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rainbowfic2026-03-17 09:36 am
soricel) wrote in rainbowfic2026-03-17 09:36 am
Entry tags:
[The Conservatory] Cattleya #2
Name: Distractions
Story: The Conservatory
Colors: Cattleya #2: Myötähäpeä
Word Count: 1087
Rating: G
Warnings: NA
Scapp was waiting outside their studio when Clavvy arrived. They were always early, even though they didn't need to be: it wasn't like they could enter the studio until the previous duo finished their session...but Clavvy knew that Scapp had their reasons for wanting to linger beside the door for those ten or fifteen minutes before their own session began.
Clavvy, for her part, never showed up a moment earlier than she had to. She savored her morning routines: helping herself to second and third helpings of porridge and tea after the canteen had begun to clear out, doing her morning meditations and then sneaking in a few minutes of furtive writing in the notepad she kept stashed under her mattress. Indulging in these activities was worth the stress of the last-minute dash to the studio...and the withering frown Scapp never failed to greet her with when she finally arrived.
Clavvy's bare feet slapped the cold stone floor of the hallway, almost in rhythm with the sounds of the piano coming from the other side of the door, but she quickened her pace even more when she heard the music abruptly stop, marking the end of Tanni and Wrakk's session. She was running a little later than she thought this morning, and she barely slowed down when she saw the studio door swing open. "Morning," she said breathlessly as she sidestepped past the duo emerging into the hallway. She took her place at the center of the studio floor, hands on her hips, chest heaving, as she waited for Scapp to take their place behind the piano. The siphon was still running overhead, collecting the last of the energy Tanni and Wrakk had created, but Clavvy knew that she and Scapp would have to start their session quickly if they wanted to avoid a dip in output.
Scapp, though, despite having gotten to the studio well ahead of Clavvy, didn't seem to be in any rush to actually come inside...and Tanni, despite looking thoroughly exhausted by her ten hours of dancing, didn't seem to be in any rush to get back to her dorm. Clavvy watched through the open studio door as the two chatted and laughed, Scapp looking even stiffer than usual in their tight black bodysuit, Tanni self-consciously wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her muscular forearm.
Clavvy rolled her eyes and began a series of steps that carried her across the width of the studio and then back again; even a full session of her solo dancing could hardly generate more than a couple MPUs, which was why she'd been paired with Scapp for accompaniment, but her warm-ups gave the siphon something to suck up and send to the generator anyway.
Finally, Scapp strode into the studio and promptly dropped onto the piano bench, immediately launching into a jaunty and almost frenetic run of notes that Clavvy had to scramble to keep up with. At least Scapp wasn't still stuck on the churning dirges they'd played all last week, and which Clavvy's knees were still recovering from...but she never quite found her footing for the rest of the session, and her growing irritation at that fact only hobbled her further as the hours passed.
"How'd we do?" Scapp asked when the session finally ended. Clavvy, pulling her cast-off tunic back over her head, shuffled over to the MPU meter on the wall next to the studio door. She was worn out from the session, but it felt like she deflated even more when she saw the reading on the meter.
"Barely met quota."
Scapp's jaw clenched for a moment. "Well, at least we met it," they said with an unconvincing attempt at blitheness.
"Yeah, but we can't just meet it," Clavvy retorted quickly. "We have to make up for our dips." She wondered if Scapp could hear the slight irony in her voice. She didn't really care about the dips in their output; there were other more powerful Artists, not to mention quite a few overachiever types, who more than made up for Clavvy and Scapp's failure to hit their monthly quotas...and besides, if the worst thing that happened because of low output was that some spoiled jerks outside the walls didn't get to run their fancy...whatevers...round the clock, well, Clavvy could care less. What she did care about was getting in trouble...and ever since she'd been partnered with Scapp, that seemed to be happening more and more often.
"We will."
"Not if you keep getting all...distracted." Clavvy had her hand on the doorknob, but hadn't yet pulled open the studio door. She knew better than to let anyone outside hear this conversation.
"Whatever," Scapp mumbled sullenly.
"Why don't you just ask for a switch? You could pair up with Tanni, and I could take Wrakk." Scapp's scoff confirmed what Clavvy had known even before she'd said it: it was a ridiculous suggestion. As much as she would have liked dancing with Wrakk, whose music was the languid, dreamy type that Clavvy kept wishing Scapp would play, she knew that Scapp pairing up with Tanni would be a disaster, and that the Directors would never go for it in the first place.
Romantic relationships weren't exactly banned at the Conservatory; in theory, they didn't need to be, because the Artists' training was supposed to have preemptively eliminated the possibility of the Artists even conceiving of them in the first place. But somehow, desires still found a way to bubble up to the surface, as they apparently had for Scapp and Tanni. Clavvy knew it was just a matter of time before the Directors caught on; surely some of the Artists had already begun to feel the secondhand embarrassment that Scapp and Tanni were generating much more efficiently than the MPUs they were supposed to be producing.
"We'll make up for it tomorrow," Scapp said, seemingly announcing the end of the conversation. Clavvy huffed and yanked open the door, letting the next duo rush past her into the studio. Scapp quickly sidled past her and made a sharp turn down the hallway that led to the canteen.
Clavvy followed grudgingly behind them; her hunger was stronger than her pride, both of which she probably should have tried quieting with a few minutes of meditation in her dorm instead of rushing to wolf down her dinner. She knew she wasn't going to do that, though...and she knew that that made her more similar to Scapp than she would have liked to admit.
Story: The Conservatory
Colors: Cattleya #2: Myötähäpeä
Word Count: 1087
Rating: G
Warnings: NA
Scapp was waiting outside their studio when Clavvy arrived. They were always early, even though they didn't need to be: it wasn't like they could enter the studio until the previous duo finished their session...but Clavvy knew that Scapp had their reasons for wanting to linger beside the door for those ten or fifteen minutes before their own session began.
Clavvy, for her part, never showed up a moment earlier than she had to. She savored her morning routines: helping herself to second and third helpings of porridge and tea after the canteen had begun to clear out, doing her morning meditations and then sneaking in a few minutes of furtive writing in the notepad she kept stashed under her mattress. Indulging in these activities was worth the stress of the last-minute dash to the studio...and the withering frown Scapp never failed to greet her with when she finally arrived.
Clavvy's bare feet slapped the cold stone floor of the hallway, almost in rhythm with the sounds of the piano coming from the other side of the door, but she quickened her pace even more when she heard the music abruptly stop, marking the end of Tanni and Wrakk's session. She was running a little later than she thought this morning, and she barely slowed down when she saw the studio door swing open. "Morning," she said breathlessly as she sidestepped past the duo emerging into the hallway. She took her place at the center of the studio floor, hands on her hips, chest heaving, as she waited for Scapp to take their place behind the piano. The siphon was still running overhead, collecting the last of the energy Tanni and Wrakk had created, but Clavvy knew that she and Scapp would have to start their session quickly if they wanted to avoid a dip in output.
Scapp, though, despite having gotten to the studio well ahead of Clavvy, didn't seem to be in any rush to actually come inside...and Tanni, despite looking thoroughly exhausted by her ten hours of dancing, didn't seem to be in any rush to get back to her dorm. Clavvy watched through the open studio door as the two chatted and laughed, Scapp looking even stiffer than usual in their tight black bodysuit, Tanni self-consciously wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her muscular forearm.
Clavvy rolled her eyes and began a series of steps that carried her across the width of the studio and then back again; even a full session of her solo dancing could hardly generate more than a couple MPUs, which was why she'd been paired with Scapp for accompaniment, but her warm-ups gave the siphon something to suck up and send to the generator anyway.
Finally, Scapp strode into the studio and promptly dropped onto the piano bench, immediately launching into a jaunty and almost frenetic run of notes that Clavvy had to scramble to keep up with. At least Scapp wasn't still stuck on the churning dirges they'd played all last week, and which Clavvy's knees were still recovering from...but she never quite found her footing for the rest of the session, and her growing irritation at that fact only hobbled her further as the hours passed.
"How'd we do?" Scapp asked when the session finally ended. Clavvy, pulling her cast-off tunic back over her head, shuffled over to the MPU meter on the wall next to the studio door. She was worn out from the session, but it felt like she deflated even more when she saw the reading on the meter.
"Barely met quota."
Scapp's jaw clenched for a moment. "Well, at least we met it," they said with an unconvincing attempt at blitheness.
"Yeah, but we can't just meet it," Clavvy retorted quickly. "We have to make up for our dips." She wondered if Scapp could hear the slight irony in her voice. She didn't really care about the dips in their output; there were other more powerful Artists, not to mention quite a few overachiever types, who more than made up for Clavvy and Scapp's failure to hit their monthly quotas...and besides, if the worst thing that happened because of low output was that some spoiled jerks outside the walls didn't get to run their fancy...whatevers...round the clock, well, Clavvy could care less. What she did care about was getting in trouble...and ever since she'd been partnered with Scapp, that seemed to be happening more and more often.
"We will."
"Not if you keep getting all...distracted." Clavvy had her hand on the doorknob, but hadn't yet pulled open the studio door. She knew better than to let anyone outside hear this conversation.
"Whatever," Scapp mumbled sullenly.
"Why don't you just ask for a switch? You could pair up with Tanni, and I could take Wrakk." Scapp's scoff confirmed what Clavvy had known even before she'd said it: it was a ridiculous suggestion. As much as she would have liked dancing with Wrakk, whose music was the languid, dreamy type that Clavvy kept wishing Scapp would play, she knew that Scapp pairing up with Tanni would be a disaster, and that the Directors would never go for it in the first place.
Romantic relationships weren't exactly banned at the Conservatory; in theory, they didn't need to be, because the Artists' training was supposed to have preemptively eliminated the possibility of the Artists even conceiving of them in the first place. But somehow, desires still found a way to bubble up to the surface, as they apparently had for Scapp and Tanni. Clavvy knew it was just a matter of time before the Directors caught on; surely some of the Artists had already begun to feel the secondhand embarrassment that Scapp and Tanni were generating much more efficiently than the MPUs they were supposed to be producing.
"We'll make up for it tomorrow," Scapp said, seemingly announcing the end of the conversation. Clavvy huffed and yanked open the door, letting the next duo rush past her into the studio. Scapp quickly sidled past her and made a sharp turn down the hallway that led to the canteen.
Clavvy followed grudgingly behind them; her hunger was stronger than her pride, both of which she probably should have tried quieting with a few minutes of meditation in her dorm instead of rushing to wolf down her dinner. She knew she wasn't going to do that, though...and she knew that that made her more similar to Scapp than she would have liked to admit.
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Author: soricel
Story: The Conservatory
Thank you!
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Ten hours of dancing? That seems pretty extreme!
I guess people working with people they're romantically involved with causes Impurities or something like that?
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