Welcome to Gaia! ::

Dare sits up properly, taking his glass of water from the woman. It's slightly discoloured, or at least he can hope that it's merely the glass creating that illusion. Forcefully, he smiles at her and thanks her in a quiet voice.

Setting the glass on the table, he again kneels to bring himself higher, peering down at the water curiously. Well, it's.. interesting.

"Will that be all?" he hears the woman croak almost directly into his ear. He should probably take a sip of the.. water.. just to be polite about the woman's efforts.

He slides back down into his seat, taking the glass with both hands and sipping with a nod. Setting it down, he swallows quickly. "That's all from me," he assures her.

Only after this does he notice the strange aftertaste left behind, trying hard not to screw up his face in dislike. The conversation, which he'd love to press further, becomes hazy in his short term memory after this taste; instead, it is filled with thoughts on what he assumed to be water..

"Mhm," Dare murmurs, lips pursed. Well, that was the most interesting water he's tasted. To push aside concern, he regretfully takes another sip. It takes obvious effort to swallow this time, the water touching his tongue longer this time.

Once it's down, he takes a deep breath and shakes his head just enough to get rid of the hair in his eyes. "So this key, it's really dangerous, huh?" he asks quietly, with a hint of hateful concern. "Does it do anything specific, or have you not found out yet?"

Dare frowns, finding himself gripping the sides of his seat for balance. He waits until his eyesight is steady again, as well as for her to finish explaining, before opening his mouth again.

"That's an awful lot of responsibility for one key.. and one person," he comments, murmuring unknowingly. If she watches close enough, his eyes obviously are having trouble focusing on anything in particular. Still, he insists to repeat to himself that it's only water, and anything else is just psychological. "I don't think that seems right, neither. Someone.. someone prolly tricked you for that to happen.."

Her back to the pair, a slightly disguised Truth gingerly sips on her martini. She keeps her ears open for anything unusual in the conversation, though finds it hard at their volume and at her distance to keep up. Still, she can't exactly risk getting caught, and has had lifetimes of practice blending in, so she isn't so worried about this. The part that worries her is Chandra, but it isn't as if she'll come around to admitting it.

Reaching out for the table to stabilize himself, Dare continues to carry out the conversation, slurring his words slightly noticably. "Yeah, I know what that's like. Fate can.. can be real tricky, like you're on a con..conveyer belt and you keep walking, but you don't go anywhere. S'same, kinda.. 'cept.."

He finds that the closest thing to him is easiest to focus on, and ends up seconds later finding himself with the glass to his mouth, taking yet another horrific sip. And down it goes..

Shivering gently, his eyes are bleary when he raises his head again. "Can I sit next to you?" he asks, his voice quiet and pitiful. His lower lip quivers as he wraps his arms around himself, tugging the sleeves of his jacket over the base of his hands. "I don't feel so good."

A pair had been moving, making their way out when Chandra and Dare last spoke, blocking Truth's range to listen in. With an annoyed sigh, she rummages in her handbag for a pocket mirror, angling it in order to view Dare. She frowns at the sight of him, wondering what she might have said or done to make him react like that, defensive qualities rising.

It could be nothing, she argues with herself, though the mirror remains in her outstretched hand with Dare's small reflection in view.

He laughs oddly, eyes closing as he sways forward. He pales rather quickly. "No," he assures her, falling against her shoulder before finding the energy to pull himself back up. Blinking rapidly to remain conscious, he pushes the coat up over his chin.

"Take me with you," he sighs softly, a distant smile on his face. "Take me back then an' I'll do it all different.. only," he inhales heavily, grasping her arm with fading strength, once again falling forward, "here to be with.."

And there, fading off in speech, he falls unconscious, sliding forward with nothing to keep him sitting upright anymore.

Truth catches only Chandra moving around the side of the table, shuffling her chair to the side to get a better angle for her mirror. In doing so, a man passing on this side knocks into her hand, the mirror slidding to the floor and bursting into pieces. Truth perks up, her gaze snapping up at the man.

"Sorry, missy," he apologizes, swirling the contents of his drink. "That be seven years bad luck, thar.."

"I realize that, sir," she retorts with an agitated sigh.

She clenches her teeth, giving a quick glance back at Chandra and Dare - still only her back. Oh well, it can't be anything important, she assumes, swooping down to gather the pieces of the mirror up. Being very superstitious as she is, she'll have to bring every piece to her friend Marc.. She growls, keeping her irritated gaze concentrated on the pieces of glass as she gathers them up.

Dare flinches as he's raised, but is otherwise lifeless. He weighs far less than one would assume, the number of layers a ploy to make him seem a little bigger in size.

Piece by piece, Truth assures herself that she's got every one and that with them the mirror can be repaired. Patting the piecs in her pocket, she raises off the ground and seats herself, fingering the martini glass between her fingers. Stealing a glance at the table, she nearly spits out her sip at the sight of empty chairs.

Scrambling, she tries frantically to scan the room. She couldn't have made off with him! Impossible! She should never have taken her eyes off of that thing for an instant around him.. Raising from her table, she slaps down the amount owed, determined to persue them - they could not have gotten very far in that amount of time.

Dare swivels in her arms, leaning into her in a feverish fit. A hand manages to grip at Chandra's arm, and he mumbles something unintelligable before growing still again.

Bursting out the doors, Truth bounds up the steps, her heart rate increasing considerably. "Surely she doesn't know how to fly or turn invisible, or something stupid like that," she hisses under her breath. She doesn't want to have to rely on teleportation, seeing previously how it raises eyebrows and attracts much more attention than it's worth.

"I should have seen this coming. Never, ever trust the ones they've been long friends with," she groans, sprinting forward and into the crowds of the streets.