Log file from Akira - Nightscape. 1/25/2000 4:21:10 PM Mon Feb 18 02:27:34 2090 The waning crescent moon approaches its new phase You head into the Chinese Garden. Chinese Garden - Broadway and Montgomery Contents: Patricia Obvious exits: Gates Alaere enters the garden from the street. Alaere has arrived. Akira opens the heavy, lacquered gate for Alaere. It's nighttime, but they don't lock up here. Convenient, no? "Here we are." Akira can't help but raise a hand to his mouth, and yawn a little. He's been without sleep for a couple of days, now. Alaere steps into the garden and glances about curiously. "Nice.." She looks back towards him and smirks. "Girlfriend keeping you up nights?" Akira hmfs, softly. "You could say that. I've been wandering the city trying to find her corpse. I thought she killed herself... just learned otherwise about a half hour ago." He tries to make it sound like he's totally fine now, like it's no big deal... but it was and is, a big deal. Akira waves vaguely towards the path. "I just need a bench so I can sit down, and focus." Alaere blinks slightly and raises a brow as she follows him through the gardens. "And which corpse is that? The first, or the second?" She nods at his comment and merely follows, allowing him to choose the bench. Akira and Alaere, of course, aren't the only people that sneak in here. By the pond sits Patricia, unaware for now of the strangers. Her eyes are closed, as if she were almost sleeping. Except she isn't. Akira does indeed pick a bench, and he even sits down first. How rude! "The second. But, I hear she's fine, now. She didn't bother letting me know, though... Whatever. I really don't want to talk about it." Alaere ahs softly and lets it go at that. She sits down on the bench next to him. Curiously she looks at him and waits, not wishing to interrupt. Yeah, well. Good. Akira is too sleepy to concentrate easily right now, but the quiet here helps. Without further ado, Akira holds his hands in front of himself, palms upward. Silent. Focused. He takes a deep breath. Alaere glances about curiously. She might notice the other woman present, but if she does she gives no clue. Instead she concentrates on Akira, and whatever he is doing. What? What's that? Patricia opens her eyes. People here. At this time. Not good. Especially if it's the PSA. She gets up, silently, moving to observe whoever it is. She manages to hide under a tree. Akira breathes in and out a few more times, as if meditating... a strange greengold glow begins to show on his hands... And, then the glow is eclipsed as a matte black bowl appears in his hands. He's obviously not done yet, though, as he hasn't broken that seemingly trancelike state. He slowly starts to raise the bowl upwards. Alaere glances about once before again looking at Akira closely. She curiously watches his gestures and what happens before him. Raising the bowl above eye level now, Akira is muttering below his breath. Alaere might be able to hear it, faintly... "Om nahvah shivaya Raga, om navah shivaya Raga..." On and on, very quiet. That glow that had been on his hands before increases again now, as if firefly light is leaking out between his palms and the bowl. At the same time, there's a glow faintly visible on the leaves above, as if the inside of the bowl is glowing, too. Hey, it can't be magic without a little pyrotechnika, right? Alaere involuntarily scoots back away from Akira, but then she scoots closer again and as carefully as possible, peers at the insides of the bowl. She is obviously very curious as to what is happening. Since it's above eye level, she'd have to stand up to really get a look inside the bowl... Akira wouldn't even seem to notice the change in position, though. The light emanating from the inside surface of the bowl is obscured, as it begins to slowly fill with a dark liquid, with no apparent source. Alaere frowns lightly and almost stands in an attempt to see. Suddenly she seems quite eager to see what is inside the bowl. Akira stops that little chant as the bowl finishes filling. His hands tremble a little, but he doesn't spill anything... and, that glow starts to fade out. Opening his eyes, Akira says to Alaere tiredly, "Here. Take it." The inside rim of the bowl that isn't obscured is still glowing faintly, lucifrine. Alaere nods quickly to him. She reaches up to take the bowl, craddling it softly in her hands. She glances down at its contents, in reverence. "Thank you.." Who? Patricia squints. And... that light! A mage, no doubt. Hmm... now it's not so dark. And she can almost see the mage's... ...face. The woman stands, and walks in their direction. She doesn't really care about interrupting or whatever -- given that the ritual is done with, anyway. Akira drops his hands quickly as soon as she takes the bowl, as if he was tired of holding it up. "Like I said, fair's fair." He yawns again and squeezes his eyes shut again. YAAAAAAAWN. "Man, I'm tired. Not sure I want to go home though." Alaere nods quickly to him and then lifts the bowl to her lips, starting to drink noisily, yet not spilling a single drop of its contents. Hmm. Looking closely, that's Akira, and a woman, sitting on a bench. In the middle of the night. Well, well. They're not doing anything... uninterruptable, now are they? Patricia stops at a distance of three feet - yes, that makes her visible. "Ahh. So I'm not the only one that likes to lurk around here at this time." It's very interruptable. Not, mind you, that that makes Akira any happier to see Patricia, once that yawn ends and his eyes open. "Dammit," he starts off, in lieu of a greeting. "Are you actually following me around, or something?" His muted glare is even more tired than yesterday. Akira hasn't slept at /all/. Alaere sets the bowl aside once its contents are gone. She looks up at the woman curiously. "Hello.." "Yeah. I /like/ to look like a pathetic loser," is Patricia's response. "But... this time, I was here first." A grin. "Hello. I'm not sure we have met." But in this light, who knows? "I'm Patricia Rennes." Pronounced 'ren'. A hand is extended. Alaere extends her hand up to her. "Hello Patricia, I am Alaere." "Charmed," Patricia shakes it, "Then we have not met." Needless to say, withdraws it (Though it was said anyway. Talk about filler RPing. ^_^). "So... what's with the fireball juice?" Alaere glances over to Akira to see if he will answer. When none seems coming, she looks up at Patricia and shrugs. "I will leave that to him to say." "Figures," Patricia shrugs. And eyes Akira for a moment. So, he /still/ hasn't slept? Then she turns back to Alaere. "If you don't mind my asking... what's /your/ story?" Ren, huh? ("What EEEES it, man??") Akira's still not happy to see Patricia. He states flatly, to Patricia, "Like I'd tell you." He takes the bowl, which is no longer glowing -- the outside is that same matte black, the inside slick from whatever liquid was in there. Akira's right hand waves in a circle over the bowl, and it just vanishes. Never here to begin with, honest. Alaere chuckles softly at Patricia and shakes her head to her. "I'm afraid not, I won't bore you with it." Not that she'd expect him to be, after all that's happened. "Aww. Well, maybe some other time then," and turns to Akira, "Ah, well. A bit grumpy, are we?" The same smirk as always. Alaere smiles lightly and nods to her. "Perhaps.." Always smirking, always following him around, inquiring after his misfortunes... Akira's of the opinion that this Patricia must be some kind of vulture. He won't stay sitting down, even if he's tired. No, instead he'll stand up, and although he's not unduly tall for a man... he's still half a foot taller than Patricia, easy. "Patricia. You are /asking/ for it. Do you even understand that?" Glare, glare. It's not as vicious as the look he had been giving Mikel or Tiamak, but it's starting to get to that point. Alaere remains seated, from which position she watches the exchange with growing curiousity. "Ooh, scary." Yawn. "Really, Akira. Grow up." Patricia sighs. Not losing the grin, of course. And doesn't seem to bear an ounce of intimidation. In her mind, he's the biggest bluff she's ever seen. She wouldn't expect him to be friendly, anyway, after the little incident at the church steps. No matter how well she clarified it later. "I'm not really in the mood for this, anyway." Like she's got something better to do with her life. "See you around." The now standardized good-bye. And, walking off towards the gate, the quick turn and glance, still smirking. Copyright Patricia 2090. All rights reserved. Akira has been pretty calm and collected throughout all of this ordeal... maybe most wouldn't think his yelling and glaring qualifies as calm. But for him? It does. Even so, something seems to just snap, and he sets off after Patricia, to try and grab her and turn her around. Alaere starts to rise for a minute, but then suddenly changes her mind and remains seated. She doesn't really know either one, not her place to interfere. She seems content to merely watch. Steps. Running. Patricia halts in position, and, yes, /there's/ his mind. "DON'T... YOU... DARE," is the psi-message Akira is receiving right now. With hall reverb and everything! Hmm... maybe a little chorus, next time. Rrrrrgh... Akira had almost forgotten she could do that. It's enough to make him hesitate in his intended grab, as he tries to shake off that headache the reverb and mental-volume she's managed to inflict upon him. He normally has his act together mentally, however, and as soon as he can recollect his focus, he's redirecting that look at her... and if he looked angry before, he looks more angry now. Let's try this whole grabbing thing. Again. Oh, please. This is getting pathetic. And Patricia just thinks that it is because -- DAMN! -- he's blocking it out. Damned iron will, she thinks, and waits to see what he's actually planning to do. Ah, good. This makes things much easier. So, without further ado, Akira's hands reach out for Patricia's shoulders, to turn her around, clench there. Perhaps painfully, perhaps not. And, although his mind's on the defensive now... it's clear that he's extraordinarily pissed. And, more than a little unstable. Bad combination, Patty. "Now you listen to me, /Patricia/," he hisses out, pupils narrowed to tiny points. "Considering everything you've done... there's so much I would like to do in return..." His eyes glance downwards, briefly, either to look her over or to check if he's about to get a knee in the crotch. "I'd say I've been VERY forgiving thus far." Uh... /this/ she didn't expect. Akira, Akira. Though the chemical and physical fright is now upon her -- i.e., whiteness et al. -- psychologically she is quite together. "Tisk, tisk." Still sassy, but not smirking at all. "Having a bad day, now are we?" Her voice is now calm and definitely not agressive. At least, not in tone. She doesn't budge, of course. It's not worth the trouble. Alaere crosses her legs and calmly continues to watch the scene before her, yawn. "You ARE my bad day," Akira states. It sounds like a corny oneliner... but, it's also true. Now Patricia will feel a sharp, burning pain beneath his hands, growing in intensity even as she shakes her again. "That woman is everything to me. Do you understand that! Everything!" He's leaned forward so he can snarl right in Patricia's face. "And YOU... had better goddamn well understand, that the fact that she might still want to be with me somehow... is the ONLY reason I haven't cut you open stem to stern." Just for emphasis, he'll deliberately let that slip as a graphic, highly detailed mental image. It's /extremely/ satisfying... for him, at least. Probably not for imaginary-Patricia though, since it seems he has a rather slow process in mind. "But the more you push me. The more you follow me around and rub it in and act so fucking SMUG... the more I start considering ways to get away with it." Alaere is still sitting there, is she a statue or something? ;) Hmm. Patricia looks at him sternly, eyes half-closed. The pain is not exactly neglectable, but she can ignore it if she tries hard enough. Akira's expression is somehow... familiar. To her subconscious. Someone from the past. To her concious, it's just annoying. And offending. And all that anger she learned her whole life to repress is currently boiling up again. And nearly breaking through the cage. "I... cannot..." Teeth clench. "have... a rational discussionwithyouUNTILYOUFUCKING _CALM DOWN_!!!" And at the 'down', she attempts to release herself from his clench, putting all her strength into one solid, heavy, twist. Alaere perks up a bit, as it finally gets more interesting. Akira is really too tired to keep this energy level up. Especially after whatever it is he gave Alaere, earlier. Rational discussion, she says? Oh yeah. That'll happen. Sure. And maybe Akira will grow wings and flutter away. Even so, despite his rage (or perhaps because of it?), Akira's willing to let her escape with that twist... but even as his hands pull away from her, to Patricia it feels something like trying to rip flesh away from a barbed hook. And there's more to it than that... it's a psychic pain that radiates agony from her shoulders, until she finally does get away from his hands. Then that feeling is gone, all at once. Akira doesn't try to grab her again. Just continues with that seething glare. See, he's a model of restraint! Oh, and he doesn't say word one. Oh, but Patricia's not injured or anything like that. Lucky for her wardrobe. Oh. So it's actually "...CALM DOWAAIEEE!!". Supporting herself on bent legs, she is surprised to see the pain is gone, all of a sudden. Actually, anything will surprise her in this particular state. Recovering from the shock, she looks up again. "Honestly, I don't know what the fuck is wrong with you! If passing by and greeting is offensive, you should've said it earlier, before fucking driving me out of sanity!" The censor's going to have a coronary. "You wanna kill me? Go ahead! It's not like life is any good anyway. Like..." And now gesticulating furiously, "I say something to your girlfriend that I shouldn't have. It was a fucking mistake!" By the way, add a very pissed tone into this, because it'd be bad form to capitalize everything. "And it's not my fault your pre-fab chick is so fucking psycho and suicidal!" A bitter laugh. "She means EVERYTHING to you?!" She stares, unbelieving. "Yeah. And the fucking demons mean everything to me too." Alaere perks up slightly at the mention of 'It's not like life is any good anyway.' She looks over at Patricia in a new light now, studying her closely. Akira folds his arms now, hands tucked tightly away. "I DID say it earlier, warned you more than once. If that's not enough, tough shit." He snaps right back, "Oh yes, I forgot, your life sucks! I guess that means I should forgive you!" (see also: sarcasm) Hey, maybe if she actually apologized it would help, eh? Akira continues, "You bet it was a mistake. Any woman would react bad to that. And YES, she means everything to me, I came back from the /dead/ for her, I'd do it again in a heartbeat!" Akira always blabs the really odd and interesting claims when he's mad, doesn't he. "Uh-huh. Yeah." Patricia is now wearing a very twisted, bitter, and chemically affected version of The Smirk (tm). "That's way /past/ denial. Just go. Go wreck your life over her." She's calmer. Which just means she's not yelling her throat out anymore. Maybe because she needs her voice for work. "Go get drunk over her. Go spend three days awake over her. Go lose your blood for her. Go fucking get cheated on and not saying anything about it over her." She doesn't actually know anything about that last bit, but pretty much deduced it. These showbiz people are all alike, she keeps saying. "It's not denial if I know what's happening... and I /know/ what I'm doing. I'm not worried about myself. It's worth it to me. IF you were alone for as long as..." Forget it, Akira suddenly decides. "I don't need to justify anything to YOU. And you are in no position to judge anyone." With that, he turns back around and heads back over towards the bench where he'd been sitting with Alaere. All this standing around is so tiring, yanno. Wait.. a.. minute... "Don't you do that to me, don't you DARE walk away from me!" (that's the line...) Her turn to run over. She follows him at a meter's distance. A sorrow, but calm voice. "You're right. I'm not in the position to judge you. But you're in no position to judge /me/." And yes, she's still talking, and only force will remove her presence. "Because it was never my intention to rub it in, or to act smug. That's just how I am." Oh, so /that's/ why people keep asking why she smirks so much. Which she isn't doing anymore. "And if you feel that way... well, there's a difference between an action and the effect on other people." Alaere still sits there on the bench, passive observer that she is. She moves just slightly away from the pending confrontation, as she wants to stay out of it. See Akira. See Akira walk. See Akira walk away! He wants to go sit down. And, that's exactly what he's gonna do. He's tired, see? "I never claimed I had a right to judge you. I'm just pissed off, at you." He sounds a little calmer now, though still obviously angry underneath it all. "Judgements claim objectivity. Personal opinions don't. This is my reaction, my opinion." An opinion that might end up in mauling and mutilation, but hey. It's an opinion. Akira settles in on the bench now, as if he expects to sit here for a good long while. "What are you talking about, action and effect?" Not that he really cares what she means, his tone implies. "Never mind." Patricia gives him a calm look. Apparently, she's recovered from the recent breakdown. "I know. Now. And I'll try to stop," she concludes. Mmm... time for the final strike. She has a tendency of strategizing all of her dialogues, even if they're sincere. "I..." Get it out. "I'm sorry for what I did to you." Isn't that the sweetest face in the world? I want /that/ little doggie, daddy! "I never meant to hurt you. Ever." And now she stops following him. You emote: Akira is trying to get control of himself again, now. Behave. Block everything. Behave. Behave. Try not to kill anyone today. Behave. Alaere slides to the edge of the bench and starts to rise again. She glances back at Patricia and Akira. "Umm.. maybe I should leave you two alone?" Akira just gives Patricia this direct look. "What about what you did to her? Hurting her? She's a stranger... or does that make it more acceptable somehow?" Akira had a kid, he knows that big-eyed 'Be nice, daddy' look all too well. He's been doing a good job of ignoring Alaere thus far (how rude of him. Then again, would she really want his kind of attention?), but now he looks over at her. "Didn't mean to ah, give you a big show... anyway. Do I still owe you dinner?" he wonders then, forcing a bit of a smirk. You emote: Akira had actually almost forgotten Alaere. It's also probably clear he's really not worried about Patricia apologizing for his /own/ sake. Yes, he's really that hung up on Mira. It's obsessive as can be, ain't it. "It doesn't." Patricia replies, looking down, more to herself than to the rest of the audience. "It doesn't." She shakes her head, and wipes away her tears from her eyes. Deep breath. A-ah. "Well, it's late. And... this was what I wanted to say to you. See, I needed the right opportunity. Good night." And yes, that's a proper Patricia exit. But no Smirk (tm) this time. Alaere again starts to rise from her seat. "Its quite alright. Not your fault I'm sure.." She murmurs the obligitory words. "But maybe I should just leave you two be." Ah. Well then. If it doesn't, then it doesn't. Akira isn't sure what to actually say as a goodbye, though. Especially since Alaere and Patricia are both apparently leaving, now. "Maybe I should go home," he ponders aloud, sounding almost intimidated by the prospect. The house is at once too empty (no Mira), and too crowded (Chrissy's there). He doesn't stand up himself, though. Alaere glances back at Akira and smiles. "See ya around? Anyway, I probably should get inside soon, ya know.." She trails off slightly, assuming he knows what she means. "/Oh,/" Patricia halts, as if almost reminding herself. And twirls again to face Akira. "The offer... in my note? Remember?" The cursed piece of paper that initiated this whole situation. "That offer still stands." Don't smirk. Don't smirk. "Good night." And, turn. Walk. Akira just waves a hand, more of a 'shoo!' gesture than an actual goodbye. "Go, go. I can survive a night on the town by myself..." He looks past Alaere, then, to Patricia. There's that standard-issue puzzled expression, now. Offer? What offer? There was an offer? Akira squints a little, thinking back. He doesn't... /remember/ any offer... but, he won't ask about it now. Maybe later. That paper's probably long gone anyway, so he can't very well reread it. Poor memory must be indeed a serious problem. The note Patricia wrote was simple enough, scrawled on his back. But... she's already near the gates... to late to clarify. Right now, Patricia wants to get a good night's sleep. And maybe a good morning's while she's at it. Just... drained. Drained. Patricia says, "Wonderful. :) Care to mail this session to me? ggama@uol.com.br... starting from when they entered the Gardens. Thanks. :)"