returninghope | Appointments

Um... [Where to even begin? It wasn't like she'd rehearsed this before, her thoughts are just so scattered that she doesn't know where one ends or another begins and it made talking about this that much more difficult.

And it's not really something she wants to broadcast over the journals either. She knows her filter is weak, and anyone could end up seeing this.] Can we... meet up somewhere, please?

[Meet up somewhere, huh? This was filtered too, wasn't it...? There's some weight to whatever she wants to say, whatever that is.] Yeah, sure. I'm not busy. We can meet up where ever you want. There's always my apartment, or... I dunno the playground or something. Anywhere you prefer?

... There's a playground? [While it had nothing to do with what she wanted to talk about, it's enough of a distraction that she has no choice but to dwell on it. She'd never heard mention of it before, and could only vaguely remember one which her father took her to often. It was so far away in her memory that she can't quite recall the details of it.]

[...What? Really? That sounded like such a little kid response.] Yeah. It's behind the school. For the school kids.

[It's clear from the interest in her voice she probably wanted to at least check it out. It was most likely where they were going.] C'mon. I'll take you there and we can talk. There's probably a swing or something. I can pick you up.

Okay... [She pauses for a moment before it occurs to her that Zan'nen wouldn't know where she lived anymore, given the change of households had happened only last week and then everyone was upheaved by that experiment.]

Um, I don't live in House 15 anymore...

[Oh... right. They moved. Again.]

Fine. Where do you live now?

[After a moment of hesitation – for she can tell that he is not pleased at this new change – Kaori quietly extracts the pencil attached to her journal she rarely used and proceeds to slowly draw out to vertical lines, meant to communicate the number of the house they were in. And even if Zan'nen couldn't understand that...

The house was clearly one of the biggest here in the village if it could comfortably house eight people and their hordes of Pokémon. She just needs to tell him to go to the very big house.]

[Eleven? Since he doubted that they'd all moved back into an apartment, that must've been the house number. That was pretty far away from both C4 and the playground.

Oh well. Can't be helped.] House Eleven. Gotcha. I'll be there in about thirty minutes. Is that alright?

Okay... I'll be outside, then. [Like she is right now, thoroughly avoiding everyone who resided there – two siblings in particular. She gets to erasing the lines she made right away, just a little bothered that Zan'nen had said the number out loud because as far as she knew, she was still in danger.]

... Take as long as you need to, 'kay? [This is a favour, after all.]

I'll be there. [If it made her feel any better, Zan'nen was still fairly under-the-radar. Not many people went out of their way to bother him.]

[Truth be told, Zan'nen makes it there fairly early. He didn't have much to do besides this. He'd just washed his face and pulled on a coat.

He was a bit relieved she'd waited outside. He would've felt awkward knocking at the door.]

Hey Kaori. [Zan'nen placed his hand on top of her head in greeting, making sure she knew he was there and who he was waaay before he was in striking distance. He still remembered her little stunt when Frey up and poofed.]

[While she had heard home coming loud and clear, and had even recognized his presence, it still surprises her when she feels his hand on her head. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, just that she wasn't necessarily used to it anymore. There was something about it that vaguely reminded her of home and how much more closer she was to people there.

But that was what this was about, wasn't it? She tries for a smile, even if it's painfully obvious that it's being forced. At least she's trying, and she can't blame Zan'nen for all the happenings of the last few weeks.] Hi... thanks for coming.

You're welcome. [So he says, but his voice doesn't sound exactly sure. Her smile was too forced for him to respond naturally. What the heck was going on? Zan'nen took a moment to eye their new house. Wasn't Frey doting on her properly? Or was he doing too good of a job at it?]

It's not a problem. Really. [And on that point he did sound confident. Walking here to see her wasn't anything particularly trying on his part.] Did you want to hang around here for a while, or do you want to cut to the chase and get going now? We can stop for something to eat along the way, if you want.

Edited 2012-02-21 09:35 (UTC)

... I want to leave here. [While she was more or less referring to getting on with it right away, there's a small part of her that says she wants to leave the house period, especially now. The lingering discomfort of when she had first moved into House 15 was nothing in comparison to the one as of two weeks ago.

But his offering to go eat something was tempting... she couldn't remember if she had sat down for a proper meal all this time given that she was outside from waking moment until well after everyone was asleep, which means she probably hasn't.] And food sounds good...

Okay. Then we won't waste any time here. [Zan'nen touches her hand lightly as an offering to hang onto it if she wished. He didn't know about anything that was going on at the moment, but if she wanted out of here, he'd be happy to oblige.]

What do you feel like? Chicken Salad? [She looked as if she should have some protein.]

Edited 2012-02-21 10:00 (UTC)

... You're going to make it? [That's what it sounded like, and in all honesty she wouldn't really mind. If memories of the time they had believed to be siblings were correct, he was a very good cook... And though she won't admit it out loud at this moment, she did occasionally steal food from his kitchen.

And when she feels his hand touching hers she accepts it with no hesitation, having been self-deprived of close contact. It did help to cheer her up a little to know that he was so willing to help even if they weren't that close.]

[Once her hand was in his, Zan'nen began to lead. Heading toward the town square. If they were eating, they'd have to go by his apartment, and the playground was in the same direction.]

That was my intention. Did you want to talk first, or eat? Or eat while we talk?

I think we should eat first. [That way she could think more clearly rather than focus on the pain of lacking nourishment, though it wouldn't make what she wanted to talk about any easier. Nothing could make that any easier.]

Then, unless you have any objections, I'll cook it up at my apartment, and we can head to the park afterward if you still want to check it out. [The meal had already been his planned lunch for the day, and luckily he always bought enough to ensure leftovers, so that wasn't a problem.]

Okay! [Whatever made him more comfortable, especially knowing that what she wanted to talk about was not something that she would want to dump on anyone... But she couldn't handle the loneliness anymore, and Zan'nen was the only person she honestly felt she could turn to.

When the time is right, she would tell him just how much this means to her and express her gratitude, but for the time being, she's simply trying to convince herself that there's a reason to want to continue on in Luceti, rather than signing herself up for one of those missions and hoping she'll be put out of her misery.]

Alright then. [Zan'nen gives her hand a little squeeze, just because he can tell that something about this is hard for her. In fact, it makes him almost want to throw out a joke, but the last time that happened someone had taken it badly...

So saying something like: "Are you going to break up with me?" didn't feel like a viable option if she was as close to tears as he dared think she was. So most of the walk is filled with silence, with Zan'nen occasionally glancing at her and making strange noises ass he tries to think of small talk, and then self editing comments before they come to fully be.]

The plant you gave me is doing well.

Edited 2012-02-21 15:15 (UTC)

It is? [Now she really is legitimately smiling, glad to know that it was in good hands. The bulb out of which that particular iris had sprouted from had been one of the handful she had received directly from home via the Malnosso, the first winter she was here. It was a small piece of home she found she didn't mind sharing with Zan'nen after that particular experiment was done.]

That's good, I... I know it's not customary to give boys flowers in a lot of worlds, but it is in mine.

Nah. It's fine. My family had sort of a thing with flowers. The place I lived when I was little had a private garden. So... it's nice. I like it.

[It wasn't big enough to bloom or anything yet, as far as he could tell, but it had a nice strong stalk, and very healthy leaves. Plus, it gave him something to look after.]

Did they? [Needless to say, this piece of information really catches her attention. While it might have to do with how desperate her mind is to find a distraction from all the loneliness and despair of the last few weeks, she was genuinely intrigued. For all she knew, Zan'nen hadn't really discussed himself much.]

Did they have a lot of irises in it like the one I gave you?

They had irises, at least. [A lot of them. Especially after he was born, but he leaves out whether or not they were alike to her kind of iris. Frankly, he has no idea.

Long trek up the stairs to his apartment, go!]

[Good thing he was holding her hand, it's been quite a while since she's had to climb up a significant distance and it shows in the way her hand instinctively seeks out the wall, trying to navigate by feel. How long has it been since she came into this building?]

It's probably really pretty, then...

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