It was a mild summer night and despite it being well past curfew Eila was soaking in the outdoor bath, her purple eyes staring blankly up at the night sky. She saw none of the countless stars or the large, pale moon that hung low in the sky as her mind was occupied with thoughts and concerns of, what else, Sanya. She was in such a daze with her thoughts that she didn't hear the soft, padding footsteps of someone approaching from behind her.
"Oh my, I didn't expect anyone else to be here." Said a quiet and somewhat refined voice that was much different than the haughty shriek it had first been when Elia had originally met the girl.
Looking over her shoulder Eila saw Perrine standing behind her, completely naked except for the ribbon that tied her hair up, holding a bottle in one hand and two tumbler glasses in the other.
"Would you mind if I were your company for a while? I'll share a bit of drink with you in return." The blonde offered.
Shrugging and clicking her tongue Eila replied as she turned her gaze back to the sky, "Sure, whatever. Do what you want."
In the past years Perrine had been one of Eila's main targets of teasing and pranks, though she would defend herself by saying that the Gallian invited it upon herself, but ever since Perrine had come back from her stay in her homeland she had been much less annoying. Her thoughts were interrupted again as a glass filled with a honey colored liquid bumped against her arm. She took it without thinking and looked to the one offering who had a similarly full glass in her own hand. A moment later the smell of alcohol gently assaulted Eila's nose and her eyebrow quirked a bit in surprise.
"Didn't take you for the drinking type, Four-Eyes. Is this something a proper lady would do?" Eila made no attempt to hide the sarcasm in her words.
Perrine took the jab in stride and replied with a small, confident smile, "A proper lady," she mocked Eila's own sarcastic tone, "will be host to many gatherings where the wine flows freely. A strong constitution is a necessity, dear Misfit."
A frown creased the Soumi's face, "Don't call me a misfit." Though a part of her was impressed with how she handled the insult, had Perrine finally learned to fight back effectively?
"Only when you address me properly in turn."
"Eh, not worth it." Eila said looking down into her glass and sniffing the contents, "What is this stuff anyways?"
Laughing lightly Perrine responded, "It is a Gallian liqueur." She drained a third of her glass, "It is very sweet but the finish will leave a bitter taste on your tongue."
Eila's frown deepened, "Super sweet and then leaves you bitter, how fucking prophetic." She threw the glass back like a shot and drained it completely without stopping. "Gah! It's like drinking honey-water and then eating a lemon!" She wiped her mouth with her arm and held out her glass, "Another!"
"Impressive, but do be careful. It is stronger than it tastes." Perrine finished her own glass and then refilled them both.
The silver-haired witch scoffed and rolled her eyes, "The water in Somus is stronger than this stuff." She drank half of her glass quickly and then shook her head and made a noise of mild disgust as the bitterness flooded her mouth, made more pronounced by the extreme sweetness that was just there.
Perrine watched her companion with an amused smile on her face while she leisurely sipped her own drink. "Why do you have such a spiky attitude this evening, little Misfit? Did you have a lover's fight with Sanya?"
Eila's purple eyes lit with anger and her words came out in a growl, "Mind your own business, Four-Eyes."
The Gallian girl's eyes met and held Eila's burning stare as she raised her glass to her lips, letting the sweetness flood her mouth. She held the liqueur until its taste turned sour before swallowing it; this was about to get interesting.
"Ah, I see." Perrine nearly purred, "Not a lover's fight at all because she isn't your lover, is she?" The blonde couldn't help the quiet laugh that came out, "You haven't told her how you feel yet have you?"
Eila violently splashed water into Perrine's face, "Don't you talk to me about that! I'm not the one drooling and yapping over Mio like a miserable little dog!"
Perrine calmly finished her drink, which was fortunately spared from the bath water, and calmly set her glass and her glasses on the edge of the bath. "No, you are the one baring your teeth and barking at anyone who looks at Sanya with no intention of mentioning your own feelings to her." She sighed and wiped the remaining water from her face, "And if you must know, I have gotten over my disappointingly childish obsession with Mio."
The Soumi girl's anger faded from boiling to simmering and she turned away from the other girl though there was still barbs in her voice, "Not like you have much of a choice, Minna snatched her up. You want to talk to me about telling Sanya I love her like you're better than me or something but you were the same way with Mio and now she's eating sauerkraut every night."
"You can't learn from that, Eila?" Perinne asked while refilling both of their glasses, "From what I hear you're sitting at a fully spread table every night and starving yourself. Who is to say that someone won't snatch your precious Sanya away from you?"
"Like who?" Suspicion tinged Eila's voice.
Perrine leaned in close suddenly making sure their eyes were locked then gave a devilish grin, "I think she might like to try some fine Gallian cuisine."
Eila's cheeks turned red at both Perrine's words and her sudden closeness, "Shut up, you're not after Sanya. And could we stop talking in stupid metaphors?" She half-heartedly splashed water at the other girl.
Perrine giggled and sat back, "You are right, I am not after Sanya. There is another girl I believe I have my eyes on."
A questioning noise from Eila met no response but she didn't push the matter further at the moment. The atmosphere quickly cooled off and the two sat in silence for a few minutes tending to their drinks and their own thoughts.
"I...I'm sorry I yelled at you and splashed you and everything." Eila said quietly as she rolled her empty glass between her hands.
"Don't fret over it too much. I have acted in much the same manner many times in the past." Perrine replied.
Silence descended on the two once again. Perrine could feel the alcohol blush begin to heat her face and the pleasant buzz that accompanied it. There was only a quarter of the bottle left; the blond smirked at that. She wasn't sure if Eila drank hard or not with all of her boasting but she could see a blush on the Soumi girl's face as well.
"Hey, what does Gallian food taste like anyways?" Eila asked, turning toward Perrine.
Perrine sat up, put on a seductive look, and leaned over until their shoulders were touching. With a husky voice she replied, "Very rich."
Eila stared open-mouthed at Perrine who was doing her best to keep up her come-hither stare. Then the two of them burst into laughter loud enough to echo back. They both put their hands over their mouths in an attempt to muffle the noise lest they wake someone up and get in trouble for breaking curfew and drinking. After a few minutes they calmed down and were able to breathe properly again.
"Holy shit, Four-Eyes! That is the cheesiest thing I've ever heard!" Eila punched her shoulder in a friendly manner.
Perrine nodded, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, "Yes, though I suppose I am not so rich anymore." She punctuated her statement with a slight sigh.
"Huh? What do you mean? Aren't you like a princess or something?" Eila asked while splitting the last of the bottle between their glasses.
"Ah, no. I am not royalty or anything grandiose like that. I was born into a noble family, and while my family certainly had money and a certain amount of political influence we possessed no actual power." After a moment of hesitation she continued, "Though I suppose none of that holds true anymore. I have sold much of the Clostermann estate and family heirlooms to help aid the reconstruction and I am the only one of the family left."
Eila was speechless, what was she supposed to say to all of that? She hadn't expected such a tragic backstory. Had she really been dealing with all of that since she was fifteen? Maybe Eila could forgive her for being unsociable and bratty back then; if the same thing had happened to her she would have probably lashed out at anything that moved and wound up in prison. She really only had one question for the girl.
"Why are you still here? Still fighting? We were all offered retirement after the last time we were disbanded."
Eila herself was still in the fight because Orussia was still split in half by the Neuroi and she had sworn to stay by Sanya's side until the country was liberated.
"Noblesse oblige. Even I still have my pride as the daughter of a noble family, even if that is just an empty title now." She offered the obviously concerned girl a gentle smile that said she shouldn't be worrying about her.
"Perrine–
"Ah, still not my name, Misfit." She cut Eila off and stuck out her tongue.
"What? Yeah it is, your name is Perrine." Eila responded slightly confused.
"That is more of a nickname, you know." She turned to fully face Eila, "My name is Pierrette-Henriette Clostermann," she took Eila's hand out of the water and lifted it to her lips, "it is truly my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen."
Blushing to the tips of her ears Eila slipped her hand away and weakly splashed at Perrine, "St-stop it, you dork." And then under her breath, "Stupid Four-Eyes..."
Laughing, Perrine returned to sitting normally, "I never thought I would see you so flustered. I am glad I could see that face of yours."
Eila grumbled and squirmed; there was a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach now. It wasn't unpleasant she just wasn't used to feeling it. It made her slightly uncomfortable. "Hey you said you got your eye on someone else now, right? So who is it?"
Smirking to herself, Perrine let Eila change the subject, "A proper lady does not discuss such matters so freely."
"Aw, come on, who is it? Lynette?" Eila prodded Perrine's shoulder with a finger.
Perrine shook her head, "No, though she did become a good friend to me while she stayed with me in Gallia I do not see her in such a way. Sweet girl though."
"Ummm, Yoshika?" The Soumi girl guessed.
"Really? That's your next guess? Well, I suppose the whole 'former rival' thing, but no, dear Misfit, that ball of unrelenting sunshine does not have my eye."
"Minna!"
"Oh you aren't even trying at this point." Perrine gave her a playful shove on the shoulder.
Giggling Eila went on to her next guess, "Barkhorn!"
Perrine's alcohol blush turned a deeper shade and she held up her thumb and finger a short distance apart, "A little bit a while ago."
"Are you serious? Barkhorn? Miss Proper Soldier?" Eila shouted, grabbing the slightly surprised Gallian.
"Are you serious?" Perrine shouted, grabbing Eila by the waist in turn, "Have you not seen her in the showers? That woman has the body of a Goddess!"
Eila threw her hands in the air, "I know!"
"Though she isn't the one I have my eye on I must confess that I still enjoy the view she provides." Perrine said while slowly releasing the slender Soumi girl's waist.
Eila tapped her chin, "Who else? Who else?"
"You realize that even if you did name the correct person I would deny it, right?" Perrine asked, resting her chin on the back of her hand.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. It was fun though, and it's good to know I'm not the only one checking out Barkhorn in the shower. Just be sure you tell the girl this time, don't want her to get stolen away." Eila bumped Perrine's shoulder with her own and her head fell with it, heavy with drink, settling into the crook of the girl's neck. It took a long few moments for her to right herself.
"Oh, I will. As soon as I can confirm my own feelings the girl will definitely know. Until then I will continue to pursue her." A slash of a grin cut through her face, "You do the same as well, a noble girl fights fair after all."
Eila cocked her head and her brow furrowed; she wasn't quite sure what Perrine meant by that. Eh, just probably more of her fancy-girl talk. Perrine stood up and collected the empty bottle and glasses, only wobbling slightly as she did so.
"As much as I have enjoyed this I am afraid that it is time for me to retire, I have morning duty after all. Shall we do this again sometime, my dear Misfit?" She asked while stepping from the bath.
Eila looked over her shoulder at the Gallian, much as she did when this whole thing started though this time her eyes lingered a bit on her naked form. "Yeah, sure, Four-Eyes. It was pretty fun and you have some good booze." She glanced at the position of the moon. "See you in a few hours."
Perrine padded back off to the changing room and Eila turned her eyes back to the night sky with an unusual feeling squirming inside of her. It seemed like the time in Gallia away from everyone had matured the girl quite a bit. She had a sense of humor now, she could go back-and-forth with the jabs, and damn could she drink. A small smile crept to Eila's face, it really had been a good time and her foul mood had been lifted. There was just one thing that was bothering her, a question finally forcing itself through the alcohol haze. If Perrine hadn't expected anyone else to be here then...
"Why did she bring two glasses?" Eila asked no one but the night.