[anna glares a single dagger at her. it doesn't feel fantastic, being read so easily by someone who is clearly far older than she looks. it doesn't feel great getting proof that satoko has been telling the truth this whole time, either. but anna can't bring herself to get angry about it—it's not in her nature to push back that hard when confronted with facts, really, and the air of this place is making it harder for her to summon that energy anyway.]

[so instead, she leans forward and pulls the missing ace towards her. her cigarette still burns idly, the trail of smoke winding into the air like a serpent. few things remain constant about anna amarande, but she will always, always share the story of her truest love.]

I met her at a bar that neither of us was old enough to be in. She was my first friend in a city I didn't know anything about. She was the ship I boarded to make it safely through an unknown sea. And once I realized I was in love with her... [anna flips the ace. she can be dramatic, too.] She spun the wheel and changed the course of my life forever.