An Inauspicious Beginning: Part 7

Larin is sitting at a table in the restraunt and apparently enjoying a huge sloppy cheeseburger. Sitting next to him on the table is a personal PDA. In essence, typical Larin.

Arizhel saunters on in to the restaurant, making her way to the bar briefly to share a quick 'hello' with Jens. She turns around and leans against the counter then, looking around the room for familiar faces.

Larin bites into the cheeseburger which squirts a bit of ketchup in protest. He continues to scan over his PDA while he chomps away on his food.

"Your table manners need work," Rish calls out from the bar, a smile on her lips as she finally spotting the Lunite. "But I think I can deal with it, hm?" She chuckles, shaking her head, her heels clicking off the floor as she makes her way to his table. The woman puts her hands on her hips and looks down at him curiously. "So, whatcha up to? Aside from making a mess, I mean."

Larin looks up with a bit of ketchup still on the side of his face. For the moment he doesn't seem to notice it though he does flush just a bit looking down to the mess he made. "Oh well uhm ... eating dinner. Care to join me?", Larin explains.

"Sure," she agrees, but her eyes shift away for a moment. Ah, there we go, a passing waitress. Rish holds a brief conversation with the woman, then slides into the seat across from Larin. "Lydia says I eat like a bird, so I figured maybe I could do with some supper myself," she says, chuckling.

Larin reaches up with his sleeve to wipe a bit of ketchup away. He smirks lightly and shakes his head at Rish. "Well thank God for Lydia then. I needed some company before I went insane reading this PDA. Boring stuff.", Larin remarks. His hand reaches across the table to procure Rish's hand. "How have you've been?"

"I've been better," Rish admits, sighing. "That message from my mom... she could have punched me in the face and hurt me less, I think." She shakes her head, shifting her eyes away. "I've spent most of my life trying to overcome the 'Terran doctrines' she drilled into my head for years, and still... some things linger." She smirks and brushes a stray strand of hair out of her face. "But aside from that, I'm not doing too bad."

"Hello, Rish. We need to talk," Karlan's voice rings out from the door, and he walks, the cane now moving along his right leg seamlessly as he strides towards her, only really noticing Larin about halfway through. "Oh. He's here." Karlan shrugs, and takes a seat unceremoniously beside Arizhel. "But I don't want to get out of the way, not this time. I'm myself today."

"Sit down. Stay awhile.", Larin remarks with a smirk before he gives Rish's hand a squeeze. He retreats his own hand across the table and looks between them. He nibbles on a french fry and tosses Rish a wink.

Arizhel gives a wan sort of smile to the Lunite, then looks up at Karlan. "I know we need to talk, hon. I just... I didn't know how to respond to your message at first. Then, I got a nasty note from my mother today, so I've been a bit out of sorts..." She smirks, reaching across the table to steal one of Larin's fries.

Karlan sighs deeply and shakes his head. "I just don't want to let him steal all your time from me. He already took you away at that party, and worse, because I let you. I'm not going with it again." He looks at Arizhel intently, almost staring, completely ignoring Larin.

"Well someone had to.", Larin murmurs with a smirk. He continues to chomp away at his fries as he watches the exchange with a fair amount of interest. He doesn't seemed the least bit worried. "Are you going to want anything Karlan? I can flag down the waitress...". He looks to Rish with a sympathetic smile. "Mothers seeing Lunite terrorists around every corner and the like."

"Don't have to," Rish says, "Here she comes with my supper. Lucky for us salad's a pretty quick dish to make up, hm?" The waitress indeed walks over and sets the salad in front of the bartendress, then looks at Karlan expectantly. Rish, meanwhile, rolls her eyes at Larin. "God, tell me about it. I'm almost glad she doesn't want me to go home right now."

Karlan clenches his cane for a moment, sighing and waving the waitress away. "Arizhel, If you want me to stop trying, just tell me." He raises an eyebrow and gives Larin a cold glare. "You expect me to exchange jokes and insults with you? You want me to go into that humanoid game of... seduction, knowing full well I'll lose?" He rolls his eyes.

Larin doesn't bat an eyelash having been training lately in his brand of militia diplomacy. "Game of seduction? It isn't a bloody game. It's the little things that one does to show that you care for another person. The little things that go beyond kissing, hugging, and fondling in public.", Larin snaps in a cool tone. He then looks apologetic, his eyes diverting to the table.

Arizhel just puts a hand to her forehead, the expression on her face saying that she would like nothing more at this point than to slide under the table and disappear. After a moment, she shakes her head. "God, both of you... just stop sniping at each other already," she says, her voice dull as she listlessly picks at her salad with a fork. "This situation is -my- fault. Karlan, I... I don't know. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, about where I want to go with my life." Okay, that didn't really answer any questions at all. Go figure.

Karlan sighs deeply, rolling his eyes and turning to Arizhel with a concerned frown. "Just don't blame yourself. Guilt just makes things worse. I'm just tired of sitting while I watch him act like I don't exist." He sighs deeply, moving a hand that hovers over her shoulder hesitantly for a moment before falling there.

Masaka walks into the resturant, and catches the aft end of the conversation. He frowns and makes his way towards the bar.

"Bit of irony there.", Larin comments, munching on another french fry. "There isn't any fault to be had in this situation. It's a common occurrence I'm sure despite the uhm ... uncommon circumstances." He purses his lips and keeps his green eyes focused on Ris.

"But the guilt is mine to carry, Karlan," Rish insists, shaking her head. "I kissed him. Twice. I was half-drunk the first time, but the second... And now, the way I feel..." She sighs, shaking her head, still just chasing her salad around the plate aimlessly with a fork.

"And now you're letting him come into your life without letting me go first. You're breaking the rules. But that doesn't matter. That's not the reason you feel guilty. You feel guilty about hurting people." He sighs, tightening his grip on her shoulder, not uncomfortably. "But you would hurt me more by being guilty, and being angry, and being afraid."

Masaka takes a seat at the bar and gets the attention of the cashier. "Could I please get an iced coffee, the both lunch choices, and a bowl of chips? Oh, and some salad, I'm trying to watch my weight." he politely asks, remember his curtiousy. The cashier takes his order, and he sits there, keeping an ear open to the conversation going on between his two crew mates and the guest.

Larin is quickly running out of french fries which are now his only source of keeping his mouth shut. His lips drop from a frown into a light scowl at mention of 'breaking the rules'. For now there are mercifully still a few french fries left.

"Rules? There are rules for this?" Arizhel asks incredulously, her head tilting to the side. "I -do- feel guilty, and I -am- angry, but not at you, or at Larin. I'm angry at myself for getting the three of us into this situation in the first place." She sighs, shaking her head. "And I am afraid. Always afraid. Afraid to run, afraid not to run. It's always the same..."

Karlan tilts his head. "There are forms. Conventions. Ways. Or at least this is how I understand your people." He sighs, and lowers his eyes. "But that's what I mean. I don't want you to be angry at yourself. I don't want you to feel bad. I care about you, Arizhel. And as afar as I can understand human love, I love you. I can let you go, even though I don't want to; but I cannot let you suffer." He tilts his head, looking at her, concerned.

Masaka looks up to the waitress as his ice coffee arrives, and removes the spoon, taking his time to eat the cream from the top. "hino wakan wakan Ga-Oh sunka-wakan" he mutters to himself. "wakan sakehanska Wicasa Ga-Oh wakan Wicasa sunka-wakan adekagagwaa" The Qua man chuckles for a bit then sighs. "I feel old."

Tick Tick. Ding. French fries are gone and the scowl remains. "There aren't conventions. There isn't just some Goddamn definition of love. It's a feeling. It isn't dictated by anything you've read or studied. It goes beyond that ... It's a hope for the future. Wanting to grow /old/ with someone and love them inspite of that. To have children. To leave a legacy. It's all that and more.", Larin quite practically snarls. "If you loved her you could not let her go. You would not let her go. Just as I have been less than honest every time I've suggested that I just leave and make it easy. I could not, would not, and will not let her go unless she seeks to get rid of me. Even then she'll have a place in my heart ... don't you understand?". He looks to Rish with an apologetic but still indignant look. "I'm sorry for snapping like this but I could not sit by and heard the concept of 'love' be made a mockery of." "Forms? Conventions? Ways?" Arizhel shakes her head, sighing as she sets her fork down, any thought of eating apparently shoved aside for now. "It's not something you can..." She falls silent, cut off by Larin's tirade. At his apology, she nods mutely, her eyes cast down to the table. Rish's hands are folded in her lap, wringing nervously.

"aden'nar elei elei janeiU ces'Edien Airenei meJai aden'nar." Karlan mutters to himself, sighing. "Larin, if you insist it's not something that can be understood, then why do you insist on trying to explain it?" He rolls his eyes and turns to Arizhel. "I'm different. You know that. I won't ever be entirely like a human. If you think I can't reach up to your expectations, then say so. But don't underestimate my capacity for those things you humans value. Don't underestimate my capacity for loyalty and stability."

Masaka sits at the bar, still listening to the conversation, passing the occasional glance across to the trio. He grins as his food is delivered, though still keeps an ear on the procedings as he starts to eat.

"I try to explain because I know these concepts are supposed to be foreign. I'm trying to explain out of desperation because I /know/ that I am in love. I know that I can be just as world weary, down trodden, and supportive twenty years from now. I'll look like hell, creaky and drooping. But it won't matter because that love wouldn't fade.", Larin replies. He frowns at Karlan, his eyes are imploring to Rish so that she can explain it if at all possible.

Arizhel sighs, pinching at the bridge of her nose gently. Yep, sure-fire headache, this one. "Karlan, in twenty years, I'll be someone's grandmother. Or at least, I will if I have children, but that's not what I'm getting at. The point is, I'll -look- like someone's grandmother. You... you'll not have aged a day. I... Jesus, I can't even think of how to say what I'm trying to say here. I'll be an old hag, jaded and mean as hell. You won't want that. You'll still be in the prime of your life, for God's sake."

Karlan sighs deeply, looking down at the table. "This is what it's all about, in the end, isn't it? The fact that I won't share your aging. The fact that I'll still be there when you're gone. The notion that I'll be incapable of loving you the moment you start to look older than I am." He shakes his head. "I'm better than that, Arizhel, you know it. And I could be dead any day. Any of us could. I'm not so naive as to actually believe there is no way I won't live to a ripe old age. I've been trying to see things from your side for weeks, but please try to see them my way, and realize the future isn't something one has to care so much about that one actually spoils away the present."

Larin remains quiet, just shaking his head slightly in complete disagreement. He drums his fingers across the table betraying his anxiety.

"And what if I want children?" Rish asks, her eyes still on the table. "That's... not something you can do for me. I... God, I don't know. I just know that I'm getting too old to live for the here and now, and not think about where I'm going. I've been doing it for thirteen years, but I'm nearly thirty now. I just feel like... I dunno, like it's time to settle down." She sighs, shaking her head. "Maybe it was that thing on the beach, you know? Seeing for the first time that I could die at any time... God, I need time to think. I'm just going to lock myself in my quarters for a couple of days, see if I can get my head on straight..."

Karlan sighs. "Alright. Children. Of course." He rolls his eyes, and glares at Larin. "I suppose asking you to try and overcome all those differences is a lot. But I have to ask you."

Masaka finishes off one of the plates and moves onto his next.

Larin eyes Karlan for a moment his face disapproving till the end. Something's definitely struck him as off. All the same he sighs a bit and offers Rish a good natured smile. "I'll be missing you for three days then.", Larin remarks. "Just think about things in their entirety. For all intents and purposes it might just be best to forget about the /both/ of us." A light smirk and he leans across the table to give her a quick peck on the cheek in a rather awkward motion. "I'll be around."

Arizhel sighs, shaking her head. "That's just it. I won't ever forget about either of you," she murmurs, her eyes downcast for a moment before she looks up at Karlan. "I -do- care about you, Karlan. I don't want you to think that I don't, or that I think any number of negative things about you. I just... I'm starting to get the feeling that it might be time to move on with my life, you know? Close one chapter, and start a new one. I... I really need time to think, though. It's easier since I'm off duty, I have to say... I'll talk to both of you in a couple of days, okay? I just need to sort some things out, and Patches gives such good advice." Larin's kiss to her cheek is returned in kind as she stands up from her chair, and she gives one to Karlan as well before heading toward the exit.

Karlan watches her leave, sighing adn shaking his head at himself. He then turns a glare towards Larin, raising an eyebrow. "You're lucky, you know. You have an advantage. And if you win, and do anything to hurt her, you'll regret it." He sighs hesitantly, standing up with his cane by his side. "I'll make sure you do."

"Any punishment that you could inflict wouldn't be anywhere near the amount of punishment I would inflict on myself if anything of the sort happened.", Larin remarks. "Likewise I can't stand by and see her throw a future away for something so short term." He looks to his empty plate and shakes his head slightly.

The Qua man remains silent for the time being, shaking his head and continues eating.

"You underestimate me," Karlan says, sourly. "Good thing you're not the one I'm trying to convince." He walks briskly towards the bar, his lopsided, limping gait now gone as he moves his right arm in synchrony with his leg. Taking a seat beside the Qua, he mutters to him, bitterly and somewhat sarcastially, "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

"You underestimate love.", Larin remarks to the fleeting Timonae. He sighs and collapses back into the seat to look up at the ceiling.