[Open] Time for a fancy party!

[lifetogain]

Characters: Rufus and whoever else on the Silvana cares to show up! Gatecrashers welcome
Content: Dinner party! AKA an excuse for all the recluses to come out of hiding.
Setting: Somewhere of appropriate size in the Silvana
Time: The evening of December 22nd
Warnings: Passive-aggressive assholes, Rufus being a troll, polite snark
Notes: Feel free

Comments

Have Another Rich Kid From Bellcius.

[birdcagephoenix]

Clothing had not been an issue for Luke, however he was getting annoyed with constantly washing them and pressing out wrinkles - not to mention that he had never cared for the garments at all. They were uncomfortable to do a lot of moving around in, to be honest, and Luke didn't like staying still.

A party with decent food was something Luke could get behind, though. He wasn't so thrilled about meeting with a bunch of (possibly crazy) strangers, but if the food proved even a little fancier than what they normally served, he couldn't complain too much. And as for mingling, well, Luke had suffered through enough meetings at the manor (and visits from Natalia) to have a pretty good idea of how it worked. You basically said who you were and why you were important. After that you used as many words as possible to say as little as possible. Nothing direct. It was kind of stupid, in his opinion, but he supposed that was all a part of politics.

The redhead took a quick glance around, noting quite a few unfamiliar faces, and several that were known to him - Rufus, for one, and John, the doctor. Maybe he'd finally meet a few of the more competent crew members. And even if he didn't, the food at least smelled good.

Re: Have Another Rich Kid From Bellcius.

[why_halo_there]

The food had better smell good. Hikari slaved away for the better part of the day preparing for this meal. Thankfully, she wasn't completely alone; while she was the only official cook in the kitchens, others from the ship had come to help out. Still, it just wasn't the same without Shinjiro in there to lend a hand.

She sighed when she thought about it, and shuffled around the party, stooped over ever so slightly; apparently teenage melancholy prevented proper posture. Hikari's clothing also didn't help her appearance, either: they were hand-me-downs she managed to patch up, and while they were nicer than her usual attire, they were still old and somewhat frumpy.

Her mood seemed to have an adverse affect on gravity, as well: her wings drooped down, her frown nearly sank to the ground, and even her ponytail sagged low - though that had more to do with a long day of work than anything. An errant strand of hair tickled her neck and brought her back to reality, and she straightened up long enough to straighten up her hair.

That's when she noticed the redhead wandering around. Hikari blinked, before she quickly tightened her bow and slid her glasses back up her nose. "Hello there," she said, her tone polite, but not as enthusiastic as usual.

[birdcagephoenix]

What was up with the girl with the glasses? Didn't she have any better clothes? Not only that, she seemed like her dog had just died or something. If she had looked any more bummed out, Luke would have sworn she'd never be able to physically smile again. She kind of reminded him of how the maids looks after a particularly busy day at the manor - when they had lots of company over or something.

But his train of thought was quickly derailed. This girl... had wings?! Wings? Luke's critical expression changed to one of surprise as he stood there and gaped for a few seconds. Wings? Was she an angel or something? A fairy? Something else entirely?

Unless it was a costume.
Either way it was different.

"Hmm? Yeah, hi," he managed to utter in between staring.

There was a pause. Luke didn't care if it was rude, he had to ask.

"Uh, hey, are those...?" He slowly gestured with a gloved hand towards the feathery appendages attached to her back.

[why_halo_there]

And now the boy was staring at her. Why was he looking at her like that? Was there still something on her face from the kitchens, or-?

Oh, right, the wings. Of course.

"Real?" she asked. That's what she assumed he meant; after all, that was the first question out of most people's mouths when they saw her. While she was still tired, at least she didn't seem offended by Luke's question. It was something one got used to after a while.

[am so sorry ^^;]

[birdcagephoenix]

"W-well, yeah..." Luke continued awkwardly. And it just so happened to be awkward enough to lead to one of his infamous foot-in-mouth moments.

"I mean, they're kind of weird, don't you think? At least I've never seen someone with wings before. So are they?"

Luke's gaze was still on the wings, and those his remarks sounded rude, he looked more curious about them than anything.

Hopping iiiiiin~

[lifetogain]

Rufus spotted Hikari, and headed over to pay his respects to the chef. There was a redhead with her, someone Rufus didn't immediately recognize - though he hadn't been spending a great deal of time outside his quarters, as of late - but as he got close enough to hear their conversation, he placed the second voice immediately.

He turned to the cook, who was looking a bit put upon, first. "Miss Glie, I must commend your skills - the food is excellent," he said with a smile and a small bow. He then turned his attention to redhead. "And you must be the mannerless one," he added with a small smirk.

Re: Hopping iiiiiin~

[birdcagephoenix]

Luke made a face. How could he be nice to this tired-looking chick and then turn that smirk on him? Ugh. Okay, Luke, just grin and bear it! Maybe he was just teasing like Guy did sometimes - it didn't necessarily mean that he was trying to be rude about it. Somehow, though, it came off that way. Rude.

"I'm not--" Luke cut himself short, swallowed, forced himself to continue in a reasonable tone, "I was just curious about whether or not they were real. I've never seen anyone with wings before, and it took me by surprise."

So she was one of the cooks, huh? She shouldn't be cooking if she was as worn out as she had looked at first. She might hurt herself, or worse, burn the food.

"And my name's Luke fon Fabre, in case you forgot."

Sorry, I didn't see Rufus' reply earlier >.<

[why_halo_there]

"Well, yes, of course they-"

She was interrupted (or, depending on how one looked at it, rescued) by Rufus' appearance. Hikari turned towards him with a small smile, and said, "Oh, thank you very much, Mr. Shinra. And..."

Hikari glanced back towards Luke, and added, "Don't worry too much about him, really, it's fine."

Well, it wasn't quite fine, but Luke's comments weren't the worst she's heard. After her time on the ship, though, she had almost forgotten how unusual they were.

It's fine /is having a slow week

[lifetogain]

"If you say so. And you're quite welcome - good food is one of life's great pleasures, so..." Rufus shrugged, and gave her another smile. It really never hurt to compliment the people who prepared your food - and you most definitely didn't want to get on their bad sides.

He turned his attention to the redhead - Luke. "Fabre, hm? I know your family - you must be the reclusive son." He didn't actually know a great deal about the boy - the family was powerful enough to keep most of the rumors in check - but what he did know make some of his behavior make a little more sense.

Re: It's fine /is having a slow week

[birdcagephoenix]

Unfortunately, this wasn't necessarily good news. What if this guy decided to tell someone who could then tell someone else who could then tell his parents where he was? His hopes of catching up to Master Van and becoming a hero might be flushed down the drain.

"You do? Yeah, well," this was not that most fun of topics for Luke, "Not anymore. I'm through with that."

And he was. There was no way in hell Luke would go back to living in that manor day in and day out, just waiting to be used as some kind of secret weapon.

Now Luke felt kind of bad. For the winged girl. Maybe he should try to say something... nice. Rufus was making him look pretty bad, after all.

"Oh, so they really are. Heh. I guess that's, uh, kind of cool. And uh... um... Yeah, the food's pretty good. Have you been cooking for a long time?"

[why_halo_there]

"Why thank you," she said, both to Rufus and Luke. Her usual enthusiasm began to shine through in her voice, and she turned to look, saying, "And yes, I've been doing it for a few years - but oh, what about you? Is this your first time on an airship?"

After all, Mr. Shinra did say that the boy was reclusive. If that was true, then she wouldn't be surprised if this was his first time traveling away from home.

[lifetogain]

Watching Luke squirm a little was more satisfying than Rufus would ever admit. The Fabres were old money, and while Rufus couldn't recall if they had ever personally made slights against the new money families like the Shinras, that whole section of Bellcius society had a habit of acting like their name was more than enough to compensate for their lack of tact or politeness. A generality Luke was holding up right now.

"I've been on airships many times, myself - mostly smaller ones, though. I do a fair bit of travelling for business."

[birdcagephoenix]

It was doubtful. Fortunately for Luke, his parents and their friends had ample amounts of tact. It was only Luke who was severely lacking in that department.

"Well, yeah." Luke admitted this easily enough, although the thought that he was alone in his current endeavor floated in the back of his mind. It made him slightly uncomfortable - he didn't really like being alone. He didn't like being nagged, sure, but he didn't like being alone. It was just too bad that middle ground was so hard to come by.

"I haven't been outside Bellcius in seven years. It's a long story. I won't bore you with the details."

Business? Luke wondered what kind of business Rufus was talking about, but he wasn't about to ask.

[why_halo_there]

"Well, I'm sure it must be really exciting for you, going out for the first time," she said to Luke. It reminded Hikari of the first time she traveled; it was frightening, but at the same time, she saw so many new and wonderful things. There were also some terrible things, as well but - no, no, she still wouldn't change what happened.

"And your business too, Mr. Shinra," she added. "I bet you've seen a lot of interesting places."

[lifetogain]

Well - looked like the rumors he'd heard about the Fabres weren't an exaggeration after all. Interesting. He couldn't imagine being that old and still being that sheltered. Then again, he hasn't quite had the same teenage experiences a lot of people of his social class did.

He turned to Hikari with a smile. "I have - most of the major cities on the continent, at this point. I still enjoy travelling, though."

[birdcagephoenix]

"I'm not sure I'd call it exciting, but it's definitely... uh... different," he admitted, scratching the back of his head. It wasn't as if he had had much of a choice. Had this been a ship with all the frills - and Master Van and Guy tagging along, maybe - he might have thought better of the whole ordeal. Luke honestly didn't know what to think about it at all.

So this guy had been to a ton of places? Luke wondered what counted as "home" to people who moved around like that all the time. Then again, here Luke was trying to escape from his. Maybe traveling wasn't such a terrible idea after all.