lightthedarkness | Empatheias Inbox

[ Early in the afternoon one day, Noctis finally manages to work himself up to send a message he's been meaning to for a bit but has either been distracted from or otherwise hesitated on. He considers using the amulets, but given the way they don't really seem to store messages, and it also seems weird to interrupt the mind of someone he doesn't know, Noctis prefers to sometimes send his trusty dog friend instead.

There are several benefits to this, of course. First, Umbra is a cute friendly dog and who doesn't like receiving messages from a cute friendly dog? Second, Umbra is also smart and knows when good and bad times are to pass along a note. In any case, he eventually finds Usagi and greets her with a friendly bark and does whatever he needs to to indicate that there is a letter in the bag on his back. The handwriting is the neat script of someone who probably had to do handwriting drills... and also wrote and rewrote this request like three times.]

Usagi,
I don't know if you remember me, but a couple months ago you helped me set up a Valentine's Day picnic for my fiancee Luna. She really liked it, so thank you for that. I remember you saying your agency does stuff with weddings. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about them some time.

Sorry for asking by dog, but it seemed the easiest way. His name is Umbra.
Thanks,
Noctis Lucis Caelum

[He almost doesn't actually sign his full name but given what he wants to talk about, he feels like he should make some effort to be slightly more formal and proper than is his wont.]

[Usagi loves dogs, she even has one of her own, who is just as excited to see Umbra as Usagi is. Which is why Noctis won't be getting Umbra back for awhile since Usagi is feeding him, petting him, and taking him on a walk alongside Orion before she finally remembers to read the letter Umbra came with.

So when Umbra finally DOES come back, a giant pink bow is tied around his neck with Usagi's rose-scented reply attached to it.]

Dear Noctis-san,
Of course I remember you! ／(^ x ^)＼ How could I forget about Luna's true love?
It's so nice to hear from you and I'm so glad that the picnic went so well.

And of course you can ask me about weddings! If you want, I'm going to head to a cafe for lunch. You're welcome to meet me at it and we can talk all about weddings!

Also! I think I met your dad and OMG is he just the nicest man! Handsomeness clearly runs in your family. （＾_-）

By the way, I fed Umbra and took him for a walk, that's why he's so late coming back. He's so precious! Orion loves him!
Sincerely,
Usagi Tsukino

[Noct had been wondering what took so long, but when he sees that big bow around Umbra's neck, he wonders no further. Snorting, he shakes his head and says, "You look like you had a good time," to which Umbra wags his tail and gives a happy bark.

In any event, he reads the letter over twice, as the first time he gets stuck on the first paragraph, more tickled than he thought he'd be at being called Luna's true love, and then on the third paragraph, making a face at the comparison to his dad. Not that there's anyone around to see it, but that's hardly the point! He tucks the letter in a pocket (it smells so nice...) and pets Umbra before asking the puppy to lead him to the cafe in question. And so Umbra does just that.

When he reaches the cafe, Noct scans the people for Usagi and upon seeing her lifts a hand in a wave, threading through the tables over to her with Umbra at his heels still sporting the pink bow.]

Hey. Thanks -- for feeding Umbra and, uh, this.

[He's a little fidgety, and the air around him is breezy with nervous little gusts and warm giddy eddies.]

[She waved Noctis over, a glass of iced-tea in front of her and a glass of water clearly waiting for him, though if he hadn't come she would have drunk it. Orion stands up, his tail wagging when he sees Umbra again and he jumps a bit on his front paws, the puppy excited at the sight of Noctis as well.]

Noctis-san! Hi! It's great to see you again! And for much longer this time. [She winked.]

And it was no trouble, I always have extra treats and food at the agency for Orion since he was too little to leave home alone.

Won't you have a seat! Are you hungry? It'll be my treat!

[Noctis makes sure to greet Orion by petting him a bit too before taking his seat, looking a bit surprised.]

I, uh - yeah a bit. Thanks.

[Umbra is a bit calmer than Orion but still seems happy enough to see him again too. Noct takes a sip of the water, glancing around the cafe.]

I haven't actually eaten here before... what's good? [ -- though he doesn't actually know what Usagi's tastes are, so just to be sure he adds: ] Uh, that isn't a salad.

Oh please, I would never recommend a salad unless you were vegetarian. [She scowled.] But! It depends on how hungry you are! They make a really nice club sandwich but if you're super hungry then get like... any of the burgers because they come with fries and like, half a pickle. Oh! Except the veggie burger, they even put carrots on that thing. [She scowled.]

[Noct looks at her for a moment, lifting an eyebrow and grinning a bit. From the sounds of it, at last he has found an ally in the fight against carrots!]

Definitely avoiding that, then. [then he wrinkles his nose slightly] Carrots are the worst - even worse than beans.

[He is definitely the most adult to ever adult.]

Oh my gosh! You hate carrots too? I can't STAND carrots and like, no one else understands my hate for them! AAAAH NOCTIS-SAN! This is great! Finally someone who hates that stupid orange veggie!

[Stunned for a moment, he can only stare - and then grin, leaning forward to offer her a high five.]

Hell yeah! Ugh the texture, the taste - all of it is nasty.

[She high-fived Noctis back, her time with Mabel having her be... very enthusiastic and there's a VERY loud "CLAP" in the cafe, a few people turning to look at them.]

THANK YOU! Oh my gosh, there are OTHER veggies that can give you good eye sight! Carrots don't own being good eye sight ya know! [Not that Usagi will ever suffer from any sort of ailment or misbehaving organs and muscles unless she's specifically cursed.] AND AND if I get ONE MORE carrot as a gag gift I swear I'm going to scream!

[The other people in the cafe can just deal with it. Noct lifts his eyebrows at the gag gift remark, however.] People give you carrots? Is it 'cause they know you hate them or something?

[Yeah he has no idea what her name means; hell, there aren't even any rabbits on his planet.]

They give me carrots because my name literally means "rabbit." And oh ha ha, let's give the rabbit carrots for her birthday! Not like she had her eye on that adorable purse charm and has been dropping hints about it for WEEKS, no, let's get the carrot AGAIN.

... what's a rabbit?

[And what do they have to do with carrot? He's sympathetic to what she described, but...]

EEEH? You don't have- mnn, okay well... um...

[All sorts of images of rabbits coming his way over the connection.]

[All these bunnies are quite overwhelming all at once! And he sort rubs his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand for a moment as he processes them. Too much rabbit enthusiasm. But he's smiling as he sees them all the same.]

-- ah, cute.

[His tone is not super enthusiastic, but it's very warm.]

They look so soft.

[If he met one in person, he would absolutely want to pet it.]

... and they eat carrots?

Oh they totally are! So soft and fluffy! I love petting them!

It's one of their favorite treats, though I'm pretty sure they're not supposed to eat a lot of them, it's supposed to be a treat. But it's kinda like how dogs are always big fans of bones? Rabbits are supposed to be big fans of carrots, except this rabbit [She pointed a thumb at herself.] can't stand the stupid thing.

[He laughs a little.]

Makes sense. When looking for someone to fob my carrots off on, I'll make sure to look for someone else.

[But as amusing as this is, carrots and cute soft rabbits aren't why he wanted to talk to Usagi - nor is it getting their lunch ordered! But once the order is placed, he takes a drink of water and hesitates a few moments.]

So um... do... otherworlders get married here often?

[Not the most graceful way of seguing to what he wants to ask about, but ... it is something he's wondering given that several people had talked about weddings over the network.]

[Usagi sips drink, letting Noctis figure out what he wants to say. She can be surprisingly patient when she wants.]

Surprisingly, yes! I've been charge of a few weddings now. Off the top of my head, Leia and Han, Alvin and Presa, I'm working with Komaeda and Hinata, and those are just the ones I'm in charge of.

Hm.

[It really is pretty popular, isn't it? More than just talk. The question remains, however, how to go about it.]

I um.... I asked Luna if she wanted to here, since we... didn't really get the chance at home... Anyway, I -- guess I was wondering how weddings usually were done here.

Did she say yes, is that why you're coming to me? [She teased lightly.] Weddings are done however you want them to be done. I don't make the weddings on how I want them to be, it's what you and Luna want and I do what I can to see it happen.

So if you want a super fancy, royal occasion, I can do that. If you rather something more low key I can do that too. It's your day. [And your budget.]

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