Scene #9260: Just Tea

Owner	Pose
Audrey Basque	Petra only had to say one thing to make everything crumble. PHONE: Petra Soroka says, "It's such a particular thing that happens all the time, that people try to use me to get at Lilian. And I feel like if I let it go now, even like, something that sounds similar, while stuff sucks, then I can't be trusted on anything ever again." Audrey'd lost a fair bit of sleep to the maelstrom of conflicting thoughts, mixed with a bit of hopeful waiting. This was supposed to be straightforward and easy; every day that went by made it more complicated, and now she wasn't even sure she had a heading anymore. Not one she could see, anyway; the vague idea of a destination wasn't going anywhere, but the rails had been torn off the land. She'd left her last class just a bit early, so she could sit down and be punctual. The café in question has always been a popular spot to go inbetween classes, to the point they capitalize on that for the business. Photos of the most famous students to go there line up the wall like Michelin Stars, with Lilian's being the most recent and prominently featured. The food and the drinks have gotten a bit more expensive and pretentious, but the quality's there; only the best for best school. It's packed! But there's a handful of empty tables still, including outside on the terrace. When Audrey arrives, she's accompanied by two of her friends, a slightly shorter blonde, Sylvie Deschamps, and a much shorter redhead, Maria Luz; they're not in the same field as Audrey, but they're also pretty up there in grades and ranking, so it's clear the hanging out is some kind of honor student clique thing. They don't stick around, though; Audrey'd told them she had someone important to meet up with. They might well watch from a distance, but if they do it'll be with meddling curiosity and not as a setup. As they walk off, Audrey fixes her hair, straightens her blazer, tightens her ribbon, and nervously fidgets with what looked like a crease on her skirt. Provided Lilian hadn't chosen to arrive early and set things up, Audrey picked a table outside. She considers, strongly, ordering for Lilian; her favorite was known there, after all. But then doubt, after remembering what she looked like at her office. Would she even still like the same thing anymore? Would she be offended she'd been ordered for, without being asked? Audrey ends up not ordering at all yet, not even for herself.
Lilian Rook	Spending time with Hikaru and Lala is probably the only good reason Lilian doesn't smell like smoke again. Spending time with Tamamo, finally dragged away from work for a little while, is probably why she doesn't look like hell, too, but Audrey would no doubt hate hearing it. As much as Lilian doesn't seem to think much of her erstwhile schoolmate, Nova Heliosanctus is a place she'd left behind in good standing, with mostly positive memories, and an alumni agreement as well, and so it only takes that much to push her up into the realm of presentability again. Old and fastidiously maintained habits make it all nearly automatic, once the ambient level of misery declines just enough. Of course, after nine years, she isn't a student anymore, so she can't just show up in her uniform. A black halterneck under an off-shoulder loose white blouse is a bit of a compromise for the spring weather here and where she's going back to, but an unfortunately good-looking one with a high-waisted skirt, purely decorative double clasp belt, trendy boots and spring-serviceable tights. She'd finally found herself re-painting her nails by the end, noticing halfway through the haze of actually doing it, still holding the brush. The thought of donning armour to go off to war amused her enough to finish. Night Mist's pendant is worn nakedly over her breast. Audrey will just have to sit and stare and tolerate it when Lilian arrives trailing a small crowd, asking her ten trillion questions that have managed to increase her mood and decrease her patience. She can sit and stare like everyone else when she brushes them off, and is personally greeted by the owner, fawned over by the server part-timing, and shown Audrey's seating as if she definitely wouldn't recognize her unless told. Admiration is free, no matter how strangely two-faced it seems to thrive so much in public and be so dysfunctional behind closed doors. Audrey is already attracting distant stares; and quiet gossip about whether this is business, 'top-student to top-student communication', or deeply inappropriate in some vague and inarticulable way. Lilian sets her bag down first, then herself second. Her drink is third, being a departure for her usual for the fact that she's opted for portable and caffeinated instead; as if she doesn't expect Audrey to take so long that she could finish anything here, and that she couldn't possibly be so interesting enough to make it worth her while to try. "Nice girls." Lilian says, before Audrey's train of thought can get too far. "Two, both shorter, blonde and a colour pick." Her intonation is so casual that it feels like it could mean anything. "Though I'd say Luz is more of an out-there pick than Sabrina was. Studying the greats, but trying to experiment just a little, to see why it worked, is it?"
Audrey Basque	They'll talk about you, Lilian had warned. Yeah, of course. They already do, for totally different reasons, but now the tone will change for sure. For better or worse, she'd have to find out the hard way. This was as much for herself as it had been to get just a smidge, a speck, of aggro off Petra the night before. It's hard not to notice the crowd; it's hard not to notice the way Lilian carries herself, and the way she's seemingly glowing compared to that night in her office. Of course it's annoying; but Audrey's feelings had been a mixed bag since. She could find amusement in the misery and still somehow feel great sadness at the sight of the star of the school fallen so low. She wonders if that's The City's fault, too. Nobody seemed to have nice things to say about it. Not even Roland. Except for that sandwich store, really. "N-Nice?" The disarm is pretty much instantaneous. Lilian can practically hear the gears in Audrey's head jamming as they try to formulate a response to what she's clearly taking as quite inappropriate and perhaps a bit offensive in its insinuations. And then she just doesn't, because she can't. "M-Miss Rook. Thank you for coming. I had meant to... formally apologize for that night." Too many ears. She's being vague about it. But the crowd played into it, too. Witnesses meant security, in a sense. "Those circumstances were exceptional and your first impression of me is... ruined, really." How else to put it? "I won't take too much of your time. I just felt... as you are the head of operations in The City, for all intents and purposes, that I should reach out. Angela has taken me on as an assistant librarian, and I intend to assist her however I can, so, it seems inevitable we may have to work together." Audrey hesitates. That all? Probably. "But mostly, it was to apologize."
Lilian Rook	'N-Nice?' The moment Audrey stutters, Lilian smirks, and then tips her cup to her lips to hide it, in far from a hurry. Her eyes over the rim practically scream 'so that's your limit?', and in keeping, some invisible constant of tension drains out of her neck and shoulders by the time she sets it down again. 'M-Miss Rook. Thank you for coming. I had meant to... formally apologize for that night.' "Miss Basque . . ." Lilian begins, revealing how perfect coffee is in the moment of the masterful play of being the Adult, out of uniform, here on the margins of her busy schedule, setting it down in that iconically Patient way, to say, "I'm afraid that doesn't even begin to narrow it down." It's feature complete with the restless exhalation and the little weight-redistributing wiggle. "Though I suppose I appreciate an apology regardless. Too few are willing to offer them, and those who are tend to be so inept as to the point of insincerity." The flanking position after the hit. The scathing implication about Audrey that says nothing in particular, with Lilian making no concrete claims that can be refuted, wound back to a position of humble, even lovable conciliation; the put upon heroine feeding droplets of rare gratitude to the repentent fool. "So, thank you." 'I just felt... as you are the head of operations in The City, for all intents and purposes,' Lilian raises an eyebrow, nursing her coffee for as long as it takes for Audrey to finish, taking another sip only near the end. 'The City' could mean anywhere. She's letting Audrey keep talking like this because it suits her. 'The head of a city!' come stumbling from the mouth of the new top student is only going to increase how much the faces here gas her up. 'it seems inevitable we may have to work together.' "I wonder about that." Lilian says. The minute sigh that escapes her is genuine enough to not ned to pretend. "If we're speaking in 'for all intents and purposes', then--" She's already turned around a phrase she likes to use such that she can essentially repeat it right after Audrey while sounding above-it-all. "--Angela has too many enemies to count. After all, my responsibility is to the people; to their safety, livelihood, and future. That I'm friends with Angela is a personal matter. Even she is well aware that I can only protect her insofar as it is just." Infuriating. Putting a permanent mark on her face only made Lilian more convincing when dropping what should be eyerolling lines like that. "I haven't asked of her plans for the near-term, yet." So it's 'haven't asked' and not 'am unaware'. "So I hope that she will act with the awareness befitting someone who has suddenly become responsible for a promising young woman's future. I would much prefer that we might work together, rather than come to odds on principle over a private friendship." And now Audrey, two years younger, is 'a promising young woman', whom Angela has authoritative, perhaps even parental 'responsibility' for. "As a favour done, I might recommend that you keep some distance from Soroka at work." Implicated. Lilian takes time for a full swallow of coffee. "She has a way of coming across a terribly sympathetic character, once you've gotten past the initial shock of her behaviour. But please believe me when I say that the typhoon that follows her is entirely of her own making, and fully her own preference. Thinking your better judgement might reform her as a person or repair the disaster of her life is an easy mistake to make, and not one you'll forget easily."
Audrey Basque	The smirk doesn't escape Audrey's notice, but she'd have nothing to say to it. She's easy to offend, or maybe it's that she wants to be seen as such a proper lady that being offended is the default response to anything even slightly untoward, and since people expect it, she produces it. She might have internalized it completely and become easy to offend from it. Though I suppose I appreciate an apology regardless. Too few are willing to offer them, and those who are tend to be so inept as to the point of insincerity. If being offended has become part of her, though, at least it has its upsides, in that her apology is heartfelt. That is to say, she's definitely sorry for how that meeting went. It's not at all what she planned, wanted, or expected in any way. Angela has too many enemies to count. Audrey's discomfort shows; she clearly knows exactly what Lilian means, and even says so: "Angela has made me aware her actions caused a considerable amount of strife and disturbance, and that the attempts on her life will be many. I cannot say I know of her designs, besides her desire to fill the Library with knowledge, but I know she speaks highly of you. I hope, truly, that her goals align with yours." But she doesn't know her that well; there's no doubt Lilian knows ten times the amount, and that's after Petra and Angela gave her some scraps of lore to feed on. So who is she to talk? I hope that she will act with the awareness befitting someone who has suddenly become responsible for a promising young woman's future. Why did that feel so wrong, coming out of Lilian's mouth? Audrey might be imagining bitterness where there isn't any. "I trust her. She has shown me incredible hospitality so far, and has been instrumental in my learning process. The Library is fascinating, too. If you have not had the chance to visit, I would urge you to. It is becoming a bit more lively now that she is actively hiring, and..." Okay how does she put this. Surely Lilian already knows about... "And... bringing people back from being put in robot bodies? Sephirah, I believe?" They were on the radio, it's not a huge secret. As a favour done, I might recommend that you keep some distance from Soroka at work. Audrey clears her throat awkwardly. "I am... familiar with Petra. At the Library, she is... my superior, actually, so it would be difficult to completely avoid her. She has also been helping me acclimate. I am happy to report she has only caught me in her whirlwind once, so far. As you know." A pause. "But I am trying to be careful. I remember what she did to the school, after all. It has been... a shock to see how different she is now."
Lilian Rook	'Angela has made me aware her actions caused a considerable amount of strife and disturbance, and that the attempts on her life will be many.' "There's a difference between 'being aware', and being ready for the fact, Miss Basque." says Lilian. She nurses her coffee with both hands, turning it back and forth thoughtfully. The way she looks at Audrey is exactly as if she were actually worried about her. How masterful. "If you're working for her, you should consider it a certainty that you'll be in the wrong place at the wrong time, somewhere in the near future. And you've jumped from all of this into all of that without any spare time to prepare." Wow. She's really good at it. Looking like she actually cares about the answer. "You understand that it isn't so easy to deal with someone trying to kill you 'with magic', don't you?" 'I hope, truly, that her goals align with yours.' Lilian stares down into her cup, running her thumb up and down the side while watching the curls in the steam. After slightly too long, she exhales, says "I hope so as well.", and then pours back three consecutive swallows, suddenly as if trying to get it over with. "I'll check in on my own time. When it's appropriate." she says. "If she's made it this far, then that's how it is. There's no point in changing my plans just because . . ." Unfortunately, she remembers where she is, and clears her throat. 'I am happy to report she has only caught me in her whirlwind once, so far.' "That being when the both of you tumbled out of the supply closet at my office?" she says, suddenly a little louder and much less vague. "That is what you mean, isn't it? I certainly hope for your sake that it's the worst it gets." She frowns, inscrutably, at hearing the words 'Petra' and 'my superior' in order. Audrey claiming Petra is different now seems to be beneath her notice. It's up to a spectator to conclude that Audrey is the pathetically naïve one for believing it. "Please endeavour not to forget that this is a part-time dalliance, Miss Basque. It's not your school. It's not your coutry. It's not your future on the line in any way but what you stand to lose. There will come a point where what is asked for you is no longer worth it, and when that time comes, what you should do is leave. Don't allow yourself to succumb to the pressure and try to force your way through it."
Audrey Basque	"... I know, Miss Rook. Believe me. Combat is..." Barbaric? An unknown? Terrifying, even? Something she was mostly, though not wholly, unprepared for? She even thinks of admitting that with Lilian's background, she's nowhere near as capable or ready. "I don't know what it is, actually." She's relaxing the tone a bit. Not forcing the nice and proper speech nearly as much. "I can practice a maneuver a thousand times while at home and get it right every time. The next thing you know, a massive frog is firing a plasma cannon in my direction, while a screaming skeletal bowling alley wall is raining artillery down all around. While engaging the frog in a territory dispute." This is an oddly specific example. "And then it's like I haven't practiced at all." She's underselling herself, a bit; she'd much rather Lilian think she's harmless, in the long run, but a part of her is gnawing her own hair out for not bragging, for not smiling smugly and insisting she's as good as Lilian is. She would deserve to. She has the scores. That being when the both of you tumbled out of the supply closet at my office? Audrey turns red. There is some hushed flailing, as she straightens up and leans over the table to say, much more quietly: "M-Miss Rook! Please! You don't need to say that so loudly!! Yes! Yes that was the time, and it has not happened since, and I cannot foresee that exact situation happening another time, for any reason whatsoever!!!" Please let it not happen again, the Corridors were awful. She tries to regain a regular stance when Lilian chains on to something else. Part-time? Was it? The school was important, certification surely at the top of her priorities. But then what? Work for her father for decades to come and then... what? More of that? Forever? That was the dream, wasn't it? The completely normal dream. "Did you? Quit, when what was asked of you wasn't worth it, and leave the Multiverse behind to put your degree to use? Are you saying you wish you had, and trying to spare me your life, or are you concerned I cannot handle it?" That came out... Like I meant it, yeah.
Lilian Rook	'The next thing you know, a massive frog is firing a plasma cannon in my direction, while a screaming skeletal bowling alley wall is raining artillery down all around. While engaging the frog in a territory dispute.' This would be the moment where Lilian smiles and nods, closes her eyes and says 'That's how it is.', warmly welcoming Audrey into the fold and distancing everyone else for the exclusivity of the honour. Certainly, Lilian has been present for much weirder. Perhaps less nearly comedic to repeat, but weirder. Why does she look at Audrey like that, then? Faintly squinting from the bottom of her eyes, chin tilted up just a little. What's with that awkward pause? Even just a quarter length. 'And then it's like I haven't practiced at all.' "Practice and resolve are two entirely different things." Lilian says. "It doesn't matter that your fingers know the motions if they won't obey you. The theory of what the spell does to a human being won't keep you from recoiling from how it feels. Sounds." Lilian begins, and as a cloud passing over the sun, her eyes briefly lose their light. "God the smell. You wonder if it's the water contamination or if it's what they've been eating. Then it soaks into the shitty vinyl tiles and the bleach doesn't even cover it up anymore, so--" It's as if she suddeny remembers to breathe. Lilian blinks, realizes Audrey isn't talking, stares down at her coffee, and the gulps down half of it as if bracing herself for nauseating medicine. 'M-Miss Rook! Please! You don't need to say that so loudly!!' "Please. Everyone knows about the walk of shame." Lilian says, shifting to the topic she was just going to ignore, until she thought it'd be a good change of pace. "I'll leave it to your imagination how I do, but these are the downsides with which you pay for a dormitory. And you don't run away to the Concord if you're normal." A little putting-in-her-place makes Lilian feel better. She can look at Audrey as a tiny little bit of a fawning loser wrapped up in an inoffensively competent package, dallying with her sloppy seconds out of a misplaced bit of hero worship for the black sheep, before she grows up, gets over it, and goes back to having a real life; not these fantasies. 'Did you? Quit, when what was asked of you wasn't worth it, and leave the Multiverse behind to put your degree to use?' "Basque." 'Are you saying you wish you had, and trying to spare me your life, or are you concerned I cannot handle it?' "Nothing that's ever been asked of me was normal. You're different from me because you have the choice to walk away at all. So don't get so caught up in whatever is going on that you forget you have it." Lilian pauses to drain the rest of the coffee that she'd meant to take to go, sets it down, leans the side of her face against her palm, and looking across the table, says "Is that all?"
Audrey Basque	Practice and resolve. Yeah, doesn't she know it NOW. But the fact she's years behind Lilian on that means she has even more of a reason to crash headfirst into this until it's normal. Until she can, definitely, absolutely-- The smell, though. That sounds horrifying. Lilian's behavior is so-- it's hard to pin. This isn't chess, either. She's not sure what game Lilian is playing. Is she even playing one? She has to be. She wouldn't be this... Not that this train of thought can last. Please. Everyone knows about the walk of shame. "E-Excuse me?" She couldn't possibly mean... "N-No! There was no such... we didn't... Miss Rook, whatever you all seem to think is happening between Petra and I is..." Well, what DOES she think? Walk of shame implies... "She was feeling unwell. She fell asleep and I certainly wasn't going to kick her out in the middle of the night." Everyone just keeps jumping to conclusions! Including Lilian's wife. And you don't run away to the Concord if you're normal. No, you don't, do you? Yuuki had made that perfectly clear. "There's nothing abnormal about ambition," she sinks herself into denial. "And I won't be known as the student offered the biggest opportunity since you, only to turn it down and hide. My family would never let me hear the end of it." Well, about THAT, she's completely right. Her father, at least, would make sure to bring it up every day, for the rest of his long life. She pauses, as Lilian gets very serious for a moment. Audrey's taken aback, fully, and evidently made to think about it very carefully. "I will... keep it in mind, though." Well I had it hard, so go back to your cushy life. Are you really going to take that? Like that? That's... I've made enough of a scene. "... yes. Thank you, Miss Rook. I may not sound like it, on account of your advice being heavy and rooted in things I have yet to experience fully, but I won't forget it." The formality drops. "I'll make sure I'm not another body to be blamed on Angela, either. Don't worry about that."
Lilian Rook	'N-No! There was no such... we didn't... Miss Rook, whatever you all seem to think is happening between Petra and I is...' "I know what happened, Miss Basque." says Lilian, without the kind of comfortingly suggestive purr that'd make this all so easy to figure out. "And I know how good she is at it, too. But the world you live in isn't one where only my opinion matters, now is it?" The way she says it, the way she looks at Audrey, is almost relieved. Almost . . . bored. "There's nothing to lose by being kind to her, Basque, despite how bad at it everyone is. But there is by becoming involved; and she won't warn you before you cross the point of no return. She'll silently hope you pass it on your own." 'There's nothing abnormal about ambition,' Lilian watches Audrey with a sort of mild frown that feels like she'd given her a wrong answer. 'My family would never let me hear the end of it.' "So you're another one of those." she says, and doesn't elaborate. '... yes. Thank you, Miss Rook. I may not sound like it, on account of your advice being heavy and rooted in things I have yet to experience fully, but I won't forget it.' Lilian lets the rest of the tension she'd come here with go, but it feels somehow like 'in the wrong way'. Settling from her chest down into her stomach, rather than sublimating the stress. "I hope so." she says. "Not just for your sake." Slowly pushing her chair out, Lilian hoists her bag from the tabletop over her shoulder. Barely ten minutes for Audrey. "After the example I've set, I'd feel somehow responsible if your life fell apart over this."