"The one and only," he confirms, delivering a too-firm handshake, "But think nothing of it, Ms. Templeton. It's a pleasure to meet you. Makes a fellow know he's finally running in the right circles." While her character may be in the midst of gambling away a fortune, his is an up-and-comer just tasting success after a string of victorious matches. Still wanting more. Everything to lose if things don't keep going right. Even as a fictional backstory...it sort of stresses him out.
He probably didn't mean that as a flirt, but Ruby is an opportunist and will absolutely take it as one.
"Charmer," Corrie says with the cheekiest of grins as she reclaims her hand. It was a surprisingly good squeeze. "But you're right, and you've certainly earned it after your fight against," she takes a sip from her Mary Pickford to give herself a second to think, "Maniac Magee last week. The odds were completely against you! How did you do it?"
She gives him a slightly-too-innocent look and hopes he'll resort to punching motions.
Unprepared for both the label of charmer and the question about his fictional boxing career, Corrie can see Criswell's expression slip into uncertainty before he follows her lead and takes a drink. The French 75 is a bit intense for him, but it had seemed right for Michael.
When he lowers the glass, he tries to look confident and shrugs his shoulders casually, "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee's not hard when the other bloke moves like a caterpillar. Magee's tough but he's got no precision. No finesse. He's a brute." He pauses, possibly trying to read Corrie's face to see if this answer was up to par, then tilts his head in consideration, "Do you...typically follow such matters, Ms. Templeton?"
As much as she would've enjoyed seeing Criswell act out a boxing match, coming up with that on the fly was actually really impressive.
She gives him a considering look, almost sidelong, with her head raised high. Her fingers tap-tap-tap against her glass. "Now and again. I have friends who follow them more," Corrie says. "Like I said, the odds were against you. You've flipped that now -- did you know?" But of course he knew, her smile said. What sportsman didn't know their ranking?
Putting on the most self-satisfied smirk he can muster, Criswell turns his glass idly in his hand and nods in confirmation, "I've heard. I hope your friends are placing their bets accordingly. I don't plan on letting that change any time soon."
Finally taking the first turn toward investigation (and isn't that the point?), he adds, "...Assuming we all make it through this ugly business intact, of course." He gestures around the room, indicating the 'train' as a whole. There's a murderer on board, don't you know?
"Right, that." She turns her attention to her drink. Is Ruby hiding her face in the face of sudden guilt? Is she just that callous and unfeeling? Or did Corrie forget about the whole murder mystery theme for a minute there? Who can say?
"I'm sure we'll be fine," Ruby says finally, emerging from her glass the very picture of privilege - it couldn't happen to her, after all, so why worry? "The conductor was probably overreacting. I'm sure it was just an accident."
She fiddles with the stem of her glass. "It was unpleasant, though. I've never seen a dead body before."
Edited (Sorry again for the confusion!) 2021-02-19 17:44 (UTC)
"I've seen my fair share. The war, you know, but nothing like this," Criswell returns, trying to sound matter-of-fact about the point before he continues, though casual tough guy bravado still remains a stretch for him. "...That detective inspector seems to disagree with you, though," he concludes, taking another drink to hide his smile as he thinks about Detective Inspector Pug.
The little dog had been quite adorable in his Sherlock Holmes getup. He's a good boy. He deserves to solve the mystery and throw one of them in jail.
The war. Of course, there was always a war. Rule 1 of roleplaying: assume there was a war at some point, because humans are terrible.
Without dwelling too much on why Ruby wouldn't have seen bodies then (too young...?) Corrie shakes her head. "These detectives always make things into a big crime. It's all murder, and embezzlement, and grand larceny, because little things aren't nearly as impressive." Ruby makes a gesture with her drink hand, now that the drink is at a less sloppable level. "I bet no one was anywhere near that room. I know I wasn't."
Now there's a response. Dismissing the crime (and the authorities) while providing an unrequested alibi. It's too early for Criswell to be suspicious but he's certainly curious. He looks at Corrie with slightly uplifted eyebrows, answering after a pause, "I couldn't speak to that, myself. I don't deal with detectives often. Though I've certainly met men that like to exaggerate their accomplishments."
He pauses, considers, then continues.
"I wasn't either. I was watching the card sharks when the conductor...you know. Started up."
Corrie felt a powerful urge to ask him if he gambled often, and if he'd noticed any particular tricks the card players were using. Shut up, Ruby, she thought, twisting her lips. You've got bigger fish to fry. Just because he'd been in the poker room when Rose started making a fuss didn't mean he'd been there for the murder itself -- but they didn't know when the murder had happened, so that was a big fat moot point.
"Exactly," she said instead, like a sane person. "And you didn't know him or anything, did you?"
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henhursthall2021-02-16 03:30 pm
LOBBY: Corrie and Criswell
"The one and only," he confirms, delivering a too-firm handshake, "But think nothing of it, Ms. Templeton. It's a pleasure to meet you. Makes a fellow know he's finally running in the right circles." While her character may be in the midst of gambling away a fortune, his is an up-and-comer just tasting success after a string of victorious matches. Still wanting more. Everything to lose if things don't keep going right. Even as a fictional backstory...it sort of stresses him out.
LOBBY: Corrie and Criswell
"Charmer," Corrie says with the cheekiest of grins as she reclaims her hand. It was a surprisingly good squeeze. "But you're right, and you've certainly earned it after your fight against," she takes a sip from her Mary Pickford to give herself a second to think, "Maniac Magee last week. The odds were completely against you! How did you do it?"
She gives him a slightly-too-innocent look and hopes he'll resort to punching motions.
LOBBY: Corrie and Criswell
When he lowers the glass, he tries to look confident and shrugs his shoulders casually, "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee's not hard when the other bloke moves like a caterpillar. Magee's tough but he's got no precision. No finesse. He's a brute." He pauses, possibly trying to read Corrie's face to see if this answer was up to par, then tilts his head in consideration, "Do you...typically follow such matters, Ms. Templeton?"
Re: LOBBY: Corrie and Criswell
She gives him a considering look, almost sidelong, with her head raised high. Her fingers tap-tap-tap against her glass. "Now and again. I have friends who follow them more," Corrie says. "Like I said, the odds were against you. You've flipped that now -- did you know?" But of course he knew, her smile said. What sportsman didn't know their ranking?
LOBBY: Corrie and Criswell
Finally taking the first turn toward investigation (and isn't that the point?), he adds, "...Assuming we all make it through this ugly business intact, of course." He gestures around the room, indicating the 'train' as a whole. There's a murderer on board, don't you know?
LOBBY: Corrie and Criswell
"I'm sure we'll be fine," Ruby says finally, emerging from her glass the very picture of privilege - it couldn't happen to her, after all, so why worry? "The conductor was probably overreacting. I'm sure it was just an accident."
She fiddles with the stem of her glass. "It was unpleasant, though. I've never seen a dead body before."
LOBBY: Corrie and Criswell
The little dog had been quite adorable in his Sherlock Holmes getup. He's a good boy. He deserves to solve the mystery and throw one of them in jail.
Re: LOBBY: Corrie and Criswell
Without dwelling too much on why Ruby wouldn't have seen bodies then (too young...?) Corrie shakes her head. "These detectives always make things into a big crime. It's all murder, and embezzlement, and grand larceny, because little things aren't nearly as impressive." Ruby makes a gesture with her drink hand, now that the drink is at a less sloppable level. "I bet no one was anywhere near that room. I know I wasn't."
LOBBY: Corrie and Criswell
He pauses, considers, then continues.
"I wasn't either. I was watching the card sharks when the conductor...you know. Started up."
LOBBY: Corrie and Criswell
"Exactly," she said instead, like a sane person. "And you didn't know him or anything, did you?"