[ We find Alcinoe exiting Will's room. Where does she go, now? Session Start! ] * Will has quit IRC (Quit: Will cries himself to sleep. ;_; ) [ As a footnote: Poor Will. ;_; ] * Alcinoe exits his room! And walks off, very quickly. She's wearing her boots, which is convenient, since she heads straight down the stairs and out the door. [ It's a beautiful day, outdoors! The sun's shining, nary a cloud in the sky, the temperature's just right, and the flowers are in bloom! ] [ Off to Alci's left is the Red Lightning house and it's restaurant; directly ahead a ways is the Pensword hall, and past that is the Green Tiger hall. Off to her right a ways is a two-mile high rock face. ] * Alcinoe squints up at the sun briefly, rather like it's out to get her. Crisis of faith? Probably not. She heads over to the Red Lightning house. [ It's afternoon, so Daphne isn't sitting at the front of Red Lightning doing her guru bit. As Alci's approaching, Kardos comes out of the front doors, looking around as though he's searching for something. ] * Alcinoe blinks. "Kardos?" [ Kardos blinks. "Alcinoe? Is everything alright?" ] * Alcinoe opens her mouth, then shuts it. And she shakes her head. [ "What's wrong?" ] ( Should've been 'what is', but hey. ) [ Kardos closes the doors and walks over to Alcinoe. ] * Alcinoe smiles weakly. "Well, Ah did what Ah wanted." [ Kardos tilts his head to the side. "And that is?" ] * Alcinoe sighs. "Broke up with Will." She starts walking in a kinda random direction. But not to the Flying Couches. [ Kardos pauses, nods, and follows. "And why did you do this?" ] 'Cause Ah didn't wanna lead 'im on. * Alcinoe looks over at Kardos. "Like..." She looks away. "If Ah keep 'im from someone else, or me from someone else, just 'cause we're afraid to take a chance." Maybe he was happy. But not me. Not as much as Ah could be. [ Kardos frowns, but nods. ] * Alcinoe sighs. "But it wasn't... him, really. An' it hurt 'im." She pauses. "And me, too." [ "I am told that personnal relationships are difficult. I have contemplated how they relate to the Paladin's code. It is difficult, because it is difficult to know the right thing to do, which is what you must do." He pauses, and faces Alcinoe. "But know that you did the right thing. You were incapable of giving him the love he needs, whoich would have made the relationship a quiet torment for the both of you." ] * Alcinoe chuckles. It sounds a little forced. "Maybe." She half-smiles. "Or a lie." [ He nods. "It would have been that, as well." ] An' yer right. Love is hard. But if ya don't take the chance, ya won't get much of anythin'. * Alcinoe is silent for a moment, then she says, "Doesn't make me feel that much better, though." [ He looks thoughtful, and nods. ] [ Kardos gives Alci an awkward little hug. "Sometimes doing the right thing is hard." ] * Alcinoe smiles a little, half-hugging back. "Ah guess you'd know." [ Kardos continues hugging. He doesn't respond, but he does make a little choking sound. ] * Alcinoe blinks at that, then she stops with the half-hug and gives him a full one, complete with comforting squeeze. "It'll be okay," she says, quietly. [ Kardos returns the hug. "It already is. Any hardship I have endured has been made worth it." He sounds like he means it. ] * Alcinoe gives a faint laugh. "Ah'm glad." [ Kardos lets go. "So, how long do you plan on avoiding him?" There's the faintest hint of a smile on his lips as he asks. ] * Alcinoe shakes her head. "I can't. Ah mean, Ah live with 'im and..." She takes a breath. "After finals, we're goin' after another piece of that altar. So Ah'll hafta work with 'im, at least." [ Kardos nods, and doesn't tell Alci to do anything she knows she should already. ] ("Don't do anything I won't do!" "Well, duh. We have a thick, oppressive code tying down our actions." "Yeah, but it feels good!") ( *snerk* ) [ Kardos frowns in contemplation. "I... believe that at this point I am supposed to offer to treat you to dinner." He looks at Alcinoe uncertainly. "Is that right?" ] * Alcinoe grins suddenly. "Not if Ah treat ya first." She grabs him by the arm, in a friendly way, and pulls him towards the eateries. [ Kardos allows himself to be pulled. "I suppose that will work." ] 'Course it does. [ The nearest eatery is, actually, the Red Lightning casual dining facility, where most of the hall's residents work. The food tends to be good, but not exceptional, and it sure beats the caffeteria. ] [ If Alcinoe wants to go somewhere else, there's... well, the caffeteria, and then a few good restaurants just off campus. ] * Alcinoe eyes that, then looks curiously to Kardos. Given they're both from Red Lightning (Alci originally, at least). "Wanna avoid that place?" [ Kardos checks the position of the sun in the sky. "Probably for the best, yes." ] * Alcinoe heads off campus. "Who's bussin' tables right now, anyway?" [ Kardos sighs. "Daphne, Marguerite, and Mary-Louise." ] * Alcinoe winces. "Ow. Yeah." [ Before long, you reach the edge of campus, which has a single grand entrance, since it's walled off on all other sides. There are a few restaurants out front, most of them featuring cuisine from other canyons, or else passed down from before people were in the Underworld. ] * Alcinoe leads Kardos over to one that she remembers is pretty good. She hopes. Really, it'd be bad if they both died of food poisoning before they managed to fulfill their god-given purposes. [ That would suck, yes. ] [ Alci walks them into a restaurany featuring the often spicy food from the far southern reaches of the Brighthome canyon. Their waiter comes with corn chips, some salsa, and two glasses of water, and asks what else they'd like to drink. Kardos says that water is fine, for him. ] * Alcinoe has a seat across from the Kardos and also says that water's fine right now, thanks. [ The waiter seems disappointed, but goes on to ask if you'd like appetizers, such as a platter of nachos or a bowl of queso for your chips. ] (If the waiter seems dissapointed, he's a bad waiter. Waiters should always seem delighted to get you anything, regardless of what it is.) ( But in this case what he's getting is nothing, which is also how much his tip will reflect. ) (If they order food, he'll get something. IF they don't order food, and just have water, then he can get grouchy.) [ And then the world suddenly ground to a halt, to be resumed later. Session Hiatus! ]