nachetanya | Recollé Overflow Post

Maybe you're just an easier mark with some alcohol in your system.

[ but from the way she says it, she's mostly teasing Lina. She takes the compliment, of course she does! But she does...

Well, she is amused a little bit. No, a lot amused with it, her red eyes glinting and dances her finger there, before she slides it up and off of Lina, more so she can take her own drink again. ]

Who knows?

[she's quiet with that response, light sparkling in her eyes as they crinkle up with her smile. she's been fairly aggressive with this drink of hers and she hasn't had much to eat lately, so yeah, maybe she is. it's a mystery.]

Is that the way you look at people? How easy of a mark they are? [she's trying to be playful about this; they both know, or at least she hopes they both know, that people are much, much more than that.] I don't think I'm as easy as you think I am, even when I'm drunk.

[she might be easier when she's sober, at the rate their friendship has gone.]

No, no, I'm not that cynical!

[ Or... was she? The princess of piena definitely was. Natalia frowns a little bit and then shakes her head, the smile coming back on her lips just as quickly. With that done, she waves her hand, the drink in it before finishing it off. ]

I do believe in compassion and awareness of others being an incredibly important part of life! I just do happen to be good at observing people!

Oh, I can tell.

[that's the answer she expected, and she's glad to break that bit of tension that she herself had introduced.]

After all, you've been observing me all night. [she giggles. that opening was right there for her, almost as if it were on purpose.] Did you want to observe me from the comfort of one of those tables? Or maybe from somewhere else?

[she doubts that'll get her far, but, well, it's the right thing to say right now.]

Somewhere else?

[ She snorts at that, her baby bird voice transitioning into perhaps a little bit more of a crude laugh than she would normally allow herself. But it comes out easily enough, and Natalia brushes back some hair once the glass is set down and... ]

As long as I don't need to carry you home.

Oh, of course not. I'm not going to get wasted tonight.

[the idea, combined with the tone and timbre of that laugh that's totally surprising coming from Natalia, puts a huge grin on Lina's face. there's no teasing, she doesn't want to make her uncomfortable or anything, but she's still enjoying that Natalia feels comfortable enough to laugh like that in front of her.]

I just want to get a little drunk and see what happens. [and she's feeling it as the subtlety leaves her just a bit more in that sentence, but she's sure to pull it back.] Even if it's just the two of us sharing funny stories and stumbling home separately.

Sounds a little bit romantic when you put it like that.

[ But okay, Natalia will...

She's actually going to slide out to sit at a table near the bar. After all, Lina asked for it! But they might need to get up to get more drinks? ... She's totally jacking this tequila though. ]

Does it?

[it's a coincidence, of course. Lina has a similar idea with the rum she's been using with her own drinks, and she can't help but giggle as she follows Natalia to their new table.]

Look at us. We're so bad. I don't know if I can afford to drink too much of this, but you just have something about you, you know? The kind of air that makes people want to be... bad.

[she's implying, of course, that she might just drink this alcohol without paying for it after all. it's not something she's never done before, but she's getting a little more honest now. a little more into the "you gotta do what it takes" mindset she had when she was younger.]

Oh no, you can't blame me for that! After all, I'm just sabotaging the competition of a family member right now!

[ She said with a mock-innocent face, her red eyes flashing a little as she pours out a little more tequila for herself.

Still, if Lina's made that comfortable with her...

That's neat. ]

You can't tell me you're not being bad and then say I'm part of a sabotage!

[Lina giggles, though, incredibly pleased that Natalia is treating her like this. she really does feel special; Natalia's done a very good job keeping her interested, keeping her involved, and making sure that there's always something new. can she really be blamed for thinking she's been friends with Natalia for much longer than she actually has been?]

[she leans in a little once she's taken a seat and even if she's tipsy (conservatively), she's still legitimately interested.]

So. You should tell me a little more about your family.

[ That gets an amused sound from her lips, shifting the Tequila bottle around as if considering pouring more for herself. ]

What more is there to say? I think I've already said the Fairweathers are big and rural and I grew up around almost all of them.

[ She says with a somewhat amused looking smile. There is a lot more to say, of course! She can spell out the details of any of them, go into detail on old stories...? She's mostly urging Lina to spell out her request more, or see if she will go in for it a second time. Nat's not putting up defenses here so much as parrying it.

Hmm...

[Lina gives it a moment of careful consideration. yes, this is something she wants to hear about! but she really doesn't know where to begin. maybe she should say that?]

I don't think I know the right place to start! Let's see. Do you have a favorite family member?

[playing favorites seems like a thing that might be up Natalia's alley.]

I don't know who you take me for, Lina! Having a family member you call "favorite" would be very cruel, you know.

[ She spins her glass on the table before she grins a little and settles it down. ]

After all, I've got mama and dad, I've got Zack and auntie and all those people I grew up with - Olivia and Dia and Elliot...

[ She sighs. ]

... Zack's like a big brother to me. He moved back away from here recently.

[Lina's is Rose right now, of course, but that doesn't mean she'll say that she has a favorite. or how easy it was for her to figure out who her favorite is. instead, she listens quietly, hanging on every word. her hand reaches out across the table for Natalia as she brings up Zack.]

I'm sorry. Maybe it's better that he isn't here right now? [looking around them, of course.] But that doesn't make it easier to deal with. Have you been able to stay in touch with him?

[ The hand that Natalia sends to meet Lina's is actually her prosthetic left. It's a little bit more impersonal, but it is still a part of her, and as such she doesn't feel too bad to use it in this instance. She does still want a free hand, after all.

She wonders if Lina minds.

Either way, she shakes her head ] No, I guess it is, when everyone's vanished. ... I did manage to get one call through, but I talked with his mother instead. Anyway, like I said, he's a little like my older brother, five years older than me and we grew up on neighboring plots of land. He joined the military when he was eighteen, though, so I didn't see him in person for a while.

[Lina notices, but she doesn't mind, particularly. it's still a part of her. in Lina's mind, she's holding Natalia's left hand, and not just some prosthesis. things happen to people, especially around here. they don't lose who they are because of it.]

I see. I'm glad you were able to talk to somebody in his family, though. [she means it. she's glad he isn't gone forever, or at least not totally unreachable if Natalia needs it.] You know, when the city's back, you could always go out and visit him. I mean, he had to be able to leave somehow, right?

I don't know the way any more. If I go the way I used to go, eventually, you just end up in Magatus. ... I think, sometimes, that we must be cut off from that world.

[ At least, slowly getting severed from it. After all, she did talk to her aunt, yes. For about 90 seconds before it cut out. ]

[ah. right. she's... still never had a reason to leave the city, so this is something she should probably know about but just doesn't. and even though she doesn't really have a world outside of the city to care about, it's clear Natalia does.]

[without thinking about it, her fingers clasp a little stronger around Natalia's hand. she knows it doesn't make a difference, but she doesn't care.]

I'm sorry, Natalia. Maybe we can find a way to rebuild things around here so we can connect to that world again. If everything's a blank slate right now, who knows what could happen next?

[ She kind of hates that home now leads to Magatus. Of those four reasons, it was the one she hated the most, ironically mostly because of Clover. She frowns a little, and no, she can't feel the squeeze to her hand. Her yees drift a little to the bottle in her hand, and she hums a bit before making to pour it into a glass. ]

... Maybe! Who knows, really, like you said, it could be anything.

[and Lina, alcohol-addled as she is, worries her lower lip for a moment and tries to think of something encouraging to say to that. she knows it's difficult, but her entire life is the city; there's never been anything else out there for her. so she can't understand what Natalia's feeling and probably never will.]

You'll see him again. [she tries her best to sound as sure of herself as possible while her voice lowers.] Family doesn't ever really go anywhere, blood-related or not. I know he still loves you like the little sister you are to him and he misses you every day.

[all of that is really presumptuous. she hopes it's enough to stop Natalia from drinking too much—there's only a few reasons people do that, after all.]

[ That's at once true and overstating things, but as Natalia's own tipsy mind parses it out... ah. Lina's justifying to herself about her sisters, or perhaps about her parents (missing, no doubt) and as such, Natalia doesn't push against it. Misses her everyday? Probably not. But... ]

Family does remain connected. [ She assures Lina, ] I doubt he's actively thinking about it all, but I'm sure it's a thorn in his mind.

You're much more than just a thorn.

[she may be getting a little caught up in the metaphor, but it's easier and more fun to do that than to think about the deeper, unsaid meaning behind what they're saying. not that she's letting it pass over her for a moment. she truly appreciates the reassurance, and that might be why she's smiling so readily.]

Take it from a flower.

[ From a Flower... huh? Natalia laughs a little at that, humming to herself, ]

I guess I can't refute that, then

Oh, you can always refute it if you don't think it's right.

[and the smile gets a small giggle at the end of it before her face tries to turn a little more serious.]

I just thought you'd appreciate me saying something a little fancier like that. You're... you seem like someone who likes the finer things in life. Someone who has no problem talking in metaphors because she knows exactly what she's saying.

[someone completely unlike Lina.]

If I pull that off, then you really must be a flower, to have your eyes so rose-colored.

[ . . . Or does that prove precisely what Lina is saying? Who knows, she is just going to be spinning her glass slightly in her hand, smiling as she throws the ball back into Lina's court. ]

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