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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jul 16, 2009 13:03:14 GMT -5
Sadie shook her head, her hand briefly moving to touch her forehead before she calmed again. She felt ridiculous. Normally, she was cool and calm, unflappable even when she felt quite strongly about something. With Donnie sitting right there, however... Sadie felt as if her feelings were being scrawled across her face for the Wolverine (and everyone else in the bloody bar) to see, something that made her feel twitchy.
She didn't want Donnie to know the things going through her mind, not when she was feeling as conflicted as she was.
"Sounds as if it was a good thing you got there when you did,[/b]" she finally said, shaking her head again. This whole situation was getting difficult for her. She knew that her beautiful butterfly had loved the late Queen, but with the things Donnie was telling her... Sadie had to wonder if the woman was a suitable leader. If she found anyone in her court doing drugs it would be quite the sight to see. That was just unacceptable behavior. "He was, and that does make it quite a bit easier. No massive piles of paperwork that's gone ignored for ages. It'll just be interesting to see how the members of the court react to someone new.[/b]"
A smile tugged at her lips for a moment and she took another long drink of her wine. She hated getting drunk, but some part of her mind knew, beyond a doubt, that it was exactly what she was trying to do right now. As if it would help the situation.
Hah.
An eyebrow quirked at the information about Donnie's court, but then Sadie finally smiled again. "At least one of them has her head on straight,[/b]" she said, a familiar acidity creeping into her tone. It wasn't so much aimed at Donnie as it was towards males in general, a fact the Wolverine would likely know quite well. "And if the males have their heads on straight, well, there's not a lot to complain about there. It sounds as if they do.[/b]" Especially if they were bedding other males. That was always something Sadie approvied of, simply because it meant they weren't involving a woman in their... escapades.
Another sip of wine, and Sadie found herself asking something she didn't want to ask and likely didn't want to hear the answer to. The words just tumbled out of their own free will. "Have you found anyone for yourself?[/b]"
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Post by The Jenn on Jul 16, 2009 13:25:14 GMT -5
Donnie felt herself relax almost despite the niggling bits of resentment and bitterness floating around in the back of her head. Before, while they were still going 'strong' as a couple, it had been so much easier to be angry whenever she looked at Sadie and knew the Diamond charm was supposed to help the insect smooth things over. Now, though, the grudges weren't as fresh and the pain wasn't as new. She found herself enjoying being in the woman's presence again. It held more familiarity than pain, which she really hadn't expected.
She'd probably be kicking herself for it later, after the attractive and charming presence was no longer sitting in front of her and being sociable. But for now... she smiled and it was genuine. Sadie would know.
"The paperwork is a bitch of the worst sort, but we've been making a really good dent in it. Zane's an organizer at heart, and with Vessie keeping the staff firmly in line and watching out for a lot of the domestic problems, it really frees up time to worry about current issues as well as trying to catch up. Everyone we've actually got on staff seems to be sane and useful, though the male Tulgey Queen might be a problem in the future. He seems too... watchful. I'm pretty sure there's ambition lurking under there, but whether it's towards the throne or something more personal I can't tell."
Her fingers started their familiar rhythm against the top of the table as she took another few sips, a small bit of color touching her cheeks as she smirked. "...you're going to laugh at me. No, I haven't really 'found' anyone, but I've 'found' someone in the meantime. It makes me feel like a cradle robber sometimes, but... seventeen's old enough to know her own mind. I don't think you have any of her family in your Suit. Most of them tend to be concentrated in Hearts or Clubs. Her name is Raina, a Solandrian born with her human form. Surprisingly delicate for the realm. And how about you? Anyone caught your eye, or anything else?"
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jul 16, 2009 20:09:18 GMT -5
At the mention of paperwork, Sadie raised her eyebrows and glass slightly, giving the woman a small nod. "It's all we can do to not set it on fire,[/b]" she said, fighting all the time to keep a straight face. In reality, it wasn't awful. Sadie almost found the repetitive reading and signing of various forms and proposals to be soothing in its monotony. It gave her a good opportunity to simply sit back and relax. That was, of course, assuming that the paperwork was in any semblance of order.
Then, a slight flicker of something - worry? - passed over Sadie's face. A Tulgey Queen? "Keep an eye on that one. It wouldn't do for another change of power to happen so soon.[/b]" There was something unsaid, something in Sadie's eyes at that. Keep your eye on that one, I don't want you to get hurt. She set her glass down and folded her arms over each other on the table. "Especially now that things have stabilized.[/b]"
There was jealousy when Donnie spoke of the person she'd been sleeping with, even if it somehow cheered her to know that it wasn't a permanant someone. It was silly, it was stupid. The recognition of these feelings made her feel even more off, and beneath her freckles her cheeks went red. A Solandrian? She'd never taken Donnie to go for that type, but then -- ah, that explained everything. "No, seventeen is fine. Young, but as you said, able to make her own choices. Slender Solandrian... Those are two words I can honestly say I never thought I would hear in the same sentence, let alone as descriptors of each other.[/b]" she found herself grinning, then. Bright pink eyes flicked up at Donnie. "...I met a butterfly.[/b]"
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Post by The Jenn on Jul 16, 2009 23:38:22 GMT -5
Donnie caught that look on her face and paused with her wine glass half-raised to her lips. She thought she recognized a bit of that look. The worry seemed genuine. She nodded slowly and brought it the rest of the way up to take a long sip. "Yes. I know. It's worrying, but I don't have too much time to spare for him at the moment. We finally got time for a few new projects on top of all the crap we had to settle from before. He's extremely competent. More reason to worry, I suppose, but he does the projects he's been pegged to do."
She put thoughts of the Tulgey from her mind the moment, unwilling to let thoughts of him ruin her evening. By all rights, the evening shouldn't have been pleasant enough that it could be ruined, but it was turning out to be a good time. The pleasant fuzzing at the edge of her consciousness probably wasn't hurting.
"You know, I'm not sure of the girl's breed but she's got a fine bone structure. I can only assume it came from her non-Solandrian parent. I believe it was a Highlander." Which would make a great deal of sense. At Sadie's words, both eyebrows hit the roof. "No. You're shitting me. Did you really? A she butterfly? What realm?" She'd only ever seen one insect besides the Yarrow and she'd been a butterfly. A very unhappy butterfly. She probably shouldn't bring that up right now. "Considering the context, I take it the two of you have hit it off?"
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jul 17, 2009 0:03:23 GMT -5
"Competent and male? Sounds even more dangerous, but if he does as he's told and keeps his toes in line...[/b]" Sadie trailed off, felt herself lean back and relax. The heat of the alcohol was more obvious now, made her feel a little more comfortable with the world. Her glass was long empty by now, but there would be enough left in the bottle for one more, unless Donnie wanted it... "And projects? What do you have in mind, if it's not hyper-secretive Spades-only information?[/b]"
Blast it. Why was she asking? Why was her mask slipping further? She could feel her protective layer of polite evasiveness evaporating in the face of alcohol and her own desire for - for something, and she didn't have any clear idea of what to place the blame on. She felt herself crossing her arms over her chest, rubbing the fingers across the skin.
"Very interesting. Well, if she caught your eye, she's likely quite attractive. You always did go for the pretty ones.[/b]" There was her Diamond charm, twisting her words to try and cover the discomfort she was beginning to feel. Really, Sadie had always hated using it around Donnie, but she didn't understand why that needed to carry over to here and now. They weren't together anymore. "A she butterfly, yes. I was quite happy about that, it certainly made things easier. Corvistowne, with the most incredible blue...[/b]" She hesitated. She knew Vana's history with Donnie and wondered for a fleeting instance if they'd actually met. It was shrugged off, at least for the time being. "She's.. quite lovely, anyway. Very sweet. Extremely.[/b]"
Sadie glanced down, her anxiety starting to build again.
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Post by The Jenn on Jul 17, 2009 0:17:05 GMT -5
The subject of Wulfram comfortably dropped, Donnie smiled and snorted at the thought of hyper-secretive projects. "If only the ones I'm referring to were that interesting. No, we've got a few trade agreements that had apparently been 'ideas' for a few years and then discarded due to lack of time or energy and one construction plan in the works. The road outside of the palace for a few miles really needs some work. It's been left to shit. Maybe not that bad, but the fucker needs work."
Whoops, and the language had started to loosen. She was definitely moving past the stage of lightly buzzed. How much wine had they gone through between them? They could probably do with some more.
"Pretty ladies are the only ones worth going for," she agreed with a smirk, continuing to tap the table. Then she wondered. Had that been a flirt, a backhanded compliment, harmless innuendo, or some bizarre hybrid of the three? Ner. Probably not good. "Good. I'm glad you found somebody nice and meek. That's probably a good change."
...damn. Whoops again. Her eyes slid away from the other human and towards the bottle of wine. After a second's hesitation, she reached over and poured herself more.
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jul 17, 2009 0:36:17 GMT -5
"I do like her quite a lot.[/b]" the mantis said with a nod, feeling herself worry about the direction that this conversation was taking. She was full of wine and buzzing and shaking and not feeling in control of her body, which she hated. She'd always been a control freak. Why did she have to drink so much of the wine? "And it is a change. But I miss what I had.[/b]"
As soon as the words were out, Sadie tensed and a hot flush went over her cheeks. Then she went completely silent. She stared for a long time at her empty glass and then, as soon as Donnie was done refilling her own glass, took it and drained it into her glass. Then, using anything she could as a distraction, she glanced up at the waitress and indicated that yes, they would be needing another bottle. She'd already royally wrecked the night with her intoxicated loss of control, so there didn't seem to her to be a lot of point in halting the drink now.
Finally, she did look back at Donnie, feeling honestly terrified.
"Donnie, why did you want to see me? I need to know.[/b]" All she could do was hope that some of the attention would be taken off of her previous statement. She felt like a thrice-damned fool, and she hated it. She'd spent time primping before she'd come to the bar, but she didn't know for what. Why would she be wearing the matching bra and panties if she didn't think they would be seen? There were a thousand questions in her mind. She wanted to laugh and cry and scream, and depending on what Donnie said to her in reply it seemed entirely likely she would do all three.
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Post by The Jenn on Jul 17, 2009 0:52:28 GMT -5
Yellow eyes stared in confusion. Had those words really just left the woman's mouth? And what did she mean by that? Donnie suddenly regretted drinking so much. That didn't stop her treacherous subconscious from raising the glass to her lips once again. Another bottle seemed like a very bad idea, but also a very good one. Her glass was very suddenly emptying itself.
"I don't know. I guess I wanted... something out of it. Wanted to make sure that... things between us weren't going to screw up the Courts. I've worked too damn hard on that place to let myself screw it up just because..." Just because of you and all the shit we stirred up. "...because I couldn't handle myself in public with the ruling Queen of Diamonds."
She stayed quiet for a moment, twirling one finger around the rim of her wine glass, and then sighed. "Besides. I kind of wanted to see you again. It's been a while. Your letter made me realize just how long it's been."
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jul 17, 2009 1:14:45 GMT -5
Donnie's words washed over her like a wave, soothing and distressing and everything they should be. On the one hand, it was great to hear Donnie keeping a professional attitude towards their situation, and her explanation was completely reasonable. Sadie was only having issues because she didn't want reasonable - she wanted something else. What that something was she didn't even know. She took a sip of the wine, swirled it in the glass, took another sip. When she set the glass down again, she didn't take her hands off of it.
What had she been expecting? If she could just figure that out, this whole situation would be so much simpler.
"Ah.[/b]" she said, voice somewhat faint. The silence filled the space between them, begging for something else to be said to break it. Then Donnie spoke again, and a bubble of curious hope rose up in Sadie, forcing her to raise her head and look the wolverine in the eye. There was no lie in Donnie's words. None at all.
And 'ow does zat make you feel?
Sadie nodded, extended her hand, hesitated. It dropped on the table between them, one half of a bridge that she both hoped and feared would be completed. "Too long.[/b]" she replied. "And I did miss you. Do. Miss you, that is.[/b]" she swallowed, awkwardly. The wine was really beginning to take its toll, wasn't it?
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Post by The Jenn on Jul 17, 2009 1:25:07 GMT -5
That hand. That hand meant something. Donnie knew it did. Her one hand stopped tapping and human fingers twitched. Did she have the guts to take that hand?
Wine helped. Warm, hairless skin came into contact with the insect's hand as she took it in something halfway between shake and hold. Her traitorous thumb smoothed over the back of the other hand, seemingly without direction. Breath left her in a sort of helpless half-laugh. "Yeah. I missed you too. Do miss, sort of, except you're right here and it's damn hard to miss somebody when they're sitting in front of you."
She was definitely, without a doubt feeling the wine right about now. She hadn't let go of Sadie's hand and her thumb was still making slow circles on its smooth back. Staring at that hand for a few breaths, it didn't stop what it was doing. She looked back up, eyes slightly less focused than they had been before. "...I really wish you'd been the one," she muttered sadly, and then swallowed around a tiny lump in the back of her throat. That had just... come out, now hadn't it? She hadn't meant to say that. At all. And she didn't mean to continue. So much harder to remember the bad with the woman sitting across from her, looking gorgeous and hesitant and holding her hand. The world was a lot more fuzzy. "When it was good, it was really good. I miss having somebody to come home to. You were always really good about that."
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