Coloratura di Pasticcino [Raion/Mashiro]

“

Without music, life would be a mistake.

It was an obvious and understandable that Mashiro held the strawberry Danishes from the Shirayama Bakery in the highest regard. But the pianist was a good three hundred kilometers from Hachiouji City, and even though the future head chef lived just a floor above her, Mashiro opted to visit the local establishment at the bottom of Mt. Asuwa.

The way Mashiro's snow-white hair fluttered about in the late autumn wind evoked the image of a blizzard, not helped by ice blue pinafore dress and white blouse ensemble she wore. It was not yet cold enough for a sweater, at least for the composer, but the greying Sunday morning sky above her foretold the upcoming winter.

There was a brief respite as she turned the corner, the buildings blocking the wind giving her a little time to pull her hair out of her face. She had grown it out a bit, now reaching halfway down to her arms - farther than she had let it grow before but still short of the absurd length her twin sister let it reach. By the time she put her hair back into some semblance of order, Mashiro stood in front of the bakery.

A facade of red bricks that gave way to black lacquered wood which framed a large glass window and door was intentipnally crafted to give off a very French vibe, an obvious contrast to the surrounding buildings. The window display had yet to be filled, and through the glass Mashiro could see the staff and chefs inside flitting about trying to get ready for the day.

Despite it being just a few minutes before opening time, Mashiro opened the door - from her first visits in her first year at Fukui, she had learned that in the autumn and winter months the bakery opened their doors a bit earlier so that patrons could wait inside instead of being forced out in the cold. Immediately, she strode over to where the Danishes would be, unsurprised by the empty tray in front of her. From behind the counter, the pianist could hear a chuckle - the one of the bakers recognized the white-haired girl and knew exactly what she was here for.

This time, however, there was a bit more on Mashiro's shopping list. Yumeko and even Misha made a few requests for various pastries - the favorites for the former and more experimental picks to analyze and send information back home. Of course, it would take some time for it all to be set out, so Mashiro took a few steps back and silently watched as the staff continue to prepare, only distracted by the sound of a bell, announcing another arrival.

[ Raion Honoo | #WORDS | ♫MUSIC | NOTES ]

MADE BY KAIZU OF WW AND TWF

Perhaps then, it was time to take on board a frequent suggestion and stop here after all. She was in the area, and had finished her daily session early and she had been pushing herself harder than usual lately, so..,. A little cheat wouldn't hurt, right? Certainly something light like a fluffy pastry would do. Flaky, without much substance, mostly existing for the flavor. That would do, she decided, making the turn toward the location she had been told. A bakery that had praise from others, most of whom she had only eavesdropped on but one or two had openly discussed with her. The reasons were less important than the outcome, though, and she was appreciative of the loud gossip she overheard as much as the direct statement.

Finding the words for the road was not her specialty. In fact, her walk there was mostly internal, only really tangentially aware of the outside world. A street sign here, another person there, and the rest, she was too inside her own thoughts to notice or care about. The world inside her head, opposing the one she was finding herself ignoring, was filled with new moves, stages she wished to perform on, and thoughts only of the challenge ahead. To call her a one-trick would be insulting, but also not inaccurate, as all she did and all she wished were connected to the root of her goals. There was little time for anything else amid the mind of Lione D'Incindie - Of Raion Honoo.

All but physically absent, her thoughts were interrupted briefly by the chime of a bell - no doubt some sort of alert for the door she had entered without realizing. She had entered the correct building, right? A quick double-take whilst still holding the door open to check the sign outside would tell her that yes, she had. This followed by a realization that the name of the establishment was literally right overhead on signs inside as well, and rather than growing a sense of embarrassment, she externally laughed at herself. A short, almost purr of a laugh that truly held no shame, evidence by the lack of red in her cheeks that may come from such a silly action being witnessed by others.

Now that she was back in the real world mentally, and the warmth of the building hit her, it was apparent that she was not at all dressed for the season - her coming to this rather nice building in running shoes and ankle length compression attire with a hoodie tied around her waist, flowing into a very informal tank top which likely would have covered by said hoodie had she not been running just moments ago. The entire ensemble was a mixture of earthy darker orange and brown, with some accents in red to compliment her long scarlet braid, with loose bangs held back by a black headband. There was somewhat of a disconnect between her and the other customer in the building, one who she at first mistook for someone she knew back home. This disconnect was more apparent by the even less subtle differences in skin tone and clarity, as Raion was sporting a rather large scar down one cheek, normally covered for school by makeup. Supposing this other girl even recognized that much about her, considering neither of them was relatively obviously from the same school after all.

Contrasting her rather aggressive appearance, her voice held no such resonance. Rather than a lion roar, her voice offered a house cats' softness.

"Oh, sorry, am I early?" she asked to the air itself seemingly, not facing any specific person inside. Then, without waiting for an answer and without understanding that the door was open for the explicit purpose of keeping customers warm, she exited the building once more. Not a shiver nor a sign of the ill seasoned clothing really affecting her - likely the adrenaline of the workout hadn't faded just yet.

“

Without music, life would be a mistake.

Crimson eyes shifted to the recent visitor, Mashiro's face remaining otherwise in her usual frown. To be going about with the sweater at ones waist rather than properly worn was amusing at least, though given the rest of the attire the pianist simply assumed that the other girl was a runner of some sort, keeping warm by their exercise. Red hair and dark skin was indeed rare - but Mashiro was in no mood to speculate the reasons for it. And the scar didn't escape her notice either.

It was an ensemble that set the composer's expectations - perhaps a boisterous and forceful personality, equal parts will and force, though it lasted only a moment before the other girl spoke. Mashiro's reaction, behind her stoic, frowning face, was one of amusement. Even within her own family, she had dealt with such gentle giants.

"No, it is fine to-"

One of the bakers behind the counter attempted to speak out, was a bit too slow a bit too quiet, the bell ringing downing out her words as the other visitor made her egress. Mashiro glanced at the exasperated woman who nodded in return, smiling and wordlessly giving Mashiro the go-ahead. Grabbing the hems of her pinafore, the musician curtsied before walking through the door.

Mashiro let the jingle of the door's bell fade before speaking up again. "Good morning, jou-san," the white-hair girl spoke, politely yet almost whispery. Though this was not her family's shop in Tokyo, she still conducted herself in the same way. "Though still before the stated opening hour, the bakery is still open. You need not stay outside in the cold." Once more, pale hands gripped the hems of the ice blue dress and curtsied before slipping back into the warmth of the bakery.

[ Raion Honoo | #WORDS | ♫MUSIC | NOTES ]

MADE BY KAIZU OF WW AND TWF

Upon her return to the chilled outdoors, Raion would commence some light stretches. Staying still was as alien to her as she likely just was to the vendors within the bakery. A few taps of her foot against the ground below to indicate which leg would be picked up and held behind her, balance impeccable as her dancer within shone through. Five seconds of that, and then the next, rinse and repeat thrice more it took only one set of this behavior before the girl inside came to talk to her - a gesture she noted allowed her a better view of the face of the now very formal sounding young lady which allowed her to confirm her likeness was fleeting at best to the one she assumed.

"Oh. That's nice of them, thanks."

She responded, but her body language did not shift nor did she budge for several more seconds. Now that she had begun a new set of stretches, she refused to move without completing it - no reason really, beyond her own quirk. It fulfilled her to know that she had not invaded unannounced in an offensive way, but only enough that she would re-enter on her terms once more. This sentiment all packaged together in the tone she delivered her response in, being one of a thankful, but somewhat dismissive nature.

Whether her companion in that moment entered the building again or not, Raion herself stayed rooted until her fourth set, a total of forty seconds passing between the start and finish of her stretches. This would surely pose as a moment of awkward silence between the two jf the other had remained, and if not, they would be reunited momentarily anyway - the bell of the door sounded once more the arrival of the dark redhead, now in perhaps more relaxed a stance than before. She wasted little time in addressing the polite girl from before as she came full circle to be at her side again.

"I'm assuming you're a regular. What's good here?"

A simple question, but perhaps a little too simple. She never was one for wasted breath.

“

Without music, life would be a mistake.

Inside the bakery, Mashiro continued to watch in silent vigil as the bakers and staff filled the display racks one by one with the morning's baked goods. She had heard the worlds of the red-haired girl before the door closed behind the pianist, but it seemed they were so pre-occupied with their exercise that perhaps it was a statement made out of reflex. In the end, Mashiro simply told herself that she had fulfilled her obligation and was content to stand alone and wait.

Once more, out of reflex, crimson eyes darted to the side as the door bell rang, and Mashiro found herself surprised to see the red-haired girl from before. As she was approached, the musican once more took the hems of her skirt and curtsied.

"In terms of morning fare, the <bagels> are a good staple, as well as the <brie croissants>," Mashiro replied, slipping back into the shopkeeper's facade. "The <chocolate> and <almond paste>-filled ones will be available soonafter, as well as <croissant sandwiches>. Afterwards, I would recommend the danishes, there are numerous fillings that will be available, as well as a few seasonal ones, such as the pumpkin spice and <peppermint>."

She gestured towards the respective trays, regardless of whether they were filled or not, as she explained. Rather than use the Japanese pronunciations of the food, Mashiro used the English and even French pronunciations, all with perfect, albeit jarring accents.

"Of course, this does not mean the other offerings are unsatisfying. There are a few more esoteric samples available...or will be available, but the staples that I have seen the others often gravitate towards are indeed the ones I have told you previously."

From the corner of Mashiro's eyes, she could see the last tray slide into place followed by the bakers behind the counter giving off a hearty 'Irrashaimase~!' to announce that the bakery was now ready for business. Mashiro gestured ahead, adding, "I am not staff, but do enjoy, ojou-san."

[ Raion Honoo | #WORDS | ♫MUSIC | NOTES ]

MADE BY KAIZU OF WW AND TWF

A lot of what the girl said, admittedly, wasn't registering all at once. She heard the bits about chocolate and danishes due to selective hearing and then the rest started to come into her attention slowly, but by the time she had processed it all, the store declared itself open and she herself was back to losing her train of thought. It was almost comical how she could so easily not understand whilst paying full attention.

She stayed silent the entire time despite hearing the second part, regarding her with an interesting honorific that she was unused to. Her body seemed to respond on its own as she began to have a hard time standing still again, tapping her toes and rocking back and forth on her knees reminiscent of some kind of impatient anime character, though her face betrayed this entirely. While she hated to stay still, she was far from impatient.

"O-oh. Thanks for the pointers." she responded after near minutes of complete stonewalling. "And no need to be so formal. Raion will do. It's my name after all." she said, not asking the other what her name was out of general lack of awareness for how this conversation was playing out. Truly in her own bubble at the moment.

With that, she approached the counter and began to deliberate between some things that appeared sweeter than an athlete should partake in, eventually settling on the one with the most chocolate and, oddly, silliest level of festive detail. She wouldn't be in any major rush. Whatever pace things developed from here, she was all for. 

“

Without music, life would be a mistake.

By the time Mashiro heard the other girl speak, she had already picked out most of the things she had come for - fresh croissants, asiago cheese bagels, onion and sesame bagels, cream cheese danishes, and even the jalapeno cheese bread were out already. All that was left for now was the chocolate croissants and strawberry-filled danishes. Not that she was in a rush today, and the more season items seemed to be beckoning as well.

Tray full of assorted pastries, Mashiro silently walked over to look over a few cookies and tarts, deliberating whether or not to pick out something more spiced rather than the usual sweet or savory. In the back of her mind, she constantly asked if the people she was getting food for would have appreciated the peppermint or pumpkin spiced flavours, but always came back to the same conclusion - her family and friends knew what they liked and weren't going to deviate unless they were here themselves.

In the end, only the pumpkin spiced sugar cookies were of any interetest to the composer herself, so she permitted that little extra to be added to the pile. Mashiro continued to pace about the bakery until she caught sight of the girl from before, seemingly eyeing the seasonal chocolates and sweets. For the part-time confectioner, she wasn't too surprised - if the girl was an athlete of some sort, they would burn all the sugars rather quickly.

Quietly, Mashiro approached once more, making little sound as she moved. Despite the advice that she did not need to be so formal, Mashiro still put the tray at her side so that she could do a slight curtsy again. "Ah...Raion-jousan? Did you find what you were looking for?" Politeness was a force of habit, but the shop facade had already started to slip. Mashiro's voice had returned to is normal, whispery and almost ghostly tone while her expression rested on a slighty frown.

[ Raion Honoo | #WORDS | ♫MUSIC | NOTES ]

MADE BY KAIZU OF WW AND TWF