driftfleet | First Breath Mingle

[She pushes herself away from the doorframe and enters the room.]

You seemed pretty absorbed. If you need to finish, I can wait.

[She's not in any rush, if he needs a few extra minutes she doesn't mind.]

[He stands and waits for her to come into the room. It's only fair.]

No, it's fine, Velvet. I can do that at another time. You're here for your lesson. I should have paid closer attention to the clock.

[He doesn't bother to pick up the notebook and put it in a pocket. He doesn't need to. It's encoded in his own shorthand. Force of habit.]

So, you said that you have previous experience in cooking, but not with these instruments. There are some that are universal, I believe. I'd like to see what you can do, to assess your skills before I attempt to instruct you.

[She tilts her head as she looks around the room, then settles her gaze on him.]

So, you want to test me.

[She doesn't sound particularly surprised.]

[He knows that she doesn't really want to try and intimidate him, but she does sort of give off the same air that Gladio does when he walks into a room of Crownsguard recruits. Or Cor Leonis does.

It's not on purpose. They just have it. And so does she. Perhaps it's the look in her eyes or the way she stands. Or a million other tiny things. It doesn't matter. She is serious and she has some sort of power.

And he's not intimidated. Not at all. But it is a little charming, after watching her during their initial meeting and their brief conversation before her arrival.]

You can think of it as such, but I can't instruct you without some indication of what you do and don't know. It's simply a demonstration.

[She shrugs a little. She doesn't mind. Not really.]

Sure. It makes sense.

[She sighs, tapping her finger lightly on her forearm as she considers. There's more she should tell him about herself, if they're really going to do this. She's as honest as Sorey in her own way, and she probably shouldn't ask him to spend a lot of time in close quarters with her unless he knows what she is.]

I think there's something else you should know about me first, though.

[He notices the change in her attitude immediately and it makes him frown. This should be interesting, though good or bad is yet to be seen.]

Would you prefer to sit while you divulge this information? Or perhaps something to occupy your hands?

[He's so courteous, she's really not used to it. She's also not sure if she should take him up on the offer to sit down since he might want her to leave in a minute.

She shrugs a little.]

I don't know. How do you feel about daemons sitting and occupying their hands in your kitchen?

[She's not good at being delicate about this. Or, possibly, anything, really.]

[She obviously needs a better caliber of friend.

When she says the word 'daemon', Ignis's hands freeze and his eyes narrow instinctively.]

I'm sorry. What was that?

[He's hearing things. There's no way he heard that correctly.]

How do I feel about what?

[She sighs. It's definitely a good thing she brought this up. He'd probably react worse if her arm took him by surprise sometime.]

I'm a daemon, Ignis.

[He prides himself on being a man of reason and never reacting impetuously. However, that word is something that means the destruction of his world, his family, his life. He takes a moment to look her over. She certainly doesn't look like any of the many daemons he's come to know through his trip with Noctis and the others.

Perhaps, because they come from other worlds, it could be something different. He won't find out with idle speculation. And the irrational desire to summon his weapons is just that and relatively easy to ignore.

He likes this woman. And until such time as she gives him cause, he will withhold from attacking her or anyone else aboard the ships.]

And what does that actually entail? [His voice is surprisingly void of any anger. It's not like she's proven herself to be violent. He is a man of reason.]

Sit, Velvet. We can proceed after we get this out of the way, but I believe it will be easier for us both if we are sitting and acting like civilized people.

Edited 2017-05-24 05:17 (UTC)

Sure, if that's what you want.

[She told him what she was and he still wants her to sit, so this time she takes a seat. She's not interested in starting a fight. She's not Rokurou, and that's not why she came.

If he wants to know what it entails, she can tell him that much.]

In my world humans generate something called malevolence. When they experience strong negative emotions it can overcome them and turn them into daemons. [After a moment she adds:] Or hellions, I guess. That's what daemons are called in the future, apparently.

Edited (I left out a word) 2017-05-24 05:45 (UTC)

[When she's sitting, it's easier to curb the irrational thoughts. She's just a woman he's gotten acquainted with. One he likes a little and finds pretty.

She's also a daemon. By her own admission, but that doesn't tell him a lot.]

And what makes you different from the mindless, soulless monsters of Eos that you can sit down and converse like a human? Do you have some adversity to the daylight or bright lights? Can you control yourself?

Because I had everything else taken from me, I'm not letting anyone take my soul.

[Her response is sharp, and immediate. The same thing she told Melchior. She doesn't know how to compare herself to the daemons of his world, and honestly, she doesn't really care to. She knows that in her world, it's strength of will that lets a daemon retain their mind, and if there's one thing she has faith in its her own determination.

She doesn't want to dwell on that, though. The pain that made her what she is. Not right now, anyway. So she focuses on the rest of his questions.]

No, I'm not sensitive to light. And if I weren't in control of myself, do you really think I'd be here, trying to learn how to use space ovens? I'd be rampaging somewhere.

[Her response is lively and telling. He can't help but admire that about her. However, the topic is too heavy for him to take much pleasure in it.]

I agree that you could very well be out causing trouble for everyone if you didn't bother to have any control, but you can't fault me for being skeptical for this sudden admission. Daemons are the cause for a great deal of death and ruin on my world. And the fact that you've chosen to tell me this must mean something to you.

Tell me why.

[It is, for a moment, a struggle to stay seated. She feels vulnerable and she doesn't like it. It makes her want to take back a position of power by standing. But she doesn't want to start a fight. And he's so on edge, she doesn't want him to think she's threatening him.

Though, honestly, she's not actually sure what he's asking. Does he want to know why she's a daemon? That's complicated and personal she's not sure how much she really wants to get into it.

If he wants to know why she told him...that's easier to talk about, but she's also not sure why it would be a particularly big deal.

She lets out a breath, slowly curling the fingers of her right hand into a loose fist.]

What is it you want to know? Why I told you? I just thought you'd want to know. It's not like it's a secret, anyway. [She is what she is, she really doesn't try to hide it.]

If you want to know why I'm a daemon...[She leans back in her chair, sighing.] Well, I already told you about malevolence. [That's probably the most relevant piece of information, without going into the gory details of her crappy past. At least from her perspective.

She shakes her head.]

This is your kitchen, your ship, if you want me to go, I'll go. I'm not trying to justify my existence to you.

[Ignis takes slow, steady breaths through his nose, letting his shoulders relax minutely. Though a difficult situation, she's being honest.

He's still not sure why and illogical behavior irritated him.]

I appreciate the fact that you've been so straightforward, but I'm confused as to why you think that I would want to know this. If anything, it makes me more likely to be adversarial. And were I the last member of my group of friends, we would be fighting already.

However, you've already shown that you're not violent towards me and mine. So long as that remains the case, I have no issue with you. I don't know your history and we're stuck here together for the amusement of faceless beings. Fighting you would be pointless. Being rude and cruel is also pointless as it leaves me with one less ally when I have an enemy here already.

I don't expect you to justify yourself to me, as that's even more egotistical than even I could ever muster.

[He shakes his head with a bit of a sigh.]

Unless that should change any time soon, we should get started with your lesson.

[She clearly has more in common with Sorey than she's willing to admit. But also, if she were good at logical behavior she probably wouldn't be a daemon.

She shrugs, though.]

Maybe "want" is the wrong word. It just seemed like the sort of thing that's better to hear from me than someone else.

[Since it wasn't a secret, plenty of other people knew what she was. And she remembers when the rumors were going around. Most of them were harmless and false, sure, but not all of them were. The Atroma weren't above throwing around information for entertainment.]

Besides, if it was going to make you want to fight me, I'd rather know sooner rather than later.

[Better to know who your enemies were and all that. But he seems to be taking it okay now. She stands slowly.]

But, yeah. Cooking's a better topic.

[Silly protagonists will be silly protagonists, no matter what.]

I will agree that it's better to hear it from your mouth than to have it dropped on me by someone I have no regard for. [Like Ardyn.] But I'm afraid that I'm not the impetuous type. I only fight when I have to do so.

[He leaves the picking of fights to Gladio and even Noctis on occasion.]

Not everyone would agree about cooking being a better topic, unless it's about their favorite food.

[At least it's over with now. If she's going to be working with someone it's probably best to get awkward stuff out of the way early, even if they aren't the impulsive type.

She shrugs a little.]

I guess everyone has different hobbies. [A pause as she glances around the kitchen.] You wanted to know what I was already familiar with, right?

[He nods at her, still not completely relaxed. It will take him a great deal of contemplation later, alone, to come to terms with it. And he knows that he'll have to forget to mention this to Noctis and the others.

If anything, Velvet has the right to tell her own story at her own time and comfort level with others.]

Yes, that's generally a good starting point. I don't want to waste either of our time going over something you already know how to use.

[She notices he's not entirely comfortable but decides not to worry about it. She figures he can tell her to leave if he wants to. She takes a walk around the kitchen, glancing at the various equipment.]

I know pots and pans, obviously. [She says this dryly.] Honestly, I think the main issue is the technology. Things back home are more...rustic.

[She sighs and leans against the counter.]

And I haven't cooked in an actual house in awhile. [Not including the time Melchior tried messing with her head in Aball.] Usually I'm cooking while traveling on foot or on a pirate ship.

[Give him time. This is a lot to take in. Besides, he hasn't kicked her out, so it's a good sign. Especially considering how territorial he can be over his cooking spaces.]

Ah, yes, my friends and I were doing some rough camping before we arrived here, so I have a lot of first hand experience with the less "civilized" form of cooking.

[He takes a moment to think it through.]

The stove and oven are rather primitive. However, did you have microwaves or toaster ovens on your world?

No. What's a microwave?

[She's not sure that even sounds like something that should be in a kitchen. ]

[Okay, that is a good starting place.]

How about we begin with me telling you about the appliances and their functions before we continue?

Yeah, that sounds good.

[Honestly knowing just the basics would be a huge help.]

First Breath Mingle

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