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(no subject)

Who: Pellegri and Margulis
What: FORCEFUL SOCIAL INTERACTION.
When: The evening of whenever regains happen.
Where: Margulis's
Rating: G, but maybe adult language?

It might have been a strange sight, a woman walking through the hotel with a shopping bag, and two dangerous weapons, but Pellegri really didn't care. And really would anyone try to stop her? Probably not. Aside from that, it wasn't a terribly long trek from her own room to Margulis's, and when she arrived, she shifted the items she carried so she could knock on his door.

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Margulis couldn't say he had been expecting company, but he opened the door regardless. A quick glance at Pellegri was all it took to figure out one reason for her visit.

"I see this place has finally been generous enough to allow you to reclaim what was yours to begin with."

"Yes... Whatever deciding force there is in this place is so full of kindnesses. Anyway, I will be returning your weapon. But, I also wished to speak with you."

And then she stared at him expectantly, waiting to be invited inside.

"Oh? And what is it that's so important that you couldn't at least inform me ahead of time."

Despite his complaints about the suddenness of the visit, he stepped back to allow her inside.

Anyone would have probably been offended by that remark, but Pellegri simply smiled and entered.

"Oh, do I need to request an audience with the high inquisitor?"

She set her bag on the nearest available flat surface, then offered his sword back to him.

He scowled at her mention of his former title as he accepted his weapon back.

"Is it no longer considered common courtesy to give notice before paying someone a visit?"

"Perhaps it is as polite as avoiding one's so-called friends?"

She propped her weapon up against a wall, and and moved to the bag removing one of the two bottles from it.

"Besides, I brought something."

She held the bottle to him, so he could read the label, which was all in French, and seemed to amuse her greatly.

"Not going out of my way to visit isn't the same as outright avoiding."

It took him a moment to recognize the language on the bottle, being only vaguely familiar with its written form, but he somehow managed to look even less impressed when it clicked.

"Of all the common languages on this planet, you would have to find something in that one."

She shook her head, taking the bottle back and replacing it on the table. She should have expected him to have a problem with the LANGUAGE, or the color of the bottle, or temperature of it. Or really anything at all.

"When I learned the significance of the area it was produced in, I had to get it. When I first saw Rennes Le Chateu, I would not have imagined drinking a wine that was made there."

She also produced two wine glasses from the bag, that had been wrapped in napkins from the bar. She forced one of the glasses into his hand.

"Anyway, I brought another one that was produced nearby, if you are too truly offended by the first."

"I'm not particularly fond of the reason for most of my experience with that language."

Albedo had given Margulis plenty of reason to learn some more colorful phrases in French, simply so he would know when he was being insulted. It had made him rather sick of hearing it.

"The location, however, is another matter."

He wasn't too eager to take the glass, but he could see that Pellegri was going to insist on keeping him company whether he was in a sociable mood or not. Seeing as he was never in a sociable mood these days, he could see her point.

She took a moment to rummage for the corkscrew, then opened the bottle. She poured his glass first, filling it nearly full.

"Well, I believe that reason is no longer relevant, so I would suggest putting those feelings aside."

And all the other resentful and guilty ones as well. She poured her own glass, not quite as full as his.

He noted the difference in amounts but didn't bother to comment, just giving her a pointed look before he sat down. If it had been anyone else, he would have refused outright, but Pellegri was the one person he trusted enough to let his guard slip around.

"But I suspect that my opinion on your discovery wasn't what you came to discuss."

"Perhaps..."

She didn't sit, she simply found a nice piece of wall to lean against before she took a long sip of wine. After a pause, she looked at him seriously for the first time since she'd arrived.

"How have you been?"

That was a difficult question and he took a sip of his own wine as he contemplated how to answer it. He knew she was looking for a serious answer and wouldn't accept an obvious attempt to change the subject, but he hadn't been honestly fine since his discussion with Wilhelm all those months ago. He'd had his more positive moments, but they were ultimately just transitory distractions from the emotions that had been eating at him. And Jin's arrival hadn't simplified matters, either...nor, for that matter, had Pellegri's cold reaction to Saori. It probably wasn't a coincidence that he'd been feeling more reclusive than normal recently.

He'd made a small but noticeable dent in his wine by the time he responded, "I've been managing, though certain events of late haven't improved my mood."

She turned her attention back to her glass. Really, she was surprised he indicated that there really was a problem so quickly. She had expected him to dance around the subject a bit more. She also hadn't expected it to be something recent. When she mapped the conversation in her mind, she was convincing him to forget about Ormus, and to embrace the second chance... So now it seemed they were heading in an unexpected direction.

Still, she had already resolved to see this through, so there was no turning back now. But, she could at least listen without making eye contact.

"Such as...?"

"Hmph, what else? Uzuki's face wasn't one I had hoped to see."

As much as he did miss his old friend at his core, in Margulis' mind, they had drifted too far apart. Fifteen years of enmity couldn't just be swept under the rug because one side had realized his mistakes.

"So it is because of Jin?"

Really, she hadn't been thrilled to hear his voice, but it wasn't like he wasn't easily avoided. No doubt he found someone else's affairs to meddle in.

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