[ that cough incites concern — his voice softens. ]
Take it easy, okay?
[ and lo and behold, he goes through with his word; in 5 minutes or so, he slowly enters her room, crouching down to offer her a glass of water and plate's worth of sliced apples.
[He's too nice, really. She's pretty sure stink isn't cute at all.]
I am... Promise.
[She can't really do anything but, actually.
This time when he comes in she's upright. Still on the floor, legs weak, but she's on her belly properly instead of her sides or back, a much more comfortable position that puts less stress on her body, her human half leaning against the bed in the room, pillowing her face on the mattress.]
Hi, Nier...
[Again. But in person this time.]
Wow, they really do look like flowers...
[And she's hungry, and also hoping to keep a meal down this time as she leans forward obediently to offer her still rather warm forehead.]
[She wasn't so foolish (now that she isn't consumed by a higher fever) to push herself before she's ready, so she doesn't complain, even though two more days of this sounds... awful. But- She'd get better, right? ... She should be grateful, not everyone did.
So she takes the apple, chewing weakly.]
She sounds really sweet. Your sister.
[And he talked about her so much... It was nice. She'd never had siblings. Her adopted parents' natural children had all died in the wars... and she didn't even know if she'd had brothers or sisters. Before.
But if she'd had... that kind of relationship must be nice.]
You must be good with a knife, too... I can whittle a little, but maybe not this good.
[It's hard to imagine someone kinder than Nier right now, with her cheeks full of apple and him coming to care for her while she was so sick. The cool touch on her forehead she vaguely recalls from before, in the haze of worse fever than the heat still lingering in her now.
But she can't say it at first, because she's chewing slowly, deliberately, trying to will herself not to feel anything like nausea. Even with the apple still in her mouth, though, she finally speaks, mumbling around her food.]
I'm not skilled at fighting at all... I've never had to do anything like that...
[Or did he mean making apple flowers? Okay, so maybe the fever is still making it a bit difficult for her to follow conversations properly.]
[ he pats her head gently — before gesturing a glass of water towards her. ]
Back home, we were always wartorn. It only got worse as I grew older, so I was always fighting. This place is safe, though...peaceful. It's a little strange.
[ his katana is latched onto his back; instinctively, he reaches his hand back to delicately graze his fingers against the sheath for a fleeting moment. ]
I'll be here to protect you if anything happens, so you don't need to worry about that. And apple flowers sound nicer than a fight, don't they?
He pats, and she awkwardly swallows the last mouthful of apple before reaching out tremulously for the water, cupping it carefully in two hands and trying to take little sips.]
Mmmhm.
[Making apple flowers sounds much nicer, it's true.]
My world used to be like that... before. There was all sorts of fighting, and humans used jinba like- Like horses.
[Not like... people. She's heard the stories. From her parents, just a little, when they talked about their real children, who they'd lost. From Mikuni, and Gonta... who had suffered through that time when they were children, and old enough for it to affect them, like she hadn't been.]
[ she really is like a kid sometimes, he thinks. he cants his head, watching her sip. his eyes soften. gently does he speak— ]
They fought for a future that could keep someone like you safe. It's an honorable history.
[ the plate is nearly wiped clean at this point. a soft sigh escapes nier. ]
I think knowing that they've paved the pathway for the kind and bright Jinba of the future would make them happy. The ones like you. It's something to take pride in.
[She doesn't really know. Her parents told her that her birth parents had been killed, but that was all. She could assume... how. But she thinks about Gonta, and how tortured he had seemed by the memories of that time... and her expression drops a bit.
... She'd probably never see Gonta again, would she?]
Some jinba still hate humans... but if they just knew there were nice humans out there... like my parents, or like Nier... maybe they could live together...
[She tries to smile, though. It's just Konoha, being a hopeful idiot.]
they didn't anymore, really. he killed every last one of them. he wasn't even truly human himself. he does not allow that to show as he meets her gaze. instead, he reaches forward to a place a hand on her shoulder, eyes softening with assurance. ]
I think that future is possible. No matter what, don't lose sight of that dream.
[ he smiles. ]
You'll see them again one day, Konoha. I know you will.
[Konoha was sure. Nier was a nice human. Her parents were nice humans. Some of the men she worked with, they were nice people. The woman who sold firewood in the village... The man who made fireworks for the festivals...
There were nice people out there. Both jinba and humans.]
You always say such weird things, Nier.
[She just smiles, shifting to roll her weight about on her belly in an attempt to prevent the discomfort she'd fallen into before, curling her legs tighter.]
But I like them. Thank you.
[He said them so confidently, she could almost believe them. That she'd get home soon, and everything would be fine.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
voice
[ you can practically hear him smiling. ]
How do you feel?
a... while after he sends this
[She's getting better at using this... ! Yay...
Cough.]
Maybe a little better... I'm not sure. Thanks for coming, before.
no subject
[ a beat. ]
Has your fever gone down?
no subject
[There's a rustling sound, her nuzzling into her pillow.]
The water helped a lot.
no subject
[ a muffled, pleased noise escapes him. ]
Your body's fighting hard against your illness, so you have to keep it strong. Food and water are important, you know.
Do you need anything at all? I can cut you an apple and bring cool water. They might even be in the shape of flowers...
no subject
[Or the bathhouse. Or anywhere she can just... feel lighter and cooler.]
Apples in the shape of flowers? That's cute...
no subject
[ even though he knows that, uh.
carrying her is not as feasible as he once thought. ]
They suit you, then. I'll bring some over shortly. Are you in your room?
no subject
[She tries to laugh a bit lightly, triggering another small cough. But hey- at least it means she's got enough energy to cough.]
Yeah, I'm still in my room.
no subject
[ that cough incites concern — his voice softens. ]
Take it easy, okay?
[ and lo and behold, he goes through with his word; in 5 minutes or so, he slowly enters her room, crouching down to offer her a glass of water and plate's worth of sliced apples.
intricately cut just like flowers! wow, he must have been knife happy to have done that so quickly. ]
Hey. Lean forward for me so I can take your temperature.
no subject
I am... Promise.
[She can't really do anything but, actually.
This time when he comes in she's upright. Still on the floor, legs weak, but she's on her belly properly instead of her sides or back, a much more comfortable position that puts less stress on her body, her human half leaning against the bed in the room, pillowing her face on the mattress.]
Hi, Nier...
[Again. But in person this time.]
Wow, they really do look like flowers...
[And she's hungry, and also hoping to keep a meal down this time as she leans forward obediently to offer her still rather warm forehead.]
no subject
the back of his hand presses against her forehead. his brows knit together with concern. ]
Still warm...2 more days of bedrest should do the trick.
[ and then he motions one of the apples towards her mouth. ]
I used to cut them into shapes for Yonah. She was always sick, but fresh fruit is good on the tongue, especially when you have a fever.
[ softly, he smiles. ]
She liked the rabbits the most...but as she got older, she started asking things like "Doesn't it hurt the bunnies if I eat them?".
I carved them into flowers after that. I'm glad that you like them.
no subject
[She wasn't so foolish (now that she isn't consumed by a higher fever) to push herself before she's ready, so she doesn't complain, even though two more days of this sounds... awful. But- She'd get better, right? ... She should be grateful, not everyone did.
So she takes the apple, chewing weakly.]
She sounds really sweet. Your sister.
[And he talked about her so much... It was nice. She'd never had siblings. Her adopted parents' natural children had all died in the wars... and she didn't even know if she'd had brothers or sisters. Before.
But if she'd had... that kind of relationship must be nice.]
You must be good with a knife, too... I can whittle a little, but maybe not this good.
no subject
[ it was yonah who wanted to spare the shadowlord — the humans. not him. he was...
twisted by a life she knew nothing of. it was for the better that she didn't know who he was now.
maybe he didn't deserve that much to start with.
he feeds konoha another apple. ]
Ah, yeah. It's probably because I'm a swordsman. I still use knives sometimes...not just for fighting, but for crafting too.
[ maybe a little too good with a knife. ]
I can teach you one day. I bet you're skilled yourself.
no subject
But she can't say it at first, because she's chewing slowly, deliberately, trying to will herself not to feel anything like nausea. Even with the apple still in her mouth, though, she finally speaks, mumbling around her food.]
I'm not skilled at fighting at all... I've never had to do anything like that...
[Or did he mean making apple flowers? Okay, so maybe the fever is still making it a bit difficult for her to follow conversations properly.]
no subject
[ he pats her head gently — before gesturing a glass of water towards her. ]
Back home, we were always wartorn. It only got worse as I grew older, so I was always fighting. This place is safe, though...peaceful. It's a little strange.
[ his katana is latched onto his back; instinctively, he reaches his hand back to delicately graze his fingers against the sheath for a fleeting moment. ]
I'll be here to protect you if anything happens, so you don't need to worry about that. And apple flowers sound nicer than a fight, don't they?
no subject
He pats, and she awkwardly swallows the last mouthful of apple before reaching out tremulously for the water, cupping it carefully in two hands and trying to take little sips.]
Mmmhm.
[Making apple flowers sounds much nicer, it's true.]
My world used to be like that... before. There was all sorts of fighting, and humans used jinba like- Like horses.
[Not like... people. She's heard the stories. From her parents, just a little, when they talked about their real children, who they'd lost. From Mikuni, and Gonta... who had suffered through that time when they were children, and old enough for it to affect them, like she hadn't been.]
... I don't really remember it.
no subject
They fought for a future that could keep someone like you safe. It's an honorable history.
[ the plate is nearly wiped clean at this point. a soft sigh escapes nier. ]
I think knowing that they've paved the pathway for the kind and bright Jinba of the future would make them happy. The ones like you. It's something to take pride in.
no subject
[She doesn't really know. Her parents told her that her birth parents had been killed, but that was all. She could assume... how. But she thinks about Gonta, and how tortured he had seemed by the memories of that time... and her expression drops a bit.
... She'd probably never see Gonta again, would she?]
Some jinba still hate humans... but if they just knew there were nice humans out there... like my parents, or like Nier... maybe they could live together...
[She tries to smile, though. It's just Konoha, being a hopeful idiot.]
Or something like that. Who knows.
no subject
he wonders if those really exist.
they didn't anymore, really. he killed every last one of them. he wasn't even truly human himself. he does not allow that to show as he meets her gaze. instead, he reaches forward to a place a hand on her shoulder, eyes softening with assurance. ]
I think that future is possible. No matter what, don't lose sight of that dream.
[ he smiles. ]
You'll see them again one day, Konoha. I know you will.
no subject
There were nice people out there. Both jinba and humans.]
You always say such weird things, Nier.
[She just smiles, shifting to roll her weight about on her belly in an attempt to prevent the discomfort she'd fallen into before, curling her legs tighter.]
But I like them. Thank you.
[He said them so confidently, she could almost believe them. That she'd get home soon, and everything would be fine.]