paradisalost | [Thread] Meroko and Othello

[Thread] Meroko and Othello

Who: Meroko and Othello, plus anyone else who wants to hop in :D
What: Meeting up at the masquerade~
When: Masquerade
Where: The ballroom
Rating: PG-13, to be safe. :3

Meroko was beginning to have doubts. Afterall, he might just have asked her to trick her. And her, being so innocent and trusting, had fallen for it. He might be off somewhere laughing at the thought of it right now!!

Or maybe he was some creepy person, like that person always talking about his bread father or whatever, and was overjoyed at having someone as young and lovely as her waiting for him. That might just be worse! Meroko mentally shuddered at the idea.

Then again maybe she was just over-reacting. Afterall this place was so weird, and she didn't know exactly what to make of it. Lots of people seemed to just go with the flow, and that's what she was trying to do, but there was always something nagging at her.

Instead of going directly inside the beautiful room, she had decided to wait outside the door. It was so gorgeous! Floating candles, and the decorations...she felt like a princess in her white gown and dainty mask. It wasn't that often when she could give into her true girly-girl nature and dress up like this.

Meroko peeked through the door to catch a glimpse of all the other people, dressed up, and found herself even more excited.

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((ooc: Well hay there :D!))

Othello had chosen to come fashionably late. Showing up exactly on time would suggest that he were eager to be at the ball, or something of the sort. And really, he was indifferent. But he was usually indifferent. That, or just laughing all the time.

He was sporting a very tall lean zoot-type suit, tailored to fit a very tall lean man to a 'T'. The General wore suits on a regular basis, so he figured wearing one with fancy tails was a nice step up. His mask was sleek and black, curving slightly at the cheek bones to accent that beauty mark gracing the left side.

Why had he chosen Meroko for his date? Maybe he wasn't sure. She interested him, or amused him, and he was into the sort of thing. Not to mention she was so easy to set off. When he spotted her outside the door, however, he was surprised.

"My, my..." he said smoothly, approaching her. "I think there's some kind of protocol against me having an angel for my date, Meroko." Othello grinned immediately afterwards, finding his cheesy dialogue to be most acceptable for the occasion.

((Hola~! I hope you don't mind me starting the thread. ^^))

Meroko jumped at the sound of his voice, turning on her heel to face him. She had been lost in thought and hadn't heard anyone approach. Needless to say, she was a bit surprised by his good looks, and found herself awkwardly staring for a moment before regaining her composure and taking command of the situation again.

"You're late," she said in a matter-of-fact voice. "But, I will accept your compliment as an apology." Now she felt silly for doubting him.

As Meroko spoke she made a couple tiny adjustments to her dress and long gloves, knowing that she looked stunning. Looking slightly smug she asked "are you ready to go dance?" She was eager to go show off, and have fun.

((Absolutely not. ♥ Although, I'm going to bed after this reply, so I'll answer you again in the morning if that's alright. :3;;))

"I suppose if you must take something as an apology." Because Othello wasn't going to apologize for anything, no matter what she said. He still grinned, though, giving a slight roll of his shoulders.

Honestly, he hadn't expected them to actually look as good as they did, but who could go wrong with a handsome 'devil', a pretty woman, and the ever-popular contrast of black and white?

Looking down at her, he nodded, offering her one of his arms. "I'm ready if you are~" he answered, bending some at the waist while he waited for her to accept his escort. "You can dance, can't you? I don't want to be embarrassed now." Of course, he was teasing. At least, it sounded like he was teasing. Always teasing.

((Of course~! n_n))

Meroko huffed. "It's only polite to apologize when you keep a lady waiting!" But, to be fair, she had been quite early. Not that he needed to know that.

She didn't hesitate to take his arm, about ready to nearly drag him to the door when she heard his question. "What? Of course I can dance!!" she exclaimed. "I...I should be worried about being embarrassed by you!"

As she stuttered to find a comeback to his comment, Meroko realized she should've known it couldn't have gone smoothly for long.

Othello had to wonder why on earth he had to be polite for any reason, but he decided not to mention that. Something told him Meroko wouldn't agree in any way, shape, or form.

"Embarrassed by me? Madam." He tsk'd moving towards the door once her efforts to drag him were thankfully halted.

"Even if I couldn't dance, we'd have a hell of a time anyway rolling around on the floor, don't you think?" He gave a laugh, allowing the ghosts standing guard at the door to hold it open for them. He decided that it was nice to be treated like royalty, if not familiar.

"We'll just see about that," Meroko said defiantly, not really finding anything Othello had said yet funny. But she decided to try and not to let it get to her. She was above that sort of thing.

As the ghosts opened the doors for them, she thanked them, her enthusiasm replacing her annoyance immediately. Immediately she thought about how much those she knew back home would enjoy this, and she felt a pang of nostalgia. But Meroko immediately pushed those thoughts away for another time.

"Let's go right to the middle!!" Meroko exclaimed, pointing. "That's where all the fun people are. Oh, and be on your best behavior, please."

It didn't even seem to matter to Othello that she didn't share his sense of humour. Really, he was going to find plenty of things funny that weren't funny at all. It was how he dealt with things, supposedly. "I hope that wasn't a challenge." he replied.

He really didn't thank the ghosts at the door. Instead, he looked out at all the people out on the floor, everyone in different costumes. Quite an event, really, and so much happier than the ones in Hell tended to be.

"My best behaviour?" he reaised a brow, leading them towards the middle. "What kind of talk is that? I've been on my best behaviour." he grinned. "I'm not here to ruin the night for you, I want to make it fun." He hadn't even killed anything, so there.

Everyone stepped out of their way politely to let them through as they joined the people on the floor. Outrageous outfits of every color and variety could be seen, and she mused if she had chosen the right color and style for a moment. But not many people could pull off white like she could~

"I was just reminding you, that's all," Meroko stated. After a moment, she got a skeptical look on her face. "Hey, why is it you're suddenly being all nice and stuff?" Afterall, she hadn't exactly forgotten the 'old hag' comments. Meroko figured that she had a right to be wary.

When they reached the middle she turned to face him, studying him some more. He had blonde hair that reminded her of Izumi's. Meroko often found herself comparing people to him; it was a habit she had picked up.

Othello smirked, pausing once they'd found their place to dance in the middle of the floor. "Thank you for the reminder." he said mockingly, offering her his hand.

He shrugged indifferently then, thinking about the answer to her question. He wasn't sure if this was him being 'nice'. In fact, he wasn't sure if he'd ever been nice at all, but it didn't mean he was ruthless, either. "Why shouldn't I be nice? I did ask you to be my date. Besides, we're neighbours now. I'll have plenty of opportunities to make fun of you."

For now, she looked lovely, he looked lovely, and they were in the center of a grand ballroom. It was a nice picture. Not as nice, perhaps, as if Futaba had been standing there, but he was certain that she would have approved of Meroko as a temporary replacement.

Meroko took his hand, eyeing all the other dancers as they talked. She did know how to dance, but now that she saw everyone else...she was beginning to think that she wasn't quite as good as she had previously thought. If she concentrated hard enough, she could do this though!!

"Sounds good enough," she said with a smile. "I'll just have to make sure there are no opportunities for that afterwards!" Though Meroko didn't know exactly how she would go about doing that, she couldn't let him think she was fine with all his pesky remarks.

A song ended and a new one started up; a more lively one than before. Meroko awkwardly put her free hand on his shoulder, trying to mimic those around her without being too obvious. It was one thing to watch and be excited, but a lot different when you were actually out on the floor.

"I'm rather hard to escape." Othello replied, smirking down at her. He was hardly even looking at the other dancers now. They just weren't all that important. "I always get my way, you know." he added, tossing her a lazy wink.

Not that he was any sort of expert dancer, but when she put her arm on his shoulder awkwardly, he raised a brow, covering the feminine dainty hand with his own to situate it properly. "Don't be nervous. I'll take care of you." he said with a grin.

It was almost as if he'd timed his words and movements perfectly in those few seconds. As the music fell into a little trill, he held on to her opposite hand and gently tossed her out for a twirl. What was the worst that could happen, she'd trip and take him and/or unsuspecting dancers with her? Well, that could be interesting.

Meroko made a face. "Don't sound so full of yourself!" Jeez, how much of an ego did this guy have?!

She barely had time to reply before he re-positioned her hand and twirled her. "Don't go thi--" Meroko was cut off as she happily twirled around, skirts spinning out a bit. She returned to her former position, a bit tense as she made sure not to step on any feet or the hem of her dress.

As the music went on, she carefully followed the steps of the dance that most of the others were doing. The expression on her face was suddenly serious; she wasn't going to make a wrong move and be laughed at!! Gah, she was used to being the best at things. This was a bit of a blow to her pride.

Full of himself? She didn't even know the half of it. Really, this was nothing. Othello might have even protested, had he not sent her spinning.

He laughed as her skirts spun out, creating a pretty little scene. "Hey," he said, dipping her a bit once she spun back to him. "You're a natural." He kept that everlasting grin on his face, and returned them both to their proper dancing positions.

It was only then he'd finally decided to take note of the other dancers, if only because Meroko had been eyeing them so intently. "Loosen up a bit. You're so serious." he commented quietly. Too bad she didn't share his sense of humour, really.

"Really?!" she replied, happy at the compliment. Now that the awkward moments seemed to have passed, she seemed more amiable.

Meroko suddenly felt a little guilty; she had been only thinking of how the night would be for her. It was a personality trait that she had never been able to quite shake off: she always immediately thought of things as how they related to her, affected her, and so on.

"How'd you learn to dance so well?" she inquired, looking up at Othello. "I never really had that many chances to dance, where I come from."

Othello nodded, smiling when she eased up a bit. "Really." he confirmed.

To her question, he tilted his head, stepping to the music. "For reasons unknown to me, I suppose I've been exposed to a life of luxuries." He couldn't actually remember why he knew anything about anything outside of war, being the Seiryu Army's strongest soldier. It was as if he himself were royalty, but that couldn't be...

"Not to say where I come from is fancy or leisurely." he cracked a grin, casting her another quick wink. "Where do you come from?"

Hmm. Well, he had said that he was a soldier before; maybe he was some sort of war hero where he came from? That might make sense. Meroko decided to ask him later.

"I guess you could say I come from the Shinigami world," she mused. "Since I died, and those who commit suicide have to take the souls of others, I get to go back and forth to the human world." To others it might have sounded morbid, but it was everyday talk for her.

And being here and not having to take souls was a wonderful treat. Meroko might be a top-notch Shinigami, but it wasn't as if watching people die all the time didn't affect her.

Othello didn't find it morbid at all. If anything, he was even more intrigued than before. "Shinigami world?" he raised a brow. They didn't have that in his multiverse. Was it something like Hell then?

"So you are dead currently, and you committed suicide?" he just seemd to be repeating what she said, committing it to memory perhaps. He almost felt sorry for calling her a hag before. Now she was really an intrigue.

"The human world is so boring and breakable though, don't you think?" he mused, taking a hand off her for a moment to tap at his chin.

Meroko nodded. "Yep. Although I have no memories of it...I believe I should have remembered something by now." She sounded a bit exasperated. Afterall she was far past the vulnerable time, and usually they started regaining bits and pieces. But she couldn't recall a single thing.

His next comment puzzled her. Wasn't he living? Or was he living and thinking about ending it?

"I don't think it's exactly boring...Most Shinigami regret their suicide when they find out their fate." And if she could remember her past life, she was almost certain she would as well. "Why? Don't you like living?"

"I've heard this castle has sticky fingers." Othello replied, shrugging his shoulders a bit. Maybe she'd forgotten her death or something? And he forgot...well, he hadn't figured that out just yet.

One would think his smile would fade at a question such as that, but the tall devil's smile only seemed to grow. He even laughed. What was it that Yotsuba referred to him as? The incessantly laughing man. And regretting suicide, that made him laugh even more. How weak?

"Hm." he answered apathetically. "I'd like to have a reason." he grinned down at her, tapping her chin as he added something more generalizing to his words, "And wouldn't we all?"

Meroko was a bit creeped out at his laughing. But he was weird, like pretty much everyone she had met here. "I think that maybe I was lucky and didn't lose anything," she announced. Afterall, she was dead--how many things did she have to lose?

"And didn't you say you had kid?" Although kids didn't always bring joy to their parents--Izumi knew that--they were usually something to live for.

As she spoke Meroko adjusted her mask a bit; it kept on slipping a bit. The flimsy thing was also a bit itchy and she wrinkled her nose to try and get it to sit better.

Othello had thought that he had nothing left to lose as well. She was just lucky she hadn't felt that black hole just yet.

He seemed to genuinely brighten up, however, when she mentioned him being a father. "Yotsuba!" he said cheerfully, giving her another little impulsive spin, even if she was in the middle of fixing her mask.

"I wish that ass would show his face here. You'd like him. Although he won't call me daddy, what a brat." he snerked. "I became a bad father when Futaba went away, I suppose." He didn't want to live for Yotsuba, and Yotsuba didn't want him to either.

Meroko grinned as she spun, but had to flail slightly near the end so as not to tip over. She gave up with the mask, removing it and letting it hang off her wrist.

"All kids are brats," she said as she made a face. Well, not all kids, but most. And she had observed quite a lot of them.

"I'm sure you couldn't have been that bad. Is he cute?" she asked, trying to picture what he looked like. But she had no idea what his wife had looked like, so she couldn't make a real guess. All she got was a sulky-looking younger version of Othello.

Othello raised a brow, leaning in to whisper by her ear when she took off her mask. "I thought you were a real rules lady, Meroko. What's all this?"

He leaned back then, as if not interrupted at all, and of course laughed. "They are. Except Yotsuba's a teenager, or something like it." Man, he was really getting up there. Othello had to wonder if he really was getting old. But he shrugged.

"I happen to think I'm a great father." he said confidentally. "He looks like me, beauty mark included. But his hair is short and black like Futaba's. We did well~" His grin was almost bitter, however. Seems like he couldn't decide if it was a good subject or a bad one.

Meroko got all flustered, cheeks a bit pink. "It was itchy! And you're getting off the subject!!"

As she listened to him describe his son, she thought he looked a little bit dejected. In an attempt to cheer him up she reached up and lifted his mask, peeking beneath. "Yep. I think he'd definitely be cute," she said with a grin. "As long as his ego isn't as big as yours~"

Meroko was wondering, though, if Izumi missed her as much as Othello missed his wife. She really did hope so. It seemed like forever since she had seen him, and they had just re-formed their team. What perfect timing that had been!! she thought, frustrated.

"There you go again," Othello taunted, although he refrained from making fun of her any further. He did say he wouldn't ruin her night, after all.

He brightened up a little bit then, as she peered underneath his mask, maybe even a little too much. "Well, he is, of course!" It was pretty clear he was proud of the guy at least.

"And what's all this about an ego? I've been most bearable the entire evening."

Meroko laughed a little. "You've been bearable...at least for tonight. But who knows about later? I bet you couldn't keep it up for more than a day~" Now her voice had the taunting edge to it.

The table with punch on it caught her eye; she was glad that it had been thought of. She was a bit thirsty.

"Hey, let's go get some punch!" she suggested, pointing toward the table with the tacky decorations.

Othello scoffed. "I bet I could, if that's a challenge, Meroko." he replied smoothly, the corner of his lip threatening to twitch.

He moved his head towards the punch table, taking immediate notice of those dumb decorations. He couldn't say he trusted that damn punch either.

However, he shrugged a bit. They had been dancing for a while. "Why not." he replied, turning that direction

Meroko went on ahead of him, skipping inbetween the people cheerfully. Her mask was still dangling from her wrist but she figured that it wasn't that important anymore; others had probably taken theirs off as well.

She turned back toward him when she reached the table, a mischievious look on her face. "You sound like you actually think you could go for more than a day, acting civil."

Meroko carefully took two plastic cups from the middle of the stack, to make sure they hadn't been touched. She was also careful not to let her white dress anywhere near the punch.

Othello studied her as he took his own sweet time behind her. She actually believed that a man who had done what he'd done couldn't act civil for a day?

He looked down a moment, smirking to himself. Maybe she was right. But would he ever admit that? "I could go for more than a day." he insisted, once he reached the table.

He held his hand out, waiting for his own glass of punch. If you asked him, it looked suspicious and cheap.

"No way~" Meroko replied dismissively. "It'd be too hard for you. Or else you'd try and cheat!!"

When he reached for his glass, she handed the two empty ones to him instead. "You pour. I don't wanna get anything on my gloves!!" The punch didn't look strange to her. Then again, she wasn't really giving it that much attention.

"Oh, and don't fill it up too much. I only want a little bit," she added as an afterthought. Meroko was always picky.

"You don't know me." Othello assured her, folding his arms over his chest. "The most difficult thing I'll ever have to do, I've already done. So I could be bearable, I think, for more than a day."

He was smirking, but it didn't seem to last long when he found two cups thrust at him. His brow raised as he peered at Meroko from behind his mask. Was she kidding? He wasn't anyone's maid.

"Don't order me around like that, and you might get some." he said, tossing one of the glasses carelessly behind him. He decided he didn't want any. That taken care of, he grabbed the ladle and dumped some into hers, although he held on to it after that.

"Well then let's make a bet!!" Meroko proposed, looking skeptical but amused. "I bet that you couldn't be civil for more than one day!" She was quite confident that he couldn't, so there was no need to drag it out any longer than that.

"But you'll have to get me something if I win~!" Although there wasn't really anything that the castle didn't already provide them, Meroko was sure she could think of something.

As he tossed the glass behind him, she made a small sound of confusion. "What? You don't want any?" She held her hand out for hers. "Suit yourself."

Othello shrugged. What did he have to lose? If this castle stole something, he really didn't have anything. "Sure, why not. I'll take your bet." he smirked.

He raised an eyebrow however, holding her cup out. "And what if I win? Do I get something?"

Leaning against the table, he shrugged a bit. "That punch looks awful. That's all." He was more of a wine or hard liquor kinda guy anyway.

She took the glass, thinking. "I don't know...how about a piece of candy~?" Candy was nice, and she couldn't really think of anything else that would make for a good prize.

Meroko took a sip...then made a face, spitting it back in the cup. "ACK! That's disgusting!!!" she exclaimed, shoving the glass back at him. "Ew, who could drink that?!" Her voice was quite loud, turning several heads.

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[Thread] Meroko and Othello

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