Open - All my friends are heathens

[pidgeypidge]

Who: Pidge and you~
Where: around the temple
When: arrival + up to phase one of the plague
Rating: nothing past PG-13
What: Feels. Cooking misadventures.


Week One; sometime late/early morning (the feels-y option)

Pidge had always had an interesting relationship with sleep. Before the Kerberos mission had flipped her entire life upside down, she knew that all she'd have to do was make herself a snack, or sneak up onto the roof for a while, or go fiddle around in Matt's room, and soon enough she'd be ready to sleep again.

She couldn't do that anymore. And she couldn't wander the castle ship, because it was gone. So much had happened in the last year, and she was still reeling a little. When there was something to focus on, some new, possibly suicidal mission to worry about, it was easy to distract herself. But it was times like now, when everyone else was probably asleep, that she found herself worrying.

So here she sat, at the edge of the forest, wrapped in the blanket she'd pulled off her bed, her mostly useless bayard at her side. It was probably ridiculous, but she felt just a little bit safer just having it with her.

"I know you can't hear me. And that probably means you can't come here, either. But it would be... really great if you could give me some kind of sign that you're okay." She's sitting facing away from the temple, and looking up toward the night sky, as though it might hold what she's looking for. Instead, all she could see were alien constellations and the silhouettes of trees if she glanced down. Any other time, it might've been enough of a distraction. But not now. "It's weird not having you here."

It was a long shot, and she hadn't really been expecting it to work. But she'd gotten into the habit of talking to Green when nobody else was around. "I miss you. And it sucks here."

Week two; noon-ish?

She'd somehow lucked out as far as whatever this sickness was. It would take more than a cold to defeat Katie Holt, but between running around trying to make sure everyone else was alright, she was starting to get a little burnt out. The lack of general direction or purpose was also starting to get to her. It might've been easier to deal with all of this if there was something to fight, or something to hack or something to do.

Possibly the worst part of all this was the fact that her bayard had been screwed up since they'd gotten here. The handful of times she'd tried to get it working had ultimately ended the same way, with a string of colorful language that probably would've made her mother grimace.

Today, though, she's taken up residence in the kitchen. She'd never be as good as Hunk, but there were a handful of things she was confident enough to make. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to find everything she needed for her Nana's ginger chicken soup. So she'd had to substitute a few things.

"Hmm..."

She's standing on a stool and peering into the large pot of not-quite-Nana's-ginger-chicken-soup. It didn't smell bad, exactly. But it didn't smell quite right, either.

Someone save her.

Comments

[moonlightbeast]

[Yeah, he. Won't bring it up either, or at least he'll try not to. Because that sure sounded like a private conversation.]

I'm fine.

[Only his pride is hurt. And he's still laying on the ground, since he's attempting to will the ground into just swallowing him up whole to avoid embarrassment.]

[fairysong]

Something like that. Her innate curiosity means that she's inclined to press a little harder, but on the other hand, she doesn't know this person. How nosy should she be?

Answer: Very. "So what does that mean, 'something like that?' If they're not a friend... family member? Love interest? Treasured mentor?"

[pidgeypidge]

[She thought it was a perfectly reasonable question, and her eyes go a little wide at the sound of that laugh (and the sight of those teeth).]

Oh, that's really neat. I wasn't sure if it was just ginger or not~

[Though now that she's said it, just being able to make ginger seemed a little silly.]

Wait! Can you make chicken, too?

[lumberlady]

[Yeah, Konoha would be awfully sad if all she could do was make ginger. Thankfully, though-]

Sure. You'll have to pluck it, but I can make it!

[hatamon]

"Just a few days." Satisfied he hasn't startled her, Takeru steps forward to lean against a nearby tree. There's a bit of a tired note to his voice, but he smiles so she knows not to take him too seriously. "Think that counts as officially too early to start complaining?"

If so he's invoking the Experience Defense--how tough the adjustment period can be in a new world is something he knows all too well. Missing people is something he's familiar with too, and he looks up at the sky much like she was doing before he arrived. "Is it okay if I ask who you were talking to?"

[pidgeypidge]

"Me too." Because who wanted to be sick? Pidge only wished that Keith and Shiro had been so lucky. But the only thing she could really do was move forward, which was why she'd wanted to make soup for everyone.

She found herself chuckling at that comment, though. "Much better." She's not even going to ask what the alternative was. "Sure. It's gotta be better than this." Or maybe this would improve with more cooking time. She could hope, right?

[pidgeypidge]

[He certainly doesn't seem fine, but she supposes he'd know better than she would?]

You don't sound very certain of that. Need some help?

[By this point she's curious enough to get up and edge a little closer. So now she's just sort of standing there, staring down at the prone body on the ground. It might've been comical under different circumstances.]

[pidgeypidge]

A few days. Does that mean he got here around the same time she did? "Same here." There's just something about that thought that's comforting. Not necessarily the fact that there were other people who just found themselves trapped here so much as that there were other people going through the same thing at the same time. "Nah. It's never too early to start complaining."

Then again, Pidge is almost always down for a good round of complaining. Only she knows that doing so isn't going to accomplish anything aside from maybe making her more irritated at being stuck here. That question gives her pause, because of course he'd be curious about it. "I'm not sure you'd believe me even if I told you."

[lonered]

He leans up to peer into the soup pot, nose wrinkling juuuust a little.

"I'm sure it's not that bad."

He's trying. Does he get points for the effort at least? Not like he's some culinary mastermind. He can cook just enough to get by, really. But tea he can handle. And coffee.

Tea is better now though, so he'll grab up a couple mugs from a cabinet and wait for the kettle to boil. "Hey. I never asked, did you figure out what magic power you got stuck with?"

[hatamon]

Takeru has to laugh at the idea of anything being too out there for him to believe. He's accepted more or less every wild story the other Circle members have told him at face value because really, why not? They're all living proof that anything is possible.

"Now I really wanna know." There's obviously a good story there, even if the question ends up being too personal for her to answer. "What's so crazy you think it'd be hard to believe in a place like this?"

[pidgeypidge]

Of course she realizes how ridiculous that probably sounds as soon as she's said it. Here she is, sitting on a completely different world she's never been to before, talking to someone from a completely different world than her own most likely, and she's worried that Green might be a little too out there?

"It's kind of a long story." Which doesn't necessarily mean she's not going to tell it, but she figures it'll be better to give him a heads up. "But the uh... abridged version is that I was talking to the big mechanical sentient lion I pilot." Piloted? Who could say for sure?

[hatamon]

"Voltron?" he blurts out automatically, caught up in the excitement of meeting two members of the same team. He should probably explain that. "Hunk-san was one of the first people here I ran into, and he told me a little about your world."

Takeru might not fully understand it, but he knows enough to at least follow along.

"Your lions sound really special." Connected to their pilots in a way that he can't help comparing to Digimon. "It's gotta be tough to be separated from them. I have someone like that too, so I know it's not the same as just missing your friends. It's different when you're partners."

[pidgeypidge]

That certainly gets her attention, and her eyes go a little wide. There's no way he could've known about it, unless- But it's not even that surprising that he's already met Hunk. He's always been really good at getting along with people, and of course he'd be eager to tell other people about it. "Yep. Voltron. How much did he tell you?"

She's mostly curious, and it'll make things a little easier to know how much he's already heard.

Pidge can't help but smile at that. "She's amazing. It's... like nothing else I've ever done." That's putting it mildly, of course. "It's definitely weird. She's been in my head pretty much since we met, so not being able to feel her now is throwing me off a little." A lot, honestly. "You have someone like that?"

[hatamon]

"Just the basics. He said you guys had to find the parts of Voltron to fight off an evil alien race, and that the lions matched up with you individually. To me it sounded kind of like... things working out the way they're supposed to, you know? Like they were waiting for the right people to come along." It's probably silly to think of that sort of thing as destiny, but he's not sure how else to describe it.

"Me and my partner can't read each other's thoughts or anything, but we have a connection that lets us fight together." As wildly different as their situations are he can still relate, and returns her smile easily. "This isn't the first time we've had to be apart, so maybe I have it a little easier.

"I do have another question, though." A pause for dramatic emphasis. "If Hunk-san's the leg, which part do you get to be?"

[pidgeypidge]

[She's actually a little pleased when he doesn't automatically head for where she's standing after that sneeze.]

I'm sorry. [Which is probably the most ridiculous thing she can say to that, but she's genuinely sorry that everyone ended up sick. Because it sucks.] Oh, sure. Yea. It just needs to cook for a little while longer.

[pidgeypidge]

Just the basics, he says. "I mean... that's pretty much the gist of it. And I'd never really thought of it that way before. But it does seem like this is what I was supposed to be doing." It certainly had seemed like Green had been waiting for her, and she smiles at the memory of finding her that day.

"What's your partner like?" She's going to assume that it's not a situation quite like hers, but she's genuinely curious. Especially if Hunk trusted him enough to tell him about the Lions and Voltron. "I'm sorry they couldn't come with you. Have you been apart a lot?" She knows how much it sucks being cut off from Green, so she can sort of imagine how he must feel.

"Go for it." And now she's waiting with bated breath, because she can't even imagine what else he'd be asking about. "Hunk's the left leg, and I'm the left arm."

[hatamon]

Well, that's practically half of Voltron accounted for. It makes him curious about the rest of the team, but that's probably a question for another time.

"His name's Patamon. He's..." Takeru cuts himself off with an amused huff. He's still not great at the whole explaining Digimon to outsiders thing. Then again, this girl is used to transforming robots, so maybe the concept of evolution won't sound completely crazy. "He looks sort of like a big orange bat." Takeru holds his hands apart in an approximation of Patamon's size. "But I can help him change into other forms. He's not from the same world as me, so we aren't always able to see each other unless there's a crisis to deal with."

Except for this particular crisis, apparently. "I can't make any sense out of what Astoria must be thinking. It's weird enough to leave Patamon behind, but you guys and your lions too... Shouldn't she want us all to be at our most effective?"

[moonlightbeast]

[Yeah, if not for the serious talk he had totally been eavesdropping on, it might have been funny.

Which is why he wants to will himself into disappearing even more.

But that doesn't work, and he just sighs before moving. He's not hurt, so he'll be able to move to sitting just fine. But he does look sheepish.]

My pride's hurt worse than my body, I can tell you that much.

[pidgeypidge]

[O h.]

I've never really done that before! But I feel like it can't hurt to learn...

[lumberlady]

Well, in that case!

[After she claps her hands together this time... it's a chicken in her palms and not ginger. A dead chicken.

Which might be a bit morbid if you think about it, but, just don't???]

I'll show you at first, okay? You have to start with these feathers here...

[Lesson in chicken plucking 101, start.]

[pidgeypidge]

Oh no. He's looking at the soup.

"I'm hoping it tastes better than it looks."

Then again, it doesn't smell terrible. Just... not quite the way she remembered this soup was supposed to smell. Maybe she'll ask Hunk about it later.

And while she can make a handful of pretty basic things, this is only the third time she's attempted to make this soup, and she feels like she did pretty well, despite the lack of chicken and ginger.

"Oh, yea. I can manipulate plants." And also if she's touching them, she can get a sense of their well-being, but she's not sure how to feel about that so she doesn't want to mention it for now.

[pidgeypidge]

Maybe it's not a terribly specific answer, but it was what she's going with. At least at first.

Pidge just has to smile at that line of questioning, though. Love interest?

"Green is... the sentient mechanical lion I pilot." Piloted?

"It's just weird not having her here, in my head."

[runwaying]

[ that's definitely something to note for the future, since it's their first time meeting in any sort of official capacity ♪ ]

Ah, I'm sorry, did I startle you...? [ oops. to be fair, arashi does make a kind of token attempt to take at least one step back, but she's still kind of close enough to peer over pidge's shoulder to look at the pot. ]

... Well. it certainly could be a lot thicker. Now it just looks... watery.

[ frowns. ]

Were you following a recipe or not really?

[reeliable]

[Handwashing is important, it was absolutely drilled into him just like any combat drill he's ever done in his life - there will be no spreading of this sickness from him. Washing his hands and face briefly, drying them on a rag and giving it a subtle look (how many others have done exactly this, this is probably in need of a wash too), Noct glances to the pot again without coming too close.]

Sounds good. I can always wait for food when it's this close.

[pidgeypidge]

Pidge nods. She's interested enough to wait while he figures out how to explain, and she's actually enjoying the conversation even if she had originally come out here to be alone. "A big orange bat?" Her tone is more curious than anything, and she might just be trying to picture that. Was it anything like a pigeon-bat? Probably not.

It's the next bit of info that really gets her, though, and she's tilting her head. "What kind of other forms? Do you change too?" He hadn't said that, but even still. Stranger things had happened. "Yea. Green's from... well, I don't think I ever learned the name of the place where I found her. But it was a lot like this." But not quite. "I'm sorry you can't always see him."

Pidge can't imagine being cut off from Green like that. Except, now she's in the same situation. "I don't get it either. It doesn't make any sense to me. I can understand needing people to help out, but cutting us off like this?" Seems a little ridiculous. And I'm still not entirely sure what new ability she gave me?"