thenearshore | -Overflow- for 24

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-Overflow- for 24 - Autumn Reception

Who: Everyone!
What: Autumn Reception
When: September 30, 6 PM
Where: The Gods' Meeting Hall
Summary: The Heavens are throwing a formal party! Old and new gods alike are invited, so put on your nicest outfits and some good dancing shoes, and come see what this shindig is all about.

Continuing from HERE!

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She'll beat you up if she catches you.

[He's choosing to take it seriously. That particular deadpan sounds like something that might well be serious, after all...

... and so Ross may as well have fair warning.]

She's probably gonna do that anyway if she sees me at all.

[He at least had a mode of escape if that happened, but still.]

I really doubt that she will! Unless you sneak in. She's not very kind to intruders.

[And she doesn't know she has any reason to be angry with Ross.]

That said, I hope you'll at least be able to find somewhere. If all else fails, I do have far too many extra rooms in my temple.

[He didn't get why Hakkai was so sure that she wouldn't. Until one possibility came up, anyway.] You didn't tell--?

[But that thought was stopped in its tracks by what followed. Particularly at the end. His eyes widened on instinct, and once he caught himself doing that he swapped it with glancing away and putting a hand on the back of his neck.]

Thank...you.

[He was really bad at this.]

[Ross may be the only person in the entire Far Shore who's actually thanking him for that. Hakkai breaks into a rueful, genuine smile for a moment, inclining his head.]

I only remembered this morning.

[And -- unspoken corollary -- he hadn't told anyone beforehand. It hadn't entirely been out of a concern for Ross's privacy, or even his safety. He'd been in no mood to defend his decisions.]

But you're welcome.

[There was at least one thing he was leaving unspoken too, but that would mean more or less having a do-over of what he'd just said. Instead, he let out a breath that he only just remembered he'd been holding.

He was honest, but not that kind of honest.]

Now I need a drink.

[Just...maybe not too much, considering his tolerance for alcohol.]

[Hakkai chuckles, nodding at one of the passing servers.]

Well, at least there are plenty of those. Sake?

Yeah, that's fine. [He'd somehow managed to go this long without having sake before, but how bad could it be?

(Considering the size of the first sip he took...very bad.)]

[Hakkai had handed him one of the delicate little crystal glasses that the white-robed shinki are distributing, but the size of Ross's mouthful takes him by surprise nonetheless. He discreetly hides a chuckle behind his own glass.

Well, he had said that he needed a drink.]

Do you drink often?

[He's only teasing a little.]

[He winced as he felt the sake go down his throat. Maybe doing that wasn't a good idea, especially since his preference in tastes tended to skew toward sweet. Very sweet, even.]

Not at all. [That was his defence against Hakkai teasing him: 100% owning his response.] Do you?

[As alcohol goes, sake is rather sweet, but as sweets go, it really isn't, at all. The look on Ross's face is, Hakkai reflects, priceless.]

From time to time.

[Mostly when he's challenged to a drinking contest, or when he feels like he really needs a drink. Tonight, unfortunately, has been the latter.

The misfortune of others is significantly more cheering than alcohol, though, even when it's the relatively minor misfortune of taking a much-too-large drink of an unfamiliar beverage.]

Perhaps you should drink it a bit more slowly if you're not used to it....

[He frowned into the small glass. He wasn't naive; he knew why people liked sake or alcohol in general, and honestly he could see the appeal of it. The taste though... That really got in the way of having any desire to get used to it. Getting used to it wasn't his aim this time anyway, but he did end up taking Hakkai's advice without wincing this time.]

You were tempted to not give me that advice, weren't you.

[He knew what he would have done if he was in Hakkai's situation.]

[Hakkai chuckles.]

I think you would've come to that decision on your own before the end of the glass.

[Although, to be fair, Ross is a stubborn person. He might well have insisted on drinking the way he thinks that an experienced drinker would.

Oh well, opportunities lost.]

There are sweeter drinks, if you don't like sake.

[It is a sweet drink, as brewed alcohol goes, but cocktails are an excellent solution for the drinker who still doesn't enjoy the taste.]

I'll try those after I finish this.

[Even if it took a while, that was preferable to letting the sake go to waste just because he didn't like it. Hakkai chuckling also did not do very much to make him change his mind.

...He was doing very little to disprove the whole stubborn thing. Or the whole prideful thing either, for that matter.]

I've tasted worse things than this.

[Stubborn, indeed. Hakkai smiles, sipping his own drink for a quiet moment while he waits to let Ross get the next mouthful of rice liquor down.]

I'm sure. It's one of my favorite drinks, in fact. The flavor is rather mild.

[Now he's just trolling.

He's wondering how much longer he can get away with it.]

[Okay, yeah, now he was starting to see the wisdom in taking smaller sips. It was certainly preferable to feeling like he was being punched in the mouth every time.]

Mild, huh. I'll have to take your word for it. [...Oh dear.]

Please don't try anything stronger unless I'm there to watch.

[He's laughing, just a little, the thread of stifled amusement running under his words as he glances up at Ross.]

... and in the meantime, please take care. It is good to see you well.

[He raised an eyebrow with a dubious frown. He could understand "don't try anything stronger," but the last part gave him pause, especially when coupled with the laughing.]

Your actions don't match your words. [A pause.] But same to you.

Well, if I'm there, I can keep an eye on you. I have a decent alcohol tolerance!

[Also, it will be funny. Win/win.

He smiles, and sketches a quick bow to Ross.]

But I should check on my shinki. I'm not sure where they've gotten to....

I'm not going anywhere, so go ahead.

[While he was saying that because of the food rather than anything else, another reason for it was about to come and smack him in the face very soon.]

[Hakkai chuckles, nodding to Ross, and heads away.]

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-Overflow- for 24 - Autumn Reception

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