voidtreckernet | Getting It Over With - Video

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Getting It Over With - Video - OTA (CW: Death mentions)

[Najaran sighed and with Gremlin's help figured out how to send a video message. Machines were still a little confusing to her.]

[A deep breath then she began speaking to where Gremlin's small scaly finger came into frame to point her to.]

"Leia and I already talked about it. But I figure a lot of you are gonna wanna let me know how upset you are that I didn't let the train evacuate me at the end of the last mission. That I tried to stand and fight those things. That I refused to run away again. Anyway, I'm probably going to be hungry a lot this month, so if you're going to yell at me, I'd rather just let everyone yell at me today and just get it over with, okay?"

[She hesitated, unsure, then shrugged.] "So yeah. I'll be in the Garden car if you want to come yell at me in person. Just please be careful not to hurt Woodfolk, they had nothing to do with it."

[Again that scaled hand came onto the screen to point out what she was supposed to do next.]

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"Oh." He pauses, his voice still soft. "Did I wake you?" He'd tried to be discreet, but he can understand that his shuffling about had disturbed her. The hand on her back still holds her steady, but he's ready to shift if she wants to move, or to help cradle her once more.

"W'ldn't y'r bed be better? Y' should sleep a bit more." Especially after all this. After the tears and the pain and the aches. She should rest. She should rest, not just her body but her soul and spirit too. Gently ease the last of the grief away. Or at least, he thinks that would be the best thing to do.

She gave a small sleepy shrug. "S'kay," she mumbled. She snuggled in a bit more. "C'fy...' her voce was muffled by his own shoulder as her face pressed into it.

Speaking of muffled sounds, Goligan had his mustache over his own mouth, trying not to laugh loudly enough to further wake her.

Esteban's too used to this.

As someone with no concept of personal space-- and with friends (and family) who are just as oblivious as he is about personal space, there's this sort of understanding that the best spot in any location is leaning against his friends, against the people he cares about. So Najaran's comment doesn't really get him to move much-- just shrug it along and accept it.

"Are y' gonna sleep some more?" he asks, though, because she can-- as much as she wants to. He just... shuffles a bit; needing the stretch along his limbs. "Cold? Hungry? I'm gonna get you some wa--" he pauses, realizing he really can't move when she's tucked so tightly into his side; his unnatural warmth shared between them, and the scent of fire and ashes probably lulling her to sleep anew.

She had almost drifted back off. Almost. But then he asked if she was hungry. Her head popped up. He'd be able to see her face now, and see in it that she was clearly more than half a sleep still. Despite that, she said "Food....?"

His nose scrunches, his crooked smile growing across his lips as the snicker escapes him in tiny huffed breaths, amused again. Yeah. Food would be good-- and not only for the young girl; they should both eat something. And drink. Even if there is comfort to be had now, he does want to tell her--

-- in a minute. First up, food.

"Not the best of cooks 'round, but we can make somethin' together," he prods lightly. His hold comes a little loose as he notices she has a goal now, and they both should be getting up. The hoodie, he leaves to her, as long as she wants it-- it positively floats on her, dwarfing her in its massive size. He still stays near as they stumble back up to their feet, just in case she's not ready yet to go.

She got up sleepily, yawning. "Can cook..." she mumbled. She looked down at the hoodie she was wearing, confused, but too asleep to figure it out. She grabbed Goligan and used him to support herself as she swayed.

"What're we gonna make?~" Seems she's not getting rid of him that easily, and if Esteban isn't the main cook in their endeavour, at least he can make himself usefu-- at least he can be a bit of an entertaining nuisance while she works. His snicker scrunches his nose as he offers, and he has to beat back the offer to just carry her around.

It's been... a long time since he's done that for anyone. The trek to the kitchen won't be long, and the walk is helping him stretch out knots and itches that have lingered in his limbs.

"In my world, there's a cookin' technique that's just a flat stone that you set on top 'f a hearth." It's not important, just mindless blabber as they walk.

"Th' stone's heat transfer's more steady, so it grills everythin' pretty equally. There's pretty table d'signs around that sorta cookin', an' it's pretty popular all 'round, 'specially in winter." Hunger is starting to churn, and Esteban has to grin when his stomach growls. Yeah, they'll get to it pretty soon. He pauses for a bit, before adding.

"What sorta food d'you miss from home?" It's-- it's a bit of a gamble. But maybe he can get her some. A little piece of home back in her hands. Maybe.

"Dunno..." she mumbled to his question of what they were gonna make. She woke up some as they walked and she listened to what he was talking about. She wondered if she could make one of those in the Garden Car.

But at his question at the end, she smiled wistfully. "Pretty much everything except mushrooms and things Joaquin makes," she said with a chuckle. But she thought about it more seriously. "My Master has the yummiest cake sometimes. I haven't had any in ages now. Even before the Train...."

That's twice Esteban prods a bit about food, and that's twice Najaran has brushed his question off, albeit not on purpose. There's a snicker in his lungs again, brightness coming easy to him, despite the heavy weight of their earlier discussion. This is nice. It helps, in its own way, as he teases lightly.

"Y're not a picky eater, are ya? Other than mushrooms? What happened t' make you hate them so much?" Unfortunately, curiosity is not a trait Esteban would ever want to work out of his personality. So his friends are going to have to deal with him being nosy into anything and almost everything. Especially if he can wiggle away with some knowledge of their lives, of their path, of their experiences. He's greedy like that.

She yawned and shook her head when he asked if she was a picky eater. She wasn't. She loved nearly all foods. In part because of how much starving as a child made her appreciate food, and in part because food is just intrinsically yummy.

But when he asked about mushrooms, she shuddered a bit. She was almost fully awake now. "I... told you about Kigi and the Mistrals, right?" she asked, just groggy enough to not be sure.

There's a nod and a slow "yeeeees?" though he seems a bit confused at first. "Kigi 's one 'f your mentors? Or-- she gave you her book at least. Mistrals are the ones that... call to cards the way y' do?" He pauses, and startles.

"No-- those are Scepters. Um." What were Mistrals again? "Are they the ones that recall the stories 'f your world?" Is he getting these confused? If she's explained it before, she might have to do it again; Esteban tries, but he's keeping track of so many worlds at this point, it's no wonder that some of it slips him by.

Maybe he should start writing down what he knows?

Oh, who is he kidding; he'd never have the patience to do that.

"Oh! Kigi was part of the Mistrals!" That he seems to remember, even though he can't quite recall what Mistrals were themselves. "She was a Scepter, an' she was a Mistral too, right?"

"La....Lady Najaran... We may have found someone... with a worse memory that yours!" Goligan said.

Najaran twitched so that she "accidentally" smacked Goligan's face against the wall.

"Kigi was the last of the elves. She and her people were bound to protect Bisteam, and the secret buried under it. They had a legend that said that there was a group called the Mistrals who could fix... well... everything. But thy had to test everyone who came to see if they were the Mistrals or not... and um the first test..." she shuddered a bit. "We walked through the gate thing, then suddenly we were in this sealed room with all these skeletons..." She swallowed a bit. "They were all twisted up. And their jaws all looked snapped off. Wile we were trying to figure out what killed them, and how to not die too... um... we found some mushrooms. And whenever they were damaged, they multiplied and grew... And, um... they... what is the word, Goligan?"

"Spores. They gabe off spores," he said, rubbing his nose with his mustache, tears in his eyes.

"Right. They gave off spores that made us laugh. We were laughing so much it hurt and we couldn't stop. Just... everything seemed so funny. And at some point I started thinking it might be funny to see if the mushrooms would multiply in my stomach when I ate them. So I started eating. Then there was a HUGE mushroom. So I called out my Cards and we all chowed down. And somehow that worked and we ate all the mushrooms and the room opened up. But as soon as we were free, my mouth tasted super gross, and my stomach felt all icky. Now I don't even like looking at mushrooms..."

Oh, Kigi was an elf? He thought--

"She was the last?" That-- seems impossible in Esteban's mind. The last of the Elves? He may have his quarrel with some of them, but for them all to die out? He cannot imagine it.

Perhaps the world would be better without them. Perhaps it would be worse. He can't... imagine it either way.

He shakes his head. This isn't-- he's getting too wrapped up. Kigi was the last of the elves, and she was keeping the Dark Lord at bay... somehow. The Mistrals are a group that maybe doesn't even exist, or maybe doesn't exist yet, he's unsure about that, and Scepters call cards to life. Ish. He thinks. It's... a lot. Pieces of a puzzle that he doesn't all have.

But he can catch them. Bit by bit, he can catch them and place them in order. For Najaran's sake, if nothing else. It brings a grin to his lips, weaker than usual, perhaps, but determined nonetheless.

"Alright, so crazy murd'rous mushrooms that kill with laughter." That's... a whole new one too. Yikes. "No mushrooms. Got it." He can keep that on the list of things he clearly knows at least. And.

"... that was the first test?" He's... nosey. Maybe he should back off, but-- 'Dians. She's so young. And Kigi tossed her into these trials? Yikes. He's not sure he likes her much-- though Najaran seems to have held her in high esteem.

Najaran nodded. In one of the tests we all got turned into plants."

"Najaran got turned into an insectivore," Goligan said.

"Yech," she added, wrinkling her nose at the memory. "And yeah, all of Kigi's people gave their lives to maintain the seal in the Dark Lord.... I'm not so sure we were actually the Mistrals they sought so much as... the last chance they had..." she said, frowning a bit in thought, eyes distant and sad.

"No mushrooms an' no insects," he adds, trying to bring a bit of levity to her words. The kitchen looms ahead, leaving them to traverse the dining rooms, which are surprisingly empty, being mid-afternoon. He hesitates for a moment, before adding "an' no gettin' upset when you do y'r best to help everyone."

He's not sure if he's allowed, but Najaran seems like she could use a little pick-me-up, and it's not a gesture he feels wholly uncomfortable doing for her. His hand drops lightly at the top of her head to ruffle the strands, the corners of his mouth rising as he gives her a cheery grin.

"I think I can do that," he assures her, stepping forwards to open the door to the kitchens. It feels a little tossed out there, this small reassurance-- but he didn't know when else to tell her, and he doesn't want to lose it entirely either. So, casual or not, he's said as much. And if she doesn't believe him; he'll just have to prove it to her.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" he asks once in, ready and willing to follow along with her instructions. Cooking yummy food is bound to raise their spirits up after all.

She appreciated the no mushrooms and no insects, but especially the no getting upset at her part. She smiled at him as he ruffled her hair.

As to his question, she considered the kitchen. "Well.... I know a few good stew recipes depending on what is in stores..."

"Ooooh~ Stew is good~" Esteban adds cheerfully, before setting himself his own task. "If we make bread too, we can get bread bun bowls~ They're really popular durin' the feasts of the Bronze Moons, 'cause all of it gets eat'n up." He has... a vague idea on how to make those. It's basically pizza dough, but not spread out, right? That works, right?

Well, one way to find out. It's a good thing that he and Jake have started keeping up with making dough now, because it means there's some readily available. Esteban is still going to make more though, in case Jake wanted to bake a pizza soon.

"Alright, what c'n I help you with?" he asks the teenager by his side, already washing his hands in preparation for their task.

"Well... I hav no clue how to make bread bowls, so if you want to make those and then come into the Garden car while they're baking...?"

"Ah! I'll get them ready while you make the stew. Bread takes a while to knead, an' then y' have to let it sit. I can prep it up here an' then bring the bowl with me to the garden?"

For the other loaves-- the ones he would bake for their stew, it was easy enough to set them in an oven, leaving the timer to take care of it; a nifty little thing Esteban had learned to use with how many pies he'd baked so far! So while Najaran gathered her ingredients, Esteban was quick to measure and combine his own in a simple bowl-- dumping the yeast in the water to let it sit while the rest went on top, and was essentially ready to mix.

"Alright~" he cheers, as soon as the mix is ready. "Anythin' you need help with?" He's got one free hand if she does!

"I don't have an oven to cook it in there, just the fire pit... so maybe kneed it and all that in the Garden car?"

"Yep! That's the plan!" He points at the loaves he's already set in the oven, and the timer that is ticking down slowly.

"Those are the bowls we'll use. This is just t' make more dough, 'cause it has to rest for it to rise, an' that takes a few hours." So definitely not in time for the stew. He does his best to try and grab a few of the things Najaran had set aside herself, trying to balance them in the one hand not holding the bowl with his mixture of yeast and flour.

"I'm ready! How' 'bout you?"

"Oh! Okay!" she said with a bright smile. She nodded that she was ready as she flounced towards the Garden Car with a pot full of water. Gremlin and both Eidolon followed, also carrying stuff.

With all their ingredients gathered, and the treck to the stone garden back underway, Esteban grinned at the few companions they'd gathered, and nodded, shifting back to the topic at hand before they'd gotten distracted with food.

"So what other tests didja have t' do? How many did y' go through?" he asks gently again. It's not that he wants to bother her with this, but the tests are just one more thing he can learn from Najaran, and about her world. Actually, more importantly--

"What were the tests designed to... test 'xactly?" What was Kigi searching for when she tested them?

"Mmmmm.... I'm not fully sure what they were supposed to test," she said. "I'm not smart like Joaquin and Alta..."

"Not mentioning Ganz?" Goligan asked.

"Half the time he was asleep and the other half he was drunk. Not sure how much he'd remember. He sure did teach me lots though. But the rest of the tests... Um... come to think of it what was the second again?" she asked Goligan.

"Naja...." he said sounding exhausted.

"Sorry sorry... it was...." she thought as she walked "Planting the garden?"

"No, that was what you did for the Woodfolk to make up for wounding that one and letting it get infected into a monster that absorbed all the other Woodfolk!"

"Oh... right..." she said sheepishly. "Um then it was probably... OH! THE WOOD FAIRIES!"

"Very good, Lady Najaran," Goligan said with warm approval.

"That one was just... weird. We had to catch a Wood Fairy. But there were lots of them and we had to catch the exact right one. They jumped around lots and Kigi said she guessed it was impossible for humans to pick out one Fairy from the rest cause we don't pay attention or something. I finally found the right one, cause she looked the most wilted from being in the shade, not as yummy as the others," she said, lost in the memory and seemingly unaware of how creepy that sounds. "But when I tried to catch her I kinda landed on another one and became a carnivorous plant." she sounded a bit sheepish at that. "Joaquin really saved the day that time..."

The woodfolk story sounds like... a kick and a half yet again. Esteban doesn't know how to react to that, other than to let it slip by him as he focuses on the memory Najaran is recalling for his sake.

Not as yummy seems an odd way to talk about a fairy. His eyebrows raise almost to his hairline as he tries to understand her words, but maybe, just maybe he might not want to know what Najaran might mean in that moment. It really makes him wonder what kind of life his friend had lived up to that point, before she mentions Joaquin again, and Esteban shifts his head to the side a bit, glancing back at her.

"Y' mentioned him a few times; who's Joaquin?" Wait-- was he? One of those who recalled the stories of her world? Is that him getting mixed up? Untangling everything from the shards that he catches here and there between Najaran's explanations is a bit of a puzzle, but he still finds it intriguing, prodding and poking and finding out where each piece sits, in his ever-slow progress.

"OH! You said he was one of the Mistrals, right?" Hang on-- "Doesn't that mean that he passed the test?" Did he... get that wrong? He thought the test was to find the Mistrals? But now he's a Mistral and Najaran is not? "Unless-- y' passed the tests together?" Is he getting a better picture here? At least it makes sense in his head.

"So you're a Mistral too?" Just-- making sure they're on the same page here. The unfamiliar terms are a bit of a struggle to keep track of after all. "He's a Mistral, y'r both a Mistral an' a Scepter." A slow nod. "Tell me more about him?"

Anyone who matters to his friends, after all, matter to Esteban as well. He's curious what sort of people Najaran had around her before she came to the train, and he seems less of a sore subject to her than Kigi is.

*nodsnods* hope the next few days get easier .__.

Thanks/.

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CW: mentions of a gruesome way some people died.

CW: some internalized racism?

Re: CW: some internalized racism?

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nodsnods hope the next few days get easier .__.