Welcome to Gaia! ::

One brow arched in surprise. “Slight?” Cypher repeated as if that word choice had been a bit of an understatement. The amount of food on the table would have been considered a feast if they had been back home. If he were the joking type he may have probably made a comment about Fysarius’ eyes being larger than his stomach but Cypher knew him well enough for that not to be the case.

“It seems to reason that humans do not understand the concept of restraint. Their proportions are unreasonably large.” Even at his most hungry he often didn’t eat an entire entre or meal. It wasn’t that he couldn’t but years of rationing had trained him not to be so glutinous. Fortunately, restaurants often offered the option of taking the remainder to go so he could have the rest for dinner or to eat the next day.

As it was, Cypher didn’t eat out too often. Most times it was with other classmates as it was the only time he could get away with eating meat and not be looked at with criticism. Otherwise, he generally selected fresh produce from the store and ate most of it raw since he was decidedly lacking in the knowledge of how to properly cook.

While the room smelled pleasant, some of the food looked questionable Although colorful, many of the dishes with leafy greens appeared limp, with the exception of the salad which he recognized. “Do you recall the names of any of these, or what’s in them?” A couple had some pops of bright red which he assumed were tomatoes like the ones Andreiya grew in his garden.

Cypher picked up one of the pieces of faux chicken and turned it over in his hand a few times as if by squinting at the mystery meat it would reveal its secrets to them and he’d be able to tell what it was made of.

No such luck.

Smelling it had no effect either, to him it smelled similar to the breading around the mozzarella sticks that had been pointed out; greasy, crispy, and fried. Vegetable oil was used for sure but he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to start with this particular food just yet. As of yet, his stomach hadn’t fared well with this manner of cooking but for the sake of science, he’d help Fysarious taste test these things.

“I’ll try the crunch wrap you mentioned first.” Cypher used one of the plastic knives from a separate bag and cut the thing in half. Or rather, he tried to at least. It looked soft on the outside in its tortilla was folded hexagon shape. But he didn’t realize until too late that it had a crunchy almost chip-like tortilla inside. “That explains the crunch…” he commented almost sheepishly.

The ingredients inside looked mostly fresh, well the bean paste looked questionable but was thankfully lacking in the fried smell. Tentatively he took a bite and chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. “It’s… palatable.” Simple, not overwhelming flavors. “I would perhaps eat this one again.”

Cypher hummed as he selected a mozzarella stick from the Arbys container. He turned it over in his hand before sniffing at the crusty browned, almost baked-like exterior. Definitely fried in oil but it at least smelled like it had been clean oil and not overcooked so it’d have an almost burnt scent.

“I’ve been eating mostly salads or rice bowls. There are a surprisingly wide variety of them to make and easy enough to prepare if you’re someone like me who lacks the training on how to cook properly.” Plus, both paired well with meats such as fish and grilled chicken that he could mix it in without others eyeing him if they happened to interrupt his meal.

The need to eat meat was a rare condition that both he and his mother shared. For a good portion of his life, he didn’t think anything wrong with it since it was common enough at home. But the first time a classmate learned of it, Cypher found out how strange he was compared to the others; and the fact of the matter was, he actually expected it to be a reason for him not to be selected for this mission.

“I will say I prefer vinaigrette instead of the heavier dressings; however, there is a southwestern salad that you might enjoy. It has mixed greens, corn, a salsa which is tomatoes some onion, and peppers. They usually have a scoop of-” Green stuff wasn’t the proper description and would probably turn Fysarius off by the idea. “Avacado- sometimes slices, it depends on your preference.”

“If not that, then perhaps a mandarin orange salad that has slices of small citrusy fruit, sunflower seeds, and a vinaigrette.” Apple pecan might also sit well with him but he could try taste testing these with him later.

Cypher paused and with a sigh he put the food he held back down on a napkin that had been laid down as a temporary plate. “When have you ever known me to be a healer or medic?” It was a rhetorical question since he stayed mostly in his room or at the training range, which he never had a chance to take Fysarius to.

“I did the best I could with the the Source Stone and let natural healing take care of what I could not.” He had only seen it used once and felt fortunate that his jaw was mostly healed. Yawning when tired, or bored, still caused it to click but that was avoided easily with enough sleep. “Ness might have helped if I’d asked her, but not without questions.”

“What happened between us stays between us. It would do neither of us any favors for Lyndon to get involved; he’d only reprimand us for fighting and that would hurt your chances at a promotion.” He didn’t care about his own, had even resigned himself to the likelihood that he’d remain a cadet while the rest of the Vanguard achieved higher rank. There needed to be a hierarchy and if everyone was a commander, then nobody was in charge. Fysarius at least had something to offer their mission, even if he didn’t recognize his own contributions as being any benefit currently.

“I shouldn’t have cared,” his unblinking gaze locked with Fysarius. “But I did…” Cypher let the weight of that last word linger heavily in the air between them. Allowed him a moment to understand the gravity of his unspoken words, words that suggested that if he struck him like that again the care he spoke of would not hold him back from taking action of his own.

Before Fys could recoil away, Cypher lifted the hand he held onto and held his chin firmly in place. “Know I am not ashamed, not am I a victim. You admitted to liking what you’d done yet here you stand asking for punishment… Why?”

Again, another rhetorical question as his eyes narrowed, searching for something unseen by most. A light, a life, a flicker of something. When they arrived here on Earth, Fysarius carried with him an excitement shared by many of the other Cadets, an eagerness to fulfill his mission and bring to Lyndin his successes. But what he saw was a dark shadow, a banked fire where the only golden ember was that of anger.

“I will deny you as I did before. So find something else to ask me for, Fysarius. I may carry the scars as a reminder of my own mistakes, but they will also serve as a reminder of consequences should you allow your anger to control you again.” Not that he expected his comrade to particularly care.

Cypher let go of Fysarius’ face and leaned in to close the last few inches of space between them, “I am not your enemy.” He whispered, voice strained. I am not your friend either Trust between them had not yet been mended and he was not so eager to open that door again to him.

There were no words to describe how he felt in that moment.

For all he’d sworn to not let Fysarious, or anyone for that matter, close- Cypher raised a hand to touch his forehead, brows drawn together in confusion as the quiet apology lingered in the air between them. A handsome rose with many thorns and Cypher knew that if he acted, drew Fysarious close, that all he’d be met with would be thorns. Sharp pointed statements, as he had previously made, that would only leave him bleeding.

Yet-

He didn’t understand how he went from feeling in control of the situation, of himself, to have the air pulled from his lungs from Fysarious’ capulated reaction. In one small action, that carefully rebuilt wall he had built around himself after their last fight had been slammed into by a force strong enough to rattle the foundation; the impact of which left behind cracks that webbed outward like fragile glass.

At least there’s time Cypher felt his lip curl in disgust at his own weakness. At how his heart practically hammered against his ribs from the little spark of longing he felt towards the possibility of things between them going back to when they first began their travels. But time did not function in such a manner and he knew that there was only going forward.

Cypher brushed his hair to the side, tucking it behind a pointed ear, and dismissed these complex emotions before they dragged him under where he’d be left reeling in the aftermath alone without answers. He did not function well in the realm of uncertainty. Where sciences relied on hypotheses and tests, Cy leaned heavily towards mechanical and mathematical teachings. Aspects of life that had concrete answers, not ambiguous reasons.

Before Fysarius could put away the food, he reached over to pick up the second set of chopsticks. Ripping open the paper he pulled out the two wooden sticks which he pulled apart in the same manner he had watched Fys do only minutes prior. However, that was where he faltered, where he realized that he’d made yet another mistake. One was held in his hand like a pen, but the other- Cypher’s lips pursed in irritation.

“How did you-” He began to ask but cut himself off acknowledging that Fysarius wanted to be done with this meal. “Never mind…” Cypher shook his head, resigning himself to figuring it out later, and set the chopsticks down before reaching for a plastic fork instead.

While Cypher had no idea if Fysarius’ proposed reason for using stick-like utensils was true or not, it did earn him a raised eyebrow and a bit of a smirk. The rationale behind it sounded plausible enough that Cy was inclined to believe that it must be true.

However, human nature, as he’d thus far observed, would find a way around that barrier and still find a way to choke on it. As one of his classmates so eloquently stated; only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity. At first, he didn’t quite understand the statement but after a few months, he realized how true those words actually were. Compared to Valencya, Earth seemed to be trapped in a constant state of infancy.

He rolled his shoulder in a half-hearted shrug and took a bite of the fried rice with a fork instead of trying to shovel the loose grains into his mouth. It was palatable- mostly. If there were no other options, he’d consume the rest of it; but so long as there were other things to pick from, he likely wouldn’t order this from a menu willingly.

At the mention of fire, however, Cypher walked over to the trash to throw away the plastic fork he’d been using. “A literal fire or metaphorical?” He turned to face Fysarius fully, arms crossed yet clearly intrigued by the question.