twiststheblade: (just the angels)
twiststheblade ([personal profile] twiststheblade) wrote2006-06-10 01:08 am

Angels: Act Two

from here


Yokohama.

Japan's biggest port city.

Hub of trade, export, and import.

Modern, classical, new and ancient. If a thing is new 'it was done first in Yokohama'.

It is late by the time the two bikes purr through the suburbs, heading for the heart of the financial district. Late, and the rain has stopped. The surfaces are slick with water, lights reflecting off anything and everything, a shifting kaleidoscope.

The buildings are an odd mix. Darkened office buildings, except for the odd window where a worker is up late into the night. Bars, restaurants, the odd shop, spill light and sound and smell out into the streets.

Eventually, Miho waves an arm, slows, and pulls over to the side of the road. She hops off, braces the bike, and smoothly uses her entire body-weight to lift it onto the stand. She pushes her visor up, and smiles.

"Well, this is it."

There are two buildings that stand out. One is rounded, almost like a tower, stabbing up into the night. Next to it, seperated by only a narrow alleyway, is a mirrored tower-block, curved frontage, glass elevators running up the outside of the building. It has an enourmous lobby, brightly lit, edged by small shops, and a few restaurants.

"That's the one we want," she says, pointing to the rounded building. "And this is the one I thought we could go across from."

She grins.

"Anyone for sushi?"

[identity profile] 3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 06:21 am (UTC)(link)
Goldy shrugs amiably. All her weaponry is well-hidden under her leather jacket, under her top, in her backpack, and in cargo pockets.

"She's right. That will probably do."

While Alanna works to disguise her blade, she casts a glance at the gap between the tops of the two buildings, assessing distances. She seems vaguely satisfied.

"Shall we then?" she suggests when the knight is done.
the_lioness: (Got my eye on you)

[personal profile] the_lioness 2006-06-19 02:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Eventually, Alanna will stop gawking, but it doesn't look as if it will be anytime soon. It's like a temple, she thinks. Some sort of glorious temple designed to capture sunlight and do honor to Mithros. It must be beautiful in the daytime.

Alanna is surprised, actually, at the delicious smells coming from the restaurant. The expectation that the entire building would smell of raw fish had prepared her for an hour of holding her shirt over her nose.

She smiles cheerfully at the server until she wonders if she should be more circumspect. Taking a seat, she notes the position of the door and turns to Miho.

Quietly, "do they know you here?"

[identity profile] 3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 03:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Goldy is utterly charmed by Alanna's wide eyes. She takes everything in with a slightly more casual eye as they cross the atrium.

"And more importantly, is the ōtoro any good here?" she asks distractedly.

She's a little preoccupied with her hair—the fluffy bits are adamantly refusing to comply with her wishes. In the end she gives up and removes her backpack, then settles down at the table.
the_lioness: (What a laugh)

[personal profile] the_lioness 2006-06-19 08:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Alanna watches the struggle out of the corner of her eye with an amused twist of her lips. When Goldy gives up, Alanna reaches over and smooths her hair, leaving it as it was before. It's quick and subtle, the change not different enough for anyone around them to notice.

"Many thanks." Alanna grins. "Do I count as a westerner?"

[identity profile] 3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 08:22 pm (UTC)(link)
"As much as I do," Goldy replies with a chuckle. "I suppose six hundred years in residence there qualifies me. And I have inherited many of the cultural tastes over that time."

She gives her head a curious pat. There's a smile of approval at the results of Alanna's touch.

Much better.
the_lioness: (saucy)

[personal profile] the_lioness 2006-06-19 08:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Alanna shrugs. "I certainly didn't think so when I was younger. All I wanted was change my hair and eye color. I tried once and knocked myself out for quite some time."

Her eyes widen again as the server hands her a hot towel. It's like someone read her mind. Smiling blissfully, she wraps it around her hands.

The food, although unlike anything she has ever seen, fascinates her. She sees rice. Rice is good.

"I'll let you go first, I think."

[identity profile] 3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 09:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Goldy lets out a little laugh at Alanna's story.

She uses her towel as well, while the waitress pours some chilled sake into her diminuitive cup. She takes a sip and surveys the food offerings. Then, without any fuss, she primes a pair of chopsticks between her fingers and plucks a seaweed-wrapped cylinder from the plate.

It's salmon and she seems to enjoy it.

She tries an oblong of rice and tuna next, which meets with even more approval.

"Why did you want to change how you look?" she asks Alanna. "I love your hair."
the_lioness: (I'm not really sure about you yet.)

[personal profile] the_lioness 2006-06-19 09:23 pm (UTC)(link)
...Goldy is eating with sticks.

Alanna watches very carefully, trying to discern if there is a trick to it. Eventually she picks up a pair of chopsticks as well, spinning them between her fingers.

"I was trying to blend in. There aren't that many violet-eyed redheads where I'm from. I just wanted to be like everybody else. Every day, I asked why I hadn't been born a boy."

She fumbles her first attempt with the chopsticks and pops a piece in her mouth with her hands.

It's really very good.
the_lioness: (Default)

[personal profile] the_lioness 2006-06-19 09:37 pm (UTC)(link)
"Because I wanted nothing more than to be a knight, and if I'd been discovered as a girl, the King and Duke Gareth never would've allowed me to try for my shield."

Face solemn, she takes the ginger and looks at it a moment before tasting. This she recognizes.

"It's good for your stomach. Jack gave me a ginger root to chew when I get seasick."

[identity profile] 3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 09:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Goldy is concentrating on the bluefin tuna chunks. She follows each delicious morsal with a sip of sake.

"Seasick, eh? How do you feel about heights?"
the_lioness: (Mouth)

[personal profile] the_lioness 2006-06-19 09:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Alanna sniffs the sake, makes a face and opts for water instead.

"How do I feel about heights? I avoid them until I can no longer do so, and then I just don't look down."

Safety harnesses are very primitive in Tortall.
the_lioness: (Whut?)

[personal profile] the_lioness 2006-06-19 10:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Alanna's stomach does an odd little flip.

"Yes," she finally replies. "I would. If I can't trust you here, who can I trust?"

She keeps trying things, appetite suddenly voracious.

[identity profile] 3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Goldy breaks from her eating and frowns at Miho a bit.

"Let's not make any overly rash promises, sweetness," she says. "I'd love for our safety to be guaranteed, but whether she falls or not is pretty much in her own hands."

The building traverse part of the plan had been sketchy at best, basically because it couldn't be properly formulated until they got up there.
the_lioness: (Stubborn? Moi?)

[personal profile] the_lioness 2006-06-19 10:53 pm (UTC)(link)
"I have no intention of falling," she says stubbornly.

The french is unknown, but the meaning is clear.

Sweetly, "please pass... those things. And those over there."

[identity profile] 3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 11:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Goldy quickly grabs the last of the ōtoro chunks and hoards them. Only then does she pass over the platter with an incredibly sweet smile.

"I think it's going to be fun. I haven't been abseiling in an age."

When Goldy speaks of an 'age', it could be well be a literal one.