WHO: Dante Abellard and Lina Okeanos WHAT: The Forced to Share a Table Trope WHEN: May 18 2019, Lunch Hour WHERE: Delilah's RATING: Plot & SFW
It was the lunch hour in a small town.
Why Dante thought it might not be all that busy on a Saturday at noon was a mystery for another day. Every spot at the counter was taken, and nearly every table was as well. The staff had to step around him as he stood at the entrance. He was not a small man, and knew very well that he took up a lot of space. Thoughts of just leaving and finding something at the general store occurred to him, but now that so many people had already seen him, he felt like he should be committed to this current course of action.
"Good news, bad news," the hostess/cashier said as she flitted in his direction.
"Might as well lead with the bad news," he prompted her with a smile.
"Bad news is there's a twenty to thirty minute wait on a single table." That tracked with his afternoon so far. "Good news is, we've got a two-seater if you two don't mind sharing?"
Two? He glanced to the side, confused.
With current affairs and the rumour mill still in action Lina had put off going out anywhere a whole lot. Which honestly was kind of made slightly worse by the fact that this was a small town and there was effectively maybe two whole places to really hang out. And that was how she found herself at the lesser of two evils—or rather the one place that wasn't so closely connected with people who were friends with Tony.
The one time she'd finally left the house to go into actual public, and not just sitting by the lake, and she wasn't going to be able to enjoy it. With a sigh she started to turn to leave when the hostess mentioned to the guy ahead of her that there was a wait on single tables. Lina only stopped from moving when she found herself being looked at by the pair of them.
"Oh. Um... I don't know... I should," she tried to protest, feebly gesturing to the door. Only it'd be just her luck that she couldn't actually think up an excuse. Not that she'd mind having the company—actually it'd make for a nice change actually having some different from the usual. But it was almost second-nature now in preemptively trying to put off confrontations with anyone whether they had a beef with beings or not after the whole Tony thing; even with someone who she assumed was new since she didn't recognise him from the reserve at all. Lina sighed, and pinched and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. "Sorry. I... well, if you don't mind sharing at all then I guess I'm okay with the idea?"
Dante waited patiently for the woman to make up her mind, the hostess slightly less so. He took a subtle half-step to the side, effectively blocking her from sight. His potential lunch companion had this slightly harried look anyway--there was something wary in her eyes, hunted and haunted, making him think she might be older than he first surmised--and no one needed that kind of pressure, especially over something as trivial as lunch. When the decision had been made, he turned back to the hostess and nodded once with a shrug and a disarming smile. "That makes two for not minding."
They were shown to that last table, tucked away to the side near the back, and she went ahead and grabbed their drink orders before they'd even sat down. He let her choose which side and chose the latter. His assessment of the area on entry made him feel that a broad view of the diner wasn't wholly necessary in this instance. It was his preference, usually, but he could adapt as necessary. Rather than let the silence stretch awkwardly between them, he chuckled. "Ever get the feeling that the universe is conspiring to complicate your life? I'm Dante, by the way."
There was no sense of fondness in her choice of taking the side with a view of the diner. Her only thought was a sense of self-preservation and not wanting her back turned should any trouble decide to seek her. Lina couldn't help the snort of slightly derisive laughter. "Fairly sure the universe already has it in for me, and is only seeking to further complicate my life more than it already is," she responded. Craziest thing of all was that at least two of the complications were her own doing—which probably showed just how messed up she was at the moment really. "Evelina, or Lina for short."
Part of Lina hoped that she might actually get to enjoy a complication-free lunch but the other part of her knew that was just wishful thinking.
"Guessing you're kind of new around here then?" she asked, feeling she should at least try and make some effort. Though Lina had already surmised he had to be, and if he wasn't then he would have to be one of the rare few that either didn't pay attention to gossip or wasn't on friendly terms with Tony.
Her name was filed away. It was pretty, 'Evelina or Lina'. A thought better had on another day, perhaps. The slight wince he gave her was unaffected, and he smiled at her in burgeoning sympathy. "Ouch. Well, I'll try my hardest to be as uncomplicated as possible, ma'am. No sense in our not enjoying lunch together if we can help it." Laughter danced in his eyes. "I promise not to be obnoxiously picky while ordering so we can speed the process along."
A passing server dropped off their drinks, but didn't stop for anything else. Must not have been theirs. He nodded his thanks before looking back at Lina. "Might depend on your definition of 'kind of'. If this past Sunday falls within range, then, yes, I'm 'kind of new'. Otherwise, I'm just new-new. How 'bout yourself?"
Lina might've looked askance at the use of ma'am had she not recognised that Dante was merely being polite. "Much appreciated," she said with, what was these days, a rare and genuine smile. She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "You could probably be a little picky I'm in no rush to be anywhere today. Though admittedly I'd probably be a tiny bit annoyed if you got obnoxious about it."
"It is a bit of a subjective term but I'd say that counts as kind of. Though I think by local standards you'll probably still be 'kind of new' until you've been here a few years or so," she commented, before taking a sip of the lemonade she'd ordered. "Only since the tail-end of April - so still pretty new myself." And have probably more than overstayed my welcome by now, she added mentally.
Sitting back, Dante pressed his fingers to his chest and adopted an affronted look. "Well, now I do believe I'm being subjectified, and I'm not really sure how to feel about that. You may need to give me a minute to process. In the meantime, why don't we swap trivial particulars. Like, for instance, I grew up in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, and went to school down there. Finest institution in all the territories, let me tell you."
He wasn't sure if she was a no-maj, and statements like that were generic enough to let a magical person know what was up, or to remain innocuous. He was good either way, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Lina had to purse her lips together, even as she covered her mouth, to keep from laughing. "My apologies. Is it now?" she asked with a raised eyebrow though her tone was slightly teasing. "I've visited before—Louisiana that is. Though it's been... well, I'd say a few years but it's been considerably longer than a few and possibly more than several."
Meeting the water beings, and various creatures, that made the Louisiana bayou their home had certainly been an interesting experience to say the least. "A small island off of mainland Greece for me. There was no school but I didn't lack any opportunity to learn, and I had family and friends close by so I don't really feel as if I missed out." There was no mention of the fact that island was only home to other Psione and no one else. Lina had no way of knowing Dante's feelings about beings, if he knew about any at all, and she'd frankly rather do without hearing any prejudiced thoughts on that.
As soon as she said it, Dante started to listen for the accent. It was there, but it was faint. The accent of someone who'd been here for almost a lifetime. He began to reevaluate his initial assumptions, because maybe she was much older than she looked. He'd seen stranger things in the magical world. Hell, he was stranger things in the magical world. Still, she hadn't given him anything else that led him to believe she was magical. "You don't say! It's gorgeous country, by all accounts. What made you trade paradise for the American Dream, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Thank you." Lina smiled a little, always appreciative of anyone who showed any kind of love for her home country. Suddenly, well not quite so much as it had been on her mind recently, she was homesick for Ogygia. It had been a while since she'd last visited home. However, she had resolved, or had been trying to convince herself, not to run away. Not that she could now that she'd been given a slight in with whoever was behind all the trouble that had been cropping up with beings of late. "Curiosity," she added, with a shrug of the shoulders and a hint of teasing. "I'd lived in the same place for twenty years, and all I wanted was to go out and see all the places I'd only ever heard of. Travelled Europe for a few years, met an American w... guy in Russia, and before you know it I'm over here and starting my travels over. It was wonderful and freeing."
Even Lina recognised the wistfulness in her voice as she turned her gaze down to her lemonade. It wasn't that she disliked being in the one place or area for too long but with how isolated she found herself, and it was only her own fault, it made her miss the days where her only worries were where to go and where to stay. "I haven't really travelled much in the past decade except when I was required to for work unfortunately."
"I feel like I've done nothing but traveling the past few years." He chuckled, letting just a touch of his soul-deep weariness into the sound. Truth was, he didn't actually mind it, but being in one place for a little while did have its appeal. Not that he was here to actually enjoy the experience. "It hasn't gotten much better since my discharge, if I'm honest. I guess wanderlust is just in my blood. A man with a country, but no home."
Dante gave her a self-deprecating smile and stirred the ice in his glass with his straw. "I'm guessing work is keeping you in the area? I just started at a reserve near here. Hopefully it works out all right, at least for now. I've been mired in HR paperwork for the past week and just getting familiar with the grounds. Do you think the world would stop turning without bureaucracy?"
"Discharge?" she asked curiously, unsure if that was a magical or non-magical thing. Lina gave a slightly wry smile. "I suppose if I followed what was in my blood I'd probably still be back in Greece and not chatting with you. My... family tend to stay home more often than not."
Dante nodded. "United States Marine Corps, ma'am. Joint AWC Spec Ops." Still felt safe to say. It could be dismissed as military jargon, otherwise. "Honorably discharged after a fifteen year career just a few months back. Guess you could say I'm still trying to get acclimated to civilian life."
"Something like that," she said with a wry smile. There was a brief moment of relief at the mention of the reserve, at least she assumed he meant Brightstar, until he mentioned HR which kind of burst the bubble a little. "Do you mean the one just across the lake? That's where I've been—not that I'm actually working for the reserve itself though. Ha, possibly. If not then I'd say a few bureaucrats would be suddenly looking and feeling rather lost." Lina picked her glass up to take a drink but instead just swirled the lemonade inside about. "Hopefully you manage to stay in HR's good books unlike myself."
His brow raised a little, although that finally solved one mystery, only to open another. "There's a story there. Obviously it's up to you if you want to tell me or not, but I have to admit that I'm curious. Hopefully it's something that'll blow over for you. It's no fun being on the outs with the people who tend to have some say in the level of your bank account-- or reviews they can pass along to your actual employer."
A bubble of laughter escaped her though there was little humour in it, and by the end she just seemed weary. "Sorry, it's not even really funny. It's sweet though for you to say that," she said before sighing. "Though I doubt it'll ever blow over, and to be honest even though I wish it would, I'm not sure I deserve that considering the very very stupid mistake I made over a decade ago. Oh, BACO know but they're... well, that part is as complicated as the mistake I made."
"I suppose I could tell you though. At least it'd be the truth rather than whatever the rumour mill has managed to come up with," she added with a roll of her eyes. "Though you might not want me for company much longer once you hear it."
"Ten years? Must be serious." He continued to watch her, his gaze expectant, but not wary. A wry smile tugged at his mouth, but didn't develop into a laugh. "Ma'am, please believe me when I tell you that I've kept some pretty unsavory company before. My tolerance bar is not average."
"Well, a little more than ten years but yeah pretty serious." A lot more serious than she'd intended once she'd finally heard what had nearly happened to Tony. "You say that now..."
There was a moment of hesitance because of that tiny bit of fear that she may have been making a friend only to lose it. Though she had resolved to be more honest, or as honest as she could be about most details of her life. Lina took a deep calming breath before she finally spoke up again, and kept her voice low so as not to be overheard by any of the other diner patrons. "I met someone from the reserve about thirteen years ago - not that they worked for the reserve back then. He was actually a Quodpot player back then, and we had a fling. They were three pretty amazing months, or they were before I caught him cheating on me with a teammate of his." She was more than over it by now but the memory of it, and that day still hurt. "I was angry. More angry than I'd been for a while, and... I lost it, I wasn't thinking, and just shouted at him... at both of them really but mostly him. Using my 'gift'—" There was a brief yet wry snort of laughter since there was nothing gift-like about what she'd done. "—to make him forget was bad but at least that might've been forgiven eventually. What I did after that was... I shouldn't have put it into his head that I wanted him off his game when it mattered to him... I didn't... I never wanted to actually hurt him, and yet because of my anger he nearly died on at least two occasions, and there's no one to blame but myself."
Lina stared at her glass wishing that it was wine or anything stronger than lemonade so that she could just toss it back and try to drown out her thoughts with alcohol but also to maybe have to avoid watching for Dante's reaction to her story.
He was spared a couple of minutes to get his thoughts in order by the arrival of their actual server. He'd known what he wanted since looking at the menu while waiting at the front door, so he'd managed well enough and remained polite and smiling. Naturally he waited for Lina to order as well, and for the server to move on before giving his accidental companion a careful and considering look. After another moment, he settled his hands on the table, palms up. "I'm not going to say it's okay by any stretch of the imagination, because it really isn't, but I'd be a hypocrite to say I'd never done anything with dire consequences in the heat of the moment. It's rare to even consider the future when we act on our worst impulses. Most courts would call that premeditated, and--forgive me for saying so, ma'am, but you look miserable enough for me to believe that's not the case."
He tilted his head, another factor not quite gelling in his head. "But if this was all those years ago, why is this such a big deal now? I get that the statute of limitations on guilt varies by indiscretion, but is it just because you're here now and he's here too?" Dante paused, and another piece fell into place. "You never told him."
With her appetite having since wavered, her own choice had been to order something light but hopefully still filling. Lina was honestly surprised when she looked up at Dante and didn't see any kind of disgust or anything towards her. Not that that proved anything about what he really did think though. "I'm glad you didn't say it was okay, because I may have gotten upset with you if you had," she said. If not for her cheating bastard of a third husband her reaction may not have been so bad, and likely would've only been as bad as to have kept Tony and his teammate separated. But that wasn't the case. "And yet I dare say most people around here probably think otherwise."
There was a sliver of relief at not having to explain why it was such a big deal even now. "Got it in one," she said with a wry smile. "That was about as spectacular as a disaster as it could've been too. It's just after bumping into him when I got to town and he asked why I seemed so familiar... I... I could've just left it alone but I stupidly decided he deserved the truth. I didn't leave anything out, and he uh had a panic attack and that was about when the rest of his office found out—not that I expect they have any actual part of the story except that I attacked him that day or whatever it is they've been saying."
Lina frowned before taking a sip of her lemonade to collect herself. "It's not like I expect to be forgiven because I know I certainly don't deserve forgiveness but.... the worst thing? As hard as telling him the truth was it was easy to deal with compared to the way he looked at me before being apparated away to medical. Not that he's really at all wrong to think I'm some kind of monster..."
"You did a monstrous thing, I'll concede that much," he said with an even tone and an even look, "but that doesn't make you a monster. Granted, I'm working under the assumption that you've never done anything like this since. For all I know, you could be a serial Obliviator, and I'll never even remember having this conversation." Dante held his deadpan expression for a beat, and then another one before breaking into a darkly amused grin. "But I highly doubt it."
In fact, as far as he was concerned, the only person within a hundred mile radius that could really, truly, and honestly be considered a 'monster' in the eyes of any person with more than two brain cells was sitting across the table from the guilt-ridden Psione.
Lina managed to hold herself back from saying the first thing that came to mind at his little 'joke'. Considering this was a rare day where she might otherwise actually get to enjoy it, she wasn't going to ruin it by causing a scene. Especially by getting needlessly upset over an otherwise harmless comment. "Decidedly not," she responded. "Could be but then I think it'd actually help if I actually was an Obliviator to start with, and I'm definitely not one."
The candid truth. He appreciated that, but had to play up bemusement. There might not have been a face or a name, but he definitely had a story. And a file. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."
"And which part exactly is unclear for you?" she asked, looking at him with an arched brow. Aside from the fact she hadn't yet said anything about 'what' she was there wasn't exactly anything else that was unclear or had been left unsaid—excepting Tony's name, and she wasn't sure that was even all that relevant to now.
Or not. Dante leaned back and spread his hands wide. "I guess it was just the phrasing. You Obliviated someone, which qualifies you as an Obliviator by default-- by my fuzzy logic, at least. But what I don't get is--" he leaned in, conspiratorial--"how did you get in his head like that without an Unforgivable?"
"That does sound pretty logical, I won't deny that; but I never specifically stated that I'd Obliviated him," she pointed out. Lina leaned in but instead rested her chin atop her fisted hand as she looked across at Dante. "I'm sure you're smart enough to have a theory or two. Why don't you tell me your guesses, and I'll tell you how close you are or not?"
He gave a shallow nod, more of a tip of his head than anything else. "That's true, you didn't. That inference was all on me." Dante laughed again. "That's mighty kind of you to assume that I'm in any way, shape, or form smart, ma'am, especially given the trajectory of our conversation and all of these assumptions I seem to be making--and incorrectly, I might add."
Holding up his hand, he began to count them off his fingers. "One, you are an Obliviator and you just can't say. Two, you're an incredibly powerful Legilimens who can actually change memories and influence people. Three, you're a very imaginative storyteller and a grifter who's just using me as a mark to score a free lunch--which is working, by the way. Or four: well, a little birdie tells me that Ogygia is really lovely this time of year, Miss Okeanos."
Lina smiled a little as she raised an eyebrow. "Somebody's a little self-deprecating aren't they? I don't think assumptions, whether they're right or not, are exactly a sign of being smart. Intuitive maybe, if they do happen to be correct."
There was a little chuckle at his first guess because honestly it made her sound like she was some kind of spy, and that was just completely far from the truth. As was Dante's next guess although it was closer to the truth. His third guess made her laugh again, and she interjected with a quick "Oh, damn, you caught me." Then he surprised her, and it certainly showed, with his fourth guess. "Huh. Well, now, I can't help but wonder who that little birdie is. Not many people actually know the name of the island I grew up on, and usually because it makes it easier to be left in peace."
"You know I'm not going to believe you now if you say you're not smart?" she pointed out with a teasing smile. "Really though, that's either an extremely well thought out guess, or you're a little more reliably informed than you're letting on."
Her reaction surprised him a little. He'd steeled himself for fear or defensiveness or even heightened wariness. Instead, she seemed completely unruffled, even delighted. Dante began to wonder if his meaning had been lost in translation somewhere. All of this flashed through his head in an instant, so there was no discernable pause in grinning response. "Guilty on both charges, ma'am." He continued to smile, but let his gaze harden with purpose. "We might have a mutual friend here already."
One second she was delighted by his guessing, and the next her eyes are narrowing in suspicion. Particularly since around these parts she could count the number of friends she had on one hand, and still have fingers left over. So for a near stranger to say they've a mutual friend here was odd to say the least. "And am I right in guessing you don't mean Zophiel Brightstar?"
Lina was relatively certain it wasn't Zophie as she felt that even with things as tense as they were her friend still would've said something. And that only left... huh, well, this was going to be a lot more interesting than she first thought.
"Haven't had the pleasure yet," he confirmed with a sharp look right as their food arrived. It gave him a few seconds to think over some things, arranging and evaluating. Once the server was gone, he went on. "I'm not eyes and ears, ma'am, if that's a concern. I know how nosy our friends can be. I'm just here to work the grounds."
A double meaning if ever there was one.
Straightening up she gave the server a pleasant enough smile, and kept the posture even after they'd left. There wasn't much relief when Dante stated that he wasn't the eyes and ears because really that only meant right now—if he was actually telling the truth to start with. "Perhaps a little given what's been done to keep me in Snowcap and at the Reserve despite the fact I should've been gone after... what happened," she responded in a low voice. "I doubt there's 'just' anything about it but considering our current location I won't press you to elaborate. Besides got to have some secrets, right?"
Dante smiled slowly; they seemed to have the measure of each other now, or at least the start of it. "Right. You probably won't believe me, but this really was an accidental meeting. Maybe a fortuitous one?" He dropped to almost a whisper as he tried out something that was more or less the truth. "I'd like to be allies at least. This is new to me."
There was the start of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Considering my tendency to keep to myself lately I'm inclined to at least give you the benefit of doubt on that one." Unless he wasn't telling the truth about being a new pair of eyes and ears then he could hardly have known that until today when she told her story. Lina scoffed slightly because she doubted she was any more experienced at this sort of thing than Dante was. "It's not like I'm an old hand at this. Still, not going to lie but it would be nice having another friendly face around." Thinking it over a moment longer she then offered Danted her hand. "So, how about a temporary alliance? At least to test the waters out—pun unintended."
His hand was warm, unnaturally warm. The skin practically hissed when it made contact with hers. Slightly incongruous laughter danced in his eyes as he nodded. Something else flickered there, smoldering and red. Maybe a trick of the light? "Works for me, ma'am."
Curiouser and curiouser. It was hardly much of a clue, and yet it was enough to have her mind ticking over trying to figure Dante out. Still ally or not she'd have to play it careful. "Well then... since we're starting off so well how about we enjoy our lunch that you offered to pay for," she responded, finishing off in a teasing tone.