[Nicolay]

Nicolay laughed when Kiel mentioned that his "dream job" was weird. Was it? Weird for him would be the job of a curator, a librarian or something that didn't make much money. He dabbled with business, and that was the normal career for everyone he knew. “It's not really weird, it's...mm...” he thought of the word as he chewed thoughtfully on his chicken, “special. It's specialised. In Earth, people study to do specialised things and as for me, this is what I'm studying.” That ought to do it.

He smiled at his friend when the 'vari told him that he had a plan in life before he received his noodles from his fork, sipping it all in when there was space. That was always a nice thing to hear -- even if that plan would have to be delayed now that he was apparently not human but it was still a plan Nicolay had. He had to finish university first, after all. And then...

...and then he'll figure things out from there.

By the time Kiel was finished, he was already polishing his salad and had just set his fork aside when the 'vari had announced work and that seemed to have stunned Nicolay. Work! What the hell time was it? He looked at his wristwatch to be stunned further, and cleared himself of his late lunch so that he could join his friend, apologizing all the while for keeping him away. “I didn't notice the time,” he said.

“You wanna walk me home, man? You can stay and play with Shane for a bit if you want. Play, play!”

It was such an odd thing to hear from a man and although Nicolay had nearly made a face at the sound of it, he did consider Kiel's offer. Normally he would decline but playtime with Shane was a good idea to burn the rest of his afternoon with, he hadn't seen the kin in ages, too. Maybe all this time he dreamed Shane was that freaky monkey ought to pay off, anyway, and he nodded at the 'vari. “Sure,” he said pleasantly. “That'd be fun.”

((Continued in Play play play!))