[PP-F1] Night Training (Mayuri) - COMPLETED

[Cygnus 0]

"Coffee. Black, please." Cygnus placed his order before turning back to Mayuri. It appeared she was trying to make small talk. He smiled at her effort, deciding to give her a hand. "So, I take it you don't drink coffee then." He chuckled nervously. "I probably should have asked you before we came here. My mistake. You know, before SAO, I never actually drank coffee. I was never allowed to growing up and when I was able, I didn't like how it made me feel. But it's different here, so I figured i'd start drinking it. I actually like the bitter taste. Helps to keep me aware." The waitress eventually brought them their orders. Cygnus took a large gulp from his cup. 

[Mayuri 0]

“No, this is fine,” Shay replied, “Great  really.”

She listened to him talk about “before” and she smiled. Mai had not been thinking too much about before these days, not when there was too much now going on around her. Her thoughts turned to Life and wondered if he was still up also, or if he was resting. She hoped he was getting some sleep.

“I was never much for coffee before either. I like tea though…still do. I’ve a very pretty tea set in my shop that I use to make tea daily.” Their orders were brought and the pink kimono clad girl sipped at her water. “Isn’t it interesting though? That we can taste and smell and feel here?  I mean I know the nervegear taps all into that, but it’s rather remarkable.” The water in her glass was cold, and mineral in taste. Below all that was the faint hint of the citrus fruit that floated atop her beverage.

“What did you do… out there I mean.” She asked curiously. It wasn’t often that another would talk about their real life and whenever someone did, she longed to talk about it.

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus nodded when Mayuri spoke of how amazed she was at how immersive the technology was. "Indeed. It is a shame that the technology had to be used like this, though. It truly is amazing, but now people more than likely won't touch it for awhile. Fear has always held our species back." Cygnus looked up from his drink when Mayuri asked him what he did out in the real world. It was funny. He just realized he hadn't spoken much about his life before SAO while he was here. The whole reason he came here was to leave that behind. It was only intended to be for awhile, but Cygnus had adapted to being a new person well. He almost never thought about the real world except when he thought about his daughter, which he did every day. He realized he was quiet for awhile, thinking of how things used to be. He cleared his throat and finally answered. "I was going to school to be a prosecutor. I hadn't finished when all of this happened. To be honest, my life before SAO wasn't... great." He whispered the last word, deciding to leave details like his fiance's death out of the story. He was quiet for a few seconds before he remembered that he didn't ask Mayuri what she did before. "What about you? What did you do?" He took a few sips of his coffee, trying to get his mind off of the recent tragic events of his "old life."

[Mayuri 0]

“I think in a few years, the public will forget, and then they’ll reuse the technology. They’ll probably make it safe somehow or claim is safe, and we will all get swept under the rug like it never happened.”

The small raven haired girl propped her elbows upon the table and rested her chin upon her cupped hands as she let out a deep sigh. As much as she had found while she was here, she knew she was losing so much in reality: her family, her friends, herself. She wondered what sort of shape her body would  be in when she woke. How thin she’d be, how long her hair would be, if she’d even have any muscle tone to be able to lift her head. Would she be able to speak? Would her mind be in one piece? Or was she already in a comatose state, one she’d never wake up from.

Cy cleared his throat and her eyes darted back to his face as he captured her attention. He had been going to law school, and admitted to not living a good life. Mai frowned; she never liked hearing that from anyone believing that everyone ought to have been happy. He asked her the same and the girl grinned weakly. “I’d just have graduated from high school. I didn’t have a plan yet though. My parents convinced me to go to community rather than straight to university. They told me to find myself and that I had time. Here, I’m working on becoming a combat medic, maybe I’ll go into medicine when we get out of here. I want to help as many people as I can.”

Shay had always had always been the altruistic sort.

 

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus smiled when Mai spoke. Especially when she said "when we get out of here." He had felt his hope wavering lately, and someone speaking hopefully about their situation helped a lot. He grinned at her. "That would be an admirable profession." He thought about what he wanted to do when he got out. He wanted to raise his daughter, that much he knew. But he wouldn't bring her up right now. That might lead to him talking about Miki and that was something he definitely was not ready for. He took another gulp of his coffee, thinking some more on the subject. He knew he wanted to go back to law school if he had the money. Maybe he could find the bastard that hit his fiance and just left her on the road to die. Maybe he could find the guy and put them away for a long time. He realized he was quiet for awhile and looked back up at Mayuri. "Oh, I am sorry. I was just lost in my thoughts." He cleared his throat. "If I can get the money somehow, I would like to go back to law school. I've... always wanted to make sure people who hurt others are punished. I left, you see. My parents were paying for it and we had a... falling out. They stopped paying. I was going to Harvard in America, if you're curious. My parents wanted only the best for one of their family. I can't pay for that on my own, so if I can't make amends with my parents, i'll have to try something else." He frowned. "Maybe fast food." He cracked a smile as he joked.

[Mayuri 0]

Mai sat up straight and beamed as she was told her choice of profession is admirable. It only made her feel like it would be a good choice for her. “Then I should look into it when we leave.” She nodded.  She sipped at her water and watched her companion as he drifted away for a moment. It was easy t get lost in one’s thoughts at this time of night. She sat back in heat and quietly drank her water allowing him to be absorbed in his own world. After some time, he looked back at her and began to share more with her. It seemed he’d been going to a good school and that he’d become estranged from his parents who were paying for school.

“I’m sorry,” Shay spoke up quickly. She couldn’t ever imagine not being close to her parents or siblings. Her family was so important to the girl. He cracked a joke about taking up a job in fast food to pay for Harvard and Shay grinned.

“Maybe stripping?” She giggled furiously as her little cheeks went hot pink at her suggestion. “I hear you get excellent tips…” Her face only glowed brighter as she laughed even louder. Lewdness rarely came from the girl, but she couldn’t resist the punchline. Anything to break the tension.  

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus's cheeks turned bright red when Mai suggested stripping. It took him a second to realize she was joking and he laughed along, still nervous and embarrassed. "I should start working out again when I get out. Call myself Officer Nasty or something like that." He laughed at his awful attempt at making up a stripper name and gulped down the rest of his coffee and set his cup down on the table. His laughter died down to a chuckle and he sighed happily. "Thank you. Believe it or not, I needed a good laugh." He wiped away a few tears that formed as a result of the laughter. He was happy that their conversation had taken a happier turn. He figured he'd let her know his family life wasn't all bad. "My family wasn't bad or anything, my older sister and I have always been close. Our parents were strict with us, her especially since she's going to inherit the family business and all, but we always had each other's backs." He left out that they hadn't spoken since he had that argument with their parents. Cygnus wasn't angry at her, though. He was almost certain that it was his father's doing. He always made it a point to control his kids.

[Mayuri 0]

Cygnus’s face went as red as hers and soon the pair were in a rolling fit of laughter. He jokingly gave himself a horrible stage causing Shay to bury her face her hands and shake her head as she laughed as hard as she could. “Noo…noooo….” She gasped between her boisterous giggles. Their mirth died down and Shay sipped at her water and sputtered a few more breathy giggles as she finally relaxed. Cy told her he had needed a good laugh and she nodded in agreement. “Me too,” she said. She hadn’t realized it, but she had been quite sad with Life leaving her alone all the time. She had done so well to bury her feeling she kept them even from herself.

Cygnus told her more about his family and she listened. “I’m sure they weren’t bad people.” She agreed and offered him a warm smile. “I’ve brothers too… two of them… younger ones. My parents are professors so I take care of them. We’re very close.” She shared. “I do hope you get to see your sister again, and can make amends with your parents.”

She finished her glass of water.

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus gave Mai another smile as she spoke of her family. He was happy that her family life was better than his was. It made him sad at the same time though. It made him wonder why his family couldn't be like that. It was the money and status, probably. The strictness was a result of his parents feeling pressured to have their children succeed and to have them be perfect so they didn't stain the family's "precious" legacy. That was his theory anyway. He fantasized for a second about what it would look like if his family weren't rich. He imagined them having a nice meal cooked by his mother instead of their chef. His father would be reading the newspaper instead of taking dinner in his study. Him and his sister would be laughing about something funny the other said instead of being forced to eat in silence. Maybe, jsut maybe, Miki would have been there too. Sitting at his side and holding his hand, laughing along with them. He snapped back to reality as he yawned, the events of the day finally catching up to him. "Oh, excuse me." He blushed with embarassment. It was rather rude to yawn when having coffee with someone. "I'm having a great time, I promise. It's just late."

[Mayuri 0]

Shay yawned along with Cygnus. “It is very late.” She agreed. Her glass of water was gone, and from the looks of it his coffee was as well. Perhaps it was time for them to call it an evening. The last thing she wanted was to keep him longer than she meant to. “That’s very kind. But I think we ought to call it an evening. We should exchange player information though. I’d like to catch up again. See how your training goes… maybe go hunting sometime? My skills need much work, and I can’t really build them on my own.”

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus nodded enthusiastically. He was especially excited about the prospect of hunting with his new friend. "Yes, capital!" He opened up his menu and sent Mai a friend request. He liked the girl and was indeed interested in keeping contact with her. They seemed to get along well and the brunette warrior figured that the two of them could be great friends. He hadn't spoken much about his life outside the game before-- it seemed like a distant memory before tonight. It was good to bring up those old memories, he thought. Cygnus stood from his seat and bowed respectfully. "It was a pleasure, miss Mayuri. I hope we can do this again some time soon. I had a lot of fun." He straightened his posture and waved to her, giving her a smile. "I'll talk to you later, I hope." He would wait for Mayuri to grant him leave to head back to the inn when she gave her own goodbye, then he would leave.

 

Thread Summary

Cygnus: + 1 SP, 200 Col

Mayuri: + 1 SP, 200 Col

COMPLETED