Horseshoe, Day 21, Early Morning

[consider8]

[Eight switches on her screen, looking a little dour.]

Hello. I'm in need of a significant amount of paper and bottles. I have a project in mind that requires both.

I saw that there is a printer available, would it be possible for me to use some of it?

I would make the purchase myself, but I used it all for clothing.

Any help would be appreciated.

Comments

[adregem]

[ How unexpected! Maybe even kind of cute! Is she okay? But Roland isn't bothered too badly about it actually, in fact moving to pat her at the crown of her head briefly in encouragement that all was well, if she allows it. He'll glance upon the area she points to and hums in slight interest. ]

Hm. Mind giving me a little bit more to go on, Eight? Unfortunately, I'm not the most creative guy around.

[ He continues to smile at her, Roland's own way to help bring her back from her shell. ]

[consider8]

[Roland's presence does a lot to soothe her, though she is still very much red in the face. There's an expulsion of breath and she gingerly reaches for the hand that touches her. She offers a small nod.]

It's a mural. I want to make a mural. Or a mural... space?

[Her eyes opened and stare at the blank wall.] Where I'm from, we sometimes put our thoughts and dreams on walls. It helps us remind ourselves of things that we could not see or was not around.

I wanted to give people a chance to remember and share their home...

[adregem]

[ He nods with heightened attention, returning to look at the wall now imagining how it can turn out. Murals are staples in his world too, and sometimes hold much more meaning than what meets the eye. Roland smiles in quiet approval. ]

That's beautiful. Good for you for taking such an initiative right away. [ Roland then realizes how terrible the timing might be for everyone new on the train; immediately subjected to memories they might not have wanted to confront so candidly. That's the train, for you. ]

Like I said, I'm no artist. But is there any way I can assist you?

[consider8]

[O-Oh... her face was starting to clear, but is starting to turn red again with Roland's next words. She really wasn't that used to being praised, even though her friends would do it often.]

W-Well... I don't want it to be an emergency like... [Like what Tidus made it seem.]

But... mm... I could use an adhesive to keep the paper on the wall.

[adregem]

[ Roland waits a beat after Eight replies before he begins rolling up his sleeves until the elbow, still looking at the wall. Why not? ]

Heh. Don't worry about that. It was just a Tidus joke. You'll get used to it.

[ When he turns to face Eight again, Roland summons the full stationary set - or at least, the set without the sheets of colored paper - as it appears in thin air, surrounded by a glimmer of gold in his hand. This, he rummages through, one eyebrow quirked up. ]

Looks like I've only got a glue stick in here. Will this work? [ Said item is revealed from the pouch of stationary, offered to Eight right away. ]

[consider8]

[Having a little more explanation from Nita, Eight doesn't appear as bothered by magic as she used to. Which was good, because it appeared several people came with unexplained abilities.]

[She frowns a little and shakes her head.] That's not going to be good or strong enough.

[There's a sight.] If I had some ingredients, I could probably make some...

[Sure, it'd be basic, but it would have more lasting factor than a simple glue stick...]

[adregem]

[ He puts it back into the pouch, and poof! There it goes again, into the hammerspace. But Roland listens to Eight trail off, crosses his arms again after she finishes. ]

What kind of ingredients do you need? We can go check the Stores.

[consider8]

[She gives the matter some thought. While do-it-yourselves were a part of Octarian military, they usually had glue on hand...]

Milk... vinegar... sodium bicarbonate... water... something to cook that in, a couple of things to stir it, and something to store it.

[adregem]

[ And here he thought he wouldn't be able to help her at all. Roland nods and starts walking out of the quiet room, glancing behind him expectantly. ]

Let's go make your adhesive, then. It just so happens we've got all of what you need.

[ Roland would know; taking audit of ingredients on a scheduled basis. ]

[consider8]

Veemo! [There were many uncertain things about all of this: the abduction, the gratuitous use of power that seemed to defy logical explanation, the fact that she was the only Octarian...]

[But Roland? Roland felt like a pretty reliable source of support. She was starting to feel that she could trust him with anything.]

[adregem]

[ 'Veemo...?'

He tries not to think about it, just rolls with it. Could be an expression of affirmation from her world, and that's just fine with him. He'll walk forward first, leading them decidedly into the Stores where most of the ingredients and supplies are located. It isn't too long of a walk, either. And he spends enough time counting things here that he knows where things are: the sodium bicarb in the dry pantry, milk in the cooler, vinegar by the shelf. Water of course, by the sink. A pot to boil it in, deep and heavy set by a cabinet. All brought out in perfect order. ]

Is this all?

[consider8]

This is all!

[She goes to work immediately... heating up the milk a moment to get it nice and hot, adding the vinegar to get curds and whey. She swiftly filters out the liquid and tries to get as much the liquid out as she could before adding the baking soda and water. It takes a bit of stirring but quickly the gross looking balls start to even out into a thick white paste.]

[She shows off the paste to him emphatically, proclaiming a very positive:] Vemmo-ee!!

very sorry for the late tag!

[adregem]

[ Roland watches Eight work diligently on her materials, giving her whatever space she needed to create her adhesive. It's an interesting sight to witness, and something he would take note of about Eight moving forward. He wonders briefly where she learned how to do all of this, and so specifically too... ]

[ At her exclamation, Roland offers a smile back and nods in some sort of approval, her concoction looking quite like paste as one might expect. ]

Wow. That's definitely better than a cute glue stick. Well done. Did you just happen to know that recipe by heart?

[ To aid her, Roland takes the empty jars and opens the lid up for her to scoop the adhesive in. ]

it's all good -- this was a very busy week for me, too

[consider8]

[She gives a big smile, like a proud kid that got an A on her science project. She graciously starts pouring in the paste before starting on another batch.]

Hmn...? Oh, I don't remember the exact directions. If I had more time I could make better materials, but adhesives are really important for us to have and so a basic recipe never hurt.

Sometimes you have to make do with what you have on hand. [Back home her people lived underground for 100 years. Resourcefulness has become an important skill to survive.]

[adregem]

[ That's quite the apt expression, if Roland were to be made aware of it. He secures the first jar of the adhesive and sets it aside, wondering if he should be helping her out on the next batch. Eight seems to be quite on top of it, however. So for now, he's content to watch. ]

That's right. Maybe this is something I should take note of, too. [ A serious thought! Would it be alright to take his notes out? ] Any other emergency recipes you can do? [ Roland may just be making small talk while she works, but honestly, he gives an impression that he's taking everything she's doing quite seriously too. Missions vary, after all. Who knows when these would come in handy? ]

[consider8]

[She looks up from making the second batch quizzically. She sort of... took it for granted what she knew and forgot what other people didn't.]

Um... I know how to make a sharp edge out of a hard rock and metal and how to make a hammer. I know how to dry food to make it last longer to eat. I know how to make a patch for holes.

Mmm... those are all important, right? [She was pretty sure, given her position, that none of those recipes were especially new to Roland. It's all the basics of crafting: something to cut, something to hit, something to paste, and something to keep your energy up.]

[adregem]

[ He nods impressively. ]

They sure are, Eight. [ To her surprise then, that Roland probably doesn't know as much survivalist information as he should. Chalk it up to the perks of a modern world? But still, that was no excuse. If anything, he's genuinely interested. ] Maybe one day, you can share that info with the rest of the train. I'd say it'd go a long way in an emergency, especially on missions.

[consider8]

Mmmr... [She... wasn't a fan of the idea. Sure, she had been given a lot of help, but she had also found the perils of being too open with sharing information. It was not really in her nature to reveal so much to so many so quickly. She would much rather teach Roland and then have him explain it to others.]

[But, there was sense in the idea, despite her discomfort.] I will consider it.

[adregem]

[ If she ever decided to approach Roland first with whatever she deemed comfortable enough to share, Eight wouldn't encounter a single problem. Roland's already an eager guy to absorb and document as much new information as he can. ]

That's good enough for me. Thanks, Eight. For now, let's keep making your glue so you can start on that wall, yeah?

[consider8]

Mm! [She's good for that, and sets to busily making the next batch.]