Ari ♫ ♪ ♬ (gracenotes) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-07-30 13:09:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !log, arielle chiaro, audrey leradine |
Drinking old cheap bottles of wine, sit talking up all night, saying things we haven't for awhile...
Who: Ari & Audrey
What: Gossip and alcohol (and sekrit plans)
Where: Audrey's room at Sapphire House
When: Tonight!
Rating: PG-13 for subject matter
Status: Complete~!
Her communicator buzzed. Audrey rolled over and picked up the machine, reading a message delivered by Ari. The bard had been so busy lately, the two girls had hardly had any time to spend together. Apparently she was leaving for Ordalia tomorrow so today was now or never. Sitting up, she tossed the communicator aside and looked at her room. It was a mess. Not that it was ever clean. It just had the added aesthetic of empty booze bottles lying around on the wooden floor. She was lucky there wasn’t tatami in the attic otherwise the matron would have killed her. Standing up with a pained back, she swiftly went about her room cleaning up the trash and organizing as best she could in the allotted time Ari had left her. Wiping her brow, she placed her hands on her hips, happy with the work she had gotten done in such a short amount of time. Walking down the stairs rather quickly, she dodged the rushing maids. It seemed tonight the Sapphire House was busy -- luckily. Especially with all the trouble Emillion had been in as of late. Audrey bowed her head to the women she passed, the deepness of the bow reflecting the respect the person had earned in the facility. Fetching some wine she had saved in the fridge, it was then that Audrey had heard the door maid call out her name. “Audrey, your friend is here!” Ari was well-known at Sapphire House, though she hadn’t ever actually made use of the services offered there. Still, considering the amount of time she spent with Audrey, it was hardly surprising. Though she had been known to scale the wall at times, the instrument case on her back, the large bouquet of roses, and the bag over her shoulder holding two bottles of wine would have made the climb perilous at best. She had selected the door instead. She was halfway across the back area of the brothel when she spotted Audrey emerging from the kitchen area with a bottle of her own. She couldn’t help laughing. “Well, it seemed we had the same idea.” She shifted her arm a little, and the bag under her arm clinked. “For you,” she said, holding the roses out - at least two dozen, a mix of yellow and white, with some ferns among them. Audrey grinned at her friend walking closer to her to help her with her load. Taking the flowers, her grin widened at them before she smirked back at Ari. “Oh, so I get your leftovers?” Audrey laughed, and smelled the flowers. She’d have to get a pot for them. Leading her to the stairs, the girls climbed up two flights before reaching the attic. Waiting for Ari to pass ahead of her, she closed the door behind her and placed down the wine bottle. There were dried flowers already in her room so she simply went over and dumped what was left in the vase out her window. Flicking it dry, she placed the new flowers in the vase. “Don’t let me forget to bring them water.” Sitting back down to face, Audrey embraced Ari in a hug. “I’m sad you just finished and now you’re leaving,” Ari’s schedule tended to make it difficult to get together for casual time like this. “Bring me back a gift!” “I didn’t want them to go to waste,” Ari pointed out as they climbed the stairs. “Everything in my flat is bound to die before I return. Even the ones I got from my - very creative - secret admirer, which,” she added, “I will tell you about once I’ve had a chance to set all of this down.” While Audrey went to place the flowers in a vase, Ari flopped down on one of the ubiquitous pillows on the floor and sighed. “I wouldn’t go back if I could get out of it,” she said, making a face. “But sixty-five is meant to be a large family affair, I’m told. It’ll be hotter than any hell dreamed up by the church, but better now than at Faram’s Mass - hopefully my mother will be too occupied planning my father’s birthday to be too concerned with me. I still have this irrational fear that she has someone here spying on me.” If she had found out about Ari’s recent doings - not to mention the company she was keeping - well... it did not bear thinking about. Hopefully bringing Wil around would at least throw a wrench in her plans. No one looked like a less respectable marriage prospect than Wilcar Lockgold. “Therefore,” she continued, placing her instrument case on the floor and opening the bag over her shoulder, “Pinot Noir and champagne, for liquid courage.” And once she was back, hopefully the madness that had been her life lately would slow a little. She missed the opportunity to do this - their schedules just hadn’t lined up much lately. Audrey grinned reaching for the champagne. She looked at the bottle for a moment, before leaning over and reaching for one of her drawers. Pulling out a wine opener (don’t ask), she went ahead and opened the bottle with a pop. To her shock it was foaming and she immediately ran herself to the window to let the foam fall out. Motioning to Ari to reach for two glasses, she waited in the cool air for a while before pulling herself back in. Pouring glasses for both of them, Audrey set the bottle down and raised her glass to clink with Ari’s. “To good times,” she smiled. After taking the first satisfactory sip, she lied back down on some pillows with her hands resting behind her head. “So what’s the deal with you? Who’s this secret admirer? Someone your mother wants to marry you off to?” “I’ll drink to that,” Ari responded, clinking glasses together and taking a sip of her own. “And amusingly - I haven’t the slightest idea. Someone’s been sending me flowers, anonymously. Roses with heather first, at the benefit gala, then heather and peonies at Fedoro’s opening, now peonies and hydrangea for closing night. I doubt it’s anyone I know,” she added thoughtfully. “Everyone knows how I feel about roses.” Which was to say, not very positively. “But - who knows? My mother might want me to marry them. My mother is getting desperate.” Audrey had been very close to saying something incredibly stupid, but she bit her tongue and listened in silence. Shrugging, she took another sip from the champagne. “I do want nephews and nieces at some point.” Audrey jested. Leaning back, she rested her arms behind her for support. The blonde raised an eyebrow at her friend. “What happened with Aspel?” “Well, you’d best hope someone else is providing them,” Ari told her with a roll of her eyes. “Ask Altair - he’s getting married like a good boy.” Better him than her, for certain sure. “And - nothing, particularly. She carried me home the other night, after the show closed,” she added after a moment. “I must admit to being a bit hazy on the details, but things seem to be well enough. It’s... a process.” An infuriatingly slow, confusing process. “You’re joking, right? I wouldn’t want anything to do with those kids. Not with that crazy mother of theirs. Quite frankly, if I wouldn’t get thrown in jail for it, I’d slap her publicly.” There was a frown on Audrey’s face. The simple thought of Gale set her off. She reached for another drink, yet again raising an eyebrow in interest. “Oh? Carried you, you say?” Audrey began to waggle her brows, insinuating if something else happened. “Well, I can’t say I’d blame you for that,” Ari said. She was not fond of Gale Kapur in the least herself. “If you do, I’ll be right next to you with a memstone. Such a momentous occasion ought to be recorded for the benefit of future generations.” Ari leaned back against a cushion and smiled. “As I said, it’s rather hazy.” Not that, knowing Aspel, much had happened, most likely. The woman had a steel will - and the rules she abided by, odd as they were, seemed quite strict. Audrey sighed dreamily, resting her cheek on the palm of her hand. “I can see it now. It’d be all over the papers, too. Street rat Audrey Leradine slapped noble socialite Gale Kapur. It’d be beautiful.” Another sigh, “How I’d love to show her her place.” At Ari’s response, she rolled her eyes. “Please, your love life is ten times more exciting than mine! Give me the details.” “Love life, what a misnomer,” Ari said with a laugh. “You and Bella both are ridiculous. The details: we went out after my show, I got embarrassingly soused, she picked me up and took me home - in a princess carry, as I recall, so there, your romance for the evening - got me out of most of my clothing, and let me fall asleep on her. The next morning - and by morning, I mean noon - I woke up alone and with a raging hangover, because apparently Fighters Guild councilors work weekday mornings.” And she had been, perhaps, a bit put out by that, but it was what it was. Audrey scoffed. “That’s far more than what I’ve received. Let’s see,” Audrey began to recount what had happened with her life. “I almost got killed by my mentor. Cian carried me to Cormac. Cormac healed me. Oh, and I made a complete fool of myself in front of Darius Delacreaux.” Audrey dug her face into her hands before groaning loudly. Pulling her face back up she glared at Ari with pursed lips. “At least she lets you fall asleep with her. I get kicked to the curb.” “By Darius?” Ari asked incredulously. “He doesn’t much seem the kicking type.” When she had assisted Bella in teasing him, he had come across as almost painfully nice and wholesome, if... a bit awkward with his words. “As for your former mentor,” she added, “I told you at the onset she was nothing but a snake. A self-absorbed snake with delusions of grandeur. I do not like Alecta Escalidor. I hope you stabbed her.” “Not so much by Darius as by Cian. No, if Darius kicks me to the curb it’s in the nicest way possible. You know what I mean. That guy, he’s just so nice. I’ve never really met anyone like him.” Audrey sighed thoughtfully, “I bet he has mean skeletons in his closet. No doubt. People aren’t just that nice.” There was a pause. “Still, I quite like him. You haven’t slept with him, right? You know how I feel about getting sloppy seconds.” At this Audrey grinned and jabbed Ari with her elbow. “I wish I knew how to talk to him. It’s just a mess of awkward.” Audrey shook her head. “Don’t tell me ‘I told you so’. I need a mentor and there were hardly any Ninja offering. I needed her, but I knew I couldn’t stay with her.” Sighing, she shook her head once more. “I’m far too nice.” “All right,” Ari said, grabbing the bottle to top off Audrey’s champagne, then her own, “Cian Wilde and Alecta Escalidor are both depressing topics, and hereby decreed off the table for the rest of the night. Let’s talk about the very pretty white mage instead; and no,” she added before Audrey could make assumptions, “I have not in fact slept with him. Bella might have,” she mused. “That means hands off for me.” And really, he was a bit... nice for her. She didn't think he’d keep her interest long. Not to mention he practically had home and family tattooed on his forehead. But romantically-minded Audrey, now... “Awkward how? Just talk to him like you talk to anyone.” She had never quite grasped why some people found this to be a problem. “It’s hard to be more awkward than someone who makes references to bringing his holy rod along for an adventure, anyway.” She and Bella had gotten quite the giggles out of that one. Audrey raised her glass, agreeing on discarding such depressing topics. “I’m alright with that,” she added taking a sip of her champagne. The blonde raised her eyebrows. “Bella?” she asked aloud, then thoughtfully looked at her ceiling. “I wonder...” Shaking her head. “I don’t know how you do that. I mean, you don’t care to settle down. There’s more pressure like that. Besides, I’ve never been able to keep a boyfriend for very long.” It wasn’t long before she found her face dug in her hands again. However she peeked head out with a grin. “I’m sure he has a holy rod.” Again she went back to hiding her face. “But I’m equally as embarrassing. Not to mention his little sister is onto me! You should have seen what she wrote to me the other day. Pft, asking if I had seen his Holy Rod. His blind baby sister.” Audrey screamed into her hands. “I’m sure he does.” Another toast and drink to the supposed holy rod; for Audrey’s sake, Ari certainly hoped it was true. “His sister is rather spunky, blind or not; I wouldn’t worry too much over it.” Quen wasn’t nearly as repressed as most mages she had met. “One of these days,” she said grandly, “I will make you a very long list of things you should and should not say to men. I can almost guarantee success.” No commentary on her own wishes and the - surprising - longevity of her... non-relationships. “Or alternately, you can just be awkward at each other until you awkward your way into bed. It could happen.” Audrey had placed her glass down on her nightstand in order to throw herself on her pillows. Reaching for one and screaming into it, she continued to lie down but faced Ari. “What should I say?” she asked, quietly contemplating the two plans the bard had set in front of her. “I don’t think I can stand for anymore awkwardness on my part. His awkward is cute, my awkward just makes me feel like I should shove my head into a keg.” “Well, that certainly would make an impression,” Ari said, with a giggle at the mental image. “Maybe not the one you’re going for, however. Let’s see...” She drank the last of the contents of her glass and set it aside so that she could lie back and look at the ceiling. “In my experience, men like talking about themselves. Laugh at his jokes, compliment him - preferably not on his looks, by the way, nice as they might be - and try to find excuses to touch him.” She sighed. “It is a little difficult to be this general. What sorts of things does he talk to you about?” “That’s the thing, he doesn’t really like to talk about himself. At least I don’t feel he does. It’s hard to keep a conversation going. And if we do keep a conversation going it’s flirtatious and on the holy rod level.” Audrey drowned her face into the pillow her words coming out muffled. “Last time we talked about his healing touch. I can’t Ari. I just should live in the Sapphire House until I die.” Lifting her head, she rested her chin on the pillow. “Maybe he’s not interested and just humoring me. I don’t know.” Ari laughed again, propping herself up on her forearms to look over at Audrey, who was apparently trying to smother herself in her embarrassment. “I do hope you told him to use it on you,” she said. “If you didn’t take such an extremely obvious opening, I’m afraid you’re beyond my help altogether.” “I did!” Audrey admitted, pushing herself away from the pillow. A grin cracked through her lips. “I had a moment where I started thinking: What would Ari do?” It was hard to keep herself from laughing and she collapsed back onto the pillow. “So I asked him if he could give me a back massage. Faram, I’m glad Vivi wasn’t working that night. I wouldn’t hear the end of it I’m sure.” “Oh, I don’t know,” Ari mused. “Vivi might have surprised you.” Then again, for purposes of her own amusement, she might very well have teased, too. Though oddly, despite all of the shenanigans which had gone on in her establishment, she had never pushed Ari. Perhaps it was out of respect for Aspel, however? Ari thought she might never know. “In any case - What would Ari do? - now there’s a rule to live by. Did he?” Audrey nodded. “He did! Well, it was more of a shoulder massage.” Audrey sighed dreamily. “He really does have the magic touch.” A smirk grew on her lips. “I might start slipping up and seeing him at his office more.” “So, he likes you,” Ari said. Obviously - or he never would have agreed. “Easy. Keep doing what you’re doing - it seems to be working fine. Or get him drunk and casually slip into conversation that you’d like to get him naked and do unspeakable things to him.” Her grin was a bit wicked. “Then describe them anyway. I bet you have more tricks than he can dream of, considering - if he’s not dumb, he won’t say no.” “How does a back massage correlate to someone liking me? Particularly a white mage! They just like being nice, I think.” Audrey laughed and rolled over, grabbing a pillow and smothering her face into it. “Are you joking? I’ll scare him away. I’m a Sapphire girl, not a Ruby one.” Audrey rolled back on her stomach, lying her head down. “I don’t know. I have never chased after a nice guy. It’s easy to know what bad boys want. But,” she paused. “What do nice guys want?” Ari gave her a bemused look, then picked up a nearby pillow and tossed it lazily in Aud’s direction. “Generally the same thing bad boys want, sometimes with a side of the ‘L’ word. Occasionally white picket fences and babies, but usually?” She grinned. “No difference once the lights go off. Or stay on, depending. He’s a man with a pulse, right?” Audrey laughed punching the pillow right back at her friend. Stretching herself out, she tucked her hands behind her head. “I wonder what he looks like shirtless.” Audrey perked her head up. “Is Arielle Chiaro that scared over the word,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “love?” Ari rolled her eyes dramatically. “Scared of the word ‘love’? I sing about it for a living.” She had to sit up to reach her glass and the champagne bottle. “You need more alcohol,” she decreed. “You’re talking nonsense. And speaking of,” she added as she poured, “spill some on him. All over him. His shirt will come off and you will never have to wonder again.” Audrey sat up and reached for her glass. She downed her champagne with one gulp and then neared her glass to Ari so the girl would pour more in her cup. She couldn’t suppress the giggle that came from her throat at the thought of that. “He’s too nice to get mad at me, too. I might do this. Yes. It sounds like an excellent idea.” She took a sip of her newly filled glass. “Sometimes I feel that you really live here. You always have so many more ideas than me.” “No, I live out there,” Ari said, gesturing vaguely out the window. “I’d be terrible in here. I’m too picky.” She lifted her glass and brought it to Audrey’s with a cheerful clink. “To Arielle Chiaro - solving the world’s relationship problems, one glass of champagne at a time.” “Normally, I’d jump on something I like. You know. Normally. But I think I’d feel bad about jumping on him.” Audrey took a sip, placing a hand over her mouth and quietly burping. “I guess I keep thinking about the guys I’ve slept with and typically I get kicked to the curb.” She frowned. “I don’t want to get kicked to the curb again.” “I don’t think that he’d feel bad about it, but never mind.” Ari sighed. “If that’s not what you want - then what is it you do want from him, exactly? We’re already discussed that he does not seem the kicking type. I even told you how to get him shirtless. If you want advice on getting him to stay with you awhile, well.” She shook her head. “I am probably the worst person in the world to ask about that.” Audrey sat up, hugging her legs and turning to look at Ari. “I’m being whiny, I apologize. I’m sure it’ll be fine and if it’s not well... whatever I guess.” The blonde’s expression changed as a thought began to invade her mind. She looked over at Ari with a serious look over her face. “Did you see what happened in the Tenement District? That thing. What is going on with this city. There’s been times recently where I’ve considered packing my things and leaving. I ended up running into Quen and Darius evacuating citizens. Ended up helping them. Tell me you were out of trouble?” Ari sighed heavily. She really didn’t want to think about that night anymore. Everything that had gone wrong, and then that woman... at least she had kept everyone mostly whole this time. It hadn’t been another spectacular failure. “There’s a happy topic,” she said sourly. “Of course I was out there. Every time something happens, Aspel winds up broken in fifteen places. I went to find her. Stripped out of costume right in front of the donors, and did I ever get a tongue-lashing for it the next day.” She was still a bit sore about it. “I didn’t see the... whatever it was. But there were elementals, and a woman with a gun.” She shrugged, then said quietly, “I’m fine, as you can see. So was everyone else, more or less, which was a minor miracle.” She pursed her lips as her friend explained her situation. Audrey nodded slowly. It was a difficult time for anyone who was caught in that thing’s path. Eyebrows raised, the blonde gave the bard a concerned look. “Is she okay?” Audrey shook her head. “What’s been going on with the both of you anyway?” “As I said, everyone was more or less fine,” Ari replied. “Bruises and scrapes, mostly.” Miraculously. “And as for what’s been going on with us, you’ve been listening to the rumors, haven’t you?” she asked, pointing and shaking a finger in Audrey’s general direction. “At least you don’t believe the ones about my social climbing, right?” Wil apparently had - or had just been trying to needle her. It had worked rather better than he had likely expected. But as she poured her third glass of champagne, talking about it seemed like slightly less of a terrible idea, so she added, “Things are... odd.” How to explain? “Not bad. But not... usual.” And that deserved more champagne if anything did. She took a long drink before adding, “The rumors have helped that not at all.” Audrey’s concerned look remained on her face as she frowned at her friend. “Aspel doesn’t believe those rumors, does she? No,” Audrey shook her head, forcing a smile. “Aspel isn’t that type of person.” Shrugging, she took another sip of her glass. “Besides, I mean. It wasn’t like you knew they were both going to get promoted to council members. You knew them long before that. It makes no sense why people would question your relationship with them now, despite your friendship with them having been longer than their position.” There was a long pause as she sipped her champagne. “Did you want me to talk to Aspel? I don’t think I’d be very helpful. We’re friends, but I don’t think we’re so close. I could, if you wanted me to though.” “Exactly,” she said. “I wouldn’t think either of them would put stock in such things, but let me put it mildly and state that Aspel was quite displeased with the whole ordeal. Although,” this time she smiled, taking another sip of her champagne before continuing, “she also suggested that we play to the rumors, so the last week or so has been... rather interesting.” The champagne was going to be gone soon at this rate; holding up the bottle, she queried, “Do you want the last of this?” She was feeling ever so slightly lightheaded, though it would probably take the rest of the alcohol the two of them had assembled to get her much past that point. “In any case, we’ve terrified and appalled Aspel’s brother, so that’s something.” “That makes me think she’s hardly displeased.” Audrey paused. She was still for a moment and you could even see the cogs working in her head. “Wait, are you really having relationships with both. I mean I know you had sex with Drake. I saw that. But do you still get some from him?” The blonde was more than intrigued and a slight jealousy arose within her as to her best friend getting so much action. Audrey nodded, nearing her glass so she could pour the very last of it in. “Well, that sounds fun. I hope he’s nice and all.” “I think it was play a game or hurt something. Fortunately, she likes games.” It was one of the things Ari liked best about her. At the next question, she had to laugh. “I’m not having relationships. And, if we’re getting technical, I’m only having sex with one of them.” And let Audrey make of that what she would. “But public displays of affection with two of the most attractive people I know? Really, it’s no hardship. And if you’d seen the look on Rictor Cassul’s face, well. You’d be aiming to put it back there yourself. It was hilarious.” A scream erupted from her throat, something familiar to a pterodactyl scream and a goat. “Who?! You have to tell me.” She had already set her glass down and had gripped her friend’s shoulders, slightly shaking her. “Have you had sex with Aspel? If you don’t tell me, I’m going to scream again!” “We’re in a brothel,” Ari pointed out. “People scream all the time.” Though maybe not quite like that. “But...” Taking pity on her friend - or maybe because it was a rather sore subject at this point, and she had been unwilling to bring it up to anyone else, she finished, “No. Although not for lack of effort on my part.” She sighed. “It’s a bit maddening, really.” Leaving her shoulders, both her hands made their way on opposite sides of Audrey’s cheek. “Arielle Chiaro having a hard time landing a woman?” There was a pause. “That doesn’t sound too right.” Audrey knitted her brows down, thinking on the situation before something else dawned upon her. Clearly the alcohol was having its minor effects. “You’re sleeping with Drake then,” she jumped to immediately. “Butt man,” came her mumbles. “Maybe it’ll come with time. It does seem she’s interested in you. We had a pot running whether or not you’d get laid on your birthday. Drake started it, not me. I was enjoying myself until Vivi said enough.” “Believe me, I never would have guessed it would be so difficult. Every time I think we’re getting somewhere...” Something seemed to happen. Aspel’s behavior still didn’t make much sense when she thought about it. Obviously the desire was there, but... “I certainly hope sooner rather than later. She’s been spinning me up for... Faram, months. I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore.” Now it was her turn to fall back, bury her face in a pillow. “I know about that bet,” she added, her words slightly muffled. “Drake lost a sizeable chunk of money and tried to make me feel guilty about it. Honestly, I’d rather he’d won.” She had certainly extended the invitation, though that had been a marked disaster. “Have you just thrown yourself on her, already?” Audrey shrugged, unsure how to help her friend. “She sounds like some chivalrous knight from those children story books, to be honest.” Audrey watched as Ari dug her face into the pillows, raising a brow and looking down at her. Taking a sizable drink from her champagne, she had begun to poke at her friend with her foot. “Hey,” As she spoke about Drake, she tilted her head. “What a jerk. Want me to punch him?” It was then her lips erupted into a grin, amused by her best friend’s sexual frustration. “Why not just talk to her. Face to face and ask her about your relationship. Silently trying to move through it obviously isn’t working. Maybe she needs you to be more direct? If you tell her what you want, and ask her what she wants, I’m sure you can come to a compromise.” “Believe me, we’ve talked about it.” Far more than she’d ever had to talk about such things with anyone else. “As I said, it’s... a process. And I keep telling you,” she added crossly, “it’s not a relationship. We’re friends. Friends who occasionally sleep in the same bed. Fully clothed.” She sighed. “Unfortunately. I think I need more wine. Where’s that corkscrew?” As she went hunting for it, she said, “No need to punch him; I’ve gotten him back tenfold by now.” That was how their friendship worked, after all. Without teasing, it just wouldn’t be the same. “He learned his lesson.” Ari’s emphasis on it not being a relationship only caused her to raise one eyebrow. It was clear by her expression that she didn’t buy it, but if her best friend chose to be in denial then she’d get ready to drop the ‘I told you so’ at the right time. Audrey finished off her champagne, and watched as the girl went through the room looking for the corkscrew. Reaching at her night stand, Audrey waved it at her, handing it over and readying her glass to be poured. “As long as butt-man learned his lesson.” Ari uncorked the second bottle and filled their glasses. “Now that we have dissected our relative love lives - as you’ve dubbed them - shall we get on to more important things?” She handed over one glass before taking a seat again, sitting cross-legged right across from Audrey. “Namely, planning.” She had been thinking about it since Audrey told her about the predicament, turning it over and over in her mind. Why did she have so many nobles in her life recently? Now even Audrey... “Time to rescue your sister from marriage-minded morons,” she said firmly. It was something she could get behind, even if she did think Audrey would hate being nobility. But in the end, it wasn’t really her choice. “If you just show up, people who know you as Audrey will come out of the woodwork,” she mused. “I’m sure you’ve thought of it. So, how are you thinking of getting back into their good graces?” Audrey watched quietly as her friend filled her glass, eyes focused on the liquid as if in deep thought about everything. It’s not that she hadn’t been thinking about it, it was simply that she couldn’t think of anything bright enough. In truth, Audrey didn’t really want to return to nobility, but she felt it her duty as Juliette’s older sister to protect her in any way she could after being absent for 16 years of her life. Pursing her lips, she took a sip of the alcohol, already feeling her skin nice and warm from the effect. “I don’t really care if they do,” Audrey mumbled. “They’re all just a bunch of hens cackling in a barn.” Another sip of wine. “I ought to just pretend I had a severe case of amnesia,” she joked. “Well, you had best care,” Ari told her. “You want everyone to believe you, and frankly, I do not envy you their response if you saunter in saying you just didn’t feel like coming back previously. They may well find a way to disinherit you yet, which is the last thing you want.” She tapped her chin, thoughtfully, added, “You know, that idea is either terrible or brilliant. Depending on execution, it may be the best plan you have. Then all you’d have to do is feign ignorance - and being noble is all about feigning everything, so frankly, it won’t be much more of a strain than you’re already putting on yourself.” She grinned. “You’ll have to practice your bewildered and innocent expression.” “You mean this one?” Audrey had changed her expression into one of uncertainty with a little frown, an expression she often used with men. She broke it off with a grin, taking another mouthful of wine and setting her glass down. Picking up a pillow and hugging it, she rested her cheek against it. “Altair has already taught me some things and Vivi is helping me too. I don’t think lying should be too difficult.” Audrey frowned and sighed, “Especially after painful lessons with Ofelia.” Pursing her lips, she looked up at the ceiling and thought for a moment. “We need to make it as convincing as possible. Perhaps we should go outside of Emillion or fight something that can beat me up quite a bit. Then,” Audrey looked over at Ari, “maybe you can help me with some spells? I can’t stay still nor sleep forever. How long should I have a coma for?” Audrey made a face. “We need a doctor that will go along with it. One that won't tell.” Ari laughed and told her, “You’ve been thinking about it, I see. The expression is perfect. You could almost be a bard. Let’s see....” She sipped at her wine, considered. “We can give you a nice bump on the head - for verisimilitude - and I can put you to sleep. If I visit a lot, I can keep you under for a couple days, anyway. Though we’ll have to wake you up for food and water when no one’s watching; I don’t want to kill you.” It seemed easy enough. Find a clinic with a private room and an amenable doctor... “You don’t think Darius - of soon-to-be-shirtless fame - would do you a favor?” she teased. “He’s a doctor.” Audrey laughed, “I’d prefer it if I didn’t die either.” Though talk of Darius immediately brought her eyes to the ground and she fiddled with the glass in her hands. “I don’t know if he’d do it. I’m kind of scared to ask him. I mean, what if it’s against some white mage code to lie? I wouldn’t want him to dislike me.” Audrey frowned, sighing. “On the other hand, I know he has a little sister. He might be more sympathetic to my plight.” She shrugged. “Should I ask him-- and stop adding shirtless to his name. You’re bringing up images in my head.” “He’s got a sister of his own,” Ari said. “I feel like he might be more understanding than other white mages.” Especially if Audrey seduced him before then, which frankly didn’t seem like it would take much effort. She didn’t say it aloud - Audrey would probably assume she meant for her to use the man, and really, his assistance with this matter would have just been a side benefit to something her friend wanted anyway. But Ari couldn’t help thinking that if something grew there, it wouldn’t hurt, either. “Work up to it, maybe,” she suggested even so. Just blurting it out probably wasn’t the wisest course of action, either. “Also, they’re good mental images, I hope. Have more wine,” she suggested. “If you don’t agree with me about that, you haven't had nearly enough.” She played with her wine glass, eyes focused on the liquid still in thought. Finally looking up to Ari, she nodded with a smile. “We’ll see,” she paused, “working up to it wouldn’t hurt my predicament either.” Audrey cleared her throat, “He seems pretty compassionate anyway, so it might work.” Smirking at her friend she downed her entire glass, wiping her lips with her hand. “You’re right. Another.” |