[OPEN!]

[hellpyre]

Who: Rin + open mingling
Open: Open
When: Day 81, late evening after Bon and Rin get back with Tris and Briar
Where: The Bastion, near the Distillery
What: After returning with two new arrivals, Rin decides to break out some food and a table to mingle around so people can get to know each other. Meanwhile she's acting a little... spacier than usual.
Format: action
Warnings: None

[With two more new arrivals to the Bastion, Rin has gone to the trouble of setting up a small table just outside the Distillery kitchen, covered with a cloth and laid out with several different kinds of food.

There's not a lot of variety, since they're still running on finite resources, but there's enough there for everyone to have a good amount of food, especially since their two new survivors are probably hungry.

There's some grilled fish, steamed rice, corn and a few other vegetables and fruits, as well as some various drinks (no Spirits, though) take from the distillery itself.

Hopefully this will prompt a few people to mingle about and get to know their new neighbors.]

Comments

[individuates]

[what, he picked you nice ones! Carrots are sweet! Still, he giggles quietly at Seimei's reaction behind his hand] Honestly, you're like the kid who swears he hates tomatoes and has never eaten one. At least try them. And eat properly. If you fall over and die we'll be lost without you.

...the best meetings always do, you know. Happen accidentally, I mean. [he might have enjoyed Heian life. But he's pretty sure he wouldn't have enjoyed an early Heian death]

[yinyangfox]

That they do. I believe they call it a 'happy accident". A rare thing, to be sure. Certainly in my time, at any rate.
Which reminds me; I was severely remiss in my duty and I apologize. [ Seimei bows his head hurriedly, reminded of the fact, ears coloring with embarrassment. ] In equal measures of excitement and nerves, I did not send word to you after I returned to my own home. I meant to send this to you, so I brought it with me for when I would see you again personally.
[ Here Seimei reached into his sleeve and withdrew a simple paper fan, holding it in both hands and offering it to Kaoru with a small nod and apologetic look, coupled with a hopeful smile. ]
It seemed inappropriate to send it along with a shikigami when it was late in coming. I had hoped you would be willing to accept if I brought it myself. I thought that presenting it somewhat publicly would satisfy the demand of shame.

Please accept this gift. [ Another bow of his head, hands raising slightly to present the fan. It was made by hand, though with expert skill, the paper dyed a soft purple color with berries. Dried and pressed petals decorated it, flowing from one side as though caught on a breeze.

In elegant calligraphy in the most formal form was a simple poem:

The sun never fades here.
Eventide please come once more.
Its glow spreads aloft.

The heavens become
a celestial canvas-
brushed in crimson lights.

Ah, there the sun sets
at last - a halo.
He is the sunset.

No doubt Seimei wasn't lifting his head because of the nature of the gift and the color of his face, a fair shade close to Kaoru's hair by this point. ]

[individuates]

Shame? [blinks a little bit] But... if you hadn`t said anything, Seimei, I wouldn`t have known...

[he reaches out to take the fan, handling it with care before he opens it delicately. A blush spreads across his own cheeks as he reads, and he can feel his heart give a little flutter. He can`t pretend he doesn`t know what that feeling is.]

This is... Seimei...

[...his mouth has suddenly gone very dry. He catches his lip between his teeth for a moment]

...thank you.

[yinyangfox]

[ Hearing Kaoru's acceptance, and even thanks, Seimei allows himself to look up, blinking slowly. Clearing his throat and shifting on the spot, the onmyoji offers an uncertain smile. ]

It is customary to present a gift to the one being courted after a visit. Even though it was my first visit to your home, it does not mean I should disregard ceremony. In fact, I really should have brought a gift along in the first place, but I told myself you might balk at too many of my own customs. I would like to know what I would do, under the same circumstances, where you are from. I would like to make you happy, Kaoru.

[individuates]

[he folds the fan closed and holds it in both hands, trying to compose himself and banish the furious blush from his cheeks. He is smiling, though.]

Actually, a lot of the things that are usually done in my world aren`t really possible in this one. Just like many of your customs aren`t really done in mine.

...where I`m from, there`s a lot more communication. Since we have many different ways of doing it. We... don`t tend to give a lot of gifts. Even then, it`s almost exclusively the woman who gets them... [he has no idea about this situation, but he never had much interest in flowers or chocolates, anyway...]

[yinyangfox]

Oh. I see, so...I should not...give you a gift after every visit? [ He asks, blinking several times and sitting back in his seat, looking down at his mostly empty plate. Good heavens, he nearly felt full for once! Even so, he ate another piece of fruit to distract himself from his confusion. Why wouldn't you want to give the object of your affection gifts? And what did he mean about communicating? Weren't they right now? More and more cultural differences to cope with. ]

Well...I do not want you to think of yourself as a woman, Kaoru. You are most obviously a young man. I respect and value that. I would never seek to demean you in any way. If you would rather not receive gifts then I will abstain. I hope this one was in no way offensive...

[individuates]

[looking down at the fan in his hands] ...it`s not that I`m offended. If... if I`m honest, it`s quite the opposite [because it does make him very happy...] But... there`s no need to inconvenience yourself for me. You don`t have to worry about the proper decorum or whatever, either...

[...his blush is not disappearing, though, and the topic at hand isn`t helping matters. Here, Seimei. It might be awkward and abrupt, but have some more fruit.]

[yinyangfox]

[ He takes the hint and eats quietly for a few minutes, expression thoughtful as he watches Kaoru's face. Slowly - so slowly - his usual aggravating smile slides back into place. Unsure of the situation he might be, but unsure of himself? Never. Doubt kept crawling in, he needed to learn to fend it off. He was confident in everything else, why not this? ]

There is no inconvenience where affection is involved. The heart is light and all things are weightless. I will not shower you with gifts or pressure you with handicraft. Only, please allow me, from time to time, to give you something? It satisfies my need to maintain a semblance of normalcy, and truly, it brightens my day when anything I can do that does not require magic can change the color of a man's face.

[individuates]

...then you must be truly ecstatic right now. [he has the backs of his hands pressed against his cheeks by the time Seimei is done talking, in a futile effort to stem his blush, and sighs]

I will allow it, if you can manage not to comment on it every time you succeed.

[yinyangfox]

I will endeavor to contain my glee. [ He smirks, tilting his head and sighing softly, a fond smile altering the mischievous quirk of his mouth. ]

I am glad you came over here to speak with me. I was afraid that I might be taking up too much time, or crowding you, in some manner. I was willing to leave you to enjoy the party without being bothered by me, though I admit I would have grown envious of the others before long.

That sounds absurd, I suppose. Mm, I am not very good with social activities.

[individuates]

[definitely pouting now] I suppose all I can ask is that you "endeavour" to contain it. [and since it's a personal favour, surely you'll honour his request?]

[shakes his head slightly] Mmm, no, it's fine. It's nice to have company. I know where you're coming from, though... sometimes mixing with a lot of people can be exhausting, you know? Our mother used to host a lot of parties and we hated them. Granted, though, we didn't want to like them, either.

But it gets easier with practice, I guess. And it helps to have somewhere you can retreat to when you've had enough...

[yinyangfox]

[ The onmyoji nods slightly, dark eyes drifting across the people of the Bastion chatting, eating, and for a time able to forget about where they were and everything that had gone wrong. ]

I am actually always uncomfortable in the press of people. I can hear and see too much. There are so many voices, so many thoughts and feelings that weigh upon the air around me. The heat and energy. Often it can be very overwhelming. I have always preferred peace and solitude to the activity of smallfolk. However, this event was worthwhile. Even my attending my after prove pivotal. Those who chose not to attend may be viewed with suspicion later.

However, I should be working on my house, if I mean to sleep indoors, have personal meals and entertain special guests.

[individuates]

[he nods too, also casting his eyes over those around him] We're all from different worlds, we all led different lives, all different to one another. I don't think anyone would have held it against you if you hadn't come. [his eyes move back over to Seimei, and he leans his head on the heel of his hand] Although I might have, just a little bit, if you hadn't shown up. [it's hard to tell because of all those clothes you wear, but he's sure you've lost a little weight. Trick of the light, perhaps?]

But - wait, hold on - isn't my being in your home the complete opposite of peace and solitude?

[yinyangfox]

[ The onmyoji turns, a fond smile in place as he cocks his head to one side and arches a brow at the red-haired youth. ]

No more than the song of birds or the laughter of a creek in the Spring, Kaoru. Some interruptions in life are welcome, and some hearts weigh less heavily on the atmosphere than others. Just because you are my sunset does not make you the harbinger of darkness.

[individuates]

[...damn it, Seimei, you're good at this. Not that it's not nice... he's beginning to see why the girls keep coming back to the host club.

But he'll just... busy himself with checking up on Tama-chan in his lap. She seems all right, but it can never hurt to check.]

[yinyangfox]

[ By now Seimei was feeling a bit less nervous and contented himself with picking at the remains on the plate. He ate quite an amount while there, though not as much as Kaoru might have wished. He had no appetite after a point, and pushing himself to eat would only make him sick.
Without eating as a distracting the onmyoji fills the silence by watching his companion wonderingly; he was always a people-watcher. He enjoyed observing others, curious about their thoughts and reactions. At the moment he was just happy to occupy the same space as Kaoru. Talking wasn't necessary, and at least in the shared quiet, neither was likely to make some silly cultural faux pas.
After a few moments, however, Seimei looked away, a short, soft laugh punctuating the movement. ]

You should go explore and talk to others, Kaoru. I would not like to be responsible for holding you back, and you shine too brightly to be confined to entertaining me alone.

[individuates]

[Kaoru take care to continue pushing food at Seimei in the future, then.

Perhaps he should mingle a bit more, but he really already looked in on everyone he wanted - he had been worried about Rin, so it was good to check in with her, after everything, and even better to manage to put a smile on her face]

But I explored and talked plenty. I'm like a butterfly, I need to rest my wings. Besides, I had other stuff to talk to you about - I'm learning to read!

[yinyangfox]

You...didn't already know how to read? [ He asks, totally aghast at the idea. Surely not? Kaoru seemed, for all intents and purposes, to come from a perfectly respectable upbringing. Their conversations even suggested that he came from some form of modern nobility. So surely Kaoru had some manner of education? ]

[individuates]

[blinks at him in surprise, then doubles over with laughter, hugging Tama-chan to his chest. It wasn't your amazing craftsmanship that made him blush like that, you know...]

No, Seimei, no. I mean the language in this place. One of the locals ambushed me with a child's alphabet book and I thought, "Why not?". [It's just standard "A is for Apple, L is for Lunkhead" stuff, but he's enjoying it!]