Kip could not tell what the younger girl was thinking, and it surprised him. He was more perceptive than he was given credit for, mostly because he rarely brought his observations to light. When he was younger and more foolish, he used to make grand assumptions based off of analyzed behavior, much as his friend Darren Isaacson was prone to do. An, like Darren, Kip found himself getting on the bad side of people more than once. Soon, as he began keeping these discoveries to himself, he found he was better able to understand those he dealt with. And once he understood them, he could appeeal to them.
He liked the idea of appealing over manipulating. As a soon to be poltician, he wanted to keep his integrity intact, but he also needed to win people over. It was a fine balance, and he had just begun to refine the practice.
But Katarina offered very little. Though it took her a long time to relax, she did not seem upset or offended by the conversation or the company. In fact, he got the sense that she enjoyed the evening, even though her body language looked more akin to an heiress walking amongst the slums. Not that she appeared proud or vain - he could not explain exactly what she was feeling, but the word 'inhibited' kept coming to mind. Besides alcohol, he could not think of a natural cure for inhibitions, and he definitely had some moral stipulations against relaxing a seventeen year old girl with gin.
The close of the evening with Katarina came much sooner than he wanted. He had not learned as much as he would have liked to about her, but he hoped the introduction had been enough for her to consider gracing them with her presence again. Kip was strangely keen to see more of her and, more importantly, hear more from her.
Remy and Rory were close to snackered by now, so they did not rise to wish her a good night. Yuri, exercising restraint because of the large gap in years between them, raised a kind hand by means of good bye. Kip stood and approached her, putting his hand out for another warm handshake, his other hand covering her hand so he could hold her in his attention a moment longer. The two pairs of blue eyes met and Kip tried to hold them. "I really hope to see you again. We're here every night. Please stop by any time."
There was a moment, before Remy blurted, "And if you don't, Kenna will probably stalk you and track you down."
Kenna turned, throwing a plush cushion at him. "Jackass." She turned to look back at Katarina. "But, yeah, I probably will."
"Anytime," Kip echoed, finally releasing Katarina. He smiled and Kenna swept forward, slipping her arm in Katarina's. "I'll walk you out."
by Kipling Parsons Tue Jul 15, 2014 4:42 am
