WHEN: 2044 SEP 14; late afternoon to early evening
WHERE: Windgrace Tower, residential level
WHO: Alectrona Windgrace, Ichi Sato, and Ichigo
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[16:14] 佐渡一 (hello5egah) was not so much shy or afraid of approaching the tower so much as unsure of what the protocol for such things was. It was easier to approach Alectrona at the Academy where interactions were expected and a prior experiences could be drawn upon but here Ichi hesitated. He stood in the lobby, frowning at the receptionist before finally deciding with a hint of his father's impatience to approach and request admittance to the residential level.
"I'm a classmate of Alectrona Windgrace. It's about a proposal for the Academy," he explained. There was little to dispute there. Notice was sent up to the residential level beforehand with the receptionist announcing a guest and the name thereof. Once in the elevator he relaxed a little, certain that if his visit had been unwelcome he'd have been told. "Do you know much beyond my own knowledge about the Windgraces, Ichigo?" he asked, possibly a little too late into the ascent. It was likely the doors would open before the automaton could finish his response.
[16:27] Ichigo (ich1g0): Ichi's near constant automaton companion hissed to a halt behind the young man as he inquired as to an audience with the young scion of the WIndgrace family. His servos only whirred into action once more when they were shown to the elevator when he followed a few steps behind his young master. "I am uncertain as to the parameters of your query young master." it responded the mechanical voice gentle and soothing, "I have an extensive file on local luminaries so it is likely I do know more than yourself as it has not been a course of study as of yet." However unlike it's creator the automaton was able to infer from context the meat of a question. "The Windgrace family hails originally from the United Kingdom where they were a prominent merchant family. In recent times their operations have been consolidated on Callisto Island under the WISE branding. WISE holds interest in a variety of significant shipping and financial institutions as well as a healthy manufacturing and Aetherite mining portfolio. The family and corporation are Led by the siblings of your classmates mother and herself, Dinah, Dorian, and Drystan Windgrace are well known socialites on the island. Full financial records are not publicly available but according to Forbes their estimated Net worth as a family is ..." His recitation of the Windgrace family Aetherpedia article synopsis was cut short only by the doors sliding open when they reached the residential level.
[16:35] Alectrona (tempest.vyper) had been idling around the tower, debating whether to go into town to alleviate boredom or throw on clothes to go practice. The rest of her family appeared to be off tending to their own interests and pass times so when Alec had the unusual news of a visitor, it was a welcome reprieve. Gently waving off a servant, the middle Windgrace child answered the door herself with one of those aethergram perfect smiles that turned genuine when she saw who was standing there. "Ichi, hello. To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?" She asked, greeting Ichi first and almost as if he was alone, but only because Alec had been raised in a family that kept servants as well so while she was polite after greeting her actual guest, she turned to nod politely to the automaton. "And Ichigo. I do hope you've been well. Will you be waiting in the lobby or would you like to come in with your master?"
[16:42] 佐渡一 (hello5egah) raised a hand to stop Ichigo's summary as the doors opened. For a moment he seemed to hold his breath until he saw the expression on Alec's face and correctly assumed its meaning. "Hello, Ms. Windgrace- ah, Alectrona," he answered, stepping out and giving Ichigo plenty of room to follow. His first attempt at a greeting had come out almost practiced but was corrected quickly when he clocked that she'd used his first name and remembered that she tended to in study sessions. "I'm glad this proposal - this visit - I'm glad this is a pleasant surprise," he said eventually. He paused to let Ichigo answer her inquiry, supplying a brief, "You're welcome to come along so long as Alectrona is alright with it," with a nod.
[16:49] Ichigo (ich1g0): Ichigo fell silent as Alectrona appeared tucking its hands behind its back leaving Ichi to converse freely with his classmate sans interruption only briefly replying politely, "Yes Ma'am and I hope mistress is well this afternoon." At the other question it slowly turned it's head to Ichi awaiting a counter to his prime directive to protect the boy and his reputation. "I will then act as chaperone young master, mistress." he automaton replied musically turning it's expressionless porcelain gaze on each in turn. It's empty gaze focused on the young Windgrace, "I must clarify the young master is not proposing a nuptial alliance at this time." it corrected lightly the slight verbal misstep of it's ward unintentionally drawing further attention to it.
[16:58] Alectrona (tempest.vyper) blinked once, her expression briefly creasing in genuine startled reaction at Ichigo. Emotions briefly played across her features, confusion and a bit of embarrassment before manners kicked in and her expression smoothed out with one of those polite smiles. "Oh, I wasn't thinking anything of the sort. It would be skipping rather a lot of steps between. I don't think young master Sato has even approached my parents for permission for courtship much less an alliance." She assured them, stepping back on one heel to lead the way into the Windgrace entry room. "And I'm a modern enough female that I'd rather enjoy dating before the necessities of such formal arrangements would be on the table. I am quite curious, however, to hear what this 'proposal' does entail. Please, do come in. Can I have any refreshments prepared for either of you?"
[17:03] 佐渡一 (hello5egah) stared long and hard at Ichigo at his correction. The unfortunate choice of wording had gone unnoticed even by Ichi himself until the automaton brought it up but once mentioned it put a bright red on the young Sato's features. "NO - no, not that sort of - " he blurted out before Alectrona herself took over. He nodded and puffed out a breath at the floor, one hand rubbing at his cheek as a little bit of blood magic removed the excessive redness from his features. "...Ichi. You can just call me Ichi," he said quietly as she referred to him by his last name. Certain bits of her reply filtered through his mind almost visibly and he looked up at her, stepping forward as she welcomed them deeper into the domicile.
"I'd hate to impose," Ichi replied with a shake of his head. "I'd prefer to go on to discuss the - discuss what I came to ask you." He walked along behind her, giving enough space that he wasn't uncomfortably close. It unfortunately gave his eyes a chance to wander and they did, albeit briefly. If she turned at all his stare zipped right back up to her head. "I wanted to ask you about practice. Practicing magic, specifically, but..." he trailed off and paused in the foyer. "...but, you said something. You'd rather enjoy dating. Does that mean you wouldn't be against it?"
[17:09] Ichigo (ich1g0): "Indeed mistress, I would not wish you to think young master a premature negotiator." It replied in the same soft genteel tones it always spoke. It allowed Ichi to step forward first but was only a few steps behind. "I do not eat or drink mistress and my Aether reserves are well within operational parameters thank you." it replied politely leaving the further negotiations of it's masters desires to the young man himself so long as they did not move against the interests of the household.
[17:14] Alectrona (tempest.vyper) blinked once at Ichi, "Are you asking me if I want to go on a date with you or is this more of an... 'establishing my habits' sort of question. I know that stupid WindgraceWatch article paints me like some sort of ice queen but I'm not opposed to going out and enjoying myself. I just..." Alec waved her hand absently, the gems on her finger nails picking up the reflected light. "It isn't easy, you know? The family name intimidates a fair number and then there are those who are JUST interested in me because of my family. It all gets a little draining and its just easier to focus on... other things." Alec's hands fluttered once more before she forced herself into stilling them. "Tell me more about what practicing magic would entail, please. I have some... rules about practicing outside of controlled environments." Mostly in that a good chunk of Alec's more instinctive magic tended to follow instincts that were decidedly NOT Alec's own.
[17:27] 佐渡一 (hello5egah): It was a very lucky thing that Ichigo's remark went by and large over Ichi's head. He grimaced briefly before smoothing out his expression into something more akin to Thirteen's typical welcoming smile than his father's own neutral mask. It didn't last long, not with Alec so directly asking his meaning. His mouth opened for a moment and hung there before promptly shutting as he cleared his throat and scrambled for an appropriate reply. His gaze wasn't distracted by the jewelry she wore, solely focused on her face and her expression as if trying to read whether or not she was bothered by the possibility.
"I wanted to find an avenue for honing my bloodworking and the Academy has no official ways to do this. Our study sessions - our conversations came to mind. And how you wanted to gain better control of your shadow magic. So I thought of you." He paused to breathe there, glancing at Ichigo - or more likely, at the eyes he knew sat behind Ichigo's chassis - as if for reassurance. Ichi didn't expect a reply from the Professor but that glance seemed to steady him a bit as he was reminded of their conversation. "...practice would involve physical and magical sparring. Abba - Professor Dashrix is arranging for accommodations on Academy grounds as a club. Other students will be welcome but I most wanted to invite you. I wanted to gauge whether or not you would be interested in closer personal interaction, physical or not."
[17:40] Ichigo (ich1g0): Ichigo fell silent as the conversation continued without him listening for a direct prompt for aid or query but otherwise impassive as the furniture of the spacious lobby. Ichigo's servos whirred as his eyes tightened focus at Ichi's plaintive look measuring the subtle shifts in heart rate and respiration. "The Professor is sponsoring a club expressly for practitioners of esoteric aetheric manifestations not well handled by the school of sentimentalisms approach." He succinctly clarified. "Young Master Ichi wished to personally invite you to attend in service of your shared struggles mastering your unique talents." his empty expression shifted to Ichi once more for a moment uncertain if further clarity of purpose was needed.
[17:46] Alectrona (tempest.vyper) brightened, "Oh that sounds like JUST the thing. I'd love to. Thank you so much for thinking of me." Alec said, reaching to pull out her Aetherphone from her back pocket. The state of art device whirred to life as she flipped the do not disturb mode off to a flood of notifications. "Sorry, let me just..." Her fingers flew quickly to address the most pressing concerns. "Family, you know? Ah, here we go. I know you *must* have a device. Your 'Abba' owns the company that made the technology in the first place, doesn't he? Here, let me send you my contact information so that you can reach me without having to trek down. I mean, if you don't *want* to. You're certainly welcome to visit again." That was a little clumsy and a slight flush covered Alec's cheeks, deepening at the panicked older-brothering going on through her phone messages. "I mean, if that sounds good to you, of course. I just wanted to save you the extra trouble."
[17:57] 佐渡一 (hello5egah) almost grinned at her reaction to the 'proposal.' He barely noticed the aetherphone until she offered to send him her contact information. His eyes skimmed down to the device and lingered, his hands patting at his pockets until he realized his device was more akin to a watch with an interface and already sitting on his left wrist. "...oh, I - well, I do," he said and poked at it. Within range of each other it was easy enough for the devices to communicate and send data back and forth. Still, he held it up and outward awkwardly as he considered her own stumbling over words.
"I don't mind hunting you down - trekking, coming down here," he corrected with another clearing of his throat and a quick glance at Ichigo. A little chew of his lower lip staved off whatever innate urge rose up at that. "But I'd like the contact information anyway if that's alright. It would be easier to coordinate meeting for the club. Or for things you would find more appropriate for dates." Clearly he had assumed their conversation had confirmed they were both interested.
[18:03] Alectrona (tempest.vyper) blinked and then turned a rosy red that only deepened when she saw the message about her skirt length flicker across the screen from the very active family chat. Mashing the button to make that vanish with the sort of clumsiness that only happened when one wanted notifications to be hidden immediately before they were noticed, Alec glanced down at her phone as her normally graceful fingers fumbled with it. Another message chirped across. "Mum says you're invited to dinner with the family tonight if you like," Alec offered, only glancing up when she was certain there were no more embarrassing notifications. "I like you hunting me down. I mean visiting. I like it when you visit but technology does make that easier to coordinate. Uhm, as for dates. There's this place that I love. My uncle Dorian used to take me there after dance classes. The burger place? Its in a bus. Do you know it? I mean, does that sound alright?"
[18:13] 佐渡一 (hello5egah) could not look any more pleased than when he saw the redness on Alectrona's cheeks. Whatever texts came and went across her phone screen were ignored in favor of what THAT meant. Especially when she mentioned hunting. "I - you do?" he sputtered out before she clarified and he was forced to backtrack and correct. "OH - of course. That makes sense," he said with a nod. Ichi was making mental notes, things to associate meanings with phrasing for future interactions.
It was a few awkward, quiet minutes before he even realized he'd been invited to dinner. Ichi blinked and looked quickly from Ichigo to Alec and back. "Dinner with... your family?" he repeated. "When I was ah. Reading about interactions like this, I was under the impression that step came - later. Conversing with the parents, I mean. Did you - would you like me to attend dinner? The burger place sounds perfectly fine, by the way. I've never been but I would like to try it. Not now I mean - or now, if you would are discussing dinner with your family and would like to go there." He paused and chewed on his lip and sighed. "...I would prefer to go to the burger bus with just you rather than dinner here with your family.," he said firmly, fully assuming what fell under Lex's list of things that ought be stated directly.
[18:18] Alectrona (tempest.vyper) blinked as she realized that she'd confused the young man. "Oh, yes, no, I mean. No, not tonight and the dinner invitation is unrelated to any dating activities. It's my mother offering an invitation because she is friends with your mother. In terms of, well, formal meet-the-parents sort of dinner, no, that would be much later and only when I can make sure that my brother is definitely going to be otherwise occupied," That last was more of a mutter under her breath. "I would like to go with you, to the burger place, for a first date, sort of thing, yes, but we would have to schedule that for an evening when I wasn't to be expected for family dinner and with there being a date pending, I will make my excuses to my family for your absence tonight certainly. If that sounds good to you?" Now she was just going in circles.
[18:26] 佐渡一 (hello5egah) took a few moments to listen and process, sometimes staring and sometimes nodding slowly. Most of his confusion had been cleared up at least, even if some of what she said formed more questions in his mind. "Would you like to arrange a time and date now or coordinate it at a later time?" he asked, finally pulling his arm back to log her contact information under the appropriate name. "In regards to tonight and being absent, I could... if it would save you the trouble of making excuses I can attend. If you'd prefer me to, that is. Is it more trouble for me to attend or for me to be absent? For you?" He glanced at her phone before adding, "Is the issue with your brother something I can help with?"
[18:32] Alectrona (tempest.vyper) tipped her head to the side and considered before saying quietly, "I think, I would like to wait for my Uncle Dorian to be available before you join us for family dinner. It won't be the same with only one of my Uncles available and that is important to me." She gave a little nod of satisfaction at that response, putting a hand on her stomach as she found her sense of balance again in this very odd conversation. "Lets just talk on the 'net about plans? It'll be easier and I can look directly at my schedule when we're talking. As for my brother," Alec's grin returned, warming her expression and dimpling her cheeks. "You're an only child, right? No, it's nothing that I need help with. He just has a hard time adjusting to having grown baby sisters."
[18:41] 佐渡一 (hello5egah) nodded firmly when she spoke her preference. "Of course," he said and hesitated again as they both had many times over the course of the conversation. "...if my - family - had dinners like others I would invite you to them. I think you might find them odd. Most of our servants are like Ichigo, automatons. And we don't always dine together unless my mother specifically requests it." Ichi frowned, more thoughtful than outright bothered. "I don't have any siblings. There is something my father considers of his blood but he clings more to your family than mine. I think... that Abba prefers it that way too." He shrugged. "He would be the elder of us but it sounds like your elder brother is far more concerned with your romantic life." Which did not mean, of course, that there wasn't a shadow that moved apart of Alex's movements or that there were not extra eyes peering down at her from somewhere in the room.
[18:51] Alectrona (tempest.vyper) tipped her head to the side, curious before she realized who he meant. "Oh, Hunter? He's a dearheart. My Mum is ever so fond of him. And he is very indulgent of the games we played as children. I had this imaginary friend as a child," Still did but saying that out loud sounded loony and Alec tried very hard not to sound insane, especially in front of boys that might take her on a date. "And Hunter would play fight with his shadows. Well, my shadows." She waved the topic away before the shadows could thicken. "Every family has their own traditions, I know. If we do get to that stage, well, I will certainly endeavor to accept your family's traditions as you accept mine but, let's start small. Burgers first and perhaps milkshakes? We can walk on the pier after maybe? I'll message you," Alec said, "Or you can message me."
[19:03] 佐渡一 (hello5egah) glanced up and around as if tickled by the presence of aether beyond their own. "...Hunter, that's right," he said as he focused back on Alec. While the two conversed a movement above them betrayed the Eldritch spawn's curious presence, less intrusive perhaps considering Hunter neither spoke nor attempted to encroach on their space. He simply seemed to be watching. "You mentioned your friend and the shadows before," Ichi recalled. He seemed for a moment to be on the verge of asking more but another look at the shadows and a longer, lingering one on Hunter's figure clinging to the bottom of the stairs evidently changed his mind. "I hope our practice sessions help with coordinating your abilities. I'd like that. I'd like - uhm, all of that. I'll message you. Not that you can't message me too." He managed a smile, awkward and a bit sheepish before bowing his head to the tune of all her phone notifications. "Thank you for your time today. Ichigo and I should go before we cause any more disruption to your evening." With that he turned to tap the call button for the elevator, ushering Ichigo out ahead of him.
[19:06] Alectrona (tempest.vyper) smiled, the gesture shy and a little lopsided, far from the practiced aethergram worthy perfection that she normally aimed for. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot." Alec said softly, leaning against the door as the pair went to take their leave. She waved one hand, those bright nails sparkling in the light and only when they turned to leave did she dig out her phone to catch up with the messages in the group chat, a small smile still curving her lips.
[19:08] Ichigo (ich1g0): Ichigo did not resist being shown out by Ichi at pace the boy often grew impatient in such situations. As they left he looked down at his ward, "I am surprised her brother would disprove. News reports indicate he is a romance enthusiast." Anything further was lost to the noise of the street as they exited.