#finally after 95895589 years... i Write

[raitrolling]

Bridging the Gap

She’s at your hive again. Sitting at the bar, listlessly gazing out the window while Eichio cleans the glasses and chats about his day. Her visits are becoming more frequent, only here to keep your employees company and drink all your alcohol. You’re grateful to have Eichio keeping track of how many drinks he’s had to pour, and subtly diluting the mixes every time. Cleaning up after drunken trolls is the worst thing about having guests over. Although, his reasoning is not out of pragmatism and a desire to lessen his workload, but rather a genuine care for her wellbeing. But for what reason? From the small times the two of you have interacted, you’ve been unable to find a single redeeming feature about her. And yet, if you were to count the number of mutual friends between you (and the number of people who would retaliate if you were to harm her) on your fingers, you would almost require a second hand. And that is one hand too many. When you asked Eichio, he replied that “she looked like someone who needed a friend”. Klavir’s opinion was “she’s annoying, but she’s cute when she’s angry”. And you know better than to prod Gerrel into talking about his ex. Essentially, you’re left with nothing to change your mind.

The other pressing issue other than your genuine dislike for her is the fact that you are well aware she is stealing from your hive. Not the idiot who keeps stealing your art prints (and the occasional genuine works you’ve added to your collection), but arguably, the much more infuriating idiot. Your cutlery is constantly going missing, along with random bottles of drinks from the bar. You’ve lost track of how many sets of forks and spoons you’ve had to throw out and replace because you no longer own the matching pair of knives, not to mention your kitchenware. The other night you had to use a cheese knife to peel and core the apples for your apple pie, as you noticed far too late that the appropriate knives were nowhere to be found. You’re fairly certain that’s the reason why the finished pie tasted slightly more bitter than usual. Typically, you’d consider the most appropriate action to take against someone you’ve caught stealing from you to be what you’d call ‘giving them a lesson they will never forget’, but what other people would say is ‘cold blooded torture’, and ‘maybe a little bit of a disproportionate retribution, don’t you think?’. But, of course, you’re incapable of doing that to her, otherwise you’d potentially sever all of those mutual relationships the two of you share. You need those far more than she does.

As you stand at the entrance to the ballroom and main entertaining area (thankfully Eichio hasn’t noticed you yet), you weigh up your options. The most logical option to deal with your predicament is to find a simple, non-violent way to deal with the criminal in the room. A criminal who is skittish, unpredictable, and does not trust you. You know she can be swayed with money (it’s how you previously got her to cooperate), but if money was all she wanted she wouldn’t be pilfering your possessions. Thus, bribery is not a viable option. It works for someone like Velour because he will get the job done depending on how much you offer, but this girl is all take and no give. Threats don’t seem to work either, since you also did that last time to no avail. You’re not sure if that’s out of a lack of self-preservation, or just plain stupidity.

Well, as they say… If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

You quietly move towards the bar and pull up a stool next to her.

“Ah, good evening, Katrin. I wasn’t aware you were visiting tonight,” You say in a cordial tone, though your slight annoyance at having to resort to befriending her slips out.

She immediately tenses up, eyes wildly darting between yourself, Eichio, and your lower half, scanning for any evidence of a holster or concealed weapon. Oh, that’s right. The last time you spoke to her you had your pistol on you, using her fear of firearms to your advantage. You swivel yourself around the stool to make it clear that you’re unarmed, not that it helps her calm down. After an uncomfortably long pause (so uncomfortable that even Eichio silently motioned that he was going to leave the room and then excused himself to tidy up the library), she finally responds.

“Uh, hi.”

You… Knew she wasn’t the talkative type, but you were kind of hoping she’d say a little more than that. Maybe saying why she’s here at all? Asking why you’re talking to her after spending perigees pretending she doesn’t exist? You suppose you’ll have to take the lead.

“So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, as they say? Other than keeping Eichio company, of course, as I suppose that’s the primary reason, no? I know he appreciates having someone to talk to when I am too busy to leave my study, or at least, enjoys a change of scenery, so to say.” You swivel the stool back to its original position, resting your arm against the bar top and propping up your head with your hand. She watches you carefully, as if she’s convinced you’re seconds away from lashing out.

“Uh, yeah. I was just… Here, I guess.” She wants to look away out of uneasiness, but feels as if that’s a bad idea. She knows you’re up to something, but doesn’t seem to care what your intentions are.

“Yes, of course.” These vague responses really aren’t helping you carry on the conversation. “I can see that, actually. Unless you mean to tell me that you are merely a figment of my imagination, or perhaps I am dreaming! Aha,” you chuckle. If anything this feels like a nightmare.

She doesn’t find your joke funny. Or at least, she doesn’t respond to it at all.

“Well, uh, I’m… Not, so…” she trails off.

“Ah.”

For the first time ever, you find yourself at a loss for words. Perhaps you should have approached this conversation with a plan. Usually you can talk people’s ears off, but in this particular instance you feel like you’re being suffocated by the awkward tension clogging the air. She’s simply impenetrable. It doesn’t help that your usual tactics would scare her off, so you can’t subtly threaten your way into controlling the conversation the way you normally would. Her tenseness is even starting to rub off on you.

“Well, that is certainly good to hear, I suppose. I don’t know what I’d do if I were to learn I was hallucinating, it must be terrible to live in doubt of what you are experiencing is reality, no? But! That is besides the point-” You’re not even certain what the point of this even is anymore. “- I was simply interested in a bit of friendly conversation. I don’t suppose you mind, no?”

Her expression says that yes, she does mind. She minds a lot, actually. But, she shakes her head, possibly out of fear for what would happen if she said no.

“Uh, no, it’s… It’s fine.”

“Excellent! After all, I do feel I’ve been an awful host, considering I know you tend to visit here often and yet I’ve rarely - if ever! - spoken to you! I apologise for that, actually, but I know you’re not here to visit me, of course. But, as I asked earlier, what brings you here in particular, rather than opting to meet either Eichio or Klavir outside of work?” Slight pause as you notice her expression shift to one of worry. “This is not an interrogation, but the way, you do not need to worry. I am merely curious, if you don’t mind me asking such a question.”

“Right, I uh, guess I just… Don’t mind it?” Finally she manages to break her gaze away from you, instead shifting to the empty glass in front of her as she idly traces a finger around the rim. “It’s, uh… Easier for Eichio I guess, since he… Started inviting me over.”

“I see. I suppose, from your perspective, being invited into a highblood’s hive feels like a privilege, no?”

“Uh… I guess?” She’d shrug if she wasn’t so on guard. Of course, you know for a fact she doesn’t care about the privilege of being invited to a highblood’s hive. She comes and goes from here whenever she feels like it. You wish you could prod further into the subject of her thievery, but now is definitely not the time. You’ve only just got her to relax a tiny bit.

“Of course. It is probably presumptuous of me to presume I’d understand the perspective of a lowblood, no? I couldn’t in a thousand sweeps fathom that type of lifestyle, even with making assumptions through how my employees and lowblood guests typically act.” You chuckle once again, with slightly more awkwardness than when you made that (quite frankly, stupid) joke.

“Right, uh, yeah.”

Another uncomfortable silence. You can feel the frustration simmering inside you, almost begging for you to bash your head against the nearest wall. Even Lyvere is easier to talk to, despite suffering the same skittishness problem that she does. This time, you can’t help but sigh.

“You’re certainly not the most talkative troll around, are you? If you don’t mind me pointing out of course.” Not even sweeps of controlling your accent and acting lessons could mask your irritation. In that instant, you’re back to square one.

“No, uh… Not really.” Her eyes snap back to you as she grips the empty glass. To be used as an improvised weapon, presumably. Again you hold up your hands to show you’re not planning on fighting her.

“There’s no problem with that, I mean. I am merely pointing out.” Back to your usual tone. “Admittedly, I’m not used to that, but perhaps that is only my problem. After all, Eichio seems to have no issue with it, from what I understand. He does speak highly of you, actually.”

“I don’t… Think he does? He’s uh… Never mentioned it.” There’s hesitance in her voice, not the usual uneasiness present in this conversation, but rather a hesitance suggesting she doubts her own words. You quirk an eyebrow. You’re not sure if she’s caught on to his people-pleasing tendencies, or if she somehow doubts his kindness and desire to help is genuine.

“In that case, I’m sure if he’s never mentioned it, then he truly does not have a problem with you. He’s a very genuine person, actually, so much so I’m surprised such a charitable troll exists. You do not need to worry about him.” These sorts of words almost feel foreign coming out of you. You’ve never been the reassuring type, unless it was a necessary step to get what you want out of someone. Which applies to this situation, but still. It feels wrong.

“Oh, right. Yeah.” Nonetheless, she doesn’t sound convinced, but from what you’ve gathered from this conversation she doesn’t sound quite sure of anything. Perhaps your words do have an impact, even if it doesn’t feel like it at all. You’re the type of troll who only cares about seeing results, but all you’ve gathered from this conversation is the mental equivalent to talking to a brick wall. Or a dog chasing its own tail. Or any other metaphor that represents the two of you going nowhere, fast.

Perhaps you were the one being tortured this entire time.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Katrin finally makes the move to leave. She gives you one last glance before sliding off the barstool, not bothering to move the empty glass to the sink. You suppose she’s used to Eichio offering to clean it first.

“Well, uh, I should probably… Go,” she says, as plainly as she’s been responding to the rest of this conversation.

“Of course.” This time you actually do resist the urge to sigh. Thank god. “Thank you for the chat, even if it was brief. I believe Eichio is in the library if you wish to say goodbye to him as well, if he hasn’t moved on to tidying up another room, of course. Have a good evening, Katrin.” You wave her off.

“Right, uh. Bye.”

And with that, she leaves. Once you hear the closing of the front door, you finally let out that sigh you’ve been holding in for so long, letting your head fall into your hands in exasperation. God, what a waste. It’s a good thing you decided to stay at the bar. You’ve never needed a drink so badly in your life.