View source for 2668/Curried Conversationalists.

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/05/12
|Location=Korma Chameleon
|Synopsis=Norie meets Miku. They talk about being a vampire. A meeting where she met Kukai-N and Alexis is in so much trouble.
|Cast of Characters=160,139
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie Okana has found herself in Rashmi's curry shop. The one her family runs. She looks down at the flyer she has. It has a fifteen percent discount with it. She brought it even though she doesn't need the discount. And it seemed disrespectful to throw it out. She may as well use it.<br /><br />She orders the same thing she did last time. A horribly spicy chickpea curry and then sits down and waits for it to arrive. She also just orders water. She likes it spicy it seems, period.<br /><br />Or maybe it's the horrible darkness that grants her immunity to the spicy!? Who knows!?<br /><br />She seems to be staring intently at the window looking out of the shop as she waits for her food to arrive like she was trying to will something into existence on the other side. Stare... stare. She seems lost in thought at least. For the moment.

:'''{{#var:139|Miku Kohinata| (139)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miku is out for another evening run, dressed in black spats and a lavender compression tanktop, along with her sneakers. She's got earbuds in her ears, and is sweating from the exertion, but running is one of those things Miku has always done when she needs to think, or plan, or just get away.<br /><br />Besides, staying in good shape is important.<br /><br />As has become her recent trend, Miku ends her run at a curry shop several miles from Verone. There, she takes a few moments of walkinga round outside to cool down, then pulls her earbuds out of her ears and steps into the little hole-in-the-wall curry shop.<br /><br />The teen makes her way towards the counter as if to wait to be seated, then arches her brows when she spots Norie. There's a moment of consideration, then she tells the person behind the counter, "Actually, I'm here to see a friend." She smiles, passes by, and makes her way to Norie's table. <br /><br />There, Miku bows a bit, then asks, "May I join you?"

:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>From Norie's perspective someone talks out of nowhere as she seems to blink and come out of whatever reverie she was in. Yeah she was day dreaming, or thinking or something obviously. She blinks a bit. "Hello...?" she says. "Yes... you can. But. Do I know you?" she asks. She's still waiting for her food. She sips a little.<br /><br />"The food here is good. I brought a friend here before. He couldn't handle the heat." she says silently.<br /><br />"Do you like spicy?" she asks. "Or do you order your things mild here?" she asks curiously. "Or is it your first time...." she wonders a little.<br />5R"....oh."<br /><br />"I am. Norie Okana." she says softly. "That is my name." she says, in case it wasn't obvious what she just said. It's all in her usual deadpan manner.

:'''{{#var:139|Miku Kohinata| (139)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I remember," Miku says with a smi le. She bows again, then explains, "We met at a piano competition. I was helping host; very nice black dress, hose. You um ... sorta ... did a thing to me as you left."<br /><br />Miku slides into the seat across from Norie, then introduces herself, "Kohinata Miku. As I said that night, I understand why you had to do that to me. I'm sorry the other people chased you out liike that."<br /><br />But curry. Curry is worth discussing. "I order mine a four. I can handle the heat, and maybe could handle a five, but I like to enjoy the flavor more than I like th e spice. So I get it spicy enough to enjoy, but not so spicy that it's a challenge."<br /><br />A shrug, then she raises a hand and places her order: chicken tikka masala, heat level four, with a side of lassi and garlic naan.

:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie Okana blinks a long bit. She met at a what now. "We met at a... what?" she asks curiously. "And I.. did something. To you?" she asks as she looks around left and right. She purses her lips and seems to search her thoughts. "How... long ago. Was this?" she asks. "What exactly. Happened. Sometimes. I get gaps. In my memory." she says softly.<br /><br />She blinks a bit as her food is delivered. Miku's may too. It all depends how long it takes. She looks down at her food. It's still steaming. She lets it cool before grabbing a fork as she squints at Miku a little.<br /><br />"I wasn't playing a piano was I?... I don't play piano. Not well." she says.

:'''{{#var:139|Miku Kohinata| (139)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miku eyes the vampire in surprise, a little confused as to why she isn't remembering. "Well, no, you were there to listen," Miku replies, furrowing her brow. "I think you said you appreciate music. But um. Anyways, you sorta ... did ..." she trails off, then glances around and clears her throat, then leans forward, "You drained my energy after helping fight off the demon I accidentally summoned."<br /><br />Food here! Miku grabs her fork and mixes the chicken and rice together.

:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie Okana blinks. She... what? She frowns and leans forward. "Yes. I probably did if this is true. I'm a vampire." she says frankly. "How long ago? If it was a few months back, it's possible that wasn't. Me. It was my body. But that wasn't me." she says.<br /><br />"How did I drain your energy?" she asks. "Usually I just. touch." she says.<br /><br />She begins to eat her food after a quick shifting of food around.<br /><br />"I like music. But it's because I'm.... was. A dancer." she says softly.<br /><br />She seems to look past Miku to the window again and then back. She's just trying to break eye contact every so often.

:'''{{#var:139|Miku Kohinata| (139)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miku's eyes widen at that information, and she leans back. "Ah ..." she mumbles, "it was just a few months ago. I apologize if it was ... someone else? In your body? I didn't even know that was ''possible''. Geeze, Raskoph-kun never mentioned anything about body-swapping."

:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie Okana a pause. "Ah... you know. Alexis-kun?" she asks. "Raskoph." she says.<br /><br />She squints. "How do you know him?" she asks. "How long have you known him?" she asks. Alexis never mentioned this person. Or this situation. She shakes her head.<br /><br />"It was. Something called a 'clow card'. I don't know much about it. A little. But not much." she says. "It switched mine and a.... friends...?" a question on that. "Body." she says.<br /><br />"He got my body, and all the 'benefits' that come with it. Such as the deadened emotional responses and the needing to drain energy to keep yourself... you." she says.<br /><br />"'I' wasn't. Rude then was I?" she asks.<br /><br />"I apologize. If I was." she says. "Even if it wasn't me. I try to be polite when no one has done anything particular to earn otherwise."

:'''{{#var:139|Miku Kohinata| (139)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"No more rude than Rasko--" A pause, then Miku frowns and shakes her head. "No, less than he was. Anyways, I met him after you'd turned him. I sorta .. sensed his need for a friend, so I guess I forced myself on him, in that way." An introspective consideration, then she mumbles, "I guess he has reason to dislike me, after all. Anyways, when he lost control, I helped Sayaka-chan to find him. I also tried to use a thing I had to help him be happy while he was still like you, but it messed up pretty badly." Pause. "Sorry, this probably sounds a little distorted. But I think he and I are decent friends. And he told me what you are, and that you created him. If it's alright by you, I'd like to be your friend, too."

:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie Okana frowns. "I am not like Alexis was." she says. "I 'turned' Alexis to save his life. Not because he or I wanted to." she says. "Alexis still had a human body. He still had emotions, if hard to reach. He still /lived/." she says.<br /><br />"I, am effectively a mass of dark energy with intelligence. I don't have a 'human body'. I don't have certain emotions outright. I remember when I should feel them. But it's not quite the same thing." she says quietly.<br /><br />"What I'm saying is. I do not mind... friends?" she says. "But. You won't be able to help me the same way you helped Alexis. Just. Many people try to be my 'friend' under the notion that they can 'make me feel better' or 'try to make me happy'." she says.

:'''{{#var:139|Miku Kohinata| (139)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Mmmm, no," Miku shakes her head firmly, furrowing her brows. "I didn't help him," she tels Norie gently. "I don't mean to tell you that you're wrong, but I didn't help Raskoph-kun. I accepted him for what he was. I wanted him to be happy so I tried a stupid thing with magic, but it backfired horribly. Someone else helped him, and I'm okay with that. I was not his friend out of some need to 'fix' him; I didn't consider him broken."<br /><br />A shrugs, then Miku explains, "It's the same with you. I recognize that you're not going to be able to smile or feel anything for me except indifference. That's okay, I don't need you to. I don't want to be your friend to help you; I want to be your friend because I'm interested in you. And I hope you can be interested in me. Although .." here she seems suddenly uncertain, "I'm not that interesting. And now that he's normal again, I think Raskoph-kun resents me. Ah. Mm. Anyways, that's what I mean by he needed a friend. He needed someone who wouldn't try to change him; someone who would accept him for who he is. That's what I want to be for you."

:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie Okana mmms. "As long as that's understood. Sure. We can try." she shrugs a little as she eats. "Just. You know. I need attack people to feed and all that like Alexis did." she says. She blinks. "Alexis resents you? I don't think so. Alexis was always quiet. I knew him before he was that thin. I think that's..."<br /><br />"That's like what we were both doing? I didn't tell him that beating up thugs was wrong. Likewise. He didn't try to tell me that I had to feed was wrong. It was both things we had to do." she says.<br /><br />She squints again. "Are you. Magical?" she asks.<br /><br />"Ah. You mentioned Sayaka earlier. How has she been?" a pause.<br /><br />"...do you keep a bead on those two?" she asks. "At all?"

:'''{{#var:139|Miku Kohinata| (139)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Mmm," Miku says with a nod. "I understand what you do. I'd rather you not do it to me unless it's an emergency, though, and then only a little. I don't like losing consciousness, thank you." She finishes her chicken and sets it aside, then takes a sip of the lassi.<br /><br />"Anyways, no, I'm not ... magical," Miku says with a sigh. "I briefly had a book that let me do some things, but ... I've lost it. I'm an auxiliary to Virtue, though, and my g--b--" pause for word. Miku wavers a little as her resolve threatens to crumble, then pushes past it to say, "my roommate has a Symphogear. But I haven't seen her in many months."<br /><br />Sayaka and Alexis are a much easier topic. "I do, somehwat. Their life has grown infinitely more complicated by the return of his emotions, and they're both pretty stupid. But ... they're my friends, for what it's worth. I don't have a lot of those left."

:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie Okana nods. "I don't drain people I know. I try to. Stick to people in alleys at night. During closing times." she says. "Not many people willing to let me at least." she says.<br /><br />She head tilts. "You're not the only 'mundane' friend I've had. Alexis. Naru." she says quietly.<br /><br />She gently arches her brow. "I haven't gotten involved. But. I did know Sayaka seemed to have... feelings for him." she says.<br /><br />"Has anything happened there? Alexis was always kind of oblivious. Which is funny. Because I don't even have those feelings... and I'm not that oblivious." she states deadpan.

:'''{{#var:139|Miku Kohinata| (139)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Ehnnn," Miku makes a very non-commital noise, and her face carries that same expression. She makes a motion with her hand, then explains, "She's bad at telling him. He's not oblivious, though; just stubbornly thinks that any kind of relationship with him would be harmful. He did point out his paretnts could require him to leave at any time, which would be a good argument if he hadn't spent the last several months living on his own."<br /><br />She sighs, then leans forward, hands on the bench seat beside herself. "I dunno, maybe he's right. Maybe she would be better off with someone else. But I'm trying to get him to at least ''talk'' to her about it."

:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie Okana crosses her arms. "I'll make him talk." she says frankly.<br /><br />She frowns and sighs and shakes her head. "Though to be fair. I only knew my girlfriend was interested in me when a misunderstanding made her kiss me." she says. "That's how I learned I could still blush." she says with more deadpan.<br /><br />She head tilts. "Maybe she should just kiss him." she suggests.<br /><br />"That was deadpan humor. If it isn't clear. That's a horrible idea. Talk. They should talk." she says softly.<br /><br />"Anything I can do to help that along though, I'll do it." she says quietly.

:'''{{#var:139|Miku Kohinata| (139)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miku's cheeks redden a little, and her eyes find the table--distinctly avoiding Norie. "Yeah, maybe she should kiss him," she mumbles her agreement, though there's a slight edge of bitterness to her tone. The grunette sighs, then pushes her plate out of the way so that she can lean forward and put her head in her own arms.<br /><br />"I dunno," Miku says softly. "I feel like it's wrong to push them to be something other than they are. Wrong to try to play matchmaker. For the same reason it's wrong to tell you not to feed. You need to be who you are; they should, too. And if who they are isn't able to meet one another about this issue, then ... well ... that's sad, but at least it's honest."

:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie Okana narrows her eyes a bit and continues to eat. Still not minding the spicyness. She head tilts. "I think Alexis's 'tough guy' image is too important to him. I don't know. Maybe it's a macho thing." she says frankly. "I didn't really get boys before becoming this thing and becoming the immortal undead hasn't particularly helped me with that specific avenue." she says.<br /><br />"Or being one for a bit." she says. "For that matter." she says rolling her eyes.<br /><br />"Oh. Trying to play matchmaker is fine. It's when you force it that's the issue. If it works. Great. If not.. well..."<br /><br />"Maybe I'm not the best here. My version of 'love' is more like. 'covet'?" she asks.<br /><br />"So maybe I outta not think about it TOO hard..." she taps her bottom lip with her fork.

:'''{{#var:139|Miku Kohinata| (139)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Mmm, I don't get boys, either," Miku admits with a faint smile. "I don't mind them; they can be very good friends. But .. I've always liked girls better." She stifles a yawn, then straightens up and asks Norie, "So what's it like? If you don't mind me asking. Becoming a vampire, that is."

:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie Okana head tilts. "Are you asking me how it's like to be one currently, or what it's been like thus far? It's. Varied. A bit. Since the beginning." she says.<br /><br />"Right now I just. Am." she admits. "I guess I'm as 'stable' as I'm going to get unless I'm able to do anything about it." she says. "I have as much control as I'm going to, over my emotions and feelings and abilities." she says.<br /><br />"It was really bad at first. But that's because I was starving myself. I didn't /want/ to feed. To hurt people and I suffered for it by being an irrational mess that used to get into fights and just randomly drain people in school when I could." she offers.<br /><br />"Then I started running into you know. Other magical... people. Who didn't like me draining. And more often than not they just attacked and I'd run." she says.<br /><br />"Then I met someone who'd listen to me and offered to help me and.... he wasn't able to. And I got so irrationally upset over it. because it was the first time I felt something like hope about my condition and then it gets crushed and it felt worse than anything." she says.<br /><br />"Nowadays I have a device around my wrist..." she lifts it up to motion to the bracelet of sorts and lowers it. "Made by another friend that kind of limits the flow. If I get into a state where I become irrational it starts regulating the dark energy flow harder and things like that." she says. "It isn't a cure, but it did make it easier for me to deal with things slowly." she says.<br /><br />"I actually ran away from home. Because I kind of got so angry at my brother once I was going to. Do not particularly pleasant things to him. I caught myself about halfway there." she says.

:'''{{#var:139|Miku Kohinata| (139)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Ohhhh," Miku says, sounding genuinely interested and awed by Norie's story. She watches the other girl all through her explanation, then leans forward just a little when it's done. "That sounds rough," she says quietly. "I'm really impressed that you managed to get through all of that. I can't imagine what it must be like for you."<br /><br />Another pause, then she asks, "Does food actually help you, then? Does it give you some energy? Or do you ''have'' to drain people for that to work?"

:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie Okana head tilts. "Food makes me feel better. That's it. Lots of things changed. As I discussed, the emotional issue. But things feel. Odd a lot of the time. I'm always cold- but not in a way that one would be if in a cold temperature? I also kind of suddenly know a two hundred year old dialect of Spanish and on a lower level, some European languages, but usually only once I'm exposed to them do I remember a little bit."<br /><br />"But food? Food still /tastes/ like food. My mouth still works like a mouth. Anything that's different about it is past the throat. Such as I'm not sure I even have a 'stomach' in so much as the food just gets dissolved somewhere. As for 'doing things' for me. I imagine it's just converted into more dark matter. Not energy, but. Matter. What I can use to repair myself or power other things. Like. Well. Magical abilities. Attacks." she says.<br /><br />"I don't 'need' to eat." she says. "But I like to. If that makes sense?" she asks.

:'''{{#var:139|Miku Kohinata| (139)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Ohhhhh," Miku repeats her earlier appreciation for this information. She's staring at Norie, now; studying her like a scientist studies the stars for the first time. "Amazing," she mumbles quietly. "So you could go without eating--maybe without even using the restroom!--forever, but you'd have to drain more people. That's really interesting. Was it like that for Raskoph-kun, too? He always said he wasn't hungry."

:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie Okana raises a brow. "I don't have a biological process if that's what you're asking. Though sometimes I just walk into the bathroom so nobody notices." she says.<br /><br />"Well. I can just go sit in the Dusk Zone. Or back in the lab. If I wanna absorb dark energy to 'feed' that part of myself, too." she says.<br /><br />"'Energy' is a term I use because that's the closest to what it is. More precisely, I drain people's sense of identity and personhood." she says. "Because of that, It's not something that's easy to replace." she offers. "If it was just... 'energy'. Well. I could probably drain animals. Or just shove my fingers into light sockets." she says.<br /><br />"If I don't feed. I don't 'die'." she says. "I just become something more akin to your basic youma that feeds relentlessly until I drain enough to snap back to being something that's more like a sentient being." she says.<br /><br />"I CAN be killed. Mind you. I'm immortal. Not invincible." she says curtly. "Maybe that'll change someday though." she says.<br /><br />"I know the being that had this power before was like that."

:'''{{#var:139|Miku Kohinata| (139)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Ohhhh," there it is again; Miku's truly fascinated by all of this information. Hopefully no one at a nearby table is listening; either they'd assume the girls are crazy, or worse: larpers.<br /><br />"So you can just go recover somewhere safe," Miku reiterates, then nods her head just faintly. "That's neat. Only ..." she trails off, frowning just a little at an inconsistency. "If the one who had this power before you was immortal and invincible, how did they lose that power?"

:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie Okana frowns. "The guy before me. The power... names you?" she says. "It's weird." she says. "His name was Poderoso. He wanted to be that. He reveled in what he was." she says. "What hurts me... purification... didn't work very well against him." she says.<br /><br />"I dream about him and his life as this thing. Never before. Never after." she says. "So any details of the man he was before, or what exactly happened when he died eludes me."<br /><br />"I guess he made the wrong people mad, because someone developed a device that could strip the power from him. Separate the power from his mind." she says. "Contain it. Without it. He'd die." she says.<br /><br />"That's. This Necklace." she motions to the one around her neck. "That's how I came to be this thing. I bought it at a second hand shop. A few days later I get deathly ill. I wake up this thing when it's done doing whatever it did to make a vampire." she says.<br /><br />"Like. A leaky bad milk carton. The seal weakened those many many years is what I've been able to deduced. It's just me wearing it that was the final 'break' so to speak."<br /><br />"Ah....."<br /><br />"The power named /me/ Lacrima. Or. 'The Tears'." she says.

:'''{{#var:139|Miku Kohinata| (139)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miku's trance breaks slowly. She faintly nods as if some theory had just been comfirmed, them says, "I'm sure that all must have been very scary to go through." She frowns a little, then offers, "And you've probably changed a lot as a result of all of that. I sympathize with that change; I don't think I could possibly understand what that's like, and I'm grateful that it did not happen to me. But I'm very sorry that you have had to go through it."<br /><br />Reaching into her little arm-strap holding her iPod, Miku pulls out a credit card so that she can pay. "Can I buy your dinner tonight?" asks the grunette curiously. "Not because you cannot afford it, but as a thank you for telling me so much of your story. It was fascinating to hear, and I'm very grateful to you for telling it."

:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie Okana nods. "You may. That's not a problem." she says. Money is immaterial to her right now. Given who she works for. She head tilts. "You're a friend of Alexis's. That means he'd be upset if anything were to happen to you. And I'd be upset if Alexis was hurt. Because Alexis is one of the few people that bother to deal with me." she says.<br /><br />She does say in her usual deadpan humor way. "Be lucky I didn't order five dishes as I was pondering earlier." she says almost bemusedly.

:'''{{#var:139|Miku Kohinata| (139)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miku pauses, then glances at Norie a little concernedly. "Mm, well, I won't complain if you save me from bad things now and again," she admits with a faint smile. "I don't have magic of my own. I know better than to try and pretend otherwise. Still, I won't let fear stop me from helping people." A pause, then she says, "It was nice to meet you. I hope we'll meet again sometime. If you do see Raskoph-kun, please tell him I say hi."

:'''{{#var:160|Norie Okana| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie Okana gently looks down at her plate. "I'm going to get this to go. I need to be back at the lab anyways before I go home." she says. "Thank you again, Kohinata-san." she says politely. She doesn't exactly mention more about the lab. She walks up to the counter, has her food container and off she goes!---around the corner and a step into the Dusk Zone away!~
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