tabularasa_rp | [open] I don't plan on breaking down

Who: Rinoa Heartilly + you?
What: catch-all for September!
Where: different places around the Void
When: during September, or the equivalent thereof
Content Warnings: n/a! will update if anything comes up

I ☆ Old Friends and New (Mortis Lake)

[ Whether it's because he's apparently part one of those Pokémon things or for some other reason entirely, Felix seems to be quite trainable. Scraps and barbecued meat from the cavern market and promises of affectionate pats and praise seem to be all he needs to keep him going. In that regard, he reminds her a lot of Angelo, even if he seems to be more cat than dog in a lot of ways. He's learned to fetch already, and today she's among the purple trees and foliage of the forest, teaching him to answer to her whistle. He likes to explore, after all, and Rinoa wants to make sure that he'll come back to her when she calls for him.

He's been gone for three minutes, so it's the perfect time to call him back, she thinks. The pointer finger and thumb of her right hand tuck between her lips, her left hand extended with a chunk of the meat. When she whistles though, there's not one shape but two - Felix's small form comes into view from behind the trees just before a dark brown blur overtakes him, crashing straight into Rinoa's solar plexus and sending her sprawling to the ground.

An alarmed, angry squawk from Felix is followed by... a bark.
The feel of a wet nose pressing against her skin.
A heavy, familiar weight against her.

Dazed as she is from the fall, Rinoa manages to sit up, looking at the dog now in her lap. ]

Angelo?

[ Another bark, and just like that she's laughing and crying at the same time, hugging the newcomer close to her, burying her face in her fur. It's not until Felix makes another sound, a gently confused chirp, that she looks up, smiling even as her tears stream down her face. ]

I'm sorry, Felix. We probably scared you, huh?

[ She reaches out to pull her newer friend in, too. Anyone who comes across her for however long will find her like this, both animals in her lap as they sniff each other out, greeting each other cautiously as she showers each of them with love and affection. ]

II ☆ Furniture Shopping (Takoba Beach)

[ She's not sure when it happened exactly, but for a little while now, any trips she's taken to the beach have resulted in her finding more and more stuff for the humble apartment she's taken to calling home in the extended absence of the real thing. So far, she's managed to find a nightstand and a lamp that doesn't do a whole lot more than sit on top of it and look pretty, along with a small coffee table that would pair incredibly well with the sofa sitting in front of her right now. It's a little dirty from the sand, and still waterlogged, but it's otherwise in great shape.

The main problem? By herself, she has almost no chance at all of lifting it. Angelo and Felix are both eager to help, but there's really nothing that they can do either, and so it's with a resigned sigh that the young woman decides to wait for someone to come along and give her a hand.

Anyone who comes across her here will find her sitting on the couch with two animals curled at her feet, a book in her hand as she tries to make sense of its entirely nonsensical text. She'll look up at the approach, a hopeful smile on her lips. ]

Hi! Do you think you could help me out?

III ☆ Relaxation (Bathhouse)

[ Rinoa's been meaning to visit the bathhouse since she first learned of its existence in the cavernous Wall Market, but... well, it's not that she hasn't had time - it feels like here she has nothing but, despite its strange lack of existence (or maybe because of its lack of existence) - it's more that it's been lower on the priority list than... well, than a lot of things, really.

But now that Angelo is here, it's like something has settled in her mind. Squall isn't here, but that doesn't mean he won't show up, the same way she has, the same way Angelo has, the same way all her new friends have from their own worlds. He's not here, but she's not alone, either.

She wasn't before; it just took this long for her to realize it. To accept that she's stronger than she's given herself credit for, before.

And if that's not the kind of thing that deserves a nice, hot, relaxing bath? Then nothing is!

It's with a contented sigh that the young woman slips into the water, eyes closing as she immediately feels her muscles relaxing under its warmth. ]

Mm, I should've done this sooner...

[ Perhaps you're someone coming along for a bath of your own, or perhaps the distortions in the air carry the sound of her voice directly to your ears as she contentedly hums a song to herself. Either way, she has no intention of leaving the area for quite a while! ]

IV ☆ Wildcard

( something else in mind? hit her with something random, or hit me up if you want to request something specific! ♥ )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ She thinks about the question for a moment. ]

I did. When we first arrived here, anyway. It was hard... knowing that I wasn't with my friends. [ It's still hard. It's gotten easier, but... ] At least I have new friends here now.

[ As if Rinoa weren't already the type to talk easily, the soothing heat of the water only urges her on. ]

Like you, Parsee.

Don't get too schmaltzy on me here. [She snorted lightly enough.] You are so corny sometimes, you know that?

Do people make things easier for you to relax around? You kind of seem like the sort of people who draws from a crowd a little.

[ Rinoa can't help but laugh at the first part. Parsee might call it corny, but the truth is that she's just open about her feelings.

Still, the other's question is right on the money, and her eyes drift open, glancing across the steamy pool at the other. ]

Mm. I guess it's probably kind of childish, but... I don't like to be left alone.

I ... can kind of tell. You seem like the sort of person who has to remind themselves to take some 'me' time. Away rom folks. Which I am probably interrupting a little, not that I plan on stopping.

...

[she sighed.] We are really opposites aren't we?

We are. But that's okay, you know? I work well with people who are my opposite.

[ A little bit of her kind of energy tends to go a long, long way, after all. Having someone calmer, someone who can balance her out... it's good for her, too.

She shakes her head, her smile just broadening. ]

"Me" time isn't really my thing, Parsee. You can interrupt me as much as you want, okay?

Yeah, I get all that. I'm sort of used to always having lots of 'me' time because nobody wants to be around me. This is just weird. But I'm getting used to it, bit by bit.

Ngh... you are really persistent and patient, you know that?

[ Rinoa laughs, pulling her knees up against her chest, arms wrapping around them to hug them close. If she's honest, it still makes her sad to think of Parsee being forced to be alone so much. She's thought it more than once already, but she thinks that the Void will be really good for her, in the long run. ]

I have to be. Did I tell you about Squall yet?

[It probably would, honestly. It was a chance to not 'need' to be what she always was. She could be almost normal. Envious, yes, but at a human level.]

Mmmm, you know. I don't think you've mentioned them by name, no but I kind of feel like I know them already. Not sure why.

[ Rinoa's smile in response to Parsee's words is fond, and her gaze drops, fingers reaching up to her neck, where her necklace still hangs, the only thing still adorning her body. ]

Squall's the grumpiest guy you'll ever meet. The type of guy that says "Whatever" when you try to talk about feelings - especially his.

[ She pauses, her smile becoming a little more of a grin. ]

He's my boyfriend.

... I'm starting to understand your fascination for following me around. You're dating someone who is that much of a grump. [Siiiiiigh.]

You two are probably pretty good with each other if you're this patient.

[ There's a burst of laughter from her lips at that. She'd hardly say she's following Parsee around, but she's sure it probably feels that way from the other, as often as they're bumping into each other.

In a way, it's funny - she's sure that there are people who she knows who would describe her as impatient, with how determined she can be to jump into things. Even Squall. Yet when it comes to him - and apparently to Parsee - she doesn't mind waiting. Maybe because she knows it will help them in the long run. ]

We're not always perfect. But I think both of us have grown a lot. Sometimes, he has to be patient with me, too.

[Yeaaaaah, a lot of that was her projecting on things. She tended to do that often enough, so when she said something like this, it probably deserved to be taken with a heaping grain of amusing salt. In a little space like this, people were bound to keep running into each other.]

I'm guessing... if he's the cold and taciturn sort who's grumpy...

You're the one that gets in trouble more?

[ She grins, unabashed, in response to the comment. ]

Guilty.

[ After all, she was a member of a group rebelling against a dictator government... and even with all the fighting over, she still finds ways to make trouble, every now and then.

In her defense, it keeps Squall on his toes, and that's important too. ]

Pffft yeah. I could see it. You don't strike me as a damsel, but you definitely strike me as the sot to go in trying to be the hero and getting in over your head, hehe.

[A shrug and a smirk.]

I guess I'm starting to get a feel for you slowly.

[ Slowly? Honestly, the way Parsee talks, Rinoa feels like she understands her completely. Strategist of the Owls or not, every plan she's ever come up with by herself has fallen flat on its face in some way or another... ]

I have a few stories that begin and end exactly like that, you know.

[ Still, she doesn't look nearly as sheepish as she should. She's not ashamed of her need for others. ]

Yeah, I'll buy that. Hehe. [Maybe she did have a bit of a read on her.] And from the look on your face? You pretty much love being you. Let me be a little jealous of that, though. I think most people would be.

It's nice to be that 'ok' with yourself.

[ Rinoa nods. Is she perfectly happy being herself? In reality, no. She has powers that people hate and fear - in turn, there are people who hate and fear her, people who are constantly watching and waiting for her to slip up, so that they can order her boyfriend to execute her. Not to mention that it makes her relationship with that man, the dictator president's general, more complicated.

Life's not as carefree as it was a year ago. But through it all, she's managed to stay mostly the same person. That's the person who Parsee's talking about, too, she thinks. Not Sorceress Rinoa, not Rinoa Caraway, not Squall's girlfriend Rinoa. Just Rinoa.

Realizing she's lost herself in her thoughts, Rinoa shakes herself back out of them, offering the other woman another nod, a smile. ]

I guess I'm lucky. A lot changed, but I managed to stay myself.

[Yeah, she didn't know most of all of that, though she suspected a few things. But really, this was about 'Rinoa,' just Rinoa. Not with caveats, not with pieces from others defining her. Just the person herself. And she appreciated that she seemed... accepting of it all.]

Yep, you're definitely lucky. I don't know all of it, but I'm pretty sure that everyone couldn't handle all that as well as you.

[open] I don't plan on breaking down

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