Waking the Dead 2.0 || May 19, 2063 (Saturday) || Friendship in the cups.

[kawaakari]

[It's a little after lunch with the Shinta Clan that Kasumi Aoi makes an interesting suggestion: that the War Hounds wile the afternoon hours away in good company with their mentors, former or otherwise, that can make it. Invitations are easy; she can handle them.

So, there you have it: doing things the Japanese way, talking over sake, nibbling idly on onigiri and whatever else. The rest of the household has left you alone. This is quality time with the people who have watched your back, and taught you whatever they could.]



OOC Notes
+ Each thread here is for one-on-one conversations between players and their respective mentors. Group shenanigans can be played out on the table, if you guys like.
+ Noey and I are going to bring his conversation with Malia on the table!

Comments

An'yu & Brig

[ferricwill]

[Let it be known that An'yu appears to be in his element whenever there is booze involved. Smiling as he's taking one of the largest bottles available to them and placing it between him and his student.]

Shall we?

huzzah! DRINKEH-DRINKEH!

[atlas_shrugged]

Yes, we shall. [ Brigade gets the cups ready and pours alcohol for him and his Sensei. ] Who do you think we'll be drinking under the table and whose going to try to give us a run for our money? [ Although Brig knows that he's not getting drunk. Promethean condition, go figure. He's already expecting Tohru Fukuzawa to be among the last men standing, even after the Brands are sufficiently drunk (if they can even) ]

Lol

[ferricwill]

Fukuzawa and Mordechai, and the Brands deserve an honorable mention. The rest can hold their liquor, but not nearly as well as we can.

[Yay, sake~]

Re: Lol

[atlas_shrugged]

[ Brigade smiles and nods his concurrence ] Among the three [ He counts the Brands as one being ] mentioned, has anyone ever found out who the toughest drinker is? [ Brigade has his money on Tohru or Alistair, leaning toward Tohru even though he'd root for Alistair ]

[ferricwill]

Mordechai.

[Hands down. Tohru is crazy, but Alistair has been around for a WHILE.]

Tohru & Taning

[fidelias]

[Truth be told, Tohru only agreed to this because he's out to observe the rest of the War Hounds at close quarters. It's an ideal situation for him, because booze has been liberally applied to everyone. In vino veritas, and all that.

Oh, and yeah, perhaps getting to talk to his student is a good idea too.]

So. [Saying this in a low voice, as he studies the rest of them from over the rim of his cup.] Your assessment of the other members of your blade thus far?

[bladeweaver]

[Taning is taken aback a bit by this question. Mostly because he doesn't know exactly how he means it. So he's gonna hedge his bets instead.]

Is this a personality assessment or a combat assessment or a vulnerability assessment?

[Damn, Taning, that's cold.]

Personality-wise, Brig is a do-gooder with a DIY streak, Kaz is a reformed center of attention who is, still, striving to live up to the ridiculous expectations he has set for himself, Yulia is an ice queen slowly getting thawed, Brianna is a slippery social butterfly with an uncannily disarming ditz act, and Josh is a mother hen-sorta guy with something to prove.

In combat, Brig has been content to use sheer physical force to do the most damage; he has not used Azoth in an engagement that I've been with him in, so far, mostly because he hasn't needed to; he is crafty enough to always bring a Vice Battery-powered taser with him for healing and to power the party mage. [He grins incongruously at "party" mage.] Yulia has seen fit to use her superior dexterity and skill with knives in order to quickly overwhelm opponents; she, as well, has had no significant use of her Vitae thus far. Brianna is quite competent with guns; with further instruction, she can, I believe, be one of the better marksmen Netsach has seen; again, her glamours have not seen much use as yet. Kaz, since losing the Wings of Therion, is re-learning how to properly fight; he'll get there, once he gains the benedictions I believe would give him the self-confidence to assert himself in a fight. Josh has acted as a mobile command center the past few engagements, since his Sin-Eater abilities make him perfect for the role.

[He takes a sip of sake, then clears his throat. The next part isn't something he is comfortable discussing.]

Vulnerability assessment. As I have not yet been able to provide Brig with the fire-nullification charm I promised, he is still quite vulnerable to fire. Kaz is practically a deadwalker at this point; his combat capability is the lowest among the blade and he is probably going to be the softest target in any engagement in terms of offensive and defensive balance. Brianna is a soft target, though she is the ranged fighter among us, and a Changeling to boot; any opponent that can see through illusion, however, can deal with her decisively given adequate preparation. Josh, given his role, is best taken out from far out, beyond the range of his Boneyard ability; aside from that, his combat capability is on par with Kaz. Yulia is a very capable melee fighter, but she suffers from the inherent Bladian weaknesses; a patient hunter with more skill than her in concealment and ranged weaponry can easily take her down, if alone.

I hope you found the assessments comprehensive enough.

[And he would never have volunteered this information if he believed for a moment that Tohru planned to harm any of his blademates.]

[fidelias]

[Listening carefully, and letting his gaze move - subtly - to each one of the other War Hounds as his student speaks. Nodding along every now and then, and also pouring the drinks for them both.

That Taning actually went out of the way to include discussing his own friend's vulnerabilities is good. Tohru would have been disappointed if he hadn't.

He doesn't speak for a while. Then, swinging his cup in the proper directions for reference:]

That one and that one. I am watching them.

[Brigade and Joshua.]

[bladeweaver]

[Taning's mind zooms into overdrive. Brigade he can understand. Even to him, he is still sort of an unknown quantity; he just hasn't had that much time spent with him. (Which, he realizes guiltily, he needs to remedy soon.) But Josh is harmless! He's probably the best man out of all of them right now.

And then he thinks about it. Perhaps it's not a matter of personal capability, but of connections...?

He knows that Brig has been spending a lot of time with Hikaru lately. Okay, yes, that would explain Tohru's interest in him perfectly. Not to mention that thing that he saw yesterday. Brig and Kasumi, eh? Okay. Another potential minefield right there.

How about Josh? That's puzzling for more than one reason. For one thing, Josh is harmless. Well, relatively so, compared to Brig at least.... But then he realizes that he's measuring strength by its more prosaic manifestations. Josh's strengths lie in the social. And yes, he's been someone who's spent a lot of time with Hikaru as well.

One thing about his shisho, his devotion to his son and Blade King is serious business.]

Ah. You are worried about how their interaction with Hikaru-san could be more harmful than beneficial?

Alistair & Kaz

[mordechai]

[He's only here because Kasumi asked him to. Paolo Inojosa wasn't available, and he HAD been Kaz's mentor before, so...

Nevertheless, he's sitting away from the group. That does appear to be his modus operandi.]

Re: Alistair & Kaz

[ktotheatothez]

[Kaz pokes his head into where Alistair is. Oddly enough, he's found his former master easily enough, definitely far from the groups. He's noted his Blademates talking and drinking, said hi, waved and - in the case of Taning and Tohru, a curt nod in greeting.

He's been wanting to talk to Alistair about things, but what with their trip to Shin Yamatai... There hasn't been time. Now, however, he walks over with purpose and sits down, pouring himself some sake and Alistair as well.

He sighs because now he's probably going to get on Alistair's bad side. He drops his voice as low as he can.]

You kissed him?

[mordechai]

[...

Have a look that says Really? Really????

In an Alistair Mordechai fashion, of course.]

We've been through this already.

[Only no, they haven't. He just kind of mentioned it and then other things came into the picture.]

[ktotheatothez]

[Kaz shakes his head because no they hadn't. He's not accosting his former mentor, not really.]

We have?

[Then it dawns on him and his eyes bug out.]

That was a month ago.

[He keeps his voice low, because even if his entire Blade does know, he doesn't want them knowing that he actually sort of maybe knew before them. Sort of.]

How'd that happen anyway?

The Brands & Yulia

[thebrandybunch]

[Interestingly enough, these guys came fresh from a meeting with some Rhiannon operatives in Japan. Gabriel had wanted them to check on something for him. That would explain the suits.

Maybe they look a little more distinguished.]

Yulia-chan~ let's drink!

[...But they certainly don't sound any better than they usually do.]

[bostova]

[ She never actually imagined a day that she would see Saxon and Breton looking presentable. It's actually amusing to see them in those suits with their goofy smiles and the way they... well, exist, pretty much.

But, she was already seated with a (small) glass of sake in front of her. She nods at it. ]

I am already drinking.

[thebrandybunch]

So drink more!

[There is Saxon, planting another cup in front of her.]

There's plenty to go around.

[And there is Breton, adding a third.

SMILE.]

[bostova]

[ She rolls her eyes. ]

Not all at once.

Tala & Brianna

[thetalavega]

[Tala Vega is, undoutbedly, the most beautiful person in the room right now.

...Okay well, Brianna is too. Kimonos, yay~]

The next time you come to Japan, we need to go to Gion. And we have to go decked out like this.

[therealbrianna]

[ Is slightly familiar with the districts in Japan. Slightly.

Also she feels incredibly good and poised in her kimono! ]

It sounds familiar! Someone must have mentioned that to me or I read it somewhere.

What's in Gion? [ Excited smile because YAY future plans! ]

[thetalavega]

Oh, just one of the prettiest places in Japan, ever. It's in Kyoto, which is nice and traditional and full of people wearing stuff like this.

[therealbrianna]

[ Small gasp. ]

I would so love to see that! If only I could wear a kimono in the Philippines for the rest of my life...

Malia and Josh

[the_abandoned]

[Kasumi had called her in for Joshua LaRue because Gabriel Marlowe could not make it. She did not question how Kasumi had known that she would not have minded, and was actually quite interested in joining the group: the Mother of the Wolf had her ways.

Pouring sake for herself now, before handing the bottle to Josh.]

Here we are again.

[larue]

[ He'd wondered who would be coming in to sit and drink with him, since his other blademates had already been joined by their respective mentors: there was An'yu Oyama and Brig, Tohru Fukuzawa and Stanley, Tala Vega and Brianna, Alistair Mordechai in place of Paolo Inojosa for Kaz, and the Brand Twins for Yulia.

Josh's attention lingers on that last pair, but he's smiling as he does so. He's never had the opportunity to see Yulia interact with the Bladians at close proximity, so most that he knew of them were framed by her complaints and Stan's teasing remarks.

Seeing them interact now though, reassures him that she's in good hands.

He glances up when Malia comes over, is quiet as he watches her pour herself a cup of sake before handing him the bottle. ] So we are.

[ He's smiling. He didn't think he'd find another opportunity to speak with her before the end of their Tokyo trip -- guess he was wrong.

He lifts his cup in a salute. ] I guess it's you and me today, huh?

[the_abandoned]

That does appear to be the case.

[She is not dressed for the battlefield, for once: she is, in fact, wearing what women of her station would back in her hometown, during a formal celebration. Japanese clothes have never been her fancy, and she always liked to make sure that people knew exactly who she was on sight.]

Good. This is a much better setting than the party that we both found ourselves in a few days ago. [Then, dryly:] I hope that you can handle your liquor.

[larue]

[ The sake tastes great, but he's taking it easy. He's never had the stuff before and he's thinking it would be better if he paced himself. ]

I try? I've had a couple opportunities to drink ever since I landed in Falner and those guys [ he nods at his team ] can hold their own.

[ Turning back to her as he smiles, ] You look beautiful, Malia. That suits you.

[ In Zangyaku attire, she looked utterly formidable; in this she still looks like a woman who can hand your ass to you, but it makes her look a little bit more approachable. ]