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[ihavemyflaws]

Even though Kara's been sticking to water all day, chugging it throughout pyramid practice, she comes back inside and can't sit still long before she switches to alcohol. Leaning on the bar, she asks for booze and is presented with a tall tumbler of ambrosia, home in a glass. Picking it up, she wipes the sweat from her brow and glances around.

"Look," she says to the bar after a moment. "I hear that if I take along something from you I have a better chance of making it back here once I'm finally allowed to go home. A drink stirrer or a napkin or something." She hesitates. "Don't make it a frakking napkin. Give me a bottle cap."

That appears on the bar too: a thin black bottle cap with the word Milliways written in white cursive over a small star almost as vibrant a green as her ambrosia.

It'll do. When she makes it back to Galactica she'll punch a hole in it and wear it with her dog tags, but for now she slips it into her pocket.


(OOC: The linked pyramid practice is open to any interested team members, no time limits! This in-bar post is open to anyone!)

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[dis_armed]

A woman with pale hair and silver eyes is steadily watching this entire interaction. Apparently, she either doesn't know or doesn't care that staring is rude.

Behind her blank face, she is taking mental notes. It seems conversing with the wooden countertop provides one with requested items -- an odd system, but odder, to Ilena, is the conversational tone the woman takes.

(That's probably a human thing, not a Milliways thing.)

[ihavemyflaws]

She hasn't even started drinking yet, so the weight of someone's eyes on her catches her attention sooner rather than later. This isn't the first time someone's listened in to her conversation with the bar, but at least this time she wasn't threatening to burn the bar where it stood if she didn't get her way.

"Can I help you?"

And this woman isn't blue. But the eyes are weird and she's missing an arm and--

Well, honestly, it's not the strangest thing Kara's seen here. But it is worth a long look. She can't help it.

[dis_armed]

Ilena hesitates a moment, before answering, honestly, "You have already been helpful."

She didn't understand how to order things before. Now she does! That's certainly helpful.

(Someone else might say 'thank you.' Someone else has probably had more conversations than Ilena has had, in the past ten years.)

[ihavemyflaws]

That throws her off. Visibly.

Over her glass, a corner of her mouth hints at amusement. "Great."

And totally accidental, she's sure.

"What exactly did I do?"

[dis_armed]

Ilena's glance cuts towards the bar, and then she gives a very faint nod in the direction of Kara's pocket.

"You provided a demonstration."

Beat.

"It was useful."

Not that Ilena needs anything at present. But one never knows.

[ihavemyflaws]

She takes a drink of her ambrosia, eyes watchful until she feels the need to glance down and pat the bottle cap in her pocket.

"It'll be more useful when I can tell you this trick worked."

Sure, Dinah seems to think it works for her. And wasn't even the first to mention it. But she'll have to believe it when she sees it. Until then, it's just another way to pass all this free time she suddenly has.

[dis_armed]

"The goal is to be able to return by choice, rather than chance?"

That would be a handy trick; Ilena is not at all sure how she arrives here other than 'walking through the woods at random.' She doesn't like having that little control.

[ihavemyflaws]

"You've got it," she confirms with a nod. "I know a few people who seem to think it works this way."

Then there are people like Tommy, and she doesn't recall hearing him mention he has some kind of lucky bar token. When it comes to leaving the bar and coming back, he's just a lucky son of a bitch.

"I haven't been able to leave, though, so if you've got any bright ideas on how to do that, I'm all ears."

[dis_armed]

Ilena blinks.

Her gaze slides to the door.

Then back to Starbuck.

"There is a difficulty?"

Walking out the door would seem a start . . .?

[ihavemyflaws]

Great, so now she has to look crazy.

"Not for everyone." She can't tell whether this woman's new or just hasn't ever had the same problem, but she gulps down more of her ambrosia and raises one hand, finger pointed upward. "Hold on. I'll show you."

Nothing like a hands-on demonstration. Setting her glass down on the bar temporarily, she gets up and walks over to the door. It looks innocent enough, but she knows better.

Her hand meets the handle, and it occurs to her that this would be the time for it to open. When she's trying to make a point.

(But she'd take it.)

"Come on," she mutters like she's about to take on a Raider, and then she pulls.

And pulls. And then one more time for good measure, putting enough effort into it to make sure her audience knows she's not frakking around before she gives up.

"Don't worry: I don't think it's contagious."

[dis_armed]

Hmmm.

Ilena moves cautiously over towards the door, eyeing it with the same consideration she would give an opponent. (Well, more consideration than she would give a lot of opponents, to be honest.)

She is a half-yoma warrior. A locked door, in and of itself, should not be a challenge.

. . . but the door is not locked; when she reaches out her hand and pulls at the handle, it opens on the empty forest that she walked in from. She closes the door again and looks at Starbuck.

"If the location of the door depends on the person who is opening it," she says, "what happens when two hold the handle at once?"

[ihavemyflaws]

Her lips purse when the door opens, but she's curious enough to look out into the forest ahead of them until it closes again.

"Now that's an interesting question."

And she doesn't have a clue about the answer.

Raising her eyebrows, she reaches out for the door. "Let's find out."

[dis_armed]

Ilena watches Starbuck's hand moving towards the door, and judges the timing, carefully. A moment later, her fingertips reach the handle at exactly the same time as Starbuck's.

(She's not moving as fast as she can; she's still moving faster than a human should be able to.)

[cbucsrule]

"Just how I like my pyramid players. Hot, bothered, and flushing their systems with ambrosia. Great way to hydrate." He's just giving her shit, same as he would to Barolay or Ten-Point or Sue-Shaun or any of the rest of them, only it's more fun with Kara because she's more fun than all the rest of those frakkers combined.

He's completely unapologetic about the way he looks her up and down. He's also completely unapologetic about moving closer, pressing an impulsive kiss to the side of her face, and ordering his own glass of ambrosia. This isn't the first time he's thought she looks like a couple million cubits and it won't be the last.

[ihavemyflaws]

His kiss has her sliding her gaze in his direction, for a moment only looking at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"Yeah." She tips her head to one side, grinning against the rim of her glass. "And I bet you've been greeting all your teammates like that for years."

She smirks at him, but it's mostly out of approval when he orders his own ambrosia. "Good to see you're keeping hydrated, too."

[cbucsrule]

"Only the really cute ones."

That grin looks good on her. Really good. She knows all about his whole no-fraternizing rule. They've talked about it. What can he say: he's got priorities... until the day she becomes an official member of the C-Bucs, then all that shit goes right out the window. Right out. And right now his priorities include getting as up close and personal with her as he can, but he's pretty godsdamn sure that's obvious as hell.

He doesn't care. He does tip his glass to hers, and his eyes stay on her as he lifts the ambrosia to his mouth and takes a sip. Like there's no one else in the bar, no one else in the whole frakking universe.

[ihavemyflaws]

Grinning again, she drinks some of her ambrosia before she does anything else.

"So that's also going in the letter for my dossier, right?" Reaching out, she gives the side of his face a pat. "I know you like me, Sammy, but I'm starting to think you really like me."

Her blink would be innocent if she could pull it off.

"Maybe you'll tell me all your team's secrets."

[cbucsrule]

"Tell you all the C-Bucs' secrets." That's probably not the team she means, but no matter how much he really likes her, that's all he's willing to give. For his money he'd rather not bother with secrets -- they only get people into trouble -- but he's always been good at keeping them. Especially in game situations, but that doesn't apply any more where the Bucs are concerned.

His hand covers hers on his face. It's no secret to him that he's been craving her touch, and why not? It's simple opportunism on the one hand, but he... he does really like her, as much as he's tried to tell himself it's stupid and that nothing here can last so he'd better not take it too seriously. There are some things he just can't control even if he wants to.

"If that's what you want. But the C-Bucs stories..." He shakes his head a little, holds his hand out and wiggles it back and forth. "You've probably already heard all the best ones. Could be you've heard some even I don't know."

[ihavemyflaws]

He knows she meant his happy team of Milliways amateurs. She smiles pointedly. "I know a few things about the C-Bucs that aren't secret."

That they sucked last season? Couldn't shoot, couldn't pass? Weren't touching the Kobol Cup with a ten foot pole? He's heard it from her more than once.

She didn't intend to leave her hand there against his face, but until he lets it go she watches him like a hawk.

"Is it instinct to frak with me?" Her grin bares teeth. "Or are you going the extra mile to make me feel special?"

[cbucsrule]

"Yeah." Yeah to frakking with her being instinct, yeah to trying to make her feel special. Yeah to her knowing a few things about his team. His hand lowers, taking hers with it just because he can. He directs hers toward his mouth, presses a kiss to her knuckles before letting go.

Why the frak not.

"You know you're fun to frak. With. Frak with." He's never been shy and won't suddenly be getting cold feet any time soon. No, he's used to going for exactly what he wants. "How'd your practice go? Your poor knee bugging you yet?"

Yeah, he can't stop smiling around her any more than he can stop trash-talking her when it comes to pyramid. "That equipment holding up okay for you guys?"

[ihavemyflaws]

Rolling her eyes, she smirks again as she draws her hand back. Didn't he tell her that he'd sleep with her and she didn't have to get him drunk? Well, as far as she's concerned, she'll sleep with him and he doesn't have to kiss her hands and try to butter her up.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she tells him, matter-of-fact. "The equipment's fine. We haven't broken anything yet, but give us time."

[cbucsrule]

Give anyone time and the equipment will break down. It's not regulation strength, even if it's regulation size. He did the best he could with the materials at hand, and it's a lot better than nothing.

"You and I should try it out again sometime one-on-one. It's fun training rookies, but every now and then I want a game against someone who really knows what they're doing. Gotta stay sharp."

For all those really important C-Bucs versus... no one games back on Caprica. Still, when all else fails, do what you know, that's a rule he's always lived by.

"'Cause you know, our pyramid action's top-notch and the after-parties are one of a kind." It's all just talk, just flirtation. Just needless flirtation, but it's still fun. One of these days the door will open for her or for him and that'll be that, nothing left of this place and of the two of them together but fond memories. Well, he's got more than enough of those. Enough to last him a whole lot of lifetimes.

He prefers the real thing.

[ihavemyflaws]

His explanation makes her smile, eyebrows up, in a really, Sam? kind of way, but she means every syllable of it when she opens her mouth to answer. "Any time."

She's thrived on his competition from the beginning. As long as she's here, she's not likely to tell him to get lost when he wants to go out and play a game.

It's not the ambrosia she swallows that makes her so cocky, but she visibly enjoys it. "I'd take you on right now if you're that eager."

[cbucsrule]

"You would, huh?"

She's already practiced today. It might be taking advantage of the situation to take her on right now, but it was her suggestion. They oughtta have enough time before it gets dark out there. He moves just that much closer, looks her up and down with a whole lot of intention. No one's ever made any sort of secret about the fact that he's got an eye for beauty and he knows what he likes, and he likes what he sees. No excuses, no apologies.

"You're on." It's just that simple. They're close enough so the words hang tangibly in the tight space between them, like a bond. Like a promise.

"What are we playing for this time?" His lips brush hers so closely he tastes ambrosia, and he knows exactly what he wants.

[ihavemyflaws]

"And here I thought you were just after bragging rights."

She wasn't counting on the immediate close-up, but she's got it and she doesn't back down from it. She tongues the corner of her mouth, and her lips curve, self-satisfied.

"Somehow I don't think you'll fit in my bar-provided clothes, either."

Tipping her head, she looks toward the ceiling like she's running out of options.