Dreams of the Tempest

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld looked on with interest. He didn't know much about the culture the Terra clan came from, since personality quirks aside Toushikyo and Akizetsumei didn't act terribly different from anyone else in the area. There was an orderliness to this ritual that would have definitely out of place in, say, the Vaerbond family, where meals were more or less a competition over the available food. (Incidentally, this never changed even when there was more than enough to go around.)

Not that it was a bad thing in his eyes. On the rare occasion where the Tsukimonos had a family dinner, there were definitely some traditional rituals involved.

"Thank you," he said as Akizetsumei finished giving him his food. He was a little embarrassed by Katalyna using the term "suitor." Even if it was true, it felt rather formal. He wondered if there was a separate ritual for a guest who wasn't a suitor, though.

Further thought on the matter was delayed; everyone else was eating already, and he was hungry. "Itadakimasu," he said habitually before starting in on his own meal, being especially mindful of table manners.

[Nayt]

Truth be told, dinner was actually pretty good. The salad was fairly standard, because it was difficult to mess up a salad, yet loaded with as many vegetables as possible, nonetheless. Naturally, that was all Toushikyo was eating for dinner; of course he'd ensure that it'd be filling enough that two helpings would fill a person up. The beef stew, though-- that was the better part of the meal. Toushikyo might have been a vegetarian-- and by choice for the last four or five years --but he apparently knew the basics of cooking well enough to make a meat dish without screwing it up.

They were mostly silent whilst eating, exchanging only a few pleasantries about Toushikyo's cooking. Katalyna even complimented him on it-- but true to form, Toushikyo practically ignored compliments. He'd never done anything in his life with intent to foster the acceptance of others, and scarcely cared if something he did was well received or not. It may have been a fairly . . . aggravating personal philosophy, but it actually came with some serious good sides. Mostly, Toushikyo never felt the pressure of potentially disappointing someone. It meant he was highly self motivated--a trait necessary for young people to succeed in this country.

All of that aside, conversation didn't truly start until Oboreru asking something . . . troubling.

"So, have you kissed yet?" asked the boy without a second thought or worry-- as if it were something completely normal and harmless to say.

He, of course, failed to notice that Akizetsumei had turned bright red. And that Gestahl had stopped eating, taking instead to staring-- unreadably so.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld was a little surprised to find that Toushikyo had made the beef stew, given that he didn't eat meat. He was also surprised to find that it was actually good; he hadn't been aware that he could cook much at all. He ignored any compliments, though, even from his own family. Eld couldn't help but frown; even if he didn't care about others opinions, he could at least acknowledge that they said something.

The meal was decently uneventful otherwise until Oboreru decided to open his mouth, at which point Eld was forced to swallow a rather larger bite than he preferred or risk spitting it out due to surprise. His wish that he'd be reprimanded for asking a personal question like that went sadly unanswered; instead, Gestahl was looking at him expectantly.

"Yes," he responded, trying (and failing) to avoid blushing like Akizetsumei was. There was no point in lying about it; even if she hadn't given the answer away with her reaction, he suspected Kyo already figured as much out and would call him out on a lie. Besides, lying wasn't exactly the best way to start building a relationship with a family.

That and he suspected it would be infinitely worse on him if Gestahl caught him in a lie than if he just fessed up.

"Once," he added after a moment, hopefully putting their minds at ease. (He didn't count the Akizetsumei liked to kiss his cheek.) That had been...an emotional occurrence, to say the least. He couldn't help but glance at Kyo, who was the only one who was reasonably aware of the circumstances of it.

Not that he was opposed to doing it again, but Akizetsumei didn't seem quite ready for that, and the last thing he wanted was to push her further than she was comfortable with.

[Nayt]

"Just once? Really?" Oboreru looked up from his salad incredulously, "Wow. Huh. There are these two in school-- they kiss all the time."

Toushikyo, with his eyes shut, announced, "Shut up, Oboreru."

Oboreru dipped his head down as if he'd just been struck with a blow, "Wh-- what?"

Akizetsumei sulked her head and shoulders, too. So the secret was out, then. Not that it was any big secret or anything-- but she was keeping that information from her parents. She just didn't think they should've known, was all. They'd have just yelled at her, probably. Like they were probably going to do now . . .

Pleadingly, Akizets looked up to her father-- still quiet and contemplative. "Pl-- please don't be mad, daddy . . ."

Gestahl broke his concentration to look down to his daughter. He furrowed his brow in thought. "Honestly," he said, "I expected a higher number than that."

"Me, too," Oboreru raised his hand slightly.

"Wh-- wha-- ?" Akizets looked around the table, finding her family grown mostly silent. Her mother and Toushikyo had agreed, however silently. "H-- hey! What do you guys take me for, huh?"

"So, Eldridge?" Katalyna spoke up, changing the subject as kindly as she possibly could (which, in turn, left Akizetsumei fuming), "Gestahl tells me you work with your parents? Is it troubling work?"

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld placed a reassuring hand on Akizetsumei's shoulder. He figured it was more of a comment on what they thought of him than what they thought of her...probably, anyway.

In any case, he appreciated the change of subject. "Not usually; I'm not allowed to do anything with any risk. Mostly I help take care of any long term patients we have and cook the meals, and fetch things for my parents--I do a lot of the shopping as well, and I pick up orders from Galaens." It was a fairly short list, but if there were a lot of long term patients it could keep him pretty busy.

"I-It does get pretty troubling when there's an epidemic. Or flu season." The former was nothing short of terrifying; the latter was taxing but at least manageable.

[Nayt]

Akizetsumei, though not entirely fuming, was still a bit flustered. She couldn't believe her ears. She didn't at all get what Eld was thinking. Instead, she was under the assumption that her family thought something about her that was entirely incorrect and really, really, really rude!

"Oh, wow," Katalyna said, "That actually does sound stressful! Even if you're not helping your parents with something like, hmmmm, surgery-- that's still quite the list of chores."

Though Katalyna was genuinely interested in what Eld did and how stressful the work might have been (after all, it was something her daughter was going to have to deal with one way or another-- it was best for Katalyna to understand it sooner rather than later!), Akizetsumei felt way too offended to keep quiet.

"I can't believe my whole family thinks I'm a . . . I'm a . . .!" Akizets couldn't get the word out.

". . . We said no such thing, Akizetsumei," Gestahl remarked promptly.

Whilst Gestahl and Oboreru were a bit unnerved by Akizetsumei's outburst (or at least affected, even if only slightly), Katalyna and Toushikyo were not. Toushikyo didn't rightly care, and Katalyna . . . well, she sincerely cared, and did not want her daughter getting the wrong impression.

"Oh, no, honey! Don't think that!" Katalyna said as she leaned over enough to wrap her arms around Akizetsumei's shoulders and pull her close-- a half-embrace, comforting and warm, "We don't think any ill of you at all. It's just-- when children your age get into relationships, they sometimes go too far too fast-- and it's nothing about you or Eldridge, because sometimes hormones and circumstances just come about, and sometimes it's very hard to help it."

Katalyna spoke in a very knowing way, actually. Chances were she'd been down that path before in her life. She had, after all, come from a society with somewhat looser morals than Hillcrest when it came to sexuality, and she was a teenager once upon a time. She knew what it was like all too well. And because of that:

"We were just worried you were going too fast. And you're not, and even if you were, we'd never even think of calling you something so cruel," Katalyna said reassuringly, "So . . . don't worry, sweety. There's absolutely nothing wrong with kissing your boyfriend."

Gestahl then cleared his throat, prompting a stifled laugh on Katalyna's end. She leaned over and whispered in Akizetsumei's ear-- and at Eld's proximity to them, he'd be able to hear her just fine, too. "You just might not want to do it around your father, is all."

[Zach Kaiser]

T-That's a good way of putting it. Fortunately, Eld had the good judgment not to let his thoughts on Katalyna's assessment known. He figured he'd just keep to himself that he had firsthand experience with how very right she was.

It occurred to him that when it came to a relationship he might have as much maturity on Akizetsumei as he assumed.

At Katalyna's last comment, which he overheard, he turned slightly red. He couldn't help but wonder if, having more or less been given the okay from her mother, Akizetsumei would kiss him again. He certainly would have liked that...

Now's not the time to daydream! he reprimanded himself. But he did decide that there was little he could add to the current conversation without digging himself a hole one way or another, so he simply continued eating.

[Nayt]

Suffice it to say, Katalyna cheered Akizetsumei up better than anyone else in the world ever could. She perked up so quickly she actually felt silly for even getting upset in the first place. Of course, it all made sense. Akizets didn't know much about relationships and dating and all that stuff (even the physical things involved with it), but her mother was probably right. They weren't calling her anything rude and mean, they were just worried about her! Why, it was incredibly silly to get upset about that!

Bashful over her outburst, Akizets meekly apologized to everyone, "S-- sorry, um, Ireallygotthewrongidea,huh?"

Katalyna squeezed Akizets by the shoulders and kissed her on the side of the head, "Oh, it's okay, sweety."

Akizets still sunk a little low in her chair once she was released by her mother. She shyly glanced at Eld and smiled slightly. It was a little embarrassing to have gone off like that for nothing, especially in front of him!

"I've a question, incidentally," Gestahl began, deciding to chance the subject after a moment of quiet, "How is it you met my daughter, Eldridge?"

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld flashed her a reassuring smile; fortunately, he wasn't the type to think any less of someone just because they misunderstood something. Which was good, or it was distinctly possible a relationship with Akizetsumei would never work out.

He was quite pleased, as Gestahl's question was one he could answer without reservation. "Well...it was actually when had that riding accident. Sarah's a friend of mine, and I was watching the race. I, uh, saw the accident too. I said I mostly take care of long-term patients, right? Well, I helped take care of Akizetsumei when she was staying in the clinic."

Never being one to try and play up something he did, he left out rushing to help her when the accident happened. He hadn't really done that much in any case; he'd mostly just made sure Sarah and Kyo didn't do anything to make things worse, and wait for his parents to arrive.

[Nayt]

"Oh! Really?" Katalyna chimed in.

"Yeah!" Akizets replied cheerily, "He, umm, he totally dropped everything and ran for me when I fell, too! Li-- like, um, he was there to comfort me, y-- you know?"

Though, to be completely honest, Akizetsumei really didn't remember too much from all that. She was kind of in pain and crying and all that. But she knew that Eld ran for her when it first happened, and was there for comfort and support-- and then took care of her when she was in the clinic after. It was nice, actually. The thought of it all got her blushing again.

"Ummm, Sarah told me about that," Akizets added with a nervous laugh, then added as an afterthought, "Oh! And, ummm, Tou carried me back."

"I see," Gestahl said, "I appreciate your assistance for our daughter."

"Of course," added Katalyna merrily, "And I can certainly understand why Akizetsumei likes you so much. You really must have made a good impression."

"Y-- yeah," Akizets, still blushing, couldn't help herself but lean into Eld and hug his arm affectionately, "He was super sweet the whole time."

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld turned scarlet. It wasn't exactly hard to embarrass him, but nothing embarrassed him quite as much as getting praised for anything. "I-I was just trained well, that's all," he tried to explain. That included bedside manner, so of course he'd seem sweet.

Naturally, it didn't occur to him that he might be a nice guy anyway.

"A-Actually, I was pretty impressed by Akizetsumei. She nearly kept up with Sarah, and she'd been riding her whole life. And even after the accident, she still wants to ride...most people would never go near a horse again. She has a really strong spirit."

Then he blushed again, and quickly turned away, too embarrassed to continue speaking. He hadn't meant to say that; it was kind of personal. He liked Akizetsumei for many reasons, but that one more than anything was why he was dating her--especially since she was so much younger than him.

[Nayt]

"You're absolutely right, Eldridge," Katalyna replied smilingly.

They were all aware of that part, actually . . . that Akizetsumei was taking up riding lessons every so often. She talked about it every so often. Actually, she talked about most everything going on in her life-- except for her relationship with Eld. She didn't say much about that, and it was pretty obvious why. Young girls liked to keep their secrets.

"She's always been that way, actually," Katalyna said, "Ever since she was a little girl."

"I-- um, m-mom, c'mon," Akizets whispered pleadingly, attempting to save herself the embarrassment.

"Oh, but it's a cute story," Katalyna replied.

Akizets pouted and sulked her head. She couldn't argue with her mother like she could her dad. Her dad? She could argue with him all around town, nonstop for the entire duration of the day. But her mother . . . she had a way about her that just threw off Akizetsumei's inherent young-teenage ability to be a brat. She was just so genuine and honest-- it was so easy to find oneself afraid of disappointing her.

"Fiiiine," Akizets sighed.

Merrily, Katalyna continued, "When Akizetsumei was a little girl, she had very weak bones. Your parents treated her for years, telling us that she had a problem with taking in a certain kind of vitamin-- the vitamin that builds healthy bones."

Actually, Eld's parents had a whole file on Akizetsumei of Terra. There was more to the story about her health than just that, but Akizetsumei's parents weren't going to list all of the girl's health problems just like that. Nevertheless--

"We always told her to stay inside, because she loved to run and we were afraid she'd hurt herself. One day, she did. She tripped and fell and had to stay in the clinic for a few weeks," so far a pretty sad story, but . . . "She didn't let that stop her at all. We thought she was just being stubborn, but we found out, after her bones got stronger, that she simply loved to run. She hurt herself a number of times running, but she never let it hold her back; she'd get better, rest up, and be outside again."

"Years later, a lot of young athletes from her school get together to run races, swim, climb, and other sorts of competition-- and Akizetsumei outruns them every time. Some of them were years older than her, and she'd still outrun them," Katalyna would've pinched Akizetsumei's cheek just then were Akizets a few years younger-- and if she weren't so beat red right about now.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld nodded. "I can believe it; she even beat Sarah in a footrace, and she's the most athletic person I know." Anyone who could physically outdo her in anything had to be pretty good. He wasn't in bad shape himself, and try as he might he was lucky to scrape by a win every once in awhile, and even then it was usually more to do with luck than skill.

He turned to Akizetsumei with a smile. "You're a hard girl to keep down, it seems." And that was one of the reasons he liked her; looking at her now, it was impossible to tell that a week ago she'd been in depression over some vaguely mystical condition afflicting her.

[Nayt]

Akizetsumei covered her lips to stifle a giggle. Well, she guessed it was true. She really hated to be pinned down, both literally and metaphorically! And her parents were right. When they told her not to go out running, she really just ignored them. The joy she felt when the wind was in her face was unmatched back then. Now, it was pretty much equal to the joy she felt when she was around Eldridge.

The rest of their dinner proceeded rather calmly; Akizets only had that one issue, and neither Oboreru nor Toushikyo instigated any trouble after that. There was actually a desert portion, too. Toushikyo went back to the kitchen to get it whilst Oboreru cleared the table. He'd made truffles-- caramel, chocolate, and walnut truffles. They were still warm and gooey, just straight out of their range, which Toushikyo had left on low to keep it warm. This was well received by the rest of his family, and it was about the only time he nodded his head in acknowledgment and appreciation of praise. Baking was not only something he enjoyed, it was one of few things in this world that he prided himself in.

Once it was all said and done and it was getting quite late, it came time for Eld to probably start heading back home. Everyone was migrating off to do their own things, after all--Toushikyo and Oboreru to their respective rooms, and Katalyna and Gestahl sat upon a couch on the far side of the room and talked. Not about anything important, really. They just talked. It was something that made Akizetsumei's day, usually. Her parents had been together for so long and her mother was so mature, but she still found joy in sitting by her husbands side, talking about all the little things in life, and still held his hand when they walked through town.

"Ummm, I'm gonna walk Eldridge home, okay?" Akizets cleared with them first.

This prompted Gestahl to nod and stand up. He offered Eld his hand again. This was going to be offset, of course, by Katalyna hugging him lightly shortly thereafter (Akizetsumei got her preference in hugging from her mother, clearly).

"It was very nice to meet you, Eldridge," said Katalyna.

At which Gestahl nodded his head. "Likewise."

[Zach Kaiser]

That Kyo baked dessert as well was quite a surprise, and for once he even seemed to be bit proud of something he did. He continued to surprise him by going up to his room; Eld half-suspected he try and find excuses to keep an eye on him and his sister now that he wasn't cooking.

It wasn't long after that that it came time to head back home. While not terribly late by his own standards, the Terra household seemed to be winding down, and he knew it was time to go. He shook Gestahl's hand, and was somewhat surprised when Katalyna hugged him. It was a little odd to him, since he came from a family that didn't have much in the way of casual physical contact, but he didn't object.

"It was nice meeting you as well," he responded. "Thank you for dinner." Once Katalyna let go of him, he bowed to his hosts. He looked to Akizetsumei to see if she was ready, given that she offered to walk him home. (Which was kind of funny too, being both older and male, but he wasn't going to object to a little more time spent with her.)