I-It's not like I enjoy talking with you or anything!

[defrostedpride]

Characters: Even, Ienzo, Emizel.
Content: Awful tsunderenerds being awful.
Location: The tea shop.
Time of Day: It's all one, really...
Warnings: Nerds.


Even could have stayed in and made his own coffee, and in fact often did, but he was resigned to the fact that if he didn't contrive to encounter Aeleus fairly frequently, Aeleus would come looking for him, which inevitably ended in being silently reproved for not sleeping. It wasn't particularly a hardship to shuttle between two sources of caffeine.

It was, therefore, extremely rude of Aeleus to not be in evidence when Even entered the tea shop.

"Hello, Ienzo," he said peevishly.

Comments

[shadearchivist]

"Hello, Even." Ienzo could and probably would report Even's presence to Aeleus. Even looked well enough for him, particularly considering that his bedroom had apparently been claimed by Nepeta. "You look as if you could use a rest. I hope you've been able to recover your bedroom."

[trademark_skull]

"?" Emizel didn't say a thing but instead turned away from his drink. The guy had looked familiar, he remember seeing him on the network before, although it wasn't really enough to consider him an acquaintance. Moxie wasn't afraid to wag and bark though.

[defrostedpride]

"We were able to come to a mutually beneficial agreement," said Even with all the dignity of someone who had not at all failed miserably to dislodge a single teenager from his domicile. "I have had all the rest I require," he lied. "And yourself?"

[shadearchivist]

"I am doing quite well as far as rest goes," Ienzo said, letting it drop for now. "Despite the dreams. Even, have you met Emizel?"

[trademark_skull]

And Moxie! Don't forget Moxie. He barked again as a reminder.

"We've seen each other before... sort of."

[defrostedpride]

"We've spoken," Even confirmed. "You had questions." Questions for which Even still had no answers. He resented this fact profoundly.

[shadearchivist]

"Emizel has proved to be a sensible young person," Ienzo said, not that Even would necessarily believe that. I'm not surprised he had good questions."

[trademark_skull]

"--I was only just pointing the obvious," no need to imply Emizel is a genius or anything. The flattering nice but it doesn't need to go that far. They were still no farther than where they are now.

[defrostedpride]

"The obvious is more than some people are capable of," said Even. Complaining about the stupidity of Other People in general was how conversation worked, right? Right.

[shadearchivist]

"It's fine to accept compliments," Ienzo said. "some people rarely get them, after all."

[trademark_skull]

Okay maybe now it was more of a case of being baffled instead of modest. Not that Emizel can complain too much, an ego boost is exactly what he needs. "That is a little bit sad if I'm one of the better ones."

Although judging by the quality of the network... yeah no, it's not that surprising.

[defrostedpride]

"They could be more annoying," Even said. "Somehow. ...I'll think of a way."

[shadearchivist]

"Most of the people here aren't terrible people." With a few exceptions, though surely disliking Wash doesn't necessarily mean that the man is anything more than terribly annoying. "They're just not necessarily people with whom I'd prefer to spend a great deal of time."

[trademark_skull]

"There is a few exceptions," Emizel admitted to. "But I can't really say if that would be most."

Probably because there was only a handful he would want to spend time with. What is this bias?

[defrostedpride]

"The exceptions more than compensate." Even, fundamentally opposed to not hating the world at large? Surely not.

[shadearchivist]

"Well, yes, I can understand how you would feel that way," Ienzo said. Considering that his bedroom had been taken over, Even's attitude was quite understandable.

[trademark_skull]

That didn't really seem like it minute ago. The little flame rippled while he tried to comprehend that, although really, it doesn't matter that much.

"Whatever works best for you.." regardless, the quality of those here was still disappointing.

[defrostedpride]

"Almost all of them are capable of respecting a person's private space." Not that he'd been using it at the time, nor that he was nearly as personally attached to his bedroom as he was to his lab.

Rather than continue the conversation about his uninvited renter, Even asked, "Is that an illusion of flame, or is it contained in some way?" ...He might, possibly, have been paying particular attention to an open flame, even a small one, for reasons of his own.

[shadearchivist]

Ienzo shrugged. "You've never been good about marking your boundaries." He was actually curious about Even's query himself, though. It was rude to just inquire, however, at least past the basics, and he had a feeling inquiries would have to go past the basics for a full understanding.

[trademark_skull]

Emizel was starting to get more used to the flame questions by now. Back home most either knew what it was, or thought it was just for fashion, which honestly was true too. Here though... despite all the weird things already it was still unusual.

"The ring keeps it lit," as long as the source it needed was still there, at least. "It's mostly harmless though."

[defrostedpride]

Even continued to regard it askance. "Only mostly? What keeps it from igniting any flammable objects in the area?"

No one had ever accused him of tact.

[shadearchivist]

"I'd assume it's like any other directed spell; it's designed not to burn certain things," Ienzo said, shrugging. Technically the question was to Emizel, but the answer was obvious.

[trademark_skull]

Emizel shrugged a little. "I thought it's because it doesn't get hot enough," that is, Emizel had never seen someone's personal flame get hot enough to the point it caught anything on fire; or heard about it. Didn't exactly mean it wasn't still dangerous to touch some of the time, it could still pack a punch to the unexpected.

As proof that it was harmless though, he grabbed the end and pulled it closer. The movement got Moxie's interest and he began to follow it attentively. Emizel's flame had always looked pretty shiny for the Spirit, probably was even used to help his fears over all fires.

[defrostedpride]

Emizel wouldn't be so casual about it if it were harmful, Even reminded himself firmly. It wasn't hot enough to burn anything. Nevertheless, his fingers twitched.

"Does it have a particular purpose?" he asked, watching the flame more closely than its owner. "Or is it intended to be decorative? How is it maintained?" Every now and then, someone in Radiant Garden had tried to use magic as a fashion statement, seldom with good result.

[shadearchivist]

"Is it cool enough for other people to touch as well?" Ienzo asked. All in the name of scientific inquiry, since he hadn't had Even's unfortunate experiences.