paradisalost | [thread] Lana (tries to) helps Nooj get up the stairs

Nooj had wandered back to the kitchen once again. The thought of coffee was just too tempting to resist now that he was stuck on the first floor, well, at least until he got enough energy to travel back upstairs. Nooj finally encountered the ghosts Misa spoke of and had found himself a cup of coffee. He'd been corresponding with Misa and Etna so he found himself writing in the odd book with them. Book in hand, he set the coffee mug on the counter, leaned against it, then propped his cane against the cabinet. He was never truly fond of writing, but he found the correspondances somehow intriguing.

Lana saw no one out in the Foyer so she shrugged and moved into the kitchen. There was a man ther but she couldn't really tell if he had prosthetics or not so she simply moved past him. She'd figure out if that was Nooj sooner or later, but Latte first.

She pulled a tall mug out of the cupboard then got some milk and her other materials and fired up the fancy espresso machine. She decided to make her latte a double and did so. She steamed the milk and poured the espresso and milk together, the smell of it wafting across the kitchen. The last she did was put in some caramel flavoring and mix it together to call it good.
When she had her coffee she turned to glance around the kitchen again to see if it was just herself and the large man with the...gravity defying hair? How unusual. She took a sip of her coffee, eyes settled on the man. It was rude of her to watch someone but that little voice in Lana's head that made her care whether she was being rude or not was being less that insistant today.

He noticed the woman enter the kitchen but he paid her no mind, as he was more interested in his moral discussion with Etna and the talk about multiple worlds with Misa. But then he felt as if he were being watched. he looked up at the woman with the coffee in her hand. He looked at her for a second then it dawned on him. Someone with effeminate handwriting liking coffee? And the coffee-drinkers were few and far between so that must be the one with whom he spoke earlier, the one who spoke with him about coffee and stairs. What was her name? Lana?

To say something or not? Well she didn't seem threatening by any means, although she did find her way down here to find him. Would she be... another Leblanc? For now he chose to not say a thing and sip his coffee. His bland, plain coffee.

It was a little strange that the two of them were just sitting there.....looking at each other. Lana assumed this must be Nooj...who else would just sit there looking at her as if trying to internally puzzle out who she was. It was then that Lana's eyes drifted to Nooj's coffee and a pretty smile spread out across her face. "Good to meet you in person, Nooj," she said plainly. She would be mightily embarrassed if this wasn't, in fact, Nooj but she was 99.9% certain. The only other person in the castle that she knew of that liked Coffee was Leon and...she was pretty sure she'd seen him interviewing people for that guard...squad of his a few days back.

So this was indeed her. Nooj shifted his weight and took another sip of coffee. Stalker or not, they did share a love of coffee and hers smelled much better than his. What was her secret? "Your coffee," Nooj said, setting his cup down on the counter, "smells much more delicious than mine. What, praytell, is your secret?"

Lana was in the middle of a sip of her coffee when he asked the question and she allowed herself to calmly finish it before glancing up to acknowledge Nooj's question. She glanced down at her coffee then back at the large man, "It's not a regular coffee," she said simply. "It's called a latte. Two shots of espresso, steamed milk, and Caramel flavoring, it's very good."
She was quiet again for a moment then as if someone had kicked her and told her to stop being rude she looked vaguely startled with herself, "I could make you one if you'd like."

"Latte," Nooj echoed. Something that didn't exist in Spira or at least Nooj hadn't come across him. The Youth League was quite fond of coffee and beer, so he was quite suprised when he hadn't heard of it before. "Such would be quite pleasant," Nooj admitted.

Lana nodded, wondering if the double shot of caffeine would perk him up a little....maybe she would make it a triple...noooo she wasn't evil. After what all the caffiene did to Touya she figured that a double was more than enough for now. She wasn't sure he'd ever see her as a completely good person again.

She turned around and began to make his latte. She was going to ask him what flavoring he would like, if any, but decided to just make him exactly what she had to keep from complicating things needlessly. She finished the coffee in a very short amount of time. This is what she did for a living, after all. She turned and slid it across the counter to Nooj before picking hers back up and taking a drink without a word, leaning against the counter.

Perk him up? Now that was something improbable. Only the Crimson Squad could possibly bring him out of his hard exterior. Unlikely that anyone else would be able to do that. Caffeine, however, had little to know effect on him. He was practically immuned to caffeine and very tolerant of alcohol. It was unlikely that a double shot would even phase him.

While she made the latte, he returned his attention to his journal once more. The communication possibilities this creation held fascinated him. It was capable of communicating through a non-machina means solely using writing. While he was certain that Lucil and Elma most likely had bad handwriting, he thought that maybe this creation would be something to ease communication throughout the Youth League.

Lana looked around then hopped onto the counter to sit, as usual. Chairs? PFFT! unnecessary. She spent a few more minutes attending to her coffee in silence before she glanced back at Nooj, "This is going to be rude, and I apologize in advance," she said suddenly. "But how DO you get your hair to do that?"

She looked at his hair, full of curiosity, as she sipped at her coffee.

Nooj would've appreciated a chair as the extra support required of his right nonmetallic foot often strained it. But he did find himself standing up quite often especially as a military leader. He'd deal. But when Lana asked about his hair, he nearly dropped his coffee mug although his expression didn't even flinch. That was one thing he hadn't been asked and was rather amused with the expression. A slight grin, which somewhat resembled a vague smirk drew across his sharp features. "My hair?" he said inquisitively, even though he knew her question. He leaned forward a bit. "Such is classified information." There was that trademark humor of his, which generally escaped everyone save Gippal.

Lana snorted into her coffee at his statement. She REALLY hoped that had been a joke or she would have just sprayed coffee into her face for no reason.
She emerged from her coffee mug and wiped the side of her face irritably before looking at him with complete seriousness other than the brilliant gleam of humor in her eye. "Your hair must be terribly important...I shouldn't have given away the secet of how to make a Latte, I don't even have a bartering chip for the information anymore. Damn!"
She buried her amused grin in her coffee mug to disguise it, taking a drink.

An actual grin spread across his face. This time an actual grin, although it still had that mysterious, somewhat smirkish, perhaps even sinister look to it, but then again, he normally had that quality to him. Perhaps it was the way he looked over the rim of his glasses. Perhaps not. Either way, the grin was genuine. "Oh so you take a liking to my wit?" he said, a slight sense of amusement to his words. "Quite an unusual trait."

Sipping his rather bland coffee, he mused at her humor as well. "Perhaps, in time, you shall learn the tricks of Nooj the Undying." He found himself rather fond of that name. Afterall he did earn it in the fateful battle against Sin, the one that cost his arm but gave him a rather interesting reputation and the credentials to enter the Crimson Squad, even start up the Youth League. It was after his Crusader days that he became known as a Deathseeker due to his recklessness in battle and general unbalance. The unbalance was generally quite noticeable as he once again shifted weight. It was rather uncomfortable to stand for so long yet there wasn't much of a choice in the matter at the moment.

Lana breathed an internal sigh of relief. So he HAD been being funny. Good. She couldn't help but feel a little light go on inside of her as he smiled. She liked that, making people who didn't really smile much smile. She had only known him for a few minutes but something about how he acted and how his face looked told her he didn't smile that much. She could have been wrong but it made her feel good nonetheless.
She grinned and chuckled a little as he said it was an unusual trait then gave him a wink, "There are some people that would say I'm quite an unusual girl." she said in response to it.

She raised her brows at his title, "Nooj the undying is it? Impressive. You've come to the right place. No one really dies here." She paused and thought for a minute, "Well..never mind I do believe I'm lying to you. People Do die...but they return to life in a matter of time."

"Is that so?" he commented to her series of statements, although it was primarily directed at the last one, with a hint of disappointment. "Pity." Nooj nonchalantly picked up the latte sitting beside him and took a sip. The drink was definitely something he hadn't tasted before and would definitely become a staple for him and the close members of the Youth League. "I must say, your coffee far outdoes that of Commander Lucil," he complemented.

Lana raised her brows at Nooj's statement but decided not to delve into the subject. She smiled a little at his comment about her coffee far outdoing that of someone named Commander Lucil. She raised a brow, "Well since I don't know this Commander Lucil and haven't a clue how good their coffee is I'll pretend that it is completely outstanding and take that as a compliment." She grinned goodnaturedly at Nooj, "Though I suppose it should be drinkable, as it's how I earn my livelihood back home.."

"Commander Lucil is my first in command of the Youth League," Nooj offered. The information was common knowledge across Spira, but since she wasn't Spiran, it was free information in exchange for coffee. At least it worked in his mind that way. "She can make quite an amazing cup of coffee."

Earned her livelihood? Making coffee as a job was something Nooj hadn't really considered, but he was almost certain that they existed somewhere in Spira. He had been in military organizations for so long he often forgot about civilian operations.

Lana smiled, her mug poised halfway to her mouth, "ah, good to know I'm not just making up compliments, then."
She took a drink of her latte, feeling pleased. She wasn't sure if she was feeling pleased because she'd gotten this man to say more than one sentence in a row at any point in time or because she was so happy she had coffee but it really didn't matter.

Nooj was beginning to feel rather uncomfortable. The stairs really took a toll on his non-machina leg and he was beginning to feel the sharp pain. Grabbing his cane from it's resting place against the counter, he took a sip of coffee then pushed himself away from the counter. "Perhaps a place to sit would be pleasaant," he commented, leaning on his cane and shuffling to the door. His motions made it obvious that his left leg didn't bend very well but he did seem to manage his own weight. He headed towards a few seets he'd seen before to take a sit and lessen the weight on his right leg.

Lana shrugged and hopped off of the counter, wandering along after him with her coffee. She'd kind of forgotten that he had prosthetics. She didn't think she'd have suggested finding a place to sit even if she'd remembered though. She didn't see Nooj taking too kindly to mention of that particular weakness.

Nooj wasn't too fond of admitting the weakness, but he knew it was there. When he was constantly moving, he didn't feel the machina, but when he stood still, that was when he was reminded that he lost half of himself in the one battle he ever lost.

He entered the library and set the cup on the coffee table near the entrance. Carefully he dropped into the seat. Reaquiring the cup he propped the metal foot on the table to relieve some weight. The chairs there were quite comfortable. He'd found them earlier when he first went to the kitchen.

Lana followed him quietly into the library, looking around her with interest as they walked. She kind of tried to avoid the library. Lana loved books more than was healthy. If she was in the library too often she'd forget to eat and she loved to eat so that wouldn't be a good thing.

She breathed deeply when the entered, enjoying the smell of books. She sat down where Nooj was headed and when he took his seat her eyes only rested very briefly on his metal foot before moving on to something that was apparentl more interesting wich was a HUGE book on the table in front of her. She scooted it over and reclined with her coffee. Though her eyes had only rested on his foot for the briefest moment her mind was running wildly over it. His prosthetics were METAL?! How very BIZARRE!

Nooj watched her in interest as she quickly snatched up the book. Seems they had another thing in common ~ academia. He calmly sipped his coffee as he watched her delve into the book, even after taking a quick gander at his metallic foot. He was almost certain she'd ask; even Spirans had inquired about it.

Lana closed the book after a few moments. It was about something she knew nothing about. Alchemy or something like that. She set it aside on the table and glanced up at Nooj. He was wrong about whether or not she would ask him about his metal foot. She'd been much more interested in his hair, which was a 'secret' apparently. She figured if he cared to tell her about his foot then he would. She wouldn't be rude enough to inquire about it. It had obviously been lost somehow and losing his foot could not have been a pleasant experience. It was probably and uncomfortable topic so she elected to say nothing about it and simply sipped her coffee.
"So, what is this Youth league?" she asked unexpectedly in the silence. "Or is that as confidential as your hair product secrets?"

The Youth League. Now there was a subject he could talk about, although the temptation to comment on the last line was great. "The Youth League is an alliance of people who lost faith in Yevon and desired a place to belong." He'd most likely have to explain Yevon, but that was another tale, another time. And he could easily talk more about the league he started. Afterall, he gave many people hope and a place to belong after the fall of Sin.

Lana tilted her head curiously. "Yevon..." She tried the word out. "Is that a religion?"
It sounded like one. The name and the way he said lost faith in Yevon. She took a sip of her coffee. She'd be out in a short while. That would displease her. Maybe Nooj would want a seconnd as well when he got around to it.

Yevon? A religion? "In a sense, yes," Nooj replied. But in the same sense Yevon was an organization and soon became a leading faction under the name of New Yevon (although the leader was completely different than his predecessors). He nonchalantly took a sip of his coffee, appearing unphased by the question, despite the memories the battle between the factions had caused and the war against Sin.

Lana absorbed what he'd just said. He didn't say much about anything. She hadn't been given a whole lot of information but...She could kind of piece things together on her own, she didn't need every detail.
She pursed her lips thoughtfully and motioned with her hand vaguely, "So you were...kind of like a resistance group of some sort?"

"In a sense," Nooj replied, "however pinpointing which of the three factions was the resistance is rather difficult." yes, was. "The factions, while still holding differing opinions, are currently amicable to one another. However several months ago, such was an entirely different story." He was offering up information, yet all of this was common knowledge across Spira. Everyone was affected by their rivalry. Well at least the rivalry between New Yevon and the Youth League. The Machine Faction's involvement didn't help either way.

Lana nodded, understanding but still being fairly curious. She tapped her fingers on the sides of her mug. "So...what was your credo, The Youth League, that is. Your policy, the beliefs that drew in... members? Followers? What was it about you that was different than the others...." She paused, "I'm sorry if I'm asking too many questions. I'm a little too curious for my own good from time to time." Or all the time...

"Our credo, so to speak, was that the League was not new Yevon," Nooj replied. While she probably didn't see it, that statement alone was incredibly powerful. "For most, that was enough."

Lana nodded thoughtfully. It didn't really make sense to her. She had no idea what the deal was with New Yevon. "So...what about New Yevon? Why did you disagree with them so much? Were they...bad?"
She felt kind of lame for using the word bad but it really was the only thing that came to mind.

"Such is a long, rather complicated history," Nooj replied, avoiding the question. It was a long history and had a whole lot of memories associated, ones which he refused to allow to surface. Finishing off his latte, he changed the subject, "Pity, all done."

Lana raised her brows and smiled softly, "You know. You could just say you don't want to talk about it. It won't hurt my feelings or anything." She looked down at her own Latte. It was finished as well. She allowed the subject change to take place without any more fuss. "Mine too. Would you like another one?"

Admit he didn't want to talk about it often left people asking why, so he had come to say something in the place or skirt the subject. She was definitely different from most, bringing up these kind of things.

Cane in hand, he pushed himself back up to his feet. "Indeed another would be pleasant," he replied, shuffling towards the door and back to the kitchen.

Lana looked surprised as he got up and walked toward the door. She had actually been offering to go and get it herself. There had been no need for him to join her but she figured since he was already up she wasn't going to protest. She hopped up off of her chair and walked with him to the kitchen where without a word she made two more, adding some chocolate syrup to both this time along with the caramel flavoring.

She handed Nooj his refilled mug and began to wander back toward the library where she took her previously occupied seat.

Nooj accepted the mug and soon returned to the library to consume the tasty treat. He took a sip and noticeable, although slight, pleasure washed across his features for a brief moment. "Quite a pleasant combination," Nooj commented.

Lana reclined a little more than she had the last time she'd sat down and couldn't help but beam brightly at Nooj when he complimented the drink. "I'm glad you like it. It was a favorite at the Talon." She paused, "er...my coffee shop, that is."

"Is that so," he commented, sipping his coffee, his leg once again propped up on the coffee table. The table was conveniently at a comfortable height for when he wanted to relieve the pressure on his hip but not break the table or jar the joints.

Lana nodded slightly in his direction at the comment and sipped on her coffee. It was very hot still. It always frustrated her a little when her coffee was too hot to really drink. She liked to get right in there and drink it, not sip at it for what felt like forever. It was then that she remembered her original intention when coming downstairs. She'd been wanting to help Nooj get up the stairs but...she didn't see that being possible for a little creature like her. She supposed she could call Kal-El or superman or whatever and ask him to help but she had the distinct feeling that Nooj wouldn't be too pleased with that. If worse came to worst she could always bring Vengeance in to carry Nooj up the stairs. The horse was easily large enough and she'd gone up and down them before. She didn't LIKE it but she could. Lana decided that it would probably be best to not bring it up unless Nooj did, though.

Nooj most definitely would not have been pleased in being carried upstairs but given the situation, he might just cave and allow it to happen. Unlikely however. Instead, he did consider finding books on machina and attempting to find a means to loosen the knee joint. He truly did need an Al Bhed.

Lana was quiet for a good deal longer before a though occured to her. She glance up at Nooj over her coffee, the little gleam in her eye that told others that she was curious glittering. "Do you have any friends here, Nooj?"

Friends was a rather loose word for Nooj. The only true friends he ever had he shot in the Den of Woe when he was possessed by Shuin's vengeful spirit. He took a sip of coffee. "Aquaintances," he replied, "I have found only one." He found Yuna quite respectable yet never truly called her a friend.

Lana nodded quietly, "I suppose that's just as well," she said softly. She took a drink of her coffee, her gaze moving a little out of focus as she turned toward internal thoughts. She offered no explanation for what she said but she figured a clever fellow like Nooj would have no trouble figuring out what she was talking about.

"Indeed," he agreed. He had an idea of what she meant due to conversations with other Paradisans, but he wasn't entirely 100% sure, yet he didn't bother inquiring her meaning. He simply left it as is and returned to his coffee.

Lana took a drink of her coffee then leaned back in her chair, reading a title of a book on the shelf very closely. She reached out and plucked it from the shelf, opened it, flipped through it, then closed it and held it near her lap as she stood up, "Well, Nooj, it was really nice to meet you in person. I apologize that the most help I could give was with a cup of coffee."

She turned to leave then paused and looked back over her shoulder, "If you get to the point that you wouldn't mind being carried I know someone who would be capable of it..."

It was the first time she'd mentioned his predicament even indirectly. She gave him a small smile, "Enjoy your latte, Nooj."
She then slid out the main door with the book in her hand.

[thread] Lana (tries to) helps Nooj get up the stairs

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