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 Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 4:28 am
Might have? Miyabi was confused by his reaction. It was okay that he didn't remember, but she couldn't let a misunderstanding stand. "Really. It was you that said it. Not him. Why would I mention it if someone else had said it?" There was no accusatory tone in her words, simply curiosity.
Someone else? "Oh~" Amarante grinned once she had put the pieces together. "That's right. You can see it!"
"O-of course!" Stating the obvious seemed to have flustered Miyabi. "Umm, well..."
Amarante was quick to interject. "Oh, no. A description isn't necessary." With a relaxed smile she looked between them as she leaned her face into her hand. "No need to make anyone uncomfortable. But we both know, so... don't worry about it so much, okay?"
The answer that followed had entirely too much coyness to it. "Oh~? Interupting a social visit between two lab partners?" Well, that was one way of putting it. The playful manner in which it was said left Miyabi in exasperation, however. Definitely suspicious. The clever smile Amarante shot at her probably didn't help matters. "No such thing. And besides, you heard her didn't you? Your presence has been accepted." She always had to state things so blatantly. Miyabi couldn't help but look sheepish for a moment. "So then~" Amarante turned to him with her usual bright smile. "Accept that you are a welcome guest and tell us why you are here, hnn?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 5:03 am
His face further turned red in embarrassment. How is it that he could not remember something that he himself had said? No wait... Ah! Oh no, he had thought she was an intern helping out one of the other scientists! That... Now he understood. And the both of them?
... She could see? He did not understand, but... oh. Oh. Somehow, some part of him was quite glad, that if whatever she saw, she could only see one. Or more precisely, one other. Anything other than blue might be doomsday spelt out to him. Which he shouldn't dwell on, for fear of disturbing either.
"Okay then. Umm... About that."
He picks out his notebook and pen, ready to take notes.
"You know, um. Just in case, I'm not sure what... no, if you do get affected by human-transmitted illnesses, and or what your tissue reaction might be. It's for working out the medicines in the event of any emergency. That is, if I do have your permission to...?"
He had to let it trail there to quickly quash the stirring, a strong sense of wanting to start right away and a tinier, darker sense of... red hands and - There, both taken care of. Nothing to worry about. Most definitely not thinking about whatever that was. He gathered himself again, pushing the question with a polite nod. If that made up for him spacing out a lot more today.
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 11:20 pm
"You will..." As usual, she reacted with a sweetness that didn't seem match up with the situation. And who got blushy over the idea of being cut apart and tested anyway? Even if his reasons for agreeing were anything but personal, she accepted that. It didn't mean that she handled the subject with a completely impersonal reaction, however. "All right." There was really no need for such delicacy and closeness in how the answer was presented for something that was essentially scientific. But there it was!
The sound of a throat clearing in the background broke her focus. Right, there were three of them there. With the third probably wondering just what the issue was. Amarante's furtive glance towards Miyabi probably said more than the words it was presented alongside. "Tissue extraction. For study. And..."
What? Why? Well. They looked to have different motives for their unusual situation, but as long as the more volatile one understood exactly that in all likelihood it would work out as intended. "Okay. I'll help you. There's some paperwork involved, as you might imagine. I can print that out now. But more than that..." The look in her eyes was sharp and cold as she stared the man down. "I'm going to have to insist that you solemnly swear... that you give me your word that none of the information you gather from this will be used to kill her. That's all." A cutthroat but clear message. Any other uses he might find for such information were hardly a concern to the likes of her.
"Haa~" Someone certainly wasn't used to being protected in any sort of way, fidgeting a bit as deals were being made on her behalf. "I suppose it could be used to kill the others." It was a statement of amusement more than anything else. But perhaps the indifference to the fate of those similar came across coldly. "Well. You're unlikely to run across a member of the infernal court, anyway. Unless..." 'Unless there's something wrong with them,' she'd say, but that statement would be reflected squarely back on herself whether he interpreted that way or not. Latching on to another train of thought wasn't without its awkwardness but she still seemed to manage it with relative ease. "Heh. Well. If you come across another exorcist with both the knowledge to summon and the endurance to maintain a member of royalty, the demon itself probably isn't the problem at hand, hnn~"
Another exorcist? That choice of words wasn't missed by the keen-eared girl. The visceral reaction manifested in both a start and a flutter of wings. Too similar to finding one's pet had gotten into exactly what it shouldn't have, even if said pet was a troublesome creator that was expected to be found in such situations. With a sigh she settled down and restated her intent, with more urging present than previously. "Umm, I'm really going to have to insist that you agree to not use the information to hurt her. Really." It seemed unlikely that some paltry hunter would go such lengths for prey. But she had to be sure. "Once I have your word, the proceedings may commence." Though she seemed to be relenting some already. "Would knowing what to expect help any?" She looked to Amarante thoughtfully. "I have the results of the research from last time, provided that you're willing to explain it."
"Oh~ That was really fun, too!" Apparently there were a lot of fun scientific things going on at the lab. "I mean." She cleared her throat and took up a more rigid seated position. There was an attempt at being more serious, anyway. "Mm. I can do that!" She looked to Erhard with eagerness. "Would that help? You can still ask any questions you want, of course~"
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 11:53 pm
Kill... her? Oh yeah, he did have a part-time calling that would put Amarante in direct danger, especially with the addition to his notes, he would have a means to. Now he just needed a reason, what reason would he have? None, at the moment. None, currently. None, unless something very bad happened and he was helpless. But in that sense, she also would have ample opportunity to torch him down, right? Right...?
Somehow he had the feeling she would not even throw him a match when things got out of control. Therefore he was going to have to lock that gentle feeling up tighter.
"... There's no one a... around that has the ability to make use of the information, and I can assure you I will keep all this confidential."
That frosty voice had very nearly broken at the word 'alive', but with enough struggling he managed to keep it even. And the thought of potentially having to attack another fellow exorcist for simply doing his job - ah, wait. He could use that as a reason to play - stop.
With trembling hands, he gripped his notebook tightly, willing that rose-colored clamoring to silence itself. Just the best situation he could be in, really. Amarante and Miyabi probably had enough on their plates without having to worry about a homicidal plague on their hands. And no, this was going to be one situation he would keep his hands washed of.
"Y-You... You have my word."
His word, and his word only. The loophole that he had no ability to close hung there in the air, if it was any thicker it would have materialized itself. Hoping to steer away from that, he waved the air off with a hand and turned to Amarante, notebook already flipping itself open.
"That would probably eliminate a couple of the tests I was planning, so we can save quite some time. And would simplify matters for others, of course. So yes, that's going to be a big help."
Ah, back to a more familiar topic. Remotely work-related, so here comes that quiet confidence and curiosity again. And was it just the words, or did his mood seem to lift considerably? It's rare to see him not in a state of brooding or frosty indifference.
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Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 4:28 am
"Good." They were simply words from someone Miyabi had no reason to trust, but it wasn't as if it were an actual requirement of the process either. Willingness to cooperate was enough to satisfy her curiosity. "So then." She produced her laptop and opened it upon the table. "Is here all right? Just missing the paperwork, which I can get out of the cafe's office shortly. Mostly just for a checklist of what's being requested anyway, as well as serving as proof that a request was made. The list includes all of the special appendages, just to let you both know."
"Oh, yes!" Amarante was quick to move her chair next to Miyabi's left. "I mean, I can't imagine why not." She motioned for Erhard to move his chair over as well. "If it can't be said aloud... we could type it? One would suppose~" She considered the further implications of such a thing. "And if it's just something I shouldn't answer... you'll say so, right~?" Just the idea that something would come up that was beyond answering was an amusing thought. They hadn't even started and she was pretty entertained. "Mm, yes. Of course." What use having pieces of wing or tail tissue would be she couldn't say, but the option was there.
And there was one last order of business to be addressed. There was no need to stare him down this time at least, so Miyabi was more casual about bringing it up. "I guess I should probably ask about the extent of your involvement with this. We can deliver the samples as requested. It comes down to a matter of attending or not. The procedure can take place either internally or as a remote done locally with the cooperation of a local hospital. We've done both. No difference really." She did have a little interest in what his answer would be. But mostly it really was a matter of establishing a location.
Amarante nodded in agreement. "They're both nice places. And I get to eat a lot when I'm awake again~" Whether or not he'd question her familiarity with it she wasn't sure, but it probably wouldn't hurt to clarify. "I don't do this a lot, but sometimes. For the lab. They mostly have me doing busy work anyway. And I recover pretty quickly. So~" She looked to be pretty bored by her own explanation. All in all it was pretty uninteresting to her. But... "Like I said, I'll do as many as you'd like~" Of course that was the part she was interested in and the part she'd smile at. "Shall we get started?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 2:24 am
Scooting over with his chair and taking a peep at the screen, he quickly checked off more items from the mental list.
"... Special appendages? Um... Okay then."
Then again his textbooks were missing a whole chunk of info, so might as well.
"But of course, if there's any test that you'd rather not go through or release the results of, you can always decide to not answer."
Like her eye, for instance. He knew that was really private, so he quickly looked through the list again to see if that was on it. Hmm... He was going to have that taken off, she never looked comfortable talking about it.
"Nothing much, I suppose. Just for information, I don't exactly have to be there first-hand. It's fine if you two would like to take it to your own labs to proceed."
He was just worried that he would mess something up or end up embarrassing himself in front of the both of them, and if it was bringing them to an outside hospital - well, Resurgam was not the best place to be conducting such things, especially with two particular coworkers and the more immediate problem of accessing that place, and his current workplace would ask too many questions, it might blow his cover. Therefore, it would be best if they did it internally, they would have their own familiar equipment and everything too, after all.
But yes! He was all ready to star - sit down, he wasn't going anywhere. It was hardly polite to suddenly just get up and rush into a lab and start chopping up samples for testing. Settle with a nod instead, that good-to-go sign.
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 6:02 pm
An amused Amarante felt the need to explain. "Heh~ Wings and tail, she means." Miyabi gave a mostly unbothered shrug. The fantastic and scientific only meshed together so much. They certainly did their best at making it work, however. "Two cephalic wings, and two in the lumbar region!" The odd moment of excitement in her explanation was quickly muddled by dubiousness. Perhaps Amarante was smarter than she let on, but certainly not comfortable with it. Coolly completing the thought and moving on seemed to be the best way to handle it. "Some, well, unique skeletal as well as muscular structure and nerve endings there, surely."
Miyabi figured she might as well use a moment of the talkative one being befuddled to clarify the other, albeit purposely, obscured point. "More a matter of being there when she wakes up. I don't actually participate. I am a scientist, after all." She seemed to be either very defensive or insistent about that fact. It would probably pass. "But I do like to be there. We have facilities on site but we also have a contract with a hospital here in town. That's all." Wasn't really any of her business. But her intentions for asking were put forth, with incredible calmness.
"Besides~" Oh, she felt like piping up again. "I already told you that you can ask whatever you want, and test whatever you want. Okay?" There didn't seem to be a limit to how many times she was willing to cheerfully remind him of things he seemed to overlook or not fully take in. Her brow furrowed for a moment. "I can't really think of anything I'd be unwilling to tell you. But there might be something. One supposes?" Amarante shrugging off the responsibility was met with an indifferent shrug from Miyabi. They had their share of secrets but nothing terribly arcane, it seemed.
"So, well..." The look on her face expressed a great deal of doubt, not regarding the situation but perhaps at her own ability to explain it properly. "How applicable it is to your purposes, I couldn't say, but understanding that there's a great deal of simulation involved couldn't hurt. For example..." She seemed to be getting more comfortable, if only because the idea was pretty entertaining. "Things like blinking, breathing, even so much as a heartbeat... unnecessary for our bodily functions but pretty unnerving to do without, yes?" The idea of someone speaking without any breath involved was almost too funny. "So it's simulated, as to better promote the social relations we were created for. And as the system is completely different, and with less body mass and functions involved, there are less specialized cells." Yet other fun but irrelevant things like incorporeal yet corporeal cells. "Of particular interest to you would be the equivalent of an immune response, yes? It is incredibly simplified, but incredibly efficient." There seemed to be a certain sense of pride that came up at this point. "Most of our brethren are incredibly inefficient at feeding. It is really no wonder that they are desperate and not at all picky." Her disdain didn't keep her from her point for too long, thankfully. "I have yet to see a human disease affect any of us. They are too weak. Too slow. Because..." There was an odd look of mischief in her eye. "Our cells will consume them, with quickness." Perhaps a little far-fetched, but one does their best to make sense out of the nonsensical. She must've been feeling all right with how she explained it, anyhow, as she couldn't help but grin. "Predators even at the cellular level. But~ What's really fun is the pictures."
With a nod Miyabi opened one of said images on the screen. There was something recognizable as a pathogen within the magnified image, but there was also something entirely different present. An imposing sort of cell, with a jagged appearance similar to stained glass. The next image in the sequence showed the pathogen being enveloped by the strange cell, and the final showed the strange cells only. She went through several different sequences, with different sources of infection, all to the same effect. "Some days are more interesting than others. 'What do we want to watch my cells eat today? Bubonic plague? The common cold?' And so on~ Any intrusions that are seen as threats, I mean. There are definitely, well, exceptions." Some very awkward exceptions. "It is a defense system, after all~" No rogue demon cells on the attack, nope. "In all likelihood your tests will go similarly. And then..." An attempt was made to round things off and she ended up slipping down the awkward slope instead. Silly creature, going to great lengths for personal reasons. "I-I mean, ask anything you want, of course!" A poorly executed and squeaky save. Miyabi shook her head ever so slightly in response to the silliness.
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 6:26 pm
For a second he imagined a comical image of said cell pulling a Pac-Man style guzzling of assorted pathogens. So it was pretty much the same as a human's white blood cell, and hopefully without any er, integration on its part. But that was some pretty good efficiency, he had to admit, even if it was simulated solely for the function to defend and mimic. No need for memory cells or the like, just shred anything that was considered 'foreign' then?
"Then um, is it possible to conduct that procedure with this?"
He fished out a tiny little test tube from his pocket, with just a drop of a very familiar dark blob inside. This he hands over to Miyabi, careful to not touch the protective wrapping that jammed the cap down tightly.
"I'll trust the both of you to be careful with this," he said, ignoring the disappointed cries in the background, "since I won't be there to watch. Being there to tempt Ama with cookies afterward, however..."
He would ask for a full genetic profile of one of the stem cells as well, but nah. That was going to take a pretty long while, and it served no purpose other than sating his curiosity and possibly opening a whole new box of problems if he decided to go through with any experiments involving that. But before he can stop himself, another question came tumbling out in its place.
"Speaking of which, what is your purpose? 'Created' almost makes your species sound like an artificial construct..."
Oops. Hands quickly shoot up to cover his mouth, spirit sinking at thinking he might have pissed the both of them off. Amarante might let it slip on good graces of being familiar with him, but that might not go so well for Miyabi. Ah, he'd successfully stabbed himself in the knee again.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 2:06 am
Someone was shiny-eyed upon being given something important. Miyabi carefully stashed it away in her bag and proceeded to pummel him with questions. "You wanted us to do the tests? What kind of results did you want? Paper? Images? Videos?" Somehow the reasons for all the fuss seemed insignificant because science. "Well, umm, there's the samples themselves too, but once removed from the body they'll be ash in a matter of days anyway. But, if you want!" She seemed to be thinking better of him, if being her usual excitable self was any indication. "Does that mean you'd want to be there after the extraction? Because the lab is in Irazoki which is in the netherworld so we'd have to make arrangements otherwise and--"
The mention of cookies had her laughing almost instantaneously, followed by shooting a sly glance at Amarante that greatly resembled the look the cyclops herself would give to others in such a situation. "Seems like he has you figured out." Any sort of retort towards the girl was futile, so her only response was to stubbornly avoid eye contact as if in some pointless attempt to deny the way her face was flushed. Eventually a smile came, but not without some resistance first.
And where he expected to be met with aggression there seemed to only be adoration. "As expected of Eru." Whatever that meant. Regardless, the question seemed to have pleased her more than anything else. For whatever reason Miyabi didn't seem to acknowledge the question at all, her expression staying very much the same. A little strange. But anyway. "We were created to do a lot of the petty and dirty work that the hierarchy would rather not. Raised to be both elegantly mannered and cruelly efficient, as both diplomats and bodyguards. Charming and killing with beauty and ease~" There was a certain delight that was bright within that eye of hers, perhaps illumination from treasured memories of an earlier time. It dimmed upon the explanation that followed. "Not exempt to the usual bits like contracts and summons. But... heh. Difficult to summon. Even more difficult to control. Incredibly uncommon to come across otherwise." She couldn't help but muse over it a little with an impish grin. "Do you feel lucky or unlucky for such an encounter, I wonder~"
She felt the need to elaborate a little further. "But of course, more functions have been added as time passed. The old man added to our particular family's focus, honing our earth affinity into a more modern trade. The lab covers many areas of study, but the primary one is still technology." Her feelings about it were mixed. A change in focus had served them well, but not knowing that man's motives left her uneasy. "Though even in that we are underestimated. The word 'mechanic' belies our talent as creators. We do not simply 'fix' things, after all. That implies that something is broken, does it not? Create, modify, destroy. To spirits of the earth all of these come naturally, you see~" Uncharacteristic of what was expected of her kind, her intent was stated with gentleness and almost lovingly. Her eye became wide as that tenderness withdrew, and she was left scrambling to protect herself in case what she had said came off as foolish. "Sorry. That's... probably more than you asked for, isn't it?" It seemed that all she could offer to make up for it was a small smile.
Though, there was something else. "And, well..." Some doubt was made plain upon her face, but it was bound to come up at some point. "If you're wondering, the situation with my face is unique. Because of that man. My father." Seemingly harmless. Unnervingly suspicious. But undoubtedly related, nonetheless. "I can only assume he covers the same thing. I wouldn't know. I've never seen it. I know little about mine as it is." One would hope that there could be a time where the subject was touched upon and didn't summon a blushy and deeply emotional moment, but... nope, not yet.
Miyabi happened to look up at just the right time, resulting in a double take as her mind grasped the whole of the situation. "You... you've seen it!" The exclamation was purely out of shock, her surprised eyes locking upon the man for a moment. Elective surgery apparently wasn't nearly as big of a deal as seeing under that eyepatch. She managed to collect herself and use it as an excuse to retrieve that paperwork she'd be needing. "Umm, sorry. Right back." She bowed her head a little and shuffled off for a moment.
Amarante was looking a little guilty... but also smiling mischievously. "She's not mad. Really! I would suggest that you avoid telling her what led to you seeing, however." The smile that followed was playful, but Miyabi's reaction to 'I made her cry' would probably be far from forgiving.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 2:59 am
"Paper. A simple report would do. Images would be easier to save than a video, so that should be fine. There's no rush getting it done right after the tests, I can wait."
Though, that was an interesting fact. He jotted that down - cellular samples would turn to ash in days on removal from the body - that would help some with any first-aid he would be needing to do. If he did, that is. Amarante would probably chide him about worrying and bandage herself up. He sighed inwardly, exasperated. But then he would be a black kettle too, then.
At the mention of the netherworld, however, he put up his hands.
"Um... In that case, I think I'll opt to stay here on the surface. My apologies. Maybe I could lure her back here with cookies instead of venturing there."
As curious as he was, he could only have a nagging fear of that place. It was no thanks to his clerical studies, only the thought of brushing that close to an enclosed inferno was holding him securely to the ground. And besides, he really was not ready to stand as the 'accused' in court there just yet and weather all the beatings all his deeds had earned him. If her portion of the netherworld came even remotely close to that, that is.
The pen continued scribbling away, taking down as much of what Amarante had said as fast as his hand could follow. Easily he managed to fill up at least five pages worth of notes, and not a single bit of info had been mentioned before in text. Of course he was grateful! Where else would he have gotten such information? Expressing that same gratefulness, however, only amounted to a stiff nod of his head where an encouraging smile would have had better grace.
But his hand stopped at the topic of her eyepatch, and he could only sit there dumbstruck as Miyabi excused herself from the table. Oop. That was a sensitive topic to others in the circle too, he guessed. Best to value Amarante's request still, so he nodded again and held a finger to his mouth. Maybe that situation was better left to skip around or dealt with how she saw fit.
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Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 1:40 am
"Haa~ Not interested in going to hell, are we?" Amarante couldn't help but joke about it. At least a little. "Though really, who is~" As a harsh place full of beastly spiritual creatures and wayward spirits its reputation was hardly undeserved. "That's why she was trying to accomodate you, you know. You don't have to be there but she seemed to want the option to be available to you." Her smile was bright as she thought over it. Miyabi was a considerate girl, but her subtle and elegant way of doing things seemed to need a translation provided at times. Though the idea of taking him to the netherworld didn't appeal to Amarante in the least. "Ah~ I wouldn't want you to go there either. You'd absolutely melt." The corner of her mouth twisted into a frown. The idea of it seemed to worry her even if it was no more than simply hypothetical. "Good atmosphere for growing crops, but not much else. That's where it is, after all. The agricultural sector. Nothing, say, judicial about it." She bore a clever smile over her one last locale-related joke.
A shuffle of paper indicated that Miyabi had returned. "Errm... here you are." There was no special effort put into placing the paperwork in front of him. Neither a negative nor positive reaction to be found. There seemed to be something bothering her, however, as there was a strain present in her voice that wasn't there previously. "So in the case of us doing both the extraction and testing, the list becomes a matter of what we're testing on." Her exasperation continued to build as she thought over it more. Eventually the words just found their way out. "She doesn't..." She bit her lip and stared down the two of them with sharp eyes. "She doesn't let just anyone see her face, you know." That appeared to be the core of the issue, as her expression was quick to soften after she'd had her say. There was still a stern quality in her voice for the statement that followed, however. "Don't take it for granted."
Amarante couldn't help but hang her head a little, even if she was incredibly amused and not hiding it very well. It really did feel like she was scolding the both of them. No need to aggravate Miyabi further, though, so it was easier to simply to nod her head a little in acknowledgement and stay quiet. She did however take a moment to turn to Erhard, giving him a look of assurance. He'd done well with Miyabi so far, probably better than he'd thought, so she saw no reason to feel alarmed over the matter and hoped that he didn't either.
Surprisingly enough, Miyabi was eager to break the silence and push on to other matters. "Is there anything else you wanted to know?" Whether it was curiosity or another attempt to be helpful, she seemed to be back to her neutral mood even though she'd just scolded them a short while ago. "Umm, I mean. You just didn't seem to ask a lot."
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Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 2:10 am
Yep, he was positive he was sweating bullets now. Certainly not going there anytime soon, no matter how much niceties were presented about it.
With a low mutter of 'patient-doctor confidentiality' as a response for Miyabi's pseudo-lecture, he realised he had not really thought much about Amarante's eyepatch except when thinking of conversation topics he should avoid. Personal secrets were best left out of polite conversation, and from everything Miyabi had said today, he guessed that Amarante didn't tell her anything about poisonous eyeballs or the like. Better then, both had something to keep quietly.
Now, let's see... Which parts of the human body did the infection grab at first? Marking down 'blood cells' and 'respiratory tissue', followed by 'liver tissue', 'digestive tract' and 'spinal tissue'. Only after a moment's hesitation does he mark down 'cardiac tissues' as well, but he had his doubts. That was only one instance of a mutated strain, but it was still a harrowing procedure to remove. Certainly not something he was willing to go through again if anything happened on purpose. Once done, he nudged the papers back to Miyabi, shaking his head.
"Apologies, but not at the moment. It's all basic legwork, anyway, nothing too in-depth."
Not yet. There would be time for that, in the future. Well, he learnt more during practicals instead of theory, but at least the fundamentals were done and he could adjust. Eventually.
Oh hey, this meeting is surprisingly quiet, no sudden bouts of perceived madness or inane rampaging. Score one for socializing!
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Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 8:26 pm
There was a certain element of discontent present upon Miyabi's face upon receiving her answer. Turning down an opportunity to ask any number of questions and apologizing for it? Definitely strange. Against her better judgement she'd decided to be supportive regarding Amarante's situation. She had her reasons. Though she was still wary of what that man's intentions were. There was no need for any further aggression for the time being, however. "Suit yourself." There was a playful lilt present in her voice, but no indication otherwise of any mood or intent. With that said she clapped her laptop shut and put it away as well as locating her chair to the opposite side of the table, leaving them sitting together. The retrieval of the paperwork was achieved with one careful movement. "It'll probably take a few days for my request to go through. Pretty fast considering, and..." She eyed Amarante with some amount of criticism. "Just as well. If the drunken naked elf somehow showing up at my place the other night is any indication, you've been doing some intensive drinking lately. So those few days will be needed to clear you up." There was no chance for a retort to escape Amarante's lips before being pushed back by one from Miyabi. "And I don't care if alcohol won't factor into the results much. You're doing the test my way, or not at all." The smile that followed was unsettling, to say the least.
Amarante shrunk back, though more comically than anything else. Terrifying death goddess was terrifying. With a frustrated sigh she affirmed her compliance. "Understood~" It seemed like her friends were hindering more than helping lately. No use sulking over it, she supposed. She looked to Erhard with a renewed cheerfulness. "Did you want something to drink? Or~" Presenting the usual 'coffee, tea, or me' was sorely tempting but it was probably best to not toy with his nerves in mixed company. Wouldn't hurt to behave for once, perhaps. He'd entertained her selfish request, after all. "We could be eating or drinking or any number of things~" The usual mellifluous quality to her voice dropped out a bit when she realized her mistake. And she could already feel a glare from across the table stabbing at her face. "No, no drinking! No no no~"
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 9:09 am
Normally he would turn around on the spot and chide Amarante for binge-drinking - and no, he had that feeling it was pretty hard liquor, no less! - but today he clamped down on his tongue. Oh well, experience enough in this place that asking others to stop or change was pretty much grounds for it never happening, he could only advise.
After all, there already were enough patients out there trying to press for a 'healthier-sounding diagnosis'. He was glad he was not the diagnostician, poor man.
"Understandable. And alcohol might mingle with a couple of the tests, so that is a good precaution."
Right, so what was the point of being in a coffeehouse if one didn't order coffee? But he had no idea what to drink today. Getting a cup of ice-cold, saccharine-saturated caffeine was probably going to net him at least one strange look from Miyabi, and if he was extremely unlucky then the cup would end up on his head face down. So, today's order? He awkwardly tries to.
"... Um. Surprise me, Ama? I can't decide... And if Miss Miyabi would rather something non-alchoholic? And yourself?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 9:54 pm
The two of them seemed to be teaming up against her. "Aa~ You too!" The words came out as a good-natured complaint, at least. She didn't have the heart to even attempt arguing with them. Upsetting either of them just wasn't an option. Upsetting both of them was a terrifying thought. Though what really made her blood run cold was the idea of just how much they could accomplish working together. Who's to say what they could get her to do with little to no coercion! Even so, she seemed to accept that reality with relative ease. Somehow her pride and dignity seemed like a small price for the two of them getting along with little conflict. "So, a surprise for you, and for you~?"
"Matcha latte." Simply stated, without looking at so much as either of them.
"Right! I'll have..." What was there that was tasty and not potentially addictive? "Italian soda! Yes!" Said awkwardly enough to make it seem like she'd escaped some sort of great punishment. With a sigh of relief she was on her feet. It seemed she'd be on her way, but not without one last thing. Before sauntering off of course she had to smile brightly at Erhard. Just one of those ever-adoring smiles he was probably accustomed to by that point, without showing teeth but with quite the enchanted look in her eye.
Someone else noticed, however, and had made a decision. "Umm." A brilliant segue into conversation. But it was already awkward enough to be left with someone she didn't really know, so Miyabi figured that she should make the most of it. "It's really none of my business, but..." She wasn't the type to pry to try to figure the whole of it out, either. Still, a reserved smile found its way to her face. "I really like seeing her smile like that, so..." Her expression was respectful as she looked him in the eye. "Whatever you're doing, I wouldn't mind if you kept it up." A fairly neutral statement and perhaps still a little aloof, but her motives for not interfering seemed to be pretty simple.
The subtle change in atmosphere was enough for the extroverted one to question it upon her return. "Hnn? Everything all right?"
Miyabi's smile was still a quiet one when she turned to assure Amarante but it seemed to be just a little brighter than before. "Mm, yes!"
Amarante seemed to be satisfied with that answer, her look of concern changing to a content smile "I'm glad." She offered forth the tray she had brought back with her. "And so~" With a stylish and grand movement of her arm she placed a drink in front of Miyabi. "Macha latte for the lady. And for the gentleman~" Her presentation was still filled with grace and elegance, but she was careful to avoid eye contact for that moment as she placed the drink in front of him. "Eiskaffee." Coffee and ice cream. She was being quietly affectionate. And for once she was able to hide it behind what one would assume was her practiced host smile. "And for troublesome me... soda." She returned to her seat and seemed resigned to her new alcohol and caffeine free lifestyle. For a few days, anyway. She stirred at her consolation drink thoughtfully, eventually turning to talk to Erhard. "Hey~ I was thinking." Not again! "As an exorcist you surely have a lot of outdated books, right~?" It was a bit of a slight. She couldn't help herself. It was a gentle sort of teasing, anyway, with no real offense meant. The mischief that brimmed from her eye affirmed just that. "Want another one?" The smile that came with that question was definitely impish.
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