[FIN] Too Sweet to Swallow

[BlackFireKitsune]

"No," she replied simply, vaguely amused by his question. Father had tried to suggest a chauffeur on numerous occasions when they were still rich, but her mother had always refused. Sera wasn't quite sure why, though; she wouldn't have minded having one. Still, she pushed aside the bittersweet memories attached to the thought of being rich, and smiled lightly. "Luna is my Rapidash," she explained. "She's beautiful. I'll have to show her to you sometime - if possible, that is," she added, remembering his sneezing fit at the hot springs because of Repede.

Talk of sweets and his childhood, as well as his apparently current behavior with them, gave her pause, and she halted to listen and watch him explain. When he finished, she raised a brow and couldn't help the amused smile that formed on her face. "So you're telling me," she began, trying not to giggle, "that you get drunk off sugar?" Which pretty much meant he had neither the willpower nor the experience to stop himself from eating too much, and probably ended up making himself puke. She had to wonder if it gave him a sugar high too, although given the nature of sugar it probably did.

Despite her attempts to refrain, she giggled at him a bit and stuck her studded tongue out at him briefly. "Is that why you didn't mention that last time I saw you?" Was he afraid she wouldn't have agreed if he'd told her beforehand? Actually, she probably wouldn't have. Well-- "I have to admit, that's actually kind of gross, so I'm gonna have to ask you to not indulge yourself quite so much, if you can help it. One ice cream soda is probably a good limit for now, anyway."

Honestly, as long as he could handle himself and not puke everywhere, she didn't mind. What she minded would be if he ate like four ice cream sodas and threw up on the table or the floor or something - that would be disgusting. "I know what you mean though, about parties," she said to change the subject as she turned away to go sit down somewhere. "People do make fools of themselves sometimes from drinking too much. Still, sometimes they want to drink that much. A little alcohol never hurt," she finished, aiming a coy smile at him as she sat down.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"I'm sure she is," he agreed, taking a second to understand the meaning of her second phrase. "Oh, I don't think Rapidash shed, really, do they? Unless you count sparks, but I don't think I'm allergic to those."

When they went inside and she asked him to verify the effect sugar had on him, he opened his mouth to respond, paused, and then laughed. "Sort of, I guess...?" He ruffled the hair on the back of his head, embarrassed. "Only I don't know how hyperactive people get with just alcohol in their system. Bottom line: if I start talking or eating too fast or too much, let me know. Drunk or not, I'd prefer it - and I'm guessing you would too - if you didn't have to see me in that state."

Nope; no willpower, no self-dicipline. Not when there was still sugar in his sights. He still had yet to understand how people restrained themselves from such things when they were around them. As long as he preoccupied his mind, he didn't have to concern himself with sweets, but put him in a place like an ice cream parlor or a candy store and as long as he had money to spend and his stomach wasn't yet protesting, he wouldn't know where to draw the line.

Akira laughed aloud at Sera's response, tongue and all. "Not really. Same reason as always - it hadn't been relevant at the time. We weren't eating sugar, so you had nothing to worry about. Though, come to think of it, it was probably stupid to mention it at all, but I figured it might have been better to say something before you had a sugar-high man-child on your hands."

He grinned, looking over the menu. "You know what? On second thought, I think I'll just have some bubble milk tea or something. I can save the ice cream for a time when I'm depressed," he jested. "That seems to be the most popular ice cream-eating time anyway."

Giving her a curious sideways look as she sat down, he asked with a crooked smirk, "Is that so? And how would you know, young lady? Is that a regular part of your diet?" He gestured to the ice cream flavors. "As I doubt they have any alcoholic ice creams or soda available, what would you like? Any preferences?" Rubbing his chin, Akira regarded the drinks and desserts. "I think a personal favorite of mine is Jones Bubble Gum Soda - that's blue - and strawberry ice cream, which of course is pink. Makes a pretty mix and doesn't taste half bad."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Oh, is that it?" She asked, honestly curious as to which pokemon he was allergic to and which he wasn't. She knew no others with pokemon allergies, so it was an interesting thing that she hadn't encountered before. "I don't know that they do very much.. My Zoroark sheds more than she does, at any rate." Briefly she cast her mind back to try and remember how much her Umbreon had shed, but the memories dredged up were still painful even though so many months had passed, so she just as quickly dismissed the memory with a small shake of her head.

"Well, some drinks do have sugar in them," she said, turning her head to scan the various flavors of ice creams and sodas, "and the sugary drinks are the ones that cause hangovers easiest if you aren't careful. And I will," she said with an amused smile aimed at him.

"A sugar-high man-child?" She repeated, turning her gaze to him fully before laughing. "First of all, the warning beforehand was greatly appreciated, rather than after. Second, man-child is such a really weird phrase, honestly, and plus your face is way too cute for that," she finished coyly, though still very amused at his word choice.

"No no no, 'on second thought' nothing - you suggested an ice cream parlor so we could both have ice cream sodas, and that is exactly what we're having. You've come this far, I'm not letting you back out at the last second; not happening," the girl teased, despite the firm phrasing. She was not letting him pansy-a** out at the last second - nothin' doin'.

At his question, she gave him a look that could only be described as devilish, which she coupled with completely innocent tones, "It might be. Besides, what fun is there in letting age stop you from doing something? I wouldn't want ice cream with alcohol, anyway," she finished, changing the subject as she glanced back at the flavors and sodas again. "But I think... I'll try something simple.. Like maybe vanilla ice cream in orange soda, whatever that's called." That didn't sound too extreme, in any case. "And what ice cream soda will you have, hmm?" She asked, propping her elbows up on the table and resting her chin on the tips of her fingers while watching him with an expectant smirk.  

[Shawn Darrow]

"Ah; yes, it's mostly just the dander in pokemon fur that causes it," he said. "It was one of the reasons we didn't have too many pokemon in our household. But some are okay, like your Mismagius since she's a ghost, and my Serperior." He paused before chuckling at a thought.

"Huh...I guess I could be a good Zoroark or Zorua-detector then, since they still have fur even if they have illusions over them, right? At least if they're pretending to be other kinds of pokemon." Akira seemed thoughtful. "Not that I've ever seen one up close and in person. Just heard about them having been discovered in Unova. That's amazing that you own one."

Appraising Sera with a mix of wonder and amusement, he wondered just how many sugary alcoholic drinks she had had to have learned that little fact. She was certainly something else.

"Well I'm glad of that, at least," he told her in regards to the timing of his warning. "And yes, it is a weird phrase, but I picked it up from some movie I - what did you call me?" His features reflected both incredulity and humor, grinning at her as if he couldn't believe what he'd just heard her say about him. "That's not funny! It's not nice to tease! You're just enjoying it all the more because I'm not used to it," he complained playfully. "Besides, maybe man-children are cute. How would you know?"

He laughed good-naturedly. "I don't believe this!" he cried. "I'm being bullied by a gorgeous young lady into having ice cream with her and she's not even threatening me. Hardly had to make an effort. How do you do it? Taking advantage of my lack of self-restraint? Just because I'm a guy doesn't mean that makes it okay, you know." Akira shook his head, still smiling uncontrollably. "Fine, you win. But just one."

Counting out his money, he caught sight of her devious expression, snickering under his breath. "Those limits on age are there for a reason," he countered, but didn't seem too concerned. You only lived once, after all. "Besides, I've heard it does awful things to one's complexion." He sneered slyly.

"Vanilla orange? But that's just like Orange Creme soda," Akira protested. "Come on, I thought you were more adventurous than that." Nevertheless, he paid for the order and considered his own options. "I think...I'll try the cherry cola and a scoop of cake batter-flavored ice cream." He brought the ice cream and soda cans separately, with tall glasses for each of them to mix their respective floats in. "Might want to use just a little at a time to start with in case you don't like it."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Ohh, okay," she replied with a nod, taking the information in. "So pretty much the ones that don't have fur? And you probably would be, though I don't think I'll let Jacques out to test that," Sera teased. She really didn't want to induce another fit of bazooka sneezes. "I'd let him out so you could see him, but he's a little brat and doesn't know what personal space is, so..." Normally she would hardly care about such a thing, except for the fact that if Jacques were to lean on or jump on Akira like he tried to do with others, it would more than likely cause the young man to start sneezing uncontrollably. That wasn't exactly on her to-do list.

"I didn't 'call' you anything, and you heard me," she countered, sticking her tongue out again at him before grinning deviously. "I just said your face is too cute for you to call yourself such a term - it doesn't fit."

"It isn't bullying if you were the one to suggest coming here in the first place so that we could both get ice cream sodas - I'm just making sure you don't change your mind like you just tried to do," she said with an amused smile, even going so far as to raise a hand and point at him. "That's hardly taking advantage of you. And yes, just one," she agreed as she nodded once and lowered her hand. One was usually all anyone needed, anyway, so she couldn't imagine him consuming more than that. Well.. She supposed she'd see if he'd try to do so.

Seraphine stuck her tongue out at him once more, smirking. "Good thing I take steps to avoid that, hmm? And oh please, limits - I thought I was supposed to be adventurous," she countered with a coy grin. "We'll see - maybe we should come here again some other time and try something new," since he'd already ordered and paid for both, so she couldn't exactly change her mind anymore. Regardless, she accepted both with a "thank you" to Akira, and mixed a little of both to try at first.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Pretty much. And thanks, I appreciate that." He snickered. "He sounds...very affectionate. Sounds like you're lucky to have him for more reasons than one. Ha, I bet he'd make a great fake boyfriend if you ever wanted to make someone jealous." And odd idea to occur to him at that moment, he felt, but it was an old cliche situation he guessed Sera would be familiar with - through movies or stories, if not her personal life.

"...My face?" Akira repeated, giving her another incredulous smile. "Thanks...I think. Yes, well I'm not sure you can identify a wild 'man-child' by their outside appearances, and I could be a complete b*****d or monster within, but that's alright because I have a 'cute face'." He laughed. "How flattering."

"Alright, so it was my idea," he conceded, "But don't you believe in changing your mind every now and then? Nothing's set in stone, right?" He scooped a portion of his ice cream into his tall glass and poured in some soda, entertained by the fizzy foam that bubbled up. "Remember, I don't have the quality of being decisive and knowing what I want like you do. Give me some leeway, here."

"Not 'bullying' then. Intimidating. But what else should I expect from a woman who knows what she wants and how to get it? It's an admirable trait, I should think - one that society seems to be attempting to slowly eradicate from proper young ladies." He sipped a little at the foam before the majority of it died down. That texture of the initial froth was one of his favorite parts of an ice cream float. "Mm...not bad. Here, try some of mine." Picking up an extra straw, he partially unwrapped it for her and pushed it, along with the drink, to her side of the table.

"So let me get this straight. You have the adventerous audacity to break the law regarding underage drinking...but your ice cream float selections were no more than a slight deviation from the traditional vanilla and root beer.: He jabbed at the air in her direction with an extra straw. What does that say about you as a person? That you'll only take risks that'll get you into real trouble?" He chuckled and clicked his tongue. "What a reckless thrill-seeker."

"Tsk...that piercing again. I need to ask you more about it. Not to mention an elaboration on the topic of 'society's proper young ladies' and that other brown-haired girl from the springs the other day." He watched her attentively and put down his straw, crossing his arms on the table before him and leaning forward on them. "But first - this thing about your friend Luke .What happened?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Affectionate?" Sera snorted, then elaborated dryly, "Hardly that; he's just an obnoxious brat that would much prefer goofing off and taunting people than being serious about anything. And," she added, pointing her paper-wrapped straw at him menacingly before she unwrapped it and stuck it delicately into her own ice cream-soda concoction, "you know what I meant. If you were a complete b*****d or a monster, I wouldn't hang out with you anymore. It wouldn't matter how cute your face is - it'd be a shame, but in the end it wouldn't matter. You're not either of those things though, as far as I can tell, so," she finished with an innocent shrug as she took a sip of hers.

The brunette mulled the idea over briefly. "I do change my mind at times," she admitted as she aimed a coy smile at him, "but usually not after making plans to meet someone somewhere, arriving, walking in and then deciding to do something else than was planned."

"Hey, I can't help it if I know what I want and I'm not afraid to go after it," the girl admitted with an indifferent shrug, though her tones were playful. "And good thing I'm not a proper young lady - I don't think I'd have nearly as much fun if I were..." The drink he slid over to her side intrigued her, and she felt the obligation - or what she assumed was obligation - to respond in kind. "You can try mine if you want, unless it's too unadventurous for you," she said with a smirk as she slid her own drink across to him, though didn't reach for a second straw. He could get one himself if he so desired, or simply use hers - she didn't mind either way. Regardless, she took the extra straw he'd put in his drink so she could sample it - and after a single sip she scrunched her nose and slid it back. "Not a fan of that one," she replied with a shake of her head and a light giggle. "Maybe if it had some other flavor of ice cream." Cake batter? No. That was gross.

"Anyway, I do enjoy being adventurous, although you do make a point." A devilish grin appeared on her face. "You're right - I should have picked some really interesting combination that I may or may not like. And if I didn't, I'd have to get something different because I doubt I could force myself to drink something I didn't like, and who knows how many I'd have to get until I find something I like. But then that would leave me with multiple unwanted ice cream sodas I wouldn't drink, and you already said you liked lots of flavor combinations, and that you do enjoy drinking them - so that kind of thinking leads me to the thought you could drink them instead so they wouldn't be wasted, if you'd enjoy them. Would that have been a better thing to do?" She asked quite honestly, resting her elbows on the table as she laced her fingers atop which she set her chin to watch him curiously.

Mention of her piercing, however, made her giggle again -- though it was in a much different tone, suggesting an entirely different connotation for the sound. Before the topic could be breached, though, he asked about Luke and her devious expression faded to a much more serious one. Her pale gaze slid off to the side and she frowned a bit, taking a few moments to mull things over in her mind; it was a pretty good hint that, as she didn't immediately respond, it was a much more serious topic than anything thus far. "Well," she began hesitantly, "he was really sick for a while, but he's better now, and suddenly went back to Grand Ile without telling us," the girl explained, shifting her focus back to Akira. "So after about a week of not replying to any of his messages, Rosie and I figured he might've gone there because of-- things, so we took a boat there and stayed a few days, and just got back yesterday." The seriousness of her countenance morphed again into something more light-hearted. "I'd tell you more, but all of that is Luke's business, not mine."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Ooh...harsh," Akira answered with a mock wince. "But I'll take your word for it. You're his trainer, after all." He sipped a little at the soda at the bottom of his glass before stirring the ice cream in some more. "Heh...you make it sound so easy to tell. I don't know about here, but where I'm from, everyone is so good at hiding just what bastards they are that you never know what's coming until they've run a knife through your back."

The older boy sighed and shook his head. "It happens quite often, actually...but I'm glad to hear that you're not one of those fools who overlooks certain behavior if they're attracted or infatuated enough with someone. I can't stand those people." He paused before smirking. "Thanks...I think."

"To be fair, it was only a minor deviation from our original plan," he countered with a casual smile, leaning back against his chair as he continued to stir with his straw. "Now if we had skipped this and decided to do something like, say, go buy some new jewelry for our piercings, that might have been different."

His eyes glittered with unspoken insinuations as he watched her, wondering how she'd take the briefly-veiled suggestion. "But as it is, we could still have been doing what we're doing now and then switched to that option later depending on how much time we had. That wouldn't have cut into our arrangement at all. Besides, plans are for the closed-minded and inflexible. Doesn't being a party girl like you mean you're spontaneous and up for fun acts of impulsiveness?"

The young man nodded as he picked up a spoon, the better to stir his float with. The thin plastic straw kept getting stuck and bending. "True," he agreed. "It's said that well-behaved woman rarely enjoy themselves. Or 'make history' was the correct saying...but either way, they're both true. And what's the point of living if we don't enjoy life, right? It's all too short to spend working at what we hope to achieve instead of living in the moment. Shame I only discovered that a little while ago, but at least I realized it eventually. It's why I came to Kodo."

This time it was he who stuck out his tongue at Sera. "It's not that bad," he said, sliding his glass over to him protectively, pretending to defend it as if it were his child. "I thought the cherry would taste good with it. I don't think this flavor of ice cream mixes too well as a float, but it's much better than if I'd picked something citrus-y to go with something sweet like cake batter. Now that is a flavor disaster." He smiled and tilted his head when she offered her own mixture for him to try. "At least yours is like an orange creme milkshake, so that excuses the citrus."

After considering Sera's elaborate question complete with details and possible scenarios, he beamed at her and held up his hands in surrender. "Fair enough. I certainly would have been happy enough to have drunk them, but then we'd have been back at the problem of my not knowing when I'd had too much, wouldn't we? Still," he conceded. "I like that idea. Maybe we can do it sometime in a not-so-public place."

"Perhaps have an ice cream float party at my apartment with some of your friends, if they'd enjoy it. You can't know what combinations you'd really like without trial and error, but it might be a bit excessive to get one of each scoop here. At least at home we could get as many gallons of soda and tubs of ice cream to experiment with as we want." It probably would have been a great deal cheaper.

Thoughts of parties and having friends over gradually faded as Akira noticed Sera's change in demeanor. He listened with rapt attention as she spoke, nodding slowly in acknowledgment. "I'm sorry to hear that. And I apologize for concerning myself with matters that aren't my business. But when you got there did you find him?" He knew a thing or two about chasing people around to other regions when they decided to disappear without a word.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The girl merely nodded once in response to being Jacques's trainer, feeling as though nothing more needed to be said on the topic. Instead, she frowned briefly. "Well, sometimes it's easy to tell, but not always." She couldn't help but wish it was always easy to tell, but... "I hate when it's really hard to tell, it's always the worst." She frowned, though it looked a little more like a pout.

"Mm, true," she agreed with a slight smirk that only grew at his following suggestions. "Our piercings? What piercings do you have?" The girl asked, eyebrows raised. Certainly he didn't have anything too abnormal pierced - he didn't seem like that kind of person, but then, he was starting to seem like he was full of little surprises. "Though, that's true, I do like spontaneity."

"Mm.. I'm not trying to 'make history' or anything," she admitted indifferently, even going so far as to use air quotes except she decided to just use a single finger from each hand - more like air apostrophes. "But, that's what I think exactly. Have to have fun while you're young, because once you're older and have too many responsibilities, that severely limits how much fun you can have... Why is it you came to Kodo?" She asked, intrigued by the seemingly offhand admission.

Seraphine pulled her own float back to her side once he'd tried it if he so chose, then mixed in more ice cream and soda as he stuck his tongue out at her. It made her grin and laugh a bit. "It is bad," she countered playfully, "though yeah, something with citrus would've made it terrible. Though, that does sound fun - maybe try a little of everything, rather than a lot of everything." And he'd said his apartment, which also meant not hers. For this, she was vaguely grateful. Making a party of it, though, gave her pause, and she hesitated briefly before replying a little uncertainly, "I dunno how many people would want to go to it though." Really, Rosie and Luke were her best friends, and Rosie would definitely go, but Luke likely wouldn't want to. That left.... honestly not a whole lot of other people.

She shook her head at his apology though. "No, don't worry about it, it's totally fine. And we did find him - it was surprisingly easy, actually, all things considered, but," she frowned thoughtfully, her pale gaze sliding off to a side for a bit as she mulled it over again, "the how probably falls under the 'none of my business to be telling people' category again, so," another shrug to end the sentence.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Mm...I agree. Though personally I think it's the worst when it's not hard to tell and you let them stab you anyway." He scratched his head. "But maybe in that case it's the fault of the person who put trust in them in the first place." Smiling at her pout, he resisted the urge to mention how cute he thought it was. He sipped some more of his cherry soda cake ice cream float.

"Nothing as audacious as yours - in fact it wasn't my choice to get them at all - but I have a couple of ear piercings," Akira explained, tilting his head to show the small studs; one in each ear. He rolled his eyes a little, though his smile did not waver. "My little sisters ambushed me with piercing guns when I was napping one time. They wanted me to wear earrings for some princess play they had made. It may not be a big deal to most, but my parents were furious." He laughed at the memory.

"I managed to convince my parents to let me keep them so that my pain wouldn't have been in vain. And for fear that the girls would try something like that again if those ones closed up. But also," he admitted, "I like to keep them as a small reminder that I didn't have to conform to every aspect of the person my parents expected me to be. And to remember my sisters by of course."

His hands shook slightly and his eyes were bright as he eagerly looked to Seraphine. "What about your piercing? You never told me how you got that one, either. How much jewelry do you have for it? I really think we should go get some new ones. Do you change yours often?"

"That's the subject of so many songs," Akira agreed, "Living while you're young. That's all well and good, but some of us have responsibilities right from the very beginning. Born with them. What do you say to those people?" He hesitated, absently taking a sip from Sera's orange-and-vanilla ice cream float. "Didn't I say why? To live in the moment, as you were saying. That's not as ordinary as I thought it would be," he admitted, nodding towards her float as she withdrew it.

Realizing the 'party' part of their conversation clashed somewhat with the serious topic of before, he shook his head vigorously as he sipped some more of his own float, mouth preoccupied with his straw. "Mmm mm! Mmm mm, no," he denied, swallowing, "I don't mean we have to have it now. Or even soon. I just mean sometime in the distant future. The distant distant future, if I'm going to have my apartment suitable enough for guests. And besides," he continued, taking up a spoon to eat some of the ice cream directly, "It doesn't matter how many people come or not. I'm not the kind of guy who's too comfortable hosting a whole bunch of people at one time anyway."

Nodding, he raised a napkin to wipe his mouth as he swallowed again, taking a moment to adjust to the cold dessert before answering. "I understand. I just wondered if you managed to achieve what you had set out to do. So he's still there, then? Or is that also something I shouldn't be asking you?" A grin.

"Here's something I know I can ask you. that girl from the hot springs - Dove, right? Is that her real name? Seems kinda...weird to me, naming a person after an animal."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yeah, then that would be entirely your fault for knowing their behavior and either falling for it or for subjecting yourself to it anyway," she agreed with a shrug.

When he tilted his head, she leaned forward a bit to see them better, her mouth forming a small circle of realization before she nodded. "I have my earlobes pierced too, of course," she stated, but a grin spread across her face, "thankfully nobody ambushed me with piercing guns..." Her grin widened the more he spoke. My my, he certainly was talkative while hyper, wasn't he? The amusing observation caused her to add in the rest of the soda and ice cream into her glass in case he got any ideas of picking at one or either of them once he finished with his. If it was all in one glass in her hands, then the only way he could get more was if she offered, or if he tried to go buy more.

...mental note made to prevent him from going to buy more.

He certainly asked a lot of questions while hyper, too. Mention of the history behind her tongue stud made her cheeks tinge pink, but despite that, she stuck her tongue out at him briefly before replying, "Nothing as interesting as getting jumped by a piercing gun, honestly. I only got it to make my parents angry," she explained - which was entirely true, just not all of the truth. She just chose to not elaborate on the second half of that. "But, to those people I'd say that sucks to be them, and they need," she said, raising her spoon to point it at him, "to figure out if they're gonna be pansy-a** doormats for their parents their whole lives, or grow a pair and go do what they want." That said, she dug her spoon into her glass to scoop up a chunk of ice cream before eating it carefully. Once she swallowed, she placed the spoon back into her drink and kept her fingers wrapped loosely around it as she added with a very faint hint of what could be a little admiration, "Sounds like you were part of the latter group."

She took another sip of her soda before resorting to her spoon again while he went on about future parties and the like, and she nodded to show her understanding. "No, I know what you mean," she replied quite readily, "I know I wouldn't want any parties at my place for a long time." If ever. Actually, probably never, given how tiny and ugly it was.

"Oh, no, he's back now," she corrected with a smile and a shake of her head. "You kidding? We weren't leaving to come back without him."

"Dove?" She paused, a little confused about the sudden topic change and where it came from. Internally she shrugged it off though as idle curiosity, or to talk about someone else like people normally did. "Yeah, I always thought being named 'Dove' or anything like that was really strange, honestly. Kinda weird. I don't know much about her though," Seraphine ceded with a soft frown as she took another bite of ice cream with her spoon. "I know she's a model from some other region, and," she added, tipping her head forward and raising her eyebrows meaningfully, "not a very bright one, either. First time I saw her, she was chasing after her Eevee straight onto a condemned dock - had signs and everything - and then was surprised when she fell through it," she explained dryly. "Not exactly the smartest decision ever. Obviously she was perfectly fine though," said with an indifferent shrug, given Luke took much higher priority in that situation so soon after his initial heart surgery, "but still. It was kinda stupid. I hope it isn't her real name though, but if it is, that could explain some things, huh?" Common birds such as those weren't very smart, anyway, she figured, though never cared enough to look into them to see if such an assumption was at all correct.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Two piercing guns," He amended, raising his spoon pointedly in retaliation. He began to wave it about and gesture with it as he spoke. "Two guns, two little girls. One on either side. They had to do it at the same time or else I wouldn't have given them another chance. The first time serves as a rather rude wake-up call, as you might imagine." Akira eyed her ice cream as Sera added it to her glass.

Snickering quietly at her slight change in complexion, Akira nodded empathetically. He remembered the phase in his life when he'd felt like doing something rebellious, too - only he hadn't. His fear of what his mother would have done to him kept him from stepping too far out of line. It had been pathetic, really.

"So, then, were they angry?" he wanted to know. Was Sera just as willful with her parents as she was with her peers? He exhaled a sigh. "How is it that you don't seem to have any siblings of your own and yet my parents were the fussy, over-protective ones? That makes no sense! And I'm a guy."

He sat bolt upright in his chair at her comment on 'pansy-a** doormats'. "Hmph! You make it sound so easy," he countered with an astonished smirk, jabbing his own spoon in her direction. Her sassy confidence extended even into matters he assumed she knew nothing about. Or maybe she did; her sheer attitude made it difficult to tell. He liked it.

"I'm guessing you've never had to worry about anything like that, have you? Choosing between duty and desire. It may sound simple enough in theory," the young man elaborated, devouring a few more spoonfuls of ice cream from his own glass, "but when 'what you want' is split between being there for your family and being completely selfish, would you still choose the latter? Even if you knew your family was counting on you?"

If Sera had become pink, Akira turned positively beet red when he realized what she meant by associating him with 'the latter group. "Oh, uh...well, it's not something I'm proud of, admittedly," he said, looking anywhere but at the girl before him as he sipped his float to cool off his heating face. "I mean, I quit college and gave up on a degree in business for a night shift at a convenience store and a little independence. What's admirable about that? The same could be said about any bum on the street. Only without the job part." Whoa, brain freeze. He slapped a hand to his head. Flusterment and sugar - especially cold, ice cream sugar - did not go well together. He needed to slow down or such frequent, dramatic body temperature changes were likely to make him pass out.

He was all to happy to talk about someone else. The topic returned to Luke. "Oh, well you said he was sick. Since you claimed you weren't at liberty to discuss it, I wasn't sure what your purpose was in going there. Other than to make sure he was okay and to learn why he hadn't been returning your calls, of course." Leaning back, he gave her a lazy smile and crossed his arms over his chest. "But since it's not a topic that you're at leisure to discuss, I suppose it couldn't have been helped," he teased. "I'll forgive you this once, Miss Seraphine."

Then the discussion turned to Dove. He listened with a blank expression, or what he hoped was one, anyway. It seemed to mellow him out a little, though his mouth still accepted the slow, steady spoonfuls of ice cream float that his hand mechanically, absently shoveled into it. "Yes, well...models, right? What can you expect?" His laugh this time was a little hollow, as if his thoughts were elsewhere. Indeed, his bright gaze seemed to have glazed over a bit as he seemed to stare through Sera rather than at her.

Akira was silent for a time as he finished his last few spoonfuls and dregs at the bottom of his glass. Finally, he let his utensil clatter in the empty vessel and sat back to stare at it. "Her real name is Tori Honoo," he spoke at length, his voice monotone with an expression to match. "I need to talk to her. She really has no business being here on Kodo."

He looked up at Sera. "You finished with that float yet?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Dare I ask where these little girls got their hands on not one, but two piercing guns?" She asked, not seeming to mind daring to ask in the slightest. She was actually quite curious, especially since his parents sounded so over-protective. Where would two girls of over-protective parents ever get their hands on two piercing guns? Not just one. Two. "Though I can imagine it would be quite a way to wake up, hm?"

Her cheeks reddened more at his question, and her gaze remained focused wholly on the glass in her hands. "Well, I kind of, um.. I kind of didn't tell them about it," she admitted sheepishly, then took a small bite of the ice cream. "They found out about it eventually, of course; I hid it for a good year before they finally noticed, and it made them pretty upset. Couldn't make me get rid of it though," the girl finished as she spooned out another bite of the ice cream. "My parents have always been pretty fussy and over-protective, Mother moreso than Father, but I guess not nearly as much as yours sound."

"No, I haven't," she countered readily, sticking her tongue out at him again. "I'm glad I never had to, either, though honestly," the girl frowned as she considered such a situation, "I think that would depend. So, why did you leave?" He seemed pretty embarrassed by it, based on the coloration of his face when it came up, so why had he done it?

At his 'forgiveness' she couldn't help but smirk, then replied in teasing tones laced with sarcasm, "How gracious of you to forgive me, Akira."

The way his countenance changed when the topic shifted to Dove didn't go unnoticed, and her brows knitted slightly. Such a chance confused her. "I wanted to be a model when I was younger," she admitted freely, still mildly confused - and curious - about the sudden, unexpected change, "but I was told every single time that I wasn't tall enough, so," she shrugged indifferently. It had angered her before, but not nearly as much now. She wouldn't have wanted people telling her what to do all the time anyway, though she figured she would enjoy doing photoshoots. "I guess I'm not surprised Dove isn't her real name, but I think... I'll still call her that, rather than her name. It kind of fits," she said thoughtfully, mouth turned up into a small smirk that faded into a soft frown at his words. "What d'you mean she has no business being here?"

She was in the middle of another spoonful of ice cream when he asked his next question, and she finished quickly so she could aim her spoon at him menacingly. "Mmmn. No, I am not finished," and indeed she wasn't, though she only had about a quarter of it left in the glass, "and to answer the question I'm assuming you're thinking of asking, no, you can't have the rest of it." A smile formed on her face at the fact he was bold enough to even ask for it. Well, not that he'd actually asked - but she did like to make assumptions, and this one wasn't hard to make. She'd have to keep a close eye on her drink in case he got any ideas of trying to steal it - or go get another one for himself. That would be even more not okay.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Oh, Arceus, hell if I know," he chuckled. "They were pretty much spoiled rotten when it came to their arts and crafts. Nijiko, the older of the two, was the writer, and Seshiru, the youngest of our family, was the artist. Together they put on these little plays that they persuaded me and our older sister to act in. Nijiko would write the script, Seshiru would design the costumes, and for some reason they always found it hilariously funny to make me play the part of the damsel in distress." He shrugged helplessly. "I did it to humor them, and it wasn't so bad."

"Seshiru always loved fairy tales a little too much for her own good. Nijiko went with it, but she was became more of a tomboy. Our parents let them have pretty much whatever they wanted for their plays as long as they stayed out of the way. They were too busy focusing on making me the respectable young man of the family to worry too much about how their daughters were being raised." Akira laughed a little, but it was bitter.

"That is, of course, until incidents like the ear piercing became more common. Then they sent my sisters to an all-girls school so they wouldn't interfere with my studies. I guess they thought spending time with them was emasculating me or something, but I never forgave my parents for that." He beamed at her. "You don't have siblings, do you? Are you content with that? Some say they'd prefer to be an only child, but I'd imagine it'd be pretty lonely growing up."

"You - you what?" he asked, laughing aloud with mirth. "Seriously? How did they come to notice at all? A year...wow." He ran his hand through his dark hair. "Yeah, my mother was the worse one too...always about appearances and reputations. I can't believe your parents didn't notice! If you're their only child, shouldn't they pay more attention to you? Or were they the busy sort that were almost never there?"

"Better watch that tongue, or someone might bite it," he warned playfully, wagging a finger at her. "And yes, I know...I'm magnanimous that way." Though he responded merrily to her sarcastic jeer, either Akira hadn't heard her prior question or pretended not to have.

Looking at Sera quizzically at the mention of her wanting to be a model, he waved a hand in dismissal. "No, no, no...it's not your height. Not directly, at least. Models are so tall that their hearts can't pump enough blood and oxygen to their brains, which is why they're usually so ditzy and air-headed. They were probably too intimidated by your wit and intelligence and thus claimed you weren't tall enough," he explained matter-of-factly, his eyes laughing all the while.

They changed, though; darkened with distaste as he continued. "For example, what would a model need a name like that for? It's not as though they require a pseudonym or a code name. It's ridiculous. Sounds more like she just wants to boost her ego...'Dove'."

"Fits?" he asked, tilting his head inquiringly. "What do you mean?" He didn't seem to hear Sera's other question.

Mouth breaking into yet another grin, he looked away sheepishly. "Aw, you caught me. Come on, just one spoonful? We can leave now and you can feed me as I walk you home." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at the other ice cream flavors. "Or else if we stay here much longer, I'm going to be tempted to buy more."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

She certainly knew a thing or two about being spoiled rotten, although the thought didn't even cross her mind. Instead she listened with amusement at his explanations, and even laughed a bit. "Wow, it certainly sounds like it -- though I dunno that I could see you in a 'damsel in distress' role," she teased. "And I wasn't that lonely."

Thankfully she was saved from thinking about that by his next comment. Her eyebrows shot up and she laughed as a devilish grin formed on her face. "Someone might bite it, huh?" She leaned forward to rest her chin on the back of her hand. "That mean you're volunteering..?"

His description of models and the compliments to her made her laugh, and she leaned back in her seat. "Oh, well then, I'm glad that's what it is." She took another bite of her ice cream, foregoing the straw completely. "Mmn. It could be," the brunette added once she'd swallowed, then pointed her spoon at him. "People do love their ego boosts. And it does," she said again, brightening a little. "Doves are pretty common kinds of birds though, aren't they? Like pigeons. They all seem pretty dumb too, as far as I can tell," with her very limited knowledge of birds.

"Nope, you can't - and you're not allowed to buy more." Another menacing jab at the air with her spoon, smirking. "One is your limit! And besides," she paused to take another bite of ice cream, then dropped the spoon in her glass with a smug little smile, "now I'm finished."