[KYRIAKOS][Day 113, late evening/night]

[trailofblood]

[after fluff bingo, he was heading back to his dorm with a new shard. . . before he remembers oh right I have a date??? and detours to catdorm instead. so he's still in full winter getup and somewhat soggy because snow]

[knock knock]

Comments

[featherduster]

I've been reading! And I slept in.

[ SLEEPING IS A COMMODITY LATELY OK... ]

[trailofblood]

[when you have the means to prevent nightmares, yes, yes it is]

[peering intensifies]

Ya did remember about our date, right?

[featherduster]

Of course I did!

[ At the last minute... ]

The noodles just need to be added to the broth and it's ready.

[trailofblood]

[you're lucky he got delayed]

Good. I'm starvin'.

[featherduster]

This way, then.

[ INTO THE KITCHEN!! ]

So, how was it? [ The game, that is ]

[trailofblood]

[romantic kitchen date]

Pretty fun. Didn't understand all of it. It was in Golem's realm. We had this card with a bunch of light tasks on it. An' there was lots of snow.

[featherduster]

[ There're (freshly made, already boiled by the looks of it) udon noodles waiting in a pot, and a second pot of simmering broth on the stove. He'll just take the initiative of arranging all of this into two bowls. ]

... More kissing?

[trailofblood]

That was one of the options, sorta. There was all sorts of stuff, like decorate a tree, frost cookies, have a snowball fight, share a, uh, 'snuggie,' things like that.

[featherduster]

What, for real?! I can't believe I missed it...

[ HE WOULD'VE WON

LIKE TWICE OVER ]

[trailofblood]

I couldn't believe it either! Seemed right up your alley. That's what ya get for slackin' off.

[and he maybe kinda wanted to do some of them with you but details]

[featherduster]

[ He hands Wolfwood a steaming bowl with an exaggerated pout ]

I wasn't slacking! I'll just have to catch the next one.

[trailofblood]

Tell that to Golem. He worked hard on that game, y'know. -Ah, thanks.

[now he's just being a dick, also taking the bowl]

[featherduster]

[ He takes his own bowl and heads for - his room this time, actually. But not without jabbing Wolfwood in the side with his elbow as he passes. ]

[trailofblood]

Oi.

[wow rude, you'll make him spill his udon all over you]

[but he manages to keep his bowl in check and trails after him without comment]

[featherduster]

[ Thanks for your superhuman udon control

He toes the door to his room open and seats himself cross-legged on the bed, bowl carefully level ]

[trailofblood]

[he hasn't even put that shard in yet, he's just that good]

[sits. . . on the desk chair like he usually does]

You had a new shard the other day, didn't ya?

[featherduster]

[ Interesting time to be shy

After a brief hesitation - ]

I did, yeah.

[trailofblood]

[is he being shy or trying not to risk spilling udon all over your bed, we just don't know]

[also that hesitant response is all he needs to know really]

Another bad one, huh. . .

[featherduster]

... Yeah.

[ Lets out a long puff of air, not quite a sigh ]

Amber saw it in that game. I feel bad... [ wryly, ] and after I got done telling all the kids it's silly to feel bad for that kind of thing.

[trailofblood]

[wait are you calling me a kid]

I don't think anyone really wants their friends to have to see 'em at their lowest.

[nevermind that 'lowest' is sometimes the norm when you're us]

[featherduster]

It's not really that. It's just — People who aren't from our world tend to get upset. It's understandable, but...

[trailofblood]

. . . What exactly happened in that memory?

[featherduster]

[ He's quiet for a long while, like maybe he's trying to come up with the best way to hedge, or maybe he's not going to answer at all. But he does neither, possibly because of all those conversations they've had about mutuality and frankness. ]

... When we were young - younger - Knives and I were still traveling together. I left him one day, to go with a bunch of men back to their village. It was a scam, of course, and I should've known better. [ His voice goes a little flat, like maybe he's chafing at reconciling humanity's ongoing shittiness for once ] They took what I had and chained me up. I wasn't the first person they'd done that to; it's how they made their living.

[ A pause ]

Knives came for me, and I'm sure you can guess what happened. I tried to reason with him, but... [ lol knives ] I lost my arm for my trouble.

[trailofblood]

[uh wow there are multiple layers of awful bullshit there]

Shit, spikey. That's worth gettin' upset over no matter how ya cut it.

[featherduster]

[ He shrugs, lamely ]

I know. But it seems like most everything I remember is like that. [ Murder, mass-murder, genocide... ] I don't really want other people stressing out over it.