Screw You, Alpinia [Invite]

Alpinia didn't particularly like it when Taori had to go off into the wastelands outside of the Vegeta Region, but this time he seemed to have happened upon something 'too important' to ignore. Of course, she'd heavily insisted on coming with, but Taori had hit her with the old "I need to know you're safe, or else I won't be able to concentrate if the going does get tough," and she just couldn't argue very well against that one. Not yet, anyway. She was hardly much of a fighter, though she was getting better. Eventually, she'd catch up to him, or even be as strong as him, then she wouldn't have to just be the weak one that stays behind.

That day had not quite yet arrived, though. One thing that had arrived, however, was company.

Delia was to be arriving right around the time Alpinia had found herself alone, as far as she could guess. Though she hadn't heard too much about her relative's current circumstances, she was... Concerned, to say the least. It didn't feel entirely right to just leave her cousin - or, was it second cousin? ...Whatever, it didn't feel right to leave her family strung high and dry like Delia seemed to be. And Alpinia had her fair share of issues with how royal families so easily discarded their own, having relinquished her own claim to nobility, so she felt obligated to lend a hand in that sense as well.

And- was that her name being called outside? Alpinia put down the book she'd been reading and walked over towards the window with a frown, and pulled back the curtain to see... Her cousin, shouting towards the sky in the middle of the street. Well... Alright, then. Alpinia rushed over towards the door and opened it before she briskly walked out to meet Delia.

"Delia, no need to shout!" she softly exclaimed, "Did I not send the right address? I'm sorry if I confused you, but enough about that. How are you? Here, come inside, so we can chat." Alpinia was somewhat hurriedly tugging on Delia's arm to get her back inside, as she noticed more than just a few unwelcome glances from neighbors who weren't so fond of all the yelling.

TAGS: Delia

Delia wasn't the brightest soul, was she? Bless her heart, the girl seemed almost entirely helpless as Alpinia guided her back into her house while Delia chippered on about how Alpinia ought to make sure to send her cousin the proper address next time. She was quite certain she'd written down the right one: 1192 W. Fasha Drive. Maybe the two had been smudged to look like a three, or the ones looked like sevens...? No, wait, the address had been typed out digitally, not handwritten. Well, then maybe there was a typo somewhere in there. Regardless, Delia was here now.

After Alpinia had led the two of them inside, locked the door behind them and shut the blinds, as she wasn't particularly keen on their neighbors peeping on them. Alpinia sighed with relief and then turned around as Delia asked just what was up with her reaching out all of a sudden. "Oh, you know, just wanted to... Catch up?" Alpinia suggested. That was a lie, though. Truthfully, Alpinia had heard about Delia's estrangement from their family, and given that her cousin was only... Nineteen? Somewhere around there. Given that her cousin was young and had now been forced to become independent, Alpinia felt like it was her duty to lend a hand. Or, at least reach a hand out for Delia to take if she so chose to.

"You um, you doing okay, sweetie?" she asked, her hands folding in front of her an her brows furrowing in concern. "I heard a little bit about what happened to you through the grapevine, and I wanted to see how you were holding up."

TAGS: Delia

Delia recovered quickly, Alpinia could give her that. But that momentary pause where Delia had seemed entirely caught off guard wasn't something that had gone unnoticed, and Alpinia frowned as her cousin chirped on and on about how great everything was for her. The girl was certainly good at radiating sunshine, Alpinia could give her that. And... Was it just her imagination, or were Delia's irises twinkling as if they were stars? Was that same sort of birth defect?

"W-Well, sure, you're not dead. That's true," Alpinia replied. It was always good to start off these discussions by agreeing with the other person, Alpinia had found. then you came off as more reasonable. And it was a rather indisputable fact that Delia was not dead. Dead inside, though? Jury was still out on that one.

Well, she supposed she didn't mind talking about herself a bit first, either. And Delia had asked. "I've been quite well, actually," Alpinia replied as she moved towards the kitchen and grabbed the teapot. "I married Taori a couple of years back, and relinquished my claim to nobility, so that part was a little bit of a mixed bag. But since then, it's just been... Really, really nice living out here, quietly."

As she poured water into the kettle and turned on the stove to boiled it, she looked towards Delia. "Personally, though, I'd recommend waiting till you're a bit older than me to settle down with a guy. I was all tied up in nobility riffraff when I was younger and just got so sick of it, so I took the first chance I had to get out, but... Well, you don't have to worry about claiming some huge plot of land to rule over anymore, don't you?"

There was a bright side to every situation, Alpinia supposed. "What are you doing to stay afloat, though? It hasn't been too rough without support from your parents, has it?"

TAGS: Delia

"Are you... Certain that you wish to live in the middle of nowhere?" Alpinia asked Delia with concern. That sounded like a rather lonely life to her, at least. Maybe if Taori came with her, it might be okay, but Delia sounded like she wished to find this remote location all by herself. It was probably smart for Delia not to settle down with her own man anytime soon, though, so that much was good. Much as Alpinia had enjoyed her time together with her own spouse, someone like Delia who already had a significant amount of freedom probably didn't need to give that up anytime soon. Besides, she was only what, nineteen? That was far too young to be by herself in any capacity, in Alpinia's opinion.

The tea kettle began to whistle loudly, and Alpinia poured the hot liquid into cups for her and her guest as she continued to reply. "The... 'Greatest Idol in the Universe'?" Alpinia asked, glancing over her shoulder with slight concern back towards her cousin. "An idol... That's those young girls that sing and dance to those strange songs on television sometimes, isn't it?" As far as Alpinia was aware, that was very much an Earth-centric sort of thing. Most Saiyans were absolutely uninterested in high fashion, flashy stuff like that. "Are you sure that's-" Alpinia suddenly stopped as she realized she'd accidentally poured too much into one of the cups.

She quickly grabbed a paper towel and began wiping down the counter, all the while Delia suggested that she become one of her 'fans'. A few moments later, Alpinia arrived with two, piping hot cups of tea for herself and Delia, and set one on the table for her cousin as she sat down across from her. "One of your fans, huh...?" Alpinia mused over what to say next for a moment. She didn't want to totally shut Delia down, but she also didn't want to fully encourage her down what seemed like a reckless path. What to say...? "I'd... Love to be one of your fans!" was what Alpinia elected to go with. "I'm sure you have a wonderful singing voice - in fact, can I ask to hear you perform something for me right now?"

TAGS: Delia

"Hmm, well, if it helps, the fighting has died down lately. That's why Taori has been able to come back home," Alpinia explained to Delia as the other Saiyan continued to express her want for solitude, or at least near solitude. Alpinia chose not to comment when Delia referred to their nice little place as "just as ugly as everywhere else," but blinked quietly a couple of times. And Delia wanted to be an idol, huh...? Alpinia had never heard about a Saiyan idol, though, perhaps they existed elsewhere in the galaxy? Where Delia had gotten the idol to make herself one, though, Alpinia hadn't the slightest idea. Trying to crush her dreams seemed both futile and rude, however, so the older girl elected not to fight her on this one.

"I don't know very much about idols, but I'm sure-" she started to say after she'd asked to hear Delia sing, though she was interrupted when a stream of hot liquid mixed with spit was suddenly sprayed all over Alpinia's chest and face, only a moment after she'd sat down. Alpinia quickly stood up and took a step back in case there were to be any more projectiles thrust her way, but that seemed to have been it. "Delia!" she exclaimed, her brows furrowing in frustration, though Delia's raspy reply drew more concern than ire. "Too hot? I always drink tea at this temperature, though," Alpinia replied as she reached down and took a sip of her own cup. It seemed fine to her.

"Regardless, my apologies - give it a minute and then try again, it should soothe your throat this time. Then I can hear you sing!" As she spoke, she walked towards the kitchen and grabbed a rag, which she used to dab herself dry. "If you'd like, I can show you my own singing voice! I don't sing professionally, but I do it in the shower sometimes. Taori says I'm quite good."

TAGS: Delia

For someone who had gone to war and seen her own share of battles, Delia sure had a weak tongue, didn't she? Alpinia was starting to suspect that her little spit take might not have had as much to do with the temperature of the tea as it had to do with something Alpinia had said. "Oh, no, a rag should do it," Alpinia replied to Delia's offer of help as she wiped herself down with a towel. Luckily  for her, the rubber armor most Saiyans wore didn't stain very easily, and it was machine washable! Bit uncomfortable to sleep in, though, but Alpinia supposed all things had their downsides.

Oh, and Delia was open to hearing Alpinia sing! She hadn't gotten much of an opportunity to show off her singing voice to anyone other than Taori, and seeing as he was her husband, it was difficult to tell whether or not his compliments were genuine, or if he was just trying his best not to anger his wife. Not that Alpinia was the type to get angry over something so trivial as that - she didn't think she was, at least.

"Well, I'll give you a little display, but I'm expecting to hear something from you in return!" Alpinia declared before clearing her throat. What to sing...? Oh, perhaps an old ditty she'd heard on the intergalactic radio stations a few times. "This is a song I think the Earthlings called 'Des Cat Ipo'! It's in some foreign language, but I have heard it enough times that I have it memorized!" Something like that.

"Sí, sabes que ya llevo un rato mirándote! Tengo que bailar contigo hoy! Vi que tu mirada ya estaba llamándome!"

Alpinia sang on and on, no matter what Delia's reactions to her incantations may have been, and she spun around on her heel and shook her hips joyfully as she sang, all the while her tail swished rhythmically back and forth behind her. Eventually, though, the song had finished. "Y que olvides tu apellido! Despacito!" Alpinia took in a few deep breaths, bowed towards Delia, and then slumped down on a nearby chair. "What did you think? Good, right?"

TAGS: Delia

'Not bad'? Well, that was a better response than 'not good'! Alpinia could be satisfied with that, especially considering she'd never gotten singing lessons or anything of the sort in her life. "I don't actually know if people listen to it anymore," Alpinia admitted when Delia inquired into the song's origins. "I think it was a lot more popular like, three years ago or so? Somewhere around there. That was when I first heard it, but I haven't really heard it since that period passed. Still good, though!" 

And, Delia seemed to think it was possible Alpinia could get even better! It warmed the Saiyan's heart to hear such encouraging words from her cousin, whom she had been under the impression mostly only ever thought about herself. To see that Delia did contain that sort of warm kindness in her own heart reassured Alpinia that perhaps her cousin was going to be alright on her own, after all. Though, Alpinia wasn't too sure she'd be able to be such a competent dancer.

"Hmm, I'll look into it," she replied. "I think they give dance lessons in some places over in the city. But they're dance classes that are also workout classes. 'Jazzercise', I think they call it?" Maybe she could take Taori with her? He'd been talking about wanting to get back in shape, lately, and this way, it was something they could potentially do together! Would Delia want to come along, too? 

Speaking of Delia, the young girl was still apparently having trouble with that throat of hers. But, she'd been talking plenty just fine, hadn't she? Alpinia had a hunch that, perhaps she wasn't sore after all. Maybe it was... Stage fright? Oh, how adorable! "Oh, come on, Delia!" she coaxed her, "You don't have to worry about singing in front of me. I won't judge at all, I promise! You're going to have to get comfortable singing in front of people at some point. Isn't it good to be able to start in front of a family member?"

TAGS: Delia