A Lesson in Frustration (OTA)

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Liz was enjoying the various people offering her lessons. The Inn gave her a unique opportunity to be exposed to a variety of subjects she wouldn't normally take back home. Back home she had her eyes on a science degree in university. Here, she decided to ask Piotr to teach her some art. Liz was under no illusion that she would be good at it, but she thought it might be something nice to practice when Kitty was busy or she had read all that she could read.

For her first lesson, she was supposed to draw the hallway in perspective. When she had originally reached for a ruler to measure and be precise, he had said it wasn't allowed. So now, she was out in the hallway with a pad of paper and some pencils and an eraser. She sat on the end of the hallway with her back to the wall, trying to sketch what she saw down the hallway. There was a look of frustration and a lot of sighing and erasing.

(ooc: Find her in any hallway that's convenient for your pup if you like.)

Comments

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"Maybe..." It was a little hard to picture him in the same realm of her parents, but she saw her parents as much older. Maybe that was a kid thing. "But you've seen some stuff, I'm sure, working in Las Vegas. My parents run an alien-themed diner." Liz knew little else about her parents' passed, but she assumed it was all average.

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"A few things, nothing like this though." Alex had assumed that the House had been behind this in the beginning. It was something that they'd would have done.

"Working private security in Vegas does have it's share of the unusual." His lips curved upward, "and you learn that there is more out in the world than you thought. Nothing like this, however."

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"Have you ever been to the Elvis Chapel there?" The question came out suddenly it even surprised Liz a little. She look sheepish after it came out.

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That made Alex chuckle and he nodded. "One of the first places I went to when my wife and I moved to Vegas. We couldn't resist it."

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"Is it... nice? I mean, would someone be really, I don't know, um, dumb for getting married there?" Liz thought about what future Max said. That was where they had gotten married, in another life she would never have.

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Alex was instantly in tune with her body language and he thought he understood where the question came from. Which was why he answered it honestly, "it's better than where I got married." Which had been a war torn country but that was beside the point.

"The thing about the Elvis chapel is that you can make it as tourist or as classy as you'd like." He looked at her in the eyes, letting her see the emotion that he didn't express much. "But I'll tell you the truth, it doesn't really matter where you get married. When you have the right person, anywhere is magical and special."

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She definitely relaxed a little at that explanation, though she wasn't sure why since that would never be a thing for her anymore. They were never going to get married. Still, it was nice to know that in another life, when they had gotten married there, it probably was special. She smiled to him. "Thanks. I know that's, um, kind of a weird question for me to ask, but..." She gave a small shrug. Well, she had to ask it.

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"Not weird at all." Alex assured her, still thinking how much she reminded him of Dani. "And if you do get married in Vegas some day, ask for the Elvis in the Garden package. It's a nice garden in the middle of the Vegas strip."

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Liz made a silent note of this. "I will.... though I probably won't be getting married any time soon. My mom and dad would probably kill me." She laughed softly. "Plus I'm stuck here."

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"Maybe not kill you, but probably ground you until you're twenty two." Alex chuckled, knowing he'd do the same if he had a daughter. "And, you're stuck here for the time being. Someone, sooner or later, will figure out the puzzle. Someone always does."

Usually he just fought his way out of situations, but he also knew that all hostages waited until an opportunity, no matter how long it took.

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"You think so?" Liz was, at the moment, a little torn even though she didn't quite know why at that moment. "I guess we're all kind of motivated, huh?"

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"I think we all have reasons to return." Alex paused thinking of a world without Gin in it. It was actually easier here in some ways, to be away from all the memories in Vegas. "And I think we all have reasons to stay."

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She paused at that. "Do you...do you think that makes us selfish? I mean, if there's a part of us that might want to stay?" Even if she had family and friends back home and a whole life.

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"There is nothing wrong with being a little selfish, but no I don't think it makes us selfish for a part of us to want to stay here." Alex knew in his case it was probably more denial than anything. "Think of this as a vacation and that's not selfish to want to prolong it."

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"A vacation." She said it out loud as if to test it on her own tongue. She nodded. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Liz smiled as if something released inside her - at least for now. "Thanks."

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"You're welcome." Alex smiled and straightened upward. "And I should be letting you get back to your drawing. Don't overthink your artwork and yes I know that's easier said than done."

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"Thank you." Liz really appreciated it all - talking to her like an adult, explaining the Elvis chapel, and even his encouragement about the drawing.