Alderaan - Love and Intrigue

Cynella's chosen dress still hung on the rack: a red swing dress with black polka dots, perfect for her theatrical desire to swing her skirt around in her antics. It'd have to wait, though, as the casualwear (camisole and shorts!) lady scurried to prepare not only herself but a dear friend for the evening.

"Who would've thought I'd be helping you out for Prince Joran, hm?" she asked, giggling at it. "And you said you didn't want my help. Guess I got my way in the end!"

"One of us actually came here with the goal in mind," she reminds with a slight smile as she shakes her head. Taking up a seat, looking herself in the mirror as she gets a sense of what she's aiming for tonight. Elbows up on the table, head rested in her palm, the considerations weren't going overly well. "But.. kriff, yea. Probably. Kriff, even if not I'll find someone to latch onto," she says with some humor to it, offering the chance that he in fact still might not choose her. Far as she knew.

"You know.. I usually just used to partake in this when I was younger to kiss pretty boys and girls who were stood up, right? Kinda.. a big thing when you're younger. No one really knowing what they want- I did, 'course, and it worked out for me that no one else did."

"You need to go in with more confidence. You've earned his attention this far in, despite not even being on the official list at the start. Now if I still thought I had a shot, then I'd be deluded." Cynella shook her head and stood behind Riss, taking in her appearance from all angles. "We'll just have to wow him together, hm?"

She smiled and dug into the drawers. "Or don't! If you still want to do that sort of thing, all the more power to you. It went the same on Kuat, though. Guess humans are the same wherever you look."

Once satisfied, she laid out some makeup primer. "I think we're close enough in skin tone. Or did you bring some stuff of your own?" She was a bit all over the place, between plotting arms dealing and her own mazerunning with the Prince of Joral.

"I've got some stuff," she leans her head up, glancing around the room a bit until she could spot the small bag of things. Makeup, dresses, accessories, she'd brought a small assortment because she wasn't quite sure what she was gonna wanna go with. Leaning her head back even further so she was more faced toward the ceiling she tried to catch sight of Cynella herself, "Nah. I'm.. we'll see how Joran goes. Despite everything.." she gives a little shrug, which looks awkward in this position.

"I'll be staying here. One way or another you're looking at the returned Countess Lanar," she says with a slight smirk to her. "Having a prince join me in that could be fun," she muses, but there's something there, it's the look in her eyes. She's putting on a good show, but a close friend can tell how heavy her heart was. Given the time they've spent together, Cynella most certainly qualified.

"He'll make a good choice for himself," she says, leaning her head forward and back onto her hands. "One way or the other."

"Good, good," Cynella said, watching her friend retrieve her stuff like a ravenous dog. "Ah, well, such unconfidence doesn't suit you, you know?" She reached for Riss' shoulders to give her a good shake.

"I hope that Countess Lanar doesn't become too busy to see guests. Then again, it seems like I'll be at least your equal in Alderaanian court, more-or-less, hm?" Her expression turned more pensive as she moved past to inspect herself and both of their beautification products. "I think this will go more smoothly if you tell me what's on your mind." And she hoped to the stars that she wasn't going to dodge answering again!

"Always got room to do two things at once," she commented quickly, while Cynella was inspecting the products Riss was busy looking herself in the eyes in the mirror. That strange sense of unfamiliarity in the woman looking back at her. A soft sigh halted halfway by Cynella's question. In a more tired tone, easing into it, "You.. heard about Bryson Rist maybe? His.. name was around a lot yesterday morning before everything.." she shakes her head. "Kriff."

"Died yesterday.. no, night before yesterday. He was shot, assassinated.. whatever the word for it is. He was important to me, special. I cared about him. Still.. replays in my mind a lot, seeing it happen. Never had someone die in my arms before it-" she shakes her head- "Just.." she sighs, more intentionally this time and with the full of her chest, "I just wanna try to enjoy tonight. Look forward, mm?"

Cynella raised a brow at the mention of Bryson Rist. She'd heard only rumors of some sort of assassination involving House Thul, though with all that'd happened, she knew better than to put too much faith into random things she heard.

But as Riss went on, she simply blinked. She'd witnessed death for the first time yesterday, sure, but not someone dying literally in her arms, someone she cared about. Having no idea what to say, she placed her hands on Riss' shoulders and then went in for a deep hug. "That's rough, darling."

After a bit, she nodded. "Yes. The only thing we can do in the end is push forward, mhm? You're strong. You had to be to make it all the way to becoming a Countess after exile, yes?"

Leaning her head onto one hand more than the other she got enough support to be able to slip the other free. Placing it on Cynella's forearm as she wrapped her into a hug. Resting her head against her some affectionately. A soft sigh, she kept herself steady.

"Nothing else has slowed me down.. why should this?" she says, but only wishes she could actually believe it was that easy. A brush of Cynella's arm she settles again. "Becoming a Countess again was actually pretty easy compared to.. everything else. Okay, so- what're we doing? Pretty me up, mm?" she says with a put-on smile into the mirror. It was convincing outside of the context.

Such warmth between them seemed long overdue considering what Riss had gone through. "Next time, try to be a little more forthcoming, hm? I'm here for you, you know, and it looks like that'll be especially true in the near future after I'm married."

She smirked. "It surprises me that nobility came back to you so easily, according to your perspective, at least. There's still the matter of catching you up on all the etiquette and whatnot, though I think you have me beat in some places." She sifted through Riss' palettes and then stopped. "Put on that primer like I said! Wouldn't be right to have anything off with your makeup. Men don't understand how hard it can be..."

There was a widening of her eyes, a flash of recognition, but she kept quiet on it for the moment as Cynella continued. Laughing briefly, "Plenty of work to knock the cobwebs off, mm?" she says with a slight smile, and shifted her attention to the mirror. Nodding twice, she started following along with Cynella's exacting instructions. When, where she could, a little break to add, "I'll try, by the way. To be more forthcoming. Though, speaking of forthcoming.. this married future being here, does that mean what I think it does?"

"Oh?" Cynella tilted her head. "I would've thought that Aurilie would have told you already. Last night I, well, proposed. Not exactly but I told her that I intended to list her as the primary marriage candidate to my parents."

She peered at Riss via the mirror. "Ah, I don't think Joran would appreciate the heavy goth look. Still, it was a fun thought. Probably something more traditional, hm?"