Complete Private Vintergard Oh Sweet Providence...

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"We ain't fighting humans. I could understand a war against another nation, since that would be pure greed in most cases. But these magia? We got too close to their house and they get real aggressive. They are either safekeeping or preparing for something. Eh, theory won't get us far to be fair." She stuffed her mouth shut with the last warm bits of her meal. The last, period. There were no more spoonfuls for her to take as she found out once the utensil tapped bottom on her cup.

Unfortunately she had to agree with him: he didn't die earlier, then he surely wouldn't die any time soon. Yet the idea still clicked in her mind, as her own little smile let him know past these words, only for her expression to turn sour... And that was understating a full on bitch face.

"If you kept your mouth shut from time to time or said pleasant things, you might actually get some male attention."

"Male atte- Alright." That pause was akin to gjallarhorn announcing ragnarök, followed by a finger pointed back at Jin, furrowed brows upon piercing gray eyes locked dead set on the man. "How much pussy did you have in your life? That's right, zero." The accussatory pointing turned into a gesture to emphasize the number.

"When you are drowning on that, MAYBE I'll keep your opinions in mind. But hey, YOU are a pussy, so maybe that's the closest you will ever have to one!" She shrugged, switching anger for cocksureness. "You are wrong eitherway. Guys don't like nice girls." Bitterness formed on her throat. Because if one thing she knew about is being a nice girl.

And how little that worked for her.

@Jin

 

[Jin]

It was a common thing for people to default to the idea that "nothing can be done, so there's no point in worrying about it." Unfortunately for Jin, his mind didn't work that way. He had plans for when plans went awry, and contingencies for when even that failed him. It didn't lend to a good night's sleep, but it had kept him largely out of a shallow grave. He smiled a bit, albeit disingenuously at the words 'theory won't get us far.' It was a small thing, but it represented the difference between them in many ways.

And then, she took the bait.

"I'm well aware of my lack of experience in coital matters," he shrugged. "A deficit in the number of holes I've filled does not correlate to my understanding of what men tend to prefer, you know, as a man. I would venture to say that makes me the resident authority on the matter in fact."

He knew that if he goaded her too far, she would get violent. That was about the limit in terms of how thick he was willing to lay it on, even if she had called him a coward.

When his mind went back to the beautiful blonde he'd fallen for, and how she broke his heart, his expression soured a bit.

"I don't think you're entirely wrong, though," he said in a slightly quieter voice. "In my experience, there are no nice girls. So there may yet be hope for you."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

Suddently her right jolted up, fingers stroking her chin carefully. Planned, brainpower always ready to fuel her attempts to torment the red eyed raven. Her lips curved, amusement split between his own choice of words. Like a redditor trying to explain their own lack of man-on-woman interaction with finesse in his language. Granted that it worked, since he had a point there. On the other hand...

"Men like a lot of things, just like girls. Would you believe me if I told ya' I'm into smarties? People who use big words for their big ego. The only thing big being their muscles." Canines flashed through her grin, half-lidded eyes peering into his, if her descriptions weren't direct enough. Doubtful it would get her the reaction she expects, but it's worth a shot. "But hey, you just gotta believe in the voice inside your head." She paused, devilish smile plastered all over her lips as Mindsend triggered itself, and the elf's voice echoed inside Jin's mind, with not an ounce of movement on her lips.

['Gay, gay, homosexual, gay']

"In my experience-"

'In his experience?' As usual, he knew when to spark her curiosity for the mundane. Ari never explained what did poor Theo go through to become... Theo. Food for thought, her silence left her split between her reactions and what ideas she could piece together, clouded by the terrible aftertaste from their meal, and the glances the guards were giving them, or the sight of people rejoycing in silence to the new breeze that whistled leaves from the still standing trees behind camp Hope.

Did... Did he really try to make her feel better about it? Or is it yet another sting from the wasp.

"I don't think anyone wants a nice guy, or a bad girl. Just someone to understand you. We ain't in a fairytale, people like these don't exist, just different degrees of asshole and bitch. But you have experience on these, don't ya'?" Her eyes lost themselves to the horizon, self-aware of her own voice having been reduced into shallowness.

"Guess that's something we have in common. If I have a chance, then so do you. Maybe you find a miss edgelord and I find a dumbass."

@Jin

 

[Jin]

He blinked incredulously as she projected thoughts into his mind, his expression unchanged.

"Interesting. I never took you for the rabid yaoi fangirl type, but I suppose it's more common than people think."

It made sense. She never seemed overly interested in Ari when they were all together, and almost always placed more emphasis on the interactions between the men in specific when she harassed them. So that was her game? "I'm afraid I have no interest in that," he said with a quick shrug. "But there's no small amount of that on the internet that should satisfy your needs."

If he missed his mark, well, she had done a great job of misleading him. He didn't seem to care at all one way or the other.

That was standard for Jin, though.

"I've never cared much what people like or want," he admitted. "There are people who take what they want, and people who hope that things go their way. Somewhere along the way, I got tired of hoping." He glanced sidelong at the Elven woman as he pushed the food away and stood up from the table. "Now, there's no part of me that wants that chance. If it was meant to happen, I would have already have it. Now? The things I want-?"

He gestured all around them, smiling, indicative of all the world of Terrasphere.

"They will be mine. And it's not a question of if, but when."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

Oh she expected that answer, the elf entertained a smile at it - Of course he would say so, he is very good at come backs, perhaps a part of being a sociopath with a plan for everything applied also for the most triffling of matters such as their back and forths.

"Who knows, maybe I'm just gonna start writing yaoi with you and Yugam as protagonists. I'm a pretty good writer." Despite that not being her favourite genre, sure, why not? Commitment to a meme isn't something far out of her schedule. But of course, their interests didn't align given his reaction, or maybe he's just playing hard to get?

"But there's no small amount of that on the internet that should satisfy your needs."
"Far too busy. I'm either working, going out with friends, eating or playing Terrasphere. That kind of content in general lost it's spark to me." She wished it were a joke instead of bleeding honesty between her words. when compared to this, most of the world had little to no gratification.

"I mean you do sound like you are still hoping. Just that now you gonna get your hands dirty to try and make it real for once." She pointed out, knuckles pressed against the table to lift herself up to full height. "Don't take me wrong though, it ain't bad to hope. Just gotta mix it up with some hard work." Right index finger did a swirling motion on the air, signaling all of Terrasphere too. "There ain't such a thing as 'meant to happen' though. You either -make- it happen or not. You just failed if you don't." Fiora shrugged, eyes closing for a split of a second before returning back to the raven.

"Still-" She paused to take a seat once again, weary knees troubling her short descent. "I don't fear a shady player to be honest, but a shady lander. So don't get cocky, because there's probably someone worse than you and me out there that ain't some twelve foot tall beast. These people were born in this hellscape, we have not." And that meant a world's difference, but the idea that there's someone even more deranged than Jin was... Something.

@Jin

 

[Jin]

"If it suits your tastes," he gave a shrug. "Just be sure to include me in any sales royalties if you decide to publish it. Being as I was part of your inspiration, I feel compensation would be justified."

He was mostly joking, but then, that was the general flow of the conversation at this point. Rather than taking offense, she had offered a rebuttal. This was the way that people who considered one another "friends" bantered. He'd observed it between Ari and others at times. Did that mean Nico considered him... a friend?

No, that was unlikely, and he wasn't going to let the thought unnerve him.

Far too busy. I'm either working, going out with friends, eating or playing Terrasphere. That kind of content in general lost it's spark to me.

"At least you have a firm grasp on your priorities," he commented, faintly praising her virtues. "Time is more valuable than money, after all. It's entirely non-renewable."

When she continued to speculate on how he had hopes, and that having hopes wasn't bad, he frowned. As close as she came to understanding, she was suddenly farther away than before. When he said it wasn't meant to happen, he didn't mean that he'd given up, and he certainly hadn't failed.

The honest truth was that Jin had lost interest entirely.

In life in the real world, in the things that made it beautiful, in the things that made it worth living. All of those things no longer held value for him. Where Nico talked about her friends and the time they spent together and the things she enjoyed doing, for Theo the only thing that qualified in that realm anymore, he was already doing in that very moment.

I don't fear a shady player to be honest, but a shady lander. So don't get cocky, because there's probably someone worse than you and me out there that ain't some twelve foot tall beast. These people were born in this hellscape, we have not.

"I told you before," he said with a yawn, waving a wrist, "I've no interest in being feared. Whether or not I seem shady is of no consequence. So long as people take little to no interest in me and I can live in this world in a way that satisfies me, I am content."

And the only reason he truly cared about how much interest people took in him was that when people started paying attention, eventually they wanted to limit what he was allowed to do. Freedom was everything to Jin. Freedom to live, freedom to die, and freedom to experience everything in between.

No one would ever take that from him again.

There was one thing that made him chuckle about what she said, though. She used the term "hellscape" to describe Terrasphere and its world. She said that the Landers were different from them, and insinuated that they were much more terrifying. Jin turned to Fiora and smiled languidly, clearly amused.

"Nico, would you say that you've lived a pretty good life?" he asked, genuinely curious. It was the first time he'd gone out of his way to use her name, and he did so in the form of Jin, inside of the game. This was an irregularity. It was something that he never did.

Would she notice?

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"Just be sure to include me in any sales royalties if you decide to publish it." Fiora chuckled at that, right hand covering her lips for a moment before waving at him dismissively.
"Nah, I'll just use different names to avoid copyright from you two leeches. Jim and Lamegam will be the top seller yaoi out there. I'll even print it ingame." That but a hollow promise, but given how magitech exists, and magic in general, surely printing some male on male on paper shouldn't be too difficult, right?

What followed was strange: Jin... complimenting? Well, it's enough to get her to glance back at him funny, because it certainly didn't match his profile, or perhaps she just judged him a bit too quick on that one. Still, the lack of it only makes the scarce moments all the more valuable per say. At the very least, noteworthy.

"I agree." Not even forced on that one, it's just the plain truth. "Time's gotta be spent on what you need and what you want. I need money, I want to play terrasphere: I have a bunch of needs before I can do my wants. When someone thinks about it too hard they find out time flies and just lost a whole day thinking about what they need or want as opposed to... Doing it." She explained, something unecessary, but for the sake of conversation felt right. He who optimizes his time probably would understand afterall.

Of course, they would roll back into misunderstandings, but that seemed natural with them, as if subconciously she just wished for some banter at this point. He mentioned it early, so why she used these specific words? Assumptions, that's why. It had begun to get a bit frustrating, and that she couldn't deny, but instead of letting that thought consume her, Fiora pulled up a smirk and scratched her nape.

"We really do need to practice our communication huh. No, I don't mean fearing you or you being a backstabbing bastard. You already know my thoughts on that, I just meant, you know, in general." She went roundabout with it, drumming her fingers against the table, brief silence to pick her words once again, and once she did, he would find gray hues setting their sight on him once again. "There's a lot of assholes, but these assholes are players. Like you, and me or Ari, we are just a bunch of nerds working at a cafe, a library- I don't fuckin' know what you do but you get my point. That's nothing compared to being born a slave in this world or being an assassin of some sort." Something she would work on, given the time for it.

"Nico-"

If he wanted her attention, using her name was more than enough, the question almost slipped past pointy ears, rolling from one to the other, unfocused eyes that peered deeper than his form. To all of him, their blankness snapped with a singular blink from each. The question itself was far too broad, impossible to answer within few words without going into deeper explanations that could inevitably fall into purple prose of sorts.

"No." Dry words from even drier lips, just when they smacked together Nico did something about it. "My parents wanted me to follow a path, and when I didn't, they found their way to make sure I couldn't walk my own, and some helped." Somber, Fiora's resolution shines behind the grey wall born out of a rough voice and idle expression. "Took me a while but I learned that you can't make things right, just make them a little better. That's where I am now: little better." Yet a scar is a scar, time inconsequential with it's existence. "I'll take it your answer is similar? I didn't see you smile once in Japan. It's like you are bitter by definition but don't care to show it." Oh why is that so familiar now?

...Right. Just different ways to express it.

@Jin

 

[Jin]

He shrugged. It was honestly what he would have done in her situation, too. Why pay anyone else for work he did? If you're good at something, never do it for free.

Jin kept his gaze fixated on the wall ahead of him. Eye contact had never been his strong suit, and he had a policy of only affording it to those people who he felt were worthy of it. Even Theo felt that way in the real world, where he survived a middling job as a stock boy because they took him off of the register for his poor people skills. As the talk turned toward communication, he glanced in her direction- more past her than at her, but he could see her expression and mannerisms.

There's a lot of assholes, but these assholes are players. Like you, and me or Ari, we are just a bunch of nerds working at a cafe, a library- I don't fuckin' know what you do but you get my point. That's nothing compared to being born a slave in this world or being an assassin of some sort.

"Anyone is capable of killing someone else, regardless of if they're any good at it. You expect it from the people in this world. The ones who are trained to do it, the ones who do it for fun, even the ones who do it to survive." He closed his eyes and sighed. "They say 'better the devil you know than the devil you don't," Jin gestured toward the guards, who had migrated well out of earshot. "Mark me, it ain't the natural born Landers you have to worry about. They're going to act predictably. Down to the ones who are going to try to kill you, you can count on that."

He took a step closer, and another, until he was leaning in to whisper in her ear. "These Astoreans- the UI locked Players, the ones who understand death in this world? The ones who can't afford to die again? They sing us a song about preventing more casualties, about how they don't want any more UI locks, but take a step back. They allow us to fight their battles. They conscript us for missions that spell certain doom. Everything they're saying to us doesn't add up to the actual resultant actions."

Maybe he did sound crazy, and certainly, he was paranoid. But Jin could accept those claims. He would only refute one in particular: the idea that what he was saying was wrong.

"It's the ones like us, who know how to think and reason and have seen the things we have and know the things that we do, not the ones who act according to the script that you need to watch out for."

He took a step back finally, smiling despite the venom he'd just injected into her thoughts.

She didn't hesitate to respond to his question, though. When he used her name, it was like he'd invoked something. She started to explain her family life was less than ideal, and mentioned that he seemed.... bitter.

As though all the joy in life no longer reached him.

"I've lived," he said flatly. Good and bad were descriptors. They added flavor and variety to something that had become homogenous for Theo. Nothing stood out from one day to the next, and what those days had in common were that they didn’t seem to terminate. The only thing he'd ever come to wish for was an end to that monotony.

"Well, not well, poorly, or otherwise. At some point, I stopped caring about things like those. When every second becomes anxiety riddled, wondering what will happen if you go home, or if you're going to eat today, or if you're going to be able to sleep- or if you're going to sleep on the street. Eventually, the motions get boring. Tedious. Eventually, the only reason you wake up is for the one person who would worry if you didn't. And eventually, you start to not even care about that. Because how long does she really have left? The doctors gave her five years three years ago. On a good day, she can walk around the house and water flowers. On average, she sits in her chair and eats food I have to puree for her because her stomach can't handle solids anymore."

Theo loved his mother. She was the one constant in his life. The only thing he'd found worth living for. And she was finite. Fleeting. Like everything else in the world, the second hand was ticking away precious moments and one day, the clock would stop.

His blood colored eyes were distant now, fixed on something far beyond reach. There were no tears left for her. He'd cried them all.

Inevitably, he would cry more. Unless he died first. Then he'd never know. He'd never have to watch her go.

Jin shrugged. "Sure, it might get better. Sometimes it does. Then it gets worse. You get your expectations high, only to have then come crashing down again, and again. It's cyclical. That's the trap we all fall into, believing that there are different outcomes. I'm not bitter- that's not it at all."

He found a chair, pulled it out, and sat down. With a heavy sigh, he draped an arm over the back and finally looked at her directly.

"I'm just so tired of everything about that world."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

It was a fair point to listen to, to digest. She could understand the secrecy behind it, the whispers of his own psyche afflicting her own. Yes, it made sense, UI locked are a special breed, same as him, same as herself. They were yet to be cornered animals though, as the chains of death are still three steps further away from them, giving them some wiggle room.

"You know how machines became so advanced long ago that they mastered chess? It came to a certain point where even grand masters could not measure up to an AI, and this was long, long ago. AI have reached new heights that we couldn't have thought about time ago, and even today where shit's as advanced as science fiction hoped for back then." Her gaze returned to him, ears twitching momentarily to a different set of mumbles and voices, sensitive as they were to sound. "Terrasphere is beyond all we know when it comes to AI. This is not predictable, predictable was the AI of games like twenty or thirty years ago. This world though, this everything you like?" With that came death, and the thrills that were far too real to be simulated, despite the simulation aspect. "It comes with an AI the likes we can compare to a player. They lack what we know of our own world, but also the comforts of it. They are a tougher kind, and make no mistake it's not the killers alone what I'm wary of, because we are just as capable of killing thanks to this being a 'game': It's the cunning, manipulative bastards. Players or Landers." If paranoia were a trait, they both are sharing it right now.

Grim, somberness aside, the elf smiled, albeit carefully. "Didn't take you for one to ignore a threat and acknowledge another. Perhaps that's what they want us to do." Casting her eyes closed, Fiora rested her elbows over the table and took a seat once again, only picking up once he resumed.

And for once, the knightess felt like a knife on the gut ain't so bad. She's got a chunky health bar afterall. Hugging him would be worth it, because that's what she wanted the most in these times where life seemed to have become an endless, miserable loop. No one has been there for her, no one but her own forearms to wash away the tears.

But it wouldn't help in his case. That and his 'no physical touch' rule. Granted, she could tell there's a certain bravado on people when they are behind a screen, or an avatar, which they lack in the real world. Perhaps that's where she would aim for instead.

"Better to have loved and lost, right?" An exhausted chuckle pressed out of her lips, worn down mentally rather than physically. "You know when there's a good film you like, and then they keep releasing shitty sequels over and over again until it starts to piss you off? Yeah, that's how it feels with my family. I wish they had been assholes from the beginning." Bitter better described her than him. Powerless to these words: she hated her family, she absolutely did, but only because they once gave her the love of one, and it hurts more to those aware of what they've lost rather than the ones who never had it.

Fuck the poet who said that quote of earlier. In this scenario, rather not have any at all would have been much better, and the nostalgia of these better days when she meant the world to her own mother - A disease she couldn't cull.

"You never bring up your life. You never brought your life up at all with us even when outside of the game, and I'm surprised you even do it in it. Why?" That remained the heart of the conversation, and one she genuinely didn't consider that much beyond the beginning of it. But that could mean this is either the end, or the start of another one. Curiosity called to her, however, softening the rock-hard expression she always wears just a slight pinch more. "You know if you want to break the loop out of your routine, I'll be available for a few days. I'll be leaving a week or so afterwards, so you won't see much out of me. You won't miss me much, will you?~"

@Jin

 

[Jin]

"Logic engines have limits," Jin replied warily to her assertion that she didn't think he'd brush off a potential threat. "They can only learn what they experience. And in this world, they terminate. They don't loop." It was simple, albeit not at all eloquent. The less that they interacted with the enemy, and the less chances they gave Landers to learn about them, the less of a threat they became. And if they were a threat, simply finding a way to neutralize them was the ideal option.

Jin wasn't interested in a political method of coexistence. When it came to the denizens of this world, it was open season. He closed his eyes as she sat herself down. It might not be true of the Magia enemy. Those particular threats seemed to learn and adapt. They were a threat he was still assessing.

Better to have loved and lost, right?

Right, that was a thing people said. Flippant, and in most cases, wholly patronizing. But Jin- Theo- couldn't say he identified with it at all. He knew what it felt like to desire someone, but the attraction never seemed to be reciprocated. He knew what infatuation felt like, with all the blushing and embarrassment, the stuttering and fumbling, the idiosyncratic self-doubt--

Romantic love was something that he had never truly experienced. Jin frowned. The love he felt for his mother, though- if he lost that...

No, it was a matter of when at this point.

You know when there's a good film you like, and then they keep releasing shitty sequels over and over again until it starts to piss you off? Yeah, that's how it feels with my family. I wish they had been assholes from the beginning.

His gaze leveled on Fiora for a moment. There was some small part of him, a dying gasp hanging on by a thread, that mourned for what she had lost. A family that had loved her- the same way his mother loved him- but instead of giving her that in perpetuity and without stipulations, they suddenly stopped. He couldn’t imagine that.

But he could see what she was saying that she wished for, vividly.

"Better to not have had a family at all," he muttered offhand.

You never bring up your life. You never brought your life up at all with us even when outside of the game, and I'm surprised you even do it in it. Why?

"Because people won't understand unless you tell them," Jin replied. "I could evade this conversation forever and have you continue to think I'm some sweaty, emo nerd who plays this game to get a rush, or I can tell you outright that I've all but lost any desire to continue living in the "real" world. I can tell you that I only find meaning in the thrills and new experiences that this world has given me. That I don't fear any number of deaths, because the promise of what's waiting after the third sounds like a kindness to me."

You know if you want to break the loop out of your routine, I'll be available for a few days. I'll be leaving a week or so afterwards, so you won't see much out of me.

"Largely, I'm giving you the courtesy of a forewarning that investing in me is a losing deal, and you should cut your losses. However, my mother does enjoy your company, and if only for her sake, if you feel inclined to come over before you leave, I'm sure she would appreciate it."

You won't miss me much, will you?~

He shot her a scornful gaze.

"What, don't tell me you plan on kissing me goodbye."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"We have a game that kills people and imprisons their conciousness inside of it. I don't know if we can really consider anything, including the NPCs, normal. I'm just saying, just be prepared to face them like they were actual players. So far, I haven't seen a single exploit in their patterns." No one found a means to break the game or glitch it out, not even get the AI in unexpected situations that cause it to freeze or something. None that couldn't be used on a player, at least.

The more Jin explained himself, the more her mind wanders back to these few words before an answer. So off-handed, and yet powerful, like a spell of it's own kind:
"Better to not have had a family at all,"

But if it was commentary to her situation or personal experience, is left with a big fat question mark. Instinct made her lean for the latter, and unsurprisingly given her terrible luck, Jin proved her right.

'I've all but lost any desire to continue living in the "real" world'

The more she understands,

'the only reason you wake up is for the one person who would worry if you didn't.'

The more she wishes she hadn't asked.

'Because how long does she really have left?'

Pain shut her eyes closed, as if a wave of mystical powers just washed over her brain, but it's no more than reflection on herself, on Theo. On his situation and her own, on just how dangerously close their paths are... How long until Ronja's body finally caves in, and her disease finally claims her life? What after that?

"Cut from the same cloth you and I. Weird. Never thought I would relate to you, but this game really got me where it hurts." She admitted, defeat tasting oh so bitter like usual, all that will be left are midnight thoughts singing in her mind after she logs off from today, with Jin's voice as a special guest. "Well it still surprises me. I figured you wouldn't care what I thought about you, if you didn't care what others did. Guess in a sense, telling me or not doesn't matter if you look at the bigger picture."

"Largely, I'm giving you the courtesy of a forewarning that investing in me is a losing deal, and you should cut your losses,"

"The only thing I invest in is in your reactions. If it makes your mom happy, then I'll be around tomorrow, or the next day at most. I don't want anything from you, and honestly? If I Irritate you, or make you laugh or smile, I'm sure anything's better than feeling nothing at all." She shrugged. It could have passed off as an attempt to cheer him up, but by now it simply felt... Natural?

"What, don't tell me you plan on kissing me goodbye."

His scornful gaze would meet a playful one, devilish smile blended with a pinch of false innocence.

"Thinking too hard about it, aren't you?"

@Jin

 

[Jin]

Jin had turned away when she started to speak again, curious about what she meant by '"cut from the same cloth." She had explained that her family was wretched and how she wished they had never been kind to her because it would have made everything easier, but to relate on the matter of a loved one?

He cast a sidelong glance over his shoulder. Nico had never spoken about a loved one. There was apparently something there, something obscure and hidden, mostly that she didn't want him to know about. They weren't close, so it could have just been that it never came up in conversation until that exact moment- but he was disinclined to pry.

"It's not so much a matter of what anyone thinks," he said. "You could hate me and want me dead and it wouldn't matter. But we don't live in an idyllic world where you and I never crossed paths on the outside. It's messier, thanks to that Japan trip. You know where I live. You're close enough to interact with me, and that makes it impossible to just brush you off or ignore you. For the sake of simplicity, understanding between us uncomplicates things. If only to a small degree."

He could just as easily not said anything. This way, the misunderstandings might stop. This way, she might just drift away like all the others and give him the distance he wanted from all the world.

But things were never that easier, were they?

The only thing I invest in is in your reactions. If it makes your mom happy, then I'll be around tomorrow, or the next day at most. I don't want anything from you, and honestly? If I Irritate you, or make you laugh or smile, I'm sure anything's better than feeling nothing at all.

He was watching her from the corner of his eye as she began to speak, but by the time she said she didn't want anything, he was looking directly at her. "Only if you feel like it," he folded his arms. "I'm not in the business of owing people favors."

If I Irritate you, or make you laugh or smile, I'm sure anything's better than feeling nothing at all.

His heart skipped a beat. Why would she say something like that? For Theo, she might as well have had a Halo and wings for a split second.

Thinking too hard about it, aren't you?

"Only for about the first ten seconds after I met you," he revealed with a wry smirk. "Then my thoughts shifted from 'she's gorgeous' to 'god, what a waste of a pretty face. But it worked out in the end. You aren't into weebs anyway."

With a wink and a wave, Jin finally turned to leave.

"I'm getting pretty tired. I think I'm gonna call it for now. Let's pretend this conversation never happened, alright?"

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"Hnm..." Fiora grumbled to herself, as the pieces begun to fit in this puzzle of his. The idea that knowing eachother somehow complicates things for him enough to make something about it, to open his... Mind? Heart? Doubtful, but he is allowed the privacy that comes with his decision, much like life and death were all ultimately his, despite many players probably ready to go and revive him should his back meet the ground.

"But we don't live in an idyllic world where you and I never crossed paths on the outside"

"With or without me, describing the world like that is a lie and you know it." It wouldn't change much, that's true, but at least it gave both of them some food for thought on the downtimes where they are not under suppressive fire from a newly crafted mecha-abomination. "But, if it does make things easier for you, I'll take it. I don't lose nor gain anything out of it, so what gives?" Nonchalance radiated out of that gremlin smile of hers.

"I'm not in the business of owing people favors."

Weary sigh broke from her lips, hands guided towards her hips as her head hangs low for a moment. "Man," Her gaze leveled up to his at that point. "You would be the last I would try to get a favour out of. I'm doing it because I choose to, not because I need to." She replied, proximity also simplified her decision-making. It wasn't that far to Theo's house in the first place, she just needed to cross past hers, which was far more difficult than meeting him in the eye.

"Thinking too hard about it, aren't you?"

"Only for about the first ten seconds after I met you,"

Taken back by that answer, Fiora swatted gray bangs away from her features.

"Then my thoughts shifted from 'she's gorgeous' to 'god, what a waste of a pretty face."

"Fuck you." Aggression contrasting the fluster on her cheeks. Compliments like that were usually hollow, once every now and then the message of that sort would pop up on her streams, but to hear it face to face out of him- It's honest, even if that's how far the line gets drawn. "But hey, maybe you are wrong. Maybe I'm an annoying bitch who can't be straight about it. Don't I fit the anime Tsun stereotype?" She jested, getting herself back up to her feet just as he announced his departure.

Tired. Of course he had to be, after all the blood he lost he could put two and two together, walk and not show any signs of physical weakness. Beneath all these weebish robes lies an unexpected tank. Just not one playing meatshield for others.

Smart.

"What converastion, all I know is I healed your ass and then got you food shittier than field rations." A knowing smile spread over her lips as she said so, pulling up her palm menu, finger hovering over the logging out option, even as gray hues did so on him instead. "Next time, make sure you do kick the bucket and don't cling to your last breath. I want to know who of us is right about death, you resilient bastard."

@Jin