☼ eight ☼

[punkblaze]

[Things were calm for Eithan before, but they sure as hell aren't anymore... and that much is obvious if anyone happens to see him in the bar.

He's sitting on the floor, actually - back to the wall, knees up. There's also a huge, open bottle of dark rum beside him, and an empty rocks glass beside that. He looks like he's thinking about pouring himself some, but... well, ultimately, he makes other plans for that glass.

In that he throws it into the air, mutters something under his breath, and detonates it with a loud, smoky "CRACK!!" as the shards fly off in all directions.

Yeah, he's just gonna take a sip of that rum right from the bottle now...

He's not even sure he really wants to be drunk right now, it's more like he just wants to be away from Meridia. Away from people involved. Away from all the bullshit and the nonsense and away from what just happened and... and yet, he doesn't want to be alone, not really. Not entirely.

So. Here he is. Depressed and a little angry, staring at a bottle of rum, entirely unsure of what the hell to do with himself. ]

Comments

[decrypts]

[york has a penchant for sticking his nose where it doesn't belong - or where it isn't wanted - but when he comes across eithan, he can't help but to stop.

the kid looks pissed. and like he's just lost his best friend. and since he considers him to be a friend .. he has to stop and say something.] .. What happened, and who do I have to punch?

[punkblaze]

[Eithan looks up when he hears York... but then shakes his head and looks down at the floor again. He gives a quiet, dark sort of chuckle.]

You don't have to punch anyone, man. She's already fuckin' vanished. [pause] It's... a hell of a fuckin' story.

[decrypts]

[that chuckle isn't one that he's used to. this isn't the eithan he's used to, just for the fact that he seems so caught up in whatever's gotten him down that it's bleeding into everything around him.

so he slides down the wall to sit on the floor next to him, forearms resting across his knees.] If you don't wanna talk about it, I won't ask. None of my business and all that. But, hey. [he nudges him with an elbow.] You know I've got your back, right?

[punkblaze]

[The nudge does win the faintest of smiles out of him, if only because he knows the intent behind it - it's the same thing he'd do for a friend, after all.]

Yeah, no. I know. And hey man, careful with that, I might take you up on it one day, and my world is a fuckin' mess. [smirk! ... but it's gone again pretty quick.] It's just...

[The truth of the matter is... the whole story is so long, and Eithan is so afraid of what his friends would think of him if they knew the truth about his past... Yeah, he can't tell his whole story yet. But he can tell part of it. So that's what he does.]

There's this group in my world. The Order. They're pretty much evil incarnate at this point. Bunch of corrupt fuckers... Anyway, they tried to set up a friend of mine like she was a traitor. I busted her out of there, but...

[A long pause, as his expression goes dark. ... He takes another sip of that rum.]

It uh... it didn't work.

[decrypts]

I wouldn't offer if I didn't have every intention of following through, kiddo. I don't offer my services lightly. [because he really doesn't, and when he does? he means business. for real.

york listens to him as he talks, because he had asked what was going on, after all - and even though he still doesn't know a whole lot about where he's from, it will always make sense to him to want to help out a friend.

case in point: his offer to kick someone's ass for him.] Didn't work as in .. what? Did anybody get hurt? [dumb question, moron .. but it's all he's got.

and don't mind him if he snags that bottom of rum to take a sip. it seems kind of like their tradition, after all. might as well keep with it.]

[regretisfosuckas]

[this is kenzi.

this is kenzi poking around as she most often does. usually, it ends pretty badly for her - because of her luck, and her penchant for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and generally not giving a damn about whether or not she's about to get herself into trouble.

because hindsight is always 20/20, and with her, it's crystal-freakin'-clear.

she doesn't see eithan sitting against the wall - at least, not until that nice little crack!! that has her jumping and squeaking in tandem.

except you didn't hear that. you didn't hear that at all.] .. Uh. Was that you that just did that?

[punkblaze]

[And he didn't expect anyone to be poking around here when he set that glass off, so he starts a little as well - looks up at the unfamiliar woman and blinks.]

Uh-!

[He looks around, at the glass everywhere, and... snorts.]

Yeah. Uh. That was me.

[regretisfosuckas]

[everyone should always expect kenzi to be poking around where she isn't supposed to be, because it's pretty much just what she does.

but she stops here in front of eithan, hands on her hips, a low whistle slipping between her lips.] So .. who pissed you off? 'Cause if you need some help kickin' some ass, I can totally do that.

[she's got her brass knuckles in her back pocket, man. you just say the word.]

[punkblaze]

[Okay, this chick is amusing, if nothing else.]

I always need help kickin' ass, it's more fun with more people around.

[She's making it way easier for him to just slip into his usual routine of playing pretend, of acting like everything's fine and life's just one dumb joke after another.]

You always go lookin' for trouble, or somethin'?

[regretisfosuckas]

[that's what she's around for, most of the time. comedy relief and to be an occasional badass.

okay, more than an occasional badass. but. whatever.

oh but now she's spotting the bottle of rum and humming a pleased noise in the back of her throat, settling her tiny little self next to him and reaching for it without even asking.

because eithan isn't trick and won't set her with one of those old man stares that end up making her feel like a kicked puppy if she tries to take a sip without asking first.] More like, it always finds me. But I got a pair of brass 'knucks in my back pocket, so I'm good to go.

[now alcohol, come to mama~]

SORRY ABOUT THE AWKWARD MISFIRE ....................

[perfectpartner]

[Emil looks terribly awkward. He was going to make himself something nice to drink, like a milkshake, but it looks like someone beat him here.]

Hey, uh... are you okay?

I SAW NOTHING ♥

[punkblaze]

[Eithan shakes his head.]

No. [Sigh.] Just... shit goin' on back home.

[He rubs at his eyes with the hand that's not currently holding the neck of that bottle.]

Sorry. Uh... do I need to like... move? I mean, I'm not really doin' anything important. Obviously.

[perfectpartner]

I'm... sorry. It'll get better, though. [He smiles gently, trying to be encouraging.]

Ah, you're not in the way. [He'll just ignore all the broken glass and whatnot and make his shake. He looks like he's familiar with the contents of behind the bar (and kitchen), which is a long ways from getting drunk off the tap with Roxas.

Shit, that was a long time ago.]

Do you want anything else to drink? I don't know how to mix alcohol, but I can make plenty of other things. [He's got a blender out and everything. Now's your chance.]

[punkblaze]

[He's silent for a bit before he can even answer.] Yeah. ... I really hope so. It should, anyway. [And he tries for a small smile in return, but it falls pretty damn short.

And well, at least Eithan doesn't have to try and interpret a drunken Emil even if that was a pretty damn fantastic thread, okay He does stand and make his way over, though, curious about what's up with the blender and stuff. He puts the bottle down on the bar before he crosses his arms and rests them there as well.]

Huh. ... Uh, well, what were you makin'?

[perfectpartner]

[He doesn't push. He knows what it's like to smile when all the chips are down and the world's falling apart. Just being able to smile is pretty courageous, in his opinion. It takes a lot of bravery to keep standing after everything.

Emil pops away briefly to where he was before, and returns with a small, frosted-over bucket.]

I was going to make a milkshake. The bar has the best syrup to put in smoothies and shakes, so that's why I came over here.

[He spoons some vanilla ice cream into the blender.]

What kind do you want?

[oliverplus]

[Oliver is just entering the bar when Eithan detonates that glass, and he lets out a yelp, reflexively crouching and throwing his hands over his head]

[...and then he realises the building is not, in fact, exploding, and pulls himself back up. spotting his friend, he gasps] Eithan! [he hurries over to him, seeing the glass everywhere and wondering what he just missed] Hey...what happened? [for the moment, he doesn't elaborate as to whether he means to the glass shards or to Eithan]

[punkblaze]

[That yelp is familiar, and he winces a bit when he sees Oliver, offering him an apologetic look and a shake of his head.]

S-Sorry, man. [And of course, he's going to take the easy way out and talk about the glass shards first, do de do~] I, uh... thought it was just gonna be me in here. So I kinda blew up a short glass to let off some steam. 's all.

[oliverplus]

You-- [Eithan saying he blew up a shot glass brings him up short. it's not the usual way people deal with stress in Birmingham, after all. but after a brief, staring pause, he snaps his mouth shut] Wow. Um... [crouching down, he rubs a hand across the floor in a spot on the opposite side of Eithan. satisfied it's free of glass, he sits down next to him] Want to talk about it? Or at least share the bottle? [he tries for a smile]

[punkblaze]

[He tries for a smile in return as he passes the bottle over to Oliver, shaking his head.]

Hey man, have as much as you want. And... yeah. You uh... might need it too. You'll be here a while.

[He runs a hand through his hair, his gaze already back to the floor. It's obvious he's nervous, Oliver won't need empathy to tell him that.]

You sure you got time? [Clearly trying to put it off djfaksjl]

[oliverplus]

[Oliver takes a swallow from the bottle before he offers it back to Eithan] 'Course I've got time. What's the Plane for, after all? [he keeps that smile in place, hoping it will encourage Eithan. but after that comment, he just sits and waits for his friend to be ready to share. even through the smile, his concern is visible in his eyes]

[dissedthesonic]

[The shards of broken glass crunch beneath his feet when he steps into the bar, making him pause in confusion and momentary surprise. Thankfully, the soles of his shoes are thick enough to keep them from piercing his feet. But after inspecting the bottoms of his shoes quickly, Rory looks around to see why there might be glass shards lying around in the first place--and that's when he spots Eithan. He immediately kicks into nurse-mode and heads right over.]

Are you all right? Are you injured at all?

[punkblaze]

[Eithan hears the crunching glass and looks up with eyes slightly wide. Shit, this is kind of a public area, isn't it? He should probably apologize! And that's what he opens his mouth to do, but then Rory rushes over all nurse-mode and he has to blink instead.]

N-Nah. Nah, I'm not... I'm not hurt.

[Still, he curls up a little bit more, knees a little closer to his chest. He looks down at the bottle of rum in his hand.]

I'll... clean this shit up in a bit.

[dissedthesonic]

[Rory notices the bottle after a quick visual inspection of what he can see of Eithan. No blood or torn shirts like last time, always good. Must be something else, then.]

No, I've got it. Stay there and I'll find a broom.

[He's not sure where one might be, so he starts to head behind the bar for maybe a handheld one or something. If that fails, he can drop from the Plane and see if there's one in the town he's exploring back in his reality.]

[punkblaze]

[He blinks again, stands up. His free hand scrubs at his eyes a little, and meanwhile, he moves to the bar and puts the bottle down on the counter.]

You really don't have to do that, man. I blew the thing up, I'll pick it up. [He shakes his head.] I just... I dunno why, but I thought no one else'd be here. [snort] Stupid thinkin', in hindsight. Bars are pretty popular. And public. Heh.

[dissedthesonic]

[He blinks, his eyes wide] You...blew it up? I...[He looks back down at the glass shards.]...okay.

But look, I don't...know if you want to talk or something, or we can just drink in silence or something. Up to you.