( it's some time after her discussion with noah that she returns to search for her second target. kaede... kaede... maple doesn't believe the two of them have met yet, but according to hiyori, kaede is one of those who could use some sweetness the most. well, maple does suppose that she seemed to take today's topic pretty hard.
for now, she'll approach with two cups of tea—this time balanced neatly on a little tray, along with a teapot—and seems to be examining the other girl for a long moment before she speaks up. there's a slight tilt of her head, and: )
Excuse me... Kaede? I made you a cup of tea, if you'd like—Hiyori was worried about you.
[it seems like everyone's more or less come to an understanding, at least, for better or worse... kaede twists her skirt in her hands until maple speaks up; she smoothes it out again and smiles, looking at surprise when she realizes... just how cute... this girl is. aw. she's adorable looking.
hiyori, though. well... okay.]
Yes, that's me, and... thank you, I'd love some. Hiyori-kun was rather kind to me before too, this isn't the first time he's seen me upset and fixed it with some tea.
[... for all the care she was advised to take around him, the man makes a mean cup. it had helped anyway, and she won't turn down kindness shown in hard times.]
My name is Maple. I know Hiyori from before this place. We're... a little bit close.
( she'd like to think so, at least, and looks rather proud to share the fact.
oh, but she does nod along with kaede's comment about him. it's not something she's inclined to disagree with, instead wearing a smile now that her invitation seems to have been more or less accepted. the first half of it, anyway. as for the second: )
He's a very kind person, and he asked me to check on you. I wanted to ask if you would like to chat with me for a little while.
That's alright—oh, but if you'd like, you can try some on the way to the discussion room. ( ... hiyori's room. )
Hiyori picked out this blend specifically for you.
( so it's no wonder if kaede is eager to try it. maple will pause with the tray, allowing kaede to take one of the cups if she so pleases, but once it seems like they're ready to set off she turns on her heel and begins to lead the way to moon 4. )
[how... kind of him. do boys usually do that as a courtesy? the lemon balm was something she'd picked up by chance and he'd prepared it, but the cup that warms her hands as she picks it up to carry was done specifically for her.
...
it's fine it's probably nothing. she blows lightly on it, sipping the tea with a delighted hum. sweet and flowery... moving after maple.]
I didn't know tea could be so many different flavors... or that we had a discussion room. We usually just use the common room for things like that.
[as she saw.]
There's varying degrees of success, but... there isn't much to discuss today, in the end, so I guess that's why it didn't go too off the rails.
( from where she was observing, it felt like there was plenty to discuss—maybe not so much in terms of technicalities and investigations from their perspective, but the feelings they spoke with were just as important. hence why she's decided she wanted to take this opportunity to chat with kaede, who seemed to be very close to the epicenter of everything that happened. for the moment though, maple focuses on opening the door, stepping inside so that she can hold it open for kaede. )
Actually, it's just Hiyori's room, but he's let me redecorate it just like my old one.
( which, kaede will notice that the inside of hiyori and dito's room is very... fluffy now. there was a clear attempt at pinks, but where those are lacking, purples and oranges take their place, colouring the room like a sunset. there are only two beds, but off to the side, a small side table and two comfortable chairs that had recently gone missing from the common room are settled by the window. )
[the technicalities of the case and such are the only thing on her mind when it comes to discussion, though at least now... with things being put to rest in that way, she can figure out the best way to grieve. her hands itch to play piano and she presses them harder against the cup instead, willing the warmth to ease the tension.
the room is so
darling though, it draws her thoughts away as she looks around. it's so comfy. definitely a girl's touch, midori was sweet but definitely more refined-feeling than anything. presumably they'll be sitting at the mentioned table by the window, so she'll step that way to do so.]
Oh, it's so adorable in here! Sara and I haven't really done anything like this with ours, though now you're making me want to... My room back home wasn't really anything special, but maybe you can help us decorate a little. You're really good at it.
[piano... piano stuff... metronome... maybe like a bookshelf and a desk... that sounds normal enough, the main thing is piano.]
Thank you, Kaede! It doesn't quite have the same touch as my room before, but I'm glad if it has a relaxing atmosphere for you.
( because that's the point, in her opinion—to put people at ease so that they can be honest with their hearts. )
Maybe we can work together on your room when you feel better.
( for now though, this isn't kaede's room, it's hers. so in the interest of making her feel better so that they can do that together, maple believes it's important to approach the source of her feelings directly. setting down the tray to the side of the table, she arranges the teapot and her cup before straightening her skirt to take a seat, continuing lightly as she does so. )
But Kaede, you faced some difficult things today, didn't you?
[it's not said as a refute, but rather as an agreement -- she did, but so did everyone else... some more than others. kaede smiles a little, looking into her tea.]
It's... a lot quieter than the last meet-ups we've had. You could say it's the exception to the usual, not the one you should base the rest of off. Anything we do in the future has more of a chance of blowing up than not -- that's just how they are.
[but she's not annoyed or anything. it's how they show their hurt and care, she gets it -- they're upset over things that are important to them. it's good.]
( maple nods. she understands; this meeting wasn't the standard, but the exception. it seems to be a very lively group, for better or for worse. )
I was really surprised. I don't know if this meeting could be considered quiet...
( maybe in volume, but certainly not in emotions. though, it is a lead into something that maple is curious about. )
Hey, I wanted to know, did you get to say everything that you wanted to say? It sounded like you were very close to that boy, so I'm interested to hear what you thought.
Amami-kun and I were classmates in our other school, but there were definitely people who were closer to him than me. I'm not really sure what else to say, though...
[she thinks she got everything out. maybe. except maybe how much she misses him, it isn't the same opening her door and knowing the people who stay in the room across from her own now aren't the ones she wants to see. the time they spent together was more than they had before, and yet...
she turns the cup around in her hand, staring at the lovely orange tea.]
Rather than what I think, [because what is there to say,] can I tell you what I'm gonna miss instead?
( maple nods along with the words, soft but attentive all the same as she watches the other girl gaze into her cup.
it's a strange and distant feeling from her; maple had been lucky, in that she had never been separated from hiyori for too long. never for long enough to mourn his absence in a way like this. though it was a constant source of worry for her—enough that she can only imagine what kaede must be going through now. if there's something she can do to support her, maple will, and so she smiles at the question. )
... Truthfully, we didn't get to spend much time together back in our other school before Amami-kun befell a similar fate -- a little more violently, though.
[not half as peaceful. she smiles a little, tinged with sadness.]
We got to spend a little bit of time together then. I always thought he was kind of a puzzle, but I didn't really mind that? He was a good person, even if he hid his hand. That's what I thought, and... what I still think. Anyway, [because it's supposed to be what she misses,] we got to spend a lot of time together here. He took lunch more with the lower years, but it was still nice being in the same classroom at the time -- walking together to class when we could, playing piano, knowing that he was just across the way if I needed anything at all... and the same for him, of course.
[not that he could have come to her about this. kaede wouldn't have let him do it, and it wasn't her business anyway. she turns the cup around in her hand idly.]
It's a lot of simple, mundane sort of things... Things you'd take for granted, [her voice breaks a little and she exhales before she continues,] but you don't realize were so important to you until they're gone. Like studying together, or even just... being in the same space. Having the chance to hang out, even if you don't end up doing that. It isn't anything grand, not like... some people's... but...
[but they're small, important things. mundane things two normal high schoolers could do. a life she'd dreamed about with everyone back home, after they'd escaped -- and now she was the only one of them that was left. kaede pulls her lips against her teeth and wipes her eyes with the inside of her wrist, smile shaky.]
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03/05 – kaede
for now, she'll approach with two cups of tea—this time balanced neatly on a little tray, along with a teapot—and seems to be examining the other girl for a long moment before she speaks up. there's a slight tilt of her head, and: )
Excuse me... Kaede? I made you a cup of tea, if you'd like—Hiyori was worried about you.
no subject
hiyori, though. well... okay.]
Yes, that's me, and... thank you, I'd love some. Hiyori-kun was rather kind to me before too, this isn't the first time he's seen me upset and fixed it with some tea.
[... for all the care she was advised to take around him, the man makes a mean cup. it had helped anyway, and she won't turn down kindness shown in hard times.]
And you are...?
no subject
( she'd like to think so, at least, and looks rather proud to share the fact.
oh, but she does nod along with kaede's comment about him. it's not something she's inclined to disagree with, instead wearing a smile now that her invitation seems to have been more or less accepted. the first half of it, anyway. as for the second: )
He's a very kind person, and he asked me to check on you. I wanted to ask if you would like to chat with me for a little while.
no subject
It's nice to meet you, Maple-san, and sure. Can I help you with your load?
no subject
Hiyori picked out this blend specifically for you.
( so it's no wonder if kaede is eager to try it. maple will pause with the tray, allowing kaede to take one of the cups if she so pleases, but once it seems like they're ready to set off she turns on her heel and begins to lead the way to moon 4. )
no subject
...
it's fine it's probably nothing. she blows lightly on it, sipping the tea with a delighted hum. sweet and flowery... moving after maple.]
I didn't know tea could be so many different flavors... or that we had a discussion room. We usually just use the common room for things like that.
[as she saw.]
There's varying degrees of success, but... there isn't much to discuss today, in the end, so I guess that's why it didn't go too off the rails.
no subject
( from where she was observing, it felt like there was plenty to discuss—maybe not so much in terms of technicalities and investigations from their perspective, but the feelings they spoke with were just as important. hence why she's decided she wanted to take this opportunity to chat with kaede, who seemed to be very close to the epicenter of everything that happened. for the moment though, maple focuses on opening the door, stepping inside so that she can hold it open for kaede. )
Actually, it's just Hiyori's room, but he's let me redecorate it just like my old one.
( which, kaede will notice that the inside of hiyori and dito's room is very... fluffy now. there was a clear attempt at pinks, but where those are lacking, purples and oranges take their place, colouring the room like a sunset. there are only two beds, but off to the side, a small side table and two comfortable chairs that had recently gone missing from the common room are settled by the window. )
no subject
the room is so
darling though, it draws her thoughts away as she looks around. it's so comfy. definitely a girl's touch, midori was sweet but definitely more refined-feeling than anything. presumably they'll be sitting at the mentioned table by the window, so she'll step that way to do so.]
Oh, it's so adorable in here! Sara and I haven't really done anything like this with ours, though now you're making me want to... My room back home wasn't really anything special, but maybe you can help us decorate a little. You're really good at it.
[piano... piano stuff... metronome... maybe like a bookshelf and a desk... that sounds normal enough, the main thing is piano.]
no subject
( because that's the point, in her opinion—to put people at ease so that they can be honest with their hearts. )
Maybe we can work together on your room when you feel better.
( for now though, this isn't kaede's room, it's hers. so in the interest of making her feel better so that they can do that together, maple believes it's important to approach the source of her feelings directly. setting down the tray to the side of the table, she arranges the teapot and her cup before straightening her skirt to take a seat, continuing lightly as she does so. )
But Kaede, you faced some difficult things today, didn't you?
no subject
[it's not said as a refute, but rather as an agreement -- she did, but so did everyone else... some more than others. kaede smiles a little, looking into her tea.]
It's... a lot quieter than the last meet-ups we've had. You could say it's the exception to the usual, not the one you should base the rest of off. Anything we do in the future has more of a chance of blowing up than not -- that's just how they are.
[but she's not annoyed or anything. it's how they show their hurt and care, she gets it -- they're upset over things that are important to them. it's good.]
no subject
I was really surprised. I don't know if this meeting could be considered quiet...
( maybe in volume, but certainly not in emotions. though, it is a lead into something that maple is curious about. )
Hey, I wanted to know, did you get to say everything that you wanted to say? It sounded like you were very close to that boy, so I'm interested to hear what you thought.
no subject
Amami-kun and I were classmates in our other school, but there were definitely people who were closer to him than me. I'm not really sure what else to say, though...
[she thinks she got everything out. maybe. except maybe how much she misses him, it isn't the same opening her door and knowing the people who stay in the room across from her own now aren't the ones she wants to see. the time they spent together was more than they had before, and yet...
she turns the cup around in her hand, staring at the lovely orange tea.]
Rather than what I think, [because what is there to say,] can I tell you what I'm gonna miss instead?
no subject
it's a strange and distant feeling from her; maple had been lucky, in that she had never been separated from hiyori for too long. never for long enough to mourn his absence in a way like this. though it was a constant source of worry for her—enough that she can only imagine what kaede must be going through now. if there's something she can do to support her, maple will, and so she smiles at the question. )
Of course. I'd be happy to hear about it, Kaede.
no subject
[not half as peaceful. she smiles a little, tinged with sadness.]
We got to spend a little bit of time together then. I always thought he was kind of a puzzle, but I didn't really mind that? He was a good person, even if he hid his hand. That's what I thought, and... what I still think. Anyway, [because it's supposed to be what she misses,] we got to spend a lot of time together here. He took lunch more with the lower years, but it was still nice being in the same classroom at the time -- walking together to class when we could, playing piano, knowing that he was just across the way if I needed anything at all... and the same for him, of course.
[not that he could have come to her about this. kaede wouldn't have let him do it, and it wasn't her business anyway. she turns the cup around in her hand idly.]
It's a lot of simple, mundane sort of things... Things you'd take for granted, [her voice breaks a little and she exhales before she continues,] but you don't realize were so important to you until they're gone. Like studying together, or even just... being in the same space. Having the chance to hang out, even if you don't end up doing that. It isn't anything grand, not like... some people's... but...
[but they're small, important things. mundane things two normal high schoolers could do. a life she'd dreamed about with everyone back home, after they'd escaped -- and now she was the only one of them that was left. kaede pulls her lips against her teeth and wipes her eyes with the inside of her wrist, smile shaky.]
But they're still important to me.