The mention of being haunted caused Evelina to tighten the hug just a little. She had a good idea of what it was that haunted Lucania, and why it was in this moment that the memories of it returned. But even those gloomy thoughts couldn’t keep her from chuckling at the completely out-of-place mention of her hunger. Evelina chuckled, her entire body rocked by her laughter. “I suppose we should go down and get something to eat, then? Or would you prefer to just stay here, take a shower, perhaps? Alone, that is.” [i]She smells nice. Of Lilies.[/i] “Hmm…” Lucania tapped a finger against her chin, “Well I certainly need to wash up,” she looked down, “I need to change too…” she scooted off the bed, as she stood, she tilted her head. Apparently her companion had slept in her clothes, “And what of you, my drifter friend? Would you like a... [i]fresh[/i] outfit?” It was with some regret that Evelina let go of Lucania, having enjoyed the embrace more than she might have let on. She yawned once and stretched again—arms above her head—then stood up as well. “I wouldn’t be opposed to a new set of clothes,” she admitted. “Most of what I have is with my bike, including a few sets of clothes that I’ve gotten over the years… but nothing that’s actually, well, well maintained or new. Most has holes in it.” She grinned bashfully. “I can’t say clothes have been my top priority.” “A bike?” Lucania posed, scanning the illuminated room with a new days clarity. [i]Where was her purse?[/i] “And you travel alone?” Found it. It peeked out from under the ruffled golden silk sheets of her long abandoned bed, she went to retrieve it, “I do imagine keeping a full wardrobe must be difficult…” She mused, “Well, feel free to take whatever you’d like from the armoire--” She crossed the room, heading to the restroom, “Although,” she paused in the doorframe, turning with a coy gleam in her eyes, “Do you consider yourself a fan of dresses?” “Dresses?” She looked slightly perplexed by the suggestion, even the word itself. Her lips pursed, and she idly brushed her hair out with her fingers, though with limited success. “I have nothing against them, and I wouldn’t mind wearing one, so long as—” she poked her chest “—these can stay hidden. That means no exposed back, cleavage or sides. I don’t mind people knowing of them, but I’m not much a fan of displaying them like that.” She smiled wrily. “So if you have anything that’s modest and similar to what I described, then I would like to wear one.” “Modest…” She tapped her chin in thought again, while she leaned against the doorframe, she was completely oblivious to the nightgown progressively sliding lower and lower down her chest, “I’m sure you’ve already inferred this Evelina, but my profession doesn’t necessitate much modesty…” Evelina pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers, shaking her head theatrically. “Modesty is for people who aren’t millionaires, Lucania. Not to mention that I don’t want everyone and their mother to stare at my breasts. I attract enough attention because of my figure, and being Immortal as it is. I don’t need another reason for people to oggle me.” She let her hand fall to her side again, her gaze travelling up Lucania as she did. A very faint smirk tugged at her lips at the sight of the dress gliding down, but she didn’t say anything nor pointed it out. [i]Let’s see how she reacts when it falls down completely.[/i] “[i]Millionaire![/i]” Lucania gasped, she quickly brought up a hand that hovered lightly over her open mouth, as if she had just said some forbidden word, “I’d like to think my net-worth exceeds one [i]billion[/i], with a [i]b[/i], at an absolute minimum, Evelina!” The dress slipped far enough down to expose a single breast to the air of the room, in the middle of her dramatic pose, Lucania didn’t notice, “To only have several million bullets to one’s name!” She cried, “How the heart reels!” She stood in the middle of the doorway, one hand grasping the side of the door for support, the other with it’s back to Lucania’s forehead, when gravity decided to have it’s way with the nightgown, and it promptly fell to the ground, leaving her completely bare. Lucania yelped, “[i]Cazzo![/i]” She didn’t give Evelina time to see the bright blue in her eyes, or the red of her blush. She shot behind the door, but didn’t slam herself in the restroom, instead she peaked out. Although the kneejerk reaction was embarrassment, she couldn’t help but feel as though she was being a tad unfair with her body… she [i]had[/i] fondled Evelina in her sleep after all, albeit under the influence. Still, the feeling pervaded, if Evelina wanted to see her, then she would let her. She owed that to her. Clearing her mind, she poked her head out from behind the door further, a playful smile slowly appearing, “Dio... I am not taking this very slow at all, am I?” [i]Aaany time now,[/i] Evelina thought, not really paying attention to Lucania’s theatrics, more focused on the dress steadily gliding down. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about what she said, but more the fact that she preferred to make sure that she caught the inevitable reaction when the dress finally fell. And then it happened. The dress fell, revealing a pair of perky breasts that, in Evelina’s opinion, were much prettier than her own. What followed was a rush of movement as Lucania rushed behind the door to the bathroom, though it was left ajar and not slammed shut. [i]Perfect.[/i] Evelina grinned and, with a thought, dissolved into tiny motes of light, invisible during day time, and rushed through the door, materializing behind the naked woman before she got as far as to look out of the room. [i]”I’m not taking this very slow at all, am I?”[/i] “I suppose not,” Evelina said from behind her, wrapping both arms around her shoulders and leaned forward, hugging her from behind. “But then again, I don’t think I am, either, even if I want to.” Lucania’s heart practically leaped right out of her ribcage. In all honesty, it might have, if not for Evelina’s hands finding their ways to rest over it first. She didn't have time to scream, the shocked gasp could barely escaped her lips. She was scared, but only for an impossibly small flash of an instant, a flash Evelina somehow managed to shoot behind her in. Was that something else she could do? All panic subsided in the instant she recognized Evelina’s voice behind her, whispering suggestively. Lucania instead felt comforted with the taller woman wrapping arms around her, it was horrifying, but also slightly… romantic? Perhaps that was the adrenaline that pumped it’s way through her now fidgeting body? “You are dreadfully lucky I have such good self control,” Lucania sighed, “I could have deafened you just now...” “You could?” Evelina asked, somewhat perplexed. “I take it your powers are something to do with sound, then?” She let go of Lucania, grabbing her shoulders to turn her around. She didn’t try to hide the cursory glance she gave her, her eyes moving down, then up again with a smile steadily growing on her lips. “You don’t have to be ashamed, you know. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before. And if it helps… you’re not [i]just[/i] a pretty face. A pretty body, too: Healthy, if a bit unfit.” She looked up, a serious look on her face. “You don’t exercise much, do you?” She let go of Lucania and took a step back, her gaze still fixed on the other. “You should.” “I-I’ve been busy…” Lucania stammered, “You’re intelligent enough to recognize that establishments like this don’t just spring up overnight.” She began to list things off with her fingers, “There’s resource management, and acquisitions, financing, raw product, muscle… so many people to pay off…” Her blush deepened as she realized she was standing there, stark naked, talking about finer nuances of financing a club. She snatched a towel from a rack, covering her more indecent bits as she held it to her chest, “I’ve just been very busy lately, that’s all...” “You are right in that my powers are…” She paused, visibly focusing before speaking again, mirroring Evelina’s voice back at her, “...something to do with sound…” She smirked, “大约, my [i]Doctor[/i].” Flabbergasted. A word as good as any to describe the thoughts currently racing through Evelina’s mind. Just being able to produce loud sounds wouldn’t have surprised her, but hearing her own voice when she wasn’t talking was… surreal, for lack of better words. She had to fight not to let her jaw drop at hearing it. “Alright. So… Imitation. That’s… freaky.” She gulped, though not quite as one who felt threatened or frightened would. “That is both a neat power, and potentially very abusive.” The surprised look in her eyes shifted to one of scrutiny. She clucked her tongue as she thought over the excuses given. “Be that as it may, you still should have had time for half an hour of jogging, a brisk walk, something like that.” She sighed, smiling. “At any rate, you’re still healthy so it’s not a problem yet. Onto another matter, though,” she clapped her hands, “about those dresses? And something that doesn’t display my chest to the world, please.” “十分に公平。” [i][Fair enough][/i] Lucania shot back, “しかし。。。あなたが服を脱ぎ場合。その後二つはヌードになる。” [i][However… If you undress. Then Two will be nude.][/i] Lucania whispered, coyly looking down at her body barely hidden by the towel, “セクシー~” [i][S-sexy~][/i] She spoke the word just barely above a breath, she was clearly enjoying the fact the Evelina probably didn’t understand anything that was coming out of her mouth. “そうでないかもしれないあなた。しかし、あなたはいつでも私の胸を表示することができます。” [i][You who may not be so. However, you will be able to display my chest at any time.][/i] A scowl—if a playful one—spread across her features, pulling her lips down. She had understood just about nothing of what Lucania had said, and decided that now was the time for payback. “Okay. That’s it.” She drew in a deep breath, readying herself. “Phalange, metacarpus, distal phalange, proximal phalange, middle phalange, metacarpal, trapezoid, trapezium, hamate, triquetral, carpus, capitate, scaphold, lunate, radius, ulna, and pisiform.” She glared at Lucania playfully. “Right back at you.” “Wh--” Lucania tilted her head at the barrage of medical and anatomical terms both obscure and others. To her, they were like French, well, not entirely, Lucania knew [i]some[/i] French, what she didn’t know was this [i]Doctor speak.[/i] What she did gather was that, for reasons of avoiding another Latin word salad, she should probably keep her Aqueon to a minimum. “Okay!” Lucania held up a single hand in mock defeat, “I could never find the patience to learn even a little Latin… I’m impressed.” She sighed, “Most of my wardrobe remains in Serenity, but I’m confident I’ve already got something of a selection for me here,” wrapping the towel around her form, she brushed past Evelina, “I’m not sure how practical they are on a bike, but if you do decide you’d like to take one, mind that you don’t cut yourself on the sleeves,” She bent down to turn a dial, water sprang miraculously from a ceiling mounted showerhead, “the blouses too! The ones with frilly longer sleeves… I don’t keep favorites, so take whichever… but I don’t want you to get hurt...” Evelina grinned victoriously, her face lit up in a childish joy. “You speak some other language, and I barrage you with medical terms. And if you ever get out of hand, I’ll just start to communicate with you. [i]In writing.[/i]” The last bit was added as a threat, made entirely unconvincing by the all-too-obvious glint of mirth in Evelina’s cat-like eyes. “But for the record, I listed the names of the bones in the human hand, wrist, and the two bones from which your lower arm consist of. I hope I didn’t scare you off.” She turned around when Lucania brushed past her, eyes trained on the back of her head—Mostly. “Why would I cut myself on your sleeves?” She asked out loud, partly to herself and partly to Lucania. “Also, I think I’d prefer a dress over a blouse. If only to borrow during my stay here.” [i]She really doesn’t know who I am… Interesting.[/i] “Hmmm,” Lucania sat on the edge of the tub, crossing her legs as pondered on how to go about answering the question. Outright lying would show in her eyes, and Evelina seemed like a perceptive enough woman that she doubted she could get away with a fib even with Standard eyes. The pitter patter of the shower water filled the silence between words, and slowly, the restroom became steamier, Lucania spoke. “Well, I commission my own private line of personal attire, as well as those of the people who work for my family, a staple of my line of clothing is having razor blades sewn into the sleeves.” “I suppose you saw the effectiveness of such hidden blades yesterday.” Her smile hadn’t faded, but she bit her lower lip, her eyes were… probing, as if attempting to gauge a reaction, “You know, I find it interesting, you conceded a last name the moment I asked, yet you never asked for mine.” “It’s true, I did see that,” she mused, pursing her lips in thought. “And I guess it makes sense that the sleeves would be able to cut me if I wore them. But you say it’s a line you commissioned yourself?” [i]As I thought. If she has enough money for that, then she’s definitely not your average young woman.[/i] She shook her head, crossing her arms underneath her bust. “No, I never did. But I have a feeling that it’s a name I know.” She gave a half-smile. “There are too many things pointing towards you not being your average girl. ‘Practically owning’ this bar, being able to enter a suite such as this without asking anyone, and having your own line of clothes commissioned. That, and the fact that they are so open towards Immortals here, adds up to quite a bit more than an average girl.” Her half-smile became a full one in the end, if only to show that she didn’t think any less of her for holding secrets, or for not being ‘normal’. “But let me ask then: What [i]is[/i] your last name, Lucania?” “Believe it or not, I actually [i]would[/i] like to take a shower at some point,” Lucania chided. There had been an amusement on her face though, that didn’t fade with the comment, if anything, her mirth increased with the coy dodge. The woman sighed theatrically, tossing her head back, almost into the streaming water. While one hand was used for balance, the other pulled down on the towel just slightly, enough to tease from where she sat, but only a shade more skin than she’d been showing a moment before. Lucania pouted, “Have I gone and ruined my own allure?” “You’re the one who keeps talking,” Evelina pointed out. “So if you want that shower, you could just ask me to leave.” She tactfully ignored the teasing display, acting as if she either hadn’t noticed, or didn’t faze her. “And no, you haven’t lost your allure. You’re just as pretty as when I met you. Although that doesn’t mean that I’ll shower with you, if that’s what you’re asking.” She smiled somewhat apologetically. “Regardless of what we think of each other, we’ve [i]only[/i] just met last night.” She turned on her heel and went for the door, heading back into the bedroom part of the apartment, or room. She wasn’t quite sure what to call it, given its size. Before she fully exited, however, she looked back. “Also, where do I find the dresses? A wardrobe or something?” [i]And nice dodge, Lucania. But you’re not getting away with it. Something’s fishy, and I can’t help but feel that she’s deliberately teasing me.[/i] Lucania held a hand to her heart, in mock injury, “Shower together?” she gasped, “Goodness! You’ve already seen my unmentionables! If we showered together you’d have an intimate knowledge of my rituals—there would be nothing left to show!” She giggled, “Well…” She thought out loud, “I suppose there’s always intimate discussion of Old World literature…” [i]Yes, The Odyssey, The Secret Doctrine, Ulysses, and each salvaged copy of ‘Horse Mag Monthly’[/i] “A haha...ha…” Lucania rolled her eyes at the absurdity of her own thoughts, “I suppose that wouldn’t do for the now though, would it?” She said to Evelina, leaning toward the door, “It should be a walk in closet, through the door that we [i]didn’t[/i] come in last night.” “You’re incorrigible,” Evelina muttered, suppressing a chuckle. “Anyway, thanks, I’ll go see about finding something to put on.” She closed the door behind her, already looking for said walk-in closet before it had even clicked shut. [i]Reminds me… what even is a walk-in closet?[/i] It was a question she repeated a number of times as she walked towards a pair of wooden double doors. She’d only ever had a normal closet with shelves and coat hangers, so perhaps a walk-in closet was something big enough that you could stand in it? [i]It’d make sense,[/i] she thought, reaching out for the handles. [i]I mean, it’s only a closet, it can’t be that b—[/i] She stopped, mouth agape at the sight before her. She had opened the closet and, having expected nothing more than something perhaps twice as big as her own back in Parkland, felt a shock of awe rush over her. “Yes. Yes it can be that big,” she muttered, walking into what could only be described as an entire room filled with coat hangers; dresses, skirts, blouses, and a multitude of other articles. It might not have been bigger than a small bathroom, but it was still gigantic compared to what a closet usually was. “I don’t even want to think how much all of this costs.” She gulped and, carefully, stepped in and started perusing the lines upon lines of clothing, looking for something that was relatively modest while not being overly prudent; there was a reason she usually wore tight clothes, after all. For even if she didn’t want to show off, she was not afraid or ashamed of her own appearance. [center]-----[/center] [center][b]9:37 AM[/b][/center] It took upwards of twenty minutes before she finally found something that would fit her, both in size and taste. [i]Much better than that blue one… How does she even hide her breasts in that thing! The chest was hardly covered at all.[/i] She stepped out of the closet and held up [url=http://cdn.bridalbrid.com/images/images.freemans.com/is/image/OttoUK/cloudzoom/Together-Long-Sleeved-Maxi-Dress~64K374FRSP.jpg]a long, red dress.[/url] [i]It’s nice.[/i] It seemed thin enough to hug someone’s upper body, while staying loose from the hips down, but even then never coming to the point where it was like a second skin. Another few minutes passed of her shrugging off her jeans and T-shirt, replacing them with the dress. Like she had been instructed she was careful not to cut herself on the sleeves, using a thin barrier to prevent any damage to her hands or wrists. Once done she turned to the mirror situated on the inside of the door to the closet, looking herself over. [i]All I need,[/i] she thought, [i]is to get my hair brushed, and I… would actually look very good. Although.[/i] Her eyes lowered from her reflection’s face to her chest, grimacing slightly. [i]It was the highest cut she had. Everything else was lower, except for the blouses. And with my… size, it looks even bigger.[/i] The thought of changing into a blouse crossed her mind but she drowned it out. She did prefer dresses over blouses, and it wasn’t as if she was [i]that[/i] annoyed or embarrassed over herself. She could live with it. [center]-----[/center] [center][b]9:39 AM[/b][/center] Lucania sighed. She’d finished any washing she needed to devote muscular energy toward several minutes ago, nearly 20 minutes ago, in fact. For the better part of the last half hour, she had just let the warm water pour over her, simply streaming down her body at this juncture, as if it was an endless commodity and not some desperately needed luxury. The comfort Lucania felt here was never one of a physical cleansing, she wasn’t like Evelina. She showered daily-- only several times in her life had she ever let the filth of Dust accumulate on her physical form. Vain as it may have been, yesterday was the only notable instance in recent memory where Lucania could recall being unpresentable due to filth and gore, and that had been remedied almost immediately after. The thing Lucania gained from showers wasn’t physical cleansing. It was this… gestalt spiritual and mental cleansing. Each droplet started its journey when propelled from the faucet, with it’s brethren, like the meteors that had once ended the world. They joined at her head, made their way past closed eyes, hair laced in daisies, and absorbed the stresses that seemed to lay just underneath the surface of where they rolled toward the drain. The light drumming of the artificial rain drowned out the sounds of the world, warmth felt as though it was transferred directly into her soul with each tap of the world’s clear ichor against her skin, the fog would often become so thick that she would be left with no choice but to close her eyes and be faced with her thoughts, alone in a welcoming void. She rather enjoyed the opportunity. She knew, of course, that she couldn’t stay in the shower forever. But it was a valuable reflection time. It was self reflection and assessment, as well as time to allow her mind to wonder poetically, to ponder spirituality and philosophy and simply review her plans for the future. Lucania supposed it could be considered kin of a kind of meditation, where the emphasis was on going to the places in one’s mind where the world normally barred them from going. Today, she had spent a good amount of time thinking of her dream from the night prior. It hadn’t been the one she had become accustomed to, there were no horses. No, she’d simply held a conversation with mother… [i]Rita[/i]. She couldn’t remember the full conversation… but naturally, she had come to the interpretation that this oneirological shift represented some change. [i]Listen: The dreams that had persisted for the last few years were unpleasant ordeals, not quite nightmares, but unpleasant. They all had this in common, this, and thematic similarities, they were always [i]always[/i], the observation of some biblical apocalypse, with myself taking part in some way, typically through becoming an avatar of death. But that brings up a third similarity, one very specific and striking commonality-- I had never started the dreams as death, ever. No, without fail, Rita always rode in on the Pale Horse. That sick, chlorine hued horse. In Christian Mythos, the rider of the Pale Horse was death personified, and death for all followed. I’m not death, not in these dreams, I was merely the daughter of death inheriting a role. At least, that’s how I interpreted it. Death was mother. In Old World Tarot, the card ‘Death,’ above all else, represented change. Change... be it positive or negative… Like yesterday! The death of Adam Worth, the first romantic connection I’ve made since… That’s what Rita was talking about last night. I know it. She was reaching out to me. Something snapped yesterday, an unseen catalyst is bringing about change to all of Dust… ...Or, peradventure I’m reading too deep into all of this.[/i] Peradventure. Still, it was something to keep eyes open for, even if her mother’s spirit wasn’t reaching out to her with messages from the ether. Lucania sighed again. She was beginning to prune, she needed to leave the shower soon. Reaching down, she turned the dial, and couldn’t help but feel a tinge of regret as the water slowly became nothing for than a trickle. [i]The next Jean-Paul Marat…[/i] Lucania chuckled to herself as she began to dry off. If she was Marat… Oh dear, was Evelina her assassin Charlotte de Corday? Well, Lucania supposed if she was, she’d missed her opportunity to create the ‘Death of Castalia,’ complete with her blood flowing down the drain as the showerhead continued to bathe her corpse… [i]Manache! She’d completely forgotten--[/i] The Aqueons! She needed to get to Tas later today, she’d been enlisted to ‘negotiate’ with the River Dragon Triad. She hadn’t even thought of it since yesterday morning. Lucania mentally scolded herself, she made an effort to dry herself off faster, hiding her hair in one towel she wrapped her body in another. There was still so much she needed to do here! There were bound to be reactions from the Winged Guardians that she needed to deal with AND there was the matter of finding an Immortal willing to champion a duel for her AND-- Her stomach growled. Right, health first. Lucania tip toed over to the restroom door, cracking it open slightly she found herself taken aback at the sight of Evelina in the carmine gown. Lucania’s lips parted in a dazed smile, “I-I thought you didn’t want anything that… Umm... low cut?” Evelina found herself blushing, hand shooting up to cover her chest before she even realised the futility of the action. Sighing, she let her arms fall to her side, a slightly perturbed expression on her face. “This was the one with the highest cut you had. On a normal person it wouldn’t be so bad, but on me… it’s a different story. And I’m not really a fan of blouses. A dress is far prettier, I think.” Despite her bashfulness, she twirled around, arms spread wide, and asked. “So, what do you think? Aside from having to brush my hair, that is. Does it look good, or should I pick something else?” “[i]Good?[/i]” Lucania threw open the door, moving to circle around Evelina in wide-eyed abandon, towelhead and all, “You look like… what Old World royalty must have looked like,” Lucania’s eyes tinged with a slight green, “when they weren’t getting beheaded, that is…” She muttered to herself. “Still,” Her eyes shifted to match the golden glow of the sun, “you look fantastic… far [i]too[/i] fantastic for this locale,” She scowled at the thought, “Are there even any establishments built for such a purpose as an early brunch around here?” [i]Now who’s a shameless flirt.[/i] “Thanks,” Evelina said earnestly, cheeks tinted red and eyes glowing with a mixture of pride and glee. She doubted Lucania knew just how much a compliment like that meant to her. “It’s nice to know that someone thinks I look good.” She didn’t even register the mention of royalty getting beheaded, her subconsciousness deciding that such a phrase could go unheard without any lasting repercussions. “Truth be told, I do think it’s a really nice dress, and even if it’s a bit tight in some places, it’s a comfortable wear, too. But… still doesn’t mean you’re not overdoing it. I don’t look [i]that[/i] good, as to be ‘far too fantastic for this locale.’” She stopped then to consider the question posed. Was it really possible to get an early brunch here? She didn’t know, having never been here before. “I don’t really know. I—” There was a knock on the door. Three crisp knocks echoing off the wooden surface.