for nudls

[pillowmania]

In the Tesserae bar, Katurian nurses a drink that reminds him of cough syrup. It isn't only the taste -- it's that floating feeling that comes with the bitterness, like a crane machine pulling his forehead up and up and up. This is the kind of drink that is easier to find in bars than stores, which is why Katurian is tucked in the corner of this place and not hunched over his typewriter back home.

His thin, blond bangs hang in sweaty clumps over his eyes. His back curls protectively over the table, obscuring his glass and napkin.

On the fragile white paper of that napkin, he sketches axes with a ballpoint pen.

Comments

[sisterhood]

[Silence has no place in this bar, busy with voices and the bustling of impatient customers and their busy waiters, but the atmosphere seems to settle with a pair of expensive high heel shoes walk on the dirty floor with a distinct, sharp clack, clack, clack.

It stops just next to his table, when the background noise returns. The woman stands against the light, hair draping from her shoulders, dress cut just below her pale knees.]

Katurian, I presume.

[pillowmania]

[The only reason he does not startle is because he's already drunk. He lifts his eyes and he lifts his head (the head comes automatically with the eyes) and tries to focus on this woman, this mysterious, well-dressed stranger.]

You presume.

[He laughs, brief and humorless.]

I'm not buying whatever you're selling.

[sisterhood]

No, you clearly have enough on your plate.

[Which doesn't stop her from taking a seat across his, not in the slightest. She places her clutch bag on the table, flipping her hair lightly.]

It was harder to find you than I thought.

[pillowmania]

[This catches his attention. This brings some light -- some sobriety -- to his eyes. He pulls back. He sits up straight in his seat.]

You were looking for me.

[sisterhood]

[Her fingers intertwine, her chin settles on her hands with a soft purse of her lips, a sharp but subtle satisfaction in her eyes.]

Yes I was. Are you surprised?

[pillowmania]

Y-Yes. I m-mean, shouldn't I be? I don't know who you are. I don't know why you're looking for me.

[His fingers drum the table. He blinks sweat out of his eyes.]

Why are you looking for me?

[sisterhood]

[She holds a smile for a quiet moment, kind and almost warm, observing every detail in the shift of his features, in the tone of his words. What a pitiful wreck of a man. He's lucky she was given reasons to find him useful.]

Well - [the word barely falls short of a purr,] I've heard you're quite good at your job. Exceptional, in fact. Would you tell me more about it?

[pillowmania]

[He wonders if this is someone out for revenge. Maybe that thing he is so exceptional at, maybe that was done to a friend of hers. A family member. A lover. Maybe she's come here to do the same to him.]

It's my job to keep the people in this country safe.

[He stops tapping his fingers and instead curls them under his hands. ]

That's it. T-That's all there is.

[sisterhood]

[Whether she's here for revenge or something entirely kinder remains ambiguous in her stare, piercing and unforgiving. She isn't the kind of woman who will simply look away - every second is a challenge, a dare to stare back and stand up to whatever she leaves unsaid.

Though what he leaves unsaid is entirely more interesting.]

Oh, but it isn't, is it. [she opens her bag, plucking out an immaculate white card with black, thin font typed at the center. All it says is The Skeleton, words displayed on top of a silhouette of a dead tree.]

Do you know what this is?

[pillowmania]

[Yes. The answer is yes. When Katurian sees that card, so perfect and clean (and with a tree that reminds him of cracked veins), rigidity overtakes his body. It's as though he's been electrocuted.

He can't answer. Not with words. He brings his head down in a quick, tight nod.]

[sisterhood]

Then I don't have to tell you about what I do.

[She doesn't, does she, Katurian.]

[pillowmania]

[It would be obvious, threatening her with arrest. It would be obvious, yelling for help, pressing the panic button. But there is a reason this woman walks freely. There is a reason he can't touch her.]

B-But you have to tell me what it is you want from me.

[He leans over, his voice hushed.]

I'm not about to start spilling classified fucking information, here.

[sisterhood]

[Her lips stretch, showing teeth, shoulders shrugging with a small impulse that doesn't quite make it to a laugh - it just lingers very close.]

No, no you're not. It would take quite a bit to get you to spill.

[There's a pause, and her shoulders settle beneath the strands of her hair again. She may just have thrown a compliment at him.]

But you know all about that, don't you.

[pillowmania]

[It was good, that compliment. He doesn't get them very often. Compliments for Katurian normally come wrapped in screams and gasps, blood and sweat.]

I might.

[The muscles in his hunched back protest. His voice hangs between a whisper and a growl.]

I-I don't see how any of that is your business.

[sisterhood]

I'd like to make it my business.

[She chooses her words carefully. Were she talking to anyone else and she simply would have said: I want to. Kaena doesn't ask. She takes.]

You're quite talented, according to my friends. [A smile. Before he can ask -] Not everyone is as good at keeping a secret as you are. But you already know that so well.