|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 10:46 pm
Tenryuu twitches slightly. "I didn't mean we were going to take her from you," she clarifies, slightly irked. "Just that she's going to be okay now, and if there's anything you need, you can say so."
Privately, she wonders what could possibly have made this girl so mistrustful (not to mention ungrateful). Trying to help, only to be pushed away, is beginning to annoy her. But it is a child, she relents, and resolves not to take it personally. Yet.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 10:55 pm
"You will need food, eventually," Rika adds as she adds the chicken to a pot of boiling water (the only way the Imperial Princess knows how to cook food.)
"It may be a few weeks until we are able to return to Empire. But until then, there are many good people here who can provide for you and Byou."
... But...
She looks to Tenryuu, catching her eye and opening up a carefully sealed private corridor: Won't Kaya be in trouble living here, surrounded by Porcelain? Some of the townspeople, like Tenryuu's own brother, cannot speak aloud and must project.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 11:05 pm
Oh-oh, and now she's annoyed Tenryuu. Great. Pouting a bit, Kaya scowls. She didn't mean to. Tenryuu is a pretty alright lady- she's been really nice to Kaya so far- and Kaya didn't mean to make her mad. She didn't, honest!
...Are there other cats nearby? Kaya perks up a little bit from her pouting, looking to the other lady (she really would have to learn her name soon) hopefully. There're lots of them at home, so Byou's used to being around others all the time...and Kaya likes cats.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 11:34 pm
Well, at least it wasn't intentional? Tenryuu smiles awkwardly. "I know this experience is very difficult. You're handling it well." Maybe better than she did, though the circumstances were somewhat different, she reminds herself.
At Rika's question, Tenryuu is slightly surprised. She admits, sheepishly, that she hadn't thought that far ahead. When she found Kaya and Byou, the most important thing was getting them someplace safe, where she could attend to the injury and maybe get them some food.
But Rika has a good point. Tenryuu had never considered bringing Kaya home with her; even if the girl allowed it, she would likely be upset by Ryoua. She's been wondering about that, and asks Rika if she knows why Kaya might be so insistent on words. Not only that, but when Tenryuu tried projecting, the reaction was very strong. Maybe if they knew why it was an issue, they could find a better solution?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
|
Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 11:38 pm
Why don't they ask her? The girl may be small, but she seems quite articulate to Rika.
"Kaya," says Rika, breaking out of the private conversation, "why do you prefer mouthspeech? Does something bad happen when people use mindspeech?" She asks the question at the same time that she puts a bowl of cool water on the ground, looking around for where the cat may be hiding.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 11:58 pm
At the question, Kaya freezes up, not really sure how to answer. After a moment or two of mental stuttering, the little girl crosses her arms across her chest and hunches her shoulders with a sigh. It's just- bad! Bad, and there shouldn't..it's loud, and..it shouldn't be there! It just shouldn't! It's wrong, wrong, wrong!
Getting herself very worked up now, almost to the point of tears, Kaya stomps her foot and glares at the floor. Just because she can't...it doesn't mean..how could..it isn't fair! It isn't fair..
Out and about once again, Autumn finds herself wandering in the direction of that nice little place that she had happened upon the other day. While she hadn't stayed very long- not even long enough for the cupcakes that had been in discussion to have been started- she had found that having contact with the outside world had been...well, nice. As a matter of fact, she kind of..craves human contact, after being in her self-induced solitude for so long.
Oh, of course she has her little Erellyn, but..the girl's been spending a lot of time with her sister, as of late, preferring her bright and cheerful demeanor (and her love of baking sweet things!). So, she figures that it's time to find people to connect with elsewhere- that's what people do, right? Just find people, and connect with them? And the people at the shop (shop? restaurant? house?) had seemed nice enough..
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 12:08 am
Does Rika think that Tenryuu didn't ask? Of course she asked! But the answer hadn't been very helpful, and the question seemed to make her upset, and...
And this sort of display is what Tenryuu was trying to avoid. "It's okay," she says quickly, though she isn't sure it will help. Kaya's description, of mindspeech being 'wrong' and that she 'can't' is very strange, and Tenryuu doesn't understand what it might mean, but the priority has to be to calm Kaya down first.
"Neither Rika nor I will stop using words, if that's what you want." And in Rika's case, even if Kaya didn't ask, Tenryuu suspected. "It's okay. We only want to help."
Kaya's distress makes Tenryuu distressed, and she doesn't notice the woman approach just yet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 12:24 am
... Rika isn't quite sure how to react to the display, and she eyes Kaya with a slightly confused expression on her face as she leans back a little.
Children... not something Rika is quite equipped to handle... but...
"There are techniques for mental shielding, but... I can't put something together unless I know more," Rika mumbles; it is unclear whether she is speaking to Kaya or Tenryuu.
"I am not sure what you cannot do, though," she says to Kaya. "You seem perfectly intelligent and very strong--"
She stops, looking up at the person she can see approaching through one of the windows. Not Porcelain, though -- good.
"Do we know where Byou is, so she won't bolt?" she asks, turning down the heat on the pot of water while moving towards the door.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 11:24 am
Kaya sniffles a little bit, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. There shouldn't be other thoughts in her head...not if they're not hers! They're scary, and loud, and shouldn't be there! She doesn't understand how anybody can put up with the voices of others in their head..
Byou? She ran off. Kaya doesn't know where.
Knocking timidly on the door, Autumn bites her lip. She doesn't really know what reason she's going to give for being here, but..here she is. She just hopes that somebody's there, or she'll look entirely foolish standing here and knocking.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 7:53 pm
Tenryuu has never heard of anyone having such a reaction to mindspeech, and doesn't really know what to make of it. It's meant to be natural, comfortable, moreso than the words that Kaya asks for. But this is apparently a very special case. And if Rika doesn't know what to do, how should she?
"Uhhh..." Tenryuu is unable to come up with anything to say. Now that she notices the visitor, however, she is quite pleased for the distraction. "I'll watch to make sure she doesn't get out," she offers, certain that she can catch the cat if it becomes necessary.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 4:06 am
"The voices of others in your head?" Rika repeats, frowning slightly as she thinks. "... This sounds somewhat familiar to me, but..."
She pauses at the knock on the door, gazing towards it... then back to Kaya, first. "I am not sure I will be able to help you," she says evenly, "but I may be able to come up with something to make you more comfortable. In the mean time, I would like to know if you would rather stay here, near us, but near Dreaming Porcelain, or if you would like to stay elsewhere." The question is posed seriously, as if Rika were speaking to an adult.
She glances at Tenryuu, sending her a quick private question as to any humans she knows are trustworthy, but do not have Porcelain children with them?
Finally, she turns to answer the door, leaving Kaya and Tenryuu to think, walking over to the knob and carefully cracking it open just in case a cat comes flying out from under Setsushi's bed or something. "... Hello?" she greets Autumn, sounding a little hesitant. "The proprietor is not in, but may I help you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 12:25 pm
Kaya cringes at the prospect of being near Dreaming Porcelain for an undefined amount of time, biting her lip and shaking her head. No- if there is somewhere else to go, somewhere quieter..but then, she doesn't know anybody else here either. And can Byou go with her?
...She wishes that she could just go back to her uncle's ranch. She likes it there.
"Ah...I..."
Now what? Autumn doesn't really have a reason for being here, other than that she's craving company. Fidgeting nervously for a moment, Autumn scrambles for an explanation. "I was...that is...I visited here awhile back, and..there...I was under the impression that th-this place was open...I'm very sorry." Ah, she should just go. She's not used to this whole...conversing thing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:04 pm
Having already begun to think of people, Tenryuu bites her lip. She doesn't know anyone well enough to entrust a child like Kaya to, and the only one she'd even remotely consider is already caring for a Porcelain child. They'll have to look elsewhere.
"We won't make you go anywhere you don't feel comfortable," Tenryuu says reassuringly. "And of course Byou can go with you." Which means that they have to find someone who likes cats, on top of the other criteria. Great.
Since Rika is handling the guest, Tenryuu tries to think of a suitable place. Clearly the neighborhood is out of the question, but "do you mind crowded places, as long as there is no mindspeech?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:41 pm
Rika glances back into the house before looking back to the visitor. "I am afraid none of us can cook, although we can make tea--
"... And, ah, I apologize for speaking to you like this, but we are trying to prevent an animal from escaping." Although Rika's expression remains flat as always, her cheeks pink a little.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 9:00 pm
Kaya...isn't very good with people. Her uncle mostly just lets her be around his ranch..she spends most of her time with the cats. She guesses that she could handle a lot of people, if they all used mouthspeech..but where would they find so many others that used mouthspeech? Most of the others she's met use mindspeech, even if they can use mouthspeech.
It's at this point that Byou makes a mad dash for the door, and but a moment later that Kaya is dashing after her, hands outstretched. "Byou! Wait!"
"T-tea would be great, thank you." Autumn half-bows nervously, still fretting about being a bother to this lady- then straightens with a frown. An animal...? After a few moments of worrying about whether or not it would be okay to ask, her curiosity gets the better of her. "Ah...an animal? What sort of animal...?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
