Drink It In (Patricia & Albrecht)

So this was it, weekend was here. Patty had other plans besides turning up though. She'd been planning things out for the rest of the week and trying to set this up for another score. She'd messaged Albrecht fairly infrequently but enough to hold a conversation, it'd be dumb to jump all over him at this point. She had to build up expectation through chat and serve reminders now and again of her presence so he wouldn't be inclined to ditch or change his mind. At the same time she'd keep hush around her girlfriends so they'd forget about it and not bring it up, keeping her under the radar for some kind of counter from Caitlynn or Jenny. Or Miranda, she was a two-faced bitch sometimes. Seriously if she put this much effort into schoolwork she'd be doing calculus right now. Patricia wasn't geek smart but she could game the fuck out of social chess.

The plan was set, now she had to find out how she wanted to approach this. Like, she haaaaad to get somewhere with him, at least enough to piss Caitlynn off for being fucking lame as hell. So the key to that was to look girl next door-sy without looking like a tomboy like she probably did in her freakin' gym clothes. Sooo much hate. Still got his number though so he liked what he saw she guessed. Patricia would dress herself in jean shorts and strap sandals to give off the Cali gurl vibe with a baseball shirt that was a little loose so she could pull it to a shoulder or something. Green and white of course because that was sporty but not girly girly and green was her color anyway. Also something to make her look a little less thin and hopefully pull itself up a bit if she wanted it to. Light on the makeup with silver stud earrings and a chrome bracelet because jewelry and makeup said "I'm a fuckin' chick dude get on this". She'd feather her hair out a bit too, worked great since it's freakin' curly when she doesn't want it to be. Yeah that'd probably do it.

She'd show up outside O'Bannon's Taphouse at right around 7, working on a stick of spearmint gum. She proooooobably shouldn't smoke around him to start, that'd be kinda bad. But she was feeling good about tonight. Patty was gonna bring her A-game for sure. She didn't know if she actually liked Albrecht yet but he seemed pretty chill, at least fun to drink with. Also kinda hard to argue with those thick shoulders, mmmm. Yeeeeaaaaah he was gonna get lucky if she played her cards right. She had it all mapped out for once so like, it wasn't gonna blow up in her face this time. She'd wait patiently, slowing becoming more distracted and thumbing through her phone until he showed up.

The days leading to his hang out with Patricia were more "chatty" than what he was used to. The purple haired student would message him about their weekend together and other subjects like school. He'd entertain her attempts to start small talk and questions about the weekend, although he'd rarely start the conversations himself. He was a knight after all, he was busy with church duties and training or school. Albrecht also wasn't really used to this "texting" thing, he lived with his Battle Brothers back in Germany and her in Endymion he didn't had any friends.

Albrecht would be punctual. Showing up right at the time, this time however instead of wearing school uniform or a gym outfit he'd be wearing mostly dark clothes that covered most of his body, hiding his muscles and scars underneath. It already attracted too much attention at school, he didn't want to draw eyes to him when he just wanted a quiet evening with a fellow student. The first thing he would have noticed upon arrival was Patty, her purple hair was really hard to miss, and how she looked much more... well-kept right now than she was at school. Why she bothered now but not back then was beyond him, but it caught his attention.

Awesome, he didn't blow her off! She didn't think he would, y'know, since he was the one that asked but this still meant she made it to Phase 2. She thought she would ramp up the charm throughout the evening, coming on stronger and stronger the drunker they go so it felt like she wasn't just rushing things. Like, it was pretty natural anyway. Patty did a lot of dumb shit when she was drinking up to and including hitting on guys. But he looked pretty badass! It kinda made her wish she woulda brought her short leather jacket with her to pull together the look but whatevs, this could work. He could've started with a compliment too but maybe he was just awkward about it, he was sort of a church boy after all. The basic chick gave him a toothy excited grin as she saw him.
"Hey Albrecht! Look at you, bad boy, that's a pretty sweet coat! Isn't it sorta hot for that though? Unless... yeah it's probably chilly inside with the AC, I haven't gone inside yet. Yo, you should get one that's got short sleeves, it would totally show off your forearms."

Now THAT's how you pay a compliment. You pick something about someone that stands out and you come up with something good about it. It was seriously a badass coat though, she'd need to ask him where he got it. That could probably fill a silence gap if they hit one. Hopefully that didn't happen but like it could, he didn't like to talk a lot. But she'd cross that road when she came to it, right now she was going to enjoy herself and have fun. Even if the date sucked as long as she had fun that's what counted. Also pissing Caitlynn off. Ooh, she had to get a selfie with him! Patricia leaned in with a friendly smile.
"Are you ready to go drink?" she asked in an excited tone. It'd be kinda hard but she might have to take it slow to avoid getting hammered in the first 40 minutes and fucking this up. Patricia walked closer toward the entrance, stepping backward and urging him to come along.
"Haha c'mon dude or we're not gonna have two seats side-by-side at the bar!" So Patty didn't do the slut thing and grab a booth in the corner where she could basically throw herself at him. Like, tonight was about having fun, so they could sit at the bar by the pool tables and where they could see the game.

Although he took her compliments with a straight face, internally he felt very awkward. Was she trying to get something from him? Though they were of different nationalities so maybe this sort of thing was common for her to say stuff like that... but still, he was unsure how to respond her. Should he return it? Should he even say anything about it at all...?

"Thanks...? Though I'd rather not expose my body, the scars draw too much attention. I just got used to covering my skin with time, unless there's extreme heat i hardly bother." And some even carry unpleasant memories. But he was not sharing that with her, it was none of her concern. She did notice his muscles though, it means his training is showing. "You uh... look good in that outfit." It was definitely better than their first meeting. He still wasn't quite sure if that was the right response, they were just colleagues. But it was just this once, as long she didn't kept hounding him with those he was willing to overlook.

With a nod he followed Patty inside the bar. She was quite energetic and smiled a lot. He didn't particular mind. Albrecht would sit down to her left, first he'd take a moment to quietly observe the bar.

"This place looks nice." The holy knight stated. He only started drinking when he was living in Helsreach, so he only visited bars and taverns after having moved to Endymion. "Good pick."

Sooooooo yeah he was as awkward as she thought he'd be for a church boy. You wouldn't think someone line him would be anything less than confident but it took all kinds, like yeah, monastery and stuff. It wasn't just him though, Patricia was pretty freakin' good at pushing people's buttons, it was seriously the most fun she could have with other people. At least her, y'know other people sometimes didn't like it but she usually didn't care. But this was the good kind of button-pushing, he was too quiet, she wanted to just rip him out of his shell and see what was inside.
"I bet it's not all bad," she reassured, pushing open the door to enter the taphouse, "I mean I think scars are kinda cool, they can totally make you look like a badass. Hey, some chicks think scars are really hot, haha!" Aaaaaand start the hint-dropping. To be honest yeah, she was the kind of girl that liked scars. They were seriously rugged, just as long as it wasn't on the face. Except for the eyebrow scar, those were kinda sexy. It was pretty adorable how he was self-conscious about it, like, someone that stacked being sensitive about anything but he was just a person too.
"But uh, I typically kinda sorta don't care what other people think of me, that's their problem. So I might be kinda biased."

As they entered the drinking establishment it would have a sort of... regular feel. It wasn't too big but it wasn't small by anyone's standards, it was a good hole-in-the wall place and fairly empty given the size. Less than half the seats were filled. It had the feel of a sports bar, with a round bar and more than a few tables, a jukebox, pool tables, and a lot of TVs all playing different games from different channels but it wasn't high-end by any means. Still a pretty kickin' establishment. But like, chill kickin' not kickin' kickin', she didn't think he'd like that. Patricia actually chose a different taphouse than the one she originally brought up though she doubted Albrecht would notice, she liked this one better and it was quieter. Also pool tables. Pool tables were good.

"Hey thanks! I like to look good, y'know?" Patty would modestly take her return compliment, happy that he finally said something but she wasn't about to push it and make it into a thing. Just take it and move on, y'know? She wasn't the type to get all gooshy just because he called her pretty, she knew she looked good, she spent a lot of time and effort looking good. She was pretty content with leading if he let her, it would make things easier for her to get away with even if it got kinda tiring being responsible for the fun.

Well the more she pushed the compliments the more he started to open up so she might as well keep him engaged 'cause it was, y'know, kinda working.
"Yeah I like it," she affirmed, "It's totally chill and they have some good stuff on tap, like some of the real Irish stuff and not just Guinness but like they have  a few of those too. Did you know there's like 3 big different kinds?" Patty would do her best to keep the conversation flowing and involved, she'd need to keep him interested if she wanted to get anywhere. But like a church boy invited her out to go drink so this might be sorta weird. But he was German so uuuuuh... yeah she had nothing. Patricia would just have to be generally engaging and play it by ear, which was cool because it's not like she could plan for shit anyway. Patricia turned to the bartender with her usual friendly smirk.
"Hey, what kind of Guinness do you have on tap right now, is it the seasonal or the regular? Oh and can we get some menus?"

Albrecht awkwardly scratched his left cheek while Patricia went on about scars and how some females found it attractive. He had no shame about them, after all showing off scars was common among Lions but he was fully aware of how it would make him stick out and potentially alienate him from the local population. Some also asked too many questions. Patty was the odd one out, just telling him to show it off, which confused him.

"I don't intended to attract or awe people with them. At least not like that." The Knight has already caught himself interested in girls of his age, but dismissed such thoughts. He lives for combat, that requires dedication and most civilians don't understand what is like to live in the battle field. "But thanks. This coat was a gift from teacher before i moved out to Endymion." Not a lie as his master and squad captain functioned as a teacher at times, even if a brash and unorthodox one.

The Knight appeared pleased with the bar, as much as his perpetual frown allowed him to express at least. The atmosphere was calm, which he could appreciate. While not fancy by most standard, it kinda was for Albrecht. The dining halls of the monastery were just passable and before the divide he didn't had much money to get by.

"No i didn't. I only know about it because of other people boasting or mentioning it around me. I got curious." There was this one knight from another squad who wouldn't shut up about it. He was obnoxious overall, Albrecht even got in a drunken brawl with him. The details of that episode are hazy though, all he remembers is winning and then receiving a bucket of cold water from his superiors. "I guess i finally get to indulge it."

He watched in silence Patricia's interaction with the bartender while tapping lightly on the counter with his index finger. He was trying to imagine her with red hair, he always found dyed hair to be tacky and unnecessary. Maria had dyed hair as well, he'd have to ask what's her natural hair color later.

"Why purple?Your hair that is." He asked with his head slightly tilted to the left. His tone wasn't judgmental or accusatory, just genuine curiosity. He found it weird of course, but he didn't think less of someone for doing so.

The more shy Albrecht got the more excited Patricia became. She guessed she just liked toying with people, it's not like she was doing anything bad by throwing him a couple compliments so it was totally okay. He really seemed like he didn't wanna talk about his scars and the tease thought she probably shouldn't push it... but she'd end up doing it anyway.
"I mean you don't have to show off or anything," she prodded, flexing her own non-existant bicep. At least non-existant compared to the beefcake sitting next to her. She wasn't a weak little bitch, there was firmness in that bicep but she was lanky and stringy as hell.
"Just, what does it matter what other people think about your scars? Other people are dumb, they can mind their own business." She was being facecious again, though not overtly and not in any personal way. Patricia kinda wanted him to take off his coat so she could look at his rugged scars some more... but she didn't practice what she preached. Patty had some scars of her own that she didn't care about showing off, mostly from skateboarding or doing stupid shit but she also had freckles. Freckles that Albrecht couldn't see. Because she covered them up since she didn't like them.

She was kinda jealous of his coat though. Like, it looked cool and now she knew she couldn't get one anywhere. Also maybe jealous of the relationship too, Patty didn't have many teachers she liked and sure as hell no mentors. Most of her interactions with school staff were pretty much summed up using the words "disruptive behavior" and sometimes "shouting match" depending on how much bullshit she could put up with in any given day.
"Oh hey that's pretty neat, what was he like? You must've been pretty close, I mean the only thing I get from teachers is pink slips," she joked with half a laugh. It only hit her after she said it that maybe she shouldn't have hilighted herself as a troublesome student in front of the church boy but like... it would... probably be cool...? ....shit. She could feel the back of her head growing hot as the bartender returned with the menus she requested.
"Here ya go, and we've only got Guinness Black on tap. We're getting Guinness Amber in a few weeks when it's in season."
"Cool! Yeah, could you start us out with a couple tall?"
"Sure thing, can I see your ID?" Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. Usually Patricia could just be Emma Dawsom of Bloomington, New Hampshire age 22 for the night but then Albrecht wouldn't be able to drink and that would totally suck. She'd need to think of something.

Instead of reaching for her fake ID the dishonest girl reaches into her pocket before a look of convincing shock befalls her face, then annoyance, then disappointment.
".....shit. So uh, I like usually wear a skirt but I have pockets right now so I thought, 'hey, I don't need to bring my purse!' aaaaaand I left my money clip in it." She slunk down onto the bar, resting her elbow atop it and looking defeated with a hand to her face. But she got what she wanted. The bartender took pity on her and decided to be a bro.
"Hey, that's okay. When's your birthday?"
"April 29th."
"What year?"
"Every year." The man shot her a look as Patricia smiled at him and giggled, "Ahaha, I'm just messing with you!" she'd laugh before giving him the correct year. Not the right year, but the year that would make her 22 years old and not get into trouble. Before he could ask Albrecht for his own ID Patricia decided to interrupt to take his focus away.
"So hey, what's all in the loaded fries? I'm thinking we'd wanna start with an appetizer."
"Oh it's uh, cheese, chili, bacon and green onions."
"What kind of chili?"
"Beans, Southwest style."
"Oh. Ew. Could we maybe get it with hot mustard instead of chili?"
"We don't serve that but I think we can make that happe-"
"Oh! Shit, I changed my mind. Sorry! Ahahaheh, these fajitas look really good instead, what tortilla do they come on?"

Patricia would keep going back and forth with the bartender until he'd forgotten all about Albrecht's ID and just went to place their order. Worked like a charm, it wasn't the first time she'd done similar but usually the other person was in on it. She rolled her gum around in her mouth as she smiled softly, pretty damn pleased that she pulled that off when Albrecht asked her about her hair. Huh. Usually people just sorta took that at face value, she didn't really think about it too much.
"Becaaaaauuuuuse green's my favorite color and purple looks good with green?" she commented wryly, "Also it kinda pisses my parents off, ahaha." She wasn't technically lying to him but there was a lot of truth left out. It really was to piss her parents off and kinda sorta because she did whatever she wanted and the purple hair stuck since she was 14 but there was something else there she didn't want to talk about and she'd leave it how it was. But she'd end with a joke instead of, y'know, don't forget I'm a delinquent trashy bitch dude.
"Like, I can't make my hair green, I'd look like a freaking weeping willow aheheha!"

His eyebrows furrowed while stared at Patricia, now she was being rather insistent on the subject. Maybe he should start wearing more clothes for gym classes, make sure nobody sees them. It was quite annoying for people to hound him with questions about it or just not shutting up about it. Like she was doing now, but still he'd overlook this once, she had been pleasant for the most part.

"The biggest issue they bring is people bothering me about it. Maybe i should just accept people would be curious." He gritted his teeth, he continued to tap on the counter. Albeit he was noticeably irritated this time. "Any reason in particular why you care?"

He remained quiet watching the back and forth between Patricia and the Bartender. He had forgotten drinking age in the USA was 21 as opposed to German's drinking age of 15. He'd watch her weasel out of that situation for a while before he got tired of all the talking and interrupted in before this would go on for much longer and drive him angry. He gave an annoyed sigh before he spoke.

"It's fine, i'm just a Cadet looking to relax and she is with me." He recognized it was an abuse of his authority and it was a bit corrupt but it was also a harmless move. It was just a drink, he wasn't using it to get advantage over someone else or gain something. That should defuse the situation and allow Patty to order. Once she had ordered he'd turn back his attention to her. "He was... wise and supportive. I'm not surprised though, most people seem to be distant or just be at odds with their teachers. I hardly know the teachers here in Endymion myself."

On the subject of dyed hair his expression remained puzzled all the time. Now that he thinks about it a lot of people had dyed their hair in Endymion; Cecilia, Athena, Shiina, Maria, Patty and a couple of students he saw around. Was it a local trend perhaps?

"Green, huh?" He stared into her eyes, they were emerald green. Maybe a coincidence or the reason why she liked the color. He has met people with blue eyes, but never green."A lot of people in endymion dye their hair. It got me thinking... Hm, not cool to piss off your parents though."

Okay, so like now he was pretty overt about being sensitive about his scars. It pretty much took a foghorn but Patricia got the hint. Ordinarily her mood reflected those around her into some kind of infinite feedback loop but she'd pretend that she wasn't annoyed at him snapping at her for the sake of peace and keep.
"Shyeah maybe you should," she commented, wincing slightly as it came out a lot more patronizing than it sounded in her head, "I don't. I don't care about your scars. I cared that you cared about'em." She'd smile and wink at him since like, how could you get mad at someone winking at you? That was seriously the most harmless she could seem unless she appologized and like that would mean admitting that she was being a bitch instead of, y'know, trying to get him to feel good about himself and how he looked so she wouldn't do it. He should feel good about how he looked, Albrecht was fucking smoking hot. If she were a guy and she looked like that nothing would have sleeves.

The bartender would halt their exchange early as Albrecht spoke up about his status.
"I-I see. Sorry about the misunderstanding, sir, I'll have your..."
"Nachos~!"
"Ah, that's right. We'll have your nachos out to you in a second." The bartender would look visibly shaken for a second. This was a respectable place, he had nothing to hide, though making trouble for someone so respected in the city was bad for business and if word got out that they were mistreating people so respected that could be it for the establishment. Patty couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. Not that she cared a lot that he was a Cadet, like, she still kinda cared, but she had this taken care of and his irritation was starting to rub off on her. Some first date. If it kept going like this she'd try to find an excuse to bail, or she would've anyway if it weren't for Caitlynn so she'd stick it out for now. Her pleasant smile would come back quickly even if it was half-fake but honestly she didn't wanna get herself into a cycle of frustration, it'd just piss her off and she'd say something stupid she'd regret later.
"I mean, considering the school just opened I'll believe you!" she joked, her mood elevating as the topic changed away from being grating on her nerves. "That's pretty cool that you have someone like that, the schools in NorCal were kinda... yeeeeeaaaaaah. Inner city school, teachers are just there to make sure the kids don't stab each other and read a book like once a year. Also standardized testing. School's so freakin' lame. So like, you learned in the monastary or somewhere else?"

Patricia would try to keep the topics focused on him, she liked to talk but like he was too quiet so it was more enjoyable to have him talk. She'd beam when he mentioned green, putting her hands on her hips.
"Yup! Jus' like the emerald isles o' Dover!" she'd speak in her accent, "It's seriously my color." No matter if her hair was red or purple green just worked with her. It reminded her of some of the nightlife back home with their neon glow, the green haze the liquor store signs gave off. Which was kinda fucked up if you thought about it but it was a fond memory, even if she wasn't looking to get drunk herself. She just remembered being out with her friends at night and away from home, far away from anything she had to care about and the screaming matches and the resentment. Also it brought out her eyes but that was like less important.
"Yoooooouuuuu haven't met my parents," she joked sheepishly. She didn't really care how they felt about what she did, they only ever noticed when she did something they didn't like so she found herself doing it more and more often to prove a point.

But she wouldn't dwell on that topic, it was starting to leave a bad taste in her mouth. Patricia would lean her elbow on the countertop with her head in her hand.
"Soooo Cadet, yeah? That's pretty interesting. What's it like having, like, superpowers and stuff?" she asked. So she was a terrorist, big whoop. That had nothing to do with what was going on right now and unless she said something fucking stupid he'd never find out about it. Besides, it was kind of dangerous and exciting to think about and she was all about that.

"Right." He'd turn his attention away from Patty, staring at his hands resting on the counter. He appeared to be in thought. He would have fallen silent, at least on that particular subject. Maybe it would have been easier if he had just made up some excuse... Too late for that now. Her wink did manage to defuse his annoyance a bit, it showed she was just being friendly.

He let out a sigh of relief. Another thing he really disliked about America were their drinking laws. Even after it got shattered it still stuck, it definitely wasn't on Isla's priority list to fix that, which was understandable considering she had to deal with dissenters and the demons running around. He was lucky of his status as a Cadet, he has been drinking since he was 13, he wasn't going to stop now.

"Sounds terrible. I don't like school much either, i'm not very good either but i try my best..." He groaned just having to think about home work, tests and the like. He didn't do very well despite his efforts. Her question made him think for a moment, it wasn't an actual school so he'd have to come up with something."Yeah, after the divide they sheltered orphan kids, so they had to educate us themselves. Fewer students and they kept boys and girls away from each other. We also had bible studies." It wasn't a lie, the children unfit for combat were given a normal education and either became priests, serfs or another role they were apt to perform. Those who were picked up by the militant side were given education separated from the rest and their focus were to become soldiers. Of course, this wasn't something he was going to tell a civilian about.

"Guess you got lucky of having those eyes. Mine are black, normal and plain." He attempted a bit of self depreciating humor. He didn't care for his eye color, if anything having black eyes made him stand out less. "It sounds like you are in bad terms with them. I never met my parents myself, so i wouldn't understand how it is."

Albrecht couldn't really miss what he never had, yet he wondered how it was like to have parents around. He at least had Astrid around, he could only imagine what children who had no family felt like.

"It's just extra and dangerous job." He stated. Truth is he enjoyed slaying demons very much, it was his holy crusade. But it's just another thing he isn't willing to share with civilians. So he just gave her the normal boring answer."Though it comes with perks, like this."

Yeah, yeah she pissed him off. Way to fucking go, Patty. Turn on some more charm. Patricia wouldn't let him see it but she grimaced pretty hard at that one word. She opened her mouth to say something and quickly closed it, but when he turned back she'd appear to be her normally cheerful self and widen her smile for him.
Fuck me, why can't I just learn to shut the hell up?
She would just snap up that topic change before she had to do it herself.
"Eh, school is just dumb," she'd vent, still staying upbeat, "Like, grades don't matter unless you're going to college and you totally don't need it to get anywhere. It's not what you know, it's who. Like true fact, most big time jobs you get through networking from people you're buddies with so like, tests can go suck it. Hah, I don't even try on half my tests I just bubble in C and see what I get!" But she wouldn't try to separate himself from his own sort of view completely, like she didn't look down on him for trying.
"I just wish they'd teach us useful stuff like how taxes work and stock trading, or like first aid. Y'know, stuff we can actually use. Like, when am I ever going to use the Pythagorean Theorem? Why are we even wasting our time with it? All that crap should just be electives."

The bartender would come back with their drinks and nachos like clockwork and Patty would help herself to a whole jalapeno pepper before taking a few gulps of her beer before speaking again. She'd be lying if she said she didn't find it amusing that he was kept away from girls in his childhood. Ha, this was gonna be great.
"Oh okay. I mean I hope it was better than public school, less fights I bet." Public education was a fucking joke though she could guess the bible studies, y'know because monastery. Though she'd gloss over something important. She was glad to hear he liked her eyes, she'd need to draw focus to them.
"Trade ya!" she'd chirp, "Like, if I have dark eyes and not get freakin' sunburnt every time I stepped outside I'd do it in a heartbeat. I seriously look like a radish in the summer." She'd get about halfway through her beer and a few snags of nachos, probably drinking faster than she should have and just about as quick as she was used during their short conversation until the thing she glossed over would hit her like a sack of bricks.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." she would say apologetically, her expression reading sadness though she hardly thought of it much. "Yeah I'm uh... yeah not really I guess. But I bet you don't wanna hear me bitch about my parents, do ya?" She'd continue to remain upbeat but personally Patty didn't want to talk about it. Didn't want to talk about it, didn't want to think about it, didn't wanna deal with it. If her parents out and out died she wouldn't feel bad for more than a week, that's about how much she disliked them. Her mom was a fucking bitch and her dad just let her do whatever she wanted, but they came together in a dynamic duo when it came time to scream at her. Pssssh, fuck them.

"Well I think it's totally awesome, dude!" she'd exclaim in opposition to his low-key remarks about being a Cadet. "Like you get to fight monsters and shit, that's cool as hell! Like a bet it's not like TV but still that's pretty freakin' stellar." Patricia would try to shift gears in an effort to remain upbeat, the talking thing wasn't really working out that well.
"Hey, you wanna play a game while we're here?" Of course this was sort of another trick. She'd offer up some games where she could stand to get somewhere with him, either pool or some kinda drinking game she knew she'd win because she'd been doing it longer and she'd either get him flustered or drunk and it'd be easy from there. Besides, she wanted to have fun with this and everything was more fun when there was competition.

"I suppose so. I just believe i should give my best at everything i try." Usually he'd frown upon someone deliberately giving a mediocre or bad performance. Yet she posed an interesting argument, if you weren't going to use it then what's the point? It was especially useless to Albrecht as he never planned to get a regular job, the Inquisition didn't really require a high school formation from their Knights. Still he was really falling behind, it made him feel inadequate and embarrassed that his grades were rather low. It was somewhat amusing that she said they would have less fights, the truth was quite the opposite."It will take just a couple years of your life, i'd say do well just to show you can. Even if favoritism does play a big part like you said, the diploma is still useful."

Albrecht would leave the Nachos untouched for the most part. He'd take his beer slowly too, he didn't want to get drunk like last time in front of her. That incident was nothing but shameful. The wound still hadn't fully healed yet.

"I still think you would be getting the short end of the stick in that deal, Patricia." He stated, despite the casual nature of the conversation his tone remained dry and serious. He didn't find it funny or amusing, he was just trying to play along. "I won't pry on your relationship with your parents, it's none of my business. I can't provide any useful insight either." He added, though she was right he didn't want to hear it. It would be annoying and none of his concern.

Her enthusiasm about "fighting monsters" made him unsure on how to react. Was she legitimately interested in such things or is it just someone naivy who has been sheltered to the visceral nature of battle? Though to him demons were not just trouble making monsters, they were the scum of the earth.

"Uhm... Good that you think that." He got himself in hard position by mentioning that he was a cadet, he couldn't tell her the truth but acting as if it was just boring duty was quite boring. Thankfully she didn't hinge on that and tried to move along their conversation to other subjects. "Games? I'm interested." His eyes flared up, Albrecht was shaped into a somewhat competitive individual during his time at the Black Lions. He'd banter and try to best the person but he wouldn't hold hard feelings against the rival. "What are you going to challenge me to?"

"I mean, I do good in stuff that I care about," Patricia'd debate. She could have fun arguing with him about school, at least he wasn't like preaching to her and stuff. Some people were the type to think that grades were life and death and honestly as smart as they thought they were book smart and life stupid as hell.
"Like Not Math and English if My Teacher Wasn't a Raging Bitch. I seriously need to get that class switched. But like, C's get degrees, if I wasn't living in the dorms I'd just drop out and get my G.E.D." Patricia rolled her eyes. Like, school wasn't for her. It just wasn't, she was too anti-authoritarian, the education system was freakin' dumb and the teachers were jackasses, and none of it mattered anyway. Like, she wasn't going to college, way too damn late for that shit and she didn't have the money for it. Honestly she'd probably pick up a trade or some shit but she never really thought about it. She had a job and a place to live right now. She'd decide to take his comment about her eyes as a compliment, he reeeaaally liked her eyes she guessed. She'd need to, like, bring more attention to them later, like wear more eyeliner or something or maybe keep wearing green to bring them out.
"Ahaha, you you're right, I want the long end of the stick," she'd tease, laughing genuinely. She wasn't sure if Albrecht would pick up on her meaning though, Patty wasn't sure if that made it more amusing or not.

She'd take another sip of her beer as he spoke about their parents... and keep sipping on it until he changed the subject, intentionally pressuring him to do so. Like, what was she supposed to do with that? He could be seriously depressing, Hottie with a Body totally needed to lighten up. Like, she didn't come out here drinking and especially not on a date to talk about depressing shit or her parents, but he was obviously sheltered and stuff so she'd give it a pass. She'd teach him how to have fun. As the awkwardness permeated the air Patty would help herself to more nachos and finish off her beer. She really needed something to fill her stomach if he was going to keep making her drink to fill the pauses. Yet she picked up on his interest in games. Aside from, y'know, saying "I'm interested". Like he didn't communicate a lot, he was stoic like that, she could get the brooding hot guy appeal but it was seriously frustrating when she was trying to get him to open up and this was the most emotion he'd shown so far aside from when she complimented his appearance. So like, maybe she'd do more of that.

Patricia lightly ran her tongue over her lip in excitement. He was gonna get fucking wrecked.
"Oh yeah, what else do you do in a bar to pass the time while you get hammered?" she spoke in an engaged tone, knowing and conveying that she was about to lay down the guantlet.
"Like we could play Quarters or, y'know, I could totally school you in a game of pool." The delinquent made that phrasing intentional. He didn't look like he wanted to lose, so she'd stress that she would beat him specifically in pool and she thought she was better at that than he was. He drank, so maybe he knew how to play Quarters but she doubted churches had pool halls. And like if they did she totally needed to start going back to church. Besides, she had some pretty twisted plans she was looking forward to executing...

"I'm not a fan of school either, math and physics cause me quite some trouble so i can relate. But it must be done, so i try my best." He paused, groaning in annoyance at school. Though unlike Patty his relation with the teachers was neutral, he didn't cause them trouble and they didn't seem to particularly bother him. They did try to push him to improve sometimes, but that's it. "Good luck with that, must be hard to have a problematic teacher. Maybe it's because of my position i didn't had trouble myself." He wondered on that for a moment, unlike certain Cadets he didn't see Endymion as infallible so he was not surprised in the slightest some bad teachers got in. After all, Isla was an extraordinary human but she was just that. Human.

Despite his inability to express himself much or being able to keep a conversation. He was not completely deaf to people's intentions when communicating with him. Her comment about the 'long sticks' definitely set off some alarms. Albrecht decided to write it off as just some joke, for now. If she continued to be flirtatious... He had no idea how to deal with that. He had attracted female gaze before, but she didn't attempt anything. He also picked up on the awkward silence that followed the parent talk, was she expecting him to ask about it? She should have just said she wanted to vent.

"Last time i got drunk i trashed my place and got my roommate mad. I'd rather not drink excessively for a while." Albrecht replied, slightly distressed at the thought of going back home drunk twice in a row. Maria would destroy him if he went back to the church drunk again. Her legs were powerful enough to kick the door down, he did not want to know what sort of damage she could do to him. "I'm all up for a game of pool though. I haven't played much but i'm not letting you beat me." Albrecht was extremely confident in his physical capabilities, so even if he wasn't familiar with the game. He could get the hang of it quickly.


Asking for help was always embarrassing for him, his pride always tugged at him in these situations.

The thug would let the subject of school drop naturally, like it was common ground but it was just bitching back and forth about it. She didn't think you had to try because like, she fucking didn't. School was useless, she only tried at the stuff she wanted to do. Her grades were kinda all over the place as a result. But she didn't try because anyone told her to, she tried because she wanted to do it. Doing something because someone told you to and couldn't back it up good enough was just stupid. She'd leave it with a parting remark and just move on, there was more interesting stuff to talk about.
"It's kinda luck of the draw, there are some bad ones. I guess I just got unlucky, y'know? Like, it sucks but I'm not gonna let it ruin my freakin' life or anything."

She lit up when Albrecht started talking about trashing stuff while drunk. Like, he was brooding and stuff but he didn't look like he'd ever do anything *that* crazy. A smile grew across her face before she asked for another Guinness and dove straight in.
"Yo-o-o, really? Dude tell me about it!" Well, for one she wanted to get him to talk about stuff, for two Patty just really liked drunk stories because they were the wildest. Besides, if he wouldn't talk about any of his she'd talk about some of hers, maybe it'd get him to open up? Her amusement wouldn't subside as he took her challenge, just like she thought he was and... was... was he blushing...? Like this was just too good, it was going to be totally wicked to see how far she could take this.

"Oh! Yeah tell me about it while we play! C'mon!" She'd basically bounce her way over to one of the free tables, like of the two that were since the place was pretty quiet. It was dinner time, most people were eating and junk, they wouldn't be playing pool until like past 10. So now it was time to turn on the charm hardcore. She'd stay peppy and perky, not really that hard when all of this was already fun for her but she'd take extra special care with how she looked and what she did.
"Haha, you're gonna get creamed dude," she'd start to challenge him but soften her approach so she could be like nice and inclusive and junk, "Don't worry, it's okay if you don't know how to play. I can teach you." As she crabbed a cue she'd take to leaning on it when she could so she could low-key pose, and she'd set up a rack while doing her best to face away from him and give him a pretty good view. Like, totally on accident. At least that's what she wanted him to think. Patty could make all the moves she wanted to but she wanted him to start reciprocating. That was what the whole game was about. Like sure, she could just go out and get laid, that wasn't hard but it was never about that. Well, like mostly never about that. It was about getting someone out of their comfort zone and doing something they'd never ordinarily do.

And if Patricia had her way Albrecht would be doing something alright.

After spending a little too long getting a good rack, shifting her weight from foot to foot to "naturally" wiggle her hips a bit she'd be satisfied with where she got and start chalking her cue, leaning on the table.
"Hey, you wanna break or you want me to? Like, I don't think it's gonna matter since you're gonna get thrashed either way buuuuuut..." she taunted, "You know how to shoot, Albrecht?"