crystalline.

Like trying to serve customers distracted. Something Jill knew plenty about from her own time back home...

IT WAS ONLY LOGICAL, REALLY. anyone entering a stranger's home would want to look around and, in turn, gain some bit of information. whether or not that was for the good or the worst, nobody ever really knew 一 yet one always needed to be prepared. perhaps that was why he had taken notice of the young girl looking around more than once or twice. the next time, well... he decides he may as well take a small breather from hosting, following after quietly.

and he waits, noticing her go into another one of the dimly lit rooms, biding his time until he decides to make his own entrance. one step, two steps... he leans over, offering an almost intimidating smile as he finally speaks.

❝ Find what you're looking for, Miss? ❞

⠀⠀⠀Not that she wanted to be caught red-handed, of course, but it was certainly a risk. For him to show up this deep into the party, she can't help but wonder if he was that careless... or if he was just letting her spin her wheels for a bit.

    ❛ ⠀Not at all,⠀❜ ⠀Rin answers truthfully, rocking on her heels with her hands folded behind her back. No matter how many times she made a sweep through different rooms, the mage never found anything of obvious personal value— much less anything to justify this odd irritation. This, of course, only makes her more irritated; she offers a smile without any trace of amusement.

no wonder ishtar has her as her vessel–

" Is, uh, is there something on my face....?" ritsuka finally asks, offering a confused smile as she turns towards the other.

❝ Well, miss? What do you think? ❞ he's put on a rather exquisite half-mask, one that goes along with the tailored, crimson suit. ❝ Yours doesn't look half bad, either so far. Maybe you might just win it all. ❞

"For me, this kind of experience, being up here, isn't anything new. I'd rather be down on that island." Spirale - City of Spirales. She doesn't know if it's Earth, certainly not the Earth her mother walked upon, but it's the closest she's gotten.

"I've lived my whole life in space. Yet, watching others experience it for the first time gives me a funny feeling."

[txt] Meet me at the pier in an hour. [txt] There's something I have to tell you.

she sent that text an hour again and yet it's felt like an eternity standing there, watching the waves as the sun starts its slow descent out of the sky, coloring the waters in a golden and orange hue. droplets of water caress her cheeks from the gentle waves and the sea air is oddly refreshing. honestly, olga marie can't remember the last time she's felt this...........light. of course, she is worried– she is no stranger to the chaos amnesia has caused. not only for herself but those she had the treasure of calling friends. and she saw it every day. the way their eyes saw her and yet never stopped looking for what she thought could never be again.

olga marie never blamed them for that. she understood– it is simpy human nature to miss what's gone. and truth be told, she's not entirely the same as she once was. she stands a little taller, her shoulders are a little straighter, and that voice that haunted her every step was no longer. of course, the alien god is still here. that person is still here. but rather than a fragmented, unsure existence, it feels whole. perhaps this is what being a living servant was like, perhaps not, but she supposed that it didn't really matter.

in the long run, it was still her, still olga marie. something she hasn't thought in years.

besides, that person is here. she can hear their hurried foosteps, steps which start to slow to an unsure walk. ah. of course. lips are pulled into a smile which for the first time in her life didn't feel forced. she takes a deep breath, turning on her heel, meeting the vibrant blue eyes of what she can consider her best friend.

" Tohsaka." begins the mage, one hand resting on her hip and it takes everything in olga marie to try and restrain the nervous excitement. gone are the colors she used to see around the mage but there's no sadness in that. " Rin, I should say." there's a gentle laugh. " What should we call this– 'long time no see'? Or 'nice to see you again'– what do you think?"

⠀⠀⠀Despite that feeling that buoyed between suspicion and dread, Rin couldn't have remotely been prepared for this. The moment she turns to face her, hand braced on her hip like so many times in the past, the mage's stomach does flips. She wants to manage her expectations, not dare to assume some miraculous reverse of fortune— but Olga steamrolls any attempt at rationality right away.

⠀⠀⠀It's... almost embarrassing, how many emotions are broiling around in her stomach right now. At first, all Rin can manage to do is exhale sharply and turn her head— old habits and all that. But she's softened considerably since she and her old friend were last face-to-face— judging by that laugh, so has Olga— and she allows the warmth and relief to permeate the air between them.