Coffee at mill Elvas

[Yamiyo Lillich]

Her eyes growing a bit solemn at those words.
"True, those are some horrible memories though and not ones to speak lightly of. Perhaps it is better to just not talk of it but then again that might feel like a lie, it's a tricky thing to navigate especially with not knowing how much that is true, how much are nightmares and if you even remember anything at all." Looking back up at the red headed woman, her eyes piercing deep into hers as she speaks. "Whomever would say that it were? Every scar, every broken piece, every oddity it all builds us up. To not accept all in a person is to renounce that person saying they are not worthy just cause they are not like everyone else." Blowing a bit of air out her nose. "Anyone who would think that such things ruins or destroys a persons worth are just blind idiots, love is to accept someone else with your whole heart if you cannot do that then you are not ready for it. We may be odd but we are all lovely in our own ways the same goes for every single girl out there as well, true the men to I just prefer the girls. Every single person is dented or broken in some way but everyone deserves someone to love them for who they are."

Placing her phone away in her purse again, smiling a bit that she managed to get the picture.
"Well Sonnie is the most cheerful of the bunch without a doubt but she can be a bit distant and gone inside her own mind at times it seems. She's a lovely girl though with tons of energy, then we have a bunch of other ones but I think it's better if you just go to the celebration to meet most of them. I will gladly escort you if you like or if you wanna meet the probably easiest one to talk to so can I recommend a lovely coffee shop for you."
Quickly snapping her phone up again, jumping next to her and taking a pic of them together, looking at it and shaking her head.
"I really don't turn out well in pictures."
Sitting back down on her chair.

[Cassandra Reeding]

Cassandra smiles a bit at that. There's the convictions I was looking for. "Party isn't for another couple of weeks, but I suppose I do need to keep getting settled in. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and stumble upon another of the group. Serendipity was quite kind today." She pauses and for just a moment, her freezing aura seems to pick up a little bit more, though her colors continue shifting as normal. Or, at least, as normal as they can seem.

She moves a little to see the picture Yamiyo is referring to and the scarlet haired girl just raises an eyebrow, "I think you look fine, though pictures hardly ever do anyone justice." She shrugs a little and then pulls back to finish up her scone. She looks down at the rest of the assorted treats and then back up to Yamiyo, "Did you say earlier that you had roommates you were escaping? You've said you were new to the area as well. How new?"

[Yamiyo Lillich]

Sighing a bit her not at all subtle attempt to gain the honor she sought after having been ignored.
"True it's still a bit of but time flies fast and passes us by ever so quickly that it's always best to be prepared in well advance. However true the stars were certainly kind to bless me to be one of the first to behold your radiant beauty ahh I nearly envy the lucky scholar." Watching her for a bit, biting her lower lip as she thinks for a moment "Is something wrong or amiss?" A couple of rose petals dancing around her as she gets a bit worried.

Looking down at the picture and then back up at Cassandra before laughing a bit.
"I think you need a second look you seem to have missed it completely." Placing up the phone to show her the picture more clearly whilst making sure that no one else can see it, she herself an appeasing mesmerizing beauty with several of her looks hitting just right to be appeasing in the eyes of her beholder whilst the girl in the picture looks quite plain and common if nothing else so would she at the very least have to make a serious effort to get down to be just that plain.
"Let's see I think I am closing in on my sixth month anniversary rather soon, I arrived around the spring equinox and yes I just recently moved into a sorority house trying to get the whole college experience and I am just not really used to the whole ordeal of having so many people that tightly around me."

[Cassandra Reeding]

Cassandra cocks her head to the side a little, "Nothing is amiss. Being that you are a recent newcomer like me, I bet you can understand the weird feeling of being somewhere new and the air just feeling a little off. Just a little bit. Enough that you wonder if fate will continue to be kind to you or if it is about to throw you for a loop. I'm one of those weird introspective people. Don't mind me."

She looks closer at the photo and then back at Yamiyo, "Ah, I see what you mean now," she nods knowing that she probably shouldn't delve further into it. "A sorority house? That's got to be exhausting. I opted to do my degree hybrid to get it done faster. What are you studying?" She sips upon her chai again, watching the Succubus curiously.

[Yamiyo Lillich]

Picking up a bottle of aloe vera water and taking a drink from it.
"Not really I'm afraid, prior to coming here I drifted around always on the move and even before that I always drifted from city, town, state and so forth never really setting down roots so for me it wasn't really strange at all. I do admit that it have felt odd to stay in one place for such a long time though." Pausing for a bit before carrying on "I do wake up sometimes though and start to wonder when this will change and something will force me to be on the move again." Lightly shaking her head a bit "There is nothing wrong with being a bit overwhelmed of new things, new chapters and things in your life and don't be silly of course I will wonder, ask and care how else can I be there for you in any sense of the word? It might take a bit but I do will try my best to make you feel welcome and happy here. It's also kinda cute that you take your time to reflect on your thoughts, that probably means that you say what you mean and have a chance to feel safe in yourself."

Closing her eyes and seeming to think really hard before letting out a sigh.
"Damn sorry I always forget the damn name of it but basically my main studies lies in the study of folk tales and with that some history comes along with it even if it is to a limited degree. I am quite interested in folk tales from across the globe, how different regions and areas have similar but different ones and how they all correlate added in with my own knowledge and insight into the area so does it become quite interesting. Naturally this also expands a bit into fairy tales as the two goes hand in hand."
Taking a deep breath.
"Ohh yes it's quite new but I do cause some trouble there, I had one of the girls in the house tutor me in Mandarin before the summer and through her met the people there so I already had some bonds with them some more than others of course so I opted to try and live with them here now to really get the full college experience whilst I am still young enough to work with such a group. So added with the studies, new living situations and far to much partying so does it all take quite a tool."

Smiling a bit.
"So hybrid means that you have two fields you have graduated within? May I ask which ones?"

[Cassandra Reeding]

"I thought to myself a lot before I left that, while things were getting bad, at least Baltimore was my home. I hope you get to have that feeling. There is something special about it. That feeling of truly belonging. And I appreciate that you want to try to help me feel welcome. The fact that you did not flee upon seeing me already helps," she says with a bit of a laugh, "Not that I would have expected anyone to. Still. I appreciate it a lot." Cassandra gives a smile and her skin just seems to shimmer with a pleasant glow to it.

"So... You're studying Folklore? That's really cool. And incredibly useful depending on what kind of information your studies could yield. Very interesting. Moving, new studies, and living with new people like that... Clearly you've got more fire in you than I do." She smiles at her, her emerald eyes glittering with an almost proud look to them.

"My degree was hybrid, not dual. Hybrid, in the case, meant that I did parts of it online. I did all my general education credits at community colleges online and had them transfer so that I only had to worry about my main course studies at my actual university," She starts, setting her chai back down on the table and looking a little to her cello case before looking back to Yamiyo, "I studied Music Performance with a concentration in Cello Performance. Before I left, I was actually in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. It will at least be nice to be doing work with another symphony again."

[Yamiyo Lillich]

Tilting her head to the side and looking quite surprised.
"Huh? Why should I flee upon seeing a radiant beauty like yourself? What kind of strange person would do that? True it's hard to not ask you out on a date but to flee nahh that just sounds wrong to me." Returning her smile with a warm and kind one. "Hopefully you will manage to feel at home and like you belong here before you know it and when you do please tell me how that feels so I know what to look for." Never having had any roots herself made it quite hard to know to even begin to feel for it. "Anyway nothing to feel thankful for or think of, I feel quite happy to be in the presence of another fair lady whom I still hope will ask me out but hmm I would prefer to pay the bills never really done that for myself on a date."

Shaking her head a bit.
"Nope no fire at all I would never be able to handle hybrid studies or anything to hard I just have an interest on the topic seeing as I can add a viewpoint most others cannot thanks to my hmm lets call it upbringing which makes it so that I can track it and see connections that others cannot besides I sit on some nice information that I really look forward to study and draw links to that most people in the field could never even dream to begin to understand." Her eyes burning as she looks really excited about what results her studies might yield. "And hey being surrounded by women all the time is not exactly a bad situation for me either, even if it's hard to control my urges a bit." Damn succubus urges.

Slapping her forehead, raising her eyes and shaking her head a bit.
"Damn I did not get that at all, sorry about that school talk overall is still very new to me never dreamed of attending college to begin with so not really up to date with all the terms at all." Looking over at her cello, wait you studied that at college? That was news to her.
"So you will you be doing any performances open for the public to come listen to with this symphony and do you have any recordings of you playing with the Baltimore group? I would love to see and hear both if possible, I promise to try and keep awake and alert even if far to many of the pieces I know about are just so calming."
Shining up a bit.
"Say have you ever been to the opera?"

[Cassandra Reeding]

Cassandra chuckles a little bit, "I meant it as more of a joke, not really literal. Believe it or not, some people do find redheads rather terrifying. I don't blame them," she says with another laugh. She picks up her hand and sets it on Yamiyo's head, "How about this. I'm not ready for any date dates, but why don't we do some kind of a girls night and get completely smashed one of these evenings?" She takes back her hand and then gives a sweet smile.

"The will to do anything at all takes fire, whether it is a dull one or not," she says with a bit of a shrug, "New things are new things. Don't be afraid of getting into situations where you say the completely wrong thing. University is for learning after all. I always found I learned best when I was in the middle of making a complete fool of myself," Cassandra grins a little, "I can imagine with that romantic heart of yours being around a bunch of girls is heaven, even with all of the struggle that must bring while you are still getting used to things."

"I have been to an opera. I've also played in a few. The Baltimore symphony would often team up with the local opera house and play for them. As for recordings... Hmm... oh! Actually, yeah. I had..." she takes out her phone and scrolls through the video album, "The last concert I did before I left, we did a concert of pieces by Faure. I auditioned and performed a duet of Apres un Reve... Do you wanna see it?"

[Yamiyo Lillich]

Blushing a bit, she had been the forward one here, looking around a bit shyly for a bit before gently nodding and speaking softly.
"Well I will see that as a pre pre date then giving me a chance for a date in the the future." Looking away a bit "Who would flee just because someone has red hair it really suits you and makes you stand out instead of just being another clone in the bunch."

Laughter breaking her silence and shyness away as the next line is heard.
"Ohh dear I have been throwing horrible flirting at you making half a fool of myself since I first saw you so this meeting seems to be a pretty good example of saying the wrong things. Don't you worry though I may be a shy tiny girl and light enough that some people can even lift me under their arm and walk away but life is to be lived and not to miss out on, we never know when our end will arrive so fill your life with happy memories, take chances as of often as you can and hopefully live on in the memory of others when your time comes. True I missed your part that this was meant for studies a bit sorry about that. However I do try to keep relatively hidden when not in talking groups or have the professor for myself but still as hidden as possible as to not draw unwanted attention, don't want people to discuss my oddities to much."
Holding back a chuckle.
"True my heart is a heart of romance but I do not really enjoying dating outside the community now my little" looking towards her succubus features and back at the polychromatic girl hoping she would get the gist "side does make me rather well let's say I have a very hard time not being aroused and a body who screams for carnal pleasure far more often than I want it to and it have put me in bad situations more than once. So yeah having a parade of young cute women some of whom I know I could most likely seduce with ease around me is not that easy and to share a room with one really not good for my sleep."

Looking a bit down for a second.
"Damn, I have never been and had hoped we could enjoy that together but still ohh well would you like to go see one sometime? You can tell me all about the play and all the things I know nothing about there which is like 95% or so. I think they are mostly in Italian right? Or perhaps an opera would be to much on these ears of mine, are they really all that loud?" Clearly showing of that most her knowledge about it comes from TV "I have no clue what half of that meant but yes I would love to see it, I also wanna come support you if you play live as well or if you need any help with anything that might help your career so would I gladly do it."
So lets see who do we seduce to get her the right spots? No it should be done in proper ways....but seduction is so much more fun.

[Cassandra Reeding]

Cassandra laughs a little bit with Yamiyo's enthusiasm, "Honestly, I've heard worse flirts. My friend Mykhail... I don't know what had gotten into him. I'd just started seeing Phillip and all of the sudden, Myke was into me. He'd gotten spooked by something and Ygraine and I went to go cheer him up. I got him a drink and tried to remind him that we were all here for him. Then, every single time I called him for something, he got all gushy. We had to have one of those awkward sit downs to discuss why we weren't good for each other. I will say though, in a game of trying to catch hearts... sometimes, less is more. You need to say the sweet things and let them take time to marinate. If you keep your game at 110%, you're more likely to scare them off."

She pauses a moment to consider how to explain what she knows about Operas to someone without much experience with them. "So, operas are interesting. They can be in most any language, Italian is the most common. But, there are even Operas in Japanese, Tagalog, German, French English and such and such. One of the ones I played in was an operetta called The Merry Widow, which we did in German. There are subtitles that play up at the top of a stage, usually, so that you can follow the story as well. The opera isn't loud necessarily, but singers are generally expected not to sing with a microphone, so they have to project over the orchestra. This means they either have to cut through the sound by being louder or the orchestra needs to play just a little softer."

"I honestly wouldn't be surprised if I end up playing in one sooner or later. If that happens and I get any comp tickets, I'll totally invite you." She looks down at her phone for a moment longer and manages to find the video she is looking for. This was that night... "Um, here." She says, holding the video recording of her piece in a manner so that they can both view it. She hands Yamiyo one of her headphones so that they can listen without bothering anyone else in the little cafe.

In the video, Cassandra looks almost entirely unlike herself. Her scarlet hair is down in gorgeous, perfectly sculpted waves, pinned in just the right way to frame her face. Her gown is a black, off the shoulder gown with just the right amount of volume to the tulle skirt. The waist is adorned with black crystals and the way the bodice cinches her gives an elegant curve to her often hidden figure.


She approaches the front of the stage, her cello and bow resting delicately in her left hand. There is a gentle yet confident tone in her voice as she begins to speak, "Good evening. My name is Cassandra Moore and tonight, with the help of my wonderful accompanist David Kim, I will be performing Fauré's Apès un Rêve. This beautiful art song is originally for voice and piano with it's hauntingly beautiful lyrics written by Romain Bussine. In English, his poem translates to this:


"In sleep, made sweet by a vision of you, I dreamt of happiness and fervent illusion. Your eyes were softer, your voice pure and ringing. You shone like a sky lit by the dawn. When you called to me and I departed the earth to flee with you toward the light. The heavens parted their clouds for us and we glimpsed upon splendors unknown and celestial fires. But alas, I wake from my dreams without you. I summon you, oh night, give me back my delusions. Return in radiance. Return, oh mysterious night." Her voice is sweet and expressive, almost as if the words were her own. As she speaks, however, she doesn't seem to quite be speaking to the whole audience. It is almost as if her gaze is purely on one person and there is just this look of pure joy in her emerald eyes.


"Thank you and enjoy," she says, bowing before walking to the designated chair in the center front of the stage.


She adjusts herself, making sure her cello is exactly set. She plucks a few strings confirming she is in tune. She looks to the side at her accompanist, a man barely seen on stage left, and nods her head gently to give the tempo. She signals with a small breath and nod for the beginning of the piece. She closes her eyes as the piano begins it's short intro, her bow delicately placed in her right hand.


Her sound is delicate and beautiful. It seems to almost invoke images itself without need for words. She moves with the music as if the process was a true merge between her and her instrument. There is something incredibly emotional about her performance, giving a sense of sorrowful, yet hopeful inspiration. Even beyond her sound, she herself is captivating to watch. As she plays she breathes with the piece, the intensity of emotion upon her face reflecting its raw passion.


Towards the end of the piece, if one were to look closely enough, they would see just a few drops of tears escaping her emerald eyes. As the piece comes to an end there is a moment of blissful silence before Cassandra looks up to the audience, gracefully wiping a lingering tear from her eye as she smiles. The audience begins their applause and she stands from her chair, taking a bow before acknowledging her accompanist. She seems to search the crowd, her eyes glittering with a sense of pride before taking one last bow and returning back to her seat amongst the cello section in the orchestra.

As the video comes to an end, Cassandra smiles some with sweet nostalgia, though the shimmering colors upon her skin do shift to more hints of blues and pinks than before. "Those are the kind of pieces I play." She says as she takes back her headphone and sets her phone back down on the table.