What I want to hear on nights I can't sleep is your voice

[philoxenia]

[ ... Well, that was an absolute shitshow, wasn't it? Instead of dwelling on how she feels about everything that just happened, Mira's channeling that energy into something else--and she has a little bit of help doing it. Zerinda and Ema are here in the bar to make drinks, and Mira's brought in a ton of food that's definitely not healthy for anyone, but screw it, who cares about health right now?

Della's here to pass out invitations, too--they let everyone know there's a gathering in the bar, if they'd rather not be alone.

If you choose not to come, well... Mira's got that taken care of, too. She'll place a little container of cookies and hot cocoa outside your door. Maybe it'll help someone feel a little less alone--at least, that's what she's hoping. ]

Comments

[bolderfell]

...If you really want to come back up here so soon, I won't stop you.

[But then he adds, as if that wasn't a transparent enough answer:]

Or I can come down. If you want.

[snackooed]

No, no, it's fine. I can come back up. The view from up there isn't really the worst, all things considered.

[ Though it's sad that there's such a negative association with it, now. She takes it as an invitation to climb back up, though. ]

Lot to think about, huh?

[bolderfell]

Guess there probably is. It's really more that...

[He trails off, then sighs and leans back on his hands, face tipped up towards the ceiling.]

Feels like I spent most of the last few years looking up from the bottom of a canyon. But even then, I could still see a little sky.

[snackooed]

...Yeah. Been a little while since any of us have seen the sun, huh?

[ The water isn't bad, but...well, it's no substitute for daylight, for fresh air. ]

Makes you realize just how much we take for granted...

[bolderfell]

...Freedom's nothing someone like me could ever take for granted.

[He lives with a literal shackle on his wrist, like, damn. Drive the theme home a little harder.]

But yeah. The whole "bottom of the ocean" thing is new. Never thought I'd miss the bluffs.

[He looks sidelong at Ema.]

What kind of place do you come from? I'm picturing flatter lands. The kind of city that has small gardens.

[snackooed]

[ Poor guy...she takes a seat next to him and puts a hand on top of her knee. ]

Los Angeles? It means "The City of Angels". Population well over 4 million, but it's a bit of a melting pot, so you have people that come from all over the world to settle there. It's surrounded by mountains, in the middle of a basin, but the city proper has both flat lands and hills, depending on where you go. Not too far from a desert, either, so the climate is mostly dry summers, and mild winters.

[ She's talking with her hands a bit... ]

We get a lot of tourists there, because of that climate. It's good beach weather, during the summer. And Los Angeles is home to a big entertainment industry called Hollywood, so that draws in a lot of people as well...

[bolderfell]

[Blinking, he faces her fully.]

...That's so many people.

[After a pause, he turns again and raises his arm to hide a small chuckle.]

No wonder you say so much so fast. If you didn't, you'd be interrupted before you managed to get your point across. Your city must be so loud...

[snackooed]

[ Ema can't help but chuckle a bit, when he says that. ]

It is a lot, and the traffic is terrible because of it, but it's nice that so many people are able to call it home. And it's especially lovely at night. Never a shortage of things to see, or places to go...

[ She sighs, but there's much more fondness than there is sadness in it. ]

I think you'd like a little bit of hustle and bustle like that. Lots of places to blend in, you know?

[bolderfell]

You're not wrong. Never been anywhere with that many people, but cities like Saintsbridge or Noblecourt... Well. Like you said, no shortage of things to see. Or places to invite myself into.

[Are there even four million people alive in all of Orsterra? Probably not, cripes.]

Can't ever stay in one place too long, but I usually manage to enjoy myself while it lasts.

[snackooed]

Lots of rich people there, you know. Not that I'm advocating any thievery, of course, but if you were going to steal from anyone, some of the most wealthy in the world aren't too far. Just saying.

[ Oh, she's a bad influence-- ]

If I ever show you around one day, I'll have to keep an eye on you. No funny stuff.

[bolderfell]

You'll blink eventually.

[snackooed]

Mm, that's true. And it wouldn't take long for you to give me the slip...sounds like a pretty fun game of "cops and robbers," if you ask me. It'd be fun, to see who can outwit who, right?

[ She laughs at the thought. He'd stick out like a sore thumb, at least. ]

[bolderfell]

[Would he, though?]

Might be fun for me, you mean. Don't know when kids start learning their trade in your Angel City, but I'll bet ten leaves I've made my living longer than you have yours.

[snackooed]

You're probably right. I didn't start seriously studying forensics work until I was around sixteen or so. I went to another country in Europe, and mentored under a coroner over there. ...Ah, that's someone who specializes specifically in suspicious deaths.

[ So that's who you have to thank for the body-touching expertise. ]

I studied hard, went back to Los Angeles, took the test...and completely failed it, believe it or not.

[bolderfell]

You? Really? That is hard to believe. Did something happen?

[snackooed]

This is just between you and me, but I actually failed it more than once. Remember when I told you, a while ago, that I wouldn't have made it through a hopeless situation if I didn't have faith in my own abilities as a scientist?

[ She fusses with one side of her hair, shaking it back and forth with her palm.... ]

The test was really no joke. And it isn't as though I didn't know the material, as I'm sure you can imagine. The practical part, I had plenty of experience, so that was no issue. But there's a written part, with a tight time constraint, and my nerves would get the better of me, and...

Well, it was pretty discouraging, to get the results back. Every time I failed it, I had to ask myself, like, "Am I really cut out for this? Am I just wasting my time, chasing this dream, if I'm going to keep failing here?" It...really wasn't a good couple of years for me.

[bolderfell]

...You made it, though. You're where you want to be. Not here, of course, but...

[He nods at her.]

You pushed through. Even if you failed, you still had faith in your talents. Well-deserved, too.

[snackooed]

And thank goodness for that, too.

[ She flashes Therion a big grin, when he nods at her, glad that he understands. ]

I was working at a job I absolutely hated, before I passed that exam. Still with the police, but getting paid in peanuts to sign documents and lock down crime scenes that I barely even get to inspect. ...Of course, I did my own investigations on the side, with my own tools, but they didn't exactly know that...

I was a much, much grumpier person, back then. Maybe you would've liked me a little better.

[bolderfell]

Heh!

[Yeesh, Ema. Call him out harder, why don't you?]

Now, this is just between you and me, but... you're not too bad the way you are now. I like you well enough. As much as a "grumpy" person like me likes anyone, I guess.

[snackooed]

Wow, I really will have to keep that our little secret. Rare praise, and high praise, at that! I'll have to make sure that doesn't get to my head, but you're gonna inflate my ego big-time, at this rate...

[ She's trying hard not to look too smug, but it's hard to keep the smile off her face. ]

Now, does that mean you like that Greengrass guy well enough, too, or would that be going a bit too far?

[bolderfell]

[Therion makes a sound like a groan that was ambushed at its front door by an unexpected ninja of a laugh. Sort of a loud cough, really.]

Hell, Alfyn. What can I even say about him.

[He really doesn't look like he dislikes Alfyn Greengrass. He turns the bottle idly beside him.]

You may not believe it, but you're less of a busybody than he is. And you haven't dragged me into any trouble. Not yet, anyway. So those are all points in your favor that he doesn't have.

On the other hand, Alfyn does pay for my drinks, on occasion. And he's good at keeping us alive. Let's call him tolerable.

[snackooed]

[ Wow, she's pretty sure she's never heard a person make that noise before-- ]

A-ha, that's all I needed to hear. If he pays for your drinks and watches your back, surely he must be one of your favorites. At least in your top three. Now I'm a little less concerned about being compared to someone who might be lame.

[ But as for the trouble... ]

So you had a scholar, and a busybody, and a thief, counting you. Any other interesting characters tagging along I should know about? A girl or two, perhaps?

[bolderfell]

[Something in what she says--'and watches your back'--hits him oddly. For an instant, he looks uncertain. The moment passes, though, and he shoves whatever he was feeling deep, deep down the canyon where stupid things go to die.]

...There are eight of us, actually, all told. Four men and four women. [He swigs some cider.] Besides Alfyn, Cyrus, and I, there's a former knight, a hunter, a merchant, a sister of the church, and a dancer. ...And the pack horse and Linde the snow leopard.

[snackooed]

Wow, that really is a bunch cut from all different cloth...

[ And a snow leopard. Huh. ]

Did you all just happen to stumble across each other in your travels? Or are you all looking at some kind of common goal? I mean, I'm sure you're all travelling together for a reason...

[ Sometimes the reason is as simple as "we're all friends," but that's so many different backgrounds..! ]

[bolderfell]

Road's dangerous, especially the further out you get from the sea. If it's not beasts, it's bandits. If neither of those, freezing weather or a landslide can do you in just as easily. Even I know great distances are better traveled in groups.

Each of us has their own goal to take care of. Don't think there's much overlap... Alfyn wants to help everyone he sees and Tressa's looking for grand tales and treasure, but the rest of us have specific ends in mind.