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[serrata]

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[daughterofthemark]

[Fuck that first trial. Just... fuck it.

Arianna has commandeered a corner of the living room, raided the linen closet, and confiscated a couple of couches and stripped them of their cushions. The result is a small recreation of the rest areas from the Fantasy Sweet, not private per se but isolated by furniture. Add in some of the products of Clarith's stress-baking and you have a nice little place for a couple of girls to hide for a night from all the excessive bullshit their lives have become.

There is one minor flaw in her plan, which is why she has extended both hands to Yuuri to help her climb over the back of one of the couches to get inside the Cuddle Den.]

Please be careful.

[serrata]

[ If anyone else had put this together then Yuuri might have smiled as best she could, waved them off and told them thank you, but she wasn't in the mood. But for Arianna? Of course she can't say no. The princess even gets One Real Actual Smile from her sister as she carefully maneuvers her way into the Cuddle Den. ]

Even if I wasn't, it's not like the fall would do much damage. You really outdid yourself, you know.

[daughterofthemark]

[Just what she always wanted! A smiling Rii-san in her Cuddle Den.

She nods, with a big smile.]

I was pleasantly surprised by the number of blankets available.

[serrata]

With how many beds there are, I'd hope so! Can you imagine trying to do laundry otherwise?

[ One Actual Joke on top of One Actual Smile. The Cuddle Den isn't the only think Arianna's outdone herself on, it seems. It's surprisingly cozy now that she's sat down, though -- not quite closed off enough for her to feel claustrophobic and she can still hear all the hustle and bustle of the house around them. It feels wonderful and safe, which is exactly what she needs at the moment. ]

I'm not very good at sleepover games though, I'm afraid. [ says the woman who struck fear into the hearts of the accursed immortal and the chosen king of lucis with the king's game ] Unless you've got one up your sleeve?

[daughterofthemark]

Gracious, washing so many sheets so frequently would be quite an undertaking!

[And that's exactly the effect she was going for, if not necessarily consciously. A little place to themselves, but not really a place where they're alone. It's sort of like a nest, if you think about it.]

...Rii-san, there is no reason to be dishonest with me. You are a terrifying master of sleepover games, and everyone in this house is well aware of this.

[serrata]

[ Shock! Yet another laugh, even if she does hastily put her hands over her mouth like she's surprised by it. ]

I'm-- I'm not sure I'd go that far! And besides, the King's Game... that's more of a party game, isn't it? So it's not something you'd play at a sleepover.

[ No comment on truth or dare, apparently. ]

[daughterofthemark]

[Yuuri you are the only person who wouldn't go that far. But Arianna giggles.

...for a moment.]

Is--is there truly a distinction? I have so little experience with such matters...

[serrata]

Hm, I think so? Not that it really matters in the end, I guess. But a party game's usually a little rowdier and louder than something you'd play at a sleepover. The atmosphere's a little different, right? But if you're at a sleepover then you maybe don't want something too rowdy just in case you disturb anyone else who might be trying to get some sleep.

[ this is apparently serious discourse. ]

[daughterofthemark]

[And as such, Arianna focuses intently on Yuuri's every word, being sure to take this all in.

I see! So a party is to be more active, while a sleepover is quieter to enable sleeping.

[Hm.]

Although, could a game like truth or dare not qualify for either, depending on the players' decisions?

[serrata]

It depends on who's playing, I guess! We all got a little rowdy when we played but I think that was sort of the point. And really, things tend to get a little rowdy with all of us anyway, don't they?

[ Not that she's complaining if her smile is anything to go by. ]

Especially when people are jumping on other people's backs, asking for piggyback rides...

[ did you think she'd forgotten ]

[daughterofthemark]

I believe you were responsible for that particular occurrence.

[arianna she told you to ask someone

also this is totally unrelated but she's definitely wearing her purple rabbit kigurumi]

Perhaps it would be best to simply talk.

[serrata]

Maybe it would. There's not anywhere near enough of us to make a good sleepover game, anyway.

[ And maybe talking about everything and nothing is just what Yuuri needs right now. Don't mind her if she just settles in and makes herself comfy. ]

It feels like forever since we did that -- just talked.

[daughterofthemark]

It does seem we are always discussing matters of grave importance.

[Whether it's bad news or good news, it's always news.]

Perhaps that is the change everyone needs. In High Lagaard, we were always doing things such as taking the innkeeper's daughter for a walk or assisting Dame Regina with her restaurant. We were not concentrating on weighty matters all the time.

[serrata]

It sort of feels like we don't have that kind of luxury but we really do need to relax every once in a while. Otherwise we're going to burn ourselves out.

[ Look at that! She's learning. ]

I guess the only problem is working out where to start, isn't it?

[daughterofthemark]

[She is! Arianna is so proud of her!]

That seems to be a recurring difficulty... so little else has happened in our lives. [She's still having trouble learning to Yuki.]

[serrata]

Maybe it's worth talking about things from before we all landed here, then. Why don't you tell me a little about your friends' restaurant? Maybe once we're all done with this mess, we could go visit her.

[daughterofthemark]

Ah!

[Arianna, this is a sleepover. People are trying to sleep. Don't light up like that.]

Dame Regina would love to meet all of you! No doubt she would be excited to hear about recipes and cooking techniques from other worlds.

[serrata]

What sort of food does she cook? I know some of the things you can eat on Eos and there's not really much point in asking anyone who comes from Earth, since it'll be all the same food... but your world's so different. I can't imagine what the food must be like.

[daughterofthemark]

Much of the food I've seen here is familiar. Not all of it, but we have things such as steaks, stews, pastas, curry... although curry would be more common further to the east.

Dame Regina's dishes are often somewhat different, though, since she cooks using ingredients from the Labyrinth. If she were to make cheeseburgers, for example, she might use the meat of a War Bison.

[serrata]

It's strange, isn't it? Even though our worlds are all so different, we all end up with the same kind of food. There's so many other similarities, too... it makes you wonder how it all turns out like that. Maybe they just made sure to pick us all from similar enough worlds?

[daughterofthemark]

Or perhaps such things are the same everywhere. Something that we all have in common. Although in our case Dame Frederica was familiar with locations she heard from Dame Kurumi, so perhaps our worlds were once more alike.

[serrata]

[ ... a long pause and then just. a thoughtful little hum of consideration. ]

What year was it that you were from, Arianna?

[daughterofthemark]

Thirty-twenty-eight, by the calendar Dame Frederica used. I knew it as the year of Yggdrasil one thousand three.

[serrata]

Do you think there's a chance that our worlds might be the same, then? Not exactly the same, of course, but... do you think you just might be from further in the future but still a world like mine and Junpei's and Nari's-- a world that's just Earth?

1/2

[daughterofthemark]

It does seem within the realm of possibility.