[ti]Ep 2[/ti]Food of the Gods {Lukas}

[Deleted]

Episode 2; Week 3; Day 4; 6:30am

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day.

Even more so when one was nursing a slight hangover.

Which, might have been caused by going out last night with some guys from base. The Army mechanic might also be regretting life decisions right now, and hating her inner clock that thought today was a great day to get up so damn early.

Thankfully for her, she was used to that dull ache in her head and that she had sunglasses firmly planted over her eyes.

She was also lucky that the diner she was headed to? Was well known for deliciously greasy food that was the ultimate hangover cure. It was what the body needed, copious amounts of bacon, syrup drenched french toast, and some scrambled eggs with strong coffee and a shot of orange juice. That sorta thing was on her mind as she parked her camaro near the entrance. There was another thing to be grateful for, that there weren't many people here this time of morning. Meant that there were no screaming brats to make her head feel worse.

Which, if it was a weekend and a little later? Welp, there would be blood on her hands if some kid decided breakfast was the perfect time to sing their rendition of 'Let it Go'.

She was seriously counting her lucky starts it was quiet at this point as she got out of her car, pulling her jacket tight around her to fight out the slight chill in the air, before she walked into the diner. She took a seat at the bar and took a deep breath. God, that coffee smelled like nectar of the gods right now. “Can I get you anything to drink?” The waitress asked as she handed Nell the menu. “Coffee please...and some Orange juice.” She mentioned, her voice still clinging to a certain level of grogginess.

The waitress nodded, and she went ahead getting the drinks together. One thing was for certain, that coffee was much needed, and she breathed in the delicious smell for a moment or two, not paying attention to her surroundings at this very moment.

Though, she did hear the bell on the diner door jingle as someone else walked in.

[Deleted]

There was something pleasant about early mornings. The first rays of sunshine, the fresh morning air, the dew that clung on the grass... though the last bit there was less so out here in the arid country. The grass tended to be a bit crispy in places too, but that was neither here nor there.

It was the type of morning that called for a book in one hand and a good cup of coffee in the other. The grease-bucket diner he had discovered in town since arriving seemed to be just about the right location for such. It was also a good place to put an ear on the locals, to get a feel for the people he might be sharing territory with for the time being.

He wasn't in a hurry to wander off from new-found friends, at any rate. Life was much too interesting at the moment to walk away from everything he had found himself in the middle of.

Walking through the door, he glanced around once briefly, finding the place comfortably quiet. Not much of a morning crowd he supposed. Lukas should have guessed as much, going by the quiet lot. The camaro out there had reminded him of someone he knew once, but he had not dwelled on the matter beyond that.

Noting that the seating was self-serve, he just meandered to a booth by a window, where the sun was just starting to creep over the use-worn vinyl padding. The perfect spot to loiter an hour or two with a book and a pot of coffee. Maybe breakfast if he fancied, eventually.

Settling in, he ordered coffee when the waitress came around, and the appropriate additives to soothe the bitterness. If only he had taken the time to examine the few individuals sharing diner-space with him just a tad bit more closely...

[Deleted]

It was funny in a way, how people from the past had a way of popping up like some god damn jack in the box.

Really, Lukas was the last person Nell would expect to see here in the middle of bum fuck nowhere, Nevada.

Well, sometimes surprises came in all sorts of packages because the last time she had seen Lukas? Well, he was finishing up the tattoo that spanned down her spine and across her shoulders. That had been years ago, and while she hadn't changed too much outside of the general 'looking older' bit, he certainly did.

That was to the point she had to look at the man for a few minutes before recognizing him!

Slowly, she moved to stand to her feet, looking like she was just stretching out the morning kinks from her back. Okay, so she sorta was but really? She was making her way to the bearded man settled down into the booth. His back was turned from her and she cleared her throat before she spoke.

“Well God Damn, Lukas.” Nell remarked, her voice was a touch more gravely than what it was all those years ago. “You went from paper pushin' zombie to a fuckin' lumberjack hipster.” The words were not said with any malice, but with a touch of humor. “You're seriously the last person I expected to see around here!” Granted, the same was probably said of her, they were a long way from Georgia.

Either way, if he were to turn around? The brunette would certainly be wearing a shit eating grin that was all too familiar on her face.

[Deleted]

The voice that called out to him began ringing bells, though it took him a few moments to register where the bells belonged and why they were ringing.

It had been quite a while since he had last seen Nell, to be fair.

"Running away to the circus might tend to do that to a person", he retorted as he twisted about to face the speaker. The familiarity snapping into place once he got a good look at her, and he did indeed remember this woman and the work he had done on her once upon a time.

"Small world. It has been a while, Nell. How have you been?", the words came with a gesture at the open bench seat across from him, if she was inclined to visit a spell.

Well, his plans to sit and read had been thrown into the air, but a familiar face in an unfamiliar town was not unwelcome either.

[Deleted]

Hearing he had ran away with the circus, made her brows shoot up into her hairline in surprise. “Shit, seriously?” The brunette asked before laughing lightly.

“Yeah, it is – and it has. I've been good enough.” She remarked, before turning to grab her coffee (and that glass of orange juice) so she can properly join the man who had done her tattoos. Sitting across from him, she brought the coffee mug to her lips for a quick sip. “Was stationed out here not too long ago, missin' Georgia already but eh, my pa is just glad I'm not stationed over seas again.” To think, all those years ago had been when she was just gearing up to enter boot camp.

“What about you?” She asked, curiosity tinging her voice. “How'd you end up joinin' the circus?” That was what she was the most interested in hearing about. Really, it made sense why he had up and left – but getting with the circus? Now that had to be an interesting story he had up in his sleeves.

[Deleted]

"Absolutely."

He did appear to be dead serious about the matter, rather than just being a smart-alec. So, it was quite likely that he was indeed honest about his circus shenanigans.

It was interesting to see Nell again none the less, given the inkwork he had done on her that time ago. Seeing people he had worked on was rather pleasant, his time at the shop having been full of good memories.

"Stationed here, huh? Whereabouts?" The thought of her being stationed here was curious to him, given there was just about one main place he knew that had a government-military presence of any type unless he had missed something somewhere.

"And as for that, right place, right time I guess. I needed out and away, so I went and I left and I stumbled my way in and ended up with a good crew in a small retro sideshow style circus. Fire breathing, nails up the sinuses, eating unsavory items, 'come see the bearded lady', awe, wonder, and a side dish of repulsive horror, that sort of affair."

He spoke of it fondly, it sounded. Good times and good people, lots of travel and freedom to find more of himself rather than the molded ideal his family had tried to factory-form him into.

"How is the ink holding up?"

[Deleted]

“Either way, you're no longer a paper pushin' office zombie? That in itself calls for a damn celebration.” Nell replied with a lopsided grin that was likely all too familiar to her old tatooist.

“Black Rock, only one around here really – unless I wanted to drive a couple hours in either direction.” She mentioned and really? To her knowledge she wasn't blowing any big government secrets mentioning the base she was stationed at. If she was? Well...Oops. At least it was only Lukas and he was a relatively trustworthy guy who she had to take off her shirt for him to work on her tattoos.

So to say the least, she did trust him enough to mention base – after all, it wasn't like she didn't mention it to her father and brother at least once or twice.

As for what he was up to? It was good to hear he found a good way out, and she smiled hearing how fondly he spoke of the circus. “Sounds like you found some good people to be around, it's like a few of the guys I've met being in the Army – practically family.” She remarked with a small smile on her lips.

Now when it came to the ink, her small smile twitched into a frown. “Hate to say it, but they're faded out.” She said in a serious voice before that smile was back in a full blown grin. “Messin' with ya – I swear.” Nell remarked with a light laugh. “Ink's lookin' great, keep meanin' to get some more done but damn – hard to find someone with standards like yours in my opinion.” There was honesty in her voice and more boisterous laugh left her. “I've had a couple of the guys ask me where I got inked at.” Oh there was some pride in her voice at that mention there and really? There were no regrets when it came to her tattoos and she still loved them.

The waitress was heading over to them now with the coffee for Lukas. “Sorry about the wait, needed to get a pot brewed up – were you two ready to order by chance?” She asked, and Nell gave her a small nod – she did come in here for food, and she was starving in all honesty. “I'll have the french toast special with bacon and scramble eggs, please.” She mentioned lightly before glancing over to Lukas for a moment or two.

Once they were alone again? “So, are you with the circus? Might pay ya a visit there if they plan on setting up in town soon.” She commented, could be fun – but mainly she liked the idea of being around a familiar face in person and not over Skype.

[Deleted]

"The heart was never truly in such work, it was just a matter of finding the point where-in I would decide society's expectation of me was irrelevant and that finding other paths that followed my own desires rather than the desires of others was a valid and accessible path."

Such was said over a sip of his coffee, the young man seeming calm about the whole matter. Once upon a time he seemed to have this air of constant existential crisis about him, a sort of lost tension that said he had no idea what he was doing with himself or where he was going. That now, was seemingly gone and replaced by a more collected and content with himself demeanor. The life changes he had indulged on such whims had seemingly been the right choice for him.

He listened as she spoke, a brow arching up when she mentioned Black Rock, a few curious gears rolling around in the back of his mind though he did not chase them immediately as she continued her end of their catch-up synopsis. He had heard the name mentioned during his few stints at the Autobot base, though he figured her being among the few who knew the mechs was fairly low.

The tease about her ink fading out, honestly did not earn her so much as a bat of an eye. In did tend to fade and need touching up after so many years, after all. The original vibrancy and intensity would mute over time and sun exposure. Lukas did chuckle though when she was plainly sassing him, a casual grin crossing his features.

"Well, I appreciate the compliments. It is good to know that my work remains up to standards." It was good to hear such things, too, even if he was not making a living off of ink anymore.

The return of the waitress with a refresher of coffee was appreciated, the re-warmed cup held between his hands for a moment before the man took to doctoring it with the appropriate amounts of creamer and sugar while his breakfast companion ordered her meal. When she was done, and after a moment of thought, he ordered simple hot oatmeal with fuit to go along with his coffee and left it at that.

Breakfast out of the way, his attention turned back to their conversation.

"I have taken a period of time off away from the Circus," he admitted. "After being with them for as long as I have been, I needed some down time to myself. I do plan on catching back up with them eventually, but not just yet. I suspect I may linger about in town for a while though before moving on" Then again, meeting aliens had sort of put a kink in his plans. So, he was sort of winging life at the moment to see where his paths took him. Aliens might prove more interesting to hang around for than catching back up with the circus folk, after all.

"Just out of curiosity though.... any idea what is up with all of the ...interesting traffic that seems to roam through the area? " A question posed of his own curiosity to see if any lights went off when he brought up the unusual array of vehicles that made up the local mechs. Otherwise, it would give him perspective on what the locals thought about the strange traffic activity.

[Deleted]

Nell gave the man sitting across from her a slight smile. “Gotta do what you love to do, instead of being shoved into a box.” She remarked. “Or else you might as well be in a box because that is what it feels like.” She was honestly glad for him, especially since she could tell he was a more...Relaxed person who did not have that inner crisis going on.

If only he was a mind reader, in which case he'd realize she was one of the few at Black Rock to know about the Autobots. He'd also would know that she was one of the lucky few who was actually learning a bit about the anatomy of their 'visitors' – so that if it was ever needed? She could give Ratchet a helping hand. For now, the pair were simply unaware that each other knew about said visitors, and they were merely playing catch up with each other.

“If you still have a tattoo kit, maybe I'll need to hit you up for a new one...?” She asked with a raised brow and a lopsided grin, she really would get another one given the chance to. As far as him taking time off from the Circus, she nodded slightly in understanding. “Hey, I know the feeling – when I was stuck in barracks, it was maddening working and essentially living with the same people every single day.” She commented before taking a sip of her own coffee. “You start craving some sorta down time for yourself.”

His question made her brows raise for a moment, then she shrugged – doing what she can to play off her personal knowledge of the interesting traffic. “I know some of the cars belong to a guy or two on base.” She remarked lightly, which honestly wasn't too far from the truth with how some of them actually been to the Army Base before. “I mean my Chevy is pretty damn eye catching but, she's thankfully getting more familiar to the locals around here.” Thank god, because while she still gets plenty of lookie loos? Most people were getting used to seeing that lovely piece of machinery parked just outside the diners doors.

“Also know some of the more military grade vehicles are just, getting some used to them and the sort...” She paused when the waitress stopped by with their breakfast, and oh it looked (and smelled) pretty heavenly to her. She thanked the waitress, before getting the butter smeared over the french toast and a little bit of maple syrup drizzled over it. She quickly popped a forkful of eggs into her mouth too before she glanced back up at him. “There's some great areas around this little town for practice as far as terrain goes – gives some of the guys who've never been overseas, and are shipping out soon enough, a little bit of practice on what it's like driving in a desert.” Oh was she lying through her teeth? Yes, yes she was – and hopefully Lukas didn't notice she was trying to figure out what to tell him.

More bites of egg, this time she washed them down with a sip of orange juice. “As for some of the others, the damn concept cars and race cars..” Another couple of bites of egg, she hated cold eggs - and this gave her more of a chance to figure out what to say. Because really, there was no true reason for those cars to be out on the damn road! “I have no idea what those guys are thinking, I think they're headed for car shows in Vegas and are so rich they have no fucks to give about tickets.” In actually, she had no idea what they were thinking and really – she wished those few would find something a little different to change into.

God, maybe she needed to talk to them – and start renting cars to take to base or some halfway point in order for more altforms to be used.

“So, that noticeable about the traffic being pretty damn different around here...?” She asked him slowly, mainly wanting to know if she needed to pass that along to someone at Autobot base.

[Deleted]

It was with a contemplative patience that Lukas listened to Nell's explanation. Her reasoning for the variety of exotic to unusual vehicles that lingered in the area certainty was plausible, to those who did not know better, that is.

The question was, did she believe what she said or was it a cover story? He was not certain it mattered, really. If she was involved with the Autobot base he would see her around there eventually.

"They do have quite a bit of personality, the flashier ones that is," he commented idly over a sip of coffee. There was a peculiar emphasis to "personality" as he said it though, the word a bit more weighted than the others in the sentence as he studied her face over the rim of his cup. The cup was then sat down so that he could address the rest of his own meal. 

"With the military vehicles doing their exercises, it surprises me that the exotics are allowed to roam where they do. They at times venture in the same areas..not too distant from one another, which is fairly odd I think. Military does not often share space terribly well with civilians."

This was a fun game, dancing around the truth, by stating other truths. Everything he said was perfectly observable by anyone honestly. He did wonder what the locals thought of it, and if they saw it as odd or just a part of their day to day life. Nell seemed to be well familiar with the curious traffic patterns, and aware that they were odd, though it was hard to guess at yet what the truth of her knowledge was.

"How is your breakfast?", with that Lukas casually changed the topic, creating the most idle of small talk with ease.

[Deleted]

It was tricky, playing this game with her old friend. She had to act like she believed the bullshit she talked about, instead of it being a cover story.

Course as he had that..Little bit of emphasis on 'personality'? She raised a brow and shrugged a shoulder, playing it cool. “Yeah, guess you can say that.” She mentioned as she moved to pick up her own coffee mug. “But you can say that about a lot of cars – especially the flashy ones.” She remarked before she took a deep sip of coffee.

“Yeah, I know.” She remarked, once again reminded of how the 'Bots really needed to lesson on how to properly blend in, while fitting into their 'molds'. “I don't know what's goin' on with that one, I think they're nuts really.” She mentioned, continuing to skirt around the truth – thinking he just didn't know what she knew. But little did she know, he knew just as much as she did concerning the Autobots. Which meant, he wasn't the average in your dark civilian.

“Honestly I think I'll ask someone on base about why the hell they allow civilians so..Close to military operations. Never thought about it, outside of some rich asshole buyin' them off to act like they're in some fast and the furious movie.” She shrugged a shoulder, her nose wrinkling in slight disgust, playing off the part that some military officials would accept a buy off like that with relative ease.

The switch in subjects was nice, manly because she was starting to run out of ideas on brushing off the weird traffic situation. She barely had coffee in her for Christ's sake!

Thank god there was a change in subject, and Nell nodded as she bit into a mouthful – then made a thumbs up sign before swallowing said mouthful. “Good, needed it that's for sure, what about yours?” Smallest of small talk – it might be the safe method for now.

[Deleted]

How strange and fantastic his world had become in recent times. It was still baffling to reflect on just what a sandstorm mishap had invited him into. He would not trade away his knowledge though, hardly. It was humbling to be included in the small circle of people who knew of these fascinating beings. Granted, the whole secret war thing was a bit unnerving, but that knowledge came along with the rest.

If only he had more people he could speak openly on the matter with, to enjoy the awe of what they had become involved in. In time, he supposed. For now, the return to small talk was comfortable and familiar.

"No complaints. The meal has been enjoyable, as has been the conversation." He took another good swig of his coffee, though this cup was just about done, which lead to him to consider if he wished another cup or if he should let the stuff alone for the morning.

"If you are stationed here, perhaps we will see one another now and again. I am not planning on moving on right away, the area here has a certain.. charm that makes me wish to stay a while."

[Deleted]

Nell would certainly agree on the strange and fantastic part, she was experiencing it too! Hell, if found someone that disagreed with the whole thing, she would honestly laugh in their faces about it – given how it really was..Strange and fantastical.

After all, how many people knew about giant sentient metal beings from space? Giant sentient beings that happened to be able to turn into your average minivan.

Okay so, the Cybertronians would balk at the idea of being a minivan but still! Some of them had chosen 'altforms' that were...common. Because they actually had some sort of commonsense, compared to someone who had a concept car as an alt form.

They really did need lessons on what are good cars to masquerade as, and what wasn't. But out of the Autobots? Who would actually go with it, or would listen to the fleshbag human? Probably not many, but some might listen and learn – even if it's how to avoid too many stares.

For now though, she wasn't thinking too much about it outside a bit of a smile at Lukas when he mentioned no complaints about the breakfast, or the company so far. “Good, might have to give ya a damn shiner if you didn't like conversatin' with me.” She teased with a playful wink that was accompanied by a laugh.

As for being stationed out here, and seeing another now and again..? She nodded slightly and smiled for a brief bit before shrugging a shoulder. “Certain charm? Yeah...guess you can say that...” The way her voice trailed off like that, and the way she glanced outside towards some of the cars passing by the diner? Well, she knew a lot more about that 'charm' than she was admitting right now.

[Deleted]

The playful threat was met with a snort, a cool side glance thrown her way over top a subtle grin. "If you believe I would allow you to get away with such, think again," Lukas sassed back in good humor.

For a moment, he followed her gaze out the window, watching the cars go past. How fascinating it was to think that these people had aliens in their back yard but were mostly none the wiser. Their lives carrying on like normal, unawares of the life-changing revelations that were all but under their noses. Normal days, normal routines, normal work, despite the aliens rolling through on a regular basis.

"Mn.. it is a comfortable little town. Interesting people," the comment was idle, said while he debated if he needed another cup of coffee.

"Anyhow," he started after a few quiet moments, "what do you intend to do with the rest of your day?" Merely curious, he was.