[PRP] Melancholy Tavern Talk (Chris & Chel)

[chiickadee]

While the others moved to follow ALICE's command, Chel pulled her cousin aside. They were outside the tavern (Chel wanted to get some fresh air), and after a short walk, she found a place to sit on a log. It reminded her a lot of when they used to go for camping trips in the woods.

"Don't stand there like a wounded dog. Come sit on the ******** friendship log, a*****e." Even if she was eternally upset with him, she couldn't shake 18 years of friendship. Joking still came with her personality.

She really only had one thing to say. "We need to sort some s**t out. I'm tired of ******** dancing around the elephant in the room. Why did you leave- and why did you join Deus Ex?"  

[DarkHeartedSorrow]

Chris followed Chel in silence, his arms crossed tightly around his chest. When she plopped her a** down on some dirty log in the middle of nowhere he was entirely prepared to have this conversation on two levels. She wasn't having it, as usual.

He laughed an ran his hands down his face, sitting on the log heavily. "Happy?"

It was weird that they could do this - just find some ******** rotting log in a forest of weird a** trees and creatures and ******** have it out. He thought when this happened he'd be in his own body.

He really didn't plan on Chel having horns.

He propped his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his palms. "I wasn't getting anywhere back home. I didn't have the ******** grades to do anything productive with my life, and I was tired of feeling stuck. The army offered the best option. Money and an open door." He scuffed a boot through the dirt as he gathered his thoughts. "I went through bootcamp and all the usual s**t, but when they put me on the field the shadows got in the way. They kept distracting me, and Deus noticed, I guess. They offered answers and another open door. I didn't know you'd be there. I wasn't..." He breathed out hard through his nose.

"I wasn't trying to piss you off."  

[chiickadee]

Chel put to fingers on the bridge of her nose, pinching slightly to try to curb her annoyance. This was all a conversation they'd had before. "But you said we'd-"

She cut herself off; they were blowing hot air nowhere quickly. "Whatever. We're never gonna agree." She crossed her arms, matching his own expression.

Maybe in another lifetime they wouldn't be such royal ******** ups. "Okay but did the recruiter say anything to you? Like did he force you?"  

[DarkHeartedSorrow]

Chris raised his eyebrows and gave an empty smile. "You can say that again."

He shook his head and looked to her. "He didn't have to. I was taking any path that was shown to me. The army didn't suit me, so I moved on to the next opportunity." As his brain caught up, tough, his face turned grim and angry. "Did they force you?"  

[chiickadee]

Chel's face scrunched up in blunt annoyance. So if they hadn't forced him, they'd lied to her. Either way, they'd ******** up.

They, as in Chel and Chris.

It took her a moment to realize she'd been asked something. "No. They didn't." She shut her lips tight, but realized it would do her no good. After a moment or two, she opened them again and said, "They said if I came, they'd leave you alone."

...

"Clearly, they lied."  

[DarkHeartedSorrow]

Chris leaned back as that bomb dropped and just... let it soak in.

There were a couple ways he could take that statement. He could assume she'd been trying to keep him safe and away from the hunters. But he knew Chel, and that just didn't mesh. Which left the other interpretation.

"That serious about keeping me away, huh?" He'd meant to make it a joke, but his voice came out a little too flat.  

[chiickadee]

"Away from whatever the hell life the weird a** cloaked dudes were offering," she jumbled, looking away somewhat shyly. It was a very awkward thing to say after such a huge rift.

She kicked at the dirt and said, "If you wanted to shoot yourself up in Iraq, I wanted to protect your choice." She looked at him and said, "Did I sound believable?"

Whether she was joking or not was a mystery. "I just ... I don't get it Chris. We spent so many years ... so much ******** time like that. You promised." Had he ever actually made the promise to rebel forever? She didn't remember. It just seemed like something they'd agreed upon. "I just ... I was counting on you to stay the same."

Chris was the one thing that never changed. He was supposed to be. It was his job to be the stable one.  

[DarkHeartedSorrow]

He pressed his fingers to his temples and leaned forward until he was just looking at the ground. He didn't know what was Chel spinning half truths and what was real honesty anymore. Had he really spent that much time away? It ha d only been a couple years, but he'd already lost his ability to read her right.

"I couldn't stay the same, Chel. I saw myself in every ******** low life in town. I saw myself living in some shitty apartment in the nastiest part of town, hardly able to feed myself, and I didn't want it. Wasting away is only fun until you're jobless and literally wasting away. I had to do something before that's where I ended up."  

[chiickadee]

"Yeah well it'd be cool if you didn't leave me to waste away alone. Wasting away is fun if you have someone to do it with." While Chris leaned forward on the log, she leaned back and kicked her feet idly.

She punched him in the arm all of a sudden and said, "You kinda forgot that when you ditched the town, you ditched me too." She leaned closer, too close for it to be comfortable and said, "And that just made me feel so sad."

A snort escaped her and she said, "Eh, not like it mattered to you." She stood up from the log and stretched, seemingly unfazed. "Seems we're both stuck here then."  

[DarkHeartedSorrow]

"I was going to come back," he said, voice small. It was a long shot to think she'd believe him. It kind of hurt that she was able to just blow it off like he'd never cared. "I never planned to just leave you there forever. I just needed to get my foot in a door and get stable."

He stood with her, because clearly their conversation was about to end. "I took the job with Deus because I figured if you weren't there when I left, you sure as hell weren't going to be there when I got back."  

[chiickadee]

A snort of laughter escaped her lips and she said, "Well you royally ******** up getting that foot in the door." She swiveled to walk back towards the others when he said something that made her blood boil.

Chel turned on a dime, grabbing the collar of his shirt and uttered, "No. I never left you. I would have waited if you would have just told me your plan. You left me. Don't forget it."

She then eased up on her grip, weariness coming into her eyes. "I'm tired of this Chris, man. I'm really, really tired. I feel like you're just another first of my mom come to tell me to wear better clothing." She sagged physically and said, "You can't be punk as hell and home by 6 pm sharp man. One or the other. You have to pick who you're going to be because I can't figure it out."

darkheartedsorrow

 

[DarkHeartedSorrow]

He bared his teeth at her as she grabbed his collar abruptly, but it quickly melted into an expression of regret. He'd ******** up so bad, but he was already exhausted of this argument. Already exhausted of apologizing. He shrugged hard and tried wrenching himself from her grip, eyes hooded and tired. "I don't know what to tell you, Chel, because I don't know. I don't ******** know what I want anymore."

chimarii

 

[chiickadee]

Chel took a step back and a very deep breath in. "It's sort of silly not to know." She put her hands behind her head and said, "They said I was the dumb one."

She held up fingers with each of her points, counting down the argument. "One. Both of us are stuck here. This is irrefutable." She nodded. No arguing that one. "Two, you can't be a raw as ******** hunter and settle down." She held up her third finger. "Three, you have no reason to settle down now. We're s**t out of luck for having stupid babies, and even if you wanted a house I heard they get destroyed like every two seconds over in the Town."

Finally it came to four. "Four, I'm a million times cooler than a house or baby would ever be." Another irrefutable fact. "Which leaves us with five. Quit fighting it and just be yourself dude. No more feet in any doors. Just keep it smiley." That was Chel's goal anyways. "Seriously, have you talked to some of the senior hunters? They're such ******** pity parties." She held out a hand and said, "So you with me, or not?"  

[DarkHeartedSorrow]

Chris crossed his arms again, but let a corner of his mouth curve up, just a little. "You're not dumb... you just have a tiny, little, massive brain impairment."

She had really good points, unfortunately. He'd chosen Deus, which meant Deus for life. This life was bound to be far from the stability he'd originally left to seek out. He didn't know if he ever actually wanted kids, but he wouldn't have them now anyways. And above all else, his new lifestyle was probably going to lend to the person he used to be more than the straight edge he'd tried becoming.

He'd changed, though. He didn't know who he was, but it had to be somewhere between soldier and rebel. Chris rubbed at his temples and sighed. "I'm with you, man. I don't want to be against you anymore. Or ever again. That s**t gets me black eyes and grief."  

[chiickadee]

Chel cracked a smile, one of her not-so-together smiles. That was all she needed to hear.

"Good." She pointed to her chest and said, "Now we hug. This is a very important friendship step." You couldn't be friends if you didn't hug.

And you certainly couldn't solve problems if you didn't hug it out brah.