[PRP] Maybe something like a tea-party.... [Tomoko + Jove]

[demon_pachabel]

Tomoko's nerves were never going to be settled. She'd taken to not sleeping at night, instead curling up in a corner of her bed staring out into the room paranoidly while the three bakekitsunes in her care lounged on the edge of her bed, watching her.

Mononoke hadn't really cared either which way how his owner had acted. Certainly it was slightly bothersome, but he was fed and given an appropriate amount of pets. He was content. Sune was slightly more concerned, having taken to trying to sit in the kitsune's lap whenever she'd curl up in her corner and having ultimately had to settle for just sitting on her feet while the girl took to..

well....

assaulting people with masses of text while on the computer. Junko had been first. Then Seiji.....and then she'd found the Foxfire ghost on the Formspring. And she'd just keyboard mashed to hell at him.

Would he come over after she asked him to? She hoped so. She needed sanity. She was desperate for sanity. So desperate. And honestly, Desades was starting to lose his mind the longer it took for Tomoko to play with him. She just didn't have the energy for it.

Her nerves were frazzled... and she'd too often broken into rooms to check to see if people were alive in the night. Or at least she'd done it at least once.

Alas.  

[Grey Dragon]

Since arriving back at the school, Jove hadn't shown much interest in his laptop. Or in anything for that matter, he wasn't eating like he used to, or sleeping, or doing much other than sitting very quietly with his friends now that he knew they were all alive and more or less in one piece. In fact, it had taken some good-natured "Here, let's go check your Groanspring," poking from one of said friends before he even realized Tomoko had found him there.

The pup still wanted to curl up somewhere instead of leaving the comfort of his dorm, but he couldn't turn her down. Especially not after what they had been through, and how worried she had been for him.

So he found out where her room was, and limped up to her door. No, his leg still wasn't working like it should, neither was the arm nestled in a bandanna-turned-sling, or even his left ear... At least his bruises were starting to heal up, so his face didn't look quite so beaten up.

When he reached out with his good arm to knock quietly on her door, he certainly wouldn't be expecting the greeting he received.  

[demon_pachabel]

There was the sound of clattering and one loud squeak from behind the door. Tomoko, taken by surprise (yet she'd been the one to extend the invitation) had nearly thrown Sune off the bed, the bake-kitsune making a slight face at her distressed owner before walking to the other side of the bed to settle in next to Mononoke while Tomoko got up to cross the room and answer the door.

She had the best 'sad look' on her face she could have without putting effort into it when she opened the door. However, her ears perked up when she saw who it was....before she glanced down at his arm, her hands going straight to her mouth with a gasp. GASP!

"Oh no!" she frowned, pausing and starting between several reactions, obviously starting to panic and not know what she should do, just settling to hug the boy around the neck (carefully, as to not not jostle his poor arm), before turning to step back into her room. "Come in, I'll.." she paused, looking at her room before making a slight face. "Make you a place to sit."

Wait, make?

It was clear, after a momentary glance, that Tomoko apparently didn't believe in elevation in her room. Her bed was a mattress on the floor (there were sheets on it, of course, but no frame) and everything was at a sitting level..outside of the star charts that decorated her walls, various things circled and labeled with a silver marker.

However, soon enough she produced a very large pillow from her closet, fluffing it a few times before putting it on the floor, sitting herself without one and giving the boy a very intense look, ears varying from perked up, to drooped as she watched him.

Gauging his 'wellness'.  

[Grey Dragon]

The pup really shouldn't have been taken aback by Tomoko's open reaction to his injuries, or the sudden hug that was far gentler than any of the clinging he had received on the island. From the looks of things she had done okay to survive the last battle, with certainly more luck than his own. He couldn't remember much of it, he was knocked out not long after Junko had... Well...

Jove pushed the thoughts away with a struggle and took a limping step into the little kitsune's room, very subtly looking around, and scenting the air. Yaya's room smelled far different. It must be a ghoul thing, to have nice smelling rooms. When he finally realized Tomoko was watching him quite studiously he began to hesitate.

The little ghoul clearly wanted him to sit on the pillow, but where was hers? The budding gentleman inside him protested. But she had clearly put effort into making it a comfortable seat for him... Maybe she was more comfortable on the floor? That must have been it, he thought to himself, remembering the cool tile floors in the home of his caretaker. They had been good to lie on, before he had been made to sleep in a proper bed.

Jove slowly lowered himself to the ground, struggling without the use of one arm, and one leg that was apparently not quite right. Thankfully his hip had stopped hurting, now it was just bothersome, and he was able to sit comfortably on the pillow he had been offered.  

[demon_pachabel]

In truth, if Tomoko's lack of a seat-pillow-thing had been pointed out, she would have gotten another to sit on. She simply hadn't had the thought pass through her mind; Japanese manners - treat your guest better than you. A sort of 'return it in the same and/or better condition than you got it' mentality. Only in Tomoko's case, it was slightly obsessive.

It seemed that the pirate-Bakekitsune, Desades, had a certain amount of delight in there being company, the little bugger practically bounding over to make eyes at Jove in hopes for playtime. Tomoko reached out to snatch him up, causing the pup to flail and yip in protest, the girl using a little bit of force to keep him in HER lap.

"So you're doing OK, right?" she asked, giving him her biggest desu eyes that she had in her arsenal. Certainly it was a question she could have asked over the computer, but she'd wanted to check. In person. SHe'd been a wreck of concern ever since coming home. The poor sloth-demon in the building could have attested to that, given she'd walked right into his room and invaded his personal space to test for a pulse.

She..almost felt guilty for being so well off, to be honest. She had a bandage on one arm, but other than that, she hadn't been significantly hurt by anything the entire time they'd been out. The worse was the creepy person in the hallway (had that been Famine?) and the...room...beyond the portal-thingies...and..

Tomoko's ears were immediately in the most drooped position they could possibly be in. The first chunk of being home was going to be the hardest.

"So have you been having nightmares, too?" she asked, hesitating to do so, but seeming as though she needed some company in at least -that- misery.  

[Grey Dragon]

Jove would have never admitted it, but he was realizing that ghouls with big eyes could be very intimidating in an "oh no, I have to make this ghoul happy" sort of way.

So naturally he nodded weakly when Tomoko asked him if he was okay, even though he was still a little bit achy, and so tired he could have curled up on that pillow and gone to sleep had he been in his own room instead of a guest in hers. And if he had actually been sleeping as of late. Thankfully his ghostly body didn't technically need the sleep, and he could go without even though it slowed his recovery.

Okay, so hopefully he had convinced her that he was okay. He let his good hand rest in his lap, tail curling around his legs as his good ear drooped in response to Tomoko's expression. Nightmares? That was probably what kept him from sleeping, the thoughts that intruded in his mind were much more frequent when he tried to sleep so laying around staring at the walls had become his preferred option for resting if it wasn't possible to sleep with someone else for company.

After a pause he nodded. It worried him that Tomoko hadn't been sleeping well, the pup had been awake for many of his brother's nightmares and knew how hard they could be for the living... Maybe he should be visiting Tomoko as well during his evening wanderings, and checking in to make sure she was sleeping okay.  

[demon_pachabel]

If she'd been sleeping that would have been a viable option. However, the kitsune stroked Desades, the riled-up bakekitsune still seeming hopeful that the girl would let him go and let him roam freely around the new visitor. Mononoke had seemed to finally gained some interest in there being company, giving Jove a momentary stare, before settling back into his spot.

"That's good to hear." she seemed to sigh, relief, maybe? Something like that. However, she kept looking to his arm, ears remaining drooped before she suddenly got up, a really super intense look on her face. Was she thinking about something? That was highly likely.

"Do you..." she started asking, looking to Jove once her little startling-moment-of-suddenly-active jumped into place, "Like tea?"

It was quite the random inquiry, but she'd gotten tea whenever she'd been unwell... so why didn't she make tea for him? Certainly he was well and tea didn't magically fix limbs, but TEAAAAAAAa. Only with less of the obsessive enthusiasm of her player.  

[Grey Dragon]

The sudden question was indeed random, it took the pup completely by surprise. So much in fact that it cut through the apathetic fog he had been stuck in since their return to the school.

His one good ear lifted more than it had in days, and he struggled pitifully to get back to his feet rather than remain sitting while Tomoko was up and standing. It was close to the most awkward motion he had made in days. The normally simple chore of standing up was made infinitely more difficult by having one leg that didn't quite want to function right, and he almost tripped himself up while it was harder to balance with only one arm.

No, the pup was definitely not as okay as he would have wanted Tomoko to believe. But at least he didn't fall over. Jove blushed slightly, his cheeks glowing in both the figurative and literal sense.

Once more or less upright, his good ear swivelled in the ghoul's direction as she asked about tea. He had never had tea before... Although his caretaker had been British and almost ritualistic about his morning tea, Jove had never actually had any himself.  

[demon_pachabel]

Tomoko had half an instinct to immediately grab onto Jove to make sure he didn't keel over. However, she'd also been taught to not insult someone's honor (and oh man, if she was ever dishonored by someone else, a fit would be had and attempted hara-kiri would have to be stopped) and thus had kept her hands to herself, having instead taken to fussing through all of her things to produce a few boxes of tea.

"I only have wild-strawberry and chai at the moment. Would you like some?" she asked, puffing her chest out and holding both boxes out. Somehow she got the feeling he might like to sniff at them to see what they were. She liked to smell them, anyways. The strawberry was much more fruit-y smelling while the Chai was much sweeter in fragrance.

Which was no ironic in any way.

"They're both quite good and you can customize them to your tastes...if you have a taste for tea. I haven't had any since I got back...."

Desades practically pranced around Jove's feet once he was freed of Tomoko's hands, barking and pawing at the available legs.

Playplayplayplayplay??  

[Grey Dragon]

The pup limped a little closer, his nose lifting ever so slightly to scent the air. Neither of those teas smelled like what his caretaker used to drink, these were sweet smelling. Less bitter. After that he pulled his head back and looked at the boxes with curiosity. He didn't seem to dislike the notion of having some tea, but with his lack of response it would be up to the kitsune to decide which type to prepare for him.

In the meantime, his tail wagged slightly at the little thing throwing an excited little fit at his feet. Jove might have even wanted to play if he didn't ache so much. He liked minipets, at least most minipets, likely because his own state was once not so different. To this day he wasn't sure why he was able to speak and participate in classes like the other students instead of being just another lapfox. It wasn't something he cared to think about.  

[demon_pachabel]

Tomoko didn't really have a taste for bitter herself, so it was no surprise she kept sweet teas. Either way, she paused for a moment, before putting the fruitier tea away. It wasn't a bad tea, but she had a feeling the option of loading up on honey and sugar into a tea would be appealing.

Plus the minipets liked it as well. They liked it a lot. It was probably the milk in the tea.

Either way, however, Tomoko's methods were odd. Where in most cases a teapot would be in use, Tomoko didn't have a stove. She did, however, have a microwave. Which was what she shoved her measuring cup, filled with water and milk from a small (not even a foot high) fridge to cook for a few minutes, two tea-bags set in the boiling concoction. That would give her enough time to find a suitable cup for Jove.

She needed one with a handle so he could hold it with one hand!

It wasn't something she'd ever considered before, so it was back into the expanse of a closet with Tomoko (It was like she lived out of that room ((Sort of like Pach actually does, I'm not even kidding. I do this.))), soon fishing out a rather nice traditional 'tea' cup, and another cup that looked more like a mug one would use for hot-chocolate.

"I hope you don't mind this. I figured it would be easier for you to hold since it's got this.." she put her fingers through the handle. "Unless you think you're OK to hold a normal cup? I just don't want you to accidentally spill it on yourself...."

It had nothing to do with the possibility of dropping her cups. She just didn't want him to suffer from 'OW HOT STUFF' burn.  

[Grey Dragon]

The little ghost watched curiously as Tomoko set about preparing the tea. It was certainly a different method from his caretaker's morning routine, but Jove was no expert in the arts of tea and it's preparation. He wouldn't have been surprised if Tomoko had poured the tea straight from a magical bottle.

At her question Jove shook his head. He didn't mind a mug at all, but neither was he afraid of holding a regular cup. Being a ghost did have some perks to balance out his lack of a pulse, and not being burned by hot things was one of those perks. Sure he could feel it, and was aware boiling things were very hot indeed, but it certainly didn't hurt.

The mug was probably a better bet anyway, there was a wider margin of error preventing him from spilling tea on his clothing if he was jostled by a particularly excited pet, or startled as he often was.  

[demon_pachabel]

Tomoko, to be honest, wasn't an expert in the ways of tea either, but none the less seemed content to set both of the cups down, going back to raiding her things, producing what would likely be the holy-grail of any child; Sugar. Raw sugar. Sugar that one could eat a lot of as-was and get hyper. None the less, she set it, as well as a small thing of honey, down next to the cups before sitting down to watch the microwave, every now and then opening the door..then closing it again..then opening it..then closing it.

It was a sort of repetitive process to prevent the great thing known as 'boiling over'. She eventually gave up on the process, instead pulling the measuring cup out of the microwave to fuss with the tea-bags for a minute, before pouring it between the two cups she'd taken out of the closet.

"You can put however much sugar and honey in as you'd like. The sweeter tends to be better with Chai." Tomoko nodded, looking to Jove as though expecting him to go ahead of her in terms of prep of how he'd like his drink. It was sort of the same look she'd had when she'd gotten the pillow out of the closet; it was just the way she was.  

[Grey Dragon]

Jove was a very quiet companion as he watched Tomoko's tea-making routine, listening to her explanation of adding honey and sugar... and then just sort of staring for a minute before he realized she was expecting something from him. She wanted him to go ahead and prepare his tea the way he liked it?

The pup fidgeted, shifting his weight onto his bad leg for a second. He wasn't sure how he liked his tea, so he had no clue how much honey and tea to add it. Jove felt increasingly more uncomfortable the longer she fixed him with that look, until his good ear drooped to match his injured one, and he looked down at the floor with an embarrassed blush glowing in his cheeks.

Unfortunately rather than say he wasn't sure how to proceed, and that he would drink whatever she prepared for him, the pup just whined plaintively.  

[demon_pachabel]

. . . . . ?

Tomoko tilted her head back at Jove for a moment, before she moved forward to prepare the tea herself, putting a fair amount of sweetener into the mug, stirring, and then setting it aside, doing the same for her own cup before turning to offer said mug to the boy. "You can always add more in if you want something sweeter." she said, "If you want something less sweet then..umm..oops."

Her ears drooped, as though the idea of someone not wanting sweet tea hadn't struck her until that moment. Hmmmmm.

Either way, however, she seemed to pause between the idea of sitting down again (and putting the strain back onto Jove who hadn't gotten up as easily as she did in her indecisiveness), or just standing there. Instead she stared at him with a slightly puzzled look and sipped at her tea lamely.

Desades sidled up to Jove's legs, looking up at him with something akin to bambi-eyes which were aimed hopefully at the cup the boy had been handed. Tomoko frowned. "Try to not give him any. Tea and Desades is a recipe for disaster sometimes...."

Clearly the 'sometimes' mean that Tomoko herself had problems resisting the pleading expressions.