hugtopia_logs | Lady's Night Out! Or in, technically.

♥ Who: Lup, Honerva, Pyra, and Era
♥ Where: A... new business!?
♥ When: Tail end of the winter holidays
♥ What: Lady sleepover party, time for drink and gossip
♥ Rating: probably at least PG

In the heart of the entertainment district, closest to where the majority of residents live, a new building has opened up- in theory, that is. There is a sign across that door that reads "opening soon", and the curtains are drawn across the window to hide its contents, but those passing by might catch a glimpse of things here and there. A stack of cups on a table, a spread of colourful fabric, a cat perched in the window, staring back. Hints of what's to come. Today, beneath the existing sign, hangs an extra: "closed for private party".

Attendees of said party will find the interior still very much a work-in-progress, but it has the signs of obvious progress. The business is set up as a cafe, the walls painted warm shades of browns and pinks, cat toys piled in the corner, synthetic trees and shelving along the walls for climbing and exploring. The central area is peppered with blankets and pillows all gathered in a pile, and beneath them a series of connected sofa cushions forming the "mattress". One table is set up as a work station of sorts, with paints and various construction supplies laid out, though for tonight it's mostly abandoned.

Another table is decorated with snacks and dishes, mostly finger food and sweets for easy eating; it all smells delightful, with varying recipes to indicate that the chef has been experimenting on which to choose. Many of them are decorated with animal motifs: cut-out cookies in mammal shapes, tarts with icing whiskers, cat-eared quiche. The coffee drinks too will have simple shapes drawn into the foam when ordered. The alcoholic drinks will probably not, but they're smooth and cold and are made for fun more than aesthetic, anyway. A variation of old-school or modern pop style music plays quietly from wall-mounted speakers, loud enough to be heard but not overwhelm. Two cats wander about the premises, introduced to the party-goers for those not in the know as Ditto and Kova. They're friendly, but be gentle!

Before things get going, Lup lays down a few ground rules:
1) respect the animals, and do not feed them!
2) respect the other people here and definitely feed them
3) if you make a mess tell her, that's what magic is for
4) have a good time, yes this is a rule
5) profit? maybe? you get paid for cuddles here, get drunk and go nuts

Let's go, girls! Time for some R&R fun.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I am my Mother's daughter.

That does not change what I have said.

However, it is not for I to convince you. It is certainly a far more personal matter, best heard from those you care for rather than those you do not have such affiliation with.

[ She frowns, then shrugs. ]

The Warrior of Light has a chance to succeed in her duties. Era does not. That is all that matters, in the end.

Perhaps. However it is Era that is here, while the Warrior of Light's duties are somewhere else.

[ She shrugs, herself. Warrior of Light rang too closely to something else she was familiar with, and not in any comforting way. ]

The offer remains, even if you were only inclined to create an item for sentimental value alone.

[ She can't help but bristle at the reminder that she has been ripped away from her duties. It is something she resents in a way that goes beyond all words and reason. It is not Honerva's fault, however, and Era is cognizant of that. ]

The Warrior of Light's duties persist, regardless of where they are. A dull blade will be no use in the heat of war.

My partner is the one more inclined toward sentimentality than I.

Perhaps.

[ There is little more she can say to that matter, however, before she begins to repeat herself. And there is truly no need for that. ]

Is your work intended for them?

[ Meaning the figurine that she holds. ]

[ She turns the small dragon over in her hands, considering. ]

He is not the most fond of dragons.

Then this figure serves as... a reminder for yourself?

[ It is neither weapon nor medicine, she does not say. ]

No. [ She seems both resolved and highly amused. ] I will gift it to him, and every day he will be faced by the progenitor of the alien race he finds so weird.

[ So instead of keeping it to herself, she would gift it to someone she is close to... and of course he would keep it because of her and likely place it in a way she would still be able to satisfy herself with it.

Perhaps that was the only way. Still, she can spare a flicker of amusement in return for the effort. ]

The consideration of his reaction seems to please you.

He has lived more than twelve thousand years and is so rarely ruffled by anything. [ There is no denying she finds this humorous. ] Dravanians are one of the only exceptions I have discovered thus far.

It is probable that he has other weak points for you to make discovery of. Perhaps being unused to being so uniquely challenged is one of them.

[ Such as being given trolling gifts by one who had referred to them as their partner and implied it more than in a business sense. ]

I believe I may be yet another.

[ Or Hemera's soul, at least. ]

Perhaps that may prove beneficial for you both.

[ Having someone to keep the other on their toes, or at least to keep company, with the knowledge of some shared experience and yet new ones to yet have. ]

It will only cause undue pain.

... Perhaps it may. But this is the moment you have now, is it not? You have decided to not be alone here.

He has loved my soul for longer than my world has existed, and been alone for much of his long, long life. The least I can do is allow him time with what fragments of her are left, that he might not feel so alone in this husk of a world.

[ That hits... far too close to home in a way she does not expect. ]

You do not recall yourself, and in some way, he holds that against you, or you hold it against yourself. And yet you remain drawn together.

I am not her, and so there is nothing to recall.

[ Her denial comes perhaps too quickly, but as far as she knows it isn't a lie. ]

I am fragments of her shattered soul, pieced together into someone new.

You have rediscovered fragments, if not memory. Having no recollection makes it easier to serve.

I am not and will never be her. Even were I to steal back the remaining pieces of her soul, I would still be me and no one else.

It still remains an extraordinary soul. You are not any less for it.

[ You are not any less for it.

Era and Esteem snort in tandem. ]

But I am, as is every other soul in my world and its shards. We are all of us less — that is simply a statement of fact.

Perhaps the way in which we measure is different.

[ Even if her senses do tell her of some odd inconsistencies, it is not as though she has done any tests to determine otherwise. Universes unto themselves had different weights, different problems, different issues across reality, but souls were souls; living energy. She was rather an anomaly in her own right.

And so, she leaves off the subject for now, thoughtful. Instead, she changes it entirely. ]

How did you and Lup become acquainted?

I imagine it must be.

[ Era recalls how she and Lup first 'met', and how they spoke a few times since. ]

Via the network. What of you?

(no subject)

shroudedsecrets - 2020-01-10 20:05 (UTC) - Expand

astralera - 2020-01-10 20:29 (UTC) - Expand

shroudedsecrets - 2020-01-13 02:49 (UTC) - Expand

astralera - 2020-01-13 02:59 (UTC) - Expand

shroudedsecrets - 2020-01-13 03:11 (UTC) - Expand