[ STEAL ] It's the type of accident which stems from a careless attitude, a sickness that frequently is also the cure, righting itself before lasting damage has been done. By the same random stroke of chance Sara picked up the wrong bouquet somewhere, she realized her mistake along the way and promptly took the initiative to rectify things.
"I think we traded flowers without meaning to. I thought I was the only person who had spider lilies tonight." A pause. "...Say, if I decide to give you one of mine on purpose now, how does the staff know that I did? Can they really tell the difference when our flowers look identical?"
Ethereal Ball 2026 - Second Half
As Poe has come to expect, this girl's presence is announced with a question. It's not a bad one—when she were a child, she might have wondered the same. She has long since grown accustomed to quashing these questions for herself when they come to mind, so much the same here, she has an answer seemingly without much thought: "That would be easily verifiable, though, wouldn't it?"
She moves to explain further—she can tell by now this girl is sharp, and likely that was enough that she would eventually be able to draw her own conclusions, but Poe can never resist elaborating. "If they suspected I was lying for my own gain–" she raises an index finger, "–they could just ask you. Unless we'd discussed beforehand, you would answer truthfully, and I would be exposed."
It seems obvious to her. The risk that came with lying was that lies always eventually revealed themselves. The truth was immortal; each lie came with its own ultimate and predestined demise.
"And if we had discussed beforehand... well, why wouldn't we have just exchanged lilies then and there? Isn't lying about it, hoping that you will cover for me, and risking myself much scarier?"
To her, who is practiced in the truth, being honest was the path of least resistance. She knows, though, that for many this is not the case. If it were, people like Poe wouldn't need to exist. Still, the reality remains: "When push comes to shove, being truthful is always the safest option." She says with a satisfied nod, reaching out to take her bouquet from the girl. While they may have started the same, by the other flowers that have made their way into it throughout the night, Poe can discern hers with some confidence looking closely. "...you think so too, don't you?"
Otherwise, why bother bringing to Poe's attention that their bouquets had unwittingly been swapped?
"It was right of you to bring this back to return it."
