Mallside VIII: OrksOrksOrks!

[Devixer]

Food Court

Aiden sighs. He could say something like "I'm not getting out of this, are I," but that sigh was enough, really. With a resigned look on his face, he picks up the console and waits for the game to boot up. He'd forgotten how long it took.

[Deathkeeper]

Food Court

Pat nods and does the same. It really does take a while to boot up, doesn't it?
Pat selects Marth, and waits for Aiden to start the game without comment, though she does appear to be humming something.

[Devixer]

Food Court

Aiden of course selects Ness. And no matter how many times he loses, he will be sticking with Ness. And Aiden is going to lose a lot. Not only is he not very alert, he also hasn't played any video games in quite a while.

[Deathkeeper]

Food Court

And Pat will be selecting Marth. She is also not very good, and Aiden does stand a chance of winning a match or two. Maybe not the first one, but if he wakes up a bit he might be able to beat her.

[Devixer]

Food Court

Aiden might get a couple of wins here and there, but he won't be carrying the day. He'll also check the time on the system a couple of times, waiting for his break to be over.

[Deathkeeper]

Food Court

Pat sighs, folding the tiny console.
"Well, I really thought that would work. Too bad for both of us, I guess. Clearly you're far too unhappy to ever have fun again, and I should stop wasting my time in the hope of you actually having the guts to change anything. I think I better go now and give you the last five minutes of your break so you can mope alone like you wanted." she huffs irritably.

[Devixer]

Food Court

Aiden widens his eyes, looking livid. He closes the system as well, and stands up. "Well gosh, I'm so sorry I can't be happy on command and I don't want to change things with Nexus crap. Clearly I'm the one at fault, not the genie trying to push her wishes on someone who never asked for them," he says, sliding the thing back across the table, partially hoping it falls.

[Deathkeeper]

Food Court

Pat stares at the ground. She sighs.
"Crap. I'm sorry. Really. I just felt like I could help, but clearly I just need to accept that there isn't always a place for me. I was just trying way too hard. Sorry for bothering you."
she says, pocketing the items and turning to go.

[Devixer]

Food Court

Aiden sighs too. He had better control of his temper now than he did before he got to the Nexus, but sometimes he still lost it. "Look, you wanna help? Go help someone who really needs it. I'm just a guy whining about his food service job, there's thousands of people like me. Go cure a sick kid or something."

[Deathkeeper]

Food Court

Pat scratches the back of her head awkwardly.
"Well, I can't just waltz into hospitals, for a number of reasons. Primarily is security and the reason that there's no fair way to choose which people to help and who not to. But moreover, it's sort of a rule. I have to be non-selective. It's just how I work. But you shouldn't consider yourself unimportant. If you really are miserable, it's worth trying to fix, even if your life isn't in danger. A person's a person and that whole routine."

[Devixer]

Food Court

Aiden sighs again. Sometimes he's awfully fond of doing that. "I'm sorry. I know you want to help, I just don't want to be helped by magic or wishes or Nexus things in general. I'm not from here, and it should be obvious that I hate this place."

[Deathkeeper]

Food Court

Pat look up at him with pity.
"Well, yeah. I used to be a lot like that. Worked in a sandwich place, hated all the weird things that would come in and well, be weird. But...it just doesn't work, doing that. Sitting alone and hating a really big portion of the people around you isn't healthy. Because it's not going to stop. And chances are, no one's going anywhere. So...sometimes people just need a push in the right direction, I guess. I'm apparently not very good at that." she says.

[Mee]

[The Roost] The Roost. The Roost is on fire.

At some point when Aiden's cafe is quiet, the whims of fate decree that it should not, in fact, be quiet!

The door slams open (is gently opened by someone actually being polite) with a loud bang (or a jingle of the bell, or whatever Aiden might have in place to signify that it's customer time), and in walks the dynamicist of duos!

Yes indeed! It's Ally and Naku! Naku walks in first, and spends the first few moments taking in the sights.
Naku's actually wearing something different for the first time ever! She's currently wearing a loose t-shirt and baggy sweat pants. And man were they more comfortable than anything she had ever worn.

"This place is nice!" She comments, looking around to see how many customers/Aidens are there.

[Devixer]

Food Court

Aiden stays silent for a moment. "...I should get back to work," he says. "But thanks for talking with me. Come by the Roost sometime, I'll probably be more pleasant." With that, he turns to leave, unless Pat has anything super important to say.

The Roost

That point happens to be the late afternoon, about a half hour before closing. There are a couple of customers, sitting at a tables and sipping at a mug of coffee.

When Naku and Ally enter, there's nobody at the counter for a few moments. "I'll be with you in just a moment!" comes from the kitchen. Aiden's washing a couple of particularly stubborn plates.

[goto124]

The Roost

A skinny, fair-skinned figure gently opens the door, and glides into the cafe. Her blue silk robe drags along the floor, yet it does not pick up any dirt that happens to be there, as she takes a look around.

When she spots Naku, she stops walking immediately, and turns her head away defensively. She wringles her hands and stares off in another direction.


Awkward pause.



Long, awkward pause.




Biting her lips, she slowly moves towards Naku, careful not to get too close to her.

'Hello,' she greets Naku. Her nervousness could be felt in her voice. 'If I'm... not mistaken...' She takes a small breath. 'We have... met before...?'

[FireFox]

The Roost

The redheaded woman steps in behind the robed one, but she holds the door open while she professionally appraises the locks and bolts. She teases the mortice with a dextrous finger, then allows the door to close. It looks as if she has turned to look at Naku and the other woman, but she merely faces that direction while searching for cameras. At last, she saunters up to the counter, leans against it, and waits for Aiden to come out and realize how badly his day will be ruined.

[Mee]

The Roost

A skinny, fair-skinned figure gently opens the door, and glides into the cafe. Her blue silk robe drags along the floor, yet it does not pick up any dirt that happens to be there, as she takes a look around.

When she spots Naku, she stops walking immediately, and turns her head away defensively. She wringles her hands and stares off in another direction.


Awkward pause.

Long, awkward pause.

Biting her lips, she slowly moves towards Naku, careful not to get too close to her.

'Hello,' she greets Naku. Her nervousness could be felt in her voice. 'If I'm... not mistaken...' She takes a small breath. 'We have... met before...?'

[The Roost]

"What? Oh. Um. Yes. Yes of course. You were . . . . You know. you. From the . . . the place. With the thing. of course I remember you." Naku replies, eyes kind of squinting, deep in thought.

[Devixer]

The Roost

Aiden's day is already well on its way to being ruined. He hasn't had a genuinely good day at this place in quite some time. Business was good, sure, but he often fell behind in simple things like washing dishes because he has to take orders and also make everything.

And to top it off, now he had customers just before closing time, which was always fantastic. He gives up on the dishes for now and heads up to the counter. "Hi' welcome to the - oh." he stops his routine greeting when he recognizes someone. "Hey Naku." Not very professional of him to ignore the other two customers.

[goto124]

[The Roost]

"What? Oh. Um. Yes. Yes of course. You were . . . . You know. you. From the . . . the place. With the thing. of course I remember you." Naku replies, eyes kind of squinting, deep in thought.

[The Roost]

'Well... I'm Kelcey,' the blue-robed lady starts, struggling to face Naku. 'From that... inn... Dancing Fox...' Her hands were held behind her back. 'Not sure if... you know me... you were unconscious...' She's biting her lower lip again. 'Just wanted to say... sorry-' Immediately, Kelcey looks down to stare at her own slippers. 'I thought... I could help... didn't think that-' She throws her head further downwards, causing her eyes to be covered in shadow.

For a while, she remains silent.

Finally, she flings her head up to look at Naku, and blurts out, 'I'm sorry for hurting you that time!'

And silence again. Kelcey has clammed up, waiting for Naku's response.

[FireFox]

[The Roost]

Hi Aiden. Ally looks over her shoulder at the ensuing scene behind her. Guess she has to do the talking now. She tries to get the owner's attention by the subtle expedient of stacking paper currency on the counter in front of him, taking each bill out of a fat wallet and setting it down one at a time. I haven't slept in... She twists her left wrist to check a watch, her right hand pausing in midair with the fifth twenty. ... Sixty-one hours? Eesh. Can I get the most caffeinated coffee you have?

[Mee]

def The Roost:

The Roost

Aiden's day is already well on its way to being ruined. He hasn't had a genuinely good day at this place in quite some time. Business was good, sure, but he often fell behind in simple things like washing dishes because he has to take orders and also make everything.

And to top it off, now he had customers just before closing time, which was always fantastic. He gives up on the dishes for now and heads up to the counter. "Hi' welcome to the - oh." he stops his routine greeting when he recognizes someone. "Hey Naku." Not very professional of him to ignore the other two customers.

"Hey Aiden! I'll be up with you in a bit, Ally wants to talk to you for now, though."

[The Roost]

'Well... I'm Kelcey,' the blue-robed lady starts, struggling to face Naku. 'From that... inn... Dancing Fox...' Her hands were held behind her back. 'Not sure if... you know me... you were unconscious...' She's biting her lower lip again. 'Just wanted to say... sorry-' Immediately, Kelcey looks down to stare at her own slippers. 'I thought... I could help... didn't think that-' She throws her head further downwards, causing her eyes to be covered in shadow.

For a while, she remains silent.

Finally, she flings her head up to look at Naku, and blurts out, 'I'm sorry for hurting you that time!'

And silence again. Kelcey has clammed up, waiting for Naku's response.

"I . . . um? What was this? I've gotten hurt a lot. More specific please?" Naku looks more bemused than angry.

[goto124]

Kelcey starts to wonder why she was doing this. At least, she's not as nervous now.

'That time... when you entered the Dancing Fox... you were covered in blood...' Kelcey seems to be scanning Naku's body. 'Your right leg... it was disabled... you were shot too... She shuffles her feet uncomfortably. 'But when I tried to heal you... it did ... the opposite... didn't know what happened... would you... remember...?'

[Devixer]

The Roost

Aiden racks his brain for a moment. Had he actually met Ally? He didn't think so. Naku probably told her about him. "I can set you up with a Robusta blend, that's the most caffeine I've got here. Can I also assume you want the biggest size mug I've got?"

[Mee]

Kelcey starts to wonder why she was doing this. At least, she's not as nervous now.

'That time... when you entered the Dancing Fox... you were covered in blood...' Kelcey seems to be scanning Naku's body. 'Your right leg... it was disabled... you were shot too... She shuffles her feet uncomfortably. 'But when I tried to heal you... it did ... the opposite... didn't know what happened... would you... remember...?'

Naku blinks once. Twice. Then a third time. "Oooooh. Right!" Naku's body seemed to be fine. Both in the health sense, and in many other senses. "Yeah, I remember. Someone tried to rip out my hamstring, and someone else shot me in the back with a shotgun. Fun times. I remember that now. I would appreciate," Naku grins, showing her super pointy teeth, "if you don't do that again. But it's all good! Nooo worries. You were honestly trying to help."

[goto124]

[The Roost]

'Good thing we cleared that up... Just thought it would be right to... let you know.' Kelcey breaks into a gentle smile as relief flows over her.

'The things that happened to you though, they sound awful. Why would anyone want to do them?'

[Mee]

[The Roost]

'Good thing we cleared that up... Just thought it would be right to... let you know.' Kelcey breaks into a gentle smile as relief flows over her.

'The things that happened to you though, they sound awful. Why would anyone want to do them?'

"Self defense." Naku says with a hint of a shrug. "I was helping a friend get back his body, and some cultists were there and decided they didn't like me, nor did they like having their throats ripped out. I didn't like them much either. They had some summoned hell hounds at some point, which is what tried to slow me down. The hounds missed; I didn't. Anyway. Please just don't do that again, ne?" She asks, all full of smiles and cheer and a distinct lack of remorse.

[goto124]

[The Roost]

'I promise!' Kelcey replies, holding out her right hand, which had a foot-long paddle. It has a thin oak handle with holes in the middle, and a triangular dark leather head embroidered with a western dragon.

'Oh goodness, I didn't mean to show you this.' A light blush appears on Kelcey's cheeks as she quickly tucks her paddle into her robe, and holds out her hand again. This time, it's empty. 'A handshake? I must say, I haven't even learnt your name!'

[The Bushranger]

[Food Court]

Meanwhile, a few seats away from where Pat is sitting, a new figure arrives.

And boy, is it a figure.

A...generous figure. In a rather not generous spy catsuit.

The figure (and outfit) belong to Lucca O'Connell, aka Lucy, who has a fried chocobo sandwich and waffle fries on her tray. And lemonade, too.

[Deathkeeper]

Food Court

Pat, whose figure it athletic and strong but not nearly as "generous" as the other woman's, is sitting at her table sullenly, and gives a weak wave as the woman passes by and sits down, just to be social. The green, spiral-horned djinni certainly doesn't seem her usual upbeat self, antelope ears drooped.

[The Bushranger]

[Food Court]

Lucy waves back, then takes a second look at the upset-looking young woman. She pauses, considering, long enough to take a bite of Krypton Fried Chocobo, then turns her attention fully to Pat.

"You look like somethin's troublin you," she says, her voice with just enough of an accent that some might call it 'exotic'. "Somethin' on your mind? I'm Lucy," she introduces herself, smiling encouragingly (she hopes).