| Title: An aquatic encounter. Time: Saturday, April 03, 2004 The Thespians: Lien Nguyen, Sukaku Karasuno and Pascal Curio Location: Mundainger Biology - Aquatics Zone Notes: This is technically 'Elijah's' first IC encounter with Sukaku. Shame that it's Pascal in Eli's body. |
| +---[ Mundainger Biology - Aquatics Zone ]-----------------------------------+ | | | This huge room is enchanted so that the walls are actually tanks that can | | be reached into to get fish and sealife, except that on the far wall which | | is a small private tank. Simulated tidepools dot the seafoam-green tiled | | floor, holding tiny creatures such as miniature dolphins, oysters that | | hold emeralds and things that look like sea-urchins, except that their | | needles shoot out of the water and into the air occasionally. The plants | | that inhabit the water are amazing, pink seaweed and purple seafoam to say | | the very least. Also included among the marine flora is a huge mass of | | bubbles, forming into all sorts of shapes, from sandcastles to a 'Welcome' | | message directed towards the new students. | | | | The vegetative life is the least of the interest-tickling things in these | | tanks. Cats, dogs, hamsters and rabbits all swim in the tanks...with their | | bottom halves converted into fish fins. A huge octopus sits in one area, | | using all..25 of its tentacles to write compositions. Ghostfish are | | popularly seen as well, huge see-through goldfish with large, sharp teeth | | that jump at the students every once in a while. Another thing that seems | | to strike attention is a beautiful, mature mermaid sitting happily upon a | | large rock in the private tank at the far end of the room, waving and | | greeting new students. She seems to be quite content here, probably having | | made a deal with the school, and she has quite a little setup in that | | tank. She is not without company either, as the two posters on either side | | of her tank hold pictures of two cheerful merpeople. | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |
| The Aquatics Center is almost completely empty at the moment, which is an excellent way to be sure that Lien Nguyen is present, and there she is, off in a corner. She sits cross-legged on the floor, facing the water with her nose inches away, speaking in soft but earnest tones to the miniature dolphin floating lazily before her, spilling all her... why, could it be all her deepest secrets? |
| Elijah doesn't like animals. But since Pascal Curio figured that there was no one else around, it was alright to let his guard down. It didn't help that Samson just about didn't recognize Pascal (how could he though?) and that the cat had about tried to claw Pascal's, rather, Elijah's eyes out, but in the Aquatics Center, Pascal seems strangely at ease. He strides slowly down the corridor, turning down the hallway so that he approaches closer to Lien, but he's not seen the small girl yet. Rather, he's more preoccupied with making silly faces at one of the hamster-fish in its tank. Still, the sound of his footsteps carry down the hall so that they may be heard by anyone there, if they were aware enough of their surroundings. |
| Aware... aware, aware, aware. You'd think after the number of times someone has walked up on Lien's confidences with the dolphin, she would be more attentive. She isn't. She gets so caught up in pouring her soul out to the critter that she doesn't worry about much else. At the moment she's explaining about a dream she had last night, involving flying and falling and pixies and Sukaku and a snake. (Her tone when referring to the snake isn't pleasant and gives the impression that it isn't a pleasant memory.) She doesn't become aware of Pascal's presence until the dolphin, catching sight of him, opens its mouth and gives a muffled squeak. Lien stops in mid-sentence, glances over her shoulder and jumps to her feet with a squeak not unlike her flippered friend's. "Elijah!" |
| At Lien's "Elijah!" Pascal was busy crossing his eyes and sticking his tongue out at the hamster-fish, which was busy trying to do something similar but not. Hamsters can't stick their tongues out, and the narrator has yet to see one cross its eyes. So when Pascal is so rudely interrupted by Lien, he gives a rather harsh start, biting his tongue in the process of trying to return to a more, Elijah-esque pose. "Fuck," he mutters under his breath, rubbing at his mouth, and he crosses his arms and looks at Lien, trying to look condescending. It's rather hard after you've just been making faces at a fish. "Lien. How are you." And he didn't even call her 'Oompa' this time like he should have. |
| The dolphin appears to be sniggering at Pascal. Its chittering laugh can be heard even through the water. Lien's face bears an expression as though it can't decide whether to be amused, confused or just frightened. If she tries to do all three at once she's going to hurt herself. "What... what on Earth are you doing?" Don't hold back, Lien. Try to be a little more BLUNT. |
| As Pascal runs a now unglued-from-the-chest arm through his hair, his face flickers into a deadpan, though his left eye twitches just slightly. He really should get that looked at. Bringing his arm back to its usual crossed position he looks at the dolphin briefly, and then looks back at Lien. He doesn't particularly want his gaze to soften in light of the animal swimming next to Lien. "Nothing." Right. "Though I could ask you the same question, Oompa." This time he remembers, slowly regaining composure. "What on Earth are /you/ doing?" |
| "What does it /look/ like I'm doing?" It's only the fact that Elijah's body is a good two, two and a half feet taller than her that keeps Lien from tagging a 'Genius?' onto the end of that sentence. And then, to keep him from answering the question, she does. "I came here to talk to the dolphin." No need to mention that she does this on a regular basis. |
| Walking away from the hamster-fish, Pascal strides closer to Lien and the miniature dolphin, the latter of whom is still currently 'laughing' at the approaching figure of the young man. He lets his green eyes flicker over the rather happy creature once more, lingering on it long enough so that Lien would probably see a change in his facial expression. As quickly as it has come, it is gone and Pascal once more directs his attention to Lien. "You talk to a dolphin?" The tone is sarcastic, but not as much as it could be. |
| "Yes." Lien's tone goes surly as Pascal draws closer, but there's a glint of that irrepressible curiosity in her eyes. She's known other people who are generally nasty to be nice for brief moments, but she's been thoroughly convinced that Elijah is free from any such affliction. "Why shouldn't I? She listens better than any humans I know." The dolphin looks rather pleased with its(her?)self. |
| This time Pascal completely avoids eye-contact with the dolphin. It's already distracting enough to be in a room full of fish and other animals, but having to keep up the 'I am the thorn in your side and stick up your ass' persona is already hard enough right now. He gives a slight sniff, and then runs his hands through his hair again, still staring down at Lien. Only as he relaxes does he finally let his arms drop, saying "Listens better than Toby? Or... how about Billy? You know, for a superidio -- superhero, he should be a /super/ listener." His voice continues to drip with sarcasm, and it's a little stronger than it was before. |
| The aquatics zone. . . . Water was never really that appealing to Sukaku. Not at all, in fact. However, for the sake of exploration, this territory too must be made known . . . and besides, Lien was down here somewhere. She was pleasant company. On bare feet, pant legs shuffling against the floor, the rather small boy enters the area, golden eyes landing on Lien, then her companion in turn with a measured gravity. The fish don't seem pleased that he's there. |
| "You leave Billy out of this!" Oh, you have struck a NERVE, Pascal, if you only knew the nerve you struck! Lien's eyes light with anger and that Doom that looks so odd in someone her size. "He never did anything to you!" Yes, Sukaku. Pleasant, pleasant company. "Makes you feel real big, doesn't it, Elijah, punching someone half your size?" Bit of an exaggeration, but Lien's been very angry for quite some time and... well, you know that proverb about the beginning of strife being like a flood of water? Even when the girl notices Sukaku (and the dolphin squeaks and hides in some seaweed, either from him or Lien's rant) she doesn't calm down. |
| "I don't need to leave Billy out of anything, thanks, Oompa." Pascal seems like watching the colour rise in Lien's cheeks, and he walks closer to the wall, careful not to lean against it unless he wants to go for a swim. "And the last I checked as well, you were half my size, and Billy's taller than you are. I would have figured you smarter than to listen to only half of the story anyway, Oompa." He stretches out his hand and takes a distracted look at his nails, and slowly follows Lien's gaze as she notices Sukaku. He turns around quickly, and does a double take, though it is, in fact, Pascal's own attempt to hide the expression on his face as he spots bird-boy. So, like Elijah would, Pascal just ignores Sukaku for the time being. He's having more fun watching Lien freak out anyway. "Oh look what you did." He tsks. "Your dolphin friend went away. Good /job/." Insert facetious smirk. |
| It's said, actually, that Sukaku's kind feeds on chaos, that they were the creators of war and unrest when Japanese society was lulled into peaceful complacency. Honestly, Sukaku doesn't seem to find the yelling bothersome, barely flicking an eyelash. "You shouldn't yell at Lien-san," he remarks suddenly, grave eyes settled firmly on Elijah. "Surely you must realize that it is the quiet ones that one must beware. One never knows . . . exactly when they will simply . . . snap." The words are calm and deliberate, and he seems to take the last word as opportunity to practice his smile -- a lean, tight-lipped thing. Not a threat . . . merely as matter of fact as though reading aloud from a textbook. |
| Lien would have a scathing (not) and utterly worthless, digging-her-own-grave retort for Pascal, had Sukaku not spoken. She doesn't speak, and in fact calms down slightly, partially because the thought of Sukaku snapping sends chills up her spine. Let's avoid that, shall we? "Hello, Sukaku." |
| What the... ?! Pascal fights the urge to turn around and growl in the most uncivilized manner possible, at Sukaku. It's amazing how even the sound of his voice just /grates/ Pascal so horribly. What Would Elijah Do? Turning around again, Pascal's now crossed his arms back in front of him, as he looks Sukaku up and down. "You short people stick together, don't you, Oompa," he remarks casually, speaking to Lien out of the corner of his mouth. Feigning a who-are-you expression, Pascal speaks to Sukaku now, one eyebrow raised. "Do I know you?" No point in being nice, when Pascal's Elijah anyway. "If you were listening better, you would have heard Lien, yelling, not me, thanks." |
| "Lien-san never yells without purpose," Sukaku returns in the same even tone, eyes never diverting from Elijah. "Lien-san only yells when there is someone to make her yell, and since you are the only one in the room, I can only assume that it was you. Perhaps you have brought her one step closer to that snapping point." Golden eyes flicker towards Lien. "I hope so. It would be most interesting and probably give Lien-san a great sense of satisfaction. You are welcome, however, for thanking me to be so corrected." A slight shrug. "As for knowing me . . . perhaps. We short people have the tendency to come from the very walls." Another lean smile. |
| Wow. Sukaku is impressive today. Or maybe Lien's just grateful to have somebody on her side. Somebody who doesn't think he's a superhero. She almost laughs--if her dolphin friend wasn't skulking restlessly in a corner, it would. For someone with English as a second language, he hit the nail right on the head with the words "a great sense of satisfaction"--the girl's been wanting to shout at something (like Elijah) ever since she met Billy in the library with a great big bruise on his face. But this, this is too good to interrupt. Lien doesn't say anything. |
| Pascal Curio, as Elijah, of course, gives a slight shrug at Sukaku. He very carefully keeps note in his mind that he still has yet to be introduced to Sukaku. "So she was yelling at me. Your point?" He tilts his head to the side and continues to stare down at Sukaku, trying not to seem un-nerved that the little boy standing in front of him has a stare of steel. "I'm here to help Lien with the release of her anger, is all. She never quite seems to get there, really." What a crock of bull, and anyone can probably see through that, given the light-hearted and playful tone in which it was expressed from Pascal's own lips. |
| "My point is that you deserved it." You don't think that Sukaku is going to lose now, do you? He's been practicing his English. Still it is very slow, but it's gaining a new degree of steadiness. "Perhaps you would not deserve it if she set your hair on fire . . . though that would be very interesting for me to watch. I almost wish she had . . . but that would mean that she had snapped and then I would have missed part of it." A slight bow, most likely mocking. "Now that I am here, Lien-san does not need you to help her. Thank you for your great graciousness, but you are not needed any more." Thank you, and have a nice day! Or not. |
| Toby set Pascal on fire in front of Sukaku... it's sad, then, that the only person here who knows that Elijah IS Pascal is Pascal herself, because we could all use a good laugh. "If it's all the same to you, Elijah, I can release anger all on my own." Lien's brain drifts back toward her righteous indignation over Billy and she begins to look like she might begin to do just that again. He's darn right about Elijah deserving it, though, in her opinion. Punching Billy in the face, and she KNOWS he didn't do anything, because Elijah's just... oh, sorry, was she fuming again? Is it that obvious? Maybe the fact that her hands have balled up into little fists is an indicator. |
| For a second there, it seems that Sukaku is actually condoning violence as a resort or something, and Pascal allows a slight smirk to curve his features. Well, at least he wasn't determined to be an annoying brat to just Pascal when he used to be a girl. Something that sounds slightly like a grunt is all that comes from Pascal in response to what Lien has just said. He shifts his weight to and from either foot and then raises the other eyebrow at Sukaku. "The day that Lien snaps is the day that many people are going to want to see," he says rather coolly, now his own gaze never leaving Sukaku's face. More-so, the eyes on the face of the boy. "I don't particularly like leaving, so I won't. I'd rather watch /you/ help Lien release her anger, since I don't need to do it anymore with you around." There. Sukaku can summon his mother to turn Pascal into a mushroom now, because he won't leave. |
| Sukaku lightly tips his head to one side, surveying Elijah like a strange bit of seed. "I did not say that you had to leave. I said that you were no longer needed. It is very strange, someone who spends so much time on someone else. I did think it was forbidden in your culture to be attracted to someone so much younger than you." Hopefully Lien takes that correctly. If not . . . well, aniki survived female maiming, didn't he? |
| Lien has had enough teasing (some from Elijah) about the fact that most of her friends are boys that, no, Sukaku probably isn't in danger of any serious maiming. (Funnily enough, had Elijah said the same words in the same situation, she would have been furious. Lien's mind is a weird and irrational thing.) Although the girl does have to put a great deal of effort into not looking amused. This is the part where Billy would be kicking himself not to be pleased at watching the enemy get a taste of his own medicine. Lien, having no delusions about being a superhero, has no such inhibitions. |
| Sukaku likes to pull out that attraction card, it seems, and were this the first time that Pascal had heard it, he'd probably be more than a little bit irked. Thankfully, the second time around, he's still got a smirk on his face, and he's actually having a rather hard time to keep it from spreading into a smile. With his palms in the air held in mock defeat, he ducks his head slightly. "What can I say. I care about Lien. I mean," a pause and he darts a rather mischievous look at Lien, "I care about my /dealers/. Afterall, she is one of the best ones." Lien can explain that to Sukaku if he doesn't quite understand. |
| Sukaku doesn't understand, as the term is over the edge of his limited understanding of slang. "That's too bad." Yes, occasionally he pulls that out. But there are other cards to play. The fish are starting to grow anxious in their tanks, darting nervously back and forth in the very back. "Rather foolish, really, as she doesn't seem to like you at all. The quiet ones have very interesting forms of revenge against those that they don't like . . . But no worries, ne?" Oh, yes, Elijah. Surely *nothing* could touch you. Perhaps you should become Sukaku's project. |
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