Persnickety and Newsworthy [PRIVATE]

[Twimsy]

"I recall having to take a bit of Azteca as well, but I think I've long since forgotten it. Aside from food names." She grinned sheepishly, ears suddenly perking, "Oh, I meant to ask -- how is your wing feeling, today?"

Whether it was unintentional contact or another intended act of subtlety, as she shifted to get more comfortable in her chair, her own forehoof brushed his for the briefest moment.

[NeilWacaster]

"It's still pretty painful, but as long as I keep the sling on and don't jostle it, it's bearable. I visited the doctor earlier today, and he said I just need to take it easy for a couple of weeks and let it heal. Good thing I work with a quill rather than a hammer."

Taking her movement as a hint, he timidly laid his hoof on top of hers.

[Twimsy]

Persnickety nodded, though all actions of hers seemed to cease and the color rose to her cheeks and the tip of her muzzle again when he finally bit the bullet and she felt the warm pressure of his hoof atop hers. She smiled sheepishly, bright orange eyes flickering over at him for but a moment, gaze soon retreating to the safety of the bar top.

"S-So, uhm... how have you been liking Stalliongrad, so far?" Smooth.

[NeilWacaster]

"Well, in spite of missing my rescheduled appointment with the director of the play, painfully injuring my wing, and the city nearly being destroyed by Discord, I'd say that it's been pretty great. And I think you know the reason why." He gave her hoof a little squeeze.

OOC: The drawing that I made yesterday fits surprisingly well into the RP here. It's still a work in progress, but I hope you enjoy it.

[Twimsy]

The mare couldn't help but snicker, "Every cloud has a silver lining, as they say. At least the mishaps were inspiration enough to help me decide upon the rest of my play. Never to mention I made some splendid friends." She returned the squeeze, gently, "...Friends that I've already grown very fond of."

((I saw it and squee'd out loud. Now I need insulin for how unspeakably saccharine that drawing is. <333))

[NeilWacaster]

Very fond of? Very fond of. Very ... fond ... oh my sweet Celestia ...

It had been so long since Newsworthy had felt pure, genuine happiness, that he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. For a few long moments, he just looked into those fathomless orange eyes framed by black glasses. Words wouldn't come.

((I'm so glad that you like the drawing. It elicited a squee? Even better than I hoped ))

[Twimsy]

Very quickly, Persnickety realized just how much mutual gravity those words must have meant to him. She gently cleared her throat, snubbing a rosy-tinted cheek with her free hoof as if it would wipe the color away. She hadn't been lying - the pegasus beside her was certainly someone she cared about. It was hard not to after the previous day's events.

"...And here you are! Carrot pierogies and cabbage shchi!"

The old griffin had barely uttered a syllable before the jumpy pegasus snatched her hoof away from Newsworthy and tucked it back into her lap, "Oh, thank you, Gavril! It looks fantastic."

Gavril merely grinned knowingly, lifting up their mugs, "I vill just refill these for you, then, mm?"

[NeilWacaster]

"Oh. Yes, please."

Newsworthy couldn't stop smiling. It felt so good to care for somepony else again. And knowing that the feeling was mutual ... well.

"You're right, as always, Persnickety," he said, earnestly. "Every cloud does have a silver lining. Even pink ones filled with chocolate rain." His eyes twinkled.

He took a whiff of the savory soup and steaming dumplings, and realized just how hungry he was. With a little sigh of contentment, he began to eat the shchi.

[Twimsy]

"Ha! Well, hopefully we won't be seeing any more sugary weather for a long, long time." With that, the pegasus took a bite out of one of her pierogies, thanking the griffin with a food-muffled mouth when he returned with the second round of ciders.

"Sho, how'f-- mmf." Swallow your food first, you silly filly. It looked like someone's table manners were rusty. "Heh, sorry - how is your food?"

[NeilWacaster]

"The soup is simply delightful." He took one of the pierogies and bit into it. The sweet carrot flavor exploded in his mouth. "Mmmm ..."

"Quite tasty. Reminds me of my mother's home cooking." He smiled, a little wistfully. "She was a wonderful chef."

[Twimsy]

"Your mother?" She smiled. "My father always cooked for us. Mum was usually kept so busy at the weather factory, but he made all sorts of good things." She popped the rest of her pierogi and chewed it over before speaking again.

"Whereabouts were you raised, if I may ask?"

[NeilWacaster]

His eyes darkened. He remembered, though, that honesty and forthrightness were usually best, especially when trying to gain somepony's trust. Even if the truth was painful.

On the other hoof, he felt flattered that she wanted to know about where he was raised. In his experience, most ponies just didn't care.

"That's a bit of a long story," he said, smiling at her a little sadly. "I'm not from any one place, in particular. I was born in Solstice Heights, a beautiful little mountain range just a little northeast of Canterlot. Well, when I was just a young foal, my parents decided that they wanted a traveler's lifestyle. My father was a carriage mechanic, you see, and we had to go where the work was. There were some positives ... I suppose. We got to see all the sights of Equestria. The Great Falls of Hoofington, the Neverending Bridge, Mt. Thunderhooves, The Majestic Canyon, and so on."

He paused, trying to find the right words. "Because we were always on the move, I never knew any foals my own age. We didn't have any friends, and only saw our extended family a few weeks out of the year. I just spent all my time with my mom, dad, and sister. This seemed 'normal' to me, because I didn't know any different. Looking back on it now ... I think it really hampered my social skills."

It had started out as just a simple question. But, he seemed to have a sympathetic listener. Hoping Persnickety was still interested, he continued. "The old fashioned carriage repair business started to dry up, and my family decided to take a new direction. Since my sister and I were getting older, my parents wanted to settle down, and try something new. Brashly, they bought a large and highly unprofitable bed-and-breakfast in one of the communities deep in Solstice Heights. It was completely stifling to me. Even though we were now stationary, I found the other colts and fillies in the tiny mountain town to be boring, and none of them shared my interests. They cared about sports, clothes, popularity, and everything else I despise. I spent most of the time reading or writing, or ..." He bit his lip, sheepishly. "Performing plays by myself."

"As I grew older, I was able to help more and more with the business. It was hard work, and work that I did not tend to enjoy. For the most part, I ran the cash register as an unpaid slave. Exciting, I know. It just cemented in my mind how much I wanted to get out of there. But I was also afraid of the unknown. I had had so few experiences apart from my parents that I honestly didn't know how to be independent. I allowed them to control my decisions, even when I knew it wasn't right for me. It's something I very much regret."

"A side effect of being secluded was that I was home schooled. I rapidly advanced through the grades, and was accepted into the Canterlot School of the Liberal Arts fully two years early. This gave me the escape that I needed. At the time though, it was completely overwhelming. Imagine, if you will. You've spent your entire life with three ponies, and suddenly you are on your own at a new place, with new ponies, and new academic challenges. You're way younger than anyone else, making you stand out like a tiny blue dwarf. Yeah. I basically just stayed in my room buried in school books, too insecure to do much more than go to class and write novels. I'm sorry to say that it took me three years before I started to make many friends."

"That was when I met ... her. But I already told you about that." He broke eye contact, staring down at his hoof, tracing a little circle on the waxed wood of the bar top. "I'm still thinking about what you said. About how to put that experience behind me. It's hard. It's really hard. But it already seems like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

He took a deep, ragged breath. "I'm sorry," he said, turning to her. "I've rambled for far too long. I ... do that sometimes."

[Twimsy]

Persnickety disliked long, dizzying soliloquys outside of the theater. Perhaps it was due to the curt, precise ways of conversing that she'd been brought up with. Usually, other ponies' life stories were more boring than inspiring, but in the end, she did feel obligated to listen. It was a date, and she didn't have anything else better to be doing. And maybe she did like his company and voice.

Just the same, the story itself seemed more melancholy than average. She found herself frowning, occasionally chewing over cheekfuls of pierogi as she listened. Hearing that he performed one-pony plays by himself was both precious and sad in its own right. Had she but known him way back when...

"Well, you can't have turned out too terribly stunted, socially. Getting the inside scoop for newspapers usually requires some form of assertion and social prowess on its own, yes?"

Her voice lowered a tad, as did her gaze, back to the counter top.

"...I am sorry that things have been so hard for you, though. I know the feeling...far too well."

[NeilWacaster]

"It really sounds odd, but I'm actually an extroverted pony. I love being around others, but my upbringing makes it difficult for me to do so, at least at first. However, when I put on my reporter's cap, I feel powerful. I have a reason to show ponies who I really am."

He saw her somber expression and averted gaze. Darn it all. Just look at her. You went and ran off your mouth so much about yourself that you made her lose interest in the conversation. And now she feels sorry for you.

He realized that he needed to change the situation, and fast. He quickly reasoned that he should return the favor that she had so kindly paid him. "So, Persnickety, I'd love to hear your story. Where are you from, and how did you get here?"

Smiling warmly, he looked at her inquisitively, showing that he was genuinely interested in what she had to say.

[Twimsy]

"Sounds a bit like acting, in that aspect - you put on your mask and become somepony different."

She took a sip of her cider, glancing over the brim of the mug at him.

"My story...?"

Itching a cheek with her hoof, she sat the mug down. Where to begin, where to begin...

"Well, let's see...I was born and raised for most of my young life in Cloudsdale. As I mentioned previously, my mother works for the weather factory - one of the higher ups. She always had high expectations of me, though. Even from a young age. My father was a great deal more lenient whenever she wasn't around, though he did encourage me to do great things.

"I didn't have very many friends in grade school. All I ever did was study, and it earned me a terrible lot of picking on. Social awkwardness is something I'm no stranger to, either - be glad that you were homeschooled, at least you did not have to go through getting pushed into rainclouds or called trivial names that lacked creativity." With a grin, she adjusted her spectacles. At least it seemed she could brush such actions off, now.

"Mother signed me up for Junior Flight School, in which I strove to excel as well. She had plans for me; plans that I would one day be doing the same line of work as she. But, I had other plans, of course." She gave a conspiring little wink to him. "You can imagine the horror on her face when I told her that I'd quit flight school and taken up acting club in its stead.

"When I was old enough, I started trying to audition for more professional plays and acting troupes. Now, this is where I truly started getting a taste of the real world, because my auditions were always flops. I did everything I thought to be right, but they'd always told me that my acting was rigid and far too practiced." She leaned her head to the side, elbow propped on the table. "You can imagine how heart-breaking it is, to expect nothing but rejection and failure, try and try again though you might.

"Anyway, this is what set me to look for greener pastures. Bigger cities. So, I moved here, at the recommendation of a then-dear friend of mine. Since then I have gotten a handful of minor parts in various shows, but mostly it's come down to me doing a good lot of writing and not so much acting. I love writing, don't get me wrong! But if I had to choose between the two..." Her smile softened, "So, now I live in a studio flat above a pottery shop, doing odd-jobs for the tennant to earn my keep and living off of what I earn from commissioned scripts. The dear friend I had mentioned has long since gone her own, separate way, and I meet new and interesting ponies most every day, just by exiting my front door."

Talk about a soliloquy, you little hypocrite.

[NeilWacaster]

"How interesting," Newsworthy said, nodding. "Our paths are different, but we are not all that unlike. We have both experienced our more than our share of rejection, struggle to make friends, and have had our parents disagree with where we took our lives. However, despite these things, we have made our way in the world as wordsmiths and are overcoming our difficulties."

He looked down at his mug of cider thoughtfully. "It's nice to meet somepony who really understands where you're coming from."

[Twimsy]

Persnickety gave a nod of agreement to his words. He was certainly right.

"At least it all gives us something to write about. And perhaps that's one of the reasons why I fancy writing and acting - I wished that ponies could hear me, and that maybe others who have been in similar situations as the characters I play and write about might feel as if...somepony understands what it's like. You know?"

[NeilWacaster]

"That is an interesting motivation," Newsworthy said, trying to understand. "With most actors I've met, all they care about is fame and attention. You seemed different, but I couldn't figure out why."

[Twimsy]

Persnickety chuckled, "Well, I think it's a given that any actor has to be at least a tad attention-hungry and narcissistic, even just to be an actor in the first place. But, it's not just about that, for me. When I act...hrm." She itched at her head, trying to think of the proper words to string together. "I believe I've still got to work on actually being able to convey it more, but when I act, I really try to get into the part. Even if it's a little, one-liner. Everyone has a story to tell, and you have to make the audience believe that." She adjusted her glasses once more, keeping them from sliding farther down her nose. "But, I feel like I'm rambling, now."

[NeilWacaster]

Newsworthy smiled. "I like hearing you ramble. It helps me understand you better. Talking about things I'm going through always helps me, so I try to be there for my friends if they need somepony to talk to."

He tapped his chin, thinking about what she had said. "My experience is mostly from the audience's perspective. I go to many of the popular plays around Equestria and write reviews for my paper, so I've seen good, bad, and just plain laughable acting. It's easy for me to tell when the actors actually care about their part. The sign of a good cast, to me, is when I completely forget that I'm watching a show. If they're doing their job right, I feel so strongly for the characters that I almost become them."

[Twimsy]

"Yes, well. I could say the same for you. I don't usually like long-winded conversation and simple chatting, but it's nice." Maybe she'd been practicing the life of a shut-in for longer than she'd thought.

"Ohh, that's right! You would get to do those kinds of things, wouldn't you? I'm jealous. I haven't been to a proper play in ages. Of course, I get to go to the plays that I write, but nothing like...Les Mareserables. I've always wanted to go to Manehattan and see it. But yes, you're exactly right. That is the sign of a good cast. Rarely is it so easy to find a group of ponies who work so well together, but when you do, it's an incredible experience." The way she talked about the theater, it was as if she were a wee filly who had been presented with an entire box of caramel apples, all for her.

[NeilWacaster]

"Les Mareserables? I've read the book, but haven't gotten to see the play yet. The reviews I've read have been glowing, it would be a great spectacle to see."

With how much she loves the theater, it must be difficult for her to not be able to go see plays. I'm guessing the tickets cost too much. Wow. That would be like me not being able to afford to go to the library. Hmmm ... that gives me an idea ...

"I believe that I told you I'm here to write a piece about the play over at the School of the Arts, didn't I?"

[Twimsy]

The pegasus nodded, "Oh, yes! Have you managed to make another appointment with them? If not, I could probably pull a few strings for you."

[NeilWacaster]

"Well, I still haven't been able to get back in contact with the director, but I'm hoping once she hears the reason I missed the appointment was that we were trying to get rid of Discord, that she'll understand. I sent her two scrolls already today, but she still hasn't responded. Anyway, I'm not getting my hopes up, because the play opens tomorrow night. I'm sure she's busy. But, if you are at all interested in seeing 'Death of a Salespony,' I think there are some tickets left. I could ... we could ..."

[Twimsy]

"Yes, they were probably doing dress rehearsals all aftern-...wait, what?" Her ears stood at attention, eyes wide, "...Really? I-I heard that it was running for a while here, but...w-would you really want to? I-I mean...with me, anyway." He probably wouldn't have mentioned if he didn't want to go with you, you derp. She tried to be nonchalant about it, but a smile was hard to conceal.