driftfleet | ( #004 )

Who: Hermione Granger and you!
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Vanquish
When: Today!

[ The feed starts out with Hermione sitting on her bed, looking absolutely miserable. It's obvious that she hasn't slept, not really, and when she speaks her voice is quiet and, more than anything, sad. ]

Cisco isn't here anymore. [ She's lost people before, but she never gets used to it. It's never fair, and it's not right. It's not right that you get to be this close to people and then they get taken away from you. ] I don't think he's the only one that's gone this time, but it's - I don't think it's my place to talk about anyone else.

[ She's doing this because Cisco was her partner, after all. Her boyfriend. She'd been so happy.

I'm not sure what's left in his lab, but - I didn't want to touch anything. I'm sorry for anyone that knew him, but... He's probably happier at home, so it's okay in the end.

[ The feed cuts off, abruptly, because she didn't want to think about it anymore - it was easier to just turn it off and put the device to one side and pretend for a little while. ]

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[ They might not be close, but Hermione appreciates it all the same. She learned years ago that you can't just shrug things off just because you don't know someone as well as you'd like; you never know how much time you have to actually get to know someone. Learning as much as you can, speaking as much as you can, doesn't soften the blow, but...

The kindness is something she appreciates. She had done the same to people before, as an ally and as a Marchioness, and she understands where he's coming from even if she's shaky in her acceptance of it. She'd lost someone special and it's going to take time for her to be okay with it. ]

Thank you, Ignis. I appreciate it.

Have you had any luck setting up your garden yet? What sort of desserts have you worked on?

[There is something to be said for having manners and reaching out to others when they need company. Even if you're turned down, others will remember the effort. It works in your favor should the need arise.

But mainly it shows that you have basic human decency.

And Ignis has that in spades, especially when it comes to those he happens to like.]

Think nothing of it.

My project requires the help of my friend. I'm waiting on a good day for the both of us so that we might pick a good spot. As for the desserts, it's mainly fruit pastries. The asteroids we're on have a sort of sweet yam and something that looks like elderberries. So, I've been experimenting with those to try and find something that everyone enjoys.

[ It's nice, really, to know that people care even if she struggles with handling it all. Hermione has gotten used to internalising her own sadness, so having people offer, to let it actually be drawn out... She's still struggling with it.

She trusts Ignis to listen and not judge, at least for now. ]

Oh, fruit pastries! It's been a long time since I had anything like that. Feasts in the Seelie Court were lovely, of course, but it wasn't quite the same. It was a lot more medieval.

[ Thinking of home doesn't help, but... ]

I'd be happy to taste-test.

[He is, by virtue of his position, a good listener for those grieving. And he has the experience, considering his charge is a prince with a lot of loss in his life. Sharing his expertise in this field to someone else that he happens to like is actually a benefit to those years of training.

And distractions are always a good way to get through the hardest part of it all.]

Yes, I started cooking, actually for a friend. He'd had a treat in another country as a child but didn't know what it was made out of. So, I spent a great deal of time trying to recapture that for him. It turns out that I'm quite good at cooking.

[Even if Noctis seems to be preternaturally adverse to vegetables. Especially if there are carrots anywhere nearby.]

Please let me know if there's any day that you would be free to come and try them. Or I can bring them over to you if you'd rather do that.

[ Hermione is doing her best to regulate herself and be okay with this, but it's hard. Losing people in the Drabwurld was worse, she can rationalise that - she knew they didn't go home like they do here on the Fleet - but it's still a loss. It's stilll someone she might never get to talk to again or get to see again, someone she cared about and cherished.

There's no going back from that and she's aware of it, and maybe that's what hurts the most. ]

Oh, that's so kind of you. I'm sure he appreciated the fact that you tried so hard.

[ She knows she would - that's a level of dedication she can't even imagine. ]

I'll probably be okay in a few days, maybe? I could message you?

I'd like to think he does. He has never once complained about being my taste tester at least.

[It's not like guys talk about that sort of thing out loud.]

That would be more than fine. Whenever you're ready, I will set some time aside. Perhaps then I could luck your brain about your own garden.

( #004 )

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