Welcome to Gaia! ::

Despite the shaky situation going on in her personal life, when Maebe opened the door she seemed relatively normal. Her room looked the same, and there were no signs of any issue. This was mainly because he'd given her enough warning to clean up, which she'd spent re-applying makeup expertly to hide puffy eyes, a red nose, and streaks where she'd been crying.

No, Maebe looked just as perfect as ever.

"Come on in." She offered, holding the door out for him with an easy smirk. "You look like you were ready for me. Did somebody tell you that you were going to have to get someone drunk today, or are you just always this well prepared for moments like this?"

"I like anything that's going to make me forget about the last few days." She responded, honesty evident in her tired voice. "You could have battery fluid and I would have gone for it." Briefly, she wondered if their weapons could save them from dying after drinking battery acid. Thaw informed her that she was not allowed to try, and this did not sate her curiosity in the slightest.

Maebe took the game that was handed to her, and looked carefully at the box. "I played this when I was very little. They had it in school, and my teacher brought games like this in when she wanted kids to just shut up and sit still for a while. It worked." But she eyed the timer, and quirked her head in confusion. "Interesting? I want to make everything interesting. What's the timer got to do with Jenga?"

She upended the box on the floor, after settling down on it herself.

Maebe was used to drinking straight from the bottle, when she shared a drink with someone. It reminded her of the night she'd first stayed with-

Her face tightened and she stiffened, as unfamiliar pain washed over her. She tried to classify and compartmentalize it, so that she would remember how much it hurt when she actually tried to love someone, and never make that mistake again. It wasn't working very well; every time she tried to put all the pain into a little box, it overflowed and made her want to crumble on the floor.

Seeing as that wasn't an option around Ripley, she tried to ignore it, instead. Explaining timed Jenga was a helpful distraction, and she focused as hard as she could on the concept. "Oh, so it's more of a race this way. That sounds exciting." She reached out to help stack the Jenga blocks with him. "I'm in."

Quietly, as she stacked, she stole a glance at Ripley and remembered the last time she'd seen him. For the first time that day, she realized that his offer seemed out of place. "Were you bored? Or just needed a drinking partner, too?"

Maebe hadn't thought about their last meeting very much, especially not recently - but reminding her of it had her snorting with amusement. He'd turned her down flatter than she'd ever been turned down before, and it had stung. For a day.

Then she'd gotten over it.

"I wouldn't worry about that too much," She smoothly lied through her teeth. "I mean, sure, you basically crushed my self esteem and all. And it crippled me. And made me think I wasn't worth banging. But, yeah. Jenga and booze. We're totally even."

She gave him a sweet, but over-exaggerated smile. "Maybe one day I'll even think I'm pretty again."

She leaned over and, with one finger, flicked the Jenga block he'd just put up, off to the floor. "Whoops."

As much as Maebe was well aware of the fact, making someone admit it was a highlight in life. She snapped her fingers, and tsked. "You got me. I guess I'll survive." Better than anyone would think, she told herself. She would always be the one to survive.

The reminder that there was alcohol to be drunk made her slowly slink to the floor, inchworming towards the bottle of southern comfort. She grabbed it and unscrewed the top, then sat up again. "Well, that is a mistake I am well qualified to rectify." She informed him, tipping the bottle to her lips and showing her just how ladylike a woman like her could open her throat up and guzzle alcohol.

Answer: Not very ladylike at all.

When Maebe pulled the bottle away from her lips, she hissed at the feel of alcohol tearing down her esophagus, and her eyes fluttered with euphoria. The problem with her and the burn of alcohol was that it was meant to deter people from drinking too much, not promote it.

"Hah," A hoarse voiced breathy little laugh left her throat when he handed her the timer, and she put it down between them and settled in to start the game. "Ripley, if there is one thing that you need to learn about me, it's that I am no lady."

That did not stop her from taking advantage of the offer to go first, and she slammed her hand down on the timer before looking for - and plucking out - the first piece. She put it back on the top, and hit the timer again, setting his in motion.

"First person to lose has to pour a shot into the other one's mouth."

"A regular shot," She almost whined out. "You're not ready for the consequences of making me choke." If he'd been someone else, she might have given him a different answer. But she was still sober, as the alcohol hadn't slid into her system yet, and Ripley was not going to have to deal with her insatiable hunger for suffering.

As soon as the timer popped to her side, she grinned and bent in to look for a piece, touching them all softly with a finger to see if any were loose. The tick of the timer made everything more anxious, and she bit down on her lip until she found one, slapping it away as soon as she felt it move. She picked it up, dropped it on top, and hit the buzzer.

"GOD," She let out as soon as the timer had turned. "Okay, this is kind of fun."