Sep 17 18:35:23 <Knave>	From the door of Austin's Dorm Room in San Francisco Hall - adorned with Austin's favourite of the surviving campaign posters and with a progressive series of sticky notes under his nametag declaring increasingly ludicrous titles - comes the muffled sound of electric instruments and passionate vocals. It's obvious that Austin isn't participating in the music, because it actually sounds good.
Sep 17 18:36:57 <Kadmus>	Conn stumbles down the hallway, carrying two big steaming mugs. He stops in front of Austin's door and knocks with his elbow, waiting patiently for his friend to answer.
Sep 17 18:38:37 <Knave>	The door swings open after a few seconds, any footsteps unheard under the music coming from the laptop sat on Austin's unmade bed. Austin stands in the doorway and smiles upon seeing Conn. "Hey, man. What's up?" He says, standing with more than enough space left for Conn to walk past him into the room.
Sep 17 18:40:25 <Kadmus>	"Bonjour, Slick. I bought you some chocolate chaud, if you'd like?" He offers up one of the mugs, wafting sweet spicy steam into Austin's nostrils. "Ah, I wanted to make sure you were alright after Sunday, tu sais? That gunshot wound hurt."
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Sep 17 18:45:35 <Knave>	Austin takes the mug with one hand and ruffles his own hair with the other, "Yeah." Austin winces a little as he considers the idea that Conrad has literally felt his pain, "Yeah. Not for long though, man. You saved my ass back there. I coulda bled on in the grass in I don't even remember what the name of the place was, and you saved my life. I owe you big, man, seriously." Austin goes to take a sip, then
Sep 17 18:45:35 <Knave>	hesitates, "'Chocolate chaud' just means hot chocolate, right?"
Sep 17 18:47:36 <Kadmus>	"Ah, weh. Hot chocolate, a little cinnamon, a little nutmeg, a little chili. Just like maman makes." Conn nods, then hesitates. "Ah, do you mind if I tie back my 'air? I think you know me well enough not to run when you see my face now, and it's hard to drink through it." He looks at the floor, obviously nervous.
Sep 17 18:50:01 <Knave>	"Go for it, bro." Austin says with a smile as he retreats into the room, taking a sip of the hot chocolate before setting it down on his desk. "Mmmm. I like the kick." He pauses the music and perches on the edge of the bed, "And I'm serious, man, you're a real hero. Like, genuine, A-grade."
Sep 17 18:52:56 <Kadmus>	Conn hesitantly pushes back his hair, tying it into a small ponytail at the back of his neck and revealing his face. Most of it looks like someone took a metal rake to it sometime in the past, and the left side from his temple down past the neck of his shirt is covered in a shiny pink burn scar. He takes a sip of his hot chocolate and smiles at Austin. "Ah, I am no hero, Slick. You're the one who actually got shot. C'etait brave, weh
Sep 17 18:57:08 <Knave>	"I jumped into a situation before I knew what was going on and got shot for it. I'm a moron is what I am." Austin's smile of self-mockery shrinks into one of sincerity as he puts a hand on Conn's shoulder, "You saw me bleeding my guts out and you chose to take that burden for yourself. That's what heroes do, man. They carry other people's pain for them."
Sep 17 18:59:29 <Kadmus>	He shrugs in response, smile still on his face. "It's just balance, mon ami. I don't feel pain much myself, so I have extra space for other people's, weh? Oh, but it left a tres cool scar. Better than the sword wound I got earlier that week."
Sep 17 19:00:47 <Knave>	Austin furrows his brow, "You got stabbed? When did you get stabbed?" He sips his cocoa with an incredulous smile.
Sep 17 19:02:22 <Kadmus>	"Oh, I didn't get stabbed. I helped an old man who got stabbed." Conn replies noncholantly. "He was very nice after I helped him. He's some sort of immortal, he say. We've seen stranger, non? Like the fox lady."
Sep 17 19:04:07 <Knave>	"An immortal is downright tame in comparison." Austin agrees, "Jeez, that fox chick did a number on me. I still don't know whether to feel triumph over beating her or terror at meeting her."
Sep 17 19:07:33 <Kadmus>	"I think both, mon ami. Living through meeting something like that is no small thing, weh. Beating her, even if it wa just riddles? I think we have the right be proud. Still the second scariest thing I ever see." He frowns, eyes a little distant as he says this.
Sep 17 19:08:45 <Knave>	"Yeah?" Austin looks apprehensive and concerned for a moment, then drops his eyes to look into his coffee and says, half-joking, "Do I wanna know what beat it to the number one spot?"
Sep 17 19:11:30 <Kadmus>	Conn gives a small half-smile. "Weh, nothing supernatural, mon ami. It was when I came home to my trailer on fire with my parents still inside. Ah, they alive, weh." He taps the left side of his face, on the burn scar. "Lucky I can do what I do."
Sep 17 19:14:21 <Knave>	Austin nods, and takes a sip, remembering that the cocoa is his mother's recipe, "So how are you parents with the whole... you being here, and the personal Jesus deal?"
Sep 17 19:18:55 <Kadmus>	His smile turns sad. "Well, they miss me, but... we're tres pauvre, you know? This place got better schooling than I'd ever get back home. Not like we could have afforded a private school like this. Merde, most days we only ate what we could catch. They never wanted me to be stuck there like them, tu sais? This is a chance to get out."
Sep 17 19:21:47 <Knave>	Austin nods slowly, his mouth pulled to the left in a one-sided frown. "I guess I never really acknowledged that other people were leaving something worthwhile behind to come here." Austin takes a gulp of the cocoa.
Sep 17 19:22:49 <Kadmus>	"You not have a family back home, Slick? Ah, sorry, sorry, I know that was indelicate..." Conn winces.
Sep 17 19:26:32 <Knave>	"Don't worry about it, I'm long over it." Austin smiles, and stands with an extravagant gesture from the arm not holding his drink, "The secret origins of the man, myth, and legend known to friends as Austin Silver and to the world at large as Slick begin in Silver Terrace, San Francisco, where little baby me was left in a basket in a playground with this," Austin takes the necklace off and hands it to Conn so
Sep 17 19:26:32 <Knave>	he can inspect the silver signet ring hanging from it, "And from then I bounced from orphanage to foster home to orphanage again. Then a few weeks ago I ran away, then the G-Men got wind of my slip-sliding around and they brought me in by promising food and a roof." Austin shrugs, "My parents left me in a playground, for whatever reason. Not a lot of love lost, methinks."
Sep 17 19:31:26 <Kadmus>	Conn reaches over to squeeze Austin's shoulder. "Well, you'll always be welcome at mine, weh. Besides, any people who'd desert a baby like that don't deserve to be anybody's parents. You're better off without them." H gives Austin a smile.
Sep 17 19:31:35 <Kadmus>	*he
Sep 17 19:35:08 <Knave>	Austin smiles warmly at Conn in return, "Thanks, man. I appreciate it." Austin takes the ring back and returns it to its usual place around his neck, "That reminds me, do you know where your powers come from?"
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Sep 17 19:38:23 <Kadmus>	Conn shakes his head. "Non. From God, from magic, from scientific experiments gone wrong? Qui sais. For all I know, I could be descended from aliens." Conn chuckles. "How about you, mon ami? Any ideas?"
Sep 17 19:40:00 <Knave>	"I figure it has something to do with my parents, but... well, you saw the ring," Austin shrugs, "What can you figure out from that nonsense?"
Sep 17 19:41:43 <Kadmus>	"That you are a secret agent sent from the tortues des etoiles, come to infiltrate our human society and bring us under their reptilian control?" Conn teases.
Sep 17 19:43:37 <Knave>	"Yeah, that's probably it." Austin deadpans, taking a sip, "Man, I'm doing a terrible job."
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Sep 17 19:45:38 <Kadmus>	"Non, non, I would not have thought you a terrible creature from beyond our planet had I not seen the ring. You are a fiendishly cunning infiltrator, mon ami." Conn grins.
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Sep 17 19:48:22 <Knave>	"For sure." Austin smirks. Austin's eyes fall on a stick leaning in one corner, and he smiles, "Hey, guess what?"
Sep 17 19:49:17 <Kadmus>	"Je ne sais pa. What, Slick?" Conn tilts his head, curious.
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Sep 17 19:51:23 <Knave>	Austin puts down his drink and crosses to the stick, taking it up in one hand and posing, "I'm learning to swordfight." Given context, the stick has clearly been picked out of the forest with great care to be of appropriate length, about 30 inches long, with a knubbly bit near the bottom serving as a stand-in for a crossguard.
Sep 17 19:56:13 <Kadmus>	Conn's eyes go wide. "Waouh! Vraiment, that's incredible. Who's teaching you? Can you show me what you've learned? I bet you'll be great at it in no time!"
Sep 17 20:00:39 <Knave>	Austin smiles broadly, a little taken aback by the enthusiasm. "Damien, the Guy in the Black Hoodie." Austin takes up his duelling stance, legs bent and feet light at an angle, thrusting and slashing in a tight area with the stick - which clearly is balanced too heavy at the far end, slowing his strikes and dragging his point down.
Sep 17 20:04:47 <Kadmus>	"Huh, I have not yet met Damien. You're far better at that than I could ever be. Papa tried to teach me how to shoot, but I'm too clumsy to aim well, and I can't feel the trigger. Don't think I could ever use a sword, but you're already so good at it!" Conn nods enthusiatically. "Have you used a real sword yet? That would be so cool."
Sep 17 20:05:54 <Knave>	Blushing a little, Austin rests the tip of his stick on the floor and rubs the hair behind his head, "I've practised with some swords Damien made with his weird interdimensional powers so... kinda, yeah."
Sep 17 20:08:57 <Kadmus>	Conn leans forwards, smiling. "It might come in handy next time we go on a mission, weh? I'd like to be able to help if we got in a fight like last time, but I'm too clumsy to manage finesse."
Sep 17 20:10:23 <Knave>	Austin ponders on this for a moment, tapping his lip, "Well, you're our healer, so we don't want you taking on extra wounds if we can avoid it. How are you with throwin' stuff?"
Sep 17 20:11:26 <Kadmus>	Conn begins to laugh hysterically, folding nearly in half.
Sep 17 20:12:26 <Knave>	"What's so funny?" Austin gives a puzzled smile.
Sep 17 20:14:07 <Kadmus>	"Ah, mon ami." Conn finally manages to straighten up, wiping his eyes. "It is probably easier if I show you." He picks up Austin's pillow and points at Austin. "I will try and 'it you." He winds up and throws, and the pillow flips out of his hand and lands behind him.
Sep 17 20:16:24 <Knave>	Austin chuckles, "Okay, maybe not throwing." He thinks for another period, tapping his substitute-sword against the floor, "What if, like, we got you a big-ass riot shield, and you worked defence and crowd control?" Austin grins as he gets into the idea, "We could get you, like, flashbangs and caltrops and shit and you could totally control the flow of fights."
Sep 17 20:19:11 <Kadmus>	Conn scratches his chin. "Weh, that's a good idea, Slick. You don't need to be nimble to smack someone with a big thing, huh? Not sure if the flashbangs would be a good idea... I don't want to drop one and blind myself... but the caltrops might work. Especially if we need to run away, weh?"
Sep 17 20:23:03 <Knave>	"Yeah. You should look into SWAT tactics and stuff. Find stuff you can do without too much finesse." Austin grins madly, imagining superheroics much more successful than their current achievements.
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Sep 17 20:28:05 <Kadmus>	"You're full of good ideas, Slick. I'm definitely going to do that. Per'aps a sledgehammer or something if I want to hit people? I'm pretty strong, weh." He grins and pats himself on the bicep.
Sep 17 20:29:49 <Knave>	"Damn right you are," Austin smiles, trying not to betray the fact that he's all too familiar with the strength of Conn's arm, "But a sledgehammer might get messy."
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Sep 17 20:31:53 <Kadmus>	"C'est vrai. I do enough laundry as it is." Conn plucks at his shirt, and you can see a faded brown bloodstain on the front.
Sep 17 20:33:25 <Knave>	"You rock that look though." Austin says with a smile, then drains his mug.
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Sep 17 20:35:25 <Kadmus>	Conn chuckles. "Could be worse. It could have holes in it." He shrugs. "Could you salvage the shirt you were wearing on Sunday, by the way, or is it ruined?" He also finishes his hot chocolate.
Sep 17 20:36:25 <Knave>	"Oh, totally ruined." Austin shrugs and runs a hand through his hair, "But I'm keeping it as a memento."
Sep 17 20:38:36 <Kadmus>	He grins. "Think Daniel's the only one who didn't take home a memento from that trip." He taps his stomach, just to the right of the centre, where Austin remembers getting shot.
Sep 17 20:40:42 <Knave>	Austin looks with consideration at the spot for a while. His mouth contorts with a thought, which he dispels with a slight shake of his head, jumping off into speech, "I wonder what's worse, getting shot or suddenly having some of your gut just not be there?"
Sep 17 20:41:59 <Kadmus>	"Being shot, weh. I know the pain's coming and I choose to take it, you don't. It doesn't last too long either." Conn grins. "It's why I'm always happy to help. It can't hurt me as bad as it hurts you."
Sep 17 20:43:13 <Knave>	"Well, I'm always gonna feel happier having you with me on away missions." Austin smiles, before going in for a bro-hug.
Sep 17 20:44:25 <Kadmus>	Conn returns the hug. It's not as nice as the one Mads gave him - Austin doesn't smell nearly as good - but he appreciates it just as much. "Anyway, I think I should be going, non? I'm sure you have things to do." He says as he pulls away.
Sep 17 20:45:07 <Knave>	"Sure, man. Thanks for stopping by and checking in on me. I appreciate the concern." Austin smiles.
Sep 17 20:46:16 <Kadmus>	Conn nods and unties his hair, rearranging it in front of his face. He collects the mugs and gives Austin a wave. "See you later, weh?"
Sep 17 20:47:39 <Knave>	"Count on it, amigo." Austin salutes, smiling.
Sep 17 20:48:23 <Kadmus>	-Scene Doghnutted-