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

[catamite]

[he laaaughs, because he thinks maybe she's just asking to appear innocent about it, since she'd been heading right toward it with her group]

A brothel, maybe.

[proteusmoon]

[ Well, judging by how her face instantly bursts into red, maybe she really didn't know. ]



I-I... "Maybe"?

[catamite]

Yeah! You know... some places are kind of different than others...

[he teeters a little from looking up at the sign for too long, but he straightens out just fine once his gaze is back at eye-level.]

But there's a smaller sign that says 'something something sex,' so I think that's what it is.

[proteusmoon]

[ Nope, her embarrassment just gets so much worse. She even covers her face with her arms and begins to back away. ]

Oh...

[catamite]

[drunkenly latching onto one of her elbows. not pulling her toward the brothel, but hanging onto her so she doesn't escape]

Heeeey... Where're you going?

[proteusmoon]

[ Well, she doesn't struggle against his hold and she does stop trying to not-so-discreetly escape, drawing closer to him actually as though she's attempting to sink into his arm and disappear from sight. ]

S-Somewhere that's not... "something something sex".

[catamite]

[more laughing, though now it's more like drunken giggling, as he halfheartedly tries to rearrange so he can peek at her face]

--Are you blushing?

[proteusmoon]

[ SHE CAN HARDLY BELIEVE HE'S LOOKING AT HER SO MUCH OVER THIS BECAUSE THE ANSWER IS SO OBVIOUSLY "YES". ]

[catamite]

[he thinks it's cute! giggling quite a bit, he wraps his arms around her shoulders and snugs her tight]

I didn't think people from that place blushed!

[OH COURT what an impression it'd made on him in such a short time]

[proteusmoon]

[ That remark only makes her blush more darkly. She's a little glad though to see that Nel at least is no less unabashedly touchy-feely than he ever was. It seems like a good sign— evidence of normalcy. ]

It's not as though I did those things because I wanted to... I was picky even then, I guess you can say.

[ Which is probably why she never would have made Queen if it were even a real thing. ]

[catamite]

[intoxicated and handsy-- Nel is determined to meet his standards of normalcy right now]

Okay, well... we're having fun now, soooo... [he draws out the last word, looking around for more booze to mooch]

We should totally get you another drink.

[proteusmoon]

[ He is doing a really good job and surprisingly, Cecil responds with practically no awkwardness at all. In fact, she even turns to hide her flushed face in his shoulder for a minute. ]

The drink tastes awful here.

[ Not that that's a disagreement with the suggestion. ]

[catamite]

Oh! Well, if you can still taste it, you totally need more...

[this is what he does best. this is him in his element. and he begins to steer her toward where he knows the locals are passing around jugs of the stuff right on the street. it's time to party, whether Cecil is ready for it or not.]

[proteusmoon]

[ She is so not ready and she's obviously surprised by the initiative he takes. Nel didn't really strike her as the overly confident sort of person in Court, so she sort of just... gets swept away with the commotion, him managing to steamroll right over any protests she was thinking of with his cheerfulness and insistence. ]

[catamite]

[it's funny how he changes when he's full of intoxicants and surrounded by physical contact. addicted to it in every way.

he's been trained and conditioned to make sure people are having a good time--in any way he can--and he's good at it. it's the only thing in the world he has any confidence in.

in a place like Court, where he's starved of it, he's got nothing.

so, as soon as he finds the friends he'd made earlier, he abruptly detaches from Cecil so he can flounce on over to them. but he returns quickly. he's back with a half-full jar of the stuff in a matter of minutes]

[proteusmoon]

[ The jar is a lot bigger than anything else she's had so far, so her eyes go a little wide at first, but she doesn't actually seem intimidated. She starts laughing instead. ]

[catamite]

Here you go! This'll fix it.

[he doesn't remember what he's fixing. but this is still the cure for whatever it is]

[proteusmoon]

[ Cecil doesn't remember even mentioning anything that needs fixing, so she doesn't really pay much attention to that note either. She takes the jar and takes a good long swig of it.

Then blanches violently and begins coughing.

And then takes another drink anyway once the coughing subsides. ]

[catamite]

[whoa! he is officially impressed. he gives a little cheer and some applause when she manages her second drink]

You're a champion!

[he pats her on the back a little, and then his arm kind of slinks around and stays there]

Feelin' good?

[proteusmoon]

[ She grimaces again. ]

...I don't feel a lot of anything.

[catamite]

[he gives a heavy, hearty nod at that, as he borrows the jar to take a drink himself. and then sways a little backward but catches himself quickly. the fact that he's kind of hanging onto her shoulders helps]

I wish we could do this all the time. ...Feels like we have to have fun, like... now-now-now before it's over.

[proteusmoon]

[ Thankfully, she just manages to keep her own balance by propping herself up against the nearest wall. ]

'Might be the death theme of this... festival.

[catamite]

[and since she feels more solid because she's braced against a wall, Nel automatically leans more companionably close without thinking about it. a little heavier.]

Oh... yeah.

[he nods slowly, as a more somber look gradually dawns over his face while he thinks about it.]

Yeah. That makes sense...

[...his mind is a little bit blown.]

[proteusmoon]

None of them really talk about what it means though.

[ She shrugs, using the wall again to support herself when Nel just leans against her more comfortably. It's a little tiring, but she's not bothered by it-- yet. Maybe she will say something once they fall over. ]

I guess we wouldn't understand... or... something...

[catamite]

[and he is absolutely not going to notice. especially now that he's thinking, the last thing going on in his head is noticing how heavily he's leaning on somebody.]

It's probably, like... [and he takes quite a long moment to come up with the concept] ...religion.