paixaorpg | Can't Con A Con-Artist [Active]

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Can't Con A Con-Artist [Active]

Character(s): Flonne, Etna
Content: Flonne is on Etna Watch while Laharl deals with daddy drama.
Setting: Actua Are [J-7]
Time: Week 20, after this journal post.
Warnings: None

How were you supposed to lie to an accomplished liar? While it was true Flonne wasn't a strictly pure angel anymore, deception was still something that didn't come easy under the most mild of conditions. Now Laharl wanted her to distract Etna so that she wouldn't find out Vyers was King Krichevskoy? He said she needed to "act" like nothing was wrong, but how could she when she knew there was?

Flonne sat on the floor, her back against the wall and stared with growing anxiety at her open journal. Laharl was counting on her! He said he believed in her! Maybe in not so many words, but the intention was definitely there! She wouldn't let him down, she couldn't after he said that.

She knew he was already gone. Which meant she had to act fast before Etna started getting suspicious. She stood up, closing the journal and exited the bedroom. "Etna-san?"

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Etna was busy pacing around, thinking very hard what Laharl could possibly need to keep from her when she hacked his journal entry. Okay, so she wasn't the best person to tell secrets to. After all, if it was juicy enough, she'd spread it around like a gossip. What she didn't get is why he'd tell FLONNE of all people.

The beauty queen broke away from her thoughts upon hearing Flonne calling out to her. Just perfect, she can just go ahead and ask Flonne about it. "Coming~!" Etna announced as she waltzed out to meet the fallen angel. "What's up~?"

"U-um..." she began, looking anywhere but at Etna. What did Laharl say? To act natural? Flonne made a conscious effort to do just that, leaning one hand against the wall in a "cool pose," smiling woodenly and still not making eye contact. "You seen Laharl-san anywhere?" Flonne asked with uncharacteristic casualness. "I can't find him anywhere."

... Wow.

Just wow.

Flonne was seriously trying too hard. Pretty sure anyone would be able to see that. But for now, Etna would entertain the blonde fallen angel for now and pretend like she couldn't tell. "Mmmm, nope. Haven't seen him around lately. I'm sure he'll be back though. Didja need to talk to him or something?" Etna said with a true casual tone.

"W-w-what would I need to talk to him about?" Flonne was quick to respond, her voice a little louder than normal. She brushed her hair off her shoulders, trying to act like the sophisticated, collected women she'd seen in movies and anime, not stopping to realize that it was completely unnatural for her to act as such.

"I was just...wondering." She descended into silence, staring at Etna as her mind kicked into overdrive for some sort of distraction.

Yeah, she was definitely hiding something. "I see." Etna calmly stated as she started coming closer to Flonne, It was time to crack the poor fallen angel. "You know Flonne, this is actually a perfect chance for us to talk, girl to girl." She invaded Flonne's personal space, making her usual sinister grin. "After all, I know you're hiding a dirty little secret~"

What!? How did she know already? Flonne clasped her hands together out of habit, shrinking back a bit as Etna went on the offensive. "That's...that's just silly, Etna-san! We...weren't hiding anything, we j-just..." She trailed off for a moment, eyes darting to the side. Suddenly, she perked up as a bolt of inspiration struck her.

"We were discussing what to get you for a present!" She smiled brightly, pleased at this cunning turn of events. "We just didn't want you to spoil the surprise."

Etna reeled back at Flonne's sudden jolt. "A... present?" Etna didn't think about something like that. A present would explain all the secrecy Laharl was laying on with her. "Really? A present for me? Aww, you two didn't have to~" Etna said with delight. A present that Prince and Flonne were working hard to get for--

Wait. Something seems wrong about that. "Hold on. What's... the occasion? I mean, I know Prince isn't the same Prince I was dealing with before I came here, but I don't remember there being anything so special for him to be giving ME a present."

Just as she was feeling some relief and allowed herself to relax a little, Etna's suspicion came at her all over again. Flonne swallowed visibly as she scrambled to come up with a suitable explanation for why their grumpy, selfish Overlord would bother giving presents. How foolish that excuse had been! What was she thinking?

"Vassal Appreciation Day!" she blurted out suddenly. Plastering on a smile, Flonne gestured rapidly as she spoke, her tail twisting nervously behind her. "I made it up! S-sometimes humans will have holidays to appreciate different occupations or people, see? And, um, I kept bringing it up to Laharl-san that he should appreciate us both more and finally he...he gave in! Yeah!"

Flonne stepped closer to Etna, winking conspiratorially...though the end result looked more like a twitch. "He's sure to talk to you in private soon about what to get me!"

Etna noticed all these little signs of Flonne's terrible lie instantly. As if it wasn't already completely obvious. "Vassal Appreciation Day... ... Seriously?" Etna noted, making sure Flonne knew she wasn't buying it for a second. She'd sooner believe it was her birthday and she just forgot about it than this appreciation idea Flonne magically made the Prince agree to.

"Oh yeah, I think I already know what we need to get you, Flonne. It's something you would probably learn a lot from." Etna grew an unusual smile on her face, with the hope that Flonne would be lulled into curiosity.

Flonne felt her stomach get all twisty at Etna's obvious disbelief and bit her lip, sure that the jig was up and she'd let Laharl down. And he said he believed in her! Oh, why did he have to lie to Etna anyway!?

But as Etna smiled, the fallen angel allowed herself to feel a little optimism. Maybe...maybe she'd bought it? "W-what is it, Etna-san?" she asked softly, eyes widening. She was pretty curious about what present she might get in this hypothetical situation...

Edited 2010-05-14 02:58 (UTC)

"Oh, it's the perfect gift for a fledgling fallen angel like you~" The beauty queen switched her smile to another deadly looking grin. "It's a book on how to lie without making yourself look suspicious~" she said, half joking half being serious. Flonne did need to learn how to lie to people a lot better. She was a fallen angel, for crying out loud!

Flonne stared at Etna for a few seconds in silence, not immediately comprehending her meaning. When it did click, however, she paled considerably, backing up several steps. "I-I-I...!" she stammered, unable to look away from the glint in the demon's eyes.

That was when she burst into tears. "I-I'm so sorry, Etna-san! I didn't want to lie! I j-just feel so..." The rest of her sentence was muffled into her sleeves as she covered her face with her hands. She had let Laharl down! She really was useless at this. Unless...

As she continued to cry, face hidden, Flonne considered one last ditch effort. She felt her face heat up just thinking about it, but what choice was there? She couldn't allow Etna to find out the truth!

Etna watched as Flonne busted out the water works on her. Though she did seem sincere about it, and deep deep down in Etna's heart she did feel a little guilty about breaking Flonne. It just wasn't enough to make Etna feel different about the situation. She needed to know what was going on, and she was going to get it out of Flonne one way or another.

"It's okay, Flonne. Just tell me what's going on. If you spill, I promise Laharl won't even know you squealed to me~ I find out Laharl's dirty little secret, and Laharl won't go postal on you for telling me. It's a win-win~!" Etna explained happily. And she was telling the truth. Honestly. Flonne just needed to buck up and tell her what she knew.

Could she really do it? Telling such a lie like the one growing in her mind was sure to have some heavy consequences. And poor Etna, she deserved to know the truth! But it wasn't time yet, they weren't ready and it wasn't her place. Flonne sniffled, lowering her hands so that her eyes were visible.

She had to lie. There were no other options.

"Oh...Etna-san," she said softly, sadly. "You don't understand. He...was just trying to protect me." She lowered her hands and hugged herself, her face the picture of misery. "H-he...he knows how I feel about him. That I..." She trailed off, face gradually turning redder as she stumbled through her words. "I love him, Etna-san! And he h-had to reject me!"

She covered her face again, vaguely wondering why everything she said hurt her heart so much when it was a lie.

Etna knelt down so she could see Flonne's face. She really was crying, wasn't she? It made Etna a bit uneasy if she was still crying. Was it that bad? Of course, that was answered clearly when Flonne responded back. It was very unexpected, Etna was shocked for a while, trying to think it out.

"Oh... I'm sorry Flonne..." was all Etna could manage to say to the fallen angel. This was incredibly awkward for her, what was she supposed to say? Etna was really just teasing Laharl and Flonne about being into each other, she hadn't really considered the idea that Flonne would really be in love with Laharl. What was she going to do, tell her she was just trying to make the two uncomfortable when she mentioned them being lovey dovey and trying to get romantic with each other? Yeah, that'll go over very well.

"N-no, it's okay," she said quickly. Bad enough she was telling a lie like this, but to make Etna feel guilty on top of it would just be terrible! Flonne wiped away her tears quickly. "I knew it would happen. The truth is, I've felt this way about him for awhile, b-but..." She sighed, turning away.

"I shouldn't have told him...or you. Now it's all so awkward...!"

"Well, I guess... but... It is better to say those kinds of things instead of bottling them up, right? That how it works, I think." This was getting more and more tense as each moment passed. Etna needed to cheer Flonne up somehow.

"A-anyway, at least he knows, right? He had to reject you now, but maybe... he can accept you later on? And it's not like doesn't still like you, right? Or something..." Etna trailed off, trying to think of ways to perk up Flonne's mood. It was starting to make Etna feel miserable. Clearly, she needed to talk to Laharl about this. Making Flonne cry, didn't he know better? Etna made a note to herself to give Jackass McHeartbreakerson a piece of her mind.

Flonne nodded, taking the chance to collect herself. The tears in her eyes were real and she was confused as to why that might be, but there'd be time to think about these things later. For now, Etna was off the trail. The fallen angel had told a successful lie...and felt awful about it. Especially now that Etna seemed legitimately worried.

She turned around and gave her a smile, face still a bit flushed and her eyes a little red. "You're right. I'm still his important vassal...and so are you, Etna-san. Everything will be alright soon. I have faith!" She reached out and took Etna's hand.

"Thank you for worrying about me. I'm...I'm sorry."

Etna shook her head, trying to return Flonne's smile. "Ah, don't worry about it. Like I said, better to let it out and all that." Etna tried to be sincere but there was still something nagging at the back of her head. Something still just didn't seem right, but there was no way Flonne would lie about something like that. After all, she was the Love Freak and Etna knew how real important things like that love confession was to Flonne. Still...

Etna decided to push the thought out of her head for now. Flonne seemed to have recovered well enough, but nothing beats a chocolate pick-me-up. "Anyway, wait here a sec!" Etna slipped out of Flonne's grasp on her hand and went to her room, grabbing some chocolate candies she was saving. Better she share it with Flonne while she's recovering from her little depressing secret telling.

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Can't Con A Con-Artist [Active]

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