bartending!
Tifa likes to show up a little early on nights when she's tending, and until she's supposed to officially go on duty, she spends some time wiping down the bar, humming under her breath. She has a cup of berry tea for herself behind the bar, and once she's done, she stops to take a long sip of it
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"Beer," he says to himself. He can ask for something that will give him a taste of home...
The bartender is a woman this time, but that doesn't bother him in the slightest. He stands with his hands in his pockets and asks, "May I have a pint of Guinness, please?"
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Guinness is a beer she's not familiar with at all, but she knows what it is and so much is helpfully labeled behind the bar -- they obviously expect to get bartenders from all over, and they should! -- that it takes almost no time at all to spot it and set the young man up with his requested pint.
She's still grinning, when she carefully pushes it across the bar to him. "There you go."
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Eyes shining, Christian looks from the beer then back to her.
"Thank you," he says. "Hardly any foam... lovely job..."
And he picks up the glass, almost reverently, and takes a sip.
Perfect.
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He looks at he's completely enjoying it when he takes a drink, and that only makes her smile more.
"Ordering Guinness must mean you're from Earth," she goes on conversationally.
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Christian has another appreciative sip then replies, "Yes, Earth, so that means..." he studies her more closely, then realizes he's staring and looks down, blushing slightly. "Um, sorry. That was rude." Keeping his head down, he returns his gaze to hers through his lashes and asks, "Does that mean that you're... not from Earth?"
[[OOC: And if I stop tagging, it means I've passed out. My apologies. Thoroughly enjoying the thread. Will continue tomorrow, if that's alright. :)]]
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"It's practice that keeps me getting it right."
She almost laughs again when he stops his study of her, and shakes her head, raising one hand as if to say it's really all right.
"I'm from a planet called Gaia. But before I got here I probably would've stared if you'd told me you where from some planet named Earth, too." She almost grins again. "And if it's any consolation, I don't think either of us looks like what most people think of as an alien."
[OOC: It's absolutely fine! Tonight's been busier than I thought it'd be for me, and I am totally free for continuing this later. Thanks so much for tagging!]
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"'Gaia'? I associate that name with 'Mother Nature'. Had you not heard of Earth before coming here, then? Is Gaia very far away?" He sighs. "Sorry, ever curious. It'll get me into trouble someday, I'm sure."
When she mentions about aliens, he shakes his head. "I hadn't even thought about aliens before this place..."
And he's staring again. He catches himself at it and gives her a smile, not looking away this time. "Sorry... May I ask if you're... Human?"
[[OOC: Thank you. Think this is it for the night, lol! :D 'See' you later.]]
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She's mostly joking. Almost everyone she's met personally here -- she thinks -- has been human no matter where they've said they're from. There are a few exceptions, but what's interesting when she stops to think about it is that even Yrael can easily pass for human.
But going on, she shakes her head. "I hadn't heard of Earth before at all, but from what I can tell, it has some things in common with Gaia."
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Christian makes a note of that and wonders if he'd recognize trouble right now if it came and poked him with a big stick. He is feeling out of his depth a little, in this place.
"I'm Human, yes. I thought you were, but... you never know. Um, where is Gaia? It's... alright that I'm asking, isn't it? Because if it isn't, I take absolutely no offense if you'd rather not speak of it."
Then he sighs. "And my manners need a check. Terribly sorry. I'm Christian." He doesn't know if people from Gaia shake hands or not, but he offers his hand to her, anyway.
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She's still smiling as she lets go of his hand. "And my name's Tifa."
The truth is that his questions make her feel a little better. Most of the people she's met here have been here at least as long as her. Christian's questions make her think he's relatively new, and it's nice to know she's not the only one who feels disoriented by this place at times.
"Gaia is..." She hesitates for a moment, leaning both elbows on the bar. "Well, I guess that's hard to explain. Since I'm not sure where Earth is, I don't know how to relate it to you. We haven't done much in the way of space exploration, so I'd say Earth could be pretty close but nobody I've met from Earth seems familiar with Gaia."
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The young woman then tries to explain where she's from, and Christian listens, attentive, fascinated.
"I know very little about the universe," he admits. "But you're saying that your planet must be fairly near to Earth? That's... extra-ordinary. Are you familiar with the constellations? Oh, no, you wouldn't be, would you?" He, too, puts his elbows on the bar and leans closer, quite excited.
"The stars in our night sky... some of them have names we've given them, shapes you can locate if you know where to look. Mostly named after classical Greek heroes and the like. Legends."
His smile widens. "One of those stars might me Gaia.
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It strikes her as an unusual name, and her smile does nothing but broaden at his enthusiasm. Greek is a term she's less than familiar with, but heroes and legends a pretty straightforward context, she thinks.
"Gaia may not be close, but I can't say it's impossible." She just can't rule it out with the little she knows about Earth and its history. "And we have constellations, too. Just... probably different ones with different names. When I was little, my friends and I would sometimes look up at the sky and play connect-the-dots with the stars and name the shapes after ourselves."
She can remember doing that on more than a few nights. The old well was her favorite place to do it, but lying face-up in a grassy field and having the view framed with treetops was never a bad way to go about it.
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"I did the same, when I could see the stars," he admits quietly. "Drawing lines with my finger above me, making pictures..." He lets his voice trail off. Perhaps it's the alcohol that has him chatting about some personal moments, though usually it takes more than that to get him going. Perhaps it's just that Tifa seems genuinely interested in speaking with him.
[[ OOC: And I'm fine with the Land of Slow, but as this is back a bit, did you wish them to wrap shortly and perhaps chat some more in a more current thread? I'm still getting used to how this particular RP works. :) ]]
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Love, for one thing. Love and friendship and childhood dreams. And less pleasant things, too, but... those are less enjoyable to think about and she's certainly not going to bring up war and rivalries and experiments and tragedy. Not without a reason.
She happens to look up when someone approaching the bar catches her eye, and although there's a flash of surprise in her eyes when she recognizes the redhead, she takes the time to give Christian a pointed smile. "Looks like I've got another customer. If you need a refill or anything, just wave me down and I'll be right with you."
[OOC: I've had limited access this weekend so I apologize for having to be even slower than usual, but yeah, as it happens, I was planning to let Tifa get carried away by her bartender duties in a post or two and this is a good point for it. I'd be more than happy to let them chat again at any time, though! :) ]
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