905/Seeing Seattle Sights

Seeing Seattle Sights
Date of Scene:	19 December 2023
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	Hinoiri takes Double Trouble out on their first date... it starts out in glass houses and ends on an a slightly bearable note.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Double Trouble

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara had... never been to Seattle. And, well, she really had no idea WHAT she was doing. And Dianora was right. People here DIDN'T speak japanese *at all*. Her attempts to communicate were uhhh... less than successful. And eventually got her flipped off, because Hinoiri may not be the most... delicate of talkers as it were. When she was frustrated, well. Most people understood enough to know she was calling them unkind names.

But, eventually, they arrived at a place that looked... nice enough. "Chi-....holy.... garden?" Hinoiri read off the sign. She then glanced towards it and well... that... there was a lot of colors. And bright. And pretty. She shrugged and paid for admission. It seemed colorful enough it'd hopefully hold Dianora's attention for a bit.

"A glass garden..." Hinoiri whispered. "I didn't know they could grow glass here... I thought that was a kirakirafantastica thing..."

Double Trouble has posed:
Dianora Lagorio didn't tell Hinoiri, but she did speak English just fine. It was one of their classes, after all, and besides, she'd had hours to just watch TV in the hotel room. It's not as if she'd been sitting on her bed pouting the entire time. So it delighted her to watch Hinoiri stumble through trying to communicate with the Americans.

Payback's a bitch, and she's cute in pink.

She held on to Hinoiri's hand as they made their way from the hotel to the gardens, looking every bit the little sister she pretended to be. And when they arrived, well, her eyes went big. "Woooow, onee-chan! This is what I'm talking about!" Barely unable to restrain herself once their tickets were collected, she raced off, dragging Hinoiri behind her, toward the pinkest piece of glass on exhibit.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara would have likely been very miffed if she knew. And when she found out... she'd likely scold the other girl. If she found out.

But, for now? She just chuckled and let herself be dragged along. "Yeah, they're pretty nice, aren't they? I wonder how they grow them. It..." Then she trailed off when they passed by a great spiny orb-like one.

"... They make these themselves, don't they?" she asked, the excitement from her dimming slightly. She thought they'd finally come to a thing of magic. Alas. It seemed there truly was no magic of that sort here. Not that she should have been surprised. "You know, glass shaping is one of the few classes I never could do that well. I tried, but while I could melt it, shaping it was something I was just awful at."

Double Trouble has posed:
She would find out. Dianora had already planned out the moment. It would be at a time and place where Hinoiri could do absolutely nothing about it. It would be perfect. But until then, Japanese only. Onee-chan would be none the wiser.

"There's more magic in Tokyo than just about anywhere else on this rock, onee-chan," Dianora says, looking up at Hinoiri with a smile. It sounds so weird hearing such a cute little girl talk about it so matter-of-factly. "So I don't know why you'd expect anything else. It's still absolutely gorgeous though. It's amazing what people can do with fire."

She squeezes Hinoiri's hand and looks up at her beaming. She does things with fire, after all. She's amazing. Of course, Dianora doesn't say that. It's implied in the beaming. She's beaming it right into Hinoiri's awareness.

Then, with that big dopey grin on her face, she says, "Well, that's because you lack finesse, onee-chan."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara scowled at the other girl, her eyes narrowing. Little bucking twerp. "I have plenty of finesse. I just... I don't know. I dislike doing that kind of art, I guess. I rarely do it, but it always feels like the kind of thing you should just... let go. Throw your entire being into. Doing that with fire, though, seems dangerous. Good way to burn yourself. Maybe it's too much mixing business with pleasure."

... When did Hinoiri ever allow herself things like pleasure?

"There really is, though. But there's magic here. More than I would have thought. That's part of why we're here. Tokyo, Paris, Seattle. These three points seem to have all the magic and..." She glanced around. "Keep this just between you and me, okay? Nobody in Obsidian needs to know. Heck. Even if I'm right... I'm not sure who I'll tell. But... I think... the leylines? I think something moved them. I mean... I can't be sure. It sounds insane, right? The amount of manipulation, the power required, just... redirecting one leyline would be a massive undertaking. Redirecting so many of them to just three specific areas? That's... insane. I'm sure there's just... something I missed. But... that's... what I'm trying to figure out."

Double Trouble has posed:
Dianora's not a magic nerd quite as much as Hinoiri, but she is a sorcerer and she does know a few things. Even on Etheria--where the 'leylines' were entirely artificial--there had been at least seven elemental crystals to focus it. Three seems like so few. "Probably explains why there's so little magic," she says. "Wonder what did that."

She just walks in silence for a moment, looking at the glass, before glancing up at Hinoiri again. "You don't like being bad at things. But, the first step to being good at something is being bad at it. This Chihuly fellow didn't start out making world-renowned glass art. I don't even know him and I can tell you he started out making shit art just like you did. He just kept at it."

Then she squeezes Hinoiri's hand. "You practice so that the art becomes a part of you, and then when you let go, you know it's safe."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times before... sighing. "Yeah. I guess... for most people... that's... probably true. I wasn't really given the luxury of being bad at things for long. Especially not..." She trailed off, her hand squeezing Dianora's a little tighter.

"Right, that's not important now. What is important is that we're having fun. We... are having fun, right?" she asked. "You know. I don't think I've ever asked. What kind of things do you like to do to express yourself? Other than causing drama and acting, I mean. Or is that how you feel most like yourself? By being someone else entirely?" she asked in a teasing tone.

Double Trouble has posed:
Dianora Lagorio lets go of the conversation about getting good by being bad at something. It's clear it's a sore spot, and she's not in the mood to poke it. There's always later for that.

"I'm absolutely having fun, onee-chan!" She says, looking up at Hinoiri brightly. "This art is beautiful, and I'm with you. How could I not be having fun? Are you having fun?"

There's a pause, and she brings a finger up to her lips as she furrows her brow and thinks. Then her eyes get big and she smiles. "Well I live to perform. So it's true, that I'm my most me when I'm not. But when it's not the theatre, I do enjoy playing piano."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded. "Of course I am. I..." Then she stopped. Glanced down at Dianora. "Actually... I honestly don't know. I... think I am," Hinoiri mumbled softly. "I'm mostly just kind of frustrated, if you want the truth. A part of me wants to unleash a youma just so all these people will leave and we can do this alone."

... There weren't a ton of people here, but there were enough. Just enough to slow them down at times, to make it a bit more.... aggravating for her. To annoy her. And the language barrier. She....

"... But I think I'm... enjoying it with you. And really? Piano? I actually wouldn't have expected that. Sayaka does it too. It... never really caught on with me. I always felt like a butterhooves, trying to hit those keys. Guitar was a lot easier."

... Okay, that was a sentence. One that might take even Double Trouble a bit to work around.

"You should play something for me sometime."

Double Trouble has posed:
Dianora Lagorio holds out her free hand and spreads her fingers a little, and then nods. "Okay, but maybe with some different hands. These fingers are a little too short to really do it right," she says. Which is a really weird thing to say for a cute girl in pink, but not if you know her secret.

She went to Kirakirafantastica not too long ago. She understands how things can be done with hooves that don't make sense. Or, well, she knows that things can be done with hooves that don't make sense. She's not sure anybody could really understand it. "You play guitar? We should duet sometime. That would be fun."

Then the first thing Hinoiri said really clicks and she giggles. She looks up at Hinoiri and says, "And just what would you do if we had this whole park to ourselves, huh?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light snicker and nodded. "Yeah. The fingers make it... weirder. It was so much easier with just using your hooves, the fact that all the fingers expect you to be more agile just makes it harder. I've, admittedly... not touched guitar since coming here. I just haven't had the time. Figuring out fingers has been hard enough as it is. But... I'll see about practicing again, maybe a duet would be nice. I've mostly just stuck to singing since here."

"... If it was just us? Probably just this without all the people slowing us down. Like that couple who keep stopping at every single plaque and take three minutes to read them. I can't even READ them and I could get the gist faster than that!"

... She did not handle shopping very well, either.

Double Trouble has posed:
"Mmm. I'd like that. You should definitely practice," Dianora declares. Then she looks up at Hinoiri and smiles, making the biggest, greenest eyes. "It would mean so much to me."

And then a second later her eyes are swinging back around to another, pinker piece of glass. It's always pink things. She starts off toward it, not waiting for Hinoiri to follow, just holding onto her hand like a vice and dragging her behind.

"Save the youma, then, onee-chan. You wouldn't want me to think you want to get this over with would you?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara snickered and followed behind her, letting the other girl pull her along. "No. It... would be less that. It'd more be I wouldn't want you to miss out on anything because other people wasted our time. It..."

"... It..."

Then, her hand tightened on hers. "Was there a lot of pink where you grew up, Dianora? I know your... mask, as it were, is very pink. Very cute. But... was pink... something you missed out on a lot when you were a child? Something you craved?"

Double Trouble has posed:
"When I think of pink, more than anything, I think of cactus flowers. Pink and green just go together, you know?" Dianora explains, and then looks up to Hinoiri with those big green eyes and smiles. She's not wrong. Her eyes do look great with pink. But Hinoiri knows she really means something else entirely. "I grew up in a desert, remember?"

She walks in silence for a moment, just looking at the art. She doesn't care about the plaques. She's just in it for the shapes and colors. The visual drama of it all.

Finally, she asks, "So, what did you do before Sora?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded. "The crimson wastes. Trust me, I can't forget. That sounds... terrible. A world without pastries. Sure, I may not love them as much as some... but to not have any? That's cruel," Hinoiri muttered. "... I like your green, for what it's worth."

Before Sora... Before Sora... "Not... much. They found me, then there was a lot of shuffling around while they decided what I would do. I couldn't really... do magic then. Didn't know anything but my name. I could barely walk. There was talk about putting me in an orphanage. But... well... they started testing me. Apparently I just... picked things up quickly. Even if I started a bit... late? I went from nothing, to passable quickly. Apparently... Sora had been watching from the moment they found me."

"... So she decided I was good enough to take as her apprentice. Otherwise I guess I'd have just been... abandoned again. Weird kid who was just found in the woods, who nobody knew."

"... Did the crimson wastes have plays, theater?" Well, if Dianora could ask questions about her... it was only fair she asked some herself.

Double Trouble has posed:
So when she really gets down to it, there really was no before Sora. Dianora wonders what her unicorn would have ended up like if it weren't for that meddlesome goddess. Probably not nearly as interesting. At least half of what made her fun was the trauma.

"Oh, the Crimson Waste is a theatre, onee-chan," she says with a giggle. "It's just always a really rough crowd." She lets that sit for a moment, hoping perhaps that it confuses Hinoiri just a little. "Most of my acting has always been in the world, not on stage. I was just trying to start an actual theatre company when I ended up here."

She walks for another few paces before she gives Hinoiri's hand another squeeze and looks up at her. "But this is so much better than some theatre troupe in Etheria. You're so much better."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light snort and gave her hand another little squeeze. "Yeah, I'm pretty amazing. Just imagine. If you'd never ended up here, and I hadn't been banished, we never would have met. We..." Then she stopped and, for a moment, she looked uncertain. Conflicted. What it might be worth to Double Trouble to be able to see inside her head right then...

"Are you having fun?" she finally asked. "I'm... sorry. I don't know exactly what I'm doing here. I only planned to do work, if I'd realized what was required, I would have planned some places for us to see and... things for us to do. But I didn't. Instead I..."

Instead she had it all go by the hem of her pants, as it were. "... Do you want to see what Seattle has in terms of food?"

Double Trouble has posed:
Of course, Dianora wasn't going to say that the reason Hinoiri was better is that she produced more drama than any theatre company. The dumb unicorn had managed to worm her way into Dianora's cold, reptilian heart. She loved Hinoiri, for better or worse. Probably both.

"I am having fun, onee-chan," she says, with a smile. She gives Hinoiri's hand a squeeze. "You need to lighten up. You're not accountable to Sora any more. You don't have to do everything perfectly. This conversation is eighty percent of the point of the date. The rest is just an excuse to be together."

But then Hinoiri offers food and the little girl's green eyes light up. "Of course I want to see what it has in terms of food. I'm starving." When is she not?

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara went maybe a hint more rosy cheeked when she mentioned not being accountable to Sora anymore. "I... I guess I'm not. Am I? I'm not... really... accountable to anyone. Just... myself. I can do whatever I want now. I..."

She looked down to Dianora. And it was clear in her eyes. She wanted to say something. She was.... scared of something. Wanted to ask them something. Perhaps get approval for something. There was something they wanted to say, but weren't sure how....

But then, finally, that determined look formed on her face again and whatever she'd wanted to ask was shoved aside. "Let's see. I'm not sure what kind of foods they do serve here, but I saw a mall on the way here. Food court sounds like just the kind of place to have our pick, right? I hear in America if there's one thing they love, it's food. That and guns. I... don't... really get the gun parts, though. One thing I DID manage to hear recommended was a.... 'cinnabon'."

... Oh, Double Trouble was going to have the best meal *ever*. Still, hopefully she wasn't paying too much attention to what Takashi and Mami were doing. Fancy restaurants... while Hinoiri just took her to mall food.

Double Trouble has posed:
Dianora Lagorio looked up at Hinoiri and watched as she had the realization that she was her own unicorn, and not beholden to Sora any more. It was so delicious to see that realization permeate through her consciousness. Dianora watched and waited. It was so clear Hinoiri was about to say something. She could practically feel the dramatic beat.

And then it was mall food courts. Dianora did not visibly deflate, but on the inside she was just a little disappointed. "Oooh. 'Cinnabon' sounds likely to be very tasty. I wonder what else we'll find at this food court," she says, looking to Hinoiri to lead the way.

Then after a few moments of silence, she asks, "So what was it you didn't say just now? It was right on the tip of your tongue."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gently guided the other girl along, her hand holding hers. The glass garden had been fun, but...

But well... She wanted Dianora to have fun. It was the only reason she was doing this. And she didn't know if she could properly measure when and if the other girl was enjoying herself. Her mind was also a little... torn.

"I've been thinking on things," she admitted. "Ideas. Notions. This world is so weird. So... strange. It makes me wonder what other worlds are out there. How many worlds do have magic. Would it be possible to get to them, like we could to my world?"

"... I think this world has a magic to it. A different kind of magic. I'm still just... trying... to figure it out. Do you ever feel... different here? And wonder if this world is changing you without you noticing?"

Double Trouble has posed:
Dianora Lagorio giggles. "Oh, onee-chan, I know this world has changed me," she says, then pauses to giggle again. "Or at least my sense of judgement. I mean, I fell in love with you, didn't I?" She giggles again, and looks up at Hinoiri with the biggest most adoring green eyes. How could she ever be mad at those eyes?

"Exploring other worlds with you sounds like fun", she says a moment later, her eyes turning back to watching where they're going.

Then she pauses. "Have you felt different here?" Obviously she has, she's got fingers but that's not what Dianora thinks she means.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a smalol nod and then... "So... you think you only fell for me because of the magic of this world? And... I don't know. I sometimes... wonder. The people here are... different. I know my world is so... cartoonish. So... The people here would likely say it's silly. But honestly? I wonder about it sometimes. There's a lot more good here than I would have expected."

"... And a part of me... wonders... what it would have been like if I'd been here instead of there. I've spent my entire life learning one thing and one thing only. And now? I come here? And literally none of it applies. It's like I'm starting over from scratch and yet... sometimes... I almost think I feel happy here. Like I almost enjoy it. And that feels so... weird. Disorienting. So much here is pathetic and useless and yet it's somehow... nice."

Double Trouble has posed:
"Onee-chan, your abuser raised the sun every day. There was no escaping her in Kirakirafantastica. What you're feeling is freedom," Dianora says, simply, giving Hinoiri's hand a squeeze. "And you know I'll go back with you. But ask yourself. Is all that power what you really want? Or do you just want freedom from Sora, and that's the only path you saw to get it? Because you're free from her here."

"I'll go with you wherever, but I say fuck Sora and fuck Kirakirafantastica. We should make this world ours, or go exploring others. It's so much more interesting," Dianora says, and the swears sound so wrong on her innocent lips.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times. "Freedom... huh. I do feel... a lot more free here. Free to do what I want. What I desire. To just... become who I want. Maybe... that's what I want. Just to... feel free. Heh. I always thought I'd only really have control when I was on the throne besides her."

She grinned down at Dianora. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I could take over this world instead. Then others. Become better than Sora ever dreamed. An alicorn who rules over all worlds, even. Wouldn't that be... wild..." Hinoiri said before sighing. "Man, it sounds so over the top when I say it out loud. I don't know. Ruling one world seems like a big enough pain in the flank as it is. It--"

However, she stopped when she stepped into the mall. Then... slowly... she motioned towards a shop to the right. "Wanna make a quick stop before we head to food?"

... It was a build a bear workshop. Imagine... the stuffies.

Double Trouble has posed:
Hinoiri didn't even need to call Dianora's attention to it. Her deep-seated need for plushies drew her eyes to the storefront the instant she felt the whoosh of dry, air-conditioned air against her skin as she passed through the automatic doors. Hinoiri's question was asked to the back of Dianora's head as the little girl dragged her onee-chan toward the store.

"Yes. I hope you brought all of your 'fun' money, onee-chan," she says. "We're going to build several bears."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara couldn't help it. She snickered, giving a nod. "As many as you want. Consider it an apology for my earlier.... lack of awareness of being a jerk." She reached out and gently ruffled the other girl's hair.

... Her heart still felt unsteady, though. There was something she wanted to ask Double Trouble, something she couldn't bear to ask her. If she... gave up...

... Did that mean everything she'd done up to this point, her entire life, was a waste? If she couldn't measure up to the goal she'd spent so much time, energy, her life to achieving... then what did she even matter?