And I feel summertime passing in haste, like running out of patience... [OPEN]

[hellpyre]

Who: One very broken half-demon and whoever might actually go looking for her.
Open: Open
When: Day 80
Where: The Bastion, Rin's apartment
What: Rin hasn't been seen since she and Night returned from looking for their lost loved ones. Some one is bound to notice her absence sooner or later
Format: Action
Warnings: None

[Rin had been an almost constant presence in the distillery kitchen in the month and some odd days she had been in the Bastion. If she wasn't out on the Skyway or sleeping she was helping Mireille, and even on her worst days being able to cook was enough to put a small smile on her face.

But for the past two days - ever since leaving with Night to the Skyway and returning - she was nowhere to be found. She wasn't in the distillery or anywhere else.

Well that wasn't entirely true. She was in her apartment. But that was the only place she had been in nearly two days.

And she would wind up staying there, so long as no one came looking for her...]

Comments

[hellpyre]

[Her face was fairly placid, mouth set, any hint of her tears and blotchy cheeks washed away with cold water. But her eyes always showed her true feelings, and it was all she could do to not glance away the second Seimei looked at her with that piercing gaze.

At the very least she could stick to helping him, and not think about what was bothering her. And that seemed to be what he was willing to let her do.]

... yeah, I can help. Show me what you got goin' so far.

[Oh but wait--]

Uh. 'fore we go, though. I got you somethin'...

[yinyangfox]

Me? [ He asked, stopping in mid-stride with surprise evident in his features. For a moment ihe was entirely flummoxed. Kaoru was making him clothing, but he couldn't honestly remember the last time anyone - including Hiromasa - had given him anything without good reason. ]

Lady Rin...I...I cannot accept a gift. I have nothing to give in return.

[hellpyre]

I don't want anythin', though. Please? It ain't even really anythin' big.

[It really wasn't, but it never occurred to her that the gesture alone was important to Seimei, needing to be met with a gesture in kind.]

[yinyangfox]

Lady Rin, a gift from anyone is always big. [ The onmyoji smiles, shaking his head slightly. ] And a gift from you, is bigger than most.

Even so, against the rules of protocol, because...you are my friend...I gratefully accept. [ Seimei nods, bowing low and rising with his best smile. ]

[hellpyre]

[That actually earned the first smile Rin had given anyone in days.]

Thank you, Seimei-san.

[She handed over a small wooden box to him. Inside he would find something he had asked about some weeks ago - tofu.]

[yinyangfox]

[ The onmyoji receives the gift gracefully, hands covered by his sleeves, cradlign the box with care. Looking to Rin briefly in curiosity, he eventually shakes one hand free of his sleeve and removes the top of the container, only to stiffen, freezing on the spot.
Several seconds tick by as the onmyoji stares, then dark eyes drift upwards, expression entirely unreadable. Looking back to the box once more, Seimei replaces the top and closes his eyes, sighing deeply. ]

Lady Rin...for you to remember this after so much time, and to procure it. I do not have words sufficient to express how much you have moved me. Your generosity, even in such adversity...

[ Raising his freed hand, the onmyoji presses his sleeve to his eyes, drying gathering moisure that had threatened to fall. ]

You are beautiful, Lady Rin. Lives are blessed for having you in them.

[ It might have been nothing more than tasteless mush to some people, but to a kitsune - even a half kitsune - it was like giving gold to a pauper. ]

Perhaps this can be the first thing cooked in my home...with your guidance, I think it will be the most delicious meal I've ever had.

[hellpyre]

[ohgod Seimei don't cry. She'll start if you start...]

W... well I had the shards for it and I figured why not...

[Even as Rin speaks, her thick voice betrays just how choked up she is. It's not even his reaction so much as seeing another person in tears that renews the ones she had thought were long since dry.

And his words don't help her at all either. Normally hearing such things would have brought out her more arrogant nature, but this was not a time that she could even try to dredge up false bravado, and all it truly did was make her heart ache more.

Swallowing hard, she almost backs out of helping him if only to return to her solitude and her heart ache alone, but after a moment she realizes that the distraction was probably more needed than she previously realized.]

I'd be happy to help you.