ABS FIESTA REDUX

[Tayasaurus]

Jaakko waits a few moments, then backs away from the radio.

"Can't pick anything out now, and it sounds like they've done it. I'm gonna go get cleaned up,"

He walks off, rids himself of his flight gear, cleans up, and finds Tippy in the mess hall. He falls into the seat across from hers.

"Hey! How are you...?"

His intonation changes as he sees Tippy's distorted frown.

"Faw." Tippy says, venom hinting in the back of her tones.

[Ad Bot]

[Badger]

Virvel shrugs
: Iunno. But you said you weren't sure what else to do for the time being. Like, there's a war on, my dude, they're not going to let you retire right now.
: I think he meant he's not sure now what he's going to do after the war.
: Pfft, what? Shut up and drink something you bitch, you're not making sense.
: No thanks, I'm good.

Walter smirks at Virvel covering her slight slip up but stops himself from prodding due to previous experiences, He instead picks up the the Vodka bottle and examines the label.

"This is your favourite stuff right? We should hit up that pub again with everyone when we get back, Maybe place some bets on Tippy and Morten too for a rematch."

[Mr. Hurricane]

"Faw." Tippy says, venom hinting in the back of her tones.

Jaakko is silent for a moment.

"...I don't think it could have been helped," he says quietly.

[Tayasaurus]

"You're right, nothing could have. But to me not doing anything was worse."

Tippy cracks her knuckles out of habit.

"I didn't have to listen, and I keep thinking the scenario over and over again in my head."

[Mr. Hurricane]

Jaakko takes the words in.

"You'd have been shot down with Faw..."

And runs out of things to say.

[Tayasaurus]

"You don't know stuff..."

Tippy stops frowning and gets a sad look.

"Sorry... yeah probably. If you hadn't piped in I probably would have done it. Hell, I still think I should have."

[Mr. Hurricane]

Jaakko is silent for a minute. He looks away from Tippy.

"I'm just happy you're still here,"

[Qwepir]

"I swear," she says, resting her right hand on the book. Her eyes fall to stare at its cover and her voice goes quiet, with her pain clear in it. "Sometimes part of me wishes I knew. Maybe then it would've hurt less when it happened."

: So, with that out of the way, is there anything else about your situation you would like to get off your chest?

Walter smirks at Virvel covering her slight slip up but stops himself from prodding due to previous experiences, He instead picks up the the Vodka bottle and examines the label.

"This is your favourite stuff right? We should hit up that pub again with everyone when we get back, Maybe place some bets on Tippy and Morten too for a rematch."

: As a matter of fact yes, this is my favourite stuff. And yes, we really should get Tippy and Pansar to smash the place again. That was great!

Virvel pours a second round for herself and, noticing his empty glass, Walt as well.

[carolcat]

: So, with that out of the way, is there anything else about your situation you would like to get off your chest?

Cualli sighs, trying to think of where to start.

"I guess I'm just... not sure how I'm supposed to feel about him," she says quietly. "Obviously, I'm sure I'm supposed to hate his guts and want him dead just like everyone else, and yeah, I was pretty pissed at him at first. But then I just started thinking about how... how I'm probably never going to get to see him again, and how since he's now a traitor and probably execute-on-sight here in Aesthia, we'll probably... never even get to be together after the war is over." Cualli swallows. "If he's even still alive, or even wants to be with me after all this."

She realizes that her hands are trembling again and shoves them into her pockets to hide them. "I guess I still love him too much to really hate him, because now I'm just... I just miss him more than anything." She thinks back to when she was by Arkhip's side in the hospital and her throat tightens. "He... he'd promised me that he'd always make it back to me." Her eyes become wet and one of her hands comes up to brush away the tears that are threatening to slide down her cheek.

After a few long moments, she continues. "And people on the carrier know that I was close to him. Most of them think that I had a hand in his desertion and hate me for it. I really only feel like the people who aren't actively out to get me are Elu and Fr-- Captain Illarion. Everyone else is... part of Djuriskas tried to stab me, and Captain Illarion is the only reason they didn't. And Mjolnir's flight lead hates me more than anything, and if the flight lead is against me, then I'm pretty sure he's got everyone under him against me, too."

"Or at least, he'd have more influence to get me thrown in prison for either having a hand in Captain Orlov's desertion or being a desertion risk myself," she says finally.

She's not sure whether or not she feels better after getting everything off of her chest. Her head feels light and her knees don't feel as steady as usual.

[Badger]

Walter picks up the shot glass again and furrows his brow at Klara being more antsy than usual, he thinks back to figure out anything wrong, but turns up a blank, until he recalls her acting contrary to what anyone who knew her would think after the sortie where Arkhip deserted.

"...Am I missing something then? you don't seem so relaxed if you want to celebrate a little and drink."

[Qwepir]

Cualli sighs, trying to think of where to start.

"I guess I'm just... not sure how I'm supposed to feel about him," she says quietly. "Obviously, I'm sure I'm supposed to hate his guts and want him dead just like everyone else, and yeah, I was pretty pissed at him at first. But then I just started thinking about how... how I'm probably never going to get to see him again, and how since he's now a traitor and probably execute-on-sight here in Aesthia, we'll probably... never even get to be together after the war is over." Cualli swallows. "If he's even still alive, or even wants to be with me after all this."

She realizes that her hands are trembling again and shoves them into her pockets to hide them. "I guess I still love him too much to really hate him, because now I'm just... I just miss him more than anything." She thinks back to when she was by Arkhip's side in the hospital and her throat tightens. "He... he'd promised me that he'd always make it back to me." Her eyes become wet and one of her hands comes up to brush away the tears that are threatening to slide down her cheek.

After a few long moments, she continues. "And people on the carrier know that I was close to him. Most of them think that I had a hand in his desertion and hate me for it. I really only feel like the people who aren't actively out to get me are Elu and Fr-- Captain Illarion. Everyone else is... part of Djuriskas tried to stab me, and Captain Illarion is the only reason they didn't. And Mjolnir's flight lead hates me more than anything, and if the flight lead is against me, then I'm pretty sure he's got everyone under him against me, too."

"Or at least, he'd have more influence to get me thrown in prison for either having a hand in Captain Orlov's desertion or being a desertion risk myself," she says finally.

She's not sure whether or not she feels better after getting everything off of her chest. Her head feels light and her knees don't feel as steady as usual.

: You were right before. You should still hate him.
: I am inclined to agree with your... robot friend. Forgiveness is not something that bastard deserves. Your current predicament appears to be a direct result of his actions- the people harassing you would be directing their anger towards him, but he's long gone, so they are left to point it at the person they knew was closest to him. Perhaps because they think you support or at least sympathize with his decision to desert his post. And it would be bad enough if all he did was run off during a patrol and ditch in enemy territory, but from what I understand, he fled the field of battle and surrendered his aircraft and armaments to the Imperium. He didn't just betray his country, no, he betrayed every single member of this Air Force. Thanks to him, we are all endangered in a way we wouldn't have been before, because the Imperium has a greater understanding of how to counter our weapons. Make no doubt about it, people will die because of him. Possibly even you.

Walter picks up the shot glass again and furrows his brow at Klara being more antsy than usual, he thinks back to figure out anything wrong, but turns up a blank, until he recalls her acting contrary to what anyone who knew her would think after the sortie where Arkhip deserted.
"...Am I missing something then? you don't seem so relaxed if you want to celebrate a little and drink."

: Relaxed? I'm plenty relaxed. Just because I'm not- not napping on the couch listening to slow music, n' reading a book doesn't mean I'm not relaxed. Why, how do you relax?

[Tayasaurus]

Jaakko is silent for a minute. He looks away from Tippy.

"I'm just happy you're still here,"

"Thanks."

Tippy leans back and stares out the window near her table.

[carolcat]

The priest's final statement feels like a stab to Cualli's heart, and she takes a heavy seat onto one of the chairs. Her head feels like it's spinning as she processes what he's said.

"I guess... I guess you're right," she manages after several long moments. "I... never thought about that before. That what he did could possibly get me killed." Cualli briefly wonders if Arkhip had considered it or if the notion had even crossed his mind at any point. There was no way he would have intentionally endangered her specifically, but Cualli knows that Arkhip isn't foolish: he would have known going into it that what he was doing would endanger his country (or, rather, his former country).

But did he intentionally endanger his country out of malice or was it simply the easiest-- or possibly the only-- way out of his situation? And what situation was that? Handing over our planes and weapons won't bring back his dead parents, and the only end to the war that it will bring is one where the Goths have a better chance of winning.

Cualli's eyebrows twitch as if she's going to narrow her eyes. She looks as if she's searching the floor for answers. Arkhip never struck her as an Imperial sympathizer. Surely if he was, she would have picked up on it at some point in her involvement with him. No, there had to be something else. What did he want to get out of?

Cualli rakes her memories for anything abnormal he might have said to her in the past. When he said that it felt like what we were doing wasn't making a difference; that things were only going to get much, much worse from there.

We. What we were doing.

Her eyes widen slightly in the silent realization. "Oh," she breathes. His father dead in that accident, his mother walking out, the stabbing in Moratov, how Djuriskas treated him...

"I see," she says, looking up at the priest. Disillusionment. What he was fighting for wasn't what he believed in. He needed to get out. "Thank you. I think..." Cualli stands up.

"You're right. I can't sympathize with him. Not after what he did."

A lie.

[Badger]

: Relaxed? I'm plenty relaxed. Just because I'm not- not napping on the couch listening to slow music, n' reading a book doesn't mean I'm not relaxed. Why, how do you relax?

"Commonly just stretching and then plopping down somewhere comfortable like I am now. If I really feel like It I have some brandy and maybe a wood fire depending on the weather, but I have to make do without that here."

Walter finishes the sentence by drinking the next shot of Vodka

"This is pretty good too though, -" He says gesturing the glass for a moment "- I don't know, just seemed like something else was up but maybe I'm just groggy from my nap." 

[Qwepir]

"Thank you. I think..." Cualli stands up. "You're right. I can't sympathize with him. Not after what he did."

: I hope you can get the counseling you need when your tour of duty has ended, but for now you shouldn't be worrying about the well-being of someone like that.

"Commonly just stretching and then plopping down somewhere comfortable like I am now. If I really feel like It I have some brandy and maybe a wood fire depending on the weather, but I have to make do without that here."

Walter finishes the sentence by drinking the next shot of Vodka

"This is pretty good too though, -" He says gesturing the glass for a moment "- I don't know, just seemed like something else was up but maybe I'm just groggy from my nap." 

: You know what helps with falling asleep, right?

Virvel holds up the now half-empty bottle.