Ilia Amitola is color coded for your convenience (amitola) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2019-02-21 12:59:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, caleb rivers, ilia amitola |
Who: Caleb Rivers & Ilia Amitola
What: Meeting
When: Recently
Where: Random bar
Warnings: Low
Status: Partner Thread | Complete
Caleb wasn’t sure about Orange County. He thought it was a place just like any of the other places he passed through. But there was something different about this place. And it wasn’t just that network where everyone talked about their dreams. There was something else that Caleb couldn’t quite put his finger on. Whatever it was he was determined to figure it out before he left town.
However tonight he was putting all that aside. Hell he was putting everything aside. Dwelling on his past, worrying about if his past would catch up with him, wondering what the hell was up with Orange County - he was l forgetting about all of it and just drinking. Because sometimes he just needed to forget his problems.
Walking into a bar he made his way over to an empty stool. “Someone sitting here?” he asked the woman beside it.
Ilia had spent the day going to different tent cities to offer assistance from Pimpernel Outreach to those who wanted it. She remembered what it was like and so had taken the initiative on her own to do so. Still, seeing some of the memorials that were there...it hurt. A reminder it could have been her had Blake not found her and taken her to Logan’s.
Then there was the whole coming to terms with knowing Blake would go off with her other friends in the Dreams and she would...well, she didn’t know but it felt like her story was over. That was weird. But mostly she was trying to come to terms with the fact that Jacques Schnee had managed to control her life for so long. To make each home she was placed in that might have been a good fit go wrong and continue the ongoing shuffle. All to discredit her should she speak out.
So here she was at a bar with her fake ID. They say never drink alone but that had been the plan. At least some guy came up to her. It was a quick calculation on if it would be safe to say yes or no, automatic. But she also knew she could take him down without batting an eye if he got fresh. She didn’t get that vibe from him but it was reassuring to know all the same.
“Nope. Go for it.” Since it was clear the next question would be could he sit there. Or take the stool to go sit with friends at a table.
“Thanks,” Caleb said and climbed onto the stool next to her. He appreciated someone that thought ahead. Saved him from having to ask a second question. A question that had been implied with his first question. But not everyone was smart enough to give both answers at one.
After ordering himself a beer he turned his attention to the woman next to him. It seemed as she was alone at the bar as well. Caleb figured it might as well make some small talk. It beat drinking in silence at least. Well if you asked him it did, he didn’t know how the woman next to him felt about it. “You come here a lot?”
People tended to be idiots, at least that was Ilia’s opinion. Well, she didn’t dislike them nearly as much as some people seemed to think but being idiots or not being truthful… well, it took a bit to get beneath her defenses and just not think someone was a waste of time.
Still, she wasn’t really expecting the small talk as it was never something she liked. But that mostly came from the fact that she was blunt and just said what was on her mind, niceties be damned.
“Not too much.” True she couldn’t go to Logan’s bar since well, he knew that she was underage. And usually it was just her and Chloe drinking at their normal spot. Going out for a drink? Not so much, but it had been a day and with everything else… well, sometimes going out for a drink was needed. “How about you?” Had she noticed him on the network before? He looked vaguely familiar but it was hard to tell given the lighting in places like this.
Honestly Caleb wasn’t sure if he was bothering the woman or not. But she had asked a follow up question so he figured it was fine to make conversation with her. She didn’t exactly seem friendly but she also wasn’t giving off the get the fuck away vibe either.
“Nah,” Caleb replied as the bartender brought over his beer. “First time,” he added taking a sip. “Just arrived in town not too long ago.” And he wasn’t planning on staying much longer either.
That was the way Ilia was. She tended to be closed off at first but if she decided you were okay and even could be one of her people, she opened up more and then would defend you to the death. For now though, it was just random dude talking to her which, while she was never one for small talk, it was probably better than getting lost in her thoughts.
There were reasons they said you should never drink alone.
So she gave a small nod.
“Fair enough. There are a good number of bars it seems.” People probably needed it with the shit the Dreams could throw at someone.
That was true for most of the areas Caleb had passed through. Not so much the less populated ones in the middle of nowhere, those only tended to have about one bar. But really, one was all you needed.
“Yeah?” Caleb replied though it wasn’t really a question. “You got a favorite one?”
“Not really. Going out to bars isn’t something I normally do. This one was just close and I felt like it.” Clubs? Sure. But again, most of the time it was just her and Chloe in their spot and not having to risk barkeepers noticing her fake ID or anything.
Well that was interesting. For the most part Caleb found people that drank alone to be frequenters too bars. Not a one off thing. Though he supposed everyone needed a drink every now and then. “Rough day?” he asked, because yeah another reason people tended to go out and drink alone.
She didn’t know exactly why she was opening up, even slightly, to this guy. But there was a sort of..familiarity to him. Not personally, just in terms of life or whatever. It was weird and unsettling but for the most part? Ilia was a good judge of character.
“Rough, long…” She shrugged and took a sip of her drink, looking back at Caleb critically, “You? Frequent bars a lot or just felt like it tonight?”
“Depends on your definition of frequent,” Caleb replied with a smirk and another sip of his drink. “It’s not an everyday occurrence,” he clarified. “But I do end my days in a bar a few times a week.”
The past year Caleb led a pretty lonely life. He was on his own. No family, no friends, no one to talk to. So yeah he went to bars when he got the chance. He could usually find at least one person to talk to for a bit there, and also alcohol was nice.
A few times a week sounded frequent to Ilia but if that was what this guy wanted to do with his life, then who was she to say anything about it?
“Nothing wrong with that.”
His life after all. And it was true that people tended to be chatty at bars. Ilia wasn’t entirely sure how it worked out. If it was the alcohol that led to people being more talkative, or some sort of….loneliness so talking to strangers thing because there was the idea of less judging.
If you asked Caleb it was probably a mixture of both, loneliness and the alcohol making people more chatty. For him though probably more loneliness. However it wasn’t like he could exactly make lasting connections. Too dangerous. Plus he wasn’t around long enough for it anyway.
“My thoughts exactly,” Caleb said with a smirk taking a nice long sip of his drink as if to prove his point.