4360/Ice Skating For Dummies

Ice Skating For Dummies
Date of Scene:	10 December 2020
Location:	Rockefeller Center
Synopsis:	Ted Kord's attempts at kindness just barely break through to Alyx. They go skating. Sort of.
Cast of Characters:	Alyx Vance, Ted Kord

---

Alyx Vance has posed:
    Alright, what was the harm? If the old guy giving her a place to live and access to a lab and resources wanted to take her to see the different highlights of New York City, that wouldn't be a problem, right? There wasn't a term for that, was there? Either way, Alyx shrugged at the invitation, checked herself out in the mirror, and made her way to meet up with none other than Ted Kord.

    "So, Ted, I was thinking..." Alyx begins, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket. "I don't feel right taking advantage of your hospitality. Would you reconsider re-hiring me? You'll see on my resume that I previously worked at Kord Co for about twelve hours in 2020..." She looks up at him and smiles, her eyebrows going up as she does so.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord eyebrow waggles. "I could. I'm pretty sure the zero point energy research will pay your way but if you want to formalize it, that's fine. I give you credit. Most of my friends just mooch." He reaches in his pocket and pulls out her employee id. "There you go... you're in my Special Projects team with Peter Parker. What are the odds."

"So I'm glad you decided to come out after our... the pool... you know. Dork levels maxing out. I think I may have leveled up. So anyway this is Rockefeller Center, formerly a media and communications center, now a tourist sight with ice skating and the Tree, see! Over there. We light up trees to celebrate the holidays here and encourage people to buy stuff." He points all about.

Alyx Vance has posed:
    "It seems that Spiral is intent on spending some time here, so I think I'll be around for the long haul," Alyx admits with a shrug. When the employee badge is produced, she reaches out to grab it. "Special projects, huh?" One detail, however, distracts. "With Peter..." Alyx looks away, only briefly, before her gaze rises to watch Ted. "Why?" she wonders, giving him an accusatorial stare.

    "Ice skating..." Alyx repeats softly, her eyes lingering on the rink. "I've never done that. It's pretty warm in New Mojexico..." There's a pause before Alyx says just one more word: "...Hint." She seems in a good mood, maybe, because she totally lets Ted off the hook about the pool incident.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord walks as he talks. "The special project team answers only to me, I handle all time sheets and such. It's for people with wildly unpredictable schedules, like you. You might go running off to chase Spiral or this Mojo a few days. You don't need a clueless administrator reporting you. I mean you can work on your ZP energy. Peter is actually working on the Bug and with some materials science. Why, is there a problem with Peter? You guys are equals in this team."

"If you want to learn to ice skate, I'll show you. Otherwise we can shop or eat or walk about... or get you a coat! Yes we were going to do that! Sure sorry! You must be freezing your... self off." He smiles a little too and makes for a clothing store holding the door for her. Salespeople hurry over, smelling the money.

Alyx Vance has posed:
    "No, there's no problem," Alyx answers quickly, suddenly, and looks away again. She falls quiet, taking in the logistics of what it means to be on the special projects team. "...Sounds perfect, Ted, thanks."

    But then, she's being ushered into a store. Her green eyes look around, yes, but linger on some of the more obvious price tags and the number of digits they show. "Uh..." she begins, her eyes widening with slight worry. "I think my jacket will be fine."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord shakes his head. "Nope. You're one of my top people. I can't have you catching pneumonia or frost bite. Besides, I bought Melissa's kid a coat and Melissa. this is not charity but generosity. Pay it forward to some other person from New Mojito. Also, it damned cold out there and I was enjoying the walking. What do you think of New York City so far?"

Ted looks at the various coats and starts pointing out the more action wear oriented examples to the sales people. Apparently he does do his own shopping unlike most rich people and he respects garments that wear well and allow ease of movement. In fact, at the moment he wears a sort of skiing outfit in blue that, well it looks a lot like a winter version of his uniform without the hood.

Alyx Vance has posed:
    "Mojexico..." Alyx corrects gently, smiling a little as she looks down and away from Ted. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing it. She lifts her eyes in time to catch sight of a reasonable, black wool peacoat. "This," she says with some certainty, giving the sales team a look that says 'ring it up.' Naturally, they're disappointed that Alyx picked a reasonably priced garment, but her look suggested that she meant it. Alyx shifts her attention back to Ted and smiles again -- this time at him!

    "Thanks, Ted..." she says softly.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord rubs the back of his neck. "That's okay. I mean I would hope your group would help me get started if I wound up on Mojoworld."

He makes a vague gesture somewhere between taking her hand or patting her on the shoulder then tries to make it into a nonchalant stretch.

"He looks out the window and says, "Do you want to ice skate? I mean I'm not Olympic material but I can skate. Oh, get some boots and gloves. You loose a lot of heat through fingers and toes, high surface area to volume ratio..." Finally he shuts up.

Alyx Vance has posed:
    "We would..." she confirms, running her fingers down the wool of the coat before letting the sleeve go to fall as it may. The resistance would certainly help Ted settle on Mojo World if he was dumb enough to go there. With that settled, Alyx waits patiently for the sales team to work this out. As she does, she rocks from side to side, shifting her weight from one hip to the other in a movement that's about ten percent of a dance move. She turns and lifts her eyes just in time to catch Ted Kord stretching -- Alyx gives him a suspicious look.

    As he starts going on and on about boots and gloves, Alyx shakes her head. "No, I've got gloves and boots," she says with a slight bit of firmness in her voice. She figures Ted needs it in order to accept her answer. Alyx bites down on her bottom lip to try and contain a smile. "Yes!" she nearly cries out at the offer of skating. "I would."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord hurries out to a skate store. "I am NOT wearing rental skates that were on other feet." Buying skates is fairly strait forward, and Ted makes sure the salesclerk laces Alyx up properly. He does his own then demonstrates how to walk on the skates without damaging them. "Don't worry about these, they can come out of your first paycheck. I hear you got a good job."

Step step step step. He keeps a wary eye on Alyx for any trip ups or slip ups. "Uh you doing okay, Alyx?"

Alyx Vance has posed:
    Alyx puts up with the skate purchase with just a tinge of protest. She was perfectly happy to use the rental skates -- overjoyed, in fact -- but it was probably just easier to agree. Ted was wearing her down. When it finally comes time to get on the ice, Alyx takes a breath and stares down at it. "Okay..." she says, some hesitation in her tone. "...This is it."

    With that, Alyx steps onto the ice with one skate and then the other. Almost immediately, she reaches out to grab a hold of the wooden railing that circles the rink. "Okay..." she says, steadying herself. When Ted looks over to check on her, she gives a thumbs-up. From the look of it, it should be more of a thumbs-down. She hasn't left the security of the railing.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord huffs against the cold. Probably should have gotten the girl a hat. For Christmas maybe. He faces her and holds his hands out.

"So... I assume you know how to take a fall, on your butt. Uhm the usual way this is done you take my hands and start making little teeny steps. As you gain control, the steps get longer and you start to glide. i can skate backwards, slowly so worry about yourself." Actually he's a little worried about getting a sock in the mouth...

Truth be told acrobatics and balance are sort of Ted's jam. Not that he is trying to show off.

Alyx Vance has posed:
    The cold wasn't even a concern for Alyx -- not falling on her ass was the chief concern and it was enough to consume her. Besides, the hood part of her Black Mesa hoodie had been drawn up and that was enough for now. When the two hands are offered, the girl stares at them for a second or so and then looks up at the owner. Alyx gives him a look that suggests that there'd by no way she'd take them, but as soon as she releases the wooden railing she's reaching out to firmly grab at the hands. Alyx does as she's told, starting first with tiny steps. She takes a few, about a dozen, before transitioning towards a glide.

    "I don't think we can include this in the many things I'm good at," she calls out, clearly joking. Her eyes remain fixated on the ice. "Where'd you learn to do this?" she wonders, still staring at the dangerous, perilous ice.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord takes Alyx by the hands and is all business. "You just started. Give yourself a chance. Relax. You've got it. Doing f... -whoops! Okay, doing fine. Me" My dad used to fly us in from Chicago here every year for Christmas and insisted we hit the rink. I used to hate this. I was a fat little nerd who wanted to go to space camp. Then a counselor told me... "They don't make rockets big enough for ya, fat boy." I resolved then to lose weight, and apply cellophane and super glue to his toilet seat. It was a moral imperative. Took three hours to unglue him. Not my most heroic action... hey you're doing it." Ted keeps a low and friendly banter up, trying to reassure and relax his somewhat... prickly new friend.

Alyx Vance has posed:
    Alyx nods at the advice, watching her skates and the ice underneath the blades. She's still struggling with each step -- they don't have much ice in New Mojexico. The cruel story brings Alyx's eyes up to watch Ted with a frown. "That's horrible..." she says suddenly, a look of unnecessary concern splashing across her features. "Kids can be so cruel. I assume." She takes a breath and looks down at the ice again. She doesn't know what counselors are in that context and assumed they were children, too. "I didn't grow up around any kids my age," she admits before sliding forward a little more aggressively. Alyx takes another breath and tries to glide foward a second time -- success! "...You know, Ted, a much better act of defiance would have been to gain more weight," she points out, smirking a little.

    With that smirk lingering, Alyx suddenly loses her footing and her eyes go wide! She scrambles a little to find the railing, which is now way too far away. She has no choice but to grab for Ted's forearms.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord lets the girl grab his forearms of course, grabbing her in turn and hopefully providing balance.

"Okay, got you! relax! Everything is under control."

Yes balance is his thing but not when your friend is grabbing at you and about to fall. If she does fall, he'll go down with her in a show of solidarity.

"Stop watching your feet, ack! Don't..."

Alyx Vance has posed:
    It's no use. She's watching her feet, the ice, all of it exactly what she shouldn't be looking at... And while keeping Alyx Vance standing should be no trouble for any hero on the market, she's on ice and flailing about. Alyx loses her footing entirely and comes crashing down on the ice with Ted Kord falling alongside her.

    "Oof," she exclaims involuntarily as her body hits the ice. A puff of cold air pushes the noise out of her mouth. After a moment of thought, Alyx's eyes close and she begins to laugh.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord goes down throwing his hands out. With a whump he lands, Not too bad. Looking up at the tree he says, "Any villains come along now... they will be incapacitated by laughter and easy pickings, if we can get up. Great fall by the way! So did you have enough skating for today?" He rolls over on his side and props his head up on his hand and watches her laugh for a few moments.

"Has it been a long time since you laughed?"

Alyx Vance has posed:
    Alyx's eyes remain closed and her laugh continues -- she even leans so the back of her head is against the ice. "Yes, I think that's enough skating for the /year/," she replies, her words coming forward in the spare moments in her laughter. It eventually putters out and ends with a contented sigh. And then Ted talks again.

    "What?" she asks, frowning a little as she tries to work out what he might mean by that. "What do you mean?" Alyx's eyes shift to the side as she looks away. She sits up before turning to watch Ted again.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord looks a little bewildered, like someone who might have stepped in something butisn't sure. He shrugs. "I dunno. You laughed like someone who really enjoyed laughing just now... are we going to fight again? Because I'm really enjoying myself. I mean apart from being hungry."

He gets up and holds his hands out to her, stooping a little.

Alyx Vance has posed:
    Alyx tees up a snarky remark -- just a really nice bit of sass that would totally clean Ted's clock. But then...she doesn't. Instead, Alyx sighs softly and shrugs. "I guess it's been a while," she admits. This would be the extent of the lifeline she'd throw Ted, however, because Alyx manages to get herself to her feet without his assistance. Ha!

    Eventually, she'd speak again. "I'm sorry," she says quietly. And then another sigh. "Let's get you some food," Alyx says, looking up at Ted with the slightest smile.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord rubs the back of his neck. He bites down on any reply because face it he'll screw it up. But then he takes a step and glides fairly gracefully over to the railing. He crooks a finger in a come here gesture. "Eyes on me, relax and glide. If you fall I won't laugh. Promise."

Alyx Vance has posed:
    Alyx lets out a sudden tuft of cold air. She watches Ted carefully and then pushes off. She's doing it! Instead of skating, however, Alyx is gliding across the ice -- her legs are motionless, though, and she just moves with the momentum of that one push. Now on a collision course, Alyx's eyes widen. She didn't know how to stop. It didn't matter, however, if she didn't know how -- Alyx comes to a sudden halt by crashing right into Ted.

    Alyx shifts to the side so she can slump over the railing, laughing again. She nods her head and looks up at Ted, not even offering up an apology. "Come on, let's find you something to eat, big guy," she suggests, good-naturedly. She even nods.