open to all;

[swordboning]

Who: Archer swordboning and YOU. (Maybe Athena too)
When: December 15th and on
Where: Right here where you need him. At least in the streets.
What: Golden Archers is sadly open. Come get your top tier food of choice.
Rating/Warning: Nah.


[Archer was fully cringing at the emblem Athena made and the fact that it was pasted on his apron. Well, inwardly at least. Athena got to have her way with the things went around here since she was the one who put in the money and most of the work. That meant her lame idea of what was great ended up plastering almost anything that had the surface for it.

But for a food stall, there was a serious lack of menu. Archer, though, intentionally wanted that. Restricting himself would only be admitting that he couldn't make things that people wanted outside of said menu. Obviously, there were some restrictions because supplies of some things were exceedingly rare or impossible to find. Which meant that rich people places had to be visited for that. But here were reasonable prices for fresh cooked food.]

Before you ask, there's no menu. So just tell me what you want.

[Customer service needed a little bit of work, however. And no, Saber, you weren't getting any free food.]

Comments

[emotive]

[Man, and he called Ai a child; she can recall that much during her drunken stupor. It seems Athena has a better handle on Archer as a person compared to Ai who still has trouble with this person reading thing]

He's strangely dependable though, for better or for worse.

Are you working with him on the food stall?

[psycholawgy]

I am, I am!

[ She points to the sign. ]

I painted it myself! Since this is a collaboration between Archer and myself, I put his face on my badge.

[emotive]

[Somehow, Ai's able to figure out that Athena would have the gumption to be able to get Archer to do this.]

Well, you certainly put in a lot of effort, I can tell that much.

[psycholawgy]

[ She really did, even if it does look goofy. ]

I can draw scenery and all that, but drawing people's a bit of a challenge for me.

[emotive]

I think you got Archer's likeness down though! It was a challenge you overcame splendidly.

[psycholawgy]

Hey! Thank you! [ She glances at the sign again and laughs. It's the first time she's been complimented for her work. ] I hope you'll stop by whenever we're open.

[emotive]

I will! Archer's difficult to deal with, but his cooking is sincere. I want to support this venture as much as I can.

[psycholawgy]

[ Here come the waterworks... ]

Oh, Ai! That's so kind of you-- [ And she holds back a sob. ] I bet Archer's glad to have friends like you!

[emotive]

... I don't think... We're friends... I hesitate to call it that.

[psycholawgy]

Huh? Why do you say that?

[emotive]

Well, he's been helping me train too. I can appreciate him putting effort into spending time on my combat skills.

But in the end, I don't think we understand each other well.

[psycholawgy]

But you have ESP!

[ ISN'T THAT HOW IT WORKS!!! ]

[emotive]

I-I don't think that's how... Never mind. [Ai doesn't think telepathy really helps build bridges, let's just say.]

I don't read minds, Athena. Not anymore anyways.

[psycholawgy]

Why not? Did something happen?

[ Her own hearing was much worse before, and grew slightly weaker over time. Maybe something like that happened to Ai, Athena thinks. ]

[emotive]

[... That's right. They were friends, but there was very little Athena Cykes knows of the esper, Ai Thao Kha. Ai had been taking in all this friendship and had given little in return. In a way that was fine. But was it something that could last if Ai held back?

Thankfully, the answer comes out more easily than she thought it would.]

My telepathy was too potent for me to handle when I was younger. It put too much stress on me, so it was decided that I shouldn't have to use it for a while.

[When she WILL use it again, that's up for debate and if she ever meets the magic user that sealed her powers.]

[psycholawgy]

[ She frowns, because she sure knows how that feels like. Athena could hear people's hearts, and it drove her crazy when she was younger, but... to be able to hear people's thoughts. It must have been more difficult. ]

If it's for your own good, then it was a good decision.

[emotive]

It probably was...

[She would have turned out to be a fairly different person if she had access to people's thoughts so easily. That or she'd be dead.]

That being said, there are times I can hear some thoughts as if they're whispers. But most of the time, not at all.

[psycholawgy]

You don't hear anything from Archer, then?

[emotive]

Nothing.

It's fine though. There's no need for it and I feel like if I kept my telepathy, it'd be harder for me to deal with people and I already have enough trouble as it is.

[psycholawgy]

Just don't give up on him, okay? You might think you don't get along, but he usually says the opposite of what he means.

[emotive]

Mm. Miss Rin said something similar along those lines if I remember...

[Ai Thao sighs.]

We'll see. In spite of my apprehension, I won't hesitate to say that I'm glad he's teaching me.

[In a way, he's challenging her comfort zone, where she finds strength in her strong emotions which is what Ai needs to depend a little less on.]

[psycholawgy]

If he ever bullies you, then just tell me, okay? I'll smack him silly.

[ Athena for best friend 2k15. ]

[emotive]

Does he let you do that??

[psycholawgy]

...

... ... ...

I've never done it before.

[emotive]

...

... ... ...

Let's just keep that way. I'll try to understand him more.