aerialassault | 006 [Action/Audio]

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006 [Action/Audio]

[Action: Locked to Souji Okita]

[Consciousness crept upon him slowly, like a migraine. It slipped in through the window panels with the sun and stung his eyes, but for once Cliff did not want to awaken. He instead rolled over with a groan, burying his face under his arms and promising himself another ten minutes.

But a nagging sensation in the back of his mind kept sleep at bay. He knew in his gut that it was something important, something that was blue and white...

...Fayt.

His eyes snapped open as he crashed into the memories. The dogs and the cultists were all a blur, but the spear stood out in his mind. It was only when he sat up that he registered the not-entirely familiar surroundings and the warm body lying by his side.]

[Action: Locked to Fayt Leingod]

[He messed up, and there was no way to fix and forget about the mess that he had left for everyone to deal with in the battlefield that was once Zompania. It was afternoon by the time he returned to his apartment in the ground building, wearing a fresh set of denim jeans and a comfortable tee-- both of which fit because of some miracle. The dark shades he wore were new, as was he bag he carried by his side that contained the clothes he borrowed off of Souji and yet another set of loose white pants to add to his small collection.

Entering as quietly as he could manage, Cliff did a once-over of the apartment to make sure that things were still mostly as he left it. The Vac whirred and hummed patiently as it made a pass over the carpet, and Cliff found himself smiling.

At least that was still functioning.

After throwing his belongings into his room, he made for Fayt's. A quiet knock was the only warning he gave before he nudged the door open...]

[Audio: Open to All]

Yo. It's Cliff.

[It was dark by the time he reached for his journal, but he didn't care. There were plenty of other people that he wanted to see, but there was no way he could go visit them all in one day.

This was the next best thing.]

Can I get a headcount of who all's here and a tally on the damage? And, is the bar open?

[He'll be heading there later if he get's confirmation. For once, he plans to drink unil the damage doesn't look so bad.]

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You forgot the flour.

[She'll wave a hand, and the breading floats away in the wind.]

Try again. Flour then bread.

[He watched the breading float away with curious eyes...but didn't see a point in questioning a goddess about how that was happening.

Instead he just nodded.]

Uhm. Right.

[This time he dropped the meat into the flour and shuffled the bowl around, coating the pieces in the white powder, before he returned them to the bread bowl. Honestly, he had no idea about how this was going to stay...]

[It does, in the end, all work out. Between the two of them, and her urging, they've soon got plates of relatively spicy curry and fried pork cutlets on plates.]

Now, go sit. I'll get some other things together and then dinner.

[Somehow, it did work...and Cliff was glad to have helped a little to make this meal. It was more than he was regularly allowed anymore, after a few incidents involving people disliking his cake...

Grinning, Cliff nodded.]

Heh. Right. [He turned to head out, but stopped briefly and glanced over his shoulder at the slender woman.] And, Saori? Thanks. This was fun.

Of course. It's a lot of food, so extra hands are always nice.

[A few moments later she comes out of the kitchen with a tray and sets things out. Water and green tea, the food they'd made, and her basket.]

Have a taste, see if it's spicy enough.

[...The anticipation he had felt waiting for the meal to be ready was fit to drive a lesser man crazy. He eagerly dug in with a fork, scooping up a bit of the meat and the rice to sample now that he was allowed to--

A satisfied smile slowly spread on his face.]

It's perfect. Couldn't ask for a better curry!

[She beams at him, full of genuine...and forced...cheer. It's good to see people smile again, because it shows that it's still possible.

She digs in too, taking a much smaller bite.]

I'm glad. It's just something I learned in India, but...I added the pork because that's how it's done where I'm from. And you looked like you could use a little extra meat.

[Saori was still a relative stranger to him, and the focusing issue made it tricky for him to focus in on the finer points of body language for the time being. Any hint of her forced cheer was lost on him-- he was currently intent on just enjoying the simple things. A good meal was at the top of the list.]

Ya think so? I thought you just added it because I grabbed the wrong thing...

No, you clearly need more meat.

[She smiles and lifts up the basket, pushing it over to him.]

And this, of course.

[...She was clearly teasing about the meat, but there was some truth there. Protiens were clearly king that day in all of his food choices-- it might have had something to do with being dead, he rationalized, but food was life.

Curious, he pulled the bag closer and started ruffling through it.]

And what's this...?

[Inside is a small box of candies, mostly hard ones, and a small stuffed toy. A boar filled with dry seeds, obviously handmade, and with a carefully added mouth.]

The gift I said I'd give you.

[A grin spread across his face as he pulled the little stuffed boar out of the bag and admired the needlework that went into making it.]

Wow, this? It's pretty cute! I haven't had anyone give me a toy like this in...man, I don't even know how long!

[It isn't really anything expertly done, but that really isn't the point. She's practicing, and it turned out better than Souji's dinosaur.]

Well, I'd hoped you'd like it. You saw me in a childish moment. I...thought I'd share something appropriate for that.

[It was far better than anything Cliff could have come up with on his own. Unless he was working with electronics or hammering a sword into shape, he was hopelessly inept at any and all handicrafts-- he just left them to the people who were more skilled and didn't bother messing with most of them anymore.]

Hey, I already told ya not to worry about it. We were all a mess back there-- some more than others, but it hit us all the same.

Still...if you ever need a regular guy to talk to about crazy stuff like this, I can offer an ear. No charge, even.

And I told you that gods pay their debts. It's important to due so. And if it's appropriate, then all the more reason. What are you going to name it?

[Meaning she must always, always do so.]

But honestly...I think I may take you up on that. [She takes a bite of her food, letting that sink in.]

Edited 2014-06-18 03:58 (UTC)

[Cliff took a bite of the food as well, savoring the spice of it while he mulled over her words.]

The talking? It can be whenever you want and about whatever you want...and, heck. It'll be nice to talk to some of the other adults who are in town, especially if there's more food like this in the deal.

[He appreciatively scooped up another bite, hoping that Saori understood that point. While he didn't like taking payment, this wasn't a bad deal at all if she was going to be so insistent in the future.]

As for my new little friend...hm. [He tilted his head to fully look at the little stuffed toy, as if to search its eyes for an appropriate name...]

I think I'm gonna call him Saizou. After another friend of mine.

Edited 2014-06-19 01:31 (UTC)

Yes, that...would be nice. It's hard to find decent adult company, honestly. And there's always food if someone wants it. I enjoy cooking, after all. And you could stand to learn a bit about it. So, if you'll help me, I'll make food.

[Maybe she can undo that disastrous cooking disorder that plagues Luceti. Either people are amazing or can't at all, and sometimes Saori feels like she's the only person in between, with...decent but not standout...skills.]

As for tonight, honestly it'd be hard to talk about anything but the draft and what happened. The...rammifications of it.

[Only that train of thought gets totally derailed as she hears the name and snorts out an honest to goodness laugh.]

After Okita Souji's pig?

[She couldn't have said anything that was more true. With everything that happened, everyone in town needed a good counseling session just to be able to get it off their chests. Cliff knew he would need to as well...but, he just wanted the one night of indulgence before he got serious.

But, if this idea between him and Saori got rolling, then it was possible that Fayt might leave him alone while he boiled water for instant noodles.

Maybe. He had a hunch it was a long shot.

Saori's laughter brought a grin to his face, though. At least there could be some light in this mess.]

The one and only-- are there any other pigs in town named Saizou? [He chuckled sheepishly.] I'm trying to get on the little guy's good side, and I think maybe your little gift can help me with that.

[She may come back to that later, she may not. Either way she has some theories she'd like opinions on.

For now? Piggies.]

Oh? And you've somehow managed to annoy him? That little pig has so much spirit and very little sense, messing with a big boar like you.

[Cliff scratched his head, not even bothering to hide the big goofy grin that had spread across his face.]

I think the little guy's just mad at me because he thinks I'm stealing his master away.

[Was there any shame in his tone? N O P E.]

Stealing his master...?

[She trails off, thinking on that for a moment.]

Does that...mean what I think it means?

Maybe. If the two of us throwing around paper animals and feeding eachother cake is what you're thinking.

[He winked, clearly teasing.]

....ah, who am I kidding? Yeah, we are. It only took us half a year of teasing before we talked about it, and now a half a year after that we're still teasing.

But...[The smile softened as he set the jokes aside,] he's one of the best things that I've found in this world, even if he's a horrible tease.

[Her face breaks into a wide, cheerful grin. That's absolutely wonderful news, to know that Souji has someone special! For a minute she almost feels like Grune...]

Oh! Well he is an absolutely dreadful tease. Even the Souji-san in my world was like that...

[But, then a thought occurs to her. One she keeps to herself. If Cliff died...then it was probably the reason...yes...it matched up. It had to be the reason for Souji's berserk rampage that she'd stopped.]

And you say half a year?

Yeah, since the New Year.

[There was something about the subtle shift that concerned him, but he had no way of guessing exactly what it was. While the news of Souji's rampage wouldn't have surprised him at all....it still wasn't something that he knew about. Everyone worried over him instead of even giving him much of a chance to worry over them.

He wasn't foolish enough to press for details either. Not at this point in time.]

Well that's an ideal time to start a relationship then! A time of change and new growth.

[She's not going to bring it up more than that. It's just a puzzle-piece sliding into place.]

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aerialassault - 2014-06-22 18:02 (UTC) - Expand

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