[not again] catchall for hikage

[fishingforcompliments]

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w0, tuesday

[psychedelica]

[ he already cleaned the kitchen yesterday; he'd rather not do it again unless he has to, so when he walks in and sees that it's not in too terrible a state, he feels a small measure of relief. It's not until he spies Flayn that he realizes it's looking better because someone's already started working. (That note wasn't kidding about the place getting messy.) ]

Oh. It's you. [ flayn? he's trying to remember her card. he only remembers the one important thing on it... ] You're cleaning this by yourself?

[fishingforcompliments]

—oh! Hello!

[She's got a cleaning cloth in hand and is working on scrubbing down the appliances right now - even she isn't sure how the kitchen manages to keep getting so dirty. Her own cooking mishaps have only gone so far.

But... if this gives them the chance to work on their tasks, so be it.]

Yes, it looked a bit dirty as I passed by. I thought perhaps I had better get to work. Did you need to cook something?

[psychedelica]

It doesn't count if you do it alone.

[ just saying...! he doesn't jump to helping, though - he did come here to cook. ]

Yeah. I'll stay out of your way, so don't worry about it.

[fishingforcompliments]

[Hmmm...

She tosses her cleaning cloth onto the counter, closer to him than to her.]

Could you hand me that cloth? It would be a great help, and then I believe we could both consider it a job well done. I will stay out of your way as I continue to work.

[psychedelica]

Sure... [ he trails off, raising an eyebrow. ] You think you can trick them?

[ he does it, though! then goes over to the fridge to look for some Ingredience. ]

[fishingforcompliments]

Possibly! We shall see.

[she picks up the cloth and gets back to cleaning.]

Thank you! I would not have been able to clean this kitchen without your help. [team..work.] What are you making?

[psychedelica]

[ a grunt. ]

Stop making me feel guilty.

[ poor flayn working by herself... ]

Just curry. I made it recently, so I still remember the recipe.

[fishingforcompliments]

That is not my intent! But if someone is listening in to determine whether or not we completed the task...

[well. they need to fool them, is all!]

...would you mind if I observe how you prepare it? I will be very quiet, I promise!

w0, friday

[fishingforcompliments]

[it doesn't look like the rain's letting up, so drying his jacket by the bonfire is probably out - but as flayn is trudging back to her own cabin, she sees hikage near his]

Ah... Hikage?

w1 friday...

[psychedelica]

[ what an exciting morning! anyway, let's not think about that.

he was looking for Flayn, but she wasn't at her cabin, which was red flag #1. Red flag #2 shoots up when he goes into the farmlands and sees her working. Not that he really cares, but...

He's stomping over. ]

What do you think you're doing?

[fishingforcompliments]

Harvesting.

[She says it simply, like harvesting vegetables the day after you've reopened a wound and also someone else has died is a totally natural thing. Her brow creases slightly, like she's questioning it for a moment - but then she leans over and pulls a tomato off the vine.]

[psychedelica]

[ he does not stop walking over! in fact, he walks over so much that he tries to reach out and grab her wrist. ]

Do you want to reinjure yourself? Knock it off. You should know better.

[ if she's actually as old as her profile says, she surely should have more common sense... ]

[fishingforcompliments]

[oh! well, she doesn't see that coming, and he's able to grab her wrist with no real problems. she stills, staring between him and her hand.

then she tries to pull another tomato off the vine with her other hand.]

...but... these need to be harvested. See, they are ripe...

[psychedelica]

Like hell they do. We have as much food as we need in the kitchen.

[ trying to tug her away now. ]

Someone else can deal with them. What do you care?

[fishingforcompliments]

[he tugs her a few steps away, because she's tiny and not that difficult to pull around, but she glances back at the vegetables.]

...it would be a waste for them to rot.

[psychedelica]

[ it's a good time to be an unexpectedly strong anime man. ]

They probably aren't even real. Don't waste your time. You should be resting right now - we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.

[fishingforcompliments]

But—!

[yeah, he's able to pull her away from the vegetables.]

I could feel them. They were real...

w6, saturday

[fishingforcompliments]

[well, that was. a lot.

flayn really isn't sure what to make of literally any of what just happened, but the gardens are a relaxing enough place that she hopes it will help settle her mind enough to think. so - here she is! and here he is. she spots him as she's approaching.]

...Hikage?

[psychedelica]

[ he's just taking a breather out here. He'd like to return to his friends' sides quickly, but it's equally refreshing to just be alone and outside for the first time in weeks. That store was dangerously similar to the in-between, and the longer he spent there, the more he felt the walls closing in around him.

Here... Well. He's still stuck, but he can pretend. When Flayn approaches, he looks a little surprise. ]

Flayn. [ the butterfly wings still attached to his back flutter slightly in recognition. ] ... You did well to survive.

[fishingforcompliments]

...

[She has mixed feelings on whether or not surviving was anything she'd done well. It seems a little unfair that she'd survived when so many who hadn't done anything wrong had died.

But, there isn't any changing it.]

...I... had a lot of help. [...] I am glad that you were able to come back.

[psychedelica]

[ Flayn gets a pass because she didn't kill him personally... even if he is still surprised she was capable of such a thing, and he's retroactively somewhat miffed she was involved in Sanji's demise. Still - with her, it's difficult to believe it was malicious at all, unless she's an even greater actor than he and Akechi. Comments like that one make it even more difficult. ]

You care too much for someone your age.

[ it's less of an insult and more of a gentle scolding. ]

[fishingforcompliments]

[...if there's anything she's expecting to hear, it's not that.

It startles her out of whatever path her thoughts were straying down - she studies him for a few moments, puzzled.]

How much is someone my age meant to care? ...or how little, I suppose.

[psychedelica]

No... It's surprising. I thought you'd be more like me.

[ he rests his chin in his hand, glancing off away from her. ]

You've probably seen the depths people can sink to. Maybe you're stronger than you look if that hasn't broken you yet.

[ blunt, as usual. ]

[fishingforcompliments]

...I do not know if strength has much to do with it.

[when the going got tough, flayn ... took a thousand-year-long nap.]

I have always been very lucky, I think. I have seen the depths people can sink to, certainly, and... I have sunk to those depths myself, but there has always been someone to help pull me out of them.

[psychedelica]

[ "damn i wish that was me" - hikage ]

Luck? [ he raises an eyebrow. ] You've got a talent for surrounding yourself with people like that, too. Don't take it for granted. Not all of us have it.