lucetilogs | (no subject)

(no subject)

Who: Everyone! New Feathers especially.
What: New Feather welcome party!
When: Thursday, 5 pm.
Where: Battle Dome
Summary: IT'S A SUMMER PARTY
Rating: Worksafe, I reckon!
It's cold out there today, isn't it? Sure, it's not snowing but once you get into the Battle Dome, it'll be comfortably warmer. Warmer, not warm. Follow the tiny paper arrows and you'll probably find yourself in, well...summer!

It certainly looks convincing enough (a pool, a volleyball court, deck chairs, everything that you'd think you'd find at a pool party) and feels convincing enough (take off that coat! Aren't you hot?) so why not not step in? The barbecue's sizzling and there's some nice cold drinks at the cooler.

C'mon in, the water's awesome!

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Adele's body language didn't go unnoticed. He's had many, many years of watching people, studying quirks and idiosyncracies to help him with his flawless mimicry. His somber words triggered something in her, that much he understood. It was unanticipated.

His smile was wry, and almost bitter. Living under the watchful gaze of lawmen and criminals alike wasn't easy. The fact that she understood even a little of that existance spoke quite a bit about her, but made him wonder how similar their worlds were when they got to the core of things.

"Adele," he said this calmly, covering any trace of bitterness. "Think of it like this: The Malnosso seemed to have been smart enough to grab mostly people with some nobility. We shouldn't have too many worries about being killed by villains while here."

He says this, but doesn't believe it himself. He, too, had his own scars from prior battles. The wounds had long since healed and were fading, but the evidence was there. There would always be darkness in the world...

But he didn't mind it.

It is a moment or two before Adele looks back over to Lupin, it takes her longer than she would like to push back the memory of that night and claw her way back to the present. To now where the sun is warm on her back, the grass soft underfoot and she is whole. For now. Still the fear and anxiety lingers in her gaze, and she remains withdrawn.

"...Forgive me if I do not put much stock in what they would consider noble traits Lupin. It may be...less likely, here. But that potential is ever present, if not more likely, for our imprisonment." Because that's what this was. The tests, the shifts, it makes Adele wonder how it was no one's gone mad and slaughtered swaths of the villagers. Even when death isn't permanent, it is still death. Still murder.

"It isn't always villains that pull the trigger Lupin."

She was no Clarisse, Julia, or Maki: telling nice little lies wouldn't work! This amuses him for reasons he didn't fully understand--maybe it was that she didn't seem like the type to be so cynical and associate with scum?

Amused, he responds. "I know that. I'm one of those guys that pulls triggers sometimes, remember?" He chuckles at this. "I know death isn't cheap, better than most. I can also tell you that people do what they can. They adapt."

Says the man who's been so restless its been effecting his sleep.

"Besides, you might remember something if you ever get outta here. Wanna try to learn to shoot, so you don't need to be afraid at night?"

"Ah, a heroic thief are you? Of course you are." She huffs a laugh at this, warming a little. "A gentleman thief. You must be somewhat heroic, otherwise you would be no gentleman, yes?"

She uncurls a little from her tense posture, willing herself relaxed. Tipping her hand, that's what she's done, and it would irritate her if Lupin wasn't making such an effort to be kind about noticing. It endeared him to her somewhat, and earned him a cut of a smile. "Adapt or die, the essence of survival. And you've survived well enough here, explosions aside, yes?"

A faint turn, a dip of her head to smooth curls back and she's once again who she'd been before the memory. It lingers in her eyes, but the mask was back on. For now. "The night is not what I fear Lupin, it is those that would abuse it's cover. As for shooting, well. I am no marksman, but I can handle a gun well enough. It is the more close ranged conflicts that worry me."

True, she'd used a lead pipe, a scalpel, a shard of glass, but that was uninformed, messy, and had very likely contributed to the inevitable end of that evening. Something neater, more precious might have saved her. And Adele is painfully aware of this fact.

"The Game's not here, Adele."

He wouldn't elaborate more on his well being. If she was smart, those five words would more than suffice. Even though her compliment earned a delighted laugh, it was old habit to play his cards close to his chest.

"You know, if its physical fighting you want to learn, you should check with Captain Smoker. He runs classes.

"Actually...so does Ginia Solana." Don't think he hasn't noticed you talking with her quite a bit lately, Adele. "Okay, so she doesn't run classes, but she's damn good with a jitte and can probably win hands down in a fist fight." She was strong too, and fast, if that snowball fight with Alice was an indication. "You have plenty of options, really. Even if you don't remember, some things become instinctive after a while. The mind is a very funny thing!"

Adele considers this for a moment, running the phrase around in her mind before managing a half smile and nod of her head. Of course.

"I suppose I shall add that name to my ever growing list of contacts to make while I am here...Ginia? Hm." She turns to look back and over, watching the young woman she now lived with, somewhat puzzled. But not entirely. Perhaps she could ask Ginia later.

"...I will admit that I was unaware she was skilled but she does carry herself in that way, doesn't she?" A lightness about he step, a grace, an economy of movement. "I'd assumed it was her background in dance."

She turns back to face Lupin, eyes dimming a moment before she shakes her head. It wouldn't matter if she remembered. "You are referring to recalling skills I learn here when I return. There will be no need for them after I leave Luceti."

"Fighting. Dancing. They're the same when you get down to it." Both involved the same skill, finesse, and awareness. The fighting styles that were disguised as dance corroborated this.

Though his tone was flippant, he sobered at Adele's reaction for a second time. He didn't smile, and kept his hands carefully by his side, but watched her with dark, unflinching eyes. "Explain."

He wouldn't judge, but he couldn't guarantee sympathy.

"One involves a little more violence than the other. But only a little." She lifts a shoulder, glancing back over to Ginia once more before returning her attention to suddenly blank Lupin. In the short time she's come to know him he's always been expressive, a nuanced smirk, a maniac grin, a troubled frown but this...she wasn't certain how to react. So she laid one of her cards on the table.

She stands, hands loose at her side, trying to keep herself from resting one over where the wound should be. Where it was, weeks and a reality ago. Her voice is soft, but level. Something she knew for certain, something she'd been resigned to for days before it ever happened. "...upon my return I will bleed out in less than sixty seconds."

He wanted something. He always found a way to get what he wanted, even if it meant acting like the criminal that he was. "Are you sure?"

He asks this, but he's already crossing her off of the short list of his possible allies in Luceti.

"Without immediate medical assistance? I'm certain of it." Adele brushes her hair back from her eyes and gives a strange little half smile to no one in particular. "Though I must admit, I got further than I had anticipated. I don't mind dying. Not when I know it's finished."

He has nothing for that, Adele. He was expecting a little anger against the machine here, not amused acceptance.

There's a curious smile on his face when he speaks up. "You are a strange woman."

Not that he didn't understand her sentiment.

"So I have been told by many men and women. At this point? I choose to take that as a compliment." And it may end for her when she leaves but...she did the right thing. She knows she did. And that makes everything worth it. Even if she has low days, it was worth it. As long as she continues to remind herself of that, she can hold together.

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