thebastion | Day 295 [Open]

Entry tags:

Day 295 [Open]

Who: Zuko and anyone
Open: Open!
When: Day 295
Where: Dragonfield
What: Rejection hurts.
Format: I'll match
Warnings: Honor

When it comes to rejection and disappointment, Zuko's had years of practice. It should help that it wasn't really a rejection exactly, just nothing changing. Aoi didn't reject her as a person. They're still friends. Awkward friends, for the moment, as anyone who joins the morning swim lessons can probably attest to.

But this is the first time she's tried to handle it without getting angry. No one did anything wrong, so there's no one to be angry with, not even herself this time. She didn't do anything wrong, right? She doesn't think so, but there's still this feeling that won't go away, and maybe it is her fault.

What would Uncle tell her? It's hard to imagine. He only ever tried to talk to her about boys, and she always changed the subject.

She made tea for herself anyway to see if it would help, but in the end she just winds up sitting with the cup forgotten in her hands. Kizuna plays nearby, attacking various plants by the shore.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You mean like two different shades of pink ice cream? Zuko is so adventurous. Maybe the other is cherry blossom.

"That part isn't magic, right?"

((Ice cream party time? Sure!))

"Not of the arcane sort, at least. Philosophically, you could call the social context of it a form of magic, but that's not superbly literal."

"Is that... is that...! UKYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! ICE CREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!" Ibuki shouted happily, racing over.

Social context magic?? For once it is actually Ibuki who's making more sense to her right now.

"Megaera made it," Zuko states, as though it's important to be clear that it wasn't Zuko's idea.

Inevitably, any new food will attract the resident Dracula spawn. He's kind of predictable like that.

"...I thought I smelled something sweet."

Not even a few moments into the conversation, Naegi himself is about to walk past without much comment... until he pauses and spots just about everyone huddled around a particular building. Huh, he hasn't seen this place before in his wanderings... maybe that's why everyone's gathered around it?

Curiosity aroused, he soon ventures over to where Megaera, Zuko and the others were gathered, frowning in thought.

"Uh... did something happen?"

"Look! Look! Alu-chan! Makoto-chan! Megaera-chan did an amazing thing! SHE BROUGHT ICE CREAM TO THE BASTION!!!" Ibuki squealed, before serving herself ... five different flavors of ice cream.

"Ice cream?

. . . huh."

That would explain all the bright colors and the sugary smell, wouldn't it? At this point his stomach soon rumbled, as if to announce to everyone present that ice cream needed to be a thing.

Still stunned, Naegi soon ended up getting one of the ice cream scoops to serve himself a couple of scoops - nothing special about the flavors he'd picked - and paused deliberately for a few moments as he glanced over at Megaera, Alucard and Zuko, holding out the scoop.

". . . uh, right! Do any of you want anything?"

Suddenly people. Maybe ice cream and being social are connected.

Zuko shakes her head, holding up her cup of pink ice cream. "I already have some."

The little dragon sitting across her shoulders makes a noise, but Zuko gives her a look. "I don't think it's good for you."

Megaera chuckled. "It was just something I thought would be nice for some people... Including Zuko," she explained. "Get people together and all that..."

Patchouli floats past and, despite the size of that crowd, decides to stop. Must be Megaera's presence or something. She overheard Megaera explaining that it was her idea.

"That's very sweet of you," she says. "I hope you left some for me, though?"

Ryu's curious about the crowd, too. He wanders over and hops a little so he can see over taller people.

"What's that?"

"Ice cream parlor. It sprouted up... just now, apparently?"

Don't mind Naegi, he's just going to be involved with nomming on this ice cream cone to really do much aside from gesture vaguely in the direction of the counter.

"You should get some. It's really good."

"Of course there's plenty! It's even magicked so it'll refill regularly," Megaera explained. "Problem is reading the flavors... Gotta work on that."

"... What's ice cream?"

It's not exactly something he's used to.

They just keep coming. This is becoming a gathering and even suspiciously like a party, and Zuko can barely be competently social with one person at a time. Even Kizuna seems slightly intimidated, she hasn't met all of these people.

"It's... a dessert." Zuko realizes she doesn't know how ice cream is made in her attempt to answer that question. Then she adds helpfully, "Neither of the pink ones is lychee."

If he even knows what lychee is.

Kohaku happened to be passing by, and ... well, who wouldn't be tempted by a gathering of people in one area? She made her way over to see what was going on.

"Hey, what's going on? Why's everyone over here?"

"Ice cream party," Alucard states in answer to Kohaku's question, then goes back to his unidentifiable flavor of ice cream. Sure, he could be concerned about the growing number of people, but he's much too busy being pleased about adding another item to the ever-increasing menu of food.

But really though, what even is this shade of blue? It's definitely not blueberry, and it doesn't taste floral either. Maybe he should ask.

...Eventually.

"My friend bought this ice cream parlor," Patchouli explained further, indicating Megaera as said friend. She claims a particularly plain-looking sample of vanilla ice cream.

Or, well, what looks like vanilla ice cream.

Megaera quietly hugged Patchouli.

"Yup. Figured it'd be good for everyone, so..."

"Really?? Ice cream is so delicious!! I wonder if miso would go good with ice cream ..."

Kohaku. Think about your life choices.

And she does. For a moment.

"Ahh, who am I kidding?? Miso goes good with everything."

Where Kohaku is... Shing usually shows up shortly after, and he certainly does once he spots her and just about everyone else crowded around the new building.

". . . what's going on? Did I miss something important...?"

Zuko glances between Megaera and Patchouli. Normally she would be too oblivious to even notice, much less think anything of it, but she's a little sore on girls right now. It probably doesn't even mean anything.

You know what? She's just going to have a seat at one of the tables. Kizuna crawls down her arm in an attempt to get at the ice cream, but Zuko digs some jerky (regular, no chocolate chips) out of her tunic and offers it to the little dragon instead.

"Shing!" Kohaku calls out to her boyfriend as she sees him, then rushes over, grabs his hand, and drags him over the rest of the way.

"They have ice cream! They might even have miso ice cream!"

Megaera chuckled, sitting down next to Zuko with her cup.

"... I must admit, I didn't expect this many people to show up..."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject