Oktoberfest: Beer!

[memento_mods]

Who: Everyone
What: Oktoberfest, the beer version
Where: The large building in the park
When: September 27 to October 4
Warnings: Alcohol and all the havoc it may bring.

Comments

[a_severed_fate]

"Perhaps, perhaps not. I might actually be much older than you, although I don't suppose I've made it to twenty yet." Didn't that mean she wasn't technically old enough to be drinking? That made her a teenager - still a kid. How bothersome... And now she was being reprimanded by Luke again... Again...

"It tastes terrible. If I had sipped it slowly, I never would have brought myself to finish it," she replied. Tear attempted to look properly offended, but failed. It was hard to stay completely serious.

Instead she clapped her hands together once and bowed her head slightly. "Just let it slide this one time? Otherwise you'll start sounding like Van. The next thing I know, you'll be leaving me in a cave somewhere and telling me to stay put because the sunlight's dangerous for my health. Then I'd hate you."

Tear straightened again, looking Luke in the eye, "Really, you go and try living in the Qliphoth. I bet you wouldn't last a week down there." She was only vaguely aware that she was talking more than usual. At this point, however, she didn't much mind what she said to people or how much.

"Eh... So you're here for something like that? It does seem like everyone's having fun. I think... Oh! Right. I was going to yell at the manager for letting his products leak into the lake. All the water is tainted with beer. Just imagine how awful the tea at the cafe will taste on Remday if nothing's done about it." There! She had remembered her own reason for coming to the pub. See? She was perfectly fine.

[apurposetolive]

Luke hesitated. Tear was talking a lot more than normal. Did she really have a low tolerance for liquor or something?

"So...have you done that yet, or have you been drinking this whole time?"

[a_severed_fate]

"Ehh...?" What was his problem? Luke was usually all eager to have fun and here he was standing around and not doing a whole lot of anything. She tilted her head slightly in confusion, "What's with you? You didn't actually think that I hated you...?"

She had no way of knowing it had nothing to do with that and everything to do with the drink that was currently inhibiting her good sense.

"Ah, no... I only had that one. Even if it's an issue of hospitality, drinking more than one mug would be incredibly stupid."

Tear laughed quietly before continuing, "Although it'll be a bit of a problem over time if they don't do something about the water."

She paused for a moment, looking around the room curiously, taking her time about it. Finally, mission forgotten for the second time, she turned her attention back to Luke and actually smiled.

"If you're planning on just standing there all evening, then we should go do something instead. What do you think?"

[apurposetolive]

Oh, yeah. She definitely couldn't hold her liquor. Luke was about to say something, but got derailed by Tear's last statement.

"H-huh?" Was Tear actually asking Luke to do something with her? Something that (hopefully) didn't involve labor on his part? A look of surprise on his face, Luke asked, "...Like what?"

[a_severed_fate]

Obviously not.

Tear, amused, laughed quietly at Luke's reaction. What? Did he think she was going to make him help her clean up the Hakurei Shrine again or something? What kind of question was that? With some effort, Tear forced herself to quit laughing and remain halfway serious about this... well, she still wasn't being serious by Tear standards, but, it was an improvement.

"Oh, I don't know. A walk perhaps? Like... like a date. That's what they call them, don't they?"

[apurposetolive]

In the meantime, Luke found himself with a cup of beer in hand. He didn't remember grabbing it, and he didn't remember drinking any -- but he coughed and sputtered all the same when Tear likened it to a date.

"A-a-a d-date? A-are you serious?!"

[a_severed_fate]

Tear practically leapt back a few feet at that, her eyes widening slightly into an expression of utter confusion. Really, she couldn't understand why he was being like that.

"That's what they call it when two people do something together isn't it? I'm still a bit foggy on the details, but I think as long as the two people are friends, it's called a date. If that's no good, we'll just call it a walk."

Well, no, she still didn't quite have the right idea, but she was getting there.

"I thought you weren't going to drink any," Tear pointed out helpfully with a wave of her hand in the direction of Luke's mug, "You need to learn to make up your mind, Luke fon Fabre."

[apurposetolive]

"Hey, I never said I wasn't gonna drink!" Luke exclaimed. At that moment, though, his mind was foggy, and it wasn't from the alcohol. He had just been asked out on a date by an extremely attractive woman. Sure, they bickered a bit every now and then, but overall, Luke considered Tear a friend. And to be asked on a date by her...well, obviously the alcohol was affecting her, but that was only a note in the back of Luke's mind at this point.

"Anyway, if you want to, uh...I'm game, I guess."

[a_severed_fate]

"You might not have said it, but you always get defensive like that when I ask something you don't like," Tear remarked, still terribly amused.

Upon hearing Luke's answer, she smiled again, looking vaguely relieved. This could be nice. Actually, the voices around them seemed to have become incredibly loud and the lights hurt her eyes just a little. Outside there'd be a nice autumn breeze, fresh air, a wide open sky. Unfortunately for Luke, Tear's train of thought wasn't exactly running along the same tracks at the moment. Well frankly, she wasn't exactly thinking.

"Oh good! I thought you might refuse."

With another laugh she took a step closer to Luke, still smiling, and not seeming to bother with being reserved or serious at all. "Of course I want to, silly. I wouldn't have asked you otherwise. Shall we be going?"

[apurposetolive]

Luke was still flustered. His mind was racing a mile a minute and yet going nowhere at the same time. "Uh, s-sure."

[a_severed_fate]

The poor guy. Maybe she shouldn't have called it a "date" to begin with. He was being awfully shy about it, but then, Luke's discomfort was almost charming. Maybe she should suggest he drink something else - she had certainly loosened up after a mug of the foamy stuff. But, he was also still a kid - still somehow seemed like one. She couldn't just tell him to do something like that; she was supposed to be responsible even if she was just a kid herself.

Tear watched Luke curiously. "What are you thinking about? It's just a walk. We've been alone together dozens of times in the past. And we've even walked together before."

Well, it was the truth! Tear fell silent, frowning slightly in disappointment, before adding, "No... there probably won't be any monsters this time, but it's almost the same thing. If it gets too boring, we could hunt down a bear or two. Or five. Maybe ten. I think we could take out ten, don't you?"

She reached for Luke's hand and made an effort to step in the direction of the door, "Don't worry. I'm a trained Oracle Knight. Nothing bad will happen to you. I promise."

And yet she had just said they could take out ten bears between them no problem. Nevermind that the melodist probably wasn't the most reliable party member in her current condition.

[apurposetolive]

"That's not what's bothering me!" Luke replied a little too enthusiastically. "It's...gah, never mind."

He accepted Tear's hand, but not before adding, "And I am not fighting any bears. And neither are you!"

[a_severed_fate]

"But--!"

Tear was not exactly happy about that response. She was even pouting a little. Sure, maybe first dates were normally more pedestrian than going off to slay bears, but it sounded loads more exciting, and honestly, she thought she could take on just about anything at the moment. Bears, monsters, a few kegs of beer, Van, the world. She could do it. Really.

But Luke was her date and if he said no, then... well, okay. No.

"Oh, fine. I guess just walking will suffice."

Holding hands seemed okay, too, for that matter. Tear strolled towards the door and threw it open with her free hand. Pity anyone on the other side. Right, so now that they were actually outdoors, it meant she was on her first official date... or, technically, her second date. The one with Hayate hardly counted because it hadn't been her idea, so she was just going to pretend it was her first.

Oh, but wait. She was forgetting things again. It wouldn't do if Luke was bothered by... whatever was currently bothering him that wasn't whatever she'd just thought it was. She'd have to insist on an explanation.

"No, tell me what's bothering you. Maybe I can do something to help."

[apurposetolive]

"N-no, it's nothing! Just forget it!" Luke said, his cheeks slightly colored by this point. Honestly, he wasn't bothered by this much at all. Tear seemed like a much more enjoyable person to spend time around when tipsy.

"I'll be fine. Let's just go, all right?"

[a_severed_fate]

"Eehh...?" Tear looked momentarily crestfallen. She was trustworthy, wasn't she? And she was smart and gave proper advise according to other people! Why was he telling her to forget it? He could be... so mean. Idiot.

"Well, sure you'll be fine, because you're with an experienced fighter and a healer. And we are going. We're walking already. We can keep walking on and on and on. Until dawn if you want to. It's always nicer to take a stroll at night when there's a cool breeze blowing, insects singing, stars overhead... during the day it's pretty miserable."

No, wait, she hadn't forgotten her point! Luke was keeping secrets! And he was only allowed to have two!

"But that just makes me even more curious. Are you suuuure you can't tell me?" Oh dear. Now she was dragging words out. In the midst of all of this, however, she did manage one of her usual scolding glares.

[apurposetolive]

Geez, Tear was making less and less sense as time passed. Did she really only have the one mug?

"Let's, uh...not walk until dawn. We'll need to sleep."

And...there was the glare. "It's, uh...it's embarrassing, okay? Just...don't think about it any more!"