Day 41: Sun Room

[feartehreaper]

Haseo's steps were heavy with the weight of righteous anger as he was escorted into the Sun Room, his posture so sullen and reluctant you could almost hear the nostalgic cry of an electric guitar. He was seething, and though perhaps it was a bit harder to be intimidating while wearing the uniform of an insane asylum and flanked by a bored-looking

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[blood_and_pocky]

[Is exclusively for Senna cool, Aison?]

First Kaito and then that person at breakfast… The day wasn’t looking particularly bright, and in fact, had the initial look of one that would turn out bad. Bad for somebody, bad for Aidou’s temper. For now, it was bordering on lukewarm. The vampire felt like keeping an eye on it, as though it were a living entity that was working against him for some reason.

But a better source for that kind of thought was Landel…

No way was this semi-adult going outside, which left one trouble free option left. The Sun Room wasn’t much better, but the bulletin was there, and it was the unofficial hub of Landel’s. If he hadn’t been approached about plans by the start of lunch, he’d take the initiative and find Sasuke himself, though he’d gotten a glimpse of the boy during the breakfast hours, and it hadn’t been a pretty sight. Everybody wore that kind of expression at some point while being in Landel’s. Even him.

Commandeering a couch in the corner for himself, the vampire stretched out along with, an arm thrown over his face to block the light. He hadn’t brought his journal along to help with the task, but he hadn’t needed it nearby to write in. He’d had time enough for that during dinner, if Kaito didn’t make another wrong step.

[windstwilight]

[exclusive is good. ^_~ also, from here]

Senna rotated her neck as she came into the sun room. A shower had definitely done her a little good. Some of the kinks in her shoulders were worked out by the warm spray, and her hair definitely felt better clean, even if it was still damp. She finger-combed it absentmindedly, the ribbon that normally tied it up hanging from her hand. And what should she do this shift...?

The answer seemed obvious in the form of a sprawled out prince-type. The larger part of Senna saw nothing wrong with going over to him and making nice, even if he didn't want it. On that other hand... What he had said to her, that there was nothing good here, with the judgmental air that he had handed it to her still stung. But if she let a guy get to her now, she wouldn't really be her, now would she? And making playing nice and trying to be herself would knock out of the funk that talking to Momo had brought on.

Right. Time to be friendly.

She walked over lightly, a hand still immersed in her short hair. "Heya," she said, smiling, with only the briefest hesitation. "Mind if I join you?"

[blood_and_pocky]

Soap and shampoo. Showers. However crude, he wanted one for himself.

It was somebody “underage” by staff standards approaching him, he knew that, and a half second later, the person spoke, identifying themselves for him. Aidou slipped his arm from his face, brushing bangs aside as he did so, and looked at Senna. Unlike her, the noble didn’t feel any conflict over the terms of their acquaintance. She had been a temporary partner given him by Arts and Crafts, for an unspoken debt that had been repaid. Now what was left was… business.

Business over the pleasure of a pseudo-nap? That, he couldn’t turn down. Even if she didn’t have a direct purpose in talking to him, he could always have one in talking to her.

“Go ahead,” the vampire assented, though he didn’t shift upright enough to leave her space to sit on the same couch. There were plenty of other places.

[windstwilight]

"Sweet," she said, her grin settling further. There was a chair close to his couch, and she pulled it over, sitting sideways in it. She gave him a two-fingered salute.

The guy seemed tired, to be sure, but from the two words he uttered he didn't seem all that irritated. That was a good sign. Maybe it was just a bad night. He was probably a really cool guy--or a jerky asshole, depending--and there wouldn't be anything of it. She just had to--

Huh. Now why hadn't she noticed that before? Senna guessed that moonlight wasn't the best lighting. "Hey, Idol," she started, tipping her head with another grin. "Did you know that your hair is pretty damn awesome? Seriously." The grin smoothed into a smile. "Is it naturally like that?"

[blood_and_pocky]

He leaned back against the armrest, resting his arms over his belly. There was his nickname again, he noted, with a curiosity that didn’t quite rise above disinterest. She’d used it before, but in the same conversational tone, like she were using his actual name. ‘Idol’ had always been accompanied with much a much more pronounced response--screaming, blushing, adoration, the general fangirl reaction. Unless it were being used mockingly, but Senna wasn’t at that spectrum, either.

And this most definitely wasn’t business related to Landel’s.

A bemused frown flickered across his face first, before it was replaced with a vague expression of thought as he rolled his eyes up as though trying to examine what she was then looked back down at her. What did that have to do with anything? This whatever-she-was either had a poker face when it came to expressing her feelings of infatuation, having now seen Aidou in the full light of day, or….

The ‘or’ eluded him beyond ‘she has no one better to bug’, because he was willing to give her more credit than that.

“Yes,” was his slow answer, but he didn’t say whether he was answering the last question, or both.

[windstwilight]

She gave a short laugh. "That's cool," she replied, still eying the locks. They looked soft. Probably were. But pretty-boy probably would not be cool about her reaching out to check that fact. Maybe later on.

...And probably hair wasn't the best of things to talk about. Kid was a guy, after all, not like when Shion and her chatted about the subject for a whole shift. Aidou probably was not really interested in all of that. Even if he was the princely type and probably conditioned more than she did. Senna smiled again. "Well, it's really cute."

She sighed, leaning back a little. "So I was wondering. Are you part of some upper class society where you're from? It sorta seems that way."

[blood_and_pocky]

Was it cool? He didn’t know. His hair was always cute and always perfect, even when he didn’t get a chance to bathe regularly like a civilized person, but it wasn’t as though many people cared to notice in Landel’s, least of all one of the Arts and Crafts groupies, the “shinigami.” They had enough pompousness calling themselves that, he didn’t see how they had room to compliment others, but objectively speaking, he wouldn’t write their group off simply for that reason. All the same, he didn’t hold them in high regard, either, especially when they weren’t being useful.

This is was not… particularly useful in the conventional sense. It was chitchat. This time, at least, she had the right time of day. Or the wrong time of day, depending on what his biological clock had to say on the matter.

He blinked. “I know,” he said, as though she’d told him vampires had fangs. A fact. It was beyond him to consider whether his response answered her question for him. He still told the truth, a little calculatingly. Now what exactly did she want? “I suppose it should. It’s hard to hide one’s roots. Yes, I happen to be from very distinguished society. Why do you ask?”

Maybe he did have to give her more credit than her other shinigami counterparts. They’d often showed no acknowledgment that he could be anything but an equal, if they’d even seen true nobility in their entire lives.

[windstwilight]

She gave a 'heh', and tilted her head. He didn't say much more than he had to, and that made him hard to get to know. Or even to judge. She wasn't quite sure what would have a bad reaction and what would be okay. She supposed... If he was from high society, he'd be like that. Not like she had very much experience with it. Granted, some of her memories had that kind of life, but it wasn't like she retained the lifestyles. Senna'd have to ask Falis about nobility if she was going to continue bothering talking to Aidou.

She blinked once, pursing her lips. "Why?" she repeated, moderately confused. "I was just wondering. You seem like... Huh, how to put this? Like you're used to better things. And you carry yourself like you're someone important." She shrugged, partially self-conscious. "The other night was sorta awkward, and I thought if I understood about that, that I'd have a better time trying to be friends with you."

Senna looked up, a bit more serious than normal. "I don't want to offend you and I think I might have did that." They had both started out on the wrong foot--at least, that's what she thought.

[blood_and_pocky]

We’ll, he’d been waiting for the punch line, and he supposed that was it. Friendship… huh. Almost everyone who wasn’t an enemy had leaned in that direction from the get-go, if they hadn‘t lost his regard right away for whatever reason. He was missing an entire category of males and females here. Except for Sheena, who’d been lukewarm (or way too warm, that was debatable), and Anise, who was interested in something else instead of his incredible appearance.

The vampire still hadn’t found a satisfactory way to deal with these people. Friendship wasn’t odd to him, it was just odd in this context. With these… non-vampires.

He let out a long, soundless breath, shifting from side-to-side slightly before sitting a little straighter. If he had to get up and walk away, was she going to pull a Wolfram and try to knock him to the floor? “Oh, I thought you were asking for a reason. About Landel’s,” Aidou explained, a little reluctantly, though he kept his tone even. His gaze flicked to the side, then back at her. No, this had the potential to be awkward, not to mention tedious. Just because he was lowered to the same level… wearing the same uniform, suffering the same indignities… it didn’t mean he was any more understandable then if he’d had the same cool, elegant distance of a Night Class noble. At least not in his opinion, and that was the one that mattered, wasn’t it?

That she’d translated that night’s demeanour to mean a provoked one wasn’t that hard to understand, at least. If she had insulted him, he could appreciate her more if she’d still be willing to learn what she’d done then. Aidou could reassure her that his thoughts about her weren’t so grave as that in reality; despite a perceived hiccup in the beginning, thanks to her blasé approach, physically she had managed to keep up and had seemed to focus a little by the end.

“No… no, you didn’t offend me,” he mused slowly. “For an impromptu partnership, you preformed fine. But it seems we have different ideas on how to wisely spend our time. I don’t like idle things interfering with my nights, and being paired with you was a way to fulfill a debt. I wouldn’t let a nonchalant outlook get in the way of something like that.” In not so many words, fun was an unacceptable distraction. He didn’t have to say it, but he added, “That’s part of nobility. Not going back on a commitment.” And then there was Aidou’s personality to take into account, where he would absolutely not lose his focus.

[windstwilight]

...Note to self: awkward pretty boy is very cute like that. End note.

So she hadn't.... That was good, at least. Senna visibly sighed in relief. "I'm glad," she said, smiling. Sure, Senna could be sharp and hostile when she wanted, but with someone she had just meant, who didn't really deserve it... She was glad she had been wrong in that. Other than that....

She slid her hands behind her neck in thought. "I don't go back on things either. I just... This place is a little better than where I'm from in some ways. I guess sometimes it makes things not bother me so much. But it's not like I'm just playing around. Sorry if it seemed that way."

[blood_and_pocky]

Whether she was glad she’d hadn’t unimpressed someone she shouldn’t, or something less imperative than that, he didn’t need to know. He shifted again, clasping his hands, and the moment was over; the explanation of things that were, to him, intrinsic ended with that. Well enough if she now had a better understanding of what he expected from himself and others when it came to cooperating with others at night. Anything more than that… was largely unimportant in the here and now.

His tempered face reasserted itself now that he had a better of understanding of just what she’d been after in the first place. The noble didn’t have a personal stake in the conversation, but it had potential enough for him to remain attentive enough to keep a bridge from catching spark and burning. As volatile as Aidou could be to anyone and everyone, every smart aristocrat raised in the right society new how to use his head when dealing with the sticky threads of acquaintances and alliances. He could be polite and keep usable contacts. It was both easier and harder in Landel’s--easier, because he wasn’t in a position to waste opportunities and so had to watch his step with others, and harder, because Landel’s made everything harder, including keeping one’s composure.

He blinked, observing her from behind a dark veil of lashes. “So you said,” he replied smoothly. He hadn’t forgotten. “The night wasn’t a waste, so no need to dwell on that.” Repeating himself wasn’t really necessary--he’d already told her what he thought about this place.

[windstwilight]

Ah, babbling. Such was her curse. Idiot Senna, you had said that before. Man, this guy was unflappable. A change of tactics then. Maybe. A frown crossed her features for a second before she lit up with one of her bright grins. "Sounds good," she replied.

"Can I ask about you?" she went on, offering by way of explanation: "I'm curious. I haven't been around many high class people in general. Were you a prince or something? What was your life like?" Aware that she was still rambling even with a subject change, she raised a hand to the back of her neck, smiling sheepishly. "Or you could tell me to shut up."

[blood_and_pocky]

He watched her frown, lingering outside of the two moods he’d already shown her--the distantly charming approach he’d originally shown her, and the intent focus he’d turned outward like the glint of a knife during the rest of their time together. Unconsciously or not, Aidou supposed that could be part of the interest that drove her. It certainly didn’t seem to be because she was simply enamoured with him or his lifestyle. Ah well.

Aidou had never hated talking about himself before, but around others besides vampires, he had to be mindful, and around others besides vampires in Landel’s, he felt a little less inclined to divulge on the spot with strangers. Even the harmless ones. The questions, though, were innocuous enough… except for perhaps the last. He could lie--and he did lie, so very often--but he wished this conversation to be as simple as possible. He had more important things to worry about; potentially putting up with lies at a later date would be tiring.

But surely she knew she’d deflected questions aimed at her, so even if he refused to answer, it did, in a way, balance. Telling her to shut up was hardly beyond him, either, but it wouldn’t be necessary.

“Not many people are on a regular basis,” said the vampire, a way of assenting to the queries. He then shook his head, enough to make his hair dance. “Not something so grand, either.” Or… obsolete. Even in vampire society, which was so much more ancient than the humans’, the monarchy had been disestablished, and the royal family… Kaname-sama… Aidou definitely wasn’t a prince, not when that title rightfully belonged to someone else. A B level couldn’t aspire to take a pureblood’s position. “I’m a member of a noble household, that’s all.”