Sometimes, cafeteria coffee just isn't appealing anymore.

It's those times when Benjamin finds his way to the Bean, and treats himself to whatever the special of the day is. Today, it's a drink so sugary and caffeine-laden that a single teaspoon could cause ADHD in a dozen preschoolers. Benj is happily sipping this drink, and poring over a new tactics manual for a computer game. His attire consists of the standard black jeans, and a blue t-shirt over a long-sleeved shirt (the t-shirt, incidentally, looks like it's from a sports team, but reads 'Dungeon Master - property of the Gaming Department'). His hair's the length that means he's a bit overdue for a trim, and therefore looks a tousled mess.

...And he's sitting sideways in his chair, his sneakered feet a tripping hazard for any unwary passers-by - but he's oblivious to this fact, far too absorbed in the manual to bother about a silly little thing like where his feet are.

Her shirt reads 'Rogues do it from behind.' in white text against a plain black background. Despite what you people with dirty minds might think, it has nothing to do with that. It refers, rather, to the fact that in roleplaying games of the D&D variety, a rogue--or a thief--can do extra damage from backstabbing. (Just in case anyone didn't know that.)

Her main character on the mud that she infrequently plays on is a rogue, you see.

She is also reading, but it is a worn paperback with nothing left of its cover, about three inches thick, and apparently very absorbing. So much so that she fails to notice that there is anyone else in existence, let alone in the coffee shop.

That she would trip over his feet is, of course, inevitable.

Benjamin, at feeling the kick that means she's tripped, instinctively jerks his feet back.
"Ohshit-"
Also instinctively, he reaches out to try and catch her before she can fall. Oddly enough, he remembers to put down his book but not his drink. This means he is on the edge of the seat, one hand out to stop Taryn, the other holding a mostly full, uncapped cup of very hot coffee.
...Can you say 'disaster waiting to happen'?

"Eep!"

Taryn is a former dancer. That said, while she has a certain way of moving that is rather graceful... she still doesn't actually need Benji's feet to trip, just her own.

And now she gets to dodge coffee, too.

I do believe she ends up in Benji's lap, although she bounces back out again in a moment.

"Oh, sorry, Keye--oops-I-mean-Benji."

"Eh heh... s'alright, no harm done. It was totally my fault anyway..." he says apologetically, not even noticing that he was momentarily mistaken for his twin. He figured out recently that he's going to have to get used to it.

A bit of coffee has sloshed out of the cup onto his hand, and he's gingerly dabbing it off with a napkin. He maintains eye contact with her, however, or attemps to. "You okay?"

"I was about due to trip over my own feet anyway, I'm good. You okay? Burned?" All concern, or maybe just being polite and concerned. Perhaps somewhere in the middle.

She makes the best of the situation--hey, she doesn't encounter Benji every day--and sits down across from him.

... oh yeah, she ought to get some coffee or something. Hm.

"Nah, I'm fine," he shakes his head, making a point of crumpling the coffee-stained napkin and setting it aside. See? Fine.
(Okay, so his hand does sting a bit, but it's just a little scalded. Not a problem.)

"So. Taryn." He's very pleased with himself for remembering her name. "What brings you here today?"

Shrug.

"Just wandering around with a book, mostly." Shrug. "I just wanted to get out for a while."

((Erk, blahshort.))

"I know what you mean," Benji observes, grinning, "I swear if I don't start leaving the dorm more often, I'm going to start getting claustrophobic."

He pauses to take another sip from his not-so-full cup of coffee.

"How's life treating you?"

"I think I'm already claustrophobic, 'cause I can barely stand that place anymore."

Sigh.

It would help if the dorms were more tastefully designed and decorated. Posters can only do so much, you know?

"Well, then. You should get out more," Benji concludes cheerfully, making a would-be sweeping gesture with the hand holding the coffee. "I should get out more. Heck, we both should. Let's work on that."

For the record, he is not suggesting they go out as in 'date'. Taryn is - as far as he knows - Keye's girlfriend, and there is no way he would ever purposely mess with that. On the other hand, he would like to get to know his brother's friends a little better.

She laughs.

"Well, it looks like you roleplay, although I don't know how much that counts as getting out. What kind of stuff? The video game kind, tabletop, mud, MMORPG?"

She's curious.

Also, roleplaying rocks.

He grins, almost wickedly.

"All of the above. Also some LARP, - but you won't hold that against me, will you?"
He gives her a pouty sort of puppy-look, but that wicked amusement is still dancing in his eyes.
Some people think LARP, and all its costumes and mock swordfights, is an embarrassment to roleplaying.

She... squeals.

"Dude, I would love to do LARP except I can't find anyone to do it with."

She could never find an SCA chapter or anything of that sort, either.

"Yeah, there isn't one here, but back home, there were a handful of us who'd get together on weekends and just go crazy. Sometimes I'd be a wizard, but it was pretty fun being a paladin." He snickers. "Beating the crap out of each other with sticks,... oooh yeah, those were good times."

The look on his face could be described as nostalgic if it weren't for the grin.

"We'll probably get right back into it when classes are out," he continues, drumming his fingers on the forgotten game manual, "Where's home, for you? If it's not too far, you should drop by sometime."

She makes a face.

"Home is Texas. Just a bit far away to drop by for some LARP... Unless you're from Oklahoma?" she adds mock-hopefully.

She doubts it, though. Not many people from that far south come this far north for school.

"Texas? Damn. That is far."
Benji sighs his discontent.
"Looks like no LARPing for you, then, not unless we... start one... here..."
Blink.
"Now why the hell didn't I think of that before?"

"That'd be awesome. We can put up posters all around Keaton and find more geeks who want to play, 'cause I figure it would get pretty boring with just the two of us. I bet I could talk Vi into it... maybe Darcy..."

Hm...

And that is the sort of expression usually described as lit up.

"Whoever they are, sure. The more the merrier," he nods enthusiastically. "So, posters, and, uh, we'll need space to run around in - but no one'll grudge us that. What we need are people, rules and a schedule. In that order."

And there's further planning on the subject, and pondering over who would want to play, and all those lovely things.

Finally, Benji pauses for breath, a silly smile plastered across his face.
A really silly smile, because for some reason his face only does grins and smirks properly.
"This is going to be great," he says earnestly.

Taryn is no less pleased, I think.

"Yeah. Heh, we can invite Keye and see if he can manage some real special effects for us..." Pause.

Oops?

"Cool. What kind of special effects?"

The fact that he's so interested proves that he hasn't a clue about what kind of special effects Taryn means.

"Like props, sound effects - what?"

"Yeah, sound effects. I don't know if he could manage props..."

Solid illusions are so hard for him, after all. She doesn't know if he could hold one long enough to do any good.

"Visual effects too, kind of."

"Like?" Benji prompts, curious.
He's never been aware of special effects in LARPing beyond the occasional flashing lights, glo-sticks, and elaborate makeup.
"Does he work on stage crew or something?"
He assumes Keye's prowess with special effects involves theater somehow.

"Um, not exactly. You'd have to ask him to show you, 'cause I don't know if I can explain it right."

Poor Taryn.

How is she going to explain the guy who shapechanges into a wolf, and Keye's illusions, and... well. She just doesn't know if he knows about magic, you know?

So she's fumbling in the dark.

"Oh. Okay, I'll do that next time I see him."

Benji nods, and again gives a smallish, silly smile.
He thinks these effects must be something complicated and technological; technology can be difficult to explain, he knows.
And what else could it be, right?

Whew.

"So... I can design the posters, if you want."

Pause, as she looks shy.

"Or I can try, anyway."

"Sure, go for it," he nods, his smile becoming encouraging when he notices the sudden shyness. "I'll see about the rules and plot and such, but you'll have to go over them with me, to make sure they're clear and don't conflict each other."

Benji downs the last sip of his coffee, which has by now grown cold.

"I can have them done by the time I get back from the break, for certain."

Taryn is unreasonably shy about her artwork. She is told that it is quite good, especially when she is actually interested in the subject that she's drawing.

"'kay. And I'll try to get the posters done by then."

"Okay. Better put our e-mail addresses on it or something, so people who're interested will be able to contact us. Other than that - just go with whatever. You know what you're doing."


((Ick.Sorry for shortness.))

"Well, I hope so."

She shrugs.

"We'll see. If they look horrible, we can always get someone else to redesign them."

"Nahhh, I'm sure they'll look fine."

(If it really becomes necessary, though, Benji might just snag some pictures out of a book or the internet. That's if it becomes necessary. Wouldn't want to hurt Taryn's feelings, after all.)

"We'll see, like I said."

They'll look fine. She devalues herself.