FirstDaysAlwaysDisappoint {open}

[mikku]

So she was from Boston, huh? Robin gave a little nod as she watched Alex look over the coat. "I've never been any father north then Tennessee, to be honest." She said, a little bit of color showing on her cheeks. Now that she thought about it she wished she could go on a road trip to New York or Chicago with some friends one day. First she'd need friends. "Why Wales of all places?" She asked, then paused. "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

Robin took a step back when Alex went back to her computer. She raised her arms up and began to swing them in fast windmills, followed by another spin. "Any more holes?" She asked, just then realizing Alex had asked her another question. "Well, uh it's a lot bigger then back home." She bent down and examined her coat again,some of the fold on it were fainter now then they were before. "Haven't really been out here long enough to say more."She paused again. "There's a whole lot of sheep in the country, though." Her aunt's house had a neighbor nearby who took care of sheep, and at least twice in the time Robin had been in Cardiff they had escaped into her Aunt's yard.

"So what did you think of Cardiff when you first arrived?" Robin asked suddenly, standing up straight again. She had been in Alabama for most of her life, so many of the things she had seen in Wales had seemed Alien to her, like how no one drank cold tea.(Or even tea with sugar, for that matter.) She had thought being in Wales would be easy, and for the important parts it was. Everyone spoke the same language as her, she knew what most of the things at the store were, stuff like that. Had it been the same for Alex as well?

[alex]

Alex snorted. "I'm pretty sure you're farther north right now," she replied easily. Not the same thing, but still true. Going to a different country was a hell of a lot better than going to a different part of the same one. Then again, New England and the deep south were pretty much two separate worlds. "Not that you're missing much." she added as an afterthought. Avoiding Robin's next question, Alex went back to work on the coat. The patch was smaller, thankfully, but still not completely gone. The question 'why Whales' wasn't bad in itself--she came over because of an awesome job offer. It would lead to more questions about said job, though, and that was still a little bit of a sore subject.

The woman frowned faintly, looking back up at Robin. "This your first time living in a city? You staying with anyone?" Normally it wouldn't have bothered her much--particularly with Cardiff--but recently she'd been alerted to things that weren't normal city hazards. She had gotten out safe mostly through luck, but Robin was just a kid. Alex gave a mental head shake. The girl would be fine. It wasn't as if there were violent, unexplainable murders daily. Alex was still just a little paranoid, and she'd always been a bit protective.

"I think my biggest problem was the layout," Alex admitted. "I'm terrible enough with directions as it is, even with square street layouts. This place is a maze." Her first few weeks had been spent asking passerby where things were, map in hand. Added to her accent, she had gotten shunned as a tourist several times. When wearing her work uniform, she'd just gotten strange looks. "Other than that? It's a great city." Alex told the teenager, and then her grin was suddenly back. "But if anyone asks you to try the local cuisine, run."

[mikku]

"Heh, heh, I forgot about that..." Robin said with a nervous laugh, brushing back a lock of hair as she realized her little mistake. Robin wasn't the best with words, so moments like these popped up at times. Luckily they usually sorted themselves out with time, so it didn't bother her much. She was starting to feel a bit restless now, standing still for so long was boring to her. The patches were seeming to get smaller now, the worst ones were mostly on the folds and creases of the coat.

Robin noted Alex's lack of answer for her last question, but ignored it. If Alex wasn't going to answer now there was no point in asking again, was there? She gave another nod when Alex asked her own question. "Yeah, my hometown's kinda small." She said, biting her tongue softly in thought. "I'm staying with an aunt of mine, she's got a house just outside the city in one of the villages. I don't remember the name, though." She shrugged and looked down at Alex, she was frowning at her now. "Why do you ask? Are the apartments bad here?" Something about the question made Robin curious, the same way a sudden alarm does. Were there burglars or thieves around the city or something? Regardless, Robin pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind, the last thing she needed to go was worry about something she didn't need to. That's how you become paranoid.

"I'm not that bad with maps, myself. " The teen said with a little grin. It was in her opinion a useless skill, but Robin was good at reading into things, and this included maps. Well, at least she didn't have to spend her first day in Cardiff lost. Oh wait, there was when she went to the mall, took her nearly an hour to find the food court. Although in her opinion that didn't count, all the maps she could find had been in Welsh. Robin listened to the older woman as she told her about the city, giving a little smile to herself again. Maybe it was Robin's desperate need for human contact, but she really enjoyed talking to Alex. She was a lot nice then the other women around her age in Blackview. When she grinned at her, Robin blinked and tilted her head in a confused gesture. "Why not?" She asked with a nervous giggle. "It's not haggis or anything, is it?"

[alex]

Robin's answer further reassured Alex. She was living outside the city, but nearby--probably the safest place to be. "Oh, it's nothing," she waved the question off, going with a more comforting answer than 'alien attacks'. "Been a few weird crimes lately, probably nothing to worry about. Still safer than--oh, say, New York. Safer than most cities, actually." Which was still true, probably. The crime rate was very low, and that more than made up for monsters. Not like Tokyo or New York, which had to put up with the normal criminals on top of giant monsters climbing their buildings. No, Cardiff was much more sensible. "Just normal city hazards," Alex finished, giving Robin a reassuring smile. Getting around was the biggest change, but the teen seemed to have that down.

At the mention of haggis Alex gave a shudder of mock horror. "None of that, thankfully, though I got threatened with it once," she replied. Well, at least she thought she was threatened with it. Drunk Scotsmen spoke in tongues. "They eat seaweed, though. Nasty stuff. I hear blood pudding's good, but seems a little horrifying. Haven't tried it." Some things just weren't meant to be eaten. "On the other hand," she added thoughtfully, "You have to try fish and chips. It's a classic." Alex considered mentioning the pubs, but decided against it. They were definitely worth hitting, but she wasn't quite sure how old Robin was.

Giving the coat one last look-over, Alex nodded her approval. All the major problems were gone, she just had to deal with the natural hazards cloth posed. Something tight might work better, like a bodysuit...would get rid of the hands and feet problems, too. Harder to stick cameras and projectors in, but no folds to deal with. Well, she'd consider that later. "I think that's enough testing," she commented, a bit reluctantly. "Can take off the coat now, if you want," Alex shut down the system from her laptop, and abruptly the coat was grey again. A shame, really. It was a little tempting to just wear it around the streets and watch people's faces.

[mikku]

The answer Alex gave her only slightly reassured Robin, but she decided that was the best she'd get and left it at that. "So just don't stay out late and all that other stuff, right?" She asked with a small nod of the head. It seemed all you had to do to stay safe in Cardiff was use common sense, at least it wasn't too different from Blackview. The part about the 'weird crimes' poked at her annoyingly in the back of her mind, but she ignored it. Weird stuff happens, sometimes it doesn't mean anything.

"...Seaweed?" Robin asked after a good moment's silence. "You've got to be kiddin' me." She said in disgust. One of her aunts had told her about some sort of 'seaweed diet' someone had developed in Florida(or somewhere) Robin of course didn't believe a word of it but Alex's comment made her wonder. Blood Pudding sounded disgusting to her, but also intrigued her. She'd probably end up eating it sooner or later, and hopefully in the dark. "What about clubs?" She asked, almost like a person reading off a TelePrompter. Normal teenagers went to clubs, right? Robin wanted to at least seem normal, so she's need to go to at least one club, just to try it. Then again that kind of thinking got stupid kids into drugs, and if Robin was not one thing, it was stupid.

Robin slipped off the now-bland coat and frowned at it. It had been fun wearing it, like a superhero cape or something from a fantasy book. She was going to miss wearing it, that was for sure. "So that's it?" She said and handed the cloth to Alex. She wondered for a second what the woman would want with an invisibility coat(she resisted the urge to call it a cloak). After turning up empty on that route she grimaced mentally at the fact that it had taken her so long to think of that question.

[alex]

Alex nodded soberly. "Seaweed," she repeated. "Like the kind you find on the beach. The name laverbread is a lie. It has nothing to do with bread." The stuff was supposed to be healthy, which was all well and good, but she would still prefer her salads. Seaweed--even the sushi kind--was pretty gross to her. Robin's next question provoked a grin from her. If she was asking, Alex could assume she was old enough to get in. Besides, they were fun. "There's a few good ones around, depends on what you like. Try Tiger-Tiger. Small place, great music." Truth be told, she hadn't gone to that many. Clubs were fun and all, but not her entertainment of choice.

As Alex began packing up her laptop and tools, she nodded. "For this coat, yeah," she replied absently. "I think something stiffer--or closer-fitting--would work better, get rid of those wrinkles and all." Alex wasn't sure yet if she'd try to make one herself, or just suggest it to someone else. She would definitely send this prototype back to one of her old classmates from MIT. He had given her his schematics and details from his own experiments; it was only fair she returned the favor. Besides, it would count as bragging rights--she did it better, and without his fancy engineering company. Well, she probably could have gotten a job from him, if she really wanted to, but she was in Cardiff, eating weird foreign foods. So worth it.

It was only after she had put the electronics in their respective cases that Alex realized Robin was waiting around. Was she looking for more information, or--oh, right. Payment. "I said ten, right?" Alex asked, reaching for her wallet to cover the embarrassment. Of course. She could design a friggin' cloaking device, but forgot something she'd said ten minutes ago. Sadly typical.

[mikku]

"Tiger-Tiger..." Robin mumbled to herself, she'd check it out tomorrow. Wait no, she was starting work tomorrow, wasn't she? What time did she start, ten? She gave a small frown a tapped at her bottom lip. She'd have to see when they're open and go next time she got the chance.

It seemed Robin had forgot about the money as well. When Alex asked her about it, she thought for a moment. "Yeah, Ten." She paused, when she spoke up again it was barely a whisper. She was talking to herself again, not good. "...How much is that again, like fifteen dollars? Oh, I can never remember." Converting money into a different system confused Robin greatly, so she never understood exactly how much she was paying(or being payed) for anything.

She stopped her mad rant and looked back at Alex. "Is there any thing else you need help with?" She asked, honestly not wanting to leave just quite yet. There was a clock on one of the walls ahead of her, so she checked it; it said it was one-thirty six in the afternoon. She still had another half-hour until her aunt showed up to drive her back. She gave another quick frown, was her license still valid here? "I know this sounds like a random question," Robin asked, looking down at her feet with a very deep-in-thought look etched on her face. "but do you know if I have to get a new License to drive here?" She really didn't like the fact that her aunt had to drive her everywhere, and she had brought her Driver's License with her. It wasn't like her aunt always needed the car, she mostly stayed at her house anyway.

[alex]

For some reason, Robin's 'thinking face' produced a giggle from Alex. Seeing people struggle over simple math was a little too entertaining. "Something like that, yeah," she agreed. "Haven't checked the conversion rates in a while." Hadn't needed to, what with going native and all. One-point-six sounded about right, though, which would put it just above the estimate of fifteen. It was three days of iced coffees, or maybe a pair of her favorite brand of welding gloves. She refrained from adding in that conversion, seeing as it probably wouldn't do Robin much good. Still, it was good money for ten minutes of guinea pig work.

Robin's next question was so hopeful that Alex couldn't help but try to find some busy work for her. "Well, I could use a hand carrying this stuff in," she conceded, gesturing to the small workstation she'd been picking up. Wasn't even a lie, as there were some threatening clouds starting to build. It was unlikely there would be any rain for another hour or so, but better safe than sorry. Particularly when sorry meant a bunch of expensive electronics drowning. Alex unlocked the main garage and, with a little effort, pushed the door up. "Just stick it in the corner over there, and try not to drop anything big." She waved to her workshop corner vaguely. No point in trying to put anything away, as long as it was inside and in the general area it was fine.

"You have a US license, right? Then nah, you don't need another, not if you're just visiting," she replied in answer to the driving question. "If you're just staying in this area, though, it really isn't necessary--if you can't walk somewhere, there's still a great bus system. Only need it if you're going a ways outside Cardiff. " Alex had ended up needing a separate license, for the occasional truck driving she ended up with, but that was different. The driving on the wrong side of the road took some getting used to, but Robin was smart, and she'd figure that out. Alex flashed her a grin. "Just don't let me see you back here with a wreck, you hear?"

[mikku]

Good, so the money wasn't too different from the kind back home. Robin looked down at the objects Alex showed her and picked up as many as she could carry. It wasn't too heavy, but it would have been a problem to carry them any farther then four yards for sure. She carried them quickly to the corner Alex told her to set them in and ran back to take the rest there as well. She smiled at Alex and scratched the back of her head, looking around to see if there was anything she had missed.

"That it?" She asked, feeling a drop of water fall onto her head, making her flinch. She looked up and stared at the sky for a moment, the clouds were starting to turn gray and cover up the sun. It was the moment in the day when nature began to tease you, making you wonder just when it would start raining and the gloom would end. Chances were, another drop wouldn't fall for a least a good two minutes.

She smiled to herself and looked ahead at the road. "Thanks for the tip!" She said with a laugh, deciding to take the bus from now on. "I barely passed my test back home..." She had enough money for fare, so it wouldn't be a problem. "It was nice meeting you, by the way." She held out her hand, beaming at Alex like a child. "Hope I get to see you again." There was an awkward pause as Robin's eyes grew wide. "N-Not for a wreck, I mean!"

[alex]

It was typical. No more than a minute after all the crates had been stowed, Alex began to feel the first few drops of rain. She glared balefully up at the sky, as if challenging it to do more than that. She hated rain. It was so...wet. Made everything and everyone feel sticky. Maybe she'd make something to change the atmosphere. Probably a horrible idea, and possibly out of her league, but staying dry was tempting. Still, they were lucky--had she carried all the stuff inside by herself, after Robin had left, there was a good chance it would have been ruined.

"Yeah, that's it," she agreed, surveying the parking lot just in case. Just cars and a plastic table, both of which could stand a few drops. Oh wait, some idiot--mike, she guessed--had left a convertible's top down. Well, she'd move it after Robin left. Hopefully the rain would hold off until then. Not that she wanted the girl to go, really, she was fun.

Robin's fumble startled a giggle out of the woman, and she nodded. "Feel free to stop by any time. If I'm not here, then one of the guys will know where I am." Sad, but true. She spent more time in the shop than at her loft, and more time at her loft than anywhere else in the city combined. Most of the other mechanics would know where she was at any given time, given her affinity for chatter. Not that she really considered herself a workaholic. Workaholics were miserable, overstressed, type-As with no life to get to. Alex was hardly miserable. She considered Robin for a second, frowning faintly in thought. "Want a ride?" she offered. "I don't think it's gonna rain much for a few minutes, but..." But being caught in the rain was pretty much the third layer of hell.