31_days fic: Back on track with the NGE project
Title: "Psychic Vampire Codex"
Day/Theme: Sept 11) tireless hunger in your eyes
Series: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Character/Pairing: no canon characters appear, but Gendo Ikari is spoken about
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: I took a bit of a break to recharge my batteries yesterday, plus I was busy with a lot of errands and other things (season premiere of "Supernatural" for the whoa-wait-a-minute?!), but I am back today with a new fragment of the ambitious NGE project. This probably takes place sometime during Episode 15; one bit of background: Othmar is one of Enniel's two other wards, and are almost like a brother to Sabia (except she tends to keep a bit of distance from him, since he's a bit... pushy in certain areas of behavior...).
Othmar insisted on taking her to an upscale cafe he'd run across during his last trip to the city. Sabia realized at once what drew him to it: the waitstaff were dressed in frouffy maid uniforms with a fetish-laden slant to their design. He kept darting covert glances from under his lashes as they passed by their table.
"So what exactly do they have you doing that could be of any use to a para-military organization?" Othmar asked, over tea, which he took laced with brandy from a flask he had hidden in the lining of his jacket.
"Well, I'm really not at liberty to discuss the details..." Sabia started to say.
Othmar held up one long-fingered hand. "Methinks you doth protest too much, and I am hearing shorthand for 'there isn't a lot of work for me to do, so I mostly get paid to hang around'."
Sabia shrugged. "I get a stipend for the translation work I do, but I still need to rely on the allowance Enniel is giving me," she said.
"Mmm, and at the risk of being a gloomy messanger, I've overheard things that indicate you might be facing a cut in that allowance, if you don't get busy doing whatever that errand is Enniel has you doing."
She looked him in the eye. "What do you mean?"
He smirked at her slyly. "Come now, you've been here for almost two months and you haven't made any headway with that human?"
Sabia discreetly looked around them to make sure no one was listening or appeared to be. "It's not like the Commander is the most approachable person: his very body language indicates he builds walls between himself and others."
"Sabia, Sabia, Sabia, don't be so naif: he's a male human and a widower to boot, while you're an attractive young woman. If you just didn't dress like a mousy librarian, you'd 've been able to make some headway," Othmar said, darting a glance at a passing waitress.
Sabia managed a small laugh, despite how her insides cringed at Othmar's suggestions. "I think he's still devoted to the memory of his wife, and I suspect there's someone he's involved with on some level, but it isn't my place to ask."
Othmar leaned back in his chair. "Humans... they get so fixated on the past, but I suppose when one has only a limited time to live, one values one's memories a little more, since there's less chance to find other diversions, when you have only a set amount of time to search them out. Reliving past pleasures is the next best thing."
"Don't let them hear you talk like that," she warned.
"Why not?" Othmar said. "Time was when could talk however we wanted in front of them and not have to dodge certain topics."
"Well, at the very least, they might think you're insane or a cult member of some kind," Sabia said.
"You forget we're in Japan: the people here are too polite to intrude, unless you actually *do* something to indicate insanity," Othmar said.
"I wouldn't talk so glibly around me, Othmar," she said. "Ever since I got here, I've felt like there's someone listening to everything I say or everything that's said to me."
Othmar laughed. "Now you're just being as paranoid as a human. I think you need to come home for a while; I'll see if I can wile Enniel into getting someone to cover your little snipe hunt. Perhaps you can have the files sent you at the NERV facility in Cambridge?"
She shook her head. "They're a high level of classification: I doubt Commander Ikari would allow it."
"Hm. Maybe you do have reasons to be paranoid," Othmar mused.
Day/Theme: Sept 11) tireless hunger in your eyes
Series: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Character/Pairing: no canon characters appear, but Gendo Ikari is spoken about
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: I took a bit of a break to recharge my batteries yesterday, plus I was busy with a lot of errands and other things (season premiere of "Supernatural" for the whoa-wait-a-minute?!), but I am back today with a new fragment of the ambitious NGE project. This probably takes place sometime during Episode 15; one bit of background: Othmar is one of Enniel's two other wards, and are almost like a brother to Sabia (except she tends to keep a bit of distance from him, since he's a bit... pushy in certain areas of behavior...).
Othmar insisted on taking her to an upscale cafe he'd run across during his last trip to the city. Sabia realized at once what drew him to it: the waitstaff were dressed in frouffy maid uniforms with a fetish-laden slant to their design. He kept darting covert glances from under his lashes as they passed by their table.
"So what exactly do they have you doing that could be of any use to a para-military organization?" Othmar asked, over tea, which he took laced with brandy from a flask he had hidden in the lining of his jacket.
"Well, I'm really not at liberty to discuss the details..." Sabia started to say.
Othmar held up one long-fingered hand. "Methinks you doth protest too much, and I am hearing shorthand for 'there isn't a lot of work for me to do, so I mostly get paid to hang around'."
Sabia shrugged. "I get a stipend for the translation work I do, but I still need to rely on the allowance Enniel is giving me," she said.
"Mmm, and at the risk of being a gloomy messanger, I've overheard things that indicate you might be facing a cut in that allowance, if you don't get busy doing whatever that errand is Enniel has you doing."
She looked him in the eye. "What do you mean?"
He smirked at her slyly. "Come now, you've been here for almost two months and you haven't made any headway with that human?"
Sabia discreetly looked around them to make sure no one was listening or appeared to be. "It's not like the Commander is the most approachable person: his very body language indicates he builds walls between himself and others."
"Sabia, Sabia, Sabia, don't be so naif: he's a male human and a widower to boot, while you're an attractive young woman. If you just didn't dress like a mousy librarian, you'd 've been able to make some headway," Othmar said, darting a glance at a passing waitress.
Sabia managed a small laugh, despite how her insides cringed at Othmar's suggestions. "I think he's still devoted to the memory of his wife, and I suspect there's someone he's involved with on some level, but it isn't my place to ask."
Othmar leaned back in his chair. "Humans... they get so fixated on the past, but I suppose when one has only a limited time to live, one values one's memories a little more, since there's less chance to find other diversions, when you have only a set amount of time to search them out. Reliving past pleasures is the next best thing."
"Don't let them hear you talk like that," she warned.
"Why not?" Othmar said. "Time was when could talk however we wanted in front of them and not have to dodge certain topics."
"Well, at the very least, they might think you're insane or a cult member of some kind," Sabia said.
"You forget we're in Japan: the people here are too polite to intrude, unless you actually *do* something to indicate insanity," Othmar said.
"I wouldn't talk so glibly around me, Othmar," she said. "Ever since I got here, I've felt like there's someone listening to everything I say or everything that's said to me."
Othmar laughed. "Now you're just being as paranoid as a human. I think you need to come home for a while; I'll see if I can wile Enniel into getting someone to cover your little snipe hunt. Perhaps you can have the files sent you at the NERV facility in Cambridge?"
She shook her head. "They're a high level of classification: I doubt Commander Ikari would allow it."
"Hm. Maybe you do have reasons to be paranoid," Othmar mused.