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]

[ Instinctively, she moves her body to accommodate his weight against her and she rubs his cheek a little harder than necessary in a comforting gesture. ]

Nobody else looked like me, growing up. I was... different. Strange.

[catamite]

[he squints one eye closed but is too numbed to notice much beyond that]

...Wasn't that a good thing? It's good to stand out sometimes...

[proteusmoon]

I didn't see it that way. I just wanted to be the same as everyone else.

[catamite]

Didn't people always tell you that you're pretty though?

I bet they said it all the time...

[proteusmoon]

I trained to be a knight from a young age, so most of me was covered in armor-- just as I preferred it.

[ Where is this conversation going... ]

Do you think I'm that pretty, Nel?

[catamite]

[right... he'd had a point originally. and while he tries to remember what that was, he plunks his head back so he can peek over at her face.

and he just nods. in that genuine, earnest way that means he's somewhere between admiring and jealous of her for it.]

[proteusmoon]

[ Suddenly, it's like she's talking to Palom or something. ]

Nel... you're not unattractive yourself, you know.

[catamite]

[he narrows his eyes, squinting at her for a few drunken seconds too long. it takes him a minute to make his judgement.]

...You're just being nice.

[proteusmoon]

[ She laughs a little at that. Such distrust! ]

No more than you were "just being nice" to me a second ago.

[catamite]

[he picks his head up so he can clumsily turn to face her more straight on] I wasn't being nice!

[...wait.]

I mean, I was... but not, like... just being nice...

[proteusmoon]

That's my point: neither am I.

[catamite]

[oh, there goes the lolling again. he drapes on her with a plaintive sound.]

You really think so...?

[proteusmoon]

[ Well, now she's getting worried. ]

Yes. Why do you think I don't?

[catamite]

I don't know...

[he's a hot mess. trying to think and explain his way through a complicated thought is difficult on a good day, let alone when he's wasted]

I just wonder about stuff sometimes. I guess.

[proteusmoon]

[ This means one thing to Cecil's foggy, concerned mind: it's time for someone to take a nap. Dry out. Maybe that's best for both of them. ]

Nel, are you sleepy?

[catamite]

[he's not on the verge of drunk-tears, but he's definitely getting to that point where emotions are big and increasingly impossible.

unfortunately, getting Nel away from a party isn't often an easy task.]

Nooo... [--which is always his answer to that question. always.]

[proteusmoon]

[ Humm. This isn't going to be easy then, but Cecil doesn't usually back down from challenges, so she gives it a good try anyway. Well, at least as good a try as she can in her current state. She's not as sharp this way. Perhaps she should try building up her tolerance a little more. ]

I'm tired though. Will you come with me somewhere to lie down?

[catamite]

[...well. drunk Cecil is apparently a genius, because that is exactly the switch in tactics that gets him to push his weight back onto his own feet again, already looking back at the rest of the town before he even answers.]

Oh... yeah, of course!

[he's even quick to smile over it, mood switching fast]

You wanna get a hotel room or something?

[proteusmoon]

[ SUCCESS!! ]

Um. Sure. Or we can just go to a ship. It's up to you.

[catamite]

Don't you want real beds?

[he's already vaguely excited by the idea, and he sticks out his elbow for Cecil to link arms with]

I even know right where one is...

[proteusmoon]

You do?

[ It was sort of a ruse at first, but now she just genuinely lights up. A real bed is so much more a prize than free, disgusting alcochol. She's all for it, almost like she's forgotten what she was intending to do in the first place. ]

Where?

[catamite]

[her excitement is reflected and magnified in him. he feels like he's doing a good job.

Cecil might not realize what she's getting herself into.]

Right by the brothel!

[proteusmoon]

[ He is doing a good job and she definitely doesn't realize what she's started, but the mention of the brothel does at least get her to pause for a moment, concerned. ]

But not... the brothel... right?

[catamite]

No, no... it's just right next door.

[and so of course has nothing to do with that establishment or district at all. nope.

and he'll just casually link arms with her to start steering back in that direction]

[proteusmoon]

[ Although this is completely and utterly obviously so not true at all, inebriated Cecil is just a little too naive to not completely and utterly buy into the false sense of dignity. She's reassured and she nods, stumbling a little as she takes a step away from the wall. ]

All right, let's go.