just a couple of wayward protectors is all {Tristian}

[Cal Karnstein]

So some jackass was picking on a smaller student. That bugged Cal just in normal terms; she didn't quite get why people needed to be jackasses to those smaller than them. Larger? Yeah, sure, that was just plain fun. Cal knew all about trolling the bigger people; picked it up from her cool mom (not the ice one, but you'd be allowed to make that mistake). Which was probably part of why she was instantly drawn toward helping the smaller person in most of these conflicts. Plus, embarrassing bullies? So much fun.

"Hey!" Cal called. To her surprise, however, she called at the exact same time as someone else. That had her pausing, looking over to see a guy who just screamed prince stepping up, radiating confidence and a sort of alpha male aura that nearly had Cal purring. Just who was this guy? She could see the bully(ies) slightly confused, turning to look from the blonde to the lanky girl with the brilliant awkward chair and a set of chains she'd already pulled slightly up to wrap around her knuckles.

Cal shrugged and moved to lean against the wall. Might as well watch this, see what happened. "Makes me wish I had some popcorn," she said, chuckling. Hey, if the guy needed backup, she could always move off the wall. The bully(ies) had, by this point, put their poor target on a hook a few feet off the wall, so who knows.

[Tristian]

Tristian was in a mood. For one thing he was in the dorms and he hated the dorms, however one of his teachers had asked him to help one of the students study for their English exam and in a moment of weakness he had agreed. Well the English teacher had been very handsome. For another, he had broken the heel on one of his favourite stilettos the night previous and had just been told by the cobbler that it was unfixable. Underneath were of course a multitude of emotional issues as well ranging from his sister and the love of his life hooking up to the fact that his father seemed to barely acknowledge his existence, but damn it if he wasn’t raging about those shoes.

So when he came into the dorms to find that a group of idiots had hung some poor student up on the hooks he was ready to let his rage out on someone and these bullies would do.

“Hey,” he shouted at the same time as someone else, he saw out the corner of his eyes a tall short haired blonde with chains wrapped around her wrist.

He decided to take advantage of the confusion of the bullies and stepping forward said, “Come now guys, everyone knows that acting like a dick won’t make yours any bigger.”

“Get lost, or we’ll put you up there too,” said one of them stepping forward in what he must have thought was a menacing manner, the rest of the bullies started to back off a bit.

Tristian grinned, “oh please try, please. I’m begging you.”

The bully tried to hit him with a right hook, but Tristian easily blocked it and brought up his own fist to connect with the guys nose. He took a few steps back holding it, there was no blood, but he imagined the pain was intense.

“You all have about five seconds to get out of my sight,” said Tristian.

[Cal Karnstein]

Wow, The Golden Knight here was all up in the guy's face. Cal resisted the urge to start clapping at that initial comment. It was very much something she'd say if given the option. But she wouldn't have quite the physicality Goldy had here.

But, since Goldy was doing such a great job, Cal let him do his thing. Instead she sidled around, moving about the edges in her quiet, half-vampire sort of way. There were blows and Cal winced and ooed along with most of the crowd. She also shuffled a few steps closer to the victim. About the time Goldy was threatening the group, Cal had reached the poor kid. She had her arms under their shoulder and easily lifted them up. Then she sidled back, moving along behind the bullies, who were all trying to decide if they should avenge their honor.

Which had Cal all but rolling her eyes. "C'mon, either start brawling or run away already," she finally had to say, setting down the bullied kid. "It's just one guy. I mean, he's obviously a complete badass who just broke your buddy's nose. But hey, you can probably take him. Go for it," she grinned, and the bullies glanced at her. They looked back to Tristian and, of course, one of them had to decide that was a signal.

"You need your girlfriend to fight your battles for you?"

Which just had Cal snorting, but she was certain it would be enough for Goldy to try something real fun. And they'd already gotten the kid out of the way, so no harm, no foul, right?

[Tristian]

Tristian smiled as the girl from earlier started to egg them on. He was itching for a fight and he was glad for it, he would need to think her when all this was done. When the bully stepped up and made his comment Tristian laughed, “oh please, is that really the best you can come up with? I think I’m offended. Look, whilst I would love to step back and let this charming young woman floor you all, I’m having a really bad day and your five seconds are up.”

Stepping forward Tristian grabbed the one that spoke and clutching his shirt then threw him towards one of the tables. Another stepped forward with another swing of the fist, and again Tristian blocked it and this time grabbing the guys head bounced it off his knee which he was bringing up to meet his face. The others had stepped forward to get in on the action as well, only one of them was stupid enough to continued, the other making a break for it towards the nearest door past the blonde girl. Tristian looked at his new attacker and decided he would use the guys momentum against him merely sidestepping him just as the guy reached him and pushing him enough so that he landed on the other one he had thrown into a table.

He smoothed back his hair and fixed the cuffs on his shirt, “If I catch you doing any of you doing anything like this again, next time you’ll be walking away with more than a bloody nose…and less limbs. Now. Leave.”

He turned his back on them, not even bothering to see if they would follow his order, heading towards where the student and the blonde was, “everything ok over here?”

[Cal Karnstein]

Oh yes, Cal would've loved to floor most of these guys on her own. She gave a predatory smile that showed off some of her too sharp teeth, the sort of look that sometimes had weaker guys wetting themselves in fear. But they apparently acted their fear out in a Goldy direction, lurching forward. or at least, one did, and that didn't go well.

The other tried running past Cal. She stepped forward, raising an arm, and essentially clotheslined him. he landed hard, winded. Cal wiggled a few fingers, but the guy was already running, and now he started scrambling away. Cal shook out her limbs as the bullies started scrambling, turning back to face Tristian.

"Everything's peachy keen, goldy," she said, looking back to the kid, who was standing to the side and openly gaping at them. "I think someone's got a crush," she said, jerking her head toward the guy and giving Goldy a wink. "Gotta love the whole golden knight thing. Very prince-chic. Super hot. Ten outta ten." Another toothy grin.

[Tristian]

Tristian looked over at the kid that had been helped down from the hook and smirk slightly. The guy started blushing and mumbled a quick thanks before sitting down in one of the chairs nearby, returning to his work it would appear. He was handsome but perhaps a little young for Tristian’s tastes, he liked them a little older and a lot more burly.

He regarded the young woman in front of him and smiled, “Thank you, and thank for your assistance there, quite the clothesline you gave him.”

In proper Prince fashion he nodded his head a little and bowed in a way he knew some of the girls in this place simpered about and said, “Prince Tristian Summer Pendragon of Camelot and the Summer Country.”

Somehow he did not think this girl was the simpering kind, so he followed it up with a wink and a, “and you are?”

[Cal Karnstein]

Cal dropped into a slight curtsy at Goldy's compliment. The kid was mumbling thanks and sort of edging away, clearly eager to get out of the spotlight. Cal sent him off with a ruffle on the head and a smile, sure that he'd manage it well enough.

Which left her facing Goldy's list of titles. She let out a low whistle. "Mildly impressed, Goldy," she said, extending a hand. "People call me Cal, and I guess Prince Tristian Summer Fancypants Dragonboy of Camelot and Wine Country probably counts as people," she offered another wink. "You often go around saving lads in distress? Or was this just a command performance?"

[Tristian]

Prince Fancy pants Dragon boy indeed. He couldn’t help but let out a little laugh at that.

“A pleasure to meet you Cal,” he said, standing up straight again and regarding her.

She was good looking by normal standards, her clothes were interesting but they suited her and he liked her generally demeanour. She was sassy with just enough charm and she could clearly handle herself in a fight. Tristian was prone to snap judgements about people and in that moment he gave a little internal ‘nod’ and thought, ‘Yes, I like her.’ Not in the ‘I want to take you to bed’ kind of way but in the ‘I can see me tolerating your company for longer than most’.

He smirked and said, “well my duty as a Prince is to protect the people. So I can cross that off my ‘to do’ list today. Are you often in the habit of goading people in to fights?”

[Cal Karnstein]

"I am a pleasure," agreed Cal, smiling a toothy smile and rocking on her heels. She was one to make snap judgments herself, and while Prince Tristian Lord of the Land of the Rising Sun and DragonBorne or whatever he wanted to call himself might have a mouthful of an official name, he did strike her as a decent enough sort. Plus, she could always dig someone with a wry sense of humor: matched her own well enough.

"Must be one heckuva to do list. Gotta sign a few treaties, rescue a damsel or two,' she rolled back, eventually leaning against the closest object and/or wall, whichever happened to be nearest. "And hey, I wasn't doing any goading there. Jerkasses were all up in the kid's grill, and I got a problem with people who try to look high and mighty by stepping on people. Guys like that deserve to land on their asses," her eyes seemed to darken for a moment, and the grin had a slightly feral look. She raised her hands up, lacing fingers behind her head as she leaned back and eyed Goldy with a catlike look.

"So how's about you and me do something to celebrate our victory? Or I guess our position as wayward badasses,' she gave a wink and pushed off, waving for Tristian to follow. "C'mon, my moms set up me up with a black card. I could buy a wing of the school if I wanted. Still thinking about buying the East Wing and calling it the West Wing just because," she winked.

[Tristian]

Oh she was quick, he liked it. Mentally he noted down a few of her comebacks, they would come in handy for any hecklers, and there was always hecklers. Having a few retorts saved up was always useful and Cal seemed to have a few of them.

He couldn’t help but agree, nodding and smiling at her. Some guys really did deserve to be put on their asses and almost too much of his time was spent doing so. Of course, most of the people he put on their asses were people that thought that just because you put on a pair of heels and a sparkly dress and had a preference for the male sex that you couldn’t swing a punch or two. It had almost become part of the act; who will Miss Knightly beat up this evening?

Then she was encouraging him to follow, talking about how they’d celebrate their victory using her moms cards. Moms. Plural. Interesting he thought, he made a mental note to pass on that detail to Meredith, she’d like that. Normally this would be the point where he would politely make some excuse and depart, leaving the young girl with the hope that maybe one day they’d meet up again and carry on. However curiosity was getting the better of him, he knew it would no doubt get him into trouble but still...he wanted to see how far this rabbit hole went. What kind of ‘victory’ she had in mind that involved a credit card.

“Well I’m supposed to be helping some English student study but I’m sure I could make time later,” he said with a grin, following her, “what did you have in mind?”

[Cal Karnstein]

"Do I look like I got a plan, Goldenrod?" asked Cal offering up a laugh. She pushed herself off the door, nodding to Tristian as she moved. He'd already started to follow her, and she headed off, pausing only for a moment to wiggle some fingers toward their mutual admirer. The poor guy still seemed much more in awe of Tristian than Cal, a fact that did not go unnoticed.

"Kid must have a thing for knights,' said Cal, flashing Goldenrod a quick smile. She reached her arms up, lazily stretching before lacing her fingers together. They slid behind her head, tucked neatly there. "So, pretty sure this school doesn't offer booze, which kinda puts off some of the food. But they do got vending machines to knock up, or coffee places that offer chocolate. And everyone knows chocolate's right up there with sex."

She turned back to look at Goldenrod. "Or we could hitch a ride if you wanna see what kinda trouble we could get into in town. Your call, Goldenrod. Personally, I'm thinking a coupla wayward knights like ourselves might wanna grab some coffee, get caffeinated like hell and see about hitting up the stables or something."

What they could do there was a bit more up for the imagination, really. But as Cal said: she had literally no plan here. None.

[Tristian]

Goldenrod? Where had that come from? He couldn’t say that he did not like it. There was perhaps something a little off about it, but at the same time there was something that just seemed…appropriate. He smiled and continued to follow her, only pausing a little to look back at the student who quickly ducked back behind his books again.

“Well he’s in for a bit of a disappointment in that regards,” he said softly so only Cal could hear it.

Tristian thought about it for a moment and said, “Well Blondie, lets head in to town, I know a little place just next to the mall that does the best sex you’ve ever had, and coffee too.”

[Cal Karnstein]

Cal's gaze flicked back toward the poor kid, noting Tristian's comment and the kid's own posture. She shrugged. "Everyone's got hero crushes, Goldenrod," she replied. "Who knows: you mighta just been the thing that helped that kid realize that he'd rather see if the rougher sex has its benefits."

Cal reached up, stretching, her fingers laced together. She noticed the nickname in return, and that had her barking out a sharp laugh of her own. The next bit had her quirking an eyebrow. Had he just misspoke or was he flirting right back with her? Because she could definitely handle some verbal sparring. Best way is to give and take, right?

"Hmm, you do seem like an expert on the best someone's ever had," agreed Cal, unwinding her arms. "Plus, I could go for something hot inside me right about now. Perk me right up." She gestured. "Lead on, Sir Hero."

[Tristian]

“Well, plenty of heroes here, I’m sure he won’t be in the closet for long,” he said, turning back briefly to look at the young man and giving him a wink.

When Cal responded he realised that he was about to go treading in hot water soon and he better hope there was one of those ladders out of it should he need it. Flirting, was unfortunately (or fortunately), was his default mode, and when presented with gutsy females he couldn’t help but join in with them. The problem was, it reminded him of when he hung out with the other queens, not back home, but in the club, this was all their chat was and it was so easy to fall into it. However, in a normal setting…it tended to land him in a bit of trouble.

He had two options, bail out now or play along until he saw another opening to leave.

Oh who was he kidding, he loved playing with fire.

He smirked and in true gentlemanly fashion held out his arm to her, “Then my lady, you have come on to the right knight, let’s go.”

[Cal Karnstein]

"You are horrible," teased Cal. Of course she'd noticed that wink, and she almost wondered if she'd bumped into some sort of kindred spirit here, and not just in the whole protecting the innocent business. Sure, they'd saved the kid together and all, but the guy was almost keeping up with her flirting, if not edging her out a little.

Cal linked her arm fully then, nodding. "You are a horrible knight, is what you are,' she replied, bumping her hip against Tristian's. "Gotta admit, I do dig it," she gave him a wink, fighting the urge to all but rub against them. Her eyes scanned the area, and she thought she actually noticed the guys they scared off giving them nasty looks. Cal followed them for a few moments while they kept walking, heading out of the school proper. They didn't seem like they were actually going to do anything, so Cal didn't see a reason to really get too worked up about them.

"So," she began, still looking over her shoulder just in case, "is this sex you mentioned some sort of special drink, a dish, wishful thinking, or what I get to look forward to when we finally get to this joint?"