Hell Hath No... // Alicia

[alicia]

x x

Alicia had seldom felt so out of sorts. It was as though someone had snuck up behind her and replaced her knees with jelly. Something about this girl was just throwing her off so completely, and she thought she might know the reason why, on the darkest outskirts of her conscious mind ... but she didn't want to acknowledge those sorts of thoughts, or accept them. Or rather, she didn't want to acknowledge a certain something about herself. So she was sort of disguising all that anxiety in embarrassing giggles and soft smiles. Then Ayameru told Alicia her nickname. That was progress, right?

"Okay, Aya," she said with a smile, her eyes bright and cheerful, if more than a little desperate with embarrassment. No one had ever really called her 'Ali' before, either, but Ayameru--Aya--had done so moments earlier. Alicia thought it might be nice to have a nickname. The truth was she'd had very few friends, and certainly none like Ayameru. She blushed when Aya mentioned that it was nice to get a compliment. And, well, it was, but Alicia didn't often know how to react. Particularly when another woman was paying the compliment. Particularly when the woman in question was a very cute--

LA LA LA NOPE

"Well, um ... yes, I have, I guess," she said quietly, thinking back. More than a couple of her fellow knights had actually made ... remarks, but that sort of thing was generally frowned upon for other Knights. No doubt it was thanks to Nairore's persisting legacy, though most Knights knew that Alicia would never respond so harshly. She hadn't changed the way she dressed, though. In truth, in a very strange way, she did kind of like getting a little attention for her looks. She just also wound up feeling weirdly guilty about it afterwards.

"You're, um, you're very cute, too," Alicia said, without thinking, before her cheeks suddenly flushed pink again.

Where is the server? she thought meekly.

[Ayameru Crossfire]

There was an old saying that time could make or break a relationship. Well, that wasn't secluded to just intimidate relationships. Acquaintances, friends, or even enemies for that matter - it all revolves around a matter of time when developing. What would time make out of this relationship~ Now that was a question that had the fairy thinking for a second or two.

The way Alicia said her nickname brought a bright big smile on the fairy's face. She couldn't explain it or why exactly did it make her so happy. It just did!

That did bring up something she noticed though. With nicknames established between them did that mean they were getting out of the awkward bubble now? Not that it really existed in the first place, but that didn't mean it was completely nonexistent to Alicia. Looking back to her companion, she got the hints that they were still within certain levels of awkwardness, but she wouldn't dwell too much on it. Aya was hoping she didn't do anything stupid or say the wrong thing to her. She did have a habit of being blunt at the wrong place, and wrong time.

"Haha~ Me? Cute?" she couldn't even begin to take that one seriously. Though she quickly put a cork in it realizing that she really did mean her compliment. "Sorry... it's just that, I've never pictured myself as cute. I've been told scary, or even mean looking most of my life so you can imagine the aspect of what's a compliment, and what isn't." Sad as it was, it was true. With a temper that could explode at any minute, and an attitude to boot, it was hard to accept that compliment. Like trying to swallow medicine that tasted bitter, but you knew it was good for you. Or trying something sweet when you've lived off of eating bitterness, and bland tasting foods.

"Excuse me, waiter! We're ready to order," she called out. Patience was never really her strong point, and so instead of waiting, she called services over without a minute to spare. She was still starving!

[alicia]

x x

Alicia smiled, for the first time not really seeming that flustered, confused, or monumentally awkward. Aya was good company ... she was very nice.

"Well, you are cute!" Alicia said cheerfully, stifling a laugh when Aya said she could be scary. Not that Alicia didn't think so--certainly, not after the way they'd met--but Aya really didn't seem like the same person, right now. She supposed it was easy for some people to switch between two extremes ... for Alicia, that was a little more difficult. She certainly wasn't able to be scary, not unless ... well, things had to be pretty bad if Alicia could ever seem that scary. When the waiter came over, Alicia suddenly realized that she had no idea what she wanted to eat. She wasn't even that hungry. When she tried to fish for a reason as to why, exactly, she'd even asked Ayameru to get dinner, she really had no idea.

"What will you have, miss?" the waiter asked Alicia. Oh, of course he had to ask me first, Alicia thought in a panic, not quite realizing that he'd probably served her first to get a little revenge on Ayameru for calling him over. Some people could be a little grumpy about such things: Alicia just frankly didn't understand that, really.

"Um ... I guess I'll have a sandwich?"

"What sort of sandwich, miss?"

Alicia blushed again. Dammit that was happening too often. She scrambled to think. What kinds of sandwiches were there? Meat? Lettuce? Bluh?

"BLT. That would be nice," Alicia said, actually managing to sound not entirely mortified. There, that was better. She didn't know why she was so nervous ... she'd had dinner with people before! Of course, not often women people who she'd nearly had to arrest, but still....

"And to drink?"

"Um, just water." Exciting.

Luckily, the waiter didn't comment, and just started asking Ayameru what she wanted. This was turning out to be a pretty embarrassing day ... though that didn't make it a bad one, really. Alicia didn't mind being embarrassed every now and again ... after all, she was pretty used to it.

[Ayameru Crossfire]

Cute, huh... Aya thought. That was a first. She had a bit of a hard time letting that sink in that Alicia really meant it. By any means, it was not a bad thing whatsoever! In fact, the redhead actually liked the thought of being called cute. Sure, she's heard praises, and compliments plenty of times before from her twin sister, Ani, but that came natural. When it came to Aya, her dearest sister would do anything to make sure she was happy. There was nothing in the world that could keep the crimson fairy from doing the same. She was a very doting, and protective older sister~

... but she was digressing. Butterflies began tickling her tummy. That certainly wasn't a normal behavior. "Thank you, Ali," she smiled softly.

Back to reality, it would seem that her summoning proved effective, and a waiter came to take their orders. She had to stifle back the snickers that were begging for release finding Alicia being adorkable as ever. It was quite endearing watching her blush, and panic trying to find something to eat. Aya lost it when she ordered a sandwich. A light giggle escaped her lips~

She couldn't help but contemplate an amusing thought. Despite her innocent actions was there perhaps an underlying message. The hilarity of a woman telling a male waiter to go back to the kitchen, and get her sandwich. When he looked over to Ayameru, she proceeded to order, "Strawberry Parfait." With a small nod, he took his leave.

When him gone, Aya grinned childishly. She leaned in hovering Alicia's shoulder ready to whisper something in her ear. "You sure you weren't trying to make a statement there?" she snickered. She didn't expect Alicia to get her joke, but she had to ask.

[alicia]

x x

Alicia smiled. She'd never really had a nickname before. If she was honest--really honest with herself--then she'd admit that actually offering to get this woman lunch was one of the most outgoing things she'd done in years. She hadn't really had that many friends growing up. Well, to be honest, she hadn't really had ... any. Just the odd acquaintance here or there. She wasn't really equipped to deal with people, consequently, particularly when they made her feel any more awkward than she usually did. And Ayameru definitely made her feel a little awkward ... though Alicia still found herself enjoying the company of the fiery young fairy.

She wondered what Aya found funny about her sandwich, though. Was there something she was missing?

On a little personal reflection, Alicia realized that there was, almost all of the time, something she was missing. She did smile, though, when Ayameru ordered a strawberry dish. Apparently she had a really pronounced "red" theme. It was entertaining to think about, though she didn't think it would've been particularly wise to make a comment to that effect. She froze up a little when Ayameru moved in so close to Alicia's shoulder, blushing a little and looking at her almost like she was afraid ... but also like she was a little too excited. It was a very unusual, embarrassing look.

"Uh? Statement?" She asked innocently, blinking. "What do you mean? That I wanted a sammi--sandwich?"

[Ayameru Crossfire]

Aya let out a hearty laugh. She didn't share these merriment with just anybody. The only person who say the positive aspects of the fiery fairy was none other than her beloved sister. It was nice to open up a little more towards another person - especially a woman who was just as awkward with femininity as the redhead was. Still, Ali correcting herself from making another blunder was enough to send her in giggles. "Exactly," she merely answered. She gave a matter-of-fact nod to Alicia before she placed her childish grin back on her face.

If it wasn't for the flavor, which she really loved to the point of obsession, Aya wouldn't have anything to do with strawberries. Or cherries for that matter either. Red was a fowl color - of blood, and scorching fire. It wiped out anything that laid in it's path, consuming the the earth in nothing more than ash, and charcoal. She had to take her mind off such a depressing image, and keep the conversation going until the slow waiter brought them back their food. "What the hell is taking so long?" she grumbled. Her stomach didn't help much either letting out a audible rumble.

Great topic goer, right?

So she turned the topic around to something else. For instance, she was a little more curious about her company now that they were hanging out like normal folk would. Might as well didn't hurt to make a little small talk. It was so awkward when she wasn't used to this type of interaction. "How long have you been in service to the Royal Family?" she shifted her eyes slightly. Was that a good topic to go by?

Probably not.

[alicia]

x x

It was bad enough that the circumstances that Alicia had met Ayameru under had been absolutely mortifying, but Alicia was beginning to suspect that the Fairy was deliberately conspiring to confuse her. Exactly? What? She didn't really get it at all. Whatever it was, it seemed to be really amusing Ayameru, and all Alicia could do was sorta blink and stare. She laughed nervously, not really because she found something funny but because she had to make some sort of reaction, didn't she?

"Um, yeah, right," she said, with undoubtedly convincing aplomb. Beneath the table, she was all but wringing her left wrist off as she gripped it out of habit. She blinked--again--when Ayameru grumbled about the time, and said, in a quiet voice, "Well, perhaps they're taking their time accommodating two such different orders? And it is fairly busy here." She didn't sound shy, for once, or embarrassed, or even slightly upset: just honest. There was a sort of innocent purity and determination Alicia had that made it hard for her to get upset at other people, even if they were only supposed to be serving her food. Then she was asked about her job. She was a little surprised, but happy to talk about something that she actually knew about, for once!

"Oh, I've been a knight for a couple of years now. I was only recently promoted," Alicia admitted, giving a little half-chuckle that spoke both of embarrassment and pride. She was very happy to have been promoted, but at the same time she didn't like the thought of boasting. "I don't know if I really serve the Royal Family all that much though, save in name. I mostly just follow the orders the Knight Commander gives me, which usually just have to do with keeping an eye on Castle town," Alicia admitted. "I mean, I do enjoy being a knight. Though I guess it's not as romantic as I dreamed it might be when I was younger," Alicia said, laughing at herself. She wasn't really sure why she was being so honest with Ayameru, but it was fairly common knowledge that right now, it was more or less peacetime. The truth was, she'd probably had more combat experience when she'd been working with her mother than when she'd joined the knights. But it was nice to know that she was working to keep the safety of Castle Town intact.

"How about you?" Alicia asked, wiping her hair out of her eyes. "What do you do?'