Kings And Queens Of The Sky

This was becoming a bit of a theme.

Every since Dagda had gone to return home and Rhace had taken over as captain of the Endeavor, Rhace had been understandably reliant on Cordelia and herself to do his job. This was due largely in part to the fact that Rhace had not been a member of Meliora Vitae very long before being handed the keys to the kingdom, so to speak, and he still had much to learn just as a member, let alone as a leader. Yet, that was something that neither of the women begrudged him. In fact, Cassiti thought that Rhace was a perfect fit for the position. She certainly hadn’t wanted it for herself. Cass was comfortable with a certain level of leadership and responsibility, but not with an absolute amount of it. Frankly, the fact that Dagda had ever even talked her into becoming an ace was a miracle in and of itself, and the man had needed to offer quite a bit of reassurance that the position wouldn’t compromise her in any way with her way of life.

To the man’s credit, he’d been right. And while that was still a surprise to her some days, Cassi still wasn’t interested in entertaining any notions of higher ranks, and so she was quite comfortable with where she was: middle management, with an emphasis on passing along her knowledge and experience to her current boss. Though truth be told, it wouldn’t be long before Rhace wouldn’t have much more to learn from either of them. He was a quick learner, very disciplined and educated – if a bit of a rascal at times – and Cassiti hadn’t really been with the guild a whole lot longer than he had. Every day he was weaning away from needing them more and more, becoming more confident and self-sufficient in his leadership, and needing them, at most, for emotional support. Something he likely got more readily from Cordelia, who was arguably more well-adjusted than Cassiti was with such things, but that didn’t stop the Avalonian from doing what she could with the tools available to her.

Yet, Rhace continued to insist on doing these things for them periodically. These.. Parties and gatherings, events and excuses to take the two women out and spend money on them. Cassiti supposed she understood it to a point, and she certainly wasn’t ungrateful for the time. She greatly enjoyed both Rhace and Cordelia’s presences. They were the only people in her life that she could really see as friends, which was a luxury Cassi had never been afforded before. In fact, it had been downright prohibited in Avalon. But here in Earthland, on her pilgrimage, the rules were a bit different. There were no attending priestesses to hover over her and dictate her every move, and while Cassi certainly had a strict lifestyle to maintain, there was no denying that she possessed a modicum more of freedom here than she did with her homeland, and she had decided that such freedom allowed her to have friends rather than distant, worshiping supplicants.

And it was that knowledge that made Rhace’s behavior odd at times. She didn’t feel that he needed to keep going out of his way to lavish them for their efforts in helping him. Surely he knew by now that he was no burden upon them, but that didn’t stop him from his attempts to spoil them. Perhaps it was her inexperience with friendship – and men – that kept her from realizing that this was simply what friends did for one another at times… or how people attempted to court those whom they were interested in. It was difficult for her to understand, but that didn’t stop her from trying, nor did it prevent her from at least appreciating that her two friends wanted to spend time with her outside of just work.

Rhace’s orders had been very clear that Cordelia and Cassiti were not permitted on the bridge until such a time as he called them. The only other instructions they had were to be dressed up, something that Cassiti hadn’t done in quite some time. She had almost always been in some regal attire in Avalon. It was practically all she’d ever worn before coming to this time period of Earthland. Yet despite that, she wasn’t sick of such things. It was exhilarating to wear more casual things, as was more appropriate in the cultures of today, but being more dressed up didn’t really bother her, especially when the fashion of this era was different than that of Avalon’s.

Since she and Cord were in the same spot, Cassi had invited her companion to join her at her treehouse to pass the time and get ready for the evening. While Cord had attached herself to Cassi fairly quickly upon their first meeting, there was something slightly different about her now. Or perhaps, more likely, different in Cassiti’s perception of the other woman. Their last holiday spent with one another had been Halloween, and while most of the night had gone by rather pleasantly, there had been a moment where Cordelia had been plagued by some nightmare of her past, one that had rocked the woman’s emotional center and put her into a bit of a funk for most of the remaining evening.

Yet that wasn’t what had truly stuck out to Cassi. People were prone to emotional straits, something she had known long before her pilgrimage even if she had no direct experience with it herself. No, what had stuck with her were some of the things that Cordelia had told them afterward, once she’d calmed down a bit. Her gentle and halting words of appreciation, telling them both that she loved them, and prior to that admitting to Cassi that she had wanted to kiss her. On the cheek as she had done with Rhace, perhaps, but for someone that had never touched another person since she was old enough to walk and dress herself, it was a comment that had practically been stuck in her head like a silent record ever since. And not only Cordelia’s voice, but Rhace’s as well, who had followed suit and delivered similar admissions. At least, in his appreciation of their “dream team”, not so much with wanting to kiss Cassiti on the cheek.

It had been a lot of vulnerable talk that Cassiti hadn’t really known how to respond to. It hadn’t made her nervous so much as pensive. She did appreciate both of her friends, but had no experience with expressing such things for herself, so while she had made her gratitude for their words known, she hadn’t really said much of her own response outside of a small smile to show her agreement. And ever since, the scene had been run over and over again in her mind as she tried to decipher all of it. While she still had much to realize, she had at least one understanding dawn upon her: there were almost certainly feelings brewing between Cordelia and Rhace.

Cassiti was putting on the last of her makeup when both of their phones went off with a message from the man himself advising that it was time for them to join him in the viewing platform of the Arboretum. She tilted her face this way and that with a neutral expression, letting the light hit different parts of her face so she could examine her work. “Does dis look alright?” The Avalonian had very little experience with modern make up, but she had been practicing enough to at least be passable with it, with Cordelia’s assistance and instruction. She was wearing a white off the shoulder, floor length gown that was trimmed in gold floral designs along the bust and hem. There were two thing spaghetti straps keeping the dress up and modest, but they were almost unseen in comparison to the long sleeves of the gown, one of which was fully detached from the dress itself. Her thick braids were adorned with gold bands and pulled up above her head, and an ornate gold band hung from her hair onto her forehead.

“Thank you.” Cassiti took the compliment well, neither brushing it off nor becoming flustered or embarrassed by it. She had never been a woman that put too much stock in her appearance. Or at least, not the way that most people did. Sure, she had a duty to make sure she was always presentable as an Oracle – at least, on Avalon – but outside of that, she had never really stopped to care about if others would find her physically or sexually attractive based on what clothing choices she made or whether or not she was wearing make up. Whatever affects her choices of attire had on others, the Oracle was almost always oblivious to it.

Cordelia requested a brief moment to adjust one spot on her companion’s face, picking up one of Cassiti’s brushes and approaching. The smaller woman didn’t pull away or move with any hesitancy, trusting that her friend knew her boundaries more than well enough by now to not test them. Cord would touch her only with the brush, not directly, and despite that they were close enough to feel the heat from one another’s bodies Cassi merely stood patiently as her fellow ace made some adjustments to her face paint. Yet as she finished and gave Cassi one final compliment, there was a brief moment of… something. The Oracle wasn’t entirely sure what it was. Cordelia was simply standing there, practically staring at her with a soft expression, causing the more stoic woman to tilt her head slightly in thought and consideration…

And then the moment was over, Cordelia pulling away and bringing the attention back to herself with a small showcase of her own attire. “I do not think it eez too risque, no. De color is perfect for you. Though I think my favorite might be your earrings. You look very… erm, what eez de word… glamorous.” Cassi gave the woman a very small smile, only to chuckle quietly as Cordelia struck a pose and compared it to the slightly more scandalous outfit that she had worn for Halloween. But then it was time to be off as they couldn’t leave their host and friend waiting.

Cassi gave a nod of agreement and the two were off to the Arboretum where it wouldn’t take long to see at least part of what Rhace had prepared for them. There were the makings of a picnic set out on the ground, with sandwiches and other appetizers, as well as drinks. The guildmaster himself was looking exceptionally sharp with a white coat over a rather dapper suit. He invited them to sit with a small wave of his arm and a compliment to their efforts at dressing up. Cordelia gave a small noise of excitement over the picnic and Cassiti’s emerald gaze took in the sight of the set up – and the view from the platform, with her usual calm but attentive observance. Yet there was a bit of brightness to her gaze that betrayed her appreciation and interest in it all.

She took the offer to sit, approaching the blanket on the ground with demure grace, gathering up her skirt and dropping gently to her knees before ultimately settling on a hip with her feet tucked beside her. Meanwhile, Rhace popped open a bottle of champagne and poured a glass for each of them. Cassi took her with a soft, “Thank you,” holding the stemmed flute but not drinking from it just yet, rather waiting until the others had their own drinks as well. Her attention turned to Rhace once more as he spoke about how often he’d wanted to express his thanks to them, claiming the number far outweighed the stars in the sky. The last year had been rough in losing Dagda, a fact that none of them could deny, and with the war looming over the rest of the world, there was an air of tension and fear affecting many around them. But that hadn’t stopped any of them from focusing on their work and maintaining the balance by funneling good back into their surroundings.

And as a reward, he was going to do something that he wasn’t sure the ship had ever done before – though he was very mum as to what the surprise was, only that he had been working on it for several weeks. “I look forward to seeing what you have come up weeth. Thank you, Rhace. Dis eez lovely.” Her small smile returned as she took a drink alongside him, raising the glass to her lips and giving the liquid a taste. It was very sweet and aromatic, reminding her a great deal of home. A small wave of homesickness washed over her very briefly, though it wasn’t obvious by her expression. She brushed it aside after a moment, turning her attention instead to the spread before them. “Did you make all of dis yourself?”