take a picture
who: cheyenne and adriana
where: the festival
when: early afternoon
Cheyenne was just the eensiest bit hung over. She'd definitely been out having a very good time the night before, and was of course paying for that today. But, it was the festival today and she rarely missed anything like that. There were some family members that were more or less on her case about appearances, so...she just showed. She just showed with her camera!
As she walked through the park, juggling her umbrella and camera, she paused to take a photograph of the statue in the middle of the park--no one even knew who the statue was of anymore. Just someone that history had apparently forgotten. It was old, a bit worn, and the weather stains seemed to make it look like it was weeping. She took another shot then stopped, looking around to see if there weren't other people around so she could take a picture of them.
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Adriana wandered slowly along the park paths, resting her umbrella on a shoulder with one hand as she stopped to study the wares displayed under a dripping awning. Normally, she wouldn't be out in the rain like this, but she'd felt too cooped up staying at home today. Maybe it was the stark difference in how she'd began this year as opposed to last: instead of spending the night flitting from party to party, dressed to the nines in a gown and mask, enjoying food, wine, friends, and culminating the night in Venice's St. Mark's Square for the fireworks and group kiss, Adriana had spent her night at the annual New Year's Ball her family threw every year. Considering she was trying to pretend she wasn't part of the family at the moment, she'd spent the more of the night hiding from the press cameras and most of her relatives than she had enjoying herself.
The sparsely populated streets and vendors could hardly compete with Venezia, but it was better than nothing. And 'nothing' was better than spending the day with her family. Adriana smiled briefly at the stall owner and moved on, strolling past the old statue that stood in the park's center.
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Cheyenne was starting to bring her camera up again when she noticed Adriana. She smiled, and snapped a shot while the other girl wasn't looking. Then she announced her presence. And she did so, by walking over, ducking under her friend's umbrella as she lowered her own, and she planted a smooch on her cheek. "Heya sweetie!" she said brightly, beaming at the girl. "Nice to see I'm not the only one out braving the weather for this!" Even if she didn't really mean braving the weather. It wasn't like anyone had forgotten the shoot out that had happened years ago. Though really, that hadn't happened in a long time. Or...not at the festival.
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Adriana started slightly in surprise at Cheyenne's arrival, turning quickly to see who it was before breaking into a wide smile.
"Cheyenne! You nearly gave me a heart attack, doing that!" The brunette laughed, nudging the other girl lightly with a shoulder. "And I'm hardly braving the weather, I think this umbrella's big enough for five of us." Adrianna twirled her umbrella playfully to prove her point; and while saying it'd fit five was a bit of an exaggeration, the cheery yellow fabric certainly had very little trouble shielding two young women from getting wet. "Have you gotten any good pictures today?"
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"Well I was going for pleasant surprise, not a heart attack, I'll have to work on my approach." Cheyenne said with a wink. "And a few. I'll have to see what I get when I get it developed. A couple of interesting people here and there, the statue of whats'sface. Nothing that I'd call show stopping or anything, but the day is young yet." she said, optimism shining through as per usual. "You done anything interesting so far? How was your night last night? I sort of party hopped all over the place, I swear I don't know if I'm even going to remember a single person I met!" That could be due less to the frequent party hopping and more to the excessive drinking, however.
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"With this weather, that you could get even a few is pretty incredible. I wouldn't think the rain does all that much for photographs," Adriana replied. She sighed and shook her head. "And I had to spend last night at the Ball. I did everything I could to get out of it, but Daddy wouldn't hear it - I think he's still a bit miffed that I skipped out on all the Christmas stuff. I ended up spending most of my night avoiding the press and relatives alike. Really, it's times like this I wish I'd never left Italy - I'd be enjoying a really fabulous lunch and laughing about my dip into the Lido right now if I'd stayed." She sent Cheyenne an impish grin. "I bet you could of used that dip this morning, Cheyenne. That water's cold enough to knock any hangover right flat out of you."
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Cheyenne made a face. "Do I look hungover?" she asked. "Damn, I'd thought I'd been covering well enough. I have a bit of a headache, I'm not that bad. But it sounds lovely. But then just a swim in general does, it's been a while since I've gone. The weather hasn't been nice enough at all, and I just haven't been feeling like lounging by a pool. Maybe if I had proper company that'd be a much more appealing idea." she suggested. Really, she had been kind of avoiding any of the houses she grew up in because she still wasn't overwhelmingly pleased about her family being unsupportive of her wish to go to school.
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Laughing, Adriana replied, "Actually, you don't look hungover at all. But you just said that you were party hopping and doubted your memory. It's not much of a jump to figure out you got sloshed, and a hangover always follows. Anyway, the jump into the Lido is god-awful; the water's absolutely freezing. But it's tradition, and the rest of the day's always more enjoyable for it. But if you want to go swimming, why don't we go to the Eidolon Hyatt sometime this week? The pool there is huge, and the jacuzzi's really nice."
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Cheyenne smiled. "I believe I could be talked into that." she said, liking the idea and that was clear in her tone. "And mm. That all sounds lovely. You have yourself a date, my dear." she said in a decided tone with a firm little nod of her head. "Though as we're here at the moment..." she said, offering her arm. "Walk a girl around?" she suggested.
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Adriana smiled back at her friend and tilted her head in consideration. She tapped her chin once, twice in mock thought, then nodded and took the offered arm. "I suppose I could do that," she agreed graciously, then lifted her nose and took on a mockingly pompous tone. "I do have the bigger umbrella here, after all. It's only proper that I wear the pants."
Adriana, of course, was wearing a very girly skirt-and-blouse set at the moment, so the metaphorical pants would have to remain metaphorical.
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Cheyenne giggled at that, a girlish little sound, genuine. "Of course." she said. She folded up her own umbrella and used it as a bit of a walking stick, camera hanging from the strap around her neck. "I'll just be the wispy trophy on your arm." she teased. She wasn't really aware of how close to reality that title was for herself, what her family had in store for her. No, she was ignorant of that yet. "So other than being forced to party with the high and mighty, how've you been?" she asked.
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Considering she actually was one of those 'high and mighty' - despite all appearances - the implication that she'd been forced to do anything made Adriana twitch. Even if she technically had been. No one said no to the head of the DiGiovanni family when he ordered something, not even his favorite daughter. Said daughter promptly squashed the thoughts and moved on, though she was a split-second too late to completely hide her initial reaction.
"I've been doing all right. Keeping busy," Adriana answered casually. While she hadn't taken her territories over in earnest, there were still details to attend to. "I've been catching up on my reading when I'm not working - I just finished Boccaccio's Il Decameron the other day, and now I'm debating between Nabokov's Lolita and Tomasi di Lampedusa's Il Gattopardo. I'm leaning towards Il Gattopardo, to be honest - I can't read Russian, so I'd need to read a translation of Lolita. Work's not that bad, either; the psychiatrist I'm doing my internship with doesn't have that many patients." Surprisingly few, actually. This city wasn't exactly conducive to continued mental health.
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Cheyenne was lost a little with the book references. She definitely spent time reading, but not generally in other languages. One thing Cheyenne was not was bi-lingual, and she'd never been outside of the city, either. So Adriana was by a long shot much more cultured than she was. "You've completely gone over my head with the books." she admitted. She blushed faintly about it, feeling as she occasionally did around Adriana like some hick even if she knew perfectly well she wasn't. She was a Walker. One of the most influential families in the city. She just didn't have the same kinds of influences in her life that Adriana did. Sometimes that was nearly painfully clear.
"Any interesting patients?" she asked. "Even if you have to refer to them as 'patient X' or something." Since she was pretty sure she wouldn't get names. And around here, she really didn't want them. There was such a thing as knowing too much.
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Adriana smiled, faintly amused by the whole thing. Of course Cheyenne was lost; the poor little Walker girl was so incredibly sheltered - and so inadequately educated. Adriana wasn't about to wade into the mess that was Walker family politics (she didn't really care, on the whole, and frankly, the whole family kind of creeped her out a bit), but she kept tabs on what was going on. She knew what Cheyenne was headed for, and trophy wives were always easier to control with limited knowledge.
"I can see if I can find some English copies of the books, if you think you'd be interested," Adriana assured gently, her tone somehow (expertly) striking just the right balance between affable friendliness and genteel condescension so as to avoid being offensive. "I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult; the novels are all classics." She paused, gave the whole incident a moment to sink in slightly, then moved right along to Cheyenne's next comment; as casual as could be. "And I can't really talk about anyone at all, names or no. Patient confidentiality and all that - I'd be breaking all kinds of laws right across the board. But yes, we do have one or two interesting cases. It's all fascinating, really; I'm looking forward to getting my own practice someday."
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Cheyenne bit back a momentary flare up of ire. But she was good at burying that stort of thing. It was more the tone her friend had used than anything. She felt a little like she was being treated like a child, but pushed the thoughts away. "I'm sure I can find them on my own." she said, since she wasn't entirely helpless--even if her family often seemed to go out of their way to make her feel that way. And that was just an issue of hers that she was sure Adriana had not intended to trod on.
"You can't even talk in generalities?" Cheyenne asked. "Even if I have no idea who you're referring to, or anything else?" she continued. Also, she sort of half wondered when Adriana had decided she was going to be paying strict attention to the law. But if that was how she wanted to play it, it was fine. Disappointing, since she was genuinely interested, but she'd not really keep pushing or anything.
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"Alright, then," Adriana agreed amiably, filing away the slight, split-second tense of anger Cheyenne had displayed for future use. As well as how well and how fast she'd hidden it. "If you have any trouble with it, though, let me know. I'll prod one of my big brothers into looking for it outside the city for you. And I suppose I could tell you other stories. I've met a lot of people, and I don't always need to get them on a couch to get a rough diagnosis; they're not actual patients, so I can tell you whatever I know without any legalities at all impeding your curiosity."
The brunette hummed, tapping an absent finger on Cheyenne's arm as she searched her memories for something particularly interesting. "Ah," she began, sounding a bit distracted. She was trying to remember all the details, and not paying all that much attention to anything else. "I've got one. I was touring vineyards out in Toscana - Tuscany, Cheyenne, but we'll never call it that. It's an awful translation, and not nearly as pretty as the region; English is so harsh next to italiano - where was I? Mm. It was during the summer break between my sophomore and junior years, and I'd been dragged off to Toscana to learn my wine properly. We'd stopped at a rather quiet vineyard for lunch and some tasting, and of course we weren't the only ones there, but only one really caught my interest. His name was Signore Filippio Lampaglia, and I kid you not, the first thing he ever said to me was 'Signorina, Lei ha una molta bella nome.'"
Adriana's lips tilted up at the memory as she translated. "'Miss, you have a very beautiful name.' You have to understand, I'd only been present for about a minute or so, and not only did I not know his name yet - he didn't even know mine. As you can imagine, it knocked me a bit off balance."
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Cheyenne listened, guiding them around a lamp post since Adriana was wrapped up in her thoughts for the moment. "I would definitely wonder what he was on about, or if he was about to deliver a really cheesy line." she said. Cheyenne had definitely had enough guys pull that on her before. It was one of the reasons she wanted to get out of the modeling business. The lines got worse and worse, and so did the men. Which reminded her, and she glanced around, keeping it casual so not to alert attention to the fact that she was scanning their surroundings.
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Adriana laughed, agreeing slightly. "Most people save that compliment for when they actually know what you're name is, though, so my reaction was more the former than the latter. 'Beautiful, just beautiful," he says to me. 'Your name must begin with an 'A,' yes? Beautiful.'" By now, of course, I've recovered and realized he's staring at my necklace - and he was lucky I wear my necklaces high, or I'd have been more than a bit upset. I'd have taken the gesture as inappropriate; a fixation with my necklace wouldn't have been the first thing to occur to me, after all. So I reply that yes, my name is Adriana DiGiovanni, and it was a pleasure to meet Signore." The brunette dropped her voice a few octaves as she said her name to keep it from eavesdroppers and pronouncing it the Italian way, trilled 'r' and all: Ah-DRI-ah-nah Dee-Jo-VAN-nee. "Once introductions were done, we went on inside and the signore's strange behavior continued.
"He was always rearranging things - wine bottles, glasses, plates, silverware, food, even the vases of flowers displayed. He always set them in groups of threes, and always in as close to a triangle pattern as he could. Half the time, he didn't even seem to realize he was doing it to begin with. And if it was something he couldn't change, couldn't rearrange - like the pictures hung on the wall, or the amount of people sitting at one table - he'd get very nervous and jittery, and he wouldn't be able to stop going back to it. His son, Gino, was a couple years older than me, and spent most of his time either fixing what his father had done, apologizing for the behavior, or carefully steering his father away and comforting him. It made for a very interesting afternoon, to say the least."
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"Sounds as such." Cheyenne agreed, imagining it all as Adriana described the events. "Think he liked the A because it's a triangle?" she asked. "I know I've seen people like that before, the sort of obsessively ordered about things. Do you remember Anna, the maid at my Aunt's house that needed everything just so? I swear, I couldn't even have pillows arranged differently than she put them or they were 'wrong'."
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"It was exactly that," Adriana replied, extremely pleased that Cheyenne had caught on so fast. "It's a mental defect called Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. It's only just recently been isolated from a broader category of mental disease called neurasthenia, though the causes of it may vary slightly depending on who you prefer: Janet or Freud? Janet says that the obsessions and compulsions that make up OCD arise in the third stage of psychasthenic illness - that's the deepest you can go - because 'the individual lacks sufficient psychological tension to complete higher level mental activities.' This causes nervous energy to be diverted, essentially forming the various obsessions and compulsions. Freud, of course, says it's the result of an imbalance in one's mental structure, energies, and defense mechanisims, followed by linking it all back up to sex. A regression to the anal-sadistic stage of psychosexual development, to be exact." The brunette rolled her eyes. "I won't deny that Freud had some stunning theories. He did a lot for the psychological sciences. But his ridiculous habit of relating every little thing back to the libido gets extremely tiring, especially with the sort of following he has. Anyway. The good Signore absolutely adored the letter A, and the charm on my necklace was just that, an A."
Adriana paused, then gave Cheyenne an amused grin. "And now you know why Anna was so particular about those pillows: she never got past the anal-sadistic stage of her psychosexual development."
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You always did love to hear yourself talk. went through Cheyenne's mind but she didn't say as much. Instead, she did what she always did when Adriana went off on one of her little expositional know it all routines. She listened avidly, taking in what was said, and she smiled, and nodded. At the end, she chuckled a little. "Apparently so." she said. "Dare I ask what that stage is? Sounds dreadful, but then again, that's just taking the words as is, I'm sure there's something else in there that explains it better. Also, it might be that I've had just a few too many men wanting to do things like tie me up." she added, leaning in closer to her friend to say that last bit in a voice only she would hear. It wasn't like she wanted the whole place to hear that, but Adriana could know.
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"I prefer Janet," Adriana deadpanned wryly. "Actual sense appeals to me more than an overactive libido." After a second, she leaned in as well. Her voice was as low as Cheyenne's was, and dead serious. "And if anyone tries to tie you up without your consent, you call me. Okay? I'll put an end to it."
It was hard to tie anyone anywhere if one hand was missing. Or even an arm. Adriana was fond of Cheyenne, if not particularly close to her, and she was all Adriana really had at the moment. That was more than enough to make Cheyenne one of her people - and Adriana took good care of her people. She'd spill as much blood as was necessary to make that clear. Not that sweet, innocent Cheyenne would ever know.
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Not really getting at all the full extent of what Adriana was offering, Cheyenne smiled sweetly and gave the girl's arm a squeeze. "I do alright with fending them off, but I will most certainly keep that in mind." she told her affectionately. "Just in case. I've been sort of avoiding a lot of the places that would happen often lately, I have to admit. There's only so often a girl can take stupidity before she has to take a break." Which was pure truth, there. She was tired of the assumption that just because she was a model that she was stupid. And that just because she was a pin-up girl meant that she was easy. Neither were the case, and people seemed entirely unable to get that through their thick skulls.
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"You're just too nice," Adriana sighed. "You wouldn't have to keep 'fending them off' if you'd let me take care of it; you always let people off too easily. It's almost like you're worried about their feelings in some strange way or something. No, I think it's better to do it the way the Romans did - make an example out of the worst, display their crucifixion for all to see, and you can hold the masses at bay with the mere threat." The mob boss smiled, admiring the mental image for a long moment. Oh, and Rome knew how to make it hurt, too.
...She'd have to keep it in mind for future reference. Just in case.
"If you really want to handle it alone, though, I won't try to stop you. Just remember that I'm close at hand if you need the back up. Or a bigger stick to beat them off with."
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Cheyenne smirked faintly. "You're sounding like being worried about people's feelings is a bad thing." she said. "Coming from someone studying in your particular field, that seems a strange stance to take." she said, laughing a little. "And somehow I don't think that a bad pick up line really warrants crucifixion. I like people. I just occasionally need a break from them." But then again, she was an optimist by nature. That played into her world view.
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Adriana made a face at her friend. "I don't have to actually care about people to help them try and piece their heads back together, you know. As a matter of fact, that could easily be considered unprofessional. And caring about how other people feel is fine, as long as you remember to draw a line somewhere. Your line, Cheyenne, is very blurry, and much further out than it should be: Too. Nice. It's going to get you into trouble." She nodded in a very matter-of-fact manner, then stopped dead as a stall caught her eye.
"Crepes," she breathed. She could see that crepe now; all warm and fresh, filled with vanilla ice cream, juicy strawberries, hot fudge... "I love crepes." The brunette tugged Cheyenne forward, making a beeline for the stall. "C'mon, let's get one. My treat."
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Cheyenne had been going to comment on her friend's assessment of her, but in the end took the distraction of the crepes instead. Not because she was that easily distracted, but more because she rather wanted to tell Adriana that she might not actually know everything there was to know, and just because she thought things were a certain way didn't mean they were. Or that she had a right to tell anyone how they should live their life. So, not wanting to even go there, she was all for food distractions. She didn't want to get into what was likely a silly argument anyhow.
So, pushing everything back, she smiled instead. "That sounds absolutely lovely." she said enthusiastically. "And oh! You're buying me food. Are you going to win me a teddybear next?" she asked in a teasing tone, winking.
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"If they're offering teddy bears for winning chess games, absolutely," Adriana agreed as they reached the stand. "Otherwise, I think you might be out of luck - vanilla ice cream in mine, please, with strawberries and hot fudge. Thanks. Cheyenne?"
The brunette untangled her arm from Cheyenne's so she could get her wallet out, automatically tuning out the stall worker taking their order as she did. She was so useless at sports; she had a better chance of being hit be lightning than winning at any of the tossing games or anything. Maybe if there was a shooting game... She'd have to be careful about revealing just how good her aim could be, though. Ooh, those cooking crepes smelled magnificent.
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Cheyenne put in her own order, covertly scanning the area again without looking like she was. She had gotten very good at that. Plus, with the camera around her neck, a lot of people expected her to be looking around at whatever, so no one called her on it. "Well there should be games for those in the world who are mre intelligent than physical." she said. "Celebrating someone having a good arm should be right up there with celebrating someone who can think their way out of a paper bag." she commented.
That was something she honestly believed, too. "There's far too much emphasis on the physical. Prowess or beauty, either one has more value than it ought to." Even if she herself benefited from being beautiful. That didn't mean she condoned it, and she had gotten herself out of the business, or was trying to. It was just much more difficult than it should have been.
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"There's a lot that 'should be,'" Adriana replied, handing the stall worker a few dollar bills for their order. She waved him off as he tried to give her back change and turned to Cheyenne. "Doesn't mean it 'is' or even 'will be.' It's unfair, but true, and the chances of it changing anytime soon are slim enough to be considered nonexistent. You know that as well as I do." She shifted the umbrella to rest on her other shoulder, the cheery yellow canopy above their heads a stark contrast to the dreary day. "We'll just find ways to work around it. For instance, I'm sure we can find a nice gentleman willing to win us both teddy bears while we pretend I'm not as inept at athletics as a drunken ladybug on no sleep."
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Internally, Cheyenne sighed, and her heart fell a little. "Adriana, sweetie...I'm aware of how the world works." Cheyenne said. "You don't have to tell me like it's news." Her tone was gentle, and she smiled when she said it. "Please...stop treating me as if I know nothing. I know you've been away, and you've seen more of the world than I have, but making a statement on how I feel things should be does not in any way indicate that that's how I think they are. In fact, the fact that I'm lamenting that they aren't that way should tell you that I know better. I'm expressing an opinion. You don't have to shoot down every single one I have, because I happen to be an idealist, and like to express myself." She wasn't upset with Adriana, but she did feel it was time to put that out there. So her tone remained gentle the entire time, and there was no ire or spite to it whatsoever. "As for someone who can win us things...I'm fairly certain that we can find someone as well. A smile is worth far more than people think." Which was something she definitely knew.
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"I did say that you knew it all as well as I did," Adriana replied, her tone slightly scolding. "I didn't shoot anything down, and if you listened better, you'd have known it." It didn't matter how gentle Cheyenne was about it, Adriana did not appreciate the lecture - especially one she didn't deserve. She had not, after all, implied that her friend knew nothing, even if she occasionally thought it. "And you choose our champion; people like you better."
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Cheyenne just looked at her friend for a long moment, not looking overwhelmingly pleased either--though it didn't appear to be anger. She looked a mixture of hurt and disappointed. And if you would listen better, you'd know to check your tone. she thought, but she didn't say. "Maybe I should head home, go lie down for a while." she suggested. It was that or get into an argument, and she wanted to avoid that. She had the excuse of the hangover that Adriana had called her on having.
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Adriana turned to her, startled. She didn't want to go play games? And get someone to win for them? The brunette frowned faintly, concerned.
"Are you not feeling well?" she asked, turning to take their finished crepes. She handed Cheyenne's over, but ignored hers. "I thought your hangover was better - you're not reacting to light or sound at all that I can see. If you're nauseous, you should go to the hospital; who knows what they put in some of those drinks..."
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And that reminded her why she was friends with Adriana. She gave a weak little half smile. "The headache just isn't going away. And my stomach's fine. I might just be pushing it a little too much." she said. "I'll be alright, I think I just need to get some sleep." Sleep, and not arguing with someone she cared about, and not feeling blown off. It would at least give her time to kind of feel better about it, or get over it, or maybe come up with some way to talk to Adriana that wouldn't get the reaction she'd just gotten.
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"Alright," Adriana agreed slowly. She was disappointed - she'd been looking forward to spending time with someone she actually liked - but her concern outweighed it. She carefully juggled her crepe and umbrella so she could start Cheyenne towards the park exit, grateful the umbrella was big enough to cover them both without any trouble at all as she moved it. "Come on, I'll hail you a taxi cab. You shouldn't be walking in this weather if you're not feeling well."
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That was actually true, though it didn't help her not feel guilty over it. Still, though. "Sorry to bail." she said honestly. "But we can get together soon, hopefully there won't be any more family obligations to deal with anytime soon." Since they were both kind of not cool with family situations of late. Right now she was looking forward to getting home, throwing pajamas on and staying home for the rest of the day, trying to figure out her shit with Adriana so things would be okay again. It would bother her until then.
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Familial obligations. Ugh. Adriana would have to work things out better this year, go to some of the small parties and dinners and such so she wasn't forced to go to the big things again. She'd skipped practically everything last year; it was why her father had been so adamant on her being at the Drake for New Year's Eve. Maybe she could bring Cheyenne along for some of it - it'd make things a bit more bearable. Besides, Cheyenne liked parties, and since she was a Walker, she'd likely already be the guest list anyway.
"It's fine," Adriana assured her. "I'd rather have you home and healthy than out and sick. We have the whole year ahead of us, right?"