faithfulflame | Twelfth Prayer: Some Flames Never Die [Action/Video] Late Afternoon

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Twelfth Prayer: Some Flames Never Die [Action/Video] Late Afternoon

Video

[A video feed flickers to life, showing a teenage girl dressed in long, thick looking priestess's robes sitting outside the little shrine on the riverbank. And for once in her Luceti life, Rei Hino looks genuinely happy with how things are going. Everything has gone...strangely well...for her lately. Despite the invasion, the discovery in the tunnel, and all of that, everything was actually alright in Rei's little world. So much so that it seemed like an ideal time to have a little celebration for an event that had been pretty significant for her a year before. It's not much, she never expects a large crowd for anything she does, but then she's never been one for that sort of thing, either. And who knows, it may even help to lift people's spirits after their own troubles.

There's no sigh, no subtle frown, no vaguely irritated look in her eye. She's even smiling at the camera as she addresses it.]

Good afternoon Luceti. My name is Rei Hino, and as some of you might know...and some might not...I maintain a small shrine here across the path from Community House 2. I haven't broadcast about it in a while, but I thought today might be a good day to extend an invitation to anyone who might want a peaceful place to spend some time before the weather changes. It was one year ago today that Brave Vesperia completed building it, and it felt appropriate to mark the date with a little something.

[She gestures to some tables of food she's prepared or gathered from the shops and bakery, a variety of snacks, along with curry, pasta, and various other easy meals really. Rei can cook alright, but this was kind of last minute, after all.]

So please, come eat and relax. If you like, I'll read your fortune and give you a good luck charm too. I know things have been stressful lately, so please consider it. It may do you some good.

[A pair of crows flap into view, landing on her shoulders as she turns to look at the building. With a laugh Rei playfully runs a finger under one's beak and looks to the journal.]

And you know...it's strange, having been here as long as I have. I've had a lot of friends come and go, and seen a lot of strange and unsettling things. But looking at this building...it makes me happy. Maybe it's because it's like my home. My...real home. [Rei's smile grows almost wistful, weary even.] Does anyone else have a place like that here? A place that makes you feel at peace, maybe even a little nostalgic? I'd like to know...even if you don't come eat.

[And then she waves a hand, whispers a word, and the book closes with a sudden gust of wind. Harry would've been proud...]

Action

[Rei will be available at the shrine all afternoon after around 2:00, or if you like you can catch her earlier in the day in the shops with armfuls of food. Nothing too fancy is going on, just a little impromptu anniversary party.]

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[Rei has to suppress a bit of a blush at the teasing, because heck, the one she'd been wearing a couple of weeks ago had worked better than expected. The date had been fun, definitely a good idea, and Fenimore seemed to be a bit more comfortable with the Japanese words which meant a lot to Rei.]

True, I did promise to give you one. [She nods back towards the main building, inviting Fenimore to follow her inside.]

And you don't have to pay me for it, but thank you. [She takes the basket and peels back the cover, peeking inside. The biscuits are a little unfamiliar, being a North American dish, but...warm bread is warm bread, and the fact that Fenimore remembered even that offhand comment means a lot.

Talk about good first, second, and third impressions!]

Thank you! They smell wonderful. What are they called? I don't think I've ever had bread shaped like that.

[Fenimore follows Rei at the nod, smiling. It seems like it was a good idea to bring the biscuits, even if it seems that they are not as familiar as the curry bread turned out to be.]

You're welcome. They're called biscuits. They're not very complicated, but they still taste good.

[She blinks a couple of times and her smile fades slightly as she realizes something.]

Usually with butter -- I don't suppose you have any with the food you brought? I guess I should have brought some myself, but it didn't really occur to me that you probably wouldn't have an ice box at the shrine.

[She's had more motivation to learn the Japanese words Rei has taught her than to learn the words for the modern conveniences in Luceti, so "electric ice box" is how she says refridgerator.]

Actually...I have some butter.

[Rei walks over to a cooler-chest filled with ice and opens it up, taking out a small tub of butter. She'd intended it for some of the other things, but if these biscuits go well with butter then she'll give that a shot.]

Some of the food I've got here goes better with it, and it's not difficult to keep. I don't generally keep an ice-box around, but a cooler was one of the first things I added to the place's inventory.

[Fenimore's never seen a cooler before, but she can figure out from context approximately what it is.]

So, it's a smaller icebox -- a portable one? That must be convenient. I guess it was a good thing that I brought them on a day you were already bringing food with you.

It is, but you have to put ice in it, of course.

[It's not electric, in other words]

And yes, I'd say that was good timing. [She meanders over to the food table, and opens up the tub, offering a knife and a paper plate to the other girl]

Are they good to eat now, or should we wait?

[And it's at this point when Grune arrives.

Of course she had to come see Rei on today of all days. She loves her friend and she loves the shrine, and so being there is very important for her.

She had been planning on congratulating Rei on her shrine's anniversary, but when she sees Rei with Fenimore...well, all that goes clear out of her head.]

Rei! Fenimore!

[She waves with maybe a little more enthusiasm than she might ordinarily and starts heading over....]

[Fenimore takes the offered utensils.]

They're best while they're fresh. I let them cool off a little before I came over, but while they're still a little warm --

[But then, upon hearing Grune, she turns in her direction. Oh, so Grune's visiting, too. She waves back and, while she notices the extra enthusiasm due to spending so much time around her, she's only a little curious about the cause. She's inclined to expect Grune to be enthusiastic about everything and thus dismisses the idea that it could be anything special.

She's probably going to regret that naïveté.]

Hello, Grune.

[Rei nods and then...stops and turns to the older woman with a smile. She hadn't really expected Grune to come, given how spacey she usually was but then it was always a pleasant surprise to find her.]

Ah, hello Grune-san! How are you today?

[And let's be honest. She doesn't really have any idea that Grune has anything more than her usual enthusiasm for everything. Of course...she'll probably regret missing that as well...]

[Grune beams back like a benevolent parent.]

Oh, I'm feeling wonderful today! [She actually leans in a little.] How are you and Fenimore?

[Her instincts from living with Grune for three years are going off, but...nah, must be her imagination.]

I'm feeling fine. It's a nice day out.

[Rei's instincts are also giving her a warning, and she doesn't know Grune that well...]

I'm doing well too. It's been a fine day, and a nice anniversary for the shrine so far.

Oh, I'm very happy to hear that! [Her smile widens a little more and she gets positively starry-eyed.] Spending time with your special someone is the best thing in the whole world, isn't it?

[Well, that's not something she can ignore, and she snaps to attention. In hindsight, she feels like she should have seen this coming. It's not the first time she's had to explain that things weren't really at "special someones" levels. Almost automatically, she launches into another such explanation.]

Grune, we're --

[The use of "we" suddenly reminds Fenimore that this explanation is being given in front of Rei and she comes to a very abrupt stop, turning red. Suddenly, giving this explanation was a lot more awkward.]

We're -- [...Yeah, the words have escaped her mind for the moment.]

[Rei's spine stiffens and she tenses like she's had a cold metal pole stuck to her back. Turning to Grune, eyes wide, mouth working uselessly...she tries to say something. Anything. But...no sound comes out.

Jerking her gaze back to Fenimore she goes beet red. Because what do you say to that?!]

G-Grune...san...[And that's all she can manage to say, really.]

[Grune looks curiously from one to the other.]

Yes?

[Fenimore looks to Rei, only to see that Rei is looking at her in return. That makes her turn even redder. She opens her mouth to address her, closes it, and returns her gaze to Grune.]

Grune, we're not -- [Where had her words gone?] It's not that I don't like -- but we're not exactly --

[Ugh, she'd said sort of thing to Grune before. Why was it so hard now? She assumes that it's because she doesn't want to insult Rei by miswording her denial, which is a part of it, but another part of it is that the part of her that thinks it might be nice to be, well, "special someones" with Rei is just a little bigger after their date than it was before, and is thus somewhat reluctant to correct her.

She tries again, sounding deflated, as she knows even as she says it that it is not going to slow Grune down at all.]

...We've only been on one date [and that slightly bigger part of her unhelpfully adds after a momentary hesitation:] so far.

[...How convincing.]

Edited 2013-09-10 07:00 (UTC)

[Rei turns slowly to look at Grune to take some of the pressure off Fenimore. It...wasn't that she was going to be insulted if Fenimore denied it. Quite the contrary, she wanted to deny it herself!

But...

Well...she didn't really want to deny it either. And it wasn't just so she didn't insult Fenimore. That had, after all, been her first date with anyone ever. Instead, she just takes a step closer to Fenimore so they're standing side-by-side facing Grune. She resists the urge to slip an arm around her waist, but she makes it a point to touch shoulders.

Her voice, with the solidarity there and that so far encouraging her, doesn't waver or deflate, thankfully.]

Fenimore's right. We've agreed to go out again, but we're not there yet.

[She places some special firmness on that word, more for Fenimore than for Grune. Just...to let her know she wouldn't mind the thought...]

[All of this hemming and hawing has the unsurprising result of not convincing Grune in the slightest. She looks just as delighted by the pair of them as she had before they had halfheartedly tried to convince her of their not-special someoneness and her smile doesn't dim. If anything, it only becomes more fond.]

That's all right. The two of you just need a little time to get to know one another, so that little by little, you'll become very, very close.

[And then she actually clasps her hands at the thought of their beautiful future together. Yes.]

[Fenimore's heart skips when she feels Rei's shoulder touch hers, though mostly out of surprise, and the emphasis on the yet...well. She would have expected some pleasant feelings arising from that kind of a signal: it was flattering that Rei would consider the thought at least not unappealing -- a part of Fenimore's difficulty in wording her denial in front of Rei came from not wanting to imply that going would with Rei would be a bad thing. But, to her own surprise, she feels a little happier hearing it than she would have expected. She's certain she hasn't fallen for Rei so far, and she's pretty sure that she doesn't have a crush on her, either. Still, if that yet pleases her this much, it's possible that she's at least beginning to develop a crush.

Well, perhaps. She doesn't have the time to properly examine the state of her emotions before she has to return her attention to Grune. Their words don't seem to have dissauded her. If anything, it almost seems to have made it worse.

She glances over at Rei, as though to ask, "now what?" But since they haven't spent too much time together yet, her ability to communicate things with a look or read any return signals from Rei are not exactly stellar, so she'll give up on that and look back to Grune. The solidarity of their position at least helps her to put more confidence into her words, even if her face is still somewhat pink.]

Well, I guess that's...technically true, but -- Grune, we might just become friends. You shouldn't read too far into it.

[Rei meets Fenimore's glance with a confused one of her own, because while she knows Grune is thick-headed she doesn't want to step too far one way or the other. She likes the other girl, enough to at least agree to go on a few dates. And there's always the chance they could click even farther, and she'll admit that would probably be nice. Maybe it's the beginnings of a crush, maybe it's just enjoying the company of someone nice? But then, Rei's feelings on the matter aren't the issue here.

Grune's misunderstanding could, she realizes, lead to her going around blathering about it. Which would be pretty embarrassing for her, and Fenimore too, she expects.

But then, getting angry and shouting like she might at some of her other friends wouldn't work. So she grits her teeth and follows the other girl's lead.]

Yes, exactly. I like spending time with Fenimore-san, she's fun to be around and I'd like to get to know her better. I think she's the same about me. But for the moment, we're just friends. I'm afraid you're jumping a little ahead of us, because who knows how these things can turn out. Either way, I think we'll become good friends at the very least.

[She turns to give the fair-haired girl a reassuring smile, hoping she'll take the hint and follow. She knows Grune values friendship too, so maybe that'll be enough to deflect her for the moment...]

Don't you think, Fenimore-san?

[Even after all of this, Grune isn't deterred. They may have finally gotten through to her that maybe they won't become special someones (sort of)--but they can still become special friends, and that makes her just as happy.

And so, still sounding as if her day has been made, she says:] I think so, too. Because you're both such wonderful people.

[She beams at them again.]

[Fenimore looks to Rei and nods throughout Rei's comments, as they reflect her own thoughts quite well.]

Yes. I feel the same way.

[And then she turns to Grune who...seems to have gotten it? Maybe. Fenimore makes a mental note to test if Grune has gotten it later, when they're alone together. It'll be weird if Grune continues to enthuse about their developing friendship, but it's an improvement over Grune enthusing over hypothetical special someone status.]

Well, I'm not going to argue with that, if you want to say it like that.

[Rei nods once more in curt agreement.]

Neither will I.

[How best to deflect Grune from further excitement and potential awkwardness...

Oh. Right, food.]

Now, why don't we have something to eat, hmm?

[Excellent tactic, Rei. Grune is now distracted from the question of your relationship status by food.

For the moment.]

That's a good idea. Everything looks so delicious!

[And it seems they have made it through safely. Well, at least for now. Very well played by Rei. While Grune's attention is on the food, Fenimore turns to Rei to mouth "well done" before turning back to Grune.]

I agree. Rei's put all this work in getting it put together; it would be rude to not enjoy it.

[Despite putting in the effort to use honourifics with Rei, she forgets it when not addressing her directly. Oh well.]

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so my paid account expired briefly today so I had no idea this comment was in. alas thread tracking.

That's okay! And excuse the icon having the wrong blonde...

Grune thinks that's close enough~ <3

One wonders if Rei has a type.

One does indeed.

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