Elara and Mariette on a date

Characters: Elara, Mariette

Location: Fellward

Date: 4 August 2021

Elara curls up on the couch with Max, snuggled deeply into his fur as on the screen a blue dog plays with his dad. Boredom is a familiar feeling, really; being denied simple naps is a surprisingly cruel thing, with no way to rest her cadaver without price.

Max’s fur is soft, but Elara can barely feel it. It’s clinical, almost, no pleasure to it. Elara sighs, wondering when Mariette’s classes’ll finish.

She itches a bit at the desperation with which she wants her to come over, but at least *most* of it is the boredom. She’s pretty sure. Maybe. It’s hard to tell.

Every window of this place has been thoroughly covered and sealed, something Elara made damn sure of. An accidental burn would be costly, right now.

Elara sighs, gently giving Max a scritch, and waits.

Mariette didn't spent any more time than necessary before going back to her old house.

The excitement she feels was only comparable to some of her big fights, and even then it was different. It felt more... Happy.

Even if the house was ugly it felt more familiar than the university. Hanging in there with the kids had made it much more cozy than anyone could expect. Without saying that Elara was now there. It somehow felt more special now.

She opens the door and hurries inside. "Elara?"

All the lights are off when Mariette enters, except for the TV which is playing a show which Mariette would recognise, Bluey and his friends and dad. When Mariette speaks it pauses immediately, and then Elara shoves herself up from Max onto the back of the couch. "Mari!"

Elara sounds absolutely delighted and relieved for a moment, looking at her. She drops to the floor, standing, and she has to forcibly restrain herself from going straight over to her. She's already feeling a bit more aware of everything - *hyper* aware of Mariette. There was Life in this house, but it was vague flickers of things, little spiders or flies or mold, entirely drowned out in comparison to Mariette.

Max barks in greeting, and Elara's restraint is promptly ignored by Max, who shoves himself in a leap over the back of the couch to launch himself at Mariette in a flurry of bouncing excitement, pawing and licking and barking happily - expressing all the delight that Elara tries to keep under wraps.

Mariette crouches slightly to hug the golden retriever. She thought it was funny that she felt the same excitement as Max.

"I'm also happy to see you buddy," she chirps happily to the dog. "And you too Ellie." Mariette looks at the paused scene. "Ohhhh that's a good episode!" She says, mockingly. "We saw it three times in a row." Her tone isn't mocking anymore. "How has your day been? I hope you weren't as bored." The look on her face is apologetic. "Sorry I took so long."

*Ellie?* Well, sure, okay?

Max snuggles up to Mariette happily, practically trying to stand on his back legs to hug her. If Mariette doesn't put some actual effort in, he'll probably knock her right over shortly - there's a *lot* of force in that dog's body.

"Its been fine, I'm used to us keeping each other from getting bored," Elara says, sitting herself on the back of the couch. "Don't *worry* so much, you've got classes, I know that. Its not your fault the sun rises, is it?"

"Sadly I don't think I have powers over the sun... I mean, when it's too hot my skin easily burns and I look really reddish." She lifts her arms like showing the imaginary burned skin. "Also not the best for tattoos. So, wanna go today to present you to the staff? I mean, when the sun gets less intense."

"Sure, yeah," Elara agrees. "Could go now, if I get my mask on, but..." She glances at Max. "Should probably wait a bit," she decides. "Not too long, but... anyway.

"Did you enjoy your classes?"

Mariette sits down in the double seat couch. "Sounds good to me!" She stretches. Mariette was wearing a bright yellow light jacket, black oversized t-shirt with the logo of a band and grey joggers that stopped at her calf. "They were fine, I'm really not the best with illusions, but I learned a bit about how to stay grounded to reality." The look on her face is one of accomplishment. "The design classes were fun, and... Uh... Someone contacted me on the forum..."

It's obvious she doesn't want to talk about it. But she's looking for the words to try anyways.

Elara wants to comment on the good parts, but... okay. She slides down off the back of the couch onto the actual seat, and forcibly ignores that Mariette is *right there.* Not appropriate. Not the time.

Max pads around to curl up at their feet, watching Mariette attentively.

"Something bad?" Elara shifts, leaning into the arm of the chair so she could look directly at Mariette.

Mariette wants to look more reassuring, more confident, unsuccessfully so. "Yeah, kinda bad..." *Ok, out with it.* "Just before I tell you this I want to ask you to please don't get mad, I do not think this is true and I really don't wanna insult you-" She takes a deep breath. "-And the reason I'm asking you this is to try get someone to stop being an ass to you and Maybee, alright?"

Why was it so hard?

"Ok so the question is-uh... You're not an Oni, right?"

Mariette looks like she had just witnessed a terrible accident.

Elara goes very, very still. Any possible chance of her seeming alive right now dissipates; the stink of rotting flesh is a bit more prominent, the corpsey cast of her features worsens, and the air just *feels* like there's something dangerous present. Her hands clench.

"No," she bites out. "I am *definitely* not a *fucking* Oni. Or *any* kind of Oni. Definitely *fucking* not."

She then shifts, gaze darting away; Mariette would recognise the change in tension as preparing to run, coiled to move.

"Why the *fuck* -"

Elara cuts herself off, clenching her jaw. Mariette can't see any sign of her breathing as she fights to calm herself down.

"Of course you're not! I knew it, but this asshole Maybe started saying stuff, I told him the same, I *swear* I defended you, but he kept pushing, and..." Mariette's mortified and it's painfully *obvious.* "I'm sorry... *Really* sorry, just... He looked like he was trying to start a metaphorical witch hunt and I didn't want you to have to go through that." She stops for a few seconds to breathe. "You're probably mad at me... I wouldn't blame you."

Elara shakes her head. Slowly, very slowly, she manages to lean back into the couch again, and then she drags her legs up to her chest, hugging them and leaning her forehead against them - letting her guard back down, slowly. "Fuck," she manages.

Her heart should be pounding right now. Adrenaline. Her breath should be coming fast. She knows the symptoms of panic. She doesn't have any of them, and she's panicking anyway.

Mariette slowly puts her hand on her back, carefully. "Elara, are you ok?" Her voice was caring. "Shit, that's a dumb question, can I do something to help?"

Elara would go still again, at the touch, but she's already still. She shuts her eyes, trying to shut out the light.

She swallows, manually. It doesn't help.

If... if *he ever* believes something like *this...* If he even for a moment *genuinely believes* she could be Oni, or working with Oni, even by *accident...*

"I don't know," Elara manages. "Fuck. *Fuck.*" She opens her eyes, looking at Mariette, searching. "Why? Did he say *why* he believed that?" The note of panic in her voice is very genuine, sharp with fear. "What - what the hell *was* it? Who did he tell? Who *thinks this?*"

Why did this feel physically painful? Elara had ripped Mariette's leg to shreds once and this somehow felt worse, like being near the Lord after a big fuck up. She feels like she could crack at any moment.

"Because he's an asshole? Apparently he didn't like your attitude or Maybee's... I don't think he would had told many people, he seemed to be extremely paranoid, and I don't think he gets along with many people... I don't know, maybe resplendent and a few others. Are you in danger? I'll text him telling him that you're definitely not an Oni and to stop his bullshit, alright?"

"If my Binder even thinks that May or I are associated with Oni, 'e might kill us." Elara's tone has gone flat. "I have no doubts that he would do so if we worked with them at all. Hell, death is probably the *least* of what he'd do to us." Her forehead drops to her knees again. She's too still. No one panicking like this should be this still. Her voice goes very small. "Please. If he'll listen to you. I'd be willing to *swear* to it, that I'm not, that I'm *not.*"

"Ok, shit. Shit shit shit shit shit... Just. Give me a few, alright? That Motherfucker! I'll tell him to stop it." Mariette pulls out her phone, not even looking at what Quiet would say and going immediately to the forum.

Elara's just... *there* for a little while, as Mariette types. A corpse just sitting there while Max whines worriedly. She doesn't breathe, or move, her heart doesn't beat.

After a little while, she shifts. "Fuck it," she mutters. She tips herself over to lean into Mariette's side.

Mariette looks at her phone's screen, dumbfounded. She doesn't even understand if she feels scared or angry. "He says he's busy... THE SON OF A BITCH SAYS HES BUSY!... Is he actually retarded? Can't he see that he's putting YOU in danger?!" She gives the phone to Elara, showing her the conversation, before putting her face on her hands, trying to hold it together.

Elara takes the phone carefully, and she looks through it. "Damn," she says. Her tone's weirdly blank. "You swore?"

Mariette leaves the phone by her side. "Fucking ASSHOLE... I swore... Fuck, I really really hope it doesn't have to come to that... But if he hurts you I-...

This is my fault, isn't it? Somehow." Her voice sounds muted trough her hands, her face hidden from Elara. Mariette doesn't want her to see her teary eyes.

"Nah. Its not. Pretty darn sure of it." Elara's voice has gone... soft. She tilts her head, looking at Mariette.

That feeling of Life, when they met the second time, that isn't present. Elara's grateful for it, honestly. Its hard to *think* with her heart beating, with everything working, hunger starting to work its way through her system. This is clean.

She *swore* on Elara's safety.

What does she *do* with that information?

"You're awesome, Mariette," Elara says, quietly. Not for the first time.

Mariette doesn't lift her head, she can't let her see her like that. *Weak.* "I don't *feel* awesome... I need to solve this... I can't be *this* weak!" With the last phrase her voice cracks, and like a balloon that's enough to make her lose her confidence. She can now feel the tears on her hands and rolling down her arms. "Elara, I don't want to let people close to me get hurt because of me being *weak*, because of me being stupid. I don't want *you* to get hurt!"

Fuck it, fuck it, fuck it. Elara hugs her, tugging Mariette over.

Elara smells like old, rotten flesh, faint hints of blood, dust; Death, in general. The only warmth to her is the warmth she picks up from Mariette, which clings to the cloth of the clothes she's wearing. What's noticeable is the *lack* of sound, with her; normally when you're close enough to someone you can hear them breathing, feel their heartbeat. Elara only breathes to talk or sniff, entirely irregular. There's very little meat to her, either.

But she's a presence, yet.

"Don't worry," Elara mutters. "He seems kinda crazy. Doubt my Binder'd listen to something like that seriously. Doubt 'e could *get* to my Binder. Just... panicked earlier. Should be manageable."

She sounds a bit like she's convincing herself, as well.

For a second Mariette tenses up, thinking it's an attack. And then she realizes what's going on. The thought somehow makes her more worried about failing *her.* Mariette twists and lays into the hug, she accepts it.

And for a moment she feels like nothing matters, like the last 12 years never happened and that she is deserving of having someone to comfort her.

Her tears keep coming, slower this time, her heartbeat slowing down to it's regular movement. Elara felt cold and smelled like dead, and nothing of that mattered, for her Elara's arms felt like the most comfortable place she had ever been.

Her thoughts started becoming more clear, even if she was still worried.

"Shit... This wasn't what we had planned for the day... I'm sorry." She then adds, "*You* are amazing... Thank you."

Elara flinches a bit at the compliment, instinctively. She wants to argue - she wants -

She doesn't *want* to convince Mariette that she's bad. She doesn't want to make Mariette hate her. It wouldn't be *hard.* Right now... If she just...

Fear of loss is like ice in the veins. God, if Mariette ever left - like he -

Her heart thumps, once, her blood starting to get moving.

"Hey, you're the one apparently swearing oaths over my safety," Elara manages. "Wasn't expecting that."

She lifts her head to look at Elara to the face, they were so close. She looks surprised. "Yeah I did... Damn... I just thought of a thing that would terrify me and went for it... I didn't care about pissing off the Lord, I was just thinking of..." *Protecting you, even if I would get almost killed for it?* She saves that last part for herself. "I... I think I'm more calm." Mariette doesn't leave Elara's arms, it felt safe there.

*Why does it feel safe? I should be able to protect myself!*

She wonders if that's true.

Mariette's face started feeling warmer, her cheeks starting to blush. She was well aware of how weird she must have looked with her swollen eyes from the crying and now her face getting red. She tries hiding her face. "I... Thanks for the hug, I think I really needed it..."

Elara's heart beats again, slowly, and then just... keeps going. Not as fast as anyone alive, nor as consistently, but her blood is *moving.* Sensations are a bit more vivid.

And Elara is hyperaware that until Mariette looked away...

*Fuck.*

And. And Mariette... Mariette specifically swore an oath invoking the thing she was most scared of. For her.

Elara huffs, dropping her head to Mariette's shoulder. She doesn't let go. Blood is rushing under Mariette's skin. Elara can smell it, hear it. Bright colours bleed out around her, Life a vivid, verdant taste in the air.

Tears are close enough to smell. Salt. Faint. A few drops have hit her clothes, soaking through, stinging faintly.

She can't even offer comfort to someone whose earned it without...

"How did we get 'ere?" Elara asks, unable to do otherwise. "I don't... what even *happened?*"

Mariette's face is one of shock at Elara putting her head on her shoulder. What did that mean? Was she also feeling bad?

Then she heard her questions.

"You mean from us metaphorically being at each other's throats to now?" She smiles, thinking about the absurdity of the situation, trying to remember how things went, at what point things had changed so much. She finally decides, "I... Don't know exactly. And I don't think I really care." Mariette returns the hug, trying to offer her what she thought a good hug would feel like, her heart beating fast. "I'm just happy that it went the way it did."

Her stomach feels like something is trying to breach it with feathers.

"Yeah," Elara mutters. "Yeah. I like this better."

Heartbeat pounding in her ears. Arms wrapped around her, a trap, but not one she wants to leave. They itch faintly through thin clothes. She can still smell fear, but its not the running-fear of injured prey, its the lingering worry of someone concerned they'll fail to protect. And its overrun with something else. Elara doesn't know what it is; Mariette's even *brighter* than usual, somehow, and the feedback of Life encourages her own, a bit.

It itches uncomfortably. She feels wobbly. Out of sorts. Hungry, even.

That's a problem, but she ignores it. She's always hungry. And Mariette... Mariette wants to keep her safe. She deserves better than a betrayal like that. Better than *her.*

Elara can be a bit selfish though. She can have this. Nothing more than that, but she can have *this.* For a little while. Not forever.

This was going to hurt when it ended.

Elara pokes at Mariette's hair, all puffy. Apparently its blue. Elara wishes, a bit wistfully, that she could see it. Not that seeing Mariette's Life isn't better, honestly, but... the hair mattered to her, didn't it? And she can't...

Of all the things to focus on.

Mariette opens her eyes in surprise at the feeling of Else's playing with her hair, then chuckles quietly.

"Huh you like my hair?" A pause. "I think I'm feeling better now, what about you?... Maybe we should... I don't know, distract a little? Maybe right now the only thing we can do is, like, wait... Are you hungry? Did you eat?"

She talks about doing something else, her arms however, are unable to leave the place where they are, tight around Elara.

She wishes the moment could extend forever, they together there, happy...

Wait. Elara said she was also happy? The thought makes a small smile form in the borders of her mouth.

"Its fluffy," Elara says, with a slight shrug. "And... yeah. I'm kinda hungry." She sounds a bit embarrassed at it. "No rush, though, I'm pretty much always hungry anyway."

She pokes at the hair again, combing through it with sharp nail-claws.

She's hungry, but... she still doesn't want to move. If Mariette doesn't want to move, then she doesn't have to either. If Mariette was comfortable it was fine, right? She wasn't pushing too much?

The feeling of playing with her hair is so comfortable, makes her sleepy. Gambit would also like to play with her hair, and Mariette liked it, but this feels... Different.

They stay like that for what feel like minutes. Then Mariette, painfully going against her will, stops the embrace. Even if she wanted it they couldn't stay like that forever.

She looks at Elara in the face, feeling so calm.

"C'mon, we should grab something for you to eat first, then you can come with me to get something too? The sun should start calming down in a few minutes..."

Elara blinks, startled out of a near-meditative state. She hadn't expected that to happen. Strands slipping through her fingers, Mariette's heartbeat slow and steady, Life flickering hypnotically...

"Sure," Elara manages, a bit dizzy. "Sounds fine. Uh. Should I grab my mask?"

Mariette stands up, her arm wants to reach towards Elara but she stops it, it already had been hard enough to break the embrace.

"Maybe not yet? Do you have your *food* around? Let's wait till you're fed and then we can go pick up something for me, alright?"

She goes towards Max, petting him, trying to get her mind off Elara for a few seconds.

"Speaking of... What does Max eat?"

She's surprised that it took her so long to realize she didn't know.

Max barks at the sound of his name, looking up at Mariette. He wags his tail, pushing into the pets.

Elara shrugs, getting up. "I get him kibble sometimes, he eats it. Sometimes I feed him meat. Not human, though." She shrugs again, going to the fridge.

With a sigh, Elara pulls out two rather large lumps of mutton. She tosses one at Max, who catches it and then tears it to bits, gulping them down. Elara then turns away from Mariette to shred her own.

Elara tries to be quiet, but there's still noise as she pulls it to bits and then licks her fingers clean.

Its not much, really. But its enough for now, and she does feel a bit more like normal, a bit less dizzy. More *dead*, yes, but she was more comfortable like that.

She can eat more later. When Mariette's not around. She has to sleep eventually, doesn't she?

"That'll do for now," Elara says, turning back around.

"Oh, so just like a normal doggy, cute."

Mariette turns around while Elara is eating, seeing that she appeared to be uncomfortable with it, watching Max devour the bit of meat instead.

"Oh that was quick, eh, just give me a few? Need to fix myself a bit first," she says pointing to her swollen eyes.

Mariette hurries to the bathroom and cleans her face with water. It was cold, almost hurtingly so, but it helps her make her eyes slightly less red and also feel more grounded, not 2 minutes have passed before she comes back to Elara.

"Alright, I'm ready! I'll show you my favorite café, if that's ok, the food is kinda meh, but they have a really cozy place!"

*Almost like being with... Focus, Mariette!*

"Uh, also, do you still feel like going to college? Or should we do it tomorrow? This... Thing, was kinda tiring, so I get it if you don't want to."

Mariette herself doesn't know if she wants to do it.

Perhaps Elara shouldn't admit that she didn't know if he actually needed the meat she fed him. He'd never actually begged for food that she could recall.

Elara takes the time while Mariette is in the bathroom to down another lump of meat and wipe herself clean with a cloth; no water for the ghoul. Mariette exits to find Elara scritching Max's ears.

She looks over Mariette thoughtfully, then shrugs. "I can wait until tomorrow. I haven't finished exploring around here anyway," she says cheerfully. She straightens. "So, cafe? Shall we?"

"Sure!"

The café was just a few streets away, people were coming and going to their homes after work, and a few students would be walking around the streets. Several of them would turn towards a weird graffiti of what appeared to be a man with a triangle for a head with the legend *let's be bubble buddies* underneath.

Mariette wasn't able to see it, not giving it any attention and keeping on walking.

"It's not too far from here now!"

Elara gives it a weird look, before returning most of her attention to Mariette. She’s paranoiacally aware of the people around her, Max trotting at her heels.

“Is this the same one that thought you were lonely?” Elara asks abruptly.

Mariette looks at her confused, glancing towards the people passing them. "What? Who thought that I was lonely?" *I'm not right now...*

“The cafe?” Elara sounds unsure. “I remember you saying something about offering extra types of tea?”

"Oh!... Oh yeah." *Shit, now she probably thinks I'm a loser* "The other day they even made me a green tea frappe, it's pretty good, you should tr-..." She cuts herself off. "Shit, sorry, I somehow keep forgetting..."

The place was relatively small, it has a bar where several baristas were preparing drinks, a few wooden tables with details in black steel and several yellow lightbulbs.

The sun didn't enter fully in the place, making it feel cozier. Plants closed the looks of the café, contrasting against the wooden furniture.

"Well, this is the place! And I didn't came by myself this time haha!" *... Why the fuck did I say that?*

Elara’s grin is hidden behind the balaclava which is necessary for her to risk the daylight, but her sly tone is audible and entirely affectionate. “No you’re not!” Her tone moderates itself after a moment, quieting. “Hopefully I’m not too disturbing for them to be glad of it,” Elara murmurs, before shaking herself off. “Eh, guess Max makes up for everything.”

Mariette lets out a laugh. "C'mon! Why would you be disturbing? You're pretty cu-cool!!!" She quickly covers her mistake. "And they probably might want to pet Max." She shrugs, hoping that Elara thinks that the reddening of her cheeks is due to the sun.

She picks a table, the furthest away from other people and sits down.

"Uh... So do you want something too?... Does sushi count as raw meat?"

With the sunshine not touching them, sitting at the table, Elara half-reluctantly pulls off her mask. Whatever Mariette says, she is disturbing - she’s *off,* automatically predatory. But Mariette’s presence also eases that, encouraging a bit more Life than usual, and visibly making Elara more nervous in that very particular way of a girl who might be on a date with their crush.

“Raw fish... sorta? It’s not really my kinda meat, I think, but I can try it.”

Max sits himself next to Elara, tail wagging happily.

Mariette smiles as she takes the mask off, reaching and moving a bit of hair covering her eye. "I hate when my hair keeps getting in my eyes, one time this practitioner almost stabbed me because I couldn't see without my hair attacking my eyes." She comments it like getting stabbed is as common as losing a bus.

A waitress reaches them, a girl in her early 20s, probably a student from Calvarn on a side job. Mariette asks for a salmon maki roll and a jasmine tea.

"You want one? Or you could try it from mine."

Elara visibly hesitates uncertainly at that offer. "The latter I guess," she says eventually. Mariette keeps *paying* for stuff, and Elara just doesn't want to deal with Mariette buying something she might not like. Salty foods got weird, sometimes, and the ocean wasn't really a friend to her kind of ghoul.

Then she cocks her head. "Not that your hair isn't nice, but why keep it like that if...?" She trails off, not finishing the sentence.

"-if it gets on my eyes?" Mariette finishes. "Huh, you see, there's a little trick with curly hair." She grabs her bangs and pulls it towards her face. Completely extended it reaches up to her nose. She then let's go of it and it curls back, only reaching her eyebrows at most. "So as long as it stays curly I can do well, but when it gets a bit greasy it falls down a bit more on my face and it gets annoying."

Mariette looks at Elara's hair once more.

"I like your cut! Really punkish, I think, and looks well on you. Do you cut it yourself?"

Elara restrains herself from reaching out to poke at Mariette's hair again. It actually takes some effort. "Uh, yeah, I did." In lieu of poking at Mariette's hair she combs through her own short strands. "Just wanted it to stop getting in my way, really."

Fidgeting, Elara reaches down to scritch at Max's ears. The dog lays his head on her lap.

Fuck, what does she talk about, what does she talk about, what does she talk about -

"So you like sushi then?"

Excellent work, Elara, absolutely *excellent* work.

*What?*

Mariette in turn passes her hand trough her own hair, almost mimicking Elara.

"Uh, yeah, I mean, it's not my favorite thing but-" Mariette pauses for a second. *Shit... Oh fuck it, after what I said before this shouldn't be that hard... Right?* "-but I didn't want to eat alone, and I thought maybe we could both enjoy this?..."

Her heart starts beating faster.

Thank god she wasn't blushing this time.

Mariette gives an awkward smile.

Its only mild, but Elara *is* flushing slightly, a bit redder than usual. "I... yeah, maybe. Can be weird with fish, but..." *Honestly even if it tastes like shit I'm eating with you.*

Elara ducks her head. "Um." Subjects subjects *subjects* Elara come *on* why is it so difficult all of a sudden? "How's Gambit?" She tilts her head, getting a bit more alert. "Actually, is he around? Not sure how I'd recognise him specifically. He *is* alive, right?"

"YEAH!" For a second her heart goes from 100 to 0 and then back, but no, she knows Gambit has to be fine, Elara isn't warning her about them being in danger.

"Yeah," she says now more calm. "They should be in Calvarn, they like to watch the sports teams around this hour... Or maybe resting in a hole? They kinda do that... Uh, would you like me to call them? I honestly think I should present each other soon, just... I know they can seem like a bit creepy sometimes, but it's not on purpose, they're just like a really young kid, ok? Just if they get too uncomfortable ask them to stop it."

Mariette somehow feels nervous.

Why is it that introducing friends to each other feels always so awkward?

There's always a chance of them not liking each other and getting caught in the middle.

Elara ducks her head again when she notices Mariette panic at the question, sheepish. She'd not meant to suggest that, yeah, which... yep, Mariette figured out.

"It can wait," Elara says, maybe a bit too firmly. But she *doesn't* want to interrupt this. "I would like to meet them later, but, well, later. Yeah." Elara shrugs. "I can be gentle. They've... not seemed too bad, if really weird. And Max'll probably be friendly, won't you boy?" Elara addresses the dog under the table, who barks cheerfully.

Mariette leans on the table, towards Elara.

"Ok, so full disclosure I told them about Max and they seemed super excited to meet him! I just wanted you both to know before hand, and to like... Not freak out or something when you see them?"

How does one even explain Gambit? An experiment? An Other? Her friend?

"Ok so, uhm... They kinda look like a giant centipede, like thicker than I am with my arms down, and really long, they have multiple eyes and like little... Uh what's the word?... Feelers? They look weird in a cute way, I think.

"They probably will be also super excited to meet you!"

Elara leans in a bit as well, instinctively. "They do seem pretty excitable," Elara agrees. "Would take quite a bit to freak out Max. Me..." Elara shrugs. "I can be a bit paranoid, but I'll probably calm down if 'e's safe, which he seems to be, yeah? I trust you." Elara can't not shrink a bit, saying that, even if she's said it before. "So... just 'cause I'm being twitchy doesn't mean I won't be fine, a'right?"

Mariette can almost feel how her heart melts a little.

She had already decided it but that just confirms it: she doesn't want to fail her, to betray that trust.

She feels warm inside her chest, and just smiles.

"Alright, yeah, they won't do anything to hurt you, I try to keep them from anything violent, because... Well... The contrary would be really awful." Her smile crooks a little. And then she starts noticing how close they are. The table wasn't too long and with both leaning on it... If she just extended a little bit more she could...

"Here's your food, Mariette!" exclaims the waitress cheerfully. "and your tea. It's nice to see you with more people for a change! Doesn't she want anything?" The waitress looks at Elara.

And Mariette feels relieved.

Elara startles back a bit violently at the interruption. *Fuck fuck fuck, pay more attention! What if this was back home? You know you can't fucking afford to drop your guard.* She glances at the waitress and forces herself to breathe like a normal person. "Um. We're sharing, I think."

She feels exposed. Public spaces, daylight not far, no balaclava, and with Mariette right there making every nerve buzz, pretending she's still alive. Elara's not used to it, to the lack of protective darkness to wash away her weirdnesses and use to avoid the normal people who she disturbs.

Elara, yet again, ducks her head, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Okay, if you need something let me know okay?!" calls the waitress as she leaves towards the bar.

Mariette pushes the plate a little towards the middle of the table, and then sees Elara. She doesn't look too happy.

Mariette touches her shoulder and leaves her hand there. "Hey, are you ok? Wanna try the sushi? If you don't like it maybe try eating only the fish!" She tries to give a reassuring smile, with arguable success.

Elara feels *burnt.* The only person who touches her this much is Max - May *tries,* but Elara normally doesn't let her, enforcing a personal space bubble through any means necessary. And Max is a *dog.*

And Mariette is - is -

There's a hand on her shoulder and Mariette's trying to smile at her and she looks concerned and -

Elara goes visibly redder.

"Um, yeah," Elara manages. No flavour charm *on* her right now. She delicately reaches out and plucks up a sushi without touching anything else, making *absolutely* sure of that - Mara had complained, at length, at *length,* about the possible consequences of Elara contaminating her foods with rotten meat - and eats it in one bite.

She cocks her head as she chews.

Mariette holds her breath, waiting for a reaction, she instinctively grabs a napkin and hands it to her in case it tastes so bad she needs to spit it. "Aaaand....?"

Elara swallows. "I think I'd rather just the fish," she says, a bit dry. "The fish is okay. The rice, not so much." She smirks a bit. "Worried, Mari?" Elara asks dryly, holding up the napkin.

"Uh... Yeah, I mean, I didn't want you to get food poisoning or something." She shrugs. Mariette grabs a piece of sushi and eats it in two bites, it was really good. She then drinks from her tea, it somehow felt refreshing. "Hey, really, if you don't like even the fish don't eat it only because I'm offering it, okay? I don't want you to feel bad just because I wanted to share this..." She gives an apologetic look.

Ah, fuck it. She's too cute. Elara reaches out and bats at Mariette's curly fringe. "Pretty sure magic's necessary for me to get food poisoning," Elara says dryly. "Don't worry about *that.*"

Drawing back as if she didn't do anything, Elara plucks up a knife and fork and neatly removes the fish from a piece of sushi, cleaning off the rice, and eats it. She makes a mildly appreciative noise.

Its not *great,* but it isn't bad. And sharing food with Mariete makes up the difference.

Mariette closes her eyes and smiles at the playing with her hair, before watching her *disarm* the sushi.

Mariette picks up another piece and starts eating it. "Hey, so a few questions, doesn't it hurt when you grow those spikes? Like when you get in angry ghoul mode..." She motions to her own body. "-you know?"

"'Course it does." Elara shrugs. "Happens when I'm 'urt. Makes it hurt more. And?" Elara leans back in her chair. "That's the kind of creature I *am.* Pain... its..." Elara makes a face, struggling to find the words. "Meaningless isn't the right word," she complains. "Pain doesn't stop me, gen'rally. What's to fuss over?"

Mariette cringes at the response, imagining the pain. "I mean, but pain is still... You know, pain, right? Like a knife isn't probably gonna stop me, but it still would hurt and I would rather avoid the stabbing. I mean... Uh, I don't know. Let's try to avoid you getting spikes all over you then."

Thinking of Elara hurting like that...

"Okay, and like, your sight is kinda weird, right? Does it also look the same if you're looking to a, I don't know, a drawing or a photo?"

Elara gives Mariette a weird look at the idea of *avoiding* pain, but lets it slide. "Not sure what you mean by looks the same. Still black and white. Not generally much Life on a photo. Drawings have some, sometimes."

"Ah shit, of course... They would just look like objects.. I don't know why I thought it would be different." Mariette puts another piece of sushi on her mouth and eats it quietly, simply enjoying the company. "So... Did you had a favorite food when you weren't a ghoul? A favorite color?"

"I remember liking pastries," Elara muses. "I think it was apple pie? I got to have it with cream once. That was a good day. We'd had a pretty good haul, we could afford a treat.

"I can still see colours, technically. Just, like, not the colours most people're seeing. Life has a lot of colours." Elara's gaze flicks back to Mariette, that endless rippling blaze of brightness, and has to restrain the urge to bat at her hair again. "I do like blue, honestly. Not sure I've ever had a favourite colour, as such. but blue can be nice."

The smile on Mariette's face is wider than usual, she giggles.

*Giggling... What's wrong with me?*

"Good, cool, blue... Yeah... Apple pie with cream? Huh, I've never had it before, I think, it must have been really good." She drinks from her tea. "How were your hauls? Did you ever stole from something big? Like a mansion or something?" She looks excited.

*Fuck,* she's cute. What did Elara say to earn that?

Elara glances up, and around, suspicious and wary, before letting her voice drop. "Yeah, I've stolen from a mansion," she says, amused. "Pretty fucking difficult, but... yeah. Not a big haul from that, though. Smaller targets are generally better for actually getting a good amount out of."

Mariette's eyes open in excitement. "But those smaller ones don't look like something out of Ocean's eleven! Okay, do tell, what was your most exciting *heist*?"

Elara cocks her head, scritching at Max thoughtfully, before telling a story.

Elara's not a great storyteller, swearing at random moments and occasionally hesitating in ways that make it clear she's editing out information on the fly, but it *is* an exciting tale, even so; apparently Elara once got herself into a Heartless mansion seeking information, only to be caught after she'd worked her way most of the way inside. After that its a mess of smoke bombs, broken furniture, and acrobatics - which unfortunately resulted in Elara leaving empty-handed, but having gotten herself out of the clutches of her opponents.

Elara refrains from clearly describing anything about the mansion, or its defences or protectors.

Mariette listens excited to the whole story, just making small comments like "Ohhhh"" and "cool!" from time to time. When she finishes she asks, "Wait, are those the same heartless you had been having trouble with?"

Elara nods, her expression growing a bit more pensive. "Ain't it always?" She glances away. "Yeah, same ones. Don't worry too much. Probably wouldn't've killed me."

"Are they related to your binder somehow? What kind of heartless are they? I know one, but I don't think they are the same." Mariette looks at her sushi, not feeling as hungry anymore. She picks another piece.

Elara goes still at that question. "They are," she says shortly. "And they bodyhop." She looks back at Neon. "So what class were you doing earlier?" Elara asks, watching her attentively. "I think you said something about illusions, or getting more grounded?"

For a change, Mariette actually does notice the want to change the topic.

"Ok... Uh yeah, my class. It was kinda nice? I mean, I don't plan on using illusions during my fights, but being able to like dodge them or getting out of those? Yeah, that's what I want. Hurting someone because I'm stuck in an illusion or just to get trapped there forever? Yeah, no, I don't want that."

"Yeah. Not knowing what you're doing and hurting people..." It takes Elara a moment to drag herself out of whatever hole *that* sent her into - probably an obvious one, given how much she panics about going feral, all the time. "Being able to keep yourself from that is important," Elara says, oddly solemn. Her mouth quirks. "Good work."

Mariette knows she struck a nerve. That wasn't her intention. "Well, what I learned is that you need something to keep you grounded, you know? Something to help against that bullshit and to keep you in the present." She looks at Elara, attentive. The way the light hut her made her almost look more *alive*. Or was it the light? Once more those strange feelings appear on her mind.

Perhaps those thoughts wouldn't help her against drifting away if she got attacked by an illusion.

But to keep her from thinking about how shitty things could be? To keep her from what she had been trough? To keep her from what she still would need to go through? Having someone close like her was enough. Having Elara was enough to keep her grounded.

Mariette realizes that she has been staring for too long.

"Sorry, thinking about the illusion stuff." She smiles. "so what do you think? It's a nice place, isn't it?"