Making A Comeback

Astarte finally took her water off of Euryale and quietly asked, "How does it feel?"

<D-dead? I didn't know he died...I didn't listen to the radio this morning.>

E"I think it should be fine. He didn't do that much damage. Yes, Tirea. Unfortunately, Senthose attacked him & he passed away from his injuries while in the hospital."

R"So why are the cops wasting time guarding Zolt? He's a scumbag, & we wouldn't be in this mess if he & Senthose had just killed each other like they wanted to."

E"Well, that's what he said. But no matter what happens, Republic City works by Aang's rules. Not the logic of some Triad maniac."

*She stands up.*

E"Besides, who can know what's good or bad?"

"The fact remains that we can't let how we feel about someone disrupt the proper course of the law," Mortal said.

"Wasn't there a famous bank robber that once said 'The worst part of living outside the law is that you're no longer protected by it'?" Gabe said.

"I'm sure if he could, he'd want a lawyer to defend him all the same," Noctis pointed out, "Everyone deserves to be treated equally under the law, and just letting two triads fight until they all died isn't the way the law works."

Astarte took the water back to the sink and put it down the drain, turning her back on the others to hide her contempt for Noct's statement.

I should have learned to heal...

Tirea:<There's nothing wrong with giving someone a fair trial.>

E"Well, arguing won't get us anywhere. Things are the way they are. The question is what we're going to do about it. Noct, if you have any more crazies breaking into your house, if you want to call Mortal & I directly, I think that would be fine. Do you have something for me to write our number on?"

*Nearby, Ven is pushing the air, gathering the dust, rocks, & shit scattered throughout the room into a large pile.*

*Tirea gathers up all the water then tosses it out the window*

Noct doesn't bother to ask why Tirea didn't use the sink Astarte just did, and walked over to a small table to retrieve a pad and paper. She handed it to Euryale, "I'm certain it won't be a problem, but thank you for the offer."

*Euryale looks for a writing utensil. Assuming she finds one, she writes her number down.*

R"So...now what? Should we, uh, clean up all of the things we set on fire?"

Noct waved her hand, "No, no. I'll get a cleaning crew in here tomorrow to fix everything."

"Sorry about the party," Mortal said.

"I'm the one who is sorry about that," Noct said, "Aamon was trying to use me, he probably also had a grudge."

Astarte came back and stood by quietly. The effort of keeping a decent expression on her face was beginning to make her tired.

<I'm just glad Astarte was here...>

E"It's okay, my injury wasn't really that severe. I'm grateful, don't get me wrong, but it's not like I would have been taken out if I couldn't get healing right away."

R"Speaking of Aamon, what was that thing he said, about someone carrying on his research?"

*Roatha kind of points in the air, as though they're supposed to find the answer by looking around.*

<What about that other group that announced itself at the finals?>

*Tirea shakes her head*

<I hate all of these...>

"I'm not sure," Noct said.

E"I guess he must mean Amon."

*Ven walks up to Gabe, but refuses to look her in the eye.*

V"I'm...sorry...."

*Tirea crosses her arms and bites her lip, not making eye contact with Gabe*

Astarte glanced from Ven to Tirea, feeling more tired by the second.

Gabe was confused for a second, "For what? Oh!" Gabe shook her head, and put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry about it. I understand where you're coming from, but I just can't do it anymore. I can't take the stress, my body hurts, and I just don't want to anymore, and if you don't want it anymore you're not going to win. I would just drag you guys down." Gabe ran a hand through her hair, "I just hope you can accept that. I never meant to make you guys upset."

*Roatha looks around in the awkward silence.*

R"So...who wants drinks?"

"I could use one..."

*Tirea wips away some tears from her eyes*

<I'm sorry I freaked out ...It's just...with all that's happened lately...I just snapped...>

*She wipes away more tears*

<And you're my best friend...and our team captain. You've always known what to do. But, you know what's best for yourself, and I'll accept that.>

Gabe looks at Tirea, and puts a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, it's alright. Why don't we get those drinks."

Noct looked at Mortal and Euryale, "Well, I suppose the drinks would go to waste if we didn't drink them."

Mortal shrugged, "Yeah, sure. Lets go."

OOC: Thus begins Mortal's rapid decline into alcoholism & Euryale's 3 years of a hellish home life before a messy break-up period & a restraining order.

*And so Ven kind of hangs around behind Euryale while she looks for good fluids to mix together.*

E"What do you like, Ven?"

V"I'm not really sure...."

*Roatha stands near Astarte & smiles at her.*

R"You know what will liven things up? Drinking games. How about...when Ven says a short, noncommittal phrase, when Mortal says someone is rude, when someone calls Gabriel by a nickname--"

E"You know you're supposed to live through drinking games, right?"