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 Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 4:55 pm
... Well Kanda was Superman and therefore capable of being a gargoyle with ease, so it was only natural that he'd be able to sleep in precarious or potentially neck breaking (for some people) places and call it decent.
Sure, Shae had endured her share of 'broke nights without a bed' and all, but when those happened (more frequently that she would've liked in the bad times), she'd always opted for more... er, 'stable' grounds to sleep on. Roofs were usually decent if they were flat topped. Alleys worked if she could find a nice, secluded one with decent cover. The base of a thick tree could also be nice depending on the weather and surrounding area, but-- ...
Wait, why was she even thinking back on all of that? It really had been a long time ago, after all.
"It's... been a long time since a lot of things, hasn't it?" A long time since they'd first crossed paths, burned down The Highway, gotten kidnapped, crash-landed in the mountains, attended dancing lessons, paraded around in suits, played chess with the dead, fought giant hairy WTF manbeasts...
Hell, even laying unconscious on Viktor's bed in Zanadu was starting to feel oddly distant. Vivid, sure, but distant.
"It's still hard to believe that all four of us are here again and heading back to Erasmus together... I never thought it'd happen, honestly."
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:50 pm
It was as though their 'travelling' was coming 'full circle' in an odd way. Would the woman want to stay there upon her return to 'home'? Would their 'Quartet' break back down into a more..... singular grouping following such a thing?
"Several months."
And al-.. NO. BAD KANDA. NOT THINKING ABOUT THAT.
But it really was all feeling so distant. Even after a month of being apart from each other after three months of being together had spaced them out into their own little 'friendships'.
Odd little friendships for some of them.
Odd big more-than-friendships for others in question. Sigh. But he wasn't really going to complain about the familiarity.
Even if said familiarity would probably spawn some horrid disaster to fall upon the group once again. Horrible like Salig horrible. That damned couple were never going to pay him to dress up like a pedigree cat ever again.
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 6:33 pm
Actually, it had been more like two months (or a month and a half, maybe?) that the bifurcation lasted, as she recalled, who could easily recall a solid three weeks by lonesome before a certain Life Fail incident, then two horrible days in Xorosho, a week of Vodenska to recuperate, another two in Zanadu (plus the extra time of comings and goings associated with it), then all of the nice, quiet few days they'd been enjoying here since departure...
Both sides really had seemed to develop their own odd little 'friendships' since then, huh?
Ma'am certain seemed closer to Mister Yossarian (not that she'd ever been distant from him-- it was just much more obvious now), and Shae herself was... well, she appreciated what she had (whatever that meant).
Being alone together was nicer than being alone by oneself, after all.
Silence, then-- though not really the uncomfortable type. It just sort of was, and it dragged out for a minute or two as she worked towards finishing her drink and kept on gazing out the window, until--
"Family aside..." Oh? What was this? "Was there any particular reason you chose this line of work?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:05 pm
He'd been fully expecting that the two of them would be sitting there in silence for a decent amount of time, sipping tea and secretly loathing the weather that would so beg their company to drench them (sigh).
But a new topic had been brought up after a minute or so to break the ongoing silence.
..........
......
....
......
..........
"Why does anybody do anything? Because I had the skills to keep myself afloat on my own in no other way." he replied, taking a sip of tea, then frowning at it.
Perhaps he was continuing to mull over the notion that he'd been given. It was a rather .. complex inquiry, really. Who could give a black-and-white answer to any question deeper than 'What's your name' or 'how old are you'?
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:25 pm
... Such an appropriately straightforward answer from a straightforward fellow. Really, Shae couldn't have expected any less (or more) of him than just what she received, mirroring his motions (though perhaps not intentionally) by taking a last sip of her own drink, which had finally drained the cup of its contents.
"Ah, I see..." Not really questioning any further, just shrugging, sighing, and looking off at the gray sky.
God, even a short walk back was going to get them soaked to the bone by the look of things.
And on that note, it'd soon be time to go buy their little 'presents' soon and plunge back into the nasty weather, huh? Transporting any dried tea or coffee they picked up might be risky out there, but... well, she could tie them up in her jacket if needed to keep the rain out (just as she'd done for Del, the poor, cramped thing).
"Should we be heading out soon, Sir?..." She didn't really seem pressed for it, perfectly content to obey whatever he decided, but-- "... Before the weather gets any worse?" But yeah, that was a damn good point, huh.
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:03 pm
It hadn't really been that straightforward as Kanda revisited the thought, though. In fact, all it had caused was a lot of 'doubt' and a bit of 'confusion' on why he'd done what he did.
Simply due to the question of 'Why did he have to leave home in the first place?'. Certainly he could have lived with 'Mommy dearest' and 'Darling Sister', but...
..
....
...
....
"Yes."
Oh. Nice and clear-cut answer, once again. Kanda rose to his feet, playing the 'male' of the group and counting out coins to cover the price of their drinks as well as a... semi-hefty addition (though not too hefty) for their extra 'purchases', holding it out for Shae.
She knew what she wanted, so he'd leave any such purchases to her.
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:28 pm
And the same thought had crossed her mind, too, even if she didn't say a thing about it. Granted that Kanda's father would've made anyone with the desire to live run SCREAMING for the hills-- but that aside, he still had a nice, sane mother and a sister who, despite her immature possessiveness, was good natured, so... Why was it, then?
Well, there had to be a reason in there somewhere. Shae had hers, too, and hell, they were probably just as convoluted and doubt-riddled as his.
"... Thank you," she (naturally) mumbled, taking the coinage in all of its abnormally hefty glory and sidling back over to the counter for... oh yes, the joy of paying Ms. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder for their liquid meal, plus 'presents' for the road.
"Aaah, so you'll be having--"
"The mid-dark roasted coffee and a tin of dry sencha leaves, please."
"You know, we've got some perfectly fine Gyokuro in, if quality's what you're--"
"No thank you, Ma'am, my request will be quite adequate."
"If you say so, dear."
And so the little female procured her special 'things' (a cylindrical metal tin with oddly fanciful designs on it for the tea, and a similar, if not less ornate package for the coffee), paying her dues and leaving the woman to her strainer arrangements as they headed toward the door and...
Wait, why was she stripping off her co-- ... oh, right, bundling up the goods to keep them dry. No use buying something just to ruin it in a storm, right?
"Shall we?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:41 am
Quality stuff had a way for trying to run for the hills anyways. Sigh. Not like fleeing or vanishing (depending), but going 'bad' after too short a period of time.
At least food wise.
But Kanda'd been a good 'boyfriend' and stayed in the background of the conversation and looking over the room one more time (and giving the fishermen another leer) then, once the transaction had been made, exitting just as silently.
"Better sooner than later."
Upon opening the door it was... well, not 'pouring', but the rain was heavy enough to make Kanda scowl just a tad and.... okay, he had that slighty look to his face.
Hmmmmm...
Plotting Kanda was plotting.
"Better sooner.." he shrugged, before scooping up his companion (omai) bridal style and.... bolting. Well that way one way to remain as dry as possible.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 12:46 pm
Yes, 'quality' stuff did have a tendency of going bad a bit too quick sometimes, but there were other factors playing into it for this particular case-- like a little thing called flavor and the recollection that certain individuals preferred bitter things to sweet. Yep, even little nuances like that were important for those who excelled in the art of subtlety.
So then, out into the rain and off down the-- fjsadldakljda!!!
Okay, of all the things Shae had been expecting right then, that... definitely hadn't been very 'up there' on the list (or hell, how about on it at all), earning a half startled sound (not quite a squeak, but close enough) when her feet left the ground and... oh god that was WAY TOO FAST for anyone to be capable of running with another body in tow. Did his Superman powers have any limits? Really?
Well, needless to say the girl's first instinct was to grab hold of his coat (... or torso, or whatever) and keep a nice firm grip of it, just incase... okay so she knew it wasn't going to drop her or anything, but it still made her feel a little more productive and a bit less like luggage.
That was sure one helluva way to 'stay dry' (... ish), huh?
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:07 pm
He'd been expecting she'd react to him suddenly scooping her up to go on his little 'jaunt' through the rain, making a point to avoid the edges of roofs (as they dripped something fierce. More than the rain) and...
..
Well, Kanda was epic, the entire run took about 6-7 minutes. Though getting the door open with her in his arms was near-impossible, prompting Kanda to have set her down outside the door before opening it and again allowing her to go in first.
Mmmm.
Well. Now what?
Well...
...
"Perhaps it would be time to retire to bed now?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:25 pm
Well regardless of whether or not they avoided the drippy rooftops or gutters-turned-creeks, getting wet was still inevitable (or so said the proverb), but... well, it seemed that the quick jog had spared them a complete soaking-- or Shae, anyway-- having managed to keep the bundle of golem and coffee and tea more or less dry until they'd made it back.
And hell, they'd made pretty amazing time of it too, for what she could tell. Just how the hell did he do that?
But no matter; for now her only concern was getting inside as quickly as possible (which she did of course) and taking an obligatory lookaround of the downstairs area. Good, nothing seemed out of place or unusual, sans the fact that a certain other duo was missing (probably upstairs already) and -- ... oh. He was asking something. Right.
"That... sounds like a wise idea, Sir." So then, it was time to trek up the stairwell and head to their own room, huh? She could probably stand to change her overshirt (which was pretty damn damp and skin-clingy), but that aside, bed was sounding... mmm, pretty nice, actually.
And hey, there didn't seem to be any suspicious noise leaking into the hall when she passed a certain other occupied room!
That had to be a good sign, right?
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:36 pm
A decent silence indeed. Kanda took some time to remove the line from across the Inn, allowing Shae several minutes to herself to do any 'clothing swap' that was needed before he followed her up, tapping on the door lightly for any 'NO COMING IN PLZ, NEKKID' warnings.
....
......
...
Another thirty seconds before he entered the room, starting up on setting the line back up across the room (though away from the beds. Last thing they'd need would be for water to drop on them all night like Japanese Water Torture (fitting)).
.....
..
Well, time for Kanda to strip off his shirt and Jacket again a-... Oh yeah, the other woman still had his blanket. Well..... He didn't want it now that it had been behind closed doors with the amorous couple, so he settled for simply laying on his bed and folding his arms across his chest.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:22 pm
And that several minutes was all Shae needed, going about the chore of changing and 'tidying up' in a nice, methodical fashion.
The first item on her to-do list, of course, was untying her jacket and checking the state of its contents-- ah, good, both tins were still sealed tightly, and even Del seemed perfectly unharmed, spiraling into the air upon its release in the usual drunken circles before settling on the corner of her pillow. With that accomplished, it was on to stripping off her shirt and pants (ha, even her skin felt pretty damp) and exchanging them for a set of spare trousers and... huh, a sleeveless top? That was unusual.
Well, it happened to be her only clean (under)shirt at the moment that wasn't soaked or in need of a scrub, so... yes. And besides, there was no point of worrying about exposed scar edges with someone who'd seen everything already and just didn't care. Her more 'proper' things would be dry before anyone else saw and-- ... ohae, Sir had slipped in and set up the line. Good.
Of course she was a nice little subordinate and wasted no time in hanging up her semi-soaked garments, not trying to muddle the activity with conversation or any such triviality until she'd settled back on her bed, running a hand through her (very damp) hair to straighten and mussed bits ...
And belatedly recalling the blanket situation. Ahaha. Sir's was still stolen and hers was... actually still bunched up at the foot of his bed from a certain nap earlier in the day, huh? Well, he had gotten more soaked than her anyway, so she just rolled over onto her side and didn't say a thing.
Well okay, that was a lie, because--
"Ah... good night, then, Sir..." Nope, she never left out the formalities.
Hopefully, tonight would be a little more peaceful (and RESTFUL) than the last.
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