[Fin] Clear the Air

[Shaddaling]

"Sort of, I been threaten if I'm not good, they will issue me a walker," Lex admitted. He walked in carefully and slung the pack down, shifting his shoulder back slightly.

"One day,"he leaned slightly heavily on his cane, slipping his shoes off and tucked them back. "Least you have it to yourself for a while more." Lex sat down on the edge of the bed, slowly bringing up the goods.  

[TawnyAngel]

"A walker?" KO wrinkled his nose in distaste, "Well you'd best be good then. A cane can be carried off with a certain flair - though they haven't given you a very stylish one - but with a walker there's just no hope."

Well so far so good, no awkwardness so far as he perceived. KO headed to the haunted ice-machine and filled up a soda glass with cubes. "So what are we drinking first?" He was probably going to have to bring the subject of their last conversation up at some point, but maybe not until after a couple of drinks. "I'll make the most of my private room while it lasts," he added, "I'm sure it won't be long before I'm lumbered with some meat-headed newly promoted grunt."  

[Shaddaling]

"I am much to young to be stuck with a walker," Lex agreed fervently and stored the cane in the corner. "I was hoping for something that didn't have four feet, but hopefully I can be trusted not to need one in a week or so." He wanted to be able to just walk about ... but that was doubtful.

"Matters how drunk you want to get," Lex lifted the half filled bottle of Absinthe swishing it around lightly. "And how good the other liquors or spirits are, because after a few shots of this, you won't care." He carefully set his small bottle of warm sake to the side. "I'm planning to start with a bit of sake."  

[TawnyAngel]

"I hadn't really made plans on how drunk to get, but I am on duty tomorrow so I suppose I ought to be somewhat sensible. I'll start with vodka and coke." There had been a time when he'd been able to drink all night and function well enough the following day but alas he was no longer twenty, hangovers tended to linger these days.

"So, interesting development." KO poured out his drink, sat down on his bed and lounged back against the cushions. "My communication type has changed." This ought to occupy them for a little while.  

[Shaddaling]

"Was wondering what you had," Lex settled in a bit deeper and worked the top off his bottle. He paused, tipping the bottle slightly at KO dropped that bomb and gave a soft snort. "Change you can't stop indeed." Well, that was a reading he had never consider with that hexagram. He tipped his bottle back taking a deep swig and set it aside.

He swallowed, touching his lips in thoughts. "...Weird I can taste mushrooms." Which didn't stop him taking another drink and motioning to KO. "Well, go on. I mean, at the moment all I'm thinking about is contacting 'Tron and having him send Spins down here."  

[TawnyAngel]

"Mushrooms?" KO pulled a face. "Is it supposed to taste like that?" The idea of hot alcohol was bad enough but hot, mushroom flavoured alcohol? Eugh. Well he suppose there was no accounting for tastes, certainly not for Lex's tastes.

"Anyway," KO shook his head and made a light gesture with his glass to dismiss the matter as trivial. "I let all my pokemon out to give them an update and found I couldn't understand Bruce. This set me on searching for other types of pokemon to see if I could understand a different type now for some reason and I remembered the Flabebe I stole on that training mission, turns out I've got Fairy type now." Which some people would no doubt say was very apt.  

[Shaddaling]

"Probably... it is faint but certainly has a bit of mushroom taste." Lex swished the bottle around, staring at it before shrugging. "It was on one of the best sake lists but don't think I'm going to get this again." He was going to finish it though.

"Mmmhm." That was odd. "Do you think it because of Xerneas? If it was any other type I would think trauma... " Lex trailed off, looking at KO concern. "You okay?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"One of the best?" KO raised his eyebrows and gave a little grin that didn't really reach his eyes. "Now what are you doing on the side to afford that on a grunt's paltry wage and why have you been keeping it from me? You know I like money...."

KO trailed off and looked into his glass, his smile fading. "Well I'm alive, and I'm in much better shape than a lot of people who went on that mission. Though... near death experiences are not exactly my favourite thing." He couldn't tell Lex here and now that he was pretty sure it hadn't been near death. He wasn't sure if he wanted to; it was bad enough that he and Tambery already had it to think about, he wasn't sure it wanted to put the secret on Lex as well. Why hadn't he been told what had been done to him? If only he knew that he'd be happier, probably.

He'd died.

How long had he been dead?

What had they done to him to bring him back?

KO had never been in the least religious and didn't believe in the concept of a soul, he had no moral objections to reanimating the dead but.... Was he still him? And what was 'him'?

KO took a deep swig of his drink.  

[Shaddaling]

Lex nearly snorted a bit of sake from his nose and gave a soft cough. "Ariados, webbing, really, really good at snagging unattended wallets." He give a little smile. "And lots of luck on the timing. "

"I would have to question your sanity if it was." Lex watched KO and gave a light frown. "Absinthe?" He questioned, slowly stopping the bottle of sake and setting it aside. "Because I'm really considering flying over there and punching someone."  

[TawnyAngel]

Absinthe was a really bad idea.

KO finished his vodka and coke and held out his glass. "Why not?" So long as he didn't drink too much of it he'd still be alright tomorrow or at least more or less functional. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to be alive and well," he continued vaguely and then paused because he didn't really know where he was going with the sentence. He probably hadn't drunk enough to find out yet and even once he did, did he want to talk to Lex about whatever it was? Probably not really but he wanted to talk to somebody, he thought, and he knew that he could trust Lex not to go spreading anything he said around.  

[Shaddaling]

"Absinthe it is then," Lex poured a measure of liquid into the offer glass. "Want to go French and have me break out the sugar and spoons? Or do you want to top it off with coke?" He shifted to snag a second soda glass and slowly pushed off the bed to make his way to the ice machine and fill it with ice.

"I'm glad you are alive and well, but they jerked us all around, they jerked you around." He gave a slight hum, clinking the ice slightly. "Could you request your medical records from them?"  

[TawnyAngel]

Of course it was classy to do the sugar thing but it was also effort that he didn't feel like making right now. "I think I'll just have it with ice," KO replied, heaving himself reluctantly upright to go and get some. Could he request his records? Sure but he knew they wouldn't say anything unusual, they'd probably have redacted bits in where he was supposed to assume the use of experimental drugs or something. There certainly wouldn't be anything about lying in a chiller. He'd had a dream about that a couple of nights ago and woken up drenched in sweat and shivering.

KO added ice to his drink, watched as it went cloudy from contact with the water, and then perched on the edge of his desk with a sigh. "I could. I might do that." He supposed it was a thing they'd expect of him. "I don't know if I'll be given access to them but I can ask. Mmh." He took a sip of the Absinthe and grimaced slightly. "But I don't think they'll tell me anything special. I don't know," he swirled his drink, "I mean it's not like we go out on missions expecting them to be safe.... I'd rather avoid going on any more in future, but if I want to get noticed for promotion that's not exactly an option now is it?"  

[Shaddaling]

Lex picked up a slotted spoon and a cube of sugar, setting it up before slowly pouring the water over, the scent of herbs wafting up. "Still, they are your records, it more then what you have now."

Lex dipped the spoon into the water, slowly swirling it. "No, but we also go on mission expecting our fellows to be able to pull their own weight and not blow our cover. This one was a cluster ********. Last one was a cluster because we got so enamored in technology we sort of forgot the crazy guy in the vents was a danger."

He gave a slow hum in thought. "Think the one three back was bad, but I wasn't on that one." He set the spoon aside, looking at KO. "Missions are easier to get noticed by but you are the one that caught that Articuno." He pointed out.  

[TawnyAngel]

KO would usually have preened at least a little at the reminder of such a success but in his current mood he merely scoffed and shrugged. "Sure, and Xerneas too, but we were all throwing pokeballs at them both, I just got lucky and I don't think they take luck into consideration when they're looking for new Agents.... I did think I did alright on the training exercise and on the mission though." He thought he'd handled himself pretty well after Rook had left pursued by the adult Articuno. He thought he'd handled himself well on the mission when Claire and Rook hadn't been there to see it. The trouble was that the elites rather obviously hadn't seen it and so, as Claire had apologetically said, they couldn't really give him any feedback on it. Following on from that he assumed they also couldn't take it too much into account in any consideration of his advancement.

KO took another sip of the absinthe, this time grimacing rather less as the first taste had practically numbed his mouth.

"I went to speak to Elite Claire to try to get some feedback on my performance. She couldn't say too much as they missed a lot of what went on of course but I told her my opinions on what happened. I don't know what gave us away but Clancy must have been a factor... but much as getting our cover blown wasn't ideal it wasn't actually what led to our injuries. That doesn't mean I'm happy about it of course because it has led to complications; apparently the champion gave our descriptions to the league so you're going to have to change your look again Lex." The style Lex had adopted after the training exercise didn't exactly blend in, but then Lex never blended in.

 

[Shaddaling]

"True," Lex mused, they had not been in the cave but they had been outside though the stampede of Pokemon after had been less then idea. "It was a badly executed mission." Not enough info, crunched for time. He sipped his drink, letting the taste flood his tongue and swallowed slowly.

"Not surprise... as much as she seems to be an air head, she is the champion." He gave a soft raspberry, fingers curling about his curling hair. "I hate straightening my hair after I dye it." Being caught would be worse but the dye and heat were never a good combo.

"Speaking of Clancy, I think I finally got him to actually see his rocketdex as a useful tool, if he will remember to use it is another question." Lex settled in, slowly sipping his drink.

"Been thinking of doing something about my eye... these prosthetic are nice in making me appear normal, but I still have a giant blind spot."