Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? The Velvet Room (NSFW version)

[Panda]

Michael and Emily

"Well, there's a step in the right direction," Michael said with an accepting smile, "Ah, where are my manners? I'm Michael," the immortal moved to indicate the Changeling behind him, "That's Emily. And may we have the pleasure of your name?"


Bartender!Adjutor

Crazy knights, horny Heroic Spirits, a vampire, a pirate, a couple of shadow users, what's next?

Just then, the teen noticed the raven-haired magus with her hand up. Making his way over, Adjutor resisted the urge to grumble about people making a mess on bar.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Adjutor said, "What will you be having tonight?"

[Elf]

Rin

"Rin," she said, eyeing the redhead before smiling at her.  If he has a beautiful girl like that with him, why is he trying to chat me up?  Unless he wants a harem too.  Maybe I should have a harem . . .

She smirked at her little thought as the bartender made his way over to her.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," the Bartender said, "What will you be having tonight?"

Rin bit her lip and said, "Scotch a good one.  Single Malt."

[Panda]

Michael and Emily

Emily returned Rin's smile, the gears already turning in her head. Regardless, she decided to let Michael do the talking, for now at least.

"Pleasure to meet you, Rin," the immortal said, "May I be so bold as to ask what brings you to the Velvet Room?"


Bartender!Adjutor

The teen stared at Rin for a moment, honestly surprised. After all the complicated recipes, the cocktails, punches, and mixes, someone finally asks him for a straight drink. Barely holding back a relieved sigh, a single Armogarian tendril reaches back and quickly retrieves the desired bottle of Scotch as Adjutor takes up the ornate looking glass designated specifically for a Single Malt Scotch.

Giving the glass a curious look, the teen pops open the bottle and pours out the Scotch before sliding it across to Rin.

"Single Malt Scotch," he said simply, leaving soon afterwards to offer the knight another hangover remedy.

[Elf]

Rin

Rin took the drink, blinking at the bartender's obvious use of magic before looking back at Michael. 

She smiled, and it didn't quite reach her eyes.  "A number of reasons, each sort of pathetic," she answered, "And what about you and Emily?"

[Panda]

Michael and Emily

"Regardless of the reasons, the fact is that you're here and that you seem at least somewhat accepting of company," Michael countered, "Any reason to break out of solitude is a decent one in my book."

"As for myself and Emily," he continued, "Well, I'm here due to a particularly mind-numbing combination of boredom and loneliness."

"And I'm here for similar reasons," Emily admitted, "While it helps that some of the desires people bring in here are interesting, I'm just looking to break the routine a bit."

[Elf]

Rin

Rin nodded and said, "Yeah, I understand about breaking the solitude."

She toyed with her glass before taking a sip, feeling the burn of the scotch as it went down.  There was a pleasant hint of vanilla at the end, like every good scotch should have.

[Panda]

Michael and Emily

Emily mused over the possibility of using her Contracts to see if Rin had any interesting desires of her own, before deciding to find out the normal way. After all, while it was all well and good to use the Contracts for fleeting glimpses, the fun was lost if she let the Contracts do all the work for her.

In the meanwhile, Michael considered Rin's answer for a moment before speaking.

"If I'm not prying too much," Michael said, "You never did mention what your reasons were. We've already given you ours, so it's only fair."

[Elf]

Rin

Rin looked at Michael after he asked his question.  He looked older than her, which wasn't something she minded overly much.  She noticed Emily watching her, which brought slight heat to her cheeks as she looked back at Michael.

"Because I'm tired of being single and it's getting to the point where I'm getting desperate.  See, there was this guy I liked, but I let my sister have him and they're engaged now.  So everyone's happy and paired off except me," Rin said.  "Not that I need someone to get by, I've been alone most of my life, but . . . ."  She took a long drink of scotch.

[Panda]

Michael and Emily

Michael quirked an eyebrow as Rin suddenly opened up, part of him having expected that it would take a bit more finesse than that to get the truth out of her. Regardless, the cat was now out of the bag, and quite an interesting one it was.

"But just because you don't need someone doesn't mean you don't want someone," Michael finished with a nod, "I can understand the sentiment all too well, honestly."

Meanwhile, Emily diverted her gaze at the sight of Rin starting to blush slightly. This was turning out quite interesting indeed.

[Elf]

Rin

Rin nodded and said, "Not that I'm not happy for my sister and her lover, but . . . I'd like someone too."  She shrugged.  "Just apparently I'm being too picky or I just sabotage things."

She hated the fact that she had to say this to someone who was a stranger, but then again, who else could she say this to?

Her Sakura at her home had been trying to get Rin to date other guys for years.  The Sakura here was imbalanced and might consider Rin a threat towards her sempai.  Or she might do something drastic.  Armor-san wasn't any help and saying anything to this Rider would probably get Rin molested.

So she kept it all to herself.

[Panda]

Michael and Emily

WhIle Michael considered how to respond, Emily finally decided to speak up.

"Well, at least you're trying to pursue your desires," Emily said, "Which is at least a decent start."

"Be that as it may," Michael started, "You don't seem like someone who would just be satisfied with only some reassurance. Though, I suppose I should point out that you're getting along with us well enough."

[Elf]

Rin

"Because we just met and I haven't had time to bungle things on my end," Rin said with a sigh.

She eyed Emily and said, "I'm not pursuing what I really desire because I can't."

[Panda]

Michael and Emily

Oh wait...

Emily winced a little as she realized her mistake, withdrawing for the moment.

Michael, on the other hand, was frowning for different reasons.

"You shouldn't assume that you're going to mess up from the start," Michael pointed out, "To be perfectly honest. Things might turn out differently."

[Elf]

Rin

Why, because I always screw things up at the worse possible moment.

Out loud, Rin said, "Maybe, doesn't stop it from being wrong.  And besides, why are you trying to talk me up when you have someone like her at your side?"

[Panda]

Michael and Emily

Michael gave her only a sad little smile in return.

"Like I said, solitude is a terrible thing," Michael answered, "And what kind of person would I be if I left you to your solitude if it could be helped?"