closed starter: @icescraped
where: lobby, st agnes
kai had come to st agnes for the slopes, that lodi was sure. mostly because she’d checked her pass herself earlier that day. but, she hadn’t expected her to still be there hours later.
the lobby had softened as evening settled in, guests lingering with drinks, there was a moment to breathe. lodi slipped behind the piano the way she always did when she needed a pause that still looked productive, fingers finding the keys. the first notes were quiet, then steadier as her voice joined in, warm and low, filling the space. when she finished, the applause was polite and only then did lodi look up and catch kai’s eye, she was clapping harder than most (or so it felt) — she smiled, a little shy despite herself, stepping away from the piano. “i thought you were here to ski,” she said as she approached her, voice light, teasing. “don’t tell me i’m competing with the mountain now.”