Took quite a while to update. Was trying to draw something but it didn't turn out right.
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[X] Introduce yourself while peeling the pizza off her face, and then apologize.
[X] Offer to fetch her, a wet cloth to clean her face with.
“Good evening,” you begin uncertainly, unsure on how to proceed in this situation. You may have interacted with members of the opposite sex on a near constant basis during your trips into Gensokyo but never so “intimate” or perhaps a more appropriate term would be “awkward.” Buy still, you press on bravely, continuing your greeting, trying your best not to let any of your words falter.
“You have pizza on your face,” you continue, stating the obvious. She doesn’t answer, but does give you a barely perceptible nod. All in all, against all your expectations, she has reacted rather calmly in lieu of the situation. Not that you mind of course, the less hysterics and drama, the better in your book. Perhaps, in her bemused state, her reactions aren’t as fast, you reason.
Smoothly, you lower your arm and reach for her face.
“May I?” you ask smoothly, growing more confident in the face of her favorable response (or lack of one,) fingers just above the fallen slice. She merely nods once more, and replies. “Yes, I think I would like that, thank you,” in a steady voice. She shows no obvious sign of discomfort, save a startled blink as you reach down and pick off the slice of pizza, leaving her face clear of cuisine, save for the splotches of mayonnaise and stray toppings.
Lifting an arm from beneath the covers, the girl brushes the locks of her of her fringe, fixating you with her eyes. She doesn’t seem hostile, but she has a contemplative look about her, as if she were thinking hard about something. “You saved me from it didn’t you?” she asks simply, “from that…metal thing… a train, I think. I remember, someone…pulling me up, was it you?”
“Ah…Yeah,” you reply, not quite sure how to explain her peculiar circumstances at the very moment.
“I see,” she replies,” You have my gratitude.” She states formally. You notice though, that the way she addresses you now, is considerably different from the somewhat more unceremonious mode of speech she had unconsciously applied when you had overheard her sleepwalk earlier. “Unfortunately, I don’t have anything to repay your deed with.” She continues, completely convinced that you’d be demanding some compensation any second.
”Er…okay,” you reply, watching as she pulls herself up, sitting upright to face you properly. You really didn’t expect anything anyway. “Who are you anyway?” you ask finally, it was getting fairly tiring to refer to her as “the unconscious girl” on a constant basis.
”I am Nagae Iku,” she answers somewhat hesitantly. But she doesn’t ask for your name.
“Am I fit to move?” she continues after a pause, taking you aback.
“If you feel up to it,” you answer. “I’m still a student, so I wouldn’t know if you’re fit to move or not. You’re not missing any limbs so you should be fine.”
Nodding in reply, she makes a move to stand, shoving the blanket aside and pulling herself up. With a start, you come to full attention immediately.
A brief flash of something soft and white.
Aya being Aya, from a probable scenario you have deduced from her hair-trigger personality, had simply thrown the poor girl into whatever clothing was at hand at the moment, neglecting to complete the sleepwear set with a pair of pants. In the darkness there’s a silver of white, and in a flash, it’s gone, covered up by the blanket Iku has thrown about herself.
”Where are my garments?” she asks, calming herself impressively quickly.
“Down the hall, door to the left, “you answer, rather than draw out the awkward encounter any further. “They should have been ironed already, so you can get them if you want. But before that, do you need a wet towel or something, to clean up?” you ask. “You still have…stuff on your face.”
”No…thank you, I think I can clean myself up perfectly well, but I appreciate your offer.” Iku replies gratefully, and with the blanket still wrapped securely about her person, she makes for the door, leaving the room and you alone. Steadying yourself, you leave the darkened room as well, with no purpose left in remaining there. Picking up your puzzle and the rest of your pizza, you’re about to enter your own room when your elderly hostess’s voice calls out from the floor below.
“Soup’s done!” Come and get it!” she calls out.
Faced with little choice, you lay down your items and make your way downstairs to the kitchens, where the spry elder has concocted her herbal soup, and find two bowls already laden upon a tray for you, filled with a strange smelling clear green liquid. A sharp, somewhat earthy acrid aroma assails your senses.
”I put cordyceps into it,” she assures you, doing anything but assuring you of the soup’s relative taste value. “It’s an expensive Chinese herb, so drink every drop”.
”Cordyceps?” you repeat incredulously.
”Yes dear, cordyceps, a friend in China sent them over a year back.” She answers happily. “The highest grade available too, very thoughtful of them really.”
”Ah I see.” You reply, though it hardly reassures you in anyway. Reluctant, though you do your best not to show it, you accept the tray and grimly make your way back upstairs, mind filled with images of mummified caterpillars with mycelium rampantly sprouting, of various sizes.
Reaching the second floor, you make your way to the linen room, expecting to find Iku in the process of changing, however, the door is left open and no one is inside at all, Deciding that Iku has probably already changed, you make your way back to her room, hoping in your ability to convince her that both bowls were meant for her consumption.
The door is shut, so, balancing the tray carefully, you rap the wooden surface smartly and wait a few moments, but no answer comes.
“I’m coming in!” you call out and open the door only to find to room empty.
”Iku are you here? Granny wants you to drink this!”
But there is no answer. A part of you contemplates that she may be in your room, waiting for your arrival with a…reward, but you’re more rational side quickly brushes the thought away. A brush of crimson at the edge of your vision draws your attention. There! At the window.
The window had been thrown open, and as you approach, you realize that there is someone standing upon the narrow wooden sill. Nagae Iku, in her full flamboyant regalia stands, the moonlight making her garments somehow shimmer, and your eyes are naturally drawn to the crimson highlights on the pleats on her short mantle and long dress.
She seems to be speaking to something, but you can see no one and suddenly, a long eel like creature appears, swimming trough the air towards, though from your perspective, it seems to be having great difficultly in moving, but valiantly, it perseveres and reaches Iku, who reaches out to it, and suddenly it’s no longer eel-like, instead it’s a long white shawl, pleated with crimson, which Iku snatches out of the air. And wraps about herself.
Finally, she turns to you.
”Thank you.” She states simply. “You have my gratitude.”
And steps off the sill into thin air.
”Idiot! You can’t fly here!” you yell, making a mad dash for the window.
With a squeak of surprise, Iku obeys the laws of gravity.
[] Grab her hand, you can just make it.
[] Hurl yourself out the window. Cushion her with your body.
[] You’re just a story off the ground. There are bushes below. Logically, she’ll be fine.
Once again, feel free to write in sensibly.
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>>12498 Remind me not to mention mayonnaise again.
I don't have the slightest idea how to write those kind of scenes, so try not to put me on the spot alright?
