Cool Evening Photoshoot

Next. Next. Next. Delete. Next.

Illumine scrolls through the photos they'd been taking over the course of the evening. In spare moments, they try to delete as many bad pictures as possible-- less work for later, and all. They already feel like they're running out of particularly interesting things to photograph; it's only been two hours. The space is lovely-- they'd just gotten the opportunity to take pictures long ahead of time. Coming in, they weren't really sure what they would be doing. Angora's attention has been stolen by the guests and the wide amount of arrangements she was caught up in managing, so they weren't about to bother her with something so trivial as, "Uh, how should I do my job?"

They turn their gaze up, and really try to take in their surroundings. It's so much harder with all of these people around- hey, wait a minute. They could be taking pictures of the people. Everyone is dressed to the nines, and on-theme; they can think of something. Their approach thus far had been to tell the story about the night's progression, but what sort of story has no people? 

They scan the room again, this time looking for targets. They see other staff members-- it would be better to try to take some candids of them now, rather than at the end of the night, when they're exhausted and just want to leave. The only problem is that their outfits don't spark the most amount of inspiration. Though, not all of the help is wearing a wait staff outfit-- they certainly aren't. They could photograph the music staff... UGH, no-- they're busy playing music. Maybe they can catch them during a break.

Illumine lets out a harsh sigh. Maybe they should take a break; have a drink. Or, maybe they can just stop for the night. They have hundreds of images to sift through-- surely, that's enough.

Just as they've decided to give up (at least for the time being), their eyes settle on a bun wearing a beautiful sunset-coloured gown. Their eyes light up, and their wings flutter, suddenly envisioning the perfect photo in perfect clarity. Finally-- a good fucking picture. It might be good enough to make it into their portfolio if it's everything they're imagining.

They make their way over, a confident smile making its way onto their lips.

"Excuse me," they greet. "Your outfit tonight is exquisite. Could I trouble you for a few minutes of your time?" They have their camera in hand, hopefully making their intentions clear.

Wisteria may be all dressed up, as on theme as everyone else here, but she couldn't feel more out of place if she tried. Sure- she's had a few dances, and everyone's been kind! But how have they not figured it out? How have they not figured out that she's technically not supposed to be here?! These thoughts and more are rattling around in their head, and they don't know what to do.

Dear demons, they need a distraction so badly.

They reach for some chocolate-covered strawberries sitting on one of the hors d'oeuvres tables- hoping something sweet will take away some of the stress- which it does! They take a couple more and munch while staring at the floor. Eventually, he relaxes enough to look at something other than the floor. There's so much to look at, such as the many buns he doesn't dare to talk to.

He does not have much time to think about that, though, as a winged bun approaches him with a camera.

"O-oh!! Uhm, sure!! And t-thank you! I made it myself.." No matter how many buns approach him, he still can't help but feel flustered.

"Excellent. Come with me." Their smile widens, and they take this stranger's hand, pulling them towards the door. Illumine does not think to elaborate on where it is they're taking him-- or even introduce themself. 

Their wings occasionally flutter on the walk, as they imagine the photo in their head. They know just how to get what they want; just how it's going to look. In their mind's eye, they're already at the computer editing. In real life, though, they're approaching the gardens. This early in the night, they're pretty empty, so Illumine is certain they'll be undisturbed.

"A-alright..!" He smiles and follows awkwardly, admittedly confused as to why they can't take the picture right here, but he doesn't want to cause any problems or upset the other bun. That would be absolutely mortifying. They really don't mind the request for pictures, but they can't help being nervous about being alone with someone who didn't even introduce themself. Aren't you supposed to introduce yourself to others??

Once in the gardens, she finally pipes up to ask: "What's your name, i-if you don't mind me asking..? I'm Wisteria, and I am pretty new here, so I don't know a lot of buns."

"Hm...?" Illumine asks, their brain taking a very long moment to process what had just been said. "Oh! My apologies. I'm Illumine." Their pace slows a bit as they arrive to the precise location they'd noted before.

Just within the tall hedges, there is a stone bench that looks to be held up by small pillars. It's a little bit mossy, and one side looks cracked. It's unclear as to whether it's by design or not.

Illumine laughs very lightly. "Don't you know better than to give your name to the fae?"

Wisteria tilts their head, looking Illumine up and down. "You don't look like a fairy," She starts and then fumbles to add more to her statement. "You do have the wings!! But, uhm, uh..." She looks around nervously, trying to think of things to say. "You have flowers and floppy ears like I do! So, yeah! You can't be a fairy because they don't look like that in anime!"

What a socialite.

Illumine smiles. "Aren't you quick for someone so new?" They start messing with their camera, getting ready to shoot. "You do know the difference between fairies and fae, though, don't you?" And between anime and real life, they add in their head, but that's something to tackle later.

"I do know!" He tries to sound convincing, but it's probably not as good as he hopes. Please don't quiz me...

"Alright, I suppose you won't need me to tell you," Illumine shrugs, knowing. "It is a shame, though, because I know a lot and I'd be happy to share. But if you know everything, that's that, I suppose." 

"W-what? Wait," Their eyes widen and they chuckle nervously. "I never said that I know everything! Nobody knows everything..."

"Mm, isn't that true?" Illumine lets their camera dangle around their neck, and puts their hands on their hips. "Well, I suppose you'd already know that fairies are only a type of fae. You'd probably be interested in other small fae creatures, like pixies and brownies, right?"

Wisteria nods quickly. "I am, yeah! Magical things are really fascinating to me, so I like to hear about them!" They look like they want to say more, but are holding back. There is no need to hyperfixate in front of someone they just met!

"I agree completely," Illumine says. Their voice takes on a somewhat more relaxed tone as they start to ramble about these small fae creatures. It stays even-- not quite emotionless, but surprisingly unimpassioned considering the amount of words they have to say on the matter. It doesn't seem like they'll finish by themselves.

Wisteria is listening intently, nodding along as Illumine speaks. He doesn't mind their tone of voice either- he just likes to hear people talk about stuff because it means he can maybe ramble too! Exciting prospect! It would be nice to have a turn to ramble and have people be interested. 

"...don't you think? Ah, anyways, we should take these photos." Illumine holds their camera again. "I am on the clock, after all."

"Ye-" Wisteria was just about to pipe up to add their thoughts to the ramble, but the reminder of why they're actually here causes them to stop mid-word. "O-of course... I'm sure you've got a lot of pictures you need to take." 

"Mm, not so much." They fiddle with their camera, getting it set up. "Most of what I've needed to do has been done. I have plenty of images of the venue, empty and full; I'll take a few pictures of some guests, and I'll be finished for the night. I doubt I'll pull anyone else away for as elaborate a photoshoot as this, though. As I said: your gown is exquisite, as are you in it."

"I see..." she replies quietly, fidgeting in place. "And thank you again. I just really wanted to have a pretty dress. It was super fun to make, and I hope to make more."

"You ought to," Illumine says, matter-of-factly. "It's a well-developed skill. Speaking of which, I'd now like to indulge in mine-- please engage with that bench in whichever way feels natural."

"Y-yes!! Sorry..." Wisteria stumbles a little, but quickly settles onto the bench. They honestly look super awkward, but they are trying their best.

Illumine nods slowly. They had a pretty clear image of what they wanted, but they can adapt it to the material they have. Originally, they were imagining something ethereal-- but they can work with this. "Pay attention to your surroundings," they instruct. They're trying to distract Wisteria so they might sit a bit more naturally. They know all too well telling people to just "relax" accomplishes little to nothing. "The lush hedges, the flowerbeds; the stone paving. What are you noticing?"

"Oh, uhm," He looks around, taking in the scenery. After a minute or so, his gaze settles on some flowers off to the side. "Well, it's very well kept, for sure! It's also very pretty- all the greenery, I mean. I love seeing all kinds of plants thriving together. It honestly makes me wish I could have a big garden, gotta work for it though, obviously! Plants take time." He relaxes thoughts of his future garden bringing a small smile to his face. "One day, hopefully."

"Hopefully," Illumine agrees idly, snapping a picture of Wisteria as they gaze wistfully at the flowers. They've set their camera to take ten pictures all at once-- a lot of variety in a single instance. They smile. They aren't there yet, but this is the first step.