[It's not like he was particularly picky. Booze what booze, and while he wasn't big on the whole drinking-for-drinking's sake thing, when it was time to do it, anything did the trick.
So the nearest little ikazaya to the bathhouse it was. And so our heroes arrived with little incident and about as much conversation.
Here they were. At a table. Drinks ordered. Mallory kind of sulleny gazing out the window at people passing by in the treets as twilight settled over the town.]
[He could have whatever he wanted. She just got a water. It was all she could really stomach, despite maybe wanting to see if this place had virgin daiquiris or sodas.
Riye sat there right on the seat, not very comfortably, looking right on the table. Occasionally at Mal to see if he could or would say anything.
She asked him to come just so he wouldn't feel so lonesome like he said, but it was like she was placed on the spot to crack the ice. Miss Antisocial had to break the ice. Else no words would ever be spoken. As much as she promised they didn't HAVE to talk, something needed to happen.]
Well, this is convenient.
Edited (It ended up not being THAT short) 2017-04-24 06:25 (UTC)
[Just some good old sake for him. He already poured his second little cup of it by the time she spoke up. And here he was going to take her comment about not having to talk seriously.]
Hn? What is?
[The fact that they could snag a table at this time of evening, or...?]
[It was more or less something she was musing, if for any other reason than to get at least maybe some idle chit chat going. For as much as she could appreciate stone silence, it wasn't a good kind. It was the kind of depressing silence that weighed a bit on Daria's spirit, despite the fact people could say she was already so negative and pessimistic.
Riye was able to read the mood like any book, but at least with a book...there was a written climax and conclusion. It was up to Daria to start writing this story.]
That this place can have a bar at most corners so you don't have to travel too far. All that and no pizza place, though.
This place is a tourist a tourist trap. Alcohol's got more international appeal. ...Interplanal appeal?
[Look, there are a lot more myths where he's from about spirits who like a bit of the hooch now and then, but none about pizza ghosts. That's what he's getting at here.]
Just make a pizza if you want one that bad. It's probably healthier.
[HOW DO WE KNOW THERE ISN'T A PIZZA GHOST. But still, anyway, at least they could start off with talking about something petty and somewhat silly. She could really make one and she thought of it once or twice, but-well. If they were really going to talk about something innocent to get the mind out of nonsense for forever how long...]
I guess I could try, we got the books for it. Never did make one. Then again, we never hardly did any cooking at my house.
[Also she was sinfully lazy.]
The lowest common denominator is missing out; you'd think this place could benefit from the use of a brick oven with how The Witch tries to rope us into the schemes she does every month.
[She hadn't forgotten, but she found it highly amusing that he caught on to it after the damn clock. It was like a huffy kind of amusement. So she would slowly drink her water like she said Nothing At All.]
Does this mean I'm fired?
[Maybe a very. Gentle. Poke. In the form of a subtle snark.]
[Time to pour himself another. This time the cup only fills halfway before what's left in the little bottle runs dry, and he clicks his tongue a little in disappointment.]
I'll look into it. It might not be free.. the building permit Luna's after costs an arm and a leg, anyway.
[That would be when the glass she held in her hand would have landed on the table a little loudly. Not like, loud that suggested it could break. Riye wasn't that savvy at torque like that. She shot him another look, clearly showing enough emotion that she thought that was a little left field. She was just whining, she knew that. She had a reputation to be a complainer. But Mal saying he would...actually DO something about something so small as a grievance?
Well, needless to say her cheeks could almost turn colors in some slight embarrassment at the gesture. Considering her very pizza-less heart jumped up to smack her in the face.]
[Now her cheeks were red with some embarrassment. It was part slight humiliation, since she knew Mal took her grievances sometimes pretty seriously and went out of his way to help her out. She half just expected to just get a remark for her bitchy laziness, since that had happened before too. Mal had seemed to get her to act on her convictions more, if solely based on just how dedicated he seemed to do genuinely good things for her.
It was very embarrassing. And her conscious kicked at her.
...It wasn't like she could sit and do nothing about it. It would feel wrong to, no matter how lazy or afraid she was to get involved at all with how this society worked.]
Well, I, um. I could write an appeal in case if you run into any trouble. I can fudge an essay.
[She looked into her glass too, as if she were also drinking alcohol. Even though she wasn't.]
Regardless if it was like your old job or not, I...I appreciate it. I knew I was only complaining.
Alright already, quit making such a big deal out of it.
[Now he's the one getting flustered. Even a 'thank you' seems a bit much considering he hasn't even been able to see if he can do it yet! With the way things have been going lately he's sure he'll muck it all up somehow before it's through.]
You'll still have to cook your own pizza anyway, so it's not like there's no catch.
[...Yeah it was true. It wasn't a magic pizza dispensing oven. What a trap. Still, it was cool that he offered. For someone acting so sullen before, it was just kind of nice to do. Hence the mood change for a moment. It was so strange. Back at the room compared to here. What was she supposed to think?
It was difficult to see where her views were placed when he spoke like she would hate him at any given minute...and do something still pretty nice.]
Ah, that was the master plan. Having me get off my ass.
[She was being facetious, so she clanked her glass against his.]
I know when I'm bought. I guess I better crack open the cookbook and see what I could do. I'd give you a delivery discount.
[It actually wasn't difficult to see. But how to prove that to him...]
Edited (I'm banned from phone tags for ten years ) 2017-04-25 01:28 (UTC)
[What a dangerous offer. For reasons that had nothing to do with the couple of extra pounds he was sneaking around that really were hardly noticeable they went right to his tits anyway.]
Alright, guess it's a pizza party of one. Door's always open, I can sneak a slice and not a soul would know. Not even your metabolism.
[She wasn't mean enough to prod about it too much. "It" being That Cake Fight. It wasn't her place to push it more, but...the more she thought about it, the more it was hard to ignore.
What are you even doing, Riye?
She remembered why she brought him here, sure. She did promise they could talk about nothing, but the longer he seemed to act as a friend, the harder it got to ignore it.
She grew stone quiet. Was she willing to go there? Why was she so scared to do so? Was it because she knew of what happened on Valentines' Day? Absolutely. When her offer of diplomacy was knocked down and shut out.
But, didn't it work out for the best? It affected her enough to make her realize what exactly she had to start fighting for, and stop letting things slip through her fingers before she even acted. To remind herself she was stronger than her heart sometimes told her.
But she was still so vulnerable.
She took a risk.
She took all she knew of this evening.
Then she decided to go for it.]
You know, you keep reminding me why I shouldn't run away again.
[Oh yeah, he was going to try to drive her away for her own good, wasn't he? Can't even do that right when it's his actual goal. He downs the last of his drink and turns the cup upside-down, putting it over the funneled mouth of the bottle.]
[Joke. Good joke. She would laugh if there wasn't something serious behind it.
But no, there was a firm point she did want to make. The fact that this whole thing seemed to go back and forth the entire stay at the bar made her all the more focused now. Daria could no longer go back, and let any uncertainty stop her.
She had to stay on track.]
Pizza helps.
[She finished off the rest of her water.]
It's just that you have told me a few times that your past would make me hate you. Maybe it's nagged at me enough, sure. But so far, you really haven't given me any reason to back down. Especially since I simply complained about pizza and you offered even the littlest of help.
[What was the point of hiding it anymore? Trying to hide was the problem in the first place. His secrets had always been a heavy weight shackled around his neck, dragging him down no matter how hard he fought just to keep afloat. But letting it go didn't help him get any air in the end, either. Peony was still gone.
He didn't know which was right or wrong anymore. He was just tired.
He leaned back in the booth, crossing both his arms and legs, and waited a moment to let the warm buzz of alcohol spread from his cheeks to his shoulders and down to his fingertips. Then he fixed Riye with a harsh stare, unblinking.]
I'm the one who let the entire world fall into Despair.
Daria swerved in her chair, completely facing him dead on with a stare of her own. Her heart weighed down, even further than it did before.
He caused the world to go into despair.
It didn't take a genius to know what whose words meant. She bit her cheek, if only to prevent her from speaking. She couldn't say anything, she refused. No bullshit this go around. All suspension of disbelief was gone, her eyes beckoned him to continue. Riye had to handle this.]
[Silence hung heavily in the air over their table, almost like its own barrier between their conversation and the rest of the chatter in the bar. Or maybe Mallory was too tipsy and withdrawn into himself to make out more than a far-away, distorted garble. He kept his gaze in Riye's direction, though his eyes narrowed considerably as they saw glimpses of the past.]
...Hardly a damned building left standing in some cities. Murder, rape, outright endless war everywhere you look. Friends and family turning against eachother. Mass suicides, riots, killing for sport. Children either smothered in their sleep or left to grow up thinking suffering's just how the world has always been.
[Among other things, but that should have painted at least some vague impressionist piece in Riye's head. Mallory rubbed tight, anxious circles around the stump of his arm, his eyebrows twitching.]
But it wasn't. And it wouldn't have been. But I made a stupid decision- a coward's decision, even with plenty of evidence to know it was the wrong one... I chose to save myself at the cost of the world. And I still couldn't fess up to it for years after. Even when I had to watch my best friends suffer day by day for my mistakes.
This place is like a paradise compared to back there, and... I don't deserve any of it. [Agree with him, damn it. Tell him he deserves to suffer. Someone be angry with him. Be disappointed.]
[Riye was so silent, so unbelievably silent that the world could pass her by and her presence could amount to air or dust. She could faze right in and out, and the rest of the world wouldn't even matter to her. The noise became garbled, and all she could hear were the words from Mal's sullen confession.
He was a coward. He was selfish. However it happened didn't matter. He got hit on the head with a dire choice that probably rang inside his very soul. The right thing would be to not care, and do whatever it took for the sake of the world. That was what Riye's morality said. Riye's very strong sense of moral justice that she lived by.
She should be angry.
Mal couldn't confess, he hadn't for years as he watched the world burn. The weight of his choice hammered into his skull with every passing day. Knowing full well what he should have done, but he didn't. Not wearing any sense of pride, but instead he put up his fists in shame. Hiding from the rest of the world instead of taking what he did and atoning properly.
She should be disappointed.
Her friend...the guy who came for her so many times, and spoke with her. Made her feel just a little safer. Riye knew his flaws, and she took the chance for once. Mal never let her down. Sure, he made her mad and annoyed before. Other people have come to her with similar concerns (mainly Ethan), but she stood in her place with it. An duo of outcasts, someone she grew to care about despite everything. The very risk she took even though she had a feeling there was so much under the very surface. Taking what she knew from home, learned here, never turning back on her decision. Even if she paid for it.
She was warned, by others and herself.
Mal, her friend, suffered so much. On his own accord and from the world around him. Riye was stuck between her morality, her compassion for her friend, and her ever growing perspective changing how she saw the world and the situations in it. He hated himself, told himself he deserved to suffer.
Her heart ached for him.
She was angry, sad, disappointed. She was all of it.
It was overwhelming. To the point when it felt like nothing. She couldn't feel anything, her soul growing numb under the weight of all sides of herself.
Her soul looked like it left her damn body, her eyes going blank.]
Mal.
[That was all she could say for a minute. She didn't know what to say. She literally didn't have anything.
Dammit. Dammit. DAMMIT! Why can't I do anything? Why can't I just storm off in self righteous indignation? Is it because I don't know what the situation is like or-
Her brain was in all out war. The most it had ever been.
[That was it, huh? No outburst, no leaving him there? Maybe she was trying to find some way to justify it, to try and salvage her friendship with someone she refused to believe was no good.
Just another nudge, then. Mal's gaze drifted back toward the window, eyes half-lidded, mouth too tired to even frown.]
This place is better, but I'm not. People like me can't change. I keep letting my wants or my fears lead me, and every time I do, someone else gets hurt. Just a matter of time before it's you.
No matter which way she sliced it or diced it, the way how this sounded just came off as...not what she wanted. She promised him and promised herself that this was something she had to learn eventually.
Riye didn't care if she was stubborn. The more she thought at least one thing in her head, it was the idea of getting chased off by someone who wanted it because it would protect her.
No. She finally turned to him, looking like there was something coming back to life?]
...Is that your excuse? You want me to hate you so badly that you're willing to accept that you can't do anything?
[...]
Because, to be honest, I think the person that hates you the most is you.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
So the nearest little ikazaya to the bathhouse it was. And so our heroes arrived with little incident and about as much conversation.
Here they were. At a table. Drinks ordered. Mallory kind of sulleny gazing out the window at people passing by in the treets as twilight settled over the town.]
. . .
no subject
Riye sat there right on the seat, not very comfortably, looking right on the table. Occasionally at Mal to see if he could or would say anything.
She asked him to come just so he wouldn't feel so lonesome like he said, but it was like she was placed on the spot to crack the ice. Miss Antisocial had to break the ice. Else no words would ever be spoken. As much as she promised they didn't HAVE to talk, something needed to happen.]
Well, this is convenient.
no subject
Hn? What is?
[The fact that they could snag a table at this time of evening, or...?]
no subject
Riye was able to read the mood like any book, but at least with a book...there was a written climax and conclusion. It was up to Daria to start writing this story.]
That this place can have a bar at most corners so you don't have to travel too far. All that and no pizza place, though.
no subject
[Look, there are a lot more myths where he's from about spirits who like a bit of the hooch now and then, but none about pizza ghosts. That's what he's getting at here.]
Just make a pizza if you want one that bad. It's probably healthier.
no subject
I guess I could try, we got the books for it. Never did make one. Then again, we never hardly did any cooking at my house.
[Also she was sinfully lazy.]
The lowest common denominator is missing out; you'd think this place could benefit from the use of a brick oven with how The Witch tries to rope us into the schemes she does every month.
no subject
You know what my job here is, right?
[Easy to forget when he's probably the guy who causes half the HR disputes in the first place, but...]
no subject
Does this mean I'm fired?
[Maybe a very. Gentle. Poke. In the form of a subtle snark.]
no subject
[Time to pour himself another. This time the cup only fills halfway before what's left in the little bottle runs dry, and he clicks his tongue a little in disappointment.]
I'll look into it. It might not be free.. the building permit Luna's after costs an arm and a leg, anyway.
no subject
Well, needless to say her cheeks could almost turn colors in some slight embarrassment at the gesture. Considering her very pizza-less heart jumped up to smack her in the face.]
...Oh, I...
[A frown.]
That sounds an awful lot of trouble on your part.
no subject
[He idly spins the cup on the table, pinching the rim between his thumb and forefinger as he watches the sake's surface ripple with the movement.]
Not as exciting as my old job, but work's work.
no subject
It was very embarrassing. And her conscious kicked at her.
...It wasn't like she could sit and do nothing about it. It would feel wrong to, no matter how lazy or afraid she was to get involved at all with how this society worked.]
Well, I, um. I could write an appeal in case if you run into any trouble. I can fudge an essay.
[She looked into her glass too, as if she were also drinking alcohol. Even though she wasn't.]
Regardless if it was like your old job or not, I...I appreciate it. I knew I was only complaining.
no subject
[Now he's the one getting flustered. Even a 'thank you' seems a bit much considering he hasn't even been able to see if he can do it yet! With the way things have been going lately he's sure he'll muck it all up somehow before it's through.]
You'll still have to cook your own pizza anyway, so it's not like there's no catch.
no subject
What a trap.Still, it was cool that he offered. For someone acting so sullen before, it was just kind of nice to do. Hence the mood change for a moment. It was so strange. Back at the room compared to here. What was she supposed to think?It was difficult to see where her views were placed when he spoke like she would hate him at any given minute...and do something still pretty nice.]
Ah, that was the master plan. Having me get off my ass.
[She was being facetious, so she clanked her glass against his.]
I know when I'm bought. I guess I better crack open the cookbook and see what I could do. I'd give you a delivery discount.
[It actually wasn't difficult to see. But how to prove that to him...]
no subject
[What a dangerous offer. For reasons that had nothing to do with the couple of extra pounds he was sneaking around that really were hardly noticeable
they went right to his tits anyway.]no subject
[She wasn't mean enough to prod about it too much. "It" being That Cake Fight. It wasn't her place to push it more, but...the more she thought about it, the more it was hard to ignore.
What are you even doing, Riye?
She remembered why she brought him here, sure. She did promise they could talk about nothing, but the longer he seemed to act as a friend, the harder it got to ignore it.
She grew stone quiet. Was she willing to go there? Why was she so scared to do so? Was it because she knew of what happened on Valentines' Day? Absolutely. When her offer of diplomacy was knocked down and shut out.
But, didn't it work out for the best? It affected her enough to make her realize what exactly she had to start fighting for, and stop letting things slip through her fingers before she even acted. To remind herself she was stronger than her heart sometimes told her.
But she was still so vulnerable.
She took a risk.
She took all she knew of this evening.
Then she decided to go for it.]
You know, you keep reminding me why I shouldn't run away again.
no subject
So you can have your pizza, right?
[Ha ha, jokes.]
no subject
But no, there was a firm point she did want to make. The fact that this whole thing seemed to go back and forth the entire stay at the bar made her all the more focused now. Daria could no longer go back, and let any uncertainty stop her.
She had to stay on track.]
Pizza helps.
[She finished off the rest of her water.]
It's just that you have told me a few times that your past would make me hate you. Maybe it's nagged at me enough, sure. But so far, you really haven't given me any reason to back down. Especially since I simply complained about pizza and you offered even the littlest of help.
no subject
[What was the point of hiding it anymore? Trying to hide was the problem in the first place. His secrets had always been a heavy weight shackled around his neck, dragging him down no matter how hard he fought just to keep afloat. But letting it go didn't help him get any air in the end, either. Peony was still gone.
He didn't know which was right or wrong anymore. He was just tired.
He leaned back in the booth, crossing both his arms and legs, and waited a moment to let the warm buzz of alcohol spread from his cheeks to his shoulders and down to his fingertips. Then he fixed Riye with a harsh stare, unblinking.]
I'm the one who let the entire world fall into Despair.
no subject
Daria swerved in her chair, completely facing him dead on with a stare of her own. Her heart weighed down, even further than it did before.
He caused the world to go into despair.
It didn't take a genius to know what whose words meant. She bit her cheek, if only to prevent her from speaking. She couldn't say anything, she refused. No bullshit this go around. All suspension of disbelief was gone, her eyes beckoned him to continue. Riye had to handle this.]
no subject
...Hardly a damned building left standing in some cities. Murder, rape, outright endless war everywhere you look. Friends and family turning against eachother. Mass suicides, riots, killing for sport. Children either smothered in their sleep or left to grow up thinking suffering's just how the world has always been.
[Among other things, but that should have painted at least some vague impressionist piece in Riye's head. Mallory rubbed tight, anxious circles around the stump of his arm, his eyebrows twitching.]
But it wasn't. And it wouldn't have been. But I made a stupid decision- a coward's decision, even with plenty of evidence to know it was the wrong one... I chose to save myself at the cost of the world. And I still couldn't fess up to it for years after. Even when I had to watch my best friends suffer day by day for my mistakes.
This place is like a paradise compared to back there, and... I don't deserve any of it. [Agree with him, damn it. Tell him he deserves to suffer. Someone be angry with him. Be disappointed.]
hhhh
He was a coward. He was selfish. However it happened didn't matter. He got hit on the head with a dire choice that probably rang inside his very soul. The right thing would be to not care, and do whatever it took for the sake of the world. That was what Riye's morality said. Riye's very strong sense of moral justice that she lived by.
She should be angry.
Mal couldn't confess, he hadn't for years as he watched the world burn. The weight of his choice hammered into his skull with every passing day. Knowing full well what he should have done, but he didn't. Not wearing any sense of pride, but instead he put up his fists in shame. Hiding from the rest of the world instead of taking what he did and atoning properly.
She should be disappointed.
Her friend...the guy who came for her so many times, and spoke with her. Made her feel just a little safer. Riye knew his flaws, and she took the chance for once. Mal never let her down. Sure, he made her mad and annoyed before. Other people have come to her with similar concerns (mainly Ethan), but she stood in her place with it. An duo of outcasts, someone she grew to care about despite everything. The very risk she took even though she had a feeling there was so much under the very surface. Taking what she knew from home, learned here, never turning back on her decision. Even if she paid for it.
She was warned, by others and herself.
Mal, her friend, suffered so much. On his own accord and from the world around him. Riye was stuck between her morality, her compassion for her friend, and her ever growing perspective changing how she saw the world and the situations in it. He hated himself, told himself he deserved to suffer.
Her heart ached for him.
She was angry, sad, disappointed. She was all of it.
It was overwhelming. To the point when it felt like nothing. She couldn't feel anything, her soul growing numb under the weight of all sides of herself.
Her soul looked like it left her damn body, her eyes going blank.]
Mal.
[That was all she could say for a minute. She didn't know what to say. She literally didn't have anything.
Dammit. Dammit. DAMMIT! Why can't I do anything? Why can't I just storm off in self righteous indignation? Is it because I don't know what the situation is like or-
Her brain was in all out war. The most it had ever been.
But she was still sitting here.]
B)
Just another nudge, then. Mal's gaze drifted back toward the window, eyes half-lidded, mouth too tired to even frown.]
This place is better, but I'm not. People like me can't change. I keep letting my wants or my fears lead me, and every time I do, someone else gets hurt. Just a matter of time before it's you.
[So run.]
no subject
No matter which way she sliced it or diced it, the way how this sounded just came off as...not what she wanted. She promised him and promised herself that this was something she had to learn eventually.
Riye didn't care if she was stubborn. The more she thought at least one thing in her head, it was the idea of getting chased off by someone who wanted it because it would protect her.
No. She finally turned to him, looking like there was something coming back to life?]
...Is that your excuse? You want me to hate you so badly that you're willing to accept that you can't do anything?
[...]
Because, to be honest, I think the person that hates you the most is you.
no subject
[She hit the nail right on the head.]
You think I should be proud of myself instead?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)