To see an opera

[sunbaked_baker]

(Up in her room, Rae gets ready.)


When Sunshine comes down the stairs, today, she may not look wholly like herself. The baker is usually seen in the bar wearing bright t-shirts or sweaters, with colorful jeans and sneakers, her hair up in a ponytail or held back by a likewise colorful kerchief. One colorfully casual customer.

Today her hair is down, tumbling about her scarred shoulders in loose waves of red, and what she wears is not her normal style at all.

She takes care with her steps, and not just because of the silver heels that grace her feet. As she moves down the stairs, Rae consciously straightens her spine against the fluttery nervous feeling in her stomach, and hopes it will soon pass.

This is going to be an enjoyable outing. Rae refuses to let her feelings of self-consciousness mar it.



(ooc: Sunshine will likely be out of the bar for a while after this, so any and all threads are welcome, but will be millitimed to before her thread with Hannibal Lecter.)

Comments

[sunbaked_baker]

The compliment brings her gaze back to him, and brightens her faint smile, though the self-consciousness is still there. "Thank you."

"The dress was a... gift, from a friend. Since I had nothing suitable to wear to the opera."

[collects_strays]

He nods, finally blinking away.

"I'm sure that will be - suitable."

[sunbaked_baker]

"I don't think he would've picked something out for me that was unsuitable," she says, her hand drifting across the intricate beadwork, as though still somewhat in awe that it's actually real. And hers.

"Who's your friend?" Rae asks, with a nod in the dog's direction.

[collects_strays]

There's a short pause before he reacts, glancing up to her again, and then to where she indicates.

"Oh, um. That's Winston."

[sunbaked_baker]

"He's a cutie," she says, smiling down at the contented canine. "It's surprising how few dogs there are around the place, sometimes. All the cats'll wander around like they own the place, but the only dog I see regularly is Franz."

[collects_strays]

Graham gives a small nod.

"I haven't seen him."

[sunbaked_baker]

"You'll likely run into him sooner or later," Rae comments. "Gavroche brings Franz in from the House of Arch pretty often."

[collects_strays]

With a glance back at Winston, "He is used to having more dogs around."

[sunbaked_baker]

"How many dogs do you have?" she asks, tilting her head slightly.

[collects_strays]

"Um - seven, with him."

Graham doesn't really hesitate on the words, but he does keep his gaze averted.

[sunbaked_baker]

"Wow," Sunshine breathes, picturing seven dogs for a moment in silence. He'd need a proper house with a proper yard - the image of seven dogs in an apartment like her third-floor home was ludicrous. "I can't imagine trying to keep up with seven dogs - my skills barely extend to keeping houseplants alive."

Mostly alive.

Sometimes.

"They get along okay?"

[collects_strays]

There's a brief, dim half-smile.

"Get them all separate bowls and something to sleep on..."

Everything else tends to work out. "Sometimes it's - hard when there's someone new, but..."

He lifts his gaze to Winston again, and lets that trail off.

[sunbaked_baker]

"Love 'em, but I'd have to be in a different circumstance, to keep a dog," she muses. "My place's up on the third floor of my landlady's house. Even with the nature preserve that her property backs up to, a dog'd be cooped up when I'm not there."

The main circumstances that would have to be is the sheer amount of time she isn't there. Dealing with vampires on top of the work schedule of a baker leaves her little time to sleep, much less take care of a dog.

[collects_strays]

"Having more than one helps them - take care of each other. When I'm not there."

Graham presses his hands together. "But I have a lot of space."

[sunbaked_baker]

"The space I have is mostly vertical - high ceilings," Rae says, stepping around in her high heels to take a careful seat on the couch, a little ways away from Will's chair.

"And while I'm allowed whenever in my landlady's garden whenever I'd like, I suspect letting a dog run in there would be too like taking advantage. Though having a dog around might keep the deer from eating her roses better than the baited electric fence does."

[collects_strays]

Again, there's a pause - Graham keeps watching the fire, until he blinks a few times, the only outward sign of him snapping back to the conversation.

"I don't know," he mutters. "I don't keep a garden."