Glencoe Park
Glencoe Park isn't the largest in the area, but it's still fairly sizable. The grass is in a perpetually well-trimmed state, shining a healthy green year round. Near the southern entrance to the park is a playground cluster filled with swings, a merry-go-round, seesaws, huge forts, and a jungle-gym. Not too far from the playground are fields for both rugby and softball, enclosed by wire fences so that children don't run haphazardly onto the fields. Further into the park is a walking path through a small forested area.
It's late afternoon, here in the park. Early enough that there's still a fair amount of natural light, late enough that most of the children have already departed, headed towards home for supper and homework. Which is really just the ideal time to -be- in the park. At least for Mignonette and Kirill. The large white akita is currently napping, his leash tied around one of the legs of the swing set. But his new girl isn't far away. No, she's just a short distance away at the merry-go-round, looking both at home, as she's curled up in one of the open slots, hands on either of the bars to her left and right as the merry-go-round spins around, and completely out of place, as she's dressed in a pair of dress slacks, a crisp white business shirt and, well, no shoes, but you can't rightly spin on a merry-go-round in shoes. Her stilettos are off to the side of Kirill, who has enough manners not to have even thought about chewing on them. Prada is -not- what's for dinner.
—-
He's been trying to get his bearings on this place for the last few days, it doesn't help to get lost, while at the same time attempting to work on the paper. His wanderings have brought him through the park though his attention is diverted to the pad of paper folded up in his hands settled on a planner. His ipod is stuffed into his jeans pocket and he slightly nods his head in time with whatever is playing from the ear pieces. He's tapping a pencil against his lips as green eyes shift to eye the woman on the merry-go-round and then slip back to his paper. It only takes a few seconds but Brian glances back up again and his steps pause until he's stopped full. He can't help the amused grin that spreads onto his face as he watches her spin round and round. Who would have thought it; the business lady likes merry-go-rounds. He can't really hear it due to his music but he ends up chuckling just a little.
—-
The nice thing about the merry-go-round, is that it gives you a good 360 degree view of your surrounding. The downside, is that usually, when the merry-go-round is still going at top speed, or close to top speed, it's a bit hard to focus on the specifics of the things and people that are around you. And so, it takes one, two, three revolutions, before Mignonette is able to put enough of the brief flashes together to built a picture of the man standing a small distance away with pad in hand. For safety's sake, she doesn't let go of the bars, but her voice does break the distance between them, coming in and out as it would be want to do, as she's still spinning, "If you pull out a camera and start taking pictures, I'm going to be very upset."
—-
When she speaks B' cant help the laugh that escapes him. He holds up a hand defensively and grins crookedly, "No camera!" Though at this point he kinda wished he had one. He removes the ear pieces and folds his arms across his chest, "Ye didn't strike me as a merry-go-round lass.. I saw ye more as a swingset kinda woman." He calls to her as she continues to spin. He doesn't move closer, content to stand where he is for the moment. Eyes slide to the akita briefly and the man grins gently before letting his eyes slide back to the woman. "Just get off work eh?"
—-
"It's not as much fun to swing, when you don't have someone to push you, and Kirill only gets up on his hind legs for treats." When he gets up at all, the lazy wretch. Kirill, hearing his name and the word treat in the same sentence, perks up his head, looking towards the swirling blur that is his girl, and then, scenting someone new and unfamiliar, coming up onto his feet, looking towards the scotsman, "You a merry-go-round kind of guy?" The spinning is slowing down a bit, but it's still going quickly enough that a few rotations could be had before it would need to be wound up again, as it were.
—-
He nods his head to the dog, as if in greeting, before scratching his cheek gently and grinning, "I've been known to enjoy a few spins mahself." He wanders closer to where the woman is spinning, setting his pad and pencil down on a patch of grass and tucking his ear pieces into the pocket containing the ipod. "Personally I'm a sucker for tha jungle gyms," he muses and as the merry-go-round begins to slow he idly pushes it with a hand giving it a few more slower spins.
—-
Kirill gives the man a few more good sniffs, before he plops himself back down. Either deciding that he's too tired to rough him up, or that he has his permission to approach Mignonette. Mignonette, for her part, seeing that Brian's approaching, scoots back in her slot on the toy, so as not to hit or kick him inadvertently. Once he speeds up the 'round, she answers, "That's just aggravating the problem, get on before I get too dizzy from trying to look at you."
—-
Brian laughs, "Alright alright," before waiting a few moments. A few more spins and he hops onto the merry-go-round in a space beside her, kicking his feet as he does so to give it a few more good turns. He grips the bars to keep from sliding and laughs lightly, "Oy, I think this is goin' to be mah new past time…" It was a lot more entertaining then he thought it was going to be. "This better? Or still dizzy?" Grin.
—-
Mignonette turn, now holding on with both hands to the bar that separates her slot from yours, and you can physically see her trying to get her eyes to focus down on you, and it does take a few seconds, before she's mostly back to normal, "This is much better. Was getting hard to look at you like I was watching clips from a bad movie reel." At his comment to how much fun it is, she only laughs, "It's amazing how much fun it is and we never do it once we get to be a certain age." Now that she doesn't have to be afraid to kick him, or lose a limb herself, she turns back, straightening out, so she can stick her legs off the edge, kicking her perfectly manicured feet. "You doing a story around here?"
—-
Brian grins as he watches her before nodding, "We forget tha little things.." he closes his eyes for a few moments and breaths. Because of his blood he can smell the grass, the akita's specific scent, the faint odors of those who had been in the park and of her. Green eyes open and look back at her as she questions him about him working on a story, "Nah.. I was ah actually making a kind of map.." he chuckles, "I've been walking around all day, just been jotin notes down about the area, where people usually gather, different age groups in different areas at different times of the day…" he shrugs, that crooked grin unfolding upon his face.
—-
"That would be sort of creepy," Mignonette offers, as she continues to kick her feet and wiggle her toes, "If I didn't know you were doing it because you were trying to learn the city." She seems more than content to stay as she is, making no further attempt to speed up the 'round, "How are you finding it? being in Dallas, must be something of a change for you, from Scotland? I mean, I imagine it would be, I've never been. I've heard they have a lot of sheep there." Yes, that is a hint of teasing in her voice. She knows full well she's commenting on the stereotype of the small European country. "You been out on another date with Abbey since you took her out for pizza?"
—-
Brian can't help but laugh, "I would suppose so." He shrugs before grinning at her, "Oy.. we do have a lot o' sheep.. It really isn't tha bad. I haven't been home to scotland in… geez.. years. I do miss it, I'm hoping to go back and visit soon. It's a beautiful place." He leans back against the middle of the merry-go-round, green eyes watching the clouds spin around. The statement about his date with Abbey gets an arched brow, "Ah.. I didn't know it was a date.." he drawls rather slowly as if wandering if this was one of those 'female traps'.
—-
Mignonette looks back and over, at the scotsman now leaning back and looking at the sky, which is getting less and less swirly, "That's what she said too." No, it's not a female trap, she's just, as all woman are, curious, "Have you found that apartment you were looking for then? It's not near Lake Highlands, is it?" Mignonette looks down at herself, her voice rather matter-of-fact, "I don't think I'm going to be sick." One can never be sure when you've been spinning like a top.
—-
Brian chuckles at her, "Well if ye get sick, I promise I won't tell no one." He nods his head eventually, "Yeah I did find one, in the Villa Del Norte. I'm not sure if thas near the Lake Highlands or no.. I'd have to check my map," he laughs, "Why so?" He stretches his legs out in front of him, stretching a little, before leaning back again and glancing over at her.
—-
"I know where that is, it's just south of the Lake Highlands." Mignonette pulls her feet back in, finally, hands going over her eyes to block her vision, so that the last of the spinning she can only feel with her other senses. It's a strange and tummy-swirling sensation, "If I get sick, you're supposed to hold my hair away from my face," a sniff follows, "Have they never taught you proper etiquette?" Still teasing, but she finally answers the question posed to her, "I live there, in one of the new developments just south of White Rock Lake."
—-
Brian shrugs, "I used to always give my friends a bucket and let them have at it," he answers, sparing her a joking wink. "Aye I'll held yer hair back too if ye get sick." He shifts to turn around on the metal to face her, using the bars to pull himself around. He ohs softly, "Thas neat, 'm sure they're abit better then mah place," he chuckles before shrugging casually.
—-
"A house is a house," Mignonette offers, as the merry go round finally peters out to a standstill, and she scoots forward to place her bare feet on the ground, "As long as its yours and there's love in it, it's a beautiful place. Doesn't matter how much money's in it." Strange words, perhaps, coming from the mouth of a woman who's probably never lived in anything but the lap of luxury, but there's genuine honestly in her words, "I think I'm going to try to get up now."
—-
Brian nods his head, "Well I generally have no more then a hotel room so mah apartment seem like five star righ' about now." He watches her as she attempts to stand and gingerly gets to his own feet. He holds a hand out just in case she needs it before glancing around, "I should probably get going, It's about dinner time for me. Always hungry.." he chuckles as he puts a hand to his belly. Mans gotta eat! "Maybe I'll see ye later?" he questions casually, that crooked smile plastered on his face.
—-
Mignonette waits until Brian's standing first, and then takes his hand. She's more than a bit wobbly, when she finally gets to her feet. Oh, the woes of being both an adult, without the easy adaptability of a child and a human to boot. And so, she does grip his hand a bit tight, using him, rather unashamedly for support, until she evens out, and then her hand slips out of his easily enough, "Thank you." As he makes the comment on dinner, "Oh." A moment, to catch herself up to speed, "Sure. Of course, I'm not that hard to find." Even in a city as large as Dallas, "But you sure you don't want to give a girl a hand on the swings first? I'll make you dinner after?" Hey! When you have a chance to get some air on the swings, you don't just turn that down.
—-
Brian doesn't have a problem keeping her steady and releases her hand as soon as she seems to have her feet under her again. Green eyes shift to the swings and back to her before the grin broadens, "Deal," he answers her proposition. Hey, you can't beat a homemade meal! He wanders towards the swing set with her, waiting for her to pick a swing and get situated. B' rolls the sleeves of his buttondown shirt up so they don't get caught on the chains, checks to see if she settled in and slowly pulls the swing back to let it go and let her swing. When she comes back he gently pushes her with a little force to give her a tad more momentum. "So what's for dinner?" he questions, that crooked grin happily plastered on his face.
—-
Mignonette doesn't move to the swings right away. Instead, she bends down, taking the time to tuck her pants legs up around her knees, as if she were planning to walk at the edge of the lake, but likely more that she's just trying to avoid having the hems getting dirty if they should sweep against the ground. She picks the swing right in the middle of the empty set. That's always the best one for getting the best support and height. Once she settles in, fingers tightly wrapped around the chains and Brian pushes her off, she answers, "Depends on what you're in the mood for. I've got steak, shrimp, chicken, crawfish, crab, pretty much any sort of protein you might want. Could grill outside, it's a nice night. Or I could make you some of my down home staples. I leave it to you." As he starts to push, she does what any pushee does, interrupt the conversation with a, "Higher!"
—-
Brian beams a grin and does as he's told, pushing the woman higher. He still found it amusing the business lady liked the park swings and merry-go-round. He thinks about his choices and could almost picture himself in his other form and drooling. B' blinks, grins, and shrugs a shoulder as he pushes her once she swings back to him. "They all sound good. It doesn't take much to please mah belly," he chuckles. "Grilling out sounds nice, it'd be sad to waste the night inside," the scot muses. He watches her gain height as he pushes her, never being able to remove the grin from his face.
—-
"Well, then we'll have to do that. Alex made sure we had a nice setup for the grill, and I think," she pauses, as you push, and she swings back up, "I have some fresh veggies we can add too, I'm not much of a drinker, though, so if you want something, we'll need to pick it up on the way back." Mignonette, it seems, is a swinger from way back, and she knows all of the tricks, kicking just when she has to to use your push to best effect, though she can't quite get up to parallel with the top of the swing, "Higher!"
—-
Brian could probably push the woman right out of her swing and thus has been somewhat hesitant about using too much of his strength. Though her shout for 'Higher' makes him laugh and B' pushes her just a little harder so she can gain the height she wants. Brian chuckles, "Aye I drink, probably more then is necessary, but I can do without. There's no need to get something just for me," he chuckles. As the evening darkens his eyes scan the area curiously, probably out of habit and probably because it's not just him out here in the park.
—-
Mignonette finally makes it to parallel with the top of the swings, and starts to slow down a bit, no longer calling for more speed. She too seems to be watching the skies, and it shows in her voice, "We'd better get back, it's starting to get late, and I don't have my flashlight with me. It's in the car." Strange, for a woman of her age to need a pacifier, or something close, but, "I'd rather not be near the forest when it gets so dark." Finally, she almost slows completely, but being barefoot, she doesn't try to stop herself with her feet, "Help?" The pusher now needs to be the stopper, it seems.
—-
Brian watches her and nods his head in agreement as she speaks though he seems somewhat casual in the way he does, "I'll walk ye to yer car, I can see alright," he comments as he reaches his hands out to grab the swing and try to stop her gently. "I'll protect ye from the monsters," he chuckles finally steadying her swing so she can hop down. He glances around quickly, satisfied that everything really was ok, before moving to snag her shoes for her and hands them over. He gives the akita a casual pat before tucking his hands in his back pockets, waiting until she was ready.
—-
Mignonette manages to hop off of the swing far enough that she doesn't land in the dirt just under the swing. "Thank you," she offers, as you hand over her shoes, and after pulling down her pantlegs she slips them back on. Though, with her hair looking like she just went through a tornado, and her cheeks red from swinging, the business attire doesn't make her look any more put together. rather, she looks exactly like a woman that spent a few hours at the playground, "I'm sorry, it's silly, but…after the attack, I can't abide being close to trees like that. Especially when it's dark." She does move to retrieve Kirill from where he's been waiting, before she joins you, a hand slipping into the crook of your right elbow, "You want to follow me back? It's not far. I mean, you drove, right? If not, we can take mine."
—-
Brian frowns gently, "Oh I didn't know you were attacked…I'm sorry. I'm glad yer alright," he murmurs, brows knitting in disgust. "Yes I drove, I can follow you," he smiles. He grins as she tucks her hand into his arm and leads her back towards where the parking lot for the park was. "Well I've enjoyed this time at the park with ye Mignonette, I don't know if dinner can top tha," he chuckles jokingly. I mean what food can top merry-go-rounds and swingsets? C'mon. :D
—-
"It was a few weeks ago now, over by the lake north of my house. I was lucky to survive with the few injuries I had." But she doesn't say more than that. Rather, she keeps her hand at your elbow, so very southern lady, after all, until they get to the car, and she lets go, to unlock the car and let Kirill hop into the front passenger seat, "Clearly, you haven't tasted my cooking yet." A flash of a smile, before she starts towards her side of the SUV, "Let me pull our first, and then you can follow after? Don't worry, I'm a very good driver."
—-
Brian simply nods his head as he listens and purses his lips faintly in thought. He smiles however as he lets her go to her car and nods his head, "Ok, sounds good." He waits until she shuts the door and turns to walk across the parking lot to his rental truck. He needed to see about actually getting a car, this whole rental deal wasn't working out. He slides into the drivers seat after unlocking the door and turns the truck on to let it idle, waiting on her to pull her SUV out so he can follow.
—-
The trip from the park back to Lake Highlands is not a long one, though the two cars do hit a bit of traffic. But once they get into the more residential area of housing developments, it's a smooth and easy ride back to the Savoy house, which is already nicely lit up with security lights. Seems the small cajun woman has a dislike for darkness. Mignonette pulls her car into the driveway first, shutting everything down, before she steps out and lets Kirill out, walking him over to the gate to the backyard, "You go have fun, I'll come get you in a little while." The dog seems to get the drift at least, and trots off into the fenced in backyard, before she closes the gate again, and heads to the front door, keying it open, and leaving it so for you to come in after.
Savoy House
Warm, elegant and inviting is the lasting impression of this house. Ranch-style, the exterior of the house is contemporary mediterranean, soft cream with a muted forest green roof and matching shutters at each window. The interior design of the house is predominantly rustic italian, the walls warm rich shades of cream, blue, brown and a faded rust red. The artwork is natural and simple, mirroring the earthy shades of the house and furniture. Low half walls separate the open area of the main house into individual 'rooms'. Deep, plush area rugs are set here and there to warm the chill from the italian tiled floor. From the entry, the house opens out into a library to the right, opposite a dining room to the left. Just past the dining room is a comfortable kitchen, and filling the rest of the space is a well appointed living room area. Past the dining room, a short hall leads on one side to a two car garage and on the other to the master bedroom. Past the living room on the right are three additional bedrooms, one guest room, one transformed into an artist's studio and one converted into a home office. A bathroom sits between the guest bedroom and the studio. French doors just past the living room lead out to a large enclosed patio and pool area, complete with an outdoor grille and kitchen. Beyond the patio is an large, well manicured yard, surrounded by natural wood privacy fencing.
Brian parks his car near hers and peers out of the windows at the house he's arrived at. He whistles softly as he glances around. He slides out of the truck, locking it behind him, and follows her up towards the house. He hesitates in the doorway and glances around into the closer rooms. He runs his fingers threw his hair and shakes his head, "Quite the place ye got here.." The scotsman follows the sound of her feet to peer around the corners curiously but not enough to be 'nosey', he doesn't wanna be all up in her stuff.
—-
Mignonette's first order of business is to turn on as many of the lights in the house as possible, including the lights that illuminate the patio, as well as the pool itself, "Feel free to look around, if you want. It's just me in here, so you don't have to worry about bothering anyone." Well, her and the akita, but he's in the backyard. She heads into the kitchen to wash her hands. "Did you decide on what you wanted to eat for dinner?"
—-
Brian pokes his head around a few more corners and makes a mental note that the woman didn't like the dark. He muses over this for a few moments before dismissing it and scratching at the stubble on his chin. He peers out onto the patio before following her into the kitchen and grinning, "Veggies sound fabulous.. maybe steak or chicken. Anything off a grill is mah favorite," he chuckles. "I like spicy food too," he drawls as he goes to peer out a few of the other windows.
—-
"Alright then." Mignonette starts to put together the ingredients for the meal, putting them into a deep breakfast tray that she's using as a carry-all in this instance. Two large steaks, a couple of chicken breasts, some crawfish, which seems to be a staple in her house, fresh corn on the cob, asparagus, and some thick sliced watermelon. "Spicy I can do." With everything in hand, as it were, she starts towards the door leading out to the patio, "You can turn on some music if you want, the remote for the TV is in the basket there, and there's some all music channels you can tune too, they're in the 400s."
—-
Brian watches her curiously as she gathers the things to make dinner before turning around to peer at the tv. He grabs up the remote and flips threw the channels curiously. It brings a wide grin to his face, this was like a million times better then his tv. He settles on a music channel, some mesh of 90's music, before following her out onto the patio. He lets green eyes scan the area outside the enclosed patio area, "This place is really nice… really pretty," he muses back over his shoulder towards her. B' turns to face her and smiles crookedly, "Need any help there?"
—-
The outdoor kitchen is indeed that, and very well appointed, with everything one might need to cook in the outdoors. Mignonette does make a trip back into the house for a basket of seasonings and such, butter and things, foil, before she comes back out, the music being piped through the speaker system into the outside, "Sure, you can help if you like. You do much cooking yourself?" For the time being, Mignonette starts to prep the vegetables, cutting them down and giving them a nice coat of olive oil for the grill. She also sets out the watermelon slices, setting them aside, before she turns on the grill proper, "Thanks, I was really lucky to get into it when I did," she offers, in answer to the comment on the house.
—-
Brian shrugs, "I'd like to think i can cook, besides food is one of mah top favorite things," he chuckles. He wanders over to lend her a hand, "Don't ye get lonely in this place all by yeself?" he questions curiously, "I'd figure you to have at /least/ two more dogs, maybe some cats," he teases gently. "I actually thought about gettin a pup mahself… The apartment isn't that tiny, it'd be kinda nice havin the company. I'm not used to bein in one place permanently or fer long periods of time so.. tryin to figure out how to adjust.." he grins.
—-
"It does get lonely sometimes," Mignonette offers, as she sets aside the asparagus and starts on shucking corn, looking for all the world like this is part of her normal everyday life. But then, there's always this strange sort of dichotomy with the lawyer. The sophisticated high society lady, and the down home country girl. "I couldn't take care of all of those animals by myself. And since I live alone, and I don't have anyone close, besides my cousin, I don't really have anyone to watch them while I'm away." It's a slow careful process, cleaning all of the floss from the corn, but she manages, "You get used to it. being in one place, I mean."
—-
Brian nods his head, "I'm sure, just hope I don' get wandering feet again." He smiles and leans back on the counter some before folding his arms across his chest. He watches her curiously before glancing around, "So, what's a woman like ye do fer fun Mignonette? Besides spinning on the merry-go-round," he muses, smiling as he slides his green eyes back to her and peers at her curiously, "You look like a dancer," he muses casually nodding his head as if satisfied with his observation.
—-
Mignonette finishes with the corn, adding a bit of olive oil, water and butter, before she wraps them in foil and sets them out to steam on the grill, the asparagus and watermelon seem to be one of those, go on later things. The chicken she handles next, using the sink to wash and prep, before she adds what looks like a homemade blend of seasons to the meat and leaves it to marinade, before she turns to the two steaks, rib-eyes, from the look of them to clean and prep. The get a similar treatment, though with a different set of seasonings. "Not much, of late. I mean, I do dance, though, well, ballroom, tango, salsa, that sort of thing, but I don't get to go out as much as I like. Mostly I spend time with friends when I can. I've been lucky to find a few good ones since I came to Dallas."
—-
Brian nods his head as she talks, taking in every word. He chuckles finally, "Oy, I'm horrible at dancing. I c'n do the shimmy," he snickers. He shakes his head gently before smiling, "It's always nice to find a friend or two who you c'n actual call that." The man breaths in, the smell of cooking food filling his nostrils. Mmm, food. He scratches at his chin again and wonders, "So what was that you had mentioned about arcade games at the pizza place?" he questions curiously, that crooked grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
—-
"I hope that you'll find a few of those in Dallas," she offers as she works. There's something always so engaging about grilling food, isn't there? Even when you're not hungry, the smell of a food barbeque just…makes you happy. The chicken goes on the far side of the grill, and then the steak follows, Mignonette adjusting the grill to temperature for both. The crawfish is the last to prep, but she leaves it to the side, sitting nicely in a marinade, since they cook so quickly, "You'd be surprised how easy it is to learn, when you have a good teacher. How do you take your steak?" At the last, as she sets the tongs aside to let the meat cook without too much interruption, "Abbey and I go to the arcade over at the fairgrounds, sometimes. You play much?"
—-
Brian grins, "I think I'm a sore case when it comes to learnin tah dance.." he murmurs. Rare? Bloody? Still mooing? He coughs to clear his throat and shifts, "Medium rare is good." He's always had wolfish attributes when it came to food and he's never been able to shake it. He shakes his head faintly, "I play when I get the chance, not very often though to be honest with ye," he chuckles. "Ye and Abbey real close? She's a nice lass.." He moves over to steal an asparagus and munch it real quick. Oh yeah, he was definitely the child that stole his mothers food while she cooked and constantly got ran out of the kitchen.
—-
"Anyone can learn to dance, I'm telling you the truth. One night with me over at the rec center, and you'll see." She finally sets the asparagus on the grill, though the glare she sends in your direction is humourous at best. She seems to be used to boys stealing food in her kitchen. The crawfish she adds next, the combination of steak char, chicken and seafood rather enticing, "Corn should be ready soon. Medium rare it is. "We've been hanging out quite a bit, and we've opened up to each other, I think. But Abbey's a hard nut to crack. She doesn't really let people get in close.
—-
He chuckles, "Yer on, but don' be surprised if all I do is step on ye," he warns. The man nods his head casually about Abbey being a little closed off to everyone, "Seems tha way with a lot of people.. everyone has their own secrets." He shrugs faintly and stretches his arms before tucking his hands in his back pockets and peering over her at the food. <3 Food. "Smells fantastic.." he drawls over her shoulder before wandering over to peer threw the windows into the lovely backyard. He peers at all the lights again for only a moment before turning back to face her, "I'd like to think I c'n see good friends in ye lasses," he mentions about Mig' as well as Abbs, "I mean, anyone who feeds me can't be tha bad." He chuckles.
—-
"That's certainly true enough. I've never met anyone that didn't have a secret they wanted to keep. The trick is keeping it in and not keeping everyone else out. Can be terribly lonesome, if you're going through life all by yourself. Thanks, hopefully you'll like it." The last offered as she looks back at you over her shoulder, before you wander off. Mignonette excuses herself for a moment, as she goes back into the house to get dishes and silverware, picking back up the thread of the conversation when she returns, setting the table, "I'd like to think I can be a good friend. Hard to get other people to believe that though. Food or not."
—-
Brian nods his head in agreement as she speaks, peering at her thoughtfully. He leans back against a wall as she wanders off and then stands back up when she returns. Brian chuckles gently and nods his head, "I do think ye will be a good friend," is his reply. He wanders over to help her set the dishes and silverware out, getting excited about the thought of eating. He never thought he would actually be such a fatty but alas, he was.
—-
It takes only a few minutes, for Mignonette to pull everything off of the grill. The chicken, steak and crawfish are set off to rest, the asparagus as well. The corn is carefully pulled out of its oil, before she sets it back on a clean part of the grill to get a bit of char and smoke flavour. The watermelon goes on last, and yes, she does grill that too, though only lightly. She even melts some butter for the crawfish. "You'd be surprised how much grilling enhances the flavour of fruit. Not just pineapples, either." Finally, she starts to prep everything, plating yours first, before hers. Both plates get a bit of everything, the extras set in the center, "There's extra seasoning for everything, if you like it extra spicy. What would you like to drink?"
—-
Brian pops another piece of asparagus in his mouth and 'mms' softly before blinking, "Um anything is fine," he comments, "Water or anything," he waves another piece of asparagus around before blinking and setting it down. He wasn't exactly perfect with his manners. The scot grins crookedly before shrugging, "Surprise me," he beams. The man adds a little extra seasoning to his food before waiting for her patiently before he starts to eat. He does however steal a piece of watermelon and blink surprisedly, "Tha -is- really good…" he muses.
—-
Surprise him. Huh. Mignonette rises from the table, stepping back into the house and heading into the main kitchen, pulling open the fridge and pulling out a couple of dark brown bottles, along with two bottles of water, which she carries back to the table. You get one of each, as she does, before she settles back in, turning to the meal and returning to the conversation, "Most people are surprised the first time they try it. Steak okay?"
—-
Brian takes the beverages gratefully before smiling, "I don't doubt that. Yeah, tha steak is fabulous." He comments after taking a bite. He opens the dark bottle she gave him and takes a sip, hmm interesting. It doesn't take long before he's almost scarfed down a majority of his food, trying to pace himself so he doesn't seem too wolfish over his food. He shakes his head, "This is fantastic Mignonette," he comments inbetween bites and breaths of air. "I don' think you'll be able to get rid of me for awhile, not with homecookin like this," he drawls with a chuckle.
—-
"If you're still hungry, I can make more." There are extra chicken breasts, and a pile of crawfish, but she did only make a steak a piece, "I don't mind. Truth is, I'm grateful to have someone to cook for. Seems such a waste to always be cooking for yourself." She too opens the dark bottle, taking a sip of birch beer, before she sets it back down, "Thank you for the compliment. It really means a lot." She too, pays proper homage to her food, though she eats a bit slower than the man. But then, what woman doesn't?
—-
Brian smiles gently and shakes his head, "No no, I'm ok, this is more then enough." He shifts where he's seated and sighs gently, "Wow, now everywhere I go to eat is only going to be mediocre," he chuckles shaking his head. "Today definitely turned out better then I'd thought it was gunna. I figured I'd wander around by mahself taking notes about tha city and then go home to play mah xbox and watch chick flicks secretly by mahself." He grins broadly, running his fingers threw his short cut hair.
—-
"As long as you're sure. if you want dessert later, I can put something together, I think I have enough in the kitchen." There's a smile, a pleased one, at the compliment, and a light colour to her cheeks, "That's very kind of you to say. But wait until you go to Sakura's, before you tell me that again." Yes, if there's one thing a woman likes, is for her cooking to be appreciated, "That sounds like a very…pleasant evening. Video games and movies on the couch. I hope I'm not keeping you?"
—-
Brian shrugs, "Eh maybe ye c'n go with me one day and we'll see who's is better." He stuffs the last of his steak into his mouth. He laughs and shakes his head, "No, this is better. How often does a guy like me get to hang out in a house like this eh? And with such awesome company," he shrugs. B' grins crookedly and sets his fork down on the empty plate cheerfully. "Oh I'm ok, I'm actually kinda full," he laughs.
—-
Mignonette rises, having finished a good portion of her food, but she moves to clear the table of dishes, moving easily between the indoor kitchen and the outdoor one, the open patio door making carrying on the conversation easy enough, "I'd like that. I'll warn you though, I'm better than I look." She returns, with a storage container for her leftovers, and a few for the food that was left uneaten, "I'll box this," here she means the uneaten food, "For you to take home with you when you go." There's no indication that she's rushing you. Certainly she seems to be enjoying the company. "So you're in Dallas alone? No wife, girlfriend, family?"
—-
Brian nods in thanks as she boxes up the left overs and grins, "Thanks." He helps her clean up as they finish dinner and nods his head to her words, "Yeah, to the alone part. Never been anywhere long enough tah have a family, and mine are all still back in scotland," he shrugs idly. Brian lived somewhat of a lonely life but he never complained, it came along with his jobs. He carries the dishes into the kitchen, rinsing them off in the sink. "What about ye?" he asks casually, "Ye have any family in Dallas?" he questions curiously.
—-
Mignonette shuts down the grill, after she gives it a bit of a scrape to get it mostly clean. She'll do the rest tomorrow, no doubt. While brian gets started on the dishes, she take scares of carrying the cooking supplies back into the house, cleaning up the porch, and letting Kirill in from the backyard. "Just my cousin. All of my family's back in Louisiana. Which isn't as far as Scotland, of course, but it still seems like the other side of the world sometimes. I miss them."
—-
Brian listens as he washes the dishes and nods his head every once in awhile, "Yeah.. family is family and sometimes them being right down the road is too far," he murmurs. He stacks the plates in a rack to dry and wipes his hands off on his jeans, adjusting his rolled up sleeves. He turns to face her and shrugs, "But thas why I'm making friends. And ye, Ms. Savoy, have definitely achieved friend status," he chuckles warmly. He folds his arms across his chest and leans back against the counter studying her thoughtfully. He eyes the outside, now cloaked in night save the security lighting and peers back at her, "Ye don' like tha dark do ye.." he questions, though tentatively just incase it may be a touchy subject.
—-
Mignonette falls into an easy routine, one born of long practice in a house where chores are shared, working with you to clean away the remnants of the meal. And despite the size of the rest of the house, the kitchen is tiny, so good coordination is a must. "Thank you for that, Mr. Connelly." A moment, "You know you can call me Mignonette, right?" Finally, when everything is put away, Mignonette offers you a fresh bottle of birch beer, before she steps around the kitchen towards the living room, "I've had a severe fear of the dark since I was a young child. It's gotten worse as I've gotten older. After the lake…it's been especially bad." She looks out towards the patio, "I can't even keep the lights off out there anymore." And one can imagine why. The development is such that her house backs up to a couple of empty lots. The backyard would be pitch black with no lights on.
—-
Brian smiles, "And you can call me Brian, or B' for short, if you wanna shorten the name any more," he chuckles. He accepts the beer gratefully and takes a sip before nodding and following her gaze. It could be his lifestyle, his species, or the fact that the dark is almost soothing for him that he can't fathom what it would be like to be that terrified of it. He eyes her back lawn and squints just abit; maybe he'll do a lap around her yard later tonight just to make sure there's not eyes on her. He ditches the idea and grunts, she was a grown woman and she was fine, her fear of the dark was not unnatural either. He tilts his head and smiles down to the akita, "I'm sure he'll protect ye should ye need it." The dog was very placid but he could smell loyalty seeping from him.
—-
"That was one of the reasons I adopted him from the rescue. I didn't like being in the house by myself anymore." Mignonette settles onto the end of the couch in the living room, sliding off her shoes and curling her legs beneath her, "I like Brian. Most people shorten mine to Migs, or Coco." She sets the bottle down on a coaster, before she looks over the back of the couch towards her guest, "So what do you do, besides work as an editor for the dispatch?"
—-
Brian follows her into the living room and settles down on the opposite sofa to face her, leaning forwards to prop his elbows on his knees and hold his birch beer between both hands. "I started out doing photography," he drawls, "I did some work for national geographic and discovery. I still do some freelance work every now and then, or photos just for fun." He smiles gently and takes a sip of his beer.
—-
"What made you decide to settle then? I mean, being a photographer of that calibre, you must have had more than enough chances to travel all over the world. Doesn't seem like the sort of life you just decide to put down, just so you can settle into one place in one city." Mignonette seems comfortable enough as she is, knees drawn up, hands cupped around them, "And it certainly sounds more exciting than editing a newspaper."
—-
Brian chuckles, "I just had mah 33 birthday. Kinda puts things in perspective ya know? Back home my family was huge," his immediate family wasn't but his gaelic pack was, "So yeah it gets lonely being on the road so much alone." He sips his beer again as he thinks, "I guess when I got offered this job I just figured it was mah chance to settle down and start an actual life. I've had the opportunity to travel all over tha world, it's more then alot of people c'n say, but i've haven't known the slightest luxuries of living in one place like those people have, even the simplest of having a regular place ya go eat."
—-
Mignonette's laughter is a light thing, "Well, I wouldn't honestly know, I'll tell you what I think when I turn 33 myself." She does reach for the bottle, taking a sip before she sets it back aside, though she does reach for the remote to turn the music down a bit. Can't have the neighbours complaining and all that, "I'm the exactly opposite, I expect. I spent all of my childhood in Louisiana. Went to college in New York, but came right back when I was finished. I mean I've been to a few places on vacations and things, but never lived anywhere special. Probably would have stayed there, if the family hadn't sent me here to open the new office. A lot of places in the world I'd love to see but haven't been to yet."
—-
Brian listens quietly and nods every once in awhile, "Ye should try to see the world at some point. Even if its only one place ye've never been, it'll open yer eyes up to so much." He smiles gently and leans back on the sofa, "Yeah don' rush to reach that 33," he chuckles as he scratches the stubble at his chin. He takes a sip of his beer again and stretches his arms up and back over the sofa, "Ye know I haven't been to Louisiana yet," he muses thoughtfully, head canting to one side.
—-
"Most of that depends on what the family needs me to do. I mean, especially now, I'm managing partner of the office. I can't really afford to take much time off, not the way I might like, not until the office is better settled and we have steady clients and a full staff. Even then, what they want has to come first. That's the downside to being in a family business." Mignonette turns, so that her back is resting against the arm of the couch. Makes it much easier to look across the way, "It's a wonderful place, great food, colourful people, great scenery. Maybe you catch hitch a ride, the next time I head home."
—-
Brian smiles warmly, "Tha'd be awesome." Brian leans his head on a hand as he peers at her, "Well one day ye'll get to see a part of the world. Yer family should at least grant ye tha' at some point you'd think. Everyone needs to experience life a little." He glances at the clock on his cell curiously and yawns, "It's getting late, I don' wanna keep ye up with me lingering around… 'm sure ye gotta be up early. I really don't have much of a morning life," he chuckles. The idea to do a perimeter check of her house nags at the back of his head again but he swats it away with a mental growl. He can't go around babysitting people who can take care of themselves.
—-
"You would think so. But my family's ways are not always the way people on the outside think they should be." Mignonette does rise from her place on the couch, though, as you mention that it's time to leave, "Of course, I hope I haven't kept you too late myself." She does offer a smile, smoothing away anything else she might feel, including the feeling of losing some added dimension of security in her home with someone present, "Thank you for the playground, and for coming to dinner and letting me cook for you, Brian. We should try to do this more often." Hands automatically smooth her clothes, despite the fact that no amount of smoothing will make her look any less rumpled. "I'll walk you to your car."
—-
Brian shakes his head, "Of course. I'd stay longer but I don' wana impose." He smiles as he wanders to put his bottle in the trash before heading towards the front door. "Thank you Mignonette, I had a really great time." He smiles before blinking and pulling a receipt out of his pocket and after scrounging for a pen jots down his number, "Here. If ye ever need anything just give me a ring, k? Even if it's just because ye need come company.. or a light bulb changed." Basically, if she gets scared of the dark. He smiles, opening the door and waiting for her before exiting the house. "I'd definitely like tah do this again with ya, I had a blast." he drawls as they wander out towards his truck. "Park an all," he chuckles.
—-
"I think you know me well enough by now, to know that if you were imposing, I'd be the first to speak my mind." Mignonette flicks on the rest of the porch lights, and stops by her purse to pull out a card, before she steps out with you. When you hand her the receipt, she offers the card, "And you can do the same, though you'll need to make sure you have a step ladder handy, if you need me to change a bulb. Once she gets to the truck with you, she reaches out a hand, to lightly rest it on your upper arm, "Thank you, Brian. Honestly, for the park and all. And I'd like to do this again too. So call me, okay? Or I'll call you."
—-
Brian blinks at the light touch and turns his head to peer down at her thoughtfully. He chuckles and smiles before tucking her card into his wallet. He can't help but smile gently, "I'll definitely call ye," he nods his head, "No thanks needed lass, today was a good start to a new life here," he chuckles. He moves to hug her gingerly in a friendly manner before hopping into his truck, "Thanks for dinner again! It rocked! But next time ye get to push me in the swing," he beams her a toothy grin before starting up his truck. He waits with the truck idling with the lights on the front door of her house until she goes back inside. He backs the truck up and moves around to where he can park the truck where she can't see and slides out of the truck again. He starts to unbutton his shirt, don't wanna ruin it, and shakes his head at the sky, "Yer an idiot," he mutters before he goes darting into the woods, green eyes glowing in the faint light. He doubts anything was out there but heck, won't hurt to check, ya know as a friend checkin on a friend.
—-
"I hope that you will have a wonderful life here in Dallas, Brian and however I can help with that, I will." Mignonette comes easily into the hug. Another point that adds to the two opposing facets of the woman. Hard and callous at work, but like any girl raised in a large family, more than willing to give and receive affection. And so the hug she returns, arms around your waist is fierce and quick, as she might hug her cousin Alex, or James, but she soon steps back. After all Brian is a new friend, not family, nor a best friend who already knows all of her quirks. "Next time I'll do all of the pushing, I promise." Though she doesn't say it out loud, the expression is there on her face as she turns back to the house. She's grateful that he's leaving the extra light for her. Once inside, some of the lights will turn off, but not all, and Kirill will join her in her room. And outside? Though she doesn't know it, a new guardian watches over her, at least for a little while, while she goes to sleep.
