ArchivedLogs:Quitting Together

Quitting Together
Dramatis Personae Akihiro, Anette, Isra	2016-08-01 "I forget not everyone bullshitted their way through highschool like me."
Location <BOM> Common Room - Main Lodge - Ascension Island
The common room's rustic-lodge feel has been somewhat mitigated by the modern amenities inside its sturdy wooden walls. It has comfortable couches, several chairs, a refrigerator (stocked with snacks and drinks!), a pool table, a pinball machine (METALLICA!), an assortment of books, a television -- with several game systems! -- and a splendid view out the windows (when their lacy yellow curtains are drawn open) for the rest of the island. The pale wood floors have been covered in places -- by a pair of soft thick blue rugs, by a large squishy pair of beanbags that stand in front of the stone fireplace. There's also a board up on the wall, half corkboard, half whiteboard, with a variety of community notes (and occasional insults) to other Brotherhood members. Large doors on the right-hand side lead off to the kitchen and dining room. In the back of the room, the council room's heavy oak door bears solid locks that are almost never actually barred. A short hall adjacent to the council room's door leads to a trio of multi-stalled bathrooms; these might once have been marked with the typical man-woman-handicapped signs, but someone has given them new plaques on the door; a stick figure with horns and a long tail, one with wings. One -- the large single-user toilet -- has instead been given a helmet and a cape. It's mid-afternoon and Anette comes out of the kitchen and dining area, chugging at a large bottle of Powerade. With an baggy t-shirt and sweatpants, she's dressed for a workout and, judging by the sweat still dotting her face, she probably just finished. A towel is draped around her shoulders and, once she plops down in one of the nearby couches with a pained groan, she dabs at her face and neck. Akihiro also heads in from the kitchen, but he has a bowl of cereal. "Somebody sounds sore." he says aside to Anette, taking a where he usually does on the couch. "Oh, I was gonna ask if you wanted to go binge Xena at some point? That or Reservoir Dogs." Isra comes in from outside, shaking her wings out behind her before folding them in. Beneath her gauzy lavender sundress, her skin is a striking jet black dotted with shimmering stars, her wings roiling clouds of purple, blue, and pink nebulae. She carries a worn old Cornell University Astronomy Department canvas tote over one shoulder. "Good afternoon," she says. "I have brought cider, if either of you would like some." Crossing the room, she sets her burden down on the dining table. "Though I cannot speculate as to how cold it is now, given the temperature outside." Anette looks up as she hears Akihiro and can't help but offer a brief grin. "I'm feeling a little more Dusk til Dawn right now..." she says, slowly sitting up on the couch with another groan. "I feel like hell. Shoulda grabbed more Advil." She twists her head as Isra enters, offering another brief smile in greeting before twisting her head back proper and leaning forward. "Oh god, even a warm one sounds fantastic. Not sure it'll do me any good right now though." She begins slowly batting her own wings, circulating air around her and cooling her off. Akihiro indicates his cereal, as his mouth is currently full. A few short moments pass by before he gives his head a slight shake, "No thank you, but I appreciate it." Anette gets a snappoint, "I can dig that. Haven't seen that movie in what feels like forever." He pushes to his feet, heading over to where he set his bag down earlier and digging through it, "Here ya go." It's interesting to note that the hand he uses to pass the bottle to Anette was bandaged the night before. "No, I don't suppose cider goes well with cereal." Isra reaches into the tote and extracts two Strongbow ciders, both gleaming with condensation. She pops the caps off of them with two swift twists of a heavy thumb talon, and brings one of them to Anette. It's still cool, though not icy cold. "I could get you a glass of ice, too. Good workout?" She takes a sip from her own bottle, leaves it on the coffee table, and goes to put away the rest of the case. "From Dusk till Dawn," she echoes, musing. "Vampire action film, yes?" "Alcohol tends not to go well after workouts," Anette says, shaking her head gently at the bottles offered to her. "It was...a rather intense workout. I was hoping it might be distracting. I'm...trying to clean up and the cravings are gonna kill me faster than the cocaine would." She takes a few chugs of powerade before nodding towards Isra. "Practically a comedy," she says, before her eyes flutter over towards Akihiro's hand, her head tilting slightly. "Did your hand heal?" "Finally stayed clean long enough to heal up. Those withdrawls were fucking awful." Akihiro nods to Anette, finishing off his cereal and heading back to wash the bowl. He's gone for a few moments, nodding as he enters into view once more. "Yeah, it's got Cheech Marin's pussy speech in it. Pretty great. And, I'll have a drink with you. Went ahead and opened it after all." "Ah, I thought you meant that it would not have the desired effect on you--a phenomenon with which I am well familiar. Forgive me, I did not intend to pressure you." Isra hangs the damp tote bag on a dining room chair to dry before returning to the living room and settling sidewise into an armchair, deftly sliding one of the ciders toward Akihiro with an outstretched wing. "Please, have at. I believe I might seen snatches of this film over the top of a book. Or research paper, more like." Her vivid, cat-green eyes flick from Akihiro to Anette, then back. "Withdrawal--quitting together?" "Oh, it would definitely have the desired effect," Anette chuckles. "Ask me again in a couple hours." At Isra's questioning, she glances towards Akihiro, eyes flitting to his hand again. "Yes and no. He had gotten himself into something a bit...stronger. I figured if he could quit, maybe I stood a chance. After all, third time's charm?" She looks over to Isra and offers the woman an amused chuckle. "Research papers? You are the brainiest terrorist I've ever met. I love it," she says, the grin suggesting this is not said unkindly. It takes a second for it to really hit Akihiro, and when it does he heads over to set the cider down before calmly walking back over to where Anette is. That's when he can't contain himself anymore and he wraps the poor woman in a hug. "I'm so fucking proud of you! If you need any help, let me know, alright?" Then he releases her and retrieves the cider, flashing both Isra and Anette an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that outburst." Isra's ears swivel forward, then press back. "I wish you success in your ventures, then. If either of you ever desire support--well, I may not be the most intuitive source for it, but I shall do what I can." She inclines her head and mirrors Anette's grin with a fangy smile of her own. "You also know Regan; it might certainly be argued that she is brainier, in the literal sense if no other." Her wings shake out behind her as she takes another sip of her drink, watching the two with unblinking intensity. "You've no need to apologize, to me, at least. I'm no stranger to random acts of physical affection." "That is true. Though I see you more than I see her. I forget not everyone bullshitted their way through highschool like me," Anette says, though her words her quickly cut off by Akihiro's sudden hug. She freezes, her eyes wide, clearly not used to random hug attacks but she lets him get it out of his system. She begins preening her feathers back into place once able. "Well, we'll just see how long this lasts," is all she says to thir offers of help. "You can do it." Akihiro assures Anette, settling back down and taking a drink of the cider. "Not only that, but you will. I've got faith in you." He turns his attention towards the television that isn't on right now, "I didn't go to high school at all, and I turned out alright. Well, aside from the violent outbursts and occasional drug addiction." "We shall see," Isra agrees equably. "And I do not know if there is any way to manage high school--any schooling, really--without some measure of bullshit. So, then..." She picks up the remote control and studies it as though it were an alien artifact, finally pressing the power button with the tip of her index talon. "From Dusk till Dawn?"