Lemons

Umbra Rose Condos

Oh god, Yumeiko would HATE that, wouldn't she?

Like, goddamn, Velvet did something terrible, but she's clearly contrite. And being weaponized against Velvet will not be something she's fond of. Remember, we know that Velvet only reacted as she did--vomiting blood, disorientation, not even being able to walk properly--because she was starving. But the foxes don't. Bringing that level of pain to someone out of spite while using her to do it, and then making a scene as she apologizes...I can only assume that will NOT go over well.

Umbra Rose Condos

Oho~? Do I detect trouble in paradise?

Umbra Rose Condos

Oh you poor, sweet summer child... Thinking words can move the fox... And sitting yourself back down before she could respond...

... You've learned nothing, haven't you? xD

@Xaltwind

In fairness, consider how much interaction Velvet and Miyuki have actually had. I know it's not going to account for much, but what is Velvet supposed to think?

God I love how these two interact, it's just so fun!

Umbra Rose Condos

_{Late Afternoon
Building 1 Cafeteria
Interacting with: @Expendable Qaymu @Xaltwind Miyuki @CitrusArms Yumeiko}

---

The chess momentarily forgotten, Velvet listened with interest to Qaymu's story. Tried to picture a child dragon tumbling down out of a nest, being kept as a sideshow attraction. In a cage. The thought brought her no small degree of anger; while she'd met very few dragons in her lifetime, long as it was, she knew quite well that they were incredibly intelligent, and often tended towards being fiercely independent.

But then he mentioned raising the princess, and a smile came back to her face. Not the same kind, though; soft, sad. "Lucky princess. It's clear you hold her close." Pitching her head back, she stared up at the ceiling, looking for patterns nobody else could see. "I had two children, once. A long time ago." The smile stayed affixed to her face. "The vampire that turned me murdered my daughter, and my son died in infancy." She exhaled a steady breath. She almost wished she could feel sad about it, but it had just been too long. Still, her conversation with Suzy had reminded her, and now it was on the brain.

"I was born in the early 1300s, after all. It's not like health care was—"

She shifted in discomfort again. The effect of that woman's presence was growing stronger, somehow. She gave her head a distracted shake. Then another, as it redoubled over again. She flicked her tongue anxiously against a fang, wincing as she jabbed it.

She'd almost forgotten she was playing chess. Her whole body ached; nothing like what it had felt like before, when she was running on empty, but damn uncomfortable all the same. So, trying to focus and not succeeding, she picked up her queen and slapped it down at F3. She usually wouldn't move it so early, but these weren't normal circumstances.

It was then that she heard voices behind her, coming rapidly closer. Nursing a terrible premonition, she slowly turned. Aaaand there it was. Goldie was barely a few feet from her. Two steps and she could've touched her. Facing away, of course, and facing toward her? That Miyuki woman, giving her the most shit-eating grin, if only with her eyes. With a heavy sigh, she turned in her chair. She was going to find the woman eventually. Might as well be now; saved her the trouble.

"A-Ano, Miyuki-sama...shitsurei itashimasu..." She mumbled under her breath, "sono na wa tadashii desho?" After a moment to consider passed, though, she sighed heavily, stood, and immediately went into a full saikeirei., speaking with a quiet, level voice. "Miyuki-sama, watakushi no itashimashita koto wa o-kantan ni wa yurusaremasen, wakatte imasu." She took a long breath. It had been ages since she'd spoken in any kind of formal Japanese, hopefully she was getting it right.

"Watakushi wa yajuu to doutou no koui itashimashite shimai, tsutsushinde owagi moushiagemasu." She dipped her bow even lower and held it for a few moments before she straightened up, trying to ignore the gnawing pain that ate away at her from being this close to Goldie. "Moushiwake gozaimasen deshita." She sat suddenly as her insides twisted and a powerful wave of nausea washed over her, an expression of misery obvious on her face.

This sucked. And, she realized with some level of horror, she was actually remorseful. For drinking a little while she was starving.

The hell was going on with her?

Umbra Rose Condos

Yeah, once Dragon (Good) replies I'll ramble for a while about chess, foxes, vendettas, and pain.

Umbra Rose Condos

Translator's note: plan means keikaku

Umbra Rose Condos

Oh yeah Velvet is going to start making stupid moves because she can't concentrate now, it's gonna be great.

Umbra Rose Condos

@Expendable By the by, I love how we're just like...actually playing chess, it's really funny to me.

Umbra Rose Condos

God Miyuki is so petty I love her.

Amygdala Circuit

Quinn's heart was still hammering in her throat when she arrived at the park. The brief walk had nearly stretched her to snapping again; but with Camille's cold eyes in the back of her mind, she'd managed to hold on until she could extricate herself. This was nicer; not too terribly unlike the Aerie's main plaza if she closed her eye. So she closed her eye, breathed deep, and tried to figure out how she was going to make any of this work.

She wasn't naive enough to believe she could spend the duration of her stay here alone, whether in the hotel, in the military zone, or in parks like this one. It just wasn't how a pilot's life went. At some point--and likely before long--she would be called on to make an appearance. She was the vaunted Runan Hero, after all; people would want to see her, and talk to her. And like Camille said, mistakes. She couldn't afford a breakdown in public, no matter what, but she could still feel the horrible panic clinging to her.

So, again: how was she going to make this work?

Nursing that sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, she slid her phone out of her jacket pocket and opened her texts. A few more taps brought her to Dahlia's messages, and she hesitated, finger hovering over the keyboard. A long, long moment passed.

Then she closed the messenger app and opened the phone, and once more went to Dahlia. Another silent moment

Then she tapped on the contact, and it began to ring.

And ring.

And ring.

The seconds stretched out into yawning gaps as she waited for that familiar voice, and yet it wasn't forthcoming. The phone simply rang. Once. Twice. Three times. Four. Five--

"Quinn? Quinn--hello? Hey! Sorry I was just--I was in--nevermind, hey!" Ah. There it was. Breathless, like she'd been exercising; but so very happy.

Quinn let out a strangled noise that sounded something like a simultaneous laugh and sob, and had to check her eye to make sure she wasn't actually crying (again). When she finally brought herself to speak, her voice was...unusual. It had a cheerful enough tone; but it also had the characteristic tremble that she wore whenever she was really upset. "H--hey, Deelie, what's it like back home right now?"