[FIN] Too Cold

[Suudonym]

Luke returned from Grande Ile in uncharacteristically high spirits, wearing some degree of a smile at nearly all hours. Thus, with no prior commitments preventing him, he had responded positively to Dove's request to meet - though not without some curiosity; he was accustomed to seeing the occasional group text appear from her, but it was rarer that she contacted him specifically. Though he usually found himself in the park when meeting with others, the cold December temperatures made that a less appealing destination, and so as the designated meeting time approached, he entered the small, warm cafe that had been decided upon, hanging his scarf on the back of a chair.  

[Tori Honoo]

While Luke would be found easily sporting high spirits, and with good reason, Dove was fighting just to stay afloat in the mess she had created. Her text, thankfully, hadn't sounded as desperate as she might have found herself now-- the end of the year was drawing closer, and with it, a deadline she had only imagined in her nightmares. One she hadn't spoken of with the one person that needed to hear it most, the one she couldn't bring herself to open up to now.

The meeting she had helped arranged gave her a slight glimmer of hope, though, of course, she couldn't say she knew Luke's situation well. She knew he was of higher birth... some form of aristocracy in Grande Ile, a politician's son. That much she remembered from Asch's letter. From what she could tell, however, his relationship with home was strained, and though she couldn't imagine it could be the same caliber as the tension she held with her family, she didn't want to downplay it either. The chance that he would be able to relate and offer any advice at all, however, was what had her on her feet, quickly making her way into the cafe shortly after he arrived, with her ever faithful companion, Lovey, tucked in her arms, more for comfort than anything.

The woman who had once prioritized looking her best on every occasion, was dressed much more simply today. Her hair lay braided over her shoulder in a long, loose plait, a contrast with the simple white sweater and scarf she wore, her coat left hung open until she let the eevee down into a chair and slipped it off, laying it neatly across the back of the chair across from the one Luke had chosen to hang his scarf on.

A bit awkward, as every other encounter she had elected to participate in with Luke had gone terribly wrong and had left him clearly much more distressed than when he arrived, the woman offered a smile as she again scooped the eevee up into her arms. "Hey...Thanks for meeting with me, Luke." She tilted her head a little. "You're...looking great." He definitely seemed happy... much happier than she had seen him in quite a while.  

[Suudonym]

He gave a nod in greeting and a dismissive "no problem," though her comment to follow was met initially with an apparent absence of understanding followed by an expression of recognition and a good-natured smile. "Not even a cane anymore, right?" he said, assuming her remark was in reference to his physical health. "Which is kind of a shame, actually, because it was useful for hitting people, but I'm not going to complain too much." Well, he'd only used it for that purpose once, but it had been nice to have the option. "How have you been?"  

[Tori Honoo]

She only looked at him as he talked, entranced by his good mood and lighthearted comments. His returning question was enough to draw her out of her thoughts, however, and she offered a somewhat apologetic smile; he was so happy, and she didn't want to bring it down with her troubles. To not even speak of them, however, would completely offset the entire reason for their meeting, however, and though she resolved herself not to forget her reasoning, she commented further on his well being. "Well... Hopefully you won't be needing to hit anyone any time soon. And I'm sure Mieu could handle it, right?" she offered, keeping her smile in place. Instead of answering his question immediately after, she looked toward the familiar barista. "Do you want anything? I think I'm going to get some tea to warm up..."  

[Suudonym]

"Probably, though maybe a little too well," he replied with a laugh. The Flareon certainly didn't hold back - not a bad trait to have when facing an enemy who also wasn't holding back, though it wasn't really desirable to hurt someone unnecessarily. The total absence of a response to his posed question was just mildly disconcerting, but he decided the cause could be attributed to any number of factors and brushed it off. "I think I'll pass for now," he said, shaking his head slightly. "I'll grab something before I go, keep my hands warm on the way back."  

[Tori Honoo]

A laugh? An almost confused look passed through her gaze, though she shook it quickly and offered a slight laugh of her own. "That can't be a bad thing," she smiled, setting Lovey down and stepping back to head toward the counter after he politely declined her offer. "I'll be right back, if you're sure."

After a short visit to the counter, the woman would return with a steaming cup of boiled water, and a mix of passionflower and chamomile tea leaves. Setting it down carefully on the table before she took her seat, she looked over to him. "Sorry... I'm... literally running on this stuff these days," she apologized, referring to her drink. Though most would seek tea for a caffeinated kick, Dove currently relied on it to keep her calm, and given the nature of her planned questions, she was sure she would need it just as much as she had needed it the past few weeks.  

[Suudonym]

He shrugged noncommittally, finding it unnecessary to go into detail about Mieu's protectiveness - in the end, he was still grateful that Mieu had been returned to him, and he was happy to know that the Flareon valued him to such a degree. He offered a nod and a wave as she went to place and receive her order, settling at his seat and giving Lovey a smile in greeting.

"Sure," he responded in brief dismissal of the apology when she returned. "I've been there before myself. Better to be reliant on tea than, I don't know… energy drinks? Alcohol?" He shook his head briefly; it wasn't a terribly important sentiment. "Anyway, what's up?"  

[Tori Honoo]

Carefully, she lowered the tea into the cup and covered the top, waiting for it to steep. Nodding at what he had to say, as she absolutely could not deny that he, out of anyone she knew, deserved the right to say he had 'been there', she looked across to him, unsure of where to start. "Yeah, Alcohol isn't really one of my better options..." Though, of course, she hadn't completely ruled it out. Everyone else seemed to be back on their feet, at least, and she wasn't so much needed as she had been in the past few weeks, but the idea of allowing herself any time to drift away from responsibility still seemed a horrible idea.

Contemplating her answer, her gaze grew a little distant. "You don't have to talk about this if you don't want to, but... your family is... technically high ranking, right? In politics, I mean..." Her expression was apologetic and timid, much more so than it had been when she had walked in. "I'm sorry, I know that's an awful question, but I thought you might be able to give me some advice on some things...I don't know how things work in Grande Ile, though, aside from what I saw in Yuri's trial, and that...wasn't much."  

[Suudonym]

"In Grande Ile, yeah," he answered with a nod, recalling when he had first arrived in Kodo and introduced himself by his full name only to be disappointed and mildly offended when his 'prestigious' family name had gone without notice or comment. "I don't know a whole lot about Grande Ile either, actually," he admitted with a laugh, "but if it's about the government, I can probably answer. What do you want to know?"  

[Tori Honoo]

Her brows furrowed, and again, a look of apology swept her features. "It's not so much government, just... family...stuff." A pause, during which she half expected him to stand and walk out. "N-Nothing, too personal, just... My parents are politicians too. Well... my father is. Mother is just a..." Her words fell short, her vocabulary too narrow to find the correct word to describe such a woman. A narrowing of her eyes would better describe her feelings toward her.  

[Suudonym]

"I'm pretty familiar with family stuff too," he amended, his smile sympathetic. He listened as she began to elaborate, guessing from her expression where the words were trailing. "Sort of like my father, maybe?" he suggested. "Domineering, obsessed with appearance, positive she knows what's best for you better than you do…?"  

[Tori Honoo]

Her gaze came back to him, completely bewildered. "Yes. Exactly."  

[Suudonym]

Though he was impressed with the accuracy of what was essentially a shot in the dark, he was also empathetic to what she was possibly experiencing in that familiar kind of situation, "Makes me wonder if all political parents are the same. Nicolette's are like that too." Though the younger girl didn't seem to notice that herself.  

[Tori Honoo]

"Maybe...I'm not entirely sure it's all their fault though, this time...I'm sure things would be the same, but at least if I had acted differently on things..." She paused, then shook her head, quick to apologize. "I'm sorry. I'm getting too far ahead..." An explanation. Yes. At least what little of an explanation she could give without overwhelming them both. "I, um... They're blind. Completely blind, like I was when I came here..." Another moment of hesitation. "They want me to come home."  

[Suudonym]

Luke was very familiar with the blame game - he was more or less a professional at contorting the simplest of circumstances so that they would fall onto his shoulders - but he refrained from contributing until she had given as many details as she intended to at the moment. Said details initially left him very puzzled; he assumed that political pursuits, which often involved a lot of paperwork, would be difficult to complete without one's sight, so he supposed it would make some sense if they wanted help, but why not simply make use of a screen reader or-- Wait no that was a metaphor. He shook his head faintly, discarding the thoughts. Her ending statement was what most begged a response anyway, "And what do you want to do?"