Description: Kerian chances his odds of being assaulted again by settling in at Southtown's park. His space is invaded, truly, but not by an assailant. Instead, he gets Drake Vyril, who wages a war only of polite, casual conversation. Drake learns very little of Kerian, whereas Drake is more forthcoming with information. Drake, however, ends up reflecting on a thing or two, now that he's in Japan again. But don't worry - it's not boring. There are schoolgirls nearby!
He was sitting on the bench again, today. Despite the prior incident, he'd grown to like it quite a bit, and he'd made it a priority to have tea there every day.
A sip of the stuff straight from the thermos brought a smile to the young man's face. Piping hot Earl Grey, just the way he liked it. He brushed some of his snow-white hair from his eyes as he watched the high schoolers across the river, evening off the cup. Today was turning out to be a pretty good one so far. Now all he had to do was hope that his luck had changed.
Fortune, or misfortune. It depends largely on the given circumstances. Insofar, things seem amiable enough. But Kerian is about to encounter a unique type of person. But not by purpose, for certain. Rather, by pure happenstance.
This person is the male supermodel, Drake Vyril. And as should be expected, he's sporting his typical, punkishly-made-famous apparel today. Though he -is- supposed to be in Korea. Curious, that. What's more, he seems a little aimless. Perhaps even a bit agitated, judging from the slant of his obsidian eyebrows and the tension of his frame. Connected? Who knows?
But it just so happens that Kerian's bench - the innocent bystander's personal space - is conveniently close enough to be invaded. And that's what the professional wrestler does. He turns and plops down on the other side of the bench, sprawling his left arm languidly over the backrest, amethyst eyes affixed on the space ahead. Nothing in particular is focused on - it's just a direction to look in.
Given a few awkward seconds of this, Drake shoots a sidelong glance to Kerian. Ever the social butterfly, he says, "'Sup."
Kerian doesn't bristle. His composure is absolutely flawless, unfazed by the man's rather quick seating and arm-sprawl. In fact, the other man's presence elicts only a flickering of the smile on his beautiful face, the smile quickly resuming itself as it decides it's quite happy where it is regardless of its smile-r's feelings.
"Hello," he responds politely, a thin English accent quite telling of his origins - as if the scent of Earl Grey from the thermos-cup wasn't enough.
Oh, the stereotype is fun. In this case, anyway. Drake's fair share of stereotyping isn't quite so grand. But hey, this chap seems likable enough. He's had some decent relations with Merry Ol' before. ..Well, mostly. 'Til recently, anyway. Nevermind that!
"Nice weather, eh?," Drake offers conversationally. "..Waiting for someone?"
Kerian's smile broadens just a bit. "No, not particularly. Just having a spot of tea, watching the locals..." He nods his head in the general direction of the high schoolers across the river. "Relaxing." His eyes, though - the smile doesn't quite reach those eyes. They seem a bit out there, a bit more intense than someone 'just watching the locals' would likely have.
Drake remains silent for a few seconds, nodding absently. "Sounds about right." He hesitates a moment, then shifts on his seat to regard to Brit a little more directly, single eyebrow quirked. "You don't sound much like a local," he observes. Possibly a little amusing, since Drake certainly doesn't sound Asian, himself. Moreover, Southtown isn't -exactly- what one might call an Asian-centric city, despite being in Japan.
He shrugs. "I'm not, exactly." The pretty young man offers, running the fingers of his free hand through his...-incredibly- long white hair. Really, one hardly ever sees a man with hair down to his butt in this day and age.
"Been in Japan for quite a while, though," he continues, "Seven years...more than a fourth of my life. Kerian, by the by."
And crikey if that hair isn't noticed now, due to the hand. Drake blinks twice, then looks ahead again. Only thing that crosses his mind?
'Must be a pain in the aft managing -that-.'
Models.
"Why's that? You don't seem much immersed in the culture or anything," Drake converses amiably enough. But again, a little odd since it -is- Southtown. The culture isn't particularly Asian-esque.
"Oh, I've been about enough." He considers, the smile never leaving his face as he takes another sip of his tea. "But there's always time to enjoy a pleasant bit of tea by the lake, and I like to keep my heritage intact. What about you? You don't seem particularly local, either."
Really, Kerian didn't care if he was a local or not. At this point, he was just happy he hadn't started punching him, or acting like the old man from before. It actually seemed like he might get a pleasant teatime today.
Drake is a bit different from the general populace of Southtown. He's a fighter, absolutely, through and through... but he doesn't feel the need to beat up or challenge everyone he comes across. The Brit might not even -be- a fighter, so where would that leave him? He'll learn things all in good time. Besides, first impressions are important! Assuming he even sees him beyond this one moment.
'Sides, content relaxation is pretty rare in Southtown.
"Ain't that the truth," muses Drake. "I'm from the States. Rhode Island. Moved here a while back to get in the thick of the fighting scene, but..," he trails. After a pause, he simply bobs his shoulders in a shrug.
"Ah, the colonies." He chuckles at the little English joke and nods. "I've never been. What's Rhode Island like? I've heard it's lovely this time of year."
"Yep," Drake agrees. "Dang yankees."
A slightly mirthful grin touches to his lips.
"I like it year-round. It can get pretty cold, though. About right now, it'd probably be a little chilly." Drake's head turns to regard the long-haired gentleman. "Pleasure, by the way. Name's Vyril. Drake Vyril. A.K.A., Domino."
"Kerian," the Englishman re-offers, setting his thermos down on his lap and reaching to the side to shake the other man's hand. His hand is so slender and delicate-looking it could almost be mistaken for a woman's, and indeed, the Englishman's entire body follows suit. However, the touch of that hand is charged with chi - even an idiot would notice the little bit of power flowing through those fingers, making them much firmer and stronger than the hand would lead one to believe. The skin is smooth and flawless - absolutely unlike a fighter's, and yet there's that chi...unusual.
"Similarly a pleasure, Drake. Or shall I call you Domino?"
"If you're a fan, Domino," Drake replies ruefully. "If you've never heard of me before... get out from under your rock, first of all, but you can call me Drake." This sort of mirth would likely best be described as... "cheeky". The hand, however, is given a single firm pump of a shake. The chi is noted.. but he doesn't say anything about it. Not yet, at least. "So what brought you out here, Kerian?"
"The park, or Japan?" His delicate fingers slid out of Drake's hand, picking the thermos top back up and refilling it with the piping hot tea. "The park, because it's a pleasant place to take tea. Japan..." His face darkens a bit, but only for a moment - so brief it's impossible to -really- tell that it's darkened at all. And then it's gone as quick as it came, and the smile is back, but those cold blue eyes don't seem to match it too well. There's an intensity there one only finds with truly driven people, people with singular goals in mind...whether good or evil.
"I'd rather not talk about it, to be honest," he admits, "It's unpleasant business."
"Ah, I can understand that," Drake says passively. His head turns to look out over the park, then exhales a sigh. "Where're ya staying? Got a house, or a hotel..?" The look was, of course, noted. It's a bit odd, though - like looking into a mirror, somewhat. May not be for the same reason, but..
"Oh, I've a place," he says airily. It's not a straight answer, of course, but then he wasn't entirely sure he could trust the other man yet. "It's a lovely view, isn't it?"
The statement coinciding with a group of schoolgirls running across the park just heightened the irony in Kerian's mind. Any minute now, one of them would probably be over to kick him in the face for God only knows what.
"Very peaceful."
Amethyst eyes shift from the girls to Kerian, and he cracks a boyish grin. "Mm'yep. Assuredly," he zips his eyes ahead again. "So, you attending a school here? Or are you just hanging out in Southtown, basically? You sort'a stand out, is all..."
"Actually, I graduated from high school last year. But these are quite comfortable." He smirks into his tea. "And this is, surprisingly, one of the more pleasant places I've found. And the shrine a little north."
"Oh, the shrine's pretty cool. Especially if you don't wanna be disturbed. Not a lot goes on there, really. And there's a nice little spot in the middle of the woods.. but.. well, if something happens to you -there-, you're screwed," Drake replies, becoming a little more lively. "So, where did you finish school?"
"You wouldn't know it," he says after a moment, "It's a bit up north."
The young man was really an expert at dodging questions, that much is for certain. "Not in this town." He refills his thermos top, the last of the tea pouring into it, and looks over at Drake. "What about you?" He asks. "Surely you aren't a high school student."
"Right about that," Drake replies. "I graduated earlier on, in Rhode Island." The dodginess is duly noted, though. But it makes little difference. Not like he'll see this guy anymore, right? Besides, it's none of his business - just casual smalltalk!
Unless it gives some hint as to why his hair is so long. That's definitely a matter he's curious over.
"So.. outt'a-the-blue question, isn't it sort'a hard keeping your hair that long?" Subtle.
Kerian cracks a grin at that. "No, not really," he replies, "I put up with the trouble to honor someone. It's worth it." He frowns at his own statement, looking down into the tea. The ice-blue eyes staring back at him offer nothing, so he looks back up at Drake, the smile still on his lips. "Do you have anyone worth honoring like this?"
"Must be pretty special. A lady-friend?," Drake teases coyly.
But then the guns turn back on him, and his eyes widen briefly. "Ah.. well.." His brow furrows, and he nips onto his lower lip. After a beat, he faces forward and tilts his head slightly. "..One or two, I think I'd do anything for.."
Kerian nods. "You should spend a lot of time with them," he says quietly as he raises the tea to his lips, "Before you know it, you might be without them." It wasn't the words of a threat, not even remotely. It was the words of someone who'd made the same mistake, and who'd found himself in exactly the same dilemma. It was a clear-cut answer, one with all the force of a concrete brick smashed across the face.
He drains the last of the tea from the thermos and spins it shut.
Drake likes to think he can tell when a threat is being made. He's dealt with enough scum of the world to know. And this? This is perhaps more linked with the subject he wasn't exactly elaborating on earlier. So it draws Drake's gaze, but only briefly. He looks ahead again.
"Yeah. I know. I miss'em."
Kerian fingers the thermos for a moment and nods again, staring at the riverbank. Finally, he runs his fingers through his hair, brushing it out of the way as he stands to dust himself off. A few crumbs fall to the ground, but that's about it - an impeccably clean eater, apparently.
He makes a bit of a 'hrm' sound and looks back at Drake again. People are starting to notice them, now, moving across the bridge for a better look. "You never know what you have until it's gone, mmm?"
"I guess so. I mean, they're not really -gone-, just.. absent." Drake makes a face, then shrugs his shoulders. "Anyway, I didn't mean to keep you or anything. But hey - you've convinced me to try and find'em while I'm here in Japan."
Kerian nods and smiles. "You didn't keep me. I always make time for tea." He laughs and waves the thermos at the other man. "Tradition."
At that, he nods as well, the smile returning to a line. "You're lucky. You've still got them to hold on to. Either way...I think I should be on my way. If we start attracting too much attention, we'll never get rid of it." He flicks his eyes over at the crowd of schoolgirls already making its way across the bridge and runs his fingers through his hair. "It was nice meeting you, Drake."
Drake's amethysts shift from the standing Brit to the Japanese schoolgirls behind him. An eyebrow quirks again. ..Oh, God, fanfic. As if Drake-Alma fanfics weren't enough! A panicked look crosses Drake's face, and he quickly raises to his full height. "Uh, yeah! Likewise! Uhm.." The model 'rassler searches his mind rapidly. "..Kerian? That was it, right?" A broad, yet sheepish smile graces his face with that.
Kerian nods, though it's only visible because of that head of hair. He sticks one hand in his pocket, holding up his other one - the one holding the thermos - in an over-the-shoulder wave. "'sright." He agrees. "I'll see you around, I'm certain." The young man continues walking towards the edge of the park, finally departing altogether.
Leaving Drake with aaaall the fangirls. Slick bastard.
Log created on 21:37:08 10/12/2008 by Drake, and last modified on 13:17:53 10/18/2008.