[Beach]
"Oh," said Xavier. "Um, okay." After hesitating a little, he walked over to Saliha. What would she want to talk to me about? And why didn't she say anything before? He shook the thoughts away. She probably had good reasons for it. Right?
"Hey," he said to Saliha when he reached her. "Qrlil said you had something to say to me."
[Beach]
"Magic," Vincent said to Qrlil, nodding. "It allows for unidirectional sound conduction. So..." He stepped outside the ring. "...you can hear me when I'm out here..." He switched places with her, sticking her on the outside and putting himself inside. "...but you can't hear me when you're out there," he finished, but Qrlil couldn't hear anything.
Vincent pulled her back into the ring. "How it works is actually quite interesting, se-" He stopped and put his hand over his face. "Dangit. Going back into scientist mode."
Saliha craned her neck around, a look of mild surprise flitting across her face before she recognized Xavier. “Oh. Hey.” Shifting over to face him, her voice took on a more nervous tone. “Yeah, I-” Her head fell to the side, shoulders sagging, before snapping back up into their usual posture. It was her way of internally dispelling her doubts. “Listen, I’ve been thinking. About us. And- here’s the deal. I don’t think we’re in love. D- does that make sense?”
yeyHot springs
"Yes," Qrlil said, still affectionately - asexual or not, it was still cute when he did that. "Yes, you are."
She looked around, trying to think of exactly what she wanted to say and how to say it. "Er. I wanted to apologize if I have been bothering you at all," she began. "I did not exactly know, that, er."
Why exactly is it so much easier to give out advice on this kind of thing then to handle it yourself?
[Beach]
Xavier stopped. He hadn't really- But he was sure she was- But that didn't mean that he-
He pulled his thoughts together and took a deep breath. "Well, um, kind of," he said. "Remember back in the cantina, a year - no, a few months ago, for you, when I said that love — real love — takes time? I, I think..." He shuffled his wings. "This has been more... infatuation. Based on a little bit of bonding during a hard time in your life. I mean, you were broken then. Anyone would want to hug you, and we..." He chuckled a little. "We went a little farther. And, well... we mistook it for love."
He paused. "Kind of stupid, I know. But everyone makes mistakes sometimes."
[Beach]
Vincent chuckled. "Oh, no, don't worry about that, I get that a lot. It's not you, it's me. Trust me on this. If I had a nickel every time someone was snippy with me because I went rambling on about science, I'd be able to make a life-size replica of the Nimitz with it. That's a really big ship by the way, forgot you probably hadn't heard of it."
He absent-mindedly began flipping sparks between his fingers. "But yeah, I'm used to that by now. I'm pretty thick-scaled in general, so even if you were bothering me, I'd shrug and either politely tell you or ignore you. Probably ignore you, since you've seen how good I am at that." He snorted.
edited 4th Nov '11 10:39:14 PM by TeraChimera
Saliha let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding, exhaling it as a very obvious sigh. With it went a lot of the tension that had been building in her up to that point. “Oh, good. I thought that, maybe, you’d be mad or something. Don’t know why. You’re not usually mad. Not usually very emotional at all, but then again I guess I wouldn’t really know you well enough to tell, right?” She laughed a bit, more of that tension evaporating.. Standing up, she put a hand on Xavier’s shoulder. “You’re a great person, and I have only thanks for you for all that you did. I was… immature. Foolish. Hell, from what I remember I practically forced you into-“ She stopped suddenly, looking to the ground bashfully as the memories rose in her mind. She raised her eyes back to his and gave him a licentious smirk. He knew the ones. “I was scared and alone and… Thanks. As much as I appreciate it, and as much as I like you, I don’t think what we have is what we thought. You were too nice a person and couldn’t say no, so I guess I owe you an apology for that. Sorry.”
yeyBeach
Qrlil blinked slightly.
I guess he really was oblivious, then.
"Er. That is not what I meant. You see..."
She paused, then decided to simply go ahead with it.
"I doubt you remember, but when I was, er, 'under the influence' in the Cosmic Cantina, I told you that I thought you were cute. Er, put simply, I kept feeling that way after the effects wore off. And then I came here and met you again, and well, you are still cute, and I like your personality, and you make me smile - although often in exasperation - and even when you are rambling about science it is cute in a dorky" - she pronounced it 'dor key' - "way. So for the past two days, I have been, well, trying to flirt with you. That's why I'm wearing" - she gestured at her robes - "this setting of my robes. And I was wondering why you were not noticing until Saliha, just now, told me you were asexual. I did not realize that, and," she bowed at a sincere angle, "I apologize, if I have made you at all uncomfortable."
[Beach]
"Thanks, and you're forgiven," said Xavier. "Of course, it doesn't really help that, deep down, I kinda... wanted to do it. I mean, it'd been over fifty years since my last time, so... And it also didn't help that I figured I wouldn't see you again, so I wouldn't have to face the consequences if it emotionally wrecked you." He rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. "Deep down, I can be a nasty whore's snake at times." He paused and frowned. "Wow, that sounds really weird in English."
[Beach]
Vincent blinked. She thought he was adorkable? "Well, that's, um, interesting. But, honestly, I never really noticed. Which you probably noticed, but I'm gonna go ahead and say it again anyway. Since I was never interested in anyone, I never got to any relationships, and so never really learned the signs of flirting." He shuffled his feet. "So I guess that makes everything... not okay, but better, since I wasn't uncomfortable about it."
He paused for a moment, then started rambling. "Are Xavier and I sexy or something? I mean, we go into a cantina for a few hours, then he goes and gets laid by a woman with amazing complexion for simply talking to her while I've got an ambassador falling for me even when I'm ignoring her, which is almost always the sign of the cute heroine falling for her dream hunky-hunk, even though I'm a bit scrawny and socially awkward. Seriously, what's up with that?"
Night. I won't be around much tomorrow.
edited 4th Nov '11 10:59:45 PM by TeraChimera
Beach
"In my opinion," Qrlil said, amused, "yes, absolutely. However, it is not exactly an unbiased opinion."
She tipped her head and hissed. "And I think you are misunderstanding me slightly. I was not 'falling for you'. I had a crush, nothing more. My wildest fantasy would have been a - what you would call a summer fling, nothing more. It doesn't make you my" - she pronounced the words with a delicacy they probably didn't normally receive - "'dream hunky-hunk'."
"I mean no offense," she added, just in case. He might not have been interested, but it still could have been slightly insulting.
edited 5th Nov '11 2:09:54 AM by nrjxll
[Beach]
"No, don't worry," said Vincent. "It's just that usually the girl falls for someone she can't have, tries to win his affections, fails, learns a valuable lesson or something, and then finds the boy who's a closer match to her. I guess you're just more realistic about your chances then most."
He thought of the implications of what he said. "And, in that case," he joked, "keep on the lookout for that One Guy, because you're likely to be running into him soon." He chuckled. "Well, hardly. I mean, life isn't a book, is it? You can't predict it based on patterns from what you've seen."
Beach
"I would not know," Qrlil said. "My life certainly doesn't seem that way." She tipped her head sideways. "And it is not that I am particularly realistic about my chances, exactly - it's just that, well, we are from different realities. I would not give up mine for you under any circumstances, and I expect you would feel the same way. So a 'fling' is all it could have been, really."
She paused and looked at him. "If I may ask: if you weren't asexual, would you have been interested at all? I know it would be purely hypothetical, but I am somewhat curious."
edited 5th Nov '11 1:49:53 PM by nrjxll
[Beach]
Vincent cocked his head and shrugged. "Honestly? I have no clue. Being attracted to someone might have changed my personality. Say, there's this girl I like, but she doesn't want to be with me because I'm a workaholic, so I change that facet, so now she likes me, and..." He waved his hand off vaguely into the distance. "It's all a bit confusing. It doesn't help that you can't assign values to attraction to predict anything. Love isn't a science, and I'm a science guy."
[Beach —> Rooms]
"This has been fun," Asayu said, basking in the warmth of the fire. Then she sighed and stood. "But still..." she glanced meaningfully at Christine and said, "I've got business to attend to." She stood and returned to the building proper, heading for her room.
[Beach]
Rachel watched her go with a mixture of relief and concern. But no, she recalled, Asayu could take care of herself just fine. To Christine and Kat, she said, "I can't imagine a king lasting three hundred years without having plans against dirty tricks. Somebody would have offed him right now if it was as simple as 'fight dirty'."
[Beach]
Seeing Asayu leave, Christine gave a slight smile. Maybe now she can stop worrying about everything.
"Yeah, he seems pretty unbeatable, if all the stories about The King are true," said Christine. "Still, I actually think it's a good thing that no one has replaced him yet. Sure, The King is a scary, bearded, 7 Foot tall man who carries around a sword with a blade almost a large as him... but the Prince is just... creepy."
[Rooms —> Bar]
Asayu slipped into her room and considered the clothing she'd brought with her. She was painfully lacking in anything not meant to attract attention, but finally settled on a t-shirt and jeans — with all the usual underwear, even — before heading out to the bar. She said to the nearest maid, "go find Virgil, tell him I got his flowers and... we need to talk."
[Beach]
Rachel grimaced and said, "thanks to Machiavelli, can anyone — or anything — called the Prince with, I'm guessing a capital P, be pleasant?" Then again, could anything whose name started with a "the" be good? Well, maybe this King that Christine was talking about, but that would just be a rare exception to a good general rule.
edited 5th Nov '11 3:04:42 PM by KillerClowns
[Beach]
Turning to Xander, Christine said;
"More along the lines of Hannibal Lector creepy."
As an answer to Rachel's question, Christine said;
"No, I suppose not. I mean, The King is really just the lesser of many, many evils..."
[Lobby]
Virgil was pacing back and forth around the lobby, reciting something that was at first inaudible to the maid, but upon closer inspection, turned out to be Wedding Vows. Not wanting to stick around him very long, the maid quickly passed on Asayu's message and then left.
"Well that's great, you didn't tell me where she was!... Oh well, I better start looking... starting with her room..."
edited 5th Nov '11 2:47:58 PM by Dvdmacyoshi
Saliha canted her head to the side, slightly perplexed. “Huh. Really? Well, it’s good that that didn’t happen eh? To be honest, I made a decision to put you out of my mind after I left the Cantina. Wesley said it’s sometimes necessary to emotionally distance you from someone you care for, and- well, I’m still alive, aren’t I? Heheh. I guess that’s probably why this is as easy as it is.” She shrugged, looking up to Xavier. “Sooo… Yeah. I guess that’s it. Right?” She cracked a smile, adding, “… ya horny bastard.” She gave a light punch to his chest, just brushing her knuckles across it. It couldn’t have hurt even if he didn’t have a layer of protective scales.
yeyBeach
Qrlil tipped her head again. "Actually," she said, "I was asking more about" - she gestured at herself - "the, er, physical differences. I know Xavier and Saliha were able to overcome that - if not their personality differences - but she looks a good deal more like your species then I do."
She blinked. "Again, I am just curious."
[Bar]
Asayu spotted Virgil as he left the lobby, heading for her room, and waved him over. She was very aware of herself right now: Her face was serious, but politely so, and her posture was neither seductive nor confrontational. Every little bit helps, it seemed.
[Beach]
"Go figure," Rachel said, absentmindedly considering her latest s'more. "Sounds like magical stuff is more trouble than it's worth in your world as well." She took a bite, then added, "no offense to any immortals you like, but... would humanity be any worse off without them?"
edited 5th Nov '11 3:10:48 PM by KillerClowns
[Beach]
"I hate to admit it... but Noah is just about the only legitimately good Immortal I've met... and even he disapproves of the rest of them."
[Bar]
Virgil saw Asayu at the bar and came over to her. He began laughing slightly as he said;
"So, did that deal we make backfire for you? Of course, I knew you couldn't go ten minutes without the pleasure of my company."
[Bar]
Asayu's face remained impassive, and her voice matter-of-fact, as she said, "I got the flowers you sent me. But I have to ask... do you really want me around?" She turned to the bar and said, "Virgil, people like me and you... we aren't meant for long term stuff."
[Beach]
Rachel nodded and said, "yeah, I got the impression in a lot of places, the guy who had magic down best was Lovecraft. I mean, not in a 'powered by a horror from beyond time and space' way. It's just... it doesn't care about us. Humans." She looked at Kat and said to him, "no offense — you come from a world where things are different. The paranormal is just another thing for humanity..." realizing her mistake, she corrected, "er, sorry, all the sentient species of Earth to use. Like electricity." Then she turned back to Christine and said, "but me and you... pawns in a stupid cosmic game."
edited 5th Nov '11 3:37:26 PM by KillerClowns
[Bar]
Virgil merely laughed even more.
"Oh please, don't try to get out of this. This situation is your fault in the first place, I was happy just paying you some money for one night of fun, but no... you had to make me fall in love with you. Besides, you must have at least thought of a long-term relationship in the past."
[Beach]
"I don't know..." Christine said to Rachel, "magic seems to be one of the few things I actually have faith in these days, and even then... there are only about 5 people alive who can use it... and I only know one of them. In my world, magic users were horribly persecuted by immortals for years, and I don't see why. There's nothing bad about it."
[Beach]
Rachel put her hands up apologetically and said, "sorry... it's just where I come from, mages do the persecuting. So... slightly different view on the subject." Then she added, "but... well, thanks to my mother, I'm always thinking about what something does for the ordinary people. And mages..." she stopped to consider her words carefully, and finally said, "well, maybe it's only because they can't risk being out in the open, but magic hasn't exactly changed your world for the better like, say, electricity or medicine."
[Bar]
Yeah, Asayu thought, her face still impassive. Blame me. Classy. But she said, "here's the thing. Me and you... we need to be free. Put us together, and we'd only get in each other's way. You don't want to be tied down by my bullshit, do you?"

Beach
Qrlil blinked slightly at the light and line. "Oh, that was interesting," she said. "Magic?"
Focus!
She closed her eyes for a moment and opened them. "Somewhat," she said to Xavier. "You two need to have a conversation, and you need to have it now. I suggest you go over to her and... talk, I suppose."
She turned to Vincent. "Actually, stay. I believe they should have that conversation for themselves. I wanted to speak to you about, er, something else entirely."