Room 322, Wednesday Afternoon

[not_every_mage]

This was something new for Anders.

This very clean side of the room (not that he had much to be messy with, truth be told), this fussed-over hair and carefully selected shirt -- he'd never had to do any of it in the Circle. In the Circle things like this went faster, and much more direct. Move too slow, and Templars were more likely to notice and intervene.

All this fussing was silly, he realized. He wasn't even completely certain this was about more than friendship. But that didn't stop him from letting down his ponytail, tying it back up,and then changing his mind and brushing it over his neck again as he waited for Kathy to arrive and put into motion their movie plans.

[OOC: For one, please!]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

After her conversation with Barry about watching TV together with Anders, Kathy had also spent a lot more time fussing than she might normally have.

Over everything. Including her hair (which had finally been pulled into a ponytail), her clothes (cut-off white shorts and a cute top), and the movie (the first two Ferrite-Guy movies. But they had to watch Revengers before he could properly appreciate the third movie, and that meant watching the rest of the origin movies first). Even the refreshments! (Whether to bring them, how many to bring, what he might or might not like...)

So she showed up at his door with two movies, balancing a giant bowl of popcorn, a 2 liter of soda, and a bag of grapes, all while trying to look cute, interesting, and totally casual. Hopefully he wouldn't mind if she kicked his door more than knocked. Her hands were very full.

[not_every_mage]

Was that someone kicking the door?

Anders' eyes widened when he opened the door and saw Kathy. She looked cute, as usual, but the amount of stuff she was carrying seemed like a lot fortwo people to go through in a few hours.

"Hi," he said, finally finding his voice. "Come on in. I -- wow, I didn't know you were bringing snacks. Want to give me anything?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Maybe they could consider it aggressive foot knocking?

"Hey, could you?" she asked, trying to hand over the soda without dropping anything else. "Eating popcorn while you watch movies is a tradition and I figured you'd want to have the full experience, you know? And the grapes were for in case you didn't like popcorn. And the soda's for when we get thirsty, because the popcorn's salty."

See? Totally normal and not over-thought!

[not_every_mage]

Anders carefully took the soda, hoping he wouldn't knock it into anything. "I think I have some cups," he said thoughtfully. "No straws, though, so you'll have to be brave."

"And thank you," he added. "I like grapes and popcorn."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Do you have tankards?" Kathy asked with a grin. "I'm looking to live dangerously."

[not_every_mage]

"You know, I didn't pack tankards before I came here," Anders said regretfully. "Damn. I suppose I could go into town and try to buy some, if you want."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Maybe next time," Kathy said. "You're probably right, though. Trying to drink without a straw is probably enough of a adventure for now."

She glanced around the room. "Thoughts as to where I should put these?"

[not_every_mage]

Anders shrugged. "Put the snacks on my desk?" he suggested, placing the soda there. "And we can sit on the floor or on my bed to watch the movie, it's up to you."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy set the snacks down, flexing her arms a bit. They'd gotten stiff carrying it all from the fifth floor.

For all her thinking, her plan hadn't been particularly well-thought out.

"The bed looks more comfortable," she said. "And then We'll be closer to the snacks." Beat. "If that's cool?"

Kathy, he'd said it was up to you.

[not_every_mage]

"No, I have no objection," Anders said wryly, because he had just told her to pick. "If you want to set up the movie, I can get the snacks ready."

Which involved pouring soda and opening bags, but it counted.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy smiled and ducked her head, mumbling something in the general vicinity of agreement while she got the movie ready.

"I grabbed Ferrite Guy," she explained. "I have the first two of the trilogy, there's a lot more to catch up on before we can watch the third. Umm, if you wanted to, I mean."

[not_every_mage]

"Ferrite guy?" Anders inquired. He arranged the pillow from his mother behind his back to lean on while they watched. "I'm intrigued -- and willing to watch however many parts of the story there are. Is it about a statue that comes to life?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Nah, he makes his suit out of iron," Kathy said, coming back to to settle on the bed once everything was set up. "And uses it to fight crime. I'm kind of a fan of that trope."

Go figure.

"He's snarky and kinda smarmy and completely flawed as a character. My favorite type."

[not_every_mage]

"One of mine, too," Anders told her as he grabbed a fistful of popcorn. "He sounds fantastic. Like a knight, but not the boring ones. They're usually so certain they're right about everything."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I wonder if you'll keep that analogy once the movie starts," Kathy laughed, pouring herself a cup of soda and then holding up the bottle to see if he'd like one as well. "He's definitely no knight errant when it starts. We get to watch a redemption arc. Though he does kind of have a 'I know everything' air to him."

[not_every_mage]

Anders nodded yes to the soda,reaching his hand to steady the second cup. "Hmm," he said lightly. "Do you think he deserves the redemption, or is he just lucky?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Oh no, he definitely earns it," Kathy assured him, pouring until the foam hit the rim, then gently blowing to make it settle faster.

Then she realized that Anders might not want her blowing into his cup. She blushed and waited for the foam to settle on its own.

Smooth, Kathy. Totally smooth.

"For all that he's a billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, he still manages to be a self-made man. In his own way," she amended, handing over his cup.

[not_every_mage]

Anders smirked a bit at the blush,without which he might not have noticed the blowing, and took a sip of the soda before speaking.

"There's my mistake in life," he said, with mock regret. "If I were a billionaire playboy philanthropist, it would be much easier to do good."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I wouldn't mind being a billionaire philanthropist," Kathy said, smiling a bit. "I don't know if I have the mindset to be a playboy. Or even a playgirl. I'm a little too quiet and blushy, I think."

[not_every_mage]

"I think I'd like to try it, but I'd probably get bored a few months in without any useful work," Anders speculated. "But then I could go off and do philanthropic things until I was tired."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'd probably set up a bunch of charitable organizations and stuff," Kathy said dreamily, clasping her knees. "But I wouldn't run them. I'd have people for that. I'd want to be on the ground floor, actually working with the poor or handing out books, or giving medical treatment or something."

And then she could keep her 'night job'.

[not_every_mage]

"Medical treatments?" Anders asked,turning his head slightly to look at her. "Are you interested in healing, or was that just an example?"

He added, "I agree, anyhow. I don't want to run things if I can help it. And should we start the movie?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"I want to be a doctor," Kathy admitted, ducking her head. "A pediatrician, actually. My dad probably won't be happy unless I'm a pediatric surgeon or something, but I don't know if I want to be that specific. I think I'd rather be just a regular doctor, you know?"

Tilting her head slightly, she asked, "How about you? Or is mage pretty much a profession?"

[not_every_mage]

"Pediatrician is the one with children, isn't it?" Anders checked. "I can see you being good at that."

He propped himself on an elbow and lazily munched some popcorn as he thought about how to explain his situation. "Circle mage is a profession," he finally said, some bitterness in his tone. "Life would be simpler if I wanted to be a lapdog. Since I don't, I'll have to stay out of the way of Templars. I might try to find some band of ruffians who are willing to split their take with a healer. Or maybe I'll do tricks in taverns until people throw coins at me out of pity. But healing's what I love, either way."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy quietly absorbed the implications of that. "Could you maybe get hired on by a tavern or something?" she said, thinking of today's class. "Or an inn or whatnot? You could be an on-call healer. That would be a useful thing for inns to offer, wouldn't it? Their patrons would know that no matter what happened, while they stayed, they'd be healthy."