(accidental) video; un: man's greatest treasure

[reparo]

[ -- and the camera starts transmitting, as someone pulls away from being very near Hermione. The talisman does not pick up the features of that person, at first, but what it does pick up is Hermione's faintly dazed murmur or:]

A-are you truly a witch?

[There is a brief pause, from the person - woman, you can see it's a woman (Miang-Si, if you've already met her) - in front of Hermione, before she darts forward again, darkening the view completely.

Before the trasmission cuts, from bodies pressing together too tightly, there is one audible clue: the sound of lips meeting lips in a surprisingly thorough kiss.]

- L A T E R -

[OH LOOK AT THAT, IT'S HERMIONE'S FACE. She looks a little more dishevelled than usual, a bit surprised.]

Th - [Clears her throat.] Did this thing turn on? [The indignity. Her first kiss in as long as she's been here, witnessed by the whole network. (Her first kiss with a girl, too! A woman even.) Earth swallow her up.

No, this is fine. She's going to grit her teeth and smile tensely.]

Right, so - on the bright side, I don't think Quangze suspects that I am one of her accomplices? The rest of the inhabitants still think I'm a writer of books on manners - there's something to be written about shoving your tongue in someone's mouth uninvited - regardless. I'm not - I've never met her before just now.

So, in light of that... Please all do me the favour of not mentioning to anyone that I am a you-know-what.

[ooc: Please consider this backdated to Miang-Si's parade on the 25th.]

Comments

voice

[reparo]

A little of both? Probably that it's a list. [She lets out a small laugh, tired.] I can already imagine my friends saying something like 'of course you made a list out of something that's supposed to be fun, Hermione'.

[At least it's not colour coded.

And when she thinks about it, which right now happens to be in depth, she thinks about how the last kiss she shared with someone was that one out of desperation and fear of dying (fear of missing out on a chance), which she shared with Ron. It's hard to believe that it's been that long.]

I haven't really done it a lot. Kissing. [And other things, shh.] I can count the boys I've kissed on the fingers of one hand, and it's not like I am ashamed of the realisation that if I were given a chance I would also kiss girls.

It's just that... [A very heavy pause.] I have to ask myself how many instances of me admiring someone in the past have been about genuine, platonic admiration, and how many are...

[Breathes out.] Anyway, a list.

voice

[silverneedles]

How many times that admiration was something else? [ She knows that feeling well; the way she'd talked to Jiang Yanli, the admiration and the feelings she brought with her during that one afternoon. It had been a revelation for her. ]

Having a list isn't a terrible thing. You can be efficient if you're ever presented with the opportunity to kiss someone. I never bothered to create a list, but I could use some of your methods now.

[ She falls quiet for a moment, thinking. ] We should have tea— no, wine. Have wine and talk in person rather than over this.

voice

[reparo]

[Not saying she's curious about the list, but...]

Ah - sure. Tonight? [Because she is on her way to get on a boat with Wei Wuxian and look for witches over here. Or proof. Maybe a circle or something. She's not expecting it to last too long.]

It's not like we're going to get any sleep.

voice

[silverneedles]

Sometimes, I wonder if I can slip something into their water to make them sleep. Do we know any animal whisperers to resolve their issues? And to add in the nightmares....

[ She trails off with a sigh. ]

But yes. Tonight. When we aren't sleeping. Our conversation will drown out the toads, I'm sure.

voice

[reparo]

I'm sure it will. I look forward to it.

voice

[silverneedles]

Don't sound so pessimistic, darling. We'll make it work.

voice

[reparo]

Yes, ma'am.