| Comparing Blades | ||
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Ari walks in, kind of pouting. Skeeve, the guy in the house that can cook, isn't home and Ari is hungry for more than just a salad. Armed with a drawing pad and colored pencils, she looks for a table. In her sweep of the place, she sees Gonfei at the bar and sighs. She can stand being in the same room with him mainly because the Usual has the best ratatouille. She finds a table farther away from the bar and settles in. Gonfei lowers the glass from the light, catching Ari through it just before he sets it down. He frowns slightly, but doesn't seem too surprised to see her sitting at a table instead of the bar. I guess she's not my problem today, then, he thinks as he glances about the people at the bar. There's a brief flash of disappointment in his expression, but he hides it soon enough as someone further down the bar flags him for another drink. Ari nibbles her lip a moment. She got a lecture the other day. Well, a couple of them. One specifically when she was on a tail end of a bender caused by the first one. Her stubborn nature makes it hard to realize she's wrong, but.. well, she promised she'd try. She flips to a blank piece of paper and quickly sketches and writes something. When she's done, she takes the paper out of the pad, does a few quick folds, and launches the paper airplane across the restaurant. It lands in a nearby beer glass. Gonfei fulfills the order he was given, then begins walking to the center of the bar as he spots the paper airplane sliding through the air. He chuckles as it lands in the beer glass and takes it out, noticing the writing as he does so. With an assumption that it's likely an order by an impatient customer, as he didn't notice who had thrown the paper plane, he opens it up to take a look. The paper says: "Even after almost 12 years, I still haven't left Seattle. You were right, I was wrong, and I'm sorry. Ari" There's even a little sketch of a blond elf frowning with a teardrop out of her eye. The actual half-elf herself isn't watching for a response or anything, but goes back to drawing something else. Gonfei does, of course, glance up after having read the note. Noticing the surreptitious method of relaying this, he assumes it's a matter of pride that she doesn't openly apologize, so he merely nods as he folds the paper airplane back up, then in half to be stored in a pocket of his vest, the tail and nose slightly poking out. He stops a waitress on her way out and hands her a bottle of hard cider to pass on to Ari. Ari sighs a little as she draws away, then blinks as the waitress approaches. She looks at the bottle and shakes her head. When the waitress explains where it came from, she nods, gathers her things, and heads towards the bar. Once there, she takes a seat and waits for Gonfei to not be busy. Gonfei steps over to Ari and says, "Good evening, Miss Ari. How are you this evening?" He's acting nonchalant about it, but he's gone back to addressing her a bit more formally. He doesn't seem to be smug at all about the apology and admission that he was right. No, he's seen plenty of people concerned enough with pride not to openly apologize. His pride isn't so strong that he'd demand an open one, so he's fine with the quiet one. That said, he does seem to be in a slight better cheer than when Ari stepped in. Ari seems to deflate even more at the Miss, but figured she earned it. "I'm alright. Thanks for the cider, but I um.. I'm not drinking for a while." She resumes her drawing at the bar, Gonfei raises an eyebrow, looking genuinely surprised by this. "Really. Even over this most recent ordeal, I'm actually pretty surprised to hear that." He pauses a bit, then asks, "Went a bit... overboard, perhaps? Well, what would you like, in that case?" He does glance to see what it is she's drawing, of course. It's right in front of him, how could he not? Right now, it looks like some watercolor cherry blossoms on a shoulder, a tattoo design. She sighs. "Yes, especially after. After last time we... spoke, I was drunk until.. sometime yesterday." she says almost matter-of-factly. "My boyfriend is rather concerned since instead of giggly drunk I went full on getting ready to pack and leave thinking I was pretty much the bane of everyone's existence." She smudges some of the color on the paper to blend it a little. "And ratatouille, please." Gonfei nods. "It'll be coming right up," he says, jotting it down and passing it on to the kitchen before returning. "I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. I don't... particularly recall our last conversation, if I'm honest with myself. But I know I have a tendency to get a bit... surly," he says. "Is there anything you'd like to drink? We do have an incredibly wide array of non-alcoholic drinks, as well." Ari shakes her head. "It was everything. I just feel like everything that goes bad is my fault, you know?" she sighs. "Mango smoothie, please." Gonfei nods at the order, quickly stepping off to fulfill it. As he returns, he says, "It wasn't, though. Your sister had a... unique situation. Sure, your actions might have set it off, but most people don't get possessed by dark deities just because they get drugged and kidnapped. Your... over-exuberance at trying to nurse her back to health was commendable... but you needed to realize that you don't need to do everything yourself." He frowns, realizing he might sound like he's lecturing again, and goes silent. Ari sighs. "That's just it. My entire life was all about her. My parents even made my last name von Tilsen so she wouldn't be alone. I've protected her, cleaned up her messes, I've... I've done everything! I still screwed it all up." she kind if twirls the colored pencil in her fingers. "It's like I'm just a foot note in the great book of Raven." "So you need to step away from her, then." He holds up a hand in hopes of forstalling an immediate arguement. "Not in any sort of final way or anything, nothing like that. You need to focus more on yourself, what makes you unique in ways that have nothing to do with your sister." As the ratatouille arrives, he places it in front of her. "Sometimes great stories can be made of a character who was just a secondary character in the story of another. You just need to find that story." He offers her a smile. "I'm sure Skeeve and Miriam can help you find it." Ari takes a bite, chewing thoughtfully. "That's just it. I am different. Pretty much polar opposites. She's just... She's special. She had a fraggin' destiny, which of course didn't play out, thankfully, but still. How many people can say that? Gonfei raises an eyebrow. "Almost no one. I'm not saying she isn't special. I'm just saying you are, too. You're still comparing yourself to her... You need to stop doing that. That's step one. I can't tell you the rest of the steps." Ari shakes her head. "That's just it, I'm not special. I'm a half-breed freak that doesn't belong to the human race or the elf race, both of which have made that perfectly clear. I had to have implants to even be considered formidable in my world but of course I'm so bottom rung here that I can't help with much if anything. I can't do magic, I'm really of no help what so ever.... I mean seriously, the list goes on." Gonfei crosses his arms across his chest as he leans back slightly. "Not special? You just said you're a half-breed, that makes you fairly special, not ordinary at all. And formidible, bottom rung... so you're intent on being a warrior or a battle mage then? What happened to running a night club? Wouldn't running the best club in town be a tale worth telling? Do you see me here working to make myself an infamous bounty hunter? No, I'm manning a bar." Ari nods. "Yeah, half-breed that was tormented because my ears were too long for the humans and not long enough for the elves, causing me to get spat on, beat up, and nearly killed more times than I care to admit. And yeah, I own a club which isn't operational. Big deal. Not the only club in town and probably isn't going to be that popular considering. You know what it takes to own a club? Money enough to hire a manager. You don't have to be smart or talented or anything like that." Gonfei sighs, scouring his mind for the right thing to say, wincing slightly as he realizes how difficult this situation may be. "Your mind... is being drawn downward. You're pulling yourself into an abyss... Maybe what you need is a vacation, something to reset your mood and perhaps help to bring a different perspective... Bring it up with Miriam and Skeeve, see if the three of you can get away on a cruise, or just be together on some tropical island? You might need to get away from civilization. Not with your sister. You've been making yourself too much for her." Ari shrugs. "Maybe. But Miriam's disappeared for a while. Plus I know Skeeve has his projects to work on, and he's worried too much about me already. Gonfei frowns, but he does notice Ari doens't seem too concerned with Miriam's dissappearance. "Does that... happen often with Miriam, then? Well, if he's been working hard on projects, maybe he'd want the vacation, too? I'm afraid I've not run into him much, so I don't know much of what he's working on." He pauses a moment, then sighs and shakes his head. "I'm afraid I just don't have the answers today." Ari nods a little. "Miri just poofs sometimes. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes because whatever she was doing made her poof, but she always comes back. Sometimes without realizing she was gone." she puts her drawing away. "Skeeve's... semi-retired. So his projects are more things he wants to do, not that he has to." Gonfei sighs and puts his hands on the bar. "I'm gonna put it this way. You need to do things for yourself for a while. You've been... obsessing about your sister for what feels to me to be nearly your entire life... While it's far to and in fact you should still have her in your life, your focus now needs to be on yourself. Maybe Skeeve, but I think yourself will do you a lot better. What you do from there... I've no idea." Ari wrinkles her nose. "Well, I do. I work out a lot, I practice, I work on my electronics, I sew. Granted I'm usually making stuff for other people." Gonfei leans in towards Ari. "And what is it that you want?" Ari sighs. "Is curl up into a ball and cry an option?" Gonfei says, quite seriously, "Maybe you need that. When was the last time you did?" Ari kind of of looks away. "About twenty minutes before I came here." Gonfei frowns. "...Then that's probably not what you need, then..." He sighs as he straightens up, and looks up at the ceiling. "I'm really thinking Skeeve is probably going to be a lot more useful to you than I can be, right now. I'm hoping you're being as open with him as you are with me." Ari frowns a bit. "I... not really. I mean, I tell him things, but he's done so much for me already, I hate to burden him with my issues.. which is probably everything about me. Gonfei shakes his head. "If he doesn't know your issues, he doesn't know you. You're living with him, right? You really should be showing him more trust with what's bothering you than you're showing me. You don't need to cry in a ball. You need to cry with support. You need to cry in his arms." Ari takes another bite before responding. "He knows me. He also knows I am reluctant to talk about these things, mostly because I want him happy, and he's happy when I'm happy, so I don't tell him the crap parts about me. He deserves someone special, and I just.. I'm not." Gonfei says, "Ari... If he deserves you, he's happy when you're happy. And you're not happy. Let him help you be happy. If it drives him off, then he never deserved you, and you should do better. But I don't think that's what's going to happen." He reaches over to poke at Ari's forhead. "Like I said. You need to think about yourself for a bit." Ari hehs a little. "Well, I told him in my drunken stupor that I was considering leaving so I didn't ruin his life, and he still stuck around. I mean, I don't feel that way sober, but still." Gonfei says, "My point exactly. You're carrying too much of the burden yourself after carrying a burden for your sister for those years. You need to let him help you by lightening your load. He's not prying because he's worried about hurting your pride, your image... Well, to hell with your pride and image. You're never going to get better if you keep everything to yourself." Ari says, "That's just it! I don't know if there is a better! I'm not, I mean... I suck!" She then promptly headdesks on the bar, luckily missing the food." Gonfei frowns, looking down at her and saying softly, "You'll never know if you don't try, Ari. You've just got to try. If you can't try for yourself, then try for Skeeve. Try to be a happier person when Miriam comes back." Ari picks her head up. "You make it sound so easy. It's really not. I'm a terrible person. I'm a bad guy. Or I was, though I thought I was a good guy, it's ridiculous. Those two deserve the best." Gonfei nods in agreement. "That's why you have to make yourself better for them. They'll help you, you just have to let them." Ari frowns. "And what if I can't? Ugh, I never should have left Seattle. Everyone'd be better off." Gonfei sighs, shaking his head. "Just... tell Skeeve your worries. Trust me on this one. You can get better. Just stop thinking you have to do it yourself." Ari wrinkles her nose again. "Still not that easy." Gonfei raises an eyebrow. "Since when has life been easy? You've got to work to get what you want, usually. Life rarely gives you freebies. Now, are you gonna open up to Skeeve and move forward? Or are you just going to stand in the same place forever?" Ari scowls. "I've never gotten a 'freebie'. I've worked my entire life. Training, running, building, helping to raise kids, I have worked for absolutely everything. I have literally shed blood sweat and tears every day of my life. Maybe for once I want something easy. Gonfei raises an eyebrow. "So you're starting now? You know this lesson already." He sighs and shakes his head. "You're claiming you want something easy, and yet you're not accepting anyone else's help. You're not letting the people that can help you actually help you. How is it going to be easy when you're doing it on your own? Isn't having help exactly what makes things easier?" Ari sighs. "I never get help. I'm the one helping. Always. People come to me. Or I volunteer it. I never even get offered." Gonfei looks Ari straight in the eyes. "So I'm just being annoying then? I'm not attempting to help you?" Ari frowns. "Now you're putting words in my mouth. Did I say you were being annoying?" Gonfei holds up a hand. "Okay, okay, I stepped too far again. What am I, then?" Ari says, "Well I was hoping you were a friend." she sighs. "But honestly? I can't focus on me. Not until my sister is recovered and hopefully happy. Maybe out and dating again. Maybe then I can relax." Gonfei nods slowly. "I can be that. I more meant what am I doing, but... poor word choice, I guess. Trust me on this, though, Ari. You've got to take some time out of that for yourself or you'll not be at the top of your game when Raven needs you." Ari sighs softly. "That's just it. Raven's always going to need me." Gonfei raises an eyebrow. "And you're the only person in the world that she can ever lean on, is that right? Tell me... how old are her kids, anyway? Ari says, "Marque is seventeen, and the twins turn twelve..." she looks at her watch. "Merde, today, and Aerial is ten." Gonfei blinks, as this just took a direction he was not expecting. "Wait, today? Yeesh, why are you here at a bar.... not drinking, when you could be there with your niece and nephew! shouldn't there be, uh, some sort of party or something?" He glances upward. "Okay, so I don't know of any significance of twelve, but..." Ari says, "Raven took them out for the day." She shrugs, poking at her plate. "They're planning a party for another day." Gonfei frowns, and nods. "And what are you going to do for them then? Fake a smile, or try to have a genuine one?" Ari shrugs. "Whatever works at the time, I guess? I mean, I do try to be a part of their lives too. Took them to the amusement park a few days ago, which was fun." she sighs a little. "Wish I could have a kid one day." Gonfei laughs quietly. "And I wish I could've known about the existance of my last one before she was thirteen. If the... half-elf thing doesn't let you, there's always adoption." Ari says, "Oh, no, that's not it. Er... Skeeve may not want to." Gonfei blinks and holds up a hand. "Okay, that one I don't think I can help you so well with... wait, 'may'? Has it even come up ever? Look, when I found out about my youngest daughter, I figured she would be fine without me, other than learning about the whole phoenix thing." He shrugs. "She was fine up until then with her mother, right? I absolutely planned at that point to be a minimalist father, and to just go on with my life as it was then. But then she showed up on my figurative doorstep less than a year later. That changed things for me. I took her in and raised her better than I thought I would've been able to raise a daughter on my own. Sure, I... probably made things more difficult for her by moving us to Italy when she didn't speak a lick of Italian, but she picked it up fast enough. The point is, he might just not be thinking about it." He glances off to the side, looking slightly wistful. "I wonder what Rayne's up to right now?" Meanwhile, in Twisted's Welcome Center: "Goddamnit, Torr, put down the vending machine! I've got a key to open it! No, not through the.... wall..." Rayne groans as she facepalms. "Some days I hate my life." But back in NeoTokyo, Gonfei just shrugs. "Eh. I'm sure she's fine." Ari nods a little as she listens. "It's a long story that isn't mine to tell. He says maybe one day, but we've only been back together for four months, it's not exactly something we need to think about right now. Gonfei nods. "Yeah, I'll give you that. Four months is a bit early to be talking about having kids. But hey... 'maybe one day' sounds like something that will be a bit more 'probably' when the time comes. Definitely be patient on that one and be a good aunt in the meantime, yeah?" Ari nods. "Always try to be. I love those kids." Gonfei smiles and nods back. "Right. So how're you feeling now?" Ari shrugs a little. "Here, I guess. Gonfei raises an eyebrow. "You're feeling 'here'? Not sure how that works, but sure, why not. Want anything else tonight?" Ari hehs. "It means I'm not bad, but not overly good, just here. And a banana split sounds good. Gonfei nods with a smile. "One banana split, coming up!" He turns to the back to turn in the order, though he soon enough returns. "'Not overly' good is still good. You said it, not me, and I'd be disappointed if you start lying to me." Out of nowhere a blinding flash of blue appears on the center of the restaurant and a tall figure materializes. Its Artanis! The resident Protoss, who flexes his fingers as he comes into view and talks telepathically through his transmitter. "Teleport successful!" He declares before walking to the bar and offering a wave. "En Taro Adun!" Gonfei blinks at the teleport, shielding his eyes momentarily. "Damn, I'm never gonna get used to the way people just pop in around here all the time... Aaaah, En Taro Adun? I'm assuming that's a greeting, right? Sorry, I don't know the language or culture... What can I get for you?" Artanis gives an affirmative nod with his head. "That is correct. It is a standard greeting amongst us Protoss. In Terran language it means 'In honor of Adun' who was a great warrior and one of my many mentors." The Protoss' gaze softens for a moment as if sad, but he soon recomposes himself and looks back to Gonfei before taking a seat by the counter. "A chicken sandwich please. With pickles, mayo, tomato and a jalapeno. To drink, I will have a tall glass of orange juice. Thank you." As always, Artanis is not really talking but relaying all his comments telepathically which would feel to Gonfei like someone is talking inside his head. Ari blinks, shaking her head to keep from staring into space, and sees Artanis. This causes her to blink again. "Okay, you're new." she chuckles. Gonfei blinks and shakes his head shallowly but rapidly, clearly slightly weirded out by the telepathy. "Coming right up, Sir!" he says, followed by a slightly surprised look as something dawns on him. Oh, crap... I hope that's a guy... Regardless, he turns to place the order and fill a glass of orange juice. Taking a banana split that arrives from the kitchen, he walks back to the door and places both items in front of their owners. "Here you go. Enjoy!" Artanis is very evidently male if only by the sound of his, albeit telepathic, voice, Genders are do indeed a thing amongst the Protoss.. and its a good thing Gonfei didn't mention anything about that since its a sore spot for Artanis that everyone instinctively seems to assume he is an 'it'. "Thank you, sir." Fortunately, Artanis seems wholly oblivious to Gonfei's doubts. Just because he talks telepathically doesn't mean he can read minds! He rubs his palms and offers a quick prayer to the Khala before he glances at Ari, his glowing blue eyes blinking. "New? Me? I have been here for quite a few months I think." Ari nods a little, taking a bit of her banana split. "Well, you're new to me, in any case. I'm Ari." Fortunately for Gonfei, he's also fairly good at rolling with the flow, and gives no further tells that he was ever worried about what he said. He doesn't want a repeat of that first time he met an optian, after all. For the moment, he figuratively backs away slightly from the conversation, letting Ari and Artie both meet someone new. Its hard to tell with Artanis seeing that he has no mouth but judging by the flicker of his eyes he seems to be smiling. "Well met then, I am Artanis, warrior of the Neo Tokyo Defense Force, a pleasure to meet you." He extends his hand towards Ari offering a handshake since he's seen that the common Terran greeting. Ari shakes Artanis' hand with a firm grip. "See, now I feel like I need a title or something." she chuckles. "Nice to meet you, too." Gonfei glances between the two and smirks. "How about, 'Ari, future operator of the Haven night club.' You can change it when it's appropriate. And I'm Gonfei, Bartender." The Protoss returns the firm grip and glances to Gonfei and his suggestion for Ari's title. "Ah, there is no dishonor in being the owner of an establishment." He adds whilst also nodding to Gonfei. "I heard of your name before, sir. It is good to be finally acquainted." Once he's finished, he finally looks at his food and.. well, actually, how is he going to eat it if he has no mouth? Suddenly, small pieces of the sandwich being to disappear and his orange juice begins to be slowly drained as well, it looks like.. he's teleporting the food straight into his stomach.. Ari blinks. "Okay, well, that's a neat trick. And yeah, I know, but I do other stuff too." She takes another bite of her ice cream. Gonfei raises an eyebrow. "Oh, really? If it's good to be acquainted, I'm going to have to assume you've heard good things, then, unless your goal is to kill me." The Protoss glances briefly at Ari, as if to ask her what she meant by the 'nice trick' part. "Ah." Then he nods in realization when he figures out she's talking about the way he eats. Artanis keeps forgetting that ingesting food through your mind is odd for these Terrans. If only they knew what he thinks of using the same orifice in their face to eat and talk. But anyway, the Protoss furrows his hairless eyebrows at Gonfei giving him a genuinely puzzled expression. "I've only heard you are the bartender. I do not think that deserves assassination." Humor is not.. Artanis' strong suit. Ari chuckles to herself a moment. "Well, as a former assassin, mainly 'cause there isn't any assassination work here, I can tell you he definitely doesn't deserve it." Gonfei glances at the two, then says dryly, "Thanks, guys, it's good to know I don't deserve to be shot in the head." He then shrugs. "Though I'd get better. So how's the, uh, sandwich?" The Protoss is heard chuckling telepathically, and although he offers no insight about Ari confessing to being a former assassin, he does have something to say about Gonfei's choice of words. "Perish the thought, bullets are far too crude for my tastes. I prefer the more.. elegant approach." He clenches his fist and a Psi laser blade hums to life from his golden gauntlet. The Protoss turns it off after briefly admiring it and turns back to his food. "It's delicious! My compliments to the chef. I must say, I've become quite fond of Terran cuisine after living here for so long." Ari grins, reaching into her bag and pulling out a combat knife. "Artanis, I like your style." she nods. Gonfei raises an eyebrow as they both produce their blades, then shrugs and holds up his left first. A thin strand of his vest seems to shoot down outside his arm, the widens out to cup around his hand and extend into a katar-like blade, looking crystalline in nature. "....If we're sharing?" He then shrugs again and the blade is once again seemingly absorbed into the vest. "Well, I'm glad you like it, Artanis." The Protoss gives a hearty telepathic laugh when Ari and Gonfei both reveal their own blades. "A people after my own heart, I see. It is good to be amongst those that appreciate the glory of hand to hand battle." Not that Artanis looks down upon ranged combat as most of his kin due, he simply has a fondness for the thrill of close quarters warfare. "It gladdens me as well to see that there are so many powerful combatants here. This is a warrior city, of the likes that I have never seen before." Ari nods a little in appreciation at Gonfei's blade as well. "Well, these are just what I can carry on me right now. I do appreciate a straight edged katana, though." she smirks. "Especially one won in combat against the Yakuza." Gonfei shrugs once more. "I have my history with combat. But for now, I'm bartending. Buuuut, yeah. There's a lot of fighters in this place." The Protoss makes a telepathic hming sound. "While I do have respect for such relics like blades made of steel, I prefer the more reliable Psionic blades." Artanis points out almost treading the waters to see if his comment sparks some kind of argument. Ari grins. "To each their own, you know? I like steel because well, I don't have psionic blade." she chuckles. "Plus they're fun to clean afterwards." Gonfei nods. "Well, I'd use whatever I could get my hands on, really. Other than what you just saw, I tend to use just about anything...." He glances between the two. "In general these days I'd prefer a good built in blaster in my armor." Artanis nods slowly at the different opinions. Somewhat unfortunately, Artanis isn't contrary enough to actually instigate an argument and he ends up just respecting Ari and Gonfei's opinions about blades. "Through enough, accessibility is a problematic matter." Suddenly something on his bracer starts beeping and he raises a hairless eyebrow. "Hm? The Executor is calling a meeting? What could this be about?" He jumps off his stool and nods apologetically. "Excuse me, I fear I must take my leave. Duty calls." Art then downs his orange juice, grabs his sandwich, pays for his food and teleports away. Ari waves to Artanis as he leaves. "Nice guy, for a... whatever he was." Gonfei shrugs. "Not sure, to be honest. But yeah, he seemed okay. Sure as heck jumped out fast, though." Ari grins. "Hey, when ya gotta go... Gonfei laughs slightly, shaking his head. "Prooooobably not what was going on, but..." He glances about and hold up a hand as someone is flagging him down from the other end of the bar. Soon, he gets back, however. "So.... yeah. What were we talking about?" Ari takes another bite of banana. "Nothing of consequence." Gonfei frowns lightly, but then shrugs. "Something about..." He pauses, then shakes his head. "Nope, it's gone." He sighs. Ari nods a little. "It happens. Thanks for the talk, though. Gonfei nods back. "I'm glad we're back on good terms, then. I'd rather not have an assassin pissed off at me." He then offers Ari a grin. | |
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