[PRP] Exclusivity [Eostre x Odette]

[purplerosesbeauty]

Where: An exclusive, upscale club & restaurant in a popular Civisect theme park
When: Late evening
What: Eostre sets up another date with Odette...

 

[purplerosesbeauty]

The theme park's exclusive club was only for the best of the best. Highbloods, military commanders, orphaners, celebrities, and the Empress herself, mostly. Eostre was of course one of Regina's VIPs, and far enough on the military totem pole to get access with ease. Her date, meanwhile, was one of the most popular stars of late, known to work with the queen personally herself. Getting in and affording the meals offered in the restaurant was no issue.

With their two very busy schedules it was sometimes hard to finally make time to schedule and plan their dates, but at last they both were in a good place to meet again. Eostre sat at an intimate booth in the club, dressed elegantly in blue and pink and black, with her gloved hands carefully holding onto her drink glass. She took a sip thoughtfully, considering their positions once again. How strange it was to the blueblood to still harbor feelings after all this time, and find them mostly genuine. Between her fading black and/or red feelings for her colleagues and her flaring scandalous feelings for absolute strangers, there was something to be said for something consistent in her life, even as the two women had forged such different paths.

They were on much more equal footing now, and that was something Eostre could work with.

zeflamigo**

 

[zeflamigo]

Odette giggled with genuine delight. Getting into this park was always a dream for her, but to be allowed into its VIP exclusive lounge? Maybe all of that 'dreams do come true' marketing really meant something. She tried to collect herself, she knew she didn't want to make a scene in front of the other highblooded clientele. There was a hint of something embarrassing about that— a lowblood gawking at the taste of high life. Odette pinched herself on the leg, having a hard time keeping her composure.

Being on this date with Miss— no, Vice Captain Diazzi, did little to quell her nerves. She was a high military figure now, powerful and useful. Not to mention the blueblood was beautiful as ever, fashionable, refined... All of Odette's younger feelings came flooding back when they met. That was frightening, but in a way that felt invigorating.

"Pardon my excitement," Odette apologized, blushing. "You've made my day with this date already, and I'm so excited to catch up." Her own life was fairly public, but the blueblood was an enigma. "You rose through the Queen's ranks so quickly, how did you earn her favor?" Odette asked her question sweetly, then took a sip from her drink, waiting for Eostre's answer.

purplerosesbeauty

 

[purplerosesbeauty]

"I'm delighted to be together again as well, darling." Eostre rested her cheek on her hand, watching the redblood's blushing face. Odette had changed so much, but she was still as pretty as ever. Of course she'd be curious as to how she managed to be a Lieutenant at her young age - not to mention one of her VIPs. Several trolls older than her would covet the position, to be so close to the Queen. And Eostre's carefully manufactured appearance made it so those who knew her knew how impossible it was to know details of her life.

"Ah, now that's a story. So, do you remember that masquerade ball from sweeps ago where Erilyn Awassi died? Their hive burned down and everything, a bit of a mess, really..." Eostre waved her hand a little. No need to dwell personally on details of that event, how she'd gotten injured during the investigation. That seemed to happen to her a bit too much. "So anyway, I did the Empress a bit of a favor helping her oust some of those old traitors, and in return I was offered a special position as one of her closest allies. A VIP!" she laughed. "So it's a group of us, who went above and beyond for her. The Empress has made a point to note how impeccable my record is, compared even to my colleagues."

Eostre paused, taking a sip of her drink again. "Well, you probably know more about it than most trolls. How important it is to protect your image." Something they probably never thought or cared about, and now they have backgrounds as cowards or criminals, even with the recants and changes it mattered much for the military than it did civilians. Her eyes stayed downcast a moment. Her colleagues were respectable trolls, but she didn't think they could compare to herself at all. She'd worked harder and better than they had. Odette understood that much, as redblood who worked her way to stardom. "What about you, what have you been up to, with your busy life as a celebrity? I saw you had teamed with Regina for Superstar Authority but... I don't put much stock into tabloids to see how you're doing, obviously."

zeflamigo

eos talks a lot sometimes

 

[zeflamigo]

Odette didn't falter externally at Eostre's casual remarks about ousting traitors. Internally, she did take a moment to process that, the nerves on her skin prickling with anxiety. A casual reminder of her place, of the risks she earned from playing this game with high society. She had a mark on her back, and that same awful fate could befall her at any moment. There was no room for slipping up.

"It's interesting you should mention the Awassi hive," Odette remarked, swirling a finger on the lip of her glass. "They recently performed an exorcism. I attended simply because it seemed like an interesting break from the norm," She shrugged, lips pulled into a cute pout. "Hunting ghosts, as I'm sure you understand, is very different activity compared to musical rehearsals."

She giggled at her joke, idly fixing her hair. Her tone shifted with a sigh, and she paused before continuing. "I'm quite glad I went, though. I ended up being helpful in more ways than one." She explained. "I was helping to escort some younger trolls out of the unstable hive... Upon exiting, we found a troll... Well, I suppose you probably knew him better than I did."

"Is the name Tigwyn Ioyana familiar?" Odette asked, tilting her head in question.  

[purplerosesbeauty]

It was hard to imagine Odette hunting ghosts... she hadn't attended that event but recalled her sergeant had gone. It'd really become so cursed it required a military-funded exorcism... She didn't like to revist her past too much, especially when she was doing other things. Another infiltration and investigation called her attention at the time. "I'm sure that was a welcome break from the droll nature of fame," she mused, smiling at her date.

At the mention of Tigwyn's name, she nodded. "Ah yes, Tigwyn. I didn't personally spend a lot of time with him at the party, but he was in the room when we confronted Awassi at the end. They pulled a gun... there was some chaos and Ioyana ended up out the window, and we never recovered a body. We'd assumed he'd perished. So I guess... you were the one to find him, then? What luck," Eostre said, leaning forward in interest. She racked her brain, trying to remember what she knew about the helmsman. A powerful psionic who curiously supressed his power, and not only that, he was not an intended guest at the ball. Someone else was meant to be there, and Regina had no qualms with him. "What a sight that must have been for him, to have your lovely face be the one to rescue him. How'd you manage?"

 

[zeflamigo]

Giggling at Eostre's compliment, Odette covered her mouth as a gesture of politeness. "I'll admit he was worse for wear, and after hearing your end of the story, I'm surprised he wasn't more poorly." Odette explained, thinking back to the moment. It was terrifying, now that she remembered. "He lost control of his psionics. It was as if... As if he summoned lightning right out of the sky. It would strike him, and he'd just be annoyed he had to rebuild his little shelter."

She was pretty calm then, all things considered. Taking charge and giving orders, all while acting on adrenaline. She was thankful things worked out so well. How did she get the idea about the suppressants? She paused, in thought.

"I remember now— I got the idea from Captain Cincil. She said something about Tigwyn taking suppressant cigarettes... I'm not sure how she knew about that, but I assume it was part of the investigation..." Odette trailed off, getting distracted by Eostre's stare. Her makeup was so nice.

Odette's face warmed, and she remembered to continue. "I had one of the younger trolls fetch something similar from the medical vehicles. From there, the situation was simple. He was calm and easy to hand over to authorities."  

[purplerosesbeauty]

"Ah, I imagine, I'm surprised he managed to be able to even... attempt a nurse to health again. I believe he's in military custody now, but I can hardly keep track of that sort of thing. I suppose that should be my business, but I have a feeling my sergeant would know." Hemera had a vested interest in that old space crew, she recalled. Eostre could imagine the devastation Tigwyn could have done, an unstable psionic... summoning lightning from the sky? With all of that it truly felt a miracle he was alive at all.

"We found his psionic supressing cigarettes at the investigation, true, so I'm sure Sarcel would remember that. She... she tested them out, I believe, to find out their effect." Eostre continued to listen to her story, intrigued by how well she had handled the situation. "It sounds like you were able to take control, and use some very quick thinking. It could have easily turned deadly. I'm impressed, Odette. You'd make a fantastic leader," Eostre leaned back in her seat, taking a long drink. She smiled again, fiddling with her hair.

She put her drink down and paused. "Oh, not to detract from your story or anything, but you know, speaking of saving and all. I had a conversation recently with Tamiya..." It wasn't so much a conversation as it was an offhanded comment that caught her off guard. Eostre put pride in being able to decipher the juggalo's messages, but this one she wasn't sure how to parse. It couldn't be a similar situation that she herself had been in, could it? Where Tamiya literally saved her life? "She said she had a 'personal connection' to you because she saved you. I was curious what she could have meant by that," Eostre said. She knew things were tense between the two women, for reasons she'd never quite caught on. Perhaps she could understand the situation a little more now.

 

[zeflamigo]

"It's lovely that you'd say that. I'm not sure I'm cut out for it, though. I step in on instinct when others are in danger, but when it comes to planning anything..." Odette laughed, then sighed to herself. "Let's just say it's good that I have an agent taking care of me." She of course was lying, she had put many plans into place to protect and fund the rebellion. Eostre was better off thinking she was useless.

Things were calm, and Odette felt happy. She was enjoying the atmosphere, her drink, Eostre... It was surprising how the mention of one name could bring that happy house of cards crashing down. Tamiya.

Odette's eyes snapped wide while taking a sip of her drink. Gaze unflinching, she finished the glass as Eostre continued to talk, talk, talk. So much talking about saving or whatever the hell Tamiya wanted to call it. Odette set her glass down with delicate, precise aggression. A chill breeze came over the area, tugging at the tablecloth around their feet. Taking a regulated breath, Odette's attention flickered, then met Eostre's gaze again.

"Forgive me. This isn't the place to talk about my history with... Tamiya," She spoke without affect. The redblood's gaze flickered over to a cheesy animatronic squawkbeast stationed above the table. There was a microphone visibly fixed to it. Odette was certain Eostre would take the hint. She didn't personally care if the Queen or the public knew, but it was a good enough reason to keep their conversation light in a public place.

"But if it makes up for it," Odette's energy perked back up. She even paused for dramatics. "I have some... stories, about your co-workers behavior during the exorcism..." Her small smile quirked into a smirk, and she winked. She knew the blueblood wouldn't refuse the siren call of gossip.  

[purplerosesbeauty]

The chill was quick to come. Eostre noticed the tension in her date, even if she was graceful as always. That precise, calculated anger sent a shiver down her spine, intrigue and primal fear. The same smoothing over she had done back then as well, she noted. The glance was not unnoticed either, and her gaze followed subtly. Of course, if it was trouble with a military officer, especially one on her level - there was her image to uphold, same as Eostre. Whatever history there was, it was best saved for another time, when Eostre could be sure of their privacy and safety. "Of course darling, my apologies," she murmured. She reached her hand across the table to reach for Odette's, patting it soothingly.


And predictably, the blueblood could not resist the lure of gossip. Her eyes lit up and she tilted her head. "Oh my, you simply have to share! Don't tease me now, what happened? Who was there?" What gossip could the celeb have on them... how awfully could they have possibly managed in what was supposed to be a simple mission?

 

[zeflamigo]

Eostre's hand was a welcome touch, even in her tense emotional state. Gently and cutely, she nuzzled her hand further into the touch, stroking her thumb along the blueblood's. The gloves were an interesting texture, Odette noticed. An expensive fabric, she was sure.

"Well," Odette laid her other hand on the table, setting up her story. "Captains Cincil and Vidari both attended Schrad's seance. I was there too, hoping the ghost wouldn't be furious with me for, well, making her legacy into a famous stage play." She gestured back at herself, and shrugged one shoulder cutely. Not every military general wanted their life translated into song and dance.

"Well her ghost was furious. Not with me, though. Just— generally, I think. And Cincil, well she was even angrier," Odette explained, leaning in to try and keep the gossip private at least on some tertiary level. "She was provoking Schrad's spirit, trying to fight it. It was a knife floating in the air! She lost an eye, Eostre!" Even in her whispers, Odette was plainly incredulous, still having no personal idea what the blueblood was trying to accomplish that night.

"Needless to say, Captain Vidari had a hard time controlling the situation. He had to beg me to help him. I'm sure he loathed that..." Odette trailed off, not exactly smug but somewhere between amused and bittersweet.  

[purplerosesbeauty]

Eostre glanced down at Odette's hand for the briefest moment, happily noticing the way she returned the affection, her hand now touching hers. Even through gloves she could feel that, the material thin enough for a fairly good sensation.

She wasn't surprised to see Sarce had attended Schrad's seance, but seeing that something actually came of it did surprise her. If Schrad cared at all for her life being made into a poppy military propaganda-style musical, that would have been something. But attacking Cincil, and the then-lieutenant's actions... even Kursha had to beg for help? Her free hand pressed against her lips briefly. Perhaps the old redblood's ghost was trying to finish her mission. Did explain a lot.

"Oh my," Eostre breathed. She lowered her voice as well, matching Odette. "I think I know why. You see, Schrad was Sarce's idol. Back when she was younger, and all. And it came out in the masquerade that Schrad had planned to kill her. It changed her, you know, to know her hero wanted her dead." Eostre remembered that Schrad had planned on killing Puchen too, but the blueblood had the foresight to pull the trigger first. It was hard to come to grips with, that the lowblood hero had been a highblood killer all along. She glanced around the room quickly, and leaned in close to her date. The way one would when telling a secret.

"She was an extremist, you know. But she makes a good story, when you prune out the unpleasant bits. A bit like you, which I imagine is why you were chosen to do it." Eostre's soft voice carried some weight. She knew how the propaganda machine worked, and she knew Odette was more than aware of it as well, being roped right into it. The redblood was no idiot, and they both played the same game. But that was part of the charm of continuing on with her, that and... her genuine attraction to Odette, even now.

 

[zeflamigo]

Odette took a moment to think of a response for Eostre. Being compared to someone capable of such wrath and carnage even from beyond the grave, it was disconcerting to say the least. Odette almost felt guilty by it. She was still an extremist, but not like that. She never wanted to be like that.

The unpleasant bits... Almost of her life was unpleasant bits. Some of it made for good propaganda. Tamiya, though. Tamiya did not. That's what made it so tricky to talk about. The fact it was the military's fault she was driven down the path of extremism? That didn't make for good tv.

"I hope... I hope that you don't think I'm capable of that..." Odette's voice trailed off, her words weak and quiet. She wasn't playing things up for extra sympathy, simply saying her peace. "You know me, Eostre. You knew me then and you know me now. I've never done what she did. I couldn't ever do what she did." Everything that Schrad did, even as a ghost, was awful. Odette couldn't forget all the blood spilled, lowblooded and high. It was wanton destruction, chaos. It was awful.

Even the very idea of vengeance, the concept of even confronting Tamiya terrified her. She was a swan in a fox's world. Too meek to seek revenge on her fallen mother, forced to suffer in the shadow of her killer. A dark part of her wished she had a shred of Schrad in her, maybe then she would... No, she couldn't think like that.

Odette bit the inside of her lip to hold back tears. She sat there, solemn, not sure how to push on with the conversation now.  

[purplerosesbeauty]

Eostre folded her hands over Odette's, holding them tighter between her own. She hadn't expected such a response, but her brows knitted together in concern, her face softening to assure Odette. "I meant only your stories being manipulated in a similar way. I do know you, Odette, and I know your capacity for... so many things. I know you're a gentle sort, even now after all that's happened to you. I would never accuse you of such horrors, I know you so much better than that, and you know me."

Eostre turned her head for a moment, in thought, before looking Odette in the eyes. In all her cruelty, she'd never been cruel to Odette. Though almost making her cry on a date would certainly be up there. Stronger than she looked, but soft all the same. "Something I always admired in you, really, are the things you are capable of. Love, kindness, patience. Vulnerability, loyalty and devotion... some of these things I adore about you because I could not see the same in myself."

Truly Odette was irresistibly pitiable, with her soft features, that teared up look, her serious posture. That was a face that would weaken anyone. Eostre reached out to stroke her cheek gently. "You know, it feels strange to admit that. But I am being absolutely truthful with you," she said.

 

[zeflamigo]

"I... Eostre..." Odette's face flushed bright red, and she had to fight even harder to fight back tears. She had misinterpreted Eostre, there was no ill thinking there. Odette was simply reading too deep, thinking too dark, letting her doubt get the best of her. Having Eostre refute that with such kindness and showering her with compliments, it was like being struck with an arrow of light. It was divine.

"Thank you," She whispered, heartfelt. She waited a moment to breathe and regain some composure, concentrating on the warmth of Eostre's hands. Odette would not cry in this exclusive club.

"I don't think it's a surprise for me to say that I've always looked up to you. That's pretty common for lowbloods, isn't it? It's normal to just... wish you were a highblood. Believe me I've thought that— but never for you. It was different for you." Odette explained, turning her eyes up at Eostre.

"You're tough, generous, composed," Odette gave a soft laugh at that. "You've always felt... safe, Eostre. Like you wouldn't let anything hurt me and survive." The redblood tilted her head and smiled, genuine and embarrassed. Then she leaned closer, interlacing her fingers with Eostre's.

"I never wanted to be you, Eostre. I always wanted to be with you."