Nik's Apartment [Private: PM for entry]

"Well, Huntress, you are free to stay here while you get your bearings. The couch is much more comfortable than it appears. I've slept there a few times when I'm too sore to climb up into the loft." Nik said to her, putting away the leftover medical supplies and throwing out the old, bloodied bandages. The kettle whistled, signaling that the tea was finished. He went over and poured the tea into the tea cups, using a tea strainer to catch any left over leaves. He came back and gave a cup to Scadia. She seemed like a straight tea kind of girl, like himself, so he didn't bother to offer anything add-ins.

"I know very well the quality of your couch." She spoke as she accepted the offered tea. For a brief second, she was tempted to cool the drink with her magic, but restrained herself. Just because Nik could not see her soul, did not mean no one could. So she waited like a normal human, blowing across the surface. "But despite that, I believe I shall still take you up on your offer. Thank you." She drank some of the tea, the warmth and caffeine flowing through her body.

"Best lesson my mother taught was how to make a good cup of tea. Makes everything feel better. So, Scadia, if you are going to be staying here, I think I should know a little about you. I don't need your life story, but a few details wouldn't hurt." Nik said cautiously. He knew that she had some secrets, and he wanted to respect that. Well, he would until her secrets put his life or the life of someone he cared about in danger.

ooc: wasn't sure how to break her monologue, so have fun reading

"Very well. You deserve that much at least." She moved over to one of the chairs he had spaced about and sat down, her posture relaxing but still alert and very much regal. "As long as I can remember, I have had no parents, I do not know if they are deceased, or simply abandoned me to my fate. despite that, I grew and I learned. I was raised by the people I lived with. It wasn't a foster, more like the collective whole of the area. As a became older, I knew of the world, and learned of the struggle. My...,i guess you would say village, was in conflict with our neighbors. We were always blamed for it, though the feud has been so long that I do not know the origins or what is true. I do know that some of my generation was trying end the conflict. They did not see the ancient reason for the feud one to continue. I agreed with them, for the most part, and would often speak and help. Everything seemed to be going well for me, but then I had a fallout. I am unsure of as to why. The young lady it happened with had never liked me, and always seemed to attack me when others were not looking. And one day, she went too far. Much of that time is blurry, and I believe I was to be blamed for what happened, and so I left." She paused to sip more of her tea before finishing her story. "The rest, you have been present for. Know you know my life story, or at least a summary, now I would like to hear yours."

ooc: No worries. Some things can't be edited down.

Nik listened closely, watching her eyes and body as his father had taught him. If she was making anything up, she was very good at covering it up. However, Nik found it odd that she made sure to remain vague about her home. However, Nik did not let on his feelings and, instead, answered her. "I was born and raised in Copenhagen. My parents were a successful team that hunted down evil souls. They retired after doing it for years and got real jobs. They had me and my two brothers. My childhood was pretty normal until I transformed for the first time. After that, I dedicated to follow in my parents footsteps. I graduated secondary school at 16, found a meister, and we hunted evil souls. She...she was killed in action. I was depressed and did some really stupid shit to dull the pain. I finally came out of it and decided that I needed more education before I risk losing another meister, so I enrolled here. That's me in a nutshell."

ooc: For example, this fun monologue :jam:

"I am sorry. Death... death is always hard to deal with." She continued to sit, sipping her tea faster as it cooled more. "I suppose I should enroll here as well. That was my plan, though it would appear to be hard from your living room."

"Right now you need to focus on healing. Your wounds aren't bad, but it draws attention when people show up wounded." Nik said, finishing the last of his tea. He sat the cup down on his coffee table before retiring to his original position on the wall. "Don't worry. Once you look fine, I'll vouch for you so getting in will be a lot smoother." Nik promised.

"I guess you are right." She finished drinking her tea, set the cup down and moved back into the kitchen. "For all you have done for me, I believe payment is due. I think I'll start with breakfast." With that, she opened his fridge, took a pan that was out on the counter, and started to make eggs.

Nik smiled and made no effort to stop her. She didn't look like a woman who would stop even when asked anyway. Her wounds would be well enough in a day or two, so he needed to make sure she had what she would need when the time came for her to enroll. "Do you have any other clothes other than the ones you are wearing?" Nik asked her.

She looked down, before steeling herself and turning to face him, eyes dead set on his. "Yes. I never owned much to begin with, and having to run simply lightened what I owned even more." She paused from prepping, the pan freshly oiled with butter. "On a different manner, how do you prefer your eggs? Over easy? Scrambled? Perhaps an egg Benedict."

"I like mine over easy. I like to eat bread with my eggs." Nik answered her. He watched her closely, looking for signs of discomfort or pain in any other areas of her body. He couldn't visably see anything, and he wasn't going to check her for anything. She, hopefully, would tell him if she needed help with any other wounds. He decided to begin his morning forms there in the living room. He fell easily into the simple stretches of the Opening form of Tai Chi.

After she received a response, she pulled out two eggs from the carton. Holding one in each hand, she raps the shells against the edge of the pan and dropped the yokes into the center. She set the empty eggs on the side and found the spatula hanging on a hook. Scadia turned the flame down to a simmer, not wanting to cook the eggs too fast. As Nik started on his forms, she turned her body to be able to see both him and the food. While he was much too young for her, and a human at that, he did have a lovely muscle structure that would make most girls swoon.

OOC: Cradle robber hehehehe

IC: Moving through the form with extreme grace and poise, Nik flowed through his living room. He had done this hundreds of times, and every time still helped his body relax and prepare for a day of hard work. The full form didn't take too much time, though Tai Chi was meant to be taken slowly. That was one of its trademarks. Once he finished, returning to the closing form for the last time, she laid his hands to his sides and breathed for a few moments before finally opening his eyes. "Ah, that was nice. Eggs done?" He asked politely, walking into the kitchen.

She gave a nod, and removed the pan from the burner to an unlit side. "Yours are. So if you would be so kind to get plates and utensils, we can eat when mine are cooked." She turned to the kitchen and seeing no doors or obvious locations, looked back at Nik. "Where might your pantry be? I was hoping you might have some rolls or muffins to go alongside the eggs."

"I have muffins the the cabinet up there." Nik said, pointing to the one he was referring to. He reached over to another cabinet and pulled out two plates. He also went and got some silverware from the drawer next to the refrigerator.

"I haven't had someone cook for me since I left Denmark. My mother can make a mean meal when she wants to. Too bad that isn't very often." Nik said with a bit of humor.

Scadia grabbed one of the two plates he had pulled out, and scooped the two cooked eggs into its center. She set the plate down on the counter, and cracked two more eggs into the pan. "That is a shame. Well made food is a joy people enjoy less and less." After a minute or so had past on the second batch, she placed the eggs onto the second plate and turned off the burner. Moving the indicated cabinet, she pulled out the small package of muffins and brought them to the table.

"Min bedstemor, my grandmother, used to visit during weekends and make dinner for our family. My brothers used to fight over which one of them would get the last piece of her blackberry pie. Alek is fierce when it comes to his dessert. Man I miss that." Nik said in an effort to make conversation. He chuckled slightly at the image of his brothers going at it. He felt a bit homesick from the memory, but it passed quickly.

"Hmmm. Large families sound exhausting." She sat down at the table across from him and began to eat her meal. Scadia could tell he wanted her to talk about her past, but there was nothing to say. Or more to the point, nothing she was willing to say. A witch at an academy would draw eyes, and she could not talk about the realm she grew up in. "You mentioned brothers, plural. How many do you have?"

"I have two younger brothers. Alek is 17 and Vic is 15. They act as a pair because Alek is a weapon, a double-barrel shotgun, and Vic is a meister. It can get tiresome at times dealing with all the different family members that visit, but family is family, and I love them all." Nik said. He could admit to himself that he was curious about where she came from, but refrained from asking. The situation from which she came to him made him wary to pry too much. However, he had his safety and the safety of his home at stake and, while he was willing to help, he was not willing to do so blindly. "I am sorry to ask, but I need to know exactly how dangerous it is to keep you here. I want to help, but I cannot put myself and my home into something illegal. I'm not asking you to spill everything, but a bit more information would be much obliged." Nik asked. He was hesitant and careful with his wording as he didn't want to set her off. The woman was intimidating and his brain was telling him that she was more than meets the eye. Years of combat experience had trained him to read his potential opponents, and, though he loath to think of her in that way, this city was dangerous, and he couldn't take too many chances.

Scadia let out a sigh, her eye closed halfway. "Well...." She began, mainly as a place holder while she gathered her thoughts. She could not tell him the truth. She had only just arrived and being hunted on both ends was not something she could deal with. At the same time, Nik was very observant, he could tell if he had been misled, and while he would not immediately suspect her, his trust was something she needed. The truth then. He needed enough of the truth to trust her. her eye opened fully before she continued. "This..." The pointed at the bandages on her face as she spoke, "This was given to me by a Witch. I... I still am not certain how I survived. This witch is dead, I believe, but others may try and pursue me. So I came here, the place witches would dare not follow, just in case my fears are correct." She met his eyes when she finished, waiting for any tells, if she should need to run from here as well.

Nik listened to her explanation, and his his surprise when she had mentioned a witch attacking her. The fact that she understood what a witch was surprised him as well. She wasn't a weapon or a meister as far as Nik could tell. That would mean, if what he was beginning to believe was true, he'd would need to be careful. She ahd shown herself to be no threat to Nik, so he would trust that, but she very well could have jumped out of the fryer and into the flame, as the Americans out it.

"I understand. The rest is your own business. As I have said, you are welcome here. I think you'll probably want to purchase some new things. There's some new clothing store that opened up here recently. I admit that I don't know much about it, but a lot of girls keep talking about it." Nik told her. He still didn't completely trust her. He'd be an idiot if he did, but, for now, she would be in his care. He would take it seriously unless she showed herself to be an enemy. He hoped it wouldn't have to come to that because, by himself, he didn't stand a chance against her.

"hmmmm" Scadia glanced down at the tattered dress that wrapped around her body. New clothes would be nice, and if she was planning on staying here, either with him or in the citty in general, she would need new clothes. She stood out too much with the bandage on her face as is.Combine the injury with the rags, she simply was a gossip beacon. "I suppose a shopping trip wouldn't hurt." She looked back up at him as she continued her thoughts. "Though I believe first on the agenda should be housing. I doubt I should stay on your couch much longer."

"The couch is open as long as you need it. As to housing, the places around here are nice, but they're expensive. My parents help me cover this one while I am in school." Nik informed her. He didn't really have another other idea about other places to live. Perhaps he could ask Rogue or Tony if they knew about any places that were nice but affordable. He did want to condemn her to some run down place in the slums.

Now that he thought about it, he really didn't know where the shopping district was in the city. He never really had the need to replace his clothes because he was always careful in them. Nice clothes were expensive, and his mother always dressed her sons in the best when she could, which wasn't often considering Nik's passion was fighting. Sometimes he needed to but some new shorts, but he just needed a cheap place to go for that. Thinking to correct this, he pulled out his phone and googled the location of the new store that had opened and also sent a text to Rogue asking about any places that may be open around his place.

"hmmm." Thats right, money. She knew that it would be an issue, and while she wasn't penniless, there was a huge difference between having savings and being able to afford a home. She did a quick mental recap of what she had. After spending some on food to get here, as well as a couple boat tickets to cross the oceans, she was down to only a couple grand. Definitely enough for a new wardrobe, but not enough for rent or mortgage. Waiting for the weapon to pause from his phone, She organized her request into a more suitable response. "That may be a long time. I do not have much by ways of funds, and I am unsure of how well I could acquire more. Minimum wage just isn't cutting it anymore."

"American minimum wage is terrible. Denmark has around a $20 minimum wage after you exchange the currency. Don't worry, I won't ask you to help with the bills unless you decide to stay, and, even then, only after you get back on your feet." Nik told her. He understood the situation she was in. He came to America with only a promise that his house would be paid for. Food, clothes, entertainment, etc... was all on him. However, he had a good job, and he hoped to supplement that with missions. If only he could find a new meister to wield him.

Rogue sent him a reply saying he didn't know, but he would look into it. He seemed curious, so Nik told him it was for a friend. Once he finished up that, he looked back at Scadia and said, "So, shall we get ready? I think you'll feel a lot better in some fresh clothes. You can shower first. Sorry, I only have stuff for guys, but it'll get you clean." He informed her.