epidemiology | We need to plan our vacations better.

Entry tags:

We need to plan our vacations better.

CHARACTERS: Ban, OPEN
DATE: May 2nd(Post Battle) - May 7th
WARNINGS: Will update if necessary. None.
SUMMARY: Losing his temporary estate, Ban ventures out to tame a bit of the landscape by planting a magical, gigantic tree. Oh, a few other things happen, too.

The Almoca Tree
Oska's populace never struck Ban as the type to want to put the axe or the torch to nature. When he was given his first few Almoca seeds, he put them where he thought they would thrive. Chantes and Zeta seemed like good places for them. The fairies in Chantes' woods seemed to take to the tree happily and the squidges were reported to have made a good home out of it. Being given a third seed, Ban had held onto it carefully, waiting for a better place to send it. Perdition's Rest was no good. The planet was doomed. Woodhurst was a concrete jungle and full of people who would have happily gotten rid of an obstruction. There was Terra Felis but Ban figured the locals would just claw the thing up or tear it down.

"I fulfilled the promise the first time you asked me," He muttered to no one present as he stepped through thick woods to reach a small clearing outside of Oska. Ban dug a hole with his hands, planting the seed in the empty space before washing his hands in a nearby creek. Looking down into the groove he carved into the ground, Ban swiped his fingers over one wrist in a cutting gesture, splitting the skin and his veins with a razor's sharpness. Blood ran down from the opening in rivulets, steadily covering the seed. As if part of a bizarre ritual, the seed cracked and a green stem pushed free--growing exponentially at an alarming rate. "But, I don't mind doing it a few more times."

In under ten minutes, the tree grew over the line of trees that had already been there. An hour later and the tree dwarfed them three times. Despite the nature of plant life, nothing was squeezed out. The surrounding trees became healthier and berries sprung up in otherwise dry bushes. He could be seen popping out of the mist beside the newly formed tree, humming a song well past its expiration date, carrying a thin little pouch in one hand. All in all, he didn't seem at all perturbed by the tree that had stolen quite a bit of the forest's real estate.

I Need a Test Subject
Supplies. The kitchen hadn't gone dormant but it was still unusable by the third day. Food came out of it despite the fact that connections for the stove and refrigerator were disconnected, so Ban was forced to make his own little campfire and spit, preparing food out in the middle of the rubble. He had a little table set aside for preparation with little bowls arranged with various spices and seasoning. Cooking without a stove or a complete cooking set didn't seem to impede him--as he actually wore a little belt and holster with a frying pan and knife handy. He settled on making roasted meat and vegetable dishes over the fire, pestering anyone willing to come within twenty feet of his little station. Towards the end of finishing one dish and passing it to a confused member from another team, he looked to his nearby fellow in Audentes and called out--

"Hey, c'mere. You aren't busy, are you~? Even if you are--c'mere, anywayyyy."

Let's Get Down to Business
The process of 'training' wasn't particularly normal for someone like Ban. Strength training and endurance training were handy things but he didn't know how to increase things like that in himself, anymore. Had King been around, he would have bugged the fairy king to at least help him out keeping his reflexes up to par but he didn't have that luxury. King was on some other mission, still, from what he assumed. Even Papyrus could have probably helped and he had vanished on his own mission, too. So, if not his reflexes, Ban figured he could put work into his magic. It was something he hadn't really tried to improve upon in a long time. Maybe he should have gotten into the routine earlier.

He stacked a handful of gold coins on a flat, collapsed pillar along the outside of Oska--careful enough to face away from where people were walking. Among the coins, one was marked with a smiley face drawn in with a black marker. Stepping roughly a hundred feet from it, Ban pointed towards the stack, curling his fingers. He focused on using 'Snatch' to steal the one coin, concentrating on narrowing the scope of the spell as much as possible. A coin snapped into his hand silently, the stack adjusting to a sudden lack of one piece admirably. It still stood even after losing one coin from the middle.

Ban opened his hand to check. The coin he took wasn't the one with the smiley face. At first, he didn't seem bothered by it. He returned the coin to the pile, stepped back in place and tried again. Again, it was one of the blank coins. He tried it again. Another one of the blank coins. For hours he tried it, without pausing, until he finally succeeded. When he finally turned the coin over and saw the drawn in smiley face, his jaw hung open, disbelieving. Ban felt a small sense of satisfaction, stepping back to the pile to try it again.

"Kahahaha~" Humming, Ban skipped back into place and readied himself to try again. "Time to make sure it wasn't just luuuuck!"

(OOC: Want a closed prompt? Lemme know via PM.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Reika had overworked herself during the battle, so at the collective demands of a couple of people she had finally put down her sword and took to rebuilding in a less taxing way. One of the tasks she took upon herself was making sure people were fed, which is why she's showed up to the kitchen despite the fact that it was in ruins.

Ban is about a mile ahead of her when it came to making food, so of course she'll trot over, hands clasped over her chest (her right arm thoroughly bandaged). ]

Oh... wow, you're amazing!

[Ban paused in his work for a moment to soak up Reika's praise, giving her a brief, suspicious look. He heard that praise, before. It was the same sort of praise one gave when they wanted to move ahead in line. He grinned and continued working, offering a shrug.]

Y'know, there's a liiine. I can't let ya' cut even if I like the flattery~.

[ He looks very experienced, from the way he manipulate his tools with ease. The question catches her by surprise, though - a flicker of confusion crosses her features before shifting to one of apologetic smiles. ]

I'd just like to see how you cook, if that's okay.

[ She can feed herself later. ]

[That was a new one. Well, admittedly--they hadn't met before and his attitude was crappier everywhere else but the kitchen.

Reika wouldn't likely regret it until a bit later. Ban paused, stabbing meat onto a spit for roasting. His smile became a little less mean.]

Sure, take a seat. [With a tug of his finger, Ban used Snatch to drag a cushioned chair closer to his makeshift table. The chair came over without him touching it.] I don't mind puttin' on a shooow~!

[ Oh, someone who could use magic!! ]

Thank you!

[ She plops herself down on the chair and opens her magitek to take notes. She should have gone out with her notebook.. ]

[Reika's attentive disposition left Ban speechless for a moment. Part of him expected a few starter questions right from the get-go, but she was unnervingly disciplined.

With a sigh from his nostrils, Ban moved back into picking out spices. He shifted how he stood so Reika would see which spices he picked to rub everything down with. He intentionally gave pause and showed Reika the end result of preparation before he stuck it on a spit and let it hang to cook.

The smell of fat and spice falling into the open flames was enough to attract more hungry residents who were willing to wait a bit longer for food rather than grab something quick from the replicator.]

Hmmm. Seems like smell really is one of the important pieces of it, after all~.

[ For one, it's impolite to interrupt people - and she'll save all her questions for after the show was over. The fact that Ban made the effort to show her his motions definitely helped. She can follow, there isn't anything important to ask. ]

It is. You've made it really impressionable.

[ Seriously, this is miles better than her own cooking. ]

Well said. [It was the right word, at least. Ban's cooking wasn't perfect but he did make a painstaking effort to at least ensure that if the taste was even slightly off, the aroma would help it and make someone feel good during their meal. He reached over with one hand to turn the spit a few degrees before going back to his station.

He pointed at Reika, grinning impishly.]

You should aspire to be the sort of chef whose cooking makes you forget who did it~.

[ The smell is so good that she's once again reminded of her own hunger, and of how God Eaters have metabolism at least three times that of a human. But she knows to control herself, especially when there's something important to be done. ]

I will. There's a lot I still have to learn.

[ At least now she sort of knows how to cook on an open pit? Not that she's ever done it other than with marshmellows... ]

Naturally~. There isn't a chef around who can safely say they're done learnin'.

[No matter who the chef was, there would always be new people to cook for. The times would constantly change and old recipes would have to be forgotten for new ones. Taxation could limit how much of a surplus one had of certain ingredients and the average restaurant-goer wouldn't be able to afford certain things but would come in looking for something good to eat, anyway.

Ban slammed down another slab of meat as he allowed the meat on the spit to cook at that angle for a little while. Off to the side, he looked to a boiling pot of rice, thinking to himself how frequently bubbles had risen from it.]

Now, if you wanna help me ouuut, missy, go scoop out the rice in that pot. I've got mitts lyin' around, somewhere ♪.

[ Much of all that isn't what Reika would consider, really. All she wants is to be able to feed her friends well regardless of what resources they have at hand. ]

I'll get that done!

[ God Eaters are resistant to heat, so she'll test out the rice to see if she can scoop it out without mitts. Given that it isn't the temperature of lava, it's entirely doable, ladling out the rice into whatever Ban directs her towards. ]

H'oooh. [While it sounded sarcastic and, given that Ban wasn't even looking directly at Reika as she went about her job, Ban actually fed her an immediate compliment.]

Well done and hasty~. You can't be afraid of the heat as a chef.

[She didn't wait to get to the pot, either, and he could tell just by a lack of pattering noises on the ground that she hadn't spilled any rice. He gestured to a few plates and bowls offhandedly, watching her move with bustle that didn't test his patience in the slightest. Despite his demeanor, Ban possessed very little of the stuff when it came to cooking.]

[ Hungry people probably aren't patient either, so that's that. She doesn't mind bustling, it helps her focus and keep her mind off other things. ]

I'm more resistant to it than others. Don't worry about it.

[ It's not lava, so it's okay. ]

...Resistant? [It was a strange word to use. 'I can take the heat' was sort of what he expected to hear. Still, despite being strange, he didn't take away much information from that other than the fact that Reika was clearly fine in her position.]

Well, anyway~. That's a good thing for you. Turn the spit a quarter. [Centimeters and feet were out of Ban's scope of reference. Basic mathematics weren't.]

I'll cook it on an even rotation on the next turn. This time, I just wanna get heat in there.

[ Reika does as expected, observing the meat as she did so. Since she's never cooked meat on an open fire before, there's a lot to watch and learn. ]

How will we know when it's fully done?

Temperature~. That one won't be done for another forty or so minutes, though. Don't worry about it quite yet.

[There was already meat that he set aside--so, he was really just fixated on making seconds. Cooking for a large group wasn't easy even for someone used to cooking in a restaurant like Ban.

At least, not without assistance. He didn't quite say it but Ban was at least exuding a bit of a polite air if only because Reika was helping him meet his planned quota.]

So, after you finish turning it for a minute--cut up some of what I finished and set it down on the rice~.

Got it.

[ Sounds like it's time to plate the food. It'll probably taste nice as it is, but she can't help but wonder if Ban would have his special blend of spices or something. ]

"Am I really seeing what I think I'm seeing?"

Sometimes, a kid just need some space and a moment to breathe. It's been a bizarre couple weeks and he's still getting used to ... well, everything. Call it culture shock, call it failing to acclimate on a timely basis, whatever it is, Peter finds himself out of castle grounds and heading out of Oska.

Aaaand that's when he spots the fastest growing tree he'd ever seen - quite literally. It's like a scene in a nature documentary, only in real life.

"Hey, man - you're seeing that tree too, right?" And the rest of the forest getting fluffier, greener, more lush? That, too?

[What Peter might have noticed immediately, was that the local shrubbery and trees had bent out of his way imperceptibly--enough to make his trek through the woods easier. Ban stepped out into a slight clearing when Peter ran ahead of him, lifting his chin so he could look up at the flowing, waving branches above. They were still growing a little bit from the last dose of blood he gave it.

The amount of growth was normal, given what it was being nourished by. Ban could feel the cool pressure in the air change. It wasn't so much magic as it was an adjustment of humidity. The whole tree seemed to shift temperature subtly to remain a comfortable space for the people mucking around beneath its branches.]

...Well, who could miss it? It's pretty big, after all~.

[While Ban was impressed by it, there were a few reasons lingering in the back of his mind keeping him from expressing too much of it visibly.]

It's a beauty.

Oookay. Did those trees just part like the tide for you?

[ Is this guy Moses? Is Peter having a low-key meltdown by all of this happening in the span of five minutes?

He shakes his head.

No, no. He's cool. He's absolutely fine, this is no problem. There's an explanation for all of this. ]

I mean, yeah, it's definitely Giving Tree material ... but I swear to God that tree wasn't there like, ten minutes ago. Is it going to grow into the sky? Your name isn't Jack, is it?

Don't look at me~. [Ban gestured to the bushes that had been sly moving out of Peter's way, too.] They all seem kinda nervous around you, toooo.

[Given that the Almoca tree responded well to 'good and earnest people', it was natural that Peter wouldn't be impeded by the brush, either.]

That saaaaaid, the name's Ban and, welllllll, I dunno how tall weird ass trees like this can get. Do I look like an expert? [Or, does he look like the lead singer of an early 80s punk band from the UK? While Peter was in awe, Ban was at least confident the young man had no ill intentions rather than curiosity--which was natural. He knew the tree wouldn't try and bar anyone from getting closer to it unless they were naturally evil.]

Wait - wait, what?

[ Cue flailing limbs and a sudden, nearly comical, glance around from left to right as Peter takes in his surroundings, watching the trees with a special focus as though he might actually see them scurrying away from him on their tiny roots like legs.

No such sighting. ]

Can trees get nervous? I'm not exactly equipped with an axe or fire or anything. It's just me.

[ He makes an attempt to find his chill, straightening and giving his newfound companion a better look. He really does look harmless, just a skinny kid in jeans and a plain shirt, with hair that could probably do with a trim in the coming weeks. ]

I don't know about experts but you've gotta know more about trees than I do. I was never blessed with a green thumb and you just came from the direction of said 'weird ass tree'. You sure you don't know anything?

I was grabbin' some berries. [It wasn't entirely a lie. While he was someone often entangled in needlessly complex situations, Ban was the simple sort of person who could lay around, nap and eat berries without a single other thought in their head for an entire day if they wanted to. He didn't sound too dishonest about it either, though he was also a seasoned liar.]

If it's a magic tree, maybe it thinks like we do? [He let the thought hang for a little bit. Elaine had made comments that the sacred tree would react to outsiders differently based on their hearts like fairies did.]

Now, what I do know is that the berries growin' around the base are really good~. Want a few?

[Peter's natural and understanding level of tension was appropriate to the overwhelming stature of the tree and its overbearing shadow cast over the forest but Ban seemed nonplussed by it. Obviously, he knew much more than he let on but he wasn't immediately denying anything rather than playfully moving thoughts in other directions.]

Something has been bothering him all day.

That's the problem, with super senses. Sometimes something sets them off and it's so slight and so foreign and so far away, it's hard to even tell what it is. All he knows is something has happened, over and over, so soft and imperceptible nobody should have been able to hear it. Yet hear it Peter can, even as he worked on trying to distract himself putting the castle back together. It's straight curiosity, in the end, after of the noise, that pushes him to find the source. Safe to say, when he does, it's not what he's expecting.

"How did you do that?" He's never going to be great at watching things with no obvious explanation, honestly. Most of Audentes is satisfied with the idea of Magic, but Peter remains too analytical for his own good. His head chugs as it tries to find another answer, and comes up empty. "Is that some kind of... trick? Ilusion?" Please say yes. For the sake of him sleeping tonight, Ban, please say yes...

It isn't yes, is it.

"It's a whole lot less complex than a trick~," Ban thought of actual 'magic tricks' as something that required good enough sleight of hand to distract someone and pull the rug from under them in a very, very short amount of time. When compared to the magic he was used to witnessing, magic 'tricks' always seemed much more skillful. Any dope with a bit of luck at birth could use magic. Sleight of hand was a talent he respected. "This is just my magiiiic."

To demonstrate, Ban flipped the coin up into the air--gesturing to it with his free hand. Rather than snapping quickly into his hand, he slowed the spell to a crawl to make it intentionally gravitate towards his palm as slowly as possible. Peter seemed impressed enough, so he decided to play into that excitement just a little.

"Though, it isn't as flashy as other kinds of magic~. If I could use illusion magic, I'm pretty sure I could make it look cooler."

Damnit, Ban! Magic was totally the answer he didn't want to hear. Peter much prefers the idea of illusions, justifiable reworking of reality that he can scientifically explain. No matter how often he's exposed to it, Peter still hasn't managed to explain away... basically any kind of magic presented to him. It's hard for his scientific mind.

He gapes a little, despite himself, at the magic slowed down. It was easier to pretend it was some sleight of hand when it wasn't slowed to a trickle, almost flaunting him in its inexplicable nature. "There's... there's illusion magic too? Seriously?" How many kinds of magic were there? Was anyone keeping track? Surely someone should.

"For the record, that was pretty cool. Magic... it's just not a thing, in my world. My brain hurts a little right now." Mostly as it tries and fails to explain something that doesn't make sense to him, but, shh...

Peter's response didn't seem as enthusiastic as it seemed troubled. Ban craned his neck, suddenly caught off guard by that sort of reaction. He didn't quite know what to make of that mixture of disappointment and apprehension when it came to the topic of magic. Was he... bummed out by the explanation or was it just the phrasing the left him high and dry?

Either way, it didn't seem like his reaction was deterring him. Peter kept on as if he was obliged to thrust himself deeper into that avenue of thought.

"Yeah, there's some illusion magic," Technically, Ban could use some, himself though he wouldn't tell anyone if he could help it. Part of the power of magic was that it was innate. One could hide a spell better than a sword. Leaving someone guessing was more powerful sometimes than having a razor at their throat. "Uh. If it helps, I don't think I could tell you too much about it~. I'm just a user--not a sorcerer or anythin'."

"I'm not sure there's helping me," Peter confessed, which is probably the most self-aware he's been about his inability to comprehend magic since he arrived in Nalawi and had been confronted with a lot of it, wielded by adorable deer people. It's something his brain naturally refuses, trying to find answers that seem to be in very short supply. It might be just about time that he accepted that he wasn't going to get answers, no matter how much he wanted them.

"So there's a difference between a sorcerer, and a magic user?" Peter sounds less openly baffled, and more quietly curious. A better change, possibly. It was all a whole new world to him, but if the stranger was willing to talk about it...

Wait, crap. Stranger. Peter winces, realizing an important part of conversation that he's utterly forgotten. "I'm Peter. Sorry. Forgot that part..."

"Ban," Responding placidly, Ban stepped back and fell down to sit on an uplifted root--one that would have done well to become a normal tree trunk all on its own if not for the massive beast that cast a shadow over himself, Peter, and a fair portion of Oska to boot. Ban let his shoulders sink as he figured Peter was the sort of guy who didn't mind talking things out even in weird situations or places. Most folks he met in his travels would want to get out of dodge. Peter just looked... puzzled. He was more concerned about reasoning things out than worrying about the potential danger of crazy, strange magic.

"Y'know, I don't really have to think about it that often," He admittedly, scrunching up his face briefly. When posed with a frank, direct question--sometimes Ban couldn't exactly find it in him to tease. There wasn't really anything to poke fun of. "It's like the difference between having a sword and being a knight. A magic-user can use magic and probably do it well but the sorcerer is always going to be the master. If one takes on the other--they'll be outclassed. Some people are born with it and never end up using it their whole lives, too."

It's been a bit of a journey to get from where he'd been to where he was. Still, it was definitely a good change to allow himself to move from dismissive refusal to dazed curiosity. Peter nods at the introduction, attention deviating to glance up at the tree for half a second before his attention moves back to Ban.

It's a pretty good explanation, actually. It makes sense, even though Peter compares it in his head to a medium that he's more used to. Magic was much like a natural talent, such as art or dexterity. Having that talent was one thing, yet mastering it was another.

"And you're not a sorcerer? What kind of stuff can a sorcerer do?" If that trick couldn't compare, then the idea of someone even more practiced was a little intimidating. "Er, am I asking too many questions? Just tell me when and I'll shut up. Trust me, I probably will never run out of questions. That's just how scientific inquiry works."

Were Ban asked that question two decades ago, he would have been more surprised. It wasn't the question about what sorcerers could do--it was simply the latter affair. 'Am I asking too many questions?' When it came to himself, Ban figured he was an expert. He knew when he was acting annoying or being obtuse. He knew that both qualities drove people away fairly easily and yet--a lot of people among ALASTAIR were curious about him and willing to hear him out. It was a strange contrast with how the first half of his life went.

He gave pause, breathing in and sighing before reaching over to gesture towards a nearby berry bush. A leafy branch full of berries snapped off of the bush, popping into his hand without him having to come remotely close to it.

"Well..." If Peter was willing to talk to him, Ban found he didn't mind the company. Whether or not Peter viewed himself as a pest, there were some people who just liked having someone else other than themselves to talk to. "I couldn't tell you exactly what sorcerers do. They all like to do different things but... they do it better. Usually, it's stuff that's beyond your imagination."

"Whoa." He can't even help himself, marveling like a little kid at every unexpected display of magic. Finally abandoning the steadfast obsession with scientific explanation long enough to appreciate the inexplicable. Peter glances toward the bush and Ban's hand, as if he expects to spot a wire or some obvious hint as to how it happened, and when he can't a slightly awed smile creeping over his features. If this turns out to be sleight of hand, he's going to feel like a real idiot, but at the moment? It's like he's looking into a whole new world.

"You're already doing stuff beyond my imagination," Peter confesses, even reaching out to touch the end of the branch, as if he wasn't sure it would be real. It sure seemed to be. "Maybe my imagination didn't go far enough." Being a part of Audentes had certainly changed that... for better, and for worse.

"Well, maybe you do have a crappy imagination~" Ban admitted with a smile, hardly seeing any reason to argue with Peter on that front. As a matter of fact, the guy did have a difficult time breaking away from trying to inspect the gap between Ban's fingers and the berries. Ironically, Ban did sort of envision himself tugging at things he was stealing with strings though his concentration controlled the size of them regardless of how invisible they were. To help aid Peter's speculation, Ban waved one hand between the hand that was cast the spells and the berries to reassure him there was no physical connection. "But, I doubt that's true. Everyone's got a really good imagination--the problem is we focus it in certain directions. You just imagine thing differently than I do."

Ban finally grabbed the berries, lowering the branch to his mouth before he bit a few of them off. He handed the rest to Peter, messily chewing on what he initially grabbed.

"Hell, you might even have magic, yourself~. You just gotta figure out where your imagination really is."

For all the magic he's heard of in his time in Audentes, actually being face to face with it, seeing it, without the insanity of a battle or a mission going down around them... well, it's kind of cool. He can't help the scientific theory rolling in his head, starting to make hypotheses and inquiries about how it could be explained, though Peter does manage to ignore them for now. Maybe the explanation is not the important part, when magic was involved.

Peter isn't sure he wants to eat magically transported berries — another wonder, did that change the chemical makeup of a berry? what kind of effect would magic have on an item? — though when he sees Ban managing to survive on them, he does try one. It seems the same, but it's still weird to think about.

"I'd have thought it wasn't so bad, but being here? Kind of a revelation." Even if his life had been webslinging through skylines and fighting giant lizard men, he still hadn't been able to truly imagine a world wherein magic existed. Now, he's at least able to accept it. Slowly, but surely.

Oska was not without its local plantlife, and though Olivia herself was no horticulturist, there were definitely some things you just couldn't ignore. The sudden appearance of another tree, for instance... and one that easily dwarfed all the others around it, so much so that it was easily visible from anywhere on the grounds? You'd have to be blind not to notice it. And, with her curiosity as strong as it was, Olivia of course could not help but venture closure, Saffron close by her side.

Happening upon the tree — and the tall man lounging carelessly beside it — Olivia had a moment to wonder if she should at all be surprised by the sight. It was certainly unexpected, and yet there was something about it that just seemed to make sense, too. Ban was, after all, always so full of surprises.

"Is this your doing?"

Bending back a few of the lower branches of the otherwise massive tree, Ban had hollowed out a makeshift seat for himself that naturally curved to accommodate him even with his tampering. As if it possessed a mind of its own, it let him do as he pleased and helped him out to boot. With a handful of berries in one hand, Ban sat back with his mouth poised open to drop a few in his mouth as Olivia made her way through the underbrush and trees to see it for herself.

Ban popped the berries in his mouth, messily chewing and looking up past her to the outer lining of the pink leaves overhead. Lying would be just as unbelievable as telling the truth, he thought. So, he answered honestly.

"I helped."

She glanced up at the tree, even more impressive up close than at a distance. It seemed almost too much, perhaps even imposing, but the light colors, and the calm air around it helped soothe any such worries.

"It's beautiful," she commented after a moment. Asking Ban anything was always a gamble with the truth, but she didn't see what reason he would have in lying now, and so she chose to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Is it from your world?"

"Yeah," Fishing one of the almoca leaves he had sequestered from the top out of one of his sleeves, Ban popped it into his mouth to suck on after the berries went down. He let his eyes drift from the trees upper branches back down to Olivia, who had been watching it with her own sort of curiosity and intensity. No one could really ignore a gigantic tree like that and even after two decades, he was still surprised by how massive it was. Even if she was distracted by the sight of it, Ban doubted she wouldn't see through the few roadblocks he would bother to place for her.

"King would be able to tell you all about the Almoca tree. I just planted it as a favor."

The mention of King brings a sad smile to her face. She missed him, and she wondered if Ban did too. Somehow she didn't think asking him would enlighten her any further.

"A favor for who?"

"Elaine," Ban could go a thousand years without seeing King again. It wasn't a dislike of Harlequinn that brought him to that conclusion, though. It was just who he was. Ban was used to loneliness enough that he imagined he could be without anyone a long time and be no worse for it. While he was ultimately wrong about it, he still thought of it that way.

"When the first forest was burned down."

He wasn't surprised by how easily he said it. There was a time and place to tell the truth--especially when Olivia probably already knew it all from King.

She didn't, not really. What King had told her were vague generalities, and a surprising amount of care had been taken not to tell her too much of stories that were not his to tell. Olivia had been curious, sure, but she resisted the temptation to pry too much, hoping then that Ban would come to tell her himself. As he was now.

She remembered that name, though.

"She means quite a lot to you, doesn't she...?"

"Yeah," No hesitation. A mirthless smile briefly met Olivia before Ban crossed his arms, leaning back and slumping. Shoulders sagging, he began to look more and more tired. While she had been quietly pressing forward, Ban gave up ground without much of a fight. There wasn't any point to it when he had nothing to gain and nothing to hide. He wasn't far from Elaine anymore, really. The problem was making sure he didn't let his memories of ALASTAIR tarnish what he had with her.

He didn't resent Olivia for pushing that far. She never acted maliciously towards him, even if he tended to bite back as if she had.

"Even as bad as I am, she won't give up on me. Without her, I'd be dead or completely alone."

If she were at all surprised to find that, all along, Ban had had someone like that in his life, believing in him and trusting in him, she did not show it.

Frankly, she found it was the people like Ban who often needed it the most.

"I'm glad," she confessed, after a quiet moment of thought. Carefully, she came closer, just enough that she might reach out to rest a gentle hand upon the bark of the tree. "I'm glad you have someone like that in your life."

Even if Elaine weren't currently in it. Sometimes just the memory of that person was enough, or so Olivia would have liked to hope.

You aren't busy, are you? is a quite loaded question. Wasn't everyone supposed to be busy right now? She, herself, should have been helping out. She should be doing more. Except she isn't, she's been hiding in her room to avoid the strain playing pretend does to her. It's only when hunger gets to be too much that she ventures outside, trying to find the kitchen or at least food that will help from the kitchen area.

When Ban calls out her head tilts, a frown quick to cross her face from the last time they met.

"I am afraid I shall have to decline."

She isn't in the mood for it right now, that's for sure, but this is a public area. Both of them are entitled to be there.

It didn't take much to read into Sonia's mood. Some people made it an effort to conceal their emotions but when it came to him--people rarely hid their irritation or disappointment. It was pretty easy to see when someone was irritated so long as he was in a frame of reference. Grinning, Ban hung over Sonia and followed with the measure of ease afforded to him by years of being looked down upon, metaphorically speaking.

"You haven't even heard the offer~."

For the most part, she would hide it. It just seems as though Ban has scored an irritating level close to Souda's from home in that she'd rather just Avoid him if she can. It doesn't help when he's trying to follow her though.

"I do not need to hear it."

She pauses then to look into what she can find in the kitchen, trying to ignore him. Sadly that isn't going to work, but props to her for trying I guess.

"You're a poor judge. 'Cast iron stove'," Ban countered absentmindedly, idly reaching over to his side to reach into a bag that he had strapped to his belt. Without any hesitation, he pulled out a fully fledged cast-iron stove and dropped it on the floor of the kitchen's remains, cracking a few of the tiles that were recently fully repaired. He fed the stove a loving smile before peering towards Sonia from the corner of his gaze with a bit more malice in that second look.

There was no pause in him even after he yanked the stove out of thin air.

"If you were more polite, Princess, you could earn some of the best cooking you'd ever taste in your liiife~."

Edited 2017-06-05 23:37 (UTC)

Him dropping the stove down near to her makes her jump slightly, her hand gripping over the fabric over her heart. Her eyes go down to the cracked floor, then back up to his face again.

"I am sorry to say that would be impossible. Therefore, I am not missing out on anything."

She's only stubborn about this because:

a) she grew up in a castle with their own cooks
b) Teruteru might have a gross personality, but he really was the Ultimate Cook
c) Haise's cooking is something she gets to eat frequently and she will stan for him a lot more than she'd ever give Ban the chance to even try and prove her wrong... sorry Ban.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

We need to plan our vacations better.

cooking!

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almoca tree.

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Business

Re: Business

PLEASE FORGIVE THE LATE i contracted plague and died for a week

i was cramming in the end of overwatch season 4...;;

lmao no worries... I HOPE YOU ENDED STRONG 💪

I ENDED AT 2481... SO.... CRIES

lma that's pretty good!!! have you made plat this round?

Nope! I've actually moved onto building a table for a bit ;;

hey, that's pretty amazing, tho!! i haven't played since placing gold on my journey back 2 plat

now doing electrical for the table D:<

this is gonn be a hell of a table!!

almoca tree

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cooking... 10 years later [sob]

:D

♥

:D!!!

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