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

[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. ]

[aberrant_type]

[She starts laughing too, because all of this is very silly, and now Cecil's gentle hands are all over her face, not that there's anything Cecil can actually... do... to help. Hange tips her head back, to escape.]

Right as rain! No lasting harm done - hnk! [And then she snorts to try and clear the last of the brew.]

This isn't so bad!

[proteusmoon]

Either you've had much, much worse or you're getting used to it already.

[ Cecil finally pulls her hands away from Hange's face, instinctively reaching out for her drink again. In spite of the judgement she's passed on the horrid thing, she still goes right back to finishing it off— and grimaces, shuddering too even. ]

Hggghh... I don't think I'll ever get used to this.

[aberrant_type]

Drink more, it'll matter less.

[Hange raises her own glass in a toast.]

At this juncture, it doesn't seem war will be upon us tomorrow, so drink up and enjoy peacetime! Bottoms up!

[proteusmoon]

[ She raises her own again and clinks the side of it against Hange's. ]

Unless it's of course a clever little trap.

[ Then she takes another good swallow of the drink without any note of hesitation. ]

[aberrant_type]

If there's a trap the way out is through, and I've gotten drunk in the middle of a war before. Bottoms up!

[SHE DRINKS TOO.]

[proteusmoon]

[ They are clearly the most responsible of captains. ]

Surely not during battle though, yes?

[aberrant_type]

That sounds like a quick way to cut your life short! Hahahaha!

[proteusmoon]

[ HEY, IT COULD HAPPEN. ]

Some of... of my men... used to drink some right before... Calmed their nerves, they said.

I used to punish them for it. Reckless, I said.

[aberrant_type]

That would be very reckless. I suppose that may or may not... have been an action carried out by my men before expeditions. Since our survival rates aren't so great even when everyone's sober... ha ha...

[proteusmoon]

[ The way she laughs is morbid and Cecil can commiserate. ]

Are those monsters truly so nigh invincible?

[aberrant_type]

Oh yes...

[She just stares off into space a little.]

If... unless you strike certain points, they regenerate... they're always getting back up to come after you again. They don't feel fear and don't seem to feel pain... so nothing slows them down...