day 49: early afternoon - The Twin Pines Restaurant

[angels_inflight]

Unlike the nurses, some of the other patients, and the residents of Doyleton, Naminé actually was enjoying the light drizzle. It was a little cold, but the damp feeling in the air was one she was not used to, and that was probably why the Nobody spent the better part of the morning lounging around town, enjoying the light rain. Rain, real rain! It

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[blood_and_pocky]

Maybe? Annoyance sank its fangs into him, and they were sharper than his would ever be. If she had no purpose, then why did she seek him out? Why did she keep coming back? He had tried to come to terms with why some here seemed to seek him out with none of the usual motivations egging them on, but just like most things about his prison, it made little sense.

He was a vampire. They weren’t. They weren’t! That changed everything, it always had and it always would.

The noble turned his head before she could see the look in his eyes. Stupid. Why had simple truths like that ever come to bug him? “Don’t think of me as your friend,” he said to the chair across from him. His tone was even-handed and unruffled. An equally simple warning. If that was it, if that was all this was about, then spelling out the reality of what Aidou was would put an end to this burden. At least this one. “I’m not busy,” he went on, like he hadn’t said anything in the first place. “If you returned to that place, I’d like to hear it, though I haven’t, so that may affect my answer.”

‘Business’, he couldn’t turn away.

[windstwilight]

Don't think of me as your friend."

Nice. Harsh and blunt and outright. And someone else would have been okay with that. Dealt with it and continued. But Senna was Senna. And in the same breath that she decided to bug him more when possible, she narrowed her eyes and pulled the chair out, sitting down, elbows banging when she put them on the table. "And why would I even do that? Who would want to be a friend to someone with that attitude?"

Unfair of course. She knew he'd been here longer than her, possibly longer than anyone that she knew, and already, nearly three weeks in, she was feeling the toll. Double that, and how would she be? It wasn't too hard to understand. And it left her regretting her words, but she wouldn't take them back. She sighed instead, closing her eyes and running her good hand through tousled hair. Oy.

She answered, acting as if nothing had been said. "I have a pretty good team now. Hopefully, we'll have it completely checked out soon. But anyway. It's not that much more. Another part is completely backwater, but filled with canned goods with some still good." Like coffee. Nice, Senna; remember that now. "General goods and stuff. But mainly, we have that things are clashing technology-wise in the place, older with new. Plus, we have more of a time-line."

No, that wasn't much at all. What a waste. She needed to step it up. Especially now that-- Er. Yeah. "Anyway. What do you think?"

[blood_and_pocky]

He could practically smell her flare of emotion as if it were blood. Sour, spoiled blood. He said nothing, merely gave her an unreadable sidelong glance, because he didn’t have to address how he acted with anyone other than himself. Although his expression was smooth as glass to the eye, an intangible tension nevertheless lurked under his skin, making him seem somehow taut at the same time.

The competing airs didn’t recede, but the strain he felt didn’t worsen either. As long as she didn’t return to the topic.

The practical side of him could only absorb what she revealed about her recent endeavors and begin calculating from that, the act detached from anything he may have been feeling. Information was integral and so it came before almost all else.

"So the town has few structures, but there’s a discrepancy in what befits a certain era," he rephrased, seeking confirmation that what he’d surmised from her words was correct. But still too vague. He’d need more than that. Blinking once, the vampire paused for a moment, a beat of time between her question and his response. Then he faced her fully. "I’d prefer you went through everything before I gave an opinion." If that’s what you’re looking for went implied but unsaid.

[windstwilight]

...And the outburst amounted to nothing anyway. Talk about untouched. This guy was something else. Half-annoyed and half-relieved, she listened, nodding once. "Yeah, I sorta thought as much."

The fact of him saying that, and her wanting to agree almost right away spoke of something, of one getting used to a chain of command and having superior after superior stripped away. Pathetic, really. Did she used to be like that? Her eyes slid to the side, vaguely annoyed at herself. "Okay. Once I've cased it, I'll find you."

[blood_and_pocky]

Breathing out a sigh, the vampire made a light gesture with his hand. “I meant expounding on your description, but that’s also a good plan.”

Whatever was going on, whatever other issues needed addressing, if he could come to a stronger alliance with Senna in which they could share information like this, then that would only be advantageous for him. Having another source on aspects of the ruined town equalled more knowledge. When he wasn’t going there each night, a connection to her and her group would actually be quite advantageous.

Aidou didn’t need to convince himself of that, but it was what he kept telling himself in an attempt to stop his black mood from intruding any further. He should have been a little grateful. Connections were useful.