Post by Bianca Sabbato on Oct 13, 2020 19:05:52 GMT -5
Welp, this was it, after a lot of preambles, I had finally found a decent bar to invite people to. One that wasn’t neither a shithole nor one of those expensive, wannabe tough guy place. But a kind of regular place, dim lights, classic rock, strong drinks, and no one to come bother you most of the time no matter how loud you were.
To make things better, it stood in the margins of were ground and wind district connected, so reaching it wouldn’t be such a pain either.
And since I had been meaning to get a better reading of my classmates, I decided that inviting the one-armed punk skater girl to get some booze seemed like a fun idea no matter what angle you looked at it. We had talked a little in the public chatroom, and then a little more via private messages, and had agreed to meet up at a particular bus stop not so far from the place in question.
Wearing a plain white summer dress and some flipflops, I descended from the bus and came face to face with Nasrin. I was not as comfy as with my tunics, but it would do. It was pretty hot outside, so I had picked up something light and fresh for the occasion.
-Heyo! How’s it going, Nas? It’s nice to finally meet you, girl! Ready to go get hammered?- I asked excitedly in what was pretty much my default setting for treating unfamiliar people. Better to relax and let things go their natural way since I didn’t know how to treat her yet.
-It is called Axiom bar, don’t ask me why, it seems like it is some kind of inside joke no one ever explains- I shrugged off, and we headed towards there. It was a short walk, seven or eight streets away at most. I mostly tried to fill the silence with inane chitchat about the weather or how classes had gone lately. Nothing too serious or heavy that could ruin the mood.
At least, we arrived, but before we could enter the building the bartender came our, drenching in sweat and grime, and told us they were having some problems fixing the AC. So they had set some tables and parasols outside for patrons to at least not suffocate inside the enclosed building.
-Probably a better idea to stay outside then... What do you wanna drink? I’ll stick to beer, for now, I tend to get weird if I drink too much nowadays- By weird, I meant becoming a maelstrom of unrelenting jokes and long, depressing ramblings that could last for minutes on end. At least that was what I had degenerated into the last time I got a drink in this very same bar.
Anyway. I asked for a black beer and a plate of peanuts. It would do for now. So I sat down to wait for our orders to arrive. Our drinks were just about to arrive when a most peculiar sight caught attention. Although it was fair to say we heard it before we saw it.
Coming from down below the street and straight toward us was a wide-spanning crowd of people, led by a procession of percussion instruments and flags of different organizations and colors, all apparently working together or at least tolerating each other well enough to unite in supporting a higher cause they weren’t shy about broadcasting to the whole wide world.
Every now and then you could see people carrying signs and t-shirts emblazoned with similar mottos and slogans. Some went shouting and singing in unison while some others preferred to show their support by the mere act of offering their presence to the impressive mass of people that formed the collection of the protest.
Among the protesters, you could sometimes see one person, or a small group of individuals wearing t-shirts coiled around their faces as makeshift masks to conceal their identities, those were also the most likely to be carrying crude bats and other forms of blunt objects, even if disguised as walking sticks and signs... But considering the battalion of riot forces closely following their every step, they may or may not have been justified in feeling threatened and needing protection, whatever little they could find anyway.
But even among all of this confusion and disorder. A central figure stood tall and mighty almost at the forefront of the riveting and swirling mass of people of all ages. A long, wide flag that covered almost from one side of the street to the other.
A white symbol of what appeared to be a wolf head within a circle of the same color, all of this emblazoned over a blue background. The white fang flag... I guess I don’t need to further explain what kind of manifestation this was, nor what they were asking for... The same thing they had been asking for before I was born, and the same they will be demanding the day I’m long dead and buried.
Without paying them more than a passing glance. I nodded politely at the waiter when he brought me my beer. -Thank’s dude-
You could have been fooled to believe they were all faunus in there. But the reality of it was way different than what some people would like you to think, at least a decent chunk of the protesters were human. Although most people didn’t even get the chance to know this, as the tv cameras tended to ignore the humans in this kind of gigs.
I was just about to take a sip from my drink when I saw the small figure of a faunus boy approach awkwardly towards us. A pamphlet on his hand and the shadow of a practiced smile gracing his face. A single horn sprouted from his forehead and extended a couple centimeters over his head... Probably a Rhyno faunus if I had to take a guess.
Walking with innocent determination in his stride, the little guy gave a passing glance towards Nasrin but ultimately decided to address me first. On his voice, I could register a little hint of tiredness, probably from marching alongside the protest, but nonetheless, the excitement on his words was as palpable as the foam forming at the top of my beer.
-S'cuse me, miss! Would you be interested in supporting our cause? We are aiming to make great changes to this city!-
-Sorry to disappoint you, kid. But no thank you... I’m fine- I said as politely as I could since I didn’t want to give the kid false expectations but neither wanted to be an asshole to him... Although I wasn’t sure if I was succeeding in that last part... He was a cute kid, looked like a good person, but that was exactly why I didn’t want him wasting his time on me.
-But... Since you are... I thought you may...- He stuttered his words. More likely surprised by my rotund negative than offended by it. Still, I decided to elaborate a bit further for him to understand that this was nothing personal against him.
-And that's reasonable, sweetheart. But no, I’m not interested. I won’t accept it only to throw it away as soon as you are out of sight. I prefer for you to save if for someone actually interested who will put it to good use or whatever-
Better for him to understand now that even among faunus, not everyone is your friend, not even your ally. It wasn’t that I actively antagonized their actions. They could keep on fighting the good fight for all the fuck I cared about... It just seemed all too... What is the word? Meaningless? No... More like Futile. It all seemed so futile to me.
And I had too much shit going on in my life to waste time pursuing chimeras.
The boy cast an unsure glance towards Nasrin, not nearly as excited as before but keeping the flame of hope alive between his fingers that grasped the piece of folded paper a little lower than before.
In the background, the protesters kept passing by, but they were moving slow enough that it would be a while until they had passed the front of the bar.
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