Eighteen Candles[Castle Lillian, Elrick]

[Oathkeeper Emi]

July 17, 2010
--

Emi woke up before they reached their destination that day. She lay in the bed, waiting for the inevitable knock on the door, Castle telling her they had arrived. All was quiet for the moment being, except for the ambient noise of the ship. She didn't move. Instead, she let the knowledge settle in. She was eighteen years old today. She felt different and yet not. Mostly, she just couldn't get over the fact that it had only been four years... it felt like ages and ages since that time. And that's how she started the first day of her eighteenth year, dwelling on her past.

Kei. Why, after all this time? She had felt anger about it before but... she thought she'd gotten over it. She'd sat down and laid out the whole story- well, maybe not the whole story, but all the important details- in front of Zexion and she thought she had accepted it. So, why was all of this coming back up? Why now?

She swore she could hear his voice. He had always been so charming on the surface. Irresistible. And she had been so easily persuaded back then...

Emi closed her eyes, hoping maybe if she just went back to sleep that it would go away. It was like he was whispering in her ear like he always had. She could almost feel his hand on her back, his mouth on her ear... trying to coax her out of bed while she pretended to be asleep.

It wasn't working. The closer she got to sleep, the more vivid the memories became. She sat up. The darkness in the room was suffocating, and it provided the perfect blank screen for all of her memories to play out on. She got out of bed and flicked on the light, wincing at the brightness as first.

"Come on,[/color]" she muttered to herself. She was waiting for Castle to come and knock on the door to offer a distraction. She wasn't sure why she didn't just go out herself.

[Castle]

Castle slept through their arrival. He was curled up in the pilot's seat, which seemed to be his new favorite hobby, second only to doing pushups whenever he got stiff. Not much had happened since their departure from the ocean world a few days earlier. Their day in the ocean was one that he would rather not think about, though he still felt that he would never eat shrimp again.

A flash of green fire in his mind's eye finally woke him up.

He let out a startled yelp and tumbled out of the pilot's seat. After flailing around on the floor for a few moments, he returned to his senses and calmed down, realizing that the fire was only a nightmare.

"Geez," he muttered as he picked himself up.

He yawned and stretched, his limbs sore from sleeping in the pilot's chair. Thanks to Emi's apparent need for alone time in the ship's bedroom, he'd gotten into the habit of staying away from there.

He checked their current location and paused. Ah, that's right. They were here. Castle couldn't help but smile. It was hard to believe how long it had been since he was here. He went to the door and raised a fist to knock, but hesitated. Maybe he should let Emi sleep in today?

Nah. He knocked, loudly.
"Hey, Emi! We're here!"

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Memory lane's gotten a little more treacherous since last time...
--

Emi let out a breath she'd been consciously holding. Why hold her breath? Distraction. Castle's voice seemed to have knocked her out of her little spell. She moved, and her muscles ached from having been in one position for took long. Running a hand through her hair as she so often did, she told Castle "Be out in a sec.[/color]"

She walked back over to the bed and picked up her coat. As she reached over to pick it up, she looked down and saw her own two scarred forearms and froze. Strange. She had often looked at her arms, but until that moment the scars hadn't really bothered her. Suddenly though, she felt self-conscious of them.

Things Jericho had said to her back in the forest came back to her. Or perhaps you believe you can cut the corruption out of yourself?

Did she really think she could? Is that why she had done this to herself? She straightened up, abandoning her coat for the moment. She traced the pale, pinkish lines on her arm with her fingers. She couldn't remember her mindset when she had done this. All she could really recall was that bastard teaching her how to do it. Maybe it was out of boredom, maybe it was self-punishment, maybe it was some kind of cry for help.

She made a disgusted noise, disgusted at herself. She snatched the coat off the bed and pulled it on roughly, glad to have the scars covered up. She pulled her hair out of back of her coat where it had been caught and almost kicked open the door.

"Let's get going,[/color]" she muttered, heading for the door. Did he even remember it was her birthday? Even if he didn't, she told herself she wasn't going to get all beat up about it. She had too much on her mind.

[Castle]

She was in a weird mood again. She was being grouchy, which was completely normal, but the specific way that she was being grouchy was noticeably off. Castle was becoming more aware of these moods of hers now that he'd seen them a few times. He thought about calling her out on it, but decided that might be a bad idea.

Instead he followed her to the door and kept his happy smile on.
"Oh, hey, that's right!" he said suddenly, "It's your birthday today, isn't it? Happy birthday."

He wondered if Emi was one of those types who hated birthdays. She certainly didn't look too happy. Or maybe she just forgot? She'd mentioned it the other day, along with mentioning that she'd like to get drunk today. That was something else to wonder about; would she actually go and do that?

Well, if she did go through with it, at least he'd know where he could take her afterward. This was the only world that he really knew by heart.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Good Emi vs Bad Emi...
--

Emi stopped in her tracks. It was beyond weird to have some one actually wish her a happy birthday. For the past four years that hadn't happened. Her birthday had come and gone just like any other day. She looked over her shoulder and offered him a half-hearted smile. It didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Thanks,[/color]" she said. She felt like she ought to be a little nicer to him. Castle was obviously making an effort to be in a good mood, and it appeared to her that he was over the events of a few days ago.

As much as she wanted to be in a good mood, the memories just wouldn't let her be.

She looked up. That was the good thing about Traverse Town. No sunlight. Even though it was technically daytime, she didn't have to believe that if she didn't want to. She could get drunk because at least the sun wasn't up. The sun was never coming up.

Emi started walking again, slowly. Part of her was saying she didn't need to do this, and part of her wanted to just block out the memories for at least a while. Half of her could justify it, and half of her knew it wasn't going to do anything except make her have a headache in the morning.

However the battle fared, she entered the small bar without a moment's hesitation. She didn't expect Castle to follow her inside- especially since he was still underage and seemed like the type to abide by the laws.

No one gave her a second glance as she took a seat at a small corner table. She looked a lot older than eighteen anyway, and even at age fourteen people almost never bothered to check.

[Castle]

Judging from her reaction, it could be assumed that Emi did not, in fact, like birthdays. The contemplation of this was enough to keep Castle quiet for most of the walk to wherever Emi was going. He wasn't contemplating why she was like this so much as what he could possibly do about it. He couldn't really come up with anything.

He couldn't resist glancing around as they walked. It seemed like he'd been away from here for ages, but everything looked exactly the same. He smiled, suddenly feeling nostalgic and a bit restless. He felt like there was something he should be doing, since he'd just come home after being away for months. Should he go see his mom...?

It turned out that Emi actually was going to a bar. Castle hesitated. Even though he was a street fighting troublemaker, or at least he used to be, he wasn't a drinker. He'd been peer-pressured into trying it once when he was twelve, but after a night of vomiting and being thoroughly lectured by good ol' mom, he wasn't keen on trying again.

But, it didn't seem right to let Emi go in there alone. With the mood she was in, it would be downright irresponsible. He followed her inside and to the corner table, hoping he wouldn't get kicked out for being underage. People tended to guess him younger than he actually was anyway.

After a moment of silence, he looked over at Emi.

"So what now?"

[Slash]

What a lovely turn of events! I propose a toast.

In a corner of the bar, out of sight from the entrance, five men were talking business. They spoke quietly, their business being of a riskier, more illegal strain than most. One of them was remarkable in two ways- he was less physically intimidating than most of the others, and he was very clearly the ringleader.

"But after we get him in the Waterway, then what?"

"All right, so then what you have to do is-" Jericho stopped when he saw two people walk into sight and sitting at a corner table. The girl wasn't all that remarkable looking, but the man had a garishly colored wardrobe that, combined with his equally bright hair and eyes, turned him into a walking beacon that could most likely be seen from space.

No doubt about it, it was them. The angst seemed to almost have a smell to it. It was hard to explain, but Jericho would equate it to being near a glue factory being coated in napalm. This was going to be fun.

"Look, just make sure no one sees you. I'll be there in an hour. You'd better get moving before he gets on that ship." The other four men left, and Jericho hailed a waitress.

"Two beers on that table," he said, pointing to Emi and Castle. "Put it on my tab."

He had nothing if not a sense of humor, and besides such a joyous reunion deserved celebration. Jericho smiled and took another sip of his drink, checking his watch. Yes, he had plenty of time.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Drinky drink drink...
--

Emi was sitting with her cheek against her fist when Castle slid into the chair across from her. She tapped her fingers against her face and straightened up. "What now? Now is tequila. Lots of tequila.[/color]"

She wasn't sure how she had developed a taste for the drink. She was a drinker back in the day, but not an alcoholic. She knew mixing the alcohol and the drugs was not a good idea, so she didn't. Somehow though, this was her preference when she did drink. She'd sworn it off along with all those other self-destructive habits when she left Twilight Town. Funny how easily she slipped back into them. Actually, it wasn't funny at all. It was disturbing. It made her uncomfortable but she just took a deep breath and kept justifying it.

Before she could order her own drink, however, a waitress walked up with two beers. Emi's nose wrinkled and the waitress sat one down in front of her and one down in front of Castle. And then she left without a word. Emi rolled her eyes. "Ugh, beer. I hate beer. I wonder which creep sent these over...[/color] she muttered, but didn't bother to look around. It was paranoia. She was a bit ashamed of how much she knew about bar etiquette but she just couldn't bring herself to search for whoever had sent these drinks. She was too afraid that she would meet dark eyes and be reminded of someone else. He would be the type to sit in a bar and creep on a young woman and a minor.

She wasn't one to waste perfectly good alcohol though. With a disgusted look on her face, she picked up the beer and drained half the glass in one go. "Ugh, can't get drunk off this,[/color]" she said to Castle.

That didn't mean she couldn't try though.

[Fate]

Let's Join the Festivities

A day after going to Radiant Garden, it was time to stop again. Traverse Town looked like an interesting place to be and it was just another place to explore to Lillian. Though, once she got off of her ship and got into the actual town, it was boring. It was just another town, nothing really interesting about it. There was probably something intriguing about it if she bothered to look into it more, but she didn't feel like doing that. Why not take a day... night to relax? She and Elrick didn't exactly have a specific objective when they went traveling to worlds anyway.

A good place to relax opened itself up: a bar was open. Lillian wasn't that much of a drinker, just barely old enough when she was in Libertas, but it was something to do. She wasn't about to let herself get drunk, especially since she didn't exactly have anyone to shove her piloting duties to right now. "Hey, how about we go there and get a couple of drinks?" she asked Elrick, "I'll pay." It was the least she could do. Though, if he didn't want to, he didn't have to. She was going in anyway though.

It wasn't a big bar, but it was decently packed. What time of day was it anyway? Eh, who cared? Lillian looked around at first, oddly enough recognizing a couple of people sitting at a table. "Emi? Castle? That you?" Sure enough, it was. She didn't expect to run into them in her travels, much less in a bar. Neither of them struck her as the drinking type. She wandered over to them nonetheless; might as well hang around people she knew at the very least in an unfamiliar place. "Nice to see ya. I thought you guys were still in Radiant Garden."

[/size]

[Lagunamov]

I hate introductions.

[/i][/center]

It had been a while since Elrick stopped in a proper city. Radiant Garden didn’t count; he spent that entire day napping inside his ship while Lillian was off doing… groceries? He wanted to say groceries, but knew that was somehow wrong. Either way, the last town he actually visited was one he wasn’t about to show his face around any time soon, so this came in handy. The town was engulfed in the night, and not many people were walking around, giving it an empty look.

Lillian led the way, mostly. Elrick was slightly distracted by the night sky, barely keeping track of her out of the corner of his eyes. Until the drinks were mentioned; that certainly brought his attention back down from above. “I’m in. I’m always in,” he answered slightly excited, even more so cause she was paying. As such, he waltzed right behind her and into the bar. Then he remembered why he hadn’t frequented bars in years.

People. Everywhere. At least it wasn’t as bad as it could be, since he could still walk with some ease, dodge a drunkard or two, and idiot hitting on the waitress or a lovey-dovey-we’ll-make-you-puke-out-of-our-cutesy couple. The usual. He almost didn’t notice that he had followed her partner to a table of people she seemed to know already. A walking rainbow guy and a girl that seemed like a fan of green and purple. Elrick was even surprised he didn’t even notice them until just now, considering that combination of colors in the same table is the equivalent of a ‘look over here’ sign.

“Good evening,” he told them, trying not to be rude after having spent several seconds staring in silence. “I’m Elrick, as she would have pointed out eventually,” he mocked, pointing at Lillian with his thumb as he said so, “and I hate introductions, so… What we drinking?”

[Oathkeeper Emi]

This is no way to charm a lady...
--

Emi couldn't get the taste of the beer out of her mouth. When Lillian walked over, she had just slid her own cup aside and was reaching over to start on Castle's. "Yeah, well, we were in Radiant Garden. But I had, eh, errands to run,[/color] she said. She gestured to Castle with the glass. "The squirt wanted to tag along. What are you guys doing here?[/color]"

However, she didn't get an answer because that was the moment Elrick interjected. Emi rolled her eyes. Well, at least he wasn't one for introductions. Thanks to Lillian, they all knew each others' names and what else mattered? Emi lifted her glass. "Beer, for now. I don't know about you but I could definitely go for something a little stronger.[/color]"

She finished off the drink and then stood up and climbed into her chair. "Attention to the cheap son of a bitch who bought these beers for me and my friend, why don't you send something a little stronger over? Thank you![/color]" she screamed.

She flopped back down into her chair and muttered something under her breath.

[Slash]

Something stronger? Fine.

[/center]

Jericho heard the call for something stronger from the horrible scum-sucking little ingrate. The angsting, self-mutilating little harpy. The agathokakological...wait, that word didn't apply. And it's not like anyone used that word anyway. Oh, well. She was annoying and he didn't have a high opinion of her.

She wanted somethign stronger? Well, fine. He'd send her something stronger.

"Get the lovely girl a shot of tequila. The cheapest you have. And tell her that it's for what happened back at Beast's Castle." That would get it through the stupid girl's head. Personally, he was considering just Amplifying the girl from here and watching her tear apart her friends. That would be great. If she didn't figure the amazingly complex and intricate clues he was sending (which she might not) then he'd do just that.

[Castle]

The most that Castle did with his beer was poke the glass it was in. He didn't even like how it smelled, and he smirked a little in agreement to Emi's complaints. He didn't protest when she took the drink from him, and he watched her down it. A little voice in his head wondered if he should try to convince her to do something else instead of get drunk.

But, who had sent those beers to them, anyway?

Before he could think about it too much, a familiar though unexpected voice greeted them. He looked over and grinned broadly at the sight of Lillian, but his grin slipped almost immediately when he saw the guy she was with.

"Good to see you again," he said cooly to Lillian, ignoring the guy.

Elrick was his name, apparently. How nice. Castle had "known" him for about three seconds and already didn't like him. But, he resisted the urge to be a pain about it, for now, because of Lillian. On top of that, he really wasn't in the mood... to be in a bad mood.

He had to laugh when Emi stood up and shouted to whoever sent the beers over. He was starting to get less tense about the situation, partially because nobody had thrown him out for being underage yet, and partially because another ally was here with them. Well, an ally and her I-hate-introductions boyfriend.

"Geez, Emi. Is this what you always do on your birthday?" he joked.

[Fate]

Errands... Right...

Well, introductions were out of the way now. Lillian couldn't say she was a big fan of them herself, and grinned at the mocking. "Pfft, not likely," she replied, then listened to what Emi and Castle had to say. Just like before, Emi was evasive about what she was doing with the word "errands" and Castle had just tagged along with her. It was also Emi's birthday, one that she had decided to sulk in a bar for. She wasn't about to ask how old she was either, but she figured that Emi was probably younger than she was.

"I hope not," she added to Castle's question, "Birthdays are all about celebrating and all that stuff." She wasn't a big fan of birthdays herself, but that didn't mean she was going to just watch someone drink themselves into oblivion, which it looked like Emi was going to do when she demanded something stronger than beer. A waitress came by with that stronger stuff, which Lillian didn't even bother to look at. " 'Scuse me, but can my friend and I here have a couple of beers? Unless you want something stronger Elrick."

This night was going to be interesting.

[/size]

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Mmm, my favorite~
--

Waiting for her drink to arrive, Emi snorted. "Actually, yes. For the past...[/color]" She counted on her fingers. "Three years, this is what I've done on my birthday,[/color]" she told them. She almost said four, but she remembered she'd already had her fourteenth birthday by the time... everything else happened. She could barely remember her fourteenth birthday party. She shrugged at Lillian's comment and gestured to all of them with a hand. "This isn't celebrating? You guys are the closest things I have to friends, or a family. Kind of pathetic, right?[/color]" she added, bitterly.

The waitress came by and sat a shot of tequila in front of her, and her face lit up. "Happy birthday to me,[/color]" she murmured, picking up the glass and downed it. Tasted awful, but it was definitely stronger. She heard the waitress, who obviously was just there to pay the bills, mutter something about "He said that was for what happened at Beast's Castle, whatever that is."

It didn't process with her at first- maybe it was the two beers and the shot. But then it hit her... "Wait, somebody from Beast's Castle is sending us drinks? It's gotta be Arc![/color]" she shouted, standing up abruptly. She looked around for the dragonman. He wasn't hard to miss so when she didn't see him in the bar, she knew he was no longer there.

Should she get up and go look for him? He couldn't have gotten far, right? And of course, it didn't even register with her that they had run into someone else at Beast's Castle... but he certainly wouldn't be buying her drinks right? Even if it was really cheap, really nasty tequila.