Who: Dakota and Sebastian What: Talking When: March 9 Where: The coffee house
Sebastian had called in sick today. He felt restless. He had felt restless since he had received those reports from Pierce earlier this week. Reports on the missing did not bother him. He did not really care who went missing. It seemed that those who ought to have gone missing were still out and about. He had flagged their files, reading them over but nothing was jumping out at him. They really should have had him talk to Daryn O’Connor when she was brought in. They would have actually had information.
Sebastian stepped into the coffee shop. One of the missing worked here. He ordered a tea and found an armchair and sat down. He nursed the tea, his gaze looking over those who came in, mentally recalling their abilities as reported. More questions it seemed.
Dakota was already in the coffee shop, trying to amuse herself with a coffee and a magazine. Everyone seemed pretty somber lately, and apparently some people had gone missing lately. Not that Dakota noticed because she didn’t bother talking to all that many people. From what she could tell so far though, the majority of the people she had met were still around, so that was good, right? Glancing up from her reading, she noticed Bastian the Weird enter. He seemed pretty settled where he was, so no need to bother him. She did offer a nod in greeting, just to show that she wasn’t completely unable to be polite.
Sebastian had not noticed Dakota until she nodded to him. He had read her file a couple of times. He was curious about her Dakota or, at least, what Bastian remembered. Bastian may have also had a head cloudy with desire and want of more. That was not unusual. He raised his cup of tea in greeting. Was Dakota hoping for another dance with Bastian? Or was she going to tell him again what a wrong impression he had of her? Or perhaps neither. He would leave her alone if that is what she wanted.
Figuring she should make more of an effort, although she didn’t see why, Dakota stood and gathered her things, heading over to Bastian. “Mind if I join you?” She wouldn’t be surprised if he told her to go away, but then at least she attempted to be nice. For some reason.
“Not at all,” Sebastian said, surprised that she asked. Perhaps he had caught her on a bad day before. Or, well, he supposed, there was a reason what she wanted to sit with him today. Or, more likely, she was hoping for the flipped side of the coin.
“How are you, Dakota?” Sebastian asked, taking a sip of his tea.
Taking a seat in the adjacent chair, she looked him over curiously. Yeah, this was the cocky guy from last time. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she offered a little shrug. “I’m still here, can’t say the same for a few others, so good? You?”
Sebastian smirked a little at her comment and said, “I think my job comes with some sort of security in not disappearing.” Or if it didn’t, it meant he wasn’t doing a good enough job. Or he stopped relying on his abilities. Either way, he was sure he wasn’t going to go anywhere.
“I am fine, thank you,” Sebastian said, “A bit surprised you are coming to sit here. I got the impression you did not care for me.”
“Don’t take it personally, I don’t care for most people.” She took a sip of her coffee and glanced around before looking back to him. “No work today?”
“That is a sentiment I can understand then,” Sebastian said. He shook his head at her question, “Personal day. Feeling a bit… off and was hoping the weekend would help.” He wondered if she would understand what he meant by off and decided she wouldn’t. It’s not like he really explained anything and as much as Bastian spoke of Sebastian, it did not mean that it made sense to anyone other than them. Him.
“Oh? What’s the matter?” If she was going to sit here and be social, she might as well show an interest in the things he was talking about. Isn’t that how this was supposed to work?
“My head is a bit cloudy. It gets like that sometimes,” Sebastian said, taking a drink of his tea. He paused then said, “I am glad you came over. Last time… I do not like getting off on the wrong foot and I fear I said everything wrong.” Did he still have his opinions? Of course. Would he listen to her if she spoke? Of course.
Dakota arched a brow, not at his explanation of feeling off, but at what he said afterward. She had not anticipated that. “Seriously? I can’t believe you even remember that. Don’t worry about it. Obviously, it’s all good, since I came over.”
Sebastian smiled softly and said, “I remember everything.” That was very true but if she was willing to drop it, then he would be willing to let it go too. Perhaps it was an off day. The thing was now, Sebastian was a bit socially awkward. He wasn’t sure how to keep a conversation going. So he sipped his tea and asked, “You mentioned the disappearances. Are you worried?”
Smirking, Dakota shook her head. “Maybe I should be, but I’m not. I only know like one or two people who disappeared, and honestly they were kind of asking for it. Or wanted it to happen. So…” That sounded pretty cold-hearted, and she didn’t mean it that way, but too late now. “Are you?”
“Asking for it? What do you mean?” Sebastian asked. Why did he get the feeling he might get more information from Dakota than his informant. He needed to do something about that. Why wasn’t he turning the cat in? Right. Bastian liked to play. He shook his head at her question, “No. As I said, job security.”
“Well, the one guy, he was actually cool. But when I met him he was basically looking like he was about to jump off the cliff into the ocean so… “ Dakota shrugged it off. That did still kind of bother her, more that it didn’t bother her… and that was bothersome. “And the other kid. Well, I don’t know but I could tell she was getting into some shit she shouldn’t be. I tried to be decent and nice but that wasn’t what she wanted from me. Anyway, she’s gone now too.”
Neither of that seemed to be asking for it from the information Dakota gave but he assumed there was more to both stories than what Dakota said. He shrugged and asked, “What did she want from you?” He was curious about the cool guy but perhaps jumping into the ocean would have been better.
Dakota rolled her eyes and took another drink of her coffee before answering. “She wanted me to be her fucking girlfriend or something. After meeting me once. Because she touched me, and that got her going. When I told her that was out, she wanted to fuck, but I knew it wasn’t going to end with that so I told her to move along. She got pissed and I never heard from her again. Probably for the best, all things considered.”
Sebastian raised her eyebrow and said, “That was presumptuous of her. Though I am amused that she assumed if she couldn’t get a relationship, then a fuck would be sufficient and agreeable. People are rather demanding in their needs, aren’t they?”
Dakota shrugged. “I’m actually used to people wanting nothing but a good fuck from me. So it wasn’t that insulting, more… predictable and boring. I was trying to be nice and not corrupt a minor or whatever. So much for that.”
Bas giggled inside Sebastian’s head. Corrupting a minor was so much fun. Such innocent, such hope, easily destroyed. Such longing for something else twisted and made into something else? It was an amazing feeling to win over. Sebastian fought to keep Bastian from replying, from giving his opinion. Corruption of another person was usually frowned upon.
“Still if you weren’t interested in a relationship, who says that you would be interested in fucking her? Though I suppose there are many that fuck without the promise of more.”
“I wasn’t interested, I told her she’d have to pay, and then it was this whole thing about how she didn’t have any money and blah blah blah. So basically it turned into one of my usual interactions with people.” She idly flipped through the magazine, somewhat bothered by the topic, so she needed a distraction.
“The first boy you mentioned, did it go down that same route?” Sebastian asked. He supposed he was no different. Had he not brought her home and brought her to the bedroom? She did get to slash at him. Perhaps that was his payment to her.
Dakota thought about it for a moment and then shook her head. “No. I don’t think he was interested. Or, well, it wasn’t his main interest. So, no. He just wanted to talk, it was kind of nice.” Shaking her head, she tossed the magazine on a nearby table and went back to her coffee.
“Why do you think he was asking for it then?” Sebastian asked. Because he wanted to jump in the ocean? That wasn’t quite fair. Or maybe it was. He was asking a lot of questions of her, wasn’t he?
She considered the question for a moment and then shrugged. “He was unhappy here. More than most people seem. I didn’t get the impression that he liked to play by the rules.”
Sebastian nodded, taking another sip of his tea, “This island is nothing but rules and order. It is hard to adjust to its ways when you are used to something else.” He supposed that was one of way putting things, wasn’t it?
“I guess.” Dakota shrugged once again and then finished off her coffee. Setting the empty cup aside, she watching him curiously with his tea. “You’re big on rules and order though, aren’t you?”
“I am a fan of both, yes,” Sebastian said. Of course, he also was a fan of breaking them. Or Bastian was. Rules were meant to be broken and order? Bastian thrive on chaos. The two mindsets could not be more different in that regard. “What about you? Do you like rules? Or think they ought to be broken?”
Dakota just smiled a little. “I usually find a way around the rules, so that they don’t apply to me. I don’t break them though, or try not to. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get by.”
“Do you find a way around because you are bored? Or just like to test your limits?” Sebastian asked.
She smirked and shrugged. “Usually to avoid problems. Otherwise I don’t really care. And what do you mean, test my limits?”
“You don’t know what that means?” Sebastian asked, “You don’t want to see how far you can get away with things? Test how far you can go before you are told no? Or do you not care as to your boundaries?”
Dakota thought she’d meant testing her abilities, so obviously he was going somewhere else with it. She considered his train of thought and shrugged. “I never really thought about it. I just try to get what I can, or get out of tight spots, and just move on from there.”
“What do you want to get?” Sebastian asked, “What do you long for?” Perhaps that was the wrong word but she had to want something. Didn’t they all want something? Even him?
Dakota considered the question, and for some strange reason, answered honestly. “I don’t know anymore. At home it was usually money, here there wasn’t much of anything to want. At least not anything anyone seemed willing to give. “I think I know what you want.”
That was the problem around here, wasn’t it? Things had less value. The government could probably distract these rebels if they had to work to survive. But who was he to say anything? He tilted his head at her last sentence however.
“Which is?” he asked.
“Well, part of you wants to be in control. Of yourself, of others. To get everything you want, whether it’s sex, or the ability to manipulate others. The other side of you… it’s harder to pinpoint. It seems like you want information, but then most of it bores you. You’ve asked me more questions sitting here today than anyone has asked me since I stepped foot on this island. You’re digging for something.” She looked around the shop with boredom before glancing back to him. “Am I off?”
He thought about making a comment about assumptions but opted not to. Instead he smiled and said, “You don’t think I’m asking questions because I am merely curious about you? Do I need to be digging for anything?” It was true. He did want information but there was nothing interesting. Or perhaps it was just life on this island. A deep well of possibilities but only dead fish came up.
She shrugged and smirked. “It’s possible. But I’ve only ever met one person that was genuinely curious about me. Most people just use it as a way in. They always just asked questions to get information to use for their own benefit, in one way or another. Isn’t that the usual way it goes?”
“I want to agree with you,” Sebastian said, “I don’t believe that people aren’t interested in others unless they are getting something in return but I may be just be a pessimist. Saying that, I’m sure you are curious to what I want with you. Am I wrong?”
“Curious is a strong word, but yeah, sure, let’s go with that.” She shifted in the chair to face him, tucking long legs beneath her.
“If not curious, what are you then?” Sebastian asked, studying her. He took a sip of his tea, wondering if she would answer him or if she wanted an answer from him first.
Dakota shrugged and hesitated before responding. “The majority of the time, I have a general sense of apathy. Which can be annoying, but not so annoying as for me to care about being annoyed. It takes a lot for me to feel much of anything these days.”
“Understandable,” Sebastian said, “This island is rather… unexciting. But have you always been apathetic? Since you discovered your powers? Or is it a personality trait?”
Sighing, Dakota shrugged, pushing her hair back out of her face. “I learned to let go of a lot of shit, it was a job requirement. But this is different. I’m thinking it’s related to powers, somehow. Which sucks, since there’s nothing I can do about that.”
“Have you ever tried to learn your abilities? More than what they simply have told you what you have?” Sebastian asked, wondering if her abilities muted her emotional ability. That would be an interesting side effect. It would be interesting if there was a way to override it.
Dakota just shook her head. “They didn’t tell me much that I couldn’t have figured out on my own, sooner or later. You know what I can do. Or, a part of you does anyway. That’s about all there is to it.”
“I do wonder if there is more to these abilities that meets the eyes, something we have not seen or experienced,” Sebastian said. Hmm, his tea was finished now, “I suppose none of it matters. We have what we have and we live with what we are given.”
Confused, Dakota started to respond and then just shrugged. He was right about that last bit. “Yeah, I suppose.”
“What? What were you going to say?” Sebastian said, seeing that she looked like she had something to say but then opted against it. Or perhaps he had imagined it.
Dakota shrugged yet again, her shoulders were getting a work out today. “I don’t know what else more there could be to what I can do. Maybe other people can use their abilities in other ways, but mine seems pretty basic.”
“I’d like to think there are different levels to our abilities; it grows as we grow, as we learn it. Perhaps yours, at basic, is simply pleasure, but what if the more you use it, the stronger you become, you can learn to manipulate other emotions?” Sebastian mused. Then he shrugged, “These are simply thoughts I’ve had. I am not scientist and I do not have any other information to go on. Perhaps I read too much fiction.”
Considering the idea, Dakota figured there might be something to it. But thus far, she’d kind of purposefully left her abilities at their basics. Doing more, like manipulating other emotions, required getting closer to others and that didn’t seem like something Dakota had any intention of doing any time soon. “Is that how your abilities work?”
“I don’t think I have levelled up my abilities at all,” Sebastian said with a frown, “In… certain moods, I have a stronger handle of my abilities. Now, I need to focus with great intent and usually,” he raised a hand, “I need a hand motion, not that I understand that, but to hold it out, to challenge my attention through there. But other times, I can do it seamlessly. Perhaps once I have control throughout, it will evolve.”
Dakota wasn’t following completely, but maybe she didn’t need to. To point was that he hadn’t developed the ability so much as the control of it. In some cases, anyway. “Why do you want to control it? Wouldn’t it be more fun to just have free reign?”
“If we let everything have free reign, do we not just end up with chaos?” Sebastian asked. He looked to Dakota, “Do you let your abilities to have free reign?” He wondered if letting his have free reign would mean that he would be letting Bastian free reign as well. That did not seem safe or smart.
Dakota thought about it for a few minutes before answering. “I don’t know. It is what it is. Sometimes it feels like… it’s not so much me affecting others as others causing my abilities to act the way they do. I mean…” Dakota trailed off and just shook her head a little. “That probably doesn’t make much sense. I don’t feel like I necessarily do anything, but it somehow affects other people. So maybe I’m just the trigger and it’s other people controlling the shot?”
“A catalyst of sorts,” Sebastian mused. He looked to her, thinking. It was an interesting idea but why pleasure first? Unless people wanted to feel pleasure first and foremost. If you could meet someone who wanted to feel the opposite of it, or perhaps someone who did not feel pleasure at all, you could see if there were other things she could control. Or rather be controlled. It was an interesting idea. They would need to find someone to test it on. But who?
“I guess that’s what they’d call it? Who knows? I don’t see any of it being very useful for much. Other than to get people off.” Dakota glanced around the coffee shop idly before looking back to Sebastian with a smirk. “Is this more of the kind of information you find interesting?”
“It would be very useful,” Sebastian said, “The promise of pleasure? People would be willing to do great things in order to get rewarded.” Or great lengths to have it to stop. Too much pleasure was a punishment as well. He offered Dakota a small smile, “Yes. It gives me many things to think about.”
Dakota arched a brow, not following where he was going with this. “You’re going to have to dumb it down a little for the stripper. The only thing I got from people with pleasure was money. That means nothing here. Once in a while, I get a guard off, he leaves me alone for a while. Other than that, I got nothing. And I have yet to meet someone who asked me to stop.” Then again, Dakota tended to leave immediately after, she wasn’t one to bask in the afterglow.
“You have the right idea,” Sebastian said, “Like with the guards, you are exchanging their pleasure for your safety. What if you went bigger? You asked for information. Perhaps access to areas you weren’t allowed to. People want pleasure. They want that release. It is a great motivator,” look at the cat-man for one, “You can have whatever you want with the right trade.”
Dakota arched a brow, he did have a point. Except for one thing. “What if I don’t want anything? I could get them to let me go home, but there’s nothing there for me, so that’s out. If I did go bigger, what’s the point or the goal? What’s in it for me?”
Everyone wanted something but how do you get that person who was completely apathetic to want something? He was quiet for a moment before saying, “What if you could feel something more? What if there was a way to open that part of your brain up again? Would you be willing to make a few trades in exchange for that?”
Dakota studied Sebastian curiously before laughing a little, without humor. “Why do I feel like answering that is akin to making a deal with the devil?”
“Isn’t doing anything for yourself akin to making a deal with the devil?” Sebastian asked, “If they were deals with God, then they would be selfless. They would be for others. I suppose that is always an option but,” he smiled again, “I do not think God smiles upon strippers.”
Arching a brow, Dakota stared at him for a moment before looking away with a shake of her head and a little laugh. “You don’t say. Wow. Well, it was… nice chatting with you. Until now.” Standing, she gathered her things to go.
“Did I insult you, Dakota?” Sebastian asked, not making any move to stop her. Was it not her who called attention to the fact that she was a stripper? Or perhaps she did not like the fact that she had a choice to have more? Perhaps she liked the apathetic existent. Who was he to judge her? He was not God. He could not judge anyone. Not with the sins on his hands.
Looking to him, she shook her head. “You tried to. But sadly, it didn’t work. I don’t feel anything, remember? Which, in this case, does work to my benefit. See you around.” Shaking her head, she didn’t bother to wave as she headed for the door to leave.
“I didn’t call you anything you didn’t just call yourself,” Sebastian called to her but decided to let her leave. She could think on that and what he had proposed to her. If she wanted to know more, find out more she could find him. Otherwise, he would assume she was happy. He wouldn’t push. He wouldn’t, anyway.