Thawing Cold Veins [Lerna, Asami]

"Oh really? And am I to assume that is the depths of your culinary talents or can you swap in for a whole kitchen arsenal if need be?"

Asami did not mind being jostled about a little. It made her feel like a younger woman again, stripped away all those years that she had spent being too stuck up to ever think of doing something like this. Taking some time for herself to cut loose and hang up those shackles for a moment or two.

"I do imagine you might find the more... visceral matches to be quite interesting. Not that you cannot find beauty in the elegance of a master practitioner demonstrating their dominance, but a true clash of wills can be quite a sight to see. I won't bore you with the details of my plants though, but if you ever need a little display then I might be able to put together an arrangement."

She smirked wryly, but that last question did have her stumbling. Her brow furrowed for a moment and she tried to play it off like it was nothing but her crimson gaze finally wandered away from Lerna and onto the path ahead. Another moment of sobering gravity setting in even as Asami tried to struggle against it.

"Not for a long time, when Asuka was still a child. Father used to take us when Mother was busy with work and didn't want us around the house getting in her way with our childish games. I suppose I hadn't really thought about that until right now."

"Hey, look at you, putting that big brain of yours to work."

Asami let a crooked smile creep back across her features, flashing it in Lerna's direction as she flexed her intelligence. She had not really meant to imply that she was stupid or anything, but, usually, those violent matches were the more entertaining to watch. The clinical ones were excellent case studies, but a fighter getting outclassed and dismantled over the course of a couple of rounds was not exactly high octane. Still, they were a little ways away from going to watch cage matches together. She was just trying to offer a little of her wisdom.

"A budding Kido master hmm? Looking to be one of those specialists? I have a great deal of respect for those who can master the demon arts, you know, but I don't think it will ever click with me. I'm much better with tools in my hands than spells in my head."

Already that little comment was forgotten, that nagging memory about her family pushed down underneath all these other little things that were much less miserable to think about. She was not going to let today be weighed down by the past, that had been what she promised herself.

"We can enjoy it in our own way, I reckon, and that will be a welcome reprieve."

As they closed in on the festival grounds proper, the sounds of revelry began to rise above the usual quiet ambience of the Seireitei and Asami's mood was once again lifted. A wave of fond nostalgia washing over her as those memories she had long forgotten came crawling back to her. She had dressed in something a little less traditional too, assuming that Lerna would do the same, and was glad that she had not been wrong about that. Of course, her flowery dress did perhaps fit in a little more than what her accomplice had chosen, but that was hardly grounds for calling it all off.

"Come on, everyone is here to have a good time, what you are dressed in is plenty secondary. Besides, we can go gown shopping another day. I think it might be amusing to observe such a thing."

Lerna did have a certain way about her that did not seem like it would suit such outfits, less the way she carried herself but rather just how it would mesh with her essence. But perhaps that was what made the idea of such a venture more amusing. That was what friends were for sometimes, right?

Taking charge for the first time, Asami began to steer the pair of them towards those vendors. She did not want to rush round everything, more than happy to take her time and make sure they both enjoyed it to the fullest and eyed up the stalls as they drew closer.

"So, here we are. Where do you want to start? There are some games, and plenty of little shops, or should we get something to eat first and have a wander round?"