closed ► you would take the breath from my throat

[fujibayashi]

Date & Time: 6/23, around 5pm.
Location: Room 103.
Characters: Zelos (wilder) and Sheena (holeseeker)
Summary: Sheena's checking in like she promised.
Warnings: Tsunderes and feelings and failure everywhere.


[It's kind of late. Sheena knows this, but she doesn't really care. She hesitates before knocking quietly on the door to Zelos' apartment. Hopefully she can catch him before he's left for the night shift. If not, she'll just leave the food and go, and they can talk later. Or never.

But... there's something nagging at her. She hasn't been entirely reasonable with him lately, and this is the best she can do for an apology.

Her grip on the edges of the covered bowl tightens slightly. She looks to the side, waiting for someone to answer the door.]

Comments

[wilder]

[Zelos was in his apartment. After the plague and bombing, the higher ups seemed more willing to give the guy with the broken leg a few days off. And while he felt kinda bad about not helping, he wasn't Cheria. He wasn't going to work himself to the bone- he willingly accepted the days to rest. ]

[And it'll even seem like his roommates are out at this time (doing...whatever hero-y things they do- or maybe they're just in their bedrooms!) when he hears the knock. There's a definite pause as he wonders who that is, then checks the date on his tablet. Which whew. Too far into the month to be an arrival from the June group, and not time for the July transports either. He should be safe]

[With that in mind, he'll get up. He's still on a crutch, but he manages well enough to get over the door and open it. He looks surprised to see it's Sheena. And hey, Sheena with food no less]

[...Is it bad to wonder who died to get this? Nah. He'll still smile]

Oh, hey Sheena. What brings you to my abode?

[fujibayashi]

[Sheena's eyes widen when it's Zelos who opens the door. Okay, so maybe she didn't expect to get him personally. Despite the crutch, he looks the same as always. She feels more than a pang of guilt and she's not entirely sure where it came from.]

I came to, uh... check up on you. [Her voice drops a notch.] You still haven't had that fixed?

[wilder]

[he's sorry he has yet to get a butler. Seles is training Asbel though! Though wow, to check on him? He's still not sure how to handle people actually caring about his well being so he'll rub his neck]

Oh...okay, wanna come in?

[And at the question, time to be unhelpful and not fully answer] What? I got a crutch for it!

[fujibayashi]

[She makes a face.]

Getting a crutch doesn't make it heal faster. But sure, I'll come in.

[She lifts the bowl.]

Oh, and I made stew out of some snapper in case you're hungry.

[wilder]

Yeah, but it makes things so much more dramatic looking!

[He'll step out of the way and push the door back so she can come in]

Seriously? Snapper! Hey, I won't say no to that!

[fujibayashi]

[Sheena enters the apartment, making sure not to trip over him or his crutch. Since she can't expect him to carry anything, she moves to set it on the kitchen counter. This place looks a lot more comfortable when it isn't crowded with people.]

Heh, it's quiet.

[wilder]

[And he'll head to the dinning table near the kitchen to sit down, setting his crutch to the side. What he's sure you can figure out where the dishes are!!]

Heh, yeah- I think they're all out right now. You know, doing stuff to help out.

[fujibayashi]

[Sheena opens a few cupboards before she's able to find the bowls. She's not worried-- if he wasn't hungry, he would've said so. She sets a bowl in front of him on the dining table, yet doesn't take anything for herself.]

I just got back from the main relief effort. There's still a lot of sick people, and the ones that aren't...

[She crosses her arms and leans back in the chair opposite of Zelos.]

They're blaming us for everything.

[wilder]

[He'll sit up a little when the bowl comes. He was about to take a bite, but instead turns his head to listen to what she has to say]

They really are, huh? [he had heard some stuff, but he hasn't been out too much yet to really know for sure] How bad is it?

[fujibayashi]

It's... not good. I saw someone ahead of me in line get chased off. He stood out a bit, you know-- he was dressed pretty strangely for the weather, and he had 'freaky eyes' according to the shopkeeper.

I was able to get groceries without a problem, but I'm worried about my roommates... [Maybe because she has a passing resemblance to the Korean people they dealt with on that special mission.] I'm not even sure the natives want our help that badly. It feels like there's a riot about to start.

[She shivers a little to herself.]

[wilder]

That so, huh?

[Ugh, he worries about his roommates (and himself). None of them looked, well, like Earth standards. ]

Guess the UE is too powerful to blame, so they're taking it out on us for catching their attention. Great.

[oh right, now he remembers hating humanity]

[fujibayashi]

Maybe they don't realize that if we weren't actively fighting the UE, they wouldn't have a place to live. At least, that's what we've been led to believe. I don't think we're on the wrong side, but... we should be working under our own power instead of the Initiative.

At the end of the day, aren't we just following orders? No wonder we don't have any credibility in the eyes of these people.

[She folds her hands on the table, just barely touching her fingers together as she collects her thoughts.]

[wilder]

Tch, it doesn't matter if we're on the right side or have any credibility - it wouldn't change anything. Things get bad, and people try to find an easy scape goat. That's just how it is.

[It's how it was with the half-elves, the Chosen, people from Mizuho. The details never mattered nor did the full story, they were still the ones who got the brunt of things when stuff went south]

[fujibayashi]

That doesn't make it okay. We should be working with them, not against them. If the Initiative decides to do something horrible to us, we're on our own. I don't... like the sound of that.

[She shakes her head.]

There has to be something we can do. They aren't fighting in this war, but everything that hurts us-- hurts them, too.

[wilder]

[He takes a spoonful of his stew and eats it while she talks. It's really good, but he still frowns when she talks]

Well, I just spent three weeks treating their illnesses, and apparently I still might get stuff thrown at my head. So if you have any ideas, I'd like to hear them.

[fujibayashi]

[Sheena lets out a frustrated breath.]

Going back in time to change the plague didn't bring back the people who died. Has anyone tried talking to them? Asking them what they want?

[wilder]

I don't know, I've kept pretty close to the apartment since it ended.

Not sure we could give them what they want anyway, since it's probably their loved ones back.

[fujibayashi]

Y... yeah. [She makes a fist against the table, but that's it. There's nothing they can do right now. Not until they know more. Maybe even if they do. Sheena has been the target of this sort of hatred before. She can almost feel the weight of the village on her shoulders again.

She lets the topic die so that Zelos can eat. She's not sure how well he's acquainted with the art of cooking while disabled, and she's still under the illusion that he needs to eat to survive.

The peaceful silence of the apartment turns suffocating as she sits there. Sheena wants to be walking around, but that's not really an option with a friend who has a busted leg. Really, she should apologize, but she can't seem to form the right words.]

-- You should really get that leg looked at.

[wilder]

[He meanwhile was eating the stew. Sure, he doesn't need food to survive and beyond the time he switched bodies with Ino, it's been a long time since he's even felt real hunger- but hey, he still had cravings and still enjoyed eating. Which hey, this is delicious so it makes him happy]

[But he'll look up at her when she speaks up, raising his eyebrows and looking half amused. Seriously Sheena]

- Uh, Sheena? I live with a healer.

[fujibayashi]

[She blinks once... twice.]

... Then why the heck are you still hobbling around?!

[Ha ha haaaaa she's concerned and there's really no way around it.]

[wilder]

[he snickers] Bones take time to heal, even with healing magic- and it was a pretty nasty break too. So even if the time's greatly reduced, it's still gonna be about a week to heal fully.

[And hereee comes the teasing]

Why? You worried about me~?

[fujibayashi]

Oh...

[FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF. She's turning red, just as he expects her to.]

W-- well, yeah! Y-you're my friend, so of course I'm worried. It's not like I'm the best at making splints out in the middle of nowhere, either. I thought it might heal up crooked or something.

[She hugs herself, looking away.]

[wilder]

[She always looks so cute like that....]

[But hey, she actually admitted she was worried instead of proclaiming no. That is really something...]

Ahaha, it was fine. As sexy as having a cane would be, I should heal up just fine!

[fujibayashi]

Ugh. You're such an idiot.

[She huffs a bit. She was going to say something else, but hell if she can find the words. She settles for looking at him out the corner of her eye, like she's deliberating.]

[wilder]

Whaat? What did I do?

[But you know, she's acting odd enough that he'll decide to ask]

Anyway, everything alright? I mean not that I don't appreciate it, but you cook my favorite food, you check up on me in person than over the tablet...

I mean, did something happen?