genessia | (no subject)

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A. Text
Went to the Dream Docks. I'm not sure I really should have. It doesn't really matter here anyway. I'm back.

Johnny I left you a post-it on your office door so I'm not fired for not showing up for work.

B. Action, CW: Alcohol
[ Emerald doesn't really.. drink. She spent enough time on the streets to know that's one of the many ways you stay there and never escape. And then between Mercury and his father's story.. she has plenty of reason not to really touch the stuff, even if she's frequented bars before. It's more lucrative to stick around and steal wallets from people whose faculties aren't about them enough to even bother needing to use her semblance.

And yet, here she was, sitting at the bar nursing a glass of whiskey. She'd ordered it, but she hadn't exactly touched it yet. Part of her knew it wasn't a good idea, but part of her had no idea how to deal with problem after problem. And with more memories from home adding onto everything she'd spoken about with Cassian still feeling raw and fresh (she didn't process feelings, ever if she could help it, talking about them with someone who understood on some level wasn't something she knew how to deal with). Where things had gone with Cinder, what Mercury here thought about Cinder..

All it did was leave a pit in her stomach, and she wasn't sure what else to do. If it's just once, it shouldn't be too bad, right? And she won't get shit-faced, and if she smells weird at all she can just.. squat in a vacant hotel room or something so Mercury doesn't have to deal with this while he's trying to stay away from it. ]

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[ Cassian eyes her from the corner of his eyes and gives an amused snort. If that were what he is here for, he would be charmed. But since he's not, he's just relieved. Sarcasm comes far easier to him. ]

I could feed you a fair number of lines, but I'd rather not if it's all the same to you.

[ He accepts his own glass from the bartender and sips half-heartedly on it. Right. He should make at least some token attempt to be social, or else he'd just be wasting his time. ]

And I'd not sit here if you truly didn't want me to, so whether you want it and whether I can are actually related, in this case.

[ she taps her finger to get Cub for a moment, as she's considering whether he can stay out not. ]

If you aren't going to feed me lines you can sit there and block lines from other drunk idiots and I won't complain about you using the seat.

[ This could be advantageous for her. Emerald finally decided to give into the drink in her hand and downs it in one go, then flags the barkeep down for another. ]

[ This time she actually wins a full-blown chuckle, though it's half from being taken aback by so much bluntness. ]

If I'm going to play the overprotective boyfriend you could at least pay for my drink.

[ that's just about the moment she decides she's going to steal his wallet. But she smiles and it even reaches her eyes, letting out a little laugh. ]

Sure.

[ Though of she does get drunk it might be a good idea to get his card now. What Cassian sees next is going to be emerald smiling and taking out her wallet, then offering to open a tab and handing over a card. What actually happens is her lifting his wallet and handing over his card to the bartender, holding his ID up right in front of his face to the bartender to prove us, it's his, and he's not objecting. She tosses his wallet on the floor then. Easier than trying to sneak it back in. ]

You dropped something.

[ Cassian is used to dealing with thieves and con men, but one thing he doesn't know how to handle is magic, as Genessia keeps teaching him time and again. The illusion distracts him enough that he doesn't feel her going for his wallet.

He does frown when he catches sight of his wallet laying on the floor. He scowls at her, suspicious, but he'd been watching her hands all along, she had never touched it. ]

That's funny. I'm usually better at not losing things.

[ He looks covertly around, frown firmly back on his face. If it wasn't her it must have been someone else. ]

[ A look of concern moves to her face as she faces him, looking at the wallet. ]

Is everything still there?

[ She knows it is. She already had the guy open a tab on it, so she didn't need to keep it. ]

[ Concern. Hm. That doesn't impress him, but he trusts his eyes. If you can't trust your own senses anymore, you have nothing. Maybe it was truly mere chance.

He pulls out the cards to check nothing has been tampered with, and if Emerald wants to, she will get to glance at the name on them.]

Everything's there, yes. Thank you. So what's next? I believe I ought to be asking you if you come here often, but you told me no lines.

[ She does. No time to look when she was pulling her little con. After all, checking his name would've been suspicious to the bartender since she's supposed to know him well enough that he's opening a tab for her. But now that he's checking, she can play the concerned citizen, peeking over his shoulder as if trying to see if he's missing something. Though he may notice her face immediately falls when she recognizes the name. Her demeanor almost completely changes and she no longer looks like she's playing the peppy, concerned new friend. ]

Wow. [ Moving right along.. ] You know, if you just say "but you told me no lines" after it it doesn't make it any less of a line.

[ It's Cassian, she's going right into giving him a hard time now. She figures he'll figure out who she is eventually if she drops him enough hints. ]

[ That... is actually a good point. Damn. If this were someone he felt comfortable bantering with, and not a stranger, he would truly appreciate being shot down like this.

But she's a stranger, and turning this into more effort than he'd been planning to expend, so all it earns Emerald is a disgruntled look. ]

Fair enough. What do you suggest then?

I suggest...

[ She makes like she's thinking, then motions at the bartender for three shots- two for him, one for her. ]

You catch up, then we can talk.

[He shakes his head slightly.]

I'm not going to let you get me drunk, if that's what you're aiming for.

[But since she is paying he isn't protesting too much either.]

I talk better before drinks, anyway.

Do I look drunk to you? If a big man can't handle the same number of drinks as a skinny twenty-something year old girl without getting wasted that quickly, I'm worried you shouldn't be in here.

[ Emerald is only about two inches shorter than he is, but since she's been sitting the whole time, that may be hard to tell. At least enough she seems to think she can get away with giving him a hard time about it. ]

Someone might take advantage of you.

[ Alas, if only he had more of a sense of humor. Cassian shoots Emerald another unimpressed look. ]

I don't know how much you drink on any normal night. You could still drink me under the table.

[ Still, he does take a sip of his drink, and eyes her, vaguely amused despite his best efforts to remain grumpy. This stranger is surprisingly easy to talk to. ]

But I'm not easily taken advantage of, drunk or sober.

I don't drink a lot, so I doubt I will drink you under the table. I do plan on getting wasted tonight because I'm not a happy person and I've run out of ideas on how to deal with that today, but I'm not expecting anyone to take care of me but myself, so don't worry. I'm not roping you into anything, I'm just making sure you get a healthy start. [ She downs the shot she ordered for herself and lets the shot glass clap against the counter when she puts it back down. ] You probably need it as much as I do, Cassian.

[ ...and there we go.

Attention all on her now, he strives to keep up the air of disgruntled, token interest. He takes another sip. She could have read his name on the cards, but she talks like they're familiar though he doesn't recognize her. There's a handful of people in town who would have reason for that. But how many of them are quite so argumentative? ]

Maybe. But the last time we talked it sounded like you needed it even more.

[ He eyes her from the corner of his eyes. That's not how he had pictured her, but assumptions can mislead you. Maybe. For now it's just a guess. It could be nothing but paranoia altogether. ]

I went to the Dream Docks. I thought it would help me remember when I didn't feel that way but now it's worse.

[ her voice sounds so calm as she says that, though. She's an incredible liar and actress when she wants to be- there's a reason she was put at the front of socializing and being everyone's friend when they were under cover even though she hated every one of them and would turn around to Mercury and call them names and groan about having to deal with them. ]

It's more entertaining to give you a hard time than wearing my heart on my sleeve.

[ She's all confusion and mixed signals, a fascinating puzzle he could easily spend hours poking and prodding at while he searches for weak points or contradictions. But he's not come here for anything complicated, Cassian reminds himself as he raises his glass and watches the light reflected in his amber drink. ]

Or you could tell me your name.

[ He takes another sip. ]

And then you can tell me what exactly drove you to drink with strangers. If you are who I think you are you might do it. Or tell me lies. But that's fine, too.

Emerald, which you figured out already.

[ He had to have, or else he wouldn't think she might. She goes back to that second glass of whiskey she hasn't touched and takes a sip of it, not downing it like she did the shot, then leans back in the stool.

There's a lot to the story that she can't tell him, just because there's a lot that would take too much explanation. She doesn't trust him enough to tell him what she's capable of, what she's done. But vague answers.. perhaps he'll have some insight. ]

I sought clarity. I thought if what made it possible for Mercury to change who he wanted to be here was something I had been feeling back there, I might be able to find answers and move forward. Instead, I spent the last few weeks providing target practice for torture training and not being allowed to use my voice for anything but someone else's words.

[ Yeah, she takes a swig of that whiskey again. ]

[When she calls him out on having figured out her identity already he just responds with a little shrug, utterly unconcerned at having been caught. Nothing wrong with playing it safe till you are certain.

She seems to be playing it safe, too, he realizes as he mulls over Emerald's vague answer. And for that, too, he can't blame her. It's more of a miracle that they have shared as much as they had shared in writing.]

I'm sorry. That sounds... rough. [Putting it mildly. But no pity. If she's anything like him she'd hate pity.] You might need the extra drink more than I do. [And he slides the second glass towards her.] I take it you didn't find the answers you were looking for in the torture chamber?

[ Part of her wants to. He might get it, but he might also do like everyone else does and understand that she's dangerous by nature. There's a reason she grew up on the streets; no one can trust someone who makes them doubt their reality for long, so no one wants someone like that. Even if he gets some parts of her, that's almost always what broke it when she was younger. She stopped letting it happen, and Cinder keeps her around because she obeys. And Emerald never has to worry about starving on the streets. And Mercury.. he's probably the only person who actually wants to be around her, even if she hated him at first. The one in a multiple worlds' population's chance that he'd keep talking to her without looking at her like she's either worthless or frightening isn't worth it.

She doesn't correct him about the torture chamber. Yet again, that'd require explaining that Emerald is the torture chamber rather than being in one. She does take the drink though, looking amused. ]

I got answers to questions I didn't have or want to ask, not ones I need.

[ And who knows if he will be able to see past it, especially now after he has been fooled. It might be better not to share - it is certainly what Cassian would have done if their roles were reversed. And yet, to keep such secrets now, when there is still time to come clean before he finds out in the worst possible way... But neither of them is good with trust. ]

Hmm...

[ Cassian looks at her again from the corner of his eyes, he even takes a sip from his own glass to keep his hands busy and buy himself more time. Being tactful. It's not his strength, he's almost as bad at that as he is at showing compassion. Not that he doesn't feel it, he's oftentimes choking on bitter empathy, but showing it... That's different. Dangerous. Too much. And Emerald isn't even giving him much to work with here. ]

They... might end up more important than the answers you wanted. If they drove you to drinking... they must be meaningful.

[ Weak. Oh, he is bad at this. He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. Screw this being nice deal, she knows better anyway. ]

You went through a nightmare. But now you know your enemies, and what they are capable of. That's more important than having it driven home that you can't live a normal life like the rest of them.

Allies.

[ She says it with a pang of something in her voice. It's not regret, but it's clearly not anything good. A little shaken that he identified them as enemies just from her description, but she's always aware that her allies have never been good people. ]

These are my allies. My "cause."

[ To use his words. Perhaps that'll explain why this is harder on her than it should be. ]

Except Mercury. He might be a murder-happy asshole, but he's the only one who actually gives a damn. It's why he can be a better person here.

[ Which is why Emerald can't just drag him back to her level. She could. She could tear his entire world apart and she'd show him he was just as much of a monster as she was and no one would ever believe otherwise. Actually believing that he gave a shit about her when no one else did was the only thing stopping her from doing it, because then he'd kill her and she'd actually think she deserved it if he was the one who did it. She finishes off his whiskey and motions to the bartender for another, but she doesn't down it this time instead leaving it for later. No sense in getting alcohol poisoning. ]

What are you here for? I'm not the only one sitting at this bar.

[ When she speaks of the people who have done her being allies, Cassian has to struggle to keep from barking out a scathing reply right away. But he forces himself to keep quiet and let her say her piece.

Cassian finds himself regretting his patience once Emerald turns their conversation around on him. He scowls into his glass. He's of half a mind not to let her change the topic so blatantly... but pushing her is unlikely to work.]

I'm here for the usual, I guess. Trying to do my job. Or what used to be my job. It's boring in comparison to your experiences. [ He thinks for a moment, swirls the drink around in his glass. ] I should be networking, or eavesdropping.

[ But instead he's talking to her. And really, he thinks he prefers it this way, but still... Now she has him wondering about all the reasons he's here and not at home. ]

You could say I'm trying the domestic life, too. But it's going better for me right now. Kay... he did it so easily, too, and so quickly. But... I've found ways to keep busy. I'm keeping busy. If I've learned one thing in my years as an assassin, it's that you can't afford to stop and think about it.

[ She shrugs. ]

I should be working too, but I think it says something that the one person you chose to sit next to is the one person you can't do your work on.

[ Or, he can, but it won't get him anywhere. She'll tell him what she wants to, when she wants to. And right now, anything useful to him that she has to say is something she's not bothering with. Later, once she gets this out of her system, perhaps she'll come to him. Getting others to do her bidding is what she's best at, after all. Even if her bidding is usually on someone else's behalf. ]

I mean, you can. You just have to convince yourself to have a different attitude about it. Laugh a little, Cassian. Make it fun. If the person had it coming, it's not that hard.

[ It sounds like she's managed to convince herself of that pretty easily. It wasn't that long ago that she was horrified to see Mercury standing over a corpse, but she's adapted. Probably in the worst possible way, but that's what happens when the people around you smile when they call something horrendous and laugh- you learn to laugh with them or you get put in your place. Then eventually it becomes normal, and it's hard to contain a laugh when your partner starts joking with you about your murder victims. ]

[ It's true, if he were serious about working tonight he would have excused himself as soon as he realized who she is and gone for easier prey. Instead, he'd been all too happy to put personal indulgences first just this once. Maybe this place is getting to him. It would have been a non-issue back home.

When Emerald speaks of laughing about killing he wishes he had. Of course he's known that she is a killer, she has told him so, but this... It still feels like a slap in the face. Even more so now. It cuts far too deep, leaves him too horrified - and deep down, he knows it's not so much horrified of what she's capable of, but horrified that he fears he could be capable of the same. After all, they are so alike in every other way...

He flinches away from her, not even feeling the strength or inclination to muster the spy's self-control. ]

I could laugh. [ His voice is cold, sharp and clipped, and edged with the same scathing judgement she'd called him out for before. But this time he's certain he's in the right. ] I've laughed before when people die. But that's all part of the game. The people I laugh with end up dead, too.

[ Despite rearing back at first, he leans in again. He clutches the glass with both hands. They're alike. Too alike to just turn away in horror and forget it. This, this is a wound he needs to pick on. ]

You do what you need to do, Emerald. But you never, ever enjoy it. You kill for a cause greater than yourself. You sacrifice pieces of yourself to it. Maybe it takes everything that makes you human. But if you start to enjoy it... that's when it's time to take the pill before you become someone else's mission.

[ And so what, so what if he had lived for the thrill, the danger, the triumph. It hadn't been enjoying it. ]

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Em, darling, you keep breaking my heart

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