Scene #9484: Bad Influence

Owner	Pose
White	It's late, maybe a couple of hours before sunset, when Roland finds one of White's many agents gently tapping his phone with a foreleg to draw his attention to a new message. "It's almost time. Let me know when to grab you." Of course, White hadn't exactly explained much about what she had planned, other than that the two of them aught to talk properly and she had a place she wanted to show him. Since she didn't want to snatch him mid-day and rob him of his crucial duties within the Library, she'd planned to snipe him around the time most people would want to be comfortably at home and relaxing. That was, in a manner of speaking, part of her plan anyway... So surely he won't mind! Whenever he gives the signal (or potentially if he just waffles for too long trying to dodge her), Roland finds himself warped abruptly to a doubtlessly unfamiliar street somewhere out of the way in a version of Yokohama, Japan. Roland is backlit by the late-afternoon sun, and White is waiting leant up against the front wall of a shop that might look halfway between a karaoke dive and an arcade. She's dressed down today, wearing her recently battle-damaged but stitched up fur-trim white jacket (Wow, there's like seven or eight spots where it seems like something sharp stabbed through it!) along with some uncharacteristic grey sweatpants. It's a little chilly out, but that has never stopped White from wearing a dress before... But, she doesn't stay leaned there for long. Stepping off the wall, White gives Roland a one-quarter bow and then nudges her hair out of her face automatically, as she often does. Eyes closed, she looks from him to the business's entrance, back to him again, all while patting a spot on her jacket like she's checking that she still has her wallet. "... Have you... Eaten anything... Yet?" It takes her a few seconds, but eventually she clarifies, "... You might want... The energy."
Angela	Roland has to go and get permission from Angela to leave, of course, but Angela has been a lot more permissive of Roland now that she knows him a little better. Gradually, for better or for worse, Angela has determined Roland is 'fine actually' and has been a lot less worried he was some sort of spy or nefarious agent. He's just a guy. Maybe a pawn of something in The City, sure, but she's been enjoying their chats and he's not a threat. Roland doesn't respond immediately but he doesn't ghost White either. It's the sort of length of time one might expect to take place when one panics a little about this conversation, has to check in with Angela whether or not it was even okay, and then another little bit for figuring out how to actually respond to this lady you do respect but kind of don't really get or know well and is, okay, a little bit scary maybe? Eventually he responds with-- "Yeah whenever's good. Looking forward to it." And then he's teleported HELLA FAR AWAY. Roland jumps at the sudden hit by the sun on his body and then he emits an awkward wheezy little laugh. He's a guy who is frequently just in his suit, slacks, tie, and shoes. He's as unremarkable in appearance as ever, almost by design but it's the sad truth he was just kind of always like that--he didn't plan to be this kind of person. "Er." he says. "You okay?" He points to the holes. "I mean, I figure you're okay enough to meet with me like this but uh... are you okay?" ''Have you... Eaten anything... Yet?'' "Oh, yeah I don't skimp on meals." Roland manages a crooked smile. "Not unless I'm really messed up. I've got some good energy in me. What's the plan, White?" He reminds himself this is someone who seems to have a way to figure out details about himself he hasn't told any Elites. So she's dangerous! Dangerous in ways he can only barely conceive. But... There is something on his mind that he should ask her.
White	White seems to hesitate briefly when Roland asks if she's okay, following his finger to her jacket and pausing while she's looking at one of the holes in a sleeve just beneath her left shoulder, even as carefully stitched as it is. It still stands out just because one doesn't normally patch this kind of waterproof jacket. "... It's fine. I just... Haven't found... A new one... I like yet." Even for her, that seems like maybe she's missing the point a little too easily. It's not like it's been long enough to get over the fight that led to those holes existing in the first place. Well, nothing for it, just gotta keep up her momentum and try to brush it off. She has a couple of goals for today too, after all. She nods when Roland confirms he's had food, lightly tilts her head back and to the right, toward the door of an establishment whose sign is just the kanji for "Play", and turns to lead him inside. The building itself was sandwiched between a hobby shop and a local diner, but there's a bit more to it than one would assume from the outside. The interior looks like someone took the furniture out of a restaurant and lined all the walls with arcade cabinets for things as old as Donkey Kong and things as new as light-gun rail shooters, the front desk has soda fountains and pre-packaged snacks for sale, and there's a swinging door on one wall that leads into a side area. White steps up to the counter and shows her phone to the young lady working the counter, then lifts two fingers and points at the soda. The young part-timer smiles and turns to get a pair of plastic cups, lids and straws, as well as a cheap-looking plastic card-key with the location's branding on it, which White takes. She takes one of the cups and fills it with a lemon-lime soda, points at Roland and then the remaining cup, and wanders off wordlessly toward that door on the far wall and steps through. Following her, Roland would find White just a short way down the hall carefully swiping the card to get the crummy sensor to work right beside a door that, if not for the big VR-headset shaped sign, might just look like a staff bathroom. She does hold the door for him with her foot, letting him step inside first though when he catches up! The room is maybe just shy of 20 by 20 feet, minus some for the booth seats along two of the walls, and the big TV mounted near the ceiling on the far side. There's a plastic cabinet under the TV with a chunky headset plugged into a charger, but the room also doubles for Karaoke going by the machine tucked in the corner. While Roland is looking around, White is stepping in around him to open up that little cabinet and turn the headset over, momentarily furrowing her brow until she figures out which way is right-side-up and where the power button is. "... I wanted to... Try this, and see... If it'd be... Worth getting one. To bring to... The Library, and try... With Miss Angela. What kind of game... Do you want to try... Mister Roland?" She holds the headset out. It seems he gets first pick.
Angela	Roland follows after White. He doesn't have an immediate response to White's response since he is sort of mulling it over. It does seem, to him, that people in the multiverse seem a little ... too chill about the injuries and wounds they wrack up and the mortal peril they court. He eventually manages to say, "If we aren't worn out maybe we can stop up some places and see about finding a new one. Guessing it has to do with that newly unified world? Angela's been grumbling about how she's been stepping in it lately. Though she doesn't put it like that, of course, she's a bit more dodgy about it." Does the evil City of evil capitalism evil have VR? Well, sure, it has stuff like that but Roland has never had the cash to actually try anything like that out if it wasn't for a mission and the VR wasn't murdering the people who played in it or something. He blinks twice at being offered a cup and fills his cup with soda. He's not a big soda drinker but he is too terrified to point that out to White. He still drinks it though. Beverage is beverage. White opens the door and lets him in. Awkwardly, he steps inside. ''I wanted to try this, and see...'' "I haven't really played VR or video games before. Video games are usually fun for people if it involves puzzles or action right?" He takes the headset and-- "I imagine Angela'd enjoy something that doesn't involve a lot of action though, she seems to be--well I figure she'd prefer puzzles or something with story to it? One she can get into?" He thinks it over. "Well you can ask her, there's probably loads of VR games to try out until you find one you both like." He is quiet for a moment as he figures out how to get the thing on his head properly. "It feels like you two get along really well so maybe I shouldn't be trying to give advice... Do you think she's enjoying ... all this stuff she's doing to get out of the Library? Or at least--not gonna have regrets when it's all over?"
White	White does at least acknowledge Roland's offer to look for a new jacket with a small nod, but she stays quiet up until they're in the private room. She's hard to read sometimes, but it's still probably easy to tell that she's getting lost in thought herself, when recent events come up. And deflecting about his question before, too... Well, everyone struggles with things sometimes. She still has to feel out just how much she wants to talk about it, is all. "... Things have been... More complicated, lately. I upset a lot of... People I didn't want to." ends up being her most comfortable way of summarizing it, though Roland can see her mime a small soundless sigh. Like it hadn't come up at all, she switches gears back to the topic of games, nodding a little and pointing at the headset. "There should be... Low-action games. There's a lot... Of fighting games though. I've seen... Music games, and climbing games... And 'escape room' games too." She then turns away, presumably at the moment Roland is fiddling with putting the headset on, and he can easily hear a gentle clink of glass touching down on the narrow table in one corner. White's not reading Roland's soda-hater mind, but it might feel like it if Roland takes a peek and spots the full bottle of bourbon she's just set down, along with a pair of clean glasses. Actually, where does this even fit into her stated goal? She seems to pour a glass for each of them before sitting down, sliding them apart to be beside either of their soda cups... She's almost certainly not supposed to have brought liquor into an establishment like this. Think of the children! Well, maybe it's more relevant to think of the Roland, first. Asking about Angela gets her attention again while she's turning the TV on so she can see whatever he boots up, though she does briefly flick a hand out to snag the back of the headset strap with a piece of webbing and gently tug it out for him so he has an easier time getting the slightly-tight straps around his dome, and then again to slide the oddly-shaped controllers into his hands. "... I don't know... How she will feel. But..." There's another palpable pause. "... Work is work. You can try... To enjoy it. You can be... Satisfied by it. But I doubt... That she prefers this... 'Work', to other things." She takes a drink from the glass, then from the soda cup, and gets herself wiggled into the squishy booth-seat. "I was proud... Of my wins in the Labyrinth. I avoided stress... By letting myself... Be smug, sometimes. But I was still... Much happier, when I saw the sun again. It took a while... But I started... To regret things, too."
Angela	''I upset a lot of... People I didn't want to.'' Roland imagines Angela is similar, but is probably less prone to admitting that. She seems to struggle with admitting mistakes and apologizing as a general rule even when she knows better. "I'm honestly surprised the Concord aligned with--well, I guess I don't know what they're actually like. Either the Concord or the Manus. It seemed like a swerve considering how invested they all seemed in helping the Foundation out." He pauses. He's staring at that bottle of bourbon. WAS his mind read? No, surely not, if White was reading his mind she'd probably have mentioned it to him by now. She probably would be running for the hills not sitting down to have a drink with him unless, of course, this was a trap to kill him. With a VR headset you can't really be sure if you're not about to be assassinated but it feels like a lot of work for White who could've just teleported into the Library and killed him while he slept. He has some of that bourbon to steel his nerves but not enough that he's in danger of getting drunk just yet. "Some of your old classmates, they're still upset--or maybe wary--with how you handled your early days right?" He asks. "It'll be worse for her, slowly but surely she's tearing the interconnected threads of the City--luring in bigger and bigger prey." Not so unlike a spider, really, so he hesitates but he ultimately presses on. "Is this way she's going about it, is that really the only way she can get outside? She seems to think so, I get latching onto something you know is working when softer attempts failed but I guess ... I guess ... I don't think she prefers it either. It's probably too late to avoid regrets but as things are going, even if she makes it outside, The City will still be her enemy even if she's completely human." He takes the controller. "I know this isn't exactly relaxing but ... hell if I don't talk to you about it now when will I get the chance to?" ''Escape room games too.'' "Heh. No idea if that kind of game is the best kind or the worst kind for her." He admits. "Am I hold this thing right?"
White	White readily admits, "I don't... Care very much, about Manus Vindictae. Or about the Foundation." She watches Roland drink, closed-eyed as always, and takes another small sip like she's using his pace to set her own. It's pretty good bourbon to be fair, not the kind of thing you would typically pick out at random from the bottom shelf; she must have an actual taste for the stuff, which is a little funny when one forgets for a moment that she's a god and not just a shut-in with albinism. Then, she makes a soft 'mmhm' sound, gently turning the controller around in Roland's hand with her webbing before retracting the stuff and dissolving it. "Some of it... Couldn't be helped. I didn't... Know anything... About the world, by the time... People were using... Me as a pretense to make war. I didn't even... Have a name, yet. But it didn't... Really matter. It was still... 'Because of me'." It's still slow-paced, but she seems comfortable enough with that reality not to have to work very hard to arrange her words. The part that challenges her comes after that, thinking about Angela's future. It's probably obvious that White's thought about this too, but it's not as easy for her to respond to. "... I think Miss Angela, and I, have... Slightly different goals. When we think... 'I want to live'. I was... Satisfied enough... Becoming 'unkillable'. Taking my time... Feeling things out. I decided... I didn't need to be 'human'. And even still... I got punished. Miss Angela... May not give up... As easily." Another pause, and White considers another sip just to wet her throat, but holds off, and seems to swerve topics suddenly. "I've been told... By a few people that... It's strange. That I'm not more upset... About being mistrusted. And attacked. Do I seem... Too calm to you... Mister Roland?"
Angela	''Gently turning the controller around.'' Roland grimaces, embarrassed. "Thanks." He says. "We can keep chatting while playing right?" r''People were using... Me as a pretense to make war.'' "Fucked up." He says. "Man maybe my experience is just too alien from hers." He isn't so crass as to say 'or yours' but. "I've never been the reason for a war, I've only fought in them. I can't imagine what that must feel like--especially if you were just an excuse for what they already wanted to do. Humans are like that. They need a 'reason' to do the things they want to do anyway so they'll invent a reason if they have to. Doesn't really matter if the 'reason' has an opinion on it." Roland doesn't exactly have the best opinion of humanity himself. He thinks of Murdoch so tied to honor that he couldn't surrender. He made them kill him. Nobody really wanted him dead, he forced it to happen and then people were weird about it and he has to ... He doesn't have to see the face. He's just one of too many. He's fine. ''I didn't need to be 'human'.'' "I wonder how much her desire to be human is just to dodge the--people sometimes just swing weapons at her without thinking. I'm not even talking about Lulu, just ... people who haven't even fought or lost anything thanks to her yet. They think they can just because of what she is." He shrugs both shoulders. "Until Lulu, they just bounced off but if anything she's trying to be more killable. I mean, I know that's not really her GOAL but it is a side effect of what she's doing." He takes another sip of the bourbon. ''Do I seem... Too calm to you... Mister Roland?'' This feels like an important question so Roland tilts his head up like he's thinking about the answer. And he is. White does seem very calm, but so does Angela until you get to know her. "Angela never raises her volume past like one level above neutral. But she feels, to me, like someone who can lose her cool entirely in a moment's notice. She spends so much effort tampering down on it that you'd only notice if you spent time with her but..." He rubs at his chin with his hand in lieu of his face. "I haven't hung out with you long enough to read you like I've gotten as good as with Angela, but I don't think you're not upset at being mistrusted and attacked. I don't think handling it well is the same as not feeling those things, you know? And I think it bothers you. Maybe not enough to 'become human' like with Angela, but enough that it bothers you and sticks with you."
White	"Of course." she answers that first question, her tone as level as if she'd never noticed his mistake at all. "Pick whatever... Catches your eye. It should be... 'Point and click', in the menu." One headset can't have every game ever pre-installed, but it seems like there's a pretty good selection of genres, and the controls should feel fairly responsive thanks to the stationary sensors in the corners of the room... Though like any motion-technology, if he starts whipping his limbs around at top speed it'll probably not quite manage to keep up without looking ridiculous ingame. Taking another sip to follow his, White starts to get a little more loosey-goosey and comfortable. Roland can't really see her through the headset like she could in his shoes, but he might hear the little squeaks of the seat as she adjusts, folds her legs, and wiggles a little. "Mm. War is different... In each of our worlds. But it seems like... The way it affects people isn't, very." she muses, swishing her glass gently. "... I've thought about it more... Recently. I didn't much, before..." As to being attacked for what one is, White makes an audible sigh this time. "... It seems like... People are used to... Other humans stopping after... Just a little bit of pain. And then they get their way. I heal quickly... But it still hurts, when someone shoots me. And it's kind of upsetting... That they'd act horrified... When I get them back for it. Even if I keep it... 'One for one'... And hold back, it isn't... Often enough to make... The point clear." Strangely, she seems to get caught on that topic even without continued input from Roland. He can maybe even hear the slight scowl in the way she talks, as she starts getting loosened up enough to just... Complain, freestyle! "They realize they can't make... Me do what they want. So they go for whatever else... They can, instead. It's stressful... Everyone around me keeps finding... The moment I'm distracted, to get stabbed, or shot... Or blown up..." But she lets it trail off with a dissatisfied, faint 'hmph' and takes another drink, forgetting to match Roland's pace now that she's gotten started. He gives his impression of her, and she sits and watches him play whatever he's chosen while he talks and for a little while after, just kind of digesting the sentiment and simmering a little. "Yeah, see? You get it. You're an adult." she halfway-huffs, her voice staying soft and fragile but feeling a little more pushed-out, like she's rushing to get her words out of her mouth. "You gotta pretend you're not mad... Sometimes, right? 'Cause if you act mad, it just makes people think what they're doing to piss you off is working. N' they'll do it more!" She's... Well, getting louder, albeit not very much since her voice is still naturally quite frail. If she tries to yell she might just get voice cracks. Speaking of which, there she goes wetting her whistle again, which surely could only help the situation.
Angela	Roland decides to try 'Escape Room' becvause that feels like something that will use the brain but not, like, completely derail the conversation that they're having. He is an adult mostly sober man and isn't inclined to thrash his arms around like crazy. He doesn't want to give White a bad sense of who he is either. Hoofh. ''Even if I keep it... 'One for one'... And hold back.'' "Eye for an eye. Simplest way to be in The City." Though the City usually discourages that kind of attitude, it still happens a lot. It's easy to act this is this and that is that until it's your this that got thatted. "When you're a Color in the City it's a lot like that. Most people can't really destroy them or make them do anything, but they still find their ways to get them tied up in the business they want them tied up in. It's not always a good thing, being seen as one of the 'strongest' in The City." It might be weird to imagine why a Grade 9 would know anything about that, but he isn't exactly a Grade Nine. White knows that--and if she does want to talk to him about it, this is the only place he'll let himself be remotely honest about it as there's nobody else to hear and he can't hide the truth from her anyway. His expression darkens as she continues on to the moments one is distracted. "...They know that you can't protect them from everything all the time. Nobody can do that. No matter how strong you are or unkillable or unstoppable. Sometimes it isn't even a person out to stick it to you when you're distracted. Sometimes it's just ... circumstance. Fate." Yeah, he thinks, she doesn't take everything all cool all the time at all, though he still thinks she's a little less hair trigger than Angela is. "I ''am'' an adult. Somehow made it." Roland manages like he's neutral on that. "I've never been good at pretending I'm not mad. I do it, of course, but people always seem to see I'm mad anyway. Ol--my old friend says I've got the worst poker face imaginable." He exhales. "...I wasn't always gentle with correcting people's misconceptions with what they could get away with with me." She seems... Normal. Is he really going to do something that gets in the way of the happiness of someone she cares for? Enough to date? "...You have to make a plan to get around their bullshit right?" He asks. "When they were getting in their own way."
White	White seems ambivalent to the choice of game, content to just watch while she drinks and complains for now. The scenario in the game is the type where you have to do more looking around than hard thinking (since it's the first stage after all!), so Roland might have to bend to look under tables or pick up objects and turn them over. Nothing too demanding. White doesn't backseat him very much either, but she does follow along and even asks him to look up at the ceiling once, expecting there to be something dangling from the lights. There isn't, but later Roland will find a note hinting about a key inside the chandelier lightbulb... It's a good backdrop for talking about other things. Which, it turns out, is more or less White's plan anyway. It probably isn't clear whether she planned it to this specificity, but Roland is here because he's himself, not as a representative. That obviously has to mean something. "Gebura was a 'Color' right? I heard a little. She wasn't the first you met, though, right..?" She delivers the question with a sort of lazy roll of her neck, letting herself slump to one side, resting her arm on the back of the booth-seat and leaning like that. "I bet not everyone as good as you got to know one... But like, you'd probably be an A-Rank where I'm from. Almost all'o those at least see an S-Rank... Since they've got the mind to look for tips and stuff, usually. I don't really get why... Why you've got like, the huuuuge bag of weapon skills. It's cool, but it makes me think... You like... You got to see a buncha different types use 'em, to get your head start? I'unno, maybe not." It's not exactly a full confession of exactly what information she knows, but she seems to be hinting pretty deliberately that she knows things she reasonably shouldn't. Maybe just to see how he takes it? This is all pretty unrehearsed after all. "... Yeah. Same for you? Jesus I wish more problems were explode-able..." She groans dramatically. That last observation seems to be a direct hit on something White frets about a lot.
Angela	Roland says, "Yeah... Though her name back then was Kali. She'd probably still be a Color if she didn't vanish for like twelve years. Everybody naturally assumed she was dead and passed it on to Vergilius." ''She wasn't the first you met, though, right..?'' That question... ...Feels sharp. Of course, there's no way a Color would know a Grade Nine but White knows he's not Grade Nine, ''really'', and he says, "...Yeah. Grade One Fixers and Colors usually know each other. And I was Grade One at one point, though I'm trying not to make it obvious I was a Grade One Fixer." He shakes his head. White doesn't need to know that 'The Black Silence' was officially Angelica but they worked together enough that he could probably claim the title too, if only just barely. At the end of the day, like with most Colors, the Black Silence was an idea and the idea was that you didn't know who the Black Silence was. "The first one I met was The Purple Tear. She trains a lot of high grade Fixers. And she trained a lot of people before the Smoke War. More than she does now." This seems to be confirming that The City works a lot like White's world in this respect. The 'A-Ranks' will know the 'S-Ranks'. "It's probably for the same reasons as in your world." Roland points out. "There's not a lot of Colors but they still need manpower, so they'll usually go to Grade Ones and Twos if they gotta, though it's not impossible they'll pick up lower Grade Fixers for one reason or another." ''Why you've got like, the huuuuge bag of weapon skills. ... You got to see a buncha different types use 'em, to get your head start?'' "I used to only use a sword." Roland admits. "Then I started using a gun because, well, I could afford ammo and the range helped. This was before I got real training, mind. I was picked up because I had a knack for ... being overlooked, that's when I met her." He seems to be taking it pretty okay, but well--he would be a bad assassin if he freaked out just because someone knew something about him that they shouldn't. He is trying to share just enough to not come across as evasive but not so much that he fucks everything up. He's honestly hoping the stuff about the Purple Tear doesn't make it to Angela but he couldn't risk lying when he's still not entirely sure what White knows about ihm and how. Maybe if nothing else, his willingness to commiserate means she won't casually betray him. "She trains people for what she wants them to be. And she saw me as a weapons cabinet I guess." ''Same for you?'' "Heh, nah. Not yet." He admits. "But I've thought about it. The situations I'm getting into are ... well. Less explodable." In the game, Roland moves around. He seems to be careful with the materials in the game but eventually just tries throwing a vase against the floor. It bounces around harmlessly before he frowns, picks it up and reaches in. When he pulls it back out he finds a key. It's not the key that he wants but it opens the locker that has the note and a ladder which lets him get up to the lightbulb which lets him unscrew it which lets him get the key out. "Actually I think she might like it. An escape that makes sense."
White	White hums something that's probably incoherent to Roland, a little jingle from another game that usually accompanies a treasure chest being opened. "Mm. I picked up Skills like that too. Y'know, you get attached to something, and then you start having a hard time so you look for a way to get around it, and before you know it your status looks like a dictionary threw up on it. S'just hard to keep 'em all up to snuff at the same time..." At this point, it barely seems like White's struggling to speak at all, though she's kind of losing track of why she brought some of this up in the first place and just kind of vibing instead. Around now, after taking another sip, White hops up from her seat with a little 'hup' sound, stepping over to Roland and kind of inconsiderately nudging at him with her elbow to get him to pass the headset for her turn once he's finished that level. She keeps talking too, though, like nothing's amiss. "So like, don't freak out, this is just a hic- cold call, but like, was your wife a Color then?" Well, something's probably amiss now, at any rate. "... 'Cause like, you wouldn't be the first guy to let his super cool wife pull him along until he's a badass too, right? An' you've got the gossip, and... Ah, crap, I was supposed'ta be making you less freaked out, not more." She seems stunned by that, like she's trying to invent a way to suck words back in after she's already said them, staring up at the ceiling thoughtfully and animatedly tapping her chin. She does pause to write down the name of the game in her phone when Roland guesses Angela might like it, but that's a momentary distraction at best. "... It's kiiinda obvious I don't know what I'm doing, huh..? Well whatever. I figured 'man, he's not doing great!' and went 'oh, I should practice like, being cooool and understanding', and-" She stops herself mid-streak with a palm on her own face and a strange groan. "Sorry, Ro-Ro. I got nobody with the skills to tag in, but I c'n keep pouring your glass at least. You might be a li'l headfucked about something, but we can pretend we're normal..." Her arm got around his shoulders at some point in the way a guy might conspiratorially drag another guy in to whisper in his ear, but she's not really whispering either, so...
Angela	Roland doesn't quite know what it means for a 'status' to look like a 'dictionary' threw up on it. He hasn't played video games! Or read light novels about people isekaied to strange places. He just doesn't get it. But he can understand the gist from context. ''But like, was your wife a Color then?'' Roland dips his head low. the VR headset and the position obscure his lower face with shadow and the upper part of his face wholly obscured by the equipment. He can't kill her. Even if he got the drop on her and got a perfect killing blow on her, doesn't she have like a million ways to recover from that? And she could just teleport away. And besides which, she just got done complaining about people misunderstanding her and trying to kill her because of it and how much that bothers her. SHE didn't do anything to hurt you, you're barely sure she was even unified before everything went down bad. He could try lying, but he has no way of being sure this is actually a cold call. And he intended to spill the beans to Lilian whenever he gets a chance to have those drinks with her. She hasn't said that she knows who his wife was, but how'd she even know it was a wife and not a girlfriend or a husband or something? Cold call. It's too specific. He doesn't believe it. He doesn't say anything. He's silent. He lets White speak and speak and speak. Once he realizes that she's going to ramble on for a bit, it actually becomes a lot easier to not give an answer and to just wait and let White say more words. Is it because of the bourbon? This isn't the White he's accustomed to but maybe she's just more guarded in crowds? ''Ro-Ro'' Okay, no, she's totally drunk. Roland shifts posture again, lifting his head back up, easily letting White get an arm around his shoulders. Why is he thinking of OLIVIER right now? This is like a night drinking with Olivier. His expression becomes readable again as he finally wills himself to talk. "Yeah." He says. "She was way incredible." He takes another drink to encourage White to drink more. This is his only plan but it wouldn't be the first time it worked if it did. "I miss her. And I hate the City that keeps me from her. I hate the City that's like me and throws back right what I gave it. I guess I'm hoping for something to prove to me that it isn't just all 'This is this and that is that'. If I can see it somewhere in this City, maybe I'll be able to tear it out of myself." He shakes his head. "Lots of people who say they know what they're doing are just as worried as the rest of us. I wouldn't beat yourself up too much over it. I think you understand more than most."
White	White is easy to encourage to drink more. She might be a sloppy drunk, but she seems to enjoy it at least, even if that also means jostling Roland around under her arm a bit and acting as buddy-buddy with him as she seems to have hoped to be. And, even if she's a mess, she can still be quiet when Roland does start talking. "That's soooo screwed up, man. There's no fixing that..." she bemoans, groaning 'auuuugh' like she's getting mad on his behalf. "... I barely even like, know what people get out of... Havin' someone that close. But I think 'bout it like allllll that time spent, all that invesh... Investment. And losing that... I think I kin'a start to get it. Maybe, I 'unno." Her expression flickers briefly across 'depressed' and lands back in a sort of lopsided concern. "... Nah, shorry. There's no way, right? I mean, it has'ta be soooo much more..." She exhales like she's letting all the air in her out in one big push, like all the stupidity in her is somehow going to be carried out with it. "... S'good to miss her. It'd be sad to forget. I guess I thought you might wanna talk about her, but if it sucks... Don't worry 'bout it. Screeeew everything else, let's just play games n' stuff then!" She tries to whoop in excitement but her voice is too soft and it comes out more like a squeak-crack, and she probably spills a little from her glass... Yeah, she's probably not going to remember tonight. Maybe that's why she doesn't need to press him for details, and just wants to make good on the original reason she set this up. Maybe if she keeps trying things like this, eventually she'll feel like she knows what to do when someone's hurting?
Angela	''I barely even like, know what people get out of... Havin' someone that close.'' Roland is really glad Angela can't observe this conversation from the Library. Like, sure, because he's saying things he doesn't want her to know but also because the idea of Angela seeing this conversation play out would probably horrify her to the point of executing him just out of principal. He wonders if Angela entirely understands what one gets out of it. But he's noticed the level of care she shows Harriet which, even though Roland doesn't know they are like shaved soul spider clones, he knows some of that affection is because of White herself. He supposes it makes sense that Angela would be a bit gunshy about it all but--ugh--it feels wrong reflecting deeply on Angela's lovelife right now. It's not only not his business but ... it's fucked up! But... has he already given up on love? As a concept? He might have lost everything, but he can remember still why it was so important to him. It hasn't been that long. It's too soon for his heart to have completely shriveled up. "I hope I never do." He admits. "Though when I'm pathetic I wish I could." He shakes his head. "Love's a bunch of contradictions Well, maybe I should even just say ''caring about something or someone'' is a bunch of contradictions." This might be the only time for a while he can talk about her. "...She was so excited to build a future." Roland says. "She had nightmares, you know. Me too, of course, but hers were something else. But you wouldn't ever know it in the waking day. I think she was fond of 'futures'. That promise that is so often broken but she found a way to believe in it anyway." That's why she liked Trideag so much, isn't it? It felt like movement in the right direction, it felt like hope. "Caring about people is always a little sad too. For a thousand reasons, but the one that everyone has to face is that eventually someone is going to leave that caring relationship, even if it's not by choice. Even now I have to think that it's worth it. Because if that isn't worth it... What's the point? We just do our job and then check out?" He shakes his head. "She's better with you. I hope you're able to save her some day." It doesn't even feel like a lie in the moment even though he knows eventually he's going to be an obstacle because ... One way or another, he has to do something. He has to. Otherwise ... Otherwise ... ''Let's just play games n' stuff then!'' "Sure thing, uh, Whi-Whi." He griamces even as he says it. "But maybe we should take a break on the liquor for a bit." He wants her drunk enough to forget for sure but mayyybe not so drunk that he has to take 3 days to get back to The City. ... Well maybe he wouldn't really MIND that but he's got a job to do.