2023-02-10: Family Restaurant

• Log: 2023-02-10: Family Restaurant
• Cast: Sayla Mass, Akane Shinjo
• Where: Paris, France
• OOC - IC Date: 10 February 0097
• Summary: After an eventful few days, Sayla and Akane meet and talk about something.

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<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        At 5:15PM, on the dot, Dr Sayla Mass gave her apologies to the Advanced Logistics meeting that had run overlong and asked them to come back to her with with a proposal. She had an engagement to keep, and it was vitally important to more than her that she make it. She picked up her coat, her bag and a second bag before making for the elevator to the lobby.

        At 6:09PM, Sayla and her guest are seated at a mid range, family angled pizza and pasta joint in a corner booth. Perhaps conspiculously, the adjacent two booths are reserved for 90 minute bookings at 6:30. Maybe a correct call, as the place can be busy. Drinks were already here, food would be here shortly.

        Sayla took a sip from cola shandy, before, having finished setting her things down. "So, how has your day out been? I'm hoping the city treated you well." Sayla is actually trying to be offduty for once. "You certainly picked well for a first date."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Taking a drink of hand-mixed lemonade (which Akane had to have a lengthy conversation about to figure out what citron presse was and why she was being offered something subsequently described as 'uhhhh... lemonade' as a non-carbonated beverage option), Akane gets herself a little more earnestly settled. She takes a moment to remove the coat she's been generously given.

"It's been a great few days, honestly," she answers, though she's still a little shaky about it. "It was nice to come back under, uh. ... a lot better circumstances. I got to see Knight -- uh, my brother -- Gridknight? Ahahaha, I have no idea what you know, actually..." Rubbing at the back of her head, she says, "Anyway..."

Breathing in slowly and trying to center herself, she continues, "Overall, though... really good. It's... different from home. I went and saw some of the places they did filming for Eclatant... though apparently the place I really wanted to see got bulldozed during the Impact Wars. But it's a cafe now, so at least I got coffee, I guess..."

Centering herself, she tries to get the words out. "... there's a lot of stuff I wanna talk to you about. Some of it might get kinda heavy... and I bet you've got stuff too. Are you okay with that?"

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        "I'm glad." Sayla smiles, waiting to hear the high noes. "Knight?" The information clicks into place a second later. "Ah, I see. He's chosen a new name, then." No she isn't aware that he's grown several feet. That will be a fun surprise for later.

        "Oh, that's a shame." A thought is filed in Sayla's head for later. Much later. She gives a sympathetic look. "I hope the coffee was good enough to make up for it, at least." She smiles. "I assume Leina has already messaged you to exhaustion about how things went with Rikka, then?"

        Sayla's face turns a touch more serious as Akane turns the conversation. "I am. You don't need to rush it. We've got time to take our time, and we can ease up if it gets too much, okay?" It's easy to tell Sayla is trying to be gentle about handling the topics preemptively. "Did you have something you wanted to start on?"

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Yeah. I think it suits him... he says he'd like it to." Lips remaining curled up, she muses, "I can't lose to him, obviously... so I guess I'm gonna have to get started on fixing up 'Akane Shinjo,' too."

Lighter topics come in short order. "Ehehe... I may have sent a picture of her when we were on the rowboat," Akane says, deciding to be a little quiet about just how much she's talked with Leina. "Thanks for covering this, though, uh... wow, I really have no idea how to spend this money... ahahaha."

Finally, though -- practicals, as Akane takes another sip. "Leina suggested living with you while I sort myself out. I'm finishing up at Tsutsujidai over video until the end of the year, but that'll probably mean transferring schools soon, too. I talked to Knight, and he said he'd be okay with it. I... was kinda worried about pushing him out, so I didn't wanna bring it up to you until I brought it up to him. But I did! And, well..."

She swallows hard. "... I can think of a lot of places I could go. And I want to go to a lot of them. But this is my first choice, if you're okay with it."

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        "It's certainly making a strong statement." Someone who protects people- and fights dragons. An interesting choice, and she approves. "I think having each either to help you keep moving forward would be good for both of you." Sayla sounds a touch wistful.

        Sayla laughs. "More than happy to. The two of you deserve to have opportunities like this. If I can help, I'm going to." She pauses, thinking. "I'm sure we can come up with suggestions if you want them."

        Sayla puts her thumb on her chin and covers her lips with her fingers as Akane speaks. She's listening intently as Akane says what she needs to say. "...Well, there are a few people we're going to have to talk to. I can't make that decision unilaterally. But personally?" When she lowers her hand, Sayla's smiling, earnestly. "I would love for you to live with us." She looks away for a second. "...Even if you hadn't asked, I'd already been getting the report together to make sure you didn't have to go back to that apartment."

        ...She shakes her head. Refocus. "Leina, Knight and I are already okay with it so... we just need to ask Renais, Judau and Roux." She thinks. "I don't think Renais will be a hard sell, honestly. You just have to ask." Another sip, before thinking about it. "Judau is Leina's brother, and Roux is his partner. They're good people, and I think they'll understand where you're coming from." She could move straight to strategy but she doesn't- instead food arrives. Sayla ordered Ravioli Carbonara, and a medium Margarita pizza to share- or take home after.

        "I'm proud of you, Akane. For asking your brother first, and for asking me. You did well." Earnestness, no sneering or cruelty. It may be hard to present praise as positive after Alexis, but Sayla is going to try real hard. "...Also, I think I owe you an apology."

        Sayla isn't go to be sheepish as she apologizes, she needs to be ready to wear this one. "I was wrong in suggesting that you needed a program to get used to touch again. I misjudged how you were doing, and will be withdrawing that suggestion to Hinoki. It's clear now that's you're getting there on your own."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

... It's nice to hear Sayla talking about having been preparing for the possibility of her needing something, without Akane having brought it up at all. Her eyes widen a little, and she says, "I actually have a house and an apartment to unload... though, uh, most of what I have in Tsutsujidai can stay there, I think. There's a few things... the stuff people gave me is more important than the crap I just hoarded. That's gonna have to be on me, though."

... Akane still doesn't want anyone taking out her garbage. It's hard for her to let go.

Akane pauses, and says, "Just a second --" and pulls out her phone, starting to scroll through something. "... okay, yeah. I did ask Renais, actually! She's okay with it too. So it sounds like it's just Judau and Roux." She breathes a small sigh of relief, starting in on the pizza. "Ooh -- this is good, actually. A lot of higher-end places try to cut the salt or go too light on the cheese, but this is more like... top end of the low end? And that's actually kinda better..."

Sayla says she's proud of Akane and that she did well -- and it does make her nervous. The apology, however, gets her to perk out of that a bit -- that one she's not used to. "Huh -- oh! Yeah, okay. I... yeah! Thanks." Swallowing hard, she explains, "I think it was less like... I didn't want to touch or be touched, or anything, and more..." She trails off, shaking her head. "... well, anyway, uh. Yeah. Thanks. ... geez, I sound like a corrupted sound file or something..."

Taking another sip of citron presse, Akane continues, "... there's something else, too, though. I know I don't need your permission for this one, but I thought, maybe, it's... smart to hear what you think about it."

Rubbing at her temples once before she speaks again, Akane says, "... I think I want to start operator training with 3G. I did a lot of damage to them, and they're starting to get pretty buddy-buddy with Gridman and his friends, too. I want to take some of the load off them, since... it's kinda my fault how big the load is in the first place."

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        Sayla nods. "I can definitely make arrangements for the apartment if you want me to. I've gotten a good relationship with a moving company this last year. "As for the house... I imagine you have someone in particular you want to have go back with you, right?" A little pressure to not go alone, but not forcing.

        "Well. That makes it easier. It might be tough to ask as a first meeting, but we can set it up as soon as you're read" She smiles again as Akane digs into the pizza. "I'll have to thank Val, she suggested it." She smirks. "Together with the words 'for fucks sake Sayla, dial it down a notch'. Sounds like she was right."

        Sayla places her hand on the table, face up. The offer is there, if wanted. "A little, maybe. But it'll get less each time." She listens again, nodding. "...Do you want to do this in addition to school, or as well as?" She tales a few seconds to think about how it's phrased. There's a lot of guilt there.

        "If this is what you want to do, I'll support you. But I want to know you're doing it out of more than just feeling like you owe them a debt." She takes a breath. "I want you to be able to tell me, earnestly, it's something you want to do, not just something you feel you need to do."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"... Yeah, but even her... I'm not sure I should let her in. There's... some complicated stuff there? It's, uh..." ... no, she tells herself. Wait for someone who can do something about it. Even if it's not Liger, it's...

... anyway, it's a little impossible to think about right now, and Akane still isn't sure it's not just her trying to cope with everything she did. She moves on rather than beat herself up over it -- though it's hard to miss the way she loses her own mental thread and starts agonizing a bit.

... 'for fucks sake' pulls her back out of it. "What, did you wanna take me to some super spendy rooftop deal?" she asks, and it gets her to giggle. "That does kinda sound like you. This is better for sure."

She reaches out for that hand and takes it, as they talk. "On top of. I kinda... I get the feeling I need to do more stuff, not less. Part of what made me so bad up there was like... withdrawing from everything. So maybe I need to do a different thing."

Sayla asks a hard question, though. "... It's not just that. I don't just feel like I need to pay them back for it. It's more like..." She glances off, here, collecting her thoughts. "What they did for me was incredible, and... I think, if I can't have a world where that kind of stuff never happens... I hope I can be for someone else what Rikka, or Alouette, or Gridman, or Kaworu, or --"

Turning a little pink, she cuts herself off with a bite of pizza. Indelicately and through a mouthful of food, she finishes, "... You get the idea."

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        "...Ah." Sayla looks down. She thinks she understands. Or something close enough. This one's gonna need time, and Akane is pushing herself already. Fortunately, Akane's response has Sayla looking a little embarrassed. "Look. It was rated very highly and..." Sayla sighs. "Alright maybe my tastes have gotten a little rich." She serves some of the ravioli into a sidebowl and takes a bite. It's delicious. "And now I owe her a candy bar."

        Sayla nods a few more times. "...Alright." Her smile is soft, looking at Akane. "I'm convinced. You have my support." She muses for a second. Leina's school allows part time work and even if it didn't, they would be making an exception for 3G." There's is something... very heartening about seeing Akane like this. Just getting to be a teen. "So I guess, running with the assumption Judau and Roux say yes, do you think you could handle learning in a multilingual school?"

        She takes another mouthful of pasta, and another sip of her drink, before speaking again. "Oh, and... you're not allergic to cats are you?"

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

The embarrassment gets Akane laughing. It doesn't feel super mean, but seeing Sayla embarrassed is a little fun for her, somehow? It's almost reassuring, in its way. She has to stop herself before she aspirates some pizza, but even so.

A multilingual school... Akane's eyes widen a little. "That's a thing? I guess it'd have to be in Europe..." She thinks on that. "My French is pretty good now. I kept getting into this habit where, like... for like a week or two after I talked to Renais or Alouette I'd start cramming it. I don't think I'm ever going to sound natural in it, but I can understand and communicate, mostly?" She does sound kind of shaky on it, but... she does need the challenge, and she understands that.

The final question gets a big laugh. "Nope! When I started middle school there was a stray cat I'd run into every couple days on my walk home... I was having really big feelings! So sometimes I'd follow him down the alleyway and just chat with him. I eventually thought about asking my parents if we could adopt him, but before I worked up the guts..." A sigh. "Moved again. I hope he's okay."

... waving that off, she says, "Anyway, I can handle the cats. Leina already sends me a bunch of pictures of them."

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        The laugh gets an embarrassed smile in return. She's relaxing- the last time her masks were down was a stressful, dark time. Now, though, Sayla Mass has lowered her masks bar one, and is allowing herself to relax. No games, no plays, just... having a meal and talking. It's nice.

        "Well, Leina and I are both capable of conversational french, and with Renais around and working with Alouette... You'll have plenty of opportunities to practice in the leadup to the start of the school year. That would probably be easier than trying to cram, too." Sayla places her hand on the table. And if you need help, you can always ask."

        Sayla's voice goes quiet. "They can be real good listeners, huh?" She smiles. "They're clever creatures, and natural survivors. Besides, if he was smart enough to know you needed someone to talk to, he'll be fine." She reaches for her phone. "Let me... show you someone."

        She flicks her phone to a picture black cat, with a little white patch. "Leina showed you Foras and Buer- and if how she took after An- after Knight is any indication, Buer's gonna claim you as one of hers."

        She smiles, quietly looking forward to that meeting. "But this is Lucifer. He was my closest companion when I was a little girl, through... everything. He got me through many of my own... big feelings." She flips the phone so Akane can look at it. There's a few photos- carefully cropped to hide the environment he's in. The ones she can show people, and even then, she is careful in who she opens up to. Today, though, it's easy as anything.

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Akane finishes off a slice of pizza and goes for a second. (She's definitely going to polish off... more than her share of this right here by the time all is said and done. Lately she's just been voracious.)

'If you need help, you can always ask.' That one's a little hard to swallow for Akane -- which makes it a good thing she has pizza to swallow instead. She takes her time with it, and agrees, "Great," taking a sip of citron presse.

Sayla shows her... her cat! Her first cat. "Lucifer, Buer, Foras... hehe, I get it." It is a god damned miracle, Akane thinks, that a Devil like Alexis did not eat this woman alive when she was 14. "He's really cute," she says, as she scoots in a bit. "He's kinda..." She cants her head, looking at the photos carefully.

"... He's kinda skittish? Were there new people around in this one, or did you just move or something?" she asks, curious. "Those big eyes are so pretty, though. They're really expressive."

She gets back to her pizza and lemonade. After a little more thought, she teases, "Have you just had a type since you were like, four years old?"

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        Sayla knew it would be would be difficult, but that's why she brought it up. But well... That's the skill that will serve her best in the immediate term. "Lots of people don't catch it. Just as well, last thing I need is PR coming to me with a stern expression and a tabloid article saying 'Sayla Mass is an Occultist'." She sighs.

        Fortunately, they move on to cats. "Yeah. This was right after moving to farmhouse." She tries to gloss past it, presenting the 'true' story. "The move was kind of rough on him, but he got used to it after a while. He was always on the small side though. Probably the runt of the litter." She reaches up to take a sip of her drink-

        And then Akane puts her on full blast in front of god and everyone. The liquid goes the wrong way down her throat and she splutters several times, before thumping her chest to clear it. "Oh, I am absolutely going to be in trouble with you and Leina teaming up, aren't I?" She takes *another* sip of her drink. She's very slow to finally respond. "And..." Sayla's eyes dart to the left. "No comment."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Sayla is Got, and there's something about that that gives Akane cause to smile. She finishes her second slice of pizza, and the longer she smiles, the more misty-eyed she gets. "... It's kinda nice," Akane says. She isn't sure why the idea that someone like Sayla would have a lifelong fondness for 'skittish cats' makes her feel this nice?

That doesn't mean it doesn't feel nice, though. Maybe she'll figure it out someday.

"And... hehe, yep. You're gonna have to keep your head on a swivel!" she enthuses, stretching out in her seat before taking a bite of her third slice of pizza. It's at that point that Akane musters the courage to ask a question, though:

"Do you plan on telling her about your brother? When we got to talking, I realized she didn't know anything."

Akane's atmosphere isn't nearly so oppressive or afraid as it was in Tsutsujidai... but she's still got one of the best expectant looks in the business.

Sssssssssssssip.

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        Having been thoroughly demolished in public by a teenager, Sayla can only accept that she has been utterly defeated, and puts her drink to one side and-

Takes a slice of pizza for herself so to actually make it shared, and takes a bite. Akane's little comment gets a quiet smile. Just a little acknowledgement. "Hm. I guess I'll have to have some distractions around for your own safety." She smiles. "Maybe you should ask Leina about why we had to put a lock on the fridge."

        he serious topic comes up though, and Sayla stops chewing as it's asked. It takes her a few seconds to start again. After she swallows, she finally answers. "...No. Not if I can avoid it. She doesn't need that in her life." She takes a few breathes. "Circumstances... may take this out of my hand but..." Her fingers tap on the table. "...It's better that the dead stay buried. For everyone."

        Even talking about it obliquely hurts... but Akane is one of the people who knows. And for that she gets answers... "My parents worked long and hard to keep us safe from that. To ensure we could live. I don't want to turn my back on them. Sayla Mass was the most important thing they ever gave me, and even *he* kept that secret." It's something Sayla has never really spoken about. Not to anyone. Not to Amuro, not to Bright, not to Mirai.

        "There are, to my knowledge, as many as eleven people in the world who know. I told two people. My brother told two people. One is me. The remaining six people found out through other means." She sighs, very deeply. "That knowledge is something I wish I could have taken to the grave without anyone knowing. I hope I can spare Leina it."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Akane makes a face, for just a moment, as Sayla says that everyone's better off knowing less about her. One of her cheeks puffs out, and she says, "... I can kinda understand, I guess." She glances off, breathing in through her nose. As she breathes out, there's the faint, almost click-like sound of a sigh escaping by force.

... Maybe it's worth saying after all. Akane glances to the adjacent booths. Still no one... "There's stuff I haven't told you about Tsutsujidai, either. How stuff went... before Gridman showed up. I can't really act like I'm doing any better." ... Despite the fact that Sayla's the adult in the room, Akane still feels kind of responsible to push Sayla on it.

She's really told that few people though... "Okay. Right now I'm not gonna push. ... sorry for asking." She looks down at the pizza. Normally this would be a great excuse to excuse herself...

... but actually, she's still really hungry!

Taking another bite, Akane tries to find another topic. There's a long silence. Then, after about a minute...

"I'm not sure it's legal for me for another year -- I've never really looked into it, but... can you help me start a new family register?" A beat, before she adds, "Just me. And Knight, if he wants it. ... maybe when I'm a couple years older I'll be able to add someone else, too."

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        Akane mentions the things she hasn't told Sayla, and Sayla... doesn't push back. "I'll be here when you're ready to talk about it. Just..." Sayla shakes her head. "...It's a difficult subject. And I don't feel comfortable discussing it somewhere so open."

        In the silence, Sayla finishes the rest of her drink. It's not very strong, but it was still half a glass. She flags a waiter- but that gives Akane time to raise a second topic. She looks back to Akane. "Oh, yes, absolutely. I'll have to talk to legal, but it's a fairly routine process."

        It takes a few moments for her to click. "Would it be any quicker if we got you off your existing family register first?" She taps her fingers again. "...would you want to do that, if we can? You have time to think about it." The fact that Akane has changed the conversations course, and gotten Sayla onto her chosen work...

        When the waiter arrives, she looks to her empty glass, and then back to the waitress. "Could I get a citron presse?" She looks to Akane. "Do you want a refill?"

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Right," Akane agrees. ... she can keep putting it off for a little longer. Just... as long as it takes to get in a better situation about it. More confident she's not just engaging in really wishful thinking.

There are somewhat more immediate topics. "I think we'd have to do that. I'm not super familiar with how it works," Akane admits, rubbing at the back of her head. "We don't need to be in a huge rush. As long as it's moving!"

Sayla asks if Akane wants a refill, she nods affirmatively. "... Yeah, I could do one more," she agrees, stretching her legs. "Thanks. This is... really good." She doesn't just mean the food, either.