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Audrey Basque | The last time Tamamo and Audrey had seen each other, it was an unmitigated disaster. Not only was she kidnapped by Petra and dragged to Lilian's office but this proceeded to get misinterpreted a dozen different ways. Though they'd had the chance to speak ever so briefly on the public bands since, it was Tamamo's brief defense of her after an error in judgment that had reminded her she'd wished to apologize formally, and... well, okay. Tamamo is a goddess, and so with or without ties to Lilian, she's Interesting, and Someone Worth Meeting. Her association with the Sun and therefore the astral was the cherry on top. Being able to sit down and have a face to face conversation about divination and divinity with a goddess wasn't something you just pass on if you have the chance. Tamamo had received a nice formal invitation, and a clear statement of "To make up for our disastrous first meeting, I should very much like to treat you to dinner." to go along with it! Between the pure and magical air of the Phantom Circle, and the simultaneously quiet but bustling ambiance of one of its richest districts, the restaurant in question was one of those five star, overly fancy looking whites and golds types of establishments, with an outdoors area that gives a nice view on a park and artificial lake. The cuisine is an oriental mix, leaning more towards Japanese but muddled up enough in a mix of Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese dishes that it's not somewhere you'd go for an authentic sushi, but definitely somewhere you'd go to have multiple cultures in your plate. Audrey is here in advance, obviously; she's wearing a black high collar turtleneck, a fancy beige skirt with black hosery, and she's put her black handbag no the table for two she's deserved closest to the lake. Her neck is bandaged under the collar, in that way you'd suspect someone who has no experience covering up a wound to do it if their only reference point was video games or anime. The bandages are sparkly clean though, so it's probably nothing serious. Her hair is in the usual drill buns, too! |
Tamamo | Tamamo hasn't by her own standards, dressed up for the occasion. It's too close to Summer for a great deal of her wardrobe, and too close to Winter to discard much of the remainder. A deep blue kimono with pink floral patterns is simply the right level of presentable acknowledgment of Spring, with certain, seemingly nontraditional alterations for ease of movement. The air of the Phantom Circle agrees quite well with her, as someone aware of her nature might suspect -- and there's not really any attempt to hide that nature. Any sighting of fox-tailed figures outside certain enclaves remains highly unusual, the more so with the implications carried by multiple tails. Having been around and seen for several years, now, of course, this has drifted her somewhere from the starting point of 'foreign curiosity' into 'known, if unusual, resident,' of the kind instantly recognizable by anyone who pays attention to such things -- though she hasn't been to this particular establishment, before. "Ms. Basque. This is... our second meeting, I suppose? I hope you have been well." Her eyes slide right across the bandage to focus on Audrey's face, when she moves to a seat. She'll be ordering tea, of course. |
Audrey Basque | It'd certainly be hard for people not to stare at the sight of fox tails, but being the wife of the Dame Commander certainly affords a bit of a celebrity status too. Thankfully this isn't some common part of town where people'd disrespectfully hush hush whisper and talk, so much as make a brief glance and settle back to their own affairs. The drinks menu has so many teas! Audrey goes for green tea, personally. "Well enough," she replies formally, smiling genuinely. "All things considered, better than I had expected to be after the first week. A few slip ups, but I am adapting." "Thank you for accepting. It is... ever on my mind the way Miss Rook and her entourage perceive me, and I feel I have consistently put only the worst foot forward at every opportunity. I thought we could take an evening to have some food and chat, lightly, while there is no particularly urgent crisis ongoing." Well, the City's always ongoing. Unfair to set the bar there. "Was it hard for you as well? Your first few weeks out in the Multiverse. Or is it just me having a spectacularly terrible time at it?" |
Tamamo | Tamamo is cohabiting before marriage, but no need to get into all that with literally anyone. Green tea is something sure to agree with her, but black tea (even if she'd like to call it 'red') is what she orders, today, taking a moment to appreciate the strong flavor on arrival. She wouldn't call it 'more relaxing,' but she's prone to lethargy when the hour is late. As well, she can have green tea any time, after all. "It is rather nice to find a peaceful moment, now and again, amidst all that otherwise occurs. I would not find it so difficult, on my own, but there are many who cannot seem to sit still, when there is, instead, an opportunity to rush somewhere else." After a moment, "'Entourage,' was it... I suppose I cannot precisely take the perspective of one from the same academy and nation as yourself. It is difficult to see exactly why you are viewed, in any particular way, from that point. I suppose I can see why one joined to the Paladins would view partnership with the Concord with distrust, given... well, you have met many of their members by now, I am sure." She won't easily drop names. That would be impolite. "Was it hard...? No, I suppose I kept only to that which I knew I could accomplish. I have humble aspirations, after all. I have only one, small... no, perhaps four or five... small wishes. In my case, I did not set out into the world -- nor, that is, to places beyond 'the world' -- to prove myself as good or better than another. Did you know that, of myself? It is not particularly secretive, my quest." Her words could likely be a little gentler, but their tone and bearing could hardly be. Implications aside, it's the atmosphere that's serene. |
Audrey Basque | "Isn't it just?" Audrey agrees, without skipping a beat, at the idea that it's nice to just sit still on a lazy Saturday afternoon rather than look for trouble. "I would go insane without some slow nights to process everything else." And given who she's befriended, she certainly understands Tamamo's aside regarding those who can't just have a nice evening. Nor does it escape her notice what she means by her fellow Partners. "I have actually been fairly lucky so far. Aside one or two intense sort, most of the Partners I have met have been relatively down to Earth. Reasonable, even. But I understand the implications, especially with Miss Rook being a Paladin. The Concord attracts the ambitious and the exceptional, and so... I suppose it gives the impression I am ambitious, too." She is, but it's so childishly narrow. "Academically, I am. I couldn't deny that." She's starting to relax, a bit; implications or not. When Tamamo brings up the matter of wishes, Audrey shakes her head. "I can't say I'm familiar. Not out of disinterest, but I don't make it a point to study people's wants and dreams before I meet them. If you'd like to share, I'm all ears." Audrey drops her elbows onto the table, to rest her head on her hands, cupping her chin. For someone with a neck injury she's certainly not showing it. "It's not like I'm here strictly to prove anything to anyone, though. I think... it would be nice, to gain the respect of someone like Miss Rook. Of course it would be. She is the school's idol, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't follow the... hype, let's use that word. I'm sure your proximity to her gives you a totally different view, but to someone like me... she's the ideal we're told to pursue. You understand?" She lets to hang, glancing up from her relaxed position when the waiter comes with their tea. She straightens back up fully, to take a sip, while glancing over the full menu. |
Tamamo | Only one or two? "Well, you are sure to meet many more people." She's not saying anything about Petra right now. Warning people has never managed to help. "I suppose the most extreme of all personalities tend to be unable to join with others, at all. If you are ever tempted to meet a war god, I advise you reconsider, for your own safety." That definitely sounds like a story. "Only 'academically,' is it...? I do recall some mention of this, as a given reason." She takes a moment, tea held in both hands, to consider the implied request that follows. "My wishes, themselves, are not what is so important to consider, but the fact that I have them. It was not so in the Heian era, but in this incarnation, I knew, already, all that led to my present existence, that I should not need to tred upon identical grounds. Among this, I knew that my life was to spent in search of an answer to a question. There is never any doubt in me that some other goal could be of greater import. My confidence in my steps to reach that goal may waver, but not my determination upon the destination, nor its worth. Do you understand?" Her own food request is simple. There are many simple things she values. "I shall have the grilled mackerel, I think. Were you bitten, by the way?" |
Audrey Basque | "If I do, I hope none of them will prove your words right. But I understand your meaning. I'm associating with a dubious crowd, and I need to mind that." A war god, though? Audrey thinks for a second, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I believe I've met someone who might be somewhat in that description range, and it was definitely a meeting I'd reconsider having twice. At least... in the particular circumstances it happened in." She's never skipping an obstacle course that leads to a mountain again. Lesson learned! It was valuable. While Tamamo explains her path, moreso than her wish, Audrey considers the meaning, and if that's applicable to her; a bit, here and there, but... "I think so. I can't imagine I'm after anything as grand as the answer to a question that even a goddess pursues, but I understand the importance of not losing sight of the destination, even if the road's uncertain." Shame in her case, even the destination is blurry right now. She seemed so sure of it, a month ago, what she needed to do and how to do it. Everything's been rocked out of place. "Ah, for me... seafood and tofu soup, and... choy sum, with oyster sauce. And some more tea, for both of us." Wouldn't do to run out. Of course, her poise breaks instantly when Tamamo idly asks about her neck. "W-What?" Bitten? Well, technically... "N-No! No, no such... it was an accident. I was practicing teleportation and misjudged the distance to a bookshelf. It bruised, it's nothing serious, but people talk, and... they talk a bit less this way." Well, people talk *either way*, really. "I'll be honest, I have no experience dressing up an injury. One of the two dozen fields I need to hurry up and learn the basics of." |
Tamamo | "'Somewhat'... well, the advice somewhat holds for those as are somewhat similar." She was talking about someone unable to join a faction, but this point may simply remain ambiguous, for now. "Gladly, that which I pursue is something within humanity. You could devote yourself to the same, if you so chose, though I have met no human willing to do so to the exclusion of all else. Such specifics aside... it is the matter of having a particular goal, its priority unassailable, that provides order to the path I walk. Those with unclear goals ever have a more difficult time in, hm..." She takes a few moments to warmly ponder through the tea steam. "'In feeling achieved,' shall we say?" And then comes the stammering denial. Tamamo's noncomittal, "Oh, I see," lasts almost long enough for food to arrive. "I could offer you a healing salve, if you wished. I had expertise in this matter even before coming to care for one knight's regular injuring. It is not always necessary to learn these things for oneself, though it is necessary to learn what requires concern, and when that concern should be voiced." She's avoiding saying anything about vampires, just as she's avoiding saying anything about predatory freaks. It would be impolite. |
Audrey Basque | "Something "within humanity"?" Audrey perks a brow, not harshly, but out of genuine curiosity. It's a specific wording, coming from the mouth of a goddess, that's hard to pin as someone who's already constrained by being nothing but within humanity. That's the kind of thing that means something different to everyone. Does Audrey, who studies the sky and the divine and the stars and the portents, reach for something inhuman to begin with, or is it more specific than that in Tamamo's eyes? "Could you explain? If that's alright." It's a small mercy Tamamo doesn't dig the matter further, and instead offers help. Audrey shakes her head, politely. "I would feel immense shame and guilt to have invited you for dinner and a chat, only to make you work or provide me with something. To be truthful, I'd much rather dedicate some of the evening to looking at the sky and hearing your views on that." She looks directly at Tamamo, her golden-blue starry eyes looking at hers after avoiding them most of this time. "In my Tradition, we frequently ascribe the stars to the gods. Sometimes, explicitly, like naming astral bodies after them. Sometimes metaphorically, claiming that celestial movements translate directly into the gods' actions and words. A conclusion, regardless of method, is that the heavens are divine, and everything beyond the Earth is the gods' domain. I am, I suppose, a little bit curious to hear your stance on that, given your origins." |
Tamamo | Tamamo puts aside the matter of healing, easily enough. Providing for someone who doesn't wish for it is, naturally, a different matter. "Constellations... well, I do not know of them. There is the light that reaches the Earth from far away, but from my own perspective, they truly are distant stars. Ah, but as to Her... allow me a moment, out of order, to introduce myself." Tamamo places the tips of her fingers to her breast, not actually bowing at all, yet giving the same formal atmosphere as one. "I am Tamamo-no-mae, bunrei of Amaterasu-omikami, She of the White-Gold Face, Goddess of the Sun. Though the Age of Gods has passed into history, there is a means by which one might, should one of that era possess sufficient skills of foresight, even hold a conversation across the stretch of a thousand mortal generations, both hearing and being heard. It was such an act, through an opening created by a small miracle, that allowed my present incarnation. My origin is of the heavens, yet it is of those heavens close by to Earth--" It was, she already knows, not this Earth, but another. But she's not getting into that. "--seeing, and being seen. It was to Her that so many humans, throughout the rising and falling of civilization, have paid tribute, have offered devotion, have drawn their paints and composed their music. They did this even when indifference was shown to them, for what might a star care of those who crawl? 'Magecraft' is that which is worked by a mage, by their own efforts, but 'divine aid' is something granted by whim, more than by contract. And yet..." Eyes to drown in pale gold. "The very purposelessness of worship, delivered earnestly, created a curiosity. What was it that brought about such behavior? How might it be understood? This desire to know filled Her being to the extent of the tip of one finger, and so, I came to be, to ask of humanity, 'what is the nature of love?'" Finally, she leans back into her seat, allowing her mackerel and rice to arrive. "Such a question could occupy the life of any human who so chose. Would that not be a life well spent?" |
Audrey Basque | An answer to every question all at once. What does it mean to seek something within humanity, and what does she think of the stars? It's more, really. It's the origin story, it's the destination, it's the who and what and why all bundled up in eyes she struggles to look away from. She knows an odd amount of people with golden eyes, she realizes, though Tamamo's momentarily command authority, maybe even Authority, and Audrey does lose herself in them while she's given an audience with the divine. She only snaps out of it when food arrives; choy sum and soup which is quite welcome, after the day, along with more tea. "I envy that. Not just for the depth, but for the certainty. It must be reassuring to walk when you know so firmly exactly where and why you're going. You always hear of humans reaching for the divine, but almost never of the divine reaching for humanity." It reminds her of Angela, too. "And for love... heh. That's cute." No sarcasm. Cute, strictly positive, like Audrey is a bit jealous Tamamo has such a fairytale story to tell about seeking to know and understand and find the meaning of love. There's plenty more fawning where that came from; nothing she says or intuits can match the depth of Tamamo's revelation, there, but if they can manage to have a relaxing chat for the rest of the evening, enjoy their meal, and never bring up Audrey's neck again, it'll be a win. And if they can swap a few notes on divination, compare their methods for it, even more productive. |