isleofavalon | August Closed Prompts

[ While Marianne sorts herself out, Juzo goes back to unpacking his groceries. It still surprises him just how easy it is to come by fresh food – where he’s from, most everything is dried or boxed or processed so heavily you can’t be sure of what you were really eating. If you wanted fresh, you either had to be rich or part of the mob.

Here in Camelot, it’s everywhere and everything. Even the boxed shit tastes better. At this rate, he might never be able to go back to the sludge they call coffee in the Kyusei Pit.

He casts a careful glance over his shoulder, and almost seems relieved when he sees Marianne standing there, fully clothed. That her clothes are a leotard doesn’t seem to bother him – he’s seen worse. ]

Few days ago. I’m mostly settled in apart from, well… [ he motions at all the stuff on the counter. ]

Glad you came by. I figured you could use some space away from all the crazies out there.

[As a person, Marianne takes the much more polite step of sitting in a chair rather than his desk. She'd offer to help put the groceries away, but a. the kitchenette doesn't have much space for two people to work in, and b. she's still pretty bad at that sort of thing despite trying her best to improve. It's better for both of them that she stay out of his way.

Instead, she looks around the office to take it in. It's simple, which doesn't surprise her.]

Are you living here as well? I don't see a bed...

[Although it could be hidden from view, for all she knows.]

And thank you. I'm not *too* surprised that people are heeding the call, but I don't understand the reasoning of the request itself. There have to be less violent ways to handle... that sort of issue....

[ Juzo would have appreciate the help, regardless, but there’s not really enough space to not make it awkward – the kitchenette is small, and Juzo is quite large. ]

Don’t really sleep in a bed. The couch suits me fine.

[ How does someone like Juzo even sleep? A mystery for the ages. ~~Perhaps he goes into standby mode and de-fragments.~~ ]

Mm. Some folks will do anything for money, others just like the chaos. Wish I could find the guy who made the request and give him a piece of my mind. Like you said, he should be taking care of his own damn self and leaving innocent people out of it.

[ He doesn’t sound it, but he’s worried about her. ]

Edited (when you forget to c/p a whole ass line :weary:) 2021-08-09 20:46 (UTC)

If you say so...

[Marianne is not going to judge, but there is a part of her that sounds unsure. Sleeping on the couch can't be comfortable for a man of his size. But then again, she supposes there's no way she could know that for sure. ~~How DOES someone like Juzo sleep?~~]

I imagine if you were to find him, he'd be hard-pressed not to listen to you. [Juzo doesn't seem like the sort one would want angry with them.] I haven't seen the original message, myself, and I think this "dark web" is a place where people can hide who they are. Maybe someone can figure it out, but I'm still learning how most of this works.

[The only reason she knows as much as she does is that Claude showed her.]

[ He’s half-ready for a lecture about watching his health, but it never comes. No, Marianne really isn’t the type to stir the pot, is she? That, and he already knows that the inner-workings of someone like him are way beyond her. ]

I appreciate the vote of confidence. Thing is, digging around on the ‘net isn’t really my forte either. I’m good at footwork, talking to people on the street, makin’ connections. That’s the one thing I really lack around here right now.

[~~He's gotten too used to living with Mary.~~]

You're still rather new to Avalon, aren't you?

[Really, she is too--she only arrived three moons ago herself. But so much has happened that it feels much, much longer. July felt like three moons in and of itself.]

In the meantime, I'm grateful that you're letting me visit here for awhile. It's nice not to have to be a cat all of the time.

New enough.

[ It’s been a couple of months now, though it hardly feels it. There hasn’t been too many situations that would have Juzo rubbing elbows with the types of people he’d typically count among his connections back home.

Maybe that’ll change, now that he’s all official. ]

Don’t mention it. Figured you’d like walkin’ on your own two feet now and again. Can I get you anything? Coffee?

Oh, um. Please.

[Has Marianne ever had coffee before? Nope. But it's what he offered, and she doesn't have the heart to be so impolite as to request something else. Hopefully she doesn't hate it!]

[ He's not sure if that was hesitation that he heard or not, but she doesn't backpedal, so he moves the emptied grocery bags aside and sets out the things to make coffee. She's free to watch if she wants, he won't shoo her away. ]

Plenty of food, too, if you're hungry. Stuff's a lot easier to come by here than it was back home.

[To that, Marianne shakes her head.]

Oh no, I couldn't impose. You just paid for all of that.

[They just finished a conversation about how he's just getting on his feet here. It would be rude to eat the groceries he's just purchased for himself, even if food is easier to come by.

(Which is true for both of them, although she doesn't want to bring up the war that's forced her and the rest of them to ration their meals. Even with it seemingly so far away, it's not a topic she's happy to discuss.)]

I'm not especially hungry, anyway. I may have... um. [Her cheeks flush slightly with embarrassment.] A kind woman offered me tuna earlier, and I accepted.

[As a cat.]

I did pay for it, which means I can choose to share it if I want.

[ He gets not wanting to impose, but Marianne manages to find a way to take it to a whole new level. He doesn’t push beyond that – he understands enough to know that this must be her way of trying not to draw too much attention to herself. To what she is.

Even if she’s made her peace, those kinds of habits are hard to break. He knows. ]

Well, that’s one way to score lunch. When you change into an animal, do you still think like you or is there an animal brain ridin’ shotgun with yours?

... I suppose that's true.

[It's the only concession she's going to make on that point--her "no, thank you" still stands. He doesn't seem interested in browbeating her with the hospitality, anyway. She's glad for it, since going back and forth on insisting would just make things needlessly awkward.

Marianne hates when she does that.]

I still think like me, for the most part. Sometimes the animal's instincts will kick in, which I thought would be scary but hasn't been. Usually, it only happens when it comes to biological needs or when I feel like I'm danger.

[~~Like, for instance, when a woman screams so loudly that it scares her awake and she has no idea what's going on. But they'll find out about that soon enough.~~]

Good to know.

[ Frankly, he doesn’t know if he could handle animal magic the way Marianne does. It’s enough that he’s something other than human already, and the one transformation was more than enough for him. No need to be wandering around as a dog with a steel head or something equally as terrifying.

The smell of coffee fills the air as Juzo begins pouring hot water over the grounds. He still can’t get over just how good the store bought stuff is. The folks in the Kyusei would lose their minds. ]

Cream’s in the fridge, sugar’s over there if you want some.

[ He angles his head, indicating a small, brushed aluminum canister on the countertop. For someone who goes around looking and acting like he does, Juzo is surprisingly well-organized and tidy. ]

I promise, it's not as strange as it sounds.

[It just sort of... happens. Honestly, it's not all that different than when her own human instincts kick in--it's just the instinct and the subsequent behavior that's different. And even that is only strange in hindsight, when she's human and thinking too much about it.

She watches him brew the coffee, then gets up to help herself once it's ready.]

Thank you, Juzo.

[Marianne pours herself some of the brew and takes a tentative sip. The flavor is more bitter than she expected, and her face definitely shows her surprise and distaste. Her preferred tea flavors tend to be on the sweeter or floral side, often drinking herbal mixes instead of more astringent black teas. Coffee, as it turns out, is practically the exact opposite of that.

She sips again, which yields exactly the same result (why did she expect otherwise?). And then she sheepishly heaps some sugar into it.]

[ He watches her have a valiant go at drinking it black, but her face quickly communicates just how much she doesn’t like what she tastes. For a small mercy, he doesn’t laugh, but he does cant his head in silent amusement. He’ll have to make sure to keep some tea around if she’s going to be a frequent visitor - that, and he likes to have a small variety of things on hand for clients. ]

Not quite to your taste, huh?

[Marianne winces a bit, busted. Although it's not like she was especially subtle in her reaction. She tries it with the sugar, which helps but not nearly enough, and finally just sets the mug down.]

Oh... no, it's not. I'm sorry.

[She avoids his gaze. Even if he seems amused, she's embarrassed and annoyed with herself.]

I've never had coffee before, and hoped I would like it.

[ Oh Marianne… she certainly tried. He realizes that coffee isn’t for everyone, and he makes a mental note to pick up some tea – for her as well as anyone else who might walk through his door. ]

Don’t sweat it. I can finish it.

[ He has yet to pour himself a cup, anyway, so he can start with hers – even if it will be a little sweet for his taste. Better than letting it go to waste. ]

At least you tried. I’ll have some tea for you the next time you come around.

[She did try! But sometimes things are just not meant to be, and at least it isn't going to waste. That's something she was worried about--abundance or not, after five years of war and, more recently, military rations it just feels wrong for her to do so.

In response to his offer, Marianne shakes her head.]

You don't have to go through that kind of trouble. I can always bring my own tea if I really want some.

I don’t mind. Besides, I like to keep things on hand for clients. Not everyone is gonna like coffee, like you just reminded me.

[ He shrugs, lifting the coffee cup to his mouth for a sip. Definitely too sweet, but thankfully he doesn’t have an expressive face to give him away. ]

What kinda tea do you like?

[ (Sweet, probably.) ]

[It's a good thing Marianne can't read his expression, because then she'd feel bad about ruining the coffee.

She considers dodging the question, insisting that any tea is fine really, but ultimately relents. He's asking her, specifically, and probably won't accept yet another deflection.]

I like fruit and spice blends, mostly.

[After a pause, she adds:]

And lavender tea, when I'm feeling anxious. I, um, find it soothing.

[ Eh, he’s sucked down worse. The coffee where he comes from tastes like mud, so even the sugar isn’t enough to totally put him off. ]

Fruit, spices, and lavender. Gotcha. I don’t know too much about tea, so I appreciate it.

[ See, asking her about her preferred tea flavors served a double purpose! ]

If you're looking for something that will appease the most people, a simple black tea blend would be best. When things are... safer... I can help you shop for some, if you'd like.

[She's helping! And therefore feels a lot less awkward about all this.]

I’d appreciate it.

[ While it’s true that Juzo doesn’t know much about tea – that was a luxury he could scarce afford, living in the slums – he did, in part, take the conversation in this direction to make Marianne feel like he wasn’t going out of his way for her.

Which might only be partially true. He looks out for his friends. ]

Wish this thing would hurry up and blow over already. I can’t imagine you wanna spend every day as a cat from now on.

[Maybe some day, she'll learn how to appreciate someone looking out for her without feeling uncomfortable about it. She's getting there.]

It's been good practice for my animal magic, but it's not the life I'd prefer. I'm not even sure where this person got the idea that it's an animal mage that's responsible in the first place. As far as I know, I can't give others animal features.

[And even if she could, she wouldn't. That seems a step too far.]

Even doing that to myself is very advanced magic. I'm nowhere near that proficient.

Edited 2021-08-31 17:56 (UTC)

[ Baby steps. Juzo knows what it’s like to not want people to care, easier to keep some distance that way. Easier to not feel like a burden. ]

Wait, so you’re sayin’ it’s easier to become a cat than it is to just sprout some ears?

[ Seems backwards to him. ]

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going to wrap it here