exsiliumlogs | i feel like i’m on fire; i’m too shy to cry for help.

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i feel like i’m on fire; i’m too shy to cry for help.

Date & Time: Feb. 17/18.
Location: Unit 106
Characters: Riku, open (to everyone from roommates to... anyone)
Summary: Well. Riku has a lot of pies to make, and he's decided to take at least one day or two off every week from rigorous training so he doesn't ~~kill himself~~ tire himself out. So. The Housing Unit will smell like pie for quite a while. Every kind of pie.
Warnings: Pie. Uh, PG; subject to change.

[ one would think training was mindless.

it's not. Riku finds cooking and baking far more mindless activities, his hands are far more mechanical in rolling out dough and mixing things together and turning a dial on an oven. it wasn't like DiZ wanted to cook for Namine and himself; and Maleficent was not about to cook Riku up dinner after a nice long day of antagonizing Sora. he'd had to fend for himself most of the time, either skipping off to a world to sneak into a little cafe or restaurant and ask for some work in return for some food or otherwise.

so he'd learned, on his own, how to keep himself fed. his mother had taught him a bit--it was an important lesson that everyone should know--but they were basic things like rice and how to make sure meat was ready to eat and how to gut fish.

this was a little more complicated, but a little more about repetition and setting timers and letting natural heat do all the work.

otherwise, training--no, training was a constant stream of strategy and battle techniques and pacing.

this? was easy next to training.

as the timer went off, he quickly turned and pulled out a peach cobbler, leaving it to rest on the counter. ]

So that's... five done.

Huh, this is pretty good progress.

[ but the smell is kind of suffocating.

he's usually pretty private, but... he opens the door, letting the smell waft out. he might have a sweet tooth, but it's not that severe. ]

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[Lacie had decided to wander around the halls of the building just for fun. You never know what sorts of characters you can run into when you least expect it.

Rather than finding an interesting person, she finds an interesting scent. It isn't a strong smell, but it's definitely there. It smells really good, too. Maybe she could try to find the source if she tries. Ahaha that does sound like a fun game so play this game she does.

After sniffing the air a few times and after a few failed attempts at finding the source of this pleasant smell, she arrives at where the scent seems strongest. Ah, it seems to be this room. And if it's not? Then that just means more of this fun smell-hunting game. So with that in mind, she knocks on the door.]

[ he perks up, wondering who that could be--

and when he opens the door, the smell is like a brick wall, hitting her fast in the face. ]

Uh--? Hi. Looking for someone?

[The smell hits so quickly and hard that the question posed by this boy gets completely ignored in favor of walking right past him to sniff the air inside. The smell is undoubtedly coming from here! Lacie spins around on her heel, her skirt flying all around as she twirls, and smiles brightly at Riku.]

Ah-ha! So you are the source of this enticing aroma.

[ a blink--he rubs the back of his neck. ]

You mean the pie?

Oh, is that what the smell is?

[Don't mind her, Riku, she just barged into your apartment and is now making a beeline for the kitchen. Nothing weird or rude about that, nope.]

[ The sweet scent of baked goods has long wafted up several floors, and has in fact lured something from the 2nd. A something that wasn't supposed to have gotten loose, at that, but all it had taken was the apartment door being left open just wide enough, just long enough, for a small occupant of the most recent filled room in 209 to slip free of supervision.

So it is that something nudges the door to Riku's residence open that little bit wider with a soft black nose. Tottering in once it shuffles its fluffy butt across the threshold, the Baromett Sheep keeps ambling in a straight line until it collides with something.

Probably a table. Or a chair. Or a Riku. ]

Baaaaa!

[ right into the backs of Riku's knees. thankfully, his stance is too stiff for it to cause any damage, given he's holding a knife in one hand to slice pears. he turns sharply, prepared to attack...

... uh, the 'baa'. it's a sheep?

~~oh, the dishes he could make with sheep~~ ]

Hey, little guy. [ awkward. at least Stellaluna is napping. she'd get jealous. ]

... lemme guess, you want something to eat.

[ ~~Oh the dishes you may yet have the chance to make with sheep~~

The little creature does not immediately appear to recognise what it has run into, bouncing back a few steps when he spins about. Beady eyes peer up at the silver haired boy.

Hungry? Most certainly! ]

Baaaaa!

[ The cauliflower-like wool scrapes against his leg as it nudges against him, seemingly oblivious to the presence of the knife. Then again, when have sheep ever been the smartest of animals? ]

Edited 2013-02-22 01:54 (UTC)

[ ...

he hasn't had lamb in a long ti--

okay, this isn't the time to be thinking with his stomach. with a slight sigh, he grabs an apple that's irregularly shaped and cuts it in half, tossing it in the sheep's direction. ]

So, where'd you come from?

Baaaaaah.

[ The apple bops the sheep on the head, before rolling across the floor. It stands there, blinking, before muzzle drops and it snuffles its way towards offered tidbit. If the question registers, there's no sign. It doesn't even seem bright enough to not attempt to chew the next thing nearest to where the apple fell - be it carpet, or a piece of furniture.

The sheepy absense hasn't gone unnoticed, however. As yet, its keeper is presently descending the stairs, expression one of concern and consternation, before stepping out onto the first floor. The sweet scent is distracting, but finding the Baromett sheep takes precidence! ]

Hey--!

Eat the apple, not the floor. [ he has to stumble after the sheep, grabbing the apple to offer it in place of the rug. jeez, what a clumsy animal... it's a good thing they don't have sheep on destiny islands. he doesn't think he could make it. ]

Baaaa?

[ At least the stupid creature seems to attempt to listen for a moment, before ambling after the apple, nosing it along on that oddly straght path. That little bleat caught someone's attention, however, and there's a sharp tap on the door before it is pushed that little bit wider.

There's a swish of skirts to follow - a long skirt, at that. Though her hair is still bound up in its braid and pinned to her head, Gwendolyn is dressed in a rather drabbly coloured fawn gown, one covering her shoulders and bearing long sleeves. Fitting, given the cold weather, though not particularly royal. She still walks like a noble, however, and dark eyes blink in confusion at her wayward charge.

Then at Riku. ]

...Oh.

Oh dear. I hope it has not caused any trouble here.

It hasn't. [ he looks at gwen with some surprise, then looks away, slightly bashful. ]

... well, it chewed on a few things, but there's nothing too bad.

[ idle handwave. ]

Nice look.

..I am sorry. It should have remained inside. It has not ruined any of your preparations, has it?

[Now, now, Riku, one would think you'd never seen a Princess before.]

There were only a few options, but...Thank you.

[Gwendolyn does not blush, but her gaze does drop demurely at what --she presumes-- is a compliment. She has never been at ease with accepting them.

With the little sheep in range, however, discomfort is hidden in a quick duck-and-catch manuever. A break that, perhaps, is long enough for both to regain their composure.

She now holds one (1) small, struggling sheep with relative ease. The sheep's legs continue to motor futily in the air, as though it might escape somehow.]

I almost fear what it would do if I tried tying it up.

[ he can't help but laugh a little at the sheep's vain attempts at getting free, covering some of his laughter with the side of his hand. ]

Probably bite through the rope. [ he half teases, before shaking his head. ] Don't worry. It didn't really disrupt anything.

It would not surprise me in the least.

[She does not ask 'what' he has been doing -- the scent of the room and warmth wafting from the oven is telltale enough!]

You have been busy! Have these taken you very long?

Most of the work is cutting up fruit or actually making what goes inside.

[ he glances towards the caramel apple tart cooling on the rack on the edge of the counter, with a lattice top and a little apple cutout adorning the top, sanding sugar sprinkled on the crust. ]

It doesn't take too long to make these, after all the practice I get cooking for a friend of mine. [ a quirk of a smile. ]

[wow what is that and why does it smell so good

...

and familiar?

maybe he's smelled this in Twilight Town. that would make sense. but once Roxas caught a whiff of that... whatever it is... and he found himself suddenly hungry, he couldn't help but move to investigate.

Roxas hesitates in front of the open door. the smell is definitely strongest here. but this is where someone lives. so Roxas lingers there awkwardly, not quite in the doorway, debating whether or not he wants to look in or not.]

[ he can feel a familiar presence, and at first, thinks it's either Lucy or Red X paying a visit.

... not so. that's not their energy signature. after a brief close of his eyes, he frowns, stilling in cutting apples. that pause is enough to make him think and try to piece together just how he's going to talk to Roxas after everything he knows happens. ]

... Roxas? [ he calls, without turning to look at him. ]

Edited 2013-02-21 09:28 (UTC)

[Roxas can't help it: he jumps out of his skin. Wh-Who -- ? He doesn't recognize that voice. Cautiously, he pokes his head into the room.]

Uh... Y-Yeah -- ?

[No... No, the person in there, he doesn't recognize. Not really. There's something familiar about him, but Roxas can't put his finger on it.]

[ oh.

he recognizes that blank look--so, quickly; ]

You look just like Axel said you did.

What're you looking for?

[blink. blink blink blink.]

You're friends with Axel?

Oh -- Uhh... Something... smells good...

[Of course, if there is pie, Kyouko is definitely going to make a beeline toward it. She occasionally wanders near Riku's apartment to sample whatever baked good he's making, and just to make small talk and check up on him. Of course, she wouldn't readily admit that she was there to make small talk, that she was concerned about Riku or anyone else at all, but the last time they'd seen one another, they'd both been a fair bit younger and she'd been a great deal nicer.

She had to restore her street cred. That was all.]

Oi, bat boy. [Kyouko, having no sense of boundaries or personal space, pokes her head into the doorway.] What are you making in there?

Lots of pies.

Even the Kyouko pie. [ he looks up from carving the skin off of an apple in one circular slice, smiling slightly, referring to the green apple and caramel pie he usually makes for her. ]

What's up?

[The mention of the Kyouko pie - aptly named, she thinks - makes her grin. It's genuine, softens her face at the edges for perhaps a millisecond before it's gone and replaced by her usual affected teenage indifference. She steps into Riku's apartment without removing her shoes (this she only did when visiting Madoka), and finds a nearby chair to kick back on. Almost immediately, she's unwrapping a piece of leftover candy from the festival.]

Nothin'. Just felt like stopping by. [She talks around the lemon drop in her mouth.] Sayaka's training right now, it's boring waiting around for her, and I got no idea where Madoka is. [she looks around. Riku's apartment is almost too neat for a boy's, and that and the pie have the mildly disconcerting effect of making her think of Mami. She bites down hard on the lemon drop instead of dwelling on it.]

How many pies are you making? [...] Where'd you learn how to cook anyway? You don't seem like that kinda guy.

Hm.

[ he stretches an arm before shrugging. ]

I was on my own for a few years. No parents, and the adults that were around didn't really care about feeding a kid like me. I didn't know how to cook, but I knew how to learn. [ a shrug. ]

So I scrounged around and asked for any odd jobs I could do so I could learn to feed myself. Turns out, a lot of cooks like free manual labor, and they were more than happy to have someone to teach.

Swallowing my pride was a lot easier on my stomach than starving.

Edited 2013-02-22 00:20 (UTC)

[Kyouko's eyes drift down and away from Riku's face, and she makes a show of fishing for more candy before responding.]

Where was your family? [Casual. She could've sworn the little Riku had mentioned something about parents, so she wondered what had happened between then and now.] You were all by yourself?

[ ah, his family... eyes eyes lower, and then dart away, just like Kyouko's. he just tosses a misshapen apple slice into his mouth and chews away before speaking. ]

My family was gone. I couldn't go back to them. [ he couldn't. not after he demolished the islands after his own hubris. how could he have even faced them? ] I wasn't really alone--I was with a bunch of adults, but they weren't really caring after me. They were using me for their ends.

[ which feels horrible to say, his mouth turning into a little frown. but then, he shrugs. ] I was using them too, so it didn't really bother me. I guess that's the way it's always been.

[ the timer dings; he turns, pulling out a blind baked crust. ] But there was no one I could depend on, so--I guess I was all by myself.

...You got what you paid for, right? [Her tone isn't accusatory — there's no judgement to be found here. She doesn't have the right. There's just a quiet sort of thoughtfulness, some mutual understanding.

She didn't know what Riku had gone through, exactly, but she understood the idea of being alone, of using and being used. The acceptance of that. And so, because of Riku's honesty, she decides to be honest herself.

Equal exchanges. She had traded her soul for a wish, so giving away a little information meant little to nothing.] I know what that's like.

[ he takes care to layer thinly sliced apples with chunks, letting a silence stretch between them before he gives a slight nod to her question. ]

Guess I did.

[ though, when she speaks again, he has to doubletake.

now, he knows Kyouko and Madoka are friends, and he knows Kyouko and Sayaka at the very least know each other. Sayaka fights, he knows. he's sure he had a glimpse of Madoka doing so, too--and he's aware that she looked different when he was five. so they were all fighters. he'd... somehow guessed that Kyouko was just rough around the edges, maybe from fighting at her age (and how old was she? she was younger than he had been when he'd been corrupted) but...

that made a lot of things different. ]

... you do, huh. [ his voice is quiet and considering, and a little sad. honestly, it's just made him stronger, but it's also made him needlessly crippled in other ways.

like, socially. and he asks a question he's been asking himself for a long, long time. ] Are you proud of who that made you become?

Not really. [A shrug. There was little need to lie about it. She's run out of bravado; her time with the others has dulled it, made it taper off. There's no pain in her voice, no real sadness, just a flat and weary acceptance. She's accepted her myriad failures are an unfortunate side-effect of her poorly thought out wish, but she isn't proud of it. She isn't proud of the person she used to be either — foolish, unknowingly selfish in the name of selflessness. My wish destroyed my family, she'd told Sayaka, and that was still true.

But she was alive, and that meant something. And she could protect Sayaka and Madoka, and that meant something too. She owed it to her family, to Mami. To Madoka and Sayaka. Maybe she owed it to herself too.] But I got somethin' outta it. I got what I paid for. [She pops a chocolate coin in her mouth and chews it as she talks.] Even if I'm not proud, I've got people to keep an eye on now, so it's not about me anymore.

[Thoughtfully:] What about you?

[ he grabs the pot of caramel he's had cooling down on the counter, slowly using a spatula to pour it into the pie crust over the apples. her words change his expression from neutral to thoughtful. he's not sure what all she's been through, but it sounds like a lot. he can tell in the way she shrugs, the tone--acceptance. not begrudging acceptance, but weathered acceptance, like she's spent too many days out in pelting rain and it's eroded away. it makes his heart ache a little. yeah, he felt like that, too. it's fine in his mind for him to feel this pain, but he knows what it does to people. he knows what it's done to him.

and, well, he's kind of a lost cause, but he doesn't see that in anyone, least of all Kyouko.

idly, he wonders if their stories share more than solitude. she poses her question, and he looks briefly startled--like he hadn't expected her to ask. Riku always seems to look somewhat surprised whenever Kyouko directs questions to him, and today is no different. but he thinks on it, and it shows, with eyebrows pushed together, mouth in a set line. he cuts pieces for a lattice top perfectly and twines them all together, snipping the edges off before he presses an apple-shaped pie dough piece in the middle, just as he always does. with a dusting of egg wash and sugar, he speaks. ]

I don't know if I'm proud of who I am. [ he glances up to her, finally. ] But... I do know that I hate who I was.

So, [ he cants his head and, with pie in one hand, opens the oven door to slip the pie in with little difficulty. ] I guess that's progress.

It's progress. [Kyouko agrees, in the same thoughtful way that she'd asked the question in the first place. She didn't know what she thought of herself now. Had she changed anything? Had anything gotten better? There was Sayaka, but that was Madoka's effort as much as her own, and she couldn't claim to have fixed a person who didn't even know the whole truth. Pride was...well. It was undeserved, in this case.

But she had gotten better herself. She didn't get as angry; she tried to understand. She had friends now. She wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Everyone she'd ever cared about, she disappointed in the end. Now she knew she couldn't be perfect, but it was the trying that mattered. Maybe.

Instead of thinking too hard on it, she watches Riku work. It's calming.] Madoka bakes stuff like this sometimes. Her dad taught her, I guess. I used to think it was weird... [She stretches her arms out.] having a dad who knew things like baking. My dad...

[Her expression clouds, then clears.] The more I thought about it, the more I figured it's not so weird. People care for each other in different ways.

[Quiet, contemplative:] Y'know, I think that's what you're doin', with this baking stuff.

[ as he starts to clean his workstation, he listens to her, stretching a leg out to nudge the trash can over to where he stands. he brushes all the bits he can't use into the trash carefully, hands moving like it's second nature.

riku does raise his head when she trails off, watching her from underneath unruly bangs with the same cautious hesitance a big brother would. when she goes back to speaking, he goes back to cleaning. he's washing his hands when her quiet words reach his ears, and he stills for a good moment, staring at his soaked hands.

and he gives a quiet, soft chuckle, closing his eyes and bowing his head just slightly. riku looks back up at her a second afterward, the smile on his face reaching his eyes for once, humble and fond. ]

Nothing gets past you, huh?

[ he turns to grab a paper towel, drying his hands, tossing it into the bin and pushing it back to the side with his foot. ]

So, how do you care for people? [ he turns, opening a drawer, taking out a box that might be familiar to her--it's a knockoff brand, sure, what isn't in exsilium--but it's still the same format. pocky is pocky, even when it's not brand-name. he holds it up, then points it at her. ]

I can't tell if you're eating what I make out of courtesy or because it's actually good, sometimes. You're the only person that might have a bigger stomach than me.

I dunno.

[Mumbled. It's awkward, talking about her idea of caring for people, simply because she spent so much time trying not to. But things had changed, in the time here, and when she'd returned home. She never really thought that what she was doing for people was caring about them.] I've never helped anybody.

[She'd tried to care for her family, and that had blown up in her face. She'd tried too, to care for Mami, and wasn't worthy enough to do it. And Sayaka, she had only realized what to do once it was too late. She was trying now, but it wasn't something she could give words to, not yet. She didn't know how to explain it herself.

After a long and quiet pause, she speaks up again.] I wouldn't keep coming here to eat it if it was bad.

[Not exactly true. She didn't like the idea of food going to waste either. But it was actually good.]

You'll figure it out.

Besides, maybe you think you didn't help anyone, but I'd be worse off without someone like you around.

[ he believes in that, watching her.

Whether you want to or not, probably. This place has a way of making people find out the good and the bad. but at her remark, as he's washing his utensils, he looks a little pleased, though modest as hell. ]

Hey, that's a relief. Don't worry, even if I go to work at that cafe that's opening up, you're still getting free stuff from me here.

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i feel like i’m on fire; i’m too shy to cry for help.

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i am so sorry except i'm totally not

omg

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