#)ic.

There was much on Meiko's mind: a telling sign that everything was going wrong.

They had won. A'kihiko had won, specifically, but Eorzea itself was rid of Gaius van Baelsar and the Ultimate Weapon and Lahabrea. Was that not the end of it all?

She knew the answer, and yet naively still found herself taken aback by all the work still left to the Scions. Primals were still being summoned, other Ascians yet lingered and sought to continue Lahabrea's schemes, and now they had yet more to ponder with Lady Iceheart becoming a primal herself!

It all felt beyond her, even moreso than usual. She worried for her brother, too. Even with Hydaelyn's protection and blessing, and all the natural talent he had, he was still a young man. It was all still too much to put on anyone's shoulders. She tried to share the weight, and liked to think that she did, along with the other Scions -- but no one could truly feel the gravity of whatever destiny was planned for him. It made her ill just to consider.

And now there was this: Yet another group of people in need that A'khiko could never quite seem to deny. Scholars like the the Sons of Saint Coinach made no sense to Meiko. With all the strife and dangers already in the world, they sought to open a new can of worms out of curiosity still, wanting to pry open an ancient tower that was likely sealed for a reason!

At first, it was only collecting crystals and whatever the fuck aethersand was. A'kihiko did that on his own. And then the other wee Miqo'te lad showed up doing some acrobatic nonsense and naming the expedition and --

It didn't matter. Meiko was pleased, at least, to see how quickly Hiko and this G'raha Tia got on. Like kindred spirits, they had been chatting and showing off at a training dummy for two hours while Rammbroes and Cid prepared to undo the Crystal Tower's defenses and employ mercenaries to fill the vanguard.

This left Meiko with naught to do but wait and feel out of place in this camp of scholars, which at this point had become so commonplace she was almost comfortable in discomfort.

But of course, she looked as idle as she was, so someone had given her a task The 'man with the white hair in the tent at the end' apparently need whatever what within this box she'd been handed for his research.

Aye, every lad's got white hair nowadays, she thought idly, making her way over. Fortunately, the tent at the end could only be one specific location in the camp, so she let her ears lead to push the tent flap aside while her arms were full.

"Delivery from... one o'yer other lads," she stated simply, straightening up as she walked in. Right, the only person within was a man with white hair. Had to be him.

She offered the box in her arms, while also taking in the surroundings of the tent; he had quite a number of strange-looking relics, dark in shape with strange patterns mostly glowing bright blue or deep red. She couldn't make heads or tails of what they were likely for.

Getting used to living somewhere she wasn't used to was going to take some time, but at the very least, Kanade was slowly adjusting herself to being here. Anything was an improvement over what was going on before, and she really figured she shouldn't be anything less than grateful someone let her live in their space at all.

Her sleep was still erratic. That wasn't exactly a big change from how she lived before, but when broken up unwillingly by memories she'd rather not revisit and nightmares, it was a little more uncomfortable to put up with. She managed regardless, and maybe more when she finally felt like she could properly ask to use Mafuyu's equipment and start trying to compose again.

Some of her time initially had been spent looking at some of the commentary while she was gone. When someone uploaded as often as "K" did, of course suddenly not doing anything for a month or more was going to make people wonder. "Where did they go?" "Are they okay? I hope they didn't give up on making music!" were just some of many. Maybe there was a strange kind of comfort it knowing that her absence was noticeable, at least, even if she didn't really interact with these comments or directly speak.

She didn't expect to make much progress in a day. She navigated what she had available to her now that she no longer had access to her own more familiar setup, and refreshed herself on what programs she now had access to. Synthesizers were easier to get accustomed to. It was like sitting at a piano or any other synthesizer to Kanade. She could adjust like she was studying the back of her hand, but she's been like that since she was a little girl.

Ah, Valentine’s Day — the day of love. It’s in the air, all around, Calliope can’t escape it. She doesn’t mind the holiday, but every year she keeps to herself. Maybe she celebrates with some friends, but more times than not, she spends Valentine’s Day alone.

Of course, her family likes to tease her about it. She doesn’t mind, not really. It’s all in good fun!

Well, this year, her twin brother had the grand idea of surprising her! With what? She wasn’t sure. A bit concerned, yes. He hadn’t given her a single hint as to what her “surprise” would be, until he had actually gotten her there! Surprise surprise! He’d made her a kissing booth. She wanted to smack the man right then and there, but when she thought about it…maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

So now, here she sits, waiting for her next potential partner. Or victim. However you’d like to see it.

“Step right up, one and all,” Calliope mutters to herself, drumming her fingers slowly on the table, “test your luck on winnin’ this gal’s love.”

Like anyone would want to kiss her, anyway.