”One large Chai Tea with soymilk and honey please.” Rosaline gave her order to a young waitress. The girl jotted the order down and asked if Rosaline wanted anything else. The pink haired girl hesitated for a moment.

”…I’ll have a slice of strawberry cake as well.” The waitress nodded before leaving to put the order in. Rosaline was left to wait at her small table, an empty seat across from her.

The café she visited frequently was busy today. She glanced around at other tables, full with people chattering away while they sipped their beverage of choice. It was somewhat unfortunate seeing as Rosaline had come here to think, but it couldn’t be helped. The café itself was fairly nice. The location had it tucked away from the busy streets, so that only the trendy locals typically knew about it. The interior contained a modern, yet classic look, with vintage looking wood-finished furniture along with local artwork hanging on the walls. The atmosphere here was usually calming and relaxing, hence why Rosaline liked to come here and think.

Rosaline herself was dressed fairly casual today. Draped over her form-fitting grey shirt was an over sized red cardigan. With it she wore a simple black skirt along with black leggings. Instead of her typical heels or boots, Rosaline had on a pair of classic high-top converses. Her pink-hair tumbled loosely down her back, a few strands resting against her white jacket that was draped on the back of her chair.

After about ten minutes or so, the waitress came back with Rosaline’s order, setting both the cake and the tea down onto the table. Rosaline thanked her, before taking a small sip of her tea. The heat burned her tongue, but the spices of the tea along with the milk and honey gave the drink a delightful taste and aroma. As she waited for it to cool, Rosaline took a small bight of her cake, which was sweet but not too heavy. She was glad she choose to opt for the snack. Sweets tended to help improve Rosaline’s mood.

Valdis sighed checking the thin black watch that was around her wrist, she had been checking the time a lot lately, probably because deep down she knew there wasn’t much time left. These days she made a habit of scanning her surroundings for small energy pop ups….or the occasional familiar one. Mainly she was avoiding any of the short skirt squad; ever since Sophia had discovered her hop over it was just easier to avoid them all together. She was walking along when one of those energies happened to pop up….

”What do ya know…hubby was right”

Nazo had said she had similar energy to a Senshi, before she couldn’t sense it however there was always a faint something there. Now it was enhanced quite a bit….Rosa would jump her for the new developments. A bit of company didn’t sound to bad right now…though she supposed she could always go bug her dad in the hospital…or the goat. However seeing her dad in a hospital bed tweaked her out slightly; parents in hospital beds never ended well.

Valdis was dressed all up in her gothic glory, wearing her new favorite jacket that looked like a period piece. She also wore tight black pants and thigh high boots with detailed metal embellishments. Underneath the jacket was a black and purple corset with a bit of black lace overlay over the shimmery purple material. The jacket itself was a long fitted knee length coat styled in a 17th century justaucorps style. It was made with black material with metal clasps that lined the front of the jacket. Only the portion of the clasps were secured starting at her breasts and ending at her waist. The cuffs on the jacket were heavily embroidered with metal embellishments that matched the details on her boots. Her air was curled in a slight wave which tumbled down to her waist; while her normal violet eyes had more of a maroon tinge to them now.

She had made a bee line to the shop she sensed her oldest dearest, and currently least hospitalized friend. Valdis slid into the shop her eyes immediately focusing on the pink haired individual. She walked up to her table with a weak smirk as she looked down at the pink cake….then back up at the pink individual…

”….Guess you really are what you eat…”

At the sound of a familiar voice Rosaline looked up, surprised at the unexpected visit from Valdis. The timing was convenient though, seeing as she had wanted to talk to Valdis after the incident from yesterday afternoon. However she was momentarily distracted by the other’s comment, which caused Rosaline to stare at the piece of cake currently on the end of her fork.

”Sweet and perishable…..” she spoke almost as if analyzing the cake. Of course Rosaline didn’t really think she possessed such qualities. ”….and pink,” she conceded in reluctance, confirming the point Valdis had likely intended. She then ate the bite that had been lingering on her fork before looking back up at her purple-haired friend.

”I had a…scene with our lovely manager yesterday.” Rosaline began to speak, expecting Valdis to take a seat across from her.

”You’re involved with them.” It wasn’t a question, but nor was it an accusation. Rosaline’s tone was neutral, almost bored sounding, as if she was commenting about the weather or some other trivial fact. After analyzing the events from yesterday afternoon, the manager’s words, and Valdis’ own recent behavior, it was the simple conclusion Rosaline had come to. Now she just needed to talk to Valdis about it, in order to acquire more information.

”I wanted to get rid our manager, I’ve had enough of her trying to interfering with our music. I didn’t however…I wasn’t sure how you would be affected.” Rosaline’s words were somewhat vague, but she was playing it safe just in case there were any listening ears. The café was fairly noisy though, so she doubted anyone would be able eavesdrop. Regardless, she assumed Valdis would know what she was talking about. The singer was sure to know what their manager really was, so the rest should be easy enough to understand.

”You’re perishable as well, so I say it’s fitting”

She smiled as she pulled out a seat and took her place in it. Ever like Rosa she got straight to the point; her eyebrow quirked when she said that she had an incident with their manager. Her frowned deepened when the nature of that incident became clearer. She sighed and directed her gaze to out the window. She was silent as she let Rosa continue, and was silent even a few moments after she was finished. The only noise between them was the rhythmical drumming of her fingers upon the table.

”Involved enough that I will be our managers new boss soon….”

The frown was still set on Valdis’s face.

”She was tampering again? I’m not a fan of her touching my music as well. If I was you I would have gotten rid of her; she’s not under me yet…or is she…really don’t know how I rank. She was the person I’m aiming to replace’s lacky….Moving forward do what you need to do; I can face any frayed ends from it. However I will at the manager to my list of people to deal with.”

A vicious grin grew across Valdis’s face; she had been waiting for an excuse to hack into that manager of hers.

”Once your done your cake do you wish to go somewhere we can talk? Apparently I have some things I need to fill you in on…”

Rosaline gave a slight nod, glad to know she was free to do what she needed. It was slightly frustrating to know that the manager had managed to give her the slip the other day, but her time would come. It was also interesting to know that Valdis was apparently aiming for a high ranking Covenant position. Rosaline debated asking her friend about the risks involved, but she also supposed she needed a better understanding of what Valdis was trying to achieve.

When Valdis asked Rosaline if she wanted to go somewhere to talk, Rosaline was already finishing the last bite of her cake.

”Of course. Did you have a place in mind? Otherwise my place is fine.” She placed money that would be plenty for her cake and coffee before getting up to put on her jacket. Although it was subtle, Rosaline was pleased to be spending some time with Valdis. She was also still sorting out her own objectives, so the more information she knew the better.

Valdis watched as Rosa finished her piece of cake and decided it was suitable to go back to her apartment. Valdis face slightly scrunched up at the idea of going back to the potential disaster area…cause chances were it hadn’t been cleaned since she was last there. She scratched the back of her head; she always could take Rosa back to the Youma realm…however with her latest development of energy that would be like bringing a bright light into a cave full of moths. After a bit of thought Valdis shrugged; her place would have to do. Her place was more likely to be swamped by Sophia…who asked to many questions.

”Your place is fine”

Valdis waited for her friend to be ready and left the shop, heading back to Rosa’s apartment. They would most likely walk in silence until they reached their destination.

Once she was ready, Rosaline led the two of them back to her apartment. She was never one for small talk, a fact Valdis probably knew, but even so she found herself wishing that some of her conversations with Valdis didn’t have to be so serious and stiff. Then again, Rosaline didn’t have much interests outside her music so there really wasn’t much else to talk about, other than youma’s and their manager she wanted to kill of course.

Soon enough the pair made it up to Rosaline’s apartment. As the pink-haired bassist was placing her key in the lock and opening door, she suddenly remembered something and abruptly turned to face Valdis, her normally composed face appearing slightly flustered.

”Wait here.” With no other explanation, Rosaline quickly entered her apartment, slamming the door behind her locking it and leaving Valdis outside. Even from outside though, Valdis would likely be able to hear the loud, almost frantic sounds of furniture moving, dishes clanging, etc. It would seem Rosaline had remembered the previous disapproval from Valdis at the state of her apartment the last time she was here.

Eventually the outside door would open again, revealing a surprisingly calm looking Rosaline.

”Please come in.” She opened the door, gesturing Valdis to come inside. The apartment, still somewhat messy, did look a bit better than it had before. The narrow entrance which contained space for shoes and jackets quickly opened it into the main living room/kitchen. Her dirty clothes, that had been lying around, were collected and thrown into her bedroom just off from the main room, door shut. Papers, books, and compositions had been collected up and placed into piles out of the way. Luckily Rosaline hadn’t had too many dirty dishes, but if Valdis wanted to go snooping, she may encounter a few in some of the spare cabinets.

”Feel free to talk a seat,” she spoke, even knowing that such formalities were typically unnecessary with Valdis. ”Would you like tea or anything?” Not that Rosaline had much in her fridge, but tea she could do.

As they got to the door Valdis raised an amused brow as Rosa told her to wait there; she humored her friend while she ran inside her apartment and slammed the door in her face. Valdis couldn’t help but chuckle; Rosa was adorable sometimes. She listened to the frantic sounds of cleaning/hiding things from view. Perhaps she should hire Rosa a merry maid service; the girl certainly needed it….actually that wasn’t such a bad idea. Val took out the little coffin sized box from her pocket and opened it up; she ended up calling home and asked talked to one of the maids at her house.

She clicked the phone closed just as Rosa came back to the door; she shoved the phone back into her pocket and fallowed her in. Valdis took note of the house…still dreadfully messy by her standards. She really couldn’t imagine how Rosa could live like this. Valdis just shook her head with a loving smile and made her way to a seat; Rosa went through the trouble to try to straighten up for her. She wasn’t going to pick at it.

”Leave Wednesday nights open; I’ve spoken to my maids at my house; seeing how I haven’t been living at home and Daddys in the hospital they haven’t gotten much work; so they’ll swing by here so you don’t have to worry about straightening up. If you dislike them it will only be for a couple of weeks, if you end up liking them then hire them on yourself. However first couple of weeks are on me”

Valdis was about to accept the offer of a drink…but then thought about it. Chances of that cup being properly cleaned was little to none.

”Umm I think I will decline thank you though; I am more interested in hearing what the manager did…”

Rosaline felt a little defeated when Valdis told her that she had arranged for a maid service to come by her apartment, but supposed it couldn’t be helped. Cleaning was never much of a priority for Rosa, she was typically too absorbed in her music or writing to care. When she first moved out on her own, Rosaline could barely look after her own health. Now she was responsible enough to set alarms on her phone to remind herself to eat or sleep. Cleaning was simply not on the list.

Taking a seat, Rosaline sighed, visibly relaxing now that she was in the privacy of her own home. It was a more unguarded side that few but Valdis probably ever saw from the normally stoic, apathetic young girl.

”Ah yes our manager. I’m not sure how important the details really are, but yesterday evening I stumbled upon her ‘installing’ some sort of strange crystal type objects into our music equipment. She explained that she was making some modifications before the show. Naturally I told her I would inform the sound technician about it, since I doubted she had the proper qualifications to be doing such a task,” Rosaline explained quite logically.

”I suppose this didn’t sit well with her. Quickly after this exchange she attacked me, and admittedly I was a bit startled by the new form she had taken. I ran, and then stumbled across a talking…cat looking creature who gave me this…” Reaching into her bag, Rosaline pulled out the magic wand-like item which had the Eris symbol on it.

”It is hard to believe that creature was there by chance, but regardless I then obtained supernatural abilities…along with a very short skirt…and managed to turn the tides on our lovely manager.” Rosaline put the wand away and crossed her arms, a small pout forming on her lips.

”I should have finished her off. But she mentioned you and I hesitated to act without understanding the situation better. I suppose the manager isn’t quite the idiot I took her for, but I won’t let her escape next time.” An edge of darkness had crept into Rosaline’s voice. She did not appreciate anyone tampering with her music.

Valdis drummed her fingers on the side of the chair; a very unamused expression on her face as she listened to Rosa’s tale. Her violet eyes darkened and grew sharp with anger as she heard not only did the manager tamper with the music, she used her name against Rosa.

”I owe you an apology; I should have alerted you earlier that the manager was a class IV youma. I’ve known since she first started; she went nutso like that after we were confronted by some thugs on the street. The red head Kail whom you have met happened to be around then as well….either way I have known what she was for a while now”

Valdis chuckled when Rosa mentioned a talking cat. Curious she reached forward to touch the henshin item to get a closer look. Immediately her skin began to sizzle and the smell of burnt flesh filled the room. Valdis sighed and returned the item; her burnt flesh quickly healing from the damage that the pure item caused.

”If it was white it was Artimes, I don’t mind that one….Luna the black one I have a thing out for….if you see her give her a kick for me. But they are the mau; they awaken those like you. There are others like you, Nazo, the one I summoned here the last time I talked to you like this is one of them. My body guard Kail that I hired; he is also one. He was the one to fight the manger the first time. Frankly when I didn’t have the power to stand up to her then; he was needed. Most of the people from the sleep over as well are the ones you can turn to about the whole short squad thing….You guys operate on a different un corrupted type of energy.”

She examined her fingers as fresh pink flesh appeared on her fingers; a neutral expression on her face.

”…You can either finish her off, or I can deal with her. She’s under my control now… and frankly she might have just jeopardized a whole large set of energy collection by attacking you….I have more than enough reason to terminate her just based on that…..But frankly since you are on the short skirt squad now….I suggest you get in touch with the one called Sophia. She will be able to help you more with this situation then I can…..or”

She hadn't done this in a while.

”NaZZZoooo my darling; my loins burn for your attention”

Her voice came out as a purr; knowing either way he would show up. He was better suited for explaining Rosa’s situation better then she was. Plus...it might make Rosa uncomfortable enough from broaching a subject she'd rather avoid.

Outside Rosa's door, a knock would be heard from a jovial 'knock knock pause knock knock, pause x2 knock knock'. When the door is inevitably opened, they find Nazo in his armored form, cloak, faceless mask, scythe and all, waving nonchalantly with his free hand.

"Allo, your Dial-A-Reaper request has been fulfilled!"

Rosaline listened to Valdis, alarmed when her skin began to burn upon contact with the wand item. However Valdis’ skin soon healed once she returned the item, though the scene still unsettled Rosaline. She continued to listen as Valdis talked about mau and others with similar abilities, taking particular note that of the term “un-corrupted” energy.

”I don’t wish to interfere with your operations, so do whatever you think necessary…but if she crosses my path first she’s mine,” Rosaline said rather darkly when Valdis mentioned the manager again. She was about ready to respond to the suggestion of getting in touch with others when Valdis called a certain someone who was probably Rosaline’s second least favorite person.

When the door knock, Rosaline’s eyes narrowed, studying Valdis carefully for a moment. She then stood up and walked over to open the door. She glared at the figure at the door, not particularly amused. Wordlessly she turned around to return to her seat on the couch, but had left the door open. It was all the invitation Nazo was going to get.

”I’m not interested in joining up with this group. I told the cat the same thing.” She turned towards Valdis.

”Their objectives do not interest me. Yours do.”