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WHO: Sabriel and Touka
WHERE: A restaurant in De Chima.
WHEN: After Sabriel's network post
WHAT: Two friends chatting over lunch.
WARNINGS: Probably none

The restaurant was nice, if not particularly fancy- it was decorated with a great deal of green potted plants, light colors, and large windows that offered a view of a rainy street. Sabriel sat down with Touka at a table next to a window.

"Well, aside from that whole mess with people changing ages, has anything interesting happened?"

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"That's an easy schedule to remember. I'll have to come by this week so I can watch one of your shows."

Touka's never wanted to go to a magic show before, but when there's real magic involved? That's more than enough incentive to go. And besides, it'd be fun to see Sabriel as a performer.

At the question, she shakes her head. "Can't say I've heard of RISE, though."

At that, Sabriel straightened up and smiled.

"Good- I'd love to see you there, although as I said- most of it's flashy and impractical. As for RISE... well, it hasn't gotten started yet. It's going to be an organization dedicated to stopping imPorts who're attacking ordinary people," Sabriel wasn't... cheerful about that, but it was something familiar. It had been her family's responsibility back home to deal with the Dead and Free Magic- how different could this be? And privately, Sabriel suspected that Dead Imports posed the greatest threat to people here anyway.

"Dangerous work... but better than working in a graveyard."

"I don't think anyone heading to a show's going to be looking for 'practicality'. That'd be better if you were trying to...I dunno, sell something? Flashy's your best bet.

Anyway, I'll definitely show up."

With another smile, her eyes drop back down to the menu and she flips to the page with the appetizers. Maybe sticking to one of these would be her best bet.

"This RISE thing, though...Didn't realize things were bad enough to start an organization."

"It's a precaution. Touka, I've seen what sorcerers and necromancers with both power and bad intentions can do if left unchecked- and it's a problem imPorts are better suited to dealing with than the government," Sabriel thought of Nestowe, where three fourths of the villagers had died before the survivors had gotten to safety. And even then, something had followed them onto the island.

She paused, yanked out of her solemn thoughts by a waitress, and Sabriel ordered a sandwich and salad before turning her attention back to Touka, her expression turning pensive.

"I know some people are worried about it, but I think that's another reason I should sign up- to make sure it's focused on stopping imPorts who are actually hurting people- not just those that scare people or someone has a grudge against. But apparently it has happened in the past- and not like the Hornets, where Kaneki and those other people weren't really in control of their actions."

Touka orders after Sabriel's done - she asks for a sandwich afterall, but with barely anything on it. Plain jam sandwiches are usually what she tries to stick with, but that...isn't something you can normally order at a restaurant.

When she hears Kaneki mentioned by name though, it makes her flinch very slightly. The hornet incident wasn't something she'd been expecting to get brought up by anyone other than him. Even if she hadn't been around at the time, she'd still seen...the aftermath of what'd happened to him. And it wasn't an easy subject to think about.

It distracts her for a moment, but she shakes her head and pushes those thoughts to the side.

"Going into a job like that to try to keep them focused...I don't know." She picks up the glass of water next to her silverware and absentmindedly swishes the cup around in her hand. "Nothing good's ever come from an organization like that. One that was built to 'contain' or 'control' a group of people. Not in my experience, anyway."

Edited 2015-04-09 00:37 (UTC)

Sabriel notices the flinch, "Sorry- he's from your world, isn't he?" She took another sip of her water.

"But we'd be 'controlling' ourselves. And given some of the reactions right after that mess with the Hornets happened... something like RISE was probably inevitable. But I admit, if it wasn't being staffed and run by imPorts, I'd be a lot more worried." Still, Touka was her friend... and she seems serious about this.

"Was there something like that in your world that went badly?"

Edited 2015-04-09 03:48 (UTC)

'Went badly' is an understatement, considering she's spent her whole life running and hiding from an organization who's purpose is to hunt and kill her kind.

"Kaneki's not just from my world. He's...one of my closest friends." It hasn't come up before now, but Touka's got no intention of hiding that fact. This is relevant now though, to Sabriel's question. She takes a small sip of the water before continuing on. "You know what he is, don't you? I saw you messaging him on that damn post he made."

She feels bad about admitting to eavesdropping on her friend, but Touka had promised to watch that post carefully. For Kaneki's sake. And what she'd seen of their public messages had actually been something of a relief...and it'd made her feel more comfortable around Sabriel too.

"Touka, I... when he was out of control, he tried to attack me, and I... immobilized him. Then I ran away. And now he's one of my students." Which had not been what Sabriel had expected at all, though she wasn't sure what she had expected.

"Wait, the person who killed him- is he part of that kind of group, back in your world? Something to contain ghouls?"

"I see...I'm glad you're giving him a chance, then."

So he's learning Charter too. She can't say she's surprised - it seems like something he'd take an interest in if the option was there.

"You're right, though. About the guy who-...who killed him." She quiets down when she says that and sets the glass of water back down. "...Partially right. 'Contain" is too nice of a word. The organization he's from - it's whole purpose is to exterminate. They track ghouls down and kill them. No questions asked."

So much for light conversation at lunch. Sorry if this brings the mood down, but she's not going to sugarcoat anything about Ghoul Investigators.

"Even... even if they're not hurting people? I mean, ghouls aren't like the Dead- they don't need to kill people to feed." Which was part of why Sabriel had been so accepting of Kaneki.

"I just... I'm sorry. There's been so much death in my world it's sometimes hard to understand why people would want to kill if they don't have to."

Touka nods. "Even if they're trying to live peaceful lives. And you don't need to apologize, Sabriel." It should be pretty obvious she feels the same way about the Ghoul Investigators, given how angrily she talks about them.

"Most of them act like it's for self-preservation, but they don't treat ghouls like they're people. It's sickening."

In fact, she'd heard investigators say that much. They're fine with killing ghouls, simply because they're not human. She doesn't say the next part out loud to Sabriel, but the sentiment is still there in her expression - 'It's too bad more people aren't like you'.

"Self-preservation isn't an excuse if they're going after ghouls that aren't hurting people- and it's noble of you to speak out about them, even if you're one of the people they claim to be protecting." Because Touka clearly wasn't a ghoul, right?

Yep, Touka's a totally average human. Definitely not a ghoul. Just watch her eat the sandwich that the waitress brings back - ghouls can't do that can they?

She takes an angry bite from one corner and uses the technique that the manager had taught her. Swallow the whole mouthful, pretend to chew, make a pleased face...Making it convincing had come after a lot of practice. (But it still tastes awful.)

"Tch. I'd never accept protection from the likes of them."

Then why don't more humans make that clear? If they did... maybe they'd be able to force the CCG to only go after ghouls that are actually dangerous?"

Perhaps it was overly optimistic, but Sabriel wanted to believe that any organisation purportedly devoted to protection could be brought around to do that, instead of attacking innocent people.

Sabriel digs into her own food as soon as it's set down.

"Well...I'm in the minority. And even if I wasn't, they're not the sort of organization that'll just abandon their ways."

They've been like that since before she was born. Touka's only recently started accepting that there're some humans who are willing to give ghouls a chance, but she doesn't have any forgiveness in her heart for the CCG.

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