Event Eight.

[awashmods]

To thee I'll return, overburdened with care; The heart's dearest solace will smile on me there. No more from the cottage again will I roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.

he Town is quiet this week. No sudden quests on the forum post, no roars of werewolves in the distance... just peaceful, peaceful quiet. Of course, it's hot as hell right now, but that aside, it's pretty pleasant. You probably don't want to wander around the Town right now, but... Naturally, now's when the Town is going to start thoroughly encouraging you to do just that. You do want to find your doorway back home, don't you? Better get searching! And don't mind the other worlds you might end up stumbling into first. Welcome to Awash's eighth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. You are welcome to start your own posts or logs for this event as well. If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you!

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[passio]

…?

[ she wants to help him? that’s not what he expected to hear, but then, shiho is quite forward about this kind of thing. he doesn’t think that she would lie when it comes to her willingness to use her powers—certainly not to spare his feelings. ]

…I’m not ready.

[ that’s what he concludes, but then he looks at her. ]

Will you come with me? To my home?

[passio]

[ technically, the cat is not dextera’s cat, so much as he is a cat of joint custody between himself and damian, depending on where the cat is at any given moment. still, for all the time that pennyworth spends at his house, it sure does feel like he’s dextera’s. ]

Black and white. His name is— [ he spells it out here, for aizawa’s benefit ] —“Pennyworth.” He’s nice.

[passio]

[ hearing mutsu say that they never finished that mission in the first point makes dextera wonder if winging it is really a good idea after all… but hearing the second one, and mutsu’s conclusion on it all, at least helps dextera feel a little more at ease with mutsunokami’s overall approach to life. he’s responsible, if not a little rowdy.

more important than all of that, though, is that mutsu’s explanations have somewhat distracted him from his home crying out in the water. ]

…what if…

[ signed very slowly, as he thinks about how much he wants to reveal. ]

What if… the thing you want to do… isn’t what you need to do?

[heirofembers]

[Hotels must be essential if so many are needed. Phoenix looks at Ryuu with an increased respect; the people that provide meals for the whole village were important at home, too.]

Well... [He glances around, trying to figure out which corner he wants to know about the most.] What's a "fridge"?

[passio]

[ the green tea was nice, but the flavor was a little strange, a little bittersweet on his foreigner’s palate. strawberry has become his old reliable, but on sheer novelty alone, it’s one of the ~special~ offerings that’s caught his attention.

mint chocolate… with popping candy. his mouth is still crackling from it, and he thought he’d died when he first put it in there, but now he just finds he craves the sensation again.

he is a masochist, in all ways. ]

The popping one.

[underworldpianist]

I'm not mortal, remember? I'll be okay! You shouldn't worry about me, Maya, isn't the sun worse for you?

[bisection]

[ unfortunately for XIII, he's never really had a conversation with someone who wasn't a doctor. His ability to filter is limited. It's a downside to his lack of proper socialization. A friend just seems trustworthy to him, though he's sure he's weaker to kindness than he'd like to be, just like his brother. ]

Yes.

[ XIII shakes his head. ]

You don't know me well enough yet to see it.

[bisection]

[ sinistra, in turn, wants to be held but he does not seek it. It isn't right yet. He hasn't earned that privilege back. It's selfish just to accept his hand in his own. ]

I don't want to, either... but it's safer for you. It's better.

[bisection]

Yes. [ now he does. She's not wrong but he doesn't sound grateful, either. ]

I know how to go back. It was uncomfortable inside.

[tosa]

( "What if."

Mutsu watches carefully, focusing on how slowly Dextera shares what he wants to ask. Ah. It's a difficult question and it shows on Mutsu's face, the way his expression seems to drop just slightly, going from relaxed to something a little more serious.

What if the thing you want to do isn't what you need to do?

A night in Kyoto, hiding in an ally, Ryouma at his side, the temptation to abandon his mission and change everything to the way things could have been. "Why don't we run away? Together, somewhere, far away."

What had he been thinking back then? If he can recall it exactly, maybe he can give Dextera the answer he's looking for but... even if the memory is as clear as yesterday-- )

I don't have an easy answer 'cause that's not an easy question. ( He frowns, ) I could tell ya it comes down to duty or desire being more important to ya but that's not really it, ya know? 'Cause maybe they're both important to ya... or maybe neither's important at all. So maybe what ya really gotta decide is which kind of pain you can live with since both are gonna hurt ya.

( As serious as their discussion is, he can't help but cock his head to the side a bit and force an sheepish laugh, )

Just when I think I got it figured out, guess I don't have it at all! Sorry, gaha!

[passio]

[ dextera is inclined to agree, and he’s also in a good enough mood that hearing “the past” doesn’t bother him as much as it usually does. he doesn’t have memories! so what? ]

I don’t remember much. [ from “school,” or his equivalent, he means. ] I learned… chess theory. And religion. I think.

[ditherer]

I didn't realize it was customary to create shrines for people you look up to...

[ditherer]

[...]

Who can say? I guess I'm not a very popular person.

[no. he knows exactly why he doesn't belong.]

[theshowsover]

Coming up.

[He's quiet while gets to work on the coffee, focusing on doing it right. For Shiho, he follows Sojiro's instructions exactly, so he doesn't mess up.]

[passio]

It’s not.

[ dextera is firm in this, whether or not it’s true. it probably is safer and better for him, physically and mentally, but he doesn’t like it. he can accept that it’s not good to spend all their time together, but… surely a few days, here and there, will do. ]

There’s… another person I want to give my attention to, but that doesn’t mean… I’m happy without you.

[theshowsover]

So you were traveling around.

[He steps back a bit so he's not in her way, though still easily available if she needs any more help.]

What do bracers do?

[recommending]

[ ... And there it goes again, though to where is something Gaku can only begin to guess at. He'll have to ask later, especially since now there's something a little more immediately interesting to inquire after. ]

... The dark is dangerous?

[theshowsover]

...A special duty esper?

[Akira watches her pull the box over with ease. Her powers really are incredible; Akira is pretty impressed. But he wonders what exactly she did, as a government-employed esper.]

Were you like a secret agent?

[It sounds kinda cool...]

[recommending]

It had better - it's my family's specialty.

[ Or at least, half his family's specialty. Regardless, it only takes a few more moments for the tofu and noodles to both finish, and once they are he puts everything together. A few moments later Estelle is presented with a bowl of noodles sprinkled with tofu and sliced green onions, all of it in salty, slightly spicy broth.

Though at the last second something else occurs to him. ]

... Do you know how to use chopsticks?

[bisection]

[ he's tempted to pull away now. His hand is shaking just a little. He should keep moving.]

You gave me a name. That's... enough. You don't have to need me now. We are two now. It's ok if others can protect you better. It's ok.

[ it's not ok. But it might have to be ok. He can need others and sinistra can return to needing no one. That's how it was fated to be, maybe, as angry as it makes him. As much as his chest aches.

He tries to slip his hand away from him, continuing their descent and deciding to lead. ]

[recommending]

[ It's settled, then. Within a few moments Gaku combines all the ingredients together and serves them in a bowl with a salty-sweet broth. He also offers Phoenix a pair of chopsticks, but... ]

I have forks if you don't know how to use these.

[recommending]

We can only take one thing at a time, so...

[ Hmm. ]

We should take the flour or rice, first, and then come get more dishes afterwards.

[theshowsover]

Having the spices would be nice... I'm getting tired of bland food...

[Limited spices in Chroma mean most of what he's been eating has to rely on its natural flavor, and some of it doesn't have a lot of that. He'd like to take some of the spices, for that reason.]

I know a lot of people like curry back in town, anyway. And we have most of the other ingredients I need there.

[It's starting to come together in his mind. Coffee and curry; Sojiro's tried and true menu. He might have to only allow one serving to each person a day to make it last, and even then it won't last long, but for the time it does he thinks it will be a good thing.]

Maybe we should make a list.

[passio]

Brother.

[ dextera felt the shaking in his hand as keenly as if it were his own body trembling. it’s not fair, that his brother should feel that way—dextera needs him. sinistra is his big brother. he wants it that way. the selfishness of a younger sibling, perhaps.

he lets his brother’s hand slip away, but keeps close behind. ]

I’m not going to leave you. I can’t.

[bisection]

[ a part of him wants to say something cruel. Wants to tell him he's left him before. He let him go then, why not now?

He's so conflicted between his wants and his brothers needs. That man had scolded him, too, when he found him. But he keeps coming back to these difficult feelings.

He walks to one side of the wide room they enter and picks up a coat to check the state of it. ]

You can. You just never learned hate. I think I stole it all from you...