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After that…impromptu party, if one could even call it that, the reaper had been wiped clean out of stew, and that just wouldn’t do!

In addition to the party, a few other events just seemed to happen one right after the other, taking up a lot of her time. There were classes, homework assignments, a western adventure, and thankfully, a grocery story run with a solemn grim reaper thrown somewhere in there as well. Now? Things were a bit relaxed, and it was now that Hel stood in her mini-kitchen and worked on chopping up some meat, vegetables and spices to make a new batch of stew. The valkyrie sang to herself as she chopped up the food items, musing to herself that when this batch was done, she’d make a new container for her neighbor across the hall…

Ah…yes. Her neighbor across the hall. How was he doing right now, she wondered. Hel’s brows furrowed as she chopped up some meat, making a note to herself to go and check up on him later possibly…possibly. Why did she seem hesitant? Because the last time she knocked on his door he tossed a lame excuse at her. Hmmm, nah! She’d check up on him right after this batch of stew was done! She needed to make sure that boil was eating.

As of right now, the valkyrie’s door was closed. If she didn’t have a sharp object in her hand, it would have been open, but you know…sharp objects plus surprises don’t mix very well, thus the door was closed.

Hel paused when she heard the knocks, whipping her head around to peer at her door with wide eyed curiosity. Oooh! A visitor? How exciting! Usually she was the one knocking on doors, so to have one at her door was rather fun! Ah, speak of the devil! Though she didn’t say anything, maybe thoughts could summon people as well? It was Mot!

The reaper placed the blade down on the counter and wiped her hands on her apron as she came around the counter, grinning from ear to ear. “Hello!” She echoed and then waved him in with her hands. “Come in, friend!” How doubly delightful, that not only she had a visitor, but it was her neighbor who had been feeling down! “It’s good to see you!” She called out earnestly, and tilted her head. “Can I interest you in anything to drink? I just restocked on apple cider!”

When Mot trotted over, the reaper reached out to give his shoulder a pat, and then grabbed a stool nearby and dragged it over to where she was cutting ingredients. “Sit, and tell me how you are doing.” She commanded, patting the empty stool before she went about getting two cups and the cider. “Indeed I am!” Hel answered, pulling a jug of cider out of the fridge and filling the glasses to the top before putting it back and looking over at the cowboil.

“Would you like yours cool or heated?” She questioned, waiting by the microwave for his answer.

Hel was amused with how Mot sat on the stool, swinging his feet though his long legs easily stopped the motion from being effective. Still, it was an endearing sight! “Ah, good! I am glad to hear that!” She replied, and nodded her head when he said heated. Hel put the two mugs into the microwave and turned the timer on. She tapped her foot for a moment before idly commenting, “Back home, we don’t have one of these.” She gestured at the microwave, “So whenever we want to heat up some cider, we have to use a kettle and the stove.” Once the contraption beeped, Hel pulled the two steaming mugs out of it and delivered one of them to the cowboil, placing it in front of him.

“There you go, friend!” She announced, taking a sip of hers. Mmm, warm apple cider, delicious! She took another sip before placing it down and looked over at Mot, and seemed…touched by his gratitude. She grinned lightly at him and waved her hand a bit. “Think nothing of it.” Hel replied happily and simply, picking the knife back up and resumed chopping the meat and vegetables. Maybe if she prepared it fast enough, they could eat together tonight! “Truly, I am glad to see and hear that you are feeling better.”

Hel grinned at the old fashioned comment and gave a nod of her head in agreement. Hey, she couldn’t deny that at all! At Mot’s question she gave a thoughtful hum before nodding her head once more. “But that isn’t so bad.” She relented, jerking a thumb back at the microwave. “You’re welcome!” She piped up, her grin turning into a wide, pleased smile as he downed some of the apple cider.

In an odd show of companionable silence, Hel didn’t say anything at the moment as she continued to chop up the stew ingredients. By the time Mot spoke up again, she was tossing them into a large pot that was already heated, along with some spices, and she glanced back at the cowboil, pausing. Oh wow…that seemed to come out of left field pretty quickly! Hel was still very much aware of what she told Mot, that he could come to her whenever he wanted to talk, but asking her a rather personal question like that caught the reaper off guard. True, Mot did say that the same offer was open to her if she wanted to talk…but still, it was just odd. She’d never opened up to anyone else but Freya before. Sure, she could lie and say no…but the thought of lying to Mot didn’t sit well at all.

Hel shifted her weight from foot to foot, her lips pulling into a small frown as she contemplated, and her dual gaze shifted to the door, relieved to see that it was closed. Okay…the reaper dipped a nearby spoon into the stew, stirring its contents. “Yes.” She replied after a moment. How hard it was to get that word out, but she meant it. Eager to shift the subject away from her though, she looked back at Mot. “…Is that how you have been feeling?” She ventured a guess.

Despite the hat being in the way, it was easy for her to tell that he wasn’t looking at her. Hel couldn’t explain how she knew exactly, it was a feeling probably. Hel just knew when there were eyes on her, and at this moment she knew there weren’t. She watched as he turned his mug around in circles, and waited for him to go on, but it seemed at this point he wasn’t. What? No, that couldn’t be it, right? That really didn’t answer anything! The reaper turned back to her stew for a moment, stirring it thoroughly before placing the lid on it. There, now she could leave it alone for a bit, and focus on the reaper at the counter.

The valkyrie brushed past the grim reaper briefly, collecting another stool from a corner of her room before coming back over with it. She set it nearby, where she placed her own mug, and settled into her. Her dual colored hands wrapped around it, taking a sip of the warm cider before she stared at Mot expectantly. Obviously he needed to go on! Hel’s brows furrowed as she stared at him. “This uh…doesn’t have to do with the training, does it?” She hedged. Dear Jack, she hoped that the training wasn’t what put him into the slump! She’d feel…terrible.

Hel seemed relieved to find out that it wasn’t exactly the training that she was uh…pushing on him. She was doing it with the best intentions in mind for him after all. At the mention of other things, of course the reaper looked curious, but once again, Mot didn’t elaborate. How was she supposed to know if he didn’t say it?

She shifted on the stool a bit with agitation, taking a few gulps of her cider before putting it back down on the counter. Also? The hat. It was bothering her right now. Hel boldly leaned towards the reaper, a hand shooting out to flick the rim of his hat, but at least she was nice enough to not flip it off of his head. Nope, she just flicked it to the point where she could see his eyes. They were having a serious conversation at the moment, and it felt kind of rude to not see all of his face! There. Satisfied, Hel settled back on her stool and nursed her cider.

“Such as?” She pressed.

Any other time Hel wouldn’t have cared about the hat, but not during a conversation like this!

Her brows burrowed as the boil seemed to get more nervous now. Well, that was counterproductive, wasn’t it? The reaper kept her eyes trained on his, listening and watching him quietly as he struggled to get out how he was feeling and when he finally did say how he was feeling, a feeling of panic tightened around her gut, and it tightened hard.

I don’t measure up.

Those words struck too close to home.

Now the reaper was faced with quite a dilemma. One, here Mot was, being honest with her, and she couldn’t leave him hanging. Second, she didn’t want to say that she felt exactly the same way. Why? Because Hel was stubborn too, and she didn’t want to come off as weak to Mot. Hel fidgeted in her seat, now staring down at her cup as if it was the most interesting thing in Halloween Town. She made a pact of sorts with him, right? He could come to her whenever he needed to talk, and that meant trying to help him out, right? Right. Keep to the pact, her honor was at stake! When there didn’t seem to be a good, straightforward conclusion, you compromised!

The ghoul reached out and tipped Mot’s hat back down. Two reasons. One, he would be more comfortable with it that way, and two, she’d be more comfortable that way, with what she was about to say.

“First…” Hel muttered, still staring down at her cup, eyeing her reflection, “Accept that you can’t be like the other boils. You’re…” Here the reaper was struggling. Pep talking eloquently wasn’t exactly her thing, and she hoped she wasn’t coming off as insincere or rude. “ Don’t hold yourself up to someone else’s standards, of course you won’t measure up. You’re…not them, and they’re not you.” Hel trailed off for a moment, shifting a bit on her stool. This all sounded objective, right? Hopefully it didn’t sound like she was talking from personal experience. “…Try doing something that no one else has done before.” That last bit seemed random, but it was a good piece of advice if you were trying to set yourself apart from others…