Eva’s immersed in some sort of email on laptop when Blade suddenly shifts in the countertop seat beside her. Her turns towards the door, staring. That’s how Eva knew Matias was here before he even knocked. It gave her time to wipe the computer screen free from work before making her way to the door.

She greets him with a bright smile, “Hi!” she steps aside to let him enter. This time, she doesn’t attempt a handshake or finger guns, she’s learned her lesson. Instead, she rises to the tips of her toes to lean in and give him a kiss. The tension does not go unnoticed, but she doesn’t pry. Not yet.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]matias tries his best to return the brightness of her smile but falls just short.

"eva! hi."

he steps through the door, turning to accept her kiss. tension lingers even after she pulls away but it does lessen.

raising the tote bag, he says:

"i brought groceries."

[attr="class","noodles"]Eva Morales

He tries, he really does, but she can see through it, feel the tension in his kiss. It makes her a little tense, a little self-conscious, actually, which is quite out of the ordinary for her. Is it something she did? Is he getting sick of her already?

Eva pushes the thoughts aside with a distraction, “Oh, I see,” she peers into the tote bag before stepping back, “Great! Looks like you brought everything we need to make tacos,” Perfect, that’s something she can . . . kind of make. It’s hard to screw up tacos, right?

A hand reaches for his, it’s instinctive at this point and just as comforting each time. She leads him to the kitchen where Blade sits quietly, observing. He doesn’t linger for long after stoically acknowledging Matias. He disappears towards the living room.

“Drink? Water? Both?” she lets her hands slip out of his as she moves towards the small bar in the corner to pour herself a drink. Amongst the whiskey there’s a fresh bottle of vodka she picked up, just for him.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]her hand finds his and once again he's tugged after her, following with ease and comfort. he regards blade with a nod; the two seem to have a mutual understanding to do just that; and settles into the seat by the counter.

not wanting to be too obvious (more than he already has been), he opts for:

"both, please."

his shoulders slump just a little.

"how was work?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Eva Morales

“Both it is,” As she pours herself some whiskey and Matias vodka, she answers his question, “It was fine, nothing too exciting,” it’s the truth, it was a very mediocre day. She moves towards the freezer to drop a few ice cubes into Matias’s vodka. She grabs a water for him as well while over there, “I did find out Zac Ramsay needs a place to stay for a bit,” Eva slides both the water and vodka over to Matias before rounding the counter to sit beside him, “I offered him my spare bedroom so I guess I’ll have a roommate soon . . temporarily, of course,” She has no doubt her fridge would soon be stocked full with Charja Cola.

“How about you? How was work?” her turn to gently pry.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]"did someone destroy his house, too?"

what happened to the biome was...unfortunate. matias shudders at the memory, soon shrugging it off as he reaches for his drink with a: "thanks.

your fridge's going to be stocked full with charja-cola soon."

he sips, silently appreciating the fact that she's remembered his drink.

after a moment, he exhales:

"it was frustrating."

[attr="class","noodles"]Eva Morales

Eva laughs, shaking her head, “No, no one destroyed his house,” she gets the reference immediately. The laugh turns into a tight grin as she glances towards her fridge, “Yeah, I’m sure it will be,” Eva still doesn’t know how she feels about the beverage. She supports Zac Ramsay cause he’s her friend but for an already pretty energetic person, it made her a bit restless.

She turns to face him, sipping her own drink as he exhales. Although his shoulders slump, the tension remains. A hand reaches out to gently trace a line across his back, “You look like you’re wound up tighter than an Ekans’ Wrap,” her voice is as gentle as her touch, attempting to coax it out of him, “Wanna talk about it?”

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]her touch placates, doing enough to draw another exhale from him.

"yeah."

a sip.

"i pushed a little too hard during training and ended up knocking one of the officers unconscious. they're fine, but they could've easily avoided it.

i don't know why people aren't taking things seriously."

[attr="class","noodles"]Eva Morales

Even after he speaks, she lets her touch linger, moving across his back again, it’s soothing for her too, “Hm, I’m sure they won’t make that mistake again,” getting knocked probably wasn’t too much fun for the officer. They learned their lesson, but the hard way. Sometimes that’s what it takes, “Not everyone’s been through what we have. You’re doing your best getting them ready. It’s up to them to take it seriously,” Eva definitely understand where the frustration stems from, she would be too. She wishes she had better advice, something a bit more reassuring. She’s not that old and wise quite yet.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]"they'll just end up dying at this rate."

in a way, it feels like he's preparing them for their deaths.

after a brief pause, he whispers:

"i can't train them in time."

for what exactly, he can't say.

[attr="class","noodles"]Eva Morales

Eva winces at his words. It’s a feeling, a guilt, she’s familiar with. Unfortunately, there’s a hard truth she’s learned but still hasn’t been able to accept, “There will never be enough time and it will never feel like they’re ready,” she sighs, responding in a quiet voice alongside him. Would anyone ever be ready to face death? Her hand running across his back pauses. She leans in to kiss his cheek. Her lips linger to whisper, “They’re lucky to have you training them.”

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]her kiss further placates, pulling him out from the depths. he nods, appreciating, and turns to meet her lips.

a smile lingers when he pulls away, soft but genuine.

"thank you."

[attr="class","noodles"]Eva Morales

Eva smiles, it widens as she pulls away from the kiss, “Any time,” and she means it, truly. She draws back fully to sit in her seat and sip her drink, “So, are you hungry? Do you want to start cooking or wait a bit?” she sips again, she has no preference.

MATIAS SILPH