[ORP] Obligatory Spa Scene and Obvious Fanservice

[Suudonym]

"Well that would depend on a lot of s**t, bro," he responded, still grinning lightly. "Kinda vague there. You wanna roleplay, you gotta get into specifics. Have I been mortally wounded? Am I staring down some kind of terminal stage cancer? Was I expecting it or was it a total surprise? Am I still capable of moving myself to the nearest bar and enjoying a few drinks?" He readjusted his posture, sitting properly at the water's edge and allowing his bare feet access to the pleasant water. "In the first place, who even are you? Calling me by my name without even introducing yourself, shame shame."  

[Tori Honoo]

Again, Nate's words bothered her, though she couldn't pinpoint why. Looking again toward the locker rooms, she waited for any sign of anything, and was again disappointed as no one emerged. Luke had to be okay... He hadn't been doing very well the last time they had spoken, though it hadn't been physical...

She closed her eyes a moment, then turned back at Nate's question, then back to Akira. "I'm afraid we haven't met either...I think," she laughed, offering an apologetic smile.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Pardon, name's Akira," he answered while stirring the water with a finger. "It's specifics you want...? Oh, let me see..." He tapped at his chin thoughtfully.

"You're incapable of moving without assistance, human or otherwise. You cannot speak, except by use of text, type, or the written word. One of your eyes is blind. You have no way of grooming yourself, so you end up appearing as a slob and a retard, all the while knowing that, sometime within the next few months you've been given to live, you could die at any time and you would be leaving behind this atrocious memory of yourself in the hearts and minds of those who cared for you."

"I would add in the scenario of replacing yourself in this terrible fate with a loved one, perhaps a spouse. However, while with most people that would cause further devastation, I have a hunch that for you, that would solve the majority of the inner conflicts and worries you might have - for the burden of sickness to have fallen on someone other than yourself." He inhaled deeply and exhaled at length. "So...how would you handle it, Nate?"

He seemed to either be pointedly ignoring Dove or just so involved with his discussion that he had taken no notice of her addressing him.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

As Akira went on with his very oddly specific example, one of Sera's eyebrows just kept rising higher and higher, until he finished at last and paused. "Okay that's really weird and really creepy and specific," she commented shamelessly as she crossed her legs, her feet still in the water. "What's the point of this again?" She didn't even want to think about a quarter of that scenario. Hell, she'd even forgotten what the first half of it even was.

"At least it's not vague anymore," she couldn't help but add to Nate, tilting her head a bit to him to indicate that she was indeed talking to him. Still, that was really weird.  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove's lips twitched as she was about to give her name, then stilled as he began to describe the state in which Nate might find himself in the scenario.

As he talked, the spark of curiosity began to grow, her brows furrowing in its wake. What he was describing was horrific, and how he was even possible of describing something like that...

She had only known one person to have had to experience such tragedy, and unfortunately for Akira, it tied far too closely with the young man he reminded her of to just be coincidence. He was also blatantly ignoring her, just as this long lost person had during the months she had searched...

This time, she found herself staring, expression almost unreadable. "Where are you from, Akira?" she asked cooly, ignoring what anyone else said.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Oh Arceus, Arceus, his emotions had gotten the better of him again. He cursed himself repeatedly in his head and shook it. "Sorry, no idea," he answered Sera's question with a forced laugh. "Forget it."

His attention turned to Dove. He couldn't avoid her any longer. "Sinnoh. Sorry, what was your name, miss...? I don't recall Miss Seraphine mentioning it."  

[Tori Honoo]

The young model regarded Akira with a wary, detached look. "You can call me Dove... It's a nickname, but you might know that...I modeled in Sinnoh for years, so..." she told him, crossing her arms tightly over her middle, as she looked away.

Her mind was going too fast, especially considering the number of people she was around. There was no way... Akira was a brunette, with dark brown eyes.... There was no possible way...  

[Suudonym]

Nate listened with a continued expression of amusement, waiting patiently for him to finish before he spoke. When he did, he first raised his hand, as a student would in class, chiding him as he tried to drop the subject, "Oh no no, you went through all that world-building; we can't just drop it like that. But I got a problem with your little scenario there, chief. 'Fraid you're still not quite specific enough, since you ain't even talking about anything even remotely like me. Am I loved and supported by my family and friends in spite of my sorry state? Have I been giving it my best shot all this time, and has it ever done me any good? Do I still have things to look forward to with each passing day? If you're gonna develop a character you really gotta go at it, son."

He leaned forward slightly, the humor dropping from his expression. "If you're trying to say I don't know what it's like to watch someone suffer and slowly die, then I'd like to ask you to kindly remove yourself from my shoes. Got a hunch we wear different sizes."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

The brunet stared at Dove blankly. "Sorry, I'm...not familiar with models. Nor women's clothing. You'll have to forgive my ignorance."

He glanced back to Nate without skipping a beat. Drat; he'd been hoping the guy would have dropped it already. Seemed like he was made of more than Akira had thought after all. In spite of himself, he grinned at the teen's clever comeback.

"Maybe so," he answered admiringly, "Or maybe not as different as you might think. Guess there's time enough to find out in the future, since neither of us is really likely to die anytime soon."

Pushing off from the wall, he approached the trio from Seraphine's side. "So, did you three all meet at the same time?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Sera, who had no idea what to say to their varied and confusing (and downright weird) conversation so far, jumped at the opportunity to join back in on something more normal. She shook her head, the stray locks of wavy hair that framed her face swaying as she did so. "Nope. I met Nate a month or two ago, I think, and Dove just a couple weeks ago. Pretty sure, anyway," she amended, glancing at the two of them for confirmation. She wasn't about to feign knowledge of when Dove and Nate met, however, so she remained silent on that matter.

The phrase 'not likely to die anytime soon' bothered her though, but no, Luke would be fine. Absolutely fine.  

[Tori Honoo]

Stopping herself from biting back with an unexplainable, 'I'm sure you'd look wonderful in them', the girl stayed quiet, fighting the chaos of feeling rising in her chest. It hadn't been proven yet, though half of her was unsure if she even wanted to know if it was him. Part of her felt sick. The other half hopeful and delighted, though perhaps falsely so.

After a few more moments of simply listening to the exchanges around her--though she wanted to applaud Nate for his quick witted comeback-- and the question, asked as he approached, she closed her eyes, willing her heart to slow down.

She had been disappointed too many times.
She couldn't allow herself to believe this might be him.

Refusing to give in, she leaned back at the edge of the pool, forcing her arms behind her to support her torso, though anyone looking at her would be able to tell she was tense as she leaned back.

She had to compose herself... this was ridiculous...

"Yes, um... I met Nate not long ago. At a club. Right after my breakup. It was...fun," she forced flatly in response to Sera's explanation, suddenly rising to her feet. "Excuse me a moment."

And with that, she walked a few paces away to the locker rooms, disappearing into the girls' side in search of bottled water.  

[TRHQ Yuri Lowell]

Yuri looked up when some random dude shuffled out of the dressing room and he frowned. Ugh. Well that is certainly embarrassing. Especially as he could hear that idiot making stupid comments on the situation, outside. Repede just watched the guy go by, his ears flattening slightly.

His attention went back to Luke, letting go of him. "Then I guess we'll just have to find a miracle," he said, as if they could just find one at the local grocery store. Sure, he knew it wasn't that easy, but this kid needed some hope. Even just a little bit.

As Nate's banter continued outside, Yuri was disgusted. While he could handle it, the last thing Luke needed was to be a spectacle. He'd been miserable enough here already.

"Hey, if you don't want to stay here, you don't have to. I'll take you home."  

[Suudonym]

When the smile returned to Nate's face, it was with a disposition of normal friendliness. "Time will only tell!" he said, spreading his arms in bravado. And that was enough of that. He didn't make a point of making himself difficult to get along with; he just didn't back down from a challenge. He listened idly to the conversation that followed, letting out a low whistle in response to Dove's sudden change in tone and departure from the immediate area. "She's mad as hell," he commented absently.

--

Luke didn't really pay any mind to the stranger as he passed except to maintain his eyes in the opposite direction, nor did he seem to acknowledge the partially audible conversation taking place outside. It just wasn't really possible for him to feel much worse than he already did. "I don't know," he said dully. He knew that Emil and Seraphine were only try to improve his mood, so it felt kind of rude to just leave, but at the same time… he really couldn't see himself enjoying much of anything at the moment.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Ah...no wonder you two seemed surprised to both know him. Quite the ladies' man, aren't you, Nate?"

Akira appraised Sera, half surprised she hadn't said anything regarding his and Nate's exchange. As a young lady who frequently spoke her mind, he had somewhat expected her to voice her obvious discomfort regarding their conversation, but instead she seemed to prefer to act like it had never happened. Odd...though Akira supposed there were few who liked to admit their own discomfort to anyone. He said nothing of it.

'Dove', on the other hand, hardly seemed to be making any effort to hide her own emotions, though she, too, avoided being direct about them. Evidently she wanted others to draw their own conclusions about her actions without specifically explaining her meaning. At least, that's what Akira got from her behavior. Were all models drama queens in this manner? After all, had it really been necessary to mention her break-up, especially as if it was some event they were all expected to be aware of?

Allowing the girl to excuse herself, Akira laughed lightly at Nate's comment. "What makes you say that? Is there something about her you know that we don't?" he teased. "I take it her break-up wasn't with you. Could it have been that you knew Miss Seraphine beforehand...?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Sera's eyebrows raised at Dove's apparent upset and her brief departure. She hadn't known anything about a breakup, but she guessed that was normal. She never asked. And yes, Nate was a ladies' man, not that she minded in the least. "Mm, I don't think that's it," she commented absently as she leaned forward a bit to watch Dove disappear into the ladies locker room. "She didn't seem upset about it earlier." It must've been something else... But what?

Seraphine shrugged as she straightened up, then leaned back a bit and supported herself with the palms of her hands on the floor, her lower legs still in the water. "Guess we'll find out later or something."