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 Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 2:23 pm
Fish was following this conversation and beginning to feel as if he ought to take part. Ciro had basically ignored his oath of fealty, or had not visibly acknowledged it. "This sounds like something I could enjoy," he said, grinning with a sort of venom he did not often display. He would rather enjoy an excuse to take his fury with Quinn out on someone. "You two better watch out, I might just win that."
Anyone who had known Fish for any significant amount of time would immediately understand why this statement was hilarious beyond belief.
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Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 4:28 pm
Keeya grit her teeth slightly, swallowing down a mouthfull of water thickly, it going down like a painful slice of cold, yet seeming to linger like sticky, hot carmel, clinging and refusing to go down completely. Her head swam, her knuckles paling as she held her cup.
"please" She managed to croak out, glancing up at the three older men with determined eyes, the white edges surrounding her irises betraying the fear she was trying to hide back, "If that is the reason I was brought here -- to be the first 'weed' plucked:" it hurt, but part of her knew that, out of all possible weeds, she was the one least likely to know who to warn if she escaped, and being related to a plant goddess only made the terminology more frightening.
She was a sapling, so to speak. Could proove to be a problem if growing in the wrong place, and hard to get rid of when time goes on, but now all it took was a sharp knife and a few strong cuts to turn her to just a stump, and only a shovel to dig the roots out perminantly.
"- Could you at least promise to look me in the eye when you do it? And if I was brought here for another reason, I'd like to know why so I could stop sitting here waiting for the knife to fall from its slender, unwinding string when there isn't one there at this particular intance." Her voice was strong, words accented and surprizingly well selected for a girl of her age. Years of living above a theater and working in it, sometimes as an actress herself, had given her a strong command of words.
Little good it does you, however, if you're about to be in a battle of powers, where the theater won't do much for her, except keep her physically active.
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Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 5:04 pm
The only reply Ciro felt fit to give to Vale would be an equally determined and mischievous grin. There was no way he was going to lose to a snarky kitty with a sister complex. This grin remained as Ciro took another, long, rebellious swig of beer. His eyes clearly challenged the boy, as if saying: ‘Ooh, look at me, drinking in front of Mr. Meow!’
He couldn’t help but laugh at Fish-- “Dude-- look at you. you’re like the patron saint of the newbies or something. It’s almost like you want to help them.” Hell, if Ciro didn’t know better, he’d have assumed Fish was another of the Game Officials, there to help the newbies get accustomed to their new lives and used to their new powers.
“But hell-- let’s do it. Might as well: they have to die anyway.”
But before any further terms could be made, the current ‘project’ of Fish’s interjected-- it seemed like she thought she was up for an award, with a speech like that.
“…”Ciro could only gape, staring at the little drama queen like she had gone mad. What was it with girls and always making everything a huge, dramatic deal?
“ ’The hell? Don’t be so full of yourself.” His body twisted, now focusing on the girl. “If any of us wanted you dead-- you’d be dead long ago. You’re a small fry-- You think we’d waste our time with you when we could just get it over with in one blow?”
“’Tch!” His tongue clicked against his teeth, showing his obvious annoyance. “My buzz is ruined now.”
As if to show his displeasure, he removed himself from the group. Upon closer inspection, one would notice he had nabbed the spaghetti from it’s place on the table. His words were muddled, what with the fork in his mouth and all.
“b***h like that, and I guarantee you-- You won’t last long. We’re not playing house, here, we’re playing for the world. If you want to win-- you have to kill.“
The fork stabbed into the spaghetti, loudly clinking as metal collided with porcelain. Clearly the man was agitated. If nothing else, Ciro wanted only for the girl to leave-- potentially getting run over by a large ‘Wambulance’ on the way.
“If you can’t handle the idea that anyone in this room would slit your throat in an instant-- Well, then you should have never accepted the invitation to play.”
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Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 5:22 pm
He gave Ciro a look right back that said he was dead serious about pouring all the alcohol down the drain to feed the fishes.
Your vodka. They will love it.
He laughed outright at the thought of a Patron Saint of Newbies. Where had his been, he wondered?
"I do not know, Ciro. Ee'f he knows v'here they all are, he could easily beat us ee'n this game." He grinned back at Fish good-naturedly, leg wryly snaking out to kick against Ciro's knee. "You v'ould be left ee'n the dust, old man. Of course, I v'ould beat you both. Nothing beats animal senses."
The grin slid off his face at Keeya's words, however, leaving him to blink, confounded, at the girl. He hadn't meant to scare her with their conversation. True, she was a beginning player, but she was with Fish, wasn't she? What did she have to fear, here and now?
Still, the sight of an upset female left him guilty.
"Keeya, I v'ill not lie to you. Ee'f my god asked me to, I v'ould kill you." He could be honest about that, at least. "But then again, I v'ould also kill Ciro too." He raised his voice pointedly, shooting Ciro a glare. "Especially ee'f he spilled spaghetti sauce on the new carpet."
Tail curling around his feet, he turned his attention back to the girl. "But that ee's something v'e all recognize. Ee't ee's not here and now that v'e have to, though. And I promise, ee'f I v'as ever told to go after you, I v'ould let you know my ee'ntentions. I v'ould not trick you."
He wouldn't invite someone into his home and then kill them. Wouldn't feed them, treat them as a guest, and then poison or wring the life out of them.
"I v'ould look you ee'n the eye honestly, do not v'orry." It was the best reassurance he could give. He couldn't lie and say he'd never kill her. He could only be brutally honest. He hoped that was a better answer.
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Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 5:46 pm
Patron Saint of Newbies? thought Fish, and laughed. That was a new one. But Ciro had a point. Maybe he was a bit too chummy with them.
He glanced over at Keeya and immediately felt a bit sympathetic towards her. "No one in this Game is guaranteed to not want to take your life," he said. "Ciro and I have been allies since the beginning, and I think we both know that someday we might have to fight each other."
This Vale kid was seriously bugging him, though. What was he, Ciro's wife?
"Dude, are you always such a homosexual stereotype, or are you feeling threatened?" he asked. Point blank. This was ridiculous. It was almost as bad as Quinn.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 8:52 am
Keeya laughed Nervously, "I didnt say anything about not understanding any of you would try to kill me if you had to. However, you're talking about it in terms of killing weeds, and I got a plant on my head." She scratched the back of her head, "All I'm saying is.. If you had to, if you needed or even wanted to... Be honest about it, and dont stab me in the back."
She looked down at her cup, "So thank you, Vale. I'm part of this game, and I understand the risks, despite the fact they werent really explained to me when I was told "Hey, here, there's a reason you have bonzai on your brain, take this statue and join us". I just... I simply dont want to be culled. If we need to fight, we need to fight, if I need to die or at least be wounded for you to move on, I'm a big girl." Settling in, she relaxed visibly, "Thats it. I hope it never comes to a fight to the death, but if it does, I just want it to be a real fight, not... A spiders web."
Finally, the tree haired girl lifted her glass, as if saluting, "Thats all it takes to make me comfortable sitting here in Downers with a bunch of older men willing and more then able to kill me -- Knowing it wont be in a situation like this, but out there and knowing it was coming for me."
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 1:26 pm
“And like I said, we wouldn’t waste our time on that bullshit. You’re weak-- we don’t even need to trick you--you’re basically a spec of dirt-- we don’t have the time to bother. “ He jabbed his fork in the air at her, as if it symbolized his intent to kill.
Damnit-- This was exactly why he hated the newbies-- they actually thought they stood a chance-- they hadn’t experienced the actual fight, the struggle of the game, and they had no clue just how serious the situation really was. He doubted this girl had ever had to go a night hungry, let alone have to fight with desperate hobos for a chance to eat. And an actual fight between players? She had no ******** it.” He was irritated now. Even the thought of joking around with his friends seemed annoying, after that burst of drama.
But of course-- it couldn’t just be left at that. Of course, Fish had to go and ruin even the men’s good time. It was Ciro’s Murphy’s Law. Naturally things had to go in the worst possible direction.
Unceremoniously, he dropped his plate into the sink with a clink. This was too ******** much.
There was no need for words-- Ciro’s glare at the scaled boy would provide an accurate view to the man’s distaste.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 2:01 pm
He couldn't help it, he laughed, ears flicking forward in amusement.
"You are an odd girl, and speak more strangely than I do." It was funny that she found his words reassuring, actually. Definitely a strange girl - he'd half worried that she was about to cry, and here she was only upset over being tricked before death. He wondered if it was bravery that made her like she was, or just an aspect of what it meant to be a child. He remembered having that outlook, once.
"Ee'f you v'ant, v'hen you grow, I v'ill gladly fight you." His fangs flashed again. It might be interesting to fight against someone like that - maybe even as interesting as it was to fight Quinn. He hoped so. "As long as you learn enough to be a challenge."
Ciro's annoyance was characteristic of the man, and Vale didn't mind his words so much. He was probably just irritated because he, too, had probably been a dramatic little punk of a new player.
Fish's words, though, surprised him - but not as much as the fact that Ciro had actually put his dish in the sink had.
"V'hat are you talking about?" He was puzzled, staring at Fish as if the man had grown another head, bringing something so bizarre and strange and jarring into the conversation. "Homosexual stereotype? V'hat ee'n the v'orld do you mean?"
Seriously. What?
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 3:34 pm
Fish groaned inwardly. He pointed a webbed finger at Vale. "Okay," he said, as if this was something that was bothersome to explain and the younger man was an idiot for not understanding him already. "You are fawning over him. Like you're his mother or his wife or something like that."
Frankly it was kind of bizarre.
"I'm half expecting you to start talking like thith," said Fish, in an impression of a flamboyant lisp that was so good it was almost scary. He'd met plenty of people who spoke like that and it wasn't terribly hard to do if you were even remotely concentrating. "So my question is, are you always such a homosexual stereotype, or is this a special occasion?"
He returned Ciro's glare for a moment.
"What?" he asked. "I'm not accusing you. Just him."
He jerked a thumb in Vale's direction.
"Sorry, is he not out yet?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:36 pm
Keeya raised an eyebrow in fishes direction before slowly covering her face with her hands, shaking her head as she bit her lip.
Edinkira, please, do not let the stupidity of the friends I keep lead me into death BEFORE you can give me something I can defend myself with?
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:06 pm
He didn't understand.
He looked uncertainly from Ciro, to Fish, back to Ciro again, then finally back to Fish.
Had he really been treating Ciro like that? He didn't think of the man like that in any way, shape, or form. But without realizing it, had he been acting too forward again? He'd been treating Ciro like family, acting too naturally around the man, too comfortable. Maybe that was too presumptuous of him.
No, it was definitely too presumptuous of him. It stung to realize that - just because he looked up to Ciro didn't mean there was any sort of friendship or camaraderie there in the first place. Allies didn't mean anything when it came down to it.
He dropped his gaze down to the table, thoughtfully.
"I am sorry, but you are mistaken," he answered slowly. "I am not like that, despite v'hatever ee'mpression you may have gotten. I do not appreciate being accused of being a stereotype. I am a person, who you have just ee'nsulted." He swung his eyes back up in a cold glare. "And you, guest you may be, are a jackass."
The curse rolled more naturally than he thought it would off his tongue. He'd picked up a few things from Ciro after all - but this was a special occasion.
"So shut up, or leave." It wasn't exactly a request. The shadows on the chair were moving in definite, threatening motions, rippling as if waiting to be given solid form.
Cultist or not, Ciro's friend or not, he would rip out Fish's throat here and now.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:15 pm
The question was not whether or not Fish could take Vale in single combat, because the answer to that was Yes. Fish knew where his strengths lay and knew that he most likely overpowered the other boy. No, that was not the question.
The question was, more likely, whether or not this was worth fighting for. And the answer to that was most certainly No. It was not worth fighting for. It was a stupid argument. Clearly he'd been wrong.
He held up his palms in surrender. "I just call 'em like I see 'em," he said apologetically, "But clearly I'm mistaken. Sorry."
He mentally kicked himself. He was such a goddamn weakling and so much a goddamn coward. Trust him to find the most mentally unstable allies in existence.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:32 pm
He was silent, yet every muscle in his body tensed. If it came down to a fight-- Ciro didn’t know just what he’d be able to do. There’d be carnage, if he knew Vale-- that kid was like the pent up nerdy girl: surprisingly amazing at sex once you got her out of her shell.
Except for instead of mind-blowing sex, Vale would just clean rip your heart out.
“I think it’s time we called it a night.” The words were polite, but the tone made it clear that what Ciro had said was nothing short of “Leave now before I burn your balls off.”
There was enough s**t to deal with without any alliances being broken.
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:05 am
Keeya stood, holding the sauce stained bowl to her chest as she quickly went to the sink and rinced it out. She then bowed to Vale and Ciro, "I'm sorry for my earlier outburst, and I thank you for the spaghetti -- it was wonderful and I'll need to return the favor some day.." She then slid her helmet of a headdress back on, biting her lip as she tucked her ears in, so only her rooty cornrows lay exposed, "Can we go now, Fish? I'm not quite sure of which way to get-" safely she added mentally with barely a pause"- out of this area of town, and I still have work to do"
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Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:20 am
"I agree. Ee't ee's getting late." And he was far too close to launching across the table to claw Fish's face off. His face was set in angry stone, and the irritated flicking of his tail tip was quite the tip-off to his mood.
Rude guest did not a happy Valeriu make. Still, he had at least one polite guest left.
"You are v'elcome, Keeya. Thank you for the compliment." He smiled at her bowing. "Have a good night, and good luck v'ith your v'ork."
His glare at Fish, on the other hand, probably wished the man far more ill will.
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