savetheearth | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who: Alexander, Anthony, Bakura, Banagher, Hajime, John, Lyall, Ravindra, Reilanin & Vanessa
Where: Alex & Ravi's apartment
When: Friday, Sept. 13th (ooooh)
What: Movie night!
Warnings: --

[ and so it happened that tonight was a movie night slightly different from the one alex, anthony, john (and ravindra, when he wanted to be included) had grown accustomed to -- namely, the volume of bodies had doubled, plus two. the cats were split in opinion; adhirat sought shelter in ravi's room, while olivia got cozy with anyone who'd give her the time of day and gomez poked around and occasionally darted off.

the more the merrier -- for anthony's sake, partially, as holing up in an apartment couldn't have been very fun (thought alex) while his peers enjoyed (or enjoyed to hate) school. bakura was a friend of his, so alex was more than happy to have him over. lyall could always use a break. hajime had been an invaluable asset at the water bust and seemed like a swell guy. john was an 'of course'; a founding member of movie night and someone alex got along with splendidly. vanessa, well.

vanessa could do with the company of good people. she seemed to get along with banagher fine, too, and alex was fond of both of them.

as for reilanin, he was basically continuing to offer the branch of friendship, or something like it. he'd actually been surprised when she accepted the invitation. as a librarian, she was probably familiar with the movie they'd be watching tonight.

twilight (or the save the earth equivalent of). ]

[ ooc: more or less a mingle log! throw up your own threads, go hog wild, yeah!
here's the apartment layout for reference. they're on the second floor! ]

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He follows the movement of her hand, fingers brushing her hair back, and drops his gaze to her shoulder, then behind her. It seems a vulnerable moment for her. He's not sure he should be watching.

The dip of the bed, this time caused by her, coaxes his attention back onto her. "That's... up to you. I'll help you."

Another rueful smile for something that doesn't warrant smiling. "We can keep each other in check."

She looks back to him, searching his face to see if she can tell what he's thinking. He's trying. That's about all she can tell. Reading people isn't something she's good at, and she desperately wishes she were now.

The smile doesn't provoke one of her own, but for some people, smiles are precious things. She isn't offended by it, just... confused, maybe. This isn't something to find humour in. It can't be. They know what they are. It's just a matter of time.

"Is anyone trying to find out why this is happening?"

A sudden, almost sharp question, leaving her lips the moment it hits her brain. "Someone's got to be. The Thunder Corp stuff, is it related? Is that why-?"

She stares at him. "If that's it, then- I want to help. I want to try and stop this. I don't want to be the person I'm becoming."

Once again taken aback by her sudden sharpness, he regards her silently.

"The church meeting," he finally says. "That's all we know -- all I know. A group went into the mines, but Vin said they didn't find anything but remnant monsters."

He glances to the side, then half-heartedly throws his hand up. It lands on his thigh with a soft pat. "The only 'why' we've gotten is that we're supposed to 'save the earth.' "

Edited 2013-09-18 04:00 (UTC)

That's all he knows, the same as her... and a little more. But it isn't much. She stares at him and finds herself biting her lower lip, glancing aside. Is that all? Monsters and some directive to save the earth. "What does that... even mean... is this like some sort of game?..."

There's a tightness to her words, a narrowing of her eyes on him, even though she knows it isn't something he can do anything about. It's almost as though she's getting mad.

Because she is mad.

"I don't recall anyone asking me if I wanted to do anything like that," she mutters, looking down. "And how on earth am I going to do something like that... like this?"

A kind of rebellion kindles inside of her. She'll take a lot of nonsense, but having her free will comprimised in such a way is not among them.

Frowning, he bites his lower lip again. He'd chew the inside of his cheek, but after enough times of forgetting that he's got fangs, Alex has long since trained himself out of that habit.

With a sigh, he closes his eyes and runs his fingers through his hair. "I wish I had an answer for you," he says wearily, "for all of us, but I don't. None of us do. Right now, we're just trying to keep up with our lives."

His hand drops onto the space between them. "I don't know if staying away from me will stop all of your pulses-- your Echoes -- but it'll probably prevent some of them. Do you... want to do that?"

She seems about to say something, but bites her tongue. She's being unfair. He's had to deal with this longer, he's got more going for him- it's not right of her to make it out like she's the only one affected here. The tired look on his face, the way he's sitting, they're all signs that this is all old news and if there's an answer, he hasn't thought of it yet, and not for lack of trying.

The suggestion has her glaring at the floor again. She wants to say yes. She never could have imagined their association would have so much trouble following it. She wants to leave the city, she wants to forget everything that's happening to her, that will happen, because it's all laid out now. There are no mysteries, as far as she's concerned.

(Oh Rei, if only you knew.)

She breathes in, then out again, repeating the process a few times before she sighs a little. "I don't know. Yes and no. It's- it's hard to explain. It's going to happen anyway, isn't it? I've had them with and without you. We were- we knew each other, at least. It seemed... it seemed amicable enough. At least- at least there shouldn't be any problems between us."

There's a strange silence and she says softly, "there isn't really anyone else to talk to about it on my end, either, so... I think I'd just end up coming to you again regardless."

His brows pinch together. "That's so sad."

Whoops, that wasn't supposed to leave his head.

He grips the sheet, averting his gaze. "You know, I was so excited when Vin got his number. It meant I didn't have to keep everything a secret from him. I was pretty excited when we got the same memory at the church, too, because it meant there was someone else I shared a... life or experience or whatever it was."

He lets out a breathy laugh, just the one. "That was pretty fucking stupid."

She shoots him a Look, one that was likely part and parcel of why he started calling her Miss Banshee in his head. It falters easily though under the weight of the truth in it, and when she speaks, there's no sting to it. "... I put up with a lot to get to where I am now. To have my own space, my own peace and quiet. I'm already aware of how strange it sounds, but..."

Excited. She looks at him again while he speaks, turning that around in her head. He reminds her of her brother, with a greater inclination towards cheerfulness, even if it's forced, an amiable nature she never quite got the hang of. She tries to imagine her brother in just such a position and it isn't so far off from Alex's words- the more the merrier, as it were.

"...not really," she says, like a reassurance. "I don't think so, anyway. I think... I don't know what I would have done, if I'd been going through this on my own. I can't imagine what it must have been like for you in the beginning. It's easy to see how it would have been a relief to find others."

"It was fine in the beginning. Well, compared to now. I got my fangs before Vin was in, and he's the one who pointed them out to me. I dunno, though, he just let it go..."

"Not much to be done about them, I suppose. File them down? But, ah... well, so long as you don't bite anyone, it doesn't really matter..."

He grimaces at the suggestion. "I'm waiting for them to turn retractable like the ones in True Blood."

He isn't actually waiting for them to do that, but it would be nice.

"I wonder if anything will change with me. I mean, outside of..." She sighs. "Outside of the full moon business."

Was there a way to see herself from that other life? Or was it a wait and see situation?

She looks ahead a moment longer before she looks to him again, eyebrow slightly raised.

"...thanks. Alexander." She nibbles at her lower lip a moment.

If anything else does change for her, he hopes it doesn't affect her ability to hold her job. From what she said earlier, it sounds like she lives alone.

Like independence is one of her higher priorities.

Her raised eyebrow is returned with a raised eyebrow of his own. "Ready to go back?" he asks gently.

"I think so. Are you? You're the one that ducked out first, after all."

"Yeah."

Not that he wants to rejoin the group just yet, but he's pretty damn good at shoving parts of himself into a box. It's a skill he developed on the job.

Rising to his feet, he crosses the short distance to his door and holds it open for her.

She doesn't quite believe him, but it isn't her choice to make or her place to say otherwise. She follows suite, pushing up off of the end of his bed and, at a somewhat slower pace, joins him by the door.

She looks up as she pauses by the door, one last glance before she nods and brings her eyes back down.

Wordlessly, Rei returns to the living room, seeming none the worse for her and Alexander's conversation.

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