[She and Selene picked Yulia up from Seth's Rest first thing in the morning, and headed straight for the hotel that the Vega twins were staying at. They went over the mission details while eating breakfast in their room, and preparing for the engagement. The port to Italy and the drive over to the villa had been spent getting their stories straight: Selene was going as herself because of her high-profile work with Vice Records, Tala was accompanying her as her manager (yep, she had put on a bit of Glamour and shifted her features just so) and Yulia was Tala's secretary.
Suffice to say, they were the talk of the party for a bit. Why the hell not? Three beautiful women all in one group, and one of them was a renowned musician. Then Tala had worked her magic, maneuvering things to keep Selene on center stage. That left her and Yulia to blend into the crowd and watch things as they needed to.
Now she was officially Bored. The food wasn't bad and neither was the eye candy, but politics bored her.]
If something new doesn't happen in an hour, I'm half-tempted to go to the Dark Hour for just twenty minutes and find something to kill.
[Muttering that to Yulia from over the rim of her wine glass. The two of them are seated at one of the far tables: the perfect vantage point to watch the proceedings of the garden and pool party.]
[ She's noting the lighter, the stylized 'M' engraved into the metal, the way Yulia carries it around with such care. But stories as heavy as that are often personal, and while Cisco is an optimist who is rather big on talking, there are things that she understands, that take time. ]
That's good to hear.
[ She'll shift gears for now, give the girl an out. Rising, she stretches, and then looks over to the Russian. ]
[ Her eyebrows meet and make a confused, curious line. As far as she knew, The Fort was a place of clubs and bars. Surely they wouldn't be open at a time like this...? ]
[ Brianna returns with a tray with small slices of cake, followed by one of the staff with another tray. She sets it down and sits in front of Yulia. ]
[ Have a smile, Bostova. One that puts to mind a mischievous fox, even if this one hasn't changed in the least. ]
You'll see.
[ Cisco's leading you to her car ( it's my husband's, borrowed it for the day because I like how smoothly it moves on the road ) which she uses to zip you both down to The Fort for what appears to be less of training and more of a girl's day out.
You'll note that she looks like a regular at the establishments she takes you to -- people greet her warmly, seem to anticipate her needs, making things go smooth. You're also making stops to the strip of bars in one area, at which people greet her like an old friend, and to whom she readily introduces you as her little sister.
You're kicking back at a coffeeshop along a place she refers to as "High Street" some two, three hours later, and you'll hear her speak right into your mind as soon as she catches you eye when you settle down at one of the tables outside with a few shopping bags -- yours, hers.
[ Oops, she's only ever used to speaking to her sister in her head. She probably missed the fact that Cisco didn't even open her lips to speak with her.
The day's been overwhelming, too. She hasn't walked, talked, and (politely) laughed as much as she has today in what felt like ages. And while she'd shopped with Tala before, the experience with Cisco is different. Tala was a whirlwind; Cisco? Still a huge gust of wind.
It was... fun. It reminded her a little of Norway and Ingrid (although Ingrid would insist on stopping every now and then to take pictures of plants, stray animals and the two of them over coffee). ]
[ She's just going to grin at that. It's essentially how Mindspeech works. Hers to yours and back again, at least until she gets a little too far or breaks eye-contact. ]
Gotcha. You relax, have a cigarette, I'm going to go grab us drinks.
[ She doesn't wait for you to reply before she flounces off. You'll likely see her rock back on her heels and grin out some response to the barista because there's a short line and she's happy to wait her turn. ]
[ She smiles, lights a cigarette, and watches Cisco. The way she moves, the way she talks to the barista, the way she's not exactly keeping still in the line at the counter.
[Many of the guests at Gabriel's party are currently wondering why Hikaru Shinta, who previously looked so relaxed, is now close to one of the edges of the garden, smoking through a cigarette rather furiously, and looking notably stressed.
His source of stress (and worry) happens to be Riley Falner talking to Joshua LaRue.
Yes. Riley Falner, talking to Joshua LaRue. His boyfriend.
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