[ as he stands properly, yin yu tucks the small blossoms carefully in his pouch, the flowers sticking out to the side, so they'll be protected. he's gentle with each petal, expression unreadable, eyes dark. ]
...then, on to the next.
[ and as he pulls back, yin yu's hand slides back into hers, right where it was before. ]
[on to the next, indeed. she nods, momentarily surprised when he slides his hand back into hers - but then she looks back down at the flowers with a small smile as they walk along.
she spots the next flowers they need nearly immediately, but... oh, she doesn't want to point them out. if she does, he'll just let go of her hand again. ...but that's selfish, and if he needs to distract himself with working...
[ it's quiet, easy work, but part of it is the walking with flayn, too. the reminder that there's someone here. that - that he can rely on someone. that terrifies a part of him, buried deep under a thousand other emotions, that he could rely on someone. that the very tentative, small personal relationships he's formed have become important to him, and they can be so easily taken away.
guy's condemnation was an example of that. the thought of losing flayn is even worse.
so he lets her lead him. yin yu keeps his hand in hers, and returns to her when he completes a task, to know that she's there - not just to be relied on, but to know that she's there beside him. that she's still someone he can protect.
as asked, he quietly moves to pluck the snapdragons, taking a few with careful fingers and adding them to the ones he has. he's as considerate as ever as he does so, cradling the blossoms so they don't get damaged.
how sad that they have to keep doing this, but ...in a way, it's grounding, too. a mechanical thing, but one as important as remembrance, too. memory matters so intimately in the ghost city and yin yu is someone who has never been remembered.
as he returns his hand to hers, he speaks up again, quietly. ] ...Lady Flayn, will you teach me about these meanings, more?
[it isn't often that he actually asks her to do something for him.
normally, it is yin yu who is the one offering - to lend a helping hand, to be a support, to perform some sort of tasks so that someone else does not have to. flayn can count on one hand the number of times he's actually asked her to do anything for him.
[ he'll learn. yin yu wants to be able to do this with her, not just follow along. week after week, as the deaths in the camp will inevitably continue, more and more of these will be needed. a part of him wants to stop forming the bonds that he has already - each one is a moment of danger like today, they can be a person who will forget him, inevitably, and it would be so easy to just walk away - but... another, smaller part longs for the companionship, for the closeness. for the ability to feel like a person again, instead of a ghost.
flayn's quiet, warm care for everyone on the island had stuck with him even until now, and he wants to do right by it, wants to imitate this compassion, latch onto it as something even someone like him could do.
his hand squeezes just slightly in hers, a more wordless emphasis on the thank you. it's been a long day. ]
[she squeezes his hand in return, immediately. i'm here.]
You shall excel at it, I am sure.
[yin yu is the type to put his whole self into whatever he is attempting to do. when it comes to learning about flowers - well, all it really takes is patience and a willingness to learn. he has those things in spades.]
no subject
...then, on to the next.
[ and as he pulls back, yin yu's hand slides back into hers, right where it was before. ]
no subject
she spots the next flowers they need nearly immediately, but... oh, she doesn't want to point them out. if she does, he'll just let go of her hand again. ...but that's selfish, and if he needs to distract himself with working...
she gestures toward them with her free hand.]
I think those are snapdragons, over there.
no subject
guy's condemnation was an example of that. the thought of losing flayn is even worse.
so he lets her lead him. yin yu keeps his hand in hers, and returns to her when he completes a task, to know that she's there - not just to be relied on, but to know that she's there beside him. that she's still someone he can protect.
as asked, he quietly moves to pluck the snapdragons, taking a few with careful fingers and adding them to the ones he has. he's as considerate as ever as he does so, cradling the blossoms so they don't get damaged.
how sad that they have to keep doing this, but ...in a way, it's grounding, too. a mechanical thing, but one as important as remembrance, too. memory matters so intimately in the ghost city and yin yu is someone who has never been remembered.
as he returns his hand to hers, he speaks up again, quietly. ] ...Lady Flayn, will you teach me about these meanings, more?
no subject
[it isn't often that he actually asks her to do something for him.
normally, it is yin yu who is the one offering - to lend a helping hand, to be a support, to perform some sort of tasks so that someone else does not have to. flayn can count on one hand the number of times he's actually asked her to do anything for him.
so how could she possibly deny him this?]
I would be glad to teach you all I know, Yin Yu.
no subject
[ he'll learn. yin yu wants to be able to do this with her, not just follow along. week after week, as the deaths in the camp will inevitably continue, more and more of these will be needed. a part of him wants to stop forming the bonds that he has already - each one is a moment of danger like today, they can be a person who will forget him, inevitably, and it would be so easy to just walk away - but... another, smaller part longs for the companionship, for the closeness. for the ability to feel like a person again, instead of a ghost.
flayn's quiet, warm care for everyone on the island had stuck with him even until now, and he wants to do right by it, wants to imitate this compassion, latch onto it as something even someone like him could do.
his hand squeezes just slightly in hers, a more wordless emphasis on the thank you. it's been a long day. ]
no subject
You shall excel at it, I am sure.
[yin yu is the type to put his whole self into whatever he is attempting to do. when it comes to learning about flowers - well, all it really takes is patience and a willingness to learn. he has those things in spades.]