Unmoderated Part 1
Unmoderated Part 2
Unmoderated Part 3

The Negotiators Part 1
The Negotiators Part 2

Adventures in Parodyverse - The Negotiators Part 4


    Liu Xi’s dinner wound down into quite a surreal scene.  At least to Visionary, who was totally surprised by the sum of everything he saw around the Chinese girl’s quarters.  He’d been to Lair Legion dinner parties before, but there was something a lot more friendly, a lot less dramatic and relaxed about this one.

    Chiaki turned out to be a very quiet drunk.  As part of the dinner, she drank wine.  But then she continued to sip more as they sat around Liu Xi’s living room, chatting.  She contributed less and less, until she was simply an observer, sipping her glass of wine and watching everyone else speak.  Since the television was off, the only sounds in the room were from the people within it.

    Visionary dared not comment on how much she was drinking, after hearing from the rest of the conversation what she went through in the last day or so.  She found her livelihood, and then her life threatened.  She had to move into the Lair Mansion, for her, the equivalent of a wild animal moving into the zoo, for protection.  She was living even closer now to the guy she had to break up with.

    He dared not comment even as Chiaki was sitting next to him on the couch, partially leaning against him, and drifting off every once in a while.

    At his other side on the couch, Lara Night was sitting up, watching everyone distantly.  She wasn’t drinking anything but espresso, slowly sipping one cup, but she was still nearly silent aside from a minor contribution once in a while.  It was as if her meeting with the Carnifex left her with even more on her mind.  She nearly missed the coffee table with her coffee cup a couple of times.

    Liu Xi wasn’t drinking either, but she proved to be surprisingly chatty and energetic among familiar friends.  She was sitting comfortably in a plush chair on Chiaki’s side of the couch, her legs folded beneath her.  He envied her familiarity, wondering if Jay enjoyed the same thing from her.  It made him feel bad that he tried so hard to keep her at a distance when she first arrived at the mansion.

    Anna wasn’t able to get drunk.  She sat in a chair borrowed from the dining room on Lara’s side of the couch, sipping wine for the taste of it, and seemed intrigued to watch the effect of it on others, and to listen to Liu Xi talk.  She contributed a little once in a while.

    Then, finally, Liu Xi brought up the subject of all subjects.  It took two attempts to get Chiaki’s attention with it.  What was she going to do now?

    Before replying, Chiaki looked around at everyone, a little confused about whether someone was talking to her.  “Um...”  she finally replied, wrinkling her nose and squinting.  “I mean...I’m not sure.  I suppose I will simply wait and see...wait to see what this Vendredi does.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”  Visionary told her.

    She nodded slowly.  “Jay said the same thing.”  Her speech as a little slurred, but she still managed coherent replies.  Chiaki put down her wine glass on the coffee table in the center of the room and waved it off.  “I believe I’ve had enough wine tonight.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Let me walk you to your room,”  Visionary suggested.  “It looks like you need some sleep.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No thank you.”  she replied, her eyes blinking slowly from exhaustion.  “I don’t like to have sex when I’m drunk.”

    Liu Xi covered her mouth and giggled.  Lara’s mouth was hanging open, and Anna was staring.  Visionary was frozen, unsure about what to do.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I mean--”  Chiaki suddenly smiled, and her shoulders slumped as she covered her face with one hand.  She was actually mildly amused.  “That was embarrassing.  I think I’ll go to bed now.”  She pulled herself up and picked up her sword.  Years of balance training allowed her to slowly leave without falling down, though she walked like someone who was trudging through snow.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Is she going to be okay?”  Visionary asked once Chiaki left.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Her quarters are close,”  Anna replied.  “If she falls I will hear the vibration through the floor.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Ah.  That’s reassuring.”  Visionary nodded and sighed.  Deep down, though, there was nothing more amusing to see than a very drunk Psychic Samurai.  Though at least it meant she felt comfortable and safe in the mansion.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’ve never seen her drunk before.”  Liu Xi spoke up.  “Have you?”  She looked around the room - everyone was shaking their head no.  The elementalist’s eyes turned downward.  “She must really be hurting.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah.”  Lara contributed.  “She’s like an eagle whose wings have been clipped.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“So um...what happened at your meeting?”  Visionary suddenly asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh.”  The blonde suddenly seemed very reluctant to speak, though it was difficult to tell if it was because she couldn’t find the words, or learned something horrible.  “I um...I talked to him.  He’s nice, but kind of creepy.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“That’s it?”  Liu Xi protested.

    For some reason, Liu Xi had a way of prodding Lara to talk more.  “He’s like...rich, but almost a caricature of a game hunter.  Even has a room decorated like a hunting lodge with animal heads.  Asked me some stuff about me, but didn’t really tell me much.  Said he was interested in Zdenka but I don’t know if he wants to date her, or trick her into turning into a wolf so he can shoot her and mount her head in the hunting lodge room.”

    There was a slight chuckling in honor of that dark humor throughout the room.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“How do you believe Hatman would react?”  Anna asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I don’t know.”  Lara shrugged.  “I’m sure not going to tell him,”  she said.  “I don’t think I could handle something like Jay storming the Esqualine tower and getting himself killed, on my conscience.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“That’s probably a good move.”  Visionary agreed.  He could imagine Hatman doing just that.  “He needs someone who can keep him calm to tell him.”

    Liu Xi had a different point of view.  “I should tell him,”  she said.  “So he won’t be surprised, and angry at everyone who knew, when he does find out.  I think I can convince him not to fight with the Carnifex.  If not I can keep him from leaving.”

    Lara nodded.  “I don’t know.”  she said.  “This is a really tough decision.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I will tell him.”  Liu Xi insisted, her eyes looking determined.  “And I will also tell him he needs to respect Zdenka’s ability to decide for herself.”

    There was a long pause from everyone.  Finally, Visionary nodded, and said, “That’s pretty good.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah.”  Lara agreed.  “It’ll let him know, and he won’t go all storm trooper on us.”

    Silence then fell throughout the room, and a mutual decision was made to bring the dinner party to a close.  Liu Xi stood first, and started cleaning up the coffee table as a nonverbal catalyst.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I guess I should be heading to bed.”  Lara spoke up.

    Visionary nodded.  “Me too.  Not to your bed, to mine.  Without you.  Or anyone else...just to go to sleep--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“We get the point!”  Liu Xi scolded to stop him from rambling.  She smiled then, and gently held his hand.  “I thank you for visiting though.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You’re welcome.”  Visionary replied.  And as he turned and headed to the door, “Good night.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I don’t require much sleep,”  Anna contributed.  “If you wish I will help you clean up.”  Visionary and Lara were heading to the door as she spoke.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No, thank you.”  Liu Xi replied.  “It won’t take me long.”  She watched the two of them leave.  Once they were out of her quarters, she added, “Besides, I had enough activity.  I want some quiet time.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I understand.”  Anna nodded, and walked to the door.  “It was a nice experience.  Thank you, Liu Xi.”

    The Chinese girl nodded and smiled as she watched Anna leave.

    
TO BE CONTINUED?


-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2008 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.  
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
--  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
--  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin