Poison in your Tea [Traverse Town; Open]

[crimson_apathy]

Only when the sounds of life are muffled by the silence of your thoughts are you truly dead.These words were what swarmed in his mind, what he took to heart for as long as he could remember. It was because it was a constant reminder of the painful truth that all Nobodies had to suffer. And no dead person was in this much pain; no matter how hard

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[ultimate_shield]

Well, who was he to say no to free food? Greed had to wonder what it was about him that seemed to attract people. He supposed he was just that intriguing of a person. Though a lot of people were also steered away. Purple eyes, pale skin, sharp teeth, and red markings turned certain people off.

Palm placed on the wood table, Greed read over the menu lackadaisically. He would have been ready to let the stranger know what he wanted, but he was soon pelted with a nice informative explanation.

"I figured," he said with another look around. "So it really is gone." It and everything else. But some did survive--he had, at least, so there was still hope that he'd be running into a familiar face or two. He made a note of what the place was called, along with the fact that he could get all the money had had on him exchanged for the proper currency. Greed was pleased that he made it his business to carry a lot on his person...

"Hamburger and fries," he said eventually. Tasty, easy, and filling. Not that the filling part was really necessary...

"Though I have to ask," the sin continued, glancing down and examining his nails, "what's your reasoning behind this? Do I look starved?" He turned his gaze to the redhead and smirked.

[crimson_apathy]

"Do I really need to have a motive to help a fitting young gentleman?" Axel chuckled airily that only emphasized how purposely fake he was acting about the question. Having long since finished his tea, the redhead situated himself more properly in his seat; resting his elbows on the table and carefully inspecting this man in detail.

"But if you want the truth, you looked pathetic." Already he was waving one of his hands in the air for one of the waiters to see, and muttered whatever orders desired before shooing the man off to prepare it.

"And by looks alone that didn't suit you at all. Is that a good reason?"

[ultimate_shield]

Pathetic. Great. Then again, losing things tended to have that effect on Greed. It was like having a wonderful piece of art you worked on for weeks scrawled over or ripped in half. He'd put effort into obtaining those things and now it was as if they had never existed.

In a way, it made him realize how insignificant things could be. That didn't mean he would stop wanting them, however. That was his sin--and there wasn't much he could do to resist it.

"Works for me," Greed responded with a shrug. Once again, it was free food. And even if he didn't need it--and was more or less wasting this stranger's money--he wasn't about to refuse. The redhead seemed like the sort that wouldn't have taken no for an answer in any case.

"So, what's your name, anyway, Mr. Benevolent One?"

[crimson_apathy]

"It does? It really doesn't for me but it's your opinion that matters."

Like any stranger who was social with him Axel had taken up the habit of being more observant than necessary. It was, admittedly, a favorite pastime of his, and a little practice never hurt anyone. Even when there were more pressing matters at hand with other people Axel always found the time to take a detour or two to enjoy himself. Or pretend to at least.

"My name?" He started, smirking slightly. "I had no intention of giving you that. Isn't a meal enough?"

[ultimate_shield]

What a peculiar thing this man was. Greed liked mysteries, the types that would spin things around and act odd just to complicate matters. It was something different, and that made it rare. It was like a hard-to-find bottle of wine--which meant he wanted it.

But he wanted anyone he came across, so this wasn't something new for the sin. He just found the spiky-haired one to be particularly desirable.

"Interesting," he said, tone smooth. "You don't hesitate to fork over money for a stranger, but you won't even offer your name. That means you've got something to hide, right?" He smirked. "How fun." But he wouldn't push it. If his name was that precious, he'd let him keep it.

[crimson_apathy]

And just as smoothly Axel chuckled at the man's colorful deduction. The redhead would even dare go as far as calling it borderline 'cute' if he was that secure with his masculinity.

Which he was, actually, so that might've been a problem for a few.

"Hardly, I just have a limit for my charity on a daily basis. I already answered all your questions and assumptions before, why should I answer any more?" The redhead pointed out with a casual shrug of his own.

But in truth, the redhead knew from experience that once names were exchanged the conversations stopped. It was as if a name gave all the answers, and took away the excuse to pry at someone's life and secrets. And Axel always liked knowing more than what he should've.

[ultimate_shield]

"Fair enough," Greed replied. The homunculus understood that one could only ask for so much and actually receive it. He wished it worked differently, but the world simply didn't run that way.

"I just didn't know a name was such a valuable thing," he commented, tone and disposition mellow as he eyed the waitresses milling about the small café. Usually, people were more than ready to provide their name. It was something that defined them--and Greed was rather proud of his own. The fact that this stranger seemed to be safeguarding his was downright odd, as much as he tried to deny it having any significance.

"Well, I'm Greed, in any case," he announced, displaying that childish pride of who and what he was. "Nice to meet you, stranger."

[crimson_apathy]

"... Greed?" Axel blinked and tilted his head curiously, knowing full well that exceptions could be made about the name ordeal, but only because this stranger's name sounded odd compared to the rest. Like it actually some kind of meaning. "I'm trying to forget it for your sake, but you've intrigued me."

It was by then that the waiter had returned with Greed's food, setting the platter in front of the tall man and smiled nervously before walking away as fast as he can. Yet Axel paid no mind to this intrusion, a small smile dancing on his lips while he continued to watch the latter's every move.

"Greed... now would I be wrong if I assumed you were somehow affiliated with the six other Sins?" Axel chuckled again, revealing it was all asked light-heartedly. But the redhead didn't know how right he really was.

[ultimate_shield]

That sort of reaction was expected. Greed enjoyed offering up his name to people, if only to see how they reacted. Of course, people got used to it after a time--those that were close to him, anyway. Eventually it became more of a name and less of a description, even if it truly was both.

"Maybe I said it to intrigue you," Greed hummed ambiguously. Distracted by his food for a second, the sin chuckled at the way the waiter approached and then retreated before he went about plucking the pickles out of his hamburger. With that done, he took a healthy bite and chewed (easily!) on that as he spread ketchup out on his plate to dip his fries into.

That last question was the real kicker, though. Greed almost choked on his bite of food, he was so amused. But he was good; chewing and swallowing before responding. "You could say that, though we're more enemies than anything else."

[crimson_apathy]

"Well it obviously worked. Congratulations, now I feel guilty for not giving you mine." Though through tone alone anyone would've been able to recognize that he wasn't really serious about it. But he kept that small smile, crossing his arms and setting them on top of the table to rest his head on. And said smile only grew when he was right all along in his own assumptions.

"I can't see why you'd all be enemies. Especially since you're all branded equally to the eyes of those devout to purity." Axel rolled his head to one side in his arms, but kept an eye open to watch Greed eat his food.

[ultimate_shield]

"Then give it," Greed said, his tone perhaps matching his own name a bit too well. Not that he felt guilty about it. He could be like a child when it came to wanting things. In a way, all of the sins ended up childish about whatever their weakness was. Gluttony, for one. Envy was just a pissy little bitch in general. But then there were the types like Lust and Pride, who tried to seem above their sins. And Sloth, who didn't care much either way.

Placing the burger aside for a moment, Greed instead focused on the fries. The soft bits of potato fell apart easily at the mercy of his teeth, but they were delectable grease-soaked things, so he wasn't complaining.

"Let's just say we had a conflict of interest," he explained. That was simplifying matters, but he didn't exactly want to get into it. Hell, some of them might not even exist any more. Good riddance, really.

[crimson_apathy]

"I'm not in the mood." Axel retaliated with a charming smile, reclining back into his seat and took a hold of his cup to see if there was anything left. And just then a second later the same waiter returned with a new, refilled cup and set it on the table before resuming his work inside.

"A conflict of interest you say?" He said, ignoring the steaming tea for a moment to smear a finger inside the empty one to see if there were any drops left. "Sounds... interesting."

[ultimate_shield]

First the guy said he was guilty and then he didn't even bother to actually go through with it? Greed wasn't about to get hung up on a name, but the way the redhead seemed to enjoy dragging people around both irritated and intrigued him. He couldn't put his finger on whether or not he liked the stranger since he seemed so back and forth.

Greed shrugged, picking up his hamburger for another bite. Rolling his shoulders, he stretched out his back and exhaled. "Not really," he muttered. "They're loyal to someone. I'm not. They don't like me for that reason." Really, that was just too bad for them. It was no skin off his back. And now that he was here, in this strange Traverse Town, perhaps he wouldn't have to worry about them anymore.

[crimson_apathy]

"True," He finally set the empty cup down and picked up the other with a small shrug. "But no one really likes to be a traitor. They always get too many ideas. Can't ever trust them once they're branded."

By then Axel stood up from his own chair and glided himself over to Greed's, pulling back the seat across from the other man before setting himself down neatly. It wasn't like he was invading the latter's personal space; usually people with that kind of demeanor had close to none.

"Enjoying your food?"