Issue 1 Downtime

After she finishes shutting down and cleaning up, Dee knocks on Allison's door.

Allison opened the door. The comfy couch had been put in a more appropriate position along with a series of other furnishings around the room. All of them looked more sleek and modern than the couch. "Welcome to the Den," she said.

"You're actually calling it that? This is a thing?" She chuckles as she steps inside.

"It seemed like the thing to say. I actually call it 'my apartment'. Less flair, but also doesn't get reactions like that." She shut the door and went to the kitchenette. "Beer?"

"Please. This couch looks as if it comes with a story."

"I have to confess it's new," she said, coming back with a couple of bottles of local beer. "But I'm a sucker for a good comfortable couch. If you can't nap on a couch, it's not really a good couch."

"Imagine it wouldn't have been a picnic to ship one overseas anyway," she says, taking the offered bottle.

"Shipping the bike and my books was bad enough. I sold all my furniture before I moved."

"Priorities, eh?" She says, making her way to the couch.

"Are you one of those who fusses at people to use coasters?"

No coasters were in evidence. "No. Water rings give furniture character."

"Fair enough. Thought I'd ask before I ruined your new furniture." She takes a seat.

Allison drops onto the other end of the couch. "I don't know that I've said thank you enough for talking me through things. I did tell McManus that she owed you a big bonus for keeping me from leaving."

"Didn't need to do that, really. I just get how much of a culture shock some people have when they arrive."

"Like you said, you signed up to teach engineering, not do therapy. And I appreciate you putting up with me."

"As I've said, you're not the craziest sort to pass through my doors."

"Damning with faint praise, I suppose. No offense meant."

"No offense taken. As they say, you don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps."

"So how did you settle on barristry?"

"I did debate in high school and my debate coach thought I had a talent for speaking and started pushing me to consider it. It didn't really click until I got into college and was in the pre-law program. Once I started seeing how I could make myself useful doing that, I was sold. I love the process. I even love the ceremony sometimes. When the system works, it's a great thing. And when it doesn't work, you figure out why it didn't work and fight to make it work the way it should."

"Suppose both your profession and your hobby do involve bars."

"My father was into motorbikes. I ended up working on his with him a lot. That's where I picked up that bug. The beer thing was just the natural follow-on."

"I'm not knocking the beer," she says as she puts a thumb to the cap of hers, popping it off apparently effortlessly.

"Again, your powers prove superior to mine," she said, grabbing a bottle opener from the table behind her and opening her own beer.

She snorts. "Pub tricks."

"I don't want to know quite how you'd use your powers to open it."

"I've tried a couple of times. Those big fluffy mitts aren't really conducive to bottle opening."

"Ah, civilization wins again."

"I know I've always been a fan of it," she said, relaxing.

"That's reassuring. The groundskeepers get cross if you sleep in the trees."

"Why sleep in the trees when there's a perfectly wonderful bed? It's one thing to run through the woods on four legs, but regardless of how my other half lives in the wild, she's not all of me."

"Of course not. Doesn't mean I won't tease you, but that's expected."

"Oh, it's expected now?"

"Terribly sorry. Missed your chance to object. Must have been napping."

"So what do I get in return for putting up with said teasing?"

"Oh, you want to negotiate now?"

"Occupational hazard," she grins.

"And here I just thought I could coast on sarcasm and motorcycle maintenance."

"Coast for too long and you'll eventually just stop."

"Very well, then. We've established that we're even-steven on names now, so let's hear the next proposal."

"Dinner next Friday night. Somewhere nice. My treat."

"This doesn't precisely sound like payback for a thousand and one cat puns."

"Depends on your perspective," she said, taking a sip of her beer.