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 Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 7:49 pm
Kouyo thinks he will try a "pancake", because he had eggs yesterday that Tsubei made for him. The High Priest grimaces in pain as he recalls what the girl had said to him, but tries not to let that dampen his relatively adventurous mood today. Perhaps he will try the pancakes with fruit on them, so he can see what more different Gaian fruits taste like.
And actually... Kouyo would like it if Setsushi ordered for them both. He really did not realize how unaccustomed to being in public he had grown while locked away in his birdcage.
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Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 8:16 pm
Setsushi watches Kouyo's expression and frowns a moment before correcting his expression as well.
After ordering "Two blue berry pan-cakes, and a special breakfast," he once again leans over Kouyo, giving off those kind and protective feelings. Has Kouyo made any friends at the house? Whenever Setsushi's about, Kouyo has usually been asleep or attending to his own devices behind the screen...
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Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 8:25 pm
Kouyo shrugs a little. He has not really made any friends, but he has met people and talked to some of them. The Lady Tsubei comes by fairly often, but she has been very sad recently, and said something yesterday that wounded him deeply. She did not mean to, he quickly points out, but the fact that he could not tell her made it worse.
All Kouyo could do at the time was smile and pretend he had heard nothing in particular. The trouble with having so many secrets. Kouyo is thankful that Setsushi is close and can help him now, but... sometimes when he is not around, the house starts to feel like a birdcage again anyway. Perhaps the priest knows more people now, but he can still really only talk to Setsushi.
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Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:41 pm
Setsushi frowns deeply, thinking for a while, before he sends a diffuse gentle feeling towards Kouyo, followed by a quiet private projection:
Many of Setsushi's mentors would say that it is not good to shut oneself up with a box of secrets, speaking to only one or two people. But Setsushi thinks that Kouyo should not force himself to become social so soon after his emergence. Indeed, the world is full of thoughtless people and even some cruel people, and perhaps there are even more here than in their homeland. If Kouyo wishes to use Setsushi as his shield, he will protect him as best he can for as long as he needs.
Although Setsushi is only one man, a stupid man, and he is afraid he may not be able to help Kouyo all the time...
He rubs his forehead a little and smiles weakly.
It would be better if they could find a doctor of hearts to mend Kouyo's... someone both wise and trustworthy. But Setsushi doesn't even know who that might be.
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Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:59 pm
Kouyo cannot share his secret with just anyone, though. He looks down at the table and sighs, giving off a faintly pained feeling. For two years, he was afraid to even breathe a word of it to Setsushi, and even now that Setsushi knows and Kouyo is no longer in his birdcage or surrounded by people who would likely be appalled to find out that he had known love... Kouyo is still afraid.
Resting his head on his hands and his elbows on the table, Kouyo studies the wood grain in silence for a moment. Then he quietly apologizes again to Setsushi, for getting caught up in his emotions and losing control of himself. He worries that Setsushi is afraid of him now, and that is not what Kouyo wants. He wants his friend to know that he hurts, not how he hurts or exactly how badly. Kouyo... This leaf would rather go back into his birdcage forever than allow Setsushi to go through the pain of a broken heart.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 2:29 pm
Setsushi is not afraid of Kouyo. Besides, Kouyo would never be able to harm Setsushi, anyway. Setsushi could pin him down with one finger.
He laughs nervously, then kneads his brow again -- and, well, Setsushi will probably never have the chance to know what Kouyo feels... But he hopes that it isn't necessary in order to help and protect him.
He reaches out to pat Kouyo's sleeve, but the arrival of several steaming trays interrupts them, and Setsushi smiles awkwardly and begins picking at things with a fork and knife.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 3:55 pm
Right, it is kind of easy for anyone, really, to push Kouyo around.... And of course Setsushi does not have to give up his maidenhood any sooner than he wants to.
Kouyo leans back in his seat, cowering a little, as the food arrives, then eyes his stack of pancakes and wonders how he is going to eat all of them. Each pancake is like, as big as his face, and there are three of them. Somewhere under the pile of blueberries. After studying the plate for a few moments, the High Priest picks up his knife and fork and watches Setsushi briefly before attempting to start cutting up his pancakes.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 7:13 pm
If Kouyo needs help, Setsushi will steal his food. What he ordered is probably not enough for him after all... sweatdrop Oh, and he points out the horrific sugargoop with which the humans like to season their cakes. Setsushi doesn't understand others' tolerance for sweetness sometimes, but it using it seems to be a custom...
As he works on a slice of toast, he ponders the locations they will visit after this. He doesn't want to do too much and tire Kouyo out... perhaps just the clothing store, a bookstore, and lunch today. But they could also investigate a gardening-supply vendor some other time. Setsushi's yard is awfully depressing-looking, and perhaps Kouyo, with his knowledge of plants, could help him plan out a garden for springtime.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:11 pm
Kouyo glances at the sugargoop, and takes a bit of it on his finger, then licks it off, considers the taste for a moment, and shrugs. He does not think "horrific" is quite the word, but he still feels kind of ambivalent with regards to the taste. Then he takes a blueberry between two fingers, dabs it in the sugargoop, and tries that.
Setsushi can probably eat two of the three pancakes and Kouyo will be fine. He glances down at himself in his Gaian clothes and blushes a little. It's so obvious how scrawny he is with this silly clingy outfit on sweatdrop Kouyo finds himself wishing he had brought his red drapes along, at least, to hide a little better.
But sure, he supposes he could try to make a garden for Setsushi. The thought cheers the High Priest up a little. What are Gaian plants like? What colors do they come in?
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:21 pm
Kouyo is only going to eat one!? That's ridiculous. Kouyo must have two, or at least one-and-a-half. Setsushi shakes his fork accusingly at him.
Setsushi isn't very familiar with Gaian plants yet, but they actually seem very similar to those of their homeland. Apparently they have a lot of the same flowering trees, evergreens, and creepers. Roses, too, though there are some huge, strange-colored, chunky ones that don't look much like what he and Kouyo would call a rose. Jasmine, peony... In general, it seems like the Gaians have spent a lot of time developing new varieties of old plants, and they have almost every color, even blue and green. Although... Setsushi has no idea which bloom in which season, so he'll need Kouyo's expertise.
It's the animals that are really strange here. At first, he thought they had cats here, but their heads are shaped differently and they have only one tail... gonk
At least they have similar fish and shellfish, though. If they didn't, Setsushi would be a very sad and hungry man.
Yes, lunch has just got to be fried fish... mmmmmm.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:39 pm
Okay, okay, after all the blueberries are gone, though. Kouyo eats them one at a time with his fingers, dipping each one in the sugargoop first.
The flowers sound lovely, though. Which ones are Setsushi's favorites, again? Perhaps when they go to the bookstore, Kouyo can get a book about Gaian plants and see if he can find something for every season for Setsushi. Kouyo is already pondering what to do for the gardens in terms of colors, and the thinking puts a small smile on his face.
Does Setsushi know if blueberry plants are very difficult to grow? Would Setsushi like to try a blueberry, if he has not yet? They taste good even with the sugargoop.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:58 pm
Upon seeing that small smile, a large one grows on Setsushi's face. Yes, he ordered the blueberry as he'd already tasted and enjoyed it, and he had hoped Kouyo would like it too.
His favorites tend to be flowering trees... but he also likes jasmine flowers and roses. Are they hard to grow?
And Setsushi also thinks that they should devote at least some part of the yard to herbs and vegetables for cooking. Perhaps berries as well? Setsushi has no idea what conditions they require; perhaps they can pick up a book, as Kouyo suggested, or ask someone at the store.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 9:09 pm
Well, roses require a lot of careful attention, so... they are not hard to grow when the person tending to them cannot leave his tower. Kouyo can try for Setsushi here in Gaia, too. Trees take time, but perhaps... well, that would mean they would be in Gaia for quite a while, to really make that commitment.
Would they be in Gaia for a long time? Kouyo's brow furrows slightly as he glances up at Setsushi and eats the last blueberry. Then he stabs the top pancake in the center with the fork and lifts the whole thing up, and tries to decide where to start.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 9:12 pm
... Setsushi doesn't know, but he thinks that their searches, both Kouyo's and Setsushi's, will take them away from this land at some point or another. But perhaps someone will inherit his house, and they will be able to reap the benefits of the garden Setsushi and Kouyo begin?
... And, uhh, Kouyo's supposed to saw the cake into rough triangles. Setsushi mimes it with his fork and knife.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 9:26 pm
Kouyo nods slowly, his thoughts turning darker again. They would have to go to the Silver World at some point or another, most likely, and ... to Karyasihu, as well, perhaps. Maybe even if they left, another of the Porcelain could take care of the house? Some of the young ones have Gaian guardians, as well, no?
... Oh, that makes sense. The pancake is quite an unruly size. He sets it back down on the plate and starts to cut it, then sets the knife down and frowns at the purple stains on his fingertips from the blueberries. He sucks on his fingers a little while he spears a piece of pancake, then takes a cautious bite of food.
The pancake is... kind of tasty. Kouyo smiles weakly and cuts himself another piece.
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