The park is in full hustle as people enjoy the weather before it's plunged into the miniature ice age that is Winter. For now, they view the changing of the leaves with casual interest, some in couples, others not. It's generally a quite pretty day save for some slight overcast on the Fall day.
The park is not without it's share of ruckus, animals here or there making animal sounds and the murmur of chatter brought up by the denizens of the park. Some of these murmurs are squarely aimed at the odd attraction of the far-too-ornately dressed girl that seems to be scouring the park for... something? Or maybe she's just playing Pokemon Go.
It stands to reason that one could assume either given Shinobu's currently wandering around with her made-up smart phone in her hand, pointing it at this or that... even people to their notable sense of weirded-out-ness. However, one thing's clear, she's dressed to the teeth in gothic wardrobe and she's not happy about whatever it is she's seeing... or not seeing on her phone when she's pointing at things as she's constantly frowning and muttering to herself. There's a definite lack of attention being paid when she's not pointing her phone at things causing her to bump into people here and there without a word of apology for it.
The park. Lacrima likes the park. It's mostly been neutral ground for her. She tries to not attack it, and hopes in turn, heroes don't attack her here. There's nothing official. She wishes it was. It must be nice to not worry about being hunted for things all the time.
Lacrima is also dressed a little too well. Though not as well as Shinobu. She's gathered her pretty violet gown- with the corseted top gown and pretty dress high heels. She doesn't know why she's taken to dressing up recently.
Things have progressed with... how she feels. About things. Since the dream.
She let Jiaying know she was going for a walk in the park. Maybe she'd come along. Maybe she'd meet her there later. It didn't matter to her. She just. Needed to get out. She has not taken to a parasol yet though.
She sees a well dressed, gothicly dressed girl bumping into people, holding up a phone.
"Shinobu...?" she says to herself as she begins to step lightly in her direction. "Yuu-san." she says. "You're bumping into people." she says. "....Are you playing Pokemon Go?" she asks. "That app is a boon, you know. To me."
"People don't pay attention, make easier targets." she says matter of factly. "I'm going to be sad when it goes out of style." she asides.
"Unless you're doing something else?" she asks.
"Are you seeking something?" she asks.
Jiaying Maki isn't there to catch Norie admitting it's a boon for hungry vampires, probably a good thing as that's hard to ignore even for her! She does catch up eventually though, wearing a nice sweater jacket with a big hood on it. The hood in question is lifted up over her head and is adorned with a number of pins of varying shapes and colors, mostly bright or vibrant. She's got a scarf on too, dark green, wrapped around and hanging loose from the hood. Finally she has a long heavy duty looking skirt to her ankles and heavier shoes. She looks comfortably warm.
Waving to Norie and by proxy, the unfamiliar one, she calls out, "Are you really so against clothes that don't immediately draw all eyes to you?" Once she's closer, so less calling out and more just slightly speaking up. "Hi" she offers to the other girl too.
Now there's two "awesomely-dressed" girls hanging out with one another just about. Probably a convention, or maybe lolita is hitting the mainstream, the question on like... maybe two or three people who've witnessed them's lips. Regardless, as the newcomer mentioned, attention is grabbed. Not that Shinobu seems to care as she seems to be fully caught up on not only her current frustrations, but also the salutations she must reply to.
Lacrima's greeting is like a switch. One moment, Shinobu's all frowns and mumbles and then, she's all smiles and rainbows as she pivots with a bit of a twirl to face the vampiress, "Lacrima-chi! Hiiiiii..." She starts, obviously caught off-guard by being noticed.
Like a ritual, she clears her throat and uses one hand to start idling fixing all the dongles she's wearing, earrings, some crosses in her hair, some rhinestones under her eyes... It's actually obnoxious how much sparkly stuff she's wearing. Nonetheless, admist her meticulousness, she continues, growing more casual as she recovers from the suddeness of the situation, "Well... Yes, yes I am. You see, I noticed a Vaporeon in this very park and now it's... gone. I can't find it and I have no idea where this stupid thing is hiding it." She admits, practically strangling her phone with the hand still grasping it as she brings it up to show Lacrima that, yes, she was, in fact, playing Pokemon Go and without any pokemon sightings currently going on. All this while still holding a very thin smile to now mask her annoyance.
As the newcomer takes the stage in the conversation, Shinobu is immediately quite uppity and averse to the comment regarding wardrobe which she seems to take as aimed at her despite it probably not being fully aimed as such, "I'll have you know that this takes quite a lot of work and is a responsibility. Besides, you should be grateful to lay your eyes upon me." She declares, even letting out a soft "Hmph" as she turns back to Lacrima to ask, "This a friend of yours... I hope..." She seems to want to add more, something probably not nice, but she refrains.
Lacrima doesn't smile, but she rarely smiles. She does have a polite neutral expression and tone however. Straight faced. This is a default 'nothing is wrong' mood for her. She head tilts softly as she nods. "Oh, okay." she says. "Yeah, Pokemon are... kind of silly like that. In that game." she says. "It's possible it's just gone now." she says. "I haven't played in a while though. Too...preoccupied."
She blinks and turns around . "Jia-chan!" she says. "Hello." she says. She head tilts and looks down at her dress, then back up. Jia will remember this as the dress she'd seen in Norie's dream- give or take a few minor inconsistencies.
"Oh." she says. "I don't know." she says. "I feel as if it's more comfortable to dress this way." she says softly. "Do..you not like it?" she asks with just a subtle hint of concern.
She steps back so she can look between Jia and Shinobu easier. "Yuu-san. This is Jiaying. Jia-chan." she says. "She is a friend of mine. A good friend." she says softly.
"I invited her out with me. It looks like she decided to catch up!" she says with a soft series of gentle nods.
Jiaying Maki looks at Norie, then to Shinobu, then back to Norie and leans over and murmurs, "She reminds me of a cousin. The one that I have a picture of in my room in the super uncomfortable looking ceremonial clothes with that little cap" she holds her hands between where her fox ears would be, "Right htere." There's a pause before she adds, "I didn't say it was bad, just... attention grabbing and probably expensive." She shrugs and reaches out to patpat Norie, "It looks nice, nice nice. Just really noticeable too right?" She shrugs, "Which is probably part of the appeal funny that."
The tone from Yuu's last comment gets a toothy grin from the girl, "I am a friend yes yes." Does she have little fangs?
In another flash, that suspicious attitude of Shinobu's perks right back into apparent bubbliness as she relaxes her stance and allows the phone that was pestering her oh so much to just fall to her side, seemingly forgotten. Her beaming gaze flicks between Jiaying and Lacrima a few times as they converse before she chimes in herself, speaking towards the latter at first, "You're probably right. I'm not sure why I even bothered to start playing the game. I have more important matters to attend to." Her tone is one of the high and mighty.
Shinobu's free hand slings out suddenly, gesturing towards Lacrima in a presentative fashion as she proclaims, "Lacrima-chi is just starting to understand what it means to be pretty. In time, I'm sure she'll see the light and take just after me. Afterall, she does have the potential." She explains in a matter-of-factly and grandiose manner.
Then, with a few dainty paces, Shinobu crosses the gap and stands just within a normal person's sphere of personal space before Jiaying, casting a cursory gaze over the other girl from top to bottom while gently holding and tapping her own chin in thought. She then waves a hand, dismissing some thought she may have had as she claims, "Well, if you're her friend, I suppose there's not much that can be done. It is pleasant to meet you, I am Shinobu Yuu, though you may address me as Queen, if you like."
Lacrima head tilts a bit and looks at Jiaying. She doesn't smile, but does nod to Jiaying. "Jiaying has been trying to help me. Handle my....condition." she says politely. They are in public afterall, mostly. She head tilts. "Oh! Right. Um. Remember. How when I held the parasol?" she says at Shinobu. "and I said-- I felt as if something was missing?" she asks. "Fan. That's what was missing." she says softly. "I had to look for pictures, but that's definitely what I feel was missing." she says.
She looks to Jiaying, and head tilts. "Jiaying-chan." she says. "I'm thinking about making that trip soon." she says quietly. "Things keep...tugging me... there." she says quietly.
"I mean. Nothing is making me go but."
"I feel like I should, soon." she says.
She purses her lips. "I just need to figure out. Particulars..." she says quietly.
Jiaying Maki rolls her shoulders a few times and then stretches out, "A fan was missing from your parasol?" Looking vaguely confused. She just shakes her head a few times. With a shrug, she says, "Out to the place huh? Just take help that isn't from what'sit'sname. Take-" she frowns, "Well, myself, thought I can't miss anymore school or maybe uuh...." she scowls now. "I don't know. Someone that won't encourage you to indulge."
Shinobu's closeness doesn't seem to bother the girl at all. "She's into different colors I think, unfortunately." For her ego, she leaves off. Her eyes almost seem reflective under that hood for a moment and she leans closer and makes a show of audibly sniffing, "Hm, well if you're a friend that's fine." Is she just trying to mess with the girl in return? "Yuu huh, I'm Jiaying Maki. You can address me as a few things probably."
"Oh, I absolutely love it!" Shinobu practically squeals out at Lacrima's suggestion. She clasps her hands together to contain the jittery excitement that's just come over her then nods a few times, "I can practically see it now. It's very... you." She notes after a moment of thought and several more moments of staring at the vampiress, soon looking as though she's in another world of fantasy.
This doesn't last long, though long enough to gloss over the talk of a trip for the most part it would seem. She clears her throat, bringing herself back to reality in the same motion... or a reality anyways. She's not even looking at Jiaying when the sniff is had and so, assumptions are made. Shinobu lifts her hand and places it on the closer girl's head, giving it a few soft pats as she says, "Yes, yes, I know. It is a lot to take it. I shall be gracious... You are a friend of Lacrima-chi after all." As she obliviously takes that implied compliment that isn't actually even existent, she beams and brims with radiance, pleased as punch.
Lacrima head tilts at Jiaying. "Yuu-chan thinks very highly of herself." she says matter of factly. She's sure Jiaying can pick up on the egotistical behavior- though Lacrima doesn't seem to mind it. She probably deals enough with it in her dreams as it is.
"Not without good reason of course." she adds. "There are very obviously. Many good reasons for that." she says. Not of least which is- she danced with her. Which puts like five pluses in her book.
That's a lot of pluses- for her at least- nowadays.
"I'm not sure... what I'll find there. I don't feel like it's bad. For me. I just feel..." she bites her teeth a little in frustration. "It's like. Someone calling me from far off. Not in a--- it's an emergency way, but it's questioning me. 'Don't you want to be whole?'..." she says as she squints her eyes.
"I have theories. however." she says with a soft series of nod.
She looks back to Shinobu. This is not talk about Shinobu so she's sure she's bored.
"You know." she says. "I tried playing Pokemon Go in the dusk zone once. The phone became super possessed or something." she says.
Jiaying Maki rolls her shoulders a few times and just slowly shakes her head. "Auntie had htat cousin's tail once, it was pretty funny seeing him all indignant." She's kind of talking past Shinobu at that and it's probably hard to tell if she's being honest about the tail thing. Glancing to Norie she asks, "I would still take someone you trust and isn't on the other side of things to go with you Norie. It's better for you to have a counterbalance."
Looking back to Shinobu, she slowly reaches out and returns the patpat, "I'm not a dog, just related." She offers, not explaining that either. She seems to be enjoying herself again at least. "So... Yuu, is this cosplay or something else?"
After a certain point, her own self-reverance on top of Lacrima's comments, even the patting on her head seems to send Shinobu into another hazy fantasy of an egotistical nature. She's smiling uncontrollably with a faraway look in her eyes as she lets out a pleasant sigh, nodding her head in an idle manner as if drunk on all the attention, "Yes, yes, you see in this way, it only makes sense that I will be Queen." She says as if she's responding to some other sentiment entirely, even gesturing with a lavish swing of her hand.
While it may seem like she's too far gone at this point, Shinobu does seem to maintain some attachment to the here and now as she continues conversing in a dreamy tone, speaking first with Jiaying, "This is actually my casual attire. I wouldn't want to get my good wardrobe dirty mucking about here with... well, you know." She doesn't finish her statement. Instead, she just gestures towards some of the idle people in the park around them, somewhat insultingly. Also, in no world is what she is wearing casual except maybe just her own.
Her arms return to her side, planting her hands on her hips as she states, "I can introduce both of you to the wonderful world of my wardrobe someday. It will be a glorious and extravagant adventure. Promise." She states as if it's already decided, glossing over the whole fact that they might not want to, "Anyways, what is it you two were saying? Something about playing with dogs at dusk?" She asks as if she just now wants to get involved in the conversation, glancing between the two with some measure of confusion.
Lacrima is too used to dealing with snooty Eclipsites to find offense to this. She smiles at Jia-chan. (Who may or may not be leaving at this point.) "We'll talk about it soon proper." she says softly as her eyes trace back to Shinobu. She head tilts. "Oh! These are just your casual clothes...?" she asks. "Yes, I would like to see the extravagant things sometimes." she says.
Something about... dresses.
She smiles. "Jia-chan has a family. She's talking about them." she says softly. She head tilts. "I'm wanting to go to Spain. Because I feel as if I may find.. some sort of answer there. Regarding my condition- for better or worse." she says softly.
"Jia-chan just wants to make sure I bring someone who'll bop me on the head if I start floating and laughing about destroying the world or something." she says with a bated, neutral tone that's hard to tell if she's joking or not.
With a soft brush of her dress from the waist down, giving the skirt a nice ruffle, Shinobu states, "Of course, these are older than something like what I was wearing yesterday." Despite this, there's no -real- discernable difference to the naked eye between what Lacrima saw Shinobu wearing yesterday, but she doesn't seem to be joking about it being different.
"Pish-posh, we have the Internet now for that sort of thing, don't we? You can just use your phone and it'll be just like you're in Spain... I think." Shinobu starts, though she seems to start doubting her own words as she squints faintly with some minor confusion evident in her features. As the conversation drifts towards the mention of destroying the world, it becomes clear what kind of influence Shinobu would be in this instance. A horrible one, "Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine. You seem quite mature, and that's coming from me. You don't need a babysitter. Now, I've heard of stories like this, people seeing visions in their dreams and the like. It's all quite real. I would stick with your gut and do as your heart desires." Shinobu is basically just ranting at this point as if lecturing and Jiaying who may or may not be here is easily missed admist her speech.
Lacrima head tilts. "I can't use the internet for that. I know where I need to go. It's a small village. Named Davos." she says matter of factly. "There.... are. The remains. Of a manor there." she says. "I feel like I'm being drawn there." she says.
She purses her lips and taps her fingers to her lip a moment as her eyes look Shinobu up and down. Really? Older? Hrm.
Shinobu's Gothic Lolita outfit begins to remind her of... something.. no... someone....
Sachiko...
Her expression suddenly changes to one of dourness. "I should.. go. Probably." she says. "Something just... hit me. And-- it's better if I'm not in public right now." she says lowly as she begins to back off. And away....
And into the woods at the edge of the park. She disappears- at some point- in there.