[ He wanders into the Great Hall a little before midnight, still dressed in his Rhiannon uniform. He has an earbud plugged in, his Vice phone hooked into the streaming telecast following the audit on Taskforce Valkyrie.
He should be hungry, but the things he's been hearing all day -- the interviews, the polls conducted by the various networks -- have put him off food.
Growing up, he had heard his father comment once or twice on the decisions of government in his own quiet and critical way. Aaron Brennan was a man of principle and had brough up his kids as best as he could, telling them that America had been a dream of life and liberty, but that unfortunately, the only thing standing in the way of everyone getting a chance at all of that was that some people were always vocal about their own patch of freedom, but so damn exclusive about everybody else that wasn't them.
He grabs a cup of coffee and sits himself down at the table he's come to think of as theirs, clearly distracted as he's focused on an exchange between the anchors.
His nose wrinkles in disgust at a comment and he tugs his earbud off, leaning back into his seat and focusing on slowing his breathing. ]
[Interestingly enough, Josh isn't the only one following American current events. That Jessiah Vice is doing it too, though, shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.
He's currently the only one at the Malice Kings table, but definitely not the only person in the Great Hall (Falner Manor always has a lot of people in it, regardless of the hour). He's sitting back with a cup of coffee and a cigarette merrily burning away on the ashtray that sits within reach, gaze fixed on the screen of his laptop. When he spots someone familiar in the distance, though, he looks up --
-- and pauses mid-sniff.
Have a very audible snerk, Joshua LaRue, and one Jessiah Vice smirking at you from just over the rim of his coffee cup.]
[ You know that strange feeling of being watched? The one where the back of your neck just starts to warm because it's like your body just registers that you've got someone's attention?
Yeah, that.
Josh looks over his shoulder, double-takes, and ducks his head a little because oh, whoops
Have a hand lifted in awkward greeting, Mr. Vice. ] Evening, sir.
[ Huh, guess he's turning in for the night then. ]
Liking it a lot, actually.
[ He hadn't been sure he would -- he knew football and sports, not the boardroom and stock figures. But he's doing quite well and it helps that Gabriel is an excellent teacher. ] You heading off, sir?
[ He can hear the a memory of one of his boys going Athlete. What? Is it mutually exclusive? Good in sports and dumb in everything else? ] Not as booksmart as my sister, sir, but I can hold my own.
There's a lot of thinking required when you're strategizing how best to maneuver that many people.
Page 1 of 4