Welcome to Adventu, your final fantasy rp haven. adventu focuses on both canon and original characters from different worlds and timelines that have all been pulled to the world of zephon: a familiar final fantasy-styled land where all adventurers will fight, explore, and make new personal connections.
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year 5, quarter 3
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A soft sight emitted from her lips. A little sun would maybe help highlight her mood. She had not been particularly fruitful at the masquerade. She had not found anyone worthy of leading the Turks. The game she invented for the party went unsolved, which was a little bit of a disappointment. One of her partners thought more with her stomach than actually caring about the party. And worse, she did not discover the true intentions behind the multi-day masquerade in the first place. But it had not exactly been a waste. She found Emma and Freyra. That was worth way more to her than her weight in gold. Also, she did find a possible good affiliates for her investigative agency in the Sonoran guard. She promised to catch up with him later.
She pulled adjusted the brightly colored beach umbrella and the pulled the beach chair back into its shade. Her feet displaced pale yellow sand as she moved to lounge in the beach chair. The suns warmth felt great on her skin, which was slightly moist from the sunscreen she just applied. Reaching down, she picked up a novel to read. She just needed a day to recharge from all this socializing. The introvert in her preferred a quiet spot for just a little while to get her batteries again.
The day was nothing less than perfect. Few white clouds dotted the massive blue sky. The crystalline waves also lapped the beach and provided a cozy breeze. All around people were off having fun. Some were splashing in the water. Others were playing volley balls. Some went to the pier to watch the ships in the distance. Yet, here Cissnei was, absorbed in solitude with a cozy book. She couldn’t help but wonder if some of these people were also at the masquerade. Did they have the same idea as her? To relax before returning back to the normal everyday buzz?
Final Fantasy VI
22
YEARS
Female
Complicated
Heterosexual
429 POSTS
Fin
Use your own eyes and see for yourself whose side I'm on!
Post by Celes Chere on Jul 6, 2020 11:00:03 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@blacksuit
Lol I'm ready for a badass girl's day
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
”Okay. I can do this.”
It was a lovely day at the beach. Not too hot. Not too cold. The sun shone at a half-light, filtered through white tufts of cloud. The waves pulsed against the sands with a steady thrum, and she saw children splashing in the shallows. For a moment, Celes stood on the sidelines, well-equipped but with no idea what to do. She could do this. She could do this.
Celes stepped off the path, shivering as the sand sifted between her toes. In one hand, she held her sandals dangling by their straps, and in the other she had a white and yellow striped towel. She’d bought everything she could to prepare -- a broad-rimmed hat, a thin white cover-up, a tie for her hair, and a one-piece swimsuit that was really no different from her usual leotard except that it was waterproof. She’d never been to the beach before. Not for fun at least. Or...whatever this was supposed to be.
Celes stopped midway to the water and looked around awkwardly. Women laid on their backs, head to the side was they took in the sun. An elderly couple sat in low chairs, watching the waves. A red-haired girl sat under an umbrella with a book in her hand. Was this what she was supposed to do? Just...sit here? She placed her towel on the ground like she’d seen everyone else do and then frowned, trying to straighten out the edges. Finally, Celes gave up and sat on the crumpled thing, knees drawn up and watching the waves.
The last few months had been a gauntlet of stress. There’d been fighting, meeting people, endless tasks and things to do. She still didn’t know how she felt about Caius. That night at the masquerade had been...enlightening.
Someone gave a shout, and Celes blinked, looking up just in time to snatch a ball out of the air before it slammed into her head. A little down the beach, a man in swim trunks looked stunned, muttering apologies before he called, ”Are you okay?”
”Yeah!” The ball was strangely heavy in her hand, all white and banded together. It wasn’t something she thought should be thrown around where people were present, but she smiled awkwardly anyway, getting unsteadily to her feet. ”I caught it!”As if that wasn’t obvious.
She started towards them, all too aware of their eyes on her as the man apologized again. ”Really, it’s fine.” She gave another awkward smile as she held the ball out to him. The wind gave a sudden gust, and she had to grab her hat to keep it on her head. He took the ball, she turned to leave, and then-
Was that a flash of yellow?
”Oh no!” Celes ran back towards her things, cursing as her towel caught in the wind, flapping first one way and then another down the beach. She cursed the sand for slowing her down. She cursed the wind for snagging it away, and she cursed herself for even being here. What had she been thinking? She had no idea what she was doing.
The towel changed course on the wind and plummeted straight on course to the red-haired woman’s umbrella. ”Look out!”
Cissnei had vaguely noticed the blond out of the corner of her visions. The lady seemed uncomfortable at the beach at a minimum. However, none of the awkwardness was any of her business. At least not at first. Cissnei licked a finger and turned a page of her book. She was more interested to learn what happened next in her book of political intrigue. Would the daring Prince Edvard find a way to make peace? Or would he send his most trusted servant to clean up the mess, preferably under the stealth of night. And what would they do with Lord Luiz who was leaking
But it seemed the beach had other plans for her.
The warning either came too late or Cissnei did not see any reason to move quickly. The towel slammed into the umbrella at an angle and caught. It knocked the umbrella off center, which sprayed sand into the air. The wind blew at that moment. The tilted umbrella fill with the wind’s energy and kited away for few feet before finally making its landing.
Meanwhile, Cissnei’s copper hair had blown in her face, but otherwise, she had remained motionless. She lifted a hand and turned the page. Seeing it was the beginning of the next chapter. She closed her book with a soft clap. Lowering the book to her lap in one hand, she pulled her shades down to look over the top of them. She looked up at Celes and raised a brow. “Hard day?”
She leaned to the side to put her book down on her towel. Fluidly, she stood up and held out a hand to Celes for a handshake. A small smile touched the corners of her lips. “I’m Cissnei.” She introduced herself. “You may want a new towel.” She pointed a thumb over her shoulder at the result of the disaster. Luckily it didn’t collide with anyone, but it seemed to smack into someone’s cooler.
But the man who owned the cooler seemed unhappy his soda tipped over. Whatever stick was up his butt, caused him to start fussing at them. “Hey! You owe me a drink!” He pointed at the mess. Cissnei turned and narrowed her eyes at the man, before pressing the sunglasses higher up the bridge of her nose. She didn't need to take that. What was this guy demanding women to buy him a drink. Could he be any less of a man? “Chill out. It was an accident. No need to make a big deal about it.” She said sternly. Leisurely, she walked over to retrieve her umbrella. What did this soda cost like 500 gil on a good day? Seemed ridiculous to give in to demands. “There’s a soda bar over there if you need another.” Cissnei pointed up one of the sand dunes towards a small shack.
Final Fantasy VI
22
YEARS
Female
Complicated
Heterosexual
429 POSTS
Fin
Use your own eyes and see for yourself whose side I'm on!
Post by Celes Chere on Jul 16, 2020 8:00:56 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@blacksuit
Celes is the most awkward thing
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
The warning came too late. To Celes’ horror, the towel simply barreled into the umbrella, throwing it to the side with a scattering of sand. Another gust of wind caught the umbrella’s folds like a sail and tossed skittering down the beach. Celes stopped, hands over her mouth. ’Oh no.’
”I’m sorry,” she sputtered. She didn’t know what else to say. Why oh why had she thought she could do this?
The woman, for her part, didn’t seem particularly bothered. In fact, she hardly seemed to notice until she’d flipped her page. Then she closed it and lowered her sunglasses to look at her. She raised an eyebrow. ”Hard day?”
It was strange, her lack of expression. She didn’t look bothered or sympathetic or even crack a smile. Instead, she looked like she’d almost been expecting this as she stood, holding out her hand. Celes looked between it and the woman before sheepishly taking it.
”Celes,” she said. ”I really am sorry. I didn’t mean-” She followed the woman’s thumb towards the stripes of white and yellow, draped over someone’s cooler. ”Oh.” Her stomach sank. ”Right.”
The cooler’s owner was a thin man with a high forehead and drab hair. He looked like the kind of man who wanted to look younger than he was, and he wasn’t happy with her. ”Hey! You owe me a drink!” Celes felt her cheeks redden.
She had no idea what she was doing.
”Sorry!” she said again. ”Where do I-?”
But Cissnei didn’t share her discomfort. In fact, she strode straight towards, back straight and eyes narrowed. She pushed her sunglasses to the bridge of her nose, another wall between them. ”Chill out. It was an accident. No need to make a big deal about it.” She pointed towards the shopkeeper up the dunes. While the man started to argue, a harsh look from Cissnei quieted him, and he sputtered something about it only being “fair” before he scurried away. Celes just stood there awkwardly, waiting for her to come back.
She should have been able to handle it herself. Did she really lose her spine just because of a little sand.
”Thanks,” she said. She tried for a smile. ”I’m not used to this. I don’t really know what I’m doing.”
Did that tell her anything? What was “this” in the context of it all? The beach? Relaxation? ”I don’t think I’ve ever been to the beach without a sword. I’m a mercenary. I used to be a soldier.” A smooth introduction. She wanted to kick herself.
Cissnei wondered why the lady was so wound up. Her anxiety at being here reminded her of a particular Soldier acquaintance having the same issues. At least she was not breaking out into squats to relieve the anxious energy. Cissnei dismissed her apologies with a head shake and a slight shrug of her shoulders. “These things happen at the beach. Its OK.” Her words were gentle, as she simply was just trying to deescalate the situation.
She gave Cele’s hand a firm and welcoming shake, before turning to deal with the interruption. Cissnei shook her head at the pathetic man. Most people were afraid of a little courage. Seemed he was mostly bark and no bite. He belonged at the bottom of the food chain. Perhaps even take a swim with the fish. She could arrange that… She stared at the guy as he walked away, making sure he could feel her eye daggers in his back as he walked away. She snapped the umbrella closed.
She retrieved the soiled towel from his cooler too. She wondered if she should just dump his whole cooler for being a jerk. But she was on vacation. No need to make a bigger deal out of this. She returned to Celes and handed her the towel back. Part of Cissnei had expected Celes to say something during the exchange, but it seemed she backed down midway.
“Celes? Dragonblades, right?” Not that Cissnei was a stalker or anything. Caius mentioned a ‘Celes’ person quite often and quite fondly. It seemed he was ignorant to his own feelings at the time. Even though he tended to mansplain to Cissnei why she shouldn’t feel a certain way. Like why her life was more important than the mission. Of course, that simply was not true. Otherwise, he was a good guy. Too good.
…Or this could be a completely different Celes. Always more than one person with the same name, after all.
Celes was about to walk away when Cissnei spoke up, “Wait.” She was feeling generous today. “You remind me of a Soldier…” What was he to her? Prey? Target? Friend? “…acquaintance. He had a hard time relaxing too.” She turned to try to stab her umbrella back into the ground. “Want to grab a drink? It’s on me.” Too bad for the other guy who lost his drink.
Final Fantasy VI
22
YEARS
Female
Complicated
Heterosexual
429 POSTS
Fin
Use your own eyes and see for yourself whose side I'm on!
Post by Celes Chere on Jul 22, 2020 7:00:40 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@blacksuit
Good thing they have a mutual friend or Celes might explode from her own awkwardness
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
Despite her cold eyes, the woman seemed nice enough. She reassured her about the situation and then held out a hand. Celes opened her mouth to say something else, but then closed it and took her hand instead. A firm shake was all it took. It felt like she’d locked into something she couldn’t quite take back.
Cissnei approached the ruined campsite, grabbing the towel without looking at any of the man’s companions before returning it to her. The whole thing was a mess of stains and sticky soda. Celes took it gingerly, trying hard not to notice her stomach sinking. Had she really thought that a few trips to the market would prepare her for this? She might as well throw it all in the trash.
Celes sighed. ”Well. I didn’t have much use for it anyway,” she said, and she didn’t. After this whole disaster, she really wanted nothing more than to head home in defeat.
Still, it wasn’t that bad. Apparently Cissnei recognized her. Celes blinked back in surprise. ”That’s right,” she said. For some reason, she felt heat rise to her cheeks. ”I’m with the Dragonblades. A great impression, isn’t it? I swear I’m better with a sword in my hand.” And something to stab with it. Stay on task. Ground your stance. Don’t show them your back. She’d never learned much else.
”Wait. You remind me of a soldier…” Cissnei trailed off, searching for the right word. ”Acquaintance. He had a hard time relaxing too.”
”Oh?” Was it really so common? It couldn’t have been, she thought. If her men had taught her anything, it was that the ranks of the Geystahlian army had no problems slacking off. ”Well, I guess we have that in common,” she said. ”I don’t really know what to do with myself.”
What was life without the discipline, the fight, the struggle to survive? She couldn’t know. But she wanted to.
Cissnei struck her umbrella back into the ground where it belonged. ”What to grab a drink?” she asked. ”It’s on me.”
”What?” Celes opened her mouth and then closed it. Why was she being so friendly? ”Well I guess...Alright.” She stood a little straighter. Wasn’t this exactly what she’d come for? A day away from it all? ”Though I really don’t mind paying. The Dragonblades are getting more attention now. Obviously if you'd heard of us.” Celes shifted her weight. ”Did you meet Caius? It seems like everyone knows him around here.”
Cissnei studied her as the blond dejectedly reviewed the status of her towel. She already sounded defeated by the beach even though she only just got here. “I wouldn’t say that just yet. There’s still some time to get you in the water. I have a spare when we get there.” Cissnei gave a smile as she looked out to the glistening water, her arms crossing in front of her. Despite the land disaster, the water itself looked peaceful.
Celes blushed when Cissnei recognized her. How adorable. Even better, she could even try to figure out what the second leader of the Dragonblades was like. Her curiosity decided this was a good idea. “We all have our weaknesses.” Cissnei stated. “Relaxing is just your’s. But it’s necessary if you want to be in top shape to wield that sword. It’s something we can work on.”
Though Cissnei had no real room to talk. When she had been working for Shinra, she would work herself until she passed out on top of her paperwork. Tseng kindly left his coat over her to keep her warm in those scenarios. But what a sight it must have been to see paper sticking to her cheek, an avalanche of paper half toppled onto her, while her hand stretched out for the coffee it never found. Reno would then fuss at her and sometimes blackmail her until she got into the helicopter, just so he could take some place away from work.
But she could pretend for the day she wasn’t a workaholic.
Cissnei dismissed Celes’s offer to pay for her. “How noble. But, if you are to relax, then the first lesson is to accept when others offer.” In other words, Cissnei was taking the reins. She turned to make her way up the dune, the sand shifting beneath her feet. As if in good timing, a group of adolescent boys set up their steel drums. The soft beating led very Caribbean-like sounds filling the air.
“I can’t say I hang around Torensten often. But I have met Caius. He was the first person I met from the Dragonblades and we worked a few missions together. Nice guy and enthusiastic. He talks very fondly of you and the Dragonblades.” She was pretty sure it was one of his hobbies.
She made it up to the top of the dune, where a small wooden shack with a lopsided sign stood. The saltwater had warped the wood, but the shoddy standing bar was still welcoming. They sold various drinks and ice creams. The young guy behind the counter had dark hair and had the tanned body of a swimmer. He wore simple blue swimming trunks. “What will it be ladies?” He flashed them an award winning smile.
“I’ll have the green river.” She stated. It was a fizzy lemon soda with a scoop of lime sherbet ice cream. The tartness was refreshing on such a hot day. She waited for Celes to order something for herself.
Final Fantasy VI
22
YEARS
Female
Complicated
Heterosexual
429 POSTS
Fin
Use your own eyes and see for yourself whose side I'm on!
Post by Celes Chere on Jul 26, 2020 9:44:22 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@blacksuit
Ah man. Beach time adventures.
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
Cissnei didn’t think much of her offer. ”How noble. But if you are to relax then the first lesson is to accept when others offer.”
”But-!” Celes hesitated. This felt like Locke all over again. He’d always tried to teach her how to loosen up and have fun. Well, as much as they could given the circumstances. ”Well...If you’re sure.” He would have wanted her to, wouldn’t he? He was always such a ball of passion and humor. Had it all been an act? In the end, he’d lost that fire.
Cissnei started up the dune, and Celes followed. Her feet sank into the sand, and she shivered as it oozed between her toes. It was hot. Dry. Not unlike the deserts of Figaro, really, but then she’d had her boots. She wished she had them now. And her cape while she was at it.
”I can’t say I hang around Torensten often,” Cissnei said. ”But I have met Caius. He was the first person I met from the Dragonblades, and we worked a few missions together.”
Celes nodded along. That sounded like Caius. He was always ready to fight, and he was always willing to bring an extra hand along with him. He’d made it his mission to bring as many capable fighters into their fold. It reminded her of herself, really. Only then she’d wanted nothing more than the friends she’d lost.
”He does?” Celes blinked at her. Talking of her fondly? She felt a heat rise to her cheeks, abashed. ”Well I don’t know why,” she said. ”I’m not that special, really.”
He was the one that deserved to be talked up. Though she wasn’t beyond a few jokes at his expense either.
As they drew closer to the dune’s edge, a kind of upbeat music reached them. It was short, syncopated, fast. Celes couldn’t help a smile. There was a certain kind of liveliness here. It was exactly the kind of place she’d always wanted to see. The one she’d hoped could still exist someday.
There was a crooked shack at the end of the sand, and Celes dusted off her feet as they came to the earthy path. The sand stuck to her skin in patches, and she beat her hand against it, frowning. Beside the shack was a collection of steel drums and a matching band to play them. Cissnei didn’t pay them much mind as she approached the counter.
”What will it be ladies?” The man behind it smiled widely. Cissnei didn’t return it.
”I’ll have the green river,” she said as Celes drifted up behind her. She stood with her mouth open, desperately scanning the board behind him for some kind of answer. Nothing was straightforward.
”Um.” Celes glanced between the board and Cissnei before she said, ”I’ll have that too.”
It was better than standing here gaping.
”Alright! Two green rivers for two lovely ladies!” The man jumped into action, grabbing bottles and glasses and a mixing cup. Celes laughed nervously.
”I didn’t know anything here,” she said. ”But if you like it then I guess I’ll try.”
Why was Cissnei being so nice to her? It wasn’t like Celes was the best of company. And this time, she highly doubted it was because she reminded Cissnei of some lost love.
”Where do you stay usually?” she asked to break the silence. ”If you’re not from Torensten?” It wasn’t a bad question if she said so herself. She knew how to talk to someone at least. Usually. ”I’m usually working anymore. Someone needs to stay behind and sort out all the missions and paperwork and everything else. We get all kinds of recruits, and I swear, their heads are always so full of hot air that they’d charge straight into a behemoth’s mouth without a sword. It’s my job to train them. I’d say Caius gets off easy.”
She smiled dryly. He was always on some adventure or another. He could hardly sit still when he tried.
”What do you do?” she asked. ”You said you’ve worked with Caius?”
Celes began to offer up a protest, but Cissnei would hear none of it. “I do insist.” Thankfully, Celes caved in before any true discussion was made of it. Celes seemed even tempered and, from her overly polite actions, probably a person of a good nature. And the blonde’s words also made it clear that Caius never spoke of her. Very good. She had a blank slate to work with. But it made her wonder how much information was passed between members of the Dragonblades about their individual missions. Turks knew almost everything about each other. It was hard to keep secrets, but not impossible.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Celes’s cheeks turn her favorite shade of red. She waited until after they put in their orders at the shack to respond to Celes. Cissnei leaned along the bar with an elbow. She tried to suppress a devious smile and turned her head to look at the menu as she waited for her drink. Celes was excellent at giving fuel for the fire. “I can name a few of Caius’s reasons why you are special.” Cissnei bit the inside of her cheek. Didn’t she have enough of teasing people at the Masquerade? Apparently not. What else was information good for if she didn’t get to use it? She turned to face Celes.
“At the bar, he seemed to completely cheer up at the thought of you. His mood literally went from night to day.” He told a somber, dark story. His fairy tale story of the darkness triumphing and a beacon of hope lied with a king who disappeared. But Celes had been the light at the end of it. Had he these feelings way back at that point too? “He stated you were a wonderful woman and his sole reason for being the way he is today. That you refused to let him deal with his past and present alone.” Cissnei paused as she feigned thinking over the other reasons. Her knuckle running along her lower lip in thought. When she grasped it, she tapped her index finger along her lips as if to signal the next though. “You helped him move on and helped give him a purpose again through the creation of the Dragonblades. In the end, that made him whole.” Cissnei gave a smile. “I don’t know. That sounds pretty special to me. I’ve no reason to doubt him. Seems there's truth to his words.” It sounded like love to her.
There was a moment where she simply enjoyed the music. It was not really what she enjoyed, but it did lighten the mood. “I do enjoy the green river. It’s lemon fizz and lime sherbet stave off the heat.” She offered a smile and gestured to the menu. “What taste do you like? Maybe I could help pick something for you to try next time.”
The man brought chilled glasses with lemon fizz from the tap in the back. A scoop of lime floated at the top. The bubbles seemed spun and popped as Cissnei slid the man some gil and a little extra for a tip. She smiled at him and he winked back, giving them both napkins, straws, and spoons.
Cissnei took the long silver spoon and dunked the sherbet. The drink fizzed and suddenly threatened to topple over the brim of the glass. But alas, it did not. She though about Celes’s question. “I stay in Sonora.” Cissnei said simply. She huffed a smile at her managing the group. “Seems rough. Some people prefer a fight over thinking. It takes work to realize you need both. But Caius shouldn’t have all the fun. Tell him to switch with you sometimes.” She nodded certainly at her advice before taking a sip from her drink. She gave a sound of contentment at it.
“Hm? I am an investigator in Sonora. Not as glamorous as a mercenary.” But her work was never done while there were people of interest to meet, information to uncover, reports to write, and people with problems. “I am the one called when something needs a delicate touch.” Or a touch that required keeping to the shadows. “As for my work with Caius, we just happened upon the same request boards. Dealing with bandits that turned out to be tonberries…and murders that occurred via haunted spirits.” She gave a shrug. “He is certainly exuberant in his work and recruiting. Offered me a position with the Dragonblades, which I turned down.”
She hummed thoughtfully looking at her glass. Talking about work again. Hm. Cissnei could fix that. “During the tonberry mission, he had certain books in his bag.” Yes. She was going to go there. “Romance novels, I think. Stated something that you told him he didn’t know anything about romance. Seemed to inspire him to do some research.”
Final Fantasy VI
22
YEARS
Female
Complicated
Heterosexual
429 POSTS
Fin
Use your own eyes and see for yourself whose side I'm on!
Post by Celes Chere on Jul 31, 2020 7:42:00 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@blacksuit
LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH CELES LOVES THIS CONVERSATION
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
”I can name a few of Caius’ reasons why you are special.”
”Huh?” Celes blinked. His reasons why she was special? Oh god, she didn’t need this right now. She didn’t need to hear how he was talking her up to strangers, and she didn’t need to hear whatever classic Caius over-explaining he’d done when it related to her. He’d never been good about curbing his tongue. Whatever ruined world he’s grown up in hadn’t had any need for a brain-to-mouth filter in his case.
Please let it just be about how she fought. Please, please, please. She didn’t need a reputation as the light of his life, a beautiful flower, some kind of warrior princess.
”At the bar, he seemed to completely cheer up at the thought of you. His mood literally went from night to day.”
”Oh.”
”He stated you were a wonderful woman and his sole reason for being the way he is today. That you refused to let him deal with his past and present alone.”
”Well that’s...nice.”
Was that true? Had she really? She’d never really thought about it. She knew that Caius had changed her life, but it wasn’t something she liked to dwell on. He was a friend. A lifeline. Not some kind of rock on which everything else was built.
Cissnei pressed her knuckle to her lips, tapping one finger in thought. ”You helped him move on and helped give him a purpose again through the creation of the Dragonblades. In the end, that made him whole.” She smiled. ”I don’t know. That sounds pretty special to me.”
”Oh no.”
So that was what he was telling them. Strangers. Across the world. If she’d told him over a drink, she had no doubts that every recruit had heard the same. She’d made him whole. She groaned.
”It really wasn’t anything like that,” she said. ”We work together. He’s my friend. That’s all.” But deep down, didn’t she know the truth? Friends didn’t speak of friends that way. For the first time in her life, she longed for Locke, Edgar, anyone to take the heat off and step in on her behalf.
’You’re making the lady uncomfortable. I know she’s beautiful, but you have to keep your head.’
Maybe some kind of manly pissing contest would keep them at bay.
”What taste do you like? Maybe I could help something for you to try next time.”
”Huh?” Celes blinked. Oh right. The drinks. ”I’m not really sure. I haven’t gone out for drinks much before.” Well that was unhelpful. She thought harder. ”Cherry maybe? Or strawberry. Something sweet.” From what she’d seen anyway. She hadn’t exactly had time to sit back and relax in a Vector cafe.
The vendor came back, handing them both their drinks with a knowing smile. It was cold in her hands, and she looked down to see a mess of foam, syrup, and soda fizz. It wasn’t unappealing exactly, but in the burning sun, she wasn’t sure she wanted something so thick. She took her own sampling of silverware, pressing them into her palm for balance. The condensation soaked the napkins straight through.
Cissnei dropped her spoon in the green fizz. ”I stay in Sonora,” she said before switching the topic off of her entirely. ”Seems rough. Some people prefer a fight over thinking. It takes work to realize you need both. But Caius shouldn’t have all the fun. Tell him to switch with you sometimes.”
”Well I don’t always stay behind.” Celes sipped the rim of her plastic cup to keep it from overflowing. She got nothing but a mouth full of thick foam. ”And I don’t mind it, really. It’s a lot of work, but it’s far closer to what I did before. Like I said, I was a general. We didn’t usually fight in the front lines.”
Training, strategy. She’d spent nearly all of her life with a sword in her hand and magic at her fingertips. She’d been disappointed at all the time trapped in tents and war rooms, she’d known the truth well enough. She was the last line of defense should their enemy get the upper hand. She couldn’t waste her life on casual skirmishes.
”An investigator?” She tilted her head in interest. If Cissnei was friends with Caius, she’d expected something a little more brash. Still, she supposed that would have made a good team. The brains and the brawn. She knew that match-up a little too well.
”It’s not for everyone,” she said. Cissnei honestly seemed a little too stoic for the Dragonblades anyway. It was a rough and tumble crowd. Honestly, she couldn’t see Cissnei really fitting in.
Cissnei looked at her drink thoughtfully. ”During the tonberry mission, he had certain books in his bag,” she said. ”Romance novels, I think. Stated something that you told him he didn’t know anything about romance. Seemed to inspire him to do some research.”
”What?”
She stared at her, gaping. Romance novels? Research? ”I didn’t-! I have no idea what-!” Her mind was reeling. When had she told him that? Had she ever told him that? She played back her life on fast forward, scouring every meeting they’d ever had.
Then she landed on the answer. She blanched. ”Maybe I did, but it wasn’t like that!”Lame. Even to her. She shook her head. ”Really, I didn’t mean it like that! He was so clueless that he didn’t even know what he was saying half the time! It would sound like he was flirting and then he’d just look at me like a confused kitten! It was unreal!”
Her head spun. ”But I didn’t tell him to read romance novels! That doesn’t sound like him at all!”
Was that why he was acting so strangely now? Was he trying to emulate them? She groaned. ”I really don’t want to talk about him,” she said. ”Whatever he says, I’m not interested. And isn’t he a little too old for me?”
