Meeting 2

10:16 PM FAITO
Night…is hungry. And is supposed to take her vitamin with food.
10:16 PM
Also, secret mysteries, but we can always multitask.
10:18 PM Night_Misaki
Vitamins. She wasn't sure whether to feel old or like a little kid. But at least that gave her a good reason to go back to Slice of Heaven, didn't it?
10:18 PM
So off towards the fabled land of pizza she went.
10:19 PM FAITO
As she enters, the propietor gives her the briefest of nods, before going bag to polishing a mug with a very clean rag. THe mug is also very clean, but there's the princple of the thing. For an afternoon, it's a bit dead - mostly deliveries, it would seem.
10:19 PM
Mostly empty, anyway. There's a woman in beret beating away a Galaga machine, an empty pitcher of beer and a half-empty pizza box beside her.
10:20 PM
The pizza's still visibly warm. The glass beside the pitcher is still visibly chilled. She works /fast/.
10:21 PM Night_Misaki
…Galaga? Really? Night tilts her head, ever curious, and creeps over to have a look.
10:23 PM Greenling is now known as Shousei_Yamazaki
10:24 PM FAITO
"We had a Rapunzel game, but they confiscated all the boxes. Some sorta glitch, ma'am. Hear there were some unfortunate acc-y-dents." The propietor turns away, amused for some reason.
10:24 PM
The beret turns, and for a moment, she's looking at an old photograph…then Michael - no. Oh, it's the woman from before.
10:26 PM Night_Misaki
That is…somewhat unsettling. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." Night looks back at the proprieter briefly, an eyebrow raised at that-what even was that accent?-before managing something like a sheepish look.
10:28 PM FAITO
"The look doesn-….doesn't suit you, Misaki-san. You look too mush like yer fa….fa…otousan." …let's set aside that no one that looks like Michael should ever smirk and blush at the same time.
10:29 PM Night_Misaki
wow someone's drunk. "…Considering I'm related to him, I should think I'd look like him?" How many Japanese people could there be with eyes this color, honestly?
10:31 PM FAITO
"No, most of the time, you look like,like, like Emily. HOW is she not your mother?"
10:31 PM
She winces. "No, that's a terrible thing to say."
10:31 PM
She winces again. "Terrible, terrible thing. And yet…"
10:31 PM
…and a third wince. "Just terrible." She finishes the glass, thus finishing the pitcher.
10:31 PM
And moves on to her fifth slice of…plain cheese pizza. No wonder the host isn't looking at her.
10:33 PM Night_Misaki
"…My mother's long dead." Night…is finding it very difficult not to smile. This…isn't the first pitcher, is it. "I don't look anywhere near as much like Emily as Michael does."
10:34 PM FAITO
She scowls at that name. "He is NOTHING like her."
10:34 PM
Then she burps.
10:34 PM
"….how's….how's the thingie goin'? You were workin' on a thingie last time you were here."
10:35 PM Night_Misaki
"Of course not. But he looks enough like her someone might get the wrong idea, hmm?" …Maybe that's too subtle a jab. "The thingy? It's…reminding me of the Tower of Babel, a bit."
10:37 PM FAITO
She…sets down her pizza. "Oh? How's that?"
10:38 PM Night_Misaki
"…Are you familiar with the story?"
10:39 PM FAITO
"….yes, I am. Proud men, unfettered by ignorance, chose to a-achieve the heights known only to God. As punishment, they were struck by division…chaos…ignorance…bias…whatever you want to call it. In the story, they lost the divine tongue and birth a thousand-thousand more…but I say…they just forgot what it means to be humble. To be mortal…t-to be righ.t"
10:42 PM Night_Misaki
"Or perhaps it was feared what they could do with the divine tongue. But that's the problem…it was lost. How do you name a thing in a language born from all of them?"
10:44 PM FAITO
Her eyes narrow. "That's not the kind of question young girls should be asking. Don't you have…dates or Clow cards…or…something?"
10:45 PM Night_Misaki
"…Clow cards? How many pitchers have you had?"
10:46 PM FAITO
"Jus' the one. No time for more. I've got…" She looks at her watch - for some reason, having a small, inward-turned fashion watch looks wrong on her. "Seventeen minutes."
10:46 PM Night_Misaki
"I seriously hope you don't need to be sober in seventeen minutes."
10:47 PM FAITO
She snorts. "I might still be drunk, but you'll still be petu…petchoo…a bitch." She sighs. "Sorry…"
10:47 PM Night_Misaki
sighs, and shrugs. "You know, I've gotten a little tired of people thinking they can decide for others what they can and can't handle."
10:47 PM FAITO
"Look, kid. Can I call you kid? No, but I'm gonna do it anyway. The whole point of that story is to WARN people…you approach the throne of god, you get exactly what you deserve…."
10:48 PM
"The exact kind of people who can't stop needing? That's what it means to be a child. When you can't separate…reality from gravity."
10:48 PM Night_Misaki
"…Are you sure you're not the one just trying to stop things from changing."
10:49 PM
"Are you sure you're even talking about me?"
10:49 PM FAITO
"Who ever said I was talkin' about you? But little girls should listen to oni….onee….oneechan."
10:51 PM Night_Misaki
"You're not my oneechan." She rubs at her temples, almost…irritably. "…You can't keep people from growing up. You can't leave them in ignorance of the choices they have, either. Even if those choices come with a heavy price, they're not yours to make for anyone else."
10:59 PM FAITO
"But…what we do with what we know is the only choice we have." She grins at her. "I think you know that." Her eyes… "M-maybe I can't stop what's coming. But…when you get to where I am. You have to wonder /how/ you want people to die. As people…or something worse."
11:02 PM Night_Misaki
"You're still taking away people's choices. Maybe I do understand, but don't agree with it." Night's eyes…narrow. "I'm tired of age, or level of experience, or relations, or a thousand other reasons people have to hide that everyone has more choices than just one. Let them know the truth and accept the consequences themselves."
11:06 PM FAITO
"The truth always comes out. It's a question of who's ready." She shakes her head. "I gotta run. And…I care about you. It's what people like mothers do." She heads for the door, leaving more than enough for a whole 'nother pizza.
11:07 PM Night_Misaki
"…I don't need a mother, nor were you ever one of mine." How irritating. What was with the obsession with mothers today?
11:09 PM FAITO
The woman looks visibly struck, but looks at the time and keeps moving.
11:10 PM Night_Misaki
Why would she be struck? Night stares at the door for a long time, and sighs, muttering to herself in japanese again. "I don't even know you, you can't claim motherhood like that."
11:12 PM FAITO
"Some people think they're everybody's mother. Usually not young women like that….if I were younger, I reckon… Osaka dialect, for added country tinge.
11:14 PM Night_Misaki
"…She's making up for Emily, I'm sure she imagines so. // Given the look of her…a niece, maybe? Too young to be a sister. Night just sits at the bar. "I feel like that does more harm than good."
11:16 PM FAITO
"
People almost always do more harm than good. But they mean well. Whatcha lookin' for,// sweet pea?"
11:16 PM Night_Misaki
"A way to name a thing, and pizza, not necessarily in that order."
11:17 PM
She almost smiles at the endearment. Almost.
11:18 PM FAITO
"Name's easy, cutie pie. You just gotta know the lingo. Well, not just the lingo. You gotta know the neighborhood. And pizza? That's my neighborhood."
11:20 PM Night_Misaki
"I'd assume so. Neighborhood, huh…" Language clusters? Maybe trying to say the name in a hodgepodge of languages wasn't the idea. Maybe each 'name' belonged to a certain language group? A word group? What…
11:21 PM
"As for the pizza…surprise me. I'm feeling a bit like something different."
11:21 PM FAITO
He nos, gesturing to the back where presumably some sort of staff is working.
11:21 PM
*nods
11:21 PM
(Gimme a Lore check?)
11:23 PM Night_Misaki
(6)
11:25 PM FAITO
…huh. Neighborhood. Well, some people are already "in" the game's logic, one way or another. Seeing things that they aren't supposed to…triggering reactions inside the architecture. Someone able to SPEAK to the game…well…that might be a good starting point.
11:26 PM Night_Misaki
…Michael doesn't speak.
11:26 PM
That one's out.
11:26 PM
…But what about a demon?
11:27 PM FAITO
ASPECT ACQUIRED: The Tongue of Babel
11:29 PM Night_Misaki
Night thinks about it, fiddling idly with her glasses. She could only get the reall Jack half the time, but she needed him to answer now…Jack. You there?
11:31 PM FAITO
How can I serve you, Master? Hi ho!
11:32 PM Night_Misaki
No dice. How do you name a Pyro Jack? With fire and mischief. "…" She searches for the vitamin bottle before slumping over the bar. There has got to be a better way to get your attention. Do I have to unbutton my shirt or something?
11:33 PM FAITO
….Would you like to remove the parental controls on your copy of Paradise?
11:33 PM Night_Misaki
No.
11:34 PM FAITO
A pumpkin, shallots, grape and mozarella personal pizza is set before her.
11:34 PM Night_Misaki
Shousei. Michael. The sword. Was it the presence of gnOsis that mattered? …She shouldn't test this here, it was a very nice pizza place that didn't deserve to be lit on fire-ooh. "Ah. Thanks." Well…this looks interesting. Might as well try it.
11:35 PM FAITO
it's funny. The first bite's only okay, but after the weird spice-covered taste of the vitamin? It tastes a lot better.
11:37 PM Night_Misaki
Huh. Night chews on it idly, pondering that. And pondering why a vitamin is spicy. Before her thoughts inevitably drift back to the language. He'd popped up in Will's apartment, too…She still had the sword, didn't she? There had to be some way to force it.
11:38 PM
…What is a name, anyway?
11:42 PM FAITO
The door opens. (Lore?)
11:45 PM Night_Misaki
(6)
11:45 PM FAITO
Night gets a sudden headache, like the circuits in her skull just reversed.
11:46 PM Night_Misaki
Ow. Ow.
11:46 PM
Head back down on the bar. What was in those vitamins?
11:47 PM FAITO
In walks a young man, maybe even a teenager. Average height, but built strong into his body like an athlete. Boots, slacks, and a long poncho of purple kind of make him stand out where dark, straight hair over his face and darker eyes barely stand out from the mess.
11:47 PM
….You okay, boss? Finally give yourself a smart aneurysm?
11:47 PM
Glances left, glances right. He goes over to the Galage machine…and watches it, staring.
11:48 PM Night_Misaki
…Night looks up and-who the hell wears a purple poncho-eyes this new man. …I need to know how demons talk to other demons, Jack. What kinda language you use.
11:48 PM
And no, I think his fashion sense just physically pains me.
11:49 PM FAITO
Babel. Duh! And yeah - what is he, a bandito?
11:49 PM
After the demo game plays out, he looks very carefully over the top scores. He nods. The top one is the only non-default. "EPI"
11:50 PM Night_Misaki
Can you teach me. …'EPI'—Epimetheus?
11:50 PM
…Oh fuck was that her.
11:50 PM FAITO
He looks down at the money and at the leftovers. And calls out in…not Spanish…Portuguese? "One pizza. Barbecue chicken.
11:51 PM Night_Misaki
It is a language Night doesn't speak, either way. She…continues to nom her pizza, watching poncho man. If he pulls out a small guitar we are so out of here.
11:52 PM FAITO
They're called ukeleles, boss. Like in those comics, with the naked guys.
11:53 PM Night_Misaki
….those are Ukes, Jack. Small difference. Where have you been reading those?
11:53 PM FAITO
The man turns his attention to Night…and smiles. From this angle, he's somewhat handsome…not at the level of recent contenders, but….well, he was handsome untl those EYES lock on her.
11:53 PM
That…must be how everyone else feels whenever Night's in the room.
11:54 PM Night_Misaki
Well, shit.
11:54 PM
She is never ever going to hear the end of it if she ends up arrested for assault tonight.
11:55 PM FAITO
"Naito Misaki."
11:55 PM
His Japanese is surprisingly sharp.
11:56 PM Night_Misaki
"…The last time someone said my name that dramatically I got proposed to, please don't."
11:57 PM FAITO
He closes the distance between them. "You're too restrained for me. And far too young."
11:57 PM
Funny. He doesn't look much, if at all, older.
11:57 PM
Booooooooss….don't piss him off!/
11:57 PM Night_Misaki
"I'm just covering bases." What is he? Who is he?
11:59 PM FAITO
….I…I dunno, boss. Whatever it is, it ain't human…
11:59 PM Night_Misaki
"Is there something you want?" She's doing her best to be polite.
11:59 PM
…not human like Michael?
11:59 PM FAITO
"Iris Lin."
11:59 PM
….Michael WISHES he were this scary. Not on the best day of his life.
12:00 AM Night_Misaki
"…Annnd you're asking me because you think I know where she is." I did not sign up for dragon fights.
12:00 AM
..…Well okay I sort of did but not now!
12:01 AM FAITO
"She was here." Very precise, she's starting to realize, because he's speaking very carefully.
12:01 AM Night_Misaki
"She didn't exactly introduce herself."
12:03 AM
"But if you mean the lady who was drunk off her ass, she already left."
12:04 AM FAITO
His eyes narrow and Night's heart starts to beat just a little faster. Every bit of her instinct is saying tooclosetooclosetooclose.
12:04 AM
"…drunk. She is toying with me. Or she has given up. Either way…do you think I'm wasting my time?"
12:07 AM Night_Misaki
Just a dream. Just a dream just a dream-what happens when you die in a dream. Night lets out a slow breath. "…I don't know. Do you think your goal's worth the time? If the answer is yes, then how could it be a waste?"
12:10 AM FAITO
"Because some goals are given. Others - taken." He looks at her. "You ought to know. Then again, knowing the difference comes first-" "Pizza's on, hoss!"
12:11 AM
He nods. "It's only fair. One pitcher of beer. Dos Equis, if you have it." He goes back to the bar, as if Night weren't even there.

12:12 AM
He looks to a watch as he eats. Then to the Galaga machine. And shrugs.
12:13 AM
There's just this feeling….that eventually he's going to get bored. And he's going to do /something else/. The question is what.
12:14 AM Night_Misaki
"…" This seems like. A good time to finish and pay. Something in her says arguing with him is pointless and dangerous.
FAITO
…how long have his eyes been that bright violet. And how long have they….its almsot like they're GLOWING.
12:15 AM
…and where the hell did the proprietor go?
12:15 AM
Yes, this might be a good time to go.
12:15 AM FAITO
Boooooooooooooss…
Night_Misaki
"…" GOING. GOING NOW. LEAVE THE MONEY AND RUN.