As Our Worlds Collide

[Nini D'Anjou]

Getting dressed was pretty simple; Catherine was in a deep purple dress, held in place with an ostentatious belt, while Nicole had shuffled into a similar dress in red, with a silver charm bracelet hanging from her left hand, covered in scraps of metal which made a chank-chank-chank with each step of her strappy black heels - if the 'long haired anorexic-looking one' couldn't tell which body had which label from that, there was no hope for her. Nini had only remembered that she hadn't mentioned Catherine's eyes a few minutes before she stepped out of the door, and hastily gathered a pair of sunglasses which, to be completely honest, did not really suit the rest of the outfit.

She had never really wanted to get a car, but the days when her clients wanted things that would fit in an envelope and never require any face-to-face contact were long gone; sure, Volvos weren't particularly en vogue but even Nini recognised that sometimes substance had to come before style. At least it wasn't beige - when in doubt, go for black. At least at night it didn't show up in people's sights too much. A mercifully short drive later, Nini grabbeed her bag and headed inside the bar, into the smell of tobacco and the low-key mumble of happy, contented people sharing good times over good drinks.

Une maison loin de la maison, she thought, as she approached the bar, feeling slightly over-dressed. "Orange. Deux, merci." The drinks arrived, and the twins settled, cross-legged over their stools, and quietly, Nini began to wait.

[Ivy Rose]

Ivy wasn't one for excessive and extravagant dressing out. It was one of those things where she felt she didn't need it. If the person didn't care for the way she dressed, then they obviously weren't worth the brunette's time. However, today she knew she didn't want to completely dress in a sloppy manner, so she legitimately tried on her outfit that day.

The brunette left the room around 5 pm and headed toward the club district, where she was told the churchkey was located.

Upon arrival, Ivy walked right in, satchel held close to her figure. She knew only one thing about the person she was seeing: she was a gestalt. So the twin would have to seek out a pair of twins. Or not. She could just sit herself at the bar and brush the bartender's off until her 'date' had arrived.

Though lucky for her, the gestalt pair could be seen sitting at the bar, one in red, one in purple. She didn't hesitate to walk up to the pair; Ivy may have been introverted, but she sure as hell wasn't shy.

"I'm assuming you're the pair im looking for?" Ivy spoke up, taking a seat beside them.

[Nini D'Anjou]

"Right you are," said Catherine, standing up with Nicole who offered a hand in Ivy's direction - she had gone to some effort, and it wasn't lost on Nini; it half-crossed her mind that she was an attractive young woman before she decided it might be better to avoid thinking in such terms for a while. "Je s'apelle Nini - you must be Ivy, non? Excusez-moi," she said before Catherine turned her head over her shoulder. "A drink for the young lady. What will you have?"

The drink came, cash changed hands, and a few moments passed before Nicole was propped up, leaning against the bar while Catherine sat in her seat, gently rotating backwards and forwards. "So, how is...ah, the college these days? Is Doctor Neville still working there? Oh, I can remember him telling me-" Nini stopped herself, laughing almost to herself. "Sorry, excuse an old woman for recounting her school days. If I start to rant, please stop me. I am in no rush to become my own grandmother!"

[Ivy Rose]

The french was definitely a surprise to her; in fact, the whole accent was fascinating to the teenager. Ivy was used to the Hispanic accents and all they had to offer, so anything European that wasn't from Spain or Portugal definitely caught her interest. Maybe it was the writer and the explorer in her, but she immediately wanted to know more. "Yes, I'm Ivy."

"Um, Anything is fine," Ivy said with a nonchalant shrug. She was never very picky on what alcohol she consumed; the girl had managed to have almost every type, from hard liquor to diluted beer, it didn't matter much to her.

Ivy wasn't too pleased with where the conversation was going, but decided to humor the pair anyway. "Dr. Neville is still there. I really haven't seen him much aside from when I first arrived at Hammel two years ago, but I'm sure he is as lively as ever?" Really, the twin wouldn't know. The twins were very good at hiding their emotions and any pain. The only issues with their schoolwork stemmed from Fi's dyslexia and Ivy's insomnia.

"I couldn't help but be a bit fascinated with your French, though. Why come to America?"

[Nini D'Anjou]

Slightly silly question. At first Nini was tempted to ask why on earth she might even ask that question, before recalling that there was no real reason why she had ever decided to stay in the US. "It just happened, to be quite honest. My time at Hammel came to an end and I still had permission to be in the country, so why would I leave? I do still go back to France every so often, but they are considerably less...liberal about people like us than Pilot Ridge. Besides, I've got a business and friends here - just never had enough reason to go back home, I suppose." Even when talking to another person, Nini still found it slightly quaint to have to speak through one mouth; maybe this was just one of the queer little facets of life as a gestalt.

"Enough about me, tell me all about yourself!" Nicole spoke this time, while reaching into her back pocket for a half-empty box of cigarettes and a lighter that had more dents than the Mary Rose, lighting up before offering one to Ivy. "Desole, non," she reminded herself, slipping them both back into her pocket. "Really, I should not be offering you the drink, but heaven knows why l'Amerique think it is a good idea to wait until they are twenty-one before...apologies, I am rambling again."

[Ivy Rose]

Ivy wasn't the most social, nor did she have the best conversation starters, but once she started talking, it usually was game from there. "Honestly, I'd probably want to get out of this country as soon as I could." The girl was fluent in both English and Spanish,a nd she was very capable of learning another language if she had to.

"Don't know what I'd do. Maybe model." She really did have the body. Anorexic looking, naturally small boned; it was the perfect way to travel and make money. And Fi could do the same, being that she was even more model material than her.

"All I know is I want to travel." She said simply, taking the drink that was offered, to her and taking a sip. "America is just so screwed up."

[Nini D'Anjou]

Ah, the energy of youth - teenagers were always so eager to jump up, run around, get moving, travel the world and see every sight, climb every mountain, generally conquer the world they were all so assured was theirs to claim. You are sounding like your own grandmother again, Nini snapped at herself, wondering for a moment if Ivy was model material. She was pretty, yes, but a model? Eh, that was for other people to decide - Nini was hardly going to discover the world's next top model. Dress them, maybe, someday, but not recruit them. Actually, that gives me an idea...

"If you are interested in modelling, I might have something for you." Rifling through her clutch, Catherine handed Ivy a business card while Nicole explained what she was plotting. "I'm a designer, mostly work in furnishings, small sculptures, interiors, but I occasionally do clothes. I could help you put a portfolio together? If there's enough local interest, I might even be able to organise a small show. What do you think?"

[Ivy Rose]

Ivy watched the woman carefully as she searched through her clutch. It was always an underlying fear of 'will whatever comes out of that bag, hurt me?' thanks to years of conditioning. However, much to the brunette's relief, it was simply her business card. "Thank you," She said automatically, though her lips curled upward with the presence of a relieved smile.

"I'd really appreciate if you'd be able to help me, though in time." Ivy said, looking down at the card in her hands. Not many people do, The twin wanted to say, but refrained. Nobody wants to hear a pity fest, Ivy. She took a sip of her drink, grateful for the buzzing it sent through her veins.

A momentary silence filled the space between them as she set her drink down, "I apologize if I am not the most interesting tonight." This invoked her 'company' facade, the one where she simply smiled and laughed because she had to. "I've been lacking sleep, and it isn't doing much in my favor, courtesy of Precognitive dreaming."