[open] you can lead a sick horse to water

[lumberlady]

Who: Konoha and YOU
Where: around the Temple
When: 8/28 - 9/20
Rating PG???
What: catch all log for hanging with a centaur before or after the sick sets in

01 | GARDENING | 8/28

[What Konoha really wanted to do was to go home. But she knows... She has to make the most of her situation. Has to try and stay positive the best she can. So, like she'd talked about with Nier... a garden seemed like a good idea. With the plants withering like they were planting didn't actually seem like it would work, but at least she could get the field ready? It seemed like something to do, at least, and hard labor is what Konoha did best.

So she gets to work. In the first few days she can be found out near the woods, sleeves tied back and a cloth wrapped around her forehead to keep sweat out of her eyes as she starts prepping the dirt. Digging out stones, ripping up dead roots, cutting away weeds, dragging a makeshift plow behind her to till the soil...

At the sight of anyone from the Circle, however, she takes a moment to give a friendly wave.]

02 | BATHHOUSE | 8/30

[All the plowing she's been doing works up a sweat, and it wasn't often she had the luxury of a bath big enough for jinba that wasn't... wading into the river. Not that there's anything wrong with rivers, but. The bathhouse at the temple is more luxurious than she's ever really tried before, and it's so comfortably hot???

She could be mistaken for a human woman at first glance, with all the steam, but the dark shadow in the water reveals her more equine half. That and the long black tail floating towards the top of the water. Sighing happily and resisting the urge to try and roll, Konoha lets her hair down from it's usual bun and sets about running her fingers through it to try and untangle it as she sinks a bit deeper into the water.]

Ah... This is nice.

03 | HELPING THE SICK | 9/5

[Konoha has never gotten sick when her parents or the other humans in the village had. She didn't really hear a lot about jinba getting sick at all, really... So she thinks it will be fine. She doesn't have enough education to know that this might be because, as similar as her upper body looks, a jinba and a human are different species, and not all sickness can cross those differences... She just knows that she's probably fine.

So she tries to help.]

Morning... I brought breakfast.

[She pokes her head in the door of one of the bedrooms in the Temple, smiling through the concern on her features and a steaming bowl of what looks like porridge in her hands.]

Feeling up to eating?

04 | KITCHEN STUMBLE | 9/12

[Fun fact for anyone studying this outbreak... Species doesn't matter. Jinba get sick, too.

She's been feeling tired, but... She's also been working hard as more and more people got sick. Hasn't really been sleeping well. The low fever, that... had been more concerning, but what could she do about it? She did tell someone, she wasn't trying to hide anything-

But she also didn't expect it to take a turn so fast. To be so clumsy as to catch a hoof on a stone, to send the basket of apples she'd been carrying rolling across the floor and her sprawling right after with a crash as her attempt to catch herself failed and only managed to knock cutlery off the counter.

She'll get up... She will. In a minute. Meanwhile, a lone apple rolls out the kitchen door.]

05 | HUMPTY DUMPTY | 9/17

[It's so hot. She knows it has to be because of the fever, knows she's supposed to sweat it out... but she still can't help the urge, anxiously twisting where she lies on the ground in her temple room to try and undo the bear hide wrap she wears tied about her waist, try and loosen the fit of her shirt as sweat beads on her dark skin.

Sometime in the last night... She's lost the strength to stand. Had gradually collapsed to her knees, then to her belly, and then to her side. She forgets how long ago. Long enough for the pillow she'd taken with her to soak with sweat, for her throat to parch and her stomachs to twist in protest, both starving for food and roiling to reject it.

The sound of a visitor... doesn't even really register.]

Comments

[lumberlady]

Yup.

[Pleased to see him sit up and be able to speak after that cough, Konoha gladly hands over his reward in the form of healthy seven herb porridge, hot from the pot.]

When you're making porridge it's not hard to just make a lot more. Especially if you can just "make" food, haha...

[Honestly she would gladly give up her power and everything if she could just go home, but... she's glad that of all the possibilities she's got a useful one! While he sets to eating she fluffs pillows busily, all too ready to chat away.]

Do you need anything done? Or to go anywhere? I know it's no fun to be cooped up...

[purrtagonist]

"Make" food?

[that's a curious way of putting it, coming from someone who didn't know what Konoha's power was, specifically. but he doesn't ask for details, because his brain is a little foggy today and the porridge smells so good and now that it's in his hands he totally just wants to dig in]

[so he does, dipping the spoon into the meal and taking a hearty bite. it's hot, but doesn't burn, and it goes down easily even with a scratchy and sore throat. delicious]

[he does peer at Konoha curiously when she makes that offer, and instead of answering, he says. . .]

You don't have to go out of your way to help me, you know. . . I don't want to be a bother.

[it's sweet, and he appreciates it, but also? totally not used to it]

[lumberlady]

[He may not ask, but she is ready to explain already. After all, powers and these sorts of abilities were completely foreign to her, so it's easy to think they must be for everyone else, too, which means... explaining.]

Yeah, it's... my "magic". I can make food appear.

[He had... a much more dramatic power, turning into a ghost and all, but. When he says she needn't bother she frowns and tsks, even wagging a finger.]

It's the job of well people to take care of sick people! There's nothing bothersome about being weak.

[She doesn't lecture for too long, though, switching back to a smile.]

Now! What's your favorite fruit?

[purrtagonist]

["there's nothing bothersome about being weak." Akira nearly chokes on his porridge when she says that, but he looks way more amused than insulted. it's a bleary amusement, because sick, but. it's a smile!]

[and this time, he answers her question without protest, but that may be because he wants to see how her MAGICALLY APPEARING FOOD ability works]

Blueberries.

[lumberlady]

[See, he smiled. He gets it. That's the whole point of teamwork, after all... those who could made up for those who couldn't. And even if you were weak... if there were enough of you, you could accomplish anything. That's what Sha-go always said about humans. About why they could win against jinba even though jinba were far stronger.]

Blueberries? Okay, let's see...

[She's still getting the hang of this, (because frankly it's still BONKERS to her), but Konoha cups her hands together, frowning in concentration... before she opens her hands and spreads her fingers to reveal a handful of wild blueberries. They weren't freshly washed or anything, looking like they'd just been plucked from the bush, but they're definitely blueberries.]

Here you go!

[purrtagonist]

[oh my gosh]

[oh my gosh!1]

[he holds out his porridge bowl and nods at it, indicating she should totally mix the blueberries into said porridge]

It's that easy? I wish I would've known you could do this back when we were on Struxta.

[he would've so loved to eat something other than gray goop :(]

[lumberlady]

Haha, it's easier now that I've been practicing but... I was still getting a hang of it before.

[She would also have been much happier eating less grey goop tbh... Gross.

Into the porridge go the blueberries.]

I thought about sending an, um, "message" on the metal thing so that everyone knew I could help, but I don't really know how to work it right.

[... the watch.]

[purrtagonist]

[he uses his spoon to mix the fruit and porridge together, before taking another bite. the blueberries are an excellent addition, and for a moment, he's quiet while he savors the flavor. it's amazing how much better a warm meal can make a guy feel]

[he does have to turn away for a moment to cough into his hand, but it's fine. he'll be okay]

On the watch?

[huh. . . that gives him an idea]

I can teach you how to use it, in exchange for the porridge and blueberries.

[lumberlady]

Are you sure?

[She's smiling, because she definitely appreciates the offer, but... it's the blithe smile of someone who is pretty sure they might not be that smart, and is sort of at peace with it.]

Connor offered to help, too, but I'm not a great student... I didn't last two weeks in the temple school.

[And it was easier to think it was because she wasn't that good at letters and all those fancy things than to admit that the monks hadn't been found of jinba.]

[purrtagonist]

I'm positive.

[with a deep inhale that rattles in his chest, Akira places the bowl of porridge aside and shifts until he's seated on the edge of his bed, blankets still draped over his shoulders. he holds out his wrist-- the one with the watch strapped around it-- and taps against the screen to bring up the texting option. he'd offer to give Konoha lessons with her own watch, but. sick germs. he doesn't want to pass those on]

You'll pass this class with flying colors.

[lumberlady]

Well, I'm glad you're confident!

[Konoha laughs at herself, scratching behind her ear as she plops her rear down on the floor in order to sit. Admittedly she looks more like a dog sitting that way than someone with horse parts, but. She leans down to watch, trying not to think of how the device was actually working.

It would be much easier that way.]

[purrtagonist]

[IT'S MAGIC. no one think too hard about the "hows" of the device. magic is an explanation for everything]

Anyway, you go here if you want to send someone a text.

[doop doop tapping on his watch to take her to the texting screen, where he types out a message. seconds later, her watch buzzes with a notification!]

the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog

[oooooh FANCY TEXT]

[lumberlady]

["It's magic" is... all she really has, yeah. But magic in and of itself is already... dreadfully confusing. Geez.

Konoha's familiarity with the device is measured in the fact that when it buzzes... it does so in her tool belt and not on her wrist. Perking up in surprise at the notif, she digs for the thing and pulls it from the pouch, seeing the message... and frowning a little bit before she just smiles again.]

What if we can't read so well... ?

[purrtagonist]

[and Akira gives Konoha a small, understanding smile, before he hits the "call" button on his watch. suddenly, her screen lights up again, this time not with a message but a phone call]

Hit "answer," and you'll see.

[lumberlady]

Um-

[Konoha kind of jumps when the watch starts making noise and light, fumbling a bit as she pushes the screen a few times until she hits the actual "answer" part of it.]

Like this?

[purrtagonist]

Bingo.

[and now his voice is coming through the watch! so Konoha can hear everything he says in stereo]

Hello~

[lumberlady]

[STOP THE PRESSES.

Konoha jerks the watch closer, pressing it to her ear in alarm.]

I can hear you...

[She's still... talking at him and not her watch, but.]

[purrtagonist]

It's neat, isn't it?

[he stifles the urge to laugh at the way she presses her ear to the watch]

That something this small can transport our voices so far. You'd be able to hear me even if you were currently lost in the forest somewhere.

[he cuts the call, though. no point in keeping it going when they're standing right next to each other. it was just a demonstration]

[lumberlady]

[It's honestly so hard to imagine... How different would her world be if they'd had things like this?]

It's so crazy...

[She shakes the watch thing and holds it to her ear again.]

And you can hear me, too?

[She may... not realize he hung up.]

[purrtagonist]

Not through the watch anymore.

[shows her his own, which reflects that the call has ended]

I cut off the connection. That's why. You can hang up on people whenever you want during a call.

[lumberlady]

Oh, but- isn't that rude?

[She doesn't know the manners for this weird thing???

Konoha tries to do the same on her watch, poking it with her finger.]

Here I can just talk to people in person, which is better, but... these must be really useful if you're a long way away...

[purrtagonist]

Could be. Depends on who you're talking to.

[annnd that concludes his lesson! he drops his hand back into his lap, turning away a bit to muffle a light cough]

They're extremely useful when you're separated from someone you want to talk with. It might take some getting used to, but I think you'll get it after using it a few times.

[lumberlady]

I'll try, I guess...

[There's the... posting thing... the message board... But his cough reminds her that she shouldn't be making him talk so much while he's sick, and she puts the watch back in her tool pouch with a smile.]

But you should go back to resting, now that you've eaten, alright? You can... call me, on the thing, when you're hungry again. Yeah?

[purrtagonist]

[and Akira peers at her from underneath his bangs, hesitating on whether he should take her up on that offer]

[in the end. . .]

Do you take requests?

[lumberlady]

[And without a single hint of hesitation,]

Of course!