Scene #2189:

Owner	Pose
Landon al Cid	His mother and father are busy with Harald Wolf-Lord. His sisters have escaped the palace on various excuses, which ultimately come down to 'we don't have to be there and so we won't.' So Landon al Cid has /also/, for once, managed to work out an excuse not to be present, and dragged Cirra off with him. Sure, it's shirking duty, and he hates that, but...he doesn't need to be around Harald, or politics, or anything else right now. He needs to talk about...about /feelings/ and things. Diplomatic situations are not conducive to that sort of thing. Fancy restauraunts are. The top floor of a very tall building contains a Ramuhan restauraunt that happens to be one of Landon's favorite places to eat. Broad windows slick with rain allow diners to look out over the city and enjoy the lightning, the thunderclouds, and the electric neon lights of the city. The food happens to be quite good, too. Landon is currently staring out the window, eating a steamed vegetable of some sort. He's not looking at Cirra.
Cirra Constantine	Dinner was a suprise, it should have been a nice one. But Landon looks distracted. And it's not by the black dress with crossover straps and detatched sleeves Cirra is wearing - It was from one of Landon's sisters. So despite the good quality of the food, Cirra ends up looking at Landon while he's looking out the window. "Landon." She says insistantly.
Landon al Cid	Cirra's dress has gotten some attention. Landon's not blind. He's a teenager, of course he's stared on and off at her, but he hasn't said much all night. He's mostly just been eating and thoughtfully looking out the window. When she gets his attention, Landon turns to look at her, a distant smile on his face. "Ah...sorry. I was just...I was thinking, that's all." Landon takes a sip from his drink and stares at her for a moment. "...it's..." He purses his lips. "...Cirra, you've heard about Kyra and Dominic, right?"
Cirra Constantine	"You mean their thoughtless plan to run away together?" Cirra says cooly as she raises a fork to her lips and begins chewing carefully. Once she's done she lowers her fork again. "They want to be happy together, but they're going to run away. They're both minors. This is going to end terribly for them." "And thats one of the better case scenarios."
Landon al Cid	Right to the point. Like a dagger to the heart. Cirra's characteristic directness brought a smile to Landon's face almost immediately as he listened to her, leaning against his cheek. "So you have heard about it," he observes cheerfully, "I was wondering what your opinions were, but...you made them loud and clear." "..." He frowns, looking back out the window. "...a lot of people are going to get hurt. A lot of people are going to be put in uncomfortable positions, awkward and unpleasant and probably dangerous in the very near future. A lot of people are probably going to suffer because of it." He doesn't add 'us included,' but the glance he takes at her probably say more than the words would've. "...don't you envy it, though? That kind of freedom, just a little...?"
Cirra Constantine	"No." Cirra says bluntly. "They're going to go into something without any certainty at all. There's freedom and then there's being irresponsible." Cirra looks up at Landon, "They'd be better off staying here and dealing with the situation and creating something they can build on." she sighs, "I certainly hope you haven't been having the same thoughts."
Landon al Cid	"No," Landon replies honestly as he pokes at his meal, "I haven't. I haven't thought about it at all. It might be nice, but it's not something I'm capable of doing. Too many people rely on me. You don't need to worry about me abandoning my station to run off with you." He grins at her, though his face takes on a particularly red hue as he buries it in his food. After a bit of eating, so as not to have to reply to anything she says, he leans back in the chair to stare at her. "...no. I'm worried that this will hurt them, free Murasame of his obligations, and put more pressure on me with regards to Lady Dolet. If Murasame's actually free of his arranged marriage and makes overtures..." Landon shrugs. He stares down at his plate. "...also, I...think it makes me angry, Cirra. I think I...think less of my friends."
Cirra Constantine	"Yes." CCirra agrees, Murasame and Dolet. "The Dolet company is privatly owned by the family... I'm suprised large companies still do something that archaic. Passing down controll purely by descendant. Our economy is as much a monarchy as our goverment." Makes him angry? "THaty're skipping out on their obligations, or that you can't?" "You're blushing."
Landon al Cid	"...I can't, of course," Landon sighs, looking out the window, "Any time I think of how nice it might be, to just...to just go and vanish, to relieve all the terrible pressures of the crown and find solace and peace somewhere else, I look out the window." Landon stands, removing the napkin from his lap, and walks over to touch the glass. "I look out the window, and I think of all the people who will be relying on me. All the people who will need my help. Who I'll be governing. Who I'll be looking after. Who I'll be trying to improve the lives of, even just a little, even if it's just for their children." He looks back at Cirra. "I can't...just turn away from that. And I'm envious of the ability to simply leave, to take life into their own hands and enjoy it, even if it leads to terrible, irresponsible mistakes. They don't have a whole Plate relying on them. A whole kingdom." Landon closes his eyes and presses his forehead to the glass. It's cool, like it always is in Ramuh. The sound of the rain on windows is the everpresent music in the city; thousands of compositions have been done to try and nail down what makes it so haunting and beautiful, and thousands more have been inspired by or incorporated it into their music. Landon stands there, listening to it for a moment. "And I wonder, perhaps, if this isn't how Murasame feels," he admits quietly, "And if this isn't how the other nobles feel. Envious of the common man's freedom. Looking down on them, on their decisions, to make themselves feel a little bit better." "I'm angry that my friends have put me in a position like this. That people I care about have, with their actions, not only impacted my personal life, but the very way I look at the world. I'm angry that I sound like those stuck-up nobles, and that I can't find myself really disagreeing, because of course those trapped in a cage desire freedom, and of course to make themselves feel better, they would convince themselves that the cave is beautiful and wonderful and that freedom is for fools."
Cirra Constantine	Cirra stands up from the table and moves to stands behind Landon at the glass window. "Landon." she takes his hand in both of hers. "Murasame seeks control, he doesn't escape his situaiton because that would mean losing control of everything around him." "Even if this does free him to pursue the Dolet Corperation, that doesn't mean he's won. the fight changes, as it always does." Letting go with one hand she presses it to Landon's back, "If you're angry at Kyra and Dominic then they're the only ones you can tell that too. They won't ever understand if it turns into bitterness and resentment." she takes a step forward, leaning against Landon's back, "And I don't want to see you turn out that way."
Landon al Cid	"How can I say that?" Landon demands as Cirra puts her hand on his back, "How do I tell my friends how envious I am, and how angry it makes me, and how it truly makes me think less of them? How can I tell people I value highly that I think such a selfish, angry thing?"
Cirra Constantine	"Because you owe it to them to speak your mind." Cirra says, "Like I said, you can't grow bitter or resentfull over their actions if you're honest to them about them." She steps back.
Landon al Cid	Landon sighs. "That's uncharacteristically expressive of you," he teases, "But it is excellent advice. I'll...talk to them, when I get a chance. When I figure out what to say, so it doesn't make me sound like..." "Like..." "Well, like a jerk."
Cirra Constantine	Smirking, Cirra turns back towards the table. "Maybe it was just for your benefit." "And you couldn't be a jerk even if you tried." She seats herself back down at the table.
Landon al Cid	"I don't think you would give me advice you wouldn't follow yourself," Landon replies, turning to look at her critically. "I don't think you've ever been that sort of person, in all the time I've known you, to make a claim and then not follow through on it." "...I think I would far more easily be a jerk if I didn't try," Landon admits, looking back out the window. His fingers trail down the glass thoughtfully.
Cirra Constantine	"I wouldn't tell you to do something I wouldn't do myself." Cirra agrees. "But if you don't come away from that window, you're awfully expensive meal is going to get cold before you finish it." "And you know what your father says about cold food."
Landon al Cid	Landon laughs. "You sound like Mother." "...thank you. As...as ever and as always."