Complete Private Subhumans at best

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

The little trip to Japan was all she could think about. Like a couple going to a vacation only to return to their miserable, average lives, only this kind of rush didn't have a need for tourist traps, or fancy views on a beach while cute men and women dressed for the time bring over drinks and smile like you are the king of the world. Which only helped her to keep drilling a hole inside her head with thoughts of what could be or what couldn't.

Just her, and the deafening radio noise of her own voice. A good barrier, practical despite it's lack of adaptability, towards the unsavoriness of her household.

Even this bastard kept appearing between her eyes. Always far enough she couldn't get a good view, but just enough to tease her with the possibility- That they were all here, ready to surprise her like they did with Nao.

That would be fucking rad... But what are the chances, really, that Fuckboi, Frenchie, Nao and Weeb Mcedgelord were here? For her even?

But she got fed up of watching from a distance the same shadow. They say not to chase mirages (Given the possibilities, he had to be one right now and the greasy diet consisting of bacon, fries and fast food were finally catching up to her), but that's what she did.

She followed that mirage one day, hoping her Cars 2 cap and facemask were enough of a disguise. Not enough to keep her cheeks from blushing though, this had to be the most stupid thing she's done so far. What if this person wasn't 'him' whatsoever? Worst case scenario she gets called a creep, or a stalker- Not like she wasn't already feeling like one.

But Cat & Mouse she played, at least until this Not-Ari guy got home, like any normal guy would after taking a stop for a drink. But her initiative to knock on the door fell flat as soon as she stood infront of it. Doubt and curiosity fought one agaisnt the other in an attempt to come on top in decision-making. Nico clasped her hands against her cheeks, rubbing her face a few times to wash it all off.

She was strong now, this was no time to doubt. Ronja would approve of this (Except maybe the stalking), and to go back to a miserable existence wasn't quite cutting it right now for her...

Knock knock! Nico took a deep breathe, waiting for Not-Ari to give some life signals that they heard her. But what to say? She didn't think twice about that.

'Improvise' was her third name, and some straightfaced comedy always cuts it well...

One last deep breathe in, and Nico begun to blurt out a whole script, because this wasn't the first time she pulled this one gag... Because it wasn't. "Hello, mister do you have a minute to talk about our lord and savior Lightning McQueen? Did you know that Lightning McQueen is the star of several feature films such as Cars, Cars 2, Cars 3?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

You'd think after getting up for the 5:45AM shift every other day for the past few months would have acclimated Ari to the early mornings. Sadly, that wasn't the case. Even still, the man came home and just wanted to collapse on his bed and snooze for a few hours before working on designs, recipes, looking into leasing options. All in the hopes of owning his own place. It wasn't as if he needed the money that owning a cafe might bring, but the man was loathe to lounge around doing nothing for the rest of his days. Workaholic.

The man had had the vague feeling he was being followed on his way back home, but every time he looked back, he hadn't been able to see anyone who might've been tailing him. Still, it paid to be on guard.

When the man had finally unlocked his front door and walked into his living room, a sensation of momentary relief washed over him as he set his bag down next to the door. First thing first, he was going to take a shower and wash the smell of grounds off him. He loved the smell of coffee, but he didn't want it permeating his body.

No more than three steps from the door, and the man heard a couple of knocks on the door. Alarms immediately began ringing in his head. Who? Why? Didn't matter. Reaching into his rear waistband, the man pulled out a handgun and approached the door, pointing the barrel at its center so it's bullet would pierce the wood and hit center mass if whoever was on the other side decided to be funny. Peering silently through the peephole, Ari saw a Cars 2 hat and facemask hiding away a head of pink hair. A head of pink hair he immediately recognized as the one person who could do something funny and not got shot. Punched maybe. But not shot.

Ari tucked his pistol back into it's holster covering it with his shirt before unlocking the door and cracking it open. "Nico?" the man said, confusion apparent on his face. "What the fuck are you-..." The muttering speech, the kid's hat and mask. Had Nico lost her mind? Should he notify the psych ward they'd have a new patient? Maybe she got indoctrinated into a weird cult. "Why are you preaching Cars?"

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

"Nico?"
"Noooooo?" She quickly retorted, but to no avail...

Fuck, he figured it out too quickly...

To drop the act she pulled down her mask, cheeky smile followed a quick removal of her cap as she tucked both quickly over her satchel, missing the spot twice as she wasn't breaking eye-contact, and her nerves were skyrocketing by now. "Wazzup my guy, missed me? I hope not." She teased, eyeing him up and down just to take notes of what he's wearing. Nothing as close as what she remembered, but he still had that delinquent look on his face that matched the Ari she knew.

For once, she was glad to see him, and her smug helped her hide the genuine smile crossing her lips right now.

"Why are you preaching Cars?"

The question baffled her, made her physically recoil backwards for a hot second as she pulled her hands right into her satchel. "Dude." Weight pushed on that one word, just as she pulled out her original blu-ray copy of Cars 1 and Cars 2. "This film's the best, what you on about. He won the piston cup even, how can you not preach for that?" She chuckled along, it had to be a silly gig of his, just as much as her own right now. "I'm just fuckin' around with ya'. So... You gonna invite me in or-" She pursed her lips, hiding the movies's plastic boxes behind her as she tilted herself to the side to try and get a better look inside to see if there were any other guests. "It's cool if you don't want to but I mean, you gonna be missing out on my coffee." She paused, because even she was unconvinced that was a good enough reason. Frowning, Nico folded her arms against her chest, with films and all. "Could also tell ya' how I found out where you live." Because she didn't just stalk him all the way here, nope. She's better than that, got a better reason.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Nico's next few strings of words were a disjointed mess of barely connected sentences. Not that that was unusual for the woman, half the things that came out of her mouth hardly made any amount of sense to Ari, and that was on a good day. But today she seemed particularly tangential.

At least, she finally got to the point by the end of it all, which was something that the man could almost rely on with the girl. "You gonna invite me in or-"

At this point, Ari's lips had drawn themselves into thin lines, eyes narrowed ever so slightly in a mixture of annoyance and disappointment. Mostly in himself for the latter, he should've expected Nico to be...well, Nico. The man lifted a single hand a delivered a sharp flick to her hat, shifting it upwards. He would've delivered it straight to her forehead if the hat didn't prevent it.

"Yeah, yeah. Come in," the man said stepping to the side to let the pink haired girl into his apartment before shutting the door behind them. "You followed me," Ari stated, choosing to ignore the offer of coffee. Last thing he wanted was Nico's coffee. Chances were it would kill him, and not thanks to poison. "I'm guessin' from my work. How'd you know I worked there though?" he asked as he gestured to the small couch in front of the TV as he headed to the kitchen. "Want water or something?" he asked, trying to be hospitable, as any good Greek boy should.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

She paid notice of how his lips thinned, but not his asian man eyes. They were narrow by default, and in her head they couldn't get any more narrow than that unless they disappear entirely. Despite that, she had a bad feeling overall, as if something- Indeed, something happened...

"Hey careful with the merchandise!" She lashed out, holding onto her cap defensively so once he gave it a flick, an all too familiar move from their one accident on Nao's house that had them pull quite the scene. Instinct told her to double down and pay him back for it. The fondness on that memory stopped her aggression for once, sighing off her annoyance just as he allowed her in.

"You followed me"

"Careful, if you keep thinking too hard you gonna burn your braincells." She chuckled, taking the initiative and dropping off on his couch, legs spread lazily infront of her. "I didn't know to be honest. We live on the same street, thought I was going crazy when I kept seeing you around." Her eyes were far more intrigued with the conditions of his apartment though, nodding to herself a couple times before he called out for her from the kitchen, hands over the armrest as she leaned towards him to get a better view. "No soda? Really?" She rose an eyebrow, half-smiling back at him. "Healthy boy eh? Yeah some water would be nice, thanks."

Nico stood up once again, pulling the case open to give a glance to that shiny blu-ray Cars 1 disk, but the problem is: Does Ari even have a player to get the movie going? These kinds of things were left in the past ever since everything got digital, but this is still a treasure from previous generations, all things considered.

"So, yeah, I know I dropped outta nowhere to your house-" She started, gnawing at her lips for a moment, toes wiggling inside her shoes as a chill ran up her spine. "Aaand It's been a while since we last texted eachother, but I'm... Glad... That you are okay." Gritting her teeth behind closed lips, Nico pulled the cap off her head, gave the inside of it a few smacks. Despite how hard she tried to be cold with him, it was hard to be an ass to him, specially after the few life-threatening encounters they had starred together with the rest of the gang. But for that, she did what she usually did in embarassing scenarios.

"Where's my water, fucker. I'm gonna grab your wallet and go buy some soda if you don't have one next time I drop in."

Be foul-mouthed.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

The apartment wasn't exactly large. Through the front door, one entered the brightly lit living room. A couch was pushed against the wall to the right, and a cushioned chair against the same wall as the front door. In front of the seats was a small blue rug and a wooden coffee table. against the wall opposite the couch, there was a TV on top of an entertainment center with what looked like a game console and small collection of old CD format games.

At the far end of the living room was the kitchen counter, bar style, with a faux granite top and three bar stool pushed beneath it. The kitchen itself wasn't very impressive either. A dated fridge, oven and stove. The microwave, on the other hand, looked newer, or at the very least, recently replaced.

Between the TV and the kitchen, a narrow hallway would've lead to the tiny laundry closet, and then to Ari's own room.

"Careful, if you keep thinking too hard you gonna burn your braincells," Nico said as she looked around. Ari probably should've been a bit annoyed at the comment, but with how often he made that joke, he had no right. Instead the man chuckled. "Don't have any left to fry," he replied, his lips softly tugging themselves back for just a moment.

He grabbed a glass from one of the kitchen cabinets before going to the fridge and pulling out the pitcher of filtered water he kept as he listened to the girl explain how she'd found him. They lived on the same street? Honestly, Ari was surprised by that fact. Both that they lived in such close proximity to each other and that he'd never noticed her before. Though, truth be told, he was usually too exhausted after work to pay much attention to those around him.

"...I'm...glad...that you are okay." Ari frowned slightly as he poured the water into the glass, eyes flicking up at the girl as she watched him, and Ari felt the temptation to ask if she was feeling ill. She was rarely nice, least of all to him. The man thought better of it though, as she 'asked' for the water again, not questioning that she would appear on his doorstep again either. The man set the glass on the coffee table in front of the girl, once more donning a dissatisfied look on his face. "There's Dr. Pepper. Take it or leave it," he'd offer once, before grabbing a can for the girl if she wanted it.

One way or another, Ari wound up sitting on the couch next to the pink haired girl, a space between them as he turned and looked at Nico. His face was utterly blank, aside from the slight frown and angry looking eyebrows that gave him his resting bitch face look. "Is everything okay, Nico?" he asked. She could've texted. Or stopped him on the street and said hello. In fact, there'd been a million ways to check in with him and see how he was faring, all of them better than stalking him home and acting like some born-again Cars-lover. And the fact that she seemed to be straightforward in how she was feeling. Well, frankly, that concerned Ari. She'd always deflected, or said or did things in a roundabout way, following him home being the perfect example. This wasn't that.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

Fiora didn't found anything impressive, or at least no one would find it that impressive, but it was the old hardware lying around his home what caught her eye the most. CDs? These are classic, not even she got to use that format for gaming, but vintage and retro were the kind of games she dug into the most besides multiplayer PvP. While most would find a regular appartment, to Nico, this had the charm of a cultured old timer, with little to no luxuries taken, which reflected well with Ari's demeanour in general: Little-to-no-bullshit kind of guy. No wonder he's friends with Theo. Outside of that fuckboi vessel, he really had more going on than met the eye.

...Was that why she didn't really hate him that much, or exactly why she hated him? That question poked her the whole Japan Trip, and this meeting only rekindled the ashes.

"Don't have any left to fry,"

She snorted, at least his sense of humour was still intact despite the bitchy face he always had on neutral. "Same to be honest. Guess that's why I still watch Cars movies." She added, silently disappointed once the glass was set on the coffee table, but before her hand could reach out for the glass, a can was offered her way. "There's Dr. Pepper. Take it or leave it," A coy smirk pressed on, switching targets for the can instead. The carbonated drink fizzled, the sound dying off a second after she opened it. The first two sips were meant to test it out. Cold, invigorating, it was enough to get the heat out of her... Almost.

His mild concerns had her share a frown to match his, leaving the drink back on the coffee table. "Why shouldn't I be okay?" She lashed out, aggressive like a caged animal, and only seconds after did she pick up on that and immediately regretted it, her features softening, the ugly slowly replaced with a pinch of sad. "Sorry, day's been shit for me. Family issues." Nico waved it off. No, she wasn't here to drown him on her issues, given he probably had his own, and that face of his screams 'i'm tired like shit don't mess with me'. "I just needed some time to cool off, said 'fuck it, let's follow him'. Didn't even know it was you, you look like every other dark haired dude in the planet." She teased. The joke didn't cheer her up as much as she hoped it would, though.

"What's up with you, huh?" She picked up the Dr.Pepper and took one sip in-between words, handing over the drink back at Ari. "You look like you can't decide if you wanna strangle the crap outta me for ruining your day or just die inside and go to sleep. With a place like this and a fat wallet, What's got you down, chum?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

The sound of Nico opening the ice cold can of soda seemingly punctuated his question, which were received with no small amount of hostility. Ari said nothing. Hell, he hardly moved as he waited for the girl to calm down, knowing by now that that was just how she operated. He'd always considered himself closed off, defensive, but since he'd landed in Japan, he'd learned that he only scratched the surface. Funny though, that her family issues had somehow lead to her following a stranger to their home, and that stranger just happening to be home. "Hmph, some luck," the man commented with a slight chuckle. The universe really was a strange and funny place sometimes, full of irony.

Surprisingly, the girl turned the question back around on him as she passed him the can of soda. He took it from her, falling back into the habit they'd seemingly formed on day one of Japan. "Hmm? Nothing," the man answered with a confused look on his face, before taking a sip of the soda and handing it back. "Just a long day at work. Early start."

A buzz in the man's pocket suddenly drew the man's attention and he took a moment to pull out his phone and see what the notification was about. A quick glance, and the name at the top made Ari smile faintly, unconscious as that was.

[ Valeria ]

Busy morning at the shop today? Or was it a chill one for once?

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

"Hmph, some luck," It sure was if even he could make notice of it. Nico just rolled her eyes. "Luck's never been my forté, unlike you." She added, quiet smile on her lips as she patiently waited to get the can back, her lips turning into a thin line when Ari did what Ari usually did giving few details and answers drier than the sand in Terrasphere. She couldn't blame him though, if he forgot something it was genuinely out of his control, given what she knows. "Huh, then it's just your face. Should have seen it coming, always feels like ya' ain't in a good mood" She shrugged.

Oh how wrong she was, no longer than a few seconds later and he was checking on his phone. Mild curiosity at first. Work? Theo? Maybe Nao or some other friend he had? But then she picked up on that little smile of his, and her head run through a full code red alert as she weighed her options.

"What's that? Won another lottery?~" A grin splashed on her lips, Nico leaned closer, like a thunder striking twice out of spite, only this time she leaned closer to him in hopes of peeking juuust a bit through his conversation. "Someone's got good news coming. Come ooon, you know my lips are shut. I wouldn't spoil shit." Elbow pressed against the couch's backrest, Nico gave him 'the' look, the one she did when she clearly wants in on whatever is going on. "Unlike you back at Japan. Dude almost spoiled the entire surprise with a picture..." She chuckled.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

The man chuckled at Nico's reminder of his ever present bitch face. The small frown he made when his face was at neutral and his dark, sharply angled brows often gave the impression of an angry, frustrated man, amusingly in contrast with his typically calm, patient personality. If it weren't for those traits, he doubted he'd get along with Nico in any form or fashion.

And he would need that calm and patience now, as the nosy girl almost immediately began to pry into his business. It wasn't until she'd started pestering him that the man realized he'd been smiling at all. That quickly ended though as he rolled his eyes. "Nico, I could sew your lips shut and you'd still manage to talk," the man retorted, though knowing she could keep a secret safe if asked.

"It's just a text, hermana, chill. Friend I made when I went to Summerfest in New York this year," the man turned the phone to show Nico. It'd only been a simple one line text that he'd received, but above them, texts from the night before were easily seen, ending with 'good nights' from both parties before Ari had gone to an early rest in preparation of his early start this morning.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

"Hey don't laugh I'm serious!" She added, squinting eyes and puffy cheeks to display that just as much, if only it didn't had the opposite effect that her mind thought it did. But neither face nor words were going to stop him, as was usually the case whenever she tried anything to do so.

Yet apparently she could take little jabs elsewhere, given how that baby smile of his just vanished as soon as she picked up on it, as if he had a radar that specifically detected when people saw him do anything else than deadpanning. His comeback just got a shit-eating grin to spread on her from ear to ear. "Bitch you can't even sew. The only thing you can do with your own hands is-" Just a second short of speaking obscenities and vulgar gesturing to add to it, Ari flipped his phone to shut her off, like a good christian greek man would.

"It's just a text, hermana, chill. Friend I made when I went to Summerfest in New York this year,"

'...Hermana? ma che cazzo?'

Her eyes never moved this fast ever since she's played first person shooters all day, but there wasn't much for her to read, of course. He wouldn't be that dumb as to show full conversations, yet a name and these three sentences were enough to get her the picture... Still, she tried to scroll up, and that smug smile of earlier had shaped back to neutrality once again, with a tint of suspicion. "'A friend'. Come on "hermana", that face of yours? That's a dead giveaway. As soon as you smile for anything you bet your ass anyone in a two hundred radius around you can tell it's more than 'just a text'." Chill in temper, Nico just had to pry deeper into it. Just who was this 'Valeria' and how did they knew what they were getting into?

Nico scratched her left cheek. Still warm, still sore, the impact just reminded her of where she should be at right now...

"So how was it? Summerfest that is." A change of heart at the last second, falling back on her seat and giving priority to her drink once again. She knew what it was- in-depth even. The shortcomings on her own pockets only meant she couldn't assist, but it was good to know at least one of them is acting like a proper social creature.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Ah, and there it was. Nico was grilling him already. Why was the man not surprised. Ari ignored Nico for just long enough to text Valeria back.

[ Valeria ]

Busy morning at the shop today? Or was it a chill one for once?

Busy as always. Friend just dropped by surprise, ill text ya later. Ill catch your stream later, promise!

Slipping his phone back into his pocket, the man turned his attention back to Nico just in time to watch her scratch her cheek and ask him about Summerfest. "It was good. More fun than I expected," Ari admitted, though he refused to talk about Valeria at all, despite owing his pleasure to her. "Saw a bunch of artists I loved and met DAYEONSONG, if you know who that is. Hung out with her a while, which was pretty damn cool, not gonna lie." That had been a pleasant surprise. She had been surprisingly down to earth and incredibly nice, though how much of that was just part of her public persona was a mystery.

@Fiora Di Angelo

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (20) + 15 = 35
Man do be stupid
Awareness | Yugam | 1292

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

The witch, the wardrobe and this motherfucker's audacity to ignore her just to send a text.

The fact he knew exactly what to do to irritate her only... Irritated her even further, and despite her best efforts to remain cool and in control, the fact he so non-chalantly stashed his phone again and turned back as if he didn't just left her on-read had her gnawing at her lower lip to keep the stress away, if her twitchy pupils weren't already a giveaway of it.

Colour her surprised when the fuckboi had his fun on the fest, but what really had her jumping from her seat was the namedrop he just did like it was some average random among the crowds. "Woah woah you said DAYEONSONG?!" Nico almost broke the barriers of personal space just then, leaning so up close he had to bear with her breath, which reeks of Dr.Pepper right now. "Is that 'Valeria'?! Naaaah I can't believe it-" She leaned back, defeated sigh had her arms rise up her head for a moment in surrender. "You met Dayeonsong before I did. Bitch you better tag me along next time you do something like that, I'll... I'll find the way to pay for it, even if I'm still owing you for Japan." Her voice turned apologetic, still a stingy spot for her given how hard against gifts she was. Owing to people just wasn't her style.

And she kinda owed him a lot, this meeting included, given how nice he's been so far...

"Hey, that reminds me there's someone else who I haven't texted to in a while." Nico paused, pulling her phone out of her pocket, fidgeting with her contacts for a short-while. The list wasn't big to begin with, but she wanted to give the illusion that that is the case.

[ Bun-bun ]

Still alive over here. Tagged along with fkboi Ari. We miss u a lot girl!

And with that she turned the phone around for a selfie, lolling her tongue out with a wide smile, far more cheerful than usual for the pic. "Say cheese, this one goes to Nao!" She paused for a second to give him time to set himself up... Or cover his face, whatever he wanted to do, before the Snap! And flash from the phone almost blinded her, and the image was sent over to Toko. "Well you do be lookin' ugly like always so." She said, the lack of assert on her tone should be enough for him to realize she means it as a joke, despite the stingy smile he gave him a moment ago.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

At the mention of Korean idol Nico leapt at Ari like an overly excited dog, forcing him to inhale her warm overly-sweet scented breath. The man recoiled slightly, "Calm the fuck down, Christ," the man said, making a 'sit down' motion with his hand. "'Course 'Valeria' isn't Dayeon, who the hell are you kidding? I'm not crazy enough to ask an idol for their number," the man said shifting in his seat again to a more comfortable position. "We added each other in Insta though," he added nonchalantly.

"Hey, I was serious when I said you don't have to pay me back, Nico," Ari said, giving the girl an annoyed glare. "I have more money than I know what to do with right now, you don't gotta worry 'bout that kinda stuff with me, alright?" Ari had never been a frivolous, or materialistic person. The first thing he'd done was make sure to put a healthy chunk of change aside for his sister's college fund, and then taken his family out for dinner. Probably one of the last times they'd all gotten together and smiled at each other. Aside from that, he'd bought a new VR headset and a pair of Jordans, while the rest of his winning sat stowed away, collecting dust. The cost of a ticket to bring Nico to see Nao had been worth it, as far as he was concerned.

The girl suddenly pulled out her phone and turned around to take a selfie with him. Ari held up two fingers in a peace sign, giving the camera a cheeky smile. "Shut up, asshole," Ari said with a chuckle as Nico sent the quick photo to Nao. "So, what's been up with you, Nico?" the man asked, figuring as long as the girl was here, he may as well attempt to do the whole 'being friends with people' thing and actually interact with her. "We haven't really spoken since Japan."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

"Calm the fuck down, Christ,"

"What you MEAN calm down. I'm calm." She replied, leaning back once he made it well known with his gesturing to at least give him some space. Now if only she was a beastfolk and this were terrasphere, then the imaginary virtual dog ears and tail would be flickering and wagging like a golden retriever who just picked up her toy. But at least that same energy vibrated out of her despite the lack of the fictional appendages to pull the full picture together. At first, Ari seemed to prove to be far more logical than she expected him, capable of using the head over his shoulders to think through.

"Huh, well look at that I th-"
"We added each other in Insta though," He didn't even see it as a big deal, as if this were just another hit & run from the great Ari himself...
"Bro, you took one step forward, and three steps backwards. Really? Her Insta?" She couldn't stop wheezing by now. "I hope you weren't the one who asked for it. Girls like that one love it when a guy ain't showin' interest." Nico questioned, with one confused smiley face. Wasn't this his whole gimmick? Granted it almost worked on her. Emphasis on almost.

"I'm also serious when I said I want to pay you back." This time she made sure to let her word cut the air between them, specially with that glare of his that formed one of her own in pure defiance to the man. "I know that you got a lotta money but I hate leeches. And I ain't about to be one with you." The plentiful of experiences with them had resentment surface. Not towards him, despite giving her reason to with how he wouldn't budge with his generosity. "I'll find a way to pay you that isn't on cash then." A few locks of hair pushed back with the palm of her hand, the best kind of deal she could offer him to make both of them content since he wasn't about to budge.

"Shut up, asshole,"
"tua mamma."

Click!

Giving it a second look, it really was a nice picture. Nostalgic even, but that could be attributed to her being nostalgic ever since Japan, which was another subject brought up once he made mention of how little contact they had kept. With her arms spread across the backrest, Nico crossed her legs and gave one, longass drawn out sigh.

"How do I start, uhhh. I been playing 'T' A lot, I got into a fight with the owner of the library I used to work at and got kicked out, bastard wanted to give me extra hours and not pay me for it." A puff of air escaped her nostrils like a bull who just seen red. "My co-workers were assholes, that's it really. Matthew kept clocking in late and doing half of what he's asked for, and I had to deal with missing books that, hear me out, these IDIOTS were meant to return. People so up their asses they think they are the only ones doing college and needing these books..." With her rant over and a vein popping on her neck, Nico went straight for the can, wiggling it a bit to check on the contents before taking a quick sip.

"I met this girl called Ronja in the game. She's... Honestly pretty interesting. She and I have this red thread thing that links us together, and I dunno if I saw that on an anime or what but I kept playing with her afterwards." Her voice unconciously lost it's rawness when speaking of her. Somehow she could still picture that smile in her head- Been all she could think about as of late, specially after that really loud voicemail she sent long ago...

Alright I spilled the beans, so it's your turn. Whose this 'Valeria'. You can't fool me bitch, be frank with me." She leaned against the couch, right elbow oon the backrest with the palm of her hand against her cheek. "By the way do you have an extra pillow and some covers?" She just casually dropped, maybe he would figure it out, maybe not...

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"How dense do you think I am?" Ari asked incredulously as Nico didn't just insinuate, but flat out asserted that the man who's house she was currently invading was dumb enough to be the first to ask anything of anyone famous. "Of course I didn't ask. I was trying not to come off as a creep, ya know."

Of course, Nico fought back about the money issue. That was probably the one subject in the world the pair would never see eye to eye on. Or maybe they understood each other perfectly. Ari hated owing anyone anything, for any reason. It was the reason he was quick to pay back his debts, and in full. That understanding was probably the only reason that Ari didn't continue to argue with the Italian. "Fine, whatever you say," he replied, waving his hand dismissively. She could try.

A the lovely recap on Nico's life. Most of which, Ari was actually ashamed to admit went right over his head. He'd never head most of the names that Nico had mentioned before. Neither had ever talked extensively about what they did for work before, so Ari knew all of jack shit about Nico's coworkers. A different name on the other hand..."Wait, wait, wait. Ronja? Isn't that the girl you punched me for the first time we met?" Ari picked up the glass of water he'd set down earlier and took a sip as he waited for an answer.

The man choked.

"Wait did you say 'red thread!?" the man cried out as he coughed. "You see them too!?"

Upon request, Ari stood up and went to a small storage closet in the hallway, grabbing a blanket and an extra pillow from his room before returning and tossing them at Nico. "Uh, let's see. Streamer. Funny. Cute as hell. Likes food," the man shrugged leaving his description of the summertime girl at that. "We've been keeping in touch, there's really not much to tell," he lied.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

"As dense as tungsten." She said as a matter of fact, with monotony all over her voice and face alike. "See, just by the fact I thought you did should tell you enough what I think of you." Arms folded under her bust, inquisitive eyes just sliightly judging him right now. Not too hard, only because there's only so much she can say without talking out of her ass, given how she stalked him around like the total creep she is not.

"Fine, whatever you say,"

This would never end would it? It was less of a 'sure go ahead' and more of a 'I don't care, answer's no', and that didn't help her mood in the slightest. She hoped he of all people would get her, it's always the quiet ones who don't like to involve themselves too much, and a debt would be the opposite of that, so why is there so much friction between them with this topic? She would never get it, but to press on would cause more animosity than needed...

Things changed when Ari picked back up on Ronja's name, which had her puzzled for a moment once memory begun to fail the pinkette, only recalling moments later with wide open eyes and a surprised expression "Oh yeah! Don't talk shit about her ever again though, or you gonna be tasting shoe polish with how deep my boot's gonna go up your ass." Battle mode triggered once again, a finger pointed straight back at him like she could pierce heavens with it. "That goes both ways. if anybody messes with you I'll also fuck them up, no questions asked." She concluded, stern frown to accentuate the seriousness behind her words. That would go without question, least Ari would like to catch her hands right now. He might just be indirectly asking for it with how he choked seconds later, or maybe he just got so intimidated he almost faints? A girl could dream, but as she took another sip and digested just what he just cried out...

The pinkgorilla choked.

"What the fuck you can ALSO SEE THESE?!" It was like a dream come true, hope blossoming in her eyes. She didn't have early stages of dementia, or maybe she and Ari already were too deep into that to notice... "What do you know of the threads? Any clue what these are for or what they mean?" The drink quickly slammed on the coffee table, Nico crossed her legs on the couch, hands on her lap as she turned her full on attention on him with almost childish curiosity.

What followed was just as interesting though, but not before she watched him take something and literally yeet it to her, a faceful of a pillow later and an incoming complaint from her shut down entirely by the cozy blankets. Just then, Nico positioned the pillow against the armrest, covers on top of her. One shoe over the other to pull them out, and finally she tried to put her feet on top of his legs. No hello kitty socks this time, just plain ol' boring white, hidden by the newfound blankets.

With such an interesting description of someone, despite it's shortcomings (because who the hell doesn't like food), Ari tried to play the indifferent, to which she just shot dagger eyes back at and opened with a- "Bullshit." Wiggling a bit to get herself on a comfy position, mold the pillow to a shape she was actually happy with before resting her head against it once again. "I told ya', anyone call tell it ain't that simple if it makes you smile." Pausing, Nico pursed her lips, eyes dropping down at herself for a moment as she gave second thoughts to her words, before braving on despite how touchy it could be. "You wrote about her on your book, right? Not just to keep track of the day, you would have skipped these details I bet. Come on man, if you ain't trusting the chick who stalked you home, who you gonna trust?" She chuckled.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Ari was about to protest that nothing he'd said about Ronja was that bad, nor had any of it meant to be offensive when Nico cut him off. "That goes both ways. if anybody messes with you I'll also fuck them up, no questions asked."
"Oh," the man muttered, a faint look of surprise on his face. "Thanks. You too." He hadn't expected Nico to be someone who was willing to go to bat for him. It still seemed incredibly unusual for her to be as clear-cut as this, let alone act like she didn't down right hate him. But, maybe, something had changed. Who knew?

Ari turned and sat cross-legged, facing Nico as she practically choked and spat back the same words with as much surprise as he had. "Dude, I thought I was straight up going insane!" Ari said, glad to know that, finally, someone else had seen them. "I thought I was hallucinating until Askera and I summoned a weird ghost thing and told me they were related to 'destined' people, places and things. Like fate threads in Far Eastern folklore, except instead of just being relegated to 'soulmates' it's anything of importance."

Ari didn't budge as Nico rested her feet in his lap, merely leaning into his armrest, his head propped up by his palm to he could look at her. "Why do you make it sound like I never smile?" the man asked, yawning as he did so.

"Come on man, if you ain't trusting the chick who stalked you home, who you gonna trust?"
"Literally anybody else. The person who stalked me home is the literal last person I'd trust," Ari droned before properly answering. "What I put in that book isn't really your business, Nico. Don't think you'd like it if I took a waltz down your Memory Lane." The man shifted in his seat slightly, Nico's bony heels digging uncomfortably into the flesh of his thigh. "What do you wanna know then, if you're so convinced there's more to it."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

Was it really that much of a surprise? Just the look he gave her... It puzzled her, but not enough for it to show on her face. His answer though is a different story, it almost didn't sound like one at all and that's what got her into a giggling fit. "'Thanks, you too'? I don't know if that's how you are meant to answer that, buut my english sucks anyways so I'll take it." She teased.

The fact they were so in tune for a second, like they finally found a topic where they weren't at eachother's throats was terrifying, and completely flew over Nico's head at the moment, giving him the 'I knooow' hum & nod combo at first, yet the concepts he started to bring up thanks to the spooky stuff he's been up to with Askera got her blushing on spot. "Soulmates? Dude I sure hope it doesn't work like that. Like, how can a fuckin' game know anyways? It's probably some bullshit lore or something." A jumpy unsteadiness on her throat got her pulling at the collar of her shirt. "So uh, Did you find out why is this thread important to you?" Nico added, scratching her head once uncertainty took over.

"Why do you make it sound like I never smile?"

For once she didn't have a smug answer to hit him with, the simplest of questions given with his characteristic non-chalance met with a wordless little gap from her lips, pressed together just a second later. "I dunno, I never mixed up well with people like you, and you are harder to read than the others. At least you ain't as dead as Theo. He really seems... Unhappy." Her judgement just wasn't too clear on Ari, and even less on Theo himself. She's seen what 'Jin' can say, do and cause on her, but outside of the game? He's anything but intimidating or cunning. More of a deadpan than Ari could ever be.

"Literally anybody else. The person who stalked me home is the literal last person I'd trust,"
"Okay you got a point, but do an exception for meeee pleaseeee." She hit him with the puppy eyes just then. The ones she used several times on Japan against him whenever she needed (quote, wanted) something, followed by a gentle tap of her heel against his thighs. The answer didn't bode well with her, not when it tapped on such a sore spot as her memories, which only focus on the past rather than present... "Well It's different-." No it's not, but by now she's ran out of cards, and he did offer to tell at the end of the day. One sigh later and one thoughtful silence later, Nico finally met his eyes once again.

"It ain't just a fling is it? I'm not convinced of anything, I just know what to expect with what I know, no offense obviously." Just exactly why she couldn't mix well with him, despite there still being something else that wasn't clicking in her head. "Or is it just that and I'm just getting ahead of myself?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Soulmates? Dude I sure hope it doesn't work like that. Like, how can a fuckin' game know anyways? It's probably some bullshit lore or something."

That was a good question, one that Ari had been pondering for a while. Things related to game specific events, that was obvious. Pre-determined, pre-scripted. All they had to do was play their part. But there were other things that Ari didn't understand. Threads connected to other players, those were the ones that the man understood the least, and the ones that were in most dire need of answering.

The man shrugged as he responded to the question. "Honestly, no clue," he said, "I think some of them are like, pre-scripted or something. The others? I dunno really. The game has to access our brains to interpret and translate our in-game actions. My current theory is that it can also read our thoughts and feelings. Figure out what's important to us, or use our memories, that kinda stuff. Outside of that, I dunno, it's just a theory."

"So uh, Did you find out why is this thread important to you?"
"There are a lot of threads, some sure, others no clue still," Ari answered back, dodging the question. "Actually, hey, have you had any threads that were severed? Like, the looked cut. Frayed, etcetera?"

It took Nico a moment to answer his question. Like she didn't know what it was herself. The man nodded slowly, considering her words. Personalities didn't always mix. He got that. And yeah, he wasn't an expressive person. "Well, maybe I'll surprise you," the man shrugged. It wasn't like he harbored ill feelings towards Nico, and he wasn't petty enough create any simply because she didn't like him.

"Yeah, he...he's not had it easy." Flashes of Theo's memory that Ari had seen replayed in his mind. It made sense to the man why Theo had turned out the way he had. Ari wouldn't have called his friend an inherently bad person, but he would never call him good either. It wasn't as if that was his fault though. "If he's ever being a dick, or acting shady, don't hold it against him," Ari requested. "Get the hell outta dodge, but don't hate him for it."

He rolled his eyes when Nico asked him to make an exception for her, "Yeah, yeah, sure," he said. He was giving her a pass. She hadn't even needed to hit him with her puppy dog eyes. The man felt he knew the girl enough to know that while she might be a massive pain in the ass sometimes, she would never do anything to put him, or anyone she cared for in the slightest in harm's way. It wasn't who she was.

"Well, it's different-," she trailed off. Ari cast her a skeptical look. Different? No, it wasn't. The man wondered for a moment what she was hiding. But if it was something she wanted him to know, or something she needed to talk about, she'd bring it up on her own. It wasn't his place to pry.

"Not even a fling," Ari answered. "We had a summer thing, yeah, but she lives over in Michigan. I dunno if you've ever tried a long distance relationship before, but its not for me. And I don't think that's something she looking for either." The man shrugged, as if that made the situation less frustrating that it was. "If our situations were different, yeah, I'd ask her out but that ain't in the cards, so."

@Fiora Di Angelo