open; baby's first exploration

[requiresssacrifice]

Who: Rex Lewis & Open
What: Some exploring. Rex is looking around Brock Marsh for a job-- WHO WANTS A WEAPONS DEVELOPER AN ENGINEER-- and then afterwards has found this hip, cool "Vault" place people have told him about.
Where: Brock Marsh (particularly the uni) and Griss Twist (The Vault). You can also accost him in the street. He will love it.
When: Shortly after his arrival.
Notes: Feel free to tag into one of the threads below. The OP is just a little prelude. Multiple threads welcome!
Warnings: The Vault :C

His first night in Baedal, Rex stayed in Mog Hill, exploring the quaint, clean little neighborhood that was his temporary home. It wasn't anywhere he was interested in settling-- to be honest, this entire city wasn't anywhere he was interested in settling. What freedom it offered aside, he didn't want to be here without Ana, without Iago. If he was completely alone, that would be one thing. But the fact that there was a connection of some kind between Baedal and the Barge-- how else could Martha, Snape, Mozenrath, of all people, be here?-- made their absence all the more striking. He put on a brave face for the network, but the truth was: he was terrified and angry, still raw from the events that had come to pass before he was unexpectedly dropped into this world.

The brief exploration did little to calm his nerves. He tried to study his surroundings, pick up what details he could from the locals, but he couldn't stop dwelling on what-- and who-- he'd left behind. Ultimately, his walk around Mog Hill proved to be fruitless; he barely retained any details. It was just one big cobblestone-and-brick blur. Not an aesthetic he had any appreciation for. Give him steel and glass any day.

After a restless night marked by several failed attempts at devising a plan of action and/or escape, Rex finally fell asleep as the sun rose. Which, of course, meant that by the time he woke up, he had already missed a significant portion of the day. Fantastic. His job search was already off to a brilliant start. One quick shower later, and he was running out the door to follow up on some leads. The University would be a start.

Comments

[norea]

The first and primary stage, at least, is PG-13 in nature--but the rooms dotting the sides of the building are a bit more telling...and while PDA is not uncommon in nightclubs, it's particularly frequent and excessive here. Hasibe, for example, is in the process of disentangling herself from a man in his mid-forties; said man is wearing an extremely seventies brown corduroy suit and the slightly hazy look of someone beginning a descent into inebriation.

She cuts across the room neatly after making her exit from his lap, not particularly caring, at the moment, whether she's getting glitter on him or passersby. (Espionage, she has learned, is 25% interesting stuff, 75% getting through utter tediousness.)

As she recognizes Rex, vaguely, from the Network, he makes an excellent excuse for being busy with socialization...and she does actually want to check up on fellow members of her cohort. She flashes him a little smile, friendly without being overt about it. Her nonchalance is a touch striking, considering she is pretty much wearing an elaborately sparkly white bikini and gigantic heels, but she's used to and comfortable with the clothes.

"Hi, again." All roads, she is beginning to suspect, lead to this damn club. Which is good for business, at least. "You picked a good time to come in; the place won't get crazy for another couple of hours."

[requiresssacrifice]

It's odd how being surrounded by people in very little clothing (okay, not surrounded, exactly... but it certainly feels that way to somebody who's never so much set foot in a strip club before) makes Rex himself feel under dressed. No, that isn't right... Exposed, however preposterous that is, since he's currently fully dressed in a pair of dark trousers and a black dress shirt (wrinkled, now, since they are the clothes he arrived in). He desperately wants to project the image of a cool, confident man, totally at ease here, but despite his best efforts, he wound up shrinking into himself, pressed his back against the bar, doing his best to imitate a fly on the wall.

This is so stupid. He's supposed to be fearsome. He could build bombs to end civilizations. He could reprogram people to turn against their friends, their loved ones. But he can't handle this?

Beer. That'll help him relax. Clutching a bottle close, he looks around... coolly (right, coolly.), stopping when he sees Hasibe. His brow raises just a touch once he takes in her outfit, but he quickly brings his eyes up to her face and grins falteringly back. As she approaches, he gives her a little half-wave (could he be any more awkward?) before bringing his bottle to his lips and downing a good gulp of the beer.

"Hi." The nervousness is starting to subside, at least, as he focuses on putting on the same friendly face he wore over the Network.

And that lasts for about half a second before he blurts out: "Wait, this is what it's like when it's not crazy?"