Resolutions and Restitutions [Shen & Fin]

It was the end of the year. People all around were celebrating the accomplishments, struggles, and changes this year brought, while spouting well-wishes and intentions for the year to come. The cultural celebration was fascinating, since time always passed the same and nothing tangible changed from the last day of December to the first of January, but it was no different from each new day starting in the middle of the night instead of at sunrise. It was arbitrary, but ultimately served as a point of focus for humans to measure by.

Clone 88 wasn't one for optimism or pessimism, but she had learned about the concept of hope either way. Though she didn't understand it fully, she truly hoped the next year would be better than the last. She wasn't so silly as to declare resolutions. More often than not they failed, and those involved just seemed silly. But what did Finn hope for in the future, be it this new year or several after?

The Rune Knights had put on an end of the year ball, and of course, hardly any expense was spared. The whole mess hall had been gutted and masked with muslin over softly twinkling lights. Several crystalline chandeliers had been strung up among the billowed fabric hiding the industrial rafters. Temporary hard-wood subfloors had been installed over the tile. Up on a temporary stage played a live band who seemed capable of playing anything, and what they couldn't, the booming speakers and DJ could handle. In the corners, and hidden among the fabric, were lights capable of turning this ball into a more lively, nightclub-esque venue, but for now it was more lowkey and classy, fit for the war-torn soldiers filing in either in pairs or in squads dressed to the nines. Though this happened every year, the Rune Knights needed a morale boost now more than ever.

Even Finn was done up for the occasion. Though her fashion choices were eclectic at best, tonight she'd chosen wisely. It was a simple dress of draping wine-hued fabric, the top tied up from the waist and resting nearly off the shoulders while the rest fell straight from the cinched waist all the way to the floor, wrapping her body in a way where a slit in the front over her right leg allowed for freer movement and less snagging for her prosthetic limb. Otherwise, her ebony hair was braided up in the usual style, save for two pieces to frame her face, and held in place with her favorite headband with the gold roses. Some crimson lipstick and black heels later, she almost looked like she belonged at the swanky party.

The woman entered with neither date nor squad. Alone, she walked straight to the bar situated near the kitchen area to the left, where quite a few round tables and clear chairs were gathered under white tablecloths and sparkling centerpieces. She held no rank to be forced to be here, unlike a certain other squad-mate she knew, but Finn had decided to come all the same even though this wasn't her thing. Maybe it was to honor the rest of her friends, who would have been more than happy to suck down free food and drinks and live it up a little on their job's dime. Maybe she had given into humanity and just didn't want to be alone on this arbitrary last day of the year. Or, perhaps, a very small piece of her looked forward to the companionship of that funny guy from Seven who kept trying to weasel into her good graces.

Ordering a whiskey sour for herself, she perched on one of the stools at the well polished bar. Yes, another of her reasons for coming was also the free drinks. Once upon a time she hadn't been much for alcohol, but between peer pressure from her friends and the grief of losing them, the numbing effects of booze became more attractive. But that still wasn't all of her potential motives for sitting at this New Year's Ball tonight.

Finn hoped to catch the General, Shen Kadokawa, the only other one from their squad left. She would've bet her entire paycheck he would eventually end up where she sat. Since he rescued her, she'd yet to catch him for a conversation. The man wouldn't look at her, even when she tried to get his attention. He was keeping busy and had changed a lot, but... they were fighting similar demons. While he seemed intent to fight them alone, Finn thought two were stronger than one. She was no Jona Bradley or Caleb Sherman, but Infinity had been there, too.

[wc: 785]

Finnegan loosened his crimson tie as he let out a sigh. Fin had planned to simply don his uniform to the new years ball, however due to the incessant nagging of his good friend Daphne, a fellow Rune knight rookie, Fin eventually caved and forked over a good portion of his salary to buy a nicely tailored three piece suit. The blazer was black with dark silver accents, matching crimson cloth inside the blazer, with shiny brass buttons. Underneath the blazer he wore a gray vest and underneath said vest a pristine white dress shirt. The nomad was not accustomed to wearing such fancy doo dads thus he wanted nothing more than to doff said suit and return to his regular pilgrim attire. Finnegan sorely missed his lucky scarf, and his head felt lighter without his mask. He looked over his visage in the mirror, and decided it would suffice to the city folk standards. Eventually Fontaine picked up a set of onyx gloves and slid them over his calloused and scarred hands one by one, thus completing his look.

Emerging from his dinky apartment after grabbing a motorcycle helmet. The nomad locked up his home and made the trek down the flight of stairs where he would leave the building and arrive to his designated garage where his rose red motorcycle resided. He fished out his keys from his pocket and put it in the ignition, before getting on his newly acquired faithful steed Fin equipped the helmet and prepared to ride. The machine roared to life as the hybrid gasoline and lacrima engine growled like an angry beast ready for the hunt. Fin mulled over his memories of the simple new years festival his village would hold, surrounded by friends and loved ones. The new recruit found it amusing how he was on the way to a social gathering yet he felt so alone. As if to shut off these melancholy thoughts and feelings, Fin brought down his tinted face shield of his mask and revved the engine. The motorcycle roared once more and Fin road off into the night. Finnegan shifted gears every so often building up speed and slowing down when ever it was appropriate. Despite being an upstanding, law abiding city resident, a bit of Finnegan's rebellious attitude bubbled to the surface, exceeding the speed limit ever so slightly as he sped his way through era towards the Rune Knight headquarters. After a few minutes, Fin arrived at his destination. He slowed down his mechanized steed to a halt, parking her in some remote corner of the parking lot. It was secluded and far away, not many would park there, a perfect parking spot should Fin decide to bail on the party early. He most likely wouldn't make a premature exodus, but having the option was comforting to outdoorsman. He took off his helmet and hung it from his motorcycle.

Fin ruffled his ginger locks undoing the temporary helmet head, not really giving a half ass if his hair was perfectly combed or not. Despite his impromptu hair style, Finnegan's hair came down elegantly. The sound of his dress shoes tapping on top of the parking lot was muted by the sounds of other Rune Knights arriving and chatting at the venue. With his hands in he pocket, the sevenite donned a charming smile as he approached a group of his peers. Everyone was dressed wonderfully, thankfully Fin's simple suit sufficed to meet the standard of the bougie aura of said event. The Recruit popular as ever, smiled and waved as groups of people would approach him and greet him.

"Wow, you look good Fin." said a familiar voice, Fin turned to see a friend of his. The friend was none other than Daphne Dwight, a young rune knight woman who had joined the combat corps roughly the same time Fin joined. Although Finnegan's initiation vastly differed from hers, the two became close friends after a few assignments together. Daphne wore a stunning violet gown, this nearly caught the the ginger headed wanderer off guard, since Daphne was the type of gal others would describe as a wallflower at best. "Well I'll be, lass... You look absolutely lethal!" Finnegan offered his friend a bright smile, Daphne then in turn returned the young mans smile with her own. The two exchanged a platonic embrace and entered the venue together.

"So, ya here with a date?" Fin inquired as the two navigated though the mildly dense crowd. Daphne sighed clearly signaling to her answer. "Unfortunately not... I ended up chickening out last minute..." Daphne said in a tone layered with some regret. Fin raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "So ya were plannin' to but ya got cold feet last minute... whose our lucky coworker youse got ya eye on lass?" Fin asked as he nodded and smiled to another familiar face off to the distance.

"Jimmy Lee, from the engineering department." Daphne said meekly, slightly turning a shade of pink. Fin snapped his finger and chuckled. "Aye! Jimmy! Oh he's a great lad that he is." Fin bursted out excitedly, his accent revealing itself even more prominently. Daphne punched Finnegan on the shoulder to quickly shut him up. "Couldn't be any more subtle can you, huh fin?" Daphne said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

Fin rubbed his shoulder in response to the mini outburst of violence from his friend.  His eyes narrowed slightly as he noticed Jimmy across the large hall. A devilish smile crept upon Fin's lips as a scheme began to formulate in this mind. "My apologies haha... oi Daph... why don't ya say we have a wee little dance as friends, yeah?" Fin gave his friend an angelic smile. Daphne raised her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes in response. "Sure... but wouldn't your fan club get jealous?" Daphne said cautiously. Fin stared at her blankly. "Fan club?" Finnegan inquired in a blatantly ignorant tone. Daphne once again rolled her eyes, realizing how dense her friend was. She almost felt sorry for her many coworkers who had developed a crush on the blissfuly unaware country boy.

"Never mind... alright let's get to it, then we can find a seat or something." Daphne sighed as she allowed her friend to take her hand. Finnegan lead her towards the area where the other couples and friends were dancing together. The music shifted to a song with a slower tempo. The two began to dance slowly, the two were good friends comfortable with one another. Whatever others thought of the two, it didn't matter to Fin and Daphne for they knew very well where they stood in relation to one another.

"Hows ya mum Daph?" Fin asked ash he took the lead, ever so slowly inching himself and Daphne over to Jimmy's location. Daphne smiled softly and responded to her ginger headed buddy. "she's doing better, the medicine is working well the doctors said if it continues to work, she may make a full recovery.... but it's still too early to be sure..." Daphne's words were filled with tempered hope. Fin nodded sympathetically, the two continued to converse as they danced. With each word exchange the inched closer and closer towards Jimmy without Daphne noticing. As if on cue the song drew to a close and the two were just where Fin wanted them to be.

Finnegan suddenly grabbed his stomach and doubled over seemingly in pain. "Ah shite..." Fin grumbled through his clenched teeth. Daphne looked at her friend with concern. "Hey! Are you alright?" Daphne and Jimmy asked at the same, the couple both wearing a face with concern. Daphne almost jolted in surprise realizing how close Jimmy was. Fin forced himself to hold back a smile, he continued his Oscar worthy performance and proceeded with operation wingman.

"Ah the lord, I ate me self a suspicious lobster roll.... from the looks of it, it didn't sit well in me stomach... Say, Jimmy lad, can ya do me a favor and accompany me friend over here for the evenin', I think Imma be stuck in the bathroom the whole night.... ugh.... alright I gotta go before I shite my pants!" Fin groaned as if in immense pain, before the two could respond the mischievous Sevenite man made a quick getaway allowing Daphne and Jimmy to have their alone time. He stealthily distanced himself watching from afar unseen. Just as Finnegan expected, the couple had hit off and had begun a wonderful evening together.

"Aye, you are gift from the good lord Finnegan Fontaine, that you are lad" Finnegan chuckled to himself as he gave himself a mental pat on the back for his good work. He made himself towards the bar nabbed himself a random drink from a tray, taking a small swig pleasantly surprised when the taste of his homeland greeted his pallet. It was a whiskey made in Seven, a drink he had plenty of times in youth. A wave of nostalgia came to Fin suddenly as a his joyful expression shifted to that to a subtle melancholy. He shook his head, refusing to ruin the night of festivities for himself or for others. That's when Fin noticed a familiar figure, a beautiful woman wearing a beautiful wine colored dress. Her raven black hair adorned with golden headband decorated with a golden rose. Fin smiled and sat himself next to her. "You know lass, whats better than one Finn? TWO Finn's!" Finnegan said obnoxiously as he raised his glass of whiskey as a greeting to 88. "Have ya seen our fearless tomato headed leader yet?" Fin inquired jokingly before taking another swig from his glass of whiskey. Seeing Infinity was there, the rambunctious ginger haired Fin couldn't help but wonder if the astute General Shen Kadokawa would  eventually show up for the ball. He paused and stared into Finn's crimson eyes, he offered her a genuine smile. "You look absolutely breath taking by the way..." Finnegan said softly.
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WC: 1,664 words
Personal TWC: 1,664 words
TWC for the Thread: 2,449 words

She waited a long time for Shen, but the flaming red head never darkened the door. The ice in her whiskey melted and shifted, clinking against the glass like a clock’s chime.

Perhaps it was because her mind was already on him, but the melodious twinkle took her back to a less pleasant time in the not-so-distant past. New Year's was said to be a time of reflection, and apparently that was something unearthly mandatory given how quickly her mind was transported back to that dingy room in one of Pergrande's prisoner of war camps. Though she'd had no method to quantify time in her cell, there had been a clock somewhere in the hall that the guards stomped up and down day and night. Though she couldn't hear the subtle ticks and tocks, she could barely make out the chiming every hour. Early in her imprisonment, she'd made it a point to strain her acute hearing to count them, begging for something to break up the monotony. She'd given up immediately on using it as an accurate account of how long she'd been detained, since she'd been unconscious for an undetermined amount of time between losing her leg and waking up on her crusty board of a mattress, plus she slept occasionally to stay alive. Even so, she'd counted so many that instead of grounding her and giving her hope, eventually it was so many that her highly trained brain lost count and felt the dull stabs of despair. Finn had forced herself to ignore the chimes after that, instead focusing on a plan to escape - a long con. The more chimes, the less chance that someone was coming. She'd have to make a way on her own, force her hope and rescue or die trying. It was then that she committed to snagging a radio from her 'doctor'. It was then that she frantically issued the plea for rescue that drew Shen Kadokawa in all of his glory. Not the Shen she remembered, but a new one that got the job done. Her distant savior.

Her coworkers flittered in and out of the bar area, sped up in time until it was nothing but motion blur in her peripheral. Though she wasn’t the type to look that deeply into things, she wondered if he was avoiding the party simply because she was there.

The colorful blur around her made for a neutral backdrop for a cascade of idle memories. It wasn’t the first time she’d been avoided, nor would it be the last. 88 didn’t fit in with her peers very well. The endless facets of decorum were exhausting to learn and keep up with, especially when they seemed to vary from person to person, with no one strategy pleasing everyone. Finn worked best with clear cut, black and white rules, but life was all shades of gray. When she’d first arrived, her social skills had been so poor that everyone found her either extremely weird and robotic or just rude. Sitting alone was normal. So was being ignored. Seeing those around her heave frustrated air from their lungs when she was assigned to work with them still happened. Though it grew a little hurtful once she learned a thing or two about interacting with others, it was a fond memory in one respect. Being assigned to her squad had been rough. The guys weren’t happy she was there. They said all kinds of things to her, like how she stuck out ‘like a sore thumb’, an idiom she’d never really understood. Some patronized her by underestimating her in every aspect, some bullied her at every turn, and the remaining objectified her as something to use when drunk or bored. Shen hadn’t been that way if only because he merely orbited as a silent moon on the fringes of the group at large with his two closest friends, and it was Patton that begrudgingly had her back. But Patton’s sometimes abrasive support had been the catalyst bridging the gap between the awkward clone and her fellow soldiers. Though they weren’t perfect and had their share of spats and affairs, they’d become precious to her. They’d dubbed her Finn, a proper person name, and taught her the concepts of teamwork and family. For a second, she thought she saw Patton in the crowd.

The year prior, the squad had come as one large group. Most of them had come in their usual uniforms, though by the night’s end, various pieces of it had been missing or rearranged. Patton had swung her out onto the dance floor to teach her a thing or two about dancing like a lady, since she’d only been dancing when they crawled amongst the city bars. She’d been twirled and dipped until they were both laughing, and then the rest of the squad had a turn. The drinks came quick and free, and by the night’s end, Patton was smacking her hands to keep her from taking her shirt off. That had been the first night she’d really laughed, that deep laugh from deep in the belly that lifts burdens and heals emotional wounds. That had been the night Patton, choking on a beer, had told her that she had two laughs; one like a four-year-old and one like an old witch from some sort of silly movies.

Finn missed them so much that her throat tightened where she sat. Being here was a bad idea. She wasn’t ready for this. She had every intention of drowning her memories in more than one glass of whiskey. Could she still dance with a prosthetic leg?

Waiting, waiting, waiting… what was she waiting for now? The woman— who looked far more elegant than she was— sat frozen at the bar for what felt like ages, nearly becoming apart of the decorations akin to a marble statue. Perhaps it was her emotions that paralyzed her. Though she didn’t move, her eyes were sharp. Finn was watching instead of remembering now. Intently. Her crimson hues missed nary a detail, from faces and outfits to dancing styles and partners. She watched not because she was interested in the people themselves, but because she was assimilating knowledge. How people act at a party. What they do. The faces they make. The sound of their laughter. How different personalities presented themselves and made friends. All of these things would be useful to imitate.

Fin’s arrival was noticed immediately, and he was all she could watch from then on. The ginger was definitely the highlight of the group. He was effortlessly entertaining. Finn didn’t understand his charm. It was so easy for him to be with people and talk to them. A girl with glasses, one she recognized from the mess hall, was the first to flock to him, though there was a group of girls and a couple of guys staying close to him and giggling. As the two danced off together, Finn finally moved. Her head turned and tilted as she tracked them, her formerly blank expression tightening. A twinkling of some sort of feeling churned in her gut, but she lacked the experience to identify it. Perhaps she merely wished she was as deft with people as he was, but that didn’t seem to be all of it. She wanted to dance with him like she had with Patton, like he was currently doing with that girl. Maybe the feeling was just a more complicated layer of pain from missing her friends and craving a replacement for them.

Finn continued to watch him with a lightly conflicted expression all the way until he joined her at the bar. Hadn’t he seemed sick or injured just moments ago? And yet, he seemed fine now. A slender ebony brow lifted just slightly, but she said nothing of it. It might have just been some sort of social construct she was unfamiliar with.

Simply nodding in greeting, she found herself with a small smile on her tinted lips. Two fins. Like a fish? Had he meant it like that? Finn could never tell when he was joking, but everything sounded so amusing in his energetic accent. Their leader was referred to in a way she’d never heard of before, but tomatoes were red and their leader was Shen, so that had to be who he was talking about. “No,” she answered stiffly, “I have been waiting a while. I don’t think he’s coming,” she clarified, finally spinning a little on her stool to touch her watered down glass. She could practically hear her squad’s protests about it, so she didn’t yet lift it to her lips. Soon, though. They were the reason she drank now, after all.

Fin’s compliment easily brought a light blush to her cheeks, but as usual, she pretended it wasn’t there. “I appreciate the flattery,” Finn sighed, unsure if she really believed him. One compliment deserved another, so she gave him a once over and found what she saw appealing. He cleaned up nice. Really nice. “You look… handsome,” she offered a bit awkwardly, not used to doing such a thing.

Wishing to move on quickly, she got right to the point, as usual. “Who was that you were dancing with?” she asked, more harshly than she’d intended.

[wc: 1551 || total: 4000/4000]