* Ouka sits full around, looking at you square across the table and putting both
hands palm down on the book. "I need to ask you a difficult question. And
it's... possibly for your own safety."
* Katherine is still sitting there. Her left hand's rubbing her temple again.
"Safety? You're the dangerous one, ya said." She makes a point of showing her
right hand claws. "So ask the damn question."
* Ouka nods, then takes a deep breath. "...do you know my mother?"
<Ouka> You can be angry all you like with me for knowing, but... I tend to keep
a mental ear open. Not looking into people's minds, but I listen to...
background noise. Something strong, or personal, I pick up... like someone
saying your name in a crowded room.
* Ouka lowers his eyes a little. "You were definitely thinking about my mother."
* Katherine frowns, then suddenly narrows her eyes. It's obvious she's trying to
be guarded, but her finger's tapping nervously on the table. "I know lots of
people. I'm sure at least one of them's a mother, but since I don't know your
last name, how would I know that?"
* Ouka pauses at that, then frowns a bit. "I'll make the first gesture of trust,
then." He takes another deep breath. "My name isn't really Ouka, though you
should use it for now. But my last name... is Tsukitomi-Renard."
* Katherine suddenly lets her left hand fall off her temple, and down to her
side. "Tsukitomi, eh? Like the great Isis Tsukitomi? Why would someone like me
know a high class Earther like that?"
* Ouka shakes his head. "I don't know. But... you're like a signal flare with
images of her, right now, even if you don't know it." He looks at the table.
"I'm not trying to pry. But the Tsukitomi clan... is trouble. If you know us,
it's better to stay away."
* Katherine frowns, and says angrily. "Of course I fucking am. A few days of
quiet, and it's suddenly like a river or a waterfall or some shit."
* Ouka looks up, breathing out. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble for
you."
* Katherine is looking even angrier. "I've never even SEEN your goddamn mother,
no goddamn offense, so you don't need to worry about me cozying up to her."
* Ouka winces a little. "She never leaves Earth, there's no worry of that." He
pauses. "I'm sorry this hurts so much, though I can't imagine why you're
thinking of her if you don't know her at all."
* Katherine shakes her head. "Shit." She pauses. "Wait, you're Isis' kid, and
you're not fucked up too?"
* Ouka blinks, then bites his lip. "Define 'fucked up'."
* Katherine rubs her temples with that right hand again. She pulls the left one
up, holding her pistol in it, then drops it on the table. "Who did the Europa
team get their Tea from?"
<Chamelaeon> (...whoa. c_c;)
<Katherine> (Look away for a second, and shit happens, eh?)
* Ouka blinks for a moment, then frowns in thought for a moment, before
answering quietly, "The oldest living Sleythin. I don't remember the name. I
don't think she ever told me. My mother hated the tea. She was the only one who
didn't drink it."
<Ouka> (The last living Sleythin! Before toll!)
<Katherine> (No, it was last. Or so he was called. ^_^;)
<Ouka> ("Last lizard before border.")
<Chamelaeon> (Not after the others were alive, Mecha.)
<Katherine> (Well, yes, but before then.)
<Ouka> (Regardless. On with RP. ^_^)
* Katherine smirks. "Shanaana, or some shit. I can't speak any damn Sleythin."
She sighs. "So your mom told you about it, then..." She balls her fist, and
blood starts dripping from her right hand. "I'm just that fucking lucky."
* Ouka frowns, then looks off to the side, blanching a little at the blood and
trying not to look at it. "She told me as much as she could. She sent me... to
live in the City of Refuge when I was 12. She wanted me to be prepared for being
her child."
* Ouka closes his eyes. "In the end, it... didn't help much. I don't know what
you mean by 'fucked up', but if you mean growing up with problems, then yes, my
brother and I both had our share."
* Katherine brings her hand up, sighs, and pulls out a nanopak from her purse
with that left hand again. "Fucking smart. I..." she pauses, and then slams the
nano pack on her right hand. "Fuck."
* Ouka doesn't turn around, but keeps talking. "We're both 24s, with mental
powers... when we were teenagers, he started to act differently. Maliciously. As
if there was someone else in his head." He looks down, opening his eyes. "I'm
not sure why I'm telling you this. You're the fourth person in existence to even
know about it."
<Ouka> (And out of the five total, there's an 80% survival rate, so you're
probably okay!)
<Katherine> (Ha.)
* Katherine looks a little stunned, and leans forward, resting her chin on her
left hand. "I... aw, fuck." She shakes her head. "Listen, your secret's safe
with me. Trust me, I'm the last person that wants to talk about anything to do
with the goddamn Europa team."
* Ouka half-turns his head back around. "I appreciate it. I won't ask why you
seem to know all this. That's your business. But there are people who want my
mother and I dead... and maybe anyone who knows either of us. Please be careful.
I don't want..." He pauses. "I don't want more blood on my hands."
* Katherine suddenly giggles. "Ouka, or whoever you are, you don't have to worry
about my blood on your hands." She flashes her right claw at him.
<Katherine> I've got more than enough blood to go around, and can take care of
myself. Fuck, Concordat, ATC, and more. How could it get worse?
* Ouka smiles, a little bit. "You're very confident. In a way, I'm envious."
<Chamelaeon> (Oh, honey, it ain't CLOSE to bad yet.)
* Katherine snorts. "I'm confident because I was born that way." She picks up
her gun, looks at it for a bit, and puts it away. "It ain't hard. You just have
to be really fucking stupid."
* Ouka laughs, genuinely for once. "Maybe so." He looks at the ceiling. "I don't
really believe in fate or destiny. I'm in this because Dorian said the world was
at stake, and... I can't ignore that. So for now, I'm helping." He looks back
down. "Do you think us meeting here was fate, though? Coincidence? It seems like
a mistake." He laughs. "I wonder how to say that to her. 'I met someone who
might know you. In a bar. After my porter mistakenly thought I was looking to
watch people have sex.'"
* Katherine laughs faintly. "Well, honestly, this drunk, he's probably right.
Although I've never been an exhibitionist." She pauses, and rubs her forehead.
"Sorry. But she'd never know who I was. I'm sure she could figure out, being who
she is, and all. But she won't really care."
* Ouka mmms. "Maybe not. I don't talk to her. I can't. Not until my training is
over."
<Katherine> Guess you won't be able to waste her time anyway.
<Ouka> Probably not.
* Ouka pauses a moment. "My name is Threnody, for the record. It's probably
better to let the others think I'm still Ouka, for now."
* Ouka frowns. "Especially if any of them are from Twilight City."
<Katherine> Threnody, huh? No--
* Katherine suddenly gets a very suspicious look. "TC?"
* Ouka nods. "My brother lives in Twilight City. By choice." He glances at you
for a moment. "I've been told that's a mark of insanity."
<Katherine> Fucking right it is.
* Katherine eyes her glass. It's not empty. She slams the rest back, and
suddenly it is. Magic!
<Ouka> In any event. There's a bounty on my head. Not an official one, an
unofficial one. A number of the bounty hunters I've had to evade are from
Twilight City. Apparently the bounty's a bit famous there.
<Katherine> Well, of course it is. A good bounty means good fucking money. Don't
matter. The only people from TC around here wouldn't bother to kill you. And
probably couldn't anyway. Isis and all.
* Ouka blinks. "What do you mean?"
<Katherine> You've got to be good. If Isis is your mom, better than good. I
mean, fuck. You said she was preparing you and shit. Roch can barely pick up her
damn gun, she'd never mange to hurt you, and Roy probably doesn't know what a
gun is.
<Ouka> Oh. I can... handle myself. My brother was the school successor,
actually, before he ran off. I'm more like my father than my mother. Kataki
definitely had my mother's temperament.
* Katherine suddenly gets a grin. "Man, who woulda marri--" Kat pauses, and puts
her face in her hands. "Fuck. I wanted a goddamn night off. Buy Val a drink,
maybe pick someone up. Nice and simple. Now my head is running at a hundred
kilos per second."
* Ouka stands up, taking the book with him. "Maybe that's a sign I should leave.
Sorry to have caused... whatever it is that I've caused. Hopefully it won't be a
recurring thing."
* Katherine shakes her head. "Fuck, forget it. Not like it's your fault."
<Ouka> Are you a 24? It might be some quirk of your power, if it is. A shot in
the dark.
<Ouka> Maybe you just... caught my thinking about her. I couldn't get my mother
out of my mind for a while there.
* Katherine pauses, and says, "It's not a 24 power. I know that much.
Definitely... not a 24 power." She eyes her drink. "What do you say? Should I go
for another one, or just write the night off, go home, and feel like shit?"
* Ouka smiles, holding the book in front of him again. "I think my responsible
side says to go home and get some rest. Yet somehow, part of me is saying to go
downstairs, get the largest and perhaps most dangerous drink there is, and see
if you're still around tomorrow morning."
* Ouka winks, briefly. "I didn't have any, but I've been told that even some
Sleythin find a couple of their mixed drinks a little dangerous."
* Katherine laughs faintly. "Yeah, I know the taste. Maybe you're not so bad
after all." She smirks devillishly. "Care to join me?"
<Katherine> (And I can't SPELL devilskngsnew. )
* Ouka blinks, looking around. "Well..." He smiles. "It sounds very 'esoteric'.
I accept."
<Katherine> (Ha. How are you going to manage to take your mission tomorrow if
you're pasted?)
<Ouka> (By only pretending to drink when you're looking and being ten times more
sober.)
<Ouka> (Or a really good anti-hangover cure.)
<Katherine> (Cheater.)
* Katherine stands not too shakily, and picks up her purse. "Weren't you worried
and shit about us having met up with you?"
* Ouka shrugs his shoulders, and attempts a devilish smile, failing miserably
since he looks like a 16 year old. "They never specified I couldn't meet you."
* Katherine shrugs. "Good enough." She rubs her head. "God, my mind won't shut
UP." She starts walking over to the bar. "I'd introduce you to Momo, but I don't
want to fall down the stairs yet."
* Ouka walks behind dutifully. "Is she the woman with the fascinating hair? Or
did I not narrow it down enough with that criteria?"
<Katherine> She's the one at the bar. With all the arms. Pink Russian style.
Very goods with the bottleses.
* Katherine nods.
* Ouka laughs, secretly glad he's walking behind the drunk. "I'll take your word
for it. Extra syllables and all."
* Katherine winces, and gets over to the bar. "Good to hear. Hey, yo. Another
Light Lizard, or whatever it is, for me."
* Katherine waits for her drink, and sets down her purse on the bar while she
does so.
<Katherine> (Heh.)
* Ouka eyes the bartender, then clears his throat. "I'm actually look for... I
hope I pronounce it right." He rattles off a list of Sleythin syllables that
effectively translates to "girly drink with umbrellas".
<Katherine> (Which is still probably stronger than anything they make in a
brewery.)
<Chamelaeon> <<Which floor were you on?>>
<Ouka> (I think we moved downstairs, but I'm not sure. Kat was leading and she's
toasted.)
<Ouka> (Also, s/look/looking)
<Katherine> (I think Kat wanted to go to the second one, but she's plenty drunk,
and we can retcon that line anyway.)
<Chamelaeon> <<You're downstairs, then. The bartender plops down Kat's drink,
then looks over to Thren and eyes him.>> "You sure you want to be drinking
that?"
<Chamelaeon> (Sorry, Ouzo. Er, Ouka.)
<Ouka> (I'll kill you.)
* Ouka smiles. "No, but as long as there's a majority chance I'll still be alive
afterward, I'll just sip."
<Chamelaeon> <<The 'tender shrugs.>> "Your credits." He reaches for the bottles
behind him which are marked with skulls, crossbones, and huge Mr. Yuks.>>
* Katherine grins, and takes a drink of hers. "I don't know what you asked for,
but it sounds nasty."
* Ouka shrugs, fumbling for something to pay with and hoping they have a nice
selection of things to keep him alive and possibly conscious. "Well, consider. A
sleythin on average is ten times your body weight and cold blooded. They make
interesting intoxicants."
<Chamelaeon> <<After a bit of judicious mixing and some smoke, he plops the
thing down on the bar and motions for either of you to 'print.>>
* Katherine mutters, "Yeah, I know."
* Ouka blinks, looking surprised (and thumbing the thing). "Have you met many?"
<Katherine> Not personally. Then,  I've sampleds most of those bottles.
* Katherine gestures absently at the wall.
* Ouka blinks again, this time at the vast array of alcohol, then picks up his
drink as if it were an unstable isotope. "Come here often?"
* Katherine nods twice. "Yeah. Good place. Doesn't hurt to know the owner,
neither." She smirks slightly, and then takes another drink.
* Ouka ahs. "I see... does that make the owner the Momo woman you said you'd
introduce me to?" He eyes his drink speculatively, looking for a straw.
* Katherine nods. "Yeah, that's her. S'why they call it Laser-Momo's."
* Ouka smiles distractedly, holding on to the drink with both hands and looking
at Kat over the rim of the glass. "So I deduced. Where do you know her from?"
* Katherine smiles a little giddily, and says, "The bar."
* Ouka nods gravely. "Makes sense." He takes a deep breath and sips the drink
very, very carefully out of the glass.
<Chamelaeon> <<The drink tastes quite like burning.>>
<Katherine> I think so too. You never meet bartenders on the street.
* Ouka makes a fun, frozen facial expression in which he pretends not to have
pupils.
<Chamelaeon> <<But not as much like burning as most sleythin liquors.>>
<Ouka> (WEll, hurray, maybe. I MIGHT survive.)
* Katherine looks at Ouka, and starts laughing. "Hooo ho ho. Bet that's nothin'
like the tea."
* Ouka struggles for a moment with something, then lets out a long-held breath
and manages to say, hoarsely, "No. Do they serve liquid nitrogen here?"
<Chamelaeon> <<Only if you pay extra.>>
* Katherine says through fading chuckles, "I've never asked myself. S'a little
cold."
<Ouka> (What's money if you don't live to spend it?)
* Ouka looks at the glass as if it might attack him. Again. "So, I'm not very
good at drinking..." He pokes the side of the glass with a finger. "Do I sip
slow to get used to it, that sort of thing?"
<Chamelaeon> <<Are you still standing at the bar?>>
<Ouka> (Doesn't look like we left.)
<Ouka> (On reading back, I mean.)
<Chamelaeon> <<It's getting a little more crowded as the night goes on. You're
elbow to elbow where you are.>>
* Katherine smirks. "... With something like that, maybe ya should start by
breathing it first. Sleythin stuff tastes like... years old motor oil."
* Ouka makes a face. "It tastes a bit like solar prominence." He waves for the
barkeep.
* Katherine then repeats, "Mooootor oil," and takes another sip.
<Chamelaeon> <<The barkeep walks over.>>
* Ouka smiles. "We'll just admit you were right, and I was wrong. Can I have
something a little more suited for a first-timer?"
<Ouka> (I forced myself not to say 'virgin'. It's not a word he'd use.)
<Katherine> (Very in character of you! *hic*)
<Ouka> (LUSH.)
<Katherine> (It's social drinking. She goes to see her friends, at the bar, and
she drinks.)
<Ouka> (And drinks and drinks.)
<Ouka> (And drinks.)
<Chamelaeon> <<The bartender smiles, then pours the drink down a biohazard sink.
He proceeds to make you essentially a mai tai, with two drops of what is
essentially sleythin DunnoAlcohol.>>
<Ouka> (Drinkety drink drhink.)
* Ouka breathes out gratefully, producing the all-powerful financial thumb.
"Thank you. Maybe in five years I can come back and try that again."
<Chamelaeon> <<he nods, then goes back to serving other people.>>
* Katherine grins. "Five years? Maybe. You don't look like a drinker. Not--" she
suddenly stops talking, mutters, "Fuck," and takes a big gulp, wobbling a bit
afterwards.
* Ouka blinks, having taken a similarly timid sip of his own drink. "Nobody in
my family is. Are you sure you should be drinking so much? You look a little...
off-balance."
<Ouka> (Drunk, too.)
<Ouka> (Haha.)
<Chamelaeon> <<This drink has the kick of a mule.>>
* Ouka coughs, mightily, but with shocking savoir-faire manages to not drop the
drink or knock anyone over in the process. Not on purpose, anyway. "Good lord."
* Katherine says a little angrily, "I can drink as much as I want!" She takes
another smaller drink, and then says, "If I drink enough..." she gestures, "...
then I won't be able to think, and thens I'll be aaaall set. Yep. Set."
* Ouka puts the drink back on the bar and slaps himself on the chest a few
times, speaking as he does so and sounding a little disjointed. "Is it...
because of the... things you keep seeing?" His face flushes briefly, and he
manages to stand up fully again. "If that's true, why ask me to stay?"
* Katherine grins, "'Cause if I get as drunks as you said, I won't be able to
walk, and Val has work to do. See, it's perfect plan!" She grins a little, and
pokes at him, claws and all. "And besides. You're a little cute, and that don't
hurt none."
* Ouka goes totally, beet red. "Miss Katherine! That's not... appropriate."
<Ouka> (She has no idea how old he actually is, either, which is even funnier.)
<Chamelaeon> (*nsort*)
<Katherine> Sure it is. Ya tellin' me you're not cute?
* Ouka knits his brow and eyes the mai tai, then takes a genuine drink, praying
it'll either knock him out or make him forget this is happening. "I have no
idea! I've never had reason to think about it, but that's not the point."
<Katherine> Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense.
* Katherine seems satisfied with her logic, and takes another drink to
celebrate.
<Chamelaeon> <<Let's see a body roll, Kat.>>
<Chamelaeon> <<No penalty.>>
<Katherine> (Can I roll it on soak? *cough*)
<Chamelaeon> (NO.)
<Ouka> (No. It's "Soak defense", not "Marinate defense".)
<Katherine> (Damn!)
<Chamelaeon> (And do it in #besm)
<Chamelaeon> (FAIL.)
<Katherine> (9 is 4 more than 5.)
<Chamelaeon> <<Kat's knees suddenly decide to not be locked into place.>>
* Katherine falls over, trying to catch herself on the bar/fall forward to keep
from falling completely down.
<Chamelaeon> <<I'll be nice. You can snag the bar.>>
* Katherine snags the bar! "Oouf. Okay. The bar wins."
* Ouka blinks, slamming the mai tai down on the bar and chivalrously dropping to
support Kat on getting herself upright. "Hey! Maybe that means you've had
enough, don't you think?"
<Katherine> Um... maybe. How much is left?
* Ouka eyetwitches a little. "Is that really..." He pauses, then looks at the
drink, answering "Barely any" regardless of the reality of the situation.
<Katherine> Oh, good. Then I can finish it off.
* Katherine reaches for the glass.
<Chamelaeon> (Wrong answer.)
<Katherine> (Well, he said barely any!)
* Ouka sighs and glances bartenderward, hoping for some help if he happens to be
looking this way.
<Ouka> (He lied!)
<Katherine> (She doesn't know that!)
<Chamelaeon> <<The bartender is busily bartending.>>
* Katherine tries picking up the mug, but it seems to be avoiding her. "Stupid
thing should stay still."
* Ouka winces, glancing at Kat. "Alright... maybe I should escort you home."
* Katherine hmphs, and makes her best effort to stand. "Okay, Ouka. To home!"
* Ouka ehehs worriedly, and slips an arm around Kat's waist to help balance her,
blushing furiously when he realizes he's touching, at least partly, skin.
<Ouka> Let's go, then... you CAN tell me where you live, right?
<Katherine> Oh, sure.
* Ouka smiles, still sort of redfaced (it goes with his hair) and pointing her
toward the door. "Then lead on."
* Katherine nods, and starts walking. "I didn't even get to buy Val her drink.
Oh well. Always next time."
<Chamelaeon> <<As you walk out the front entrance, the female bouncer lets out a
very loud wolfwhistle.>>
* Ouka wobbles a little, on account of the headrush blushing so hard is causing,
and looks behind him with a very embarrased half-smile. "Thank you, I think."
* Katherine grins and flips her off absently, yelling, "I'll get you that drink
sometime, Val. Really." She stumbles on.
* Ouka walks, or walks as best he can supporting a drunk and being almost
delirious with confusion himself. "Do you live far? Should we call a cab?"
* Katherine says, "Oh... it's not too bad. 95th and Clinton. Not far at all."
She starts humming the theme to Halfway to Europa.
* Ouka ehes. "I'm afraid I don't know much about the streets here, but I'll take
your word for it."
* Katherine nods. "You should. I'm right."
* Ouka looks around, up, anywhere but at Kat, trusting her steps to keep him
from walking into anything. "I'm sorry. In a way it feels like I'm the reason
you had to get yourself insanely drunk."
* Katherine hrms thoughtfully. "Well, you're sooorta right. But you're sorta
wrong too. It's not like being drunk helped none. Just feels like it a little."
She giggles. "But you wouldn't get it. You aren't drunk."
* Ouka offers helpfully, "But that's for the best right now, isn't it? Unless
Momo keeps a bed for you in the back."
* Katherine shakes her head. "Naw, she don't. I don't usually get that drunk,
see. Not safe." She helpfully gestures with her claws.
* Ouka mmms faintly, glancing around a bit. "Why did you get those, if I might
ask?" He pauses, then realizes who he's talking to and adds, "The claws and
ears, I mean."
<Katherine> Um? I dunno. Don't people get born with these things?
* Ouka laughs in spite of himself. "Wolves, maybe, but not humans."
* Katherine says a little mockingly, "Well, why'd you get the mind reading
stuff, then?"
* Ouka responds, quietly, "I didn't ask for it. There've been so many times I
wish I didn't have it."
* Katherine doesn't seem fazed by Ouka's sudden quietness. "Well, see! Ya don't
always ask for stuff. 24s. Yeah, that's what it's called."
* Ouka mms faintly. "A fair enough answer. I've just heard... some very bizarre
things about Mars. I've been travelling a long time, but this is the first time
I've been here, really."
<Katherine> Huh. Well, this doesn't seem like a bad welcome. Could be worse than
dragging a drunk woman home, eh?
* Katherine grins goofily again.
<Ouka> That's true. You could be dead.
* Katherine nods. "See? There's always a worse case. Welcome to Mars."
<Chamelaeon> <<You've managed to stagger to Kat's apartment building somehow.>>
* Katherine looks at the building, and fumbles for her keys.
* Ouka blinks. "Is this it?" He surveys the building briefly. "It's quite nice.
I'm a little surprised."
* Katherine unlocks the front door. "Why's that? I like living in a nice place."
<Chamelaeon> <<Kat has mail in her box, if she wants it. If not, the elevator is
there.>>
* Ouka laughs. "That's not what I mean. I was expecting something a little
different from a cyberware designer."
* Katherine drags Ouka over to the mailbox, and gets her mail. Mail is
important. "Well, we do make some money. What did ya expect?
* Ouka shrugs, eyeing the mail briefly. "More chrome."
<Chamelaeon> <<Not this mail. It's a paper verion of your first double-wide
bill, sent to remind you that there's stuff being autodeducted from your
account.>>
* Katherine eyes it carefully. "Oh, right. Stupid money. That's what I get for
signing on with Anders' Fate enterprises." She hrms. "That doesn't sound right.
Anders LLC? Anders' Team Corp! Yeah, that's it. ATC, Anders style." She
chuckles, and stumbles towards the elevator.
<Chamelaeon> <<The elevator welcomes you. Like an elevator.>>
* Ouka follows behind, marginally comfortable that Kat isn't going to trip over
an empty elevator to her death. "Anders... Dorian mentioned the name, but I
haven't spoken with him yet."
* Katherine hits the button. Floor 50. "Huh. Well, he's all Fate this and
Destiny that and 'I like putting messages in fortune cookies' something or
other. Weird kid."
<Katherine> Don't talk to him much. S'fine with me.
* Ouka blinks, tilting his head curiously. "...fortune cookies?"
* Katherine nods loopily. "Fortune cookies. They told us not to get down, signed
Anders. I don't know how he managed that."
<Chamelaeon> <<The elevator hits the tipply-top.>>
<Chamelaeon> <<or at least, floor 50.>>
* Katherine walks out, supported by Ouka. "5005. Should be somewhere around
here."
<Chamelaeon> <<it's right there! No, not there, over there. Yeah. There.>>
* Ouka looks out the elevator into the hallway and half-follows Kat, half-leads,
presuming she knows where her own apartment is. "Safe and sound. I feel better
knowing you'd get home alright."
* Katherine nods, and smiles. "Well, that's good, then, that I made it sorta OK.
You want to come in? I've got something a little less crazy than sleythin
alcohol."
* Ouka blinks. "You sure it's alright? I can almost feel the headache, no
telepathy required."
* Katherine waves her hand. "Well, sure it is. Misery loves company."
* Ouka would shrug if he didn't have a shoulder full of Kat. "Well, if you say
so."
* Katherine nods, and wanders in. Roch is most likely asleep on the couch, or
something, sleeping off a long day. Kat drops her purse on the ground, and kicks
off her shoes, and says, "Kitchen light on."
<Katherine> (The kitchen lights up. There's a mess of cyberstuff on one of the
counters, but otherwise, it's a kitchen. You can't really see the rest of the
apartment, unless you've got nightvision.)
* Ouka wanders in, hands folded in front of him, and after a moment remembers to
actually shut the door before resuming standing there with his hands folded in
front of him. "Interesting."
* Katherine wobbles her way to pulling out some wine and two glasses, putting
all of them on the nice table right there in the kitchen. "Yeah, it's been a
little weird since last week."
* Ouka smiles a little, walking in. "Well, not exactly what I meant. I guess I
was expecting something a little more strange." He looks around. "I haven't met
many of the 'geeks' Ian mentioned. I only have my mother's stories of the ones
she knew and they're..." He trails off.
* Katherine smirks. "Yeah. Well, I'm not much of a geek. Just a smart smart
smart smart smart..." she trails off, and starts pouring the wine into both
glasses.
* Ouka ehes. "I didn't mean to imply that you were or weren't... I just
naturally associate technology with 'geeks'. Consider I lived in the Himalayas
eating tofu, cheese, water, and bread for a long time."
* Katherine looks confused. "Himalayas?" She sits down at the table. "What are
those?""
* Ouka looks incredulous. "Mountains. On Earth."
<Katherine> Ah. Well, I've never been to earth.
* Ouka tilts his head. "You've never been to Earth?"
* Katherine nods. "Yep!" She picks up her glass. "Have a seat, or ya just gonna
stand there all night?"
* Ouka laughs, pulling out a chair. "The second time you've asked me that
question today."
* Katherine grins back. "Well, you stand a lot, so there." She mms faintly to
herself, and then raises her glass. "To... uh, Sleythin, I guess?"
* Ouka gingerly takes the glass and makes with the toast. "To Sleythin, then."
He sips a bit, wincing. "Sort of sour..."
<Katherine> Is it? Welll, I guess it is sorta, if you're not used to it.
* Ouka laughs. "I'm sorry. Maybe it's still the drink I had in the bar..." He
looks at the glass carefully. "I don't really think I like alcohol. It's..." He
pauses, searching for a word, then seems to settle on "...fuzzy."
* Katherine chuckles faintly. "Well, that's your loss, I guess. Sounds like
something... something familiar. Wouldn't wanna lose your edge?" She seems
confused.
* Ouka tilts his head, then giggles a little. "It sounds like something Mother
would say. But it's probably true."
<Katherine> Well, yeah. But if I need an edge, I've got these.
<Ouka> (Breasts? No way you're Chako's kid.)
<Katherine> (Well, actually, her frame is muscular, so one could argue.)
<Ouka> (Sadly, this is something I can hear Chako saying. "Boy, she's definitely
got your rack." "...")
* Ouka puts up a finger. "A weapon's only as good as the wielder. Or so the old
saying goes."
<Katherine> (Well, yes. I'd defined Kat as average to slightly below on breast
size. Anyway.)
* Ouka smiles distractedly. "Or you could be a hidden devotee of Densuiken and I
just don't know it."
* Katherine shows her claws again. Funny, the right ones still actually have a
little blood on them. "I dunno what that is, but I'm plenty good, thanks."
* Ouka puts the finger to his lips. "Let's see... in very, very old films they
called it 'drunken monkey fist'. It's a fighting style where you use being drunk
and moving unpredictably to catch your opponent unaware."
<Katherine> Oh.
* Katherine grins a little. "I don't catch people unawares. I just shoot them or
punch them or something." She downs the rest of her wine, but doesn't refill it.
* Ouka frowns a little. "I... let's just put it up to a difference in
methodology." He looks into the wine distractedly. "I prefer to just... make it
so people can't follow or hurt me. I don't kill."
* Katherine mms. "Well, I don't kill much anymore either." She suddenly looks
very sober, and very sad. "Don't like it. But I am very good at it."
* Ouka says, without even thinking, "So am I." And then he has a good long swig
of wine. "It tastes a lot better when you're upset. I wonder why."
<Katherine> Dunno. Maybe that's why I like it.
* Ouka looks into the glass again. "Yet somehow, that quality... makes me not
trust it." He sets the wine down. "I think I've had enough."
* Katherine nods slightly. "Fair 'nough. Thanks for the walk, Ouka. Very nice of
you."
* Ouka shakes his head. "It was the right thing to do." He frowns. "For some
reason I feel a little morose. I wonder why. I keep..." He frowns. "I keep
remembering things I shouldn't be remembering."
* Katherine grins. "Now you know why I drink, I think." She still isn't pouring
herself any more, though.
* Ouka chuckles. "You're right. Though... I don't know it'd make the thoughts go
away. Really, that's why I'm on this journey."
* Katherine huhms. "Journey to make thoughts go away, huh?" She chuckles to
herself, and leans forward on her hands. "Didn't work for me."
* Ouka raises an eyebrow. "Well, it's more complicated than that, but..." He
pauses. "Where did you go?"
* Katherine chuckles faintly. "Around. Here."
* Ouka blinks briefly, then looks down into the wineglass again. "Oh."
* Katherine chuckles, and smiles across the table at Ouka, and her ears twitch.
"Yeah, not very glamorous... but better than staying."
* Ouka shrugs his shoulders. "There's lots of old Japanese fables about men
going out to search for their true selves, and only finding it back at home
where they started from." He pauses. "The Wizard of Oz too, come to that."
* Katherine shakes her head. "No offense to your heritage... " she chuckles to
herself, "But if I have to go home to find myself after all this, I think I'll
lose my mind."
* Ouka chuckles a little. "None taken. I'm in no way related to L. Frank Baum."
* Katherine laughs a little. "Not what I meant." She runs her finger along the
edge of her glass.
* Ouka sighs. "'Heritage' means very little on Earth anymore. Countries are
gone, unless you count the incredible ways in which rich people can turn a
presumed genetic lineage into an artform of spending money."
<Katherine> Ah.
* Ouka smiles a little. "I felt very lucky. I managed to find places on Earth
that were so... I want to say 'sacred', but maybe that's not true. Remote?" He
pauses, running a finger around the rim of the wineglass. "I was able to move
away from how artificial everything felt. Steel wrapped up in bark. I felt like
I was seeing the real Earth for the first time."
<Katherine> Really? That's sorta odd sounding, to me...
* Katherine laughs. "The real Mars is a lot of rock and no air."
* Ouka laughs. "To me, too." He looks for a window, if one exists, and out it.
"You're right. We're sort of making Mars into a 'new' Earth. It makes me wish I
was born here."
<Katherine> (There are windows on the far walls. They look out onto a brightly
lit city.)
<Katherine> Aw, come on. Earth couldn't have been all bad.
* Ouka glances at Kat, then chuckles a little. "You'd hate it. It's everything
you're not." He looks back out the window. "How much do you know about Earth?"
<Katherine> My parents supposedly visited once, but... it's supposedly just full
of crazy rich people. Anything else is just bad Net shows.
* Ouka blinks. "Your parents are Martian, I'm guessing?" He waves it off and
sips more wine. "In any event, that's about right. It's a shining example of
what wealth does to people."
* Katherine grins. "I could use some wealth." She gestures at the bill that fell
out of her purse. "Life costs money. So do drinks." She stretches a little, and
rubs her neck.
* Ouka grins, a little devilishly. Which he can manage as he's slightly tipsy.
"If you drank less, you'd spend less."
* Katherine nods. "You're absolutely right, which is why I'm going to drink less
in the future." She eyes the wine bottle, which has been decimated over the past
week. "Maybe."
* Ouka looks at the glass again. "If you want, I'll buy you another bottle
sometime."
* Katherine blinks. "Really?"
* Ouka chuckles. "I have a bit of money I don't spend often. I'm splurging a
little staying here. I'd seen all there was to see in Red Osaka."
* Katherine smirks. "Ah. Well, I'll never turn down a free drink. Or a free 20
drinks."
* Ouka mmms faintly and finishes the last of the glass. "Wine, huh..." He looks
at it a long time. "I feel like I've been a burden to you tonight for some
reason. Even though I ended up bodily half-carrying you home."
* Katherine winks. "If you'd been a burden, I would have told you to screw off."
She shakes her head. "I can't expect I expected to run into... well, you,
though."
* Ouka puts the glass back on the table. "Our 'employers' would call it fate.
Maybe they're right."
* Katherine snorts. "Yeah, well. They can start fucking paying me, and then they
can call it fate. I call it 'Momo's being a good club.'"
* Ouka laughs. "It was a mistake, though... I have to wonder why that poor
porter thought I was looking for pornography, though."
* Katherine looks confused. "I don't think that was it at all, but that
conversation is sort of fuzzy. Exotic, is that what you said?"
<Ouka> 'Esoteric'.
* Katherine says, "Esoteric?" She looks like she's thinking for a second.
"Probably because I haven't seen esoteric outside of a book... ever."
* Ouka laughs. "Just another way of saying strange or unusual."
* Ouka giggles suddenly. "In an esoteric way. Esoteric is so esoteric!"
* Katherine looks at Ouka. "You're tipsy. You're definitely not the drinking
type."
* Ouka tilts his head a little. "Am I? Maybe not. I'm not that big..." He holds
out an arm and looks at his fingers. "My father drank a lot of wine. British,
you know... s'where the Renard comes from."
* Katherine smirks. "Well, maybe the sleythin alcohol just kicked your ass."
* Ouka grins and stands up. "Maybe it did. But I'm an early riser by nature and
will be regretting this tomorrow. I'd better go."
* Katherine mock pouts for a second. "Already?" She rubs her head. "Alright,
maybe that was a dumb thing to say, considering that I'm going to be regretting
this for the next week and a half." She stands too.
* Ouka chuckles. "It's probably for the best. I have..." He pauses. "I wish I
could explain. A strange feeling. You're an enigma, you know? A lot of
unanswered questions."
* Katherine frowns, then smiles faintly, then shakes her head. "It ain't that
interesting. I'd be happier if you'd forget all about those questions, but I
doubt that, eh?"
* Ouka shakes his head. "I wish I could tell you everything. You'd understand
why I want to know. But... I can't." He turns back to you and smiles. "It seems
like you'd understand."
* Katherine laughs faintly, but it sounds a little hollow, too. "It... I think I
do."
* Katherine walks over to open the door. "I bet I'll see you around, eventually.
Anders will guarantee it."
* Ouka nods, and fishes in his jacket for something that he holds out for you to
take: a datachip. "There's only a few people that have a way to contact me
anytime. Now you do too. But be careful. Like I said... trouble seems to follow
me."
* Katherine grabs it, slots it, and crushes it. "We stole an artifact from a
burning operahouse, ATC, and beat up an old man and stole his magic gun. And
that doesn't count anything we've got personally. I think we've got the trouble
following handled."
* Ouka mms distractedly. "I hope... it doesn't all come to that. I'm not for
playing the villain on the pretense of saving the world." He glances out the
window briefly. "I don't trust that man, Dorian. An Earth native, a telepath, a
scion of a rich ATC family. Everything... I left Earth to avoid. Yet at the same
time, he says he and I are fated to work with Anders."
* Katherine frowns. "Sounds like a snake and a half."
* Ouka nods. "It does. I haven't met or talked to Anders... and don't say a
word. I don't want to go into it prejudiced. But..." He laughs. "Maybe I
inherited a little of my mother's suspicious nature. I just don't like this. I'm
following along because it seems like the right thing to do for now."
* Katherine chuckles. "Well, if that's how ya feel, guess it's worth a shot."
She shakes her head. "I just would like it to be over soon"
* Ouka laughs, opening the door and stepping into the hallway. "We both know
that won't happen, deep down, though."
* Katherine rubs her temples. "Yeah, but it'd be nice. See ya later, Ouka. Try
not to get killed."
* Ouka nods, solemnly despite himself. "You too. See you again." And with that,
he's gone.
<Chamelaeon> <<ATC2 MiniSplit 5.13 llamas donkeys BANANANANANANANANANANANA>>