Scene #9405: The Parfait Life

Owner	Pose
Angela	Chesed will meet Audrey at the Library before making their way, together, to the Warpgate so they can go to Grand Dorado together. He's very chatty on the way over, too, easily the type of person who can hold a conversation for a long while. "--Oh my mother was such a fan of jazz music, if I met with her I'm sure she'd be rather frustrated that not only did I damage the family name by drawing the attention of the Head upon myself and getting killed for it, but that I get to be in a space that is constantly putting out relaxing jazz music? She'd say I didn't deserve it, I'm sure, after all I'm sure to have put the family through! Oh, I could never go back of course, but it'd be interesting to see what came of my family after everything. It's been over ten years for them, I suppose they've moved on? I doubt they've have been wiped out just because of one black sheep but their standing in high society must be abyssmal." Chesed smiles, "Ah, but--here we are! The Gate! And what luck, no ''goons''." From there it's a short trip through a Warpgate and a small walk to a bright and peppy desert shop called Posh Parfait and Yogurt, patterning those soda shops from the 50s with chessboard patterned floors and counters and stools in front gathered in front of a counter though there's some tables as well. "Now this," Chesed says. "This is parfaits in style. They put some serious effort in the design process here, this is a place concerned with ''history''. So how about you? How's everything been with you, Miss Audrey." He's finally giving his own vocal chords a break.
Audrey Basque	It's busy chatter along the way! Since Audrey was at the library, she's dressed in the uniform, coming along 'officially' to go get poetry books for Angela. "It's been over ten years for them, I suppose they've moved on?" "And you don't think about going to check on them? Or at least, sending someone to? Just... so you know for sure?" No goons, at least. Rare, but she'll take it. She's a bit familiar with the Grand Dorado; she has a place here, though she doesn't use it often, and ends up doing more shopping here than home at this point. It's hard to beat the quantity and quality of goods you can get here compared to the Hidden Continent. By far. Once they're there, Audrey orders a strawberry coffee parfait, which surely also has staples like caramel, a bit of vanilla, chocolate... "History? Hm. I guess. This kind of aesthetic is..." It predates Audrey by over a century! She's seen it before, but it's not really something that rings out to her. Oh, but how about her? "Ugh, where would I even start. My father's getting more and more invasive with his questions, my school thinks I'm a whore and a masochist, everything I do ends with being told I'm a waste of breath and unreliable, and now Lady Tamamo knows about--" She freezes. Too much. "Private stuff. Soooooo... not great." Audrey attempts to shrug it off. It doesn't really work. "At least the Head hasn't tried killing me yet. You sound like you got over that."
Angela	''And you don't think about going to check on them?'' "Ah, well, I could? But that's only bound to get them into more trouble than I've already brought them. And it was a lifetime ago. The other Sephirah, you know, they don't have much interest in reaching out to their family either. Mostly because they don't have family, or they broke ties, or they just are afraid to see what's happened since we've been holed up in LobCorp. Of course, there IS the HEad to worry about, but other Corps might be quite upset with us right now too. Even those that were co-conspirators. We didn't exactly deliver our promises ''or'' our false promises." rChesed seems content with a pomegranate and pistachio parfait. Surprisingly, perhaps, he doesn't seem interested in 'coffee yogurt flavor'. He sits down on a stool and leas against it, resting his head in his hand. "Perhaps Tamamo hides her claws well, but if she wants to make you do something it's probably for your own good. Maybe not Petra's, haha. Though it's not too late to shape up if you want. Though crashing out isn't the end of the world either. Well--" He frowns suddenly. "You know, perhaps my own experiences actually aren't the best to suggest otherwise. But--" He gives a hapless shrug. "One of the benefits of treating your old life like your ''old life'' is that the Head killing you doesn't weigh as heavily on you. Did I get over it? Or is Daniel still dead? It's hard to say but I do try to be optimistic. It may not be changing in the way we expected, but there is change coming. I'd worry more about Gebura killing you before the Head though, ha ha--"
Audrey Basque	"And it was a lifetime ago." "But you're not curious at all? You don't wonder, sometimes, how things are going? Lose a little bit of sleep thinking, what if you went back and said hi? Or just... sent a letter, or even asked another Librarian to go check on them." Audrey looks at Chesed, not judging him, but wondering legitimately. None of the Sephirah seem to miss their past lives, indeed; for some it makes sense, especially the ones without a family-- or a home. But then you have people like Binah and Chesed, who clearly left behind a very busy life. How do they not miss it? "One of the benefits of treating your old life like your ''old life'' is that the Head killing you doesn't weigh as heavily on you." "Is that how you do it?" Not particularly useful advice for her. "Just tell yourself that Daniel was Daniel and Chesed is Chesed?" It's... she certainly heard similar from the others too. "That's a bit sad, though, isn't it?" "Perhaps Tamamo hides her claws well, but if she wants to make you do something it's probably for your own good. Maybe not Petra's, haha." "I don't know about her having my own good in mind. And... I also suspect her hold over Petra isn't simply one of station and threat. But such conjecture is..." Not useful. Not to Chesed, anyway. "You know, perhaps my own experiences actually aren't the best to suggest otherwise. But--" "But speaking of your experiences. Gebura mentioned, and you hinted... you left behind an easy rich life for this? I guess that's the position I'm in, right now. Did you also have someone keep telling you to give up, go home and just get married and forget about everything else?"
Angela	''But you're not curious at all?'' "Certainly I'm curious, Audrey, but if I reach out a little, won't I feel compelled to reach out more? It's better for everyone this way. I'm not unhappy with this life." Chesed says. "You know, Binah was quite 'homesick' after a fashion, though I don't think she'd ever call it that, haha--I don't know much about what it must be like being an Arbiter, but I can't imagine it's a gentle life. It isn't really about how kind the life is, sometimes--Binah enjoys that sort of world of powerplays and misdirections and secret plots. It's where she felt she was supposed to be. Me? I felt like I needed to be with Kali and Miss Carmen and now ... Now I still feel like I've a job that's bigger than me. And I'm not talking about helping Angela. I'm afraid my relationship with her isn't quite as smooth as it is with you." ''That's a bit sad, though, isn't it?'' "Even a perfect life is a bit sad, wouldn't you say?" Chesed says. "You aren't very good at keeping secrets, Miss Audrey! But whatever hold Tamamo has over Miss Petra is one that she's chosen to keep, isn't htat so?" ''You left behind an easy rich life for this? I guess that's thep osition I'm in, right now. Did you also have someone keep telling you to give up, go home and just get married--'' "Well, the truth is, my initial meeting with Carmen and Kali was when the latter kidnapped me thinking I had stolen the wallet of the former. Miss Carmen then dragged me into the search and ... well that was that. I suppose it was a bit of a whirlwind--I won't say romance, exactly, but it was exciting you know? It's a bit fun being a bit of a rebel when you've been the light others are supposed to look up to, but since then I've learned that .... The current system simply isn't just." He shakes his head. "You cannot defeat the master's house with the master's tools--could I have held this rebel heart in me while signing on with A Corp? Certainly. But that's not a wall I could lift alone. Some systems are just stronger than any one person." He turns to face Audrey directly. "Do you find your world just, Audrey?" Chesed asks.
Audrey Basque	"It's better for everyone this way." "If you say so. It's not my place to tell you-- you've lived this life and I haven't. "Binah enjoys that sort of world of powerplays and misdirections and secret plots." "Ha... so she does, yes." Audrey has the stare of someone who's been under the scalpel one or three too many times. "I'm afraid my relationship with her isn't quite as smooth as it is with you." "Smooth... I wonder about that. I may be too soft, and... no, 'and' doesn't matter. I have to fix it. But it's not like I can wake up and suddenly be... determined, distant, willing to kill." "You aren't very good at keeping secrets, Miss Audrey!" Audrey sours a bit. "It's not that a secret came out, exactly. It's that..." Well she can't say without outing herself to Chesed too. And... "... it's complicated. And I don't know what happened exactly." "I suppose it was a bit of a whirlwind--I won't say romance, exactly, but it was exciting you know?" "A whirlwind, huh?" Audrey manages a half-smile. That's how she described getting involved with Petra too. 'Swept in her whirlwind'. Quite literally. "The current system simply isn't just." "Do you find your world just, Audrey?" "No," she says without hesitation. "Though I used to think it was. My world... is grand, and beautiful, and to simply breathe its air fills you with a vigor I cannot describe. But it also grinds down individuality into a fine paste," A bit of Petra bleeds through. "And... I am a step removed from that paste. A small, tiny step, the sort that I could undo without meaning to. And then... I'd be nobody at all, and the people I care for would not have me anymore." A rebel heart. She had one, and she misplaced it. Or she stamped it out herself. "But... I'm not looking to 'defeat the master's house' at this point. I'm just looking to be happy, and comfortable, and... me."
Angela	''You've lived this life and I haven't.'' "I hope you don't. I wouldn't wish 'my life' on anyone." Chesed smiles. "But it could have been worse. Oh there's so many ways it can always be worse." He leaves aside the matter of Binah for the time being. He's over being murdered by her, certainly, by this point but outside of that, he's not really sure where to go from here. So he enjoys coffee, he enjoys parfaits. "Miss Angela seems to have a complicated relationship with her own softness. But if you are unprepared for the life you've chosen, well, one day a Binah might come from you." He pauses a moment and then adds, "The Binah here, you see, is a metaphor. Consider it drawing the Tower Card in the deck if you prefer. Of course, even if you think you are quite prepared, you might not be. That's the trick, I suppose, with stepping a half step out of line." 'I'm just looking to be happy, and comfortable.'' "It's tough to be happy in a world you know isn't just." Chesed collects his parfait and starts digging in with a plastic spoon. "Once you see injustice it is difficult to blind yourself again. At least for people like you and me. And the powers that be are rarely keen with even a half step out of line." He pops the sweet substance into his mouth and closes his eyes, "Thank heaven for the small comforts, mm?" He trails off and adds, "I hope you can be you, Audrey, through feast or famine."
Audrey Basque	"Consider it drawing the Tower Card in the deck if you prefer." "Change, at a cost. I'm familiar. But then that's what makes the Tower such an interesting card. Of all the cards that beckon change, the Tower is--" Audrey stops herself, and then laughs a bit. "Right, apologies. My field. I don't do readings, but I know the material. As do you, evidently. A hobby?" Audrey takes a spoonful of her parfait, invigorated by the coffee. She sleeps so little, lately, between all the extra work she's made for herself, the aches, and... other things. "Once you see injustice it is difficult to blind yourself again." "I wish I could say I pursued something as noble as justice. I... did, at first, in the most roundabout sense, but it wasn't right, and it wasn't real. Now I'm just chasing after the whirlwind that swept me in the first place." In more ways than one, really. "And I fear I'm too slow." "Thank heaven for the small comforts, mm?" Audrey takes another bite. "Thank the heavens, yeah. I don't know what I'd do without the breathers. I'm... doing my best, though. I think. Thanks."
Angela	"Ah, well, I got curious when back at LobCorp Love would go 'Arcana this' and 'Arcana that'. I wouldn't say I have a diviner's talent or breadth of knowledge on the subject since getting that in depth wasn't really helpful for the work we were doing. But I'm sure I could get the knack of it given enough time--IT just isn't really within the wheelhouse of my passions." He seems to be the sort of person who likes to take his time with little spoonfuls of yogurt and fruit rather than scarfing it down quickly. "It does feel like we aren't exactly moving quickly either, but I'm worried about what comes after. Ultimately we serve Angela right now for a variety of reasons but I do worry some about what will come when she accomplishes her goal. Is that strange? She promised to release us to whatever lives we want. But we do care about justice. But for now, the moment is wonderful. There's parfait, there's friends, there's life. And that is always worth celebrating."
Audrey Basque	"'Arcana this' and 'Arcana that'." "Oh! That's cute, actually," Audrey remarks, between bites. "Love really can inspire people like that." "It does feel like we aren't exactly moving quickly either," "Angela shares that sentiment. She wants things to get faster, but-- we're limited. We can only hand the invitations out so quickly, and there's only so many people to give them to, and then fewer who actually accept them. So... I don't know what we can do to move at a quicker pace." Audrey deflates a bit, thinking on the rest. "I don't think Angela will abandon the Library, if that's what you're worried about. But I also don't know for sure how it'll go. What I do know is that it's not a matter of if we succeed, but when. Petra wouldn't have it otherwise." Elbow on the counter, head into her palm, she sighs. "But you're right. Things could be a lot worse right now, so we may as well smile."
Angela	"Aha... I don't mean with the murders." Chesed says. "But as people. It feels like during Lobcorp we were all growing so quickly once the Elites got involved." He scoops up another bit of yogurt, studying it. "It's hard to say what she would do because I imagine she can't be entirely sure herself. After all, she's always needed someone's help to leave. And that's very different from being able to leave on her own and being able to go anywhere without a time limit." But he does nod slowly. "I'm sure it's inevitable. Petra gets things done. Unless there's another war between Elites and, I pray, I never have to go through something quite like that again--then it'll get done. Maybe even if they send Arbiters." But he does nod. "Exactly. The calamities will come, but we have to enjoy the now. After all, it'll be a source of strength. You know," He winks. "For the calamities. You about ready to head back? I appreciate you indulging me, Miss Audrey! I haven't had much chance to talk to everyone since waking up again."
Audrey Basque	"Aha... I don't mean with the murders." "Oh. Well, I mean, you all... just woke up. I'd expect things to be a little bit slow for a while. I'm sure given another month or two..." What's another month or two, really? "After all, she's always needed someone's help to leave." "Yeah... but I have faith she won't throw any of you under the metaphorical bus, either. She's... she seems averse to lies, and secrets, and mistrust. I hurt her, I think, keeping something from her. I can't see her inflicting that onto others." She thinks for a moment, and then adds: "Though I don't know her as well as all of you do." "Petra gets things done." "Mhm." "You about ready to head back?" "Ah... not yet. We need to go get those books. We'll purchase a few dozen, it should serve Angela for a little while, and then if she gets the bite for poetry, we'll know where to get her even more." Maybe it's an excuse to spend more time with Chesed. He's the most like Audrey in the Library, or so she feels; and even that puts the bar a mile above her own head.
Angela	Chesed thinks of Angela, the AI who constantly says that an AI can lie and that she shouldn't be trusted and unlike most people, Chesed tends to believe it when people say 'I can't be trusted'. But ... Angela has been using such lines less now that it's ''Her'' Library. ... Maybe she just doesn't need to lie anymore? It's strange to imagine this newcomer sees her as someone averse to secrets and lies. "Well you're her ticket to the outside world in the short term. And mid term. But eventually she won't need to be nice to you because she needs you. ... Or rather to put it in a different way, she could just act nice to you because she needs you. I suppose if she's letting you see her frustrations--that is a gift that she wants the relationship to last past that." He is reminded about the books! Oops!! Chesed is a Sephirah that can forget things! He smacks himself lightly in the head. "Ah yes, can't forget our gift for the lady of the house. Yes, I know just the place. I'm sure she'll be pleased." Some part of Chesed still believes in a world where people don't have to be above other people, but he is no mindreader and has to let Audrey face that on her own.