Dealt a Bad Hand (Eryka/Gideon/Cecil)

Where were they...?

Cecil seemed lost as he looked about the cafeteria for signs of Kevin and Kats. He hadn't seen either of them for a bit, and as some of his first friends...and in the case of one, the first of his friends in Seven Stars, and indeed a long time, he was hoping to rectify that.
...nothing. No signs of them.
And it was hard to ignore the creeping feeling that maybe the two of them may have preferred it that way, even after what they said before.

It hurt.

Eryka had been undergoing difficulties as of late. Since discovering a revelation regarding her prosthetic she had been forced to, sadly, go without it for day to day life. That made things difficult but not impossible for the amputee. She had gone years without both arms but that was a while ago and Eryka had genuinely fallen out of practice. One thing that had been rendered a little more difficult was eat which was most definitely a factor given Eryka's current locale.

She was sitting at a table in the canteen, scowling at the food in front of her. Today just had to be steak didn't it?....One of many foods that required a knife and fork to be eaten; at least it required those utensils if you wanted to eat a steak without looking like a savage. Eryka sat at her chair pondering just what on Earth she could do in order to resolve this situation. Could she perhaps ask someone for aid? No dice. There was nobody here who would she trust exposing such weakness to. What on Earth was she going to do?...

"Fell upon a thorn bush that gouged his eyes out. Yeesh... Ancient Greece did not screw around." Gidd mused to himself. He was sitting at a relatively empty table reading a book of various myths for a report in literature. Since he had sat down he had only picked at his food, without having taken a bite yet, being rather engrossed in his book.

After finishing a chapter, he turned his attention to his watch, only to realize he had wasted a majority of his lunch period on the text rather than its intended purpose. "Crud... I'm not going to be able to enjoy my food and have some free time." Wanting to have time for other purposes, Gidd began scarfing down his food. The food was a tad dry for his liking and so he reached for his drink, only to realize there wasn't one. In his absent-mindedness he had neglected to pick up a refreshment and now he had a face full of food and a parched throat.

After swallowing what was in his mouth, and coughing a little, Gidd wiped his mouth clean with a napkin. "Urgh, I'm a moron. How could I forget my drink!?" He then got up from his seat, leaving behind his belongings and rushed to the counter to pick up something to drink. On his walk over, something in the crowds of people caught his attention. An older woman (older compared to him anyways) sitting at a table across from his own staring down at her food. The reason for it became apparent at first glance to Gidd, as they were missing their right arm.

Gidd's sensible thoughts and better nature were then in conflict as to whether offer his aid or to move along. "Would it be insensitive to assume they need help? If I don't help, surely someone else would come along and do so. But what if they don't?" After a few seconds of deep thought, and probably looking like a doofus for standing still for so long, he made up his mind and approached the woman. "Ummm.... Excuse me miss. Do you need any help?"

As Cecil looked about for people he couldn't find, a familiar set of yellow eyes were spotted glaring at something once more. He didn't have anything against Eryka, but...she was just not a person you went to for conversation, let alone when the two of them weren't exactly close.
Not that he'd approach most people for a conversation, but she was one of the harder people to handle.
Something caught his eye, though - or rather, the lack of something.
...it kind of concerned him.

As he started making his way over, it seemed that she had caught someone else's attention - a fact that he wasn't sure what to feel about, on account of not knowing exactly how Eryka would take to his presence. He wasn't quite sure where he stood with her himself, but the way they'd met the incident that had ruined one of his shirts made him a tad wary about interacting with her.
He was just going to have to hope for the best there.
"Ah...hello again?" He stopped by Eryka's table, and his eyes quickly flicked between her and the boy beside her as he quickly found this was suddenly a whole lot more difficult to interject in. He didn't want to assume anything about the situation, so...best to focus on her for now.
Even so, bringing up what he meant to felt a lot harder right now.
"So, ah...something changed? Or did you decide the punching bag deserved a break today?" Cecil smiles awkwardly as his mind tries to run through the situation. He really didn't want to have to refer to the absence of that devastating arm of hers explicitly right now. It didn't feel right to remark on with a stranger about.
...assuming she didn't know who this was, anyway...he wouldn't have been surprised, but he could hardly say for certain.

Eryka decided that she was going to just struggle with her food and use a fork to, hopefully, pull the steak apart. It was going to be messy and lacking in the control she would normally display or that's what she would do were it not for someone interrupting her. With a robotic series of movements Eryka rested her fork on the plate and looked up at Gidd her expression twisting into an irritated scowl. Eryka hated her own weakness being exposed.

"....I'm fine." It was a curt reply flavored with the subtle spice of irritation. Eryka did not want anyone's help. The fact she lost her arm was down to her reckless selflessness and while yes, she did ultimately prevent harm from coming to someone else it was done at great cost to herself. Hopefully her effort at dismissing Gidd would be successful but Eryka's hopes were soon dashed as a familiar, for all the wrong reasons, face appeared.

"Hello Cecil. As for your question my arm is indisposed currently." The amputee hated the very notion of revealing how her arm had ended up indisposed. Revealing weakness was, in Eryka's mind, the stupidest thing one could do. She wasn't paranoid towards people, well provided she had a reason to trust them anyway, but the very concept of exposing her own weakened state was utterly alien. Despite that there was a rather pained expression on Eryka's face.

With the clang of the fork being set on the table and the woman's piercing yellow gaze on Gidd, he couldn't help but tense up, partly in fear. The woman didn't have the friendliest of first introductions and Gidd was too tense to speak up or even walk away.

The situation only became more complex as a blonde stranger joined the fray. They seemed to know the woman at the very least, based on the way they were talking to her. "Ah fiddlesticks. I knew someone would help eventually I shoulda stayed out of the way!" As the two strangers remarked at each other, the tension in the air was thick enough to run a knife through it, especially to Gidd being so close to it. Still frozen, he stood there like a dope.

Poor, poor guy. Another victim of Eryka's presence.
So far, things were entirely predictable. Eryka was proving to not be terribly friendly, and whatever had happened with her arm, she wasn't sharing - and probably, had no intent to. Trying to force it out of her wasn't going to end well for anyone involved, and he didn't exactly want to anyway. It wasn't important that he knew, and they both knew it.
Regardless of what was going on with that matter, it wasn't hard to tell that she wasn't entirely happy with her scenario right now - if mostly because the harsh presence she typically had wasn't quite so potent as it was sure to be if she was feeling alright.

If the lecture he got before was any indication though, there was little chance in hell she would be welcoming to any attempts to reach out.
Well. This was uncomfortable for everyone involved. And honestly, he'd rather prefer it not be.

He looks apologetically to Gideon as he slowly works things through trying to take things in. The general discomfort, Eryka's untouched food -
Oh christ, steak? That explained a lot. This was not the right day for them to serve steak.
Gears slowly turning, he lets out a silent breath as he tries to relieve the tension in his body, and seats himself down at Eryka's table, relaxed mask slipping over his features. "That's...too bad, really. Hopefully, you'll have it back before long." His attention flicks to Gideon for a moment. "You alright? I know she can be a bit intimidating, but you don't have anything to worry about from her."
I say, as I'm trying to act like there's nothing wrong and I'm not concerned about how she'll react if I screw things up.

Taking a moment to rifle through his bag, he pulls out his own lunch - just a couple sandwiches and an apple, but more than serviceable. More to the point...less nightmarish than steak to handle with only one arm to work with. As transfers his lunch from bag to table, he makes a point of briefly looking to the Eryka's plate, and then back to her. "Not a fan of the cafeteria food? Even at a place like this, school meals still aren't the best."
Hopefully she realised what he was trying to do here...and that she was willing to go along with it. He still wasn't the most adept at dancing around this, but he figured trading because she apparently didn't like the food would be more agreeable to her than having struggle through or admitting she had a problem at the moment.
He didn't know if she'd take the out, but he would definitely try. At the very least, his face didn't betray any hint that there was anything wrong here, a simple relaxed smile like he was used to talking casually to her like this.

"What are you doing....?" Eryka stared at Cecil as he sat down not objecting to his presence but not exactly understanding why. Her primarily neutral expression carried no anger nor distaste just the faint notions of genuine confusion. The amputee was a little irritated by Cecil placating the random stranger given the entire pointlessness of such a thing. If this random person was so spineless to let himself get scared away that was his problem.

"It is not a matter of time that prevents me from using my arm. Eh? Why are you asking that question? Whether I am a fan of the food or not is irrelevant. It is food and I require it. Nothing beyond that matters." Same old Eryka. Even without her prosthetic she was still the same old logic obsessed girl she had always been. Eryka would return to her silence as she watched Cecil take his sandwich out of his bag and that's when she got an idea.

"Give me your sandwich. My steak is yours." One might have put things more politely asking instead of telling but not Eryka. Logic dictated she'd trade the food she couldn't eat with the food she could and logic also dictated that Cecil should accept. He would end up with decent food to eat regardless of which option he took so he should obviously go with the option that benefited as many people as possible. Eryka slid the plate of steak towards Cecil, patiently waiting for him to return the favour by offering his sandwich; Eryka cared little what food she ate provided it was healthy except in rare exceptions such as today.

As the situation unfolded before Gidd, he took a deep breath and loosened his stature. As he had thought the two did know each other, making Gidd's attempt to help a fool's errand. He sighed at the thought that he didn't have to get involved at all. The blonde stranger then turned to Gidd and asked him if he was alright. "O-oh? Yes, thanks for asking. Sorry if I looked like a doof there. I was a tad lost in the conversation." Gidd answered somewhat nervously.

The strangers then continued the conversation and a trade was proposed between the two. Feeling like he didn't really belong in this conversation Gidd started to make his leave. "Ah, well I see my assistance here wasn't required after all." Gidd bowed his head a tad "I apologize if I inconvenienced either of you. I'll be going now." He then turned around and continued on his previous task of retrieving a drink for himself.

Cecil chuckles awkwardly as everything plays out, from Eryka's utter confusion at what he was doing and the things he was suddenly asking her, to the way the boy who was with her stuttered a little and dismissed himself. "Alright...bye, then?"
It felt awkward, but it was probably for the best. He wouldn't be here himself if it didn't seem like Eryka had more problems than usual. She wasn't the easiest to get on with.

As they left, he suppressed the warring urges to sigh and to laugh as Eryka homed onto his sandwiches and shoved her steak at him. Not only did it go completely over her head that he was trying to subtly suggest this himself which was not a fucking surprise, this was him, no way he would have been able to manage what he'd intended, but she still came to the same conclusion anyway and demanded his food without a remote hint of a thought that he might not want to go along with what she wanted.
As he handed the bundled sandwiches over, he decided that the whole affair was more amusing than anything, and had to redouble his efforts not to laugh aloud...she was even worse than him. And wasn't that an achievement?
As that last thought struck, he couldn't suppress the grin that came to his face. "Well, if you insist."

As he shakes his head slightly and prepares to set about his new lunch, he notes the fork sitting on the plate and...not much else as far as eating utensils go. "Eryka? Did you get a knife?"

Eryka cared not for the random stranger who had approached. He showed up, asked if Eryka needed help, got his answer and then decided to leave as he should. The amputee cared not for random strangers hanging around her table like buzzing flies. Cecil was an exception to that belief as while Eryka barely knew him, she knew him well enough for him to not technically be a stranger; plus she had proposed an equivalent exchange of her lunch for his so he had a purpose in being here.

Speaking of the deal proposed to Cecil, Eryka was very glad to see he went along with it. His bundle of sandwiches were slid towards Eryka and she returned the gesture, her steak now Cecil's steak. Still why on Earth was he smiling? Eryka's expression grew stern, her face twisting into a glare focused entirely on Cecil. Whatever he found funny had better not be at Eryka's expense....!

"Ah a knife....hm no." She rose from her seat, walked towards the cafeteria's service counter and requisition a steak knife before returning to the table. Eryka carefully placed it on the table and sat down, unwrapping her food and beginning to eat the sandwiches. She wasn't going to thank Cecil as honestly? She didn't see the need to. You don't thank someone for selling you a product. You simply pay them and go about your life.

Gidd sighed as he inserted his change into the vending machine. He had made quite a fool of himself back there. "I should have saved myself the trouble and not have gotten involved." The drink dropped out of the machine and Gidd picked it up. He stared at it for a moment, his mood soured now from his self-consciousness, and decided against drinking it. "Argh." he grunted in frustration.

Figuring he should just move on with his day, he went back to his table and packed up all his things into his bag. He then moved on to the exit, but half way there it occurred to him that the drink he had wouldn't stay cold forever and he didn't want it going to waste as he wasn't going to drink it any time soon. He grunted and made a quick detour back to the stranger's table. He set the drink down on the table, and without a word he walked out the exit. Hopefully they would consider that a suitable apology, but he didn't feel like sticking around at the moment.

The urge to laugh only grew as Eryka started to glare at the signs of his amusement, a snicker escaping aside his widening grin. He knew this was probably a really bad thing to be happening right now, but somehow the intimidation factor was utterly lost when he knew it was just a reaction to his expression. "Hey, what's that for? Something wrong with the sandwiches?"
Alright, he knew he was practically poking a bear at this point, but somehow he got the feeling it'd be alright just this once. It was something harmless - and from what he knew, the golden-eyed girl would probably be up front with what she was thinking if it got to that point.
He didn't know why he felt so comfortable with this right now. By all rights, he should be shrinking in his seat right now.
Maybe something had changed.

He watched as the unknown boy dropped by the table again while Eryka was collecting cutlery, dropping off a drink and leaving without a word. As Eryka returns, he shrugs it off, giving the girl a small nod as he takes the knife in hand. "Thanks."
With that, he turns his attention to the steak, deftly cutting a piece off and taking a bite. Honestly...it wasn't bad. Not his favourite thing, but he got the feeling the food was actually cooked here instead of ordered in. It was...actually passable. Huh.
He continued on like that, chipping away at the steak piece by piece while Eryka went at what was once his own lunch.

Cecil's mind wandered as he ate, and he chuckles again. It really felt strange that he was behaving like this - let alone the fact he might just have found someone even less socially adept that he was. He'd always thought that an impossibility, but in recent times he'd somehow met at two - two - examples of such an impossible individual.
Everything had started turning on its head since he came to Seven Stars...and he couldn't exactly be unhappy about that, he was finding.

"Why are you smiling?...." As far as Eryka knew one only smiled when they found something amusing, entertaining or heart warming. None of which applied to the current situation. Eryka's difficulties as an amputee were not funny nor entertaining. Eryka trading her food with Cecil was a purely logical choice with zero emotions involved so it couldn't be heart warming. People were incredibly illogical and made no sense.

"But no. The sandwiches are fine." Eryka bit into said sandwiches, her teeth breaking them apart behind the sealed confines of her lips. It was disgusting and quite frankly lacking in discipline to eat with your mouth open. Again Cecil chuckled and again Eryka turned her heartless gaze onto him, eyes boring through him like drills..which was exactly when that stranger placed a drink's can on the table.

"You can keep this drink whoever you are. It is packed with sugar." Eryka called out to the very odd stranger that had dropped the drink on her table, making it clear she had zero interest in things. Eryka strove to avoid unhealthy foods that would throw her diet off as let's face it, maintaining peak physical performance was just as demanding on your diet as it was your body. If you ate food with high fat content and little in the way of protein or vitamins you'd get no where. Plus sugar rotted your teeth and a lot of drinks nowadays were packed with the stuff.

She asked! She actually asked! Shock, horror - she could ask questions in the way any other person would!
...Cecil was starting to think he was a little delirious right now that his mind was operating like this, but he found it hard to care. All was fine for now.
"It didn't even occur to you that I might not have wanted to give up my food, did it? I wouldn't have been surprised if someone else in my position had just told you no and maybe gone somewhere else." He shrugs. "I mean, I was already thinking the same thing in the first place so it works out here, but I doubt you were so certain I'd do what you told me to just because it was me." The chuckling continues as he cuts off and swallows down another piece of the steak he'd traded for. "You were like that when we met too. A lot of people would have just given you the finger after the first impression you made."

He shakes his head, and looks off in the direction of the exit as Eryka comments on the drink. "...I don't think they're coming back for it."