raisetheearth | my kingdom for a stain stick

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my kingdom for a stain stick

Who: Rakka and YOU
Where: Woodend town
When: July 27th,
What: Rakka goes shopping to deal with some serious stains
Status: Open

Of all the major problems that popped up recently, after the abrupt appearance of the green blobs of slime that amassed around the world, Rakka's problem of the moment was the stains. The slimes were easily "defeated"... sometimes by slipping on them, and could be cleared away, at least. Green stains were the worst though. She'd gotten it out of her wings at least, (thanks Raye.) But because she was distracted with other things, her clothes were looking less then spectacular.

Thanks, Raye.

So, it was a quick motorcycle ride later (again, thanks Raye!) and she was in that little town that Rakka journeyed to, every so often to get supplies. The people knew her there, and she was on a mission now: to get the best cleaning supplies she could find!

So she's strolling around the town, checking most of the stores it offers, asking a few questions, maybe making a purchase or two. Currently, she'll be seen sitting at a cafe seated near the center of town, having taken a break to eat a sandwich. Seems she had forgotten to eat today in her hast. She swallows and sighs, looking slightly dejected.

"Hmm... Nothing yet..."

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By the inflection of her tone, Rakka was certainly trying to make her slimy encounter out to be something much more substantial then the embarrassment it really was. She'd spill the beans if she really wanted to, surely to someone like Lazarus. Not much point besides her dignity.

"Uhh.... is that so?" It's fairly impressive, though it does make Rakka do a double take. She puts a smile back on quickly enough. "You always have something interesting to say, Lazarus."

She glances down at her cup. "Um, do you want anything?"

It's dubiously impressive, if that; at least Lazarus thinks so, but he appreciates the way Rakka seems to consider it relevant and even cool.

"Well, if you're inviting me to join you, I won't say no. Luca will be a little while, he said something about getting parts for that ambulance I echoed back. Apparently it's not 'hot rod' enough."

He rolls his eyes, but doesn't complain further. He orders a coffee with cream and sugar when a waitress stops by.

"Something interesting is always happening. I think that the effect is much more wide-spread. Where is Raye, at this time?"

Relevant, yes. Cool? You're pressing it, L.

"Well, I guess I am then." She's happy that he'll give her the time of day, at least. It seemed that both of them were always busy with something, or someone.

"Raye? Oh, she's doing something else. She drove me here, but I think she's doing some shopping of her own."

One of the great ironies in life is that people who want to be cool, as Lazarus always has, tend to never approach that coveted status.

"You're close to Raye, aren't you? Very good friends?" he asks; to his credit, he's not so blunt that he just asks if they're romantically involved.

Unfortunately for Rakka, she had decided a while ago that... well, just being herself was perfectly fine. Being cool like Lazarus just wasn't in her system.

"....Pfff." Sorry there, Lazarus; your lack of tact has just made Rakka break into some giggles. She gives him a nod. "We're more then that, honestly. She's been my girlfriend for a long time."

Lazarus and Rakka have known each other for a long time, now. He'd been practically homeless when they'd met and they've seen each other at a lot of high and low points; it's very likely that being themselves is the most natural and desirable thing at this point in their acquaintanceship.

He cants his head at her slight bout of giggling. "Oh, I see... congratulations," he says. "Though I'd suspected, I didn't want to make any impolite assumptions, but I'm happy for the two of you."

Rakka had thought about it, sometimes in and out, about the first meetings between them. He was different back then, though... so was she.

"Thank you." It was no skin off her nose if he didn't think they were ~~canon~~ together at first. "We've been pretty happy too." Judging from the way she smiled, very happy indeed.

"What about you?"

Happiness is the most important thing, isn't it? Lazarus nods encouragingly, truly and sincerely happy that at least for now, the two drastically different girls seem to have found it with each other.

Then she asks about him, and he tugs distractedly at his hair.

"I came to be with Misa," he says with a light shrug, seeming vaguely troubled. "So... complicated, because we're boyfriend and girlfriend and that means a lot of things I didn't know it would. But I'm following her lead on it and usually she seems like she's pretty happy with the result... I try. She realizes that most of the time."

He pauses, seeming to question if he should say anything further, but he lowers his voice and actually does.

"...often, I miss Cesar."

That was.... a very interesting answer from Lazarus, though by this point that was Rakka had come to expect of the man. He wasn't the average Joe of any sort - even if that may have been a product of his own life and not the echoes.

"Misa...." The name rang a familiar bell, though not enough of one to draw up an image of a face from the depths of Rakka's mind. "W-well... the important thing is if you're happy, being with her, I guess." She tried to give him some advice, her halo bobbing slowly above her head.

Confusion crosses her face. "Cesar?"

"Yeah, she's... the pretty blonde? Japanese girl, hates manual labor," he offers, still seeming ultimately confused by the situation. He went from a less official sitiation to a very high-maintanence relationship, at least by his standards, and sometimes it leaves him seeming kind of shell-shocked.

"...before we came here, shortly before, I was with someone else. Things weren't going well. It was no one's fault, but maybe that makes me feel like there wasn't sufficient closure. Relationships are hard," he adds, rubbing at his sleepless-looking eyes.

"Blonde. Umm..." She murmurs to herself, tapping her fingertips against the table. She's sure that she's met someone like that in the past, possibly during the invasion? Try as she might, there had simply been way too much going on a year ago for Rakka to remember that. "I-I'm sorry, maybe if I saw a picture, or something...."

"....Oh." She frowns, gaze slowly slipping from Lazarus's face. "I'm sorry for bringing that up."

"You must really be happy in your relationship if you aren't noticing the other ones around you," he says gently. "She lives in Shepherd's Haven, and you must have seen her around. More than a picture, even if she's not much for labor, like I mentioned."

He shakes his head, waving a hand dismissively in response to her apology.

"I wouldn't have said anything if I didn't feel like talking about it. Mostly, I assume that people don't want to know, or that it would bore them..."

"I-it's not like that, I mean, in a rude way...." Though, it could be said that the couple was often in their own, perfect little world, when they were together. They were still young. "I think I might have, yes. But, recently, we haven't talked much."

Simply too much time and work? It's possible.

"Boring...? But it's not! I actually like hearing about other people's lives." She smiles. "It's neat."

"I... Hope it isn't because you don't get along," he falters, the possibility occurring to him suddenly. There is a lot he doesn't grasp about etiquette, usually those subtle and instinctive things that seem innate to most people. It's hard to tell whether this is one girl being polite about disliking another one, or if she genuinely has never noticed Misa around enough for it to make a reasonable impression.

"If you say it is, I guess I'll believe you. At any rate... I promise that these are not sore subjects for me. I think I've felt what I needed to about them and moved on."

"Huh? N-no, of course not. We just don't spend much time together. I assume she's pretty busy." It was hard for Rakka to hate someone that helped out quite a bit. There were certainly no hard feelings here.

"Still... it's sad when things like that happen. I know how it feels." A plaintive look fell on her face as she spoke. "Love can be so weird."

"Well, we're all busy..."

It's difficult to miss how a lot of her "busyness" takes her straight to Lazarus' door, sometimes not to reappear until morning, but they don't flaunt it beyond that, and if one isn't paying any attention, it's certainly possible not to see it.

"Have you ever been through a breakup? Even on mutual terms, it can feel like someone amputated your limb."

Honestly, it was so subtle - their relationship - that Rakka may not have even realized it without a truthful confession from Lazarus. Unfortunately, Rakka would have been too polite to ask about it anyways.

"One or two times." She remarked, letting her fingers glide over the rim of her cup. Seems there was something more interesting in the brew then looking Lazarus in the eyes. "They're not very fun, any time it happens."

There is no etiquette like Japanese etiquette... and Lazarus fails hard at even garden variety etiquette. Ultimately, it's all a big mystery to him, and he doesn't notice or care as much as most people when it's being followed or deviated from by others.

"Really?" He sounds genuinely surprised. "I wouldn't have taken you for having been in other relationships. Please don't take that the wrong way," he adds.

"Uhh...?" Really, L, it's a tad difficult for Rakka to take it any other way besides the one he was suggesting.

"Well..." She scratches the side of her face tenderly. "I-it was never anything too serious. Almost not dating..."

"How do you mean, 'almost' not dating? Where do you draw the line between dating and not dating?" he asks, chewing on the pad of his thumb. "I guess it's never been very clear to me, unless it's outright stated. To her credit, Misa did do that for me after she stayed over for the first time."

"...It's complicated." In a way that would likely embarrass her more then help her case, were Rakka willing to elaborate.

"That makes me feel a little better about not understanding, but it doesn't really clarify anything," Lazarus says, trying to keep his tone lighthearted. To be fair, that's easier intended than done, as his voice really tends to settle into a somber monotone even when he's feeling cheerful.

"There have to be some people who just 'get it.' I always thought they looked and acted just like Misa, with all that bubble and charm, but... I guess there's a lot more to everyone than just the face they want everyone to see, isn't there?"

"I don't know. Some people seem to get it... but it's hard to explain." She's tried asking before. "I think people just have different ideas of how to do it?"

"Maybe..."

He sounds uncertain, like he still believes there has to be some kind of secret that popular people just innately get.

"Not that Misa isn't good at it. If you met her, you'd probably be friends instantly. She gets along well with people. Everyone seems to like her."

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