Distractions

Kiara Woolfe
[Dexterity + Athletics: playing hoops! Can you play, Ms Woolfe?]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 10) ( success x 1 )

Kiara Woolfe
[That was terrible, let's try that again.]

Dice: 6 d10 TN7 (2, 3, 3, 4, 7, 9) ( success x 2 )

Grace
[Awareness!]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 3, 7, 7) ( success x 2 )

Kalen Holliday
[How awake are we?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN7 (1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 5, 7) ( success x 1 )

Ian
[Awareness]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) ( success x 2 )

Kalen Holliday
[And how distracted by Resonance are we?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (3, 3, 3, 4, 9, 9, 9) ( success x 3 )

Alexander
[Awareness too]

Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (2, 5, 7, 9) ( success x 2 )

Kiara Woolfe
Washington Park at dusk is captivating.

The days are growing a little colder in Denver, winter's claws are neatly beginning to sink in, inch by inch, into the air, into the earth. Hardening it, turning it into a slumbering beast awaiting the warming rays of the thaw to come. The female on the courts is alone, but not, in a broader sense. There's joggers doing the circuit of the park, stepping in unison.

There's a couple entwined on the grass some distance from her, a woman walking her dog, figures moving through the grand expanse on their travels elsewhere. Heading home, most likely. Most pay little attention to Kiara as she moves across the court, bouncing a ball and weaving it this way and that, stopping short of one hoop and neatly tossing it toward the net.

It sinks through, dropping and bouncing away to collide with the fence.

The Verbena walks over to it, rolls it back into her hands and begins anew, flicking the hair out of her eyes as it sticks to her brow. There's no judge, no jury and surely no need for finesse when you train alone. Only the surety of the rhythm of your heart, the air expanding your lungs and the sound of your breathing. She enjoys it, the push and strain of her muscles as she runs, twists, throws the ball.

Muscle memory expanding and encompassing until its forgotten -- where body begins and ends -- where the line is drawn. Until there is no line. She's been at it long enough to be breathing hard and fast, to have discarded her jacket, laying with a pile of belongings on top of a wooden bench beside the court. The sun is banking the horizon now, it'll be dark save for the lighting the park provides, but the brunette has little urgency to her steps as she repositions herself to try for another hoop.

Grace
Parks are cool. Especially parks in the city where one can still get a good wi-fi signal. Nature is fine, so long as you don't completely detach, right? Or at least, that's how Grace sees it.

She's walking along with Kalen in tow, wearing the coat he gave her (red, sharp, and a whole lot more fashionable than Grace would ever do to herself). The coat is covered with little additions -- doodads and plastic strips sewn into the fabric. What purpose they serve? Who knows. If one gets a very close look, one might see that they're all electronic.

She notices Kiara first, not the person, but that sense of her that's so reminiscent of... Ah, yes.

Don't ignore the signs of the snake which shall appear in your daily life, before the messenger appears, they said. There was the boy with the ouroboros tattoo. There were the Auryn keys, there is Kiara.

"Hey, come on. I think I see somebody," Grace says, and starts walking down toward the court.

Ian
It was evening in Washington Park, so of course Ian was running. His feet beat out a steady, rapid pace along the path, keeping time with the lush pulse of music coming from his earbuds. He'd been at it long enough to feel the low, steady burn in his lungs and the flush of heat on his skin. Exertion kept him warm, despite the season - though the temperature in Denver had not been nearly so chilly as it had in days past.

The park was busy tonight. There were other runners. Dog-walkers. Couples. Mostly, Ian ignored them. But as he approached the basketball court and felt a stirring of cyclic (rejuventating, devouring) energy, he slowed his pace to a loping jog and cut across the grass, finally coming to a halt beside the court. He pulled the earbuds out of his ears and draped them loosely over his neck. For a moment he grew still, catching his breath as he watched Kiara toss the ball through the net.

"Need an opponent?"

He had on black drawstring track pants, silver running shoes and a short-sleeved black athletic shirt. His cell phone was strapped around his left bicep.

Kiara Woolfe
[How are our Mage senses tonight?]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (3, 3, 3, 5, 9) ( success x 1 )

Alexander
The park is attracting Alexander a lot at the moment.  Part of that is the hope that The Message will make another appearance.  Part of that is simply because it’s a large open space in the city, a space with a whole load of potential for getting out and doing things.

And so the pleasant weather and the wide open space pulls Alexander out running.  His route so far has taken various turns from the Downtown area towards the park – still learning the lay of the land, the shortcuts and backstreets that can make the journey from Point A to Point B that much quicker.  Call it useful knowledge for his current career, or old habits from an old job.  Either way, it’s fun to explore the parts of the city that the tourist trails avoid.

So he’s pounding the path through the park when he feels the coming-together of their kind.  Kalen, Grace and Ian are close – to Alex and to each other – and their resonances begin to merge.  But there’s another, an unknown sensation in the air.  Not exactly unknown.  Certainly reminiscent of someone else not so long ago, that Devouring sensation.  He slows, breathing steadily, and slowly makes his way to where he can see what’s going on.  His red running tee is wet with sweat, even in the cool air, and black shorts and black-and-red running shoes clothe him for the moment.  A cable runs from his headphones and into his pocket, although the headphones are pulled away when he notices the feelings in the air.

Kiara Woolfe
She's got her stance down and shoots, but the ball rebounds off the back of the board and ricochets behind her, rolling gently in the direction of the man who's appeared, blackclad at the edge of the court. She feels the stirring at the edges of her awareness, that prickling over her skin that's more than just the fact she's suddenly stopped after long minutes of exercise.

He's in black, she's in gray and white the female, her track pants tied loosely around a narrow waist, shirt short sleeved, cut close to her shoulders and leaving a fair expanse of her arms bare. For once, Kiara's devoid of her jewellery and it's striking how notable that is. She's stripped back, casual and flushed from exertion.

"Hey," is the quick greeting he gets, though she couples it with a breathless smile and moves closer, one hand on her waist as she lets her breathing even out. "Sure, if you think you can keep up." There are others nearby, Grace and Kalen are approaching and another, one Kiara doesn't yet know is on his way, too. But her senses aren't that keen tonight, distracted by the game. Focused, for the moment, on reclaiming her ball and gently lobbing it at Ian.

Grace
Grace huffs a little laughing breath at Kiara's "if you think you can keep up." To Ian?

Ahh yes, they're playing sportsball. Grace plops herself down by the side of the court in the grass, waves at Ian and Kiara. But it doesn't look like she's going to be playing tonight.

Nope, her cell phone comes out.

Kalen Holliday
Kalen is dressed warmly and carrying a cup of coffee.  Like Grace, he is wearing a tailored coat.  His is also long, but gray and not covered with any extra bits.  Not that he has not implored Grace to male him a technocoat, he so has, he is just not wearing that tonight.

He trails behind Grace until he registers not only Kiara but Alexander.  He does not settle into the ground beside Grace, just glances quickly to where Ian is joining Kiara and then toward where he can sense Alexander.

"I'll be back, Kit," he says.  But her phone is already out.  Ian is right here.  He and Alexander will not be far away.  Grace is certainly not the inexperienced Orphan he met a bit more than a year before.

And so he doesn't even remind her to be careful before he starts toward Alexander.  Ian and Kiara, if they look toward him, get a wave.  But apparently Alexander gets his attention first tonight.

Ian
Kiara tossed the ball at his chest, and Ian caught it with a wry smirk. Did he think he could keep up? "Guess we'll have to see."

He tucked the ball under his arm and reached over to unstrap the arm-band from around his bicep, setting it and his earbuds down on a nearby bench. There was a brief glance tossed back at his things, then at the park at large, as he walked onto the court (as though he did not entirely trust that someone might not try to make off with his phone.) Grace walked up with Kalen and sat down in the grass, and Ian shot them a quick greeting.

"Hey." He nodded at Grace, but Kalen was already on his way to talk to Alexander, so Ian let his focus shift back to Kiara. He rolled the basketball out from under his arm and tossed it between his hands once, then gave an experimental shot over her head at the opposing hoop.

[Dex+Athletics, wee!]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 9, 10) ( success x 5 )

Alexander
That feeling in the air – the feeling of inescapable consumption – is similar, but still different, to that Ravenous hunger that had been plaguing the city.  He’d thought that it had ended, but...  Well, he’ll see.  That there are several familiar others gathering, and that there doesn’t seem to be any conflict – not yet, at least – is slightly reassuring.  As is the feeling of the approaching storm.

“Hey,” he greets Kalen with.  “Somebody new in town?”  Kalen gets a smile, but Alexander’s attention keeps getting drawn back to the basketball court.

Kiara Woolfe
[Dex + Athletics, he's totally showing you up, Kiara. At least get it in the hoop.]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (4, 5, 5, 6, 8, 9) ( success x 3 )

Kiara Woolfe
Kiara's presence does take getting used to. It's not overwhelming, not in the way some resonances are but it's distracting, at first. For some people, it might even be a little upsetting. Certainly the sensation of being devoured and then restored, brought abruptly back into the moment was unsettling in its own way. It was the beginning and end of a cycle. The woman it belonged to however, was not by any immediate impression, a creature to be feared.

Distrusted, perhaps. Wary of, certainly, any Awakened meeting another for the first time carried with them that inherent hesitation but Kiara Woolfe didn't strike you as the type to devour anyone beyond what her pattern's imprint conjured up. At the present moment that being said -- she was also feeling rather competitive. Ian gracefully lobs the ball over her head and it sails into the net with a degree of precision befitting someone with his natural athleticism.

Grace is acknowledged, as is Kalen as she turns on the spot to watch it arc through the air. She glances at him. "Show off." The jib isn't hostile, not with the way the corner of her mouth curls up. If anything it's playful. She jogs over to reclaim her ball, bounces it once and walks toward him, balancing it against her hip.

She nods at the net over his head and taking a moment to recalibrate her footing, aims for the hoop and lets the ball sail, watching it intently as it hits the board, teeters for a moment as if in deliberation about whether to score or not and eventually sinks through.

Grace
She nods to Kalen, and smiles at Ian. "Hey yourself."

Ian can be a bit distracting can't he? And so he distracts her away from her internet to watch him be all perfect.

"He is a show off. Oh very much so," she says with a roll of the eyes. As if she herself didn't show off with regularity. Is it a Mage personality quirk perhaps?

Kalen Holliday
Alexander's attention is drawn toward the court.  And, in all honesty, so is Kalen's, but not for Kiara.  Ian is something to watch, when he's moving.  Kalen's attention returns to Alexander rather quickly, but then, this is hardly a show to Kalen.

"Yeah," he says to Alexander.  "I haven't spent much time with her, but she is very willing to do tequila shots and seems very friendly.  I find her lack of suspicion suspicious, but then...I'm kind of terrible like that, huh?"  He leans into Alexander for a second, casual and not really cuddly, as if Alexander is a nice convenient column.  Yeah...he definitely doesn't need more sleep.

"Come meet her?"  And there is, in that tone, an invitation.  One that if Alexander turns down will likely be followed up with invitations to donuts.  Or Thai.  Or whatever thing Kalen thinks of that sounds interesting for the moment.

Ian
It was a perfect shot through the net. Better than he'd expected, if we're being honest. But Kiara and Grace didn't need to know that. From the outside, all they saw was how absolutely effortless he made it look.

Show off.

Ian grinned. Kiara grabbed the ball and tossed it into the other net, and maybe it wasn't a perfect shot, but it was still pretty good. She wasn't exactly out of her element.

"I can stop if you want." He shot another look over at Grace and raised an eyebrow teasingly. When Kiara's ball dropped to the ground, he jogged over to grab it.

"Feel like playing for stakes?"

Kiara was feeling competitive. Evidently, so was Ian. The look he shot her was confident and flirtatious. Like a dare. He spun the ball in his hand and bounced it on the pavement as he walked back to the center of the court, turning around to shoot her another look over his shoulder. This one felt more like a temptation. (Like thinly veiled secrets.)

Alexander
“Well, everybody’s up to something.  Maybe she just doesn’t care.  But sure, I’ll come and say hello.”   Alexander fishes around in his pocket for his phone, turning off the music.  He knocks into Kalen, nudging him with his elbow, as he starts the walk over to the basketball court.  He wraps his headphones around a hand before tucking them back into the same pocket as the phone.

He settles at the side of the court, near Grace.  “Hey, Grace.  How’re things?”  She gets a smile, although maybe not as open and warm as it would have been a few weeks ago.  Not for anything she’s done.  More for other things.

And speaking of other things, how does he greet Ian?  Ian will get a wave if he looks towards Alexander, but he doesn’t call out to him.  Mainly because he doesn’t know what to say.  And so he stays quiet.

Kiara will get a hand raised in greeting if she happens to look over.  Her resonance isn’t the easiest to get used to, and between that and the awkwardness of not quite knowing how to interact with Ian?  He’s not looking all that comfortable, and it’s nothing to do with the surface that he’s sitting on.

Kiara Woolfe
Kiara shoots Grace a smile that is accompanied with a dramatic roll of her eyes heavenward when Ian decrees he can stop. She's flushed, but the exertion suits her, somehow. It makes her more focused, for one thing. Her smiles come freer, there's less calculation to the manner she approaches the world when she's like this. Surrounded by nature. Grounded by it, thrilling in the physicality of the moment.

"Ante up, buddy," she calls as she approaches, there's amusement in her voice; a gleam in her dark eyes that matches Ian's. The flirtatious banter comes easily, apparently. So does getting in his space as soon as she's near, crowding up close and trying to steal the ball out of his hands in a dirty maneuver.

As she does, two new figures appear on the sidelines, Kalen she recognizes and he gets an acknowledgement of sorts and Alexander -- a curious look, a brief incline of her head toward him in unspoken hello before she returns her attention to the stakes at hand.

She wants her ball back. Nobody would ever say Kiara Woolfe was above trickery in sports.



Grace
Grace's eyes flit up from her phone to Alex. "Things are ridiculous. We've got White Knight problems again," she says, keeping her voice low. "He, she, it, whatever seems to like contacting apprentices and telling them all about the wonderful fuzzy goodness of the Techs, and how they just want to help. Which, yeah. No."

She bites her lower lip, looking at the court, but not really watching the players. "Something's going to go boom again soon, I can feel it."

Ian
[Dex+Ath keep the ball!]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 10) ( success x 3 )

Kalen Holliday
Kalen settles next to Alexander, opposite Grace.  He looks over at Grace, and his eyes are serious.  But he doesn't really address the question about their (self-proclaimed) White Knight.  He has a different read on that situation, but he does think it's dangerous.  Still, for someone who can laser focus on the thought that they are besieged by monsters and evil, he seems oddly willing to let it go.  Technocrats and vampires and things that are not the five of them in this park.

All he says, without any real sense of urgency, is, "That's always how this place is.  But, at least I hope, not tonight.  Let's get to know our new friend shall we?  It would be a shame if we lost sight of doing that just because the world threatens to end once or twice a season."

Ian
Back on the sidelines, Grace started talking about technocrats, and Ian... chose not to let it distract him. Not because it wasn't a valid concern (of course it was - there was always some kind of potential threat looming) but because it wasn't a matter that immediately involved him, and sometimes one just needed to play a fucking round of basketball without worrying about the world ending.

Kiara tried to steal the ball, but Ian held it close and rolled it around his torso, keeping it teasingly out of reach. She answered his challenge with one of her own, and he grinned broadly enough to show a flash of teeth. Then he leaned in and whispered something in her ear.

And there was Kalen suggesting that they all get to know each other. Whatever Ian was up to, it probably wasn't appropriate for a larger game. But of course, they didn't need to know that.

"First to five wins?"

Kiara Woolfe
Say what you would about Kiara, the girl certainly knew how to throw herself into the thick of things. Drinking tequila into the early hours one night, keeping pace on the basketball court the next. That sort of general exuberance for life was almost exhausting to watch, but, looking at her now, half arguing, half smiling at Ian as they fought over possession of the ball -- it seemed fitting, somehow, for who she was.

Or at least, the impression she offered (rejuvenation).

"That's my ball you're getting handsy with, Sir." She calls loudly, her voice carrying across the court as she quests relentlessly for it, twisting around Ian, one hand still half tangled around his torso when he leans in and whispers something in her ear. It's hard to imagine (or maybe not at all considering) what it is he says from her expression. It's still taunting, still bright and set with determination but she does lift her chin a little.

Says something in return that doesn't carry and then, lifting her eyebrows, makes another play for the ball.

"Deal."

[Dex + Subterfuge, only diff 7 cuz Kiara can't be stealthy at all.]

Dice: 3 d10 TN7 (3, 5, 7) ( success x 1 )

Alexander
Truth be told, Alex hasn’t been on Ginger for a couple of weeks.  Not since those last updates before they went to confront Victoria.  So he’s a little out of touch when it comes to people being contacted by the Technocracy.  He knew that was why Elijah had moved into the warehouse, but developments after that are still to be discovered.

There isn’t even a sigh when he pushes himself back up from the ground, although it’s not to follow Kalen over to the basketball match.  He sounds tired when he tells Grace, “there’s always a boom tomorrow.  Law of the universe.  But I should really be getting back before it gets too late.  Grace.  Kalen.”

With a look back and a wordless wave to Ian, Alexander heads back towards the exit to the court and pulls his headphones back out.  If he’d been in a better mood, if Kiara wasn’t so reminiscent of that hunger, if he was more sure of how to be around Ian... It’s just better that he be somewhere else right now.

Grace
"Mmm. Okay, I'll see you later, Alex," Grace says, warmth in her smile (yes, even toward the cop). He's had his troubles lately.

"Also, yeah, I know. We can't stop living just because the world wants us to so very much," she says to Kalen, gives a little sigh. "Look, who do you think's going to win? I'm thinking Ian. Because that guy can jump."

See? Grace can lay down her troubles too. Sometimes.

Kalen Holliday
Kalen tilts his head back to look up at Alexander.  "Hey," he says quietly.  "Call if you need me.  Have whiskey.  Will travel."

And then he turns his attention back to Grace.  "Mmmmmmm...I don't really even know much about basketball.  Or...you know...sports.  Soccer was kind of neat.  But I think my sport is laser tag."  He takes a sip of coffee and looks to where Kiara and Ian are playing.  "I may miss the end.  I have errands, yet."

Ian
Alexander didn't know how to talk to Ian. And Ian... wasn't terribly focused on Alexander at that moment. He was more aware of Kalen, who he'd yet to really acknowledge beyond that initial hey as Kalen walked over to see Alexander. But in either case, it was difficult to pay attention to both the basketball and the other conversation at once. He did notice when Alexander got up to leave, and there was a brief moment of distraction when Ian glanced over and returned the man's wave with a nod.

Only a moment, but it was enough to give Kiara a chance to steal the ball out of his hands as she leaned in to whisper something to him. And Ian? He just laughed. There was a strong implication in the fact that he didn't attempt to debate the matter with her.

But there wasn't time to dwell on these things. Kiara had the ball, and Ian darted in to try and steal it from her before she could shoot.

[Dex+Ath Can he steal the ball?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9) ( success x 5 )

Kiara Woolfe
[Gasp! Rudity. Keep the ball, Kiara.]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (3, 4, 7, 7, 8, 8) ( success x 4 )

Kiara Woolfe
Kiara does spare a moment to notice Alexander's departure. She doesn't know the guy, but it didn't take much to gauge some level of discomfort, however surface it was. She doesn't have time to consider it beyond a brief measure of curiosity about who he was however, because she finally finds her triumph in stealing the basketball out of Ian's hands.

She dances out of his reach, the ball above her head and jogs backward a few steps --

"Thank you very much."

-- before twisting around and jogging toward the opposing net. Of course, momentary distractions aside, she's still trying to keep pace with Ian. Who, in all fairness, could probably lap her a few times over. They dart around the court, though. Kiara's eyes on him, she feints one way and then another. Smiling over her shoulder as she denies a grab for the ball and twists, aiming to shoot -- when its snatched from her grasp and she breathes out what sounds decidedly like a curse.

Pushes the heavy fall of her hair from her face and gives chase.

"You play dirty," she calls, though it sounds less like a reprimand and more a compliment.

Grace
"I think mine is laser tag too," Grace says, appraising the stealing of balls and the general sportiness going on. Huzzah, Ian.

"Errands? Really? You going to pick up some cupcakes for Elijah or something? Just no red ones. You know. He's a lot like I was about this time last year, if you get my drift."

Elijah's been very vegetarian lately. He's staying away from anything that might remind him of flesh. Grace remembers a pancake breakfast wherein the bacon was avoided for similar reasons. She remembers how red sauces and fruit juices were abhored as well. It doesn't result from a desire to save the animals, exactly.

Kalen Holliday
Kalen nods.  "I probably should get cupcakes too, yes.  And groceries.  And cookbooks."  He laughs, tired but warm.  "Alexander and I are going to learn to make cookies."

There is a pause.  "Maybe also another fire extinguisher.  Or three."  He rises and looks over at Kiara and Ian again.  There is still something warm in his expression, though maybe, for a second, a bit wistful.  But then his smile widens a little and he waves to Ian again.

"Am I forgetting anything else," he asks Grace.

Ian
"Always."

Whether or not Kiara meant it as a compliment, Ian certainly seemed to take it as one. And it was an easy enough statement to believe, coming from someone whose very essence radiated cunning. They raced down the court, Kiara fighting to keep the ball while Ian tried to snag it from her grasp. They were both such agile creatures. Beautiful to watch in their own way, if one had an eye for athleticism. But ultimately Ian managed to wrest control of the ball back into his own hands. He dribbled it quickly as he turned back to run for the other goal. And as soon as he had a shot, he took it.

Maybe Kiara would catch him by then and try to block it. Either way, he caught the ball in his hand, leaned back and tossed it toward the net.

Kalen was leaving. Ian didn't spare him a glance until after he'd thrown the ball. He caught the smile Kalen offered him and returned it, though his expression seemed reserved.

"Later, Kalen."

Ian
[Dex+Ath - does he score?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (4, 5, 5, 8, 9, 10, 10) ( success x 4 )

Kiara Woolfe
Ian steals the ball, Kiara gives chase.

It's not a question of which of them is innately the better athlete. One has all the cunning and grace of a jungle cat and the other, well, she gives as good as she gets. Which is more than some might expect. Kiara's no athlete, not the way Ian Lai is but she is a runner. Keeps pace with him surprisingly well when he moves after the opposing net.

She's not necessarily as quick as he is, but she's opportunistic which can make up for many shortcomings, especially in competitive sport. Ian throws the ball, she attempts to block it and snag it back into her grasp, succeed or not she's panting lightly, bent forward a little with her hands on her thighs when Kalen gets up to leave. Night has well and truly fallen around them.

The park is inky black beyond where the dim illumination of the lamps cast light and for a moment, Kiara is distracted by it. She straightens and reaches to reclaim the ball. "Sure you don't want to join in, Grace?" She directs a challenging look Ian's way.

"We're playing dirty anyway."

[Block that shot, grab that ball.]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 3, 3, 4, 5, 7) ( success x 1 )

Grace
Grace laughs at the need for three fire extinguishers so that he can learn to make cookies. "Kalen, if you set fire to the kitchen while baking cookies, I will never let you live it down. But I am not against homemade cookies, oh no."

She seems to think for a bit. What do they need?

"Mirrors. For the laser tag."

She laughs at Kiara when she suggests Grace join in. "I'd get owned, no contest."

Kalen Holliday
Ian gets a little nod in return.  "Later."

"I think, Kit, that she is suggesting she needs you to level the playing field.  Or possibly that you should take this opportunity to demonstrate who you love most.

"Anyway, fuck if I know what mirrors we need.  Can you text me part numbers or something?"  But whatever her answer, he is already walking away.

Ian
Ian took the shot, standing up on his toes to avoid Kiara's attempt to block his path. And just like before, the ball sailed right through the net and bounced off the asphalt. Kiara caught it.

"I don't know..." Ian contemplated the possibility of a third player. "Two against one? You might get lucky." He winked at Grace and grinned as he jogged down the court, aiming to get in front of Kiara to block whatever throw she was about to make.

Kiara Woolfe
Kalen opines that Kiara wants to level the playing field. She grins, dimples surface in her cheeks that suggest all of their own that he's not so far from the truth of the matter. There's a shrug of slender shoulders and she bounces the ball once, for good measure.

"I'm just looking to maintain my reputation on the court." She cusps the ball under one arm as Kalen departs, waving after him before steadying it back between her hands. Ian jogs down to block her play and she narrows her eyes at him, body curling forward slightly. "Not this time, buddy." Her eyes glint under the lights of the court.

She darts around him, throwing the ball toward the net.

[Dex + Ath, shootin' for the net!]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7) ( success x 1 )

Ian
[block!]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (2, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 9) ( success x 4 )

Kiara Woolfe
[We're in a fight, dice roller.]

Grace
Grace rolls her eyes. "Fine, fine! I'll send you some mirror links, then."

Kalen walks away. He cannot pick his own mirrors. For laser tag. As if she needs to curate every single decision about anything slightly technical. Then again, left to his own devices, he might have gone out and bought mirrors framed in solid gold or some ridiculous thing.

At least she'll go with the wholesale type. Maybe she can find some first-surface ones...

Oh yeah, sportsball.

"I don't know if I'd be a benefit or a disadvantage, really. But whatever," she says, and ditches her phone in the laptop bag next to her seat so she can stand and join them. "It's official. I love Kiara more than you, Ian."

Ian
It really wasn't a fair fight, truth be told. Ian had a good five inches of height on Kiara, which... in basketball? Was definitely an advantage. Ian certainly seemed to enjoy the competition, but it wasn't only because he was winning. He watched the way Kiara moved with the ball, feeling her resonance brush against him as they dodged around each other. She took her shot, but...

Ian's arm shot out and slapped the ball back to the ground. He caught it on the way back up and immediately took off for the other end of the court.

"Ouch, I'm so wounded." Ian clutched his free hand over his heart in mock injury when Grace stepped in to join Kiara. But now that there were two people trying to wrest the ball from him, there wasn't much time to contemplate the change of odds. So Ian stopped running and took the shot.

[Score?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 4, 7, 7, 8, 9) ( success x 4 )

Kiara Woolfe
Grace loves her more. The smile flashed her way at that pronouncement is toothy. Wolfish and satisfied and she turns a very self assured glance down the court at their mutual enemy who, presently ... was about to attempt to score again. Kiara gestures for Grace to dash in and cover his other side as she attempts to block his access to the net.

There's a certain determination to the set of the brunette's jaw. Competitiveness, yes. Playfulness, absolutely. But also resolution. Tireless resistance to the idea that she can't find a way to beat Ian. There's a lot that says about who she is, when you strip it all away.

[C'mon dice roller! Block that shot, snag that ball.]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 10) ( success x 4 )

Grace
[Oh! Oh! Stop the Ian! Dex + Ath!]

Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (1, 4, 5, 10) ( success x 1 )

Grace
Grace harries Ian off to his side, trying to keep him from shooting anywhere other than where Kiara waits to grab the ball away. Amazingly, she does not trip all over herself in doing so, but it's a close one.

She doesn't have much of what you might call raw athleticism, or... well... grace. But she makes up for it with a certain agility.

"Haha! Go Kiara! Woo!"

Ian
Kiara put up a valiant fight, and inevitably her efforts paid off. Ian ought to have been disappointed, but he wasn't really. Well, maybe a little, in the way that Ian was always a bit annoyed with himself when he wasn't able to succeed at something he'd set out to do. But mostly? He was just quietly impressed. He started to take the shot, but Kiara leaped up and blocked him as Grace harried him from the side, and the ball fell into Kiara's hands.

"Oh fuck you," Ian laughed. There was warmth to his voice, despite his words, and as Kiara inevitably ran to make her next shot, he called after her, "Changed my mind. Whoever has the most points after this shot wins."

Which... either meant that they'd tie, or that Ian would win.

[Block Kiara's next shot?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 6, 9) ( success x 3 )

Kiara Woolfe
[Doo de doo. One last try!]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 3, 6, 6, 7) ( success x 3 )

Grace
[Manip + Performance = 2, spending WP -- Dazzling lights, Ian! What's that? Look over here!]

Dice: 2 d10 TN6 (2, 7) ( success x 2 ) [WP]

Ian
[I'm going to say that Grace's performance gives Ian a distraction penalty to his difficulty, and so, he actually only got 1 success. Kiara totally scores.]

Grace
[Woo!]

Kiara Woolfe
She does try for the last shot, of course, so does he. There's something invariably about knowing its the last attempt of a game, even one without any real pressure behind it that make you want to press harder, dig deeper, throw better. Feel the sweet burn in your muscles and the sting of sweat in your eyes.

It also helps a lot when you have someone there covering your back.

Kiara goes for the final hoop and Ian's right there in her space with her as he has been the entire game, dogging her footsteps when she isn't his. He can feel the sharp inhale as she throws the ball, the quiet catch of a laugh as it snags in her throat, breathless as she is from hard play. Grace does something which, in the moment, Kiara can't quite glimpse aiming as she is for the net.

Apparently, it's enough to sufficiently distract Ian, though. The ball sinks through. Kiara's breathing right into Ian's face. "Game, then." Her hair is wild, now. Dark waves loosened in a riot around her face as she smiles over his shoulder.

"Thanks for the distraction."

Grace
Grace has a trick up her sleeve. Literally. That coat of hers, the red thing with tiny metal and plastic things stitched upon it, is no ordinary coat.

It's a coat modified for laser-tag. It's got infrared sensors and strips of brilliant LEDs which suddenly burst into rainbow brilliance just to Ian's side. The lights scintillate. She waves her arms. She's showing off.

The ball finds its home, as Ian can't help but be a little off-kilter at the sight of something that unexpected.

Grace laughs, and gives Kiara a rainbow-hued thumbs up. "No problem."

Ian
Ian wasn't generally the type to be easily distracted, but a light-up coat wasn't something he'd been anticipating (who would?) There was an involuntary flick of his eyes away from Kiara at just the right moment, and then the ball sailed over his head, evening the score at one to one.

Ian shot grace a pointed look, then leaned towards her and said, "I'll get you back for that."

Precisely when, or how, he planned on doing that, would have to remain a mystery. But he followed up the threat with a broad grin, catching his breath, and in a moment he turned back to Kiara. "Good game."

His smile remained, but it shifted to something else. Something a little more genuine, a little less playful. And when it slid away, he wet his lips briefly with his tongue.

"I should get back to my run. I'll catch you later, Grace."

Ian jogged over to the bench where he'd left his phone and his earbuds. The latter he stuffed into his pocket while the former he strapped back onto his arm.

He did not say goodbye to Kiara. Instead he shot her a meaningful look as he turned around. Then he started to run, loping off down the path toward the parking lot.

Kiara Woolfe
She reclaims her ball, hugging it against her chest as Ian catches his breath. She's doing the same, breathing hard, red cheeked, smiling in a sort of exhausted elation as he turns back to her. His expression shifts, schools into something else and for a minute, she looks on the brink of saying something but he's heading back to his run and she drops her eyes to her ball, twisting it in her grasp and frowning.

It's momentary, though. The flicker-catch of something there and gone. A ghosting expression before her smile resurfaces and she's all curling smiles and careful, easy camaraderie. "Thanks for the game," she calls, holds the meaningful look he casts for a beat and then turns her attention on Grace, offering her the same.

"And that coat is -- wow, it's a thing. Is that available on order or ..." she engages, moving to collect her belongings from the bench where she's left them. Re-zipping her jacket. Shouldering a bag easily over one shoulder. A set of keys jangle in her pocket.

"I'll walk you back if you want." Dark eyes appraise her coat. The flashing lights. "I might need you to navigate my way."

Grace
"Oh, I made it," Grace says, and turns off the lights. It's probably not the best idea to walk around in the park at night looking like a mobile Christmas tree.

"Well, not the coat itself. But I sewed the special pieces on. It's for laser tag, which you can totally come play with us if you want," Grace says and goes to retrieve her things at the edge of the court.

"Kalen will likely insist upon buying you your own special coat, which I will fix up for the game. Kalen is like that. Thanks for walking with me. It can get a little weird at night, you know."

They walk together, these two with their somewhat uncomfortable resonances twining.