“At least you are not walking in on me changing,” she replied somewhat dryly, eyes still fixated on the mirror. That also meant that she could see the man, of course, meaning that despite her presenting her backside to him in the moment, nothing was hidden from her view. Which was an awfully convoluted way of saying that she was not as surprised as she could be about the intrusion, of course.
[break][break]
Though, obviously, what she snarked about was not something that could happen anyway. She was way too conscious of herself regarding this event that she would ever let this happen. This was the first time she was going on a proper stage in ages, after all. A return to a life she was not yet ready to return to, it seemed. Heck, just having any security at all around was anathema to her journey of self-discovery. Yet, it was necessary. She had promised. One had to make concessions after having been cut off from the rest of the world alongside the rest of Hoenn for a while.
[break][break]
She sighed, watching her own reflection in the mirror more than this man. Odd, how familiar this all felt, yet did not at the same time. “I don’t mind, though. I don’t feel like drinking any of it right now, anyway.” Probably not a good thing since her throat was feeling a little dry. But she just did not feel like it for some reason.

[break][break]

+ Kouji Matsubara

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Odd. For him to sit down, really. Taking the water, striking up some kind of cursory conversation? That was nomal, common even. Yet at the same time, sitting down in someone else’s room, even a temporary one like this? That was different. He seemed a bit too at ease with that, too. Not quite acting like he owned the place, but sure as heck not as if she did. Granted, she didn’t either. But it still struck her as odd.
[break][break]
“I had enough in preparation. Drinking too close to an event just makes it riskier, for bladder reasons.” Being a bit parched and sweaty was perfectly fine. But needing to run off to the restroom was not a good feeling to have. Hence, she tended to prepare sufficiently, ahead of time. If nothing else, her training ensured that she could handle this professionally.
[break][break]
“And I guess its not stage fright. I’ve gone out before in the past few months without issue. I guess I am not used to bigger, scheduled events anymore. Kind of does not feel like Hoenn to me, if that makes any sense.” In fact, she felt much more as if she currently was in her home region, not this one.


[break][break]

+ Kouji Matsubara

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

He sure had a high opinion of her. At least that was the impression she got from his words, wrong or not. At the very least, he seemed to believe that her music could have soothing effects. That was a nice sentiment, though she was not sure she was quite good enough in that regard. Or rather, not really unique. That was probably the issue. “Not just about any song, though. If any would do, then what I do has no meaning beyond interpretation.” She sighed, mostly to herself. Hence she also continued that thought a bit more quietly: “I still have not found my song, my way to do it.”
[break][break]
Her musing saw her briefly lost in thought, gazing at her countenance in the mirror. At the end of the day, she was mostly working with her own versions of the music others provided or those written for her. Eve had the knowledge and handiwork to get something done herself, yes, but she was never satisfied with anything she produced. That was what she had set out to find in the first place, after all.[break][break]
But mulling over that got her nowhere. Blinking briefly, taking a conscious breath, then another, and she managed to still herself. “But I guess what I can do right now is enough, else people would not show. Could do better, but perfect is the enemy of good, after all. Though you can’t really be all that random now, can you?” She chuckled to herself. “You did just upgrade yourself in your mind from ‘some random security guard’ to ‘Kouji the security guard’. Well, ‘Kouji the philosophical security guard’ at the very least, right?”


[break][break]

+ Kouji Matsubara

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“So you are saying you only apply yourself in that regard when you feel that’s helpful to someone else? Not sure that makes you a dunderhead, but if you want to talk it down, be my guest,” she replied, shrugging. By now she had found her groove again and decided to be more casual with this person. It wasn’t like she had cried her heart out on his shoulder or something. But he had said enough nice things to warrant her not insisting on the usual guard-client denominations.
[break][break]
Then, she turned to face him proper. “I am way too young and pretty to be washed-up, so that can’t be the case anyway. And honestly, once I get on stage it all works out anyway. That’s when instinct takes over. Kind of like on a battlefield indeed, but I reckon no one will get hurt out there today. Well, that is your job anyway, right?”


[break][break]

+ Kouji Matsubara

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“If I made them go wild,” she started, tapping her lips, “then wouldn’t that just be more work for you?” She chuckled, though there was some truth to it. She had seen crowds go out of control before. But usually, there had been a lot more alcohol involved and maybe a Pokemon or two instigating chaos. This venue was a bit classier than the last one she’d sung at, at least.
[break][break]
Ugh. She hated constructing sentences with two of the same word in succession, even in her mind. Briefly grimacing, Eve swiftly caught herself again. Still though, she watched the man leave for now. This was not the time for conversations, after all. What little there had been had been nice -ugh, again, she always got like that when agitated – but for now, she needed to calm down and prepare. This was just a concert. The kind she’d had a dozen time over in the past two years alone. It had been a while, but she would do well enough. There was at least person that she could not disappoint today. Not after they just expressed their belief in her.
[break]
Which was stronger than her parents just expecting success of her. It felt more motivating, really. With her parents, she was of half a mind to just stick it to them even though she wasn’t even angry. But random strangers that expressed confidence in her?
[break][break]Could not disappoint those.


[break][break]

+ Kouji Matsubara

[attr="class","pokeclass"]