milliways_bar | (no subject)

Ramon notes the smile and isn't sure what it means but doesn't ask.

'I don't know, we didn't get round to introductions. He was too busy flashing fire and lightning from his body in my general direction. He was on the piano though, playing sad stuff. And he was dark.'

"Yeah, that's the Lord Bard."

He smiles.

"I'd tell you to try not to get on his bad side, but, well. Oops. Too late."

His eyes slide shut.

"You should probably apologize very politely, should you see him again. He's got enough power to to squish you like a bug."

His smile is sad again - and a touch embarrassed. 'I already did.' He snorts a little. 'I was absolved.'

He pauses before trying to justify it a bit. 'He caught me not long after the encounter with Arithon that brought all this on, so I was a bit touchy.' His hand heads for the bottle again. 'What's his power?'

"That would be telling."

He shakes his head.

"And if he said you were absolved, then he meant it. So your best bet would be avoid him till the whole thing's over."

And seeing the reach for the bottle, he rolls his eyes.

"Drink something non-alcoholic. It'll have exactly the same effect, and it'll give you less of a hangover."

Ramon raises an eyebrow. 'Tease.' Then there's a smile. 'Telling me could...'

He trails off. He was going to say 'could save my life' but he's pretty sure that Random doesn't care about that. 'What do you mean 'the whole thing'? If he doesn't like me now, he's hardly likely to find me good company when I'm back to my normal self.'

He smirks at the eyeroll. 'Hey, I think it started helping OK?' Stubborn, he is. But is gently mocking himself too, because he doesn't know what else to do. Everything about this day is more than weird for him, and this conversation is...nice. And thats possibly the weirdest thing of all.

Random wants to say something along the lines of 'And you think that's the alcohol and not my presence?' But that would rather defeat the point.

"I'm not one to reveal secrets of another, basically because I know so many."

And no, he'd not be upset if Ramon were to meet a sticky end. Nor would he be upset if the terrorist walked away from all this.

"And 'tease?' Well... yes."

'I think maybe only you would be proud of that.' He thinks for a moment. 'And probably Andres as well. You're well matched.'

He nods though. 'I guess thats fair enough. Being able to keep your mouth shut is a useful skill. I wish more people had it. And maybe this bard and I won't cross paths again so it doesn't matter.'

He knows very well that its Random's presence thats helping but he's not about to admit that, even to himself.

[OOC: Just gotta *squee* cos these two? Are crack! :D]

"It's a fact. What's the point in denying it?"

He runs fingers through his hair.

"And you are dead convinced that I'm sleeping with the Spaniard."

He looks honestly perplexed, and a little irritated.

"Why?"

'Well, its kind of strange for me to meet an honest man. Fairy. Whatever. Although I'm sure you're more than capable of lying when you want to.'

He winces a little at the irritation, feeling it himself suddenly and being reminded all over again about what's going on. But he tries to ignore to say, 'Can you honestly tell me you're not sleeping with him?'

"Of course not. When I first met you I was just on the way out of his room to get myself a drink."

Which he raises in a toast.

"But I'm wondering where I slipped up. I don't think I've dropped any overly broad hints."

He nods with a smile, glad to be right.

'It was easy enough to work out, though I didn't know for sure until you just told me. But he was in a great mood and told me it was someone new, then I met you and...well, you just don't seem the type that know any of the other people I know here. And you pulled the King of Swords from your deck, you know too much about my dealings with Gorlim for you to have spoken to anyone else...' There's a tired shrug. 'It all adds up. It wasn't hard to put together.' He smiles a little wickedly. 'Besides, only Andres' tales could have made you spit your drink over the table at the mention of my name.'

"Your conclusion is right, but your deductions are completely erroneous."

He shrugs.

"King of Swords is the facecard of one Sherlock Holmes, who's advice I was following at the time. Andres's card is the knight. I know Lee Castle, Gorlim, and obviously Roy. And though Andres did mention your name when I asked him if he was getting into trouble, my reaction was entirely due to my own research."

He raises his drink in a toast.

"But congratulations, none the less. Holmes would be appalled, but I'm impressed."

Ramon raises an eyebrow and one half of his face, amused. 'Not as stupid as you think, eh? Damn, I should have kept my mouth shut.' He's relaxed though. 'Well that gives it away further. If it weren't for Andres mentioning me, then you wouldn't have known to do any research now would you?' He pulls a face. 'Although I suppose the other people that know me would warn their friends come to that.'

He lifts the bottle in response to the toast. 'What's the deal with Holmes?'

"I go to him for advice, on occasion. Seeing him reminds me to think about things and react calmly instead of being thrown in the cells for assault with a Scotch glass."

A small, rueful grin.

"He's been helpful."

He looks at him closely, noting the grin and the way its not really happy. 'This is Sherlock Holmes we're talking about, right? I've heard of him. Yes, he's supposedly a logical man.' He drinks some more. 'A good friend then, by the sounds of it.'

"Annoying bastard, really. But yes. That Sherlock Holmes. And logical is the right word for him."

His tone is laced with thick annoyance.

"Friend's a loose. Needed some Tarot work done. Payed too well not to take the offer. But the first thing he said to me was 'Don't be rash.' So I try to keep him in mind."

Ramon's eyes narrow. He sounds rather too annoyed with the man for him just to be someone that needed his cards read.

'If you try to keep him in mind and he's just a customer, why do you sound so pissed off?'

"Because he reminded me of times past."

He shrugs, face draining of emotion.

"I don't like to sell my skills. Nor have I needed to for centuries before his request. It's rather a step closer to whoring" The bitterness creeps back into his voice at that word "than makes me comfortable."

"So my dislike of him is, perhaps, largely irrational. But none the less."

It's a reasonable explanation. But leads to an obvious question. 'What was wrong at that point that you needed to sell your magic?'

"We don't know eachother that well."

He leans back in his seat.

"I'm going to bid you goodninght, but first I have a few things you should know."

He begins to tick them off on his fingers-

"One, hurting Roy as badly as you did last time is unecessary and will lead to unpleasant circumstances. Be more careful. Two, I enjoy your company, yet will feel no remorse should the situation deteriorate to the point where I take your life to spare Andres. Three, well, I guess there isn't a three, but advice always seems to come in threes. So 'Reduce, re-use and recycle.'"

He sighs. So. Back to business.

'I'll have a talk to Roy. He probably didn't deserve that last time. I don't know what I'll be like after this is over in a few hours, so I'm not promising anything.

As for Andres...he wont get hurt if he stays out of my way, nor will any of his friends. But he needs to understand that he wont be able to stop me from doing what I plan. Some things have to be put right.' He taps his finger on the top of his bottle. 'I enjoy your company too Random, you're interesting, and I think you understand some things quite well that other people don't. So maybe we should keep business out of our next conversation, it'll make it even more enjoyable.'

"That's all I can ask."

He rises easily to his feet.

"And perhaps by next time you'll be able to name your single most attractive acquaintance. Good evening."

And with that, he vanishes.

[ooc: That was fun, but I need sleep. Thanks for the thread.]

Ramon watches the space where he was, a bemused smirk on his face. Yes. Definitely enjoyed his company.

Damn tease.

[OOC: Hee yes! Was awesome! Thanks alot, have a good night! :)]