(sorry, had a busy day! quicklogging in 3...2...1...)paintitgrayJune 8 2010, 15:19:44 UTC
[Oh. And she'd even gotten to the clinic a little early. Frowning a little at the page, Kurayami quietly closed her journal and tucked it away. Her fingertips brushed the crumpled pack of cigarettes she'd managed to scare up at the Bazaar, but she hesitated to fish them out.]
[It felt odd, somehow, to care whether somebody gave a damn if she smelled like smoke, but...she didn't know Kagerou's thoughts on smoking yet, and...this was important.]
[Instead, she tucked the box back in her pocket and glanced down at the flat, cloth-wrapped bundle under her arm, hoping that the paint was as completely finished drying as it had seemed when she'd wrapped it up.]
[The last thing she wanted to do was smear her night's work. Especially this night's work.]
...GO! quicklog!weaver_girlJune 9 2010, 13:20:27 UTC
[Kagerou tumbled out through the doors, still in her work uniform and her hair tamed, mostly successfully, under a kerchief. Her meeting with Lezard had fortunately not run long, and the slight chill down her spine that always seemed to manifest at his presence had not quite abated yet.
[Regardless, spotting Kurayami in the waiting area, she went up to her with a smile.]
Hello! I'm sorry I'm late, I had something I needed to clear with Mr. Lezard. [A quick wave of her hand back towards the clinic.] How are you? What was it you wanted to talk to me about?
*sprints!* ...?paintitgrayJune 9 2010, 13:45:06 UTC
[And there she was, a happy tangle of energy as usual, hurrying across the waiting area. Kurayami stood up a little straighter at the sight of her, suddenly very glad she hadn't gone out to light up, and hitched the painting up under her arm.]
Hey. [She smiled a greeting.] I heard you had some trouble with the elevator. [After a brief hesitation, honesty won out over reticence and she added,] I'm glad you're all right.
[There were a few ways she could have approached this. In the moment itself, Kurayami found herself suddenly not quite able to meet Kagerou's eyes, dropping her gaze to the girl's chin instead, as if she could only tackle one aspect of the conversation fully head-on at once.] Lea says you bailed me out, after the...problem with his portal.
[Kagerou's expression sobered, her mouth suddenly a serious line.]
Oh. Yes, you could say that. The elevator does that sometimes, takes people to... places or memories from their past. I'm sure you've heard that already.
[She looked at Kurayami as she changed the subject, then clasped her hands behind her back and nodded firmly.]
I did my job, really. You were hurt and I helped you. He told me about the portal, and I'm sorry that that happened to you, I really am, but I don't think he could have known. So... I hope you're not angry with him?
*fixes html* ^^;paintitgrayJune 9 2010, 15:10:34 UTC
[At that suggestion, Kurayami's mouth dropped open a little. Recollecting herself, she shut it and shook her head.]
Why would I...? [If anything, it had been her, must have been her. She was the first and only one to react like that, wasn't she? Not that she felt like discussing that.] No. No, I'm not.
Actually, he helped me, too. [She got a bit of her smile back as she remembered him dozing all over his too-small chair, and made the most of the fragment.] Not just getting me out of there, but...while you were gone...
[She glances down at the package under her arm, involuntarily, and swallows.] You...you've done a lot for me, since you came here, and...
[Kagerou raised her eyebrows as Kurayami looked at the package. Lea had intimated they'd had their heads together over something, now that she thought back to their conversation yesterday.]
Oh, that's good. I mean... I didn't precisely think you would be angry, but I'd understand if you were, sort of, if that makes sense.
[She smiled, but it wasn't a merry smile; more a knowing, wistful one.]
I'm glad I could help you. There were... plenty of others I couldn't. So, I'm thankful for you.
Sorry, I didn't mean to ramble about myself! What is it?
Aaand the payload.paintitgrayJune 9 2010, 22:20:24 UTC
[The wistful look on her face unaccountably put a lump in Kurayami's throat. People she couldn't help. The unredeemed and the lost. It was only thanks to people like Kagerou that...]
[She gulped and turned her attention back to the package, offering it in both hands.] Lea said you'd like this.
[She knew something of the sort was coming up, but now that Kurayami holds the wrapped package out to her, she's struck by a wave of surprise and gratitude anyway.]
[She peels back the cloth and finds herself suddenly blinking rapidly. Maybe it is the nearness of Youth's death that brings Smoke's loss back so sharply, although it's been many weeks by now. But the sadness is tempered by a fond nostalgia, and more than that by awe that Kurayami (or Lea, for that matter) would do something like this for her.]
Thank you. He thought this up, didn't he? [Her brother is such a closet softie. She could tease him for weeks about this.] It's... amazingly lifelike, it really is. That's wonderful.
[There are tears brightening Kagerou's eyes as she looks at the painting. Kurayami knows she ought to be shocked or dismayed, but...something about the way Lea had talked about this guy must have warned her already.]
[This 'Smoke' was obviously special. She hopes she did the right thing by choosing him of all people to paint.]
He stayed up all night, helping me get it right. [She chuckles a little at that fresh memory.] I couldn't have done it without him.
[Kagerou shakes her head with a fond sort of chuckle.] I'm sure he'd be making excuses and abortive hand gestures right this minute if he heard you say that. He really is impossible, but don't tell him I said that.
[She holds a finger to her lips, smiling conspiratorially.]
I'll have to find a place to hang this! It's a good thought--I mean, we don't really have any kind of place for... remembering people. I'm glad to have some sort of a memento.
[She nods at the conspiratorial smile. Something about Kagerou's wistfulness bothers her, though--downright plucks at her brain, actually--but she can't tell if it's a real ping or just a sense of dismay. Everything about this place is so...fleeting. No matter how the people around her try to build something that lasts.]
That's good. [She's not sure what else to add. After a moment of struggling, she smiles instead, and with the smile come words at last.] I don't think it took as long as altering all those shirts, but...it's something.
still a quicklogweaver_girlJune 18 2010, 13:35:32 UTC
[Kagerou cants her head at Kurayami, finding an answering smile easily enough.]
Let me go tuck this somewhere safe until I can take it home, all right? Have you eaten? I do still have most of my lunch break left, and I could use some company.
quicklog, and this can stay as a closing or you can add your own!weaver_girlJune 22 2010, 10:20:04 UTC
[Kagerou tucks the painting under her arm.]
Mm, you can share my lunchbox, although... I'm not sure how you'll find it. People tell me I have funny tastes! But you should be able to buy something in the Bazaar if it's not to your liking.
Let's go, then.
[She extends a smile and a hand, waiting for her friend to either take it or simply follow the motion.]
Oh, lord, she'd as soon hold the hand of a cathedral angel. XD; Aaand, done.paintitgrayJune 22 2010, 11:18:00 UTC
[Kurayami smiles back, a little more openly, and follows her.] It ought to be interesting.
[In more ways than one, she can't help thinking. She still doesn't understand why this girl is so friendly to her, but...like an unexpectedly beautiful morning, she's grateful for it, for as long as it lasts.]
[It felt odd, somehow, to care whether somebody gave a damn if she smelled like smoke, but...she didn't know Kagerou's thoughts on smoking yet, and...this was important.]
[Instead, she tucked the box back in her pocket and glanced down at the flat, cloth-wrapped bundle under her arm, hoping that the paint was as completely finished drying as it had seemed when she'd wrapped it up.]
[The last thing she wanted to do was smear her night's work. Especially this night's work.]
Reply
[Regardless, spotting Kurayami in the waiting area, she went up to her with a smile.]
Hello! I'm sorry I'm late, I had something I needed to clear with Mr. Lezard. [A quick wave of her hand back towards the clinic.] How are you? What was it you wanted to talk to me about?
Reply
Hey. [She smiled a greeting.] I heard you had some trouble with the elevator. [After a brief hesitation, honesty won out over reticence and she added,] I'm glad you're all right.
[There were a few ways she could have approached this. In the moment itself, Kurayami found herself suddenly not quite able to meet Kagerou's eyes, dropping her gaze to the girl's chin instead, as if she could only tackle one aspect of the conversation fully head-on at once.] Lea says you bailed me out, after the...problem with his portal.
Reply
Oh. Yes, you could say that. The elevator does that sometimes, takes people to... places or memories from their past. I'm sure you've heard that already.
[She looked at Kurayami as she changed the subject, then clasped her hands behind her back and nodded firmly.]
I did my job, really. You were hurt and I helped you. He told me about the portal, and I'm sorry that that happened to you, I really am, but I don't think he could have known. So... I hope you're not angry with him?
Reply
Why would I...? [If anything, it had been her, must have been her. She was the first and only one to react like that, wasn't she? Not that she felt like discussing that.] No. No, I'm not.
Actually, he helped me, too. [She got a bit of her smile back as she remembered him dozing all over his too-small chair, and made the most of the fragment.] Not just getting me out of there, but...while you were gone...
[She glances down at the package under her arm, involuntarily, and swallows.] You...you've done a lot for me, since you came here, and...
Reply
Oh, that's good. I mean... I didn't precisely think you would be angry, but I'd understand if you were, sort of, if that makes sense.
[She smiled, but it wasn't a merry smile; more a knowing, wistful one.]
I'm glad I could help you. There were... plenty of others I couldn't. So, I'm thankful for you.
Sorry, I didn't mean to ramble about myself! What is it?
Reply
[She gulped and turned her attention back to the package, offering it in both hands.] Lea said you'd like this.
Reply
[She knew something of the sort was coming up, but now that Kurayami holds the wrapped package out to her, she's struck by a wave of surprise and gratitude anyway.]
[She peels back the cloth and finds herself suddenly blinking rapidly. Maybe it is the nearness of Youth's death that brings Smoke's loss back so sharply, although it's been many weeks by now. But the sadness is tempered by a fond nostalgia, and more than that by awe that Kurayami (or Lea, for that matter) would do something like this for her.]
Thank you. He thought this up, didn't he? [Her brother is such a closet softie. She could tease him for weeks about this.] It's... amazingly lifelike, it really is. That's wonderful.
Reply
[This 'Smoke' was obviously special. She hopes she did the right thing by choosing him of all people to paint.]
He stayed up all night, helping me get it right. [She chuckles a little at that fresh memory.] I couldn't have done it without him.
Reply
[She holds a finger to her lips, smiling conspiratorially.]
I'll have to find a place to hang this! It's a good thought--I mean, we don't really have any kind of place for... remembering people. I'm glad to have some sort of a memento.
Reply
That's good. [She's not sure what else to add. After a moment of struggling, she smiles instead, and with the smile come words at last.] I don't think it took as long as altering all those shirts, but...it's something.
Reply
Let me go tuck this somewhere safe until I can take it home, all right? Have you eaten? I do still have most of my lunch break left, and I could use some company.
Reply
That would be...nice.
Reply
Mm, you can share my lunchbox, although... I'm not sure how you'll find it. People tell me I have funny tastes! But you should be able to buy something in the Bazaar if it's not to your liking.
Let's go, then.
[She extends a smile and a hand, waiting for her friend to either take it or simply follow the motion.]
Reply
[In more ways than one, she can't help thinking. She still doesn't understand why this girl is so friendly to her, but...like an unexpectedly beautiful morning, she's grateful for it, for as long as it lasts.]
Reply
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