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Arkadi overlooks the extravagantly-dressed crowd that has gathered in the home of The Daimyo of Unnecessary Roughness, God of Contact Sports.
Arkadi is alone, in the crowd, as per usual. Enjoying for the moment the gladiatorial contest being undertaken in the centre ring, as other gods cavort, converse, sedcude, drink, and otherwise debauch themselves around him...
<Arkadi> And of course, due the the presenc eof Plentimon...the wagering
Malic has momentarily detached himself from the group of beings laying wagers on the outcome of the current match and moved to stand next to Arkadi. "You know, I bet I could take Broken Twig. Think I should challenge him?" Malic glances over at the god in charge of broken wooden sports tools.
Arkadi arches an eyebrow
<Arkadi> "I think he'd stab you with a sharpened cricket bat."
Gia chuckles at Malic. "Sure, go ahead. Would you be offended if I bet on the other guy?"
<Gia> "Because, you know, I've lost enough of my salary tonight."
Malic snorts. "Well, that's for the confidence..don't even think I could beat the God of Broken Bats."
<Gia> "That's okay, Malic." Gia squeezes his arm consolingly. "Arkadi wouldn't be able to either."
Arkadi arches an eyebrow
<Malic> "If you want to try, I'll join Gia in reclaiming my salary.." Malic grins
<Arkadi> "I try to avoid getting into fight at parties I'm actually invited to."
<Arkadi> "It's a rare enough event as is."
<Gia> "You getting invited to parties?"
Gia grins.
<Arkadi> "It's not an insult if the victim knows it's true."
<Arkadi> "Generally it means I have to get dressed up..."
Arkadi shows off the fact he's not wearing some drab set of pure function clothing for once
<Malic> "You do?" Looking down at his bare chest and loose blue pants, Malic ponders. "Well. They're clean.."
<Arkadi> "Could be worse...my justice directorate dress uniform had plumes in the helmet..."
<Arkadi> "What the HELL is the point of plumes in a helmet?"
<Malic> "It keeps the birds from shitting on you."
<Arkadi> "How?"
<Malic> "They think you're another bird."
Gia gets a slightly faraway look in her eyes and grins slightly. "You know the Lookshy officer's uniform has twenty-seven buttons on the fly of the trousers?"
<Arkadi> "I wouldn't know. I was in the upper enlisted ranks."
Gia blushes. "Er, I think I'm going to go thank our host for inviting us." She looks down at her drink. "And switch to water. Excuse me for a moment?"
Gia wanders off for a few minutes to do just that.
<willows> "Twenty-seven?" A long-fingered goddess looks at Gia in surprise.
<willows> "What do that all do?"
<willows> (they all)
Gia chuckles and winks conspiratorily. "Get in the way, mostly." She switches her glass for some sparkling water. "Thank you so much for inviting my colleagues and I tonight. We're having a splendid time. I do bring apologies from Merciful Osprey, though; his astrological studies keep him from letting his hair down tonight."
<willows> "It was my pleasure. I know how difficult it is to get Osprey to let his hair down...but don't tell him that."
<Malic> "You just going to spend the night watching sweaty men bash eachother with swords, Arkadi? You should mingle. Find a nice goddess. Salt in Wounds over there keeps looking at you."
Gia laughs. "I think that's a secret safe between you and I." Gia smiles graciously. "I'll let you get back to greeting the rest of your guests. Thank you again, Daimyo." She wanders back to the two men.
<Arkadi> "...with a name like that...I think I'll pass."
Arkadi lights up a cigar
Arkadi sighs to himself
<Gia> "What's wrong, Ark?"
<Arkadi> "Feels weird. Usually I'm not ivnited to these things, but am called in to stop some putz who stole the wine..or break up some brawl between two diametrically opposed gods."
<Arkadi> "About the only kidn of place where I ⚠ <i>don't⚠ </i> feel comfortable, actually."
Arkadi shrugs
<Arkadi> "You seem unusually concerned about my well-being today."
<willows> As if on cue, a nearby god tosses another at a wall---or tries to. The unfortunate throwee bursts into a cloud of glass shards and reforms, laughing.
Arkadi grits his teeth
<Gia> "I'm not concerned, so much as I'm scavenging for things to taunt you with."
<Arkadi> "How touching, Miss 27."
<Gia> "Hey, I work for the Forbidding Manse. I've got to know everything."
<Arkadi> "So you decided some primary studies needed to be undertaken?"
<Gia> "I'm quite the go-getter. Whereas you're quite the.. lazeabout, I guess?" She winks. "Parties are just as important as assignments, and you stand in the corner like a child being punished. It's not good for your career."
<Arkadi> "Why does everyone always seem so concered about my career?"
Malic cheers as the gladiator he was betting on wins, smashing his opponent's face with his antlers. Pumping his arm in the air as he hurridly collects his winnings, Malic trots back over to Gia and Arkadi. "Because we're your friends."
Arkadi pinches the bridge of his nose
<Gia> "Because when you live as long as we do, it's no fun spending your life stuck doing the things everyone else finds distasteful."
<Arkadi> "You mean coppering?"
<Malic> "You need to enjoy life more, Arkadi."
Arkadi stifles a mutter of 'Oh gods...here we go again...'
Gia raises a brow. "Do you honestly think there's no worse job you'll be assigned to after a couple centuries of refusing to play the game?"
<Arkadi> "'The game'...you've no diea how much I want to kick the person who invented THAT euphanism..."
<Malic> "Everything's a game. Why not refer to this game as a game?"
<Arkadi> "Because a game doens't ruin people's lives."
<Malic> "There are bunches of games that ruin lives."
<Malic> "Too many people think a game is some fun little thing you play to while away the time."
<Arkadi> "That ⚠ <i>is⚠ </i> the definition of the word."
<Malic> "One definition."
<Gia> "There's such a thing as winning and losing at life, Arkadi, and right now you're not doing too well." Her eyes scan the crowd, making sure no one's eavesdropping. "Your strategies are artless where they exist at all."
Arkadi looks dubious 'So you're saying 'cave in, conform...be a good little drone and you might get a little fo what you want...'
<Gia> "No. LOOK like you're caving and one day everyone will be surprised when you not only have everything you want, but everything they want too. That's how you get ahead."
Arkadi takes a deep puff on his cigar
<Malic> "Hey, isn't that the goddess of Bodily Perfection? What's her name again..."
<Gia> "I don't recall, but I think her title is Beyond What Malic is Capable of Bedding." Gia takes a long sip of water.
<Gia> "You'd be better off with that fight with the God of Broken Bats."
<Malic> "Why do you have such a low opinion of me? I'm hurt, really."
Malic puts a hand over his heart dramatically.
<Arkadi> "You'll survive."
<Gia> "I don't have a low opinion of you at all, Malic. What about her?" Gia asks, gesturing in a noncommital way to what could be one of three or four women. "I bet you'd have luck there."
Malic eyes the group. "I think I'll work tonight's food. I'm trying to avoid a paunch like Ark's. He'd be less crabby if he was more active."
Malic starts searching for a god he could concievably best in a match..
<Gia> "You know, I bet you and Ark could make a tidy sum if you fought each other." Gia grins.
<Gia> "Hey, you did say he needed to be more active.. And Ark, you DO need to participate in the festivities a bit more."
<Arkadi> "He's jsut afraid I'd take him apart."
<Malic> "You couldn't hold a sword against me for ten minutes.."
<Arkadi> "Who said anything about swords"
Arkadi cracks his knuckles
Gia grins.
<Arkadi> "Barehanded, no charms."
<Malic> "No thanks, Arkadi. You got too much practice beating up prisoners."
Arkadi 's grin vanishes off his face
Arkadi grabs Mal by the lapels and hauls him up
<Arkadi> "WHAT THE ⚠ <i>FUCK⚠ </i> DID YOU JUST SAY ?!"
Gia is no longer grinning. This is not good.
<Arkadi> "If you EVER spew that bullshit again, I will rip you APART, you hear me ?!"
Arkadi releases Malic and turns a full 180, goign to get some air
Gia watches Ark leave, and then turns to Malic with a sigh. "I don't think I'm the person to be going after and consoling that guy."
Malic snarls after Arkadi and takes a step in his direction before spitting a hair-curling curse at the Red's back and turning to join a minor Sand God in the arena for a fight.
Arkadi finds himself out front, by a gazebo, pacing and muttering the foulest curses he can muster
Gia stands by herself for a few moments, and then sighs. "Well, this is fun." She wrinkles her nose with distaste momentarily, and then follows the path Arkadi took in an attempt to track him down. On the way, she grabs a drink for him.
Malic howls a virulent blasphemy native to a small southern village that worships the Sheep Goddess Sahupu as he drops into the mortal coil of Pheonix Form and rushes at the Sand God with Burning Wind
<willows> The party swirls around the three Sidereals; most of the attendees are either too self-absorbed or too deep in their cups to see the significance of what transpired.
Gia closes the heavy door to the manse behind her, muting the revelry within. She looks about the grounds tentatively. "Hey, Arkadi?"
Arkadi turns around, his face almost as red as his eyes...before recognizing Gia and calming down somewhat
<Arkadi> "I can't beleive he said that..."
<Arkadi> "Joke or not, I can't beleive his fucking ⚠ <i>GALL⚠ </i> in saying that..."
<Gia> "hey, I know we've had our differences, but for what it's worth, I've never taken you for the 'beat-him-'til-he-talks type."
Gia hads Arkadi the drink.
<Gia> "Well, you have to understand-- Malic doesn't come from where we come from. The police aren't as civilized in the rest of the world as they are in Lookshy."
Arkadi takes it and downs it in one shot "Thanks."
Arkadi ruyns a hand through his hair "Yeah, you could say that..."
<Arkadi> "But just what he said goes against everyhting that've stood for and everythign that's been ingraine din my head since I was fifteen..."
Arkadi frantically tries to articulate just WHAT about the comment set him off...but can't...
<Gia> "And Malic didn't know that. I think it says something that Malic, who considers you a friend, did not realize that it would set you off, whereas I'm out here talking to you." She shrugs. "Good and bad are.. subjective.. up here, sometimes."
<Arkadi> "So I'm learning."
Arkadi sighs
<Gia> "How long have you been working for the Bureaucracy, Ark?"
<Arkadi> "Fifth year 2 weeks from now."
<Arkadi> "you?"
<Gia> "Three." She shrugs slightly. "I can't imagine what it would be like to go from a life you enjoyed to the madness up here. But eventually, you have to realize you're not a part of the world any more. I mean, I realize it's presumptuous of me to say that to someone who's been up here longer than I have.." She looks around. "But you had strong values before you came up here. That's hard to let go of."
<Arkadi> "you've adapted better, I haven't."
<Arkadi> "My entire life was street-level. If I helped someone, I saw it. If I screwed up, the resutl was personal. Now they're telling me 'this guy needs to die so those 500 people there can keep living."
Arkadi sighs
<Gia> "Did you ever have to kill anyone, working for Lookshy?"
<Arkadi> "I've kille dpeople before. I did time in the Field Forces, and in the Directorate, too.."
<Arkadi> "The difference was, I was never ⚠ <i>sent⚠ </i> to kill someone..."
<Gia> "When you kill someone, just think of them as the bad guy." Gia chews the corner of her lower lip. "It's something that needs to be done to protect others. And you have a deep desire to protect and serve.. But if it were easy to do, it wouldn't be a JOB."
<Arkadi> "That's something I can't do...the moment I start thinking of them as the bad guy...that's the moment I turn into everyone I tracked down in Lookshy."
<Arkadi> "They're people living their lives for the most part...and they're ALWAYS the ones who pay the price."
<Gia> "The people you tracked down in Lookshy were not desperately trying to keep the threads of Creation from flying apart."
Arkadi shakes his head
<Arkadi> "Murder is still murder.
Gia grins sardonically. "It's not murder if you've got the ok from management." She slaps Arkadi on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go find Malic."
Arkadi nods
<Arkadi> "I woe him a drink...and an apology."
Malic lays himself down on the hard bench that is all the god provides in the way of seating, pretending far more hurt then the Sand God did him as he is helped along by a pair of Palm Dryads here with Honeyed Tongue, the goddess of carniverous plants. The only real wound is a long abrasion from his right shoulder to navel where the God tried to throw him, but Malic's good at faking pain.
Malic looks up bleerily at Gia and Arkadi from between the two Dryads.
Arkadi tosses him a bottle of chiaroscuran pale ale
Malic catches it artfully, making it appear a reflex that sends a twinge of pain down his side as the bottle smacks into his hand. The Dryads coo over him, rubbing his 'wounded' shoulders. "Celebrating my victory, Arkadi?"
<Gia> "I'd hate to see the other guy, Malic," Gia comments with just a whisper of sarcasm.
<Arkadi> "apology."
<Malic> "Well, I suppose that works too. Share a cup to dull my pain?"
<Arkadi> "⚠ <i>You⚠ </i> may like that stuff...but it's pisswater to me. Not dark enough."
<Malic> "Keep your tree-sap-swill then...can't even appreciate good ale."
<Arkadi> "...that's because it's stout.
Malic looks at the two Dryads "They don't have any respect out there in the East, making trees into liquor."
<Arkadi> "and it's not trees."
<Arkadi> "It's the same stuff used in that urine-coloured swill...but better."
<Arkadi> "Plus, it doubles as a meal."
Malic snorts. "So do spiders."
<Arkadi> "Don't get into that."
<Malic> "You liked them in Skullstone."
<Arkadi> "I didn't eat them in skullstone...remembeR? the waiter took offence to what I said."
<Malic> "You're repressing."
<Arkadi> "No, I distinctly remembeR? Ossie had to cover for me..."
<Malic> "You're just hoping it didn't lay eggs in your belly. That'd explain the sudden weight gain though.."
<Arkadi> "Mal? Just remember that I can kick your ass...drop the subject now."
<Malic> "Only if you want to go around hopping on one foot forever."
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