[ poor claude will have to deal with izumo sitting there in silence as she weighs the options of what she wants to do. metaphorically speaking, he's reaching out to her again with an open hand and asking her to take hold of it. her instinct is to lash out and run away but—there's nowhere to run here.
she looks up at him with an expression that's stuck between being terrified, angry, and panicked. he offers her the trade and—
she'll make the first move. if she doesn't, she'll never say it. the word falls off of her lips as easily as it's something that she's said so many times. it's an animal so dear to her for so many different reasons. creatures she grew up with—an animal assigned to protect her... her blessing. ]
Fox. [ her voice weak as she tries again. ] My leader is Fox.
(Even if it's horribly uncomfortable for reasons beyond his control, he waits. He notes the way she looks at him. It reminds him of some of the hunts he'd been on growing up. Seeing a terrified, frightened animal fighting back when faced with something beyond its control. It's sad, he thinks. What could have happened to her to make her like this?
She finally answers and his mouth lifts into a smile, his eyes bright,)
Ah. (Just "ah" at first and he pours himself and Izumo another cup of tea.) I love being right.
there's something horrifyingly funny about the way that his words are similar to someone who shared her team with. as she thinks of the three of them, awful words ring in her head, but having it simply not be just her and him does make it less revolting.
nevertheless, izumo tries to wipe clear her fear and focus on how much happier he seems. and, of course, just because she'll never get used to this: ]
Foxes are just as cute as you are.
[ a sigh as she lowers her head. hopefully he won't hold this over her head much longer. or, more like, the level that he'll hold this over her head be the minimal. ]
(She might have noticed that little detail on his invitation the previous week. The one that said the party was hosted by "Golden Deer" instead of "Blue Lions.")
I do enjoy tea. (He takes a sip,) And speaking with you, of course.
[ and just like that, she'll sigh loudly at his quips and winks. perhaps it's a good thing for both of them since it seems like they've both settled what was bothering them.
well, mostly. there are questions that lurk in the back of her mind that she'll have to address now. but, for now, she'll focus on the conversion right before them. ]
(He was pretty fine? But then again, he was getting a decent amount of affection and dishing it too so. This week he's just crawling whenever he's not around [REDACTED]. He looks at Izumo,)
she has to think about it for a while to consider if the feeling was truly annoying or not. sure, she did some incredibly stupid things last week as a result of the prerequisite urge to be close to someone. some of them turning violent and others... there were times where it felt...nice. like little pockets of sanity where things made sense.
it takes until claude pointing it out for her to really consider the meaning of it all. ]
I do, but not at this exact moment. [ well, not terribly. hmmm. ] I have felt the need to see this one person more than anything this week, though.
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she looks up at him with an expression that's stuck between being terrified, angry, and panicked. he offers her the trade and—
she'll make the first move. if she doesn't, she'll never say it. the word falls off of her lips as easily as it's something that she's said so many times. it's an animal so dear to her for so many different reasons. creatures she grew up with—an animal assigned to protect her... her blessing. ]
Fox. [ her voice weak as she tries again. ] My leader is Fox.
[ this should be fine? will this be fine? ]
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She finally answers and his mouth lifts into a smile, his eyes bright,)
Ah. (Just "ah" at first and he pours himself and Izumo another cup of tea.) I love being right.
(Truly.)
Me too. It suits me, don't you think?
(A schemer like him.)
no subject
there's something horrifyingly funny about the way that his words are similar to someone who shared her team with. as she thinks of the three of them, awful words ring in her head, but having it simply not be just her and him does make it less revolting.
nevertheless, izumo tries to wipe clear her fear and focus on how much happier he seems. and, of course, just because she'll never get used to this: ]
Foxes are just as cute as you are.
[ a sigh as she lowers her head. hopefully he won't hold this over her head much longer. or, more like, the level that he'll hold this over her head be the minimal. ]
So, does this mean we'll have more tea parties?
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(She might have noticed that little detail on his invitation the previous week. The one that said the party was hosted by "Golden Deer" instead of "Blue Lions.")
I do enjoy tea. (He takes a sip,) And speaking with you, of course.
(And he winks from behind his cup.)
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well, mostly. there are questions that lurk in the back of her mind that she'll have to address now. but, for now, she'll focus on the conversion right before them. ]
Is that what you were so nervous about?
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(He taps at the table again, clearly fidgeting,)
I've been feeling off most of the week so far. (...) Have you noticed it?
(That when they're away from certain people, it feels.... difficult?)
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Maybe a little. [ she'll think this over for a moment. ] ...but I don't think I've had much of a problem. It's been the same for me since last week.
[ she says this one a bit softer. ]
The feeling of wanting to be close to someone.
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Same here but it wasn't this annoying last week.
(He was pretty fine? But then again, he was getting a decent amount of affection and dishing it too so. This week he's just crawling whenever he's not around [REDACTED]. He looks at Izumo,)
Do you still feel it? Now?
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she has to think about it for a while to consider if the feeling was truly annoying or not. sure, she did some incredibly stupid things last week as a result of the prerequisite urge to be close to someone. some of them turning violent and others... there were times where it felt...nice. like little pockets of sanity where things made sense.
it takes until claude pointing it out for her to really consider the meaning of it all. ]
I do, but not at this exact moment. [ well, not terribly. hmmm. ] I have felt the need to see this one person more than anything this week, though.