Dawit Asad Bekele: He frowns at Micah. "Why don't you have him with you?"

Silkie {Battery Park}: "I didn't know he had a puppy." She smiles at the thought of Xu with a pup.

Micah Carrington: "Because he's with Sasha at the Farm."

Dawit Asad Bekele: "Oh." He nods to Micah, and then frowns at Silkie. "Yes you did. He brought it to the meeting in the hotel room when he briefed you all about the Bear situation."

Silkie {Battery Park}: Blinks... that seems like such a long time ago. Almost another life. "Oh yeah... I remember now..."

Micah Carrington: Notes the avoidance and frowns, brows drawing together.

Dawit Asad Bekele: He nods to her, and just stands there, glancing around, first to the blemish on the way, then past Castle Clinton to Lady Liberty and Ellis Island, then turning 180 degrees to look up at the K-R, then lowering his gaze to look up Broadway.

Silkie {Battery Park}: "Did you loose something, Dawit?" Watching his odd behavior.

Micah Carrington: "Or are you afraid you'll forget?"

Dawit Asad Bekele: "I turned myself in as Ingvar's prisoner. Tho I don't know where Ingvar has gone to. The Princess and her...entourage vouched for the fact that Trevor is...dead. So there is...nothing left for me to...fulfill here, I don't think."

Micah Carrington: "Oh." He coughed to clear the sudden lump in his throat and sighed.

Silkie {Battery Park}: "There's still good to be done here."

Dawit Asad Bekele: "And I'm sure you'll be doing it," he assures her. "But I am not born of the city. I do not like this place. And it is too painful to be the one who was, but not the one who is."

Silkie {Battery Park}: She moves close to Dawit, hugging him if he's receptive. "It's time for you to be you, not who came before."

Micah Carrington: Micah nods, one hand reaching out to brush through Silkie's hair. "And maybe we'll be ready to know you without being reminded all the time of him."

Dawit Asad Bekele: He lets her hug him, but his back remains rigid, his face expressionless, save for that deep sadness in his eyes. "If there is a place where I can do the most good in this world, it is in those places where the people are defenseless against the kinds of people Trevor used to work for. The poor villagers in Africa, who have no understanding of how such corruption operates."

Silkie {Battery Park}: "If that's where you need to be, then you should go to them," she says softly.

Dawit Asad Bekele: "I don't belong here. Nobody wants a mate who won't mate with them. It is against nature."

Silkie {Battery Park}: Pats his chest, then blinks. "I don't understand."

Micah Carrington: He frowns softly.

Dawit Asad Bekele: He shrugs, then shakes his head, stepping away from her. He seems to need to move, to exercise out his frustrations and disappointments, and so simply starts walking. "Humans do not arouse me."

Silkie {Battery Park}: Lets him go as he moves away. "Who says you have to mate with a human?"

Micah Carrington: "Ah..."Micah nods, biting his bottom lip with a sigh. "Its our ease in hurting the ones we love, isn't it?"

Dawit Asad Bekele: "Well, the women who were Trevor's mates," he counters.

Dawit Asad Bekele: He glances to Micah and shakes his head. "No. You do not smell right. You smell like monkeys. Not like mates."

Silkie {Battery Park}: "You're new. You're not him. You have no obligations to his past. You should let him go, and just be yourself."

Dawit Asad Bekele: "And I sure as hell am not going to fuck a dog."

Micah Carrington: He looks blank for a moment then remembers what Josh had always said he smelt like...Had to be the instinctual thing. "oh."

Dawit Asad Bekele: "Yes," he tells Silkie. "That would be pleasant if that were true but it's not."

: ((Open?))

Silkie {Battery Park}: "Why isn't it?"

Silkie {Battery Park}: ((Yes lurker. Hop in. *s*))

Micah Carrington: "Dawit, you're not bound to fullfill every promise he ever made."

Dawit Asad Bekele: He motions to the hieroglyphs tattooed on his chest, then pauses to look back at her, flicking his hands at her in a curt wave. "It's just not."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: The Bitchmobile pulls up to park in a spot near the cafe, and out she steps. The coyote girl is in a generally good mood, despite the hangover she suffered from throughout the beginning of the day, and she's whistling some song or another as she shuts the door, heading into Battery Park.

Silkie {Battery Park}: Looks at his chest, then up at him, frowning slightly. "Are you sure you're not just having trouble letting go of him?"

Dawit Asad Bekele: His jaw pulses as Micah speaks, and he lowers his head, his stride lengthening, growing more agressive. "Do not presume to lecture me on what I am and am not bound to," he says in a low, gruff voice.

Dawit Asad Bekele: 4,2,8,2,1,4,1,

Dawit Asad Bekele: Yeah, par for the evening, he doesn't note the Bitchmobile pulling up, too busy trying to keep a handle on his emotions.

Silkie {Battery Park}: She doesn't follow, just watches as he strides away.

Micah Carrington: He sighs. "Dawit, it wasn't a lecture. Its concern...For YOU. He's gone...The rest of us have let him go."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: Along the main path she walks, cigarette burning in her right hand. She's out to make her rounds, and there's a couple kids she's supposed to make a couple deals with. She heads toward Castle Clinton, looking around as she does so.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: 5,5,5,2,6,9,

Dawit Asad Bekele: "Well, good for you," he tosses over his shoulder at Micah, somewhat acidly. He keeps on walking, his long legs eating up the path at a good pace.

Silkie {Battery Park}: 8,3,7,6,9,

Silkie {Battery Park}: "Hi Reyna."

Dawit Asad Bekele: 9,4,3,5,4,3,2,

Micah Carrington: Micah drops his back to the wall and slides down to its base with a sigh.

Dawit Asad Bekele: He pauses on hearing Silkie say that, and glances around, spotting her approaching. He stares at her, motionless. Face void of expression.

Dawit Asad Bekele: (her=Reyna)

Dawit Asad Bekele: 8,2,3,2,7,3,

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: Oh, look, there's Silkie. She grins and throws the girl a wave. "Hola, Silk. S'up?" She glances over to Micah and...wait a minute. She squints at Dawit, frowning a little bit. She doesn't seem to recognize him outside of the obvious family resemblance to a certain person.

Silkie {Battery Park}: She moves over to Micah's side, and settles beside him. "He has to choose for himself who he will be."

Micah Carrington: "It just hurts watching him struggle," he murmurs. "And its starting to seem like no matter what I do or say, i mess up." He shrugs. "Ignore me and my self pity trip."

Silkie {Battery Park}: Reyna> "The usual." Which is to say everything is screwed up.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: No, wait...the Royals. She nods a little...that's it. He's one of those Fang people. A nod goes to Dawit, and a very snarky little grin. "Hola."

Silkie {Battery Park}: "Caring about someone isn't screwing up, Micah."

Dawit Asad Bekele: He scowls as he hears Silkie's words, eyes flashing. "I know who I am," he says to her pointedly. "It is who I love I have no choice in."

Micah Carrington: "No one has a choice about who they love," he says, voice honestly bitter.

Dawit Asad Bekele: He's about 6' 4", very tan, with shoulder length, wildly flaring wheatblonde hair that's bleached almost platinum on the top from the sun. He is not wearing a shirt and has hieroglyphs (a cartouche, I believe) stretching down over his breastbone. He's strongly muscled, looks to be about 16. Facially, for those who have contact with the royals, he's the spitting image of Lucien Durrieax, the blonde teen who is the cousin of Princess Maria-Carlotta d'Ueken. He wears cargo shorts slung low on his hips, the line of his midnite blue boxer briefs showing. His pockets are filled with various stuff that makes them bulge. He has a t-shirt tied to a belt loop and he's wearing sandals. He smells of fish, sweat, and salt air.

Dawit Asad Bekele: There is a recently healed scar over his left scapula. For those who know injuries, looks like the exit wound of a bullet. There is another, lighter scar atop his left shoulder and one on his right bicep.

Silkie {Battery Park}: Dawit> "You don't have to have sex with everyone you love."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: Oookay...someone just walked into a discussion that they're obviously not comfortable having walked into. Her grin fades a tiny little bit, but it's still there. A drag of smoke is exhaled. "Am I intruding on somethin' here? I can vamoose if you need me to..."

Silkie {Battery Park}: Looks from Reyna to Dawit uncertainly.

Dawit Asad Bekele: He nods to Reyna's greeting, turning to face her after some hesitation where it looks like he is going to reply to Micah but thinks better of it. He smiles at Reyna, looking genuinely glad to see her, tho his eyes are tinged with sadness. "Hola," he replies.

Micah Carrington: Sighing, he drops his head to Silkie's shoulder.

Silkie {Battery Park}: Kisses Micah's hair, one hand caressing his cheek.

Dawit Asad Bekele: "No," he tosses to Silkie. "But it is my duty to procreate. And I cannot do so with...those I love."

Micah Carrington: He smiles saddly and turns his head to kiss Silkie's hand lightly. "love sucks..."

Silkie {Battery Park}: "You just need to meet someone you want to have sex with and then love them too." It seems so simple to her.

Silkie {Battery Park}: "No it doesn't," she whispers to Micah.

Dawit Asad Bekele: "Well, maybe in Africa, I will," he says, not sounding very convinced of that.

Dawit Asad Bekele: He turns back to Reyna, and looks her over. He seems to want to say something to her, but is at a loss as to what.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She cocks her head, questioningly, at the expression on Dawit's face and in his eyes. "We know each other, chico? I admit, there's a certain resemblance there to someone I knew..." Her grin quirks upward a little at that. "But I don't think I've ever crossed your path. And I think I'd remember, probably. You just have one of those faces...the kind a girl like me'd remember."

Silkie {Battery Park}: "We could take you to the zoo," she suggests.

Micah Carrington: He sighs. "let me rephrase...romantic love sucks...Usually you fall for the wrong people. Or the right ones don't love you the same way>"

Dawit Asad Bekele: "I am Dawit Asad Bekele," he says to Reyna. Then scowls and glances back to Silkie. "Yes becuse prison women are all ~so~ fucking sane and I want my children to grow up behind bars."

Silkie {Battery Park}: "You love who you love." She thinks about Ingvar. "They can't always love you back. Sometimes, they just don't know how."

Silkie {Battery Park}: Dawit> "We could steal them."

Silkie {Battery Park}: And she puts raiding the zoo and freeing all its prisoners on her to do list.

Micah Carrington: "And sometimes they don't love you the way you want them to...Or you don't love them the way they want." he shrugs eloquently.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: The grin flickers just a moment, eyes momentarily stunned by Dawit's pronouncement of his name, and then finds itself back onto her face. "You're...who?" Okay, this is SO not coincidence. Maybe some cosmic joke, that they have the same name as the one he got?

Dawit Asad Bekele: His jaw pulses. He lets SIlkie and Micah go off on their musings about love and turns his full attention on Reyna.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: ((same=similar))

Dawit Asad Bekele: "I am Dawit Asad Bekele. I am who...Dawit Asad Abebe became...after his death."

Silkie {Battery Park}: "We have to accept that everyone cannot love unconditionally. That it's... complicated for some."

Dawit Asad Bekele: He shifts slightly on his feet, as if bracing himself for the inevitable reaction from her, his gaze drifting off to the side, away from the K-R and Castle Clinton, finding a neutral spot to rest on somewhere in the direction of South Cove.

Micah Carrington: He nods. "And we have to deal with the guilt when the one person we should be able to love without reservation is the one person we can't ever really give our hearts to," he says, sighing.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: All right, this time, it's gone, wiped off her face as she stares at Dawit, just completely wiped by this. There's nothing but pure, naked shock. "You...but...he..." She gives a slow blink, head tilting, brow furrowed as she tries to process this, looking at him questioningly.

Silkie {Battery Park}: She pets Micah's hair. "For as long as I've known you Micah, you have always confused love and sex."

Dawit Asad Bekele: "He died," he assures her. "He was reborn in me. I have his memories."

Micah Carrington: "Because its all i ever knew for a real long time."

Dawit Asad Bekele: "But I am not him," he adds quickly. As if people often seem to make that mistake.

Silkie {Battery Park}: "They're not the same thing. Love is love. Sex is for procreation. And guilt belongs with neither."

Micah Carrington: "I should go..."

Dawit Asad Bekele: "Say hello to Merlin for me," he sighs to Micah. "Not that he'll remember me or anything."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: "How... Why... What the..." She shakes her head a little bit, hands waving back and forth as if to try and signal for a stop. Something in her brain is having trouble processing. Her eyes lock on him, blinking once more. "So...All right, coyote confused."

Micah Carrington: "He remembers you. He misses you I'm pretty sure," he says, rolling gracefully to his feet.

Silkie {Battery Park}: "Want me to come with you, Micah? I may be able to help Sasha."

Silkie {Battery Park}: Gets to her feet with Micah.

Dawit Asad Bekele: "No, he misses Xu. I'm sure he has no clue who I am."

Micah Carrington: "I'm not going back till tomorrow...Its a long drive. You're welcome to sleep in the extra bed at the hotel though," he offers.

Dawit Asad Bekele: "What's wrong with Sasha?" he asks, brow raising. Because apparently that's easier than trying to explain the inexplicable to Reyna.

Micah Carrington: "Goodbye, Dawit." He sighs, pushing a hand through his curls.

Micah Carrington: "She's coming down off some pretty nasty drugs."

Silkie {Battery Park}: "Can I sleep with you?"

Dawit Asad Bekele: "That's all you fucking seem to want to really say to me, isn't it? You've been trying to get rid of me since you found out I wasn't who you wanted me to be." He chuffs and stalks away from Silkie and Micah, leaving Reyna to follow or not, as she chooses.

Dawit Asad Bekele: He whirls around and looks at Micah. "You left Merlin with a woman who's coming down?"

Silkie {Battery Park}: Blinks at Dawit.

Micah Carrington: "What the fuck? Dawit! Damnit!" He snarls, green eyes going cold. "I'm trying not to make this harder for you...Or for me."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She stares at Dawit, expression and eyes blank, as she's left at that...at He died, he was reborn in my, I have his memories, but I am not him. What's wrong with Sasha?. Who the fuck is Sasha? Who the fuck CARES?

Micah Carrington: "She's passed the worst of it."

Dawit Asad Bekele: "Yeah, that's what I hate most about everybody in this fucking city. You're all trying to not make anything harder on yourselves. Well, guess what? Living right is hard. And trying to make it easy is just delusion. Just your fucking monkey minds throwing up visions so you don't have to face what's real. So you can walk away from the stench of what you've let go to rot while you stare at your televisions and your video games and your fucking pop culture fucking icons."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: Her head jerks back a little at the outburst from Dawit. "...huh?"

Micah Carrington: "Here's a little reality. You're not him and part of me hates you for that. Most of me just hates me for the part I played in his death. And there's this little tiny peace that wishes I were good enough so you wouldn't leave. But nothing I say or do is right by you..." He shrugs and shoves his hands in his pockets. "I love you...I don't know what else to do."

Dawit Asad Bekele: "I'm leaving because I don't belong here," he counters. "It has nothing to do with what you say or do, or whether or not I care about you, or anybody else here. I ~do not~ belong here."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She looks to Micah suddenly, as if just now registering that he obviously knows a lot more about this situation then she does. Hell, he knows there was a situation, so he knows more then she did.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: ((Forgive me, I am apparently tense-impaired at the moment. :P))

Silkie {Battery Park}: "We'll miss you, Dawit. Maybe we can come and visit you some time."

Dawit Asad Bekele: He grunts and nods to Silkie, acknowledging her statement, then turns to regard Reyna. He's still moving back and forth on the balls of his feet even tho he's standing, an angry, nervous energy roiling up from him.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: And so, obviously, does Silkie. She looks to the girl, then back to Dawit. Her hand goes straight up in the air. "Did I miss a meeting or something?"

Silkie {Battery Park}: Looks at Reyna. "Dawit's upset because the people he loves are here, but the things he needs are far away."

Dawit Asad Bekele: He sighs, and shakes his head. "I was just going to go looking for you," he says. He motions to the far side of Castle Clinton. "We can talk in the boat. Or in your car."

Micah Carrington: Micah moves behind Silkie, curling his arms around her waist, feeling stuck.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She gets a little hint of a smirk on her face. "No, no, no. That ain't what I mean, Silkie. Did I miss the 'Dawit's Trevor reborn' meeting? I've missed a couple calls lately, but I sure as hell didn't seem to get an invite."

Silkie {Battery Park}: Pats Micah's hand where it rests on her stomach.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She looks back to Dawit. "Oh." A look to the far side, then back to her van. "Let's do the van. I think I like that option better."

Silkie {Battery Park}: Reyna> "I guess you've been busy."

Dawit Asad Bekele: "Fine," he says, cheeks growing taut, jaw clenched. He glances around trying to spot her car.

Dawit Asad Bekele: 6,2,2,7,9,5,7,

Dawit Asad Bekele: He scopes it out and walks briskly towards it.

Micah Carrington: "Yeah...sleep," he murmurs, peeling himself away from silkie with a sigh, hands finding homes in his pockets again.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: A little nod, and she turns away from Silkie and Micah without another word, following after Dawit.

Silkie {Battery Park}: Watches Dawit and Reyna walk towards the Bitch mobile, then turns to join Micah. "Come on. I'll walk you to the hotel."

Micah Carrington: He nods> "And you can sleep with me hon...In fact, I think I need it right now."

Silkie {Battery Park}: Nods, and slides an arm around his waist. "I love you, but I'm not going to have sex with you."

Dawit Asad Bekele: He waits by the vehicle for her to unlock the door.

Micah Carrington: "That's good, cause I really love you too but so do not want ot have sex with you," he murmurs, hugging her tightly.

Silkie {Battery Park}: She smiles and heads off with him.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She moves up to the side door, unlocking it and pulling it open. A look to Dawit, as she gestures him inside. "After you, hon."

Dawit Asad Bekele: He climbs inside grudgingly and shuts the door, leaning across to open the door for her.

Dawit Asad Bekele -> Reyna Varinia Reiruno: [you want to go veh or ICQ?]

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She goes around and slides in on her side, shutting the door and pushing in the cigarette lighter. She fishes out a smoke from her pack and glances over at him. "You smoke?"

Dawit Asad Bekele: He shakes his head, glaring out the windshield, his eyes tracking Silkie and Micah as they move off.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno -> Dawit Asad Bekele: ((Either's fine with me. Slight preference toward Veh, easier for me to log and keep the format the same.))

Dawit Asad Bekele: (g2veh)

BITCHMOBILE

Dawit Asad Bekele: His nostrils flare as Reyna lights up, and his lips purse.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She looks over to Dawit as the lighter pops out. "Something about the Bitchmobile make you uncomfortable?" She pulls the lighter out and raises it up to light her cigarette.

Dawit Asad Bekele: "I do not understand why you all trap yourselves in boxes."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: "Quicker transport." She shrugs, cracking the window just a little, then leaning back in her seat, eyes on the other. "So, let's see if I got this proper. You've got Trevor's memories, 'cause he was reborn in you. But you're not him. Right?"

Dawit Asad Bekele: "Yes," he says, sounding weary.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: "And, how the hell does that work?"

Dawit Asad Bekele: "I do not know," he answers honestly. "He was given a choice of paths. He chose the one wherein his fears overwhelmed him. He died. And was reborn in me. I did not know it, I only knew what I grew up with. Until my...mother shared his memories with me."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: "Your mother?" She quirks her head a moment, then frowns and shakes it. "No, never mind. Um...what I meant was, your memories. They're...just the memories? You got any emotional attachment to 'em, or is it like some kinda...I dunno, other thing, where you can just sorta access them without investment?"

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: "Or is it like, his personality is in you, because the memories are, and it's some kind of sorta-kinda second personality up there? I get he's not you, but...is he in there, at all?"

Dawit Asad Bekele: He closes his eyes and issues a deep sigh. He swallows a few times after he exhales and reaches his hand out for hers.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She pulls her hand away. "Whoa, whoa. What?" She looks at him, eyebrow arched. "Spare me the hand holding. I'm a big girl, I can take it."

Dawit Asad Bekele: He grunts, looking cross, and then simply sad and weary. "It is easier than looking for the words. But harder to feel it than to say it." He sighs again. "His love...lives on in me. Who he loved...I love. With as much...ferocity as he."

Dawit Asad Bekele: "But I was born on four feet, not two. I only know certain things...because they are memories of his...my body itself seems to recall...how to shoot, how to fight, how to drive boats and cars...the things one needs to survive in the city."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: "A'ight..." She nods a little bit, shifting so she can face him a little better, back against the door. She takes a drag off the cigarette and exhales it over her shoulder, out the window. Her expression is atypically hard to read...not smiling, not serious...no real fixed emotion on her face. "Sorry to hear that. Can't be easy on ya, I guess."

Dawit Asad Bekele: "Nor you," he says, glancing over at her, looking sad, tho his mouth twists up in a smile. "Your father never tires of toying with us, it seems."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: A little chuckle, and she nods. "Yeah, he's a busy little fucker, I guess. Shit happens. I'll deal." A little sigh. "So, when did you get here? Does Angelia know? Sonja?"

Dawit Asad Bekele: "I broke free from the Belgian Embassy on August 25th. Angelia knows. Sonja knows. Kristjan knows. Ita and Aerin know. Karlos knows. Silkie knows. I would have thought that one of your sentai mates would have informed you but of course they're just as communicative as always."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She cocks her head, blinking at that list, and stubs the cigarette out in the ashtray. "And Micah, obviously." She chuckles a little bit, shaking her head. Slowly, the chuckle becomes stronger, a bit of a laugh.

Dawit Asad Bekele: He frowns. "I'm sorry. It's been...I've had to keep moving and I wasn't sure where to find you. I thought Sadie might have told you, also."

Dawit Asad Bekele: He issues a weary sigh and looks down at his hands as he rests his forearms on his thighs. "This was not how I wanted you to find out."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: The laugh becomes louder, a little giggling coming into it. "Sadie...oh." She tries to keep the laughs down. "She...oh, Christ...she knows...too?"

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: "Got me, dad..." She looks up, shaking her head through the laughter. "Un...ha ha...unbelie-he-he-vable...whooo..." She manages to get it under control, with serious effort, wiping at her eyes. "I'm...oh, shit...I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from..."

Dawit Asad Bekele: "I do. I feel the same way."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She starts to pick up a snicker again, but forces it down. "You do, huh? Which way's that?" She watches him, eyes dancing with unbidden amusement.

Dawit Asad Bekele: He doesn't say anything for a long while, just issues a sad sigh.

Dawit Asad Bekele: He looks out the window toward castle Clinton and sighs again.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She watches him a moment longer, then shakes her head. "Sorry. It's just...something. I don't know. Can't even say it's funny, 'cause it's not...well, it is, but it isn't. It's sorta..." She shrugs. "Just one of those things, y'know?" She's not making a lot of sense, and she knows it. It seemss to be making sense to her, though.

Dawit Asad Bekele: "I'm sure it's absolutely hilarious to somebody," he nods. "But right now it hurts too much to really laugh about. Unless it's that kind of laugh you do when they're torturing you and you have to make a sound but you don't want them to know they're getting to you."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: Her smile dies off, and twists into a little frown. "Yeah, well...what can I say. Lessons sure are wierd sometimes, huh?"

Dawit Asad Bekele: He gives a sad smile, still staring at Castle Clinton. "Sadie and Angelia and the Garou wiped out the rest of the slavers here. And as promised, I turned myself in as Ingvar's prisoner. Tho I don't know where Ingvar has gone to. The Princess and her entourage vouched for the fact that Trevor is...dead. So there is...nothing left for me to...fulfill here, I don't think. I was looking for you in order to say good bye."

Dawit Asad Bekele: "Silkie is right, I love you. And others here. But I do not belong here."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: A little nod, and she sighs, looking out the windshield to stare at the road. "I guess, then we should make it an 'Aloha,' eh?" Quirk upward of the lips.

Dawit Asad Bekele: "Yeah," he says, voice growing hoarse. He doesn't move.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She looks back at him, and gives a sad little smile. "Hey. I told Adam, a long time ago, when it was time to walk away, I would. No regrets." A little shrug. "Just...forgot that it might come to that, somewhere along the way."

Dawit Asad Bekele: He nods slowly, eyes growing shiney. He swallows a few times and then reaches for the door handle. "Well...aloha, then."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She reaches out to grab his arm, to stop him. "This...isn't fair to you. I know that. But...can I get a hug goodbye? I just..." She shrugs a little. "I know you're not him. I get that. But I'd like to lie to myself for just a moment, and pretend you are."

Dawit Asad Bekele: He turns and hugs her fiercely, almost crushing her.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She wraps her arms around him, squeezing tightly. Her eyes shut, and there, in the moment, she can believe it's him. "I love you, Adam. Be well...wherever you go, just please, be well."

Dawit Asad Bekele: He nods, not saying anything. Just holding her, breathing in her scent.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She stays there for a long, long moment, holding him to her. Almost against her will, her eyes open, and then, he's not Adam anymore. She pulls away, reluctantly. A little smile plays on her face as she does, watching him.

Dawit Asad Bekele: He releases her, then turns to the door and opens it, head bowed, jaw tight. He opens it and steps out, turning to offer her one last, wisful smile. "I'm sorry."

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She shrugs. "S'okay. You take care of yourself, Dawit Asad Bekele." She leans across seat and reaches out to touch his shoulder lightly. "Don't forget the lessons I taught him. I'd like to think they're universal."

Dawit Asad Bekele: He nods, catching her hand to rub his cheek against. He kisses it, then releases it. "Goodbye." And then he closes the door and strides away, back toward the park and the pier.

Dawit Asad Bekele: (and I gotta sleep so I need to fade there, thanks for the scene)

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: ((You bet...thanks for the scene. See you later.))

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: She watches him leave through the driver's side window, lips in a pursed smile. When he's out of sight, she slumps back into the seat, and just starts laughing. It gets louder, full-bellied, a little insane, and at some point, it's really hard to tell whether she's laughing or crying.

Reyna Varinia Reiruno: Finally, it starts to come down. Still giggling, she slips her keys into the ignition and starts the car up, pulling out of the spot and driving off into the night.