BERTOLT

[bloodread]

Comments

[perspire]

[ there's a slight hesitation to this before he shrugs and nods.

considering everything he's been through, he deserves a drink ]

[bloodread]

Be right back. [ Akira returns about five minutes later with two drinks in hand, holding out one to Bertolt. ]

They're both highballs. If it's too strong I'll drink it, and I can go back and grab you a beer.

[perspire]

[ He takes the offered drink, raising it to his lips and takes a sip. He makes a small face at first, not expecting the alcoholic taste, but then he just firms up and drinks a little more.

He nods back at Akira in thanks. ]

[bloodread]

[ That's it Bertolt, drink up and eventually you won't taste the alcohol.

But also, this is a well made highball if Bertolt has any sense of the quality of cocktails. Akira lets out a huff that's almost a laugh. ]

Sure you don't need me to drink it for you? [ He takes a sip of his own, betraying no teenage reaction to alcohol. ] My aunt owns a bar so I bartend sometimes when she's too busy to chase me out for being underage.

[perspire]

[ He gives Akira a pointed look. Then he takes a bigger drink, leaving half the glass left, and not betraying any reaction.

And then he grins at him before nodding at him. ]

[bloodread]

Point made. [ Akira matches, downing half his drink because he didn't make this drink to enjoy it damnnit. ]

You really just want me to talk about whatever?

[perspire]

[ He nods at him.

Takes another drink before pointing behind him, mimes speaking, and shakes his head no ]

[bloodread]

Huh?

[ ????? ]

[perspire]

[ Thinks again about how to charade this.

Points at himself, then points at where they came from, trying to get across where he was before, and then mimes speaking again before shaking his head no ]

[bloodread]

[ Takes another drink, thinks loudly. ]

...so you don't wanna talk about the party? Or about being a spirit? One finger for the first one, two for the second one.

[perspire]

[ shakes his head again before holding up two. that's closer to what he's trying to get out ]

[bloodread]

I would've accepted either. [ Parties suck. Akira throws back the rest of his drink and rolls out his shoulders. ]

But sure, I can tell you all about how I died instead. Lemme just grab a bottle first though. [ All said casually, sometimes you die and it's nbd? maybe. ]

[perspire]

[ oh.

he's just going to look at him then.

yeah he's gonna chug back the rest of his drink here and motions at his empty glass and then at him.

grab him one too ]

[bloodread]

Two, then. [ Saunters back out.

Comes back with two whiskey bottles and two new glasses with ice. ]

This way I don't have to go back out there again. [ And it means he can get comfortable. Layouts are a lie, but he's gonna pick the wall nearest to Bertolt and sit down against it. Nagako settles nearby, keeping an ear towards the door. ]

[perspire]

[ Bertolt settles down next to him. He undoes the top and pours himself a glass before holding the glass up for Akira.

Cheers? ]

[bloodread]

[ With filled glasses, Akira nods. ]

Kanpai. [ Bottoms up. This is probably going to hit him shortly, but the advantages(disadvantages?) of having food in his stomach and not being a stranger to liquor at home.

A breath out as he feels the whiskey move down his chest. ]

I guess the nice part of this is you can't tell me what a good job I did not dying permanently. [ People mean well, but a tsun will be a tsun. ]

[perspire]

[ Raises his glass and drains it as well. He only makes a face once it's empty. He is a stranger to alcohol, but has some food in his stomach so it'll take a bit before he starts to feel the effects.

Instead he leans his head back as far as he can before his antlers stop him, but he angles his head so he can look at Akira as he speaks.

He makes a face at that, but doesn't do anything more. This is Akira's story so he'll listen (not like he can do anything more than that). ]

[bloodread]

[ Refills both their glasses. ]

That face better be cause of the whiskey. [ Even if he knows it's not.

He shifts a bit ensuring he's fully comfortable, then starts to speak. ]

It's a short story and a long one. But either way, I fucked up. I wound up in another place with Rin, Alisaie, and that old geezer Van Zieks. Eventually we wound up on this mountain which was, of course, fucking haunted. Met a ghost there that could use blue fire, which Alisaie was Baraqiel? I dunno, I've talked to the guy like, once.

[ A sip of his drink. ]

It started out pretty fun, I got to fight with an Ogre for starters.

[perspire]

[ Makes another face, a bit of a smirk, before he takes another sip of his whiskey. He crosses his legs to make himself comfortable as he listens to Akira's story, nodding once.

It seems like he knows that something happened. ]

[bloodread]

[ Does he need to shake down a certain crane. A tilt of his head later, Akira continues. ]

I don't know how long I fought with the Ogre, but eventually I needed to find a weapon cause there were too many undead. Rin managed to disarm one of them, literally, so that got me a sword. I'm not trained, but Yoo Joonghyuk taught me the basics.

...it was actually one hell of a good time until the voices started. The mountain we were on was a bloodthirsty one, and it put the words of people we knew in our heads. For Rin that was his brother, for me that was Kakuya. I don't remember if I told you about her, but she's the spirit who dragged me into this whole thing by kidnapping my sister.

Hearing her voice on repeat really, really, fucking pissed me off. [ He says this through gritted teeth, the hand not currently holding a glass balled up into a fist. ]

[perspire]

[ /YESHRUG

But he's patient as he listens. He doesn't react much to the story of the fight. He trusts Akira to take care of himself and being able to hold his own, or well, as best he can. He lets out a small huff of breath that could be understood as laughter once Akira talks about it as being a good time.

But then that changes when Akira talks about voice. He notices Akira's hand clench. The sad thing about being dead is not having Idi anymore. He takes another drink from his glass before shifting, tapping one of his legs against Akira in a small show of comfort. ]

[bloodread]

[ He blinks at the tap, not entirely sure what to make of it but that's not necessarily a bad thing. In the silence he takes another gulp of whiskey, almost done with this glass. ]

After that I just lost it. I don't know whether it was the mountain or my bloodmetry—you probably heard, right? I can read the memories of blood, it's something I've been doing every week. It's fucking crazy, but it has its uses.

[ A shake of his head. ]

All I could see was the flashes of memories, but I should've known better, I was drenched in blood at that point. When I could think again, I was in a pile of corpses and it felt like I had been hit by a truck. Like something had hit me back into my body as hard as it could.

[perspire]

[ He nods at the bloodmetry. He's heard of it, but can't and won't explain how he knows. His face takes on a worried look as he keeps explaining what happened to him. He doesn't do much else, except have drinks of his whiskey, but he does give his full attention to Akira. ]

[bloodread]

Pretty sure I lost an organ or two, but they're all there now. [ Maybe this heaviness calls for a break in the story or maybe he just wants something to do with his hands. Akira finishes what's left in his glass, sets it down beside him and then starts to unbutton his shirt with little fanfare until his entire chest and midriff is exposed.

Bertolt gets a nice look at his absolutely shredded abs, with no injuries to speak of. ]

See? [ A slight smirk. ] The wounds are actually on my back, but if I take this entire thing off I'm not putting it back on again. And they're mostly healed anyway.

[perspire]

[ He's about to tilt his head when Akira sets down his drink but then he sees him start to unbutton his shirt and all he can do is just sit there and stare. Is this a good time for him to finish his drink? Yeah, probably. He brings his glass to his lips and drains it as that shirt is undone and he all he can do is just look at Akira's absolutely shredded abs.

He realizes what he's doing and moves his eyes back up to Akira's face, hoping that the mask is doing a good job of hiding his flush, or that it can be blamed on the alcohol. But he nods at him. ]