You remind me of a girl, that I once knew.

[exhibition_ist]

Day: 18
Characters: Kallen (exhibition_ist) and Axel (fiery_finale)
Summary: Banter over dinner and spiked punch. Good times.
DAY/NIGHT & Time: Night, Dinnertime.
Status: Closed/Incomplete

Comments

[exhibition_ist]

Russian Roulette... Kallen didn't want to believe herself to be so morbid, but she could certainly relate. It had always been "shoot first" for her, but the problem was she didn't even know who was holding the gun on the other end, or if there was even anyone at all. Perhaps they had been mockingly left to play the games themselves, until they wished for that final bullet.

She wasn't suicidal. Well, her sense of self-preservation wasn't top-notch, either, but she sure as hell wasn't going to provide entertainment for whoever 'they' were, at her own expense.

However, she was apparently providing entertainment for this newcomer.

Scared? She almost laughed. (She was probably too obstinate for her own good, but she knew fear would only be used against her in a place like this.)

Kallen gave him a scrutinizing look and decided, what the hell. A little amusement never hurt anyone (...except when she was indulging herself with Guren's new functions) and he seemed friendly enough.

She smiled, though the cup masked her expression along with the bottom half of her face.

"No? I'm sure you do worse."

After all, she was well-versed in the art of harmless guises.

[firaga]

Axel didn't consider it morbid at all, really. He just considered it life. Sometimes, that was just the way things worked, and the best thing you could do was accept it. Wasn't that what he told that one kid? Lelouch, or something.

Oh well, not that it really mattered. All that mattered was that it made sense for the time being, so Axel would go with it until the time came to shake things up a bit.

Axel's sense of self-preservation was amazing, really. It was how he had conditioned himself to live, and every waking moment was spent plotting how to thwart the next. How did he accomplish that when he didn't know what would happen?

Staying alert for anything, because anything could happen, and that's all you really needed to know. It was easy, when you yourself weren't afraid. Couldn't feel fear if you tried. That's what he believed, anyway, though sometimes he showed signs of otherwise.

"Worse? You flatter me," he chuckled, taking another helping of the punch and gulping it down, tossing the cup aside and taking a few steps towards her. If she wanted him to leave, she would've ran off, right? "Though, I wouldn't judge a book by its cover. You never know what's inside, you know."

Laughing a bit, he stopped short of where she sat and sighed. She didn't make any indication she wanted him to go away, but there were still laws of personal space. At least he showed respect for that, sometimes, even if he threw the other rules off the shelf.

"Got a name? Don't sound familiar."

[exhibition_ist]

"Fair enough," she conceded, and motioned to the empty seat next to her. It didn't seem fair to leave him standing. After all, perhaps this "book" would provide an interesting read. (She was fairly certain he didn't hail from her world, in any case.)

"It's Kallen. I'm pretty sure I don't know you, either... What brings you here?"

She meant the cafeteria, since it seemed none of the patients had been brought to the institution by their will. ...Or conscious knowledge, even.

Kallen set down her drink in favor of propping her arm on her table and her chin on her fist as she studied his features. He certainly didn't look like he ate much. Then again, she couldn't blame him. If food wasn't such a necessity (and a lamentable one in this case), she'd immediately go without.

Was it the punch then? Or was it something (or someone) else?

[firaga]

Looking over at the indicated seat, he gave a shrug and stepped over to sit down. Truthfully, he didn't mind standing, but why be rude? Leaning back and getting comfortable, he looked around the cafeteria for a second before turning his attention back to her.

"Kallen, huh?" he said, a thoughtful look crossing his face. Well, wasn't that familiar, almost too close for comfort. Almost. Shrugging again, he gave a sigh, jerking a thumb towards himself. "I'm Axel."

Though he tried to shrug off the familiarity, for a moment he hesitated before introducing himself. With all the reminders right now, it kind of felt like she should already know his name, like it'd be one she shouldn't, or wouldn't, forget.

Another brief thought crossed his mind while he was lost in his musings: Had Sora told her what she said? Laughing, bitterly, he quickly got rid of that thought. Why did he care?

"What brings me here?" he started again, leaning forward to prop his elbows on the table. "Just thought I'd take a look around, you know. Heard the punch was good, thought I'd give it a try."

That was probably one of his first honest answers since he's been in the place, he realized as an afterthought. "What about you? Just checking out the scenery, or is your roommate that bad?"