pictures got taken and touch ups done but that was about all he knew. When his drink came, he took a sip before he scratched at his head. Keith wasn’t one for talking about himself. Mainly because no one had really asked. Even at family dinners when asked it always felt to him it was to be more polite then interested. That was the problem with Keith-he always saw the dark side of things and hardly the positive. "I’m a construction worked. Almost all my siblings went on to bigger careers so I came to be with them.” His shoulders shrugged because it’s not like it was a huge secret when it came to him. Keith was a follower of his family. Sure, his parents were back home in the states but there was a lot of drama concerning them and his siblings. He tried his best to play a neutral role but it didn’t always work. He disagreed with how their parent’s treated Sian but they were his parents. Plus, he wasn’t very close to any of his siblings so he didn’t want to stop talking to their parents. Everything about Keith Arlington’s life was just confusing.
Keith shifted in his seat again. "Um so I’m not so great with just ideal chit chat. Where have you been staying until this point?” Keith didn’t want any unnecessary drama to follow her back to his apartment. As cruel as it was, he’d probably just kick her right out if one ounce of it came around. All he wanted was a roommate, maybe a friend of some sorts, but nothing more. He didn’t see them being buddy buddy who shared everything but if they got along well enough that’s all that mattered.
[/center] tagged;; armelle
word count;; ?
outfit;; here[//URL]
notes;; ummm doesn't matter? Keith is still trying to learn French so it'd be broken if anything
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Post by armelle on Jan 14, 2012 13:08:32 GMT -5
Armelle was a bit put off by the air of...indifference that Keith had about him. She had always been taught to be polite. At least pretend to be interested in what the other person is talking about. But she had also been taught not to hold grudges, so she let it go and listened as he talked about his family. "That's nice of you," she replied. Armelle doubted that she would have made such a big change to her life to be with her family. They were great and all, but she wanted to live her own life. "Those lifestyles are a bit too glamorous for me," she smiled. Even being a photographer for such people didn't appeal to her. She didn't like to use models. Armelle preferred to capture nature and street life over posed Adonises.
After a moment of slightly-awkward silence, Keith revealed the reason he seemed so...incurious. Not a conversationalist. Armelle could relate: she was terrible at starting conversations and keeping them going, but she liked to listen to what other people had to say. She would make more of an effort now. "Well, I just got here actually, like a week ago. My parents have been paying for me to stay at a hotel until I find somewhere else to stay."
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other - I was just wondering. They're in France. It's reasonable to think that they might be speaking French. |
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