milliways_bar | (no subject)

"Probably." Balthazar agrees, accepting a plate loaded down with a ginormous cinnamon roll from a second rat. Lovely.

"I didn't know people even ordered cinnamon rolls from Bar," Autor murmurs, mostly to himself.

"Look. We clearly got off on the wrong foot."

It's not quite an olive branch, because Autor is terrible at extending those. And it's not quite an apology, either, though he's starting to think it'd be best if he did make the effort. He sighs through his nose. "I'm sorry, all right?"

That earns another raised eyebrow, this one higher than the first.

"Are you apologizing because you feel remorse," He teases a piece of roll free, liberally dosed with icing, "Or because you feel you ought to?"

"A little of both," Autor says, opting again for honesty for some reason unknown to him. He dislikes being this honest. "Is that one of Rae's cinnamon rolls?"

The way he says her name is gentle; clearly he's fond of her.

"Sunshine does make truly delicious cinnamon rolls." Balthazar agrees, content with his tea and roll.

"Ah, so you do know her," Autor says, nodding. He wonders how to turn the conversation away from her, his naturally protective side flaring like it does around Dr. Lecter. "What is your name? Mine is Autor."

"Balthazar." The sorcerer replies, teasing another piece of cinnamon roll free. Yes, he plans on eating the whole thing - duels with Horvath burn a lot of energy.

"Hello, Balthazar," Autor says, starting this conversation backwards, as he seems to do so often. "What do you do back home?"

"Well, I don't have huge cinnamon rolls." The faint note of amusement is back - it's possible he's noted the verbal herding.

"No, those are pretty one of a kind," Autor says, raising a brow. He hails a wait rat and orders tea--this is a tea kind of situation. "You're quite reluctant to talk about yourself, I've noticed."

He drops the observation casually. It's just there, no inflection to mark it as any different from, say, commenting on how he looks tired.

"Whereas you are quite eager to hear my life story." Balthazar replies, giving no quarter. "Even to the point of making apologies you don't entirely mean."

And now he's embarrassed again. He looks away, busying himself with watching the rats, before glancing back. "... Ah," the boy says, with tinted cheeks. "For what it's worth, I did mean the apology."

"At least partially." Balthazar agrees, with another piece of cinnamon roll. "I suppose that's good for partial credit."

Autor squints at him. He scoops up his tea from the wait rat calmly--not desperately, like he feels--and sips it just as calm. "No, I meant it fully. Just because I felt I ought to doesn't mean I can't also feel remorseful."

Edited 2014-10-14 07:49 (UTC)

"No, no it doesn't." Balthazar agrees, his calm not feigned. Of course, he has quite a few more years of practice in the art of dancing around a topic.

"If I ask you any more questions about yourself, will you answer them?" Autor says, sipping his tea.

"That depends, of course." Balthazar raises an eyebrow at the boy again, "Why are you asking?"

"As is no doubt obvious by now, I am curious about other people," Autor answers, inclining his head. "How they live their lives, or travel from place to place in their worlds, or why they choose to do what they do."

"Ah, but to what end? I once met a very charming young priest with an admirable dedication to his work that I had to be very careful not to tell a thing." And this is completely true - the poor priest had been more interested in law than faith, but that only put him in the perfect position to be part of the juggernaut that took over much of Spain. It wasn't the poor boy's fault that someone had seen him taking down a Morganian.

Autor considers this. For some reason, he reasons out that it wouldn't hurt to tell Balthazar things. "I'm a writer. I look to people for inspiration."

"Inspiration for your writing, or...?" Why yes, Balthazar is a suspicious bastard. You live for over a millennium and let's see how trusting you are.

"Yes, of course," Autor says, blinking guilelessly. "What else would I find inspiration for?"

"This is a bar which is open to an unlimited number of worlds, and an unlimited number of times - the possible answers to that question are endless." Balthazar replies blandly.

"They are," Autor admits, sipping his tea. "But as I said, I am looking for inspiration for my writing, just so. Is that an end you'd mind answering questions for?"

"Perhaps - if you will answer your own question first." What? He doesn't feel the need to be the only one talking here.