First "Home" in Years [Social - Private]

Hika propped herself up on one sharp elbow and stared at both of them. She shook her head. "Nahh. I don't think I'll be trying beer or anymore liquor at all, in my life. Unless, it's do or die situation. Besides, I don't enjoy drinking." She grinned cheekily. She leaned on both of her hands and stared at the space, thinking about what she'll be doing afterwards. She always have to keep herself busy with something even if there is nothing to do or otherwise she'll be bored to death. But, well, during most times, she just usually take a nap on the rooftop. However, if they're going to town, Hika would have to get more chocolates and sweets since there's none left in her room. Man, she really does have a sweet tooth. It's actually a surprise Hika never has toothache and never has to go to the dentist. But, whatever. She searched a bar of chocolate in her jeans' pocket and chewed on it.

"Ah, but you didn't explain what you interpreted your stuff to be, thus I used my own interpretation." Emilia responded, still smug. "Never leave a hint of uncertainty, little brother." She chuckled, then looked at Hikari again. "I can get that. I don't like getting drunk either. I just like the way beer tastes." She chuckled a bit as the girl pulled out a bar of chocolate to eat. "Though if you like sweets enough to be carrying them around with you everywhere, I'd imagine you wouldn't be too fond of beer." She filled her shot glass for the third time and gulped it down. She put the glass down on the bar and drummed on it with her hands. "Welp, that's three. Whenever you're done with yours, lets head out!" She grinned at Eli. She probably wouldn't get too much of a buzz from this. Maybe she should start drinking more. Slowly though, and not when there is a chance of anything happening. She wasn't a fan of getting drunk, but drinking more would allow her to worry a bit less about that as she developed a tolerance to the alcohol.

Eli was rather shocked when Hikari pulled a chocolate bar out of her pocket. Not that it was all that strange or jarring, it was just incredibly unexpected. Maybe Emilia was right about that sweet tooth. "I'd have to agree with Emilia on that. You don't seem like the drinking type. Not to say that I don't think you shouldn't give it a shot, but it might take a while to grow on yah." He took a gulp of his drink as if to emphasize. "Besides, it's not a bad idea to stay off the stuff. Stay nice and pretty as you are unlike Emilia. Too much drinks and too many fights lead to not a pretty bride." He gave Hikari a warm smile.

He sighed, shaking his head at Emilia. "Fine fine, just give me a few minutes to finish mine." He reached over, grabbing a bottle of bear and placing it in his satchel, as well as the drink he currently had. "For the road." Taking another drink from his glass, he finished it off, the other hand working from his satchel, hidden from the pair. Sliding small cloth into both bottles, he switched the contents of them with motus, placing his drink in Emilia's beer bottle. He hoped that she'd be buzzed enough to accept it as a different brand and keep drinking. Standing up, he stretched before he looked at the pair curiously. "So, where to now?"

Hika nodded at Emi's comment. Emi was a really different person, kinda like the opposite of Hika. Plus, she enjoys drinking too, which was quite peculiar for a girl. She turned towards Eli. "Yep. Definitely not a drinking type." 
"Besides, it's not a bad idea to stay off the stuff. Stay nice and pretty as you are unlike Emilia. Too much drinks and too many fights lead to not a pretty bride." That made her giggle slightly. She kneaded her fingers on her lap and waited for Eli to finish his cup. "So, where to now?" Hika stared at Eli and blinked. Afterwards, she looked at Emi. "Where to?" She was fine with wherever they're going and she was going to follow them like some little puppy. As long as it was fun and interesting for her. She waited for a response from Emi as she took another bite from her chocolate.

"Well, we're going to the town, right? How well do you know the town, Hika? Maybe you could show us around." She said with a chuckle. "I'm sure at the very least you would know where the candy stores are." She looked at Eli. "Maybe you could put on a show. An actually good one, unlike the one that got us here." She grinned teasingly at him. She did enjoy his shows quite a bit. Especially if he managed to anger an audience member. She always enjoyed stepping in to put down an angered fool. "Or we could wander randomly and see whatever there is to see. I haven't gotten much chance to explore the town yet."

Starting to walk towards the platform, Eli turned his attention to Emilia. "Well, you're the one who wants to go to town. Me and Hikari wanted to go nap. So shouldn't you take the lead?" He could really care less what they did at this point. His current interest was in getting Emilia drunk, it didn't really matter where it happened. It was a rare occurrence when it happened, but the few times it had always lead to a great time.

He shook his head at the mention of a show. "No thank you, I don't have the energy for one today. Maybe another day. Right now, I just want to take it easy." Turning to Hikari, he realized she probably had no idea what they meant by that. Giving her a playful smile, he reached into his bag, rummaging around for something. "Well, maybe I can make an exception for an exceptional woman. After all, I live to please. That depends if she wants one, however." He had enough stuff on him to pull off a decent show if she wanted it, the question was if she did. If so, he was going to do it before they went to town. He wasn't exactly in the mood for so much attention after what happened with Zenshin.

Stopping on the platform, he decided to wait for the pair to reply. While they did, he kept his hand rummaging through his bag, carefully pouring water from a bottle into the whisky inside the beer bottle. It was carefully work, but with his dexterity was a trivial task for him. He had to make sure he watered it down enough so he could convince Emilia it was simply a stronger brand. She was probably buzzed, but not stupid. Well, not that stupid.

"Eh. I don't mind showing around the town, though I kinda suck at doing that. And yes, the only places I know by heart are candy stores," Hika grinned and scraped her cheek nervously. "Maybe you could put on a show. An actually good one, unlike the one that got us here." Hika blinked and stared at them, quite confused. "A show? What show?"
"Well, maybe I can make an exception for an exceptional woman. After all, I live to please. That depends if she wants one, however." She chuckled lightly, a slight blush on her cheeks. "Of course, I want one," She gave him a gentle smile. "Even though, I'm not quite sure what kind of show you guys are talking about," She added stupidly and let out a laugh at the end of her sentence. Staring at Eli who was busy searching around in his bag, she drummed her fingers on her lap anxiously.

"Alright, then, we can just wander and explore randomly, and when we get near a candy store or any other thing you know about, you can tell us about it, Hikari. I don't think me leading while buzzed is the best idea. Unless you want to see a fight." She said, grinning. When drunk, or buzzed, Emi was even more willing to fight than usual. She chuckled a bit at Hikari. "A magic show... kind of. Slight of hand and all that crap. Fun to watch."

Moving over to the edge of the platform, Eli reached into his satchel, beginning to rummage around. He was looking for a deck of regular playing cards. Grabbing them, he also grabbed the beer bottle he had prepared. Watered down and carefully disguised, he hoped that Emilia wouldn't fight the strange taste of it, tossing it over to her. "Here you go Emi. Something to tide you over for the performance."

Turning to face Hikari, he took out the deck, beginning to shuffle it carefully. He looked her in the eyes, smiling warmly. "Like she said, this is a magic show. However, it's not what you expect. I'm not going to be showing off my magic; rather, I will be showing you simple tricks disguised as magic. Think of it almost like a challenge; your job for the evening is to try and think of how I pulled it off. We'll start slow and easy, though it shouldn't be a problem for a smart woman like yourself." He took the deck and spread it out with one hand, presenting it to Hikari. It was a perfect spread; the back of every card visible to her in his hand. "Now, pick a card." Card tricks were a staple of Eli's routine, and typically the easiest to start with. As such, he figured it'd be best to do one or two, maybe another trick, before taking the girls into town. Hopefully enough time to get Emilia drunk.

"A magic show?" Her lips turned into a perfect 'o', surprised. Wow. She never thought he could do magic tricks. "Like she said, this is a magic show. However, it's not what you expect. I'm not going to be showing off my magic; rather, I will be showing you simple tricks disguised as magic. Think of it almost like a challenge; your job for the evening is to try and think of how I pulled it off. We'll start slow and easy, though it shouldn't be a problem for a smart woman like yourself." Smart woman? Wait till you get to know her. Either way, she nodded, wanting to see his magic show, already. Hika liked magic tricks and always enjoy watching them. The tricks mostly get her every time and she's the only one left confused with everything. That was why she finds magic tricks very impressive. "Now, pick a card." Hika stared intently at the card, though that doesn't make any difference. She stroked her cheek like some wise old man and chose a random card, not flipping over it yet and handed over to Eli. Turning towards Emi, she said, "I'm sure you've probably seen every magic trick Eli has performed, yeah?"

Emilia looked at the 'beer' with a bit of distaste. She wasn't going to have any beer after having three shots. She put the bottle on the edge of the platform, though she would probably forget about it after Eli did his trick. She turned to Hikari and nodded. "Most of 'em, I think. A lot of them start off like this though. Some end with the volunteer being robbed, but I doubt that'll happen to you." She had forgotten her decision to not let Hikari know about that... whoops. "I especially like watching those ones." She added with a chuckle. "But all of 'em are pretty fun."

As Eli waited for Hikari to pick her card, he gave her a friendly smile. There was no real benefit to choosing any card at all, what mattered mostly was making her think it did. He chuckled slightly at her chin stroke as she thought, at least she was getting into it. When Hikari settled on one, he took it and made sure to hide it from himself, showing it only to her. It was the Four of Diamonds. "Now, I want you to take a good look at this card and watch it carefully. Memorize it exactly. Nothing to hard so far, right?" He gave her a playful grin taking the card and placing it back on top of the deck. This was a very basic trick, but he had a feeling that it would be enough to at least amuse Hikari.

Eli smiled at Hikari, taking a second to look her up and down as he began to shuffle the deck. "You know, this makes me feel rather bad right now. I never had a good chance to look at you and notice how beautiful you looked to properly comment on it. I'm sorry for taking so long to say it~" While he was joking around and making light conversation, he was also attempting to keep Hikari distracted as well. He was following a set shuffling pattern, that while it seemed completely normal to the regular eye, was keeping the cards in an exact order for the trick. Anything he could do to distract her at all was worth it. Plus, it was fun complimenting girls and watching their reaction.

Eli stopped shuffling abruptly when Emilia spoke, his face freezing as she just spilled the beans on his work. Forcing a smile through obvious frustration, he turned to face Emilia. He forgot how much of a loud mouth she was when she drank, especially when he was meticulously controlling the conversation. He noticed the beer and gave her a cocky grin. "Aww, what's this now? Little Emilia was so sure that she could handle my drinks, but now she can't even drink her own cause she's too wasted. I bet you couldn't even handle that beer without passing out. Want me to get you some warm milk and a blank?" He hoped his egging would be enough to make her drink the beer. He needed to push her past buzzed and full on drunk to get proper control of her. He turned back to face Hikari, hoping that he could explain off what Emilia just said. Shaking his head dissapointedly, he gave Hikari an apologetic smile. "Sorry about Emilia, she's a little buzzed right now. I've done a few things I'm not exactly proud of." Liar, he was totally proud of it. "But I did what I needed to, living off odd jobs work is hard." He hoped that Hikari wouldn't push the issue too much. It wasn't something he exactly felt like dealing with right now.

Hika watched Eli's movements carefully, making sure not to bat an eyelid. "Now, I want you to take a good look at this card and watch it carefully. Memorize it exactly. Nothing to hard so far, right?" It was the Four of Diamonds. Staring at the card intently, she confirmed not to miss a single thing before smiling and nodding towards Eli. The compliment he had made on Hika did slightly distract her, but her eyes were never off his hands - the way he shuffle the cards and all, though her face actually looked like a red tomato at the moment. She laughed despite the fact that she wanted to hide her incredibly flushed face.

"Most of 'em, I think. A lot of them start off like this though. Some end with the volunteer being robbed, but I doubt that'll happen to you." She blinked and stared at Emi. Her gaze turned back to Eli. "Oh, wow. You rob? You should teach me some of your techniques then," She let out a chuckle. "Sorry about Emilia, she's a little buzzed right now. I've done a few things I'm not exactly proud of." Waving a dismissive hand, she spoke, "Hmm, that's really fine. Besides, it'd be fun to see drunken Emi."

Emilia laughed at Eli. "I know my limits, bub. I'll pass on that beer." Still chuckling, she walked over to Hikari and put an arm around her. "Don't let 'im fool yah! He loves being a con. He tried to con Zenshin! Isn't that great!?" She broke out into hearty laughter. "Zenshin! It's just so stupid it's funny!" She bent over in laughter. Maybe Eli could control her when she was full on drunk, but just buzzed, no one could control Emilia, not even herself. She laughed again at Hika's remark, taking a bit before she was able to speak. "I don't think you wanna see that, unless you feel like getting into some fights."

She was seriously OK with him robbing people? What was with this woman? Eli just couldn't understand her at all. Wasn't she a member of Sabertooth, the guild of honor, virtue and all that? Why was she OK with robbing from people? And better yet, she wanted him to teach her? Eli almost felt the urge to give up right here; Hikari was clearly something he couldn't understand. 'Whatever, it doesn't really matter in the end. Not like I'm going to be here that long. I'll find a way out then never have to deal with her again.' After a few more shuffles he stopped, holding the deck before her. With a smile he flipped the deck, revealing the bottom card to her: The Seven of Spades. "Now, here's my question to you. Was this your card?" Of course he knew it wasn't, but it was all part of the game.

He turned to Emilia with another glare. She was digging her grave deeper and deeper with each word. He would get her for this, somehow. He gave a light chuckle to Hikari, shaking his head slightly. "She's not gonna do it Hikari, she's too scared and embarassed. She's a real light weight and is terrified of getting drunk, she won't even drink another beer cause of it. Plus, she can't even fight when she's drunk, so she doesn't want people to see it." He hoped his continued goading would be enough for the buzzed Emilia to finish the job. At this point he was just trying to keep Hikari focused on him and not really what Emilia was saying though, so that was more of an after thought.

Hika chuckled when Emi put an arm around her and began babbling. "It seems like she's a little drunk," She shook her head slightly and smiled. Turning towards Eli, she asked, "Is she always like this whenever she gets drunk?" She was watching intently at Eli shuffling the cards. For some reason, she found it interesting.  "Now, here's my question to you. Was this your card?" Hika raised an eyebrow and shook her head. She was really intrigued into knowing what he would do next. "She's not gonna do it Hikari, she's too scared and embarassed. She's a real light weight and is terrified of getting drunk, she won't even drink another beer cause of it. Plus, she can't even fight when she's drunk, so she doesn't want people to see it." Hika chuckled and put an arm around Emi, supporting her slightly. At least, she can still stand properly. She imagined herself drinking a cup of those not-very-tasty liquids and her face cringed immediately.

Emilia glared at Eli and walked over to him, pulling herself away from Hikari. She poked, or rather jabbed her finger into his chest. "Listen up, buddy boy. I might be a lightweight, and I might not like getting drunk, but I can always fight. Always. I just don't like getting drunk because I can't remember the fights afterwards. You, on the other hand, can't take a hit until you're dead drunk." She sneered at him. "If you want me to get drunk, then you'll have to, too, and I don't think Hikari will like that very much." She chuckled, then walked back to Hikari and put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her playfully. "Maybe you wanna join us, too. Come on and try a beer. I promise it's good."

Eli sighed, shaking his head at Hikari. "Nope, this isn't even drunk. Drunk she's actually fun to be around." He wasn't lying; Emilia was typically annoying when buzzed, it only got fun when she was drunk. Dealing with buzzed Emilia was like dealing with a spoiled 5 year old. When she poked him in the chest, he starred at her with clear annoyance. "I don't care if you get drunk or not. No skin off my ass regardless. All I care about is how annoying you're being right now. I am in the middle of a show, so if you could please respect the audience." Realizing the break in his composure, Eli quickly took a breath and relaxed himself. Emilia was the one person who could break through him like that. He had to try and maintain his appearance for the shower right now.

Turning back to Hikari, he gave her an apologetic smile. "My apologies for the language. Now, you say this isn't your card? Are you sure?" As he spoke, Eli began rubbing the card up and down, as if he was trying to affirm for himself what card it was. Deciding to use Emilia to his benefit, when Hikari was shaken by her he made a sudden motion. Pushing the top card forward with the tiniest of motions, Eli moved his hand back in the rubbing pattern and caught the card beneath the top with his palm, dragging it backwards as he moved backward. Then pushing forward in the continued motion, he slid the card on top of the previous one, replacing the Seven of Spades with the Four of Diamonds. The entire motion was almost mechanical to Eli at this point, and happened so fast that even if she was paying attention he doubted Hikari would notice, but the distraction should prove for more than enough currently. Even Emilia could be useful sometimes.

Giving Hikari a confused look, he lstared into her eyes. "Now, are you SURE this isn't your card? I can't believe I messed up, I must have been dazzled by your beauty to do the trick properly." He was completely acting, of course, since he knew he was now rubbing her card. However, he had to make it entertaining for her as well, and he hoped he was. It was a basic trick, but was often more than enough to amuse someone. Parlor tricks were loved for a reason.

Well, Emi and Eli began arguing again. Honestly, these two. Hika giggled at the sight in front of her, the two bickering. "Nope. Thank you, but I'll pass the offer. I'm guessing the beer is gonna taste kinda bad too," She shook her head at Emi and gave her a gentle smile. It seemed that Eli got really annoyed. She just raised an eyebrow and blinked at him. "Mhm mhm. No worries. And yes, that isn't my card," Giving him a playful smile, her curiosity piqued. Now, let's see what he'll do with this card, She smiled to herself. Her gaze was ONLY on the card until Emi suddenly shook her shoulders, redirecting her focus on elsewhere.

"Now, are you SURE this isn't your card? I can't believe I messed up, I must have been dazzled by your beauty to do the trick properly." Hika blinked and stared at the card, utterly surprised. Even a shower of compliments wouldn't work on her this time anymore. She was just too confused. She was definitely sure it was the Seven of Spades, but how the hell did it change into the Four of Diamonds? "Uh. How ...?" She scraped her cheek and murmured quietly, totally speechless. It was only just a card trick and Hika was baffled already.

Emilia just giggled at Eli. It was great seeing him get flustered like this, especially so because she was buzzed. "Good. I knew you'd give up eventually." She giggled again at Hika's reaction to the trick. "Pretty cool, huh? Eli can do some neat things from time to time." She smiled at Eli and walked over to him, putting an arm around him and shaking him a bit. "All in all he's a pretty good little brother." She was being truthful with that remark. Despite how much crap they gave each other, Emi cared about Eli a lot, and did consider him to be her brother, but that also meant that she had to give him loads of crap, since she was basically his older sister.

Preparing himself for the incoming "affection" as Emilia approached him, he shook his head as she shook him. He felt the same way about her; Emilia was his family, and he'd do anything for her. That didn't make her current behavior any less annoying however. Pushing her off, he looked at the deck moving towards Hikari as he did. "I know I'm amazing and it needs to be said, but I think you can wait for the time being Emi. Don't interrupt the show, Hikari's about to get to the good part."

Throughout their meeting, Eli had been of course analyzing what he could about the short girl. Out of what he had seen, he decided that she'd be a perfect target for an act he rarely got to do. Though it was one of his personal favorites, and one he worked tirelessly to learn, it was something he almost never got to employ, since it didn't tend to fit in his "take and run" shows. Right now, Hikari was clearly confused and not focused, giving him the perfect opening. Making sure to keep the cards being rubbed in her view, he stood almost directly in front of Hikari, trying to keep her confusion alive. "What do you mean Hikari? It's the same card that was there the entire time." She hadn't said it, but he could infer her question was about the change in the card. However, the fact that she hadn't finished the question and he knew the answer would do nothing more than confuse her further, which was part of the plan.

Standing before Hikari, Eli was entirely ready for what would happen next. Not to praise himself, OK, totally to praise himself, he knew with almost certainty how the next events would resolve. With even more confusion and doubt, Hikari would look up to meet his gaze, her mind rapidly trying to resolve an answer and not currently coherent. Taking advantage of this, as soon as Hikari looked up, Eli would fluidly and quickly take his rubbing hand off the cards and flick Hikari between the eyes, shattering any attempt at focus she would have, and immediately follow up be continuing the upward motion of his hand, placing it lightly on her head. Gently but with some force, he would move her head down, speaking as he did. "Sleep. Finding yourself falling down, deep down into your subconscious, reaching it as I count down. 3, 2, 1 Sleep." Snapping his fingers at the end, he stood before Hikari and anticipated her to mostly likely fall against him as she dropped down into a light trance, and Eli was ready to support her limp body. Instant induction. It was a technique Eli loved to use for his shows, and it would require some immediate deepening, but the first priority was to make sure his attempt was successful, which he felt fairly certain it would be against the unprepared girl

"He's your brother?" Hika gazed at Emi, her eyes wide. "I actually thought you guys were together or something," She fidgeted and erupted a small giggle. Either way, this trick had made her her more confused than she had thought. That was why she liked tricks and it was also why she disliked tricks. Though, to be honest, they're quite fun. "What do you mean Hikari? It's the same card that was there the entire time."
"No ... It was ... Ah," She scratched her head and stared at Eli, somehow wanting an explanation on this trick. While her gaze was on his, she noticed a flick between her eyes, snapping her thoughts away within a second. The next, she felt a hand on her head, moving it down. Hika was already feeling drowsy and ... sleepy? "Sleep. Finding yourself falling down, deep down into your subconscious, reaching it as I count down. 3, 2, 1 Sleep." She could hear him say though she was feeling really light-headed for some reason. Her eyelids began to get super heavy in such a way that there were stones on her eyes. A second later, it was as if she was beaten on her head with a hammer, Hika went unconscious and she fell forward.

Emi smiled and stepped away from Eli when he pushed her away. The look on Hikari's face was great as she tried to figure out how Eli had done it. Then Eli stepped forward and flicked Hika in the head. Emi giggled giddily as she saw this, knowing what he was going to do next. She loved Eli's hypnosis trick. Most of the audience members loved it as well. Hikari was in for a real trick right now, and Emi had no doubt that she would love it. She wondered what Eli planned to have her do while she was under. The anticipation was enough to make her quiet down to watch.