yogen | let out a sigh for another day ( OPEN TO ALL )

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let out a sigh for another day ( OPEN TO ALL )

WHO: Nene and You !
WHAT: Nene Yashiro explores a bit !
WHEN: Over Spring Break

[ This isn't the first time Nene has found herself in a strange place. But even that had been at Kamome, with school grounds she was familiar with, knew all too well even before she met Hanako-kun... and she had everyone she knew and loved at hand. Things were strange, yes, but she wasn't alone in unfamiliar territory. She didn't know anything about this school, save for scraps that made almost no sense.

But she's here. She's here, and she can't call on Hanako-kun to save her. ... She never did like being the princess in the tower, though. So throughout the break you may find her various places.

You might find her at Class 1-B, examining her own desk- or what she remembers to be her desk?- or other things. Maybe the teacher left something at their own desk! Or maybe she's glaring at spring break homework that has the audacity to exist. She's been working on it, she just is mad that it's there.

You may find her in the home economics room... or rather, rooms. If she's not going over sewing supplies- and stumbling over an odd coin hidden in a pin cushion?- then she's in the cooking room, looking over leftover ingredients and recipes. ]

Oh- I thought that I might be able to make something for us to eat... we can't just live on vending machine snacks.

[ There's only basic ingredients... but it's definitely workable!

Other times, you may find her in the Clock Tower. Admittedly, there's nothing to do there, not really. But she can see the outside. The sky feels wistfully far away, and the boarded up building and broken fencing are... suspicious. But there's not much she can do about it. All she can do is watch the outside world go by.

Between any of these moments, Nene is exploring less conventional places. Maybe it looks like she's just looking around... and technically, she is! But in her defense, she's been watching the hidden supernatural world for months now. The fact that it's suddenly gone... it can't be, right? The mokke have to just be hiding. They're probably scared too. Right? ]

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I think only agricultural schools have things like that, and they wouldn't be this close to a city, I don't think...

[ Maybe she'd do good in an agricultural school, but that sort of life just isn't for her. Still, ready access to chickens with eggs would be nice... especially like this. ... Hah. Maybe an animal tending club might happen. ]

You just have to start with something simple! ... And maybe having someone to help in case might be good. I used a lot of videos to learn though, maybe... no, never mind, the PDAs aren't that advanced.

[ She misses her phone. ]

[Yeah, that's what he thought. If there were chickens, they'd probably be dead or possessed or something. Because that's the standard this school has lived up to so far: Dead, possessed chickens.]

The PDAs aren't that advanced?

[He sounds genuine in asking this, and then he goes on to hold his up and wave it around like Nene has no idea what the device is in the first place. Yes, Noah, that is your PDA! Congrats buddy.]

This is a lot more advanced than what we had where I come from. You can send letters without paper. [That's called texting, sweetheart.] And— and you can draw on it.

[He's genuinely so enthusiastic about this that his entire demeanor has shifted. Like, this thing is cool! It's the closest he's been to giving an actual smile since he's arrived at this school anyway.]

Most of our technological advancements are magical in nature, s-so... uh. [Oops, the stutter is back.] I-I mean, we can't send messages like this can. We do have some different things, l-like... a race of machinelike people. My brother used to tell me about them.

Ah...

[ She hadn't considered that some people might not be aware of this sort of technology. Whoops. But he's so excited, it's so cute! ]

Well... back home we have similar devices, but they can also take and send pictures or video recordings, call people- like, you're talking but not in the same room, but you can still hear each other clearly??- and play games or look up information and other stuff!

[ oh god is she overexplaining please don't say she is

She does seem to get a bit distracted again though, looking over everything again... only to duck under the cabinets for frying pans and oil. Looks like she's got an idea! ]

[Noah pulls up one of the chairs in the room and butts it up against the edge of the countertop they're currently stationed at, sitting down on it and propping his chin in his palm. There's a curious look in those strange eyes of his, a glint of interest from someone who otherwise looks, frankly, down in the dumps at all hours of the day.]

Really?

[And, oops, she's ducked down out of his sight to look for something, but Noah keeps talking anyway.]

That's, um... that's really cool. What kind of games? Card games? Can you draw on those sorts of PDAs too?

[They're phones, sweetheart.]

I, u-uh... I like to draw sometimes, that's why I ask.

Some card games, but there's lot of types. Some let you build imaginary cities and farms, or raise virtual pets... there's some fighting games but I don't like those so much. All kinds, really.

The ones you can draw on are called art tablets- you have a special, big one and usually a special pen that makes marks without ink or damaging the screen, and you use that!

[ Nene pops back up, narrowly avoiding hitting her head on the counter and setting her gains aside. Each 'island' has an oven and stove, perfect- and the rice is still going. Time to fry up those veggies! ]

Drawing's nice though!! I bet you're really good.

[Please don't hurt yourself, Nene...]

U-um, they're just... sketches, mostly.

[Should he show her? He always has his notebook on him. He found this one in his locker when he got into it upon first transferring here, not his usual journal, but it's sufficed for the time being. Keeping a journal is what's kept Noah's memories straight throughout the various time loops he's been stuck in, although whoever took his other one off of him is going to have a hell of a time reading that if they bother to at all. He imagines it's the same person who stole some other objects off of his person when he arrived, but anyway...

It won't help Nene cook, but he hands the notebook over after a moment of contemplation. Within the pages are several doodles including the phases of the moon, cartoonish cats, portraits of various people that he's sketched with a ballpoint pen, and some more abstract work beyond that. It gets him through the day, to be quite honest. There's nothing to do other than be mildly freaked out and starve to death here.]

They're not... u-um... you know, great... [Certainly above average for a sixteen year old, though.] I wouldn't put them in a museum or anything... Oh, s-sorry. You're trying to cook. I shouldn't be distracting you.

Sketches are pretty too! There's just something to them that feels like home in a way.

[ Nene you fucking shoujo heroine. Get back to your occult fiction genre!!

Still, when he slides over the notebook, she gasps perhaps a mite dramatically. After a small questioning glance for confirmation that she could open it, Nene looks through some of the pages with awe. ]

I was right! They're amazing! [ And she sounds a little smug. Honey. ] You shouldn't sell yourself short, Noah-kun.

[ Carefully, she hands it back- it wouldn't do to let it get dirty while she was cooking- and washes her hands. As she starts to prepare the pan though, she shakes her head. ]

It's not a distraction at all. I like having the company.

Th...thanks.

[His art got complimented and now he's red, no big deal. Don't perceive him. It's not every day he bothers to show someone something so personal, alright? Very quickly, Noah tries to change the subject. Can't dwell on compliments for too long, after all.]

Y...yeah, company is nice, though. Being alone sort of... sucks.

[There's really no other way he could put that. That's just how it is.]

I wouldn't know how to handle it if I was trapped in this place alone. I guess I'd live on candy bars? [And also be depressed and have flashbacks, but yeah, let's gloss over that for now.] Or I would've just eaten that entire bag of chocolate chips...

S-so hey, uh... [He clearly started to talk before fully forming this idea in his head,] What's... your favourite book?

[ He's so shy, it's adorable. ]

Oh, my favorite book...? Hmmm... I like fairy tales a lot, actually. But otherwise I really like The Phantom of the Opera! [ and who was expecting that? ]

I don't know what I'd do if I was the only one in here. I don't want to think I'd give up, but there's only so much that could be done when trying to get through doors and windows that won't budge...

[ Rationing food might be easier. But she doesn't mind this bit of hardship. After a pause, she oh-so 'sneakily' opens the bag of chocolate chips and gently takes his hand to drop a few into. It's fine, since it's not the whole bag! ]

There.

[ And then she gets to frying those veggies with some of the spices she's found! It might not be super fancy, but it still smells good. ]

[Noah's going to make the executive decision to not tell Nene about how he tried to punch several windows as a breakout attempt. Because why would he use something like a desk or a chair to try and break the glass when he could just, you know, be a dumb boy about things and use his fists? His hand was bruised for quite a while after that.]

Oh— thanks. [He says to the chocolate chips, and then he tips his head back and eats all of them in one go. It's proper chocolate chip eating etiquette.] I like fairy tales too, but, um... What's... what's Phantom of the Opera about? A ghost in an opera house?

[That's... close? Noah should have expected that they'd have different books, since they're clearly from entirely separate worlds. And then he sort of connects some dots and blurts out seconds later:]

Wait, where you come from, can you use your PDAs to read books?!

Kinda! [ In a very dramatic fashion- ] A masked figure lurks within the catacombs beneath an opera house, and uses everyone's fear of him to influence everything about the productions as he desires- should they disobey him or fail to meet his standards, he strikes!

When he starts tutoring a chorus girl who caught his eye to sing, he uses his influence to get her more roles, but when another man falls in love with her, he gets furious and starts on his most dastardly plan yet... Ehehe, it can be really scary and tense, but I love the drama of it all! And I like scary things anyways, when it's fake.

[ Still, Nene can't help but giggle just a bit. ]

Yeah- phones can access most things online, and e-readers are designed specifically to be portable libraries.

[So Noah wants an e-reader now. Thanks.]

That... that does sound a bit scary. Is there a copy of it in the library, do you think? M...maybe we could go find it later. I want to read it.

[Maybe it's the fault of her dramatic explanation, but he's curious now. It sounds different than a lot of things he's read, so it certainly would be a change of pace. Harque would have never allowed him to read a scary book like that.]

I like reading, but, um. Most of the things I recall reading were children's tales and some historical records. Some magical tomes, too, but that's pretty standard.

[Well, no, it's not, most people at this school seem to have average non-magical upbringings, but it's standard for people on Elrios.]

There's some historical records of how where I came from, uh... came into being, I guess. When I was little, my brother Harque used to read me a children's tale about it.

( maybe someday... )

Oh! Maybe! If not, maybe one of the teachers could play one of the movie adaptions for class? It's not quite the same, but you also get to hear the music, so that's always wonderful.

( even as she cooks, nene listens, glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes now and then. magic, huh...? then they really aren't from the same place. )

That sounds amazing though! We don't have magic, not really, back home. There's exorcists and spirits, but that's different, y'know?

Your brother sounds really nice.

[Whaaaaat the fuck is a movie.

Noah files that away for later. It's reasonable to assume that they'll be in the kitchen all day if he starts prodding about various technologies. He's not quite so stuck on what a movie is anyway in comparison to...]

Y...yeah. He was the best.

[What memories Noah has of him, anyway; the real ones, not the falsified ones that he's still trying to parse and dig through to find where everything in his head got screwed up irreparably. He's aware of the fact that most of his life has been lived as a lie — not in terms of the people he knows, but in terms of what he thought he knew — and it's honestly a lot to unpack. His tone drops when he says that, but he manages to pick himself back up. It'll be fine. He'll be fine.]

It's... I can't use the magic here, b-but... mine has to do with manipulating shadows, I guess. I can make things out of them, too. I used to make a lot of, um, cats.

( completely unaware of his own turmoil, nene just smiles a bit more and keeps working. she tries not to think about the fantastical things she's seen all through the past year. tries not to think about rumors and stories coming to life. )

Ahh! That sounds so cute!! That's amazing!!!!

( and then, almost shyly-- )

I... I can normally see ghosts, and spirits... and my curse is gone too.

( ... nene. nene are you gonna elaborate? ... no? child. )

[She can WHAT?]

Is that... isn't that scary?

[Noah has seen a lot, so he doesn't think he'd be scared of some ghosts or spirits or whatever... but at the same time, that's got to be horrifying, right? He leans on the countertop now, folding his arms over one another and lying his chin atop his wrists, feet kicking to no particular rhythm.]

What do you mean, "curse"? Did the spirits curse you? ...that sucks.

It can be. ( oddly enough... now that she thinks about it, the ghosts she knew didn't look as the might have when they died at all. maybe they could control it? ) ... But I have a friend who protects me from the dangerous ones.

( "did a spirit curse her".... oh man, was there a good way to say "I did something stupid out of impulsive selfishness and only barely managed to not hurt anyone else?" ... probably not.(and really, she's selling herself short on the barely managed part, but... regretful kids.) nene isn't really sure how to actually go about this... especially since she'd been so careful to not let kou-kun see. )

Not exactly. I.... ate a mermaid's scale. So she cursed me in return. ... I-It's a really stupid story, actually.

...did it taste good?

[Is that a joke? Sort of. Noah walks the fine line between "haha funny joke" and "genuinely wants to know".]

I've never seen a mermaid before. I've heard of them. There are fairytales about them, but I didn't know you could eat their scales. [Pause.] I mean, if she dropped it and you ate it, it's her loss. Finders keepers and all.

[He's curious to know why, naturally, but he's not one to press for information where it isn't necessary. It's still messed up that she'd curse Nene, at least that's how Noah sees it. He wants to ask about the curse, too, and what that entails, but he decides to wait on that.]

... It was kinda salty.

( c. children... )

It was... definitely not what I expected, but I don't think all mermaids would be like how she was. I'm not sure how she lost the scale, though, actually... maybe it was stolen and she thought I did it?

( the best thing about chopped vegetables, which i definitely didn't forget to mention her doing, is that they cook fast. )

Should I fry the rice too?

[In Noah's very honest opinion, Nene doesn't look like she knows how to steal anything, so that mermaid was suuuuper wrong about that. But, well, looks can be deceiving (he still doesn't think Nene would've done that, though). Question about the logistics of mermaid curses forgotten, Noah moves onto the more important topic: food. His stomach growls in answer to her inquiry.]

You know how to fry rice? [Of course she does, what is he saying? He's not imagining fried rice right, though, thinking that she's going to coat individual grains in breadcrumbs and fry them like one would a chicken tender or something.] ...how do you fry rice? It's too small.

[And with that, Noah gets up from where he's been showing an example of extremely poor posture and comes to stand at Nene's side, because he's going to watch this.]

It works best when it's a day old, but I don't mind showing you now!

( fried rice and veggies it is! so noah might be a bit surprised when she doesn't bread anything. instead, nene pours some more oil into the frying pan and waits for it to some to a sizzle. when she was younger, the pops used to frighten her. as she adds the rice, she's sure to stir it carefully. with some soy sauce for flavor, everything's a little noisy... but it sure does smell great! )

See if you can find some plates, please!

[Oh, that's how you fry rice. Okay. Wow, he was dead wrong about the process, wasn't he? He stands there watching, intrigued, until Nene speaking catches his attention again.]

O-oh, sure...

[He swears he saw some earlier when he was standing on the countertops digging around. Let's see... plates, plates...

There they are. Noah's standing on another countertop, but it's fine, don't worry about it. He won't fall. He grabs a plates for the both of them and then jumps down like a cat, managing not to drop anything at least, before shuffling back over to the countertop where he was sitting prior and sort of just... setting the plates there. Do they have silverware? Without being prompted, Noah goes to find that too.]

H...hey, um... Nene? [Noah is holding a pair of chopsticks, the reusable kind made out of plastic.] What are these stick things for?

Oh- those are chopsticks. People in my country use them as utensils more often than not! We do have silverware too, though. I think this place is... supposed to be like it?

( ... if he doesn't know what they are, he probably won't know how to use them. so once she moves the food off the direct heat, nene goes over to show him how- demonstrating how to hold the bottom and then the top stick with slow care, she smiles. )

Like this, see? And then you use the bottom as support and the top to hold onto what you're picking up. It can be a bit hard to get used to, though...

["A bit" hard, she says. Noah is beginning to think that Nene might be a genius. Anyone who can use literal sticks to eat food is obviously more skilled than him. He makes an attempt to mimic what she's showing him and gives up after about two minutes.]

That's... difficult. [He manages the tiniest of embarrassed, breathy laughs.] I think I'll just use a fork.

[Which, luckily, those are easy to find, otherwise Noah is more likely to wear the food than eat it. Having successfully located utensils he's familiar with, he sets them out by the plates.]

Oh, um... thanks for cooking, by the way. It smells great.

( she remembers this trick her mom had done to help teach her when she was really little- but much to her annoyance, with the different sets of memories and the haze and just how long ago everything feels, she can't recall how it was actually done. a pity. )

I used to practice with candy and marshmallows. But yeah! You do what you need. No good making your hand hurt just for a bit of food...

( hand cramps are no laughing matter. still, nene just beams. )

You're welcome. Hopefully next time I make fried rice we'll have more options!

( and with that, it's time to eat! )

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let out a sigh for another day ( OPEN TO ALL )

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(lil meta joke here :'D)

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