2117/The tea is insubstantial when the thirst is for knowledge

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The tea is insubstantial when the thirst is for knowledge
Date of Scene: 15 June 2020
Location: Cafe Lalo
Synopsis: Ariah plays a performance of Kaze no Toori Michi for the audience at Cafe Lalo. Then after her performance is complete both Ariah and Blake fail to be fooled by Vivians perfectly normal Human girl disguise.
Cast of Characters: Ariah Olivie, Vivian Vision, Blake Riviere




Ariah Olivie has posed:
    Cafe Lalo. The most famous cafe in New York City. It features live music, decadent meals, over one hundred cakes on offer, and more recently, a well-stocked bar addon. Of course, it's also well known for its atmosphere and live music. There's a calendar on the website that's always updated as soon as performances are booked. And every so often, there's a call for volunteers to take the stage. It's not a stage for beat poets or comedians, but a stage for musicians. The kind of stage where there's a piano at all times, whether it's being played or not. Though it often is.

    Tonight, the sound of the piano is soothing and flowing, the gentle hum of a violin's strings the perfect counterpart to the notes ringing out in the cafe. It's no famous melody, no sampling from a symphony. It might be legendary in its own right, though, for the contemporary piece of soundtrack it's from.

    And so, while the pianist plays, a short woman with white hair plays her violin, the bow dancing across the strings, her eyes closed as her body sways with the melody.

    The melody of Kaze no Toori Michi, from My Neighbor Totoro.

Vivian Vision has posed:
A cafe is generally the last place one would find Vivian Vision, the pleasures of food and drink have a limited appeal to a synthezoid after all, but live events give an oppertunity to observe humanity in a new setting. Her holographic disguise gives the appearance of a teenage girl in a yellow summer dress and adjusts her skin tone to look less artificial. Her hair remains green but gets a few colouration changes to make it seem like the result of dye.

She's picked a spot close to the stage from which to people watch and bought a cup of tea that's long since gone cold to act as her cover. Occasionally tweaking her holograph to make it seem she's taking a sip so as not to stand out.

Blake Riviere has posed:
Thankfully, a cafe is not truely the strangest place to find Blake. A vampire certainly, but enough of her homeland's influence and history itself had left her with a love of music, poetry and performance. The best part about humanity was culture and creativity after all. Tonight, at a table near the front, the dark-haired woman rests with her elbows against the counter top, a small cup of some sweet-smelling tea in her hand as she watched the woman with white-hair play.

The tea was delicious, the sweets she'd purchased? Just as much. Despite what myth said, the Vampiress Blake Riviere could indeed eat like a human...but it offered her no sustainance like blood, merely something for the pleasure of the experience, much like music.

The new arrival was noted, even if eyes didn't turn away. Infact, it was the very 'absence' of things that drew her attention to waver. Living, but not 'alive' in the way a human might be? How very curious...

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    There might be a couple of anime fans in the audience, who are enjoying cakes and coffee, swaying to some of the tunes that would be familiar to them. The interest Ariah has taken in modern animation certainly colors her perspective, and it's a good teaming up. Most of the patrons wouldn't know where any of these songs come from, however. Still, the well-dressed witch plays her heart out, fingers dancing sensually along the neck of the violin, slow caresses, gentle presses, and sweeping strokes as her body moves.

    The pianist is good, too, the duet a match made in heaven, a dance of its own as high violin notes fade into a crescendo of chimes that fade off into silence, trading off focus with no tug of war, just a mututal give and take that sends music through the entire cafe. As a song ends, Ariah's eyes open finally, fixing on Blake in the front row. After all, she might have invited her elder to the venue. But Vivian? Vivian gets a glance. There's no heartbeat. No sense of blood. Nothing. And so, for a moent, as her bow lowers, the young-looking woman blinks a curious blink.

Vivian Vision has posed:
Although Vivian might appear a little unusual to a vampires senses there is no outward sign she's up to no good (except for having only made a single drinks purchase in a coffee shop). She always seems to step out of the way in time for the crowd to move around her unless doing so would allow another audience member to get crushed. And in those situations Viv always seems to remain stationary, as if she were carved from stone.

That being said she doesn't make the most appreciative audience member. No matter how exceptional the composition or how talented the musician all it elicits is a polite smile and some light clapping. Formal, indifferent and like her cup of tea perhaps a little cold.

Blake Riviere has posed:
A golem perhaps? Or something similar? Blake had seen all manner of strange in her very long life, but this one she couldn't quite place with certainty. A glance is sent back to Ariah, certain that the younger woman whom in fact looked older than Blake herself had noticed the oddity amidst the mixes of coffee, chocolate and other sweet scents that could distract the inhuman senses. "Curious..." she murmers aloud, another little soft murmer giving voice to thought.

Ariah might hold her ears, but now it was Vivian that the vampiress stared upon.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    Ariah takes her last bow, and turns to shake the pianist's hand. It seems as if that musician shall remain for a time, but the white-haired girl's moment in the spotlight is over. She packs up her instrument, the lustrous cherry wood construct of musical sensuality, and secures it in its case. Then, off the stage she steps, to make room for the next half of the duet. Her lips are curved into a ghost of a smile, but even as it's Blake's table she approaches, it's Vivian her eyes are on as well.

Vivian Vision has posed:
As the performance ends those members of the audience around the stage begin to shift. One set of fans giving way for those of the next performer and all throughout Vivian stays near the stage. Her attention however does turn to Ariah and Blake who seem to be watching her until, after a few long moments, she makes her way over to their table.

"I am sorry for the intrusion," she says with an apologetic shrug of the shoulders. "But I was worried I might have done something to offend you? Or have I picked an unsuitable dress for the venue? Only you keep looking in my direction and I am unsure why..." Her head tilts slightly to one side. "At the very least I know we have not met previously."

Blake Riviere has posed:
Ariah's arrival? It comes with a smile and a little bow of her head, but then Vivian was drawing near and the eerie pair's eyes turn to the woman who'd made the approach. The next performer might take the stage, but now it was a distraction disregarded in favor of addressing Vivian herself.

What had she done to 'offend' them?

Blake actually chuckles, on hand idly adjusting the deep red ribbon securing back her hair almost casually while she looks the new woman up and down. "You have no heartbeat," she speaks calmly, soft enough not to be easily overheard. Perhaps it was a gamble, but Blake was assuming anyone who bothered to try and look normal wasn't going to be announcing themself loudly and blowing Blake's own little masqurade.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    The approach gives Ariah more time to examine the woman, and yet, she still blinks owlishly at her when she speaks. The younger woman pulls a seat near Blake, though there's certainly another free chair at the table. Of course, when the woman with the ribbon speaks, Ariah nods in affirmation, having detected the same from the synthezoid. Though, she seems content not to speak, letting the her elder do the talking for the moment. Her own vital signs? Lacking. If Vivian can detect the elements that make someone a living, breathing human... Ariah lacks some very key elements.

Vivian Vision has posed:
Vivian Vision blinks once, then again before something that's like a heartbeat but far too regular starts up in her chest as a portion of her mind adjusts the values on her internal coolant pumping system. "Ah. Yes that should be better now?" she muses. "It is not really very energy efficient to keep things running when they aren't required but if it's bothering people with... exceptional hearing..."

Her own senses, while exceptional, are largely limited to enhanced vision and hearing. But not to the extent she can detect a vampires lack of heartbeat in a crowded room with music playing.

She gives Ariah a neutral smile. "Your performance was technically excellent by the way," then turns back to Blake and adds "Are you here to perform as well?"

Blake Riviere has posed:
That was...simply more disturbing, if only for the fact that Blake herself could do similar. A willed beating of her heart, a warming of her skin, it was all something the vampiress had developed over time. That this...being could do similar but still did not seem to be living thing. Blake herself? Perhaps she was -slightly- colder than some, but warmed by her beverage and seemingly simulating a perfect mirror of life. The question following Vivian's praise to Ariah? It brings a light shake of her head.

"No, I rarely sing anymore unless the mood strikes me hard or the 'world' is just right. Tonight I am content to be an observer. It is remarkable what you might see."

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    "Less of a bother more of a curiosity..." the white-haired girl speaks up finally, her voice crisp, cold, and clear like a winter breeze. Her English is good but thickly accented in French. She blinks again at Vivian before reaching out for a small square of fudge from one of the plates of treats Blake had ordered. Those grey eyes don't leave Vivian's face, though, as she nibbles on her sweet, taking her time to reply. "Merci. I studied music before coming to America, and I am always grateful for the opportunity to persue the arts...." she says, words chosen carefully.

Vivian Vision has posed:
"In a literal sense everything about which someone makes a remark could be considered remarkable," Viv points out with earnest logic, then mimes taking a sip of her tea. "We can converse in French if that would be easier for you. I am fluent in the five most commanly spoken languages in the United States." Her own voice has very little in the way of an accent. She sounds faintly American but not in a way that indicates which region she's from. "Have you been playing the violin for long? It seems like the sort of instrament which would take a long time to learn."

Blake Riviere has posed:
Blake's own accent? It was decidely not French at the moment, indeed it had slipped closer to what one might consider 'Queen's English', the 'normal' tone she spoke with when presenting herself to the world and strangers alike. There was a small quirk of her lips behind the rim of her mug at the 'literal' meaning comment, a sideways glance to Ariah before she leans back in her seat and lets the otehr woman speak for the moment. There was plenty to be learned from observing after all, even when Vivian herself was asking all the questions.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    "English suffices," the icy girl answers, calm and quiet. She blinks again, a seemingly common expression from the girl. It's not as if the average person uses such phrasing and vocabulary on a regular, daily basis. And Vivian is already enough of an oddity to warrant the blank expression. But she recovers swiftly enough, and that is to say, the momentary bewilderment on her features fades back to neutral stiocism. "It has been the labor of years," she states before reaching for the other mug on the table, a coffee drink that may have since gone cold. "Do you seek entertainment often?" she asks a question of her own.

Vivian Vision has posed:
"I'm not sure you would consider entertainment to be my primary reason for being here," Vivian decides after a few moments of thought. She rests her hand on the remaining empty chair at the table and glances between Blake and Ariah as if asking permission to sit. "I suppose I am here to gain understanding. It also helps me to pass the time while I await the start of the next term at highschool."

Blake Riviere has posed:
"Entertainment is indeed interesting," Blake nods, another sip before her drink is set aside, "You learn a lot about people by what they prefer to do with their free time." Talk of highschool from the 'false' girl brings a little chuckle, amusement despite herself as she glances towards the stage. "Public schooling is certainly another way to do it too. 'Book' learning is something one cannot ignore, even if there is much that pages and lectures cannot show us."

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    Ariah nods to the gesture of the chair, since Blake seems to have no trouble with it. "I find I spent much of my free time studying, reading, experiencing. To live one must go out and live, non?" she suggests to both women, taking a sip of her coffee and sitting back. Despite her chilly demeanor, she looks to be relaxed. Even content. The new guest still vexes her, though, and the silver-haired girl is a bit lacking on technological knowledge of even common gadgets... let alone sapient synthetic beings.

Vivian Vision has posed:
Vivian Vision pulls the chair out a fraction and perches on the edge. Her cup of cold untouched tea gets placed neatly on the table, although a holographic image of a near empty cup still remains covering it. "I've mostly used chess and other online games to keep my mind occupied," she replies with a nod. "I do also read a lot. I'm working my way through the whole of the World Digital Library. Even if I will have to learn some additional languages to finish everything."

She chews at her lip and then shrugs. "I am Vivian by the way, I probably should have introduced myself before joining you."

Blake Riviere has posed:
"Life is for living, even if not 'the living'. Experience, indulgence, understanding, exploring..." she shrugs her shoulders, a sidelong glance towards Ariah and she looks back towards Vivian with her talk of working her way through the library. A soft 'Aha' of understanding and she gives a delighted chuckle. "You are an automaton of sorts, a one with access to the internet then? Marvelous." Truely, the best part of immortality was running into something completely new.

"I am Blake...and I am finding myself amusingly jealous of you if I am correct Vivian. Such study takes the rest of us...quite a bit longer."