899/All work and no play

All work and no play
Date of Scene:	18 December 2023
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	Dianora has some important questions for Hinoiri. Primarily, why invite her on this big trip if it was just business? Hinoiri, of course... doesn't understand why they'd do anything BUT business. Sigh. Stupid pretty unicorn idiot...
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Double Trouble

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara had been in Seattle for hours, now. Why she chose there first? She'd make up an excuse later. The truth was... she'd thought they were doing paris first, but had gotten things a bit mixed up and so Seattle had come first. Oh well.

But as soon as she'd arrived, she'd disappeared. The bags were going to be delivered to the hotel, the others didn't need her for anything, so she wasn't too concerned about it. It hadn't even dawned on her that there might be some... hassles with her roommate.

So it was nearly dusk when the door to the room finally opened and Hinoiri, no longer Sunbreaker, stepped into the room and closed it behind herself. She was ready for a shower and a collapse on the bed...

She was... a little surprised to see her roommate was there. "Huh. I figured you'd have still been out seeing the sights."

Double Trouble has posed:
The room has two queen beds, and Dianora is sitting on the edge of the one farther from the door. Her bright pink suitcase is on the bed right next to her, and her feet are swinging so they hit the side of the bed. She's watching the door rather intently.

"These Americans mostly don't speak Japanese, onee-chan, and they definitely don't think a twelve year old should be wandering around by herself," she says, simply. "I had to put on your face just to check in." It's not as if they can just go around wearing whatever face they want all day. That takes energy, and energy is a rather precious commodity for them.

"I hope you got what you came for. I am still trying to figure out why I'm even here," she says folding her arms across her chest and pouting.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a shrug. "Yeah, they speak english. I figured you'd already mastered it, though. Is it giving you trouble?" She could speak like... five sentences in it. Primarily because it was one of their classes... She still was nowhere even approaching good, let alone fluent.

"... Sorry about that, though. I didn't think they'd need my face, though. I put them in all our names. Must be a human thing. Or an american thing," she said with a shrug. "First time coming here, my bad."

Hinoiri then snapped her fingers, a small bit of fire on her hand and a little black gem appearing. "As a matter of fact, I am. This research venture is proving to be an absolute wellspring of information... and hm? The same reason as the rest of us, I figured. Research. This is one of the few places in this world that is filled with magic, I imagined you'd be running around having a lot of fun harassing things, spreading trouble..."

Pause. Pause pause. Paaaaause...

"... Are you upset about something?"

Double Trouble has posed:
Dianora Lagorio closes her eyes and takes a deep, calming breath. "Am I upset about something?" She asks, her voice entirely too calm for the emphasis she placed on that word. She laughs, and it's just a little evil. Just a teensy bit. "Why would I be upset? You brought me on this trip for two to America and France and then as soon as we're wheels down you disappear."

She slides down off her bed and stomps over toward Hinoiri, somehow managing to be both cute and intimidating at the same time. Acting. "You and that labcoat are the only two here for research. The blonde is here because she's his girlfriend and we're going to Paris. I'm here because..." She shrugs and shakes her head and raises her hands palms up.

"I don't have any idea why you brought me along, Hinoiri. Do you just need me in the same city to feel comfortable? Am I your security blanket? You clearly didn't bring me along to spend time with me."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara just looked confused, staring at her. "I... didn't disappear? I went off to work? I figured the rest of you would just check in. And I don't think Agera is here to research, he's just using it as a cover since Sailor Moon apparently lit up half the city and has the power to wipe out... a lot. It..." She trailed off.

"... Why... wouldn't I want you here? I mean, this is a remote location, with no real backup from Obsidian. You're the closest thing I have to someone I can trust to watch my back. I..."

Hinoiri just stopped and, she couldn't say why, but she realized she was back to the wall now. When... had that happened? She didn't remember backing up so much? "I mean... you know you're always welcome to come with me on the examinations. I figured something like that would bore you, it's just basic leyline configuration analyzation. You see, the..." Then she trailed off.

"... I get the feeling this... isn't... what... you had in mind when I mentioned a work trip?"

Double Trouble has posed:
Dianora Lagorio just stares at Hinoiri for a minute, blinking slowly. She wants to be mad at the girl, but it's so hard to be mad at someone so stupid. She brings her hand up to her forehead and shakes her head. "Onee-chan, you incredibly dense and unfortunately beautiful unicorn," she says, letting her hand fall away as she looks up at Hinoiri. "How exactly am I supposed to watch your back if I'm not with you?"

She takes a step closer and stabs a finger into Hinoiri's chest, right between her breasts. "That's what I had in mind. I expected I'd be with you. I expected we'd be doing things together. I didn't expect that I'd be abandoned on the tarmac at an airport in an even-more-foreign country."

"But I should have known better. Why would you think of anybody but yourself?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a shrug. "I mean, obviously I'd just call for you if I needed you. I figured until then you could do whatever you like. I thought I was doing you a favor, it was what Sora always did whenever she took me anywhere. I just waited in the room and studied unless she needed me for something."

... Well. That was... a cause.

However, when she was poked, her own ire grew. "Well, I'm sorry! I'm here now, so if you want something, just tell me what you want! And why would I think of somebody else? It's not like anybody else is going to ever think about me! I'm always the one who has to do everything, who always has to fight these stupid girls and figure out why this magic in this world is so broken and even organize this stupid trip because it's not like anybody in Obsidian can understand the intricities of ley lines or how they operate or how weird all of this is! Do you think I want to throw myself into all this CONSTANTLY and work? Don't you think I'd like a vacation for once? That I'd love a chance to just go somewhere and let everyone else do everything while I got to laze about in a room and threw some tantrums because they weren't giving me enough attention when there's a hotel filled with a bunch of saps who I'm sure you'd have wrapped around your finger if you wanted! But instead you want the 'dense and unfortunate unicorn' to focus on you! Well, I'm here now, you have my focus, WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" she snapped, a little flame flaring in her hands and, for a moment, looking a little intimidating herself.

Double Trouble has posed:
Dianora Lagorio is not afraid of Hinoiri. She may be a powerful magic user, but so was Shadow Weaver, and now she is just a face Double Trouble wears sometimes. No, she finds it cute that Hinoiri is mad. Infuriatingly cute. Infuriating mostly because it's very hard to be mad back.

So she spins on her heel and walks away in a huff. "Seriously, you call yourself smart, Hinoiri Kirara, and yet you seem to think treating me the same way Sora treated you is a good idea?" She walks right up to her bed and hops back up onto it, turning around to fold her arms over her chest and pout at Hinoiri. "You hated how she treated you, why would you do that?!"

She takes a deep breath and lets it out, and then says, her voice a little more calm. "What I want doesn't matter. I could tell you exactly what I want right now and you'd find a way to completely miss it."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara is glowering, fuming, and... and then Dianora hit her with 'Well, you hated it'... And that managed to knock some wind out of her sails. And her glare softened, and she... finally just stormed off to the bathroom.

Soon, the shower could be heard. And, if she listened, she'd hear grouchy, grumbly, angry mumbling. Probably bitching. Probably complaining.

Then, finally, she came back out. Fresh clothes, hair in a towel. She stormed over and sat down on the bed. Her arms crossed.

Sat on Dianora's bed. Glowering across the room. "I hated it. I really... really did. But... I thought... I was just being greedy. I thought she was being nice. A lot of the work she did was boring sometimes, but I was just... grateful to be invited. Even if all I did was wait for her to come back for whatever silly thing she was working on..."

"... Then eventually she stopped inviting me at all. And I thought... I should have been more grateful. So I thought... inviting you... I thought that was enough. I'm sorry. I... want... to be better than her. So... please.... teach me?"

Double Trouble has posed:
Dianora Lagorio went about unpacking her suitcase. Sure, they were only staying a short while, but half of what she brought wasn't even clothes. The girl can't travel without her stuffies after all. So, when Hinoiri emerges from the steamy bathroom, Dianora's bed has been transformed. There is a pile of unicorn stuffies on it that cannot have possibly been contained in the pink suitcase which is setting on the luggage stand at the foot of the bed.

Dianora is sitting at the head of her bed, a particularly orange unicorn stuffie in her hands, and she's petting it. She seems to just be waiting. Waiting for her dense roommate to figure out what to do.

So when Hinoiri finally sits down on her bed and says her piece, well, Dianora's ready. "Well, for starters, when you invite someone on a trip, try to include them in your plans. Or, you know, at least discuss them."

She scoots down the bed to slide up next to Hinoiri, her arm sliding around the other girl's waist. "It feels good to feel wanted, and the simplest way to make someone feel wanted is to include them." She leans her head against Hinoiri and then looks up, her green eyes big and pleading.

"You do want me to feel good, don't you, onee-chan?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara couldn't help but side eye that orange unicorn. Where had she even FOUND something like that? Did... did she custom order it? Didn't she have things OTHER than unicorns?

...

Probably.

But that likely wasn't the point. The point was to make her feel bad. Or... to make her see she was being a jerk. Or maybe it was just because Dianora, for some reason she didn't understand, wanted to be near her. She gave a soft sigh and nodded. "I... I guess. I thought I was including you in my plans by bringing you, though. When... when I go out and do more surveying, do you want to come with me? Then? It'll probably be boring, but I could probably teach you things about the flow of leyline energy and the way that leyline dams function, the concept of redirecting leyline energy and... some of my theories."

"... I don't know if I want you to feel too good, though. If you feel too good, you might start getting higher expectations than you deserve. I can't have you going and thinking you're entitled to anything and everything of mine, including time," Hinoiri said in a mildly, mock annoyed tone.

Double Trouble has posed:
"Hinoiri-chan, darling," Dianora says, and it sounds just a little weird that it's not Double Trouble saying those words. "Bringing me along and then abandoning me is just pulling me away from my plans, not including me in yours. Inclusion has the extra step of actually involving someone in the plans. So, yes, please, bring me along."

She giggles. "In the worst case, I'll be bored and cause trouble for bystanders."

Then Hinoiri goes and says another thing that, well, only Hinoiri would say. It's very on brand in how utterly dense it is. "Onee-chan," Dianora says softly, her hand reaching across to grab hold of Hinoiri's arm right near where she's resting her cheek against it. "I don't think I'm entitled to anything."

"But if you treat me like trash long enough, I might not think you're cute any more, and we all know how much you like getting beaten down."

It sounds utterly ominous when that twelve year old voice says it.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded. "Oh. I... guess I didn't really think of that. When you put it like that... you know, maybe Sora was kind of a jerk inviting me al--" Then froze. And looked confused. "... Do you think that's why she stopped bringing me?" PROBABLY!

"Yeah... I like it when you cause trouble for bystanders. It really is fascinating, watching you work. The way you'll pick up all the little quirks, mimic people. Even things like twitching your index finger when you see someone doing it..."

Then her cheeks went a little red and she snorted. "As if you could beat me down," she said, wrapping an arm around her head and giving her the lightest of noogies, before... "I'm... not... actually treating you like trash though, am I? I've never.... really.... had a.... future consort before, so some of this I'm figuring out. So I'm... not... trying to. So just.... let me know... if I am."

"... So, where'd you like to go? I brought some 'fun' money. I figure I know just enough english to cause an international incident or get us crowns, so I'm good for whichever."

Double Trouble has posed:
Dianora Lagorio is noogied. She tolerates it. Hinoiri can't see the put-upon expression on her face, but she can surely feel it. She just sighs.

"If you think of me like another girlfriend, maybe you'll get a better idea," Dianora says, and then pauses. She wiggles away from Hinoiri and hops off the bed to get out of range of further noogies. "Or maybe not. Poor Sayaka deserves better, honestly. The point is that you want to show me that you're thinking about me, and not just as your backup."

"And I wouldn't dream of trying to beat you down, onee-chan," Dianora says innocently. Then she makes the biggest woobie eyes and says, "But Sailor Moon has a pretty good track record against you, and I'm sure that if I got her together with Adora and a few others, they'd deliver for me." She smiles. "Sparkle skirts will do just about anything to save an innocent girl like me from a villain like you."

But enough with that conversation. Hinoiri actually wants to go do something? A date? Dianora is all in. "Well, we are in a different country. Maybe they have different pastries here. What's say we try and find some good cake?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded. "Yeah, so like a girl friend. Isn't that what I was doing? I mean, Sayaka's a Sparkle Skirt so I can't exactly... show her this stuff."

... Oh dear heavens. As bad a girlfriend as Dianora thought Hinoiri was, she was possibly even worse.

"And... yeah. She likely does deserve better. She's a mess right now. Here's hoping one of the sparkle skirts can sort her out before she hurts herself."

Good girlfriend right there.

"... Yeah. Please uhhh... don't... involve sailor Moon right now. She literally may have accidentally killed one of our girls recently. On accident, I assume. You know when it was suddenly day the other night? THAT was her. I thought it was Sora come to wup our flanks." She then snorted and laid her head on Dianora's. "Mmmmmm. Good cake. That does sound nice. I'm sure even cake is easy enough to explain to people here. I hear america has some of its own foods as well. So... let's go out." She got to her feet and held out her hand to the other girl. "We can explore. No work right now unless something happens, okay? Promise."

Double Trouble has posed:
Clearly Hinoiri doesn't understand that telling Double Trouble this little tidbit about Sailor Moon is only going to make them more interested in involving her. So, Dianora does the only thing she can, really, and says, "I guess you'll just have to treat me right, then, onee-chan." Then she giggles. It sounds sinister.

How can such an innocent-looking girl sound so evil?

She's already on her feet, so she grabs Hinoiri's hand in hers, and if the other girl thought she saw a flush of color rise up in Dianora's cheeks? Well, surely that was just a trick of the light. "Let's go explore. If we're together, it'll be fun no matter where we go."