Udon and 20 Questions

[17:19] <@Deedles> It's been a couple of weeks since Athena's physiotherapy started, and she'd been progressing steadily since, feeling herself getting stronger and stronger every day. Today she was training in one of the hospital pools, shallow enough for her to stand in, but still deep enough for her to be able to swim freely. She took a couple of slow strokes to finish a casual lap, bringing her to the edge of the water where
[17:20] <@Deedles> she could rest her arms to float gently in the water, closing her eyes as she regained her breath. Her limbs were not quite the same snow white as before, beginning to look more like the pale tone of the rest of her body, which was currently covered only by a simple, deep blue, swimsuit.
[17:27] <Shen> There was a sudden slipping screech nearby and the thump of a steady boot rapidly hitting the floor followed by a grumble. John was hovering about the facility looking for the blue-haired pilot, finally managing to find someone who knew where she was. He appeared in sight as he rounded the corner, looking back down the hallway where he almost ate shit in. "Fuckin... floor." he mumbled to himself.
[17:31] <@Deedles> Athena blinked as she heard the sound of someone nearly falling over, her gaze turning towards the corridor as she wondered who it was. She raised her head from her arms for a moment as she tilted it to the side upon seeing him enter the pool room. "Are you alright?" she called out to him, before she rested her chin on her arms again.
[17:35] <Shen> He hadn't noticed she was there until she spoke, turning his head towards her away from the hallway, the frown still on his face. "Why wouldn't I be?" he dismissed, slowly walking across the side of the pool, his eyes darting down to his feet every now and again. "More importantly, what about you? You walkin' about yet?" he asked as he reached the part of the pool she was resting at.
[17:39] <@Deedles> "It sounded like you nearly slipped." She answered honestly, raising her head again so she could look up at him as he got closer. "And I can walk, still have to use crutches for support, but I'm moving around on my own now at least."
[17:45] <Shen> He stubbornly ignored her first statement and went straight to the second. "Well, thats better than nothing." he accepted as he took a seat down on one of the benches across from her. "Karens been bugging me to show you around the city when I had some free time, you good enough for a stroll?" he asked, idly playing with an unlit cigarette in his mouth.
[17:51] <@Deedles> Athena looked thoughtful as she turned her attention to something on the side, probably an AR screen. She lifted a hand, tapping different places in the air, before her arm settled down on the edge of the pool again. "I'm asking Ian if that's alright." she informed her fellow pilot as she peered across at him. "... How's your training going?" she wondered quietly.
[18:00] <Shen> He shrugged as he leaned his elbows forward on his thighs. "Karen ain't accepting anything but perfection, which is pretty fuckin' ridiculous if you ask me." he piped, his tone a mix of annoyance and frustration. "But I've knocked down everything shes thrown at me so far."
[18:05] <@Deedles> "The simulations do take a while to get through, but Boyd pushed me to always do my best, so I wasn't satisfied until I'd aced all of the simulations on the hardest difficulty." She said as she slowly moved over to a set of stairs that lead out of the pool. She held onto the rail and made her way up, slowly making her way towards a bench that had a pair of crutches laying on it.
[18:05] <@Deedles> "I found that it got easier when I just... felt my Eva." she told him while taking a couple of shakey steps to reach the crutches.
[18:34] <Shen> "Yeah, well, all I felt was a severe pain in the neck." he grumbled back at her. "And acing those sims didn't do much for you in the long run, did they?" he shook his head, twisting the smoke in his hands. "Its the same in the Air force, they made us run flight models over and over as we took down AI. Then when we get into real combat, suddenly you got enemies who can think and adapt just as well as you.
[18:34] <Shen> Suddenly all that preparation don't mean shit."
[18:37] <@Deedles> "From what little I remember, and from what I hear we held out long enough for the civilians to be evacuated." She answered and sat down on the bench, grasping the crutches. Despite his harsh comment she didn't look insulted as she added "But you're right, I obviously couldn't win despite doing well in simulators." she said while she got onto her feet, beginning to hobble her way towards the changing rooms.
[18:52] <Shen> "You saved some lives at the cost of your own." he nodded as he watched her walk towards the changing roms. "Luckily you went all messiah and popped back up again, but there aint anyone to pilot that eva if you end up dead for good." his view on her relative 'success' was harsh, but he only spoke his mind.
[19:03] <@Deedles> She glanced back at him, before she reached forward to open the door to the changing room, making her way inside and around the corner, leaving his field of view. She didn't close the door though so he could hear her "You're right, dying for them means that I'm not able to protect them any longer, but that shouldn't be a problem in the future, with you around." she called out to him as she sat down
[19:03] <@Deedles> on one of the benches to get out of the bathing suit. "Heracles is sturdy, he's built for protection, with someone more offensive around it should go better next time around."
[19:12] <Shen> "We'll have to see about that." he shrugged to himself, choosing to be skeptical until he knew more about the situation and this girl. "For all we know a small team ain't gunna do much better against these things than running solo. Everythin's theoretical except for your encounter."
[19:40] <@Deedles> He could hear the sound of a shower starting, followed by Athena's voice as she replied. "Maybe not, but failing isn't an option, it would mean the end of humanity. It is true that we could fail, we could die, but I won't let that happen." she trailed off for a moment, though John couldn't see it it was because she leaned her head back underneath the water to wash out her hair properly.
[19:40] <@Deedles> As she shifted forward again and turned off the water she added. "But I will shield you." her voice didn't sound affectionate, just matter-of-fact in her usual, slightly awkward, manner.
[19:49] <Shen> He leaned his back against the wall, his hands stuffed comfortably in his pockets as he watched the ceiling, continuing to play with the cigarette in his mouth idly as he waited. He chuckled at her words, not sure if she was being arrogant or naive. "Don't get me wrong, I get that you've got some sorta weird responsibility complex, but we need a squadron, not a shield."
[19:55] <@Deedles> She dried herself as he spoke, sitting on the bench she had her crutches leaned against. "Responsibility complex?" she asked in reply, a bit confused by it, but then continued to speak as she looked thoughtful. "How would you know what we need?" she asked him simply and curiosly, there was no slight in her voice. "You said yourself that everything is theoretical, except for my encouter, and I still don't remember much from that."
[20:04] <Shen> "'cause a wolf always stands a better chance in a pack than out on its own. Just cus you're fightin' beside other people, don't mean you're fighting with them if you already made your mind up without consulting the squadron." he rocked his knee up and down as he cleared his throat. "You familiar with the ancient greek Phalanx battle formations?"
[20:08] <@Deedles> She slipped into her unmentionables  while she listened, nodding despite him not being able to see. "Of course." she called in return, followed by John hearing a faint grunt as she wiggled into her grey jeans. "And I wouldn't do anything without consulting my team, even when I was the only pilot that's how things were done." she added, before she pulled on a white top.
[20:26] <Shen> "Then you know that a phalanx only works when everyone's on the same page. You get one hotshot runnin down Hero hill and suddenly the whole column collapses." he piped, not quite sure if she was getting what he was tryin to say. "How could you consult any team if you were the only pilot? It ain't the same as following the chain of command out on your own."
[20:36] <@Deedles> She got her black military boots on and then grabbed her crutches, slowly making her way out of the changing room. "Even though I was the only pilot I needed to be coordinated with the rest of our forces, because I never acted on my own, so I couldn't go doing just anything I wished." she told him as she approached him, looking at him calmly. "And I also know that a shield works better when paired with a weapon,
[20:36] <@Deedles> to work with to combine their strengths."
[20:39] <Shen> "A fighter squadron always works in tandem with other forces, takes orders from the operations commander, but in the end, the fighter squadron are the ones up there, together, alone. Its different." he tilted his head towards her as she approached.
[20:47] <@Deedles> "I guess, but I wasn't alone, there were ships up there with me, even if I was more mobile than them." She replied as she stopped beside him, wobbling faintly for a moment. "But... I've never been in a team of others like me, so I guess I don't really know what it's like." she concluded quietly, peering down at the unlit smoke in his hand. "I'm ready to go when you are. Ian replied to my message,
[20:47] <@Deedles> it's fine for me to go out, as long as I take it easy, since you're with me."
[20:54] <Shen> He nodded, popping the smoke back between his lips with a chuckle. "You've never run in a real squadron and I'm yet to be unleashed." he shrugged as he pushed himself to his feet. "Just take the time to observe the situation before you make a claim as widely poetic as 'I will shield you'." he shrugged dismissively, though it was a one of a humerous nature. "Besides, who says I even need it!"
[20:57] <@Deedles> She blinked as she looked at him, tilting her head to the side "I never said you needed it, it's simply my job to." she said as she slowly began following him out of the pool area, going quiet for a bit before she asked, out of the blue. "You like poetry?" Boyd always did tell her it was good to make conversation, but... she was still rather bad at it.
[21:06] <Shen> "Its your job?" he humored her as he walked, giving her a skeptical look. "And who gave you that job?" he asked, waving a hand at her question. "I've always been a bit partial to the classics." he chuckled with a sideways glance. "Cat in the Hat is soul defining shit." he hummed as he finally sparked up the smoke.
[21:13] <@Deedles> "It's what I've been trained for, and it's what Heracles is built for. He's tough, and carries a big shield, so it's simply logical for me to protect those who can cause some real damage to the Angels." She answered softly, returning his gaze, before she smiled slightly "Cat in the Hat is cute. Read it as a kiiiiii-ow!" she cut off as she walked onto the spot that John had stepped on when he'd arrived earlier,
[21:13] <@Deedles> slipping and landing on her ass with a thump.
[21:23] <Shen> He turned his head, the young women completely gone until he looked down. "The heck are you doin down there for?" he grunted a chuckle with an amused look in his eye as he offered her a hand. "You really should be careful with those new twigs of yours." he pointed out, letting a plume of smoke escape his lips. "I'll get the blame if you break, you know."
[21:53] <@Deedles> She shifted one of her crutches over so that one hand held both of them so she could accept his hand "I'm fine." she assured him, carefully getting the crutches back in place so she could continue walking. "I don't break that easy."
[22:04] <Shen> "No shit." he conceded with a nod of agreement as he helped her up. "Still, probably better you take it slow, bein stubborn about it aint gunna get you anywhere." he pointed out. "Even if you were back up to speed, all we could do is run drills for now either way."
[22:09] <@Deedles> "True..." She agreed quietly, glancing up at the sky. "So... Seeing as you're giving me the tour, where we going?" she wondered as she peered at him curiously. "I've never really been to a city before." she confessed.
[18:47] <Shen> He shrugged as he expelled smoke from his mouth again in a flicking plume. "Beats me, haven't had much time to look around myself." he admitted as he flicked through his AR to find somewhere or something interesting. "I thought there was a city on Saturn." he pondered his eyes shifting past the overlay and back onto her.
[18:49] <@Deedles> "There was, but I never really went there. I was usually busy training, and when I wasn't training I was studying, and any free time I had I spent reading so I would be on base in case I was needed for something." She explained to him as she carefully walked beside him, keeping her eyes on the ground so she wouldn't slep again.
[18:56] <Shen> "So I'm guessin' you don't really get out much, huh?" he hummed, looking back to the overlay as she answered pretty much how he expected. "Well, I'm starvin', so lets go grab a bite to eat or something." he piped, seeming to be quite energised to the idea. "What do you fancy eatin? They had food on Saturn too, right?" he teased.
[19:01] <@Deedles> "Of course we do, otherwise we wouldn't of survived for long." Athena asked as she looked at him with slight disbelief, his attempt at humour falling flat before this socially stunted girl. "Hmm..." she looked away with a thoughtful expression at his first question. "I'm not sure what I feel like." she told him, but added, very quietly "...as long as it's not hospital food." while she averted her eyes.
[19:35] <Shen> "Anythings better than that crap." he agreed as he pulled up a search for nearby places they could eat. "Well, what kinda food do you actually like? Red meat, fish, noodles, chicken?..." he trailed off, looking to visibly salivate as the list grew longer. "Or are you more of a... salad person?" he looked to her, a one-sided look of disdain behind it.
[19:39] <@Deedles> "Salad is a good addition to a meal, but it really doesn't give a soldier enough energy to train and do their job." She replied as she glanced at him, continuing after a brief pause "And it's not really that tasty. I like hearty foods. Fish and chips, chunky stews, pasta of various kinds, fried noodles, noodle soups." she counted up "Those are a few, I'm not very picky with my food."
[19:53] <Shen> He rubbed his jaw as he read through a list. "You said noodle twice, so lets make it Ramen." he decided as he selected one of the restaurants and its clearest path. "Theres a small noodle and sushi place I usually order from, so we can go there." he offered, not exactly a man of much variety.
[19:57] <@Deedles> She nodded as she followed him, quiet at first though John would probably notice after a while that she was attempting to cover up her slightly laboured breathing "... Is it far?" she asked, trying to look as unbothered nor tired as she possibly could.
[20:14] <Shen> "It should be pretty close." he replied as he turned his gaze to her once again. "If you can't manage it, just say." he offered to her, something about his voice suggesting amusement.
[20:17] <@Deedles> "I'll be fine." She answered, her expression turning stubborn at his words, turning her face away slightly as she continued to walk along side him.
[20:21] <Shen> He chuckled as he promptly finished his smoke, exhaling the last of it into the air above him in short bursts. "...I can carry you if it becomes too unbearable." he continued after a few moments silence.
[20:27] <@Deedles> She returned her gaze to him, blinking once at that suggestion, not answering at first. "...I'll be fine." she repeated, and trailed off, probably leaving him to think that she was done there, but after just a brief moment she added. "But I'll keep the offer in mind."
[20:33] <Shen> "Then keep your hobblin' up, we're almost there." he informed her as he flicked the spent cigarette away.
[20:34] <@Deedles> She looked ahead on the path they were on for a while, after a while she glanced at him once as she asked. "You're... from Earth, right?" she looked a mix between unsure and inquisitive.
[20:40] <Shen> "Why, do I have soil on my face?" he quipped back at her question, "Yeah, I'm an Earther, you got a problem with that?" he piped with a bit of sniff.
[20:47] <@Deedles> She was taken-a-back by his reaction, her eyes flickering to the side in a worried manner as his defensiveness seemed to make her uncertain and tense up. "No, no not at all...!" she assured him "I just wondered... what Earth is like..." she explained to him quietly.
[21:00] <Shen> "Relax, I wouldn't care if an Earther killed your favourite hamster and you hated them with your life's blood." he clucked with a sigh. "Its a busy place, bit of a shit-hole. Nothing like here or Saturn, I'd figure." he shrugged as he thought about it. "Lots of people, lots of noise."
[21:03] <@Deedles> "My favourite hamster?" She repeated back to him, utterly confused by this, but shook her head "A shit-hole?" she asked, more seriously, a concerned look flickering across her face for a moment, before she wiped it away. "What was it like living there? Did you live with your family?" she continued to inquire, his assurance seeming to relax her despite leaving her a bit baffled.
[21:09] <Shen> "Not a fan of hamsters?" he gave her a curious look, enjoying her confusion slightly. "Before I joined Nerv I was USAF. Air force for a nation back on Earth, but I was posted on an airbase back in Okinawa. Thats where I lived. I guess you could sort of call that a family, a pretty shit one with a strict old man."
[21:10] <@Deedles> "I've never had any pets." She answered quietly as she studied him, an oddly understanding look on her face "I am the same, I was raised by the military from the day I was first made." she told him
[21:16] <Shen> "You mean born?" he chuckled at her strange language, not entirely unlike her from what he had gotten to know. "You're not a pizza, no matter how much you try to convince yourself." he jested as they approached the small Japanese place close to a market strip full of stores and restaurant. The bar itself was set into a long window where its patrons sat outside underneath a large, shaded cover
[21:16] <Shen> whilst the cooks prepared the food inside.
[21:18] <@Deedles> "A pizza?" That confused look was back again as she stared at him for a moment "No, I mean made." she insisted softly "Clones aren't born like normal people, we're made. Grown." she elaborated as they stopped in front of the ramen stand.
[21:25] <Shen> He made a noise in his throat that sounded half like a grunt of confusion and an irritated bear. "They're also pretty illegal last time I heard." he worded skeptically as he took a second to look at her before sitting down. "You're not serious, are you?"
[21:32] <@Deedles> She looked back at him blankly "I... Of course I am. I am what I am." she answered him plainly "I know that they're not legal to make, but apparently it was necessary to create a pilot." she said, carefully leaning her crutches against the side of the stand while she slowly made her way onto one of the stools.
[21:57] <Shen> "There don't seem to be much that Nerv can't do, I s'pose." he admitted as he took a seat next to her. "I really shouldn't be suprised at this point." he noted, sucking his teeth as he flagged down one of the chefs who was pottering around further into the kitchen. "Next thing I know they'll try turning cats into pilots." he sighed, thinking of Tank attempting to pilot an eva.
[22:06] <@Deedles> "Now that would just be strange, but also facinating..." She said with a contemplating expression "I wonder what it'd be like to have a conversation with a cat." she mused
[22:08] <Shen> "Terrible. I've tried." he muttered as the chef approached. "Pork udon." he stated immediately and turned to the girl next to him. "What are you havin'?"
[22:09] <@Deedles> She pointed at John "Same as him." she told the chef, before she turned her attention back to her fellow pilot. "You've tried?" she asked curiously
[22:12] <Shen> The chef nodded a couple of times before making his way back into the kitchen to prepare the orders. It seemed pretty slow, as those two were the only ones there currently, possibly because it was not exactly the most desirable of restaurants in the district. "Yeah, I got a cat. I say cat, hes more like a shuffling calamity." he gruffed.
[22:14] <@Deedles> She leaned slightly towards him, his answer only seeming to increase her curiousity. "Ohh? What's his name?" she wondered, resting her arms on the top in front of them.
[22:46] <Shen> "Tank." he answered simply as he watched the chef do his thing in the kitchen.
[22:48] <@Deedles> "A curious name..." she commented as her eyes shifted onto the chefs, joining John in watching them, going quiet for a little bit. "So.. other than piloting, what do you like doing? What are you interested in?" she asked him, peering at him, obviously full of questions.
[22:51] <Shen> "Well, eatin is pretty high up there on the list." he admitted as he tried to think of some sort of answer to that, but instead turned his head to her. "You ask a lot of questions, don't you?"
[22:54] <@Deedles> She went blank, turning away from him a bit as she attempted to hault her curiousity. "I've just never met another pilot, I'd like to know more about you, and Boyd always said asking questions was the best way to do so." she parted her lips again, as if to speak, but all that came out was a hesitant sound as she looked awkward. "And I've... never had such a long conversation with someone my own age before." she confessed.
[23:02] <Shen> He shrugged back at her, he supposed he could understand her reasoning, though he wasn't sure how much he could answer. "You should get used to it, if all goes well, we won't be the only two pilots." he tapped the top of the stall idly as he thought about that, wondering what they would be like in contrast to her. "I guess if I had a hobby it would be my bike." he offered after a little while, uncertainly.
[23:04] <@Deedles> "Your bike?" She slowly turned back as she studied him, in a more reserved manner this time.
[23:09] <Shen> "Motorbike." he clarified, even though he rarely ever used the term. It was a bit outdated. "I refitted an old model I found; restored the frame, completely rebuilt the suspension and exhaust systems and installed a new engine." he grinned lopsidedly to himself as he rubbed his jaw. "Its one-of-a-kind."
[23:12] <@Deedles> Her eyes lit up as he spoke, a slight lean in her body as he was capturing her interest again. "A Motorbike? What model? Would you mind if I studied it sometime?" she wondered "I've read a lot about them, but have only seen a few. They weren't a convenient means of transport on Saturn so there were virtually none there."
[23:20] <Shen> He paused as he listened to her barrage her in even more questions, to which he only found more amusing. "Deep breaths now." he teased, shaking his head. "Its a Harley Davidson Fatboy softail." he answered, not sure if she even knew what it was, let alone the model. "And it depends on what you mean by 'study'." he narrowed his eyes slightly.
[23:20] <Shen> Just as he finished speaking, the chef brought them two large bowls packed full of vegetables, pork slices, and a thick noodle udon stew. "Domo." John nodded as he snapped apart some chopsticks.
[23:24] <@Deedles> "Thank you." Athena said, giving the chef a small, but grateful, smile, before she got her chop-sticks. "I'm just curious about seeing a real motorbike up close. I'm not much of a tinkerer, so I wouldn't want to take it apart or anything, but I like seeing how things are put together, and you can only learn so much from books and schematics."
[23:33] <Shen> "The real deal tends to have a way of being a bit different than whats written down. Sometimes parts just don't fit." he shrugged as he slid his chopsticks into the bowl and took a hearty mouthful of hot pork and noodles. "Mm, beshides..." he mouthed before a chew and a swallow. "Your life would be forfeit if you ever planned on taking my bike apart. Just throwing that out there." he pointed his chopsticks at her.
[23:37] <@Deedles> "I'll definitely keep that in mind..." she replied and had some of her noodles as she went quiet. "And you're right, a lot of things are different in fiction and reality." she agreed, her tone almost a bit mournful as she went quiet again.
[23:51] <Shen> He fell silent as he continued to eat, enjoying the warm meal as he always did, but before he took another mouthful he looked to her. "Something wrong or did you just run out of questions?" he pondered, slipping a single slice of pork into his mouth.
[23:56] <@Deedles> She flinched the slightest as he spoke, snapping her out of her thoughts "Ah, was just pondering on something." she murmured, popping a vegetable into her mouth and chewing on it, before she added. "Were you an orphan than? Raised by the military? What was school like for you?" she asked him, peering across at him with a more timid, but no less intense, inquisitiveness compared to before.
[00:40] <Shen> "What about you? Can't imagine growing up as a clone being the most picturesque upbringing." he said, shifting the topic onto her.
[01:08] <@Deedles> She looked like some of the things he said made her want to ask more, but she leashed her own curiousity. A moment of quiet thought passed as she rolled the questions around in her head. "I still can't remember everything, it's fragmented, but I remember tests, a lot of tests. Operations. Augmentations, replacing, testing new ones, refining and upgrading." she answered him, looking strange detached as she did.
[01:08] <@Deedles> She picked up a piece of pork and ate it, chewing slowly, before swallowing and continuing. "The first person I really spoke to on a regular basis was Boyd, when he became my CO when I was 6." she slowly turned her gaze to him "I was tutored at the military up until that point, but Boyd then got me enrolled in a nearby private school, he thought being around kids my own age would be good for me."
[01:08] <@Deedles> she went quiet for a moment, poking at some of the noodles and veg. "I only seemed to offend them and annoy them though, so I ended up not really speaking to anyone anyway. At 13 I began being tutored at the base again."
[01:42] <Shen> He sighed as he took a sip of the complimentary sake, placing the small mug down next to his bowl. "It seems like you offend people cus you're not used to bein' round them. Kinda hard to learn what you're doin wrong if you don't make those mistakes to begin with. Seems pretty fuckin' natural to me." he shrugged as he swallowed. "And you are pretty annoying, but so am I, so I don't really care."
[01:42] <Shen> he scooped up some more noodles with his chopsticks as he ate. "The only difference is that you're not intentional about it." he gave her a sideways glance and an amused half-grin.
[01:57] <@Deedles> "I'm sorry if I've annoyed you." She murmured in a low tone, picking up a piece of pork with her chop-sticks, but paused before it reached her mouth. "... You're annoying?" she blinked as she peered at him, obvious surprise on her face. "Confusing, maybe, but... I don't think you've been annoying." she answered honestly, studying his grin as she gained a faint smile. "You're right though,
[01:57] <@Deedles> you do need to learn through doing, but I... felt it was better for all parties if I just kept to myself." she confessed
[02:05] <Shen> "Only because you don't have enough understanding to be annoyed." he murmured between scoops of noodles, the bowl quickly emptying. "How could you know if it was right, if you have a hard time understanding in the first place?" he pointed out with a mighty burp quickly following. "Or were you just afraid?"
[02:14] <@Deedles> She ate some of her noodles as she listened to him speak, her eyes growing distant with thought as he she did. She rested her chop-sticks aganst the side of her bowl. "I was afraid, I don't like hurting people, even by mistake... It's alomst worse if it's by mistake, because then I don't even understand what I did." she answered, her honesty just continuing, it seemed like she was uncapable of lying.
[02:14] <@Deedles> She sighed, quietly. "I can't remember what happened when I was 13, but I get the sense that I did something, something really bad. When I try to remember it it slips out of my grasp, but I feel petrified, and ashamed, even though I don't know why." she glanced at him, her expression holding apprehension, as if she was wondering if she really should be there.
[02:36] <Shen> "Then maybe its not worth remembering." he offered, placing his chopsticks on top of the empty bowl and emptying his mug of sake in a single gulp. "The past rarely is."
[02:38] <@Deedles> She looked like a deer caught in headlights for a moment, it was a thought that obviously hadn't passed her mind. "I guess that's possible... But what if I hurt someone again?" she asked him, looking worried, but took her time to eat a bit quicker as she still had half her bowl left.
[02:45] <Shen> He slid one of the small toothpicks out of the jar on the bar-top, and began to play with it between his teeth, unsure exactly what she could mean but still unmoving in his opinion. "What good would worrying about it do you? If you can't remember, you can't remember. Maybe you will at some point, maybe not." he shrugged as he looked at her.
[02:45] <Shen> "By the sounds of it, its not something you wish to happen again, either way."
[02:54] <@Deedles> She found herself stumped in front of his logic, it was a bit crude, but she couldn't deny that it made sense. "I..." she began to say, but went silent again, having some more noodles, before she continued. "I can't argue against that logic." she admitted as she tilted her head to the side, glancing at her glas of sake curiously inbetween speaking. "Hmm, can I ask you something else?
[02:55] <@Deedles> It's something that Daisy, one of the nurses, has spoke of, but I don't understand what she means."
[02:59] <Shen> "Daisy was the grumpy one?" he asked with a thoughtful chuckle, thinking back to when himself and Karen visited Athena originally. "You don't need to ask my permission for a question." he grunted. "Just ask."
[03:03] <@Deedles> "She speaks of wishing she'd had my lucks when she was my age, which I don't understand. She also wondered if I'd ever fancied someone, and I didn't under her explanation at all. She said that it's someone you like and miss when they're not around, and I can understand that feeling, but how does one's looks enter into that?" she asked him with an earnestly baffled look on her face, one of her hands
[03:03] <@Deedles> rubbing the back of her head while she had some more of the noodles.
[03:03] <@Deedles> *looks
[03:22] <Shen> "Well thats a fuckin question and a half." he shook his head as he refilled his mug. "Sounds like Daisys been readin one too many romance novels..." he pondered aloud, taking a deep gulp of the liquid. "Looks enter it when sex enters it." he explained quite bluntly. "When you like the look of someone, or 'fancy' them..." he emphasized the overly tame word.
[03:22] <Shen> "...Its usually because you want to get involved with them romantically, sexually." he shrugged as he tried to explain in a way that a toddler would understand, but felt himself failing. "Different folk like different things. Just like food. What she was sayin was that she wished she had looked like you to attract attention of guys, maybe girls."
[03:28] <@Deedles> She slowly put her chop-sticks down on the bowl as she'd finished eating, listening intenty to what he was telling her. "Oh, I see..." she fiddled at the small cup in front of her, before grasping it, lifting it to her lips to have a small, testing, sip at the liquid. She licked her lips as she mused over the flavour, and John's answer to her question. She tilted her head to the side, raising a brow.
[03:28] <@Deedles> "I ... really don't know anything about that." she muttered, almost looking embarrassed. "Only what I've read. Though I've seen people I find attractive, I don't know what to... do with one." she spoke quietly, having some more of her drink.
[03:35] <Shen> "Now that depends on who you ask." he clucked, rotating the mug on the counter. "And what you're planning to do." he laughed to himself as he continued to drink.
[03:40] <@Deedles> She shifted her gaze away from her drink and onto him for a moment "For that I would need to know what I can do, and what's appropriate." she answered softly, but gave a light shrug. "If your theory about Daisy's comments on my looks is correct then maybe I don't have to do any pursuing." she concluded simply.
[15:24] <@Shen> "Thats probably something you should talk to Karen about, she'll love that." he breathed into his mug before taking a sip. "But its usually a bad sign if you don't have to do anything yourself. Nothin good in this world is easy."
[15:28] <Deedles> She pondered on that and then shrugged again "Honestly I find it too complicated to really wish to get into. Simply talking to people is difficult enough, and from what I understand romance is far more so." she said, drinking the last of her sake, before gently pushing her cup to the side. "It's why I prefer sticking to simple pleasures. It's straight forward."
[15:42] <@Shen> "Does make livin a hell of a lot easier." he agreed, also finishing his own mug. "As long as you can keep things simple. Doesn't always work out that way though." he shrugged, dropping the mug back down onto the the counter. "I wouldn't put it past Nerv to try and find a way to eradicate base desires, but for now at least, being Human is still being Human. Regardless of how we're brought into the world."
[15:46] <Deedles> "Things can always get complicated, but I try not to make it worse by willfully creating more of it." she replied, before gazing at him curiously. "So, based on you saying that, are you not interested in pursuing romance either then?" She asked, looking a bit surprised.
[15:57] <@Shen> "If there was time and existence wasn't threatened by some batshit winged aliens... maybe I would consider it someday, probably not much romance though." he pondered, with a scratch of his chin stubble. "Seems like a lot of hassle for something so flaky."
[16:05] <Deedles> Winged... Athena zoned out briefly, uttering a faint gasp and flinching as a sharp pain shot through her head. She gripped the table in front of them as she closed her eyes, face angled down. No... The memory was still out of reach, but it taunted her, making itself reminded. "Y-yeah, I guess. I wouldn't know." she said, straightening herself as she tried to act like nothing.
[16:08] <@Shen> He watched her with a passive frown, discarding the toothpick into the empty bowl. "Oi, you alright?" he questioned, noticing her strange demeanor. "We can head back if you want."
[16:12] <Deedles> "I'm fine." she replied, which probably was no great surprise to him, but she did elaborate, while rubbing the side of her head "Just memories... Nothing that can be helped." she glanced at him as she went quiet.
[16:15] <@Shen> "Must of been a pretty strong memory to cause that." he pointed out, but didn't push the topic. "We're done here anyway. Unless theres somethin else you wanna do, we can head back."
[16:23] <Deedles> She pondered on that for a moment and then shook her head "No, can't think of anything." she concluded quietly, carefully getting off the stool and grabbing her crutches. "Lets head back."
[16:31] <@Shen> He nodded as he slid off his stool, tapped on the counter and paid for their meals. "Alright then. Lets go." he gave the chef a nod before he began to walk Athena back.
[16:39] <Deedles> She followed beside him as they walked, remaining quiet as she seemed to of ran out of questions to ask, or possibly her mind was just elsewhere.