"...Maybe."

He wasn't being elusive this time; he genuinely wasn't sure what he hoped to accomplish by being here. His hand twitched towards one of the bottles, but then he remembered his current company and stopped himself. Not that he was terribly concerned with offending her, but if she started to raise her voice again it could cause problems.

"Look...I normally hold my liquor just fine, alright? But that was a bad night even for me. I don't normally go at it like that, but after seeing those again...nevermind. Point is, I'd never have said anything normally."

He wasn't sure what was more annoying, that he felt obligated to be telling any of this to a little girl or that she was probably better equipped to deal with these kind of problems than he was.

"Even still," Mayako frowned and put her hands on her hips again, "You were drinking in a church before, and you were doing it here, too. And last time, i-it was really, really bad. I-- I k-kind of didn't know if y-you were going to be okay for the night. I--"

She wanted to chide Garv about having a drinking problem, but at this point, she could only speculate. It looked like he did, but she honestly didn't know for sure. Her father was the one that dealt with reformed alcoholics, not her. Neither of her parents let her in on those issues, maybe to shield her from that part of the world. Maybe not. Maybe they just thought she'd get in the way.

"A-anyway," she shook the thought off, "I really don't want there to be any trouble . . ."

Part of her knew she was going to regret saying this. That was also the same part of her that hurt like crazy right now. Which meant Mayako was ignoring that side of her brain.

"S-so I guess, um, I'll help?" she said with much uncertainty. Really, she didn't know what she was helping with, only that it had to do with Garv and Fenix. "I-- I mean, under, um, u-under a few circumstances."

Garv sighed. This girl was the persistent well-wisher he'd ever laid eyes on. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm not yet sure what I need help with." He suspected much of the help he needed could only be provided by a Greoulian psychologist, but that was another matter.

"Tell you what though, here's a circumstance: you distract 'em if he starts to get too curious about who's staying in this room, and I won't touch this stuff-" he motioned to the bottles "-while I'm in the church here. That'll make you happy, right love?"

It would be a bit of a hassle, but he could probably sneak outside if he really needed a bit. Wouldn't be too hard at night, anyway.

"W-well . . . y-yeah, it would," Mayako admitted with averted eyes.

But that wasn't exactly what she was getting at. With the helping, that is. Actually, the circumstances she was talking about were the exact sets of circumstances Garv agreed to, so that was good, but letting Garv just wander about like that was still bound to get him into some serious trouble. Mayako couldn't keep Fenix at bay forever. If he got curious enough, there was probably no way she could stop him from coming by to pay Garv a visit. Then there'd be knives and crossbows and fire and everything would be all screwed up for a good while.

"B-but . . . I-- I don't know," Mayako shuffled her feet a little, "Y-- you said you wanted to know more about him, r-right? I-- I could talk to him. M-maybe learn some things about him."

Actually, she had no idea how much further she could go than that, but hey, Garv was a struggling alcoholic that, through a bizarre set of circumstances, realized he had an illegitimate son. Now he was trying to connect with that son somehow. Mayako was more than willing to do her share of assistance to the cause, she just wanted to make sure nothing bad happened in the meantime.

"Huh." Garv considered this for several moments; on one hand, he wasn't sure Mayako wouldn't just tell him what she thought he wanted to hear. On the other hand, he also doubted that she was a good liar. So really he had nothing to lose.

"Sure, sounds good." He'd have to keep an eye on her if she was going to do this. If he could spy on them and hear it from the boy's mouth himself, it'd be a little more...something. Meaningful? He wasn't sure. For now though he'd have to take what he could get.

Could she really get anything out of him though? That was a better question. He began to look over Mayako with the eye of an appraiser of fine goods. She was young, but not as young as her build suggested--she definitely had a figure, though she was rather lacking in the department that drew the gaze of most men.

"Hmm. Still got some growing to do, but I bet if you play your cards right you could get him to tell you whatever you wanted," he concluded.

Well then. It was settled. She'd help Garv get to know Fenix by getting to know him a little better, herself. Which wasn't all that bad of an idea at all. Sure, she'd be sharing some things with Garv, but she'd also get a little closer to the man she'd been traveling with. Considering she wasn't all that close with him to begin with, if only because he and Emma seemed a little closer, and Emma could be a little territorial before she was wounded, let alone after she suffered emotional trauma. Mayako just didn't want to step on Emma's toes. Let her make a friend for herself and be comfortable with that.

Now, though, it probably wouldn't matter too much to Emma if Mayako started to get closer to Fenix. Or at least close enough that she didn't instinctively want to call him "Mr. Black."

Mayako watched Garv's face with the utmost confusion as he eyed her up and down. It never exactly struck her just why he was looking at her like that. It wasn't perverse, or at least not perverse in the blatant and obvious way--so, what, was he eying her up to see how athletic she was or something like that? Mayako had no clue, but it made her feel incredibly uncomfortable and she really wished he'd stop that.

"Wh-what's . . . what's that supposed to mean?" she asked meekly, now no long having it in her to maintain eye contact for any length of time.

"Well...you know. To loosen a fellas lips, you might have to cozy up to him a bit. You're lacking a bit in the 'oomph' deparment-" he cupped his hands at his chest in case she wasn't clear on what he met by that "-but you've got some curves to you to make up for it. And some guys really dig the petite type."

He nodded to himself as he scratched his chin. "Plus, you've got a certain something about you. You lean more towards cute, but it's like...hmm...like you're adorable, but in a way that some find tantalizing. They should really come up with a word for that."

Maybe the first part, the moment where he eyed her up and down, Mayako was making a subconscious effort to not understand what Garv meant, because some part of her rational thought (that wasn't about pain) probably dictated what type of reaction she might have had to this sort of thing. And that part just said no. Ignore it. Nothing is being said here. This is entirely innocent.

"Th-that's . . .!" Mayako raised her voice as if to shout at Garv, but then remembered she was supposed to be quiet and quickly threw her hands over her lips.

Now she was just frustrated! Her head was killing her and this guy was proving to be one of the most chauvinist pigs she'd ever met in her life. This was why she was going to learn to regret helping him. She expected that to take maybe a day or so, not thirty minutes.

"O-o-okay-- no," Mayako waved her arms in the air to punctuate the point: "N-no. No. Nonono. No. No. A-Absolutely not."

Under any other circumstances, she might have felt openly flattered, even if only a tiny bit. Mayako used to have problems with her self image. She felt that what she was and how she acted all the time made it impossible for anyone to like her in a romantic way. Then she stopped bothering with romance altogether, and that stopped being an issue for her. Still, though, the notion that someone out there might have found some appeal in her and the way she acted might have later proved comforting, but only if she could disconnect the compliment from Garv entirely, and just pretend that some random gentleman said that to her when she was lamenting her figure.

"F-first of all, th-that-- that is not how you get to know your son," Mayako stammered. Her face was beat red. "Y-you d-do not pr-proposition s-someone t-to sleep with him. No. Nonono. That . . . that's horrible. A-and disgusting, oh my goodness."

And besides, Mayako was a virgin. Even if that was a good idea, she would not have been the right person for that. For that, Emma would probably be-- oh gods, that is not the right thought to be having. No, that's the worst thought ever. Mayako instantly felt bad about herself. Anyways, even if that was a good idea, and that was a huge IF, she wouldn't just be settling on something like Garv not drinking in churches. No, if she were essentially giving up her virginity for his and Fenix's sakes, the both of them were going to be obligated to take life choices that bettered them as human beings for the duration of all of their lives. Like not doing stupidly dangerous things, or not drinking anymore, or not smoking, or not fighting anymore . . .

"S-second, I-- I-- I would-- y-you would not just be n-not drinking i-in the church f-for that, y-you would not b-be drinking for th-the rest of your life."

"Whoa, whoa, calm down there a second love or you're going to draw the neighbors." He glanced at the door nervously, lest someone else barge in, someone who would be much less happy to see him, and much more likely to try and shoot him.

"I'm not saying that's what you should do--I'm not saying you can't either, I really don't care honestly. I'm just saying that you can still use a bit of allure. Even if you're just going to talk, it makes a man lower his guard, gets him to open up a bit more." Lord knows it worked on him.

"Actually, I didn't I say anything about actually sleeping with him, come to think of it. That was all you." He leaned forward in order to better scrutinize her. "And you seemed awfully quick to put a condition on it. You sure you're that against it?"

No matter what her reaction, he'd probably only be able to keep a straight face for a few seconds before breaking out into a grin; this girl was way too fun to tease.

"Wh-what? I-- I never-- I--" she stared at him, wide eyed and pouting. She'd never once in her life come close to sleeping with someone. Intimate, once, but never again--and she'd have never gone that far back then, either. Mayako liked to think she had many more values than that.

Mayako shook her head quickly again, shut her eyes tight and tried to block out this entire course of conversation. Under any other circumstances, Mayako would've stamped on Garv's foot and stormed out! But now she couldn't, because she'd already made a commitment to help him out, no matter how horrible of a topic of conversation he brought up. And this one was truly the worst.

"S-so-- so-- so what, wh-what d-do you mean," Mayako whispered quickly, just to steer the conversation away from actual sex, and apparently to something related but not quite as embarrassing, "w-wear s-something l-low cut? Th-that wouldn't matter at all. M-Mr. Black w-would never notice a-anything like th-that a-about me. I-I could be naked i-in front of him, heaven forbid, a-and h-he'd just tell me to go put s-some clothes on."

Oh gods, he's right. I'm giving this stuff way too much thought.

"First of all, he's a teenage boy, you're a teenage girl--no matter how much acts like he's not interested, trust me, he's interested." Garv considered pointing out that if they'd met under other circumstances he'd be tempted even at his age, but she would probably not see that as a compliment like he did.

"Secondly--Play to your strengths. A low cut shirt is...probably not going to help you much, but something a little more form-fitting will." Mayako had a great figure, so that was key to show off--wearing something that was supposed to reveal the chest area was going to be counter-productive. Well, unless it was something that would net the boy a peek, but he suspected that advice would not go over very well.

"Finally, keep him thinking about you. If you start to lose attention, brush against his arm a little or something, but keep it subtle; the key is to draw his attention back to you without seeming like you're even trying."

All of this was probably a bit much already, and Garv had his doubts about Mayako's ability to do any of this intentionally (save for maybe picking the right outfit) so he decided to offer one last bit of advice: "But above all else...just be yourself, love. If he stuck by you all the way up here he probably thinks of you as more than just a stranger, at the very least."

Suddenly, Mayako regretted her previous rhetorical question. No, she had never meant that to have an answer. She was just stuttering and stumbling over her thoughts--out loud--and really didn't want an answer to any of it. But low and behold, Garv answered her question in grave detail. Each time he added more advice into the mix, she lowered her head more and more. Now no longer was she able to look him in the eyes, but she was also unable to look up from the floor at all. Her face was beat red and she was hugging her arms to her chest like some last bastion of comfort.

"O-okay-- o-okay, f-fi-fine-- I--" Mayako stammered, "I-- I p-promise n-nothing a-about th-the-- the first o-ones, b-but-- but maybe h-he'll t-talk t-to me as . . . as me, s-so . . ."

Truth be told, Mayako had never really contemplated her relationship with Fenix--what he meant to her and vice versa. In the beginning, they had a weird thing going on that might have been construed as vaguely romantic, but neither of them really felt romantic at the time, and neither of them really pursued any relationship beyond simple acquaintances. She honestly knew him no better than a nurse knew a patient.

"I-- I'm-- I-I'm go-going t-to try a-and sleep some more, um," she trailed off again, unable to talk 'lest she stumble over her words some more, "I-- I'll t-try t-talking t-to him tomorrow. Okay. Um. Okay. Ummm. G-g'night."

And with that she'd slip out of the room as quickly as possible, pull the door shut (quietly) before Garv could say a word, and make her way back to her room.

Mayako left in a hurry, must to Garv's amusement. He wasn't quite sure what to make of her; how many normal girls her age could hold a conversation with a man who'd pointed a knife at her throat?

But even though she seemed harmless enough, those wings concerned him, especially with the location...and with who. In his experience you couldn't chalk that much up to coincidence.

Perhaps I'll do a little research while I'm here, too... If the old man knew something--or if he did--then perhaps there was something around to point him in the right direction...

For a long time, Mayako just laid in bed quietly. Emma seemed like she was asleep, and for that Mayako was grateful. She had, after all, just had a very private conversation in just the other room, and these walls were practically paper thin. It took Mayako awhile to actually fall back asleep again. When she laid down, her everything continued to hurt and she felt a horribly dry feeling in her mouth. It persisted for nearly an hour, all spent turning from one side to the other, feeling sweat in her hair and every so often being reminded of the unfortunate odor of not having had a good bath in a solid week.

When she opened her eyes again, it was mid-afternoon. The feeling she had before she went to sleep again had intensified tenfold, and she woke up feeling downright terrible. She was hungry and smelly, she needed to shave her legs and armpits (evident in that moving her arms against her side was itchy, as was rubbing her legs together), and needed to do something about this compounded headache.

"Afternoon."

Mayako murmured something to herself and glanced up, finding Emma sitting up in her bed, knees held to her chest and eyes on Mayako.

"H-- hey . . ." Mayako groaned meekly.

"You should get something to eat."

"Mnn?"

"I think someone cooked something for breakfast," Emma motioned towards the door, "And you haven't eaten good for awhile. Add that to the calories you probably burned yesterday . . ."

Mayako rubbed her eyes and nodded her head. She tried to get out of bed, but when she did, she caught herself on one foot, lost herself with the other, and stumbled. Emma was up and out of bed in a flash, darting to Mayako's side and catching her before she fell.

"Nhhh . . ." Mayako hung her head and bit her lip. Her cranium was hurting so much worse, now. She had no idea what she needed, but she needed it bad enough that she couldn't walk straight.

"Shit. Y-- you're starving," Emma intoned seriously, "C'-- C'mon, I'll help you down there."

Mayako only nodded her head weakly, and Emma, with her shoulder tucked udner Mayako's arm, helped her out of the room.

As the girls exited the room, they would become immediately aware of something that might not have hit them in the commotion of the previous day: this was an orphanage, and a lot of children were around.

Most of them were concentrated in the front pews of the church, in front of which stood Alicia, who appeared to be going over some kind of lesson. Some of the older children were playing amongst themselves, though Shanna was nearby keeping an eye on them.

It was Alicia who spotted them first. Her awkwardness at seeing Emma after the previous day's outburst was quickly overwritten with concern for Mayako's state. "Oh! Umm, we're going to take a short break now, but don't go very far!"

As she rushed over to them, the children watched with the kind of innocent curiosity only the young could manage.

"That's the girl with the pretty wings..."

"See, I told you her hair was purple!"

"I think that one's our age."

Alicia shushed at them, but it did little good. Once she got to them, she went to Mayako's other side in order to help Emma (who didn't look particularly strong) get her over to the area set up as a dining area. "Jeez, you look beat; here, let's get you something to eat," she said as she sat them down.