Thought for food [Open!]

[powertotearer]

Who: Eiji (powertotearer), more adorable robot buddies, and you
When: IC 8/10
Where: In the gardens, along the water
What: Eiji needs to think a bit. And eat. That would be good too.
Rating/Warning: None so far

---

Eiji had not enjoyed his last stint in ViViD. Locked in a threatening place, dead people that looked way too familiar, and of course the terrifying moment of being strapped to an operating table for experiments, again.

There was really only so long he could spend in his apartment, moping, especially when most of the appliances weren't working and he really needed to eat.

So, if you were Eiji, you'd go out, find a spot along the water, and start a fire to grill up some fish--fish that he'd had to buy, when he realized he had no idea what species in the water were sentient and/or poisonous. But an impromptu cookout was enough to help clear his mind for a little.

What also helped? Three new candroids--two Battas and one Kujaku, who were happily playing with Eiji's two Takos.

Also, if any of the candroids were celebrating the malfunctioning of the inferior CYbuddy oppressors? Well, Eiji was trying not to notice.

Comments

[onethousen]

It sounded like a better plan to her all around. Water from the sewers had to be treated to be made safe for anything again, or so she vaguely understood, and sinks connected to sewers. Somewhere along the line. She nodded, tucking the rest of the turtle away into her bag with the other bath bombs.

She named a section of the Residential District not so far off from various code-born (or whatever they were) lived. In a way, people did seem to congregate regardless of intention. "Though it's okay, I can probably finish testing like this on my own."

Meaning she didn't want to drag him away from other duties he had, or things he wanted to do, simply because she'd ended up sharing an odd problem she was facing with him at random.

[powertotearer]

"It's okay. I'm kind of done for the day anyway." It really didn't take long to clean everything up, after all, although the candroids were a little disappointed he wasn't letting them play with the fish in the stream.

"Unless you had someone you were supposed to meet, though."

[onethousen]

Pausing to think, Chihiro shook her head. "Not right now," she admitted, but she hadn't been sure. Her schedule was actually clear, as far as meetings with other people went. Other life chores? Those were definitely still on her to do list. Along with a belated introduction! Chihiro bowed her head to Eiji, just enough to be carefully polite.

"My name's Chihiro. Thank you very much for your assistance with these bath bombs, sir."

[powertotearer]

"You don't have to do that!" He was already way out of practice with formality, and that was just back at home.

"I'm Eiji. And I'm happy to help, really."

[onethousen]

Sorry, it was ingrained, Eiji... but she offered up a small smile either way. "It's nice to meet you, Eiji-san." While happily moving forward, keeping her bag of bath bombs close. It was nice, as far as days went. Nice, but still nothing like home.

"Have you been in Cerealia for long?"

[powertotearer]

"I got here a month ago with a friend of mine. But either way, we've kind of been away from home for a while."

He reached over to help with the bag, in case she was getting tired.

"How about you?"

[onethousen]

"A few days ago." Three by now, which had her nervous. Three days and she'd been able to find a means to helping her parents before, but here? No one had the same information, or the same simplicity of reality, to contend with. Everything was more complicated.

"What do you mean when you say that you've been away from home for a while?"

[powertotearer]

"Oh." That had to be hard, on a kid as young as she was, he figured.

"Well, we ended up in another world before this, but it was pretty bad. And before that, I was traveling a lot and had only stopped off at home for a little bit, so..."

[onethousen]

"Wow. I didn't realise so many had been to other worlds before ending up here." She was impressed, glad that it was more common than she'd thought. It was also a neatly distracting thought from any of those she'd prefer not to linger over.

"Does it get tiring?"

[powertotearer]

"Travel? Or just being away from home? Well..."

It was a surprisingly hard question, now that he really thought about it. He hated knowing what had happened to his world. He hated not having a choice whether or not he could leave or go back. He really hated some of the things he'd witnessed and experienced.

But he couldn't wish it all away, not when it had brought him friends.

"I guess it depends. It's exciting, going somewhere else. I meet new people and see things I never could before. But I never really had a place I felt like I could call home, not until really recently. And I realize now that I miss it when I'm gone--mostly all of my friends. But it doesn't mean I wouldn't want to meet everyone else too. I just like having a place and people to come back to."

Then, realizing this was a lot to dump on a kid, he asked, "Does that make sense?"

[onethousen]

She listened to him as he spoke, holding her bag close and doing her best to understand what she was hearing. The excitement, lacking a sense of home, missing friends... some of it resonated better than other things. Yet part of what she'd been learning was how to understand those points of view that were different than hers.

Could she understand what he was saying. "It does. You miss the people who can't be with you. They're your home." Not any blue house, or grey house, or any colour house. The people were who he missed. She could understand that. She felt it too. "It doesn't mean that meeting new people and seeing different places isn't interesting. You just also have people to come back to. That's important to you."

It was something important to her, too, for all that her people mostly meant her parents. Until here. Now it was every face she could remember that spoke to her heart as something like home.

[powertotearer]

Something about the way she was holding the bag close to her made Eiji wonder if maybe this was harder on Chihiro than she was trying to let on--how many times, after all, had he seen Hina back home clutch her purse or whatever (and sometimes, the unfortunate whomever) was closest when talk turned to her brother?

"Are you okay? Do you have anyone here to stay with?"

[onethousen]

"Mm! I'm okay." She said it with a nod of her head, not smiling, but looking like she had a good sense of herself. "There's people who I can ask for things if I need to, and are ready to help me out. If I want to be staying with them, I can." She wasn't sure what she wanted to do quite yet. That or the player's not entirely sure. "People have been kind. I'm thankful."

[powertotearer]

He nodded back, although a little reluctantly. He'd seen some pretty self-reliant kids around here, but they'd at least had someone to stay with.

"If there's anything else you need, just let me know, okay?"

[onethousen]

She paused, considering his words. Not that she didn't feel she could rely on people, and not that she didn't think she probably would end up finding someone to stay with (who wasn't, er, a dragon who lived in her dresser). It was simply a reminder that the kindnesses of those around her were a warming, welcome thing, even when she had nothing she wanted to ask after.

"Thank you. I will, if I can think of anything. Giving me a way of testing out this stuff is a big help, though! I've never had to do anything quite like it before. Though I've made a volcano once. That was fun." Science was amazing.

[powertotearer]

"Okay. And that sounds pretty nice too. Don't know if it would work the same way as these, though."

He considered the bath bombs again for a moment--especially the cute turtle one--and finally asked, "And if they really do work out, let me know. They look like they'd be nice to try out once in a while."

[onethousen]

She hoped it wouldn't work the same way with the bath bombs! Imagine having the water react chemically to the point where it's fizzing up and going all over the place. It sounded like more of a mess than anything else, and she the only one around to, well, clean it up.

"Hm? Oh, of course! As long as I turn the short reviews in on time, they said they'll keep giving me the samples. Is there any particular scent or something you like?"

She can keep an eye (or nose) out for anything in particular.

[powertotearer]

"Anything, really, thanks. Whatever you think looks good. You're the expert, after all."

[onethousen]

She nodded, planning to do as much. "Okay! I'll find a good one for you." Something herbal like what Kamaji-san managed...

[powertotearer]

"Thanks. Are you sure you don't want me to walk you back?"

He was a little more careful this time not to say "home," knowing full well that Cerealia would never be that.

[onethousen]

She shook her head, eyes bright, expression determined. "It's okay. Thank you for offering, Eiji-san. I'll see you later!"

Home was a matter of heart. It wasn't the place she wanted to be, and it was missing a good deal of who was important in her heart, but she was young. She'd make it work, best as she could.

Every day was an opportunity. She'd do what she could to make the best of that.