I'll draw this line and hope you'll take my side [OPEN]

[thesmallergun]

Characters: OPEN
Location: Death by Pastry
Rating: PG
Time: September 29
Description: Another partner shindig is being hosted at Death by Pastry in preparation for the upcoming mission. Trust games, resonation help, and mingling ahoy! Check out the previous one here. There are two subthreads but feel free to make your own!

Comments

This works for me!

[smokeeasy]

It was the promise of free cake. It was always the promise of free cake. Or smokes. The latter (let's face it) would actually have motivated him better. But one way or another Badou was there. He had a plate piled up with French fancies, macaroons, a cheese danish or two, one chocolate eclair, and a selection of cookies--an impressive haul, really--and now all that was left was to hang back out of the way, eat, and watch people playing trust games.

It wasn't precisely masochistic, he told himself. Even if he did feel kind of melancholy being reminded of Al's absence and the fact that he didn't have a partner now (which he supposed meant he was going to be stuck in the city when this next mission came; hopefully not for Rain-of-Poisonous-Frogs, the sequel).

Oh, but hey, it looked like he wasn't the only one holding up this particular section of wall. And even if he wasn't exactly here looking, it wouldn't hurt him to be cordial.

Eying the guy next to him for a moment (man, did he ever look familiar), Badou extended his plate in somewhat-awkward offer, just as though there wasn't a whole table laid out with food just a few feet away. "Uh...macaroon?"

SORRY FOR kind of late tag ;;;

[middayitaly]

Romano almost didn't hear the offer, since he had basically started to daze out (in a completely grumpy-looking manner, of course). And even when he registered the sound, he didn't think that it was toward him. Because even he knew that his body language wasn't the most inviting at the moment.

Then he noticed that there really wasn't anyone else in the vicinity, and also. Well. The plate of food was sort of right in front of him.

"... what?," he replied, sounding much more confused than annoyed. Did he know this guy at all? Though actually, it made a bit more sense when he remembered that this was a shindig specifically meant for meeting strangers. Ugh. Why had he even landed himself in this situation?

With this train of thought, he abruptly pointed out, "There's a whole table of food right there, dammit. You trying to ask something else?" But of course, he took the macaroon. Why the hell not?

Worry not, worry not! I am often rather slow myself, so I'm def. not one to complain! :)

[smokeeasy]

Badou shrugged, not bothered by the ill tempered response. "Not really," he said conversationally, picking up a cookie off his plate and eying it experimentally (it was one of those shortbread cookies with a dollop of jam in the center) before taking a bite.

He spoke around the mouthful as he chewed, "Just seemed like the thing to do, you know. I'm standing here. You're standing here." He jerked his chin towards the people milling about in the center of the room, "All of them over there are trying to make small talk or meet their new soul mate or whatever. Kinda leaves us the odd men out." He didn't say it like he thought it made them friends of some sort, or even like he expected a real answer. Just a casual observation without any particular agenda underneath.

Okay!! That's good to hear, since I might be really busy this weekend :>;;

[middayitaly]

And Romano being the kind of guy who always suspected ulterior motives in people, the apparent honesty in this weird guy's tone took him off guard for a split moment, even if it was obvious from Romano's body language (hunched shoulders, crossed arms, still scowling, what else was new) that he was still wary. After all, he was never one who could hide his emotions very well in the first place, and simply casual interactions didn't come that easily for him.

But he didn't talk to people like this often, and he didn't really know how to react in response because of that. The closest in comparison he could think of was Greece, except without all the philosophical mumbo jumbo. (He actually got along well with Greece. But that meant nothing, of course not, not right now anyways.)

Taking a bite out of the macaroon just for the sake of having something to do, Romano replied a bit tersely, "Dammit, isn't there a better way to find partners than this? Feels like a fuckin' awkward business party or shit like that." Not directly saying that he himself was looking for a partner. For some reason, it was embarrassing to admit for some weird reason.

I shall be around but working-working-working, so whatever works best for you! I am flexible!

[smokeeasy]

"Well," Badou chewed his cookie thoughtfully and speculated, "my last partner and I met after that sandstorm we had a few months back. Day after I got here, actually. He was trying to find his brother who'd gotten lost in the storm and I said I'd help him look." He paused and then added, "We didn't start working together till a while after that though. Guess we just figured we got along pretty well so we might as well give it a shot."

That didn't really answer the question, since it was just a matter of chance and not the sort of thing one could really implement on a larger scale, but it was always possible to extrapolate from one experience, Badou thought--you know, if this guy was into that sort of thing.

It was sort of ironic though, he realized belatedly as he reflected on his answer, that in a way this was what he'd come for: not the chance to find a new partner so much as the chance to relive his attachment to the one he'd lost. The thing was, that now that he'd started talking about it, he found that even the talking was sort of therapeutic, or maybe it was just a matter of the company--this guy who pretty obviously didn't want to be his friend but was easy to talk to anyway. (He sure did look familiar, Badou thought again, the association right on the tip of his brain but still dancing just out of reach.)

Sounds good! o9

[middayitaly]

Despite his initial intentions, Romano found himself listening to the other's words more than he would admit. After all, he had never had a real partnership before... only ones that resulted from situations of necessity and panic. Though ironically enough, that same sort of circumstance was what he was even here for anyways. He wasn't even sure if he was comfortable with the whole idea of a partnership, or if there was even a 'proper' way to go about this whole business.

"Is it really that fucking easy?", he found himself asking under his breath, without even realizing it himself. After a beat, he seemed to notice his slip of tongue and spouted more loudly, as if trying to force it as the topic of conversation, "Lost in a storm? Dammit, that sounds like something my idiot of a brother would do."

Then a thought occurred to him, and he added, "Wait, if you already got a partner, why are you even hanging 'round here?"

\o/!

[smokeeasy]

"He got sent home," Badou said, answering the last question first and trying to ignore how a sense of melancholy had seeped into his words. "Him and his brother both."

A pause. No, he'd better clarify that. "Not the same brother. I mean, he was the same brother. But he was different. From a different version of their world or something. The first one was. But we never found him, and then later BREW brought him here again. And now they're both gone."

And yet, even knowing that the two of them were likely better off in their own world, Badou couldn't help but feel the lingering loss. "Something about this place and brothers. Mine was here for a--"

He paused, the puzzle pieces finally dropping into place. "Oh! Hey, I got it! I knew you looked like someone! Italy, right? He's your brother? We fought with him before he..." Oh. Shit. Right. "Before he got sent home," he finished lamely.

[middayitaly]

((OOC: oh and should I sign these two up in the mission post?))

"I-"

His words dried up. Well, that caught him in his blind side. He tried to think of his brother's absence as little as possible, because even if he was an annoying idiot who wouldn't stop hanging out with stupid people... Veneziano was still his brother and his other half and he'd be the worst liar ever if he said that he didn't miss him like hell.

"Yeah, he's my brother," he finally muttered, trying to appear as nonchalant about the matter as possible. "That bastard went and fuckin' left without me, can you believe it?" A huff. "Actually... you probably do, if your partner did the same damn disappearing act."

After a short, mopey, and slightly awkward silence, he quipped, "Even if it's 'for their own good' or whatever, that BREW could at least give a warning before it decides to magic away whoever the hell it wants."

[smokeeasy]

[[OOC: Ahh, yes yes, that would be excellent! I suppose one of us should mention it in Azusa's post where she's asking who's going. Will get on that next! o7]]

Badou felt kind of bad knowing he'd drudged up a painful topic, for both their sakes. And really, the best he could do was commiserate. Not just about Al being sent home either.

"Yeah, my brother did the same thing actually. I mean, Al, my partner--he kinda had to go, I guess. He needs to be where Ed is." Because of all those things about his soul being bound to the armor and how his body was getting nourishment and stuff like that which Badou wasn't going to disclose even now that Al was gone. "But Dave.

"BREW sent him back without any warning either. And he's been dead for seven years." By his tone, he sounded cavalier about it, but the truth was that the whole episode had been more than a little painful. "It just magics him up from beyond the grave--guy didn't even know what had happened to him. I mean, last he knew I was this scrawny little kid always tagging along with him everywhere he went, and he was still investigating all those kidnappings.

"And then just when I manage to get it all explained to him, and was kinda getting used to the idea of him being alive, poof. BREW does its damn hoodoo."

He shook his head, breathing a bit of a sigh and falling into a momentary silence of his own. But moping really wasn't going to make things any better, so presently, wiping his palm on his pant leg to make sure it was free of crumbs, he extended a hand to his companion in somewhat-belated introduction. "I'm Badou, by way."

[middayitaly]

Normally, he wouldn't care about some random dude's sob story. Terrible shit happened all the time, whatever. Back home, Romano had his own people to care about and hell if he was going to get attached to any old tragedy that came his way. When you live as long and see as much as a nation does, it's pretty much key to surviving the hard times.

But things were different than they were back home, and suddenly Romano found himself empathizing with the man's words. After all, he had some of his own losses weighing in his mind -- one by one, the people he cared about were starting to disappear in some way or another. Even if he tried to brush it off, being alone in this foreign place was one of the things he feared the most.

There some clear hesitation when he glanced at the hand extended to him, but when he finally reached out and clasped Badou's hand, it was a surprisingly resolute grip. "South Italy," he stated, "but Romano works better."

Taking his hand back and crossing his arms, he decided that maybe now would be an okay time to switch topics, since the current one couldn't have been comfortable for either of them. So, he mentioned the first thing to come to mind.

"So you hear 'bout that mission or whatever coming up?"

[smokeeasy]

"Oh," Badou said with a smile as he shook Romano's hand, the words escaping before his brain stopped to wonder whether or not making the comparison was really a good idea, "like the cheese!"

He certainly didn't mean it to come across as teasing or poking fun though, and since it hadn't occurred to him that it might be taken that way, he didn't pause for reaction before adding, genuinely, "Good to know ya."

But his expression did turn a bit more wistful as the topic shifted towards the upcoming mission. "Yeah. Man, it feels weird thinking about not going. I mean after that big battle with Adachi, and going to Norad, and all the stuff with burying the souls, I just sorta feel like I should be there, you know? But I guess there's only so much throwing myself on the floor I can really do."

He breathed a little sigh and picked up a chocolate eclair from his plate, seeming as much like he was trying keep his hands and mouth occupied as like he was really interested in eating. "What about you?"

[middayitaly]

Fortunately for Badou, that roll of his eyes was much too dramatic to suggest that he was legitimately offended. "No shit, sherlock! Where the hell d'ya think the cheese comes from, idiot?"

With the conversation shift, Romano similarly grew more pensive, the scowl on his face deepening, although not in the flustery angry sort of way that it usually did.

"Dammit, I barely know anything you just referred to, so that should say something. I'd be the worst fucking liar ever if I said I had any attachment or loyalty to this place, but..."

He paused for a bit, then went on to mutter a bit grimly, "... someone I know was taken by those witches. One of the actually decent people I've met 'round here. And hell if I'm just gonna let him rot in some prison cell going through God knows what."

... and shit, now he felt really awkward. His mind latching on to something that caught his attention in the other man's words, he asked, "Soul burials? I thought I heard something about eating them and shit." Romano sort of made a face at that, because it still sounded really fucking weird.

[smokeeasy]

Badou gave a little sideways shrug at the retort, answering around a mouthful of eclair, "Sheep." He was pretty sure that romano cheese came from sheep, anyway.

And then, recognizing the awkwardness that Romano's words had caused, he deliberately answered the latter question first, allowing whatever emotions the more personal revelation had stirred up to settle for a moment.

"Yeah, well...I just didn't feel so right about eating 'em, you know? I mean, I know the kishin eggs are basically monsters, but they got that way from eating human souls. So then us weapons are supposed to eat those souls, and get stronger and stuff. But it's only one step off from eating the souls they ate, right?

"Anyway, Al and I tried to find something else we could do with 'em, and in the end, Death the Kid buried them in that Death Room of his for us. But now I gotta tend their graves every couple days. Keeps 'em from getting too fussy so they don't wanna come out and start haunting people. Kinda like rocking a baby to sleep, I guess...except that they're dead, and uh, not babies."

He finished off the eclair, licked a bit of cream off his thumb, and went on conversationally, "So, you're planning to go break out this buddy of yours, yeah. And you're here looking for a meister to go with you?" He didn't know why he assumed that Romano was a weapon, but for some reason, in that moment, it didn't occur to him to wonder otherwise.

[middayitaly]

"Makes sense," Romano muttered, though it sounded as if the statement were more to himself than to Badou. It actually all sounded downright insane, but Romano was learning quickly that if he didn't take everything strange about this universe in stride, he wasn't going to last. After all, things were definitely worlds apart once you could start metaphorically comparing souls to... upset babies.

"Never really thought about it myself," he commented honestly with a shrug. "Maybe since I'm not the one who has to fuckin' eat them."

He hadn't even finished his macaroon yet, even with how small the cookie was, since it wasn't as if he had much appetite in the first place. But Romano ate the rest of it anyways before answering, "So no, not looking for a meister. Guess I'm trying to get a damn weapon, or else I'll be going in alone with a pistol or something."

A beat of silence. "Not that I'd mind that, but hell, with what might be waiting there... I sort of want a fighting chance, goddammit!" To be honest, the thought of fighting a witch sounded fucking terrifying, not to mention fighting one alone. After all, Romano had never fought a kishin or witch in person before -- only the creatures like the rabid frogs and the sand monsters.

So sorry for the late! RL got very busy the past few days :c Will tag in the event log next!

[smokeeasy]

The irony was that Badou wasn't actually hungry either. Not even as he eyed his plate, judging aside a cookie to see what was underneath. He was purely trying to keep his hands, mouth, and brain distracted until he could get outside and have another smoke. It was only marginally effective, and a certain degree of jittery energy was beginning to work its way subtly into his demeanor.

He picked up a macaroon of his own, took a bite of it, put it back on the plate, and picked up a French fancy before responding to Romano's words. "Yeah? Huh. You pretty good with a gun then, man? Because I--" He shoved the bite-sized pink pastry into his mouth, talking around it so that it half obscured his next words which, if Romano could make them out, were 'might know a gun of sorts who wouldn't mind going along with you.'

"From what I've seen of these kishin eggs, I'd say you'd have to be either brave or stupid to face one down with nothing but a handgun. Not that I don't know guys who'd do it, mind. I just like to go into a fight thinking I'm gonna come out of it again on the other side."

He shoved some cookies around his plate with his forefinger, then looked at Romano. "Man, I gotta go outside and inhale some bad air. You wanna come with?"

it's no problem!! life happens, man! o/

[middayitaly]

Through that pastry that Badou was working through, Romano couldn't completely understand the guy's words. But before he could ask him to clarify, he had already seemed to move from the point, so Romano shrugged it off, assuming it couldn't have been too important anyways.

"I don't specialize in guns or anything," he answered, "but dammit, you get a lot of practice in when you live as fucking long as I do." It wasn't as if he wasn't good with a gun, particularly -- the problem usually lied in the fact that Romano was rather skittish and easily spooked when it came to fighting, resulting in less-than-stellar aim. But hopefully, his daily training with Ping was helping with that aspect.

Stretching his arms, he nodded his consent to the suggestion. "Yeah, the decor in here is way too damn fruity for my tastes anyways." And fuck, he could even go for some 'bad air'. Romano had been cutting the urge to smoke in very recent years, but with since coming here, he sure as hell felt like he almost deserved to indulge a bit.