Ace | this war is (not) mine

[kanyekun]

[It's a modest bar with a deceptively brand new look belying the squeaky hinges of the double doors. Ace nurses a cup of water at the counter, seated on a stool adjacent to the bulletin board littered with documents of growing civil strife. But his attention is far from the papers and directed at the bottles behind the bartender, his gaze drinking in the labels with a lack of better things to do.

There's just a handful of people in the bar besides him. After all, it's prime time to be working, as it always is. And as always, the atmosphere is rather tense.

Ace chews on a coffee stirrer.]

Comments

[zeitnot]

[ what are the chances that hakon just so happens ended up in this very same bar?

100%, by plot's contrivance, of course. but for someone who's been displaced from his own world, he doesn't look particularly worried. then again, hakon's brand of worry has always been strategic in nature, pragmatic to a fault. bars are an excellent source of information. this is why he smoothly slips himself into the bar seat next to the only person at the bar right now, far for him to be shy about something as inane as striking up a conversation.

truth to be told, he doesn't recognize ace. not yet. there are several factors at work here: 1) he never expected that ace would be here. 2) he can't tell apart one human face from another. 3) ace hasn't spoken yet, and therefore he has no behavioural cues to go on. what he does notices, however, is that the individual is nursing what appears to be a glass of water.

hm. ]

Honestly, if you're here to kill time, at least pretend to order something with a little alcoholic content.

There's something that could be said about standing out like a crooked nail.

[kanyekun]

[ tearing his gaze from the bottles, ace appraises the stranger, the corner of his eyes catching the bartender's movements. a little alcoholic content? he almost shrugs as he takes away the coffee stirrer and drops it into the glass.

this one's face is foreign. ]

I don't look old enough.

[zeitnot]

[ hakon's eyes also follow the bartender's movements, the way he quietly tracks the movements of everyone in and out of the bar. the chessboard in his head advances a few moves. he taps the table for a moment, considering this. ]

Ahh, such a law-abiding guy.

Aren't you afraid of standing out though?

[kanyekun]

[ ace inclines his head, then, minding the coffee stirrer, takes the glass for a sip. ]

I wouldn't be here if I was. [ though the biggest reason: ] I was thirsty.

[zeitnot]

[ true. but you don't have to be so stupid about it-- is hakon's thoughts.

but then again, does this mean this guy is brazen?

could be brazen, could just be plain stupid. either way, it could be interesting to find out. ]

... I can't tell if you just have no common sense , or if you just haven't thought this through.

[kanyekun]

[ this time, ace does shrug. he sets down the glass and looks over his shoulder, at hakon. ]

I come down here often. I don't have to think it through anymore.

[zeitnot]

[ pfft. ]

Ah. Perfect. Then you can tell me something.

[ and hakon taps the bar twice with his index finger. his voice does not drop, but it very noticeably stills. ]

The war. Who's spearheading it?

[kanyekun]

[ the war is a constant in the turbulent age surrounding miscyre; however, nobody seems to have clear cut answers about the details. ace is no exception.

it's a peculiar question to be asking. ]

I don't know. The rumors say he's young, though.

[zeitnot]

What else do the rumours say?

[ interesting, though. the turbulence around this particular region is almost painful. as the personification of war, it admitted sets his nerves on edge.

not that he is particularly keen on showing it. he taps his middle finger against the bar, and then his thumb. ]

Anything about decapitating insolent renegades? Is he hiring?

[kanyekun]

[ considering that the war exploded when peaceful protest was met with violence, the likelihood of decapitation is low on the rebels' side, but ace can't well speak for them. ]

I don't know about decapitating, but he hires readily.

[ even people who never said anything about joining. ]

[ 1/2 ]

[zeitnot]

That's one of two at least.

[ he figured as much, really. the war effort usually tends to end up like this, on both sides. maybe that'll end up being a good way to kill time, if he can't get any other leads.

he taps his index finger against the bar again, before leaning back. just the barest of glances for the guy next to him. ]

[ 2/2 ]

[zeitnot]

So?

[ and he cocks his head. ]

Where've we met before?

[kanyekun]

[ at all the second glances, a distant memory had been reaching in his mind. ace, too, cocks his head to match hakon at eye level. the words, for once, tumble out as if on their own. ]

I could star in a horror movie.

[zeitnot]

[ and as if like a coil, hakon suddenly springs forward, snapping his fingers in an abrupt show of excitement. ]

So it was you!

[kanyekun]

[ as hakon springs forward, ace rights his head before nodding.

he doesn't have anything to offer from that point on, though there's the unspoken question that comes from the situation: what brings hakon here? ]

[zeitnot]

[ which is a question that hakon picks up on. truthfully, it's a question the's been expecting, and it's perhaps a question that he's been asking himself.

he hasn't found a satisfactory answer yet for himself, so he shrugs. ]

To observe a war... maybe?

[kanyekun]

[ maybe.

ace cracks a small grin. ]

Not to be hired?

[zeitnot]

[ he snorts. ]

If they can afford me! Though that was gonna be a last resort.

[kanyekun]

Last resort, huh.

[ hm. ]

The war's going to end soon.

[zeitnot]

[ ...

his index finger draws a circle. ]

Which one you talkin' about? The one that's been going on since forever?

Or the one you're wrapped up in. Assuming that there's a difference.

[kanyekun]

I'm not in any war.

[ he glances back at the labels on the bottles. they can talk so freely, because the bartender hasn't been with them for a while.

he begins chewing on the coffee stirrer again. ]

He'll get offed soon.

[zeitnot]

[ he breathes out here. under his breath-- ]

As if that's ever ended a war before.

[ the individuals in the tavern appear on the chessboard of his mind, unbidden. individual pieces, representing everyone within the bar, pops up in sheer black and white.

he taps the bar, and looks down at his finger. the red nail polish on his thumb his chipped, and he rubs it a little absently-mindedly.

he glances over the chessboard. where is the bartender. ]

[kanyekun]

[ the coffee stirrer in his grasp, ace slides off the stool. ]

It'll end the war and start another one.

[ the stirrer is then deposited in the glass, after which ace turns to hakon. ]

Are you staying?

[zeitnot]

[ ace's voice breaks through his concentration, and he looks away from his chessboard to peer over at ace with blood red eyes.

'are you staying', huh. what a loaded question that is. in response, he taps the bar twice again with his index finger, before letting his hand leave the bar's surface. ]

Do I wanna be saddled with your bar tab?

[ and with that rhetorical question, he slides off his bar stool as well, barely sparing a glance for the deserted bar. ]

[kanyekun]

Water's free.

[ and if it isn't, it will be now. ace heads for the double doors, where the loud squeak of their swing will certainly notify any within hearing range of the departure.

if there is anybody in the bar. ]