her footfall is soft, and as such, not enough to alert him of her approaching presence. rather, it is the quiet apology that leaves her lips that tells the sky knight he is not alone, and so, when he does turn to face her, a look of surprise adorns his almost-soft features. she apologizes for naught, in truth. she has not disturbed him from his own duties ( he’s taken to cleaning up the mess hall this afternoon, and making sure all was in complete and succinct order ), and she’s yet to offend him ( though it is unlikely that she will do so at all ). the way the sack that she carries rips is not her fault, but rather, the fault of whoever packed the thing —– and she is delicate, besides. thus, in response to her words, he shakes his head and offers a polite smile.
❛ don’t apologize. you haven’t done anything to merit it, after all. ❜
with that, he tears himself away from his own work, —– it’d all still be there in a few moments, he thinks to himself, waiting for him to perfect it —– so as to give her the aid she seemed to so desperately require. the contents of the burlap sack have already begun to spill out onto the floor; and he is already on one knee, working to gather it back up.
❛ we’ll clean this up first, and then transfer them all into another sack,
or a bucket of some kind. there should be at least one of the two lying
around. it’ll be like nothing happened! ❜
“ i feel as if i must. you are seeing me in rare form. ” she bows politely in the presence of tsubaki; not only in apology, but also in shame. heat swells in her chest and adorns her face: clinging to it with a fervor that asks to be quenched with water or snow. (she feels herself getting almost worked up enough to conjure some type of snow storm, but she tries to quell her spirit, her soul.) there is a prickling sensation behind her eyes, but the last thing that she’ll allow herself to do is to cry, to let this hoshidan stranger see her at this low point. after a moment, she lifts herself back up, soft smile adorning her lips.
he’s coming over to her then, and she quickly moves to start gathering the contents of the bag by herself. she’s ashamed that someone else might have to assist her. she has not been out of commission for so long that she’s forgotten how to clean up messes— and that’s all this is, a mess. her hands are somewhat full when he brings his idea of finding another way to transport that which was supposed to be in the bag. he’s sharp, she thinks sourly.
“ yes, let’s do that. ” she smiles, nods, plays the role that she’s given. “ i think there is a bucket in the kitchen. i could go fetch it? ”
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