ⅹⅵ - [video]

[mnementomori]

[Xion is in her room, the shelf behind her visible. The number of items on it have at least doubled since the last time it was seen publicly. Among the new ones are a green pastel crayon, several different shapes of seashells, a tiny katana the size of a letter opener, and some other miscellany. Xion herself looks thoughtful, for those who can see

Comments

[ofnobility]

Hey, Xion! How've you been? [Utena's greeting is bright, if a little subdued. She's been shaken up a lot lately.]

My favorite's lemon, and strawberry. But I like most kinds.

[mnementomori]

Utena!

[finally, they can talk without something weird happening.]

Oh, lemon! I don't have that yet. [she writes it down.]

I'm okay. A lot of people...went home. But I'll remember them.

[ofnobility]

I bet they'd be happy you remembered them. [Her smile is tinged with a bit of sadness.] A friend of mine went home too, but that's all right. I'll see her again.

[She tilts her head, and decides to change the subject.] Say, do you need help with making all that ice cream?

[mnementomori]

Ah...I'm sorry.

Well--if you want. I mean, I could definitely use help. And I'm not sure where to get some of the ingredients.

[ofnobility]

It's okay. [She grins. No worrying now, Xion.]

I'd be happy to help! Say, if nothing weird happens for a while, we should play another game. There's basketball, but I've got a lot of other stuff now.

[mnementomori]

[she nods.]

Okay! The weird stuff isn't...bad...it's just--...hmm. [she fidgets.] Is it just this place? Or did it happen to you at home?

[ofnobility]

[Utena's smile falters, before returning.] Sometimes! Ohtori's a pretty odd place, heh. [She stretches an arm over her head.] It's nothing I'm not used to.

[mnementomori]

As long as you're okay. I'd like to learn more sports. Basketball was fun.

[ofnobility]

Yeah, I'm just fine. I'm happy you liked basketball! Huh...maybe I should make a team.

[mnementomori]

A team? For basketball? How does that work?

[ofnobility]

Well, it's just a group of people who play together. Basketball's usually a team of five, and they practice plays -- techniques -- stuff like that.

[mnementomori]

Oh! That sounds fun, if it's with more people. So there's more about the game to learn?

[ofnobility]

A sport's always more fun with a group. [And she nods.] That's right. The rules change a little when there's more than two people. If I make a team, we can start slow.

[mnementomori]

I never got to play "sports" before this, so...thanks, Utena.