Seize the Day {Cole}

[Layne Riley]

Twenty five years old and still being bossed around. Layne sighed and rubbed her forehead, glancing both ways before she started to walk out on the street. Only then did she see the machine that whipped out from the corner. Layne skidded to a stop and started to back up to avoid being run over, before the man put on the breaks and motioned her across. Layne smiled, raised a hand, and then trotted across, glancing from one side to the other again before slowing as she got across the street. Looking back, Layne cocked her head to the side, putting her hands on her hips and thinking about…what was she even thinking about? She wasn’t sure. There was too much to think about these days.

One thing was for sure, she shouldn’t have to run to the store every time her mom had some whim or desire. Perhaps she was spoiling her too much. Because it was the third time in the last hour that she was on her way to the grocery store to pick up something. Why couldn’t she have gotten it one of the other two times she had been at the store anyway? Well, that was obviously too hard. Okay, okay, so it wasn’t that big of a deal that Layne was now heading to the store for the third time in one hour. Besides, it got her away from the house and her mom asking about everything that she had been doing lately. Still, she wouldn’t trade having her parent there with her. She didn’t have the rest of her family, with her father dead and her brother having been missing for the past five years, but she did have her mother, and she wouldn’t ever be sorry for that. Even if she was sent to the store way more times then she wanted to be when she finally got a day to relax.

What was it that she had to pick up again? Brown sugar? Brown sugar couldn’t wait until another day? Groaning, Layne rubbed her face and continued on. Well…she could take a detour and not head back for awhile. That wouldn’t hurt, would it? And so what if it did. She would deal with the chewing out she got for bringing the brown sugar home later. So….yeah, she had to stay away from the grocery store for awhile. And…do what? There was plenty to do. Layne had gotten a tip-off about that treasure piece the other day. She’d overheard two men talking about it. And of course, that had just peaked her interest for the supposed precious gems that hadn’t been recovered from an ancient shipment between the prince of Rozarria and the princess of Dalmasca in ancient times. Apparently, a secret gift from the prince of hundreds of years ago to that princess. However, through the jungle in the eastern part of the country (We never see Rozarria, so I can make up crap ) apparently an indigenous tribe of that time had attacked the convoy. But she had to do more research about it, because she was not traipsing all the way up and through some jungle in order for a few gems.

So it was off to the library to research these gems. It was romantic, really. Too bad Layne wasn’t a hopeless romantic like her mother was. That brought another groan to her lips. Every day, she would get a pep talk from her mom about ‘some nice boy out there waiting for you.’ Was it just a family thing? Layne was perfectly fine chasing down her treasures and leaving it at that! Perfectly, one hundred percent fine. At least treasure wouldn’t disappoint you, -most of the time anyway – and wouldn’t go off to war and die… What was she even thinking about, anyway? This was just silly. She needed to go and bury her head into a history book for a few hours. That sounded like a perfect idea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:; 799
Muse:; Great!
Location:; Rozarria
Outfit:;Click!
Tagged:; Cole
Notes:; XD The funny
Listening To;: Little Darlin' - Redlight Kings

[Coulson Pike]

Cole didn't really think he qualified as a person who could recognize a stupid day from a normal day anymore, mostly because he didn't actually...have normal days anymore. He'd be shot at once, or some crazy lady would attack him, or there would be a wardrobe malfunction, or...one teeny tiny thing would happen to turn the day upside-down and just set the rest of it off on a weird path. Today...today, though...nothing abnormal. Cole had woken up in the inn he was staying in like he was supposed to. He'd had breakfast. He'd met with a guy he'd planned to meet with about clearing some money out of the family's bank which still hadn't existed since Nabudis' destruction. They had talked. They had eaten lunch. Cole had left. The world had not ended. Nothing weird had happened. Cole...thought he could define this as a normal day, if he could just make it down the street and maybe to the library to do some research for an old mentor. Maybe, just maybe, Cole could get that far and live in a sane world. That would be fantastic.

It was kind of a sane world around here lately. Kingdoms at peace and all that. His father wasn't being too much of a jackass lately. Leila had run off to do whatever-what, but he had assurances she was safe in doing it. Yep, Cole had a pretty clear head as he made his way down a Rozarrian street, among people with their dark, wavy hair and with their skirts that were way too long...well, except for the males wearing skirts. Then...by all means, they could wear a wedding gown or three stitched together. Cole knew Rozarria like the back of his own hand, and that wasn't just because he had a couple of Rozarrians a ways up the family tree. He'd spent many a day in this nation over the years, because for all their quirks, Rozarrians had money all over the place. They also had history, and weren't as stuffy with it as the typical Archadians, another ages-old empire. Rozarria was a treasure hunter's paradise, no doubt about it, and Cole had probably spent more time here in the past eight years - not counting his time helping the Resistance - than he had in Dalmasca, the remains of Nabradia or Archadia combined.

So the weird circle of dancers that surrounded him momentarily as he passed by on the streets didn't come as too much of a surprise. Heck, Cole didn't even act like he noticed them, though he did give them a sideways glance once they dispersed to go...dance somewhere else. They all looked like a walking jewelry store...but that was Cole, noticing the expense of everything. There was a reason he'd become a, uh, "fortune seeker." Because when he sought fortune, he usually had the innate ability to find it. He just wasn't always that good at the parts that came between the seeking and the finding. But, pfft on that today. He was just getting to the library, spending the last bit of the afternoon there, then getting back to his inn and some food and thanking the gods that his life or sanity hadn't been threatened the whole day. Yep, that'd be fantastic.

Cole was pretty used to seeing blond, white or whatever-else-color hair heading around Rozarrian streets, so to say he didn't pay much attention to any of them was kind of an understatement. They were mostly just faces in the crowd to him as he walked along, keeping himself busy by plotting out his next few days and, as usual, making sure no weirdos were trying to follow him. Oh yeah, as unbelievable as it sounded, people out there actually didn't like Cole very much. Not a lot of people, but enough that he wasn't all that unused to having a bunch of thugs show up in an alleyway to try and beat his head in. Sure, he could beat them first, but it was worth avoiding the trouble, right? Right. So Cole took a quiet glance over his shoulder.

And stopped. Wait. Blond head among the majority of dark ones. Kind of short. That...she...he knew a woman behind him in the crowd. Cole moved out of the way of a couple of Rozarrians who apparently didn't like that he'd stopped suddenly and stared into the crowd behind him with an intent look on his face. ...Crap, now he couldn't see the person. Okay, so there was a Layne Riley clone in the city somewh- no, she lived here now didn't she? With her old mother? Cole remained standing there, looking confusedly at the people that passed and wondering if he wasn't just so lost in his thoughts when he'd turned around that he'd been seeing things. Eh, the people that were passing could stand to be inspected too closely, just for him to be sure.

Words - 893
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - This is kind of bleh. XD But should work![/size]

[Layne Riley]

To the library. Layne walked along at a leisurely pace, enjoying her trip through the Rozarrian city and toward one of her favorite places in the city she had called home for the past seven years. Honestly, despite missing Nabradia every so often, – usually when she would think about the men in her family- Layne had become very much at home in this country. She could speak the language fluently, and having lived here for so long, while making friends (At least generally speaking of course) along the way, she had adapted to life in this country well. The heat got to her sometimes, but aside from that, she really couldn’t say that she didn’t enjoy her time here. This was home. It was where her mother was living, – in as comfortable a home, if small, as Layne could give her – and it was generally a nice place to live. That was, if you had some money. And thus why she continued on with her way of life-…alright, alright, that had more to do with loving the excitement and thrills that she got while running around the country after treasure than anything else. Layne couldn’t imagine doing anything else really.

And what better place to live for being one that sought after treasure? As far as she was concerned, Layne had picked the perfect location for it. Sure, much of the population was poor, -at least in some locations – much of Rozarria really had money. Not only that, but it seemed that the royal family, and others of course, had been loaded with artifacts and treasures. Treasures and artifacts that, in this day and age, could be found if one knew where to look for them. It took some time to find them, of course, but Layne had found plenty in her years. Finding the right treasure, and the right buyer was key. Then again, many times rich collectors had approached her and asked if she could find a certain piece if they paid a certain amount. She had gotten good at naming a price that they would go for, and would also pay the bills. And not only could that work, but it was also an exciting ‘job’. You weren’t likely to get completely bored or hate your job when it was always exciting.

Crossing another street, Layne walked, surrounded by dark haired, tan skinned people, though there were enough ‘mixed company’ of those with lighter hair and fairer skin, that she didn’t get any odd looks-…well, not too many of them anyway. At first, when she had been eighteen and new in town, the amount of Rozarrian people had amazed her. Tan skinned beauties seemed to be everywhere. Not that she had a bad tan herself, from being out in the sun all the time. Still, she could never hope to be at the same level as the people around here. But then again, she wasn’t Rozarrian, so it didn’t really matter. And of course, Layne knew that she stuck out like a sore thumb. People that didn’t know her would say that she was an easy target. Tch…right. The gun on her hip should state otherwise. Then again, it seemed that people were just used to others carrying weapons on them, especially with the past events and war seemingly looming on the horizon. Not anymore though! Peace…what a wonderful thought.

To get to the library, Layne had to go through the market. Not that she minded. The rich culture was evident the best when it came to this section of town. Slowing her pace even more, Layne watched the busy men and women that had their shops lined up on both sides of the street. She watched the children run through the stands, a smile on her features. She watched the buying and selling that was happening. Men and women making their living doing this. The sounds were lively, the chattering going on all around her. It was cheerful, and it, - though it sounded weird – made her relax. Until a second later, a string of jewelry was shoved into her face. The eager man that grinned at her was going to be…zealous about his item. *“Ahhh, tal una hermosa dama. Tengo sólo la cosa para que sostiene tal belleza!” Layne couldn’t help but smile at how hard he tried. Flattery wouldn’t get him anywhere with her. A little laugh escaped her lips, before she raised a hand to try and ward off the jewelry that was shoved right up under her nose. **“No, no, gracias Señor, pero esta 'bella dama' tiene bastante suficientes piezas de joyería.” Layne expertly maneuvered around him, before he caught her arm again, determined to sell his piece. ***“¡ Pero señorita! Se vería así-“ Layne would have been nice and listened to his entire rant before letting him down easy, but when she looked up, her mind emptied of caring about the feelings of this young man and she had to cut him off in surprise. Reaching out quickly, she grasped the young man’s arm, peering behind him at the figure walking closer toward her. “Cole?” Well of course he’d show his smug, altogether too attractive face here when he’d just cheated her out of-…well okay, he and Chloe both had cheated her out of two thirds the money from gems that should have been hers. Yes…she was still a bit sore about that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:; 1082
Muse:; Great!
Location:; Rozarrian city
Outfit:;Click!
Tagged:; Cole!
Notes:; *Ahhh, such a beautiful lady. I have just the thing for one that holds such beauty!
**Thank you sir, but this 'beautiful lady' has quite enough pieces of jewelry
***Oh but miss! It would look so-
Listening To;: --

[Coulson Pike]

...Right, he was indeed going crazy. At least he could recognize it and thus, continue to have a normal day. But yeah, he didn't see any microscopic blond people moving along anywhere behind him...well, none that weren't a few wild kids making their rounds. Cole raised his eyebrow down the other end of the street so he could figure out when he could cross over, mildly disappointed. After all, if this was a normal day, he needed someone to...normally poke fun at. Or something like that. It was actually a shame, kind of, that he only really got to see Layne anymore when she was trying to steal all his crap so rudely. Women and those grabby hands, right? He would know...really know. In the past, it had been collaboration that had been the name of the game whenever he and Layne - and once she'd moved to town, Chloe - had gone to find expensive stuff. Now it was "get the heck out of my way, this is my money." Well...they all had themselves and family members to feed. The fact that they all wanted money for themselves was kind of...human nature he guessed. They weren't kids anymore, after all. Dragging home a little more money after a find wasn't the name of the game anymore.

Finally catching a break in the street's activity, Cole crossed over, almost getting bowled over by a gigantic woman that crossed over from the other side. Cole backed away from her, sarcastically wide-eyed, and pretended to watch her as if she was some dangerous weapon of mass destruction. She didn't need to be on the sidewalks. She needed to be on the streets and designated as a moving vehicle or something. Cole finally lost "interest" in her, trying to retain the normalcy of the day, and drooped his shoulders as he reached the opposite side of the street, the library only a small park's walk away from him no- was that his name or someone asking someone if they were cold?

Oh. ...He wasn't crazy, then? That was good. Kinda.

As he craned his head to the side, Layne's blond little head came into view, over the shoulder of some poor Rozarrian salesman. "Layne...", he responded, glancing between her and the salesman. "You're going to give the guy nightmares at this rate." Looking around as if he had all sorts of better things to do at the moment - which he didn't - Cole made his way slowly over to the mismatched pair. He noticed the jewelry in the Rozarrian's hand, smirking as his eyes turned up to the man's face. "If you don't want it all stolen by this fine, upstanding citizen before you, I'd probably get back over to the stand." He'd meant it as a joke, but the man looked all sorts of terrified and scurried off, leaving Cole looking at him incredulously. "Okay then...
"

Now that he'd terrified the Rozarrian masses from ever thinking Layne was really a fine, upstanding citizen, he turned to her with a smile. Immediately his mind went to their last meeting...and thus, it was the first thing he decided to bring up. "So...how's the one third of my riches you ran off with treating you?" Oh yeah, she'd love that comment. Completely. Juuuuust like the good old days..

Words - 615
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - I hate making bridge posts. @_@[/size]

[Layne Riley]

Peering past the confused salesman, Layne watched as Cole caught her calling his name and looked around, finally spotting her. She felt the urge to smile – even though she had absolutely no reason why – and found herself doing so. Perhaps it was because she had to uphold a name for being nice around here. Of course that was the reason. And of course there was no “Hey, great to see you! How’ve you been?” that came from his lips. Then again, Layne hadn’t said that either, so she guessed you got returned to you, what you gave out. Waiting patiently for him to give up on his ‘I’m so busy’ façade, Layne continued to watch him as he made his way over toward where she was still holding onto the salesman. Oh…right. Removing her arm from his hand, she rolled her eyes when Cole made the comment that she was going to give him nightmares. “Right, Cole, of course I’d give people nightmares. Explain to my again why we can’t say ‘grenades’ around Chloe without a mental breakdown?” Of course she was teasing…of course.

“What-…”, she started as Cole turned to the salesmen and gave him nightmares. Layne got a horrified look from a pair of startled brown eyes, before he turned tail and fled. “Hey! He’s not telling the tru-…Coulson Pike.”, she finished warningly. Glancing back at him, she placed her hands on her hips and gave him a look. “You’re going to have the entire neighborhood against me.” Even she had to admit that there was some humor in the situation, as she watched the boy hightail it back to his shop, lock up the jewelry and look at her through shifty eyes. “You’re good at traumatizing people, you do know that right?” Turning her gaze back toward him, she couldn’t resist the smile that crossed her features. “And it’s good to see you too Cole. Even if you do make people think I’m going to steal them blind.”

That smile…Layne couldn’t help but return it. After all, it wasn’t as if their relationship was always at each other throats. No, when it didn’t involve treasure, she could put up with him perfectly fine. Well…most of the time anyway. And he was much too charming when he wanted to be. As in right now. Hard to be mad at someone that was looking so charming. Until he had to go and ruin it. Instantly her smile faded. “Oh ho no you don’t Coulson.”, she started out, complete with a wave of her finger under his nose, slipping back into her tendency of calling him ‘Coulson’ whenever she was annoyed at him, accompanied by ‘Pike’, depending on the level of that annoyance.

Keeping one hand still on her hip, she gave him her same look and then shook her head. “You’ve got that all wrong. It was my treasure, and you two pirates just had to be there at the wrong time.” It had been hers. She’s put all the time into researching the treasure and then all that effort into going all that way out into the wilderness to get it. Yeah-…but then again, so had they. Really, it had probably worked out evenly for them each to get a share, but that didn’t mean Layne couldn’t be a bit sore about it. Both literally and figuratively. It was only then that she noticed how riled up he had gotten her. With an internal groan, she shook her head. Darn him anyway. He’d always had that unique ability. Even if no one else could, there came Cole, with that swagger in his walk, and the smirk on his lips, and she’d instantly be on edge. Stupid men. Taking a breath and smiling at him, Layne placed her second hand on her hips once more. “So the better question is, how are you enjoying the third of my riches?” Aside from swaggering around, looking just a little too pleased with yourself,’ she thought mentally. Not that she had noticed or anything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:; 853
Muse:; Great!
Location:; Rozarrian city
Outfit:; That one I linked!
Tagged:; Cole
Notes:; I'm sorry for this XD Muuuse
Listening To;: --

[Coulson Pike]

"I- That...was not my fault. How was I supposed to know she was going to end up right on top of that firecracker? It was a one-in-a-million chance." It was amazing that after thirteen years, Cole was still having to make excuses for that little incident. Chloe needed to get some damn therapy if she was still bothered by it after all this time. It hadn't been that bad, right? Just a firecracker right at her feet that probably could have taken a leg off if people really didn't have good reflexes... Okay, so maybe it had been pretty bad. But he'd been dumb at the time! And everyone had to use a firecracker in some point in their lives and take that risk and...yeah. Cole simply rubbed lightly at his eyes and gave a highly pained expression at the memory, even after he'd done his best to explain it away. Oh well, Layne's random grabbing was still more disturbing. Yep. Well, to a strange Rozarrian, at least...

Which was exactly why he had to inform the poor fellow of Layne's tendency to grab all the expensive-looking things that were nearby. It was just his duty as a citizen...or as an annoyance to old friends. Probably both. He grinned widely as he got the full name treatment for his actions, watching contentedly as the Rozarrian man ran for dear life and set up high-level security on his jewelry stand. Oh, and the hands on the hips. Yep, he was in high form today. He'd only been talking to Layne for thirty seconds and he'd already been hand-hipped. He was almost proud of himself. "Hey, you can't say I'm not telling the truth!", he assured, pointing off at the jewelry. "And if I have to traumatize people to tell them of the great threat you pose to all society, I will do just that. It's a sacrifice I have to make as a...quality Rozarrian citizen." Without the papers that would allow him to actually be living here legally. Still, a quality citizen.

But, yeah, he knew she was happy to see him even if she did go all strict and offended on him. Giving her a light pat on the head (only because he could), he gave a little shrug. "It's hard to see you. Don't you need to buy some heels or something?", he asked her, looking down at her feet. "It wouldn't be that hard to find your blond head in all these dark ones if your head actually came above most people's shoulders." Okay, so Layne wasn't that short, but out of their one-time group of mini-adventurers and current group of rivals, she wasn't exactly winning in the height department. "Not that it's not all well-proportioned. So it is good to see you when I actually can," he told her, being absurdly obvious with the fact that he was joking with her. Big smiles helped to say that there was sincerity underneath all the hot air.

Ah, but he could push the buttons when he wanted to. Bringing up his money had always been the easiest way to do that. She'd always been a clingy thing, hadn't she? Looking like the cat who got the canary as he got a finger waggle along with the hand-hipness, Cole nodded his head intelligently. "It sounds like I did." They were all pretty sour that they'd all had to divvy up the money from the treasures, since a third of the shares consisted of only tens of thousands of gil, which clearly wasn't enough for any of them. Nah, actually Cole figured it was more of a...pride thing. Having your name as one of three on a big treasure find wasn't as fun as being "the Coulson Pike" or "the Layne Riley" who had found the great Margrace treasure, lost for over a century. Still, she didn't have to go and call him a pirate over it. Cole tried to look as downright offended as he possibly could - which wasn't that hard even though he wasn't. "Pirate? Noooo, noooo. I wasn't the one talking about parading about in a bikini, mind you," he told her, suddenly getting that subject on his mind again. ...Good subject, he just had to work to keep his eyes on her face.

Oh, now she was going to turn it on him. How mature. "For your information, I'm saving it for a rainy day. I'm all sorts of smart financially like that," he told her, proudly, crossing his arms over his chest. "For retirement if I ever do get old."

Words - 874
Muse - Excellente!
Notes - Ah, this thread.[/size]

[Layne Riley]

Of course he would think that little incident hadn’t been his fault. Putting her hands on her hips when she looked at him, Layne kept her eyebrow raised as she, for what had to be the millionth time, listened to him try to explain and weasel his way out of taking the blame for Chloe being terrified of grenades. “Mhm, sure Cole. I’ve only heard that same explanation…what…fifty times now? Either way.”, she teased there at the end. It was all good and fun until someone nearly lost a leg over it. Thankfully, Chloe had been light on her feet back then too, so no real harm done. Other than the months of therapy that the poor girl should have had to get over her fear of the grenades. And the mental instability she had in that area still. Amusing? Sure. Well, of course, in a non-mean way, if that was possible.

And now he was questioning her honesty! “Woooah there Cole, what are you trying to say? I’m a perfectly honest woman around here, and you know it.” Coughing slightly, she muttered out a quiet, “And if I was going to steal something, it wouldn’t be that worthless piece of jewelry either.” Keeping one hand on her hip, she shook her finger at him with her other hand, a smile on her face, “Not that I would in any other instance either, of course.” Of course…yes, so much truth there. Then again, if the opportunity presented itself, and there was some ancient artifact that was in the hands of the wrong person…well, wasn’t it her right as a perfectly wonderful citizen to remove it from their hands and place it into hands that would actually properly care for such an item? Why of course it would be-…Rozarrian citizen?

“Oh yeah, Cole, you’re really a Rozarrian citizen all right.”

Sarcasm. A woman’s best friend.

Okay really. No proper greeting, making people think she was a common thief, AND a short joke all at one time? Besides. She wasn’t short! “Blast it all Coulson, I’m not short, I’m average.”, came out the same thing she had told him countless times. Puffing out a small breath, she replaced her hand on her hip, eying him up one side and down the other, trying to look as serious as possible. It was good to see him. Always was, in a way. Besides, he always had this way of looking just a bit too charming for his own good. She blamed the smile. Contagious. That’s what it was. “And you’d better admit this is a nice body to look at. I spend zero days a week in a gym to look this good.”

Funny how quickly it could go from friendly bantering to more competitive. When treasures came in, they generally got a little more competitive than other times. What happened to the good old days where they had worked together to obtain treasures? Sure, it might have been a bit begrudgingly, but it had been a lot easier to do it with someone then all by yourself. Sometimes she almost wished they could be like they were when they were ki-woooah, her parading around in a bikini? “You came up with that all on your own Cole, I was merely stating that it was a possibility to be underneath my clothes. Underneath being the key word. I came prepared for the elements and possibility of swimming.”, she said adamantly. “Besides, you’re just upset that you didn’t get to see or figure out the exact color. You always were a terrible guesser.”, was spoken cheerfully, paired with a shrug. She couldn’t help but tease him a bit more about it, since he really had seemed so in want to know what it had actually looked like.

But there were more important things to talk about then what she was wearing, or had been wearing. Of course she didn’t just wear bikinis under her clothes on a day to day basis. Of course. Anyway, yes, what he would do with his share of the money. Since, she had to admit in her own head, that he had earned the third that he had gotten. Not that she would allow him to know that. “Wow, Cole, I’m actually impressed. Saving your money for retirement.” Cocking her head to the side, she pressed a fist under her chin, supporting her elbow with her other arm. “Does that mean you’ve quit buying doughnuts to support your addiction?”, she teased. Doughnuts…that reminded her that she was hungry. Or maybe it was the loud rumble of her stomach. Sounded like a lion trying to get out. With a glance to her watch, Layne read the time. 4:20. Not too late, but considering all she’d had was a quick bagel in the morning that she’d grabbed before starting her research on a project, it was no wonder she was hungry. And there was no way she was going back home to face her mom at the moment. Probably just to get another assignment. Oh no. It was no problem to go somewhere and grab something. Yeah, that’d be simple, and then she could head back to the library to check into that rain forest treasure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:; 1054
Muse:; Great!
Location:; Rozarrian city
Outfit:; That one!
Tagged:; Cole!
Notes:; --
Listening To;: You Were Mine - Dixie Chicks

[Coulson Pike]

"See, the 'around here' is what worries everyone," Cole retorted, just for the sake of having something to retort with. "Who knows when the kleptomaniac inside is gonna shake free and take hold of everything in Rozarria? You're a highly dangerous individual. If you suddenly snapped or something, even a piece of jewelry as ugly and useless as that one could start looking like a treasure chest." He pointed to the man who had retreated, earning another fearful glare at Layne. Aha, this was way too easy. "You might start seeing him as some kind of minotaur guarding his treasure hoard, and then who knows what you might accidentally do?" Cole considered one of his many talents to be making up a story on the spot - it was the one thing that had gotten him out of many a prison-related situation over the years. Said stories also worked for pure amusement's sake...or for charming the pants off someone. Or both at once, maybe. He had never tried that...

All he needed to do at her oh so subtle sarcasm was flash a big smile. Ah, knowing he could get away with wandering around this nation while having not a single soul bug him about getting citizenship and stuff, it was fantastic. What else was fantastic? Short people who thought they were average. He took a step back to act as if he was sizing up Layne. "Yeah, I'll admit, you're averagely short." Oh yeah, that was going to go over well as it always did. He was going to get them all to measure their height sometime just to reinforce his point or something. At her second comment, he gave a shrug, looking her up and down with an understanding frown. "I know how it can be at a gym...when you can't reach the actual machines to work out...", he said to her, slyly, moving out of range for any potential injuries she could inflict on him. Because this was the woman would would have no problem pulling a gun out and almost shooting him at times...hopefully not over short jokes, and especially not when he'd just complimented her, but it was entirely a possibility. And if she did pull out a gun, that would just be justifying his point that she was a public danger, right? Right. He'd have to...remove her terrible little self from the premises if she started just shooting wildly. Yep. Good for the Rozarrian people, that was Cole.

But, alas, the conversation moved to bikinis. Much better. He placed a hand over his heart and closed his eyes, as if he were swearing honesty to a court. "I was simply making a comment about the usefulness of swimwear in that situation, and you were the one that took off - pardon the expression - and decided you'd start rambling about wearing a bikini. I was required by science...mostly anatomy...to figure out whether it was true or not." That sounded like a perfectly reasonable argument to him. He crossed his arms over his chest to add to the scholarly effect. "And I'm still convinced I guessed right but you just weren't willing to tell me. Heck, you wouldn't wear a pink one, right?" Not that pink wasn't good or anything, but he'd just never seen Layne grab all the pink things in the vicinity like a bunch of women tended to do. So through the process of elimination, he knew - guessed - that pink wasn't the color. It was some brilliant deducing and he knew it.

And he wouldn't have to stop feeling proud of himself, as Layne- well, she almost came with a full-on compliment there. He flashed a highly sarcastic smile at her doughnut comment. "You're impressed by me all the time. It's just that you don't bring it up," he informed her, matter-of-factly, before her stomach decided it would enter the conversation. Cole stared at it, looking rather disturbed. "And you say I'm addicted to doughnuts..." Hmm...food. Food was a wise thing. It was a little early, he noticed, as he glanced across the streets towards a nearby clock, but it wasn't all that early...and screw retirement. "Before that monster living in your body starts popping out and trying to eat human beings, we should probably get some food." Nope, not you should get some food. We. Because if there was good food to be had, Cole was definitely going to be a part of it, nevermind the woman involved...

Words - 832
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - Not a thing. [/size]

[Layne Riley]

Sometimes, she wasn’t sure if she should laugh or hit him for the ridiculous things he said. She was having that same feeling now, as he went on about how much of a kleptomaniac she could perhaps turn into. He was insulting her in some ridiculous fashion, but all she could think about was that he was looking oh so innocent and full of fun while he did so. Yeah, that was the hard part. When he mentioned the merchant though, Layne finally broke down and laughed for a few seconds. “You know, Cole, I think your biggest talent is being full of crap. So much so, in fact, that I don’t know if I can believe anything you say anymore.” He was one of those men that were never going to change. He’d been like this as a boy, and he was like this as a man. She would say the term of ‘man’ had been used loosely, but she couldn’t deny anymore that he at least looked the part. Maturity? Well that was another matter altogether. The last thing she was going to do, however, was actually mention that to him, as that would probably start some sort of feud where he had to prove he was a man. She didn’t doubt he’d have some interesting ways on trying to prove that either, so she would just stay safe and not mention it.

Amazing how she could go from completely in control of herself, to fuming about being called ‘short’. Even if she was short, which she wasn’t, he didn’t have to go and purposely point that out to her and lie about it! She was perfectly normal sized, and that was that! She didn’t like being sized up either, and put her hands on her hips to tell him so, accompanied by a bit of a glare sent his way. If the first comment riled her up, the second would have made her smack him. Fortunately for him he realized and got out of range. So instead she shook her head and took a few steps toward him, a bit of a spark in her eyes. “I might not be tall enough to reach the machines, but I’m tall enough to wipe that smug expression off your face,” she warned with as serious a face as she could muster.

If she hadn’t been used to it, Layne would wonder how their conversations could change so quickly. One minute they were discussing the possibility of being a klepto and then the next it was on to bikinis. Why on why had she ever thought she should be ‘funny’ and troll him by mentioning that she actually had a bikini on? He was never giving up on that idea, now was he. Eventually she would have to tell him the color, or at the most awkward time he would decide to share with the class. One word stuck out though. Sending a disgruntled look at him, Layne lifted her hands to shoulder height. “Anatomy? Really Cole? Anatomy? That’s the best story you could come up with?” Layne also had the feeling that his stupidity actually worked with most women. She wanted to slap a palm against her face. Perhaps it worked with the stupid girls that just got swept along by his above average looks, but she wasn’t falling for his ‘for science’ schpeals. And she saw right through his attempts to figure out the color. And couldn’t resist teasing him a bit about it. “Oh, well I might, but then again I might not, I guess you’ll never figure it out.”

Sometimes Layne couldn’t seem to keep up with Cole and his banter. Not, of course, that she would tell him that. Thankfully, or unthankfully, her stomach cut in. Layne was thinking only she’d been able to hear it, but by Cole’s comment it must have been much louder then she’d first thought. Her thoughts were pulled away from the thought of food as she stood there and glanced at him. She had to defend herself. “Hey now Cole, mom kept me running the whole day for little errands, so I didn’t get time to eat.” She wasn’t going to mention it had only been the last few hours that she’d actually been sent on these errands and that the rest was because she’d just plain forgot about it. She was never going to hear the end of her forgetfulness if she did. And yes, she shou-“We?”, she inquired, raising an eyebrow at him. If he made up his mind to go with her to eat, she doubted anything she said would make that big of a difference, so she didn’t waste her breath arguing with him. She’d have to resign herself to him tagging along, though in all honesty, she did enjoy hanging out with Cole. Another thing she wouldn’t admit. Walking over toward him, Layne propped her hands on her hips again, sending him a smile, “You’re buying, right?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:; 1012
Muse:; Great muse, zero concentration <.<
Location:; Rozarrian city
Outfit:; That one I linked!
Tagged:; Cole!
Notes:; Bwuahaha Cole and his getting to pay
Listening To;: If You're not in it for Love, I'm outta here - Shania Twain

[Coulson Pike]

Wow, she actually hadn't dropkicked him over the whole kleptomaniac thing. She must have believed it too, considering the way she was laughing. Why wouldn't she believe it? It was the truth! He'd seen this woman firsthand for most of his life. Crazy was all up in there. "Well if you don't believe anything I say, you'd be missing out on a lot of good stuff, and you know it." He wanted to add something about I'm still the only one with the leads about loot but decided not to...he liked his shins, to be quite honest. It was kind of the truth, though! He still...uh, stumbled across things the fastest, as it were. It was just that it took him long enough to get himself churning on it that Layne - and usually Chloe, and other assorted people who weren't nearly on their caliber - could catch up with him. Hey, he just saw it as him being able to be lazier than the other two and still as successful. That was a sign of genius...or something. Probably just a sign of laziness...

Nope, he was a genius, as proven when he ducked away in perfect anticipation of her little short complex-fueled rage at him. He raised an eyebrow, thinking she'd probably hit him anyway, before she pulled up and tried to look all serious about it. Cole did his best to keep his expression mostly serious as she said it, too, before responding like a politician making his rebuttal in a debate. "I would estimate that I'm just about as tall as any of the machines," he said thoughtfully, rubbing at the scruff on his chin and suddenly realizing he had a really neat, recent scar on his chin. "So I could get you a box? Or on my knees?" And with that, he made one final retreat, knowing she'd hit him if she wanted to anyway. It was the thought that counted. If it came to it...maybe he'd say she just wanted to be closer to him. Which was obviously the truth anyway.

But he was okay with anyone in a bikini being closer to him. Why couldn't she just tell him? Didn't she know he was going to drive her out of her poor little mind until she did? Okay, so he wouldn't go that far, but he'd definitely be persistent in trying to find out. In addition to treasure hunting, eating and generally having a good time, what else was there to do in life? "I didn't think it was much of a story...I think I was pretty much up front about it that time," he told her, with a genuine look of thoughtfulness and a shrug. "See, this is why you have to believe some things I say." Yes, he'd managed to put those two points together in a skillful way. Next thing he knew he'd be a politician and someone like the Queen or little Emperor Solidor would be asking him for advice. That would be a daaaark day for either empire... But that wasn't worth thinking about. What was thinking about was that she didn't outright deny his comment about pink being the right color. Cole nodded his head a little. "Okay, so it was pink, then. That'd look cute on you, I have to admit. Were you looking to impress someone down there while you were digging around for those jewels?"

Eating was another one of those things Cole had mentioned to himself in his mind as being one of the important things in life, yes, and Layne's excuses as to why her stomach sounded like it wanted to escape were pretty lame. And she'd probably still not eat for a while and give up more lame excuses if he didn't trigger the goodness in his heart and drag her kicking and screaming alon- oh. She wanted to go. If he was buying...yeah, he should have figured that would be one of her requirements. He shrugged a little at her, motioning a hand towards her stomach. "If you don't eat all my money, yeah." Knowing her and her complete inability to stay away from money, that would be what she was going to be doing soon enough. "I know a place. Are you done bothering Sir Swindles-a-Lot over there? We should beat the dinner crowd..."

Words - 827
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - I hadn't even noticed it until I proofread...the question at the end of the third paragraph...bahaha.[/size]

[Layne Riley]

Most of the time with Cole, you had to make a few decisions when it came to which battles you wanted to win, and which battles you would be content to let slip away and have him think he had won, even if you knew better yourself. When it came right down to it, there were bigger arguments to win then if he was full of crap or not. Personally, Layne knew that he was, but he did sometimes come up with some actually helpful things, which was usually rare, so it could go either way. Because of that, she just shook her head and let him win, not saying much on that. “Yeah yeah Cole, I’m missing out, alright.” She even contained her eye roll that she had. Well, here she had let him win, so the next argument was hers to win…that was how it went. You had to pick and choose your battles. Yup.

And this next battle was it! Of course he would mention her height, something she had been sensitive about her entire life, being adamant that she was not short, and that she was clearly average height! Why was it that everyone else on the face of the planet admitted that and he still liked to pester her about her supposed shortness? Probably because he could be an ass about it? Yeah, that was probably it. Still, she thought she had won when she had warned that she could wipe the smug off his face, but apparently not-Okay now it was personal! As quickly as he retreated, she darted after him, with the intent of fully letting him have it, and reached her hand up, on her tippy toes, to slap him in the back of the head lightly. “If you must know, I’d rather have you on your knees than have a box for myself, so…yeah,” she finished awkwardly, putting her hands on her hips to make it seem like ‘yeah’ was the scariest threat ever.

She swore that if she ever lived through an encounter with Cole with her sanity, it would be a miracle. Rolling her eyes slightly heavenward and blowing out a breath, Layne let her hands slip from their position on her hips. “Okay, okay fine, so this one time you were truthful in your need to find out personal matters. I think my own choice of undergarments is my own private affair, don’t you think?”, she asked with a quirked brow. She highly doubted that he would ‘think’ so, but she would cross that bridge when she got there. Cole was a master at taking her words and twisting them around to seem dirty, so she had no doubts that he would do the same thing right here.

And she wasn’t disappointed. Or maybe she was disappointed…either way. She was right? Maybe that was a better way to look at it, rather than disappointed or not. “It wasn’t pink,” she said in a disgruntled voice. “Honestly Cole, in the many years you’ve known me, how many times can you count that you remember me wearing pink?” She had a point right there. Honestly, if he thought about the colors she generally wore, then he should be able to come up with the color her bikini had been. “I think that’s what, two strikes now?”, she added teasingly. If she could live through one more, then perhaps he would let the whole thing drop. Probably not, but it was worth a shot anyway?

“And you really do have a talent for taking such an innocent thing as hunting in a cavern for jewels and make it sound like something dirty. Is this some sort of talent you were born with? Or did you acquire it somehow-…actually, don’t answer that either, I don’t think I want to hear the answer.” Instead she focused on eating. Something he couldn’t possibly make dirty-…okay, he probably could. …Definitely could, but it was worth a shot anyway. Really, the more she thought about agreeing, the less she thought she should have. Glancing at ‘Sir Swindles-A-Lot’, Layne found herself shaking her head. “You know Cole, I don’t think the places you come up with are good for a nice girls health. Maybe we’ll have to take a rain check.”, she said with a grin before she started to move past him. “Perhaps I’ll ask Sir Swindles-A-Lot to go instead.”, she said with a nod. Layne was kidding of course, but she had the serious tone, and she was already waltzing past like she was going to leave Cole high and dry and not go to any place to eat. She was, of course, but there was no harm in teasing him to make him think she was going to ignore his offer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:; 969
Muse:; Great!
Location:; Rozarria
Outfit:; That one I linked!
Tagged:; Cole
Notes:; --
Listening To;: Train - 3 Doors Down

[Coulson Pike]

And then the vicious assault came. Cole wasn't really all that interested in avoiding it, which was obvious in the fact that he was grinning widely by the time she had to make it over - and ironically, had to stretch to reach him (which almost made him bust into laughter). He managed to contain himself, though, if only because it was because he didn't want to be laughing throughout his retort to her oh-so-threatening words and hands-on-hips thing...which he thought was a pretty good retort. "You'd rather have me...on my knees...", he said, with his connotation obvious from the tone in his voice. "This could technically be arranged, I suppose..." He rubbed a little at the scruff on his chin to make it seem like he was genuinely considering it. Yep, that was going to earn him something else...maybe another slap....but totally worth it. She had kind of walked into that one...or....hip-propped in?

But there were more important things to be worried about. Like undergarments. Cole cocked his head a little at her comment that they were a "private affair." Now he didn't know about the private in there, but... "It was private until you brought it up in conversation. And...as a weapon, most likely." He was just guessing on that, but he was pretty decent at guessing how women were about such things. Darn them and their being....pretty...and...having curves that bikinis made nice and stuff. Yeah, he could blame them for that!

But he was going to play right along with it, wasn't he? Yep,he most certainly was. His...honor as a man compelled him to keep guessing. Too bad it wasn't pink...pink would have been nice. He stepped back and sized her up, though, arms crossed on his chest and eyes searching for greater truth deep within the recesses of his brain. If she didn't usually wear pink so the underclothes wouldn't be pink... He glanced at the main color she was wearing. And, with confident realization hitting him, he dropped his arms and stood straight again. "It was blue," he said, with certainty, searching her face to see if he was right. If he was wrong again...he should just give up on a career of, uh, "archaeology" because he definitely couldn't dig up anything interesting ever. And besides, blue was a good color too...

And then she was off about him being dirty, which he was actually having a hard time following. What was she talking about, exactly? Did he want to know? Probably not. It was probably one of those strange Layne fantasy things that only she would understand. She told him not to answer, so he took up the offer and just blinked a few times to let his confusion pass. Even he knew when to let something like that go, especially with food becoming the subject.

...Aw hell naw.

She was going to pull that on him? When he was being so nice as to invite her to eat with him? Cole turned and, deadpan, watched her starting to leave (watched being the key word, considering the back view), and scrunched up his expression. She was not going to do this to him! He added some reserved cheer into his voice. "Ah, okay... I'll remember that you're having a good time while I'm eating those famous mint fudge bars that were so damn delicious the last time I was there... You have a good time!" He waved and started walking in the opposite direction of her, sticking his hands in his pockets and staying all casual-like, though his face, turned away from her, was grinning like a opossum.

Words - 674
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - We have the best ideas, dun we?[/size]

[Layne Riley]

Sometimes Layne wondered if he ever had his mind on anything clean. Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes heavenward and blew out a breath slightly. “I’m sure you could arrange it. Is your mind ever in a good, wholesome place?” Of course she had to ask, though she wasn’t sure if she really wanted the answer. She could guess that it was probably a no. Cole just wasn’t one of those serious natured guys, so you had to expect that he would usually be thinking about something that wasn’t wholesome. As she had determined long ago, though, boys would be boys, and Cole, though he sure didn’t look like a boy anymore, was sure classified as such at times. The point was that she really shouldn’t question Cole most of the time. Really, she probably didn’t want to know the answer half the time. Unfortunately, she had a curious mind, and that usually got her into trouble whenever he was involved.

“A weapon?! I don’t have to use a bikini as a weapon Cole, I can get you to do whatever I want without it,” she boasted with a smile. Okay, so that was probably a lie, but she could bluff about that. Besides, she didn’t need a bikini to get things done! Even if it did help every once in a while – not that she had ever used that tactic of course – Layne couldn’t be lumped in with the girls that actually did do things like that. If you needed to use your body to get something, you were obviously doing something wrong. Or at least, that was what she thought. But it didn’t really matter now did it, since she hadn’t ever had to do so. Obviously she knew how to manipulate people without the use of a bikini and curves? Curves did help of course…though she had yet to really understand the mystery of what was so beautiful about curves in the eyes of men anyway. She’d never gotten the guts to ask Jake or her dad about it...so here she’d remain, lost in that area. And she still wasn’t going to ask Cole about it. Rule one in life if you wanted to keep your sanity: Never ask Coulson Pike about anything regarding anatomy-…

Oh shoot, he actually guessed it. Glancing at him, Layne shrugged. “Well it took you long enough to guess,” she finally mentioned. “I think you’re off your game lately Cole. It shouldn’t have taken you all three strikes to figure it out, at least not if you really had it going for you.” Well maybe that had been a little bit below the belt, but oh well, she was just teasing anyway, though he honestly…pink? Had he really not grown up with her for their entire childhood? Had she ever worn pink? Aside from that one unfortunate incident of course…man she was glad her mother couldn’t dress her up in pink frilly things anymore, though heaven knew she tried still.

Instead of indulging him though, she was going to tease him a little bit. And so she started to step away, telling him she needed a rain check. Excep-…mint bars. Damn it. How did he know her weaknesses? Stopping, Layne peeked over her shoulder at him walking away. Well darn it! Famous mint bars? He thought she was going to miss out on famous mint bars? Hell no! Turning around, she strode after him. (More like jogged) Okay, okay, so he had adequately met her challenge, was he happy now? Finally making up the lost ground, she gave him a disgruntled look. “I hate that you know my weaknesses,” she commented with a frown. “Curse you anyway Cole, these mint bars had better be as good as you say.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:; 796
Muse:; Great!
Location:; Rozarria
Outfit:; That linked one!
Tagged:; Cole
Notes:; We do have the best ideas XD
Listening To;: Disappear - Evanescence