Set in the original region of Arciel, Legends Rising is a route-inspired, but not strictly route-based, Pokemon roleplay. Pick a faction, pick a class, and strike out into the wild to take on the League, master Contest coordination, research the mysteries of Pokemon and Arciel, and much, much more. Will you be a classic trainer? A criminal? A farmer? Choose your destiny on Legends Rising.
It had been a long night- it was Wednesday, which was her day for teaching the little tikes class in the studio- which usually wouldn't be too big of an issue, if it hadn't been for little Tina catching a cold and infecting over half the little ballerinas. Her class had composed of five kids today, and with dance children there was no inbetween between their personalities- there was either the little showoff who wanted to take over the class, or the shy kids who refused to speak up when they needed help.
Thankfully- Arietta was able to pick up on any help that they needed! Teaching the kids was easy, a way to just relax, sit back and get her shit together. Kids were easy to teach,and dancing, even if it was just basic, child steps, was refreshing. The class had finished fairly quickly though, so she was more than likely going to stay back for far longer than expected at the studio- she was probably gonna go over a few aerial acts with Gabbie and Caesura, maybe try a few aerial tricks herself too!
But first all the kids had to be picked up. In her leotard and tights, with a tutu that could hardly match the ferocity of the tutu's of the children waiting anxiously for their parents to arrive around her Arietta sat on the floor of the lobby, two kids sittng next to her.
"Darcy says that she doesn't wanna wear a bun anymore- but she doesn't wanna tell you Ari!" ...Oh... they were at it again. Arietta tilted her head from where she sat, an eyebrow raised as she glanced to the little girl in question, who let out a loud gasp."Do not! Nuni's just bluffing- the bun is... it isn't too tight!"
Arietta let out a sigh, a soft laugh leaving her lips, "Girls- you know you don't have to wear buns- right? Like- as long as it's back, unless you're in a concert anythings fine." The little girls didn't really listen though, and continued bickering- at least until their parents showed up to drag them off. It wasn't long before the others were taken too, leaving Arietta in the hall by her lonesome.
She... probably should double check the parents payments before leaving to hide off in some backroom. to dance herself away for the night. Gliding behind the counter while moving to unpin her bun, the girls hair sprung free of it's confines and settled messily down her shoulders. It was freezing in here- but Arietta honestly couldn't be bothered changing.
Loading up the computer and scrolling through the spreadsheets now, she began cross referencing different accounts- oh- she'd have to check physical documents for this one- right! Moving to open a draw she began fiddling through files- however paused upon one that'd newly been put in- fuck- yeah- she... she had to take Gabe out of the system, didn't she?
She'd get on that next! Though for now, she didn't exactly like the overbearing silence that haunted the dance studio, especially not with the freezing night being visible beyond the windows of the doors. Popping open a chutube tab she began playing some stupid pop classic, and moved to let Aumia out of her ball, the mouse pokemon immediately moving to curl up on the desk with a soft cry, content to just watch.
"...Aren't you cute, Mi-Mi? I shouldn't be too much longer, promise!"
The internet was really, really great for finding information on somebody, anybody, if you knew their name and where they lived. When Senara had stolen Gabe's ID and looked him up she'd found a treasure trove of information, personal and otherwise. While some of it wouldn't have a use until their little heist, some of it was just...fun. Especially all the posts about him on the blog of one Arietta Ostinato. Bloggers, to her, always looked like attention-starved little weirdos who needed the validation of strangers to feel like their life was interesting. Arietta's blog really wasn't an exception. It just so happened that her blog provided some very juicy backstory to the person she was actually interested in.
And watching their romance through years-old blog posts, especially after reading how it so spectacularly ended, was pure black comedy. Hah! That's what you get for dating.
So why was Senara here, standing in front of the building next to the little dance studio run by Gabe's "one that got away"?--Well, he was actually the one who got away, wasn't he, but whatever. Simply put Senara was done with her fun with his ID and wanted to be rid of it. Of course she couldn't just give it to Gabe, there was no fun in that, especially after she lied to him (technically) about having it in the first place. So she'd opted to be a little mean and go this route instead. It'd force the two to interact which might be fun to read about later, and if she did this right, she'd get some entertainment out of little Arietta before the night was over. Was this being mean for being mean's sake?
Oh, yes. Absolutely.
But let it never be said that I'm a good person.
Adjusting the twin ponytails in her hair so they were nice and even, as well as the cute little pink-and-white plaid skirt she'd picked out, Senara drew in a series of quick, sharp breaths before she walked into the shop, looking just slightly out-of-breath by the time she got to the door. "S'il vous plaît excusez-moi! Are you closing? Oh, shoot. I thought I made it just in time...!" Senara stayed in the doorway, brow knit tight over two visible--one real and one made of glass, though the difference was non-existent unless one was very close--blue eyes. Passing for a cute, sweet, dare one say a little dumb girly-girl was easy for her. After all she'd grown up surrounded by them in Laverre City.
Entering all the information for the files Arietta had been idly humming along to the music, tapping away not really in any sort of rush to get the information in after all. Aumia had taken to grabbing at an eraser that lay in one of the nearby stationary bins, nudging it around the table with soft squeaks. The last thing Arietta had been expecting was a voice to break her from her thoughts. Eyes flicking up she wore a startled expression on her face, and peered forward for a moment- only then noticing the girl who'd entered the doors.
Her thought though was that it was one of the younger kids sisters and that she'd not been informed that the parents were picking them up, this had happened wayyy too often, but by the puff in her voice and the way she held herself she looked to have been in some sort of rush? Oh- wait maybe...
Did she want to sign up for classes?! The dance studio very rarely got newbies, especially with all the competition around, and the girl looked fairly young- maybe in her late teens? Arietta grinned, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and waving the girl over. "Oh, no! We're not closing- technically classes are done for the day but admins open until 10!" A soft laugh left her lips and she curiously looked the girl over, an eyebrow raised.
She didn't look like a typical dancer, she looked like the type of girl who'd spontaneously decide to join a rumba lesson not even knowing what rumba was, only that it sounded like a cute dance with no complexities what-so-ever. Arietta's head tilted now and she moved to grab a pen, if only to fiddle with to make it seem like she was oh so obviously in charge of everything. "Soo... Are you here to sign up for classes? Or did you come for tommorows 8pm jazz practice on the wrong date- Sebastian takes those i'm afraid and he's.... not very good at keeping up with his schedule, i'm so sorry if that's the case!"
First bite had been successful. Senara sighed with relief as she walked through the door proper, tapping her boots a couple times to shake any snow or salt from the bottoms like a respectable little lady would. "Oh thank Arceus. I've been, like, running around town all day; I was so sure I'd missed my window. Thank you so so sooo much." She made her Kalosian accent thicker than usual, emphasizing a clueless cute foreigner persona.
Senara walked up to the desk and looked the woman over with what looked like a sweet smile, but was, at its heart, a quite critical eye. Was this Arietta? Maybe, maybe not. If she was then...yeah, she could see it. Gabe had a weird love of "quirky" people--which included the woman who had tried to freaking rob him at the ball, lucky her--and this girl was full of sunshine and lollipops and rainbows at a glance.
Not her type of person to be friends with but not bad, really. Just too tiring for her.
"Actually--and this is going to sound kind of really weird, so just bear with me," she held up a finger, then dug into the bright pink purse she'd brought along with her. She faked digging in it for a little while before she pulled out something in particular: a thin plastic card with a name, age, photo, and hometown on it. She placed it on the desk and slid it into Arietta's view. It was, quite obviously, Gabe Alim's trained ID. "This person goes to this studio, right? Takes dancing lessons or something? I have been trying to find them anywhere in this dumb city but, like, they won't answer texts until two freakin' a.m, and I have to get home tonight, so I can't keep chasing them down. Would you be able to give this back to them when they next come in? Pretty please?"
It was a fight to keep the innocent, well-meaning smile on her face. If this was Arietta, it was going to be a fun little show of watching her facial expressions. Whether or not he actually came to this place anymore she had no idea; all she knew was that this was where the girl worked, and she could always lie and say he had brought it up with her.
If you aren't her then this is gonna be a waste of time.
Wait, why not just ask? Bleh, I'm pretending to be a dumb blonde, but here I am now...
Post by Arietta Ostinato on Dec 2, 2019 19:47:02 GMT
Running around town all day?! So that’s why the girl had looked so puffed! A sympathetic smile stretched onto her feature. “Oh you poor thing!” She sounded foreign, so it’d be no surprise if she’d gotten well and truly lost in Bass looking for whatever she’d been looking for- though it... kinda sounded like she wasn’t looking for dance lessons- which was fine! Totally fine.
As she approached Arietta held her smile, slightly confused now as to why the girl was here. Hands now resting on the desk she nodded at the girl to continue, only to see her reach into one of the cutest pink purses that she’d ever seen and dawdle through it for a moment. The girl must really be looking for something- maybe a credit card?! She could be buying lessons, maybe a Christmas gift for a family member? How cut-
...huh? As the card was presented to her Arietta’s smile fell for a moment, leaning closer to stare at the trainer ID. Oh somebody had got to be fucking with her. A small chill danced down her spine as she picked up the card, tilting it slightly in her hands to look at it closer before taking a deep breath and putting it on the desk- of course. She could just play it off though! It’s not like this strange girl wanted her to find Gabe, she was just a concerned... what?
“I-I’m afraid Gabe Alim doesn’t go here anymore, dropped out of taking lessons- he was transferred to another studio down the block, actually!” There was a hesitance to her voice, and she hadn’t really noticed that her grip had tightened on the card until Aumia squeaked at her. Shit- okay. Arietta moved to give it back, her smile faker now.
Gabe wasn’t answering her texts... and they were chasing him down? What exactly was this girl? And why... Arietta didn’t even wanna think about Gabe right now. But the girl looked sweet as they come, Arietta was just confused- she’d have to help however she could! “I could give the studio a call if you want? I think you’ll uh... have better luck there. Since he doesn’t attend here and we’ve just recently wiped the files from our system.”
That last bit was a lie, there was a thing called keeping customer addresses and such a secret! A hand brushed through her hair nervously and she shifted in the spot... she’d delete it later, probably.
She moved to make a show of going to the computer, opening the file of the nearby studio that she’d recently sent Gabes files off to- not that they’d accepted him yet or even told her it he’d shown up... in the midst of typing the girl offered a name and Arietta’s gaze flicked up, and she pushed her smile further, head bowing for a moment as a laugh left her lips- space cadet, that was cute, she might use that in the future! “I’m Arietta, I’m a student and a junior dance teacher here.” She shifted then to reach for the buisness phone, holding it up for Senara to see, “Want me to check?”
"He doesn't? Ohh, that's...sad?" Senara pursed her lips into a small pout, her finger-tip touching her lower lips just so, "They talked about this place a lot lately. They just love dancing so much, you know? I wonder why they've transferred...hope it's nothing bad."
Inside she cursed her luck. Of course Gabe went and bailed on this place before she'd gotten to it. What had caused it? A final straw between the two of them? Did the "just be friends" line come up and one of them said "no can do"? Which one? She honestly didn't know either of them well enough--nor understand romantic things enough--to make that call. Oh well. She would just need to get creative with her digs now. Improvise.
"That's be super helpful. Thank you so much, Arietta!"
Senara took the ID back and held it in her hands, giving it a demure, worried look. The odds that Gabe was actually at that center when they had a heist planned for not even a week from now was slim, right? Not this late at least. But what if he was? Her insides went cold just thinking about it. If he caught her snooping around in his private life to this extent, what would he do? All was fun and games until she was caught, as so many of her pastimes went. So with a sharp intake of air she reached over and tapped her finger down on the phone receiver, ending the call had it already started while she thought.
"Actually..." she spoke softly, concern creeping into her features, "I don't want it to look like I'm digging into their hobbies and stuff. I can just, like, tell him I have it and he can get it the next time he's at my place. It's fine!...maybe it'll teach them to check their phone more often!" She snorted softly, trying to look like she was forcing herself to find some humor in the situation. Faking false positivity, that was new. "Sotte Gabie!...hah."
He talked... a lot about this place? With... this girl? Arietta blinked in stunned silence for a moment, her hand still hovering over the phone. Dancing was just, kinda, a freeing past time for Gabe, did he... and she just... Arietta gulped. "O-Oh, it was nothing bad, he just needed to move on from this place is all!" Her voice was a little high, probably unconvincing, but she managed to keep up her smile. The other dance studio was well renowned, but they weren't as friendly as her studio, and Gabe didn't know anybody- would he... he probably wouldn't even shown up.
Dwelling on her thoughts for a moment she was brought out of them as Senara gave her the go ahead, and she moved to dial in the number for the studio down the road. Hopefully he'd been in, or they had his files- that should be a big help to the girl before her, especially getting the ID back. Aumia had moved to shuffle over to where Arietta was, peering up over the edge of the desk at Senara with a skeptics gaze.
Before the studio could answer however the girl across from her ended it, and Arietta stared in alarm. "U-Uhm?" She moved to put the phone, an eyebrow quirking up as the stared at the purple haired stranger. She didn't want it to look like she was digging into Gabe's hobbies which was understandable enough but Arietta still found herself oddly confused.
"...Are you sure? The studio can just say he left the ID there overnight after practicing or something...I really wanna help, however I can! Just so you didn't run around Bass for no reason, is all." She trailed off, staring at the girl infront of her with a tilted head. It sounded like she spoke to Gabe a lot, a fair lot- and in the last few week she'd never really... mentioned or been with anybody else, not that he'd tell Arietta about his friends, especially not after literally just sorta becoming friends again...then stomping on that... "Sorry- excuse me for asking Senara but i'm curious... uh..."
She let out her own giggle, putting her hands under her chin and propping them up on the desk. "You sound like you know Gabe fairly well, who is he to you? Like texting, calling, going to your apartment...?" She blinked, her lips tightening, a thought passing through her head- a girlfriend, maybe? Close friend? Woudln't the stranger know better than to talk to her then? "Not to pry or anything! Just a curious dance teacher."
"Needed to move on from this place", huh? Ouch. I hope you were more gentle when you told him that, or I don't put much stake in your friendship. If there's even any left...
Senara let her expression soften, appearing satisfied with--and entirely unaware of the implications of--that answer. She tucked the ID back into her purse. Well, if they weren't going to be coming back here, she'd need another place to put it for them to find. The timing between him "losing" his ID and this second break-up of sorts didn't seem to line up right. Actually, had this happened on her way to Bass? Had it happened over the last week? Was this why during the lesson he'd been so...so...oh, for fucks sake. I really hope I'm wrong. I don't think that a lot but I really, really hope I'm wrong.
"I'm sure I'm sure! Thank you, though, again. I'm sorry to bother you so much!" She had begun to step away just a little, planning on slipping out of here now that she'd had her fun and gotten more worrying news and implications than she'd bargained for, but she stopped as Arietta started asking another question. Senara as herself would have brushed it off and kept going--her usefulness was ended when she hadn't provided her with the chance to drop the ID off. But this persona she was adopting with her wasn't so bitter, and as much as she didn't like it, she didn't want to break character. It might make things messier down the line. In for a penny, out for a Pen.
But the question itself made her expression freeze. Her eyes widened and she turned her head away from Arietta, her hand covering her mouth to hide what felt like a grimace of absolute, utter dread. Oh. HAH. How had she not thought about this?? What did she say?? She couldn't just tell her the truth here; "Ah yes he and I are robbing a bank together and I sort of hate him". Nope. But what else made sense? Did friends do stuff like this? That would have been easier to answer if Senara ever really had friends. But, no, her and Gabe weren't friends. Business partners?...that sounded sketch as hell with everything else she'd been saying, if not completely inappropriate for actual coworkers.
She started speaking on the fly, improve--and her memory--suddenly working without her input. "W-Well, um, oh gosh this is embarrassing because I haven't said it out-loud to, like, anybody yet. But. I guess...oh, how did he put it?" She giggled. It came out more choked than she would have liked but that could have been attributed to embarrassment, rather than disgust. "He's my, heheh, long-distance internet boyfriend~"
Not a lie. He had told her--not seriously, and DEFINITELY not intending for her to do so in front of Arietta of all people--to call him that if anyone asked. Well, she was asking!!
What the hell are you doing, Senara?! Abort! ABORT!!
Her cheeks were turning red on their own, which only helped make her story more believable, but the nausea certainly didn't. "It's only been since, like, Halloween, when we met, so I don't know how 'official' we are? But he's been to my place and...I was here visiting him...he's just, like, been more aloof lately, and it's a bit worrying. But he's like a Meowth, you know what I mean? He comes in when he pleases and then is gone in the morning. I'd say 'ugh, typical men' but, hah, that wouldn't be completely right, either!" If he doesn't kill me for this I'm going to kill MYSELF!!
Ah, she was sure then! Well, if Senara was set in her ways and getting the ID back herself then there was not really much she could do, was there? She might just give the other dance studio a heads up in-case the girl did change her mind, however other than that her job would be done and she could get to dancing- Aumia was beginning to get restless, so really, it was a good thing the girl was about to head on her way.
Then she began doing something Arietta was more than familiar with- rambling. She- A startled noise left Arietta's lips and her hands flew up to her mouth. Colour practically drained from Arietta's face, and she took a step back, almost tripping over herself. This girl... this... Gabe's... internet girlfriend who...
Halloween night- fuck! Fuck! Halloween night! And that was when- the dancing- the kiss...es... him saying he's in love with her- him being frustrated and taking it out on her?! Arietta began shaking, oh my Arceus. This girl sounded so in love, and not even a week ago he... in cedar... and... Arietta was crying, staring at Senara with wide eyes, guilt adorning her features.
"S...Senara..." Her voice came out soft, almost choked. Aumia let out a squeak of concern, attempting to move closer to the girl, but she was practically frozen. "I'm...I'm so sorry... i...Halloween...I..." Gabe was in love with two people- if Arietta hadn't ruined his halloween, if she hadn't... if she had just not gone everything would have been okay. He- he had this girl! This girl, this innocent girl... and...
She took a deep breath, hands pushing through her hair to try comfort herself. "W-We... danced together- a-and he... got hurt... and... a-and..." a head shake, she had to confess this, the girlfriend had no right not to know. "And he said he w-was still in love with me- and then he- I signed him up to this dance studio because I- iI- I" She was still shaking and her hands clasped to her chest, "A-And... and I thought it was helping- if I had known about you then.. t-then... I... I shouldn't have even gone out to dinner with him- h-he never told me he had a girlfriend- h-he..."
Why didn't he tell her?! She... she felt like... had this been like what Shea had done to her?! This was... this was exactly like... fuck... fuck- she... The girl wiped at her eyes, a soft, choked noise leaving her lips, "He- said it again- and- I don't... I... I don't know how long you've been together but he said he loved me again- a-and i've.. i've been trying to- because he can't- not with me- a-and- it's not... he didn't cheat on you with me, right?! He..."
A sob left her lips and she began shaking more. "I took him out of the dance program because- He... not...n-not with me- not after Ivy town- S-Senara i'm.. i'm so sorry- I..." Words stopped working and she just stood there, crying. "D-Did he seriously... n-never tell you about me?!"
A noise left her throat, and after a few seconds she moved forward, holding her hand out, "I...I need... I n-need to make this right- I... I need to apologise... Give me the ID- I can... maybe...I can..."
Senara was so busy trying to calculate the amount of speed she would need to throw herself at the wall in order to break her own neck that she didn't notice until she head the sob that Arietta was, of all the fucking reactions she could have had to this lie, crying. Oh Arceus DAMMIT, Senara was bad at handling crying people when she was herself, how was she supposed to handle it as this cheerful stupid girl she was pretending to be? What did normal people do with crying people? Comfort them! How?? I DON'T KNOW.
She extended her hand and stepped around the desk, trying to place it on Arietta's arm to steady the poor shaking creature, when she finally got her breath enough to speak.
Well, this was what she'd wanted. Sort of. A whole lot of dirt, a whole lot of "tea" as the internet may call it. But this wasn't what she'd wanted. She'd expected somebody who had been with Gabe to have fire to them. Bite. She should get angry at him for flirting around when he had "another girl" (gag) on the side, not freaking burst into tears!
What do I do?? WHAT DO I DO??
Her silence persisted through the whole spiel, brow knit so tightly the lines might have gotten stuck there after a while. She kept her hands on Arietta's shoulders should she not be brushed aside, still trying to keep her steady. She could...get angry. Storm out. Do what she had expected Arietta to do--hell, what she expected somebody, anybody, to do in this situation. But people didn't behave like scripts in movies. She was too...nice. And Senara couldn't muster up the fake anger she'd need to storm out dramatically. Go quiet? She was already doing that. It wasn't working. Shit. So then...then...what did...
Senara drew in a deep breath, worry lines disappearing as she forced her facial features to calm down, and she moved her hands from Arietta's shoulders to grasp her outward hand in them both, squeezing it as gently as she could without letting it escape her hold.
"Arietta," she started, testing the words in her head before she said them instead of just blurting them out again, "Stop. Just...just stop, okay? I'm not mad at you! In fact, I'm not mad at them, either. I don't think it was fair that he didn't tell, well, either of us about each other. But..." The words were there, but they weren't really her own, not quite. She had to have seen this on a screen or read it in a book. Nobody in her life had ever said something like this, certainly not. Definitely not. "...love...isn't something that we can just keep locked up! If he loves you--or loved you, or whatever!--then that's how it is. Trust me I will give him a gosh darn ear-full later! But if he's honest, I'm fine with him being in love with other people, too! So long as I get to meet them...and hopefully in a much better situation than this one, oh my Arceus, mon chérie, your face is so...here."
Reaching into her purse she pulled out a simple black handkerchief, lined with pale pink lace. She dabbed it against Arietta's face, still forcing herself to smile, still forcing her worry to stay tucked deep, deep inside. She could worry about it later. She had to clean this mess up first--both the literal emotional mess, and poor Arietta's soaked cheeks.
"Besides, I don't think he was trying to hurt you, or me. Not intentionally. He's a lot of things, that Gabe, but cruel isn't one of them. Thoughtless? Oh, totally. But not cruel."
She was shaking, quivering. The more she thought about it the worse it got. She didn't want this- and what if... people saw her with Gabe, the last thing she wanted was a cheating scandel when one of the most searched chuugle terms for her was 'Arietta cheated on?!". She couldn't bare putting somebody through the same thing- she thought... Gabe had been different, and yet here he was hurting another girl- doing it- again- but technically it was her fault, right?! She barely registered as the girl reached out to comfort her, too caught up in her own head.
She'd have to make things clear- she'd have to... such a sweet girl like Senara didn't deserve this?! As the girl told her to stop, squeezing her shoulders Ari just shook her head, as if finally realizing Senara was still here. She's... not mad at her?! But- her eye twitched and she attempted to quell her breathing, but it didn't work, she... she didn't like this. How could she be fine with that- what... what kind of relationship did Senara and Gabe even have- holy fuck wait- and- Gabbie. Arietta named Gabbie... and... that's why...
"...b-but he shouldn't be in love with me- that's... t-that's... I don't understand..." Shouldn't keep it locked up- but... she... what did she say to that- this girl shouldn't be attempting to comfort her- this wasn't right- right?! Senara would give him an earful... she...she really didn't believe that- she couldn't imagine the girl before her telling Gabe a thing or two... She only sniffled and closed her eyes as the girl moved in with the handkerchief. "H...He's intentionally done things to... t-to hurt before- you... you don't know what he's done... Senara- he... he... he can be a lovely guy, a-amazing even... he... but... behind all of that- out of everything t-to love- and adore..." She shook her head, whimpering softly and looking upwards to ensure her eyes didn't leak again. "....I... the only reason I.... I don't want him to- he... h-he left me in Ivy Town after breaking up w-with me as a teenager, alone after... a-after kicking in my whole world- c-crying- and... and... a-and he said... a lot of things- a-and..." she shook her head a few times, "I want to think he's changed- he... he acted so nice but- b-but what if... what if him doing that again- what if he hurts you?! That isn't fair- I... it's..."
She moved to pull Senara into a hug, "I'm....i'm so sorry- I...I... i'll.. .i-i'll have to talk to him..." She started shaking again, she didn't want to- not again, but if it was for this girl who was literally wiping her tears?? "...T-Thank you- and i'm sorry- u-uhm.. do... do you want a drink?" She pulled away, pulling her hands back to herself and attempting to flick her stray tears away.
"I...I have his address- uhm... i-if... if you wanted to get the ID back to him... h-he... he actually lives on the other side of Bass... and...since y-you're his girlfriend..." The word fell flat on her tongue and she immediately tensed. Fuck this. "...mmm"
She wasn't listening to her. Dammit, she was trying to be comforting but the dumb girl was still crying and sobbing her heart out. Nothing she was saying was shocking for Senara to hear, either. The details of the break-up were bad, yeah, but a browse through her blog had given her all of this, even if not in such clear-cut words. And her "not knowing" what he's done...PFFHAH! Bitch, please! That took honest effort not to laugh aloud at, but she managed not to. Part of her wanted to just drop the act and drop the charade and tell her all the mischief and dumb, illegal shit she knew Gabe was up to, because of the two of them it was becoming rapidly clear that one of them was blind to their "mutual friend's" true nature, and it sure as hell wasn't herself.
But that wouldn't help the situation. And it would also get Gabe arrested if Arietta had as much goodwill towards the law as she apparently did for a stranger like Senara.
Dumbass good, pure-hearted idiot, let me help you dammit!!
Pretending to pretend to be taking this is stride and pretending to put on a brave face was a weird expression to pull off. It didn't feel completely right...but then again, this whole conversation was in that ball-park. "If I'm being honest, bien-aimée, I can't blame him for falling back in love with you, if this is how kind you are to even a total stranger like me." Not a lie. "And I'm not a bad judge of character," Unlike you, "I'm really not! I'm absolutely sure I can promise you that he's changed from that sort of person. And if I'm wrong and I do get hurt, then...that's just how life can be! I'll pick myself up and know better next time!" Or never, because I don't want to date anyone, let alone that asshat.
"You don't have to say a thing to him! If he's hurt you, and if you've cut him out of your life--is that why he's transferred dance schools? Then good for you both! Let me handle all of this. You should keep your distance, the both of you. Maybe...maybe it'll prove to you that he's honestly trying to do better, if he does. And I'll handle him if he doesn't."
Yeah, I'll "handle" him, with a swift kick in the gut.
Senara's worried smile softened into something that appeared genuine, but absolutely wasn't. So she did have his address, and was willing to share it? Score. "You know what? Yes. If you'd be so kind as to share that, I'll be able to slip it into his mailbox 'fore I head back home. Or even mail it to him if my timing's off," she mumbled that last part like a woman who was usually late for things. Not a trait she had, but one she knew well from space-cases and ditzes she'd known in life. "I'm still getting used to this timezone."
Arietta didn't get it. She didn't get how this girl could act almost unaffected in the face of something so drastic? Like- this... being with Gabe, as her friends said, had been utterly monopolizing. And she definitely couldn't see him being okay with this girl infront of Arietta going out and confessing to people- so why should the girl be okay with it?! What.. what was this standard? This girl was trying to convince her with all her heart that Gabe had changed, that it was okay if she got hurt, Arietta found her hands moving around herself in a silent comfort, and she didn't say anything- how could she?
Senara further continued, wanting to.. handle all of it? She claimed that Arietta didn't have to say a thing but- how did she know Senara would explain everything- about halloween, about what she knew and what was discussed between the duo- what if because of Arietta their relationship... what... But it sounded reasonable.... sorta, what the girl was saying, and Arietta found herself stubbornly averting her gaze instead of answering, sniffling.
She... as much as she liked this new stranger, Senara, there was something in her gut saying she had to make things right- she didn't want things to spiral when it was... finally going okay! I mean- he did... say he never wanted to see her again, she could totally text him to sort things out, she could... she had to do something! "...I didn't want to cut him out of my life..." She muttered softly, turning back to Senara with a shrug to her shoulder.
"But whatever it takes to... uh... make him not l-love me, y'know- I... took him out of the dance school, since the last time we parted ways and transferred him...I..." She let out a fake, idol laugh now. "I get what you're saying. I just really feel like...I have to say something- this situation is similar to u-uhm... something that happened in my past and..."
She trailed off, don't think about Shea, damn it! "and... it was awful when things weren't cleared up, so i'd... I don't think i'd be able to stand by while you deal with all this by yourself, Senara." She swallowed back a hiccup, the aftermath of her heavy crying. Arietta was one stubborn idol. "...Please?"
Then she said she wanted the address, and Arietta was moving now, towards the file cabinet A quick shuffle through and the sticky note Gabe had given her was still there, stuck to a single sheet of information paper. Right- yeah okay. The girl bit her lip, staring at it for a moment before turning around and wondering back over. "...So...uh...this...this is it..." She moved to give it to Senara, her hand shaking slightly. "But- would... we be able to exchange phone numbers, please let me know when you're.... going to have t-the talk with him, and... i'll go over- or- uhm... like... we can- go now- I can show you where it is- not that i've been but..." She cut herself off and coughed, she was being stupid- she just wanted to fix things, she'd... really found herself in a really dense mess, and she couldn't just stand by and watch it get worse.
A nod at the timezone bit followed, "...You'll get used to it- the nightlife here is great, if you're ever interested and can't sleep..." .
Senara sighed, softly, and she hoped it was going to be interpretted as a well-meaning, world-weary sigh and not one of irritation. Wow. She wouldn't have pegged Gabe as the sort to get so...attached to somebody, to the point that they felt like they had to carve him out of their life for their own good. Why? What happened to him that made him so needy? It could be a total case of unreliable narration, though, and Arietta could have the whole thing wrong; she was already incredibly wrong about what Gabe was really like or what she, Senara, was really after, but it couldn't be entirely false...could it be?
Ugh, this is giving me a headache. Fine. You know what? FINE!
He won't be able to strangle me if she's in the same room as us so DAMMIT TO HELL--
"I won't be able to convince you otherwise, so...if you are a hundred percent sure this is what you need to do, then yeah. Yes. Talk to him, clear the air, try to make things as crystal clear as possible...but let's do it together, like you said. It...may be a bit of time before I come back to Bass--I don't have a flying Pokemon and I live so far away..."
While not entirely true, with her accent she might pass it off as "I live in Kalso" instead of "I live in Pine". In that case she could put this off until she absolutely had to handle it. Or...never! She could just as easily ghost her! But with how she'd already been treated in her life, would that be even crueler than her suffering the rest of this shit? Way to have a moral compass, Senara. Really digging it.
She took out her phone, plugged the address into her digital phone-book, then said her number (thankfully, still a Kalosian area code) to Arietta to punch in as well. She stepped in and put her arms around Arietta's shoulders to give her a tight squeeze. "It'll take a while but once I am back, we'll do this. And, hey, if it turns out he's as much of a jerk as you say, we'll get through that, too! Sisters before misters, am I right? Or, uh, whatever the gender-neutral word for 'mister' is. We've totally got this!"
Thankfully there was no complaint, Senara seemed to realize she couldn't break Arietta from her mindset, and she even sounded... encouraging in a way? She'd never had this type of conversation with a stranger, hell even her close friends would always show hesitance whenever Arietta wanted to do anything remotely related to her exes. This girl had no reason to be nice so her she... she'd practically just swooped in and ruined her happy, perfect relationship. But here she was, supporting her ideas and more then welcoming the talk together.
Ohhhh- she doesn't have a flying mon and won't be back to Bass for awhile... Arietta had completely forgotten the girls earlier rush in, she obviously had to get home as soon as possible so she could only hope it wouldn't be... too long before she had the talk with Gabe, she needed to get thinks sorted out, she needed to get things okay, clear the air and then...
Distance herself again. Probably. Just... so he could live a happy life with his girlfriend and she wouldn't get in the way of that. "Of course, i'll wait for you here, Senara!" a smile, and ran through her tousled locks. Maybe she'd be... a little impatient, but she wouldn't angrily text Gabe just yet.
Arietta quickly grabbed her phone and input the numbers, though it took a few seconds of understanding due to the girls accent. She texted the number right away with a smiley and a 'hii it's ara!' just so she could have her number to text back to right away, and wouldn't forget.
A soft giggle left her lips as her shoulders were squeezed, and Aumia let out a soft cheer from where the little mouse pokemon sat at the desk. "Alright- i'm sorry for uh... breaking down- I hope things go smoothly between the uh..two of you- oh- and that you get home safe and eh.. sound!" she tilted her head, "...And if he's ever a jerk to you before we meet up at all let me know! Maybe I can't give him a piece of my mind but- I know people who can."
Reporters, interviewers... being in the industry was a blessing and a curse.
"I will try to come back as soon as possible, but it might not be 'til the next holiday. And I will absolutely make sure I'm visiting here and he's not trying to visit me--that'd throw a whole bunch of wrenches into this." Senara nodded with a confident smile, putting as much effort into it--or at least trying to look like she was putting effort into it--as she could muster. Wear your heart on your cheek. The problem would be if she waited too long and Arietta tried to do this without her, but...she seemed like the sort of person who tried to hold up her end of a promise until she absolutely couldn't. And if she did go to talk to Gabe by herself, what reason did she have to trust her trouble-maker ex over a sweet, too-dumb-to-lie woman who had no reason to tell her any fibs? And technically hadn't?
Not too many people respected the art of bending the truth just enough to avoid being a liar while still fooling somebody. It wasn't easy but it was always a little more fun than straight-up lying. And when you're a criminal you need to make your own fun.
She received the text, giggled, and responded with a trio of different colored heart emoji.
"I will keep you postedm don't worry! I'm a big girl, I can handle him in the meanwhile." Senara gave her one more hug before she began pulling back and retreating toward the door, looking at her phone clock with wide, suddenly panicking eyes, "Yikes! But I do need to go or I'm going to totally miss my time! It was super nice to meet you, Arietta! And I mean it, seriously! I hope your dancing goes well for you! Au revoir!"
If Arietta made no move to stop her, Senara would be out the door and running down the block until she was well out of sight before you could say "Liar Liar".
Arietta Ostinato WC: 340 One more from you and one more from me and I think we're finished?
Not until the next holiday? Christmas?! Well, actually that was kinda close- oh Arietta couldn't wait then! She didn't have to wait that long as all the give Gabe a piece of it... like... what the actual fuck. Arietta smiled at Senara, nodding in understanding. Long distance relationships must be hard, especially being girlfriend-boyfriend mainyl online. "Super! Just make sure to keep me updated, I don't wanna be left in suspense or anything- gotta give him a piece of my mind, y'know?" She never saw Gabe as the type of guy who'd really be keen for that sort of thing- but again she hadn't spoken to him for... a few years.
She just hoped Gabe didn't do anything to poor Senara while she wasn't here, especially after all that went down in the last few weeks. Hell, Arietta still felt utterly guilty, especially after the dinner, especially after- it was fine. It was fine! Everything would get sorted, and then Gabe could move on with her girlfriend and everything would be okay!
As it was confirmed Senara got her text and sent a few cute hearts Ari quickly pocketed her phone with a smile, returning the girls hug. "I really hope you can handle him..." She sounded uncertain, but kept up her grin, pulling away and placing her hands on her hips. "If you can't, or if he... does anything- says anything- he has- had- um, tenancies to completely isolate people from the ones they love so please, don't be a stranger. I'm here anytime you need me." She raised a hand in a goodbye, watching as the girl hurried away before turning to Aumia, her smile dropping.
"...fuck" was all she could get out, before all but collapsing back in the desk chair. She'd have to message the other dance studio, let them know a girl could possibly pop by- just incase she did. It was all... so much to take in. But it was fine- she wasn't going to cry again- she was... just going to...
To dance. Like she always did. After sending a message she all but scooped little Aumia into her arms and rushed off to her back dance room, flicking off the lights in the admin area. A solo pas de deux, thats what she needed to do. That's what would shut her head up.
Out the door, down the street, around the corner, through one dimly-lit parking-lot...
Urk.
Senara finally stopped walking to nowhere in particular and landed against the wall, her hand on her mouth and eyes squeezed shut. Ugh. Her nerves. Her nerves and nausea and all those fun things were finally there and not too happy. She hadn't meant to get so involved like this. It was supposed to be so quick and mean but otherwise harmless. Not this. Arietta was so much worse than she had expected...not as a person, but as a victim. What the actual hell had happened between her and Gabe that got them here??
What did you do, Gabe?
And why the hell do you still care so much about her, if this is how you treated her...?
She managed to keep her bile down and shake her head. Nope. This wasn't any of her business. She wasn't going to get involved. She was his partner in crime; once they had finished the heist, they could part and she would never see him again. Unless, of course, he sought her out, because he knew where she lived. But if she clarified that he wasn't to talk to her again, would he? She could set up something, just in case. Take a photo during the heist. Undeniable proof. Have it set up to send to the police if she had not checked into her computer for a specific amount of time. Just in case.
But then it would ruin them both. She'd need to have no reason to regret outing him and herself to go through with that. She would need some sort of protection, too, in case...
...you can't have regrets if you're dead.
He'd said that so easily. Arceus. But it was true. If he ever, ever followed through on those threats, then she'd have no reason not to spread that sort of evidence around. She'd have no guilt for outing him to the world, for ruining whatever relationship with Arietta he may still have--if it wasn't already. for anything that could happen, because she would need to be dead for it to go off. Hah. Terrible. This whole thing is terrible. Senara drew herself from the wall, giggling manically for a little bit, before pulling out her phone and clicking through to the address book. If she was going to do this, she may as well go all-in. What was the point of playing it safe if you didn't do something insane first to prove you needed to? So far he'd been nothing but talk-talk-talk. Talk was cheap.
And I sure as hell am not waiting for Christmas for this bullshit to get its pay-off.
She headed in the direction of the address she'd been given.
Knock knock, Gabriel. Peter's on vacation. I've got me a bet to win.