Delightful [Bree]

[chesh]

Chesh rarely made an appearance at stab wound that indicated his gender in one direction or another. His bosses seemed to like it that way, and everyone that watched him dance seemed to appreciate it just as well. This evening, however, he wasn’t here to work. Well not in the usual sense that he would be spending a few hours dancing in front of strangers for money. He was here to work on coaxing more secrets out of Bryan, or whatever his/her actual name was.

And he planned to drink, as well. That was a new development.

Despite the fact that he wasn’t working, Chesh was able to easily sneak to the back door of the club, waiting there for Bryan just past ten o’clock. Of course, he hugged the shadows, peering out from them curiously. He wasn’t sure if he would be disappointed if Bryan didn’t show up, but he was intrigued with how the night would go.

He wondered as he absently plucked a spot of lint off his trousers if he would be able to recognize her should she show up in a dress. Now wouldn’t that just be a lovely surprise?

[Deleted]

Really, it seemed like a ridiculous idea from the start, so Brianna had no idea why she was agreeing to it. Or why she had agreed to it in the first place. Drinks with Cheshire. That didn't even sound humane. It probably wasn't. Darn that...thing. It had confused her, so she accepted. Well, not in front of it, she didn't, but it did tell her to be at the back door at ten, and...for some reason, Brianna was doing it. She had to be mad. Certainly she'd been drugged and given this "forcing" potion of some sort.

It wasn't a date. Because usually, Brianna knew the gender of those she went out with. This time, she had no clue in hell. And she intended to find out a few things about this Chesh person. Tonight. Be it by sharpness of tongue, flattery, or confusion, as Chesh liked to often confuse her.

Brianna did plan on gradually sliding into the fact that she was in fact female, and wanted to gradually show that to everyone. All in time, of course. For tonight, the best she would do was to wear a pair of skinny jeans, and a long, overly sized navy silk top, and boots. Her always perfectly-groomed growing hair she ruffled a bit to give her that wild look about her, and even decided to sneak on some eyeshadow. Hardly noticeable, but it was there. If she was going clubbing, the clubbing she was going.

"You were that eager, weren't you," Brianna said, mostly a declaration rather than a question as she spotted It hanging around the back door. Brianna shook her head. She'd been the Stab Wound once and hardly stood a chance against the testosterone in there, for she had none.

[chesh]

"Curious, is a better term." He said, melting out from the shadows with a smirk on his lips. Brian looked...pretty. "I don't see why you don't dress like this all the time, Brian. You look lovely." Chesh complimented, reaching and opening the metal door to usher Brianna in. "I don't suppose there's another name I can call you? Brian just doesn't seem to git your outfit tonight. I could give you another, if you like." Chesh pursed his lips in thought, leaning his head left and right. "I'd offer Haigha, but I already have an acquaintance by that name and I just don't think I could stand to know two."

The music pouring out of the club was dark and raw; danceable, but it seemed more prime for fighting. Chesh enjoyed the chaotic rhythm, but couldn't say it was to his standards for everyday listening.

"How do you feel about Thursday? I'm quite partial to Thursdays."

[Deleted]

Looking down at herself when Chesh complimented her, she shrugged. The top could go for either boy or girl, and the jeans...same. So were the boots. It was feminine, and Brianna liked it like that. "I'm not clubbing every second of the day, Chesh. I haven't dressed like this in years," she informed him, giving him yet another shrug, then nodding her head as he held the door for her. Whatever it was...it was certainly a gentleman.

Again, Brianna looked down at her outfit, and even smoothened her top a bit. "Brian is fine with what I'm wearing." She wasn't sure if she wanted to actually be called by her real name. How strange it would be to be called 'Brianna' again. But that last thing she needed was for Chesh to call her something else. Like Haigha. "Brianna. Naturally." There was no point in making one up, or else that would be more lying involved, and she didn't need any more lies atop of the ones she already had. It was about time the world knew Squire Brianna, and not Brian.

The club was dark, as Brianna knew it would be. The music was...well, let's just say it wasn't very much to Brianna's taste. She didn't much listen to music. Music was distracting. She preferred to swordfight. Swordfighting relaxed her mind. She didn't know anyone there at the club, not once familiar face. As if she was expecting to know anyone. Pft. Brianna just wasn't much of a social butterfly. She preferred bars over clubs. Bars that didn't offer too much dancing, and the music was light and easygoing.

"Thursdays?" Was he really asking what she thought about Thursday? "I like any day of the week. I'm not picky."

[chesh]

Rolling his eyes at her indifference. “well I don’t see why what you’re doing has to dictate what you are or are not wearing. If I could wear anything in any weather I could, but I can’t, so I don’t. Fashion is such a fickle thing.” He grumbled to himself. As they entered the club, Chesh gestured to the bar tender over the crowd. When they arrived to the bar, there were drinks already waiting. They were an acidic green.

“Is Brianna the name you were born with?” Cheshire asked, gesturing at the drinks and inviting her to hers, if she so desired. “I think if I were ever to born again and have a say in my own name, I would pick Thursday. Not all days are created equal, you know.” Leaning on one of the bar stools, Chesh stared contemplatively into his drink. “For example, today I woke up and found a butterfly stuck in a spider’s web outside of our window. But yesterday I had grapefruit for breakfast, which was lovely.”

[Deleted]

"It does have to dictate, because if I am not clubbing, I will most likely not wear something like this. If I am simply in my dorm room, I will dress casually. And if I am practicing my swordfighting, I will be wearing chainmail," Brianna explained, shaking her head at his silliness. "So you see, Chesh, what I do does dictate what I wear or do not wear. Simple." But she had to agree with him on the fashion comment.

Brianna took her drink, wondered what the hell it was, and took a courageous sip out of it anyway, then winced a bit. It was strong. "Yes. Brianna is the name I was born with. Brianna of Tyndale, if you may." But that was all Brianna said for a bit because he suddenly went all Professor on her and she debated on whether she should ignore all the nonsense Chesh was saying, or actually listen.

"I..." What the heck was she to reply to that? "Of course they are no equal in accordance to the actions done, but I do similarly the same things every day, a little mismatch here and there. But if I must, I'm partial to Mondays. I like the beginnings of a busy week."

[chesh]

It does have to dictate.

“Why?” Chesh asked earnestly, leaning his hand on his chin as he planted his elbow on the bar. “Why can’t you be the one to dictate what you decide to wear and when? Why should your activities or whatever you are pretending to be at that time be an issue?” Chesh took a sip of his drink, going slightly cross-eyed for a moment at the flavor. “I think this world could benefit from the kind of chaos caused by throwing out a few silly rules.”

He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Mondays, hm? You’re goal oriented, yeah? I’m sure you’re a great squire and will one day make an excellent knight.” Chesh said with a resolute nod. Brianna was just stuffy enough to make a good knight, and just pretty enough to be distracting.

[Deleted]

Brianna sighed. Audibly, too. Why was everything for Chesh a question? Why couldn't he just accept what she said and move on? Why did he have to complicate he life so much? Why, why, why? "Because, Chesh, that is just how things are. There is no logical way to explain it. Just go with what many are doing, and nobody asks any questions." She shot him a glare at that word, then took another sip of her drink. Whatever Chesh had ordered...it was both really strong, but also felt really good going down her throat.

She glanced out into the club. There were people of all shapes and sizes. People Brianna had never even set eyes on before tonight. Interesting place where he worked at. But it really wasn't much her type at all. The next words out of his mouth, shockingly, had not been some kind of question for Brianna to ponder. She had to smile at this. Nobody until now had really "supported" her decisions.

"Thank you, Chesh. I appreciate that," she replied, smiling. "And yes, I am very goal-oriented." Then, she thought about something. "What's your real name? Other than...Cheshire, of course?"

[chesh]

Looking taken aback at Brianna’s sudden adherence to ‘do what you’re told and nothing else,’ Chesh raised his eyebrows and leaned back a bit. Well that glare was certainly icy. He combated it with a sly grin, leaning in to her and letting his eyes roam over her face. “Squire Brianna, if there is one thing that you should know about me it is that I never believe that logic can fully account for everything in this world, and that what the many are doing is often the very worst thing that can be done. If one is to do what everyone else is doing, how is it that the individual is to make anything of itself?” He finished his drink in a fell swoop. “I do not think that a world without questioning is a world with playing in.”

Chesh was relieved that Brianna’s snappishness had been replaced with an earnest smile. A tension in his shoulders relaxed slightly. He knew it was a risk inviting her here at all, and the fact that she could at least smile about it was reassuring. “You’re welcome!” He chirped, chuckling. He played absently with his empty glass, tilting it so that it balanced precariously on its bottom edge. “I offer the name Cheshire when someone asks for my name because it is the title I most appreciate, but since you were kind enough to tell me that you were born Brianna I will admit that my school records list my name as Robin Tatum Cheshire.”

It wasn’t exactly the straightest of answers, but Chesh was sure it would suffice.

[Deleted]

Brianna would rather she shut off her Brianna when Chesh began speaking nonsense that she did not feel like beginning to try to think of what point he was making. If there even was a point, of course. Most of the time, she didn't get him. Brianna would stare at him when he spoke, tried to listen and understand, but it was awfully difficult. It was either a cat thing that only cats could possibly understand other cats, or he was...a special one. The special part was a given, since Brianna was still trying to figure out what gender he was (though she was leaning towards a 'he'; he was, after all, in the male dormitories...unless he pulled a Brianna).

"Fine, then, question away, but within reason, Chesh, please," Brianna settled upon saying. She glanced over at him, then back to her drink, finishing it off as quickly as Chesh had. She wanted another one. She just wasn't sure what the heck it even was. Besides...wasn't Chesh paying? "Another one of these, please," she called out to the bartender, motioning towards her glass.

He was actually quite pleasant. Perhaps Brianna had been too quick to judge him. "Robin Tatum Cheshire," Brianna repeated, trying it out on her lips. "It's...a very nice name, Chesh." She shot him an amiable smile. Okay, so they could be friends, she supposed. The kind that could have fun with each other and such. As friends should.

[chesh]

The bartender shot a glance at Chesh, who nodded. He wasn’t concerned with the tab really, he could always convince his boss to take it out of his paycheck anyway. Though he honestly wasn’t planning to get Brianna that drunk. It would just be cruel.

Chesh looked down to his hand resting on the bar, smiling in a way that was much different from his usual grin. It was almost…sheepish. “Well I’m glad you like it. It took some getting used to. Frankly I can’t think of anyone who actually uses it, myself included. “ He explained. “So you can consider yourself privileged to have it. A name is quite a powerful magic, you know.”

[Deleted]

Ah, what did Brianna know of magic, really? It was outlawed in Camelot, but there seemed to be plenty of it here in this country. It wasn't something she was looking to learn either, even if it could prove to be useful, especially if she also knew the physical means of combat as well. Magic was an interesting thing to discuss, perhaps even more interesting to watch, but Brianna wasn't looking to understand it very well.

"How is it powerful magic? I understand that one is not born with a name, but is given one shortly after birth," Brianna said, as if she knew everything there was to know about names and birth and whatnot. "Names have meanings, do they not? But what if they don't always reflect the personality of the one who owns that particular name?"

And here she was, actually confusing herself in the way that Chesh might. She really needed to quit getting so involved with this cat.

[chesh]

Chesh laughed slightly, shaking his head. “No, no. It isn’t a simple as all that, really it is quite complicated.” When weren’t things complicated with Chesh? “For example, let’s take your name.” He gestured to her with an open hand. “You are Brianna of Tyndale. That is the name that your parents gave to you, the name you grew up with until,” he raised his finger. “You decided to become Brian.”

Letting his hand fall onto the bartop, Chesh leaned forward slightly. “The day you took a different name, you became a different person. You were not only a boy, but a fighter, a squire. And now that you are Brianna once again…can you say you are truly the same after having been Brian?” Chesh shrugged. “Your name transformed you and the way you were perceived by others, as it will continue to do, not unlike a spell meant to change the appearance of a flower or a teapot.”

[Deleted]

And of course, Chesh needed to begin analyzing her words and the topic. Again, why did Brianna even bother anymore? She might as well just watch Chesh entertain himself, for she was sure that he often did that, when it came to words. He needed to learn to stop taking everything so seriously, and just take a breather. Just once. It wasn't as if Brianna could merely suggest that to him, or he would begin to preach to her what was wrong with the way she worded it, or her intonation.

"Yes, but it isn't because of the name I've taken, but rather, the appearance and the person I've decided to become," Brianna argued (she should stop that). "I could have disguised merely my appearance and lied about why my name is sounding like a girl's. My name would have had nothing to do with how other see me."

"But I doubt that my name is to blame for what has changed me. It is my experience as the person I have pretended to be, and not my name."

[chesh]

What Brianna seemed to miss, was that Chesh didn’t analyze because he was taking things seriously, he analyzed because he didn’t take anything seriously. It was his level flippancy that allowed him to analyze everything so closely. He could sweat every little detail because he wasn’t busy sweating details.

“But you didn’t keep Brianna. You changed it.” Chesh pointed out. Brianna had changed her name, and essentially become Brian. “But if you doubt it, perhaps I’m wrong. It was just a thought. I tend to entertain them from time to time.” Pursing his lip, Chesh peered up at the bar. “Not very often, because I usually find them troublesome…but they can be entertaining.”

He chuckled and looked back to Brianna. “Do you dance?”