Apartment Above 6 Unicorn Street, Thursday Evening

[angelo_wings]

The Lady Rinoa Caraway concentrated, and a horn curled out of the side of her head. It wrapped around itself like a conch shell, laying flat, and she squinted at her reflection.

No. Not with this outfit. A swipe of her hand and it disappeared. Maybe more of a headdress?

Rinoa understood the importance of presentation. She had been a Sorceress most of her life, and she had discovered that people expected the Sorceress to look a certain way -- exotic, beautiful, somehow alien. The Sorceress could not appear in jeans, with her hair in a ponytail; the Sorceress couldn't be a girl. She had to be an otherworldly creature. People felt cheated when arcane power was wrapped up in a t-shirt and sweat pants, and it made them less afraid, somehow, that she was clearly demarcated as Other.

At least it was easy enough to magic her appearance into something unusual. Spending hours on hair and make-up every time she left the house would be exhausting.

She only really bothered when she left the house as the Sorceress, of course; at home with Dad, she could wear all of the jeans and ponytails she wanted. Anyone allowed into the house was a friend, or trusted enough that they could see her incognito. But for this mission, she'd be away for a considerable amount of time, and before both Lieutenant Commander Leonhart and their host, Mr. Starsmore, certain standards had to be maintained.

They were still, after three days, no closer to understanding the rift that had opened in Centra, that had connected their world with this strange island. And Rinoa had a bet with herself that she could convince the Lt. Commander to say more than five unofficial words to her, in one go, but she was losing that prospect, thus far. If SeeD had insisted on sending a protector (well, spy) along with the Sorceress, why couldn't it have been one who could actually hold a conversation?

At least she had Angelo for company, although Angelo seemed out of sorts today. She kept making faces at Rinoa and barking at strange things in the loft.

"There," Rinoa said, putting the finishing touches on her hair. "I think the lanterns are a nice touch, don't you?"

Angelo only whined.

(OOC: Rinoa is now AU: she received her powers at age five, and is the Protectress of Galbadia. Oh, also: she's on good terms with her dad, and has barely met this Squall guy. ESTABLISHY AND ALSO OPEN.)

Comments

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

The Lieutenant Commander was no more happy to be on this mission than she was to have him. The mission would have been better served by a SeeD with good personal skills, such as Quistis, or technical expertise, such as Xi, but Commander Cid had been insistent -- if the Sorceress was involved, Squall had to be there. It was his destiny.

Thus far, the mission had been both boring and frustratingly difficult. If it had just been a matter of subduing bandits, or killing monsters, Squall would have been happy. Not this. And as nebulous as the mission parameters were, the Sorceress's approach to dealing with them was worse.

He wouldn't normally have said anything to her about her preparations, but frustration was starting to get the better of him. "Are you asking your dog for fashion advice?"

[angelo_wings]

Oh, good. He was being cranky at her. Exactly what today needed.

She could reply by explaining to him that Angelo was much smarter than he was, or that his attitude was even more unattractive than usual today -- but she had a better idea.

Lady Caraway gave the Lieutenant Commander her very best brittle smile.

"That's a terribly unprofessional question, isn't it?"

Hit him where it hurt.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall frowned, angry at himself. "Yes, it is. You are right. I was distracted by your terribly unprofessional headdress."

[angelo_wings]

She was starting to regret that she'd wanted him to talk at all.

"I dress this way for a reason," she said. "Besides, people who wear black leather with extraneous red belts shouldn't throw stones."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"You dress to set yourself apart," Squall surmised. "To look exotic, and to impress and intimidate. That headdress, however, is just silly. It's counterproductive."

He wasn't going to touch what she said about his belts. He liked the way they looked.

[angelo_wings]

"And how long have you been the Sorceress?" Rinoa inquired with a huff. "I know what I'm doing, Lieutenant Commander. I don't want to look intimidating. People are already far too aware of my capabilities."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"Not here, they're not," Squall replied. "Since we aren't trying to do this undercover, you need to rely on more than just your title to be able to command respect."

[angelo_wings]

Rinoa met the Lt. Commander's gaze with a firm one of her own.

"It would take a very stupid person to tell a Sorceress she can't command respect," she said.

Would he like to try? He may not enjoy the consequences.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"It's not going to help us any if you hurt or threaten people," Squall told her. He wasn't backing down. She couldn't scare him.

...Well, she could kill him, but presumably she wasn't going to. If him provoking her got her to take the mission more seriously, that was worth risking getting hurt for.

[angelo_wings]

"I'm not threatening you," Rinoa said. "I'm reminding you to choose your words with care."

First she was too silly to be professional, and then not intimidating enough, and now he was upset that she was too intimidating.

"I think you're frustrated about this mission and taking it out on me," she added. "You're pretending that your comments about my appearance have something to do with me being taken seriously so you can justify making snide remarks."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

That was uncomfortably close to the truth, and it frustrated Squall even more that he was the one being unprofessional right now. He didn't want to be having this conversation. He didn't want to be talking to her at all. He certainly didn't want her to be upset with him, because that would just make her even more impossible to deal with later.

And he wasn't about to backpedal and apologize.

"Whatever," he grumbled.

[angelo_wings]

Oh, look, she'd hit a nerve. If he thought she was impossible before, he should see how "smug" looked on her.

"In other words, I'm right."