gocirclegogo | DOES WHATEVER A SPIDER CAN- Okay not that creepy but still

[There's a long moment where Erika stares at him. What? Normally, she might call him on messing with her but this time she can't be sure. Angels have a screwed up mentality on these things. What if he's serious?

Clearing her throat, Erika smooths out her skirt.]

Ah...ha... Well, obviously that isn't a human tradition at all unless we want to murder the person. Arsenic poisoning isn't something I want to experience. Or any sort of poisoning...

Edited 2012-09-03 08:26 (UTC)

You can dose someone with arsenic without killing them. We usually never killed them.

[Usually.]

If they were too stupid to catch their drink was spiked, then they probably deserved to die anyway. Useless trash.

[Usually.]

They'd be laughed at endlessly for falling to something that ridiculous. For different reasons, but it's still the equivalent of losing an arm to the copy machine.

[Usually.]

How strong do you take your tea? [Glancing back just before dropping the leaves in. Raising an eyebrow at her face. Something wrong?]

[Another pause. Blinking slowly just once. 'Usually.' Just...she needs to start carrying a poison test on her because she is not dying in such a stupid way. Plus, he would laugh at her for it. That's twice as bad as dying.]

Oh, ah- A little strong, please. You know even non-lethal doses of arsenic can have damaging consequences though, right?

[A nod, then back to dropping leaves in the pot. Capping after. Completely immune or just oblivious to her nervousness.]

Yeah. That's why you'd be laughed at if you died. Not to mention with an aftertaste like that, how wouldn't you notice. I've had a few secretaries fall for it. It's a quick way to make employment spaces.

[Okay no just. She can't stay quiet after that because Will is good at trolling but is he this good?]

W-Willard! I already took your terribly subtle hint! You don't need to dramatize it!

[Glancing back again after messing with the heat. She can continue to be really faked out on whether it's an expert-level trolling or not. The expression stays black until he turns back away.]

...I didn't think you'd be that unnerved. You always seem so amused by the cultural divide.

[After staring again, Erika sighs. If it's trolling, he's getting way too good. Usually by now he might relent. She hasn't done anything particularly nasty to warrant higher-level mocking.]

Amused? Yes, usually. But not at something which could potentially get me killed in a stupid way.

[A beat.] ...You really do that? Wow.

[The Intellectual Rapist just said 'wow' in that tone. How does that feel?]

[He had a comment in line, and it cuts off a syllable in. Head whipping around and glaring at that last word. The lone of it. The eyes narrow a bit to that bright gold. Inhale.

Turning away. Just as quietly turning the heat off and getting two mugs. Pouring the tea out. Adding sugar to hers. All purely silent.

What was that he mentioned? That it only happened to angels who got too uppity and acted out of place? Hm.]

[Erika freezes in place and doesn't move the entire time. Or breathe. Shit. She refuses to die like a moron. But rejecting the tea would make her look like a coward. If it's poisoned, she'll taste it, but even then there is nothing dignified about inducing vomiting on the floor or running out to do so.

In fact, the more she thinks about it, the more she finds there is no dignified response. Shit. No way is she taking a blow to her pride. But if she has to, what option causes the lowest damage while having the highest chance of avoiding something stupid?

Looking down, she fidgets a bit with the hem of her skirt and mutters.]

...It was just, ah, a...surprising cultural difference. [Pause. No that probably still isn't enough even if she's admitting a tiny error in it.] ...And possibly from my upbringing I may have made it sound...a little harsh. Ah, you know, Japanese people are still insensitive about other cultures. [Tugging at a loose thread.] ...So there isn't a need for anything drastic.

[There's still no answer. Simply walking over and setting her mug in front of her. Sitting and sipping his own. Her memory can happily recall that his is entirely untouched.

It's not drastic. Especially with how utterly zen he is. Nothing horrible is in that tea, don't be a wuss.]

...Ah, thank you. [Said in a smaller voice since Will didn't speak at all. She watches him before looking down at her mug. She can do this. She asked for tea, right? So not drinking it already looks stupid. Somewhere, this is a meter which is slowly rising as time passes, and that meter is measuring how stupid she looks.

If she drinks it like nothing is wrong, then it might drop a little. But if she looks even slightly relieved or afraid or any unusual reaction, then any points gained are lost. And if something happens, it just loops back to the especially inelegant responses.

Damn it. Is she really cornered that easily? If she really hurt his feelings, it isn't a big deal, right? Would he kill someone over that? Well, maybe. Who knows. He's a jerk.]

Ah, uhm. I... [No, sounding like a shy moron wouldn't help. Maybe a confident apology? Deep breath.] ...I'm sorry.

[Oh god please accept it don't kill her oh god-]

[Pausing mid-sip, eyes still closed. Still silent as he sets it down. Inhale. Sigh. She's ignored again in favor of taking the one in front of her, sipping it without a single break in expression, and setting it back down.]

It's sugar. Who keeps arsenic on the kitchen counter? Being that paranoid isn't healthy.

[Read: forgiven. Even if she's going to be mad she got trolled.]

[Erika only barely resists flinching when he takes a drink; not in fear of seeing a reaction. Rather, she knew there wouldn't be one. Though even that could be a lie, right? But... no way, he called her out, so it doesn't even matter.]

I wasn't being paranoid about that! I thought I had misspoken. It was obvious from your reaction that you weren't happy with me, so it was right of me to be suspicious of your mood. I'm not suspicious of the tea. ]She taps the mug.] Even you can't screw up tea that badly.

[But now that she's said all that...she has to drink it and not look like an idiot. So. She casually shrugs, swirling it idly.] Before you say it, I'm just letting it cool for a moment.

[The look she gets says she still looks like an idiot. She can think it'd be the same silent treatment as always. Instead she gets worse.]

No. You've been caught on being a coward, so you immediately retract back into being the prideful fearless girl you try to be. But you're not. If you were, you wouldn't put so much stock into my, albeit irritated, moments of silence. You also wouldn't sit there making up excuse to put off drinking flavored water because I nailed you down in paranoia without saying a single word.

[Heart: read. And while not shanked, it was prodded with a knife lightly. Calling her out on so many things but mostly the challenge is an obvious one: WOW you're a wuss.]

[She instantly regrets voicing a single kind word to him. Erika clenches her hands into fists and takes a second - maybe two or three - before she smiles again.]

Ah, if you're going to say such stupid words, why don't you just keep your mouth shut, okay? [Perfectly pleasant! Smiles! She's fine you dickbag.] I was afraid, that's true. I was afraid your tea would taste even worse than those cheap 50 yen packs from the vending machines.

[Erika raises the mug and takes a deep drink. Then immediately her eyes snap wide as she gags. She pulls back from the table, coughing hard and wiping at her tongue in a panic. What did he do what did he do why wasn't she more careful such an obvious trap stupid-

In the middle of shuddering and doubling over coughing, she realises the taste is...not what it should be. Definitely not arsenic. Then...

She throws the tea in Will's most likely laughing face.]

Just die, bastard!

[He's deadpan for the entire thing. Sips his tea. Flawless deadpan. At least until she finally makes the mistake of drinking it like a man, and he falls over laughing. The only reason his face is spared from burns is because it's buried in his arms on the table, trying really hard not to wake up Lion.

It's not working that well. Especially with her last cursing fit. She is a delicate maiden.]

[A very delicate maiden. One who is fuming and pissed and probably looks like she's more than capable of an island's worth of murders right now. Being made to look like a fool? Not cool.

It means diving over the table in an attempt to make her curse come true. Best siblings or best siblings?]

[Even when she's trying to strangle him, he just keeps laughing. Though he does grab onto her hands and holds them away when she starts getting too nails-y.

Best siblings.]

Don't blame me for walking into that. [A beat.] I admit I tricked you with the salt, but I wasn't lying about the rest of it.

[Throwing what's left of his cards face-up to show her he's done messing with her. Unfortunately, the face-up result is worse than the trolling. But he's nice enough to shove her back in her seat and move his own cup in front of her. No salt, no anything to be wary about. Just tea that's good, even if nothing to write home about.]

[Erika crosses one leg over the other and folds her arms, eyes shut. Kitty is still pissed. So it takes her a moment to relax enough so that she doesn't say something stupid or sound too angry. Such an emotional detective.

Tapping her fingers against her arm, she takes a deep breath, holding it and counting to ten, then exhaling.]

...Just don't poison me or I'll really murder you.

[He waits for her to calm down, staring off at nothing impassively. Really, just observing her. Filed away that she's now nice enough to force herself to be calm rather than going straight at his throat. Normally, that would be good enough to leave her alone after it.

Except she says something dumb like that, and the look she earns thinks exactly that.]

Don't be an idiot. [So he wouldn't. Go--] If I'm going to poison you, I'd make sure you stay dead.

[Previous bracket statement redacted.]

Ah, damn it! Why do you have to say something like that? [Yeah, brackets no longer apply to that. Erika slams her hand on the table.] Just for that, I assure you no matter what you did, I would never die permanently!

Repeat it in red. [Stated like a challenge as he gets up to replace the mug he gave her. Freely assuming she can't do it, sorry Erika.]

[Even if she can, it's the possibility that she can't that stops her from snapping out a red immediately.

Say she can't. Say for whatever reason she can't state in red that she'll crawl out of that hell again. What does it change? She isn't relying on something like that anyway. She's even used to living her life believing 'this' is her only chance. Each time, she's bested it, right? Somehow. It's just luck.

If her luck has run out for certain and something happens...

Erika glares at him, biting her lip before turning away like she's disinterested in the conversation.]

I don't need red words anymore, remember, Willard?

[He doesn't look at her, pointedly focused on pouring another cup of tea. It gives her the chance to turn away before he faces her again. Completely casual, but she might pick out the timing was done on purpose.]

Did you and Zelos write up a contract yet?

[For a non-sequitur, it comes like an uppercut. But the sharpness in his eyes doesn't change. Which means there's a point she's missing.]

[Erika's head jerks around to face him. His eyes don't help the slightly nauseous feeling. Maybe she's just anxious about it.] W-Well yes, we'd still like you to see it, of course, but ah... We're certain it will work for us.

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