002. ☾ First contact { Action }

[proteusmoon]

Who: Cecil and you!
Broadcast: N/A
Action: Planet, around!
When: October 24th, night

[ After sifting through the changes made to the ship with the disappearance of some of the crew, as well as making sure their newest addition settled in all right, Cecil is a little late making it out to explore the planet they've landed on. That said, she's not sure how it is that she managed to attract such a crowd of natives, much less how they managed to keep her busy with being led around their quaint, dusty home all day. One thing just led to another and she's been sight-seeing and answering an awful lot of questions about herself.

It's now nighttime, she's unwittingly tried enough lighter fluid-flavored liquor to render her a little drunk, and it seems her small following is leading her inside the brothel next. It's unclear whether or not she realizes where they're going, but she's also got a handful of those red stones and she's in a pretty good mood, so she's content to be led along.

Honestly, it's been a trying past couple weeks and she needed this chance to unwind, really. Maybe not quite this much, but beggars can't be choosers. ]

Comments

[proteusmoon]

[ Well, that certainly works, all right. The people part to make way for Hange easily and Cecil herself suddenly looks entirely, genuinely confused by this turn of events at first. It takes her a bit to catch up with what's going on, but once she does, she's incredibly pleased by the appearance of the other woman. She smiles happily and even laughs a little breathlessly as she feels her arm grasped firmly. ]

Here I am! Where you looking for me?

[aberrant_type]

Ohh, I suppose so? I found you, anyway! [Honestly, she would have happily approached most anyone she knew. But she goes along with Cecil now.] Where are you going? It looks like you found an entourage!

[proteusmoon]

I don't really know. They keep asking me questions. They're like you, but less charming and more clingy.

[ Yes, she definitely just said that with utmost seriousness and a straight face. ]

[aberrant_type]

[Fortunately... Hange howls with laughter and gives Cecil a comradely whack on the shoulder, undeterred even by the other woman's more willowy physique.]

Me, charming? I'd say you're the charming one, saying something like that! Where are we going, hm?

[proteusmoon]

[ Even in spite of her rather inebriated state, Cecil doesn't seem fazed by the little smack to her person. Actually, she seems far more interested in protesting Hange's words. ]

No, it's true! And... er... I'm fine with not staying around here, if you were headed somewhere.

[aberrant_type]

I think... [She glances up.] ... I think we're headed into a house of debauched pleasures! Was that what you were looking for, or should we make our excuses and leave?

[proteusmoon]

Wh-What?

[ Cecil is so startled that she actually freezes in her tracks, balking at this sudden reveal. She tries to wheel herself around to leave, but can't quite seem to figure out which way that is, so she ends up staggering a little towards Hange for support. ]

No, that wasn't... wasn' what I wanted...

[aberrant_type]

Time to make our exeunt, I believe. [She loops her arm deftly through Cecil's. Pretty smooth for a drunk woman.]

Everyone, sorry to disappoint, but we have an engagement elsewhere!

[proteusmoon]

[ Not that Cecil is all that difficult to maneuver at the moment. She goes along with Hange easily, content to let herself be led along. ]

Thank you...

[ She has no idea where they're headed or if they even have a destination in mind, but she also isn't especially concerned one way or another. She even huddles a little closer to her. ]

That would have been awful...

[aberrant_type]

There there, now! You're free! [She just brushes a local casually to the side. Ehehe.] Better be careful, they seem to have taken a liking to you!

[proteusmoon]

I'm not sure the level of liking is exactly mutual.

[ She definitely wasn't planning on going to a whorehouse with them, after all. ]

[aberrant_type]

If it was I would have left you with them.

Come drink with me! Or I can take you home.

[proteusmoon]

We don't have homes here-- only prisons.

[ Which means, "Yes, let's go drink." ]

[aberrant_type]

Oh Cecil. My home was just a prison of a different kind. [She laughs!

But she will thread them away through the dusty streets, seeking to find a bar and also shake off the rest of Cecil's acquired entourage.]

[proteusmoon]

[ That makes her feel awfully sad for Hange and once they're by themselves, she sighs deeply and succumbs to simply resting her head on the older woman's shoulder while they walk. "A prison of a different kind"... Well, she could relate a year ago. Now, though, she'd simply sound petty to say she still did. No, she can't relate anymore. Not really. ]

[aberrant_type]

[She glances over at the head leaning, but lets it happen otherwise. It just surprised her a little. As they walk she begins to whistle lowly and mostly tunelessly... until a likely-enough looking place catches her eye and she pauses.

Hange does her best not to dwell and her best is very good, so she sounds cheerful again when she points out the front.]

How about there?

["There" looks more or less equivalent to everywhere else, but hey, it seems nice to ask.]

[proteusmoon]

[ Cecil lifts her head then and blinks a little owlishly at the place Hange is pointing out, judging it as best she can in her inebriated state. Eventually, she comes to the conclusion that even if it's not that great, their options are pretty limited anyway, so she nods. ]

All right.

[aberrant_type]

[She leads the way on in, then. The place is attractively decorated in... grey and a few stripes of neon and then more grey, and dusty in spite of the proprieter's attempt at making a buffed-metal paradise.]

Well, they've certainly made an effort!

[- is Hange's all-too-cheerful assessment.] Bartender! Out-of-towners here to try your stock!

[proteusmoon]

[ Cecil quietly agrees with this assessment as the addressed bartender (whose face is also painted up like a skull) ambles over with a cheery enough disposition and a lot of obvious curiosity to wait on them. Before he gets there though, the younger captain lowers her voice and asks her companion: ]

...You don't really expect it to taste any different than that of the other establishments here, do you?

[aberrant_type]

[Sotto voce:] Not at all. But maybe they'll put some kind of twist on it?

[There are booths. Hange's going to ask for two of the house specialty and then herd Cecil over to one of those, figuring she'll be a little harder to steal again if they're both tucked away.]

[proteusmoon]

[ Just as before, Cecil doesn't fight being moved along at all. She slides into the booth with ease and rests against the wall comfortably, trying not to remember how the alcohol here tastes. Their drinks arrive shortly after they're settled and Cecil pulls her glass over with a wary look directed at it. ]

[aberrant_type]

[It's... colored! Cecil's is bright red, Hange's is purple. Hange raises her glass and swirls the alcohol, studying it.]

Interesting...

[So she takes a gulp of it...

... surprise: it tastes almost exactly the same, except hers has some artificial grape flavoring in there.

Cecil's is cherry.]

[proteusmoon]

[ Cecil takes a drink of hers as well after a little bit of careful inspection and immediately blanches at the sharp, hot taste of it. ]

Cherry-flavored liquid offense...

[ It's, needless to say, rather disgusting, and yet, in spite of that, she takes another gulp of it. This time, her expression of distaste afterwards is a bit less severe, but still noticeable. ]

[aberrant_type]

[Hange snorts laughing and some of the drink goes up her nose, whereupon she promptly claps her hand over her face.]

Ghhh--!

[The drink isn't any easier on the nasal passages than it is on the stomach, obviously]

[proteusmoon]

[ Cecil knows exactly just what happened and she reacts with concern and surprise that's rather characteristic of her. She was already putting her drink down, so when Hange blanches, she puts her hands on the other woman's head, mostly feeling around her nose as if checking for actual injuries. ]

Oh! Are y-you all right?

[ But then the ridiculousness of what she's doing appears to occur to her and she dissolves into giggles, even if she doesn't take her hands away from Hange's nose. ]