Princess in Distress - Persona (Social Link)

[Mono Vertigo]

Slumped over the table. That's an unusual posture for Lenora. But if she were ten or twenty years older, and if the drink she was holding was not generic soda but wine, she would have all the elegance of a quietly tormented woman, the sort one is likely to find in a dramatic French movie.
That dignified distress, however, so silent, could be mistakable for haughtiness, if she weren't the only person present. Something that she expects to change; but she couldn't just run up to a friend and steal some of their time (like she once could, but that time is gone, and she's not entirely sure she remembers how to make new friends), instead, she has to brood, visibly but not pitifully so, away from her room, passively-aggressively waiting for someone to run into her and inquire, or obliviously start a discussion, anything.

[Xhosant]

Soga was strolling down the corridors, for honestly no discernible reason. Essentially, he was on a stroll, looking for something to occupy himself with.

That thought and intent instantly disappeared, however, as he passed the kitchen. Had he- yup, that's Lenora alright, he thought as he leaned back to look through the door he'd just past.

That's a sad Lenora, more accurately. Honestly, she looked like she'd rather have something much stronger than a soda next to her right now -and Soga silently thanked her luck Levi had been busy out of sight the last days, cause he'd been willing to provide.

"Is, uh... are you alright?", he asked as he stepped into the kitchen, hesitantly.

[Mono Vertigo]

"Me? Oh, yes, I'm fine", replies Lenora, feigning surprise.
She takes another sip. "Never tasted this brand before. It's not bad, with the tangy aftertaste, I expected worse, for something that cheap."
Immediately after commenting absent-mindedly about her soda, she turns toward Soga and reaches the subject that's been bothering her: "Say, Soga... they used to tell us we were backed up by the forces of hope and love. Do you believe in Love?"

[Xhosant]

You don't look too fine to me...

Soga was taken aback by the question. the concepts seemed vague enough when the trainers spoke of them, and Lenora, well, she hadn't seemed like the person to repeat this vagueness.

"That depends on how you mean it, I guess. The positive bonds between people? Yup, those are quite important."

[Mono Vertigo]

The girl looks distractedly at the can, her eyes half-closer and bored. "How important are they, though? The world works just fine without Love."
Her fingernail taps the can; by its sound, it's revealed to be empty. "My mother was an actress. Still is, well, entertains the idea she is, but that was only relevant in the past. She starred in several movies, American and Japanese alike, all about, you know, that kind of Love. She was known as Kari, I don't know if you've heard of her, she stopped filming soon after my birth. Anyway, she played the starry-eyed heroine looking for romance. But she didn't believe in it. She married my father for money. He was much the same. She was a trophy wife, you know. They vaguely pretended in front of the journalists, but it was just a convenient arrangement. There we are: an actress pretending for two hours at a time that she believes in Love, acting out the story of producers who do not believe in Love, for the benefit of people who want to believe in it. Like Santa, only we have the good sense to tell the truth to children after a while. Isn't that pitiful?"
Suddenly, she crushes the can. The questions that follow don't betray a lot of emotion, more of a scientific kind of interrogation. "But this is not about my mother, it's about me. If I don't believe in Love, if I have no good reason to, then what am I doing here? Why was I chosen? What's the difference between I, and our enemies who, manifestly, do not believe in it either? You who believe in it, can you tell me?"
That speech and those questions have obviously been prepared, or have at least revolved dozens of times in her head before being spoken. A trap from someone who doesn't think she has anybody to talk to, besides maybe other Persona users.

[Xhosant]

Assuming we're working pre-current story thread, as the bellow is known by Soga and not Lenora at the time.

Soga was surprised by the story, and the half-outbreak that followed. Poor girl had some baggage. He was apparently the only one here who didn't.

He pulled a chair, flipped it front-to-back, and sat opposite of Lenora.

"Ok, so first of all, I doubt we're talking of the same love your mother looked for in those movies. That, or our mission rundown is one weird mess. What we're 'defending', if you will, is just the people and things we care about."

"I also doubt we're defending those things per-se, it's just that we can be driven by those and our enemies lack them. They're the source of the illogical, great decisions. That answers one of your questions, I suppose? I'll let you in on a little secret: there was a time when our side lost lotsa ground. It's not like the fallen lost their love or got their feelings dampened or whatever. There was blood, and death."

"And yea, the world probably 'functions' just fine without those. But take it from me, it's damn boring that way."

Soga leaned in closer.

"I have no idea why we got chosen. Hope and love don't seem to be the criteria, you've met enough people here to figure that. Perhaps we're just the Big Guy's best bet, I don't know. Me?" He grinned at this point. "I'm mostly along for the ride. I'm enjoying working, and fighting, along others. I enjoy growing stronger. Perhaps, that's what Love and Hope is about, respectively?"

"And I guess, turning tail and running from this affair's a shame, too."

[Mono Vertigo]

Crushing the can was one thing, but what next? She eyes the bin can while replying. "Not just romantic love, I mean. World at large works fine with compromises and arrangements about personal desires. Money, fame, power, sex, peace of mind. The positive bonds between people, as much as they may exist, have drawbacks. Hefty ones."
Finally, she throws the soda can - and it bounces off.
A short moment of hesitation. You can't just leave it on the ground, right? She sighs, and gets up to get it. There's the awareness that her parents wouldn't have let her get away with leaving garbage on the floor like that at home, yet there are almost always employees around, ready to snatch empty cans from the table, if there even are cans. "Don't you think that Love is an inconvenience over the long term? You bond with people, but it can't last forever. One will always betray or leave the other. You'll end up with wounds that weren't here in the first place. Without it, the world might be boring, but it would also be less cruel."
She visibly aims, sticks out her tongue, and throws the can again, succeeding this time. "As for Hope, there's no question about it. I agree with you. I have hope that we're good enough to protect the world and our own lives. Some girls I used to know would have wept they got attacked, but I'm confident in my own power." She smiles. Because of her small achievement, or her next comment?: "See? Shadow slaying, that's something that doesn't require positive bonds between people, yet it makes my world more entertaining, less boring."

[Xhosant]

"See, that's one thing we got in common. Poor, naive Levi, how will he react when he finds out his crusade of love was backed by blood-thirsty slayers?"

Soga chuckled.

"So, I guess we may be here for half the virtues we stand for."

"Someone once said that, 'all love begins in sorrow, and all so ends'. Think he meant romantic love, though. I guess you're right, most bonds will end eventually, and that will hurt."

A tangy taste and the thought of a cliff came to Soga.

"I had a bond like that too, you know. It was far, far back." His voice trailed off in thought for an instant.

[Mono Vertigo]

Lenora blinks, before smiling knowingly, surprised but satisfied to have found a kindred spirit.
"You too."
Her eyes look down, reminiscing, her smile melancholic. "It's worse when it happens without you being aware it's there. And when they're gone, they just leave behind a gaping hole, and it's only at this moment you realize there used to be a link. Money can't buy anything that can fill that hole again, it's only good at allowing you to forget for a time it's there."
Her voice raises back above an almost-whisper. "Family?"

[Xhosant]

"Friend. Last one in a very long time. It was quick, sudden, and too many years ago to really remember. But the hole's there, and it's more than a metaphor."

[Xhosant]

After a short pause, Soga continued.

"Your mother, I assume? That must be a tough gap to fill, or forget. But that's where hope comes in, right? You get up, and you keep walking. It's the part of our agenda you approve of, right?"

[Mono Vertigo]

Lenora shakes her head. "Not her. She's still harassing old contacts for a single cameo in a blockbuster, the poor soul. My father. Mr Hepaunton's death shook up a bit the financial world, but it recovered surprisingly well and fast. World keeps revolving no matter who leaves. He was always out to work", she states, as a matter of fact, "and he wanted a heiress more than he wanted a daughter, but since it hurt when he left, I suppose he managed to make me love him nonetheless, didn't he?"
Her eyes lower, she bites her lip. "And Ken, too, he..."
She almost tears up, but stops herself, and raises her head and grimaces angrily. "But that's life, isn't it? People always leave you, and the best you can hope for, is that you'll be the one who runs away first!"
The image of Melusine, coiled protectively around her summoner, flickers. She doesn't linger.
"Yes, you have to keep walking, or running. The world keeps revolving, with or without you." She calms down and readjusts her glasses. "It's even more important to catch up with the world when you have a Persona, right?"

[Xhosant]

"Think well: looking back at a lost friend, would it hurt less if you're the one that first cut loose?"

"And that's an opinion, but I think it's the opposite; We have a certain power. That means we have different opportunities, different duties. Our little world moves at our own pace."

Soga sighed.

"For me, the world was fixed the day Cel woke up. There were happenings and people in it again, after long. So long as Melusine is with you, you will always find friends and allies, and right here in these walls, too."

[Mono Vertigo]

The girl looks away, and doesn't answer the first question. Yes, it would.
"It's true that Melusine helps. Even she feels like an old friend. Do you feel this way about your Persona too? That he doesn't just help with finding friends, but that he is one himself, even though he's mostly a part of yourself?"

[Xhosant]

The girl looks away, and doesn't answer the first question. Yes, it would.
"It's true that Melusine helps. Even she feels like an old friend. Do you feel this way about your Persona too? That he doesn't just help with finding friends, but that he is one himself, even though he's mostly a part of yourself?"

"Well, Celaverimus is a little bit... hollow? Yup, good word choice. So it's a little hard to consider him a friend per-se. But he does feel like a companion, silent yet understanding, and present. That probably counts."

Soga didn't voice his thoughts on why Celaverimus was faceless, voiceless and empty. That is, that he himself was similarly so, and how that might be an obstacle to their getting closer.

[Mono Vertigo]

"Understanding. That's very much it, yes, the understanding. You don't need to talk to it, or it to you. It knows. It doesn't require to hear about or accept your point of view to be your equal. Sure, that's easy, coming from what's essentially a shard of yourself, but isn't it pleasing and comforting all the same?"
Lenora pauses, puts a finger on her shin thoughtfully.
"You're not bad with the understanding, either. We might be more alike than we thought, both in experience and opinions. That's a good surprise, not what I'd have expected here."
Soga is the first who had such a deep exchange with her, despite the months already spent in this school. Getting meaningfully closer is closer, and hardly desirable. However, this boy, somebody who already experienced loss...

[Xhosant]

Soga's surprised by the unexpected compliment (well, not quite, but a positive acknowledgement nonetheless) and he wouldn't be surprised to find out he was blushing (which he didn't, at least not perceptibly, but still).

"Th-thanks, I'm not that good! I just don't like seeing a friend in a bad mood", he smiles awkwardly. As he awaits her answer, he moves for the fridge, grabbing a pair of sodas like hers and offering one.

[Mono Vertigo]

Her reaction to the blushing is a grin of a somewhat predatory nature. "Thank you."
She keeps looking at Soga while opening her can. "So, you'd consider me your friend?"

[Xhosant]

As his awkwardness recedes, Soga answers.

"Well, I've listened to your problems, you've listened to mine, and now", while lifting his can slightly, as if to point it out, "we're sharing a soda. Not to mention fighting together. So, yup, that counts as friends in my book. Do you?"

[Mono Vertigo]

"It does, and I do. Even though the truth of the matter is that I jumped on you there, more or less, let's not kid ourselves. You were caught. I should probably apologize for that."
Lenora giggles quietly. "Tell me, how convincing my interpretation of the princess in distress was?", she asks, trying to imply it was just an act. Also, very much not apologizing at all.

[Xhosant]

Soga raised an eyebrow. He wasn't entirely convinced, but he'll bite.

"Yup, you got me there", he says with a wide grin. "I really thought you were in the dumps."


"So, not in a bad mood, then? Just bored? ...I can relate!", he adds with a smile.

[Mono Vertigo]

"Can't it be a little bit of both? But I was not that desperate, thankfully."
An aside glance at Soga. Her glasses catch the light as they regularly do; under the right angle, with just the right lighting, the eyes completely disappear behind two circles of light. They're not pretty, and there's no question Lenora could afford better-looking ones, but that visual effect is striking enough that it must be an intentional choice.
"Oh, hey, I knew the son of this brand's marketing director. There's enough sugar to instantly make you develop diabetus, but damn if it's not good. After saving me from the looming self-doubt, you should save me from high blood sugar next."

[Xhosant]

Soga laughs.

"Alright, then! The only way I know to fight away that, is to go for a walk! Up for it?"

He then hesitates for a moment.

"Unless, of course, you'd rather do something else?"

The sudden ease of making a friend had spurred him onward, and only now he realized he might have pushed Lenora.

[Mono Vertigo]

Lenora replies, however, without hesitation. "Alright. Did you have any idea in mind, as to where to go?"

[Xhosant]

"Dunno, just... out? Someplace to walk the sugar rush off", he replies with a slight laughter. "If something pops up along the way, we'll go with that!"

[Mono Vertigo]

"Fine by me. Weather is good, anyway."
Lenora walks up to Soga.
"Don't tell the others about the contents of this conversation, please, especially not my half."

[Xhosant]

"Sure thing! I'd assume you'd not want me to either way."

Soga stretches as he gets up, then makes an 'after you' gesture towards the door.

Not really sure where to go from here :/