Unnecessary Acquaintances [S | Liatris]

Pax was in the middle of thinking about how best to get out of town when someone grabbed his arm. His instant reaction was to push away whoever it was, but he stopped as the person spoke. See him again? What was she- Oh. He let himself get dragged away. He stopped for only a moment to shoot a terrifying glare at the group of idiots she spoke of. He let the bloodlust that was inside him seep into his glare, a snarl forming on his face. A couple of the guys just laughed, but he could see legitimate fear in at least half of them. He smiled and turned to the woman who was dragging him away.

"Oh, darling," he mocked in a higher pitch voice than he meant to, chuckling to himself, "I thought I would never see you again! Oh, blessed is the day!"

If she didn't appreciate his humor, that was fine. He'd consider it payment for suddenly dragging him away like that. He blew air from his nose and reversed her grip, grabbing on to her shoulder firmly, but not so strong as to be rude. He took her to an empty table in the inn and motioned for her to sit down.

"I have just a few questions," he spoke regularly this time, voice much deeper than when he'd mocked her, "I won't force you to sit with me, though. I know how it could ruin someone's image. Either way, I'm hungry, so this is the perfect place for me to be."

He sat up straight in his chair, closing his eyes and focusing on his breathing. The day had only just begun and it was already wearing him out. He opened his eyes and looked around for the waitress. She was a few tables away, taking some player's order. Looking back to this new acquaintance he pondered on what he could possibly say next.

Pax nodded as the girl sat down across from him. He gathered his thoughts together and- . . . Why was she sitting like that? His eyes wandered from her face, to her chest, to her posture. He looked her dead in the eyes, the most curious look on his face. His eyebrow slowly raised as he began to wonder more and more why she was acting like this, and he decided to just be out with it, "Why are you sitting like that? That can not be comfortable and it's probably god awful for your posture. Are you- . . ."

His eye twitch as he was hit with the sudden realisation. He'd seen this before in his favourite animes. He'd heard about people like this from certain friends. They always acted strangely like this, and they always dressed up fanciful and in gaudy, useless clothes. It would also explain the way she'd talked to him out on the road. He leaned forward, eyebrows furling together as he voiced the concern that was on his mind, Are you . . . a role-player?"

Pax sighed in relief as the girl explained herself. With a laugh, he nodded and leaned back in his chair. He'd never heard good things about roleplayers. According to a couple of people he use to talk to, they were a bunch of idiots who decided to make a story instead of enjoying the one that was already in the game. He considered for a moment what it would be like to have back problems because of breasts and shook his head at the idea. Was that even programmed into the game? He'd mentally return to that subject later.

"Me?" he smiled wickedly at the girl, and put on his favourite overly exaggerating sarcastic voice, "Why, of course, my lady! For you see, I am the great Dark Warrior, Paxilon! Slayer of harmless pigs and devourer of bacon!"

He pulled his sword out and held it in the air, beaming a majestic smile. He was about to continue on his monologue when a warning blipped in front of him about there being no PvP in an inn. He sat there for a moment, just staring at the notification. His eye twitched and he slowly slid the sword back into its sheath, waving away the notification. He put his hands on his lap and shook his head. This conversation was all over the place and he needed to give it direction, "But no. My name is Paxilon. Everyone seems to have taken to calling me Pax. It's nice to meet you."

Pax found himself just staring at Liatris a little longer than he should have. Something about the girl was off putting. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. The way she was acting. Switching back and forth between attitudes. Acting. That was it, he concluded. She was a decent actor. She wanted something. He squinted his eyes at her for only a moment, and then shook his head. He would deal with something like that when the time came.

"Come to my rescue?" he chuckled and shrugged, giving her a coy look, "I'd say you're the one who kidnapped me, really. Right now, I'm just waiting on some dashing dragon to come save me from this evil princess."

He smiled a bit and waved for the waitress, who had been nearing them. He ordered a small steak with some thing that he'd found akin to mashed potatoes. Certainly American-ised food, but he enjoyed it. He looked over to Liatris and cocked an eyebrow at her, "If you want any food or anything, I'll pay for it. Lord knows I've killed enough mobs to treat a lady to a meal every now and then."

He gave a modest nod, but reminded himself that he could probably afford to feed every lady he'd met thus far every day for a week. He tried his best not to let his pride show through, but wasn't sure if he'd succeeded. He was, after all, a very proud man.

Suddenly, the wheels that Pax had thrown to the back of his mind all clicked together and started turning. He saw it, that moment. Years of training himself to read people so that he could beat them in whatever they challenged him in were all coming together in this bright moment of epiphanies. His bright smile warped into a much more sinister mix between scowl and smirk. His eyebrows pushed together in a moment of contemplation.

"You can pay me back by answering my questions," Pax's face had no shred of false, friendly composure. His eyes bore hard into Lia's, as if trying to drill into her mind for information. Suddenly, every brain cell he had was pointed at her, trying to read her every movement - every emotion. This was the kind of battle that he didn't do too often, but he enjoyed more fervently than any physical fight. A battle of the mind was good for the soul.

Pax tilted his head, expression of sinister curiosity deepening as he began questioning Lia in a darker tone than he'd been speaking with before, "What do you want from me? That is my first question."