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Post by Tecna on Dec 19, 2006 16:55:36 GMT -5
Despite herself, Tecna laughed as she lifted the strap to her laptop case over her head and then settled it diagonally across her chest. Somewhere along the way in her life, she had learned that carrying one's bag this way was best for good posture and Tecna had taken that advice to heart. And though she was no royal as the majority of Alfea students seemed to be these days, it was by no means an excuse for walking through life like some schlump.
"Improving, perhaps," Tecna finally answered, her lips curling up into an amused smile, "but it will probably come as no surprise to you that, perfectionist that I am, I belong to the school of thought that improvement means little if the end result is still of poor quality."
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Post by Riven on Dec 19, 2006 17:06:06 GMT -5
He would never have pegged Tecna as someone that could so easily be made to laugh, at least not by him. He had assumed she would only be amused by political satire or science jokes that he didn’t understand. Whatever it was that sophisticated brainiacs found to be funny. Or humorous. That sounded more intelligent.
This conversation just became more interesting as it went.
“Well, perfectionist that you are, I’m sure you’ll be hard pressed to let it go. You might even have to elect yourself my private tutor,” he replied, starting down the street but keeping his steps slow enough until she caught up.
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Post by Tecna on Dec 19, 2006 17:50:40 GMT -5
"That may be so, but my time is valuable," Tecna remarked with a smile, unconsciously quickening her step so that Riven wouldn't have to slow down anymore for her. "I prefer not to waste it on unfruitful pursuits and somehow I imagine that this lesson in question might be just that. Even with my superior tutoring skills - and I assure you, many an Alfea fairy who, on the verge of failing a class, sought out my help can attest to the fact that my methods are superior - you are simply a lost cause."
But despite the fact that her tone was nonchalant, Tecna suspected that there was actually quite a bit of truth to her words. Riven, by nature it seemed, was an abrasive, invade personal space, 'in-your-face' sort of person, and Tecna doubted the existence of a person, let alone her, who could change him. Of course, Musa thought that she could but Tecna had other views on that matter - ones she wisely kept to herself. It certainly didn't take require great levels of intelligence for Tecna to see that Musa would not appreciate being told that whatever relationship she thought she had with Riven amounted to little more than her clinging to her memories of them.
At this particular thought, Tecna felt a twinge of guilt. Even if Riven had seemed to severe his ties with Musa - what with the way he apparently hadn't spoken to her in months - Tecna knew that she ought to be more supportive of her friend. Even if Musa was being rather dense. Somehow, though, Tecna just couldn't envision herself giving Musa a pep talk that built up her hopes for being with Riven when there was no evidence that such a thing was going to happen - nor could she particularly imagine herself childishly bashing Riven the way Stella, out of blind loyalty, would to get Musa's spirits up.
It was for reasons like that that Tecna tended to shy clear of entangling herself in relationships; they always seemed more troublesome than they were worth.
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Post by Riven on Dec 19, 2006 18:05:36 GMT -5
“A lost cause?” Riven repeated, glancing sideways at Tecna when she fell in step beside him. “You know, you’re not the first person to call me that. If I was capable of feeling insulted, I probably would.”
At least this assessment was something that he knew to be true. He was perfectly fine with who he was, and he wasn’t about to change for anyone. They didn’t like what they saw? Fine. They could go on not liking it all they wanted. No skin off his nose.
It was the ones that used it in the context that he’d never amount to anything that really pissed him off. Just because his mother had deemed him worthless didn’t mean shit. He might be some poor orphan, but he was no lost cause.
“Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way,” he smirked. “Maybe I should tutor you on letting people into your personal space. Privately.”
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Post by Tecna on Dec 19, 2006 18:20:52 GMT -5
Immediately following Riven's remark, Tecna gave a snort of incredulity. However, her reaction, unlike the reaction most other females would have given had they been placed in her shoes, was not in response to his not-so-subtle innuendo; rather, the idea that she would need tutoring in anything was beyond ridiculous!
Finally composing herself, Tecna shook her head. "Once again, your logic makes no sense to me. How could you tutor me 'privately,' if you are tutoring me on how to let other people in? Wouldn't that require that other people be present? Unless, of course, by 'other people,' you really meant you - in which case, you should have just said that because otherwise your argument is nonsensical."
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Post by Riven on Dec 19, 2006 18:29:03 GMT -5
While Tecna figured it all out aloud, Riven just looked over at her with an eyebrow raised. Of course he had meant him. What other way was there to take that suggestion?
“You’re a big fan of people saying exactly what they mean, aren’t you?” he remarked. Reaching their destination, he stopped and opened the door. “No analogies. Nothing vague. No beating around the bush.”
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Post by Tecna on Dec 19, 2006 18:36:13 GMT -5
A wry look crossing her face, Tecna slipped past him to cross over the door's threshold. Waiting for Riven to enter too, she then replied as she slipped him a curious sideways glance, "You make it sound as though it's a bad thing to want people to say what they mean. Don't you think so much trouble and miscommunication could be avoided if people stopped hiding behind their words?"
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Post by Riven on Dec 19, 2006 18:44:41 GMT -5
“I never said it was a bad thing,” he said as he stepped inside and let the door fall shut behind him. It was true. He’d been involved in too many fiascos born of miscommunication to argue. Strolling over to an empty table, he sat himself down in a chair and got comfortable. Pulling another chair around with one foot, he then propped his feet up on it.
“But there’s this little thing called mystery that I happen to enjoy as well.”
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Post by Tecna on Dec 19, 2006 19:00:31 GMT -5
Lowering herself onto a chair across from Riven, Tecna quickly shrugged her laptop case strap from her shoulder and then bent down to set the heavy bag on the floor next to her feet. Then taking a moment to get comfortable as she first crossed one leg over the other before switching, Tecna finally questioned with furrowed brows, as though this was a most puzzling matter to behold, "Mystery? What kind of mystery? And besides, wouldn't you rather just know everything there is to know?" With a slight laugh, she added as she gestured between the two of them, "Like this. This is, or should I say you are a mystery to me. I cannot possibly understand why you would want doubt to cloud your life - which is what is truly at the root of mystery, you know."
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Post by Riven on Dec 19, 2006 19:07:53 GMT -5
He was a mystery to her? Perfect. Just how he wanted it. He liked to keep people guessing about him, and even when people thought they had him figured out, they were way off the mark. Sometimes even he forgot who he really was. It was easier to be who he wanted to be instead.
“If I already knew everything there was to know, then wouldn’t life be boring? There would be no more surprises and nothing new to learn,” he countered, grabbing a handful of nuts out of the dish on the table. “Besides, if you already had me all figured out, would you still be here talking to me?”
Tossing a peanut into the air, he caught it in his mouth before meeting her gaze.
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Post by Tecna on Dec 19, 2006 19:36:06 GMT -5
"I wouldn't say 'boring' so much as I would say 'incredibly exciting'," Tecna insisted, her fingers toying with the napkin dispenser on the table. "Even if there was nothing new to learn, I imagine it would be quite the experience to be able to sit back and reflect on everything you know. I would think it would be both quite mind-boggling and wonderful." Giving an idle shrug, Tecna met Riven's gaze. "But I suppose that puts me in the minority of things. Nothing unusual there."
Leaning back in her seat, Tecna dropped her clasped hands onto her lap before she then said, her tone reflective, "And as for whether I would still be here talking to you if I had you all figured out, I think the answer would be yes. It all goes back to what I said before; I don't think a lack of mystery is boring. So hypothetically speaking, even if you were no more of a mystery to me than how a computer operates, I think there would be plenty for us to talk about-"
Interrupted by the buzzing of her phone, Tecna extracted it from her purse before flicking it off and then depositing it back into its home. There was the chance that it could be an important call, but even Tecna knew enough about etiquette to know that it wasn't polite to take calls when you were out with someone else.
(OOC: Sorry this post took forever but my stupid computer ate the first one I wrote. *grumbles* I hate when it does that.)
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Post by Riven on Dec 19, 2006 19:54:18 GMT -5
(Not a problem. I hate when that happens. MS Word is my best friend when it comes to posting.)
What a strange girl. Perfectly aware that her intelligence made her an outcast and perfectly fine with it, at least on the outside. Riven had no doubts that there were times when the way people treated her had to get to her. Like her comment earlier about students always coming to her for tutoring; always coming to her when they wanted something. He doubted they had much to do with her when there wasn’t a test looming on the horizon. He knew how horrible he had felt when he found out Darcy had only been using him for information, but that was different. That was one time and with one person that he had thought cared. This was all the time with random people.
Still, the comparison was there.
Bottom line, though, was that this uniqueness made her intriguing. She was straight forward and direct, yet somehow that made her mysterious as well. Everyone else he knew was so caught up in their personal lives, and the biggest tragedy most of them knew was being dateless on a Saturday night. It was pathetic and juvenile.
When Tecna was interrupted by her phone, he was surprised that she didn’t even look at it as she turned it off. Whether it was rude or not, most people acted like they would die if they missed a call.
“That is unless under this dashing and mysterious facade, I actually am boring,” he joked, signalling the waitress to come take their orders. “I think I best keep you wondering. Puzzles are no fun if someone solves them for you.”
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Post by Tecna on Dec 19, 2006 20:18:29 GMT -5
As she began to open her mouth to reply, Tecna found herself cut off by the arrival of the waitress. Deciding that she didn't particularly have an appetite at the moment, she simply ordered a plain black coffee. It was exactly what she had had probably only half an hour or so ago over at Connected, but Tecna was fine with the same old, same old. In fact, at times she lived for it. Some people called it boring, she called it a steadying force amidst the chaos of life.
Waiting as Riven ordered, Tecna cast a surreptitious look at him out of the corner of her eye, still unsure what exactly to make of him. Though she did not doubt for a moment that he was about as abrasive of a person as there could be, she could not help but suspect that there was something - very likely, many things - more to him. It would make sense, after all; if she herself knew that she existed outside of what she presented on the surface, was it really a far stretch to envision the same being true of Riven?
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Post by Riven on Dec 19, 2006 20:29:06 GMT -5
Riven considered ordering something alcoholic but figured he was better off with just a soda. One drink would just turn into another and if he was going to gain back whatever respect he’d left behind at Red Fountain, he had to stay in control.
Tossing a few more peanuts into his mouth, he gave the waitress a wink as she left before turning his attention back to Tecna. Kicking his feet off the chair, he sat up and rested one elbow on the table between them.
“If you want a real drink, I won’t tell anybody,” he teased in a conspiratorial tone. “I’ll even be all responsible and drive you home. What kind of hero would I be if I didn’t help D.I.D.’s? Drunkards in Distress?”
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Post by Tecna on Dec 19, 2006 21:08:19 GMT -5
Ignoring his jibe about her choice of drink (which Tecna also suspect was a harmless jibe against the more straitlaced side of her character), she instead propped her chin up in the palm of her hand as she questioned, echoing his word choice, "Hero?"
Certainly, Riven's use of that word caught her attention as she figured that after leaving Red Fountain a couple months earlier, the last thing he would want to do would be to continue associating himself with the school. Tipping her head slightly in mild confusion, she then said, "I thought you had left all that behind."
Coming from anyone else, those words doubtlessly would have come across as judgmental, would have seemed to insinuate that there was something weak in Riven's character, but coming from Tecna, it was simply a statement of observation.
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