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

[the_abandoned]

And what were you before all of this?

[Because she actually has no idea, since such a combination only seems to make sense to her within the context of the Vigil. That, and Malia doesn’t make a habit out of snooping around, or reading the dossiers of others unless she’s asked to. Either she gets interested enough in them to ask them, or she doesn’t.]

[larue]

[ Sheepish all of a sudden. Because Malia is a member of the Searing Wind and fairly high up and he is... ]

Uh, I played Quarterback for my old college. In um, San Diego.

[ There is a measure of pride in his voice when he says it. They were making waves in the local circuit back in... back then. ]

[the_abandoned]

I see.

[Well, that was unexpected. Amused all over again, if only because she really should have pegged him for a sports man on the get go.]

I admit that I’m unfamiliar with football, and sports in general. The dictators in my country eventually ruled out recreational activities altogether, and even when there were still games of any sort to watch, women like myself were rarely let out to enjoy them.

[Talk about cultural differences.]

[larue]

[ This is a legit look of Seriously what the--

Yes. This is a disgruntled Josh. ]

Well, that sucks.

[ There was a women's team, okay. They didn't compete as actively as he and his boys but training runs were no walks in the park. ]

I know I must sound naive but... that kind of. Does. Suck.

[the_abandoned]

[His reaction is entertaining enough for her, if only because it’s so… American. Well-meaning, yes, and American.]

To be honest, I did not really think much of it at the time. I never really questioned much of anything.

[Until. Well. That man. Their affair. Death.]

[larue]

[ He's tilting his head at her now, he's not sure what it is about the way she phrases those two sentences that makes him say what he does -- but he does: ]

And then you started to. Question, I mean.

[ Because if she hadn't, then she wouldn't be here then, would she? A Sin-Eater, a warrior, and a mentor he was sitting across from. ]

[the_abandoned]

Yes. It started simply, really.

[And now, since they may inevitably go into THAT part of the story of her life, she is bringing out her pipe. One of the roaming maidservants from the Zashiki-Warashi is immediately coming over and setting a brazier down beside her.]

They are right in saying that love truly changes things for you. Couple that with a society that believes in controlling every aspect of your life, and... well.

[larue]

[ He frowns at first... and then he begins to piece it together -- or what he thinks she's getting at.

That frown on his face takes a different kind of tension now. Even when things were terrible back in the States... there was somehow an element of choice and the chance to make it. ]

Go on. [ If she's willing to share the rest, he's more than willing to listen. ]

[the_abandoned]

[She's smiling a little at him for that. It isn't amusement: it's the small hint of gratefulness that one feels at realizing that her current company is, indeed, a thinking and feeling human being.]

He was married to my older sister, after his brother - her husband - was killed. They did not love each other, and she did not love me.

[Because she had always been the prettier one, the better one. But Malia had, of course, been made to obey. Respect family, respect elders, uphold tradition.]

[larue]

[ Quiet still. He knows its a disparity betwen the culture he was brought up with and the one that raised her. But still, it feels so unfair. He'd grown up in a household where, before everything fell apart, he'd looked at his parents and seen a partnership; one that held love at its core.

He doesn't know what prompts him to do it, only that it feels right. So that is his hand closing over yours, Malia. ]

[the_abandoned]

[That gesture does catch her by surprise. Pleasant surprise, mind you.

Chuckling now, and smiling up at her current company.]

We had a good run until my sister reported us. The rest is history.

[larue]

[ Nodding at that; smiling back. ]

That's a good look on you. The smile.

[ Admittedly he doesn't know if there's anything appropriate to say. Malia doesn't go into detail, but Josh isn't slow on the uptake. A culture where choice was out of your hands? Where defiance in any way led to punishment?

A soft, coughed laugh escapes him. ] This is going to make me sound either really arrogant or incredibly naive but -- nothing about what happened to either of you was fair.

I'm big on choice, [ he confesses. ] Though I guess that's because I had to learn to make relatively... hard ones, growing up.

[the_abandoned]

You and I both.

[Lifting her sake cup in your direction now.]

It is good, then, that I learned to see past my anger and see you as a person, Joshua LaRue.

[She does have difficulty with that sometimes.

Okay, fine.

Most of the time.]

[larue]

[ Smiling and lifting his cup in salute. ]

I'm glad you have, too.