Vital Recovery Mission
Who: Sheena (torans_playboy) and Luserina (miss_luserina)
Where: Luserina's Room
What: A deal with the devil to retrieve an important document!
When engaging in reconnaissance, the important factor, he had discovered, was to remain calm no matter the circumstances. The young man, although a seasoned warrior, found that this sort of recovery mission was never his strong suit- but a mission was a mission, and he had been charged to recover sensitive materials for the sake of himself and his comrades, and he never let a fellow fighter down.
Steeling his courage, Sheena rehearsed the mission objective in his head: purple, with a lock. Purple, with a lock. He knocked on the door loudly, unsure of whether or not he would get an answer. If she wasn't there, it might just be easier to pick the lock and steal it, but how fair would it be to violate a lady's privacy like that?
Not like it would be the first time, he reminded himself with no small amusement.
Luserina, of course, had no objectives to remember. She was far to busy with the ribbons Tyr had brought to be worrying about things like notebooks or locks or Sheena. So she certainly wasn't expecting the sudden, loud knocking on her door that announced the blonde's presence, and nearly toppled herself in surprise and in her haste to answer.
"I'm coming, I'm coming--oh! Sheena! How have you been? Oh--come in!" She smiled broadly, opening the door fully for him to enter.
"Oh, Luserinaaaaa!" Sheena called, drawling out the 'A' sound in a sing-song voice. He crossed the threshhold of the room, all smiles and charm.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? It's been far too long! I hope I'm not disturbing you or anything."
He threw his arms open in a gesture that suggested a hug, but even as he did, his eyes scanned the room behind her. Purple, with a lock-- did anything even remotely book-shaped happen to lurk in the background? As far as he could tell, there was an overwhelming presence of pink, but not much else really made itself immediately apparent.
"I thought we could, you know, catch up on old times! Have some tea, chat a bit! I brought some snacks!"
"Not at all, Sheena! It's been too long!" She sidestepped his outstretched arms easily, and moved to put down her ribbons. "Catch up on old times? You act as though we haven't seen each other in years, Sheena, don't be silly. But...what sorts of snacks did you bring?"
With one smooth (but awkward, despite how hard he tried to recover) movement, Sheena brought his outstretched arms up and behind his head, as if he had been meaning to stretch the whole time.
"Oh, it's nothing too special-- just a couple of cookies that I guess go with tea or whatever. I think one of the types is called 'lady hands' or something? I know they're good, though! I thought it might be a nice gesture! Since, you know, guests shouldn't arrive empty-handed. Mom used to say that!" He exclaimed, reaching down under his oversized shirt to a bundle tied to his belt. From it, he produced a small, plain tin of cookies and held them out to Luserina like a butler patiently waiting on his mistress. With the heel of his foot he gently nudged the door closed behind him.
"I did want to ask you about something, though..."
Luserina blinked in confusion at Sheena's description of the cookies for a few moments before the name finally sank in. "Oh! Ladyfingers! Yes, they're lovely little cookies, thank you so much!" She took the little tin with a laugh, setting it on her dressing table, leaving it to teeter precariously atop tea and ribbons and far too many lacey-things.
With her back to the door, she didn't notice when it shut, not that it would have bothered her very much; she trusted Sheena implicitly. "Oh? And what would that be?"
With an extra, light kick to assure that the door had latched, Sheena glanced behind him, just to triple-check. He took a deep breath, held it for a second, and exhaled through his nose: it was time to commence the mission.
Walking away from the door (to avoid making it too easy for eavesdroppers), he glanced back for a quadruple-check, and settled next to Luserina. Resting on one foot, he let his weight fall back onto his palms, supported by the dressing table, and rolled his head back, careful not to look her directly in the eyes as he spoke.
"Who's Shane?"
Oh for the love of--
Well, she really should have expected this sooner or later, between Luc and even Lyon puzzling things out, but honestly, three times in a week and it was getting annoying. So she hedged.
"I don't know. Has he arrived recently?"
Oh, this was going to be harder than he thought. Such friends they were, if she was going to be so coy about it! Unless...
With a loud, defeated sigh, he ruffled his hair with his hand and looked down at his feet.
"Do you mean that wasn't you? I mean, that's what Luc said. I really hope he wasn't messing with me, 'cause I just want answers." He crossed his arms and launched up and a few steps toward the door.
"Unless you guys are both just teaming up to make fun of me! Is that it? You're both just setting me up and taking advantage of the situation I'm in! Well, har har har. I get it."
"What wasn't me?" She blinked innocently at him. "I don't really know what you're talking about, Sheena, why on earth would I make fun of you?"
Chewing on his lip for a moment, Sheena looked up at Luserina with a hint of unease, before returning his gaze to his feet as they ricocheted away from the door. He paced back and forth between the door and the dressing table as he spoke, hands firmly crossed before him.
"I just don't get it! Who else would have a frilly pink journal and super girly handwriting?? I mean, it's not Hervey or something!! I just wanted to ask why, 'cause I don't get it! This isn't fair, Luserina! It's just not fair! Why do I have to be put in such a situation? It makes a man wonder, you know!"
Oh, fantastic. Now that he'd said something outright there was no way to weasel out of the situation. She'd really been hoping he'd give up and leave, but probably ought to have known better. "Are you possibly referring to the copy of a novel I misplaced?" she asked, as calmly as she could with a crazed man pacing in her room
"So you DID write it!" He exclaimed, voice cracking ever-so-slightly with the outburst. He turned on his heels to face her, brows deeply furrowed in concern. "You gotta tell me, Luserina! You gotta tell me if I'm going crazy or if that's about me, 'cause when I saw it I had this flash of insight, y'know? Like, this is what they think my life is like! I don't know what's worse: having it be about me, or finding out I'm wrong and then it makes me look all kinds of weird, like I'm 'projecting' onto it or something!!"
"I never said I didn't. But, Sheena," she patted his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down, "you mustn't worry about it. It's only a novel, after all."
No need to get him more upset by informing him that he was mostly right.
Somewhat mollified by the hands on his shoulders, his posture slumped in response and he took a long, deep breath.
"Why does everybody think that I'm like that? I haven't even done anything to warrant it! I've never kissed guys or anythi--well, not seriously, at least! I mean yeah, so I hit on Luc once, but we were young and I thought he was a girl and I never made that mistake again! That doesn't mean I'm pining for him or something!
"Does everybody know something that I don't? Is this one of those things where I'm the last person to know? This isn't a situation where I want to be the last to know!"
It probably wouldn't do for Sheena to know exactly how interested she was in all the information he had just divulged, so Luserina kept quiet and let him finish his rant before speaking up. "Now, Sheena, I'm sure nobody thinks you're anything other than yourself." Which was true, of course. "Everyone makes mistakes, after all." Admitting to Luc the diary was hers had certainly been a mistake. "And I hardly think that you would be the last to know something so important!" ...Well. It was Sheena, so maybe not.
"Have a little pity, Luse!" Sheena exclaimed, mouth drawn into a clearly displeased grimace. "I mean, come on, here I am babbling like an idiot 'cause I don't know what to do, and you aren't helping me at all! I thought we were friends!!"
Shrugging away from Luserina, he took a few steps back, shoved his hands in his pockets, and sighed.
"I tried to come here all civil-like, and you're just being dodgy! I mean, the jig is up 'n all, and I wanted to do this as painlessly as possible, but you aren't making it easy!! All I'm asking is you give me the journal, alright? What am I going to have to do to get that from you?"
"Alright, alright." Luserina flapped her hands at Sheena in a shooing motion. "I'll give you the book, but only on the condition that you don't pester me about this again, understand?"
What? Really? It was that simple?
"Er---" he stammered, frantically trying to smooth the surprised wrinkles away from his face. "Well, I'm glad that you decided to be so helpful about this! I mean, I promise that I won't bother you again because Luc and I'll be more than happy to just get this behind us! I promise I'm never going to bring it up again!"
"Yes, yes, that's absolutely lovely...." She busied herself with rummaging through the drawers on her dressing table until she found the particular diary she was looking for and handing it over. "Now, not another word about it from you, are we agreed?"
"Well..." Sheena said quietly, "pardon me, f'you don't mind. I'm sure this is more personal for me than it is for you, though, y'know?" He trailed off as he flipped the book open and scanned the pages with his eyes. His face blanched visibly as his eyes darted across the page, and then pages as he passed through the book quickly before closing it with an audible snap!
"W-well, I can see this is the right one! I promise-- not another word!" He exclaimed, if not a little bit too loudly.
"I'm glad to hear that!" she chirped at him. "Now, if you don't mind, I was in the middle of something, so...."
"Er, I..." absentmindedly, Sheena stared up with a start. "Of course! Of course, of course. I wouldn't want to keep you. I have things to do, as well!" He shoved the book into his right sleeve before shooting Luserina a distracted half-smile, bowed his head slightly, and backed his way toward the door.
"And remember....nobody's ever talking about this again, right? That means you too?"
Luserina put a finger to her lips, slyly. "I've only spoken to you and Luc about it. Not a word from me, I promise."
Writing, of course, was very different from speaking.
Where: Luserina's Room
What: A deal with the devil to retrieve an important document!
When engaging in reconnaissance, the important factor, he had discovered, was to remain calm no matter the circumstances. The young man, although a seasoned warrior, found that this sort of recovery mission was never his strong suit- but a mission was a mission, and he had been charged to recover sensitive materials for the sake of himself and his comrades, and he never let a fellow fighter down.
Steeling his courage, Sheena rehearsed the mission objective in his head: purple, with a lock. Purple, with a lock. He knocked on the door loudly, unsure of whether or not he would get an answer. If she wasn't there, it might just be easier to pick the lock and steal it, but how fair would it be to violate a lady's privacy like that?
Not like it would be the first time, he reminded himself with no small amusement.
Luserina, of course, had no objectives to remember. She was far to busy with the ribbons Tyr had brought to be worrying about things like notebooks or locks or Sheena. So she certainly wasn't expecting the sudden, loud knocking on her door that announced the blonde's presence, and nearly toppled herself in surprise and in her haste to answer.
"I'm coming, I'm coming--oh! Sheena! How have you been? Oh--come in!" She smiled broadly, opening the door fully for him to enter.
"Oh, Luserinaaaaa!" Sheena called, drawling out the 'A' sound in a sing-song voice. He crossed the threshhold of the room, all smiles and charm.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? It's been far too long! I hope I'm not disturbing you or anything."
He threw his arms open in a gesture that suggested a hug, but even as he did, his eyes scanned the room behind her. Purple, with a lock-- did anything even remotely book-shaped happen to lurk in the background? As far as he could tell, there was an overwhelming presence of pink, but not much else really made itself immediately apparent.
"I thought we could, you know, catch up on old times! Have some tea, chat a bit! I brought some snacks!"
"Not at all, Sheena! It's been too long!" She sidestepped his outstretched arms easily, and moved to put down her ribbons. "Catch up on old times? You act as though we haven't seen each other in years, Sheena, don't be silly. But...what sorts of snacks did you bring?"
With one smooth (but awkward, despite how hard he tried to recover) movement, Sheena brought his outstretched arms up and behind his head, as if he had been meaning to stretch the whole time.
"Oh, it's nothing too special-- just a couple of cookies that I guess go with tea or whatever. I think one of the types is called 'lady hands' or something? I know they're good, though! I thought it might be a nice gesture! Since, you know, guests shouldn't arrive empty-handed. Mom used to say that!" He exclaimed, reaching down under his oversized shirt to a bundle tied to his belt. From it, he produced a small, plain tin of cookies and held them out to Luserina like a butler patiently waiting on his mistress. With the heel of his foot he gently nudged the door closed behind him.
"I did want to ask you about something, though..."
Luserina blinked in confusion at Sheena's description of the cookies for a few moments before the name finally sank in. "Oh! Ladyfingers! Yes, they're lovely little cookies, thank you so much!" She took the little tin with a laugh, setting it on her dressing table, leaving it to teeter precariously atop tea and ribbons and far too many lacey-things.
With her back to the door, she didn't notice when it shut, not that it would have bothered her very much; she trusted Sheena implicitly. "Oh? And what would that be?"
With an extra, light kick to assure that the door had latched, Sheena glanced behind him, just to triple-check. He took a deep breath, held it for a second, and exhaled through his nose: it was time to commence the mission.
Walking away from the door (to avoid making it too easy for eavesdroppers), he glanced back for a quadruple-check, and settled next to Luserina. Resting on one foot, he let his weight fall back onto his palms, supported by the dressing table, and rolled his head back, careful not to look her directly in the eyes as he spoke.
"Who's Shane?"
Oh for the love of--
Well, she really should have expected this sooner or later, between Luc and even Lyon puzzling things out, but honestly, three times in a week and it was getting annoying. So she hedged.
"I don't know. Has he arrived recently?"
Oh, this was going to be harder than he thought. Such friends they were, if she was going to be so coy about it! Unless...
With a loud, defeated sigh, he ruffled his hair with his hand and looked down at his feet.
"Do you mean that wasn't you? I mean, that's what Luc said. I really hope he wasn't messing with me, 'cause I just want answers." He crossed his arms and launched up and a few steps toward the door.
"Unless you guys are both just teaming up to make fun of me! Is that it? You're both just setting me up and taking advantage of the situation I'm in! Well, har har har. I get it."
"What wasn't me?" She blinked innocently at him. "I don't really know what you're talking about, Sheena, why on earth would I make fun of you?"
Chewing on his lip for a moment, Sheena looked up at Luserina with a hint of unease, before returning his gaze to his feet as they ricocheted away from the door. He paced back and forth between the door and the dressing table as he spoke, hands firmly crossed before him.
"I just don't get it! Who else would have a frilly pink journal and super girly handwriting?? I mean, it's not Hervey or something!! I just wanted to ask why, 'cause I don't get it! This isn't fair, Luserina! It's just not fair! Why do I have to be put in such a situation? It makes a man wonder, you know!"
Oh, fantastic. Now that he'd said something outright there was no way to weasel out of the situation. She'd really been hoping he'd give up and leave, but probably ought to have known better. "Are you possibly referring to the copy of a novel I misplaced?" she asked, as calmly as she could with a crazed man pacing in her room
"So you DID write it!" He exclaimed, voice cracking ever-so-slightly with the outburst. He turned on his heels to face her, brows deeply furrowed in concern. "You gotta tell me, Luserina! You gotta tell me if I'm going crazy or if that's about me, 'cause when I saw it I had this flash of insight, y'know? Like, this is what they think my life is like! I don't know what's worse: having it be about me, or finding out I'm wrong and then it makes me look all kinds of weird, like I'm 'projecting' onto it or something!!"
"I never said I didn't. But, Sheena," she patted his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down, "you mustn't worry about it. It's only a novel, after all."
No need to get him more upset by informing him that he was mostly right.
Somewhat mollified by the hands on his shoulders, his posture slumped in response and he took a long, deep breath.
"Why does everybody think that I'm like that? I haven't even done anything to warrant it! I've never kissed guys or anythi--well, not seriously, at least! I mean yeah, so I hit on Luc once, but we were young and I thought he was a girl and I never made that mistake again! That doesn't mean I'm pining for him or something!
"Does everybody know something that I don't? Is this one of those things where I'm the last person to know? This isn't a situation where I want to be the last to know!"
It probably wouldn't do for Sheena to know exactly how interested she was in all the information he had just divulged, so Luserina kept quiet and let him finish his rant before speaking up. "Now, Sheena, I'm sure nobody thinks you're anything other than yourself." Which was true, of course. "Everyone makes mistakes, after all." Admitting to Luc the diary was hers had certainly been a mistake. "And I hardly think that you would be the last to know something so important!" ...Well. It was Sheena, so maybe not.
"Have a little pity, Luse!" Sheena exclaimed, mouth drawn into a clearly displeased grimace. "I mean, come on, here I am babbling like an idiot 'cause I don't know what to do, and you aren't helping me at all! I thought we were friends!!"
Shrugging away from Luserina, he took a few steps back, shoved his hands in his pockets, and sighed.
"I tried to come here all civil-like, and you're just being dodgy! I mean, the jig is up 'n all, and I wanted to do this as painlessly as possible, but you aren't making it easy!! All I'm asking is you give me the journal, alright? What am I going to have to do to get that from you?"
"Alright, alright." Luserina flapped her hands at Sheena in a shooing motion. "I'll give you the book, but only on the condition that you don't pester me about this again, understand?"
What? Really? It was that simple?
"Er---" he stammered, frantically trying to smooth the surprised wrinkles away from his face. "Well, I'm glad that you decided to be so helpful about this! I mean, I promise that I won't bother you again because Luc and I'll be more than happy to just get this behind us! I promise I'm never going to bring it up again!"
"Yes, yes, that's absolutely lovely...." She busied herself with rummaging through the drawers on her dressing table until she found the particular diary she was looking for and handing it over. "Now, not another word about it from you, are we agreed?"
"Well..." Sheena said quietly, "pardon me, f'you don't mind. I'm sure this is more personal for me than it is for you, though, y'know?" He trailed off as he flipped the book open and scanned the pages with his eyes. His face blanched visibly as his eyes darted across the page, and then pages as he passed through the book quickly before closing it with an audible snap!
"W-well, I can see this is the right one! I promise-- not another word!" He exclaimed, if not a little bit too loudly.
"I'm glad to hear that!" she chirped at him. "Now, if you don't mind, I was in the middle of something, so...."
"Er, I..." absentmindedly, Sheena stared up with a start. "Of course! Of course, of course. I wouldn't want to keep you. I have things to do, as well!" He shoved the book into his right sleeve before shooting Luserina a distracted half-smile, bowed his head slightly, and backed his way toward the door.
"And remember....nobody's ever talking about this again, right? That means you too?"
Luserina put a finger to her lips, slyly. "I've only spoken to you and Luc about it. Not a word from me, I promise."
Writing, of course, was very different from speaking.