fh_trips | Athens, Saturday, October 13, 2018

This massive inn hosts not just a labyrinth of small rooms for visitors from across Greece, it also has stables and multiple dining rooms for everyone's perusal. Guests will probably want to make use of the long stretch of the inn - including its lovely courtyard, which hosts a beautifully detailed pond, a pretty fountain, and large flowerbeds full of colorful flowers.

Edited 2018-10-13 13:11 (UTC)

Pot in the corner and all!

There was a goat in Anakin and Aphra's room, because that's what happened when you put ideas out into the universe.

Whether the fact it was a solid gold one as opposed to a live one was helping was up for debate.

Last call for barley bread and wine!

Rosa was kind of hoping (without really ever expecting it) for some better options this morning, but nope. Guess not. That's what you get for even flirting with the idea of optimism, Diaz.

Looks like more wine, then, oh well . Though maybe not quite so much, considering she planned to hit the road to Brooklyn as soon as they got back.

She missed her dog, dammit. Shut up.

Seivarden knew she was going to regret just picking up her phone. She was definitely going to regret typing a message.

I had to report on radio that you're bored.

She pressed send, then realized that was a stupid message.

Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on the students?

And send.

What kind of a message was that?

Don't they have a decent bar?

Seivarden put the phone down and tried not to panic.

Rosa's butt was buzzing.

Who the hell would be texting her right now? Half expecting an absurdly formal message from Holt having to do with something about Arlo 2 or maybe something from Kincaid about some insanely stupid thing going on back at Fandom right now despite the fact that he should know that she wasn't going to be back until later, she fished her phone out of her back pocket to find out the answer was even more ridiculous than both of those things combined would have been.

Hot Leaf Water.

(Because of course that's what she was saved in her phone as).

And before she could finish completely wrapping her head around the first message, a second one arrived. And before she could finish deciding if she just wanted to be an asshole and respond with "Who is this??", there came a third text. Which left her frowning slightly at her wine, because she knew she hadn't had nearly enough to be imagining this, nor had she had nearly enough to know how to deal with this.

At first who is this?? really was the only thing she could think of, so she started typing that in, then deleted it, waited a little bit, finished what was in her cup, and tried again.

Keeping an eye on the students IS boring. Also, we ended up 2500 years in the past.

If Rosa had been the type, there's probably be an angry face emoji there. But she wasn't, so she hoped her tone would read through anyway. And she pressed send, then realized that was a stupid message.

But you probably knew that.

What kind of message was that?

Because of radio.

Rosa put the phone down and held up her cup. "I think I need more wine over here?"

Seivarden let out a sigh of relief when her phone buzzed, because whatever it said, it would be better than being ignored.

She hoped.

She read the message. And then the second one. Then the third.

That was... difficult to reply to.

Is that bad?

Seivarden didn't have a clue about Earth history.

Rosa started to type in her initial response, which was Yes. But then she remembered the antics she'd gotten into last night in lieu of keeping an eye on the students, and realized that answer wouldn't really be true. So she deleted it and started typing No. But then what the hell was she complaining about? And this was why texting was dumb. What were they? Twelve? This was the whole reason why Rosa herself hadn't texted Seivarden earlier that week.

Well, one of several reasons why.

So she glowered at her phone for a while before she could really come up a statement she'd made already, but one she knew she could stand by no matter what.

This is not what I signed up for.

Seivarden reached for her teacup, took a sip, and waited. She needed to come up with a good response to this.

Did you expect it to be what you signed up for?

That was good, wasn't it?

Can't you find something fun to do?

Oh, no, that was bad.

Help the kids fight bandits or something.

That was... Seivarden was going to stop typing now.

Not my jurisdiction.

Rosa already had one more of those than she wanted right now as it was, without having to try to lay down the law with a bunch of savages because a few kids (who could handle themselves, really) were too stupid to avoid them.

She had to say something more than that, though, didn't she? Or maybe not. She didn't want her to think Rosa was actually putting any thought or effort into this or anything.

But she did feel the need to defend herself. Even if she wasn't sure exactly what she was being defensive about.

But I did find fun stuff to do. Tons of it. Those stupid squirrels are dumb stupid liars.

Yeah, that sounded totally natural and not at all defensive, sure.

Good.

Seivarden realized that might sound as if she actually cared, since the tone of voice she would have said it in didn't transfer that well to this medium.

Did you bribe them?

No, that could be read as nosy.

It would make sense if you did.

Bribe who? The squirrels?

Man, Seivarden could be confusing even when they talked face-to-face, but when it was just text, Rosa was confronted with the annoying urge to read into everything and wonder if what she was reading was really what was meant, but why wouldn't it be?

Why would I care?

Yeah, Rosa, why...would...you, hmm?

I didn't bribe anyone.

It was important to be clear on that. Because she was a cop. Or something.

Oh, come on. Seivarden knew you bribed the squirrels sometimes, Rosa. Denying it was just stupid.

I know you bribe the squirrels.

She added, just to make things clear:

I don't mind.

Of course, that might sound like she meant specific... occasions.

That you do it when you find it necessary.

Seivarden wasn't aware that she was smiling.

I don't know what youre talking about.

Look, you didn't just admit to bribing people (or squirrels) in a text, even if Rosa was pretty sure this was just Seivarden's terrible attempts at flirting and not entrapment. Seivarden wouldn't blackmail her, because Seivarden knew that she'd kick her ass for even trying. But it didn't hurt to be careful with things like that.

And then she glared at the phone a little as she wondered if she should say something else and wondered what else she even would say, and this whole thing was dumb, anyway. Why should she have to say anything? Seivarden texted her. She had no obligation or intention of carrying this conversation, and if she continued to not have any idea what to say, she could always just ignore it and pretend her battery died.

Edited 2018-10-14 11:06 (UTC)

Seivarden could flirt. She was actually really good at it. It was just that... uncivilised tea hater.

Who are you trying to fool?

She had this uncomfortable feeling that she missed having this conversation in person.

Any charms that even Rosa would have to (begrudgingly) admit that Seivarden had were clearly utterly lost in text form.

Im not trying to fool anyone.

And Rosa was sticking to her ground there, which meant this whole exchange was pointless, and she couldn't help thinking about how differently it would be going if they were having it over drinks instead of through their dumb, stupid phones. And now she felt slightly cranky about it, and told herself to just ignore whatever came next, it's not like the dead battery thing was that outrageous, how the hell would she be expected to have a charged phone in ancient Greece anyway?

Despite this very good excuse and the fact that it would have probably have been the smart way to go, her irritated stubbornness got the best of her. Surprise, surprise.

It doesn't matter. Why did you text me?

Thus reminding everyone involved (aka the two of them) that this was all on Seivarden, not Rosa.

That question wasn't good, especially since Seivarden wasn't sure about the answer herself, and she guessed that if she was she wouldn't want to tell Rosa anyway.

After thinking about it for a minute, she sent:

I wanted to know if the squirrels were lying.

Rosa hadn't realized just how long she'd been mulling over that response, all but chewing on her lower lip, until she managed to break skin. It was all stupid thoughts, too, like why did it matter what the squirrels said? Why did she care? Why not just wait to ask her, especially since they were literally coming back later that day? And, of course, Rosa had some half-formed answers to those questions, answers that almost made her want to shoot herself in the foot, not just because they were so stupid but because she almost wanted them to be true.

Phone's dead, Diaz. Don't respond.

But of course she did.

Probably.

Just leave it at tha--

Those squirrels are idiots.

At this point, she should seriously just get her knife and chop off her fingers, because that's apparently the sort of measures she would have to take.

But if all they said was that I was bored, then they're not too far off. it's not that bad though. could be worse.

There. Now she could pretend her phone died.

Seivarden looked at the phone. Either that was honest, which was weird, or it was... hard to understand. She considered not answering.

Good.

That it could be worse.

Yeah.

And that was it. Just...Yeah. It was safe, it didn't give anything away, and it didn't make her seem like an asshole for not responding or pretending she couldn't respond for bullshit reasons.

She wanted to follow up, though, with a question about how Seivarden was holding up, if things back at Fandom were just as boring, even went so far as to typing the question out, but she just as diligently delete it. She reminded herself that she didn't start this, she didn't owe her anything, and she certainly didn't want her thinking she actually cared. Because she didn't. Not really. She was just curious because she was bored, that was the only reason this had even gone on as long as it had, because what else was she doing right now, anyway? Nothing. So why the hell not?

She tried again, deleted it again, and restructured her approach, hating that she wa wasting this much time and effort into this.

There's no way it's any more exciting over there on Fandom.

It would have been fun to say it was, that Rosa was missing things, but that would be a blatant lie.

No. It's not even weird.

Oh! This was a good opportunity.

That's why I'm texting you.

You simply could have just not typed anything, Rosa, and that would be it, and now you were staring at that.

The only one you had to blame was....not yourself. It was Seivarden.

To make things weird?

Because, yeah, that's what she meant.

Although, to be fair, it really did . Make it weird.

Edited 2018-10-14 14:46 (UTC)

Was Rosa doing this deliberately?

Yeah, texting you make things weird. Just like weird things raining from the sky.

That was ironic. Did that come across? Seivarden was going to trust that it did.

Sarcasm? That had to be sarcasm. It read like sarcasm, anyway, and if that was sarcasm, then wouldn't that mean Seivarden didn't think this was totally weird? Rosa didn't know what to do with that. But maybe it wasn't. It was literally impossible to tell when it was just stupid letters on a screen.

And this was why texting was lame and stupid, and yet there she was, still doing it.

So you're bored.

And bugging her to alleviate that boredom.

So now Rosa was the one who didn't realize she was grinning as she sent that last message.

Seivarden wasn't going to deny that.

Yeah. And since I heard you're bored too...

That was far too honest. Seivarden fidgeted, trying to come up with another message.

Everything else failed.

It was honest, wasn't it? And indicated that some thought went into all this weirdness, and that there was something actually to it, so Rosa was actually relieved when that last bit came through and she could justify just snorting and dismissing all of it.

Glad to know I'm at least a last resort.

And then she sent it and regretted it immediately, because what if it wound up reading as sincere? Or bitter? Or any other possible misinterpretation, so she had to think of something quick to add to it to make sure no one was getting any wrong ideas.

She was halfway through typing out something along the lines of saving the best for last, something good and cocky and obnoxious when her screen went blank.

Rosa blinked, tapped at it, and realized that her battery actually had just died.

With no way to charge it.

"Are you kidding me?"

And, no, Rosa, hitting the phone on the side of the table wasn't going to help, but sure, it was good that you tried.

Seivarden looked at the message on her screen, not sure how to interpret it. She didn't think Rosa was being bitter, and definitely not sincere. Sarcasm? It had to be. Which made sense, and was a good thing, because Seivarden didn't want Rosa to think she texted her because she missed her or something.

Then again, she didn't want Rosa to think she was a last resort. Well, obviously she was, had there been and civilized people on this island...

"Fuck," she muttered to herself, clutching the phone.

Actually, I wanted to say drinks are on me on Tuesday, since you paid for that plane.

That was far too sincere, but she pressed send. And waited. Eventually she slammed the phone down on the table, got to her feet and went looking for Issa.

Walk around, enjoy the fountain and the unlimited wine refills! Portaling a little drunk is probably okay, right?

While it was terribly tempting to go out and find more bandits--she and Fjord had come out nicely ahead in the funds department, once they'd tracked down a hideout--it was the last day of vacation and so, since she'd have to cut any bandit runs short, Nina decided to spend her time reading in the courtyard, charmed by the fountain and the gardens alike.

It was a picture perfect place to spend some time.

And reading, not reading, also kicked ass.

Prompto was all about trying to squeeze in as much of the Greek experience out of the day before they had to ship off back to Fandom, from getting more mileage out of his sweet new Grecian garb to finding more treats to sneak to Dark Nation while he still had the chance. But passing through the courtyard and spotting Nina there reminded him of something else he should do that he wasn't looking forward to as much, but he needed to take the responsibility.

"Nina!" he said. "Niiiiiiinaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Then he heaved the heaviest sigh ever, dropping dramatically onto the nearest seat to her with the back of his hand against his forehead, head tilted back, other hand on his poor weakened heart. "Nina, forgive me. I have failed you. Just say the word, and I'll just throw myself into the sea in shame."

If....anyone could appreciate a little melodrama, it would be Nina, right?

It certainly got her attention, at any rate, and she wasn't surprised by his behaviour either.

She still burst out laughing.

"And how would you walk to the sea???????" she wondered, closing and clutching her book to her chest. "Head bowed in terrible shame?????? Feet dragging along the ground??????"

How could she laugh at a time like this? This was totally super serious!

So serious that Prompto even managed to mostly stifle a snort as he now had both hands dramatically to his forehead before they dragged down over his cheeks and stayed there. He sighed again, pouting pitifully, fixing her with the most doleful, remorseful eyes he could muster. "Each step heavy with the pathetic weight of my inadequacy," he said. "My shame will be my cement shoes. Wrap me in chains and have Sidon toss me out. Lock me in a box and set on fire. Whatever fate you see fit. I am at your mercy! Be it gracious...or be it deservedly cruel."

Honestly, while she still thought this was funny more than anything, far be it for Nina to not get into the spirit of things, especially when he was trying so very, very hard.

She did her best to swallow her giggles and hide her smile, assuming a more sober mien (her eyes, though, still danced with laughter) as she regarded him.

"Pronounce then your crime so that I may know you understand the true import of what you've neglected to do," she said, in suitably ringing, imperial tones. "And I, I shall be your judge, jury and, if need be, even your executioner."

Part of her was wondering if Sidon really would toss someone out in chains. She... couldn't picture it. Not for real.

Prompto was exceptionally proud of the shuddering little gasp he managed to pull off at the word executioner, dropping his hands between his knees and leaning in, tilting his head toward her as he implored her with his best remorseful-puppy look.

"I failed my mission," he pronounced. "It wasn't even a difficult mission, and still, I have failed you. I...did not manage to get a pic of Nell. I did get...many pictures of long haired, sort of shy brunettes in long skirts," almost every one of them very confused but nice enough about it, "but none of them Nell. I'm sorry."

He didn't even really remember why he was trying to do it, something about Vette, talking with Sabine about it had somehow managed to confuse the issue for him, if he was honest, but he did remember he said he'd try.

Nina blinked at him, caught off-guard. She'd been so focused on Vette's love life (and the other things to do with Vette that Nina was going to have to figure out how to fix, but mostly her love life) that she'd... not forgotten, exactly, but Nell and her request of Prompto had been relegated somewhere underneath random bandits in priority.

She'd had more important things to do--

Oh! Why, that was perfect!

"That," she said severely, pretending she was utterly unmoved by his considerable puppy eyes, "is a true crime. Nearly inconceivable, even. Such a mission was of vital, vital importance."

And he'd failed. Hmph.

"Still... your willingness to confess does buy you some leniency," she allowed. "So, out of our generous heart, we will spare your life. Are you ready to hear your punishment?"

Well. That was hardly the cajoling, coddling gush of generous forgiveness out of the appreciation of his truly, truly valiant efforts that Prompto had pictured in his head numerous times in great detail without even a dash of reality to base it on! But he was pretty impressed to her dedication to this reluctantly magnanimous judge with such a cold grip on justice.

And he kinda dug it, too.

"No," he said, and was it weird that he actually felt maybe a little bit of nervousness? This could have been a really bad idea, but it was kind of too late now, huh? "But speak, o gracious one, and I will accept my fate, which still doubtlessly contain far more kindness than I will ever deserve."

How he managed to say all that without so much as a giggle was a downright miracle.

Edited 2018-10-14 00:13 (UTC)

She didn't know either, but she was impressed. And clinging to her cold-but-gracious persona with all her might so that she didn't ruin the game.

"Very well," Nina said loftily. "As your task had two parts to it, so too does your punishment. Your first punishment is another task, one simpler and more suited to your proven skill level at accomplishing important tasks. You must find out and inform myself as to why paper beats rock in rock-paper-scissors."

Clearly this was a terrible and devastating punishment and not just Nina foisting off a quest of her own onto Prompto. Absolutely.

"Your second punishment can only be accomplished once we're back on the island." Nina eyed him solemnly for a moment, to heighten the dramatic tension of the moment. If there was any after her first proclamation. "Once we're back on the island, you must escort me to Lukes and buy me a milkshake."

There was a lot of stuff there for Prompto to react to, from the low-key but still pretty nice way of insulting his competence to the somewhat mystifying but weirdly easy first task to the absolutely impossible task of not grinning stupidly at the reveal of the second.

But he quickly wiped that stupid grin off his face and the sad puppy dog was back as he asked, "But what if I wound up spending my very last drachma on these super sweet new clothes?"

He hadn't, of course, but he did want to point out that he did have super sweet new clothes, giving a tug at the shawl in case she needed help noticing them. And he wondered what she'd say if he said that, too.

"Also, did you say why paper beats rock in rock-paper-scissors?" He shook his head a little there because he might have misheard that one. "That's easy. It's because paper covers rock. Like, you know..." He held out his hands, one flat, one balled up, and covered the balled one with the flat. "Ta-daaaaa. Rock just got beat."

But she was going to remember that stupid grin, don't think she wasn't.

"This is why you take orders from me," she sighed, the sound of it a trifle overdone, but it gave her an excuse to lower her head and give it a shake as she got her own grin under control. "Paper doesn't defeat rock that way. Rock beats scissors because scissors can't cut the rock and the rock can crush the scissors. Meanwhile, paper loses to scissors because the scissors slice right through it. But covering a rock? Pah, that's not a defeat at all. The rock is unchanged, unaltered, unmoved! So you must discover the true reason that paper beats rock."

Nina drew herself up and looked at him. And his swanky new clothes.

He did look pretty cute, she allowed, though she wasn't going to dwell on that given the game they were playing right now. It'd be too distracting.

"You look very handsome in your new clothes," she conceded, since it was both true and she knew that Prompto would be more flustered at getting the compliment than she would be at giving it. "And I know where you work. If you are truly destitute, we may wait until after you've been paid."

A beat.

"Or I could, out of sheer generosity, buy the first time while you buy the next."

She was the most generous. Really.

Nina had absolutely called it about the compliment, Prompto's cheeks all glowing red and freckles, but at least he could roll his sheepishness into his chuckle that accompanied his protest. "I'm telling you," he insisted, holding up his hands as if to rid himself of the matter, "that's the rules. I don't make the rock-paper-scissors rules, I just follow them, and trust me, that's it. Paper beats rock by covering it. That's all there is to it.

"And," he added lifting a a finger half-accusing, half-warning, "don't think just because I'm a failed man crushed by the weight of my own shame that I can be so easily trapped in such an obvious web of...entrapment. You buy the first one, then I buy the next, but then I still owe you for the first one, and then you'll owe me for another one, probably, somewhere along the line, and then it's just back and forth, back and forth, a viscous cycle of endless milkshakes."

So, so viscous and terrible, obviously.

"Besides," he added importantly, "that would hardly be the gentlemanly thing to do. So just tell me when, and that milkshake shall be yours, m'lady."

Said, of course, with as best a bow as he could manage while sitting.

"You cannot possibly blame a lady for trying, can you?" Nina asked, lowering her eyelashes demurely. "And I shall have to check my calendar and get back to you regarding the most opportune day for our... rendezvous."

And milkshakes.

"As for the rules of the ridiculous game, I insist your punishment is not complete until you have discovered why that rule exists in such a form."

Ooooh, a rendezvous.

Stop grinning, Prompto. You were being punished. Very deftly, mercilessly, and efficiently.

"I think you're gonna wind up real disappointed with this one, Nina," Prompto warned her. He was talking about the rock-paper-scissors thing, sure, but then he had to wonder if he really meant himself. No, he meant the rock-paper-scissors, but it would wind up meaning him in the end. Probably.

He realized, too, that he could probably just pull out his phone and look it up right then and there, but where was the fun in that? He'd look it up as soon as they were finished here, but he was definitely going to sit on this for at least a little bit.

"But I assure you, every passing moment not being spent discovering a more appropriate answer will be spent wallowing in the shame of my failure until you graciously decide the hour of my atonement."

Via milkshakes.

Enjoy the bustling, massive, extremely ancient (even now) city one more time!

Get your souvenirs, a last round of figs and olive oil, or one more fight with semi-professional philosophers in!

Breq had found a bench inside the portico. She had some fruit and a mug of water, and was happy to listen to two children singing nearby. It was a beautiful song, and she very quietly hummed along. When they were finished, she rose and walked over to them, offering them a fig each and making sure to smile.

Still super impressive! The walk up to it means you don't have to do leg day for at least a week! C'mon, you know you want to.

If you want to beat some more up today. Though we'll judge you if you're out here twice in a row, you violent person, you.

Saturdaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

Athens, Saturday, October 13, 2018

HOTEL φάτνη (Saturday)

Rooms (Saturday)

Room 302

Breakfast! (Saturday)

Re: Breakfast! (Saturday)

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Re: Breakfast! (Saturday)

Re: Breakfast! (Saturday)

Courtyard (Saturday)

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Athens

The Agora

Re: The Agora

Acropolis

Bandits

OOC