Welcome to Gaia! ::

Nothing could perturb a person during tea time. It was one of those things that Eilian had been grown up hearing, the indoctrination into society that had started at birth and never quite finished even after she'd escaped to America. Nothing horrible was allowed to happen or be contemplated while you were at tea time and so Idris Kennedy sat in the delightfully warm June sunshine, basking in the positive aspects of her new situation.

Positive #1: She didn't have to worry about ignorant senshi any longer.
Positive #2: She was spending quite a bit of time with a friendly companion she respected and admired.
Positive #3: Uhm...well...

Her mind hesitated there, fingers immediately reaching for a miniature cake to make up for it. At the rate she was going, Idris was going to have to lengthen her morning jog just to keep the fat off. It wasn't really about body image as much as it was discipline. If you couldn't control your body, what could you control?

Throughout all of these meandering thoughts, it occurred to the violet-haired woman that she was ignoring her charming tea time companion. "Mm. I'm afraid I've been a bit distracted lately. I apologize."

To save money, Liberty usually walked to the market and caught a bus back with all her groceries in tow.

She was dressed light, her white undershirt covered by two buttons of a pastel-soft pink, green and white plaid. It was synthetic, cooled easily, and dried quickly when wet. She'd skipped the jeans, or rather, had modified a pair by cutting them off above the knee and rolling over and re-hemming their ends. The navy blue denim looked almost as good as new. And there would be plenty of people to see it.

The streets were packed. People practically clamoured over themselves to take advantage of the perfect weather. Lightly cloudy with a fresh, seaward breeze. Just enough sun to keep the body warm, but not enough to need a fan. Someone in the shade might need a light jacket.

Liberty had been passing a smile to a man burdened with shopping bags when she'd heard the laugh. Maybe it wasn't normal for girls to know exactly how their crush's laughs sounded--and was it really only a crush now?--but Liberty had been addicted to that laugh long before she'd asked Avery on their first date. She had convinced herself that she must have been of the lucky few to hear it, because anyone who caught wind of a laugh like that would have promptly swept Avery Hollister away for themselves.

When she caught sight of violet hair, pale skin and a distracted mouth happily lapping up tea next to that laugh, Liberty had a momentary panic in thinking that belief had just come true. It had, after all, been a solid five days since she'd last seen Avery Hollister. They'd texted. Flirty things that had made Liberty's heart beat far too fast. Any attempts to meet during the beginning of the weekend were unfortunately foiled by one busy schedule or another. Liberty hadn't thought to worry about it at the time.

That worry hit her now and led her straight into a happy trio of garbage cans.

Alarmed, Liberty heard the clash during the same moment as Avery. The first careened into the second, and the redhead, finding her reflexes, frantically reached out for its lid. While she was busy righting it, the second was losing its balance. A frustrated breath of air left her mouth as she saved herself twenty minutes of garbage clean-up, and the lid landed with a clang as the only casualty.

She remembered to breathe again, glancing up to see if she'd been noticed. The second she caught hazel eyes, the blood rushed into her face. That wide, lopsided grin spread as she lifted one hand in greeting.

Her attempt to cover the incident didn't make the embarrassment fade.

Picking up the garbage can lid and replacing it helped a little.

Avery had looked up in time to watch Liberty spastically [but with surprising skill] manage to stop garbage from spilling across the sidewalk. Her red face clashed with the combination of pink, green, and white, and set Avery's heart racing. The whole thing between them was really quite stupid.

Idris was speaking, and Avery hid a grin behind her glass, taking another swallow of the champagne as she lifted a hand in the air to acknowledge her... Whatever Liberty was.

Would she come over?

"You say that like it's a bad thing," she quipped to her dining companion, easily accepting the compliment [and nosiness]. The red dress was rather eye catching, after all.

Taking in Avery the same way she had Libby only a few moments previous, Idris cracked a smile wide enough to be genuine. That in and of itself was something rare in the past few days since her corruption. "Perhaps we should get you a matching scarf. One of those silky numbers that blows behind you when a well-timed wind catches it. You're a perfect femme-fatale."

It would not have pleased Liberty to learn that indeed the pair currently enjoying the sun and monopolizing a poor server's afternoon had been involved, though whether the caveat of a single encounter would have comforted her would have been a mystery. Thankfully however, the pair were not on a date and really, had never been on anything that could have been so openly classified as such. Eilian had been living her life for something Idris could barely remember, snatches of emotion and smoky tendrils wrapping around her waist the only remnants of that obsession. Avery was delightfully free-wheeling about these sorts of things and it turned what could have been an awkward friendship into a mutually enjoyable one.

Returning the newcomer's smile with one as polite as her mother had taught her, she wondered who was going to talk first. Certainly it wasn't going to be her! Idris set down her cup in order to pick up her cake, thus filling her mouth and making her too busy to talk. Did talking to strangers make this young woman nervous, or was Avery having that sort of affect that Avery had? It wasn't unusual for people to become tongue-tied around the dark-skinned songstress; it provided endless amusement for Iddy.

Friend.

Liberty tried not to think too hard on it. What else was Avery going to introduce her has? One time lover? Previous friend, but now something more? Romantic interest? All sounded complicated, and would need explaining.

Instead of thinking about it, Liberty let herself follow that tugged sleeve. A hand settled on Avery's shoulder, squeezing gently in greeting and she leaned over. A kiss on the cheek would have been considered appropriate even among friends. And would have been easy enough had Avery not turned her head. The brunette would be able to feel how Liberty's breath quickened with her heartbeat and it was only the redhead's natural ability to rush headlong into situations that saved things from being awkward.

Not wanting to be made a fool in front of the new 'friend' also helped. Only Avery would be able to notice that slight hesitation in the kiss hello, and Liberty turned it into a slightly impolite two in order to make up for the falter.

"Yeah. I'd like that." It really was stupid how one kiss could settle all her fears.

Roommate.

Well, most of them anyway. The surprise showed in green eyes as she borrowed a seat from a nearby table.

"Hi," she offered, extending a hand. "It's good to meet you, Idris."

The redhead took her seat on the opposite side of Idris, next to Avery. She tried not to think unpleasant thoughts about what happened to girls who ate cake. She wasn't one of those girls. "Are you having a good lunch?" she tried, instead. They could move onto the bigger questions later. For now, Liberty was trying her hardest not to be nosy and to stay polite.

Roommate. It was certainly sudden.

Liberty's hand was strong on her shoulder, the squeeze sending a wave of heat through her frame, and Avery shifted, accommodating the brush of lips to her cheek. It was a pleasant surprise, and she responded appropriately, turning her face to give the redhead an answering ki--- Their lips met and Avery's eyes widened. Liberty landed a second before the brunette had recovered, the sound of Idris' gasp enough to bring her back to the present.

The two wealthy young woman exchanged a look as Liberty turned to grab a third chair. The silent conversation, only a second in length was enough to tell Idris to be nice.

A faint blush lingered on her face, though the brunette said nothing about the social blunder, instead gesturing to the waiter, who quickly brought them all a flight of champagne and a menu for Liberty.

"Lunch has been lovely," Avery breathed in an effort to smooth over any awkwardness. "Iddy and I have been discussing getting into the studio, later." If there was one perk to having a musically inclined roommate, it was that they couldn't help but compose all day.

Though it was also inappropriate to perhaps be drinking champagne this early in the day, the surprise she'd had was jarring enough to Idris' equilibrium that she was sipping at the bubbly alcohol gently around a wry look. "Though we didn't know it, because they sent us to separate schools, our families move in many of the same circles. My mother is rather mercenary about me making connections sometimes; you never know who will have an older brother!" The tone was singsong and more than a little disgusted by the tone as Idris rolled her eyes. For her, it was quite the emotional display.

"As it was, I had seen Avery when she was performing in London. I admit," Now her grin widened, giving Liberty a hint of the young woman that Avery considered a friend, "I was a bit of a fan. I'm thrilled that we get to work together finally." Finally as in the singer had suggested that Idris, now without a leg to stand on as far as school or occupation were concerned, sell her music. They were going to start by collaborating on a new set of tracks that may or may not be marketed one day. The prospect was thrilling and had surprised Idris; why hadn't she thought of selling her music before?

Because selling things was pedestrian, was what her mother would have said. They were better than that. Well perhaps the Halpans were but she was now...okay she was now a Kennedy. Thinking about it like that wasn't going to get her anywhere! "Perhaps for Avery it will be fun but I'm hoping to use at least one of them to market myself. Convincing my parents that composing and scoring was actually a career path was impossible!" So impossible that she no longer had parents!

Liberty had not gotten the statement on the older brother until Avery had stated she had two. Then, it had suddenly and abruptly become clear. She took a daring sip of champagne, eyebrows slightly raised as Idris continued. It was hard not to grimace at the taste. It was light, too bubbly and too dry.

So Liberty took another sip. The redhead wasn't about to disrespect Avery Hollister over a little sourness in taste. Like everything, it could be tolerated and then eventually liked with time.

"My parents would have thought the same." Oh, sure, they were delighted that Liberty could play the guitar. But, a real girl fixed fences, got her knees dirty, could see a missing cow and be back with her by nightfall. She went to school and studied, worked hard, and she knew how to play hard when she came back. But work was never play, and guitar was for the end of the day.

"I rarely do anything on Thursday afternoons," Liberty offered up immediately. She didn't want to say she was thankful for the slight distraction from Idris, but she hadn't expected to open the floodgates of life stories. It was more than she'd expected, at the very least. "If you're ever working then. . . I've never had the chance to see a studio before."