All our Times have Come [Alin]

[Caterina Aurora]

"All our Times have Come"
Featuring Caterina Aurora & Alin Forrest
A late nightBar, ten o'clock at night.
Raining. Drizzly. Wet. Humid.
Jukebox: Blue Oyster Cult - (Don't Fear) The Reaper
Adorned in This

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C[/color][/font]aterina drummed her fingers gently and consistently on the tabletop of one of the occupied booths; occupied only by herself at the moment. From that point of sitting, it was perfect for her extremely pale eyes to catch any mischief students goofing-off or acting inappropriately; and she was itching to scold tonight. Her mood had been rather uptight all day, all week rather, and she concluded it to the extreme lack of sleep. Her drowsy medication that her doctor had proscribed her was apparently immune to her system. Or perhaps if she would quit being stubborn enough to take it.

Brushing past her ears some of the stray blond-silver strands that fell from her loose French-twist with her fingers, she pushed up the sleeves to her black button down blazer and checked that her sage undershirt was still tucked into the tight-fitting gray pants she was wearing for a bottom. A matching black belt was buckled around her fragile waist and a pair of pointed plain gray heels graced below her pale ankles. Professional clothes, as always. There wasn't a hint of shock there.

Bored, a waitress came over and looked down at the woman sitting lonesome at the booth. "Can I get you something to drink?"

Caterina looked up briskly at the overly bubbly woman. The thought of being so uplifting herself almost made her stomach curdle with that afternoon's luncheon. "I'll have your best whiskey - on the rocks, of course. Do you have Jameson, actually?" She said with ease while picking up the glass of ice water that was brought to her at her greeting. Caterina placed the rim of the glass between her lips and softly sipped at the cooling liquid. The waitress nodded, and Caterina followed the action with approval.

A few more minutes passed, the bored woman twirling about her water glass with a plastic straw between her fingers. The ice cubes looked as though they were half melted inside the sweating glass. Waiting patiently, the waitress returned with her hardened drink and Ms. Aurora greeted her again with a small nod as the bubbly woman set the square-shaped glass onto the wooden gloss booth counter.

"Thank you, dear."

'This'll be gone in oh -- let's say a minute thirty.' She blinked as a small curvature graced her lips from the knowing of her own stupidity.

Pushing the water aside, Caterina's ears popped wide as she heard a familiar song playing in the background. Happy with the selection someone had made, she found herself barely humming along to the tune of the Blue Oyster Cult. A fine song to go with a fine drink, yes?
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[Alin Forrest]

A

[/font]lin was out on the town tonight--and by out on the town, what he truly meant was that he was bored. The bar was not usually one of his haunts, but something today drew him inside of it, perhaps some scent of perfume that was roiling out from the thick stench of vomit and alcohol. Maybe, though, it was just the sound of The Reaper that drew him into the atmosphere that he usually disdained. He pushed the blonde hair out of his face and stepped onto the hardwood polished floor, glancing around the bar.

It only took a quick sweep to recognize her; Alin was not the kind to miss any pretty girl, especially if he had noticed her at the school a few times. He grinned and slipped around the table in front of him, dodging drunks as they swung their hands wide to illustrate their epic tale of amusing idiocy. Two more steps and his hand flipped out, grasping the back of a chair and spinning it round so he could straddle it, crossing his arms over the back and looking up at her through blonde eyelashes with a charming young-boy smile.

"So, what's up with a Fine Art teacher plugging away in this sad little excursion alone, hm?" Now, Alin was playing on the word fine at this moment, using it to call her attractive whilst still being discreet. His jacket was hanging off of him, leather, a little too loose for his shoulders, over a white tee shirt above gray jeans. Alin hadn't expected that he'd be out on the town wandering to find a colleague, but life was funny that way.

It always seemed to throw him an exciting curve ball.[/blockquote]

[Caterina Aurora]

T

[/color][/font]he woman continued to drum her fingers on the hard tabletop while humming softly to the familiar tune. Of course, as soon as she saw someone she had recognized - a young looking smile with a seemingly devious aura - she quickly ceased her harmonic tune and quickly moved her eyes away from him. It wasn't a night that she wanted to have company; or a night to be hit on for that matter.

Caterina slowly looked at him as he grabbed a seat and sat crookedly at the table. Her eyes focused on his very rustic apparel and smirked a bit at the funny little comment. "So, what's up with a Fine Art teacher plugging away in this sad little excursion alone, hm?"

Interesting -- the fact that he had even bothered to come up and have a little chat with her. They weren't particularly close, nor did they ever speak more than passing greetings and similar small talk from day to day. She quit drumming her fingers on the table and brought her hands folded onto her mouth. It was quiet for a moment while she thought about something to respond. "I felt like getting out of the house this evening. A bit dreary as of late."

She stopped briefly as she took another swig of her alcohol - swirling the cup in a circular motion as the ice clanked about in the glass.. "What is up with a Band teacher prowling about in the nightlife like a dangerous jungle cat?"

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[Alin Forrest]

".. R

[/font]awr."[/color] was his only response, a soft growl from his chest with a playful flick of his hand, balled into a paw as he winked his left eye at her. His fingers dropped to drum the table, and Alin suddenly wished he had a cool glass of water in front of him. Unfortunately, unlike in the dream world, nothing was just going to appear at his simple behest. His tongue flicked across his lower lip absent-mindedly, his mind drifting into that cat-stage where he wanted to flick his tail back and forth in thought.

Caterina Aurora was one of those untouchables, women who would rather stick up their noses and remain preened rather than tumble around a haystack with the local shepherd. Alin didn't terribly conceive this thought process, which was part of the reason he thought it was so... childishly cute. Ironic, for someone who seemed like such a child to most of society, to view society's norms to be the exact thing which they branded him with. Alin loved a good chat, and a good challenge, though, so he wasn't about to be daunted by Miss Aurora's obvious stand-offishness.

"I'm out for a walk--I'm just lucky to stumble upon beautiful prey."

Alin wiggled his blonde eyebrows above those baby blue eyes, shining green under the filtered light of the bar. The man didn't really like alcohol--and unfortunately for him, her breath would be tasting of it if he got a taste. The idea made him a little displeased, but there wasn't another option, he supposed. He wasn't one to impend his own thought processes onto others, merely explain if asked.[/size][/blockquote]

[Caterina Aurora]

I

[/color][/font]t was almost repulsive - the way he was trying to taunt her. The key word was that he was trying; it was failing miserably. When he commented with a 'rawr', Caterina lifted her lip in disgust, dismissing him completely by looking away and taking a sip from her square-shaped whiskey glass. She knew Alin to be a bit of a flirt, but this was just pathetic.

"I'm out for a walk--I'm just lucky to stumble upon beautiful prey."

Caterina choked on a small amount of her liquid, the fresh alcohol difficultly brushed it's way down her esophagus. It was as if sand paper had been lit afire before rubbing itself coarsely against the back of her throat. It was a terrible moment - made even more terrible as her clear eyes began to tear up from the stinging sensation. Coughing a few times and clearing her throat, she reached for her water, brought the rim to her lips for a small sip and placed it back onto the tabletop.

After a few moments of staring at his undeniably gorgeous eyes, she cleared her throat once more before thinking hard on what to say next. He was making it difficult - one repulsive comment after another. A smirk hit her face and it grew as she continued toward the idea of playing along with his little flirtatious act. No, no she wouldn't even do that.

"Okay Romeo. Seeing that you have made yourself already comfortable, how about you actually tell me how large your ego really is? Or should we just skip to the chase and you can tell me how long your genitals are?" She smirked and disregarded her comment with a wave of her hand. It wasn't like her to just come out and say vulgarities,but he was starting to already wear on her patience. "So how is band class?" Caterina laughed again at her own stupidity - a snort escaping rather than a giggle.
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[Alin Forrest]

I

[/font]t wasn't that he was oblivious--no, actually, he was quite aware that she was now very irritated with him, he just.. refused to acknowledge. Alin was the type that liked to play around, and when someone else refused to do so, he just tried harder. She'd eventually come around or get up and leave; it was a simple equation. Neither of the options really mattered--all that mattered was that he have his fun right now.

"Hm, my ego? My ego's not that large at all. I like talking to pretty people and telling them they are pretty--to define that as ego, Miss Aurora, would be backwards. Ego would, instead, be expecting a response from you that is opposed to the norm because I merit it. I expect no such thing; I expect that you will react exactly how you feel like reacting, and I will continue to tell you what I think--that you're beautiful, if not a bit presumptuous." He shrugged one shoulder in another boyish response to her question, staring up at the pretty ice blue eyes she possessed under her rather well-groomed and lovely eyelashes, "My 'genitals', by which you are addressing my penis, which you are obviously not too comfortable making lewd references to, is fairly well-sized. You don't want to know the actual measurements; you just wanted to taunt me, so I'll spare you the detail.. but next time you ask, Love, please don't assume that I'm smart enough to catch such differences, because I'll play stupid and tell you anything you pretend to want to know."

The statement had been a little more of a philosophy lecture than a response, but it was said with a smile as he was graciously granted a glass of water by the upcoming waitress who asked politely for what he'd like to drink, "... Don't suppose you just have fruit juice?" He smirked at her, but she shook her head confusedly, "Don't worry, Dear, I'm here for the company, not the drinks. I don't like alcohol." He flipped through his wallet and pulled out a twenty, dropping it in the girl's waitress' apron as a tip. She smiled and thanked him and he went politely back to staring at Caterina's pretty complexion.

"Band class is full of great talent and young people who are making their greatest effort to become rock stars; this goal isn't practical, but it's fun, so I like band class. Plus, it's one of the few classes that kids come to that they actually want to take." Alin had less luck with his philosophy class, which was usually just squeezed between one of the more elite sciences so they could spice up their class list when going to college. As a result, it got a lot of kids who just wanted to breeze through and didn't want to listen. That, Alin thought, was the saddest state of affairs the world had--that people didn't actually want to learn. His philosophy class usually left him drained at the end of the day; it was his passion, but he only taught it two periods and rarely found anyone wanting to actually speak with him about the subject matter.

"And why is it, Miss Aurora--seriously, this time--that you so easily disregard me as an inferior simply because I like to flirt?" He quirked an eyebrow up at her, still smiling. His mind was elsewhere, on processes of thoughts and truths of the world, but his eyes were all for her.[/size][/blockquote]

[Caterina Aurora]

O

[/color][/font]bviously, Alin wasn't going to be backing down from this little arrangement, and Caterina wasn't any more surprised at the sudden change in his voice than she was with the elongated words and speech he had abruptly taken on. He was defending his standpoint, and the least she could really do was give him credit for even trying to do so in her presence. Not many men liked to stand to her offensively and smirk back in a devilishly intelligent and enticing way. He could almost be attractive if he wasn't so much of a persistent child.

Though Caterina knew the moment she laid eyes on him that he was a very confident and presumptuous man. There was no doubt about it in her mind that he thought about the way she felt to the touch - the way she tasted when he laid eyes on her. It was a truly disturbing thought, and she shook it from the midst of her mind. No man should ever consume such a devious thought. Cracking her fingers, she gave him a look that didn't suffice the conversation. It was one of boredom -- one that showed him that she held no interest in his petty justification that he seemed to rumble on about.

A yawn escaped her lips. "This prattle is begging to wear on my patience. There is absolutely no interest I hold in which you think about my beautyl. You're not the first man to tell me such ridiculous things. Nor do I really find you amusing at all Mr. Forrest."

Caterina looked about, pausing for a second as the waitress took his order. Her clear eyes squinted at him, smirking a bit. No alcohol? How strange for such a flirtatious round-about. " You truly believe that I care about what it is that you have to say about any of your perverse intentions?" The woman shook her head, silently telling him that he was in a world of doubt. She held no interest on the size of his ego, penis, or anything else that had anything to do with the man.

Size didn't matter to her anyhow.

"And why is it, Miss Aurora--seriously, this time--that you so easily disregard me as an inferior simply because I like to flirt?"

Caterina's ears perked a bit. Persistent as he was, she nearly laughed at him straight forwardly. "Only someone so unobservant would believe you to be something more than a flirt. Then again, it would be arrogant to say that you're inferior than myself. Don't accuse me of such deviation." She picked up her drink and sipped at it slowly. Taking in the last bit of the harsh drink, she wrapped her fingers around the glass and cupped it within the palm of her hands.

"Just because I find your little charade false and unattractive - it doesn't mean that you're filed under the inferior cabinet. We both know you understand that I believe your flirtatious nature is repulsive. Yet you continue to poke around."
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[Alin Forrest]

I

[/font]ronically, Alin wasn't the type of man to think about how she felt to be touched--after all, beautiful women all felt the same under the fingertips. He didn't wonder, either, what she tasted like, because at that moment, she tasted like alcohol, and he wasn't really attracted to the taste... but he did care a great deal about how she spoke--after all, the real interesting part about being with someone new was learning about them; understanding them. The drive behind Alin's flirtation was alien to most people, but that was irrelevant to anyone but him. Few would ever know it, fewer would understand.

And, speaking of how one spoke, Caterina's whole statement had so many little points he wanted to argue in it that Alin wanted to take it down with a pen and paper and go over them piece by piece. Fortunately for his own hide--because Caterina would have surely tanned him--he came to the conclusion it would be rude to show such a childlike interest in statements he perceived as "weak points" he could discuss philosophically rather than just going for the bulk of the statement. In short, she didn't like him because she didn't like him, and she wasn't arrogant. it wasn't really good reasoning, but he wasn't about to pick and choose whether people could have the freedom to have bad reasoning. Instead, he just smiled at her some more, "I apologize, Miss Aurora, for presuming that you were arrogant. I was obviously judging based on a simple, flat assessment of your reaction to me." The words could have been taken as an insult, if someone wanted to fight--a call out that she had done the same thing to him--but they were said so simply and honestly that they held no such regards. Alin didn't mind if she made assumptions about him--that was the world as it was.

"But, I'm going to pick on the word 'false', if you don't mind, since that word makes me feel like you're calling me dishonest, and I'm not." Alin was at his best arguing truths over a table. He enjoyed it almost as much as flirting, so a good fight was just as satisfying--and he'd get both in tonight, it seemed. Lucky him!

He mulled over her words a moment whilst he twisted the water glass between his fingers, tilting his head down to get a view of her through the misted condensation around the lip of the glass. The view was rather rewarding, artistically, but he figured at that moment, saying she was beautiful again would have been detrimental to his physical well being, what with his feet now sharing the same space with her lovely gray heels he had noticed upon wandering up.

"You dismiss the idea that men might honestly just want to call you beautiful, but.. you presume that thought not arrogant? What I think must be false because you say it is, but dictating my thoughts isn't egotistical at all." Alin lifted the drink to his lips and quirked one eyebrow at the lovely Miss Aurora. "I'm not here to amuse you, either. If it's any simple notion, I'm finding myself quite engaged just sitting her and looking at you--but the lively conversation also helps."

Alin stood up from straddling the chair, sliding himself into the booth across from her and making himself quite comfortable right in front of those crystalline blue eyes. For one thing, this left Aurora without an easy aversion of her gaze.. and for two, this gave him a lovely angle on her very regal looking neckline. Alin was all about the moment.[/size][/blockquote]

[Caterina Aurora]

N

[/color][/font]ot a word was spoken from the woman as she sat nearly motionless on the leather vinyl booth. She slid her hands across the seat, feeling the hard and coarse texture beneath her. With a deep breath, she listened to him carefully before shifting herself gently into a crossed-legged position. He was entertaining, to say the least -- the way he spoke against her in a manor that he seemed to hope would anger her. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that he could carry a legit and well equipped argument. But Caterina didn't quite feel like putting up much of a fight this evening. The whole point of her excursion was to relax and get out of the house -- not to mention purchasing a couple drinks to wind down the evening.

At least two of the three on her checklist had been accomplished.

Her glistening eyes looked about for the waitress that had visited their table previously, and waved her down with a few sweeps of her hand. It was a brief encounter -- the woman only nodded when Caterina went to open her mouth to ask for another. Finding it a bit rude, she turned away from the young bartender and focused herself upon Alin again. He was a handsome man, excluding the fact that he knew it and acted upon it.

"It's not as though I'm calling you dishonest. I'm merely saying that there isn't a need for you to be as blunt and promiscuous as you are." Abruptly, the bartender laid the drink on the table and smiled devilishly at her companion. Caterina watched as the shameless woman stared him down as if he were something to eat -- only to walk away moments later. It was a miracle that people were so forward with the way they went about their sexual desires, behaviors and intentions. It was a philosophy that the blond haired woman could never understand.

"It's also not as though I'm being arrogant about how men perceive me. I've gotten more compliments and dirty slander spoken to me that you could probably even imagine." She paused as she snidely took a drink. "Though I wouldn't exactly put it past you. It's a fact, not a presumption of how the majority of them respond."

It was then that he moved from the stool and placed himself across from her. As comfortable as he was, she sat her drink onto the table and starred deep at him in hopes to make him regret the decision of his shift. "Though I would like to ask, Mr. Forest -- Is it common for you to be so casually rude and interrupt someone's idea of a calm and peaceful evening?" She chuckled a bit, knowing that was probably the first and only time that she would ever hold a flirtatious tone with him. It wasn't as harsh and cruel as the moments before - lest it be known that was how she intentionally was toward him.
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[Alin Forrest]

"D

[/font]oes one ever need a reason to be themselves, Miss Aurora?"[/color] The response came almost immediately after her statement of the fact that he had no reason to be blunt and promiscuous. He was blunt and promiscuous. He liked talking with her--she was a far cry from a perfect date, but she was perfect at giving him good philosophy to work with, "After all, Kitty, there's no reason for you to be subtle and prudish, either, but I wouldn't ask you to be any other way." Again, the words were so easily insulting, but so very not. Alin never meant insult when he spoke to someone--nor did he condescend by giving people nicknames, though he supposed it irritated some. It implied familiarity; it caused discomfort--what a state of affairs he had dug himself into.

The bartender was staring him up and down, and Alin was no fool. He'd have a lay tonight if he waited until 4 am for the bar to shut down, and he just might after Caterina had completely shut him down. Granted, of course, the bartender was the right personality and catch.. because nothing was worse about laying with a girl that would start crying on the morning. Alin hated seeing girls cry--he hated hurting girls, or boys, for that matter, but he'd found that less a precaution he had to take with them due to social cultural norms. It was unfortunate, but women were taught to be weak, and men to be beyond the call-of-duty strong.. to the point where both genders were completely repressed by the roles they had to play in society, and may God damn them if they stepped outside of that stringent idea. Alin, for this reason alone, preferred men. If there were more men who would allow him to get away with flirting them up and down and tumbling around the bedsheets with them, there was a high possibility Alin would have forgotten most women altogether.

Unfortunately, the social cultural norms said no to that, too.

He glanced up at the bartender between Caterina's talking, smiling pretty boldly at her even though he was flirting with Caterina. This was also a pretty simple test--if a guy is openly flirting with more than one woman, he wasn't someone you wanted to settle down with... if at the end of the night, the girl made all the right calls, she'd know that, and Alin and her would be fine for some quick friend-calls. His gray blue eyes only finally returned back to Caterina when she let that silky, sultry voice hit that mild flirt point--which Alin had been instantly attracted to before he translated the words beneath the soft, kissable lips to be very sharp-edged fangs.

"If by, 'is it usual for you to be so rude' you really mean, 'is it often you sit down with almost strangers to chat', then yes, I do. And don't think your gender is relevant, either, Miss Aurora--had you been Ehryn the cook, I'd have sat down at this bar across from you and chatted your ear off.. though you probably would have been more affectionate." Alin made a habit of knowing every new addition and old addition to the school by name. He also had nicknames for them. Every last one of them. Each nickname could adjust depending on whatever reaction he happened to encounter as he grew to know them, but there was always a base evolution to it. Alin liked that sort of thing. It unfortunately irked a good many people.

"I like talking to people--and forgive me if I didn't realize you were the type that didn't enjoy a good chat back. I suppose I can understand--women as beautiful as you would think a man like me generic; as you stated before, many have approached you in the same fashion as I did. I assure you, though, Kitty," The smile on his face had slowly faded to a serious stare, seemingly burying a deep significance in the statement that was to come, "I am not generic." He brought the glass of water to his lips and drank a healthy gulp. She'd called him rude and been pretty sure about having him leave, so he was going to finish his water and do just that. She had a few more moments to change his mind, though he doubted heavily she would, since she didn't have any desire to.

But he didn't have any desire to really bother her to serious irritation, either, and he was obviously outstaying his welcome by far. Simple arguments were fun, but causing harm was another thing--and Alin didn't do the latter if he could avoid it.
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[Caterina Aurora]

W

[/color][/font]hat was it about Alin that made him so confident in his ways, anyhow? He wasn't exactly the best looking man she had seen - but he wasn't entirely the worst either. Back in her college days of psychology, she learned that men with overwhelming ego's generally picked up the ladies. And why was that? Women always felt the need to be the best in change. If she could change a man, then he was worth her time. But in what right world would a woman bother molding a man like play-dough in her hands? Men were hard at first, but once her hands were laid on said masculinity, he would moisten and soften with time. Such a monetary idea would go against nature -- but then again, it was natural to most women. What a silly and absurd idea.

"Not generic? Mr. Forest -- you are nothing BUT generic. You prowl around searching for your next excitement in the midst of your bedsheets. You flirt with your head rather than your heart. You scathe about thinking how much enjoyment you get out of any sort of sexual situation -- however far and few between they may be. Alin, you are like every other human being that walks the face of the earth." Caterina paused for a moment, looking at him fierce to see his reaction.

"As long as you continue to act as you do, I don't think you'll ever be inwardly happy." She slid toward the edge of her booth and sipped at the last of her drink. It had actually been awhile since she had something so strong, and even then, it wasn't like her to drink excessively. Her eyes glanced at the man across from her, holding up her hand so he couldn't speak before she could.

"Continue acting as you are and you will only continue to push those who are actually worth something more than just an orgasm and a bedtime excitement farther and farther away." She smirked and stood up. The dizziness of the drink gave her it's full strength and hit her with a bit of a rush that she didn't quite expect. Her fingers stabilized herself on the table, almost clinging to it as if she wouldn't fall over from the sudden blissfulness. Caterina cleared her throat and steadied her posture before she decided her next course of movement. "We're nothing more than opposites by comparison, you and I. It is something that will never change. Good-night, Mr. Alin Forest."

With that and not a moment to let him speak, Caterina had already made a daft dart for the door.
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[Alin Forrest]

T

[/font]he dame left as fast as he had entered. He had apparently incited her to drink a little past her limit and for a moment felt a gentlemanly instinct to make sure she got a taxi home, but dismissed it as a futile whim. Friendliness was lost on her now--she was slightly drunk and altogether upset. "Utterly generic and never inwardly happy, hnm?" He lifted the water to his lips and took a deep swig of it as he thought about the words and mulled them over behind those gray eyes. She really doesn't understand the world outside of herself, then? He bit his lower lip and shrugged his shoulders. She had provided less insight than he had hoped, merely a lack of willingness to be wrong.

Alin had a hard time understanding her, too. Women like that, with their guard so far up that there was a wall of glass around them.. like a Barbie in a box.. that was just so.. simply dishonest. He didn't like dishonesty--he revelled in being straight forward, understanding himself, understanding, through empathy, other people... but he had no tact in explaining it. After all, he wasn't a psychiatrist.

He set the glass down and stared up at the bartender's waiting eyes. Suddenly, he realized she had left in enough of a hurry that there wasn't any pay for her tab. Maybe she paid ahead of time.. or perhaps she has a standing tab... He shrugged nervously and put three twenties on the table despite to make sure before he steadily walked toward the door, leaving the unpleasant smell of alcohol behind at the bar.[/blockquote]