→ live my life like I'm in a play.

[thedominatrix]

Who: Irene Adler & Sebastian LeMat
What: A night at the theatre.
Where: The Zygoda, Howl Barrow.
When: Veerdi 7th.
Warnings: Shakespeare.

Pick me up at eight would have been nice, but Irene's schedule doesn't allow for any such dawdling- she's already had a meal with a very nice and very rich chap who believes her to be wife material (...which, good grief, ruined the soup for her entirely) and is coming straight from drinks with a woman of growing influence in the hufu production industry who rather gave the impression she wanted Irene to stay, although whether for dinner or dinner was somewhat up for debate.

She's meeting Sebastian outside a bar a few streets away from the Zygoda, aware that it might well be packed with theatre people- she should probably feel slightly bad about throwing him into the deep end, but they can always escape. Anyway, she'll steer him right.

Mostly right. Well, he won't be bored, at least.

She hops out of her private Syriac Well cab (and she does like that about Baedal, the carriages) in a flash of bright silk, wearing colour for once- well, it is Howl Barrow, after all- and makes a beeline for him, because that's not a terrifying sight at all.

Comments

[heardmermaids]

Never fear. Sebastian spent a few years learning about boredom before he decided that he's really not well suited to it.

Thanks to the good grace of his friends, he's managed to get himself looking somewhat respectable - thanks to the combined efforts of Malfoy, Nuala, and Penelope, he's been outfitted in a proper three piece suit. Sebastian is sure he'll never look proper in polite society, but being well-dressed should take the edge off whatever wandering attention isn't instantly devoted to Irene. Somewhat unusually, he's made the choice to leave his contacts at home tonight.

"Good evening, Ms Adler."

[thedominatrix]

"It ought to be, yes. Goodness, Mr LeMat, you look positively dapper," she says, a wide and sparkling smile showing up on her face- she's playing a slightly different role to the one she took up for their moment of mutual insomnia, a little more full-on, as befits the occasion.

"Not that I'm particularly surprised, I promise."

[heardmermaids]

"You're more than welcome to be surprised. I myself was rather shocked to see that I could still carry off a waistcoat without too much embarrassment." He'll be a little wrong-footed at first, but Sebastian shows all the signs of being able to quickly and cleanly adapt to whatever company she decides they ought to move in.

"You look more than lovely yourself."

[thedominatrix]

"You're a charmer." And she's noticed his eyes, trying to judge whether it's the light or whether they really are different, though she's leaning towards the latter; she's no Holmes, but she does observe, to some small degree. "So you've got a history in waistcoats? Your past is sounding more and more interesting by the minute. I'm thinking gentleman villain right now- possibly with a moustache to twirl."

[heardmermaids]

"No moustache, but I do own an antique silver-topped cane." For the moment, he will not address whether or not he is or has been either a gentleman or a villain, but she's not far off the mark. "And I can assure you that my history is only sordid in the most common and uninteresting ways."

[thedominatrix]

"'Sordid' is never uninteresting," she corrects him, faux-haughtily, very much enjoying the fact that he doesn't actually confirm or deny the image of him as a charming and affable criminal genius of sort kind.

After a beat, with the edge of a wry smile, she adds, "Says the tabloids' former favourite scandal, without any hint of bias."

[heardmermaids]

There's a flicker of expression at the mention of the 'tabloids' that could mean a variety of things, but Irene can likely suss out that Sebastian has had a little experience with the papers himself.

"Is it? Perhaps I wasn't doing it right then."

[thedominatrix]

"I can educate you," she says in tones of solemn reassurance. Never fear; your friendly neighbourhood scandal is here.

She does note the way his expression changes very slightly when she mentions tabloids, though she might not were she not very familiar with that sort of expression. She's been at the centre of many a media storm- admittedly she craves attention, and takes a kind of pleasure in being hated if she can't be loved, but being swarmed by tabloids is never sunshine and roses, not really. She always made the best of it; people formerly close to her didn't necessarily, and cut ties.

But anyway: waistcoats. Press. Village theft. The removal and selling-on of his own innate powers. What an interesting handyman he's turning out to be.

[heardmermaids]

"I have the utmost faith in your ability to educate; however, while I still believe that ignorance is just ignorance rather than bliss, I think it might be wise to remain unaware." A pause. "For the time being, at least."

Village borrowing, really.

[thedominatrix]

"Very sensible of you," she has to admit, smiling widely nonetheless. "For the good of Baedal, perhaps you're right. Still, the offer's there, if you're ever feeling too squeaky clean."

Village borrowing, got it.

[heardmermaids]

Head cocked to one side, Sebastian pauses as if he's earnestly considering it, but shakes off the thought relatively quickly.

"That'd be an unlikely problem, but I appreciate your concern." Ahem. "Now, what do I need to know about seeing a play?"

[thedominatrix]

"It's terribly easy. If you know how to sit still in the dark, you're half way there already," she advises, not having lost her smile one bit. "I'll make sure there's wine waiting at the intermission- or whatever you drink. Oh- where there are crowds, you'll discover a general air of people being aggressively posh at each other." This bit of mockery might sound strange in her (self-made, but nevertheless) accent.

[heardmermaids]

"Right then. I suppose it's a bit like riding a bicycle." There's a hint of nerves, but it's ruthlessly quashed. While seeing a play isn't something he's done, he's certainly familiar with people's need to be impressive at each other.

"And, thank you for bringing me here. I really do appreciate the effort." He's just so earnest.