Tanabata Ball

[memento_mods]

Who:Anyone who wants to attend (Please sign up here if your characters are attending, if you haven't done so already)
What:Tanabata ball
Where: The park
When: July 7, at 9:00 P.M.
Warnings: Nothing above PG-13. Take anything else to journal posts.

Comments

[a_severed_fate]

Something in Luke's comment caused her to fall silent. Even if hanging wishes on trees came to absolutely nothing, who was she to be so critical of it? In a way, it was an admission of needing (or at least wanting) help with something. As for herself, her own solitary attempts to make things happen since her arrival had been somewhat pitiful. (Not to mention the tradition was likely meant to be light-hearted in the first place.)

Something else was bothering her, though, and it strayed right on the rim of her field of comprehension, but she was pretty sure it had to do with Luke. She hadn't taken him too seriously up until now, but he had said he was going to prove to her that he could be mature - and so far he was actually doing it. Maybe he really would be able to learn the skills that would be necessary of him, but she wasn't about to jump to conclusions yet. She wasn't jumping to conclusions, but a part of her wanted to see him succeed.

Tear debated this in silence while Luke finished the two tags from a few feet away. She didn't bother trying to actually comprehend what he had written, but she did notice one thing about it.

"Yes, that's true... I just hope that whoever actually does decide to answer yours can read it. I know officials just stamp documents most of the time, but your penmanship could use some fine-tuning. I didn't realize you were left-handed."

[apurposetolive]

Luke decided to ignore the blunt remark about his handwriting. "Well, actually, I'm good with both hands. I'm just a little better with my left is all. Anyway, you never noticed? I thought the way I wear my scabbard would be a dead giveaway, even if you've never seen me swing a sword."

[a_severed_fate]

Tear smiled slightly, "You didn't seem like much of a threat, because you never tried to fight me, even when my younger self tried to start one. Since it didn't seem like you were my enemy, I didn't think on it much."

There really wasn't much to fight against in Memento Eden, and aside from trying to bring her own skills back up to a semi-polished state, she hadn't given combat much thought at all. Maybe she was growing careless already; she wasn't sure.

"I wouldn't mind seeing what you can do with a sword. Not tonight, of course, but eventually."

She made a point of not mentioning Luke's teacher, and didn't plan to do so unless Luke himself brought the topic up.

[apurposetolive]

"Sounds good to me," Luke said. "Now, what say we get some food? I don't know about you, but I haven't had anything since before noon. I need something in my stomach!"

[a_severed_fate]

Tear nodded. It was odd to think that after this ball was over she was going to go back to fighting and things related to it. She had a match with Tibarn in a couple of days, and now this. She wondered how other people managed it - to have fun in the middle of a war or crisis and then be able to go back onto the battlefield. It didn't look like her vacation would be so brief as that, but she still had to switch roles every day - soldier, waitress, soldier...

As the topic switched to food, Tear relaxed. Luke was acting more like normal now, but Tear decided it was best not to bother pointing it out.

"I don't have any problems with it, but you really shouldn't go for that long without eating anything. You could have always stopped by the cafe when you got off work."

[apurposetolive]

"Well, I, uh... I knew there'd be a ton of food here, so I thought I'd save room. I just held myself over by drinking water, so I'm okay."

That said, Luke led Tear over to the food table. There was a lot here, with lots of variety. That said, though, Luke was a very picky eater. Fortunately for him, there were plenty of chicken dishes. He grabbed one of every variety of chicken he could find and fit on a plate, as well as a few slices of bread and a glass of juice. He then turned toward the tables, looking for a place to sit and eat.

[a_severed_fate]

"I suppose you have a point, if it's half as good as it looks."

It really did look delicious... Tear was by no means gluttonous, but she wasn't incredibly finicky when it came to food, either. Still, the aroma drifting from the tables of food were enough to make her give in. It would all go to waste if no one ate it, so she might as well try something. The result was Tear deciding to sample a number of things, the majority of which were Eastern dishes that she didn't recognize, although she pointedly avoided anything with carrots.

"It makes you wonder where it all came from. It would have normally taken weeks of preparation to make all of this." Or so she assumed, unless someone poofed it up by magic.

"There are some spaces near the band, unless you wanted to eat with your friends. ...Come to think of it, I haven't seen Rena around yet. I'm surprised she wasn't the first one here."

[apurposetolive]

"Doesn't matter to me where we sit. I haven't seen anyone I know here yet, anyway." Luke picked an empty table, carried his plate and drink over, and began to eat.

[a_severed_fate]

Tear watched him curiously but made no further comment, taking a second to pour herself a tall glass of milk (she wasn't feeling daring enough to try wine and didn't suspect she'd care for it much, anyway) and following him to the vacant table. She selected the seat next to Luke, keeping close enough to be companionable, yet far enough away so as not to crowd him.

Tear was not the most skilled conversationalist in the world, so she began eating in silence. It turned out to taste even better that it looked and she wondered why one of the restaurants couldn't serve dishes like this all the time. She was sure the chef would have plenty of fans once the night was over.

The seventh fonist's attention strayed to the music that was playing. The melody wasn't one that she recognized, of course, but she could feel the sound vibrating in the air, lending itself to the overall atmosphere of the decorated park.

[apurposetolive]

Luke, too, listened to the music. It had an unfamiliar style. Without thinking, Luke almost asked Tear if she had ever heard such music; he stopped when he remembered that, in some aspects, she was apparently more sheltered than he was. If he didn't recognize it, there wasn't much chance of Tear recognizing it, either.

Not that the music was unpleasant. On the contrary, really. Luke listened to it intently as he ate. He knew he would be dancing later, and wasn't about to let something like unfamiliar music make him screw up on the dance floor -- in front of Tear, no less.

[a_severed_fate]

It was around that time that Tear realized the music didn't even follow the same patterns as the ballroom dances Estelle had walked her through the previous week. It was one thing to adjust to letting someone else lead, but it was something else entirely to adjust to a completely different variety of music. It would be a challenge. Well, the soldier could take a challenge, but she didn't exactly want to mess up in front of the entire community either.

"I should have insisted on longer lessons..." she murmured quietly, although she didn't seem to realize she had voiced her thoughts out loud.

[apurposetolive]

Luke looked up when Tear spoke. "Huh? Did you say something?"

[a_severed_fate]

It took Tear a moment to notice she was being addressed, and in that short frame of time she appeared confused and somehow embarrassed.

"Eh?"

The melodist blinked for a second, finally registering Luke's question and what she had said. With it her expression returned to normal, her speech becoming more formal and slightly detached, as it usually was.

"No, it was nothing important. I was just thinking that I should have taken Estelle's lessons more seriously. The music's pretty, but it's not a style I recognize."

Tear said this as if she could have actually taken Estelle's lessons more seriously than she had. Such was probably impossible since Tear had asked the pink-haired girl for assistance on her own.

[apurposetolive]

"I don't know it, either," Luke said. "But they probably won't play this type of music only all night. That would just get boring. But really, it shouldn't be that hard to get used to, even if they do."

[a_severed_fate]

"Perhaps not," she admitted, stirring the remainder of her drink idly

"I've been wondering for a while if people might not be able to remember things by association. Such as a sound or a scent or a taste may remind one of something else entirely. There's a song I've been trying to remember. I don't expect I'll ever hear it again, but I think if I could recall the words or the melody I'd be able to remember other things."

Why was she rambling anyway? She doubted anyone really wanted to listen to such monotonous chatter in the first place. Maybe she was just stalling.

Tear finally straightened in her chair and turned to Luke, "Well, anyway, there's no use in letting Estelle's hard work go to waste. Shall we try dancing? I should be able to avoid stepping on your feet at least."

[apurposetolive]

As soon as Tear asked, Luke swallowed his last bit of chicken. "All right, sure. Let's see what Estelle taught you." With that, he led Tear to the dance floor and into a slow dance in time with the music.