deernet | [VIDEO; UN: LittleGreenLiar]

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[VIDEO; UN: LittleGreenLiar]

[There are a number of indications that this is a misfire, even before it becomes clear what's going on. First, there's the fact of the username. Ariadne has never once set a username. Everyone who keeps promising to show her how to do it keeps disappearing or dying on her. So she's been "username not set" for years, at this point.

Then, there's the angle. It's tilted. And the feed isn't vibrating and shaking as Ariadne tries to hold it steady. Clearly, her Omni is sitting off to one side, forgotten, at the moment.

Ariadne is standing in her bedroom, sunlight filtering in through the gauzy curtains. She's in her underwear. Of course, it's pretty medieval underwear: a ribbed corset, tied in front, and knee-length bloomers. Bare feet. Green feet. She's in her natural form, her candy-floss blue hair loose and streaming down her back, practically to her knees. She wags her hand in front of her face, as if she's holding a fan. Daintily, she touches her fingertips to her collarbone.]

Me? You want to dance with me?

[There's non one else in the room. It appear, she's been caught in a game of make-believe. Adorable? Creepy? Hard to say.]

Why, sir, I would be delighted!

[She dips into a neat, perfect curtsy. And then rises, eyelashes fluttering.

At which point, she starts to dance a waltz, her arms around an invisible, imaginary partner. She moves smoothly, gliding across the room, looking very much like she's ready to fall in love in a ballroom.

One, two, three. One, two, three...]

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[She tilts her head to one side.]

No. Not really. But it's a nice break from the way that you're treated when you aren't one of those ladies, I suppose.

And I'd like to fall in love some day. Be admired and adored. In a real way, though. Not in the way the courtiers play their games.

I get that.. I'd like it too.

[ Or, well, more like she'd like to experience a mutual love. Since Chizuru is pretty sure the crush she's got going on right now is very, very one-sided.

But judging by the way the other speaks of it, Chizuru judges that Ariadne also very much implies mutual love there. ]

Don't you have anyone here you like that way? A lot of people seem to have someone like that..

[Ariadne shrugs.]

I kissed someone here once. But...

I don't think he likes me that way.

[ There's a soft, surprised noise coming from Chizuru - kind of like a 'huh?', but more idle than that. ]

What do you mean? I mean.. um.. if that person didn't like you that way, then why would he kiss you?

[ There's a pause where she seems to consider it herself, wanting to reach a possible answer. ]

Was it because of something strange going on in this place?

[ That's often the reason in Trench, isn't it. ]

I don't really know.

I...we haven't really talked. About anything, including the kissing.

[She shrugs.]

I guess, he's been kind of busy. His people--I mean, from his home--tend to get into a lot of mischief here in Trench.

[ ... ]

Would you want to talk to him about it?

[ It's a soft, cautious question. But Chizuru can't help but be curious, especially since this feels like such a big thing to her. Kissing, and then just.. never talking about it again.

Wouldn't that be painful? ]

I suppose I...want him to talk to me about it.

[There's a difference there. A big difference, even if it's only a few words, with their order changed around.]

But that's not up to me.

[ See, it's a small difference in words, but.. somehow Chizuru feels like she gets the bigger shift in meaning behind the words. It means that Ariadne wants this other person to approach her. Maybe.. to show her that it really meant something to him too?

.. that's a little sad, Chizuru thinks. Especially when that person seems to not have talked to Ariadne about it at all so far.. ]

I'm sorry.

[ It's how Chizuru lands on those words - with quite some amount of genuine sympathy in her voice. ]

I mean, um.. maybe you're not too worried about it! But I think that if I'd be in your shoes, I'd be kind of fretting about the entire thing.. [ It's a kiss, after all! Chizuru has never even had one! It's a wild, wild concept to her to just kiss someone and then forget, or never have that person bring it up to you ever again. ]

I suppose some part of me wants to fret a little. But...

[She sucks in air between her teeth.]

I don't know. I don't know what to think or feel. Not really.

I'm young, I'm supposed to be exploring and discovering. But...I don't always know how.

You mean you don't know how to..

[ Chizuru pauses.

Considering the time she's coming from, and the sort of life she's lived, it's not really easy for her to put it into words either. It's not like she's ever had the chance to just date around either, after all, or anything of the sort.. ]

How to.. find love? [ Maybe she should put it like that? Is that one right? ]

I guess?

Birds have song to attract mates. Crickets too. Land mammals have bright colors and courtship rituals.

[She sighs.]

Humanoids aren't so obvious about it.

Well.. [ .. she pauses, seeming to think. This isn't all so easy for her to figure out either, but she feels like she might have a tad more of an idea than Ariadne. Maybe. ] I guess it's all a little more individual with humans..

[ Tastes differ, after all. ]

But you usually know love when you feel it, right? When you see someone, and they just make you feel.. something different inside. You've felt that before, haven't you?

Sometimes, I feel a little sort of drop in my stomach.

[She screws her face up, a little skeptical.]

If that's love it's...not what I expected.

[ Chizuru hums. ]

I'm not sure if that's the right feeling.. [ If anything, that almost sounds more like anxiety to her? Like the feeling you get right as something bad is happening.. ]

To me, it feels more like..

[ Her voice momentarily trails off as she tries to find the right words for it. It's hard! Especially since it's just a.. feeling. ]

Like suddenly my chest feels really light..? Does that maybe make sense? As if you suddenly lose track of time.

That...sounds more like it. More like how I imagine it, I mean.

[She smiles, tilting her head to one side, birdlike.]

Have you been in love, then?

.. yes. I.. think so.

[ Chizuru can't ever be too sure. After all, she had been so isolated for a large part of her life that it's not like she really properly got to learn what love is along the way..

But she's pretty sure she's slowly starting to get the right idea now. A little bit. ]

But that person isn't here. And.. um, it probably would never work out anyway. So I guess it would be more appropriate to call it an one-sided crush, maybe..?

"Crush." I've heard that one before, I think.

[She's picked up a lot of slang from a lot of different worlds, but that stands out.]

It's...unrequited?

[A small frown.]

That doesn't sound very nice.

[ There's a soft little hum on Chizuru's side. ]

It sometimes just happens. [ And yes, it's not very nice. It's kind of painful. But Chizuru wouldn't be Chizuru if she didn't admit to that, because she doesn't want to bother anyone else with it.

She'd be there and ready to acknowledge someone else's pain in this regard, but her own? It's easier to pretend she's not that bothered. ]

You can't help who you like, after all. And sometimes you end up liking someone who will most likely never like you back before you can even stop what your heart is doing.

[Sort of like how desperately her Uncle Naxor was in love with her mother. Ariadne never knew Naxor, of course. But between her parents and the other adults of the pack, she knew enough.

Not a pretty story.

The fact that Chizuru seems to be going through something similar only softens her affection for the girl even more. But there's nothing worse than pity, so she decides not to say too much about it.]

Hearts are wild, funny things.

Hehe..

[ It's a little giggle. Maybe not fully happy, since there's definitely something awkward mixed in, but at least it isn't entirely unhappy either. ]

You're right. Things sure would be a whole lot easier out there in the world if you could predict hearts a little bit more.. But it would also make things terribly boring.

[Ariadne, on the other hand, does laugh. Brightly, in spite of everything else they've said.]

As someone who's very good at predicting probabilities--at least, back home--I know you're right.

Predictable is...something less than living, I suppose.

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[VIDEO; UN: LittleGreenLiar]

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