[Day: Friday... erm, whatever day it was. Time: A little later, but not much.] [You've totally gone to Alys's book store for a change of pace. Totally. Eh, you guys don't need me for this.] [Mini Start] * Alys is sitting on top of the desk at the front of the bookstore, next to the cash register. She's very carefully drawing squiggles on her arm in marker. * Khalil comes up to the door and raps on it with his knuckle. He's dressed with an overcoat. * Alys doesn't look up. She says loudly, "This is a bookstore, we're open, the sign says so, you don't have to knock, you weirdo." * Khalil opens the door and looks inside, adjusting his coat. "I wanted to make sure you had made it back." He stares around the store for a moment. * Alys looks up and grins widely, hopping off the desk. "That's so nice of you! Sorry I called you a weirdo. Anyway, I'm fine. Alex is out grocery shopping." * Khalil shrugs and takes out his tail, shaking his hair. "And that does not make me a weirdo?" No, knocking at the door of a store still makes you a weirdo, but it's not the sort of thing you say to a friend. What's up? * Khalil looks off to the side and appears hesitant. He sticks his hands in his pockets before he speaks. "Was I...what is the expression? "Out of line?" Earlier?" * Alys 's smile falters. "I... Look, my mum and dad didn't exactly win the gold star for parenting, even before they left. I was stupid to think that would change. So, I mean, don't worry about it, and I'll help kick Asahara's ass, but I'm not going to do it because of them." * Khalil shakes his head. "I cannot understand that. I have always had a close family." He bites his lip slightly. "Alys... what do you think of this group? In general, I mean." I trust all of you not to leave me. And please believe me when I say that's the highest compliment I could ever give anyone. * Alys flushes a little and looks to the side. "So, um, what are your parents like?" * Khalil pauses, not sure if he should wait for her to answer the question first or go ahead. (That's all the answer he's getting!) * Khalil then says hesitantly. "Even Ashley?" (And I actually didn't see that, so it's good that I looked back.) * Alys blinks and looks back up at him again. "Weeeell... I trust him not to leave me if I need help and it's not too dangerous." But, I mean, none of you guys would ever just go, "La, I'm leaving! See you again never!" without an explanation, I think. * Khalil looks at Alys. "Is that really a good thing?" * Khalil mmms slightly. "Perhaps not. I--" He stops himself for a second. "You asked about my parents." Yeah! What are they like, are they cool? You could have met my mother. Although, I am not certain how well you would get to know her. She does not speak English. She--she was there...when the building collapsed. Oh god, I'm sorry, I've been too wrapped up in my own problems to notice. Is she okay, do you know? It was actually her wish that I come to London and become educated in the world. She-- * Khalil sits down on the counter edge and puts his hand over his face, slowly drawing it down, speaking with a very measured tone. "She is...fine. It is not her I am worried about. For now." * Khalil smiles slightly, though it looks fairly forced. "It is alright. It would seem everyone is too embroiled in their own problems to notice those of someone else." Right, your sister. I'm sure we'll find her and she'll be okay. We have a good track record so far for recovering siblings. What are you planning on doing after you graduate? * Khalil chuckles. "It is funny. When it was his own sister, everyone jumped at the chance. Yet he seems hard pressed to return favours..." Really, the only one who showed any concern is Herman. Which is...odd for me. You can probably blame that on Claire. She keeps trying to get everyone to got to the Byzantine whatever and it's sort of distracting to argue with her. And plans? I am not really sure yet. Right now, I am focused mainly on survival. But a translator, or perhaps a programmer would be good. * Khalil frowns slightly. "We have not brought together what we experienced when we returned to our own bodies yet, have we?" * Alys sits on the desk again. "You mean the dreamy thing?" I am assuming that everyone had the experience as I. The flood of memories. Yeah. Um. I don't know how important it is... * Khalil nods slightly at Alys. "Would there not be the most chance of their being a hint of implication there if what they say is true? Maybe? Um, mine was just... Xuan was talking with the pervy guy about her brother and his girlfriend. Nothing incriminating, just about how she's not the only important person in his life. * Khalil looks up. "You mean Carl?" He shakes his head. "Justinius I mean?" That's the one! It was kind of sweet, actually. Except when Justinius tried to hit on her. * Khalil rubs his head. "I am not sure what to think of that one. And the names are confusing. I still do not know why he changed his name." * Alys smiles. "He used to be named Carl? Seriously?" There was something about owing a debt to Constintine. Fred in his mind. I'm so going to call him that next time I see him. * Khalil nods curtly. It would be interesting to see his reaction. Look, I'm not very good at piecing stuff together. I don't make plans, I don't lead, ever. I hit things and maybe kick them and leave the rest to other people. * Khalil frowns slightly. "He was still asking for alcoholic beverage and women in that." Did anyone kick him for it? No. I think that would be beneath an Emperor. You'd think the emperor would be the most able to kick someone. Or have someone else do it. Anyway, I don't want to be an emperess, I'm going to be the Queen of Zombies. But not the Zombie Queen, since I'd really rather not try out the whole undead thing for myself. * Khalil frowns again. "You are serious about that, are you?" Of course! It's such a great idea. Failing that, I can make a living as a linguist. Are you--what gets your interest in these things? Um... I guess... I really don't know. It just... what else am I supposed to do? I suppose "live a normal life" would not sound proper coming from me, would it? I can act, I'm good with languages, I can fight. Other than that, I'm pretty damn weird, so it's hard to get along with people. I wasn't sure I'd ever have real friends until recently. * Alys rolls her eyes. "When you can tell me what a normal life is, I'll give you an answer to that." * Khalil picks up his tail with his hands and pets it, staring at it. "On the plus side, I have the first living feather duster on my end." * Alys laughs. "I think it's cool." You think that anything out of the ordinary that is not trying to kill you is cool. Yep! * Khalil rolls his eyes slightly. "Very well." * Khalil looks down at the table and taps his finger. "My father... was lost when I was very young. We assumed he was dead. Though I would gather that he would have contacted us by now if he survived." * Alys raises an eyebrow. "I thought my parents were dead. Granted, I may have been better off if they were, but still." * Alys frowns. "Yugh, how did you get me involved in a serious conversation? I must be lacking in caffeine or something." * Khalil looks at her. "I do not know what to say to that. The man attempted and succeeded a few times to burn me to death. Well, less the death part. Still, I hold no hatred for the man..." Wait, what!? Your dad did that!? * Khalil smiles at Alys. "I am, how do you say, good at that?" * Khalil stares at Alys in shock. "No. I am talking about yours." And you just wait, I'll gibber nonsense at you all day tomorrow. Oh, thank god, geez. * Alys says cheerfully, "Well, I hate him enough for the both of us, so no worries!" ( Khalil's dad tried to drown him ) * Khalil raises an eyebrow, then shakes his head. "I barely saw my father. He had long, almost inhuman hours in the mines. When we heard of the cave-in..." * Khalil then looks up and smiles. "That is alright. I know your secret." I have no secrets! What secret? Is this sarcasm, I'm really bad at that. * Khalil chuckles. "Perhaps. It is hard for me as well. I am much better in my own language." Well, I think I'm going to learn Arabic once my Japanese is perfectly fluent. You do speak Arabic, right? And then I can visit your mom and talk to her. Yes. * Khalil pauses for a moment. "...you would do that? Why?" Well, I could read Arabic books, like that holy one that I keep forgetting the name of, that would be kind of cool. And I could talk to you. I don't really need much of a reason. * Khalil deadpans, folding his arms. "The Qu'ran." Yes, that one. Religious texts are kind of dry, but they're fun to read if you skip the boring parts and only do a bit at a time. * Khalil sighs. "Not a religious person, are you?" I like to think of all of them as mythologies. I'm sort of atheist, but I'm considering being agnostic, what with people talking about Lucifer being real and all. Yes. That is disturbing. * Khalil shakes his head. "It is morality that is far more important. Still, it makes some things...difficult. Grandmother was very hard about religion." * Alys nods. "A person's morals are, you know, what makes them the person they are. Batman was all dark and creepy, but he never killed. What're the difficult parts for you?" * Khalil takes in a deep breath. "Ashley...well, I suppose I can tolerate him. But he disturbs me with his single-minded obsessiveness." * Alys says slowly, "He's not -human-." Herman as well...well...I have been trying to break from the ties from my old country. London has influenced me more than I realized. But still, his life-style is a bit...worrisome to me." * Khalil shrugs slightly. "I realize that. But it still seems as if it is a pact with a demon..." * Alys looks upward and makes a frustrated noise. "I am not getting into a discussion of homosexuality with you. You know what I find difficult?" * Khalil shakes his head and blows out his breath. "I know. That is why I did not wish to talk about it." I have no, no -concept- of what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm fighting evil. So what? The world's done okay without me helping before, it'll do okay when I stop. I don't know what I'm going to do with my life. There is no bloody point to anything except working and working and then -dying-. And I fucking hate being emo, it makes me want to tear my hair out. * Khalil just turns and starts to say something, and ends up staring at her. * Alys kicks the desk. "So I am going to rule over an island of zombies when I'm done with this, and I'll have a happy life of undead things doing my bidding, and it will be good because I said so. Can't we talk about something more upbeat, -please-? Alys, I-- * Alys looks at him tiredly. "What?" * Khalil shakes his head. "I do not think that is all true. You will find a path..." I appreciate that. What's going to university like? Even if you do not, I do not think it ends with this. There are... other people now. * Khalil rubs the back of his head. "Exhausting. At the same time, it is a mental pursuit that I enjoy. Mother did not wish me to be stuck in our village." I liked school a lot. I'm smart, you know. I don't act like it, but I did really well in all my classes, and I got the lead roles in plays and stuff. * Khalil looks up. "You are trying too hard again. Why do you not act?" When? I split all my time between fighting evil, watching over the shop, and sleeping. After the evil. Find your own acting troupe. Who knows? Perhaps you can have your own undead puppets as stars of the show. Session Close: Sun Jul 09 00:00:00 2006 Session Start: Sun Jul 09 00:00:00 2006 Session Ident: #Minimini You need to leave the shop sometimes as well. * Alys grins suddenly. "That would be so awesome! No, wait, can zombies act?" It could be a comedy. I believe people would be laughing once the first limb fell. Vampires, vampires are undead too. But they're creepy and would probably rather just drink all my blood. On the other hand, you would have to make certain the cast did not eat the audience's brains. ( They can act! In, um, very, very limited roles. ) * Alys smiles and pokes Khalil in the shoulder. "Audiences don't have brains, silly." * Khalil stares at Alys and rubs his shoulder. "It would depend on the audience." Is there not an acting school in London? You could get Ten to search for a new career for you... What else is undead? Vampires, zombies... Ghouls. ( Certain varieties of rabbits. ) * Alys shakes her head. "No, I have to stay with Alex. He can't run the store by himself." I think ghouls are just dead. Why is the store so important to you two? Um, it's our only source of income? * Khalil stares and drops his head. "I am sorry." ( Ouch. That's mean :o ) (What? o.o) ( Think abut what you just said. XD ) (*laughs*) (Sorry for asking, not sorry it's the only source of income. >.>) Mum's parents cut her off when she married dad, so we didn't have as much money as we thought. We owned the house and land, though, so Alex sold them and we moved here and started the shop. * Khalil nods. "It would be good to have a steady source of income. But... I think Alex would understand that you have to do things for yourself as well. Does he not have any hobbies outside of this store?" I guess you could count Jenny as a hobby... that's his girlfriend. She always wants him to go out with her, so I take over the store whenever he has to go out. I don't mind, though. She's nice. Still, I would assume he would do the same for you if you had a hobby. * Alys nods. "Yeah, he's really good about not minding when I'm out with you guys. I mean, he's worried about me, but I've never really gotten hurt. I guess... maybe when I'm done with this, I could try acting again." She smiles fondly. I think that you should. And, perhaps if we get into designing games, you could be a designer. What? I've told you, I'm bad at video games. Perhaps. But you are an excellent concept artist. * Alys grins. "You're such a sweetie when you're not being angsty. Yeah, sounds awesome. Is Ten in on this too?" Oh my god, I just said sweetie! The world is ending. No, wait, it can't be, I'll have to save it. Dammit! Sweetie is what, like, -grandmothers- call you when they're pinching your cheeks. There was this woman that used to come in all the time and do that, I nearly kicked her. * Khalil looks at Alys oddly for a moment and coughs. "Yes, well. I suppose Ten would enjoy being in on it. It is just an idle fantasy...and..." He stops short and pales a bit after Alys's rambling. Sorry, go ahead. You have permission to kick me if I ever, ever call you that again. I will deserve it. * Khalil stammers a bit. "I--I angst? When? Wait, what is angst?" * Alys makes some random hand gestures. "Angst! It's like emo, only less with the music." And emo is...? Besides, we've all been doing a lot of it lately. Except Ten, but angst is no match for her sheer awesomeness. Music that... oh, this is going off on a tangent I'll probably regret later. You should in no way be compared to emo. And like I've said, we've all been angsting, so no worries. Tell me about this video game idea thing. I still do not-- No! We're changing the subject! * Khalil shakes his head. "I am sorry. I am just mostly confused. When Naila found me that day, she was not in the caverns. So I do not know how..." I- what? Wow, -that's- a tangent. What are you talking about? * Khalil frowns slightly and looks down again. "Naila is my sister. Apparently she is inflicted with the same curse that I am." * Khalil takes in a breath and rubs the side of his leg, propping it up. * Alys blinks. "Well. Okay. Well, obviously we'll have to find her, and then we can look for a cure, although I still think it's pretty cool for a curse, and when did you it, anyway?" (*get it) When I was 15. So she didn't get it at the same time? * Khalil takes in a deep breath. "After the cave-in, they said the mine was haunted. I snuck off one day to try and investigate, but there was someone in the tunnels." The rest is a blur, but there were shots. I heard Naila screaming. And then it was hazy... ( There were pirates riding sharks fighting ninjas for 100 years! ) I wish I could help. I can fight anything you point me at, unless it's like, Valmont, if that helps. * Khalil frowns slightly in reminiscience. "Valmont..." He destroyed the whole village and hurt my mother just to get Naila... Well, that is not true. He was looking for what turned me into, well, this. Valmont is one of the things that needs to die. I'm just not the person to so it. Maybe Pipe Guy, he comes across as very competant with supernatural things. * Khalil 's shoulders sag a little as he sighs. "I am sorry. After all that work trying to cheer you up..." (*to do it) Nah, it's okay. I owe you for keeping me grounded while Alex was missing. * Khalil chuckles slightly at that. "It is not a question of owing. I would not do it expecting to be compensated in return." * Alys 's gaze flickers over to the door. "Huh, the sign says we're closed after all. I was wondering why no one was coming in." Perhaps I should go. I would not want you to lose money because of me. No one's gonna come by right now, probably, but I do need a shower. * Khalil stands slightly. "But you are welcome at the dorms at any time. It would do to get out of this place once and a while." * Alys hops off the desk. "Really? Cool, okay. I'll see you later. And thanks for visiting." * Khalil draws a breath. "It seemed the proper thing to do." Don't do it because it's -proper-, do it because you feel like seeing me. * Khalil blinks at that, and hesitates slightly. "O-of course." * Alys opens the door for him and smiles. * Khalil stops for a moment and looks awkwardly before saying. "You...well... Take to your health, then." * Khalil heads out the door then. [Session End!] Yay! * Khalil is now known as Rowyn Session Close: Sun Jul 09 00:50:50 2006