|
|
|
|
|
Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 4:44 am
Baikou was astounded at how quickly the medicine had gone to work -- with no side-effects that she had yet noticed, just two days after beginning her prescription her persistent pains had died away into mild aches, and the uncomfortable sensitivity she had been feeling all over had faded into only the occasional odd tingle. Admittedly, her pains had been rapidly improving since she had arrived in Gaia, so perhaps not all of her comfort could be attributed to the medicine; indeed, part of her wondered if the drug she had really needed all this time was something else...
It was those thoughts, combined with an unusual burst of energy, that had motivated her to abandon the book Rika lent her in favor of puttering about the house and cleaning. Though the shopfront was impeccably neat, as she would expect from Hitsuga, the bedroom, at least, had fallen a bit behind. Though Baikou knew Hitsuga would not like her to disturb the arrangement of his personal effects, and she was not quite sure it would be wise to bend over and clean the floor before she was sure her stiffness was defeated, she was at least able to dust off the tops of his furniture and straighten out items that had been knocked out of place.
Occupied now in plumping the pillows on his bed, she pauses, then turns and sits down on the covers, smoothing them out with her hand -- astounding, she thinks to herself, how her pain has reduced to a level at which she can stroke the quilting and enjoy its softness and texture.
She smiles a little to herself, her eyes now traveling to a little bedside table upon which a hairbrush sits; her fingers reach for it, slowly. So absorbed is she in considering this item, now, that she doesn't notice the sounds of another Porcelain returning, so quiet are they in comparison to the crashing waves of memories in her mind.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 5:02 am
Hitsuga did not know what it was, exactly, that passed for perfume in this world but the scent had been so cloying and so pungent he could still taste it on the back of his tongue. All the shopkeeper had done was spray a small amount on the air to illustrate her point that as, she too, was a seller of perfumes, she could not advertise for a rival shop and it had been enough to make him gag.
....he hadn't, of course. He'd kept his reaction well-hidden until he'd been back outside to breathe deeply of the afternoon air. And, in spite of himself, found he was relieved to have his shop unassociated with such things. He had been aware of some perfumers who resorted to synthetic scents when the natural oils they desired were unobtainable due to location or time of year, but....creating a product entirely of synthetics? To the point that one could not tell what, at all, the perfume was meant to smell like?
He felt a change of clothes was in order....just in case the scent lingered elsewhere on his person than in his sinuses.
Padding down the hallway, he opens the bedroom door, starting a bit to see Baikou perched on the edge of the bed. It is taking him, perhaps, a bit longer than necessary to adjust to having a second person under his roof.
Hitsuga apologizes... sweatdrop If Baikou was about to lay down, he'll come back later...
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 5:07 am
"No, no," Baikou replies smilingly -- actually, she is feeling strong and energetic today, and came in to dust and organize a little bit. She didn't really move anything around, though, so she hopes that Hitsuga doesn't mind...
But even as she says this, she stays seated, relaxed, on the bed, with the hairbrush still in her lap.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 5:14 am
No, he doesn't mind, he assures her.
Given that Baikou is calling it her own for the moment, he imagines she can arrange it to her liking. He has yet to acquire very many personal belongings to upset anyway....
The young man gives her a faint smile.
He is glad for her feeling better, though.
Even as Hitsuga projects the thought, he knows that he means it as more than a formality. Seeing her without the stiffness in her posture of an old woman, and without feeling the gnat swarm of her aches and pains clouding about her is refreshing to say the least.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 5:17 am
Baikou nods once, acknowledging his concern and happiness with gratitude of her own, before her eyes settle upon him again -- a calm, soft, warm gaze, but a rather heavy one, with perhaps a bit too much sweet hope laden in it...
... ... ... And then, she wrinkles her nose. "Umm..." What exactly is that? confused
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 5:22 am
That? That's...
....that's why he'd come in here in the first place sweatdrop
Gaians, apparently, have very odd ideas about perfume, he tells her. He is sure the shopkeep he spoke to today is a perfectly fine woman, but he's afraid that her wares are a bit....
Unable to think of a polite way to word it, he leaves it alone, moving to the dresser to tug open the drawer and retrieve his spare clothes.
He'll have to wash what he's wearing before it sets in, he supposes...
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 5:30 am
"A bit like a peach died on you," Baikou suggests, then giggles.
Gaians do seem to have odd ideas about a lot of things... Then again, the Gaians would say the same thing going to the Empire, and Baikou already had a milder version of this experience when she moved to the south, so she tries not to mind it too much.
She peers over at him while he digs for his clothes, gazing quietly and contemplatively at his dark hair, her face not betraying the churning thoughts still inside her, not yet ready to be expressed.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 5:42 am
He hesitates, and then, maybe allowing for the fact no one is around to be offended by his response to her statement, lets himself meet her laughter with his own.
A bit like that, yes.
Straightening the outfit and folding it over the crook of his arm, carefully trying to keep it, likewise, from becoming infected with dead peach, he looks over his shoulder at her, face partially veiled by well-groomed dark bangs.
While he can think of the sort of reception the Empire might give this world's customs and people, he has trouble fathoming the Gaians' reaction, he admits, still smiling. Trying to imagine Master Boyan or Lady Melody having the same values and restrictions impressed upon them that the two of them grew up with is...well, its unimaginable.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 5:52 am
"They would have grown up to be rather different people," Baikou murmurs in agreement.
... But noting the way he is carrying the new set of clothes, she raises an eyebrow -- "Aren't you changing in here?" she asks, setting the hairbrush aside as she stretches out her arms. He's too far away for her to grab; rather, she seems to be gesturing for the new change.
Come now, he only has to change the outer layers, right? Baikou will help him tie his belt nice and even, she says, starting to smile a bit wider.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 6:06 am
It is as though someone's yanked the rug out from beneath his mind, sending his neatly-organized thoughts sprawling into a turmoil of disarray.
He...
Erm....
He blinks at her, trying to discern if she's being serious, even as red blooms his cheeks.
Is it really that big of a deal? Really? She isn't a leper, you've seen one another in all sorts of disarray over the years. The least of which, certainly, should be changing clothes...
But that was the problem. Since the incident six years ago, things were different now. Things had changed. In ways he wasn't sure he could explain.
She is still only Baikou at the end of the day. Just as you are still only Hitsuga.
And that....he finds he has a hard time arguing with as he allows himself to meet her eyes.
He---yes, he would just be changing the outer layers. He imagines anything further would be a bit much. Hesitating, he steps close enough to surrender the outfit to her.
However, he believes he can tie his own belt... sweatdrop
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 6:34 am
"If you insist," Baikou says, her smile still there even as it wavered a little bit during his long pause, as she accepts the pile of clothes. She continues to look towards him, but not with invasive eagerness or that too-heavy affection but just with a light friendliness, as if she doesn't find anything strange about the situation.
"Are you tired?" she asks, blithely continuing the conversation. Baikou would rather like to go out shopping again some time, but she knows Hitsuga has been busy preparing the shop...
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 6:48 am
He doesn't suppose that it's anything he can't manage, he tells her as he carefully undoes the neatly-wrapped pink sash about his waist and sets it aside to shrug out of the faded red outer garment that still has the ghost of synthetics clinging to it.
It is a good sort of tired, to be working. And, he admits, he is a bit excited to see how things may be received by Gaia's people.
As for shopping...
His expression falters as he vents a sigh, allowing himself to sink onto the edge of the mattress to be at eye level with her.
They may need to wait a bit, he's afraid. His funds will be tight as things get started, so its fortunate that they had stocked the kitchen when they did.
But--But they will go, he promises quickly, hoping not to upset her. As soon as things ease up a bit, they will go.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 8:29 am
Baikou isn't disappointed, she's quick to reassure him; she even seems a bit alarmed as she reassures him that she doesn't need to buy anything at all -- rather, "I just have so much energy today, I was hoping to go strolling..."
She stops in the middle of that sentence, watching him -- studying, quietly, the shape of his shoulders, the width of his waist measured by the tie of his under-robes, with eyes that are not hungry but curious. "Have you been eating well?" she asks, sounding rather concerned.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 1:25 pm
He clears his throat, sitting up a bit straighter, feeling a pang of self-consciousness, and then nods. He is eating fine, he assures her. If he misses any meals it is not because he doesn't have access to them, but because he is too wrapped up in his own thoughts or work to remember to feed himself.
Those days have been happening less lately, though, if it makes Baikou feel better. Her staying with him has left him little room to lock himself away all day at his desk.
If--if she likes, he goes on, wriggling out of the crosshairs of the conversation. Once he's finished with the project he's tasked himself with for today, they can go walking...? Hitsuga cannot promise Baikou they will find anything other than noise, but....
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 1:47 pm
"I will remember to remind you, then," Baikou says, half with sincere and tender concern and half playfully, even impishly.
"What are you working on today?" she asks, rising slowly, but not quite as carefully and stiffly as was her habit before. Is there anything Baikou can help with? Honestly, she is getting a little bored of just sitting around and waiting.
... And... she spreads out Hitsuga's new outer robe, lifting it up as if she will help him slide his arms into it.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|