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 Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:25 pm
Lucretia drifted up to Setsushi's door, draped in her black sheet and carrying a heart-shaped box covered in red foil. Grinning excitedly, she rapped on the door, then tapped her fingers on the box as she waited for the man of the house to answer it. It seemed like so far her plans were working out quite nicely. All she had to do now was make absolutely sure that Setsushi stayed out of the way for a little while.
... Thereby allowing the Raevan the opportunity to indulge her Laz0rTag hobby.
She had not been too nervous about this part, but the Ice Rose felt a faint bit of worry now - hopefully Setsushi would like the game. And agree to go with her and all in the first place.
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 8:18 am
The Setsushi who opens the door looks considerably less put-together than he usually is; perhaps the cafe has been busier than usual in February. His hair, though admittedly never perfectly arranged, escapes here and there from its ponytail, and his eyes are framed by some lovely dark circles.
His initial greeting is tinged with confusion, and he peers at Lucretia uncertainly... before a wave of recognition (and, strangely, relief) washes over him, and he smiles, "Madame Lucretia."
His friendly greeting quickly fades into a question: "May I help you?" he asks, a bit nervously. Setsushi is ashamed to say it, but he is afraid he may not be able to make ice cubes to Madame's standards at the moment...
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 10:58 am
The predatory part of Lucretia notes Setsushi's apparent tiredness with delight, taking it as a sign that he will be easier to snare. She does feel some sympathy for him, too, though, and is glad she remembered to get him some love holiday chocolates.
"I don't need any ice cubes right now, thank you," she informs him with a slight smile as she drifts closer to the doorway. Then the Raevan offers the heart-shaped box. "But you need some chocolates."
Lucretia stares rather blankly at Setsushi as she waits for him to open it. With her hands free, the girl adjusts her cape a little better so that it covers nearly all of the body she has, down just past the rune that emits light from approximately where her stomach should be.
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 1:39 pm
... Chocolates? ... He needs them?
But despite these soft notes of confusion, Setsushi courteously accepts the box, emitting a feeling of pleasure and gratitude, a little bit ritualized but still sincere. His delicately cracks open the lid and glances over the contents with a curious, though not terribly excited gaze, then secures the box again and moves inside to place it safely on a table.
He turns around, smiling at Lucretia -- he can thankfully look at her instead of staring at the floor -- and warmly but with still with some distal politeness gestures to invite her inside. Won't she accept at least a little bit hospitality from him?
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 2:35 pm
Lucretia bows slightly to Setsushi and drifts inside, looking around a little. Then she turns back to the Porcelain, glancing between him and the box of chocolates.
"I guess, uh, if you don't want a chocolate right now, then will you go out with me?" The Raevan spreads out her wings a little and grins hopefully. "You need a valentine for Valentine's Day. So I can be your valentine." ... With any luck, he would not try to insist that the holiday does not apply to him because he is not Gaian. Kouyo had tried that >(
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 2:39 pm
... ... ... After a few seconds of blinking uncomprehendingly at Lucretia with an gradually fading smile, Setsushi hesitantly inquires as to whether he has understood her correctly: "Madame wishes me to accompany her on an outing? ... For the love holiday?"
... Setsushi emphasizes that he means no offense, but he has to ask, timidly, "Why??"
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 2:58 pm
The Raevan nods. "Yeah, that's it."
She makes a vague gesture towards the door, then looks back up at the tall Knight. "There's this game I like to play with my brother Bhel, laser tag. I wanted to invite you to play a few games with me today."
Of course she is not going to tell Setsushi that it is primarily to keep him away from Kouyo for a while. But really, if Setsushi is a warrior among the Porcelain, then she thinks he will enjoy it, too. Lucretia certainly loves to play~
"Why? Because, uh, it's fun."
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 3:08 pm
Setsushi still seems awfully confused, though a little bit less distressed upon hearing her response. "And is that the only reason?" he asks, with the accompanying feeling suggesting that he hopes the answer is yes.
Setsushi looks around the house -- a little bit disorganized, as wasn't able to tidy up with as much enthusiasm as he usually has -- then glances down at himself, dressed in casual house clothes, while rubbing an eye with the back of his hand. "Well, I... suppose I can," he says hesitantly, though he does not keep private his doubts that he is any shape to play a game.
Still, "if it is important to Madame's happiness, I suppose I can try," he says with a faint smile.
... Though he will probably not be a very enjoyable companion if he does not know the rules of the sport. "What is laser-tag?" he inquires.
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 3:30 pm
"Yeah," Lucretia tells him, hoping her cheerful smile hides the lie. "Well, and because you have to have a valentine."
She does not conceal her excitement when he agrees, though. "Thank you!" Fortunately, there is no real rush to get Setsushi out of the house, and on top of that there is the promise she had made to Kouyo, so the Raevan quickly adds, "We don't have to leave right away if you're a little worn out. I can explain the game to you while you take a break for a few minutes."
The air around the girl gets notably colder, and she edges closer to Setsushi, still grinning. "There are three teams in a maze, and everyone gets a vest with a laser gun. And you just have to run around and shoot everyone not on your team."
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 3:54 pm
Well, Setsushi hopes that Lucretia does not really intend to be his 'valentine,' as according to his understanding of the term, that would be... well, highly improper, at the very least.
Though he makes sure to tell her "I am gratified" to be invited to accompany Madame. That she is so eager to obtain his company in particular is flattering. He just hopes she is not too disappointed when he inevitably proves himself a boring companion...
He shuffles behind the screen to pick up his skirts, outer robe, and a handful of massive hair pins and clips, periodically sending feelings of assent and understanding as Lucretia explains the game. It sounds to him like some sort of adaptation of a military training exercise -- "guns" are a human projectile weapon, he understands? "Is this game very dangerous" -- is the vest for protection, or are the bolts harmless, or is he misunderstanding something?
He eventually makes his way to the bathroom door, turns to face Lucretia, and bows slightly with an awkward smile -- he'll try not to take long sweatdrop -- and he shuts himself inside to dress and fix his hair.
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 4:19 pm
Improper... oh. The girl laughs a little and assures the knight, "Don't worry, I promised I'd be careful." Whatever Kouyo had meant, exactly.
"And don't worry, the bolts are harmless. The vests have the targets," she goes on to explain. "Oh, and there's something about points, too, but I never really pay attention to that part. Just how many times I can hit the other guys."
"Do you have games like that in Porcelainland?" she asks him, hovering around outside the bathroom door while she waits.
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:41 pm
... Setsushi doesn't quite seem as if he understands all of what Lucretia is saying, but he does feel as if he has grasped the basic concept. He supposes he will just have to try and to learn as he goes...
As for the games of the Golden World... "Youths compete in archery," but they never shoot at each other. sweatdrop The closest analogue of which Setsushi's tired brain can think is the sport of "shooting at a moving target," such as a rolling target-wheel. He supposes "The hunting of animals" also hones the same skills, but that is definitely not a game played for fun. At least not for sane people--
"$(*&@(*#," he exclaims, in time with the sound of one of the hairpins clattering to the floor. "Errrr, forgive me, Madame," for making her wait so long... Normally he has someone else to do this for him...
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:59 pm
"I guess it's not really quite like archery, because you don't have a bow. It's more like... tag. With lasers." She pauses for a moment, then asks, "You guys have tag, right? Like, where someone is 'it' and you have to run away from him, and if he catches you, then you're it and you have to catch someone else to make them it?"
As an afterthought, Lucretia adds, "Oh, if you have anything black to wear, you should put that on." Hopefully it was not bad that she forgot to mention that before he went to change sweatdrop
"Hunting animals is fun, though," she then exclaims, happily remembering all the mice she has caught for Kumoru. Their struggling, little squeaks of terror....
"- Er, do you want any help?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:12 pm
Lucretia's comment on hunting is probably the reason that when Setsushi opens the door, he looks at her with a very strange expression. His clothing has all been neatly arrayed -- his hair, on the other hand, is not so elegantly done. He's managed to wind and pin much of it securely up, with a much more manageable ponytail length... but rather than an elegant nautilus-shell design that he normally wears to battle, the loops and buns look more like some sort of off-center, bloated pretzel.
Feeling a little embarrassed, Setsushi brushes his clothes with his hand. "Unfortunately, these are the darkest colors I own." sweatdrop Setsushi is trained for the direct assault, not stealthy reconnaissance, and thus does not choose his clothes for camouflage... But "I will manage"; after all, Setsushi does not mind losing, he notes cheerfully.
Now, "Would you allow me a moment to write a note for Kouyo? ...when should we expect to return?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 7:05 pm
The Ice Rose crosses looks him over, then nods. "I guess you'll be fine in that." Pushing her cape back over her shoulders for a moment, she holds her white-skinned arms out and laughs. "I'll glow more than you will. So we can both be direct assault, I guess."
"Oh, and sure, go ahead." Lucretia edged closer to watch over his shoulder if he would let her.
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