After Dark

[takesitall]

Comments

[takesitall]

...you're not wrong. Out the door, or do you think we can climb down that trellis?

[ignoranceisblight]

[He marks his place in the book, then gets up again. He goes over to the trellis to examine it, grabbing onto it experimentally.]

I think it should hold if we attempted to climb down.

[He'll retrieve his bag, putting his book and water bottle away.]

Shall we?

[takesitall]

[Aventurine has to duck in to get his coat--it's chilly, he says to anyone who asks--but then he's out back at the other man's side.]

Mind if I go first?

[He is, you know, smaller than the other guy.]

[ignoranceisblight]

Not at all, go right ahead.

[takesitall]

[And down he goes! He makes sure there's space for the other guy to climb down and then:]

Okay!

[ignoranceisblight]

[Ratio's a little slow climbing down, but eventually he gets close enough to the ground to just jump down.]

There we are.

[He adjusts his bag.]

There should be some restaurants still open at this hour--we could get decent food and drinks.

[takesitall]

Please. Granted, the food wasn't too big an issue for me, but the drinks were. You pick, my treat?

[ignoranceisblight]

I know just the place, then.

[He'll start walking, pausing to wait for this other guy.]

[takesitall]

[Following!

And remembering his manners:]

Aventurine.

[ignoranceisblight]

Veritas Ratio.

[The restaurant he leads the way to is one he frequents quite a lot--it's the only place in town that serves food as spicy as he prefers.]

[takesitall]

Oh, Doctor Ratio? The one who published that article on the interactions between demonic energies and fae?

[ignoranceisblight]

That's me, yes.

[When they get to the restaurant, he holds the door open for Aventurine.]

[takesitall]

[He murmurs a thank you.]

You mentioned in your paper that you needed more hands-on experience with demons, right?

[ignoranceisblight]

That's correct. I only had prior research to go off of.

[takesitall]

Are you picky about the type of demon?

[ignoranceisblight]

Not especially, why?

[takesitall]

[Aventurine pulls the nullification amulet out from where he tucked it under his shirt.]

I'm a succubus...and I realize now that it probably sounded like a come-on, but I wasn't, I swear.

[ignoranceisblight]

It's alright, I didn't take it as one, if it helps.

[takesitall]

[That gives Aventurine an odd sense of relief, honestly.]

Either way, if you want demonic energy, I have no problem working with you for this~ I usually have an excess.

[ignoranceisblight]

Then in that case, I'd appreciate the help.

[The two of them get shown to a table and Ratio offers Aventurine the drinks menu.]

[takesitall]

Not a bad outcome for a boring party, huh?

[Looking at the menu--]

Ooh, ouzo.

[ignoranceisblight]

Not bad at all.

[He's pretty pleased with this, at least.]

The owner added that since I became such a frequent customer...

[He chuckles sheepishly.]

[takesitall]

Oh really? What else has the owner added because of you, because if they added ouzo we might have similar tastes.

[ignoranceisblight]

Only the ouzo, as far as drinks go. You can see how it's a bit of an out there pick compared to other things on the drink menu--he added the ouzo as a surprise after he and I had gotten to know each other considerably. I actually used to order the Wuliangye before that.

As for the dishes, the laziji was added based on my input--he'd asked me about some dishes he was thinking about adding to the menu and that had been my pick from what he'd pitched at the time.

[takesitall]

--oh, you like it spicy, don't you? Excellent, so do I.