chikaidestroyer | ∞ 101: Quiet disappearance [voice/action]

Entry tags:

∞ 101: Quiet disappearance [voice/action]

[voice]

[It's almost midnight and he hasn't received a response from Raine for almost three hours. Raine could be kept busy after school from time to time, but she had not mentioned anything that would keep her out late today -- especially this late.]

Has anyone seen or spoken to Professor Sage today? She is not answering to messages from her journal.

[action]

[Despite the chill in the air so late at night, Albert stands out on the porch outside of his house. There is fortunately no snow tonight, so he was able to send out Rune to scout around the nearby forests.

Part of him has already concluded that it's likely Raine was abducted by the rogue facilities. She had certainly not been sent back to her world, as her belongings were still intact and the journal system still recognized that she was there. But ... there was the faint concern that something else might have happened. Luceti wasn't safe from its own residents, after all.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Or you can play with Kogoro.

[He's not serious about that, but of course, he wouldn't mind if he did.]

[As he finishes chopping up the celery, Albert glances over at the dog. Kogoro, seemingly understanding that he is being talked about, looks up and tilts his head at the brothers.]

That is an option ... if I wish to take a shower afterwards.

[As if Kogoro is that dirty.]

[Caesar pauses in chopping the tomatoes to make a face at that.]

He's not dirty, you know.

[Sure, it wasn't like he'd had a bath today, but he wasn't dirty, either!]

[Kogoro seems to take offense as well, crawling forward and bumping his head against Albert's leg. Albert shoots the dog a look, then snorts.]

Very well. I apologize for calling your dog dirty.

I played with him enough today, so it's fine if you don't want to. [Back to chopping tomatoes now. He's almost done!] Maybe to him, you're the dirty one.

[Terribly unlikely, he knows, but that's still no reason not to say it!]

[At the suggestion, Albert looks down at the dog again. Kogoro, despite the hour, pants happily and wags his tail as he sits at his feet. ...At this rate, Caesar was going to realize he spoiled the dog rotten.

So he pointedly ignores the dog as he goes to check on the chicken. He adds seasonings and bouillon cubes, stirring the simmering water. Then he walks over to where Caesar is working, getting the chopped carrots for the soup.]

Your dog probably does not know the meaning of being played with too much.

Probably not. Would you be surprised? He has even less to do around here than I do!

[Once he finishes with the tomatoes, he steps away from the counter to put the knife in the sink.]

[After Albert adds the carrots to the soup, he seems to remember something.] ...Ah. If you want noodles in this soup, get the bag of pasta from the pantry.

All right. [Caesar rinses his hands at the sink quickly before he heads over to the pantry to find some noodles.] It's starting to smell good already.

It still needs awhile to cook the chicken. And the pasta. [He waits for Caesar, watching him go over to the pantry.] ...What were you intending to bake?

I don't know. [He shrugs, returning to hand Albert the bag of pasta.] Probably something sweet. I'll try not to make too much.

A strange choice of improvement for you, even if it is because of a bet. [He takes the bag of pasta, opening it and beginning to pour some of it straight into the soup.]

It wasn't my idea. [Though, it was definitely better than some of the other things he had to do (even if those other things only included eating strange food). Seriously, never gambling again.] But that's why I agreed to it. It was something I could afford to learn, I guess.

You could afford to learn many things. It's unfortunate it takes a bet for you to pursue one of them. [Once the pasta is poured in, he adds the celery. The tomatoes will go in awhile later.]

It doesn't usually take a bet, you know.

[He mumbles slightly as he goes to put the chopped tomatoes onto a plate so he can wash the cutting board.]

No. Usually it takes not-so-gentle prodding for you to do anything. [Learning to repair a roof, how to take care of Astrid, how to chop firewood. There was even that one painful training session with Sigmund that he had to trick Caesar into attending.]

It depends entirely on the circumstances. [That just happened to be true... most of the time. Like, 98% of the time. He takes the cutting board over to the sink to rinse it.] Sometimes, I do things because I'm bored.

[...though, usually not very productive things.]

Like play with your dog or a read a book? [His tone clearly shows that he's expecting Caesar to prove him right.]

I do other things. [He can't tell if he's belittling him for what he does or if he just... doesn't know. They were both equally likely.] What kind of books do you think I read, anyway?

Anything you can find on war strategy, I imagine. Dog training. Maybe even how to get grass stains out of jackets. [What else?]

Not bad, not bad. [Except for that last one. Jerk. :|] I've also been reading up on medicine and first aid. Pretty helpful, huh? All because I was bored.

[...well, not entirely true. It was more because it would be helpful, because he knew he should be thinking of ways to improve himself rather than because he was bored.]

And nothing to do with my comments about having to learn healing magic in case you manage to hurt yourself, correct?

[It should come as no surprise that Albert is trying to undermine his younger brother's hard work. Will you fight for your right to claim credit?]

[He probably shouldn't bother, but since they're both here now with nothing better to do... He had other things he wanted to tell him about anyway, so he might as well.]

Nothing at all. This is far more practical than magic, too, don't you think?

Both have their place. Knowing something of both would certainly help cover one's weaknesses. [And though he did not know proper procedures for first aid and medicine, he did know how to bandage a wound, splint a broken bone, and medicate himself when he had a cold.

It was strange to think how he had adjusted from stubbornly refusing taking on additional skills because they did not fit the role that he had in his homeworld. Luceti really had changed him.]

[Caesar wasn't much more pleased about it, either. That might be part of the reason he hadn't mentioned what he was doing sooner.]

Sure, if I actually trusted the magic available in this place. [Filial magic would always be out. Not that he had sought other alternatives or anything.] But I guess if you ever get this rune stuff figured out, I may consider that.