The Park, Monday Afternoon

[crimson_sister]

After class, Lucille had gone for a long walk, roaming the streets of the town for a while before ending up in the park. She stopped at the pond, where the ducks and the flamingos were enjoying the spring weather, the latter eyeing her suspiciously while some for the former approached her cautiously, expecting to be fed.

"Silly creatures," Lucille said quietly to herself. "Trusting me to feed them." She tilted her head, smiling coldly at the birds. "Should I feed you poisoned breadcrumbs, perhaps? Or lure you close enough to grab one of you and take you home to make a fine dinner. Don't worry, I will do neither, but I also don't care enough whether you live or die to feed you." She addressed the ducks with a soft, gentle voice, but even in Fandom she didn't expect the birds to understand. Eventually they realized that she would not offer them anything tasty, and wandered back to the pond. Lucille stayed for a while, watching them swim back and forth in the pond, unaware of dangers.

[Very open park, obviously, and very welcome to interrupt Lucille.]

Comments

[seeks_truth]

"I... usually take a run at this hour," Cassandra said slowly. "I am sorry. Did I startle you?"

[crimson_sister]

"Don't worry about it," Lucille replied. "I was just... watching the ducks. How are you doing?"

[seeks_truth]

"Stretching my legs. It is always refreshing to put myself through such exercise," Cassandra said. She smiled a little. "It is good to see you."

[crimson_sister]

"It is good to see you too." Lucille returned the smile. "And I have been walking myself. I find it clears the mind." She had rarely had the opportunity to go for walks, and she wasn't even sure how she felt about it, but she knew that was an explanation people often gave.

[seeks_truth]

"I suppose it does," Cassandra mused. "Though I've always preferred to run, when I have the chance."

She walked closer towards Lucille. "Shall we walk together?"

[crimson_sister]

"I would enjoy that," Lucille replied, pleased at the suggestion. "If you can slow down to my pace, for I won't be able to keep up with yours."

[seeks_truth]

"I can settle if it is for conversation," Cassandra promised her. "I have done most of my rounds already."

[crimson_sister]

Lucille smiled, and began to walk at a slow pace. "So, how has your week been?"

[seeks_truth]

"Calm and quiet," Cassandra said, as she walked along. "It makes me suspicious, when that happens. Is that strange of me?"

[crimson_sister]

"No," Lucille replied. "I feel the same. Calm can be quite deceptive. Although from what I heard, those who were brave" -- or foolish -- "enough to go outside last week had a more exciting time."

[seeks_truth]

"I do not consider spontaneous nudity a disturbance to celebrate," Cassandra muttered.

[crimson_sister]

"Neither do I," Lucille replied. "But those who experienced might be more reluctant to call the week a calm one. Perhaps there is a lesson for us, that calm and quiet also mean making wise choices."

She assumed Cassandra had decided to stay indoors as well.

[seeks_truth]

"I ventured out to the salle, but did not waste much time in the wind," Cassandra mused. "Of course, I can't do so every day."

[crimson_sister]

"No, of course not, but it was still a good choice, considering the circumstances," Lucille said. "Have you found the time to read?"

She was curious if Cassandra had read any of the books she had lent her, and what her opinion on them was.

[seeks_truth]

"I am halfway through the novel you loaned me," Cassandra said, smiling a little. "It has been quite interesting so far."

[crimson_sister]

"I hope you will enjoy the second half too," Lucille replied, smiling back.

[seeks_truth]

"They are such terrible people, all," Cassandra said, "And yet, their passion--! It is fascinating."

[crimson_sister]

"They are terrible," Lucille agreed. "And their passion makes them worse, not better. Perhaps that is the way of love; it can turn you into an angel or a monster."

[seeks_truth]

"It is a tragedy when the latter happens," Cassandra said, frowning quietly to herself. "What dictates such things, do you think?"

[crimson_sister]

"Perhaps convention is the culprit?" Lucille suggested. "When a love is rejected by society, it turns darker. Like for Cathy and Heathcliff."

She was less sure that it was a tragedy, but she had gathered that Cassandra had not experienced that particular kind of passion herself.

[seeks_truth]

Cassandra would not be tempted by such things until she was made Divine and banned from it entirely, and she was a woman bound by her honour, at heart.

"Because it must be secretive, in the shadows?" she posed.

[crimson_sister]

"Yes," Lucille replied with a small nod. "And when exposed the lovers can choose to fight or surrender."

[seeks_truth]

"And if they fight, another is sacrificed," Cassandra mused, "And if they surrender, they sacrifice themselves."

[crimson_sister]

"And if you sacrifice yourself, what kind of life would that be?" Lucille replied.

[seeks_truth]

"One can still live a life of sacrifice," Cassandra said slowly. "It must be one's own choice, of course. But there does not need to be unhappiness in duty. Still."

[crimson_sister]

"Following convention is not the same as duty," Lucille pointed out. "Convention needs no reflection. Duty is, as you say, a choice."

Not that Lucille had ever found a duty she cared much about.

[seeks_truth]

"This is true," Cassandra said, "But sometimes they mesh closely together, no?"

[crimson_sister]

"Perhaps in some worlds." Lucille doubted she would have followed duty in any world.

[seeks_truth]

"I was not supposed to become a Seeker of Truth," Cassandra mused quietly. "I suppose in that, I do not know much about towing to the pressures of convention."

[crimson_sister]

"There were no other expectations for you, though?" Lucille asked. She knew about Cassandra's family, but those expectations could come from others as well.

[seeks_truth]

"Oh, there were many," Cassandra said dryly. "My parents were killed because they attempted a coup; I was allowed to live only as an act of mercy. After that, well- as you know, our family hails from nobility. I was expected to attend parties, to dress up and do nothing, perhaps try to improve my finances. I decided to do none of these things."

[crimson_sister]

Had her parents been less horrible, that would have been the expectations Lucille would have faced too, and perhaps she would, eventually, now that her parents were gone.

"You chose differently."

[seeks_truth]

"I wanted to be a Templar, and I would take nothing less," Cassandra said wryly. "My uncle intervened so that I got a position with the Seekers of Truth, which he deemed to be of higher stature. That has been my only compromise, and in retrospect, I am thankful for it."

[crimson_sister]

"Then your duty is not towards convention," Lucille replied with a small smile.

[seeks_truth]

"No," Cassandra said, smiling back at her. "But I know enough - Templars, Seekers - who chose their profession out of expectation, as well as dedication to duty. I do not want to call their lives less meaningful than my own."

[crimson_sister]

"Perhaps then they are lucky in that the expectations on them are the same as what they find meaningful," Lucille suggested.

[seeks_truth]

"Or perhaps they found meaning over time," Cassandra said. "I do not know."

[crimson_sister]

"Either way, they are lucky," Lucille replied. "And I'm happy for you that you found a way to follow your heart."