GIVE ME ALL YOUR ENERGY
LOVE ME LIKE AN ENEMY

It was a nice change of pace. A calm walk, his own two feet on the ground, not necessarily looking over his shoulder or rushing straight into the next death trap. A breather was something he could welcome, even if he wasn't going to eat himself. He followed her into the cozy little place, all the way into the back. He raised an eyebrow for a moment, noticing the preference for privacy; most he knew would want to sit by a window for scenery, but he preferred it this way. He chose not to comment as he sat down across from her.

"No, I'm fine." He responded in a light tone, running a finger down the menu even as he wasn't going to order something. "This looks like a good enough place, lucky us." At least, from what he could tell, it wouldn't make her sick. Then again, he had yet to discover if that was something that could actually happen in the game. "Do you know what you want?" He asked, leaning back and tilting his head.

GIVE ME ALL YOUR ENERGY
LOVE ME LIKE AN ENEMY

Luckily for him, Papilion was quick to drop it. Sometimes people pushed on that kind of thing, and at that point it'd just get awkward. The moment Papilion ordered for herself, Catharsis relaxed and just let himself observe. It was out of habit that he paid attention to how she treated the waiter, how she demonstrated her ordering, all the way down to her posture. A series of small bits of information that meant nothing to most people, but would tell Cat more about the person he was dealing with than anything they might say out loud. When the waiter addressed him, he thanked her and asked for just water, ignoring the look it earned.

When she went on to thank him for the zombie incident, though, his expression dropped for a moment. Then, he laughed, voice soft when he spoke. "You're joking, right? I was lucky you were there. If I had given up and gone in on my own, who knows what would've happened." He had an idea. She probably did, too. Saying it out loud, though? Yeah, out of the question.

"Either way, we both got to move on." He didn't want her to draw on it, so changing the subject seemed like the smart way to go. Just as quickly, his expression changed into his usual smile. "I think we work really well together. If we actually had a balanced party, who knows what we could do."

GIVE ME ALL YOUR ENERGY
LOVE ME LIKE AN ENEMY

Cat snickered. "You're right. 'Can't let anything be easy." If they actually had someone to watch their backs or deal out the damage they couldn't, or hell, both, things would probably go way too smoothly. That was, provided everyone did their job. With that in mind ...

He frowned slightly when she went on to explain how her guild functioned. Or rather, didn't. "Been there. It's hard enough to have to babysit healthbars and keep track of who actually needs healing without the adrenaline junkies and glory hunters or whatever else. I'm not sure how you can deal with it without having a healer around." He said, resting his chin on the palm of his hand, fingers curled inward. "So, is it your guild, or is there some reason you joined?" He asked, eyelids closing just a fraction. It wasn't a life or death question, but Papilion seemed like a smart person to him. It didn't add up for her to be dealing with the sort of group she described without good reason.

GIVE ME ALL YOUR ENERGY
LOVE ME LIKE AN ENEMY

For a moment, Cat just listened. He could bite the bullet and sugar coat it, for her. She'd been good to him, but even the thought made him curl his fingers until his nails pressed lightly against the skin. "It sounds like a gamble to me. That's the kind of thing that could catch up to them if they don't work out the kinks, you know?" He said softly, glancing over as the waitress placed the drinks in front of each of them. He didn't move to touch the water, his focus returning to Papilion. "Not that I've actually met them. Just tell me to fuck off if you don't want to hear it."

After all, most people didn't.

At the admission that she had basically joined her boyfriend's guild, he quieted for a moment, letting the back of his fingers rest against the chill of the glass of water but still not actually moving to drink it. "I guess I can follow the logic there, then. Who better to protect him than you?" When she mentioned something about making due with what she had, he nodded. When she broached the subject of guilds with him, though, he leaned back, fingers trailing away from the glass of water and chin leaving his palm as left his hands weakly folded on the edge of the table. "Me?"

His gaze trailed away at the compliment, but he shrugged. Briefly, he considered deflecting, trying to pull the conversation back to how she'd met her boyfriend, but it would be too obvious now. "I just," He faltered for once, aware of her probable intentions with him now but no more comfortable than if he hadn't been able to figure them out, "I'd rather not." He didn't have to justify it to her, or anything else for that matter, but the words tumbled out anyway. "I'm not really into being told what to do or where to be. Or how to do my job." He let out a sigh, raising a hand as if to flick away the thought before letting it fall back down. "Besides, guilds seem ... crowded. And like a commitment. Or at least, messy if you have to leave." Knuckles drummed lightly against the wood beneath them, and he did not lean forward anymore. "It's better to be available to more than just the one group, I think. Or able leave when I need the space without having to report to someone for permission." He added, not mentioning that this was exactly what he had done after nearly every raid to date.

GIVE ME ALL YOUR ENERGY
LOVE ME LIKE AN ENEMY

Catharsis relaxed, grateful to hear Papilion wouldn't hold it against him and maybe didn't even want him in her guild. "That's a relief. Even the best of people can get pushy about it." He said lightly, glancing up towards the waitress as she brought over Papilion's order. He didn't comment on the time it had taken, hoping that meant they were fresh rather than anything else. Having been released from the prospect of a guild, though, the subject was basically dropped as far as he was concerned, giving him the option of steering towards something else.

"So, he seems important to you," Cat ventured, testing the boundaries of what he could and couldn't ask again, and also not feeling any need to specify. "Did you know each other from before all of this, or what?" He asked, eyes closing halfway. He hadn't leaned forward again yet, even relaxed, resting up against the chair. "It sounds like there's some kind of story there, yeah?"

After all, the worst that could happen would be she'd tell him to back off or to drop the subject.

GIVE ME ALL YOUR ENERGY
LOVE ME LIKE AN ENEMY

It wasn't the answer he'd expected, but it wasn't unheard of, either. He accepted it pretty readily, running a thumb over the adjacent finger while he listened. It wasn't his favorite task in the world to carry out, but it had its purpose. First and foremost, it might endear him to Papilion; she had been good to him so far, and he didn't want that to stop anytime soon. Secondly, however, even information that seemed miscellaneous to him had turned out to be useful to him before. There was nothing wrong with filing it away for later.

The Festival of the Moon, huh? A time of grieving for most involved, but that tracked for him. What better time to get involved than when death is looming in someone's mind? That was something that made sense to him. 'I don't want to bore you with the details' was something Catharsis had said when he basically wanted a subject to be dropped before. His eyes glinted for a moment as he watched her, but once again, he had liked Papilion so far, so he dropped it.

He laughed, a short, dry noise when she tried the snack and had a physical response to it in how her eyes lit up. It was interesting to him how other people could enjoy food while knowing it wasn't real. Still, if it helped them keep on going, he supposed that would make it worth the cost of some virtual money they could probably easily make back int he day. Or at least, that was what he was telling himself today. "Glad you picked a good place, then." He murmured. Honestly, with how empty the place had been, he'd almost been worried.

GIVE ME ALL YOUR ENERGY
LOVE ME LIKE AN ENEMY

"Lucky you." Cat echoed with a small smile, voice practically a hum. Luck was a funny thing. As far as Catharsis could tell, it had never quite taken to him. Or, perhaps more accurately, it had run out a long time ago. Someone on the outside looking in, however, might disagree. It was always hard to say.

A breathy laugh left him at her question, a hollow noise. She was having fun, but it had stirred little more than bitterness for the Empath. "Not even in my nightmares." He shifted his weight, aware of just how negative that was. He shook his head. "I ... was never really all that into video games. It hadn't exactly been my idea to play in the first place." He raised a hand as if to discard the thought. "If someone had told me I'd be in this position months ago, I wouldn't have listened." He leaned back in his chair again, glancing over his shoulder out of habit before looking back to her. "What about you? Were you looking forward to the game, before all of this?"