2022-10-31: The Calm Before The Storm
- Cast: Alma Stirner, Lilith Aiden
- Where: Orbital Ring Cafe
- Date: U.C. 0096 10 31
- Summary: Lilith and Alma have a lovely Halloween, with small discussions of Torrington and some bad flirting interlaced.
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
It's Halloween!
Alma has always been in love with the holidays, and naturally she's kind of dragged Lilith into that pit with her, for better or for worse. This is going to mean a nice night out, then a nice night in, but right now we're at the 'Halloween lasts the whole day, you know' stage where Alma has dragged Lilith off to the Orbital Ring to snag 'lunch.'
It's like 80% pumpkin-shaped baked goods.
They're a poor substitute for the original homemade ones, mind, but that's fine; Alma still enjoys them! Sometimes you just want tasty garbage not otherwise specified from a chain bakery.
Alma's gone for her usual style -- witch (which has kind of become a bit of a mutual rib to herself and Lilith, at this point). She's gone just a little harder with makeup than usual, though -- striking eyeshadow and lipstick that pushes an otherwise 'cute witch' costume just a bit into the 'sexy witch' zone all on its own.
Sitting at a table, Alma shoves a baked treat into her mouth. "Ooo, the frosting is really good...!"
<Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
Lilith was never much of a holiday person until she ended up with Alma. Now it's mandatory! And also fun. She's currently sitting next to Alma at the table (not across, because then she can't be 'cute' with her hands and feet easily).
Lilith's costumes aren't as thematic as Alma's, but this year, she's a mummy. Bandaged outfit, exposed face, hair up.
She's picking at her own baked treat, spoiled by having a patissier on her ship. "You know, baked treats aren't lunch, Alma. Lunch is like...a hamburger."
It's playful, because Alma's going to argue and it's going to be cute and Lilith will get to smile (or look quizzical, depending on the argument).
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
Alma puffs her cheeks out. "Lunch is lunch!! You can eat whatever you want at lunch and it's still lunch!" she insists. "Besides, it's a holiday! It's no fun if you just eat the kind of stuff you'd always eat...!" She punctuates the sentence with a comically large bite, and then needs a while to get through it.
Stretching out a bit, she says, "It's nice to get out here like this... I know I'm usually the one doing the traveling on the Gwennangorn's behalf, but after Torrington it's been kinda hard to do that."
She doesn't seem that broken up by the battle, even though it went horribly.
<Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
Lilith does, in fact, smile brightly at Alma's reaction. She takes a bite herself, much smaller, as she watches her girlfriend stretch out. When Torrington is mentioned, there's a small frown, but it's not sharp. "Yeah. What a mess...I'm lucky to keep my job right now, but even that's on good graces, experience, and circumstances." Lilith sighs, but isn't gonna dwell on Halloween.
"But, hey, we didn't have to fire the patissier! Small successes." Without missing a beat, she takes another bite, and...
...places a hand on Alma's closest wrist. "Besides, even if I did lose it, we'd just go become...what do ex-captains become? Asteroid miners?"
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
"Ahaha, if you find out, I'd love to know," Alma answers, rubbing at the back of her head a little bit. It would certainly make it easier to track down Killy. That's not the world's happiest thought, though, so she puts it aside. (It's easy for Alma to let go of things that are rough, if the vibe is right -- she's moody but mercifully not an overthinker.)
"I'm surprised they're that upset about you having a hard time! That was one of the worst fights of this whole conflict," she says, her cheeks puffing out and getting a little pouty. "Who blames the soldiers for something go wrong that much? I guess that's what you mean by circumstances, but still..."
Something is gnawing at her about that whole experience, though. "... Plus it's kinda weird how I had that -- reaction, out there. That's never happened before..." Was it just the sheer number of psycommu units, and having her own psycommu unit on such a pitched battlefield? Or...
<Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
Lilith can tell Alma's putting a thought aside, so she doesn't press. Instead..."Some of the brass would prefer we make sacrifices to eke out a win, especially against a foe like that. Not all of them, obviously. It's why we're where we are, instead of, I don't know, a black ops unit."
As Alma expresses concern, Lilith's fingers move gently up her arm towards her shoulder. "Love, don't worry. It's probably a tune-up job, not something to do with you. I am admittedly..."
Lilith has to broach this at some point. Halloween's a bad time for it but she's been worried. "...You went on the final stand back there. We managed to recover an ally due to it, but...don't risk yourself like that, okay? You're not fighting alone."
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
"The most important thing is making sure as many people make it through as possible, or else..." ... nah. That's not Halloween conversation. Sure, it's not party time, and Halloween is still another day, but still -- it just gnaws at Alma.
Lilith brings up the other bit of oddness about Torrington -- which is actually fine with her; she'd rather do it on a day she's in a pretty good mood! "Ehehe, I know... I thought I was kind of past that!" Alma replies, her shoulders shrugging up in just a bit of an embarrassed little cringe.
"Captain Dispersal," she starts, "really deserves better than what the REA's doing for her. I just... no matter how many horrible things she says, I guess I just -- want to make her happy." A bit of normal, playful embarrassment creeps in as she continues, "Ahaha... I sound like I'm a teenager again..."
<Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
Lilith once again doesn't press, but she warmly nods to what Alma says. "I once was the same way, saying and doing horrible things. You remember well. When you're treated like that, no wonder...you know, I've met her before. Back when we were up against the Mycenae, I pulled her ass out of the fire. Took her jogging my memory to recall, but damn. Maybe I gave her the potential for a second chance down the line, if the REA can ever sort their shitt."
"As allies, we need to support her where we can. But..."
Lilith reaches for a cake, pops it in her mouth, chews quickly, and then jostles a finger through Alma's hair lovingly. "Tonight's not about her. It's about us, and also copious amounts of chocolate. Right?"
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
"Yeah..." Alma's thoughts get stuck there for a minute; the distraction is obvious on her face -- and indeed in her emotional landscape, like a scab she just can't stop herself from picking at now that she's reminded that it's there. Her eyes shut for a moment --
-- and then she shakes the cobwebs out of her head and gets back to it, as Lilith reaches over and puts a hand in her hair. "Yeah!" she enthuses, right back to it. She leans in a little closer, putting out a finger and tapping Lilith once on the nose. "Haa, sorry. I guess I haven't had time to process all that stuff that happened."
Her mind wanders a bit. "Is there anything you wanna do while we're out here?" she asks. "We've got a lot of time today..."
<Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
Lilith frowns at the distraction, but as Alma shakes the cobwebs out of her head, she goes back to smiles, especially at the nose boop. "It's fine, love. It's been rough for everyone."
Pulling her hand back, she thinks with a knuckle under her chin. "Somewhere alone, I think - no, not like that. We could go to a park and costume-watch? There's got to be a lot of good ones out here. And we're not in a living situation where we can help with trick or treating, so it's a good replacement."
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
The suggestion of people-watching immediately gets Alma's attention; she pops another mini-cake into her mouth -- this one nearly whole -- and agrees, "Mmuh-huh!" Leave it to Lilith to have solid, practical ideas -- ones Alma might not have even thought of. She does catch the remark on going somewhere 'alone,' though -- and the implication Lilith leaves off.
"Ahahaha, are you sure you didn't want to be the other kind of alone?" she asks, though it's clear she isn't quite in that mood... yet. "I didn't think my makeup was that good... I'm kinda new to doing more than a little, but I keep getting really nice comments online, so I thought I'd try something kinda bold this year!"
<Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
"You always look good! The makeup just adds some spice." Lilith laughs, nodding about the comments. "I bet. But to answer the question - you're not lunch, you're more desser- god, I can't say that with a straight face." She's cracking herself up, but at least, she's clearly in a good mood and happy to be around Alma.
"We'll have plenty of time together. Don't worry."
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
Alma's reaction to flirting hasn't changed after all this time; she still brings a hand up to cover her face as she turns an absurd shade of pink. "Aaaa, Lilith, we're still in public --" she stammers, but still -- she reaches out and puts a hand on Lilith's hand. Plenty of time together... yeah, that's true.
"Do you want anything else from here? It's my treat today -- holiday fund!" Alma's holiday fund is deep and keeping it that way is her number one priority.
<Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
Lilith grins from cheek to cheek at Alma's reaction, but does stop the flirting. For now.
"Let's get some more chocolate filled croissants, and..." She lists a few things. Alma is rich* (*on holidays), though Lilith doesn't risk her budget.
"My, it's truly your favorite time of year, right? Can't wait for Christmas. I've had your present ready for a while, due to shipping.~" But it's a surprise, clearly. She's not getting it out of Lilith.
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
"Oooh, that's a great pick!" Alma says, before adding, "Yeah! There's a lot of happy memories for me, from October through December..." There's a real warmth there that suffuses her thoughts, as she adds, "... like meeting you. I mean, it would have been nice if the hard part wasn't so hard, but still..." She trails off, and then asks: "... Can I get a hint~? Aaa, nonono, not yet -- croissants first!"
... She goes to get some filled croissants; it may be a bit, though. The lunch rush is starting now.