Name: Street Theatre
Story: Starfall
Colors: Beet Red #2 (Easier said than done)
Supplies and Styles:
Word Count: 445
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
Notes: Portcallan, 1313; Viyony Eseray, Ivina Gerro, Leion Valerno. (The theatre incident mentioned in Full Circle.)
Summary: Playing fake enemies can get complicated.

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Viyony followed her cousin Ivina down the Old Theatre steps. She was still half lost in the world of the performance and didn't see Leion stopping in front of them. If Ivina hadn't put a hand to her arm to halt her, she'd have walked straight into him.

"From Tana," Leion said, holding out a folded and sealed paper.

Viyony took it. Leion pretending to believe the worst of her after the incident at the High Chambers had been her idea, but when he was curt or offhand like this, or insulted her it caught her off-guard every single time. She tightened her hold on the message, crumpling it in her hand. "Thank you—I suppose."

Ivina glanced from one to the other and raised an eyebrow.

"You'll forgive me," Leion said, catching the look. "Viyony knows what she did."

Viyony swallowed, aware of other people giving them curious glances as they made their way out of the theatre or along the street around them. She raised her head, meeting Leion's glare with one of her own.

"It doesn't matter, of course," Leion said, and Viyony couldn't see any lurking amusement in his eyes. "Although I wonder—who paid you this time? How much? Less than you sold your whole self for, I'm sure—but enough to be worth it, I hope?"

The note slipped out of Viyony's fingers onto the ground. She had to bend down, scrambling for it, heedless of her evening wear, and apologising to passers-by, who skirted round her as widely as they could. She caught the paper, her fingernails scraping the stones of the path, and kept her head down for long enough to blink away tears.

When she straightened up again, Leion had gone. He didn't mean it. She knew that. But it had taken at least three encounters between them for him to stop calling her mercenary after they had first met. It sounded too near to the truth to bear easily.

"Viyony," said Ivina, slipping her arm through her cousin's as they headed back to the Gerro house. "What was all that about? Do you want me to have a word with Iyana about Leion? I'm sure she'd put a stop to that sort of behaviour."

Viyony shook her head. "No, no! It's my fault. He thinks I did something that I didn't. You mustn't blame him."

"Then sort it out, dear!"

"It's not important," lied Viyony. "Really, it's all for the best."

Ivina pulled Viyony in closer as they walked. "Is it? Well, I shall try not to interfere, but I do think melodrama is best left in the theatre, not carried on outside it."