synflux | ( closed ) life like the unplumbed sea;

[ This is why his captain constantly smacks him around for being glib… the question is, does he do it on purpose or is it unintentional? It's a mystery. Either way, there is truth in his words—her form in combat is striking, and he's glad he'd been able to witness it in a position where he did have the luxury to contemplate it than on the battlefield proper.

He'll be mulling on about it for a while, proably. ]

Mhm. [ A pause. ] Not everyone who carries a flag is able to do what I do, though.

[ His voice carries a pride that's markedly different than the one he uses to compliment his own superficial traits. She might notice it, she might not. Either way. ]

For the most part, they're still meant to be symbols.

[ An important job as is, he believes, but this one might be just a tad more contentious. He sounds fond regardless. ]

But, whew! I'm all tuckered out. [ ONTO THE REAL ITINERARY AT LAST(?) ] Did you have any other plans for the rest of the day?

[ She notices. Observation had been a skill she'd cultivated by the time she'd turned thirteen, out of the sheer necessity to survive. It's enough of a tonal change that it's easy enough for her to pick up on, though she doesn't really see a need to comment on it. It's not an empty sense of pride, she can tell that much, and it's why she doesn't insult it, letting it slide.

Maybe he won't know that's conscious, but regardless, she lifts an eyebrow at him. ]

Not really. If you're that wiped, I'd recommend heading back to your room to rest. [ Maybe get some stretching in, put some actual ointment on that injury. If he's used to battle, he doesn't need that kind of advice to be spoken. ]

Oh, good!

[ Gebura, probably: Oh, bad!

Because it's that exact moment that he grins and sidles up to her, tucking away the sword in its sheathe and his flag in the crook of his arm. ]

I'm starving. No, no, no need for me to rest. There are different kinds of tired, you feel? Too tired to spar, too tired to think. Not tired enough to grab a bite, since replenishing yourself is just as important. It is getting to be about lunch time, isn't it?

[ Oh... definitely bad.

He talks so easily and lightly enough that it's only a few seconds for Something to Click. Like the sparring hadn't been his main intention, but rather a means to an end, in a way that wasn't entirely dishonest, but all the same, her eyes slowly narrow. ]

Then go get some food.

[ Why are you so close, sir. ]

[ he got slashed in the spar and BLED what more does she want from him!! ]

I will! [ No more playing coy: ] And I'm saying you should come with, since I can vouch that I've found some pretty good spots over the last few days. You haven't been sticking with the cafeteria food, are you?

[ look, what if she tries to escape? not that he would physically hold her back, but… you know… the presence of proximity?? is that a thing? ]

[ She should have stabbed him harder-- ]

I don't exactly have a lot of money to be spending it on something we can get for free.

[ She's just going to point that out, because until she's comfortably making a lot more, she doesn't really want to splurge. Backstreets habits. ]

[ And he's going to point out: ]

Considering all our basic necessities are covered, is there something in particular you're trying to save for?

Edited (i should go to bed) 2024-05-21 13:19 (UTC)

Maybe there is.

[ And if there is, that's not an answer he's going to get from her anytime soon. ]

So I don't really see a need in paying for a meal right now. [ Not until she's built up enough to be comfortable about it, anyway. ]

[ It's intended as a yes or no question, and so the answer Gebura gives him is serviceable enough. It's a good thing, then, that he can also read the room… when he wants to.

Picking and choosing one's battles! Any recruit worth their salt knows how to do that. Whether it's in the right way or not is a different story. ]

Then, you'd have no qualms if the meal was paid for?

[ This seems like a very Leading question and it's hard for her to... well, it feels a bit silly to mistrust it immediately, but she's also not from a place that offers things without a price.

If this is what it sounds like (a meal with him in exchange for having it paid for), she has to wonder why the hell. ]

... What do you want from me, exactly?

[ So apparently she'll just come right out and ask! It's not the pleasure of her company, she's not that nice?? ]

[ Immediately: ]

You! [ A grin and meaningful pause later: ] Want me to expand on that?

[ The fact that he hadn't followed-up on it just as quickly might suggest a few things here. ]

[ Ah. This feeling, creeping closer, almost foreign to her...

... This must be...

... A headache. ]

You have five seconds or I'm leaving.

[ Would she be the type to feel pity for him if he were to use the birthday card? No, he doesn't want to use it, nor would he ever use it in that context regardless of his certainty of her answer, but he does contemplate it for the brief second.

Instead: ]

I just wanted company today, Miss Gebura. [ A smaller smile. ] You remind me of someone, so you were the first person that came to mind. I know I've been overfamiliar, but I won't apologise. I do want to get to know you better.

[ He takes a step away to give her personal space, and tucks his free hand behind his back. ]

Will you come if I promise to behave?

[ Does she look like the type to feel pity? Elysium, please.

If she reminds him of someone, she might feel something like a sense of tired empathy for this mysterious individual, though. Because it's not like this guy with his overly familiar manner and refusal to know shame doesn't similarly remind her of someone.

Still. ]

I don't recommend you putting your thoughts and expectations of someone else on me.

[ ... Really, she needs to keep that in mind, too. But, with a sigh, since he can't really change from that if he doesn't at least get to know her enough to note the differences-- ]

Fine. But I'm leaving after that.

[ She doesn't, which covers 1% of the argument behind why he wouldn't ok ]

Not wanting to see someone else in you is exactly why I want to get to know you more. Why do you think I wanted to spar you, too?

[ He could've just as easily held that card to his chest and continued to project, but he'd like to think saying it aloud sends its own message—which is why, his words echo her own thoughts. ]

Alright, I hear you. [ Muted. He's keeping his promise. ] So do you have any allergies, or foods that you don't like?

[ He sure did echo her thoughts exactly and she swallows another sigh. Right, okay, she'll let him have that. ]

I'm not big on bitter food.

[ A tad reluctantly, because she would eat it if she had to. She's not that picky. More importantly-- ]

This person I apparently remind you of--do we have similar fighting styles?

That one's easy. Nothing bitter? Coming right up.

[ With that point alone in mind, Elysium will set off in a direction with confident strides. It's a trend—did this guy ever show hesitation in anything? Probably not. ]

And no, the two of you couldn't be further in that respect. [ A soft laugh, as if he's bringing up the exact memory of her. ] To give you context? You remind me a hell lot of my captain. I'm on loan more often than not, but I technically belong to a special operations squad. You can imagine, then, that we fulfill a bunch of specialised roles that don't necessarily suit the frontlines of a battlefield.

[ It's serious business when they need all hands on deck, but it's gratifying. As fun as it is being shuffled around and working with all manners of people, there's nothing quite like being the second-in-command to his captain and witnessing and experiencing her brilliance first hand. ]

… If I'm being honest, I've long started to suspect that the two of you only have two main threads of commonalities. [ Is it too soon to say that? He says it anyway. ] But that hardly matters. Every person deserves to be known in their own right.

[ So a bit like being a team member or an assistant librarian. Thankfully, her own underlings weren't too overly attached to her, but they do look to her for advice (and she still finds that strange, to be able to give it and have it be useful), and Gebura's gaze turns thoughtful even as she easily matches Elysium's stride.

Does she know where they're going? No. But that doesn't matter; she'll keep up.

Right, he'd jokingly called her "Captain" once, hadn't he? ]

Your captain's got to have some kind of special level of patience if they've got you on their team. [ It's not quite an insult, just an observation. A blunt one, admittedly. ]

But I wouldn't exactly want to be too much like anyone, anyway. [ Technically, she'd already faced herself in combat and even then, she'd been able to acknowledge things were different there. ] If it's only two points, so much the better.

[ The two certainties when being around Elysium: 1.) his boundless and relentless optimism, and 2.) how one will never get lost. At least, in this respect, she's in good hands?? ]

Oh, she has a special level of patience, alright. If her patience wasn't in the negatives, she'd stop scaring so many people away. [ What a nice thing to say about someone. And yet, the way he says it can only be read as fond. ] It's what I've told you before: I'm too useful to her to get rid of. Lucky for me, I've got plenty of job security.

[ A special level of patience for a special kind of dynamic… that's them. ]

… But anyway, [ considering at this point they've been here for… two weeks?? about?? ] how have you been adjusting to our new circumstances?

[ Optimism doesn't tend to last long in the City; it usually means it's a fresh-faced Fixer who hasn't experienced more than one assignment yet. Or it's someone who's on the verge of broken insanity.

Well, it might be a different situation where he's from. Hopefully. ]

... It's been fine, I guess. Wouldn't have made it as long as I did if I couldn't adjust to unexpected situations.

[ Rather, this is a lot kinder environment than the one she's used to. ]

[ verge of broken insanity? couldn't be him

That also tells him almost nothing, but it's fine. Although he's already promised not to be (too) annoying, surely gently pushing a conversation along wouldn't be that…? ]

Considering what they brought us here for, it's been relatively peaceful. [ a low hum. ] But I won't beat around the bush, I've been thinking a lot about what other worlds people must've come from. Some claim to come from this one in a distant past… and others, like myself, from an entirely different one. Would yours fall into the former or latter?

Never heard of Japan or any cities with names like these, but there have been familiar things to me, so it's tough to say.

[ Gebura shrugs as she walks. Sorry, she is not much of an information dispenser. ]

Maybe you'd call it a different world. No one here seems to know what a Fixer is, and it's not exactly an unusual word where I'm from. Then again, implants and augmentations aren't anything that new to me, either.

[ Who wants to reveal too much of themselves, too soon? One's environment doesn't tell the entire story of who they are and why, but it can illuminate all the same which to some, would already be more than they're comfortable with.

At least, Gebura has been forthcoming with enough information that he continues to ask his questions freely… there's also not going any lower than that one conversation they'd had, that would still leave him reeling if he were the type to dwell on past encounters. ]

… It's a little interesting. The maps don't line up, but from what I could tell? From the various cultures present here, my world has a one-to-one equivalent for almost everything.

[ If not everything. Bizarre! ]

Makes me really want to go out and see what's out there! But, [ he exhales a genuinely tired sounding sigh, ] I don't think that'll be in the books for quite a while. You could say I was curious whether it was the same for you.

[ One day, he can learn all about her death and it will be great (it will not be great). But he's at least learned not to ask (probably for his own sake) and she doesn't offer details if she doesn't think they're necessary. Which are most details in regards to other people here, she tends to think. Here, she's just a straightforward person to the point of being blunt, who just so happens to fight good. ]

I don't know about a one-to-one equivalent; the City isn't exactly this much of a mess, though it's still a mess in its own right. [ And as far as she can tell, there aren't things like Singularities and Distortions. The closest thing to Abnormalities appear to be the kaiju, but that remains to be seen. ]

The food's more or less familiar, though. Some of the naming conventions, too. I'd like to get out there too, but one thing at a time.

[ Well, and certain people sure did demonstrate what it was like to be thwarted-- ]

[ Help… how did no one try before him. Where is everyone's sense of adventure?

Also, is the City really less of a mess than Neo Tokyo? At this point he hasn't heard much, but from the things I've heard…… Anyway. All his thoughts towards it probably just amount to words for their terribly uncreative toponymy. ]

Willing to share what the first thing on that list might be?

( closed ) life like the unplumbed sea;

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