[Shin's had some time to recover from so much overwhelming birthday festivities(?), and... well he's a bit annoyed at Sara, but not enough to avoid her where she's studying in the common room - it feels like 'neutral ground' still, portraits aside. In Yogen he can't just stand waiting in a room for her to come haring into it looking at absolutely everything.]
Hey, Sara… do you have a minute to chat?
[It’s his customary loping approach, hand on scarf… but there’s a thermos dangling in the other. It's mysterious contents are the impetus for this visit.]
If it isn't the birthday boy.. How's your second day of being twenty two?
[ The smile she gives Sou is equally empty, not reaching her eyes but it isn't negative. The space between them has cooled into an unsteady distance. Ever since she woke up from that dream last month...she felt some of that old resentment fall away, even if she can't recall that details of the events.
So her friendly gaze isn't honest, but there's no cruel bite anymore. She doesn't need to be angry at Sou, because she doesn't need to be angry at herself. ]
I'm free. Do you want to study with me while we talk?
[This is already giving Shin 'this conversation is not going to go well' vibes. That empty gaze is... unsettling.]
Ahaha, it's a lot like my last day of being twenty one.
[He's... not very inclined to bare his heart about how weird it feels to have finally passed this milestone, in the face of everything, so sliding around the question it is.]
Might as well... it's good to multitask, huh?
[He could point out that he doesn't have any study materials on him... at this point he doesn't know if he's repeating his year or being sent back to being a first year. He settles down onto the seat on the other side of the table instead, which knowing how crowded the common room is getting is probably one of the coffins.]
Since you're the one furtherest ahead I figured I'd ask...
[He sets the thermos in front of her school work and uncaps it, tilting it towards her to reveal a worryingly inedible-looking in it's intensity thick purple liquid. It smells… odd, like an unknowable fruit. It’s still steaming warm.]
Strange liquid, isn’t it? It arrived in the usual way, so it’s definitely something from our world… [He’d camped out with his adderstone to see if he could spot what kept delivering things around this time and it was… some blond person? Who winked at him and disappeared? He’s still processing this.] But I’ve never seen anything like it before...
[She didn't come across it, anywhere? In the rest of the game somewhere… maybe. He’s been trying to figure out if it’s even meant to be edible, because the strange crystal was, well, a strange crystal. This is potential soup on the line.]
[ Empty? Is that what you call it when she can look you in the eye and not feel mad?
She scoots over to give him a spot by habit, even if he takes the spot across from her. Taking the thermos out of his hands to examine it. Some kind of fruit stew? It's a strange color, but it doesn't smell bad in the slightest. ]
The furthest along...that's a nice way of putting it. [ She puts the cap back on, handing it back to him. ] Me and the you I knew...we found a machine that could make drinks on the upper floors. It even had soups. We didn't buy all the drinks it had, so maybe this is one of them?
[ It's the most logical explanation she can find. ]
Is that all you wanted to ask me? [ A silly stupid question like that? ]
[Mad or empty... It's the danger you know about or the one you don't... He lets her examine it with a general air to his body language of 'see? weird', taking it back with same.]
The me you knew, huh... [The him who tried to tackle Midori... it's unnerving to hear about him, in the same way it is to hear your own voice on a recording.] Maybe... that makes a little sense. So then it wouldn't be poisonous?
[There's a nosing-forward note of interest in his tone as he looks back down at the liquid. He'd heard about the drinks machine from Ranger, who'd pretty much said they were there to be consumed, and while he'd had the thought at the time that it would be ironic if that had been how Sara had died, she remembers it so that's probably not it.]
Err... Well, yeah. Do I need to have another reason? Way to be cautious... Ahaha, it's fine if you don't believe me, though.
[He'd run over the potential conversations in his head, but had to admit he didn't really know how it'd end up going so... asking about something that's been bugging him lately it was. He pushes up his beanie a little, tugging at his hair.]
...Well, I guess I also wanted to ask about another truce.
[While he definitely feels like the hard-done-by one in this equation still, it's a matter of necessity as well. They had that meeting about Midori, but that was all of them, and it didn't go well... Sara keeping on promising things she couldn't guarantee.
But... he's also been tired of this. Much as his kneejerk reaction is to choke it, he does miss just... being able to talk without this tension, an internal balance he's been trying to strike between impulses with only a sketch of a map. And now that he has his scarf, he's prepared for if or when it ever happens again, his fingers falling to curl in the blue. He wants this to not be a mistake.]
Well...I say that...but I guess I know you better. That was just... a version of you in a bad place...
[ It's hard not to think of them as seperate people, but how different really were they? Maybe his actions on those floors had just been one of the acts Sara was so good at spotting now. She can never be sure.
She shake her head, trying not to rudly mumble in front of Sou about his own personality. That was weird! ]
I never saw poison other then the kind Ranger used. If it smells edible...maybe the risk is okay? It looks pretty good. [ There's a familiar air to that cooking. Sara trusts it.
At his last statement, Sara pauses. Whatever easy blankness she'd been holding up flickers. She looks...she's not sure how to describe it. Uncomfortable and hopeful all at once. Her eyes don't meet Sou's.
You could say we were all in a bad place... I really do mean it, you know...
[Trying to get that in, because he knows his word isn't good for much and saying 'trust me' is always a red flag but he doesn't know any way to say it otherwise, trying to communicate it with his eyes... somehow. If she can tell when he's lying, maybe she can tell from that?
A bad place metaphorically but also literally. It had puzzled him at the time why nobody seemed to be taking it seriously, seeing the full picture... then he got proven wrong, and now, proven right, at the exact same point. He wasn't thinking straight at the time...
That they've been here longer than in the game is something expanding in it's implications with that reminder that they really have known each other longer than their respective counterparts... it's something he does his best to mentally set aside, eye contact similarly breaking as he rolls the thermos between his hands.]
Well, if it's got your seal of approval... Does that mean you want some? [He's not making her test it... it's a genuine offer from someone who's had the scales tipped towards trying it, tipping his head towards her cup before picking it up to pour for himself.] Ahaha, good thing the cap doubles as a cup...
[This is a totally reasonable response and not him attempting to at least delay the question a little... which means yes.]
Edited (zaps a laugh out of existence) Date: 2022-04-12 12:07 pm (UTC)
[ There's an easy way they pass the cups to eachother. Sara takes a sip, squinting at the familiar flavor, before turning back to Shin. ]
...Well I'm not sure if you did or not... [ She continues, like Shin did respond to her entirely reasonable question. ] It's all fuzzy in my head, I only remember bits and peices of talking with everyone. But I was very upset...and we were talking a lot... Um...did we even hug?
[ She remembers holding him, very boldly, she's never done that in real life except when he's been shot. ]
Ah, maybe it was just a weird dream...but I felt a lot better afterwards. If you're asking for a truce...I guess I'm wondering if maybe we already did stop fighting.
[There's always that part of him that assumes he's going to be rejected outright, and insulted for even thinking it into the bargain. He holds the thermos cap between his palms, looking down at it, warming them, before taking a sip in turn... it's meant as a placeholder while he thinks and listens but he double takes at it a little.]
Huh... it's surprisingly tasty.
[He takes another sip this time with a little more pleased enthusiasm, getting back on mental track as she continues on. There's a flash of the expression in the icon before he smooths it back out into something more neutral with an effort but equally as quickly.]
...
...Don't remember much of what happened there myself.
[He doesn't remember much, the start and end especially disappearing into dreamlike haze... but there's one thing starkly seared into his memory, because he wouldn't let go of it. He's the one who wanted it, even if he can't remember the exact wording he knows that sharp defensive reflex in his bones, but it's still hot, red hot, to the mental touch... the screen flaring red and shaking with a sharp hiss of static, so to speak, his mind's gunshot wound. He breathes out, tapping a finger against the side of his makeshift mug. He can't just leave it at that, can he? Not if he's actually going to be serious about this...]
But... we did talk. Or rather, I talked to some part of you. [Too similar and not at the same time. There's no part of Shin that loves him like that. Only that needs to cut off the dead weight to survive. Maybe he's a little envious. Maybe he's a little unsettled. Maybe he's a little... relieved?] Ahaha, I wasn't very co-operative... no wonder you were upset.
[He shifts a little in his seat, a more comfortable position. It sounds like he wasn't the only one either, from what she's saying. He's keeping his wondering what people saw of him in it's own padlocked box for sanity's sake, along with so much else.]
If you count that as a hug... Well, I won't argue.
[He doesn't really want to dwell on it. Comfort, in the depths of his despair... he kind of doesn't want that to be the foundation of this. He doesn't want to mess this up though, either... his face takes on that closed-eyed smile, hand returned to scarf.]
Ahaha, it kind of just happened, didn't it? Even before that... it's been a couple months since we last fought, hasn't it? It's kinda strange, having that much time to think about it...
[Granted, most of that was they were busy enough they didn't really come into close enough proximity to clash, meetings aside.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
04/04 or thereabouts
Date: 2022-04-05 05:40 am (UTC)Hey, Sara… do you have a minute to chat?
[It’s his customary loping approach, hand on scarf… but there’s a thermos dangling in the other. It's mysterious contents are the impetus for this visit.]
no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 05:47 am (UTC)[ The smile she gives Sou is equally empty, not reaching her eyes but it isn't negative. The space between them has cooled into an unsteady distance. Ever since she woke up from that dream last month...she felt some of that old resentment fall away, even if she can't recall that details of the events.
So her friendly gaze isn't honest, but there's no cruel bite anymore. She doesn't need to be angry at Sou, because she doesn't need to be angry at herself. ]
I'm free. Do you want to study with me while we talk?
no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 07:42 am (UTC)Ahaha, it's a lot like my last day of being twenty one.
[He's... not very inclined to bare his heart about how weird it feels to have finally passed this milestone, in the face of everything, so sliding around the question it is.]
Might as well... it's good to multitask, huh?
[He could point out that he doesn't have any study materials on him... at this point he doesn't know if he's repeating his year or being sent back to being a first year. He settles down onto the seat on the other side of the table instead, which knowing how crowded the common room is getting is probably one of the coffins.]
Since you're the one furtherest ahead I figured I'd ask...
[He sets the thermos in front of her school work and uncaps it, tilting it towards her to reveal a worryingly inedible-looking in it's intensity thick purple liquid. It smells… odd, like an unknowable fruit. It’s still steaming warm.]
Strange liquid, isn’t it? It arrived in the usual way, so it’s definitely something from our world… [He’d camped out with his adderstone to see if he could spot what kept delivering things around this time and it was… some blond person? Who winked at him and disappeared? He’s still processing this.] But I’ve never seen anything like it before...
[She didn't come across it, anywhere? In the rest of the game somewhere… maybe. He’s been trying to figure out if it’s even meant to be edible, because the strange crystal was, well, a strange crystal. This is potential soup on the line.]
no subject
Date: 2022-04-06 05:03 am (UTC)She scoots over to give him a spot by habit, even if he takes the spot across from her. Taking the thermos out of his hands to examine it. Some kind of fruit stew? It's a strange color, but it doesn't smell bad in the slightest. ]
The furthest along...that's a nice way of putting it. [ She puts the cap back on, handing it back to him. ] Me and the you I knew...we found a machine that could make drinks on the upper floors. It even had soups. We didn't buy all the drinks it had, so maybe this is one of them?
[ It's the most logical explanation she can find. ]
Is that all you wanted to ask me? [ A silly stupid question like that? ]
no subject
Date: 2022-04-07 07:08 am (UTC)The me you knew, huh... [The him who tried to tackle Midori... it's unnerving to hear about him, in the same way it is to hear your own voice on a recording.] Maybe... that makes a little sense. So then it wouldn't be poisonous?
[There's a nosing-forward note of interest in his tone as he looks back down at the liquid. He'd heard about the drinks machine from Ranger, who'd pretty much said they were there to be consumed, and while he'd had the thought at the time that it would be ironic if that had been how Sara had died, she remembers it so that's probably not it.]
Err... Well, yeah. Do I need to have another reason? Way to be cautious... Ahaha, it's fine if you don't believe me, though.
[He'd run over the potential conversations in his head, but had to admit he didn't really know how it'd end up going so... asking about something that's been bugging him lately it was. He pushes up his beanie a little, tugging at his hair.]
...Well, I guess I also wanted to ask about another truce.
[While he definitely feels like the hard-done-by one in this equation still, it's a matter of necessity as well. They had that meeting about Midori, but that was all of them, and it didn't go well... Sara keeping on promising things she couldn't guarantee.
But... he's also been tired of this. Much as his kneejerk reaction is to choke it, he does miss just... being able to talk without this tension, an internal balance he's been trying to strike between impulses with only a sketch of a map. And now that he has his scarf, he's prepared for if or when it ever happens again, his fingers falling to curl in the blue. He wants this to not be a mistake.]
no subject
Date: 2022-04-08 07:08 am (UTC)[ It's hard not to think of them as seperate people, but how different really were they? Maybe his actions on those floors had just been one of the acts Sara was so good at spotting now. She can never be sure.
She shake her head, trying not to rudly mumble in front of Sou about his own personality. That was weird! ]
I never saw poison other then the kind Ranger used. If it smells edible...maybe the risk is okay? It looks pretty good. [ There's a familiar air to that cooking. Sara trusts it.
At his last statement, Sara pauses. Whatever easy blankness she'd been holding up flickers. She looks...she's not sure how to describe it. Uncomfortable and hopeful all at once. Her eyes don't meet Sou's.
She's also tired... ]
...Did you follow me into the woods last month?
sara knowing and trusting kai's cooking subconsciously is killing meeeee ; w ;
Date: 2022-04-12 11:49 am (UTC)[Trying to get that in, because he knows his word isn't good for much and saying 'trust me' is always a red flag but he doesn't know any way to say it otherwise, trying to communicate it with his eyes... somehow. If she can tell when he's lying, maybe she can tell from that?
A bad place metaphorically but also literally. It had puzzled him at the time why nobody seemed to be taking it seriously, seeing the full picture... then he got proven wrong, and now, proven right, at the exact same point. He wasn't thinking straight at the time...
That they've been here longer than in the game is something expanding in it's implications with that reminder that they really have known each other longer than their respective counterparts... it's something he does his best to mentally set aside, eye contact similarly breaking as he rolls the thermos between his hands.]
Well, if it's got your seal of approval... Does that mean you want some? [He's not making her test it... it's a genuine offer from someone who's had the scales tipped towards trying it, tipping his head towards her cup before picking it up to pour for himself.] Ahaha, good thing the cap doubles as a cup...
[This is a totally reasonable response and not him attempting to at least delay the question a little... which means yes.]
yessss [kills u]
Date: 2022-04-17 07:35 am (UTC)[ There's an easy way they pass the cups to eachother. Sara takes a sip, squinting at the familiar flavor, before turning back to Shin. ]
...Well I'm not sure if you did or not... [ She continues, like Shin did respond to her entirely reasonable question. ] It's all fuzzy in my head, I only remember bits and peices of talking with everyone. But I was very upset...and we were talking a lot... Um...did we even hug?
[ She remembers holding him, very boldly, she's never done that in real life except when he's been shot. ]
Ah, maybe it was just a weird dream...but I felt a lot better afterwards. If you're asking for a truce...I guess I'm wondering if maybe we already did stop fighting.
oughgouughghgh *dies*
Date: 2022-04-17 11:09 am (UTC)[There's always that part of him that assumes he's going to be rejected outright, and insulted for even thinking it into the bargain. He holds the thermos cap between his palms, looking down at it, warming them, before taking a sip in turn... it's meant as a placeholder while he thinks and listens but he double takes at it a little.]
Huh... it's surprisingly tasty.
[He takes another sip this time with a little more pleased enthusiasm, getting back on mental track as she continues on. There's a flash of the expression in the icon before he smooths it back out into something more neutral with an effort but equally as quickly.]
...
...Don't remember much of what happened there myself.
[He doesn't remember much, the start and end especially disappearing into dreamlike haze... but there's one thing starkly seared into his memory, because he wouldn't let go of it. He's the one who wanted it, even if he can't remember the exact wording he knows that sharp defensive reflex in his bones, but it's still hot, red hot, to the mental touch... the screen flaring red and shaking with a sharp hiss of static, so to speak, his mind's gunshot wound. He breathes out, tapping a finger against the side of his makeshift mug. He can't just leave it at that, can he? Not if he's actually going to be serious about this...]
But... we did talk. Or rather, I talked to some part of you. [Too similar and not at the same time. There's no part of Shin that loves him like that. Only that needs to cut off the dead weight to survive. Maybe he's a little envious. Maybe he's a little unsettled. Maybe he's a little... relieved?] Ahaha, I wasn't very co-operative... no wonder you were upset.
[He shifts a little in his seat, a more comfortable position. It sounds like he wasn't the only one either, from what she's saying. He's keeping his wondering what people saw of him in it's own padlocked box for sanity's sake, along with so much else.]
If you count that as a hug... Well, I won't argue.
[He doesn't really want to dwell on it. Comfort, in the depths of his despair... he kind of doesn't want that to be the foundation of this. He doesn't want to mess this up though, either... his face takes on that closed-eyed smile, hand returned to scarf.]
Ahaha, it kind of just happened, didn't it? Even before that... it's been a couple months since we last fought, hasn't it? It's kinda strange, having that much time to think about it...
[Granted, most of that was they were busy enough they didn't really come into close enough proximity to clash, meetings aside.]