[She'd stayed until the ballroom returned to the backstage, returning to that winding and unusual limited space. At least there are no tails of a long-tiered skirt to catch in any underground pools. Something about Cantarella suits the late night, as if she's floating in a sea of stars.
She offers her arm to Raikou to take as an escort.]
It's a small sliver of brightness and happiness in harrowing circumstances. Why shouldn't I embrace it? [So yes; she's enjoying it quite a bit.]
[Even if that is true, she'd have asked the playful question all the same. His companionship is welcome, but why would he choose her? It's easy to tease him about having the freedom to do something else.]
Alcohol may only soften the edge, making the cut rough and blunt, but the company will wrap it in the softest gauze. I'll pour for us, if you don't mind.
I prefer something that tastes like itself. I can hide the flavor of almost anything, if you prefer sweetness or juiciness... but it's been a while since I was able to appreciate simple, unadulterated flavors.
[Realizing she might be a gin drinker is making me, a gin-hater, sick.]
The sweeter the drink, the more it hides. [Sweet drinks can be deceptively strong, of course. That's the kindest thing that they can conceal.]
Then let us find something we can both enjoy. [To the basic but serviceable bar selection!] What has you lingering before hanging up your hat for the night?
[He's so real for that, even if, should she be able to detect that he's able to relax now that people won't cause problems for Tsukasa...why would he not wish to spend more of their time together?]
Perhaps it has something to do with being "backstage," even though we're never truly free. In the darkness, the expectations for "performance" have thinned like a veil, leaving us in the space between.
[As they find their spot and their alcohol supply, she ices two glasses, the clear cups becoming slightly frosted as it tumbles in, as if to say, that doesn't mean some people aren't still wearing their masks.]
[ answer: because he's dumb sometimes and tries to create distance but is constantly thwarted by the fact that tsukasa is tsukasa and that they literally share a bed together. ]
And the liquor too. Though most of us should know better, and the few who don't aren't really the rebellious type. [ their handful of teens... ]
[Ah! To be young again. Well, she'll show her care for him in her own special way, which is drinking and being cryptic and slightly distant, of course.]
What a responsible group we are. The chaperones may very well be the ones who need the most tending.
Is it? [Her expression turns deeply pensive. Younger people don't have to worry, usually, about navigating some of the more difficult waters of adult relationships, but they lack control, sometimes over their own lives.] The younger you are, the easier it is to be swept away.
Ignorance is not always bliss. Could it be that, seeing the others here, you're already longing for your youth? [He really is going to make her feel like a hag.]
[That's why she was asking! He seems like he still has some of his youth ahead of him, even... Though even from their first meeting, where she saw him take up his sword, Cantarella saw a certain maturity in him.
He's optimistic enough to believe in wishes and miracles, but still has been through enough to have to ponder on the manipulation surrounding them.]
You're an older brother, then. Did you have a big family, or was it just the two of you?
Just the two of us and my father, though we were close to our uncle too. Raimei is six years younger than me, but if she had it her way she would be the one leading me around. We're pretty much opposites when it comes to our personality, but we both got our mother's stubbornness.
[ they were tight knit and it shows, from how raikou speaks of them. ]
The Fisalia family is very large, with long and widespread roots and sprawling branches. My branch isn't the main one, so my family was much smaller. I was still a girl when I moved to the crown jewel of the Fisalia, Porto-Veno. As for my cousins from the main and other branches, I was the odd one out. A bit little and sullen. I was picked on now and then.
[Because the "family" itself is more of a faction than any singular nuclear bloodline, there's a little more distance in her voice, especially when she starts with the general before narrowing in, but there's tenderness when she speaks of her cousins.]
I'd have liked a sibling relationship like yours. Both spirited in your own way.
Something else that runs in the family. [Not all Fisalia's have brightly colored hair, like poisonous creatures warning others against touching them...but many do.
If she really wanted to get away from them, perhaps she'd change her own hair as well...but she isn't in much hurry to change herself.]
[She's caught the "was" but doesn't press. Since he spoke with such fondness about family, Cantarella can only imagine that what's there is, in some ways, complicated the way only strong feelings can be.]
A break with tradition, then. You must be a little rebellious. I hope you found a path to walk that was your own.
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week 1, wednesday after the ball
Still enjoying the night?
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She offers her arm to Raikou to take as an escort.]
It's a small sliver of brightness and happiness in harrowing circumstances. Why shouldn't I embrace it? [So yes; she's enjoying it quite a bit.]
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[ he'll take her on his arm with ease. ]
With that in mind, I suppose returning to Rose Quartz might be a bit premature?
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I scarcely find sleep in that crypt a comfort to begin with. Unless you have a reason to return?
[She leans a little closer with her teasing smile floating ever so gently.]
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he meets her teasing smile with an easy one. ]
Then we'll stay out a little bit longer. [ just a bit. ]
Maybe we can get a nightcap to help you sleep?
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Alcohol may only soften the edge, making the cut rough and blunt, but the company will wrap it in the softest gauze. I'll pour for us, if you don't mind.
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What's your drink of choice?
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[Realizing she might be a gin drinker is making me, a gin-hater, sick.]
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I don't mind other straight liquors, though.
[ oh no... f ]
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Then let us find something we can both enjoy. [To the basic but serviceable bar selection!] What has you lingering before hanging up your hat for the night?
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I usually keep later hours. Tonight also appears to be one where the good mood has been relatively contagious.
[ read: he's less worried about tsukasa tonight now that he's made sure that certain actors have left without causing trouble. ]
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Perhaps it has something to do with being "backstage," even though we're never truly free. In the darkness, the expectations for "performance" have thinned like a veil, leaving us in the space between.
[As they find their spot and their alcohol supply, she ices two glasses, the clear cups becoming slightly frosted as it tumbles in, as if to say, that doesn't mean some people aren't still wearing their masks.]
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And the liquor too. Though most of us should know better, and the few who don't aren't really the rebellious type. [ their handful of teens... ]
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What a responsible group we are. The chaperones may very well be the ones who need the most tending.
[And this is before the weekend!]
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[ says the twenty year old, but he is at that age where he's no longer a kid but also not quite an adult. ]
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Ignorance is not always bliss. Could it be that, seeing the others here, you're already longing for your youth? [He really is going to make her feel like a hag.]
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I'm not that old! Even if Tsukasa basically told me that he could see me in politics when we first smoke.
[ his smile is of course, stupidly fond. ]
But I do miss some things, like taking care of my sister when she was little. My family was strict, but we knew how to have fun too.
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He's optimistic enough to believe in wishes and miracles, but still has been through enough to have to ponder on the manipulation surrounding them.]
You're an older brother, then. Did you have a big family, or was it just the two of you?
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[ they were tight knit and it shows, from how raikou speaks of them. ]
Do you have a big family? Or a small one?
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[Because the "family" itself is more of a faction than any singular nuclear bloodline, there's a little more distance in her voice, especially when she starts with the general before narrowing in, but there's tenderness when she speaks of her cousins.]
I'd have liked a sibling relationship like yours. Both spirited in your own way.
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[ ... ]
But I'm glad you had your cousins, at least. I don't think I could imagine you being sullen....but could you imagine me with blonde hair?
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[Cantarella pulls a smile, her eyes closed.]
Do you mean your hair doesn't come in like that? [Because, well...look at hers.] This makes you stand out like the crown of a silk flower.
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[ blue isn't his color, but cantarella's really is so lovely. ]
My natural hair color is a little darker than Tsukasa's.
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If she really wanted to get away from them, perhaps she'd change her own hair as well...but she isn't in much hurry to change herself.]
Do you dye it for fashion?
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[ when you're not in anime land, pink is a very obscene hair color for someone Japanese. ]
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A break with tradition, then. You must be a little rebellious. I hope you found a path to walk that was your own.
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[ he's someone who both breaks with tradition, but also remains steadfast in some virtues he was raised on. ]
But I have found a path, even if it's not the one I was meant to walk. But I don't mind.