Apr 05 09:58:13 106 PA

From Chronicles

Apr 05 09:58:13 106 PA

The Alibi

It is well before happy hour, party, and, for many, even crawl-out-of-bed hour. Other than comparatively the comparatively soft music that wafts through the club, in deference to late nights and hangovers, little is likely happening. Leonard takes advantage of the peace to catch up on study or work, seated at a table with his attention focused upon the dataplaque before him. While he could do such at the library, the seating here is much more comfortable. Not mention he can get drinks served here.

Seeking shelter from the weather, before her shift, and possibly something nice and purple to drink to keep the energy up during it, Maya arrives. A rustle of an umbrella being shaken, and she turns towards the club general. The grin appears, cheshire cat like, at the sight of a friend and she jumps down the stairs, two feet at a time, before practically bouncing across the dance floor towards Leonard's table, offering an enthused hug.

Vixen comes into the Alibi at a decidedly more reserved pace, around the time Maya gets to Leo. The young woman handing over her ordinance at the door before moving into the club itself. She has a purpose despite her slowness, moving directly across the floor without much sideways attention along the way. Heading directly for the door of the back office, her hand dipping into her coat as she goes, though not yet drawing the object within out.

Fortunately for Leonard, his glass is on the table, and the bounding serves as mild warning in the otherwise bounce-impaired setting. He is still not utterly prepared for the assault, having little time between recognition of the incoming Maya projectile and the moment of impact. After a slight 'oof,' he does manage a chuckle, and returns the embrace a portion less chastely than his prior assaulting. "Good morning. You seem remarkably energetic considering all you did last night."

The hug is as enthused as ever, and she laughs as she releases the poor man. "I didn't do so much! Just a bit of dancing, and a bit of work." She glances at his glass questioningly before waving a hand towards the bar. Thankfully it is quiet enough to get the attention and a large purple drink is forthcoming. "Are you busy? Should I leave you to study?" Despite the words, she begins to remove her rain coat and scarf, before she flops into the seat, unaware of the incoming Vixen.

Moving past the tables and the dance floor, Vixen skirts the edge of the stage to walk up to the back office's door. A four times folded slip of paper is drawn out and she dips down to slip it underneath the door casually, giving it a few nudges with slender fingers to make sure it can't be drawn back out from the outside. Contented with that she rises up again, casually rubbing her fingers against her coat as she turns and starts to move back towards the door. The purpose handled, her attention is more relaxed, thus her eyes happen upon Maya and Leo, lingering as she cocks her head slightly. Considering them.

Leonard takes advantage of the interruption to retrieve and quaff his wine. The other hand motions to the seat Maya has already claimed. "Please. I could use a pleasant distraction. The material is a touch dry, even for me, and perhaps some of your enthusiasm will rub off. What brings you here so early?"

Maya settles, her glass in her hand, the straw used to slurp some of the purple drink before she replies. "I needed something to drink before work. It gets hot there, and there isn't anything nice really..." She leans back in the chair, settling her feet up opposite her, next to Leonard, to the world looking as it they are in his lap... "Did you catch your friend last night?"

Vixen diverts, coming over to the table at a casual pace. Though as she approaches, she cocks her head slightly, favoring her right ear. But there is no danger to be seen as she comes up to the table itself. "A bit early to be bar hopping, ain't it?" She reaches out to the nearest empty chair, flipping it around casually to settle backward upon it, her arms crossed over the back. Her eyes slide towards Maya, considering her quietly before they return to Leo.

Leonard grins and nods. "I did, and we... Godd morning, Vix." His heard turns as she marks her arrival with a comment (as if she'd do otherwise). "Not hopping, exactly. Just attempting to get some work in while remaining a little more comfortable than the library allows. How are you? Any success with your meetings?"

Vixen's arrival brings boots dropping to the floor, a complete lack of regard for the noise, and Maya rises, swooping down on Vixen to hug her, enthusiastically, warmly, her grin widening. "Morning!" The greeting is given as she returns to her seat, flopping back and, this time, tucking her feet beneath her. "I'm glad. She looked like she wanted to talk to you." A slurp of the purple stuff and Maya is settled once more.

"Not sure yet. You know big wigs.. have to consult, plan, plot and count the beans. Not done yet with my list either" Vixen rolls her shoulders casually as if it were no serious issue, her eyes flitting across Leo's laid out work. The hug is responded to without much beat missing on her part today. Though she limits it to the lift of an arm to give a casual squeeze in return. "A decent one so far," she replies to Maya before turning a considering eye on Leo. "Yeah, he tends to have lots of girls around him." The words given as a simple statement, without overt accusation or the like. At least, she doesn't seem upset.

"Well, that's better than them closing the door one you." Leonard's grin can't help but grow at Maya's continued enthusiastic embrace of her notion of enthusiastic embracing. His lips then curl further to a smirk at Vixen's last words, accusation or not, and his head shakes with bemusement. "Maybe I should alter my dress, since I can't keep them off of me." The sarcasm suggests that he hardly agrees.

Maya's slurping pauses a moment, glancing between the two with a raised eyebrow. "I hadn't noticed. I thought he was just friendly." The look she gives Leonard now is pure scientist, narrowed eyes, a thoughtful gaze, as if he were placed beneath a microscope. "Perhaps it is his manner." She is musing aloud, pausing in her thoughts only to take another slurp, bright red lips wrapping around the straw.

Amber enters the Alibi, her hand moving to her thigh to unhook her pistol which she hands over to the doorman before making it into the bar proper. She looks around for a quick second and spots Leo and the two women, and she can't help but grin at her self. Her eyes roll up the to the right as she gives her head a tiny shake, and she approaches the group with a smile, "I was hoping i'd find you here." she says as she approaches, her eyes on Leo. She looks over at Vixen and gives her a small wave, "Long time no see." her eyes move to maya, then leo, then back to vixen, "I'm not interrupting am I? I'll only be a minute."

Vixen shakes her head slightly and seems apt to change the topic, looking towards Maya. "Now that you're here, maybe I can toss a little something at you," she starts, letting her chin rest on her crossed arms. "I'm sure you heard about those refugees.. I've got plans for 'em. Food.. shelter.. short term stuff for now, but I'm looking at long term. I doubt the KEC or the government is going to be handing out meds for free for 'em.." She pauses as Amber comes up and she lifts a hand from the cross of her arms. "Sit down.. more brains is good to bounce stuff off." She then continues, "Long term, something's gunna have to get done.. right now they're out there exposed, so I bet lots of 'em will be getting sick.. gotta handle that until better shelter can get out there for 'em." She then adds, more generally, "But in the long run.. hell, maybe we should build a little town for 'em or something, since there ain't gunna be no room in here and I doubt that's the last pack that will be coming this way." She glances around at the other three. "But that'll cost too.."

Leonard watches as Vixen deftly switches to business, giving a nod here and there. "I'm still working on the sheltering aspect, but it looks promising." With Amber's arrival, his grin resurfaces yet again. "Good morning, and please..." A hand starts to motion for a suitable spot, then pauses as the vicinity is filling up quickly. He then slides himself over on his bench to make room before looking back to her. "What brings you to find me, other than to keep score?" Leonard chuckles. "I think I'm losing."

Maya's grin fades a little at the talk of the refugees. "Some are already hurt." Obviously, a subject close to her heart but she shakes her head, a small frown appearing on her forehead. "Shelter is clearly important, as is water and nutrition, but I don't see how we can divert resources to them without raising hostilities..." The easy slide from casual words into formal speak perhaps is caused by the thoughtful expression. "I could ask the director, perhaps we could get less equipment for the lab and..." Finally a penny drops and she shakes her head, giving Amber a grin, "Hi, I'm Maya, and you are Leonard's friend?"

Amber returns Leo's grin, "Or winning, if you were an optimist." She digs into her bag and pulls out something wrapped in a lint-free cloth, her expression changing as she listens to the others chat. She sits, placing her bundle on the table and unwraps it slowly, revealing a slick metal casing. She looks up at Leo as she takes the casing in her hand, and manipulates it, causing it to open like a book revealing a screen. She twists it and folds it back over, the package very slick looking, "I just wanted to drop this off for you, its ready" she hands over the device, and picks up a small connector left in the cloth and hands that to Leo as well, "Plug this into the dataport of the camera, and you should have seamless connectivity." she grins, her pride obvious. She looks up at Maya and extends her hand, "I'm Amber, and yeah, i think we're just about friends now. I saw you dancing the other night, I think, nice moves you got."

"For now, I'm working some mojo," Vixen states, "Dunno how much I can get, but more than I was asked for.. that's going to be a sure thing, I think." She nods her head once, leaning back. "But like I said.. that's short term. Long term.." She shakes her head a little. "Going to have to think on that, but if we can get some flow going here, I bet we can start expanding later. Heck, if we can get them the tools, they can grow their own, maybe.. set up the base.. get them to work. Better than just sitting around, ain't it? Maybe if we can get the materials, they can work on their own long term shelter too.. get some people that know how to build stuff supervising. Maybe some of them know how to do it themselves." The gears rolling steadily on her mind as she tosses ideas. "Yeah.. maybe.." She leans back, whipping out her handheld computer to start making more notes. Though she pauses amid that to glance towards Maya. "Think about it.. I dunno much about stuff like that, but if you got some inroads.. a place to get cheap meds and such, let me know. I'm seeing what my resources are." Locked into all business mode. Though before she resumes her entering, she glances towards Amber, her brow furrowed slightly. "What's it you do again?"

"I can ask the director perhaps about doing a clinic down there, to make sure they have basic health care." Maya is obviously thinking hard, but Amber's greeting brings the grin back to her face and she takes the woman's hand, shaking it with a firm touch. "You should have joined us! It was fun." At that though, time has ticked on, and she glances at her watch. "I'll let you know, Vixen, I have clinic in a moment, and there is a body waiting for me." She slides from the bench with a grin, "The dead wait for no girl." With a wave, she turns, her steps bounding up the stairs, pausing only to wrap herself in her coat, scarf and open the umbrella.

Leonard's eyes widen as Amber produces a new toy, taking it somewhat gingerly as it's handed over. "She works miracles, I'd say, and quickly, too. I'm impressed." He offers a chuckled response to Vixen's question on Amber's behalf before asking one of his own. "What do I owe you?" He isn't quite drooling, and does manage a distracted wave as Maya excuses herself.

Amber shrugs at Leo at the request, "Well, I figure if you cover the parts, I'll throw in the work for free, provided you make an honest attempt to help me "find my calm."" the adds the quotes with her fingers as she speaks, a quirky smile on her lips before she turns her attention to Vixen, "I'm a..." she hmms softly, "I'm not sure exactly, an all around fixer of all things technical, I guess. " Her eyes go wide as something dawns on her, "Oh, yeah, I met your friend Cali at last, and she actually gave me a Job working there. Small world, huh."

"Excellent.." Vixen keeps making notes as Maya departs, giving a brief wave to her with just a short break in the flow of her note taking, though it doesn't take too long. It ends soon enough that she can key to the handover of technology between Amber and Leo. She keeps it in hand as she considers Amber. "Oh.. right. You're a tech, eh? That's good.." She rapidly enters one last brief note in the handheld before she keys it off and stuffs it into her coat. With that done, her overall demeanor lightens and she glances at the item Leo has. "What's that?" Asked of him before she notes to Amber, "Guess you heard what I've got going on.. someone with a good tech mind like Cali's could be useful in the long run. So you might keep in the back of your mind those refugees out there.. and anything that might help get them settled for the long haul. Not many details right now, cause the short term is where I am right now.. long term still needs shape and form." This talking is, perhaps, one of the more lively things going on at the table the three occupy, since at ~9 AM the Alibi is hardly heavy on activity, though there is always some music playing and a few people scattered about.

The door opens in the morning, letting the light from outside come inside for a few moments. At the same time, a man in a somewhat beat up and dusty bomber jacket, with greasy coveralls covered in slightly glittering dust comes walking in. His hair is a light blond, with darker blond/light brown in places. His face is somewhat tanned and lined a little, but he still seems a bit young. Those that would know him know that Renos has come back to town, or even if he had left. Most don't, however, and he moves over to a table near the others. "Well, this place hasn't changed much."

Leonard carefully tucks the sleek handheld into a pocket and nods to Amber with a smile. "A deal, then." He then turns his smile to Vixen. "A replacement for my old recorder, data unit, handheld. I'm consolidating a little, since I was running out of pockets."

Amber's brow furrows a bit, "I mean, I've sorta heard a few of your recent broadcasts, but a lot of that stuff is sorta over my head. I've barely keeping myself a float, so I guess I haven't paid a whole lotta attention to what you're trying do, or what brought it on." She shrugs before leaning back and yawning, her arms stretching over her head. She makes a soft mewling sound as he stretch reaches its climax before settling back into a normal sitting position, "What is it exactly that you're trying to do?"

Vixen nods to Leo at his explanation and is about to reply to Amber before she hears Renos. Even if the others don't. She glances towards him and, with a subtle lift of her voice offers, "Another wayward soul come home to roost?" Flashing him a casual grin before she turns back to answering Amber. "Basically, the Coalition is out there causing havoc.. and we got a refugee camp set up right outside the gates. People that got almost no food and crap for shelter. Working on fixing that, but only short term measures.. long term I think they'll be here a while.. how long I dunno, but more than a few weeks.. or a few months. It'd be nice if it was shorter than that, but I'm thinking maybe we don't wanna chance on that. So while I'm working on the short, I'm thinking about the long.. whatever that might turn out to be. And I'm seeing what sort of talent I can call on."

There is a bit of a smile from the wayward traveller and then a slight chuckle. "Well, yeah, you might say that miss. Also you might say that I am returning instead of coming. But that would be mere semantics instead of anything of value." He then looks around and gets up to walk over to the bar, getting a coffee and sandwich, then heading back to enjoy it.

Leonard arches a brow slightly at the yawning. "I hope you didn't stay up all night on my account. We should find you a way to center before you start walking into things." A chuckle follows before he turns to Vixen. "I should have something solid for you from my end in a few days, Vix, for both temporary and permanent applications. I'll also look into food and water, unless you think we'll have enough support in that direction."

Amber hmmms to herself, "Well I can respect that, I wouldn't have minded a little extra boost when I found myself here with little direction." she looks over at Reno then back to her table, "I'm pretty shocked that so many people around here are so willing to help others, even at their own expense. You're all better people than I, thats for sure." She tries to look a bit meeker, but one might get the feeling that she's not too worried about how she appears.

Vixen rises up from her chair, giving it a twirl to flip it back around to slide under the table. "Never can have too much, "Leo," Vixen states simply. "If we got enough to feed them, the rest can go to the Dregs or something.. heard some new soup kitchens got opened up. Never enough out there." She then looks to Amber and her brows lift. "Don't put me on a pedestal yet, girl. I got motives.. maybe not sinister, but its all about giving to get. Just means I'm looking to ge ta fair bit when giving a fair bit." She grins idly. "I gotta run.. more to do. Hell, just making these connections might he worth the price of admission in the end. You never know." She lifts her hand in an idle wave. "Catch you all later."

"Yes, of course." Renos says, as if he knew she would leave or more likely, expected it. He just sort of grins slightly at that. He then tilts his head over to the other two, and tilts his head slightly to the side, looking a bit puzzled at them, then smiles and shrugs slightly. He sips at the coffee and starts into the sandwich a little bite at a time. He doesn't seem to be in a rush, or even concerned about how slowly he is eating.

Leonard reaches for his glass the moment Vixen rises, and even has time to take a sip before lifting it to her in farewell. "Agreed. I'll see you around, Vix. Try not to get into /too/ much trouble." He half-smiles to her, as well, before offering the distant, seated Renos a nod. Then his attention returns to Amber, still grinning. "She is deviously selfish. Don't let her know you think she might be nice."

A shrug is Amber's response, "I guess I don't know her well enough to make a determination one way or another. I sorta assume everyone is selfish most of the time, so It always worries me when someone doesn't act it. Maybe it's just me, but I always seem to think overly nice people are working an angle." she leans back heavily on the bench, taking a moment to readjust her bag, which she hasn't yet removed. "I don't know, I guess old habits die hard."

There is a bit of a chuckle from the man sitting at the table next to the two. "Well, that sounded like someone I knew a long time ago." Renos then scratches a freshly shaven cheek and then sips at the coffee. "I don't think that that is such a bad attitude. Trust should be earned." He takes another bite of the sandwich and watches the two sitting.

Leonard nods as he admits, "Many of those acting generously are just acting, but not all. At least I'm fairly certain. We are communal creatures, afterall." Another sip of wine is taken before he returns the glass to the table. "I don't think we would still be here if everyone was only trying to knife everyone else in the back, but maybe I'm an optimist."

Amber makes a face, "Maybe not as individuals, but I think like minded people tend to get together to knife everyone else in the back, but i'm pretty jaded I guess." she smirks then, her expression changing, "And you weren't such an optimist about fifteen minutes ago."

Looking a bit puzzled about something, Renos just closes his own mouth from talking, and starts to eat on his sandwich. His eyes looking back and forth between the two that seem to be the only ones in the early morning besides himself. He finishes off the coffee, and a few more bites of his sandwich.

Leonard chuckles, hands coming up empty as he rolls his shoulders in a shrug. "I still don't agree... but if I'm to lose our little sporting debate, I guess I shouldn't complain terribly. Then again," an empty hand gives Amber's should a slight nudge, "I could be skewing the outcome, and scaring them all away from you?"

"I'd say we equally handicap each other, so that still puts you ahead. Your ego shouldn't mind winning, most guys I know would probably not mind being in your shoes of late." A nother yawn causes Amber to look away as she covers her mouth, and she takes a second to stretch out her arms and back once more, "Wow, its early, and i'm incredibly rude, I guess, but i'm Amber, and you are?" Her eyes are on Reno as she speaks, "A friend of Leo's, i assume?"

Renos's eyes then move to the man and then back to the woman who addressed him. "Nope, never met this...Leo person in my life. Nor have I met the previous woman who left a little while ago. JUst a stranger I guess. One who just likes to talk a bit." He then smiles a little. "Robert renos, resident recluse and techno-wizard." He then nods his head slightly. "Nice to meet you, Amber."

"Considering my current company, yes, I don't think most of them would mind... and, no, Amber, I don't know /everyone./" Leonard smirks amusedly as "Leo's friend" seems to be a common appelation for others from her. He lifts a hand in greeting to Renos. "I would be the Leonard person. A pleasure." A less than quiet, and rather wry aside is then noted to Amber. "See? Now we're even, and it sounds as if you have even met a colleague of sorts."

"A pleasure." Amber says with a smile, "I had never met a techno-wizard in my life until i moved out here, and now i've bumped into two in as many weeks." stretches her neck, bending her head from left to right, a small audible pop can be heard as she lets out a content sigh. She looks over at Leo and grins before her attention moves back to reno and continuing, "You work around town?"

"A second? There is another one in town?" Renos looks a little confused, from one to the other. "Oh, um, nice to meet you, Leonard." He then looks back to Amber, "Yeah, usually at Draconic Secrets, though been holed up in my apartment for a while now, working on a few designs." He then looks at the empty cup, then at the bites of sandwich.

Leonard does his best to not handicap Amber, attention drifting to his drink for the moment. Mostly. The unpleasant sounds coming from Amber's neck do provoke a wince and soft "Ow," despite her content.

Amber lets out a soft laugh, "Not Ow," she pauses briefly for effect, "Its Mmmms!" she still smiles, and despite a slightly sleepy look on her face, her eyes are bright as she continues, "I think my bed isn't very good, I should have figured for what I paid for it." she sticks out her tongue just a bit, looking back to Reno, "Yeah, my boy Zachary is one, I'm pretty sure. He works down at Cali's garage, and he's pretty new to town too, I think." she grins mischievously, "seem you have some competition now, guess its good you decided to go outside."

There is a bit of a shrug. "He's welcome to all the business, as far as I care. So, he has no competition. The training of Techno-wizards are all the same. So, I have all he has, plus more. I am just not open for many people. If someone wants to request something from me, I will consider it. Otherwise...I have little use for the money I have built up."

Leonard chuckles at her revelations. "Ah. My mistake. It only sounded painful, then... and, now you're in the lead, since I'm sure your boy counts." His voice then lifts as he looks to Renos. "I don't suppose you've a creation to conjure nutritious food, clean water or medical supplies, by chance?"

Amber laughs good naturedly, "In that case, I have this Pre-Rifts bunker for sale..." her voice makes her jest obvious, and as her eyes move over to Leo, they narrow, "Hey now, Hypothetical people that aren't here don't count, who knows how many people you have stashed away in your closet." She looks back over to Reno, curious as to his response.

"If he does, well, more power to him. But i am not a conjurer, sorry. I just have the basic spells according to the training, and a few beginner spells of others." Renos then shrugs a little. "Its been rather difficult to acquire new spells in the city. NO one seems to be willing to share. At least with me. Could be my natural personality too." Renos then chuckles softly at something.

Leonard holds up his hands in mock surrender at her peering. "You're welcome to check it, if you wish. Nothing but clothes and an empty box, I swear." His grin carries over to Renos. "It would be something to gloat about if it were true, and no worries. The topic was somewhat fresh in mind, so it seemed prudent to ask. If you are seeking an exchange of knowledge in the future, I may be willing, although I'm not certain how helpful I would be."

"I'll let you two get acquainted a bit then, as It sounds like this conversation is going to go over my head." she checks the time and seems to ponder something, "I'll be back in sec." she says as she stands and approaches the bartender, who is idly wiping the vacant bar. After a brief exchange, he sets a small mug in front of her, and fills it from a coffee pot behind him. Money is exchanged, and she takes a minute to scoop a number of spoonfuls of sugar into her mug.

"Well, like a puzzle, a piece of knowledge can fit in a certain way. It just depends on how you use it." Renos then shrugs as he wacthes Amber get up and cross to the bar. He then looks back to Leonard. "Yes, it very much would be something to gloat about if true."

Leonard nods acknowledgingly to Amber, even as she's risen and moving. Renos receives a amiable grin as Leonard returns his attention to the other man. "Are there any specific pieces that you are hunting for? My own expertise is rather focused, which is why I did not know if I'd be of any assistance."

With her mug carefully held between her two hands, Amber makes slow progress back to the table she left. Part way there, she stops and winces, hot coffee spilling over and running down her hand. She pauses and takes a few tentative sips from her mug, trying to make the task more manageable. The hot coffee puts up a fight, but she is able to finally get some of it down before she continues her slow approach, arriving back at the table and carefully sitting. With her mug supported by the table now, she leans forward and takes another sip, her hands still holding the sides.

"No, no specific pieces, just any and all. Never know when it might come in handy." He then looks over to Amber, and winces a little at the coffee. "You all right?" He glances at her hand, then back at her with a nalf-hearted smile and a shrug. "One of the nice things about being a wizard is the ability to make oneself impervious to coffee spills for a short time."

"Well, as I said, I'm willing to compare notes. Like most, I'd thought to be very guarded, but my recent work has reminded me how frustrating it can be to design formulae from scratch." Leonard then looks to Amber after Renos' wince and frowns. "You could have had it brought to you. I know you're having problems sleeping, but I think you should try again, and soon."

"That'd be nice, i've enough little burns on my hands, thats for sure." she waves her hand, fingers outstretched, before her, displaying a roadmap of healed scars and burns, "Comes with the territory, I guess, I'm used to a little bit of pain, now." she shrugs and she takes another few small sips from her coffee, though she has to stop to blow on the hot liquid after a failed first attempt. "Well, I'm not sure Cali would really be down with me going back to bed, I should be ok after a cup or two." she glances down at her watch once more, "Speaking of which, I should probably get going soon, I just wanted to drop this off to you, I saw you strolling in here from my window this morning, and thought i'd save you a trip." she smiles and although she doesn't get up yet, she does try to take a bigger drink from her mug, actually lifting it off the table this time. She seems to regret her choice though, and her left eye closes tightly and her face scrunches.

Zachary comes past security with his brow furrowed slightly, glancing around the place slowly. Much quieter in the morning. Though the brief scan of the environs at large is brief. He has a purpose and that purpose is manifest as he moves inward, eyes moving from the environs to scanning the few people here. It doesn't take him long to pick up on the one he's looking for and, spying Amber, his meandering pace lifts, the tall elf striding towards her quickly.

At the mention of Cali, renos's face freezes up slightly and his eyes narrow a little. A yawn burst out of his mouth and he puts his arms up above his head. "Yeah, I know. I worked a lot around fire and heat." He then rises a little and stretches. "nothing like having to reach into a fusion reactor to try and repair it." He chhuckles slightly. "I should head home, and get some sleep. Didn't even realize it was daylight until I came out."

Leonard's frown deepens as he watches Amber battle the cuppa Joe, especially as it seems that Joe is winning. "She might not be, but I'm sure she could use some downtime, herself. Overwork must be a genetic flaw of fair techmaidens." He shakes his head with an exhaled sigh. "It will be hard for you to accomplish much if you burn your hands off."

Amber grins once more, "I'll just build myself so new ones then" she drinks deeply from her cup, the contents more manageable now, and checks her watch again, her eyes catching movement as Zachary approaches. Her face is reddened slightly after Leo's last comment, but she doesn't offer a reply as she tries to finish off her mug in one last attempt, "Uh oh" she says softly, to no one in particular.

Zachary has a stern lean to his expression as he approaches the table, for the moment focused on Ambrielle. "Do you know what time it is?" Not asked harshly, but with an air of concern. "I was expecting you to work an hour ago," he states, brow softly furrowed. "Cali isn't there yet, but she may be soon." The hint strong in those words. He pulls a small item from within his jacket and hands it over to Amber. A boxed something without a label. "Take this with you.. if she's there to meet you, you can tell her you were helping me with an errand." His voice softening slightly as he passes the item over.

Amber looks down quickly at her watch, then back up to Zach, her expression demure as she manages, "I could have sworn I started in 5 minutes, not 55 minutes ago." she doesn't look convinced though, and she seems to be trying to recall something as her eyes stare past zach, not focused on anything. "I've not been sleeping great, so I guess i probably missed understood, or just forgot" She starts to stand, "Thanks Zachary! I"m really sorry." her body language is strangely submissive, all traces of her extroverted self seeming to melt away. She waves at the gentlemen at the table before turning to accept the item Zach offers, "Thanks for the conversation" she says as she turns, "I'll see you at work then, Zach?" she says she heads out the door at a trot.

Leonard spares a nod and farewell to Renos. "That's where I often can be found." Zachary's approach is noted, and by the time he finishes his parting words, the other man is already at the table. Words and objects are exchanged, causing Leonard to smirk. "So much for the suggestion of rest, but we're tied again." A nod follows to Zachary. "You might want to watch her carefully, so she doesn't hurt herself. She's not feeling her best."

"I will see you there soon," Zach replies, his tone softened fully again. And as she trots off, he looks after her. His awareness expanding some to note the other man who is leaving. HIs brow furrows slightly and he considers the man quietly for a few moments. But as he's departing, Zach allows him to do so unmolested. But he remains somewhat distracted as he looks back to Leonard. BUt the man's words do seem to penetrate and draw him to focus again. "Hurt herself? What's wrong with Ambrielle?" Honest concern touching him.

Leonard rolls his shoulders slightly. "She's not sleeping well, or at all, as exhausted as she's seemed lately. I hope to help her learn to quiet her thoughts enough to help with that, but I didn't realize how badly it was affecting her until this morning. " He glances briefly to the door and back. "I'm just concerned her inattentive state might cause her more harm working than scalding from spilled coffee."

Zachary frowns deeply at that. "I see.. I will watch her. And caution her about her sleeping habits. I think, perhaps, she might be working on her project too much.. she shouldn't strain herself so, however." Zach seems quite concerned and he lingers for a moment of quiet thought before his attention fixes on Leonard again. "Ahh.. pardon me, but I think I should be quickly after her. Thank you for alerting me to this. I will remember your words well."

Leonard nods, a smile accompanying a hand to wave away the thanks. "She does excellent work from what I've seen, but she doesn't need to harm herself for it. Go and look after your girl. I'm afraid I should be getting back to my own tasks or they'll never get done."

"She is quite talented," Zach agrees, the words given with a firm certainty. Though the 'your girl' seems to throw him just a bit as his eyes widen slightly and he shakes his head. "We are merely coworkers. Peers," he states, taking a step back. "I will leave you to your work," he adds before he turns to quickly start walking away. He's got his own to do as well, of course.