Her mind fixates on a specific part of what he said. And as she focused on that takeaway, Her picture of Liberty became a little clearer. If so many people are struggling to break even in this nation, it's no wonder that Liberty, which is supposedly the strongest naval force in Sirius, has trouble quelling pirates such as the Xenos. A literal case of 'kill one, and two more pop up in their place'. "To be poor is a crime, you say... Is that to be taken literally, or is it a metaphor for the poor consistently choosing to commit crimes to get by? Either way, that's incredibly disheartening to hear about. Though, in our age it's far from uncommon, I'm certain...
She trails off just as the server arrives with the drinks, who carries them with cautiousness. They ask if the two of them need anything else. Tsuya shook her head which just left the Xeno man in front of her.
His hands made a series of motions, as if tying a knot for a noose around the front of his neck. Once he'd provided the theatricality needed he proceeded. "That was entirely literal, and if you spend enough time looking in the right places then you'll see exactly how Liberty truly works. It's all a lie." The state of affairs, at least as he'd described it was so sordid that it was almost jarring having to hear him calmly narrate the facts.
The server was responded to with a shake of the head and a small handful of credit chips as a tip. It prompted a smile, so evidently they'd been tipped somewhat generously. Now that the drinks were on the table, he picked up his glass and idly swirled the contents around to see the ice cubes spin in perfect unison, clattering together on occasion. "What else do you want to know?" To enunciate his curiosity he tilted his head ever so slightly and observed her demeanor from an angle.
By now, she'd thought up another question to ask as she grasps her drink, staring it down for a second before taking a quick sip from the convenient straw. "You've been around for a while, haven't you? I wonder if you know any secrets that the Liberty government or any of its corporations try to keep well hidden... Every nation has its dirty laundry." She knew all too well about what really happens in Kusari, and just how well the government manages to fool its navy and police into dehumanizing the Dragons.
She pauses to lubricate her throat with the fruity drink, savoring the sweet flavors and the sting of liqueur. "For starters, the Kusari government does everything in their power to cover up the truth and propagate the idea that we are nothing but murderous terrorists hell bent on destroying everything. What Samura won't tell you is that centuries ago, on the day of our founding, they funded a bloody betrayal and slaughtered many upstanding people that day, just to install their own puppet government that would lessen restrictions on them and favor them over any other corp. Luckily, it seems that their foothold is shrinking with each passing year with the competition from Kishiro and Renzu."
An almost fiendish grin cropped up on his face for a few seconds when posed with that question. It was highly amusing for him to be asked about Liberty's well-kept secrets, mainly because he'd been someone who was privy to quite a few of those during his time on the "right" side of the law. "Every super rich and successful member of the upper echelons of Liberty's distinctly corporate society is a consumer of cardamine. The media vaguely pawns this off on criminal elements, but it's always the people with money and power who are the reason that drug is in such high demand. And it's also the reason it'll never truly go away so long as those people run the House." It was quite the revelation for anyone who was blissfully ignorant of this fact and had never considered the wider implications behind many of Liberty's problems.
Liberty was itself the cause of, and solution to, all of its problems.
She sipped as she listened, She wanted to be surprised at that revelation, but found it to be certainly logical if it were true. The orange curse seeps and trickles its way into every nook and cranny it can find. If the Outcasts can sell it, someone's gonna buy it. It's only natural that it would be found by the hands of the elite. She decided to lower her voice for what she was to say next, in case anyone would take it as fighting words. "Wish I could say I didn't expect that. Cardamine corrupts anything it touches, enticing its user with its initial side effects. The blessing given to the Outcasts is a curse that may be too big to cleanse now, I'm afraid."
Even as a kid, she remembers always feeling strongly about the abuse of cardamine when hearing about drug busts on the news. It's become a beast too powerful to slay, some would say. Outcasts will keep peddling the crud until they die. "I guess it's true that Liberty is rotten to the core. If we want change, we really have to pull it out by the roots... Wipe the slate clean, you know? It's a tall order but we stand up despite the odds, to somehow survive day by day..." She pauses and nervously laughs, blushing just the slightest bit.
"I get a little poetic when I have a drink in me."
When she spoke about wiping the slate clean, he simply nodded in agreement with it. Depending on what kind of person you were that was either a red flag or a desirable intent so far as ideological commitment was concerned. "I know, and more than just a small part of me enjoys what I get to do. It's what makes opinion of me so divisive, the fact I make no excuses for what I'm choosing to do." He shrugged after admitting that, evidently incapable of guilt or shame in connection to his nature despite the average outlook.
"The uncompromising self integrity is probably why opinions are so divided." This musing was accompanied by an amused smirk, since the reaction while being perfectly sensible and expected but entertaining anyway.
"Well, there's something to learn from people like you after all." She smirks in return, aiming to be a bit more banterous with her words. Another swig later, and more words come out. She likes gaining little glimpses into the people she converses with, friend or foe alike. Learning about people is something you never stop doing."I don't know what entails divisive when it comes to you, but I think you're right to enjoy what you do, and own up to it as well. If you didn't like your position, I'm sure you'd have left a long time ago... The same goes for me."
She takes a moment to silently ponder about her own enjoyment and look out the bar windows into the darkness of Kepler. She'd never seen a cloud so alike yet so different to the Okamura cloud within the depths of the Crow Nebula. The overwhelming shadow and sense of dread this dark matter storm evokes just sets it so much apart, understandably so. But like Chugoku, this dense field repels the law better than any hard force can.
"We may do a lot of bad things... but I believe it's important to take pride in what we do, because as you say, we choose to do it. We believe it's right. We should at least somewhat relish in the fact that we are, in that specific way, free." She gives a slight but honest smile after saying that. Being a youthful leader, she values any insight gained from veterans like the man in front of her.
His posture and composure was impeccable, and it had to have been rehearsed. If anything, it gave the sense that it was a facade of restraint for something that couldn't be made apparent to the public. But despite this looming sense of malignant grace he seemed almost playfully offended by something she'd just said.
"People like me? Almost makes it sound like you look down on us. Which would be ironic, because you've put so much effort into dressing up it seemed like you wanted me to make you breakfast." While this was almost certainly intended as a joke, it could also be seen as a subtle display of who had control in this conversation. A notion that would be rendered certain if this comment caught her off-guard.
She couldn't help but let out a supressed giggle after witnessing his sudden change in tone. Truly, it seemed the underworld of Liberty has quite the personality to it. Nothing like what she's used to back in Kusari, where the folk are all work and no play. She decided to go along with the tide of the conversation and fire back.
"Ara ara, I didn't mean for it to seem like that. You've made me quite self conscious now, you know! Hmph. I like my outfits to be elegant, yet effective. But if you're a good cook, and you're offering, well... I can't turn down the chance to sample exotic flavors, right? A man with culinary expertise is after a woman's heart."
She remains politely relaxed in her seat, all but announcing the fact she feels confident in the company of what some might call the figurehead of the Xeno movement. Clearly, he hasn't gotten this far on combat prowess alone judging by the way he talks the talk. She wonders if the old guy might be coming onto her. But no, it's the drink that's doing the thinking in her head.
"It doesn't bother me even if you did mean for it to be that way. I prefer when people are open about what they want. Being painfully subtle is a lot like being a coward, and there's nothing attractive about cowards." While this was intended to reassure her against being self conscious for the sake of being polite, there was a visible degree of contempt behind his words and even demeanor for the sort of person he described. Hate seemed to come easily from him.
"So is that all you came here for? To talk?" The purpose behind asking such a direct question was unclear, but given that his eyes were never caught wandering and the lack of suggestion, it must have been the case that he was testing. And while an answer was no doubt being pondered by the person across from him, the pause was subject to studious observation.
The constant intensity he possessed could not have been natural, but there was every indication that it was, a primary source of intimidation, admiration or a confused mix of the two.
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