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 Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 12:45 pm
Scenerio 6.5: You can't find nothing at all, if there was nothing there all along
The trip to Porooskia had probably been the most terrifying 'venture' for Asteria yet. While, yes, she'd been surrounded by other venturing Koshka, she'd also been surrounded by strangers. No Kanda and Yossarian leering at each other from either side of her, no Shae and Kanda hushed-conversations, no Del to randomly smack Kanda in the face.
The 'You don't realize how much you care about something until it's gone' had totally applied to most of the last two weeks of Asteria's life.
Along with looking at everybody, even the most innocent of people such as children, suspiciously. Sure this city was nice and peaceful, but it was also a foreign place and she couldn't be sure of trusting anybody.
Eventually that very way of thinking (and staring at her locked door all night unless she simply was too tired to be paranoid), as well as a lack of any results in trying to find any familiar faces had shot her nerves.
Four cups of coffee a day 'shot nerves'.
Possibly going up to six or seven in the next three days if she kept up her strange habitry. Such as the little cafe that had come to see her as a familiar 'in here three times a day' face, currently on her 'second time today' visit.
Good ol' black coffee. An acquired taste, yes, but it kept her awake and likely to explode any a number of people who looked at her wrong. s**t, she'd even adopted the reflex of pulling a knife on people who snuck up behind her out of defensive behaviour.
Perhaps that was why she'd taken to a corner, sipping at her little mug and leering around the room for anything that looked even slightly familiar. Or like someone who would be 'askable' about anybody she was looking for.
...
.....
Because, according to the docks, even with her very detailed descriptions of the three she was looking for, they hadn't seen Kanda or Shae leave, but Yossarian's description had sounded 'Familiar, but not for some time.'
So they had to be there..
..
right?
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 1:27 pm
... Ah, coffee. Best served with a splash of cream and sugar, in her personal opinion, to leave the bitterness pleasantly mellowed away.
It seemed that the God of Ridiculously Dumb Luck had been feeling merciful that day, for Aster was about to get her lucky break... of sorts, just not in the way she'd been expecting, and not in the form she might assume.
The bells at the door jingled faintly as she entered, smiling faintly to the lone waitress of the little cafe before moving right on past to settle in her own special corner. A familiar color to the fur, perhaps, in all its rich reddish brown and earthy ocher, and a sinewy long tail, although... no, the face was too delicate despite its age, and the nearly-black hair was bound in a long (if not extraordinarily elegant) braid hanging far down the spine.
She sat half-facing the wall and requested her order in a very soft, barely audible voice... but the brightly colored violet shawl she wore had still earned a few glances from the scant customers of the place.
How very strange.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 1:50 pm
And God be damned if Aster both didn't stare, but had gotten her hopes up for about three seconds. The amount of time it had taken her brain to go 'No, you don't know this person'. Damn if it didn't look like Yossarian, in some sort of crossdress (which she knew he never would have done, no matter how much you paid him).
But really.. how many people could... look like that? Cooincidence? Possible, probable, and most likely. But.. she felt compelled, carefully picking up her mug, glancing around, then awkwardly getting up to walk across the room to the woman.
Damn she was beautiful, she felt awkward walking into said woman's presence, but she was sure she could strike some odd conversation with her, if only for something resembling comfort.
"Ah..."
Pause pause...
Umm.. s**t. What did she say?
"It's a lovely day... would you mind if I joined you? Sitting alone is never quite as nice."
Yeah, that didn't sound too horribly out of place, right?
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 2:19 pm
With her cup of coffee freshly delivered and topped off with all the necessary add-ins, the strange woman seemed perfectly content to enjoy her drink in silence, deep hazel eyes half-lidded and lips turned up just slightly in a dreamy smile...
And then, rather unexpectedly, company arrived.
"Hmm?" Her look of 'surprise' was still remarkably passive and composed, of course, as one might only expect from a woman oozing with such elegance.
Oh, and pleasantness, too.
Damn, she just seemed to exude an aura of calm.
"... Oh, of course I don't mind, my dear." Smilesmile, even going so far as one of those light patting-the-seat-beside-her gestures. "Such a lovely day would be wasted without lovely company..." Then, a brief pause. "My, are you all by yourself here?"
A curious question, but valid.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 2:33 pm
She shifted awkwardly under the gaze of the woman, but smiled (if not nervously) and took the seat that the woman had placed her hand on, not really touching her coffee once she'd set it down. Well, it was there and if she got too jittery about things she could pick it up to 'calm her nerves'.
Shae probably would have advised her that tea would have done a better job.
However, she seemed to tap her hands on the table a little awkwardly at the inquiry about her company, before laughing a bit. That 'trying to make the truth seem less horrible' sort of laugh.
"Ah, a little. It seems my companions wandered off without me and I've been seeking them out." she replied, her nerves almost going straight into the fritz as a response, prompting her to take a sip of her coffee to try and soothe them a little.
She was turning into a little addict. She could have tried to fall back on her alcoholism, but.... she'd practically been forced to go cold turkey with her company for the last two months.
s**t, it had been more like three and a half, huh?
"But such things happen. What about you, ma'am? Out for a walk or shopping or...?"
Yes, it never hurt to ask.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 3:04 pm
"Is that right now?" Again with that calm pleasantness and sweet smile. This woman was either incredibly used to random strangers from foreign cities approaching her out of nowhere or just unflappable overall... and it was strangely hard to tell which rang true. Perhaps a little of both?
"You're awfully far from the beaten path to be looking for these companions of yours," she added on thoughtfully, though it was by no means a 'put down' comment. "I'll take it that you don't come from this region at all, given the look about you."
Yes, the Lost and Hopelessly Alone look, more specifically.
But enough of that for the moment.
"I'm just in town for a bit of relaxation, that's all," she went on, laughing ever-so-softly and sweetly. Even her amusement had a tempered elegance about it. "My husband and I don't live in the heart of town, and... well, I still enjoy a bit of socializing here and there, hence the occasional visit."
Then a brief pause came as she gave her new tablemate a brief, studying look, inclining her head to one side just slightly.
"My name is Moacyr, by the way. What's your name, my dear?..."
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 3:30 pm
"I heard they may have come out here.." she replied, poking the mug again, almost ready to throw herself at it, before forcing herself to not become a coffee addict. Not to say she wasn't. Damn her nerves.
Sigh.
"Asteria. And you got it right on the nose. I'm from Erasmus, actually." she replied, again with that 'I'm all good' smile, running her finger along the edge of the cup, then starting to mull out loud. "But from there we, the three of my companions and I, went to Salig and then.... well, I lost track of them. Or maybe I wandered too far off...."
This was followed by a laugh, the kind that was foretelling some ironic thought.
Which, in a sense, it was, Asteria taking her hand from the glass to motion towards the door with a sort of... wistful, maybe even hopeful, look on her face.
"I mean, it wouldn't surprise me if that was the case. I mean, I keep expecting Yossarian to walk through that door and call me an 'Idiot woman' for wandering off without telling him where I was going and making him come looking for me."
In fact, she almost would have preferred that be the case. Why would they have come here without just telling her, hmm? She'd found nothing in that place thus far, and it was oh so very lonely.
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 1:09 pm
"Mmm, Asteria? Lovely name, I do say..." The newly deemed 'Moacyr' seemed delighted by her younger table mate's open sharing, her smile growing a little brighter as she adjusted her shawl over one shoulder and sipped at her glass. "And that's quite a ways to travel for the sake of companionship. It's very admirable of you, that determination..."
And then there was a pause.
A long pause, and a strange one, as the pleasantness suddenly dissolved, and she glazed over in a strange new look, blinking several times as though struggling (still elegantly) to wrap her brain around something.
"... Yossarian?" Why had she picked out his name? And why had she just chucked like that? "Oh, dear... now I think I understand! My goodness!..."
Understand? Understand what?!
"Asteria, my dear, tell me something..." Back to smiling again in a strange, knowing, almost amused sort of way. "Was it my appearance that compelled you to join me?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 1:29 pm
Her posture seemed to stiffen automatically as the name was parroted back, nodding meekly to confirm that she had INDEED said 'Yossarian' (It sounded nicer the more she said it, actually), her mouth becoming a straight line across her face.
A straight line of 'UNSURE HOW TO RESPOND'.
.....
........
Oh damn she'd so been caught.
"Um.. well.." she shrunk in her chair a little bit, practically sitting on her hands to keep herself from downing the rest of her mug of coffee, less she explode from all the caffiene into her system. What else was she supposed to do? Answer honestly and come off as sounding horrible?
...
..............
She probably would come off as horrible either way.
"...Well, Mrs. Moacry.... to be perfectly honest: Yes. The resemblance to... him caught me to badly I... I don't know how to put it. It's just.. you look like him... and... the purple.."
Yes.. the purple. 'Yoss Purple'.
"Am I horrible for it?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 1:53 pm
... While any 'normal' individual would've probably suffered (at least a little) offense at the girl's confession, Moacyr's response was certainly anything but, as the dark furred woman just paused again, set down her mug... and laughed.
Yes, it wasn't just a chuckle (although she still maintained that whole 'quiet and reserved' thing), it was full blown laughter, actually reaching up to wipe a little tear from the corner of one eye before shaking her head.
"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry, I should've clarified myself a little earlier to you..."
Again with the oddly vague statements?
Thankfully, she was quick to add on there.
"I should hope that I look like him," she mused lightly, and brushed a few darks locks away from her face to look at Aster more clearly-- or rather, let Aster get a clearer look at her. "You see, unless I'm horribly mistaken somehow, I believe the Yossarian you speak of would be my darling son."
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 2:06 pm
Her embarassment was very obvious as her 'conversation' started to laugh, Aster practically seizing her mug to preoccupy herself with drinking the dark (and very bitter) liquid. Mmmmm seared tastebuds.
It was shortly after she put the mug down that, fortunately, she got the statement that, otherwise, would have made her choke on the coffee.
"Son?!"
She repeated it so suddenly her shock was very obvious, prompting Aster cough and sink further into her seat, embarassed by the outburst. Oh playing coy, polite, and all those things she'd forced herself to do at the Mansion seemed so far a cry from her actual behaviours.
There was a pause before she coughed again.
"Well, he uses a lot of long and big words... or rather 'fancy' words as some of them are short, which baffle me to no end, has a code of honor like I've never seen, and he's a swordsman. Does any of that match your.... son?"
Lord, Yossarian had to be about Asteria's age, but this woman looked a little... too young to have had a 20-or-so-year-old son. Not amazingly young, but she looked more like someone who would have had.... a 15 year old?
"God... worst 'way to meet a friend's parents' way e-.." she paused. "Second worse way ever."
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 2:35 pm
Poor Aster was probably feeling awkward as all hell right then, and Moacyr knew this all too well, trying her best to smooth over and give the girl some sort of reassurance.
"Oh yes, yes!" she agreed, fending off another chuckle in favor of nodding. "He's always been a verbose young man, and chivalrous to no end with that old patterned sword of his... I'm certain we're speaking of the same Yossarian now."
But the laughter returned (if only for a moment) at the girl's final comment, earning a little wave of dismissal.
"I wouldn't call it the worst at all, my dear." Already so comfortable sounding with the 'endearment' names, wasn't she? And practically oozing a vibe of maternal affection. "I'm only thankful that our paths crossed at all! Goodness, Langston will be just tickled to no end by all of this..."
Wait, who was 'Langston'? The husband? Of which had to be Yossarian's father?
"Let's finish up our drinks quickly then," she resolved ever-so-sweetly, back to sipping at what she'd just mentioned. "It's quite a walk home from here, and I'll have to clear out a proper place for you to sleep before dinner..."
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 3:02 pm
"I wouldn't either. Second worse way, as I said."
She was surprised she hadn't fallen out of her chair, sitting herself up properly, seeminly slightly uncomfortable at the maternal affection that was being oozed upon her by this.. 'Moaycr'. Langston? Langston.. Langston...
Lang.
That had to be where that...Whatever-the-attachment-was-called to Yossarian's name came from.
...
...........
Oh god, what was Yossarian's father like? Probably not like her own, but that's completely what her mind went straight into imagining. Ugh, not every dad could be that horrible, right? Yeah, maybe he was more like one of those dad's she saw walking their kids to school...
..
She would have liked one of those.
Aster was also quick to resume her drink, though she was clueless as to why, before she, literally, choked on her coffee, taking a minute to recover use of her lungs before looking to the woman next to her with a rather confused face.
"Sleep? You couldn't be possibly thinking to house me, Ma'am."
Oh she could feel the awkward radiating in her mind already.
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 3:21 pm
Well, goodness, she was just provoking the poor girl to stall left and right, wasn't she? Not that Moacyr understood just why exactly the little show of kindness would bring Aster to get so... well, choked up and all. In her peaceful little world, such an act of 'kindness' was nothing extraordinary, after all...
"But of course I am," she was quick to assure the latter female, yet again waving off any resistance as casually as one might shrug their shoulders. "Any friend of my son is a friend of my own, and I simply couldn't deny his wishes."
... Wishes, hmm? That was a rather odd way of phrasing it, but... too late, she'd already skipped past it and kept speaking.
"This is no place to be stranded alone," she added on, just piling more 'evidence' onto the case against her leaving. "We have an extra pair of rooms and one is still free for any guest whom I see fit-- and you, my dear, certainly fit that criteria."
While she maintained a certain kindness to her voice, there was also a ringing 'MOTHER CARD BEING PULLED, NO REJECTION ALLOWED HERE' vibe to her statement that was only enforced further as she threw out yet another question.
"I'll make us all a lovely curry dish for supper. How does that sound to you, hmm?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 3:37 pm
'Choked up' as both a bad pun and a very good way to put it. She wasn't exactly used to being invited into people's homes after a whole.. what, ten-twenty minutes of conversation?
As for whatever 'Wishes' Yossarian might have had that would have involved Asteria, she would never get a chance to ask (or even entertain the thought) as the conversation practically cycloned past her.
Fit what criteria? What was the criteria? s**t, serial kill-... no, Yoss's mother. Yossarian wouldn't be the child of a Serial killer and certainly they wouldn't have come here without her if that was the case.
Right?
Right. Just that lack-of-coffee paranoia kicking in, Aster again soothing her nerves with a sip of her drink (Lord she needed to drink something sweeter than this later to make sure she still had the ability to taste such things).
"I've.... never had Curry." she admitted, trying to think of if she'd ever heard of the dish. Which part of her said 'yes' to and another part went 'WTF' is that to.
"But I guess as long as it doesn't have mushrooms in it," and odd dislike, "I'd be up for trying anyth-"
.......
Oh the look on her face plainly said she'd just realized she'd taken bait she couldn't back out of now. She'd be staying at a stranger's house if she wanted to or not.
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