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Post by Iyashii Hiroki on Apr 6, 2009 17:45:31 GMT -5
Hiroki’s throat had cleared and he shook his head ‘no’ at the white-haired man. “No no, I’m fine. I just swallowed the wrong way or something.” He coughed one last time to get the last of the gin out. “Sorry about that.”
The question had been directed to the other man, but he answered as well. “Nah, man. I haven’t seen him before in my life.” ’Not in this one, at least. He took another drink, his eyes casually glancing back and forth between both men, hoping his little ‘episode’ hadn’t raised too many red flags with them.
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Post by Khalid ibn Maleec on Apr 6, 2009 18:09:05 GMT -5
No you just both feel familiar and make me feel guilty... However, Khalid was not one to admit his feelings to just anyone. Even those closest to him seldom knew how he really felt. So instead, he shook his head slightly, "No." The answer was simple, and he nodded at the blonde man's explanation as to why he had choked.
After a moment, he turned and held his hand out to the two of them, "Khalid ibn Maleec. It's a pleasure to meet you both. Seems like it promises to be a rather auspicious evening."
He wondered about the taller of the two men's appearance. He seemed to be in rather rough shape and was drinking. Usually, Khalid would not be overly concerned with a complete stranger's choices, but for some reason he found himself on the verge of ordering him not to drink any more.
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Post by Nathaniel Bernhardt on Apr 6, 2009 21:19:18 GMT -5
Nathaniel grinned, accepting Hiroki's explanation. "Yeah, and you gave me shit for not wanting to drink earlier. You can't even down yours without sputtering," he started in, beginning to needle the shorter man as was becoming customary with them. He couldn't resist this opportunity. "Maybe I should finish yours for you," he pushed again, though not really meaning it. This was enough for his as it was. The last thing he wanted was to depress his own respiratory function and end up in the hospital for reasons other than insanity. Though, for some reason I don't think crazy people would care very much about mixing drugs and alcohol.
Nathaniel reached out, firmly shaking the other man's hand and meeting his eyes for the requisite amount of time, suppressing a wince as his headache picked up tempo once again. "Nathaniel Bernhardt," he introduced himself, once again raising an eyebrow, curious about the man's remark. "Auspicious? What makes you say that?" He wouldn't mind a piece of the luck, but his white-haired new acquaintance, for some reason, struck him as the type that wasn't an avid believer in fortune. It just seemed odd, right out of the blue like that, and so vague, too.
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Post by Iyashii Hiroki on Apr 7, 2009 11:55:11 GMT -5
Hiroki shot a glare at Nathaniel, and then decided to just laugh it off. “Whatever, guy. You just keep talking, alright? At the rate you’re going, the party’ll be over before you can finish off your first drink!” The exchange of friendly jabs had Hiroki feeling nostalgic, yet annoyed that this man had no idea who he really was. He had to remind himself to bite his tongue. If Nathaniel were to awaken as Nephrite, it would need to be on his own time and not when Hiroki deemed it.
This Khalid fellow on the other hand… Hiroki eyed him for a moment as Nathaniel was the first to return the other man’s greeting. Finally he stretched out his own hand to introduce himself. “Iyashii Hiroki.” Instead of commenting further, he chose to wait for Khalid’s response to Nathaniel’s questioning.
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Post by Khalid ibn Maleec on Apr 7, 2009 15:43:36 GMT -5
After shaking Nathaniel's hand, he shook Hiroki's. His grip was firm but not crushing and did not linger longer than necessary. This was not meant to be a challenge, but rather a greeting.
"I simply meant that tonight seems promising. The end of a year in which the world has changed and the beginning of a new year." Khalid himself felt like he was approaching a precipice, and though he did not tend to much stock in such feelings, this was more than he could ignore.
He grinned slightly, "Of course, I suppose every day can be auspicious." He took another sip of his scotch.
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Post by Nathaniel Bernhardt on Apr 8, 2009 0:59:05 GMT -5
"Unlike you, I don't need an open bar to have a good time," Nate replied, seemingly unable to disengage himself from the lighthearted banter. Why was he talking with this guy as if they were old pals? It seemed too easy to slip into that role. Still, he took another sip of his drink. For someone who came off as being abrasive, at least Hiroki introduced himself to the other man.
"I'm impressed, you do have a smattering of social grace," Nate needled him further, unable to resist. He was sure he found a chink in the other man's sarcastic armor.
But, he also found himself raising an eyebrow at Khalid's response. He just had to run into someone overly happy. Though the man's expression wasn't demonstrative, who else but a sappily happy person would be muttering about auspicious days and new beginnings.
"You've got a girl here, don't ya?" he blurted out, taking a swig and grinning at the other man. "Oh, come off it, it's obvious. You've got your attention focused on someone lovely, and you're excited enough that you can't keep it to yourself. Nobody thinks new governments and stuffy official parties are 'auspicious.' Hope you get all you want," he said sincerely. Why not? At least one of them would have some fun.
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Post by Iyashii Hiroki on Apr 8, 2009 10:36:05 GMT -5
Hiroki snorted. “I can have a good time without an open bar!” His lips turned up into another sly grin. “But I can have an even better time with it.” He took another drink from his glass and noted it was getting low. Turning around, he signaled to the bartender for another, figuring he’d be finished with this one by the time the guy finished pouring the second.
He was right. He downed the rest of his drink at Nathaniel’s next comment, and swapped glasses for the new one. “I have enough social grace to make sure I look decent before I leave my house, rather than finish primping at my destination.”
Hiroki decided to take another look around the room while the other two men continued their conversation. He noticed that Mamoru had entered and was waiting his turn in the receiving line. Now that he knew his liege was here, he would need to keep a trained eye on him for the rest of the evening. Being his only guard at this point, duty was beginning to pull at him. His ears perked up, though, when Nathaniel started in on Khalid about some girl. Hiroki turned back to the two men, that mischievous gleam in his eye yet again. “A girl, eh? Let me guess… Blond hair, blue eyes…” He gestured with his hands in front of his chest “…big cans. A real life Venus, I’d bet. You look like the kind that would go for that.”
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Post by Khalid ibn Maleec on Apr 8, 2009 11:04:16 GMT -5
Khalid raised an eyebrow at the manner in which the two gentlemen seemed to be discussing women. "There is, indeed, a young woman who has me rather intrigued." He was a bit surprised at Hiroki's accurate description of her, though she was not too "big canned."
The term 'Venus,' however, caught him off guard for a moment, causing an unexpected pain in his chest. He knew that Aino Minako was Sailor Venus, but there was something about actually hearing that word that caused him a moment of pain.
"However, I was not referring to her." In fact, he could not explain why he'd even chosen such a word to describe the evening in the first place. It had seemed to be a word that he thought the other man would appreciate and had been quite surprised - though he wondered if he should have expected it - at the interrogation that had followed.
He took another sip of his scotch before giving a closer examination of Hiroki. He wondered if the reference to Venus was really as innocent as it seemed. However, he could not think of any way that this man he had just met could possibly know of his interest in the Senshi and idol.
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Post by Nathaniel Bernhardt on Apr 8, 2009 16:38:05 GMT -5
Touché, Nathaniel thought, smiling into his glass. But he was not going to admit that to Hiroki, not for anything. "You actually take to look decent? I couldn't tell. I would fix you for the kind to purposefully leave your hair uncombed just to piss somebody off. You mean you actually care about appearances?" he asked, pretending to be shocked.
'Rather intrigued' seemed to be Khalid's code for 'besotted,' at least that's the way it came off to Nathaniel. The man didn't show much emotion, but apparently they had both touched on something at the mention of a female, especially Hiroki's curious description of a 'Venus.' Are they sure they've never met before? He watched the pair curiously.
"So what are you here for, then? The girl or the booze or the food? Seems to be his reasons... Though in his case it's girls, plural," Nathaniel remarked, jerking his thumb to point to Hiroki. I'm just here for one, myself, he thought, taking a quick, surreptitious look about the ballroom, not spying Kino Makoto-- yet. He'd look until he found her, but now was not the right time.
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Post by Iyashii Hiroki on Apr 9, 2009 11:01:13 GMT -5
Hiroki ran his hand through his hair again, giving it a slight tussle. “There, is that better? You’re the hair guru apparently, so I guess you would know.”
Nathaniel seemed to be stuck on trying to figure out what Khalid’s intentions were for the evening, so he decided now would be a good time to leave the others so he could speak with Mamoru. If anything, he needed to at least update him on the location of his other guards…even if they weren’t actually guarding him at the moment. He mentally rolled his eyes at that.
“This conversation is riveting, really. However I’m going to have to bow out. You two keep it up, I’ll be back shortly.” He gave a quick wave with his free hand, and began making his way across the ballroom.
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Post by Khalid ibn Maleec on Apr 9, 2009 15:24:34 GMT -5
Khalid raised an eyebrow at Nathaniel's question and the characterization of Hiroki's motives for attending the ball. However, before he could answer, Hiroki was excusing himself. He nodded to the man as he waved and left, wondering what that was about and hoping that the man could stay out of trouble. He frowned ever so slightly as he wondered why he cared whether or not the man got into trouble.
"I'm here to celebrate the New Year and the success of the new government." He raised an eyebrow as he looked at Nathaniel. "Do you really it find it so hard to believe that I could actually care about all this?"
The fact of the matter was that he would be there even if it were not for his fascination with Minako or the odd feelings generated by the new queen. His sense of responsibility and duty as a representative of his father's company would have been enough. As of yet, he did not acknowledge that either woman - or these men - further deepened his sense of duty.
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Post by Nathaniel Bernhardt on Apr 9, 2009 15:45:38 GMT -5
Nate gave a half-hearted wave, wondering if he wanted to be left here alone with I'm-So-Happy-We-Have-a-Government guy. Apparently, Khalid read his thoughts, because his next question inquired if Nate had such a hard time believing his explanation.
He gave an artful shrug, finishing the last of his drink and sliding it back to the bartender. He'd need some food to keep this down along with the pills, and prevent it from going straight to his head.
"Yes and no. Maybe I'm too American, but most people don't celebrate their governments, save for on national holidays, and even then it's about the glorious ol' past when some great battle or beginning happened. We're at the beginning right now. I could get it if we were talking about the Coronation, but I didn't go to that," he smirked. "Usually the only people who celebrate the success are people in the government-- which you very well may be, I don't know you. Or someone who works for the government, like a contractor, but isn't necessarily in it. Or maybe you just like royalty that much. But, I don't think that's the case, at least not the latter... I think this 'young woman' has a little more sway on your mood than you're giving her credit for." He smirked, not really caring if he had offended the other man-- he had been asked for his opinion, after all. "No shame in that. I'm here primarily for one woman myself. And speaking of her, I think I need some of her food. Ciao," he grinned, waving and heading toward the buffet tables. He had a feeling he wouldn't be seeing the last of these guys.
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