[Nos Astra, Illium] Let's All Go To The Lobby

Linya grinned.
"Tell you what, Ana - if you get any funny looks, I'll fall off my seat or something."
Wait, was that self-awareness?
"I'm taking this in anyway. Let's go!"

Iryana laughed gently as Linya played with her dress, though she didn't make any moves to dissuade the small asari. And when everybody began to file in, the drell walked after them, looking forward to finishing up the performance.

"Anyone yells at you, I'll kick their arses," Daia chuckled quietly as, arm in arm, they took their place in the queue shuffling back into the theatre. "Ineffectually, granted... but it'll be like a kat nibbling their ankle, the confusion alone would be a tactical asset..."

=====

The stage lights at last reverted from theatrical to the plain all-over illumination of a normal room, signalling that the actors and musicians were done with their bows and thanks, and the audience let their applause die out. Many stood and began filing along the aisles, but by no means all - it was one of the odd little traditions that guests weren't politely ejected from the house right away, save for in the most ruthlessly pragmatic theatres and cinemas where the time between the end of one show and the beginning of the next was counted a financial drain to be cut down by any means necessary - so Daia made no move to rise at once.

"Quite a finale," she mused. "They did some upgrading when they redesigned this place, the old Strata's sound network would never have carried two choruses at once that well." She stretched in her seat, then gave a sigh and relaxed.

The funny thing about applause was, how universal, in the true sense of the word, it actually was. Most species knew this form of appraisal, since clapping the hands, especially for the five-fingered species, was about the loudest but still homogenous sound, they could produce. Shouting was the other option but it was never as uniform in sound. So, asari also clapped their hands to express joy.

And had Taleeze ever. Her hands were hurting a bit but it was appraisal well spent, the cast really deserved it.
“Oh, yes, that was amazing. I was surprised how fast the second act went by.” And how short the time of snuggling with Skylar in the dark had seemed. She stretched her legs and arms, putting one hand in Skylar’s lap.
“So, how did you all like it? I mean, aside from all the analytical talk… it’s the same as with wine. In the end it just comes down to, if you like it or not. I liked it a LOT!”

"I, uh."

In fact, Ana'Therion had entirely missed several critical elements of the finale, due to heavy use of metaphor and euphemistic language in the lyrics. As the actual action on stage was totally unambiguous, anyone with eyes would've had no problems following along, but, well...yeah.

"It was, um." Come on, Ana, fake it. "The...the message of the work really shone through, I think. Personally I was really...uh, I was really enthralled by that last sequence."

She felt more than a little inadequate.

"Interesting twist on the traditional symbolism," Skylar piped up. "The Matriarch offering her mask to the Huntress, her singing the final soliloquy. It's usually the Matriarch herself, no?" She detected the slight pauses-for-thought in Ana's comments, although probably only by virtue of knowing her well - she wondered how often the quarian had improvised a similarly noncommittal yet convincing reply during her time at Erana, and resolved to ask next time they got together. She had some amusing stories of her own about pulling the same trick, with varying degrees of success. She hoped, at any rate, that knowing about the Matriarch/Huntress switch would make the content a little clearer - the company obviously hadn't had the sight-impaired in mind when they had cast such similar voices for the pair.

"It is, isn't it?" Daia agreed, sounding mildly surprised. "Slipped my mind... How come you know my culture better than I do?" Skylar chuckled at the mock-aggrieved tone.

"I haven't had centuries to get fuzzy on the details of what I saw when I was younger," she countered. "It was a good show - a good cast, innovative."

She gave a little stretch of her own, letting her hand come to rest gently atop Taleeze's, lightly tracing the outline of her fingers.

"Look at that, Daia, she wants to make us feel like old ladies." Taleeze was cocking her head, her eyes sparkling playfully in Skylar's direction.

Gently entwining her fingers with the human's, Taleeze rose from her seat, in the process offering Skylar a courteous hand. Most of the theater was already emptied, a few small groups discussing and laughing on their way out.

"So, what are you nice people up to? It has been a fun night", Taleeze asked in the direction her companions. When she turned to face Skylar, a sudden shyness entered her voice when she continued in a more private tone: "I think there was an offer earlier to give me a lift, Sky. If this would still not be too inconvenient... I'd be happy to accept." Taleeze didn't really specify a lift to where but her eyes again were giving away her preferred location.

There was a thought that persisted throughout the remainder of the play, watching the actors and actresses, one that had popped up from time to time during literature classes two centuries ago:
I don't have a clue what's going on here.
Ana, it would seem, was not alone.

---------

"Well, we're off to see my family soon on the Citadel, so there's packing to do..."
Linya giggled, stroking Iryana's arm in such a way that nobody could have been in any doubt as to her intentions for the night.
"...but that can wait."

"Kids these days," Daia giggled.

"Yes, well," Skylar grinned, accepting Taleeze's hand. "Ladies, it's been a pleasure, but I did offer my companion a lift, and I suspect getting her and Daia apart from one another is the only way I'm not going to get teased mercilessly for the rest of the evening."

Having spent a moment making individual goodbyes, while Taleeze did the same, she offered her arm. As they made their way out of the theatre, her hand slid down to stroke the asari's back.

"Your carriage awaits," she murmured, signalling her 'car to rendezvous with them at a nearby platform where the waiting queue wasn't too long. "Will I be dropping you off at your hotel... or did you perhaps want to show me your twist on a Cyclone? I've got a modestly well-stocked bar in my apartment, among other luxuries..."

"Probably," Daia cheerfully agreed with Skylar's split-them-up tactic.

She bade Skylar a warm farewell, and hugged Taleeze.

"Purely as a matter of girl-talk curiosity," she whispered, "I'll expect a full report later."

With the pair on their way, and Linya and Iryana likewise departing to follow other pursuits, she took Ana's hand, and the two fell into the not-obviously-guiding walk they had developed.

Everyone's frisky tonight, she mused, but didn't voice the thought. It wouldn't have been at all fair to Ana, circumstances being what they were. Still, though, here they were, arm in arm. Daia smiled.

"Thanks for coming, love," she said. "Now, how does home sound? Those seats were nice, but I'm really in the mood for something more cuddlesome." Once upon a time it would have been a very tame euphamism for what was actually intended; now to both of them it only meant sleep. But that was alright. As the play's Matriarch had said, deeper contentment is in a real moment than an imagined lifetime.

"Take it easy, you four."

One of the things Ana was eternally grateful for was the number of steps Daia took to preserve her dignity. Even though she was absolutely leading the quarian back to the skycar (left to her own devices, there was no way Ana would've made it out on her own, much less found the specific 'car), she was graceful enough to make it looks totally innocuous.

So it was that, once they'd managed to get outside and begin working their way towards the parking lot, Ana'Therion leaned in and nuzzled the asari's shoulder affectionately. She was tired, and it had been a long evening, but getting some culture in her weekly intake had been much-needed.

"That sounds fantastic."

A pause.

"And, uh, next time, maybe we should go to the symphony."

The hand on her back made Taleeze shiver. When they walked onto the platform, she was sure, Skylar must have noticed.

Her carriage... Taleeze wasn't too familiar with human saying but had caught enough of the historic analogies while researching a bit on corsets, to understand what Skylar was referring to - and how she meant it.

"Yes, I want to show you", she simply said. after a split second of hesitating, her hands slid around Skylars waist and she pulled the human into a kiss, so soft that the tiniest flex would have been enough to break the bold move.