middaeg | June Catch-All

Irhya, on the other hand, goes willingly, apparently having taken several rides so far with others. What she's looking for is unclear, if anything, but she's the one who keeps hopping off the carnival ride, then getting back in line again.

She doesn't seem dismayed by her luck in partners, though; if anything, she's curious.

"Ah." She blinks. "I didn't picture you as the type for this kind of thing. Change your mind, did you? Or did someone drag you into it kicking and screaming?"

Then, the vampire grin appears. She may or may not have a very good time with this, depending...

His attention shifted from quiet seething and maybe some light revenge plotting (he remembers the face that smooth talking witch) to the person who was entering recognizing them and rolling his eyes at the comment. Mostly because it was about ninety percent accurate.

"No kicking or dragging." Screaming, maybe just a bit.

Whatever the case he scoots over to give her a place to sit before the curtain is closed and the boat is sent drifting down the river.

"So. Were you roped into this too?"

Edited 2020-06-21 11:39 (UTC)

"I wouldn't say roped..." she says with a hum, tilting her head sideways. "I was bored, so I thought it might be more interesting to play boat roulette instead. And I won you this time, it appears."

For... however long the ride lasts, she supposes. Irhya grins, not at all innocently.

"Come on, it's not that bad, is it?"

"Well..." He says with a raised brow, noting the grin. "I suppose not."

Could be worse. He could've been paired with someone larger than he and takes up more space. There is virtually no compromise when paired with a large being on a tiny boat.

"You said, 'this time', so have you just been taking these boats all day and see who you get?" There are easier ways to socialize.

"Yup."

And she looks pretty satisfied with herself, at least for this run. Hands set politely in her lap (for now), she leans forward and grins at him.

"They've all been pretty boring until now though. A lot of women who were disappointed they didn't get a man, and men who were either stiff and boring or too frisky for their own good." Resting her chin on one arm propped up, she continues, "I think you might be better company, either way."

He figured some guys would take advantage of the situation.

"It's starting to sound like they're just sticking people in these boats for the sake of doing so rather than spreading this holiday cheer." Or whatever this Litha is supposed to be.

"Are you alright, though? You mentioned some men being handsy so..." He remembers her lugging around a sword that was too big for anyone's business so he assumes she can defend herself, but its always best to just make sure.

"Oh, I'm fine," she says, waving a hand dismissively. "Anyone who got too eager where I didn't want them got hurtled overboard. No big deal." It's not that she isn't receptive to the right person, just... none of them were particularly interesting beyond being needy as hell. She shrugs.

"I wonder if maybe waiting for the right pair to turn up is part of the magic? This place seems to have a lot of holidays centered around bonding and love, so I admit I'm not sure what makes this one much different, but..."

Her tail twitches behind her. She's definitely plotting something.

"But speaking of, has anyone tried coming onto you yet?"

He shook his head with sheepish smile.

"No, unless you want to count the kitten that meows at me while I'm cooking."

A beat.

"Besides, I don't think anyone would be attracted to someone like me."

"Are we talking physically or personality? Because one tends to come before the other, and," Irhya leans towards him and grins, "I would say being a shapeshifter makes for all kinds of lovely possibilities, right?"

Oh, good gods, does it ever. It's easy to tell her imagination is spinning right around just by looking at her. Either she's thought deeply about this before, or she's just now acknowledging a latent idea that had always sort of been there, waiting to be realized.

"And even if you're stuck in this form for a bit, I don't find it hard on the eyes." She smiles and cocks her head. "If you mean by personality, though... admittedly, I can't judge that just yet. If anything, you're a bit of a mystery to me. But I suppose the worst that'd happen is you'd be disgusted with me and move on with your life afterward."

[ . . . What? ]

[ Wait, what? D-Did he hear that right??? ]

[ Wait, no. That can't be right. He didn't hear what he thinks he heard. That's...That's just....what? ]

[ But wait what if it was? What if she implied what he thinks she implied, how does he react? It seems awfully rude to call her out, actually it's even weirder that she even said that to him of all people.

Actually, what did she even mean by that earlier and latter statement? Is she just being nice or....

But that just brings up more questions! He's raised a lot of questionable things with her already and the most he gets is he's a 'mystery'??? That's not a bad thing, there are worse things to be labeled but he feels a little....strange. ]

[ ACTUALLY! Isn't he being rude assuming that she's talking about...that. Oh God, that is rude. VERY rude!

Dammit Bishop! She's a lady! Get it together! ]

" I'm flattered you think so! Thank you."

Smile you doofus. Smile!

"I doubt I could think of you as 'disgusting'. You strike me as a very amicable person. Besides, don't you think that should be my line? I mean, I'll be honest, I haven't been very clear about some of the things I've asked for."

Not to mention honest.

"I have to apologize for that, actually. I enjoy my privacy a little too much, so getting to know me is a little like pulling out teeth."

Yes, I noticed, she doesn't say. Instead, she takes the pause in stride, continuing the conversation.

"You wouldn't be the only one out there like that, I know. Privacy is important, sometimes necessary, but you also don't want to leave yourself without allies when something happens, either. As for finding me disgusting... well..."

She picks herself up and smiles sheepishly, a jarring contrast to what she's about to say. "I think it's not that difficult. I manage it every day. But for what it's worth, even if one of us ends up finding the other unpalatable for some reason, I still wouldn't mind getting to know you better."

If getting information out of him was easy, his captain is going to rise from the grave and kill him. She didn't train no sissy.

"Oh, well. I suppose I can do that much." They're not bonded and he has a sort of practiced routine to answer certain questions. She won't have to pull teeth to get what she wants, and he still gets to control information.

"What do you want to know?"

She hums and lapses into thought, unsure what to do with this special permission now that she has it. Something she can remember for later, maybe. Something like...

"What do you like to eat? I'm making food constantly these days, given how mediocre at cooking my household otherwise is, so maybe I can bring something to you sometime."

It seems like a sincere offer. The trades of food between her house and the other Eorzeans' house has since ceased, but she'll admit she misses it a little, even if she gets nothing back from it.

He gives her a thoughtful hum and his eyes brighten from the mention of food.

"Well, I'll eat pretty much anything but since you're asking what I like...Have you heard of sukiyaki? It's a meat and veggies soup dish. A hot pot, essentially, though it's bit much for just two people."

Though he thinks he can finish it by his lonesome. He's got a pretty big appetite.

"If not, let's see....steak is always welcome. Pasta too or anything with noodles."

"I have," she says, recalling that it is a dish from Doma, though she's heard it called other things here. "You like Far Eastern dishes? Ooh, noted! I've tried a handful of different types of noodles, and I have yet to find a variant I didn't like. Though I've yet to try any hot pot..."

It's not like her time was spent sampling every restaurant in Kugane, at least at first. Maybe she ought to spend more time on it someday...

"Well, mayhap you could accompany me to one sometime?" A sly grin. "If it's a lot for one person, then splitting it between two should be just right. Though I don't know which restaurants serve it here, if any..."

"I'd love to! I haven't found a place that serves it here so I'll have to go gather the ingredients myself."

Which he's not sure he'll even manage here, but he'll certainly damn well try.

"It's a great dish best served on cold days and special occasions. Yuka-nee always made it when winter first rolls around." His smile grows wide and warm as the memory played in his head.

A small empty diner, a portable stove set up on the table closest to the kitchen. The smell of the sweet savory broth in the air after a day of hard work.

"I have a pretty big appetite so she always put a bit extra just for me."

That was... elder sister, right? Irhya thinks, recalling all the honorifics used by the foreigners she's encountered.

"That's sweet," she says. "You have a sister?"

It's a subject she's usually less than keen on discussing for herself, given the... precarious state of her family. But her feelings have since cooled to embers rather than the raging inferno of anger they once were; she thinks she can talk about them without things heading in a bad direction now. Hopefully it's a tenable subject matter for him, too...

"Yeah! A little sister and brother too." A beat. "Well, they're not really my siblings. They're a foster family that took care me when I was abroad. I'm actually an only child."

He scratches at his cheek sheepishly. Even seven years later he's still not completely used to declaring that. Whether it was out of embarrassment or great pride he wasn't sure.

"It's been a while since I last saw them but, they ran a family diner. I worked there a lot and in return they welcomed me into their family."

And then he left them because...life just won't let him have that, though that bitterness and sorrow doesn't show on his ever smiling face.

Edited 2020-07-06 19:16 (UTC)

"Ah... you've the same as me," she says with a smile, counting off on her fingers. "I have an elder sister, a younger sister, and a younger brother, in that order. The second of four."

Though, she has to wonder about the way he seems to separate his biological family from his adoptive one. It's hardly an unusual scenario in Eorzea, orphaned or abandoned children being taken in by others, even of completely different races... Perhaps it's different where he comes from?

"But that they welcomed you with open arms is very kind of them. Family is family, even if it is not by blood, right? That's all anyone can ask for."

Sometimes better than what might've been with the biological family, even. Running away had crossed Irhya's mind in her teenage years more than a few times, but it always ended with her coming back willingly. Who would take her? Where could she run? Would anyone even want to shelter a brat like her? And yet, her need to rebel drove her to repeat the process several times.

"Keeper kids are typically raised by the women, both in the family and of the community. But my mom was kind of off-the-wall, between deep, black depression and bursts of energy. It affected the kids pretty deeply, so my dad came back to try and help. Big, happy, argumentative family... I guess." She sighs. It probably would be tacky to dive too deeply into that here, though; she cards a hand over her hair, ears popping back into place as she passes over them. "But I got through it, at least. I'm not nearly the angry little cretin I used to be."

He listens quietly as she described her family in detail that....struck a little too close to home. How does he even respond to that? How did it end for her? Did it end on bittersweet notes or...

"...Sorry."

He touched his cheek and swallowed. He really couldn't find the words, it's like they die in his throat or retreat into his mind where they can find safety from the horrid truth that he seems to have followed him here. He'll never be free of those memories, those terrible needles that stab through him and leave barbs to pain and hinder him from moving on.

That's fine. That's perfect for him.

He'd almost forgotten what he's supposed to be, who he's supposed to be. There was no happiness for him, that right was wrested from his hands long ago, and he picked up a gun to fill that space. A home gone, burned to the ground, so he's fought fire with fire to make things even. His enemies blot out the light, that's fine, he'll drag them down into his darkness.

But at least, he too isn't the angry little boy running around Queens anymore.

He's angrier.

June Catch-All

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6/6 - okay I'm done and he's ruined

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