apostle / apostate

Baffled, he blinks as he meets his eyes as he turns to him. He glimpses at the selection of fruits.

" Ahh, uh... "

So he follows the suit flashing a bright smile at the lady. Bright as the sun it might be though his voice still fumbles a little:

He at least has the wherewithal to swallow before speaking, flashing another brilliant smile. The poor stall owner looks as if she might have a heart attack at how sweet his face looks stuffed with food.

"Ah, that really hits the spot- three more please? I can wait until his are done."

Then his head turns to Eiden, and he doesn't bother swallowing before speaking to him.

man.

"Wouldn't even bother with glasses, honestly. Feels like a "drink right outta the bottle" kind of night, yeah?" he pauses, mind briefly stuck on the thought of both of their lips on the same bottle neck. "I ain't got cooties or anything. And, uh, my lip already stopped bleedin' and everything!" lame-ass excuse for an indirect kiss, but he was nothing if not an opportunist. "Which...you're not afraid of heights are ya? There's this rooftop nearby with a nice view. Perfect place to chill."

he shoves the handkerchief back into a pocket, face mostly unsullied, and chuckles. oh, yeah. introductions.

"Well, not gonna find me complaining," Thaddeus agrees, shrugging and bringing the bottle to hover just over his mouth. He pours a generous amount into his mouth, and swallows with only a faint shiver- not as strong as he'd thought- before handing it over to the blond. "Titus then," he agrees amicably- because funny as 'blondie' is, he's not prone to actually giving many people nicknames. Not actual ones, at least. "I'm Thaddeus. And I'm not scared of heights- but I am wondering how we're getting up on any rooftops."

Is it strange to introduce himself with his Disciple name? Possibly. But he's been Thaddeus for long enough now, that hearing himself addressed as anything else feels strange. He lets his smile go sly, and shrugs, arms folding under his chest.

"Trust me, my ego's not something anyone but me needs to be worrying about."

Her voice trails off slightly. Actually, she isn't sure if she understands the word 'vibe' thinking about it now. In passing, she's heard it used in many different ways, used to refer to a soul, a place, even animals or one's looks. Maybe, it was a multi use one.

"Reflexes? No, I actually do not know. I am finding there are still many things I don't know which word goes to what, and my time here has only opened it up to even more than I originally thought."

She makes her way over to the broken training dummy, giving it a poke.

"...what do you mean you don't know reflexes? It's like..." How can he explain that the concept of being able to react to things is something so intrinsic that the concept of someone not understanding it is baffling to him? He shrugs, because while he's smart in his own way, the idea of explaining something that's- to him- intrinsic feels beyond him. Like explaining how to breathe.

In response to her question, however, he bats at one of the arms still attached, and the upper portion of the dummy spins loosely- separate from the middle and lower sections.

Send a symbol, receive an answer. For multimuses, specify muse:

He's too mentally checked out to draw any conclusions, inaccurate or not, from that though. Instead Eiden's focusing to his task in hand. It's not long he's swapped into different mode like the mishap hadn't even happened:

" There's some really good fried chicken over there, great noodles over there-- " he chatters up as they go on, " honestly there's tons of good places in here, I can't say I remember them all and I think they change the stalls up on pretty daily basis. So I'm not sure, it might not be there today--- "

The scents mix into a thick cloud, grease and scattered ingredients mixing into one, occasionally growing stronger when they pass them. Slowly they're passing to sweeter territory--

" Bubbletea aaaand--- ah! Yes! "

He takes a full stop, where the stallholder is already coating strawberries---

The information that the stalls aren't permanent surprises him- business back home is all about being reliable- but he supposes given how popular the street seems to be, maybe that's not an issue here. Either way, he can smell it on the air when they start getting closer- the particular syrupy smell of melted sugar. He marks the bubble tea for the return trip, but immediately perks when he spots a few already-made skewers in his periphery.

"Auntie, I'll take three to start," he says immediately, smiling bright and charming- a world apart from his earlier mischievous look. The widening of his eyes makes him look years younger, and the stall owner looks as though she'd drop a few extra into his hands if she were a weaker person. As he waits, he turns to Eiden, head cocked like an overeager puppy.

     those feeling had never steered him wrong before, after all.

     ❝ I would prefer nothing. ❞ the warlock's body turned slightly in response to the other man's renewed attempt to lay eyes on hazirawn, booted feet sliding smoothly over the ground. ❝ This blade is not meant to be inflicted on mortals. I assure you, ❞ callum's eyes attempted to bore into the other, his tone deathly serious, ❝ you do not want to hear his voice. ❞

"Do you know what fun is?"

It's very blunt- almost to the point of dismissiveness, only he keeps going, rolling his head on his neck and rubbing the back of it as if it aches.

"Or at least how not to sound like someone who's about to get on a soapbox and start lecturing about the end of days?"

Another sigh, weight shifting to turn away.

something Titus hadn't been able to manage.

ah, well-- he can beat himself up about it tomorrow. for now, the enticing looking bottle of liquor held up by the equally enticing man is enough to hold his attention.

"Heeey, that was pretty great--!" not like he asked anyone to stick up for him, but...he's gotta admit, the feeling is kinda nice. "Damn right I wanna share! That's some top shelf shit..." Titus whistles, but it's less at the booze and more at his companions performance. "Man, that was a cake walk for ya, huh?"

then, a small glance over his shoulder.

Old habits and all.

Thankfully, he's pulled from thinking too hard about it by the answer from his companion for the evening, who he beams back at as he adjusts his glasses on his head. He can feel how askew they are, and it bugs him, just a bit, in the back of his head until they're seated properly in his hair again. When the blond looks back at the bar, Thaddeus looks back as well, and then cracks a lopsided grin.

"Hmmm? Ah, nah, don't worry about it. They got bigger things to worry about." And if that isn't ominous. "Ah... I forgot to grab glasses," Thaddeus grumbles as he begins walking.

Then the side of his palm collides with the still factory-sealed neck of the bottle — and the top of it comes off, neat as you please, like a champagne bottle struck with a knife at just the right angle. Alcohol spills over the side of his hand, and he transfers it over to his other hand, lapping the booze from his skin idly.

Titus peers up at him, scowl more at his circumstances than his words. "You should see the other guy," he grumbles, though know his words mean nothing. he lost, fair and square, and now he had to lick his wounds in front of a cute guy. karma or some shit--

"Some jackass was gettin' handsy with and mouthin' off to their partner so I stepped in, y'know? Guess I shoulda stayed out of it, none of my business, but..." he couldn't stay idle while someone got talked down to. he couldn't. "Guess they had more pull there than I had, though. Beat up and kicked out lickety-split."

Opening the door into the bar, Thaddesus steps in, inquiring cheerfully about the 'beat up guy outside', to which there are a few jeering answers as the door swings shut behind him. There's only the sound of the music from inside, then three swift, loud crashes, and Thaddeus exits the bar with an arm around a slighter figure, who he ushers off gently, with a smile. In his other hand, an unopened and expensive-looking bottle of booze, which he swings up onto his shoulder.

He can tell he's being teased but it's hard to retort really when someone's got a perfectly good point in there. He's glancing him so closely too - maybe he does think he's some kind of freak...

Forget about it! He can't unsay things after all so better move on and face the future!!! Eiden begins to take quicker strides, ahead of the other now.

"Think that says more about you than anything else, kiddo," he retorts, and gives a little hop to catch up as Eiden's speed picks up. He really is a little too easy to make fun of, and the reactions are quick and expressive. He could tease him some more, but for the moment he decides that enough is enough. He can bring it back up again later.

Unceremoniously, Titus's ass hits the pavement. admittedly, it had been quite some time since the thief had been kicked out of anywhere, let alone a bar; he had to be on his best behavior back home, but here...free from the shackles of responsibility, he was slipping back into bad habits. it's not like he tried to get kicked out of the bar, but someone had been talking smack and picking on their partner--! he was just supposed to sit by and let that happen?

he supposed he had thrown the first punch. lot of good that did him.

"Whatever! I didn't wanna keep drinkin' here anyways," Titus groans, wiping blood from his nose. his knuckles hurt and a quick swipe of his tongue across his lips stings from a cut. fuck. maybe he'd had more to drink than he thought, if he'd lost so easily.

he goes to fall backwards and take a short rest on the pavement, but his back makes contact with the lower legs of someone behind him.

So he half-turns, bending at the waist to peer at the man's face- pretty, if bloody- and gives an acknowledging hum.

"That right? Sure you're not just mad cause you got your butt kicked in there, little one?" Never mind that the lanky man is probably taller than him- height's never stopped him before. The arms across his chest shift, and he straightens again, looking toward the entrance.