.:A Brief Interlude:.

[ganymed]

Who: Ganymede and people.
What: It's a meeting.
Where: Mac Anu, Ganymede's McMansion.
When: 10/12
Warnings: Nothing yet.
MAC ANU ~ GANYMEDE'S MCMANSION



The everpresent afternoon sunset hangs, echoing picturesque across the glass windows apparent at each spot within the large building. In a large room full of tables and what not are heaps of various cuisine settled here or there. Seafood, pastas, drinks, the like; Mediterranean style so if nobody likes that...gomen.

Ganymede has made it clear that he prefers people to be here in order to get themselves together. Sorted, somehow. They're all acting with a sort of independence he seems disinterested in disturbing, but he wants the prospect of potential solutions to be floated along.

If someone has new information they can share, well, it is encouraged. If not, he hopes that they will at least participate in some way.

It now begins.

 

(( OOC Note: People will not be attacked by monsters once within the McMansion, including pool area. ))

Comments

[trashtier]

[With the dust beginning to settle, Levi moves in to take care of Barrett. He's operating purely on instinct and adrenaline at this point.

Anyone who tries to physically lash out at Barrett is going to have to deal with his older brother now, sorry.]

[userunfriendly]

[ Ganymede and healers have Hani, Sinclair isn't hurt. Michel is heading this way. ]

I have healing items if you need them. And then I believe it would be best if you take him and go.

[trashtier]

[Though he's taking a protective stance over his brother, Levi looks more like a cornered animal than anything. As such he's trembling as Michel approaches, but still ready to fight back if need be.

Fortunately, he doesn't need to, and he lets out a tiny sigh.]

Y-Yeah... We'll go. You don't need to use up your healing items, though. I've, um...I've got some.

[What a huge mess.]

[userunfriendly]

[ Michel's arctic expression thaws at least a few degrees. He's furious... but not without a little sympathy, or perhaps pity. His chest rises and falls in a quiet sigh of his own. ]

Wait. Is this the first time this has happened?

[ A huge mess is right. ]

[trashtier]

[He nods weakly, sneaking a glance at Barrett.]

Y-Yeah. I've seen him get mad before, but not...like this.

[userunfriendly]

Everyone has the capacity to lose their cool.

[ But not like that. For most. ]

You said you understood why he was angry. Perhaps [ very conditional perhaps ] it would help if you could explain that to the rest of us.

[trashtier]

[...]

I mean...Lily's been there for us through some really rough times. He's kinda like family, in a way. And you guys have spent this whole meeting dragging his name through the mud and accusing him of awful things. If he's responsible, then what are we supposed to think of all the time we've spent with him?

[His gaze drifts downward, still defeated.]

I'm not trying to excuse Barrett getting carried away, but...I think that's where he's coming from.

[userunfriendly]

[ Michel's brow furrows; with the way his face is, no one could be blamed for finding it ambiguous whether the expression is anger or confusion. ]

Lily admitted, himself, to creating the memories in the mirrors. Whatever his intentions may have been... there's no denying that people were hurt by that. Your own relationship with him has no bearing on his actions as a whole.

[ That's even allowing for such a straightforward concept of family. Believing that they wouldn't hurt their own... Michel shakes his head briefly. ]

...I appreciate the explanation.

[gluttoning]

[It leaves him strangely conflicted, having Levi cross this gap. But Barrett doesn't move, either when Levi stands as a wall or if he starts to kneel down to address the broken nose that's clearly happened at the front of Barrett's face.

He doesn't speak unless Levi breaks the distance between them, in which he just has one thing to say, low and fragile.]

...I think we should probably go.

[trashtier]

[Some wall he turns out to be, letting people right on through anyway. But once he has the opportunity, he gets down and starts looking through his inventory for a crafted food that'll heal this. Will it even heal a broken nose at this point? That's anyone's guess.

He nods in agreement to what Barrett says, voice quiet to match.]

Yeah. I've, um...I've got you, if you need help getting up.

[gluttoning]

[He just nods, shallow, eyes screwed shut.]

Mn. Head still feels like it's gonna explode. [cue seto having flashbacks immediately]

[trashtier]

[seto voice: stop talking about exploding in my presence

First and foremost, he ends up just pulling out a simple healing potion to get the job done. Once he's done feeding it to Barrett, he reaches over to get a hold on him so he can pull him to his feet. It's a good thing his Fragment body affords him the strength to even pull this off. Barrett outweighs him like whoa.]

[gluttoning]

[While the healing potion gets the HP bar under control, it doesn't stop the bleeding, or reset the cartilage... and it also doesn't stop the fact that, after about a minute or two, his HP slowly ticks down one point again.

Barrett lets his arm be draped against Levi's shoulder as he flinches his way up to his feet, his free hand pressed against his face in a futile attempt to contain the bleeding or stop the pain. But at least he can still support his own weight - if anything, he just needs someone to be his eyes.]

You shouldn't have to go. I'm sorry.

[trashtier]

[Levi curses under his breath when the potion does nothing to stop that bleeding. Once the two of them are up, he pulls a scrap of fabric out of his inventory and hands it over to Barrett.]

Here. I'll try to look at it closer when we get back.

[He says, as if he has absolutely any idea how to deal with a broken nose. But with that, he loops his arm back around his brother and starts to make for the exit, away from the aftermath of that shitstorm of a meeting.

He shakes his head when Barrett apologizes.]

I don't wanna be here anymore anyway.

[gluttoning]

[It looks like someone is aggressively stopping them on their way out about that.]

[tablescraps]

( So this isn't just on Discord:

Not long after Barrett and Levi leave, Mithrun scampers out after them, his expression difficult to read - and returns just a few minutes later, his expression no more decipherable. Not happy, but not angry.

Then he heads off to Hani. )

slides in from the other thread

[worldbent]

[From across the room and the aftermath and still with a smear of blood on his own face, Matoba's gaze falls heavy on both brothers, an unreadable barely-there smile.]

[The rift grows and it grows and grows. It's just what he wants.]

a period of time after the fight...

[tablescraps]

( Mithrun has gone quiet on his couch after attending to Hani, and some may know this is because he's started messaging some people. During the period, it seems his headache returns to him during some junctures - worsens during others - but one message chain seems to cause him to lose his patience despite the brevity of it.

Based on what Matoba said, he's very sure Matoba and Levi were talking about Lily now - so it's not like Mithrun needs any further clarification on that. But god he is so fucking sick of people going mum on him and he is wildly stressed out for several active reasons and his head hurts like hell, and Matoba is the straw to break the camel's back, especially given this is the second time he's pulled the "other contracts" bullshit on him - worse yet that he's basically confirming he's been in contact with Lily for awhile.

With a suddenness Mithrun is up and striding across the room, over tables and couches and directly to Matoba, and he's grabbing Matoba by the collar, jerking him down to eye level. His cat tail is lashes with anger. )

You had an agreement with me first. Shut the fuck up about your "other contracts" and talk to me.

( This isn't "plot-relevant" bold, this is "Mithrun is fucking pissed" bold. )

WATCHING THIS

[insinning]

[Contracts...?

Sinclair looks up from where he's quietly checking in on Hani. He's not going to jump in (he's exhausted) but he is listening.

...when did Makoto get injured again?]

popcorn.gif

[selfconcept]

[ He's just watching with seafood pasta.

Ah, yes. Business. Of course. ]

fightening two (three??): electric boogaloo

[worldbent]

[Ahhh, Matoba always does enjoy just how swiftly and deftly Mithrun is capable of crossing barriers in order to get to his target... It had impressed him at the Telo dinner, and it impressed him now.]

[He is smiling appreciatively when Mithrun grips his collar and yanks him down, also half in appreciation of the cute cat ears and tail that he hadn't quite noticed before. Very good taste.]

[Mithrun's anger isn't regarded as a threat... Or at least, Matoba's relaxed body language would have one think. But then again: it is Matoba.]

[He's always like this.]

Our agreement did not preclude further ones, [He replies easily, gazing down at Mithrun with a calm and calculating tilt of the head. After a second he seems to decide something, and then adds,] What do you want to know?

[tablescraps]

( Seeing the pin at his lapel, Mithrun can presume Matoba - from knowing him, his demeanor - can easily deem someone unworthy of his time, or answers. He understands that Matoba reacts this way as a sign of some respect - he's seen very clearly with people he truly does not respect the opinion of.

But it does not smother his anger. And, really - if Mithrun were someone so pliable and easily deterred, would he really be someone worth making a deal with at all? )

It didn't preclude further agreements, but they sure do waste my time. ( A shame he's way too forceful to hiss those words - it'd be thematic with the look, and all. ) What will happen when he's "ready." You talk like you know plenty.

( Though he's not stupid enough to presume Matoba knows everything - their messages have proven this to some extent, as had Matoba's testing earlier. But he knows a good amount, and Mithrun does not consider presumptuous to think Matoba is one of those who have been visiting Lily regularly.

Mithrun, however, has a guess here, as to what "ready" will be punctuated with. But he wants to hear an answer from Matoba's lips - evasive, censored, or otherwise. )

[worldbent]

Unfortunately, that isn't my problem, Mithrun-san. [Mithrun can be annoyed, but that won't change anything. He has things he can say to him and things that he can't. As for his question- Matoba considers it, mulls over what he thinks is happening, why he thinks it's happening, and what could happen in the future- and what he knows has been said- and comes to a final, genuine conclusion:]

I don't know.

[He says it with a sigh of slight frustration on his own part, genuine.] Nor do I believe any of us know. We are all just along for the ride, whether you believe him or not.

That said, I will not answer anything you ask me directly about him. Actually, I can't.

[Said with a smile, at least that answers for a lot just on its own, now doesn't it?]

[tablescraps]

( ...

Mithrun shoves Matoba, letting go. Fortunately for Ganymede, it seems they're avoiding an all-out brawl. )

I know what he's getting ready for.

( So: speak for yourself when you say nobody knows. Still, Mithrun's hard to read - it's hard to tell in what way he means it; whether it's something he's pieced together, or something Lily told him directly. )

... But it doesn't sound like you have anything to trade for that.

( So Mithrun isn't going to ask for anything from him. Matoba can initiate a trade himself if he wants to. )

Think twice about two-timing. If you'd told me earlier, things might've been different. And don't you dare tell me you had no way to so much as imply it.

( Because, to Mithrun - Matoba would find a way to share information despite the censor if he wanted to, given his behavior throughout the meeting. And he's not going to believe Matoba had to stay mum offline, either - he's quite sure by now Matoba has been talking to Lily since a midpoint in their email exchange, if earlier. There was nothing stopping from mentioning that he was in contact with Lily.

And if that's how Matoba wants to play ball, then fine. Mithrun will hide what he knows in turn. )

[worldbent]

Oh?

[Knows-knows, or predicts? Matoba has answers, none of which he can give here.]

We shall see.

[Taking this all so personally......... That was a weakness, Matoba muses. It means that Mithrun might lash out and be unpredictable in ways that Matoba cannot afford.]

[And so, information or no, he shrugs and re-adjusts the tie on his suit.]

Believe what you'd like to believe, [The man replies with a roll of his shoulders under his suit jacket,] As damn near everyone in this world does.

[Certainly, that is true of those "flowers" he thinks.]