Luke Triton (
lookprofessor) wrote in
genessia2015-04-21 10:37 pm
Entry tags:
[Closed] I live life in daydreams, avoiding what was real
Who: Satsuki Kiryuin and Luke Triton
When: Evening, April 16
Where: Genessia City
What: Satsuki, of course, figures out what exactly has been going on with Luke lately. She's probably noticed, too, that he's avoiding her at all potential costs.
Luke works most days in the tea shop alone. Blake does work with him as well, but he opens and closes the shop himself. It's a small business, and ensuring his puzzles are all ready and his tea is properly brewed is a point of pride for the young apprentice. They are all thing he can control--and that is how he likes it. So few things here are within his control: as such, the things that he can maintain control of are exceptionally important to him.
Walking home from work alone isn't unusual for him, either, though lately he's done so far more nervously than he has in the past. As such, Satsuki doesn't catch him completely off-guard.
Just mostly.
When: Evening, April 16
Where: Genessia City
What: Satsuki, of course, figures out what exactly has been going on with Luke lately. She's probably noticed, too, that he's avoiding her at all potential costs.
Luke works most days in the tea shop alone. Blake does work with him as well, but he opens and closes the shop himself. It's a small business, and ensuring his puzzles are all ready and his tea is properly brewed is a point of pride for the young apprentice. They are all thing he can control--and that is how he likes it. So few things here are within his control: as such, the things that he can maintain control of are exceptionally important to him.
Walking home from work alone isn't unusual for him, either, though lately he's done so far more nervously than he has in the past. As such, Satsuki doesn't catch him completely off-guard.
Just mostly.

no subject
This is really starting to get ridiculous.
Normally she has no issue with the whole actions/consequences thing, but things are snowballing into a path that she disapproves of. And mostly disapproves of because it effects herself: She had agreed to work with him after all.
He may notice that parked at the corner is an unusual looking truck with a logo on the side that reads 'Holo-Window Service'. Well that's odd, isn't that a Nova City service? That's the only hint he gets.
Because the very moment he turns the corner on his street, standing right there is the Nova City Guardian, hands behind her back and adorn in a long winter coat over her uniform. "Triton. I need your signature to have these windows installed."
Hello.
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"...window installed?"
The apprentice, completely missing the point, tilts his head in confusion. "The landlord fixed my window already. Miss 18 put up the tarp and then I told the landlord--he was cross--but I paid and fixed it. See?"
Satsuki is one of the few that know Luke's address, and as such he has no issue pointing to the freshly repaired (again) window of his small flat.
As for the bag he's carrying from the drug store? It's totally not bandages at all. Why would you think that?
All things being equal, Luke is doing okay. Not great but an at least passable job--if one doesn't include the bite from Haise, anyway. Those who've known him since his arrival in Genessia can guess at his frazzled nerves and fatigue with a bit of searching in the boy's features. Mostly though he's handling himself well.
Or okay.
Well. Not terribly. Let's leave it at that.
"But...um. Hi, Miss Kiryuin."
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She looks back to him, and notices the bandages. It's true that she isn't his mom, but she can't help but be annoyed, even if her expression doesn't shift to convey as such. "In short, the 'glass' is self-repairing. If it is all right with you I would like to exchange this service for a favor from you."
She does wonder who 'Miss 18' is. Well she can ask about that another time.
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Honestly, it's not fair to be annoyed with him--at least, that's what he'd say if he were asked. He had worked for her, and been fired, and now he fends for himself. That's fair enough, isn't it? What else, exactly, is he supposed to do?
"But--self repairing glass. That's a great invention! Especially since the paperboy throws the paper through my window all the time. I would really like that, Miss Kiryuin."
A pause. Gosh, for a kid so bright he can be so oblivious sometimes. "What can I help with?"
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"As for 'what', I will let you know when I am of need of your talents. Just keep it in mind for now." That said, Satsuki reaches into her pocket to withdraw a surprisingly normal sheet of paper, with the company's logo at the top. "This contract simply states you have given this group permission to install the glass. Once that's done you will have to let them inside." Beat. "I would like to stand by until the work is complete; if that would not be any trouble."
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"Um...okay, Miss Kiryuin. Would you like some tea?"
He glances over the contract, checking for any funny business. When it all looks okay, he fishes his pen out and signs the document, handing it back to her. While replacing his pen he pulls out his keys, showing the droid-things and Satsuki upstairs.
His flat is neat. Small and sparse, but neat just the same. Suna yips excitedly as Luke comes in before going to sniff Satsuki's shoes. As the fennec fox does that, Luke fills the kettle and places it on the stove. He has to climb on a step stool to reach but he also get a two cups and saucers as well.
What? You thought you saw him shoving something into the cabinet when he got the cups? Bandages? Don't be ridiculous!
"Um...what sort of tea would you like, Miss Kiryuin?"
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The fennec's excited behavior doesn't really bother her, so she simply walks along with the fox likely following while the droids get straight to work. (And there is no catch in said contract, thankfully.) "Green will be sufficient tonight." she replies as she helps herself to a seat. She delays the issue a bit as the last thing she needs is him spilling hot water everywhere. "Does this 'Eighteen' live in these apartements as well?"
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To get to the green tea he's back on the stool. Why such a tiny kid would store stuff high up is really beyond comprehension but that remains beside the point. A few moments later and the tea is ready. He sets the streaming cup and saucer in front of Satsuki before sitting across from her with his own cup.
Sitting in the seat his feet don't even reach the floor; like the child he actually is he swings his legs beneath him, bevy bowing steam away from the mug.
Suna jumps onto the table with a quiet yip and settles in the crook of his arm, her nose resting against his chest. In return, the apprentice gently scratches her ears.
"Miss 18? No--I'm not sure where she lives. She just helped put up the tarp for me. I..." He swallows. Of course Luke wouldn't know Satsuki had seen his accidental post--she never said anything. "Well. I sort of fell trying to put it up. Suna must have stepped on my phone and turned it on."
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Oh well; it isn't her place.
"I see." she murmurs. "Triton, after the housewarming party I was under the impression we were on the same page. But you continue to remain cautious, more than usual around me. I could let that slide if not for the fact you have grown increasingly distant."
Just. Bam. Right there.
"I need you to explain to me what is going on; and would prefer if you set your 'gentlemen rules' aside and not hold back."
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Luke flounders for some kind of response, and it shows. He's become distant with everyone here. People come, but then they leave. They disappear. They go home, and he's still here just the same, and then new people come. They'll go home eventually too. And then, the encouragement that he handle things on his own, to the best of his ability. The unintended consequence of his leaving Satsuki's employment has been distance. And in the months that followed have been riddled with stressful events.
Despite all his attempts to pretend otherwise, he is still a child. Murders and kidnappings and disappearances as people return home--it's not wonder he's cautious. Distance.
He shrinks further into the chair, the frown growing. "...I...I'm sorry, Miss Kiryuin. I...I'm trying not to get into trouble." Small hands wrap around the cup of tea in front of him and he looks down to the table. "...I'm sorry."
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She sets the cup down as she replies, "Try to relax and take your time; I am looking for answers, not apologies, so that I do not make the same error twice. I can understand your goal." Her brows furrow in thought, "Have you come to the conlusion, then, that by not speaking with me you are staying out of trouble?"
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"No. I mean, I don't know. No--I mean, I'm not sure. That doesn't make sense," he stumbles through his word choice, fingers tapping along the brim of his hat nervously. He opens his mouth to add something, and then closes it again, reconsidering his words.
"Not talking with you doesn't mean I'm staying out of trouble, is what I mean." A pause, and he looks down at his feet, fingers still drumming a nervous pattern. "I don't know what to do anymore, Miss Kiryuin. People come, and then they disappear, or sometimes they get hurt, or sometimes they get really hurt, sometimes kidnapped and hidden away from their friends, and sometimes they get killed--and then they come back, like nothing's happened at all--and that...all of that..."
He's overwhelmed. The nervous prattling should be indicative enough of that. "Mister Armin got kidnapped and then they killed him--and he's back now because things work like that here? But...but it still happened. And Miss Belladonna. And Miss Weiss was really hurt too. And Koishi got really hurt. I don't know what to do--people keep getting hurt and I don't know how to help anymore."
There's a long pause. There's no tears, but he hiccups as he chokes on his words, wrapping his fingers around the cup in front of him. Finally, his gaze on the tea in front of him and not meeting hers: "I'm not sure what to do. Sometimes it seems like the best way to help is to not be in the way."
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She sets her cup down upon the table.
"What you should remember is that you are just one person who is young and inexperienced; your talent for puzzle solving is still in an early stage, but is improving. It is all right that you do not know what to do in these situations nor is there any shame in asking for assistance when needed." ... "By the way, I have come to find that sometimes the simplest ideas can make for acceptable solution."
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"B....but that isn't enough. Sloving p-puzzles didn't save Miss Maka or Koishi or Miss Belladonna or Mr Armin. They all g-got hurt," his voice wavers and he glances up at her for the first time, eyes wide as saucers.
"And when I try to h-help, it...it just--look."
It won't be a surprise to her, since Satsuki already was told, by Haise himself, about the incident. Maybe she was told by Koishi too. Irrelevant, because he's pulling off his sweater and undoing the top two buttons of his shirt to reveal the swath of bandages on his shoulder. They aren't wrapped particularly neatly, and there is a small patch of blood on the otherwise white gauze.
"I j-just wanted to h-help. I can make c-coffee and he said it would help. I t-thought--now there's something I can help with, s-so I should. And then this."
He's already trying to slip the sleeve back over his shoulder, shivering.
"P-people who want to help...and b-be nice...they go home. Everyone goes home. Everyone who's helped me has g-gone home." Luke's voice is quiet and tight as he anxiously adds: "w-what if you go home too?"
no subject
Poor Luke. He's quite an eye opener on the difference between how he was raised and herself- Though perhaps she had known that all along and just never followed up on it. There was no particular reaction from seeing the bandaging, though it's quite easy to tell it was either done by himself, or hadn't been changed in a while.
"You have potential- While your talents may appear to be of little use to you, I see worth in both your gifts as well as your efforts. Your tea shop is a wonderful idea, but I assure you that is not your final stage." she replies. "Yes, sad things have happened. But you are letting it get in the way of your growth and blur your vision. Sometimes we need to put sad things aside so the sadness does not tear us apart."
A brief pause. "It appears you need some assistance understanding your limits. Before I go on about if I should disappear; I would like you to clarify on your injury: Who, where, when, and why."
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As for the dressing, it's been done by himself and changed daily, in fact--Luke might be stubborn and hellbent on taking 'care of it' himself, but that doesn't make him a fool. Of course, he'd been given a but of a crash course in caring for the wound shortly after being given it by the perpetrator himself.
"I...I don't know how to not be sad. H-how are you not sad when someone you c-care about leaves?" Luke glances up at her again, "or when you don't know how to help them?"
But she's changed the subject, and he is very much aware of the fact that he is not dictating the flow of the conversation. He presses a hand against his shoulder, frowning. "I don't want them to g-get in trouble. It's kind of my fault, because it was silly to go somewhere not knowing the person."
"Someone came on the network saying they needed help. And I asked if there was anything I could do--and they said coffee. So I made coffee, and brought it to them. And...at their flat, they..." his voice wavers slightly, "...they bit m-me. But they said they were sorry, and helped me clean up, and helped me wrap up my shoulder and everything."
Carefully, he lifts his cup and takes a small sip, swallowing hard. "It was my fault. Koishi told me that monsters and youkai and devils eat people, and you have to be careful. And...a-and he only did it 'cause he h-had to--like he was starving, because regular food doesn't..."
Ok. He's expressed that he understood what happened, but that's not a particularly healthy looking shade of white that he's just turned. He may understand intellectually, but that doesn't change that he finds the concept downright terrifying.
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She shakes her head. "Thankfully no such thing has happened and you appear to have learned from your experience- and gained quite a bit of valuable information at that. But most importantly you are safe, and I am.. Pleased about that. It is most unfortnate you have had to experience such a difficult trial."
"It appears your body is not in need of just physical healing, but mental as well. Have you ever tried meditation, Triton? Perhaps that would aid in clearing your mind."
I can't believe it's taken this long for him to ask her this, fyi
"I...I'm sorry. I didn't think of that. They said they..they apologized. And I thought he meant it, and wouldn't...so..."
A pause. He glances at the side of her face and then away. "I'm not good at meditation or anything like that. The Professor always wanted me to find something quiet to do, so I read. Or solve puzzles. But, um--the bite on my shoulder, I've been keeping it clean and wrapping it every day. It's just hard to reach...."
The silence is longer now as he considers the cup and saucer in front of him, still frowning. He rests his chin on his hand, the other gently spinning the saucer on the table. "Miss Kiryuin, may I ask you a question?"
"...can you just call me Luke, please?"
It's true
"And while I accept your apology, I think that I should apologize as well; you and I... I was very different at your age. I had treated you as I would have myself, without taking into account that our circumstances differ greatly. To get to the point, I believe it would be beneficial to meet with me at least once a week." beat, "And I am not so certain that meditation is beyond your natural capabilities. A clear mind, in theory, should increase efficiency in puzzle solving for example. Regardless I would like you to try since it is something I can actually teach you. If it does not work out then so be it."
"So did the doctors fail to show you how to perform proper bandaging?"
no subject
Truth be told, the immediate aftermath of the injury is still fuzzy to him. He remembers Haise apologizing, explaining, patching him up enough that he could safely get to the hospital. He vaguely recalls the doctor asking questions about what had happened, a nurse wrapping his shoulder and explaining how to care for the wound. And then that was that: he was discharged shortly after being seen, and went home and crawled into bed with Suna and tried to pretend nothing had happened.
The following day he went to the drug store and bought bandages and filled the prescription for the antibacterial ointment and cleaning solution, and has been taking care of it himself since.
"...I don't really remember a lot of what happened in the emergency room." Luke looks back down at the table, running a finger along the edge of the saucer. "The nurse showed me how to bandage my arm though, and told me how often it has to get cleaned. It's just hard to do with one hand."
He's quiet for a few moments, and then nods slowly. "...I would like to meet every week, Miss Kiryuin."
no subject
She saw. Of course she saw. And she would take the opportunity to follow him so she can keep talking.
As for meeting. "Then it is decided. Now, you asked what would happen should I disappear. I have planned ahead on that matter- Actually it should also cover if I should reappear with a loss of my current memories." Satsuki reaches into her coat, then removes a chip from it. "This is a log with almost all of the information I have gathered since arriving here. I made a vow to see that everyone is returned home. If, for whatever reason, I lose my way then I will need you to know what to do with this."
Sorry. Work as been actively attempting to kill me
When he turns, he offers the small bag of various wound care accoutrements to her, looking at the small chip she's holding. He blinks once, then twice, more than just a bit uncertain as he looks at the chip. He's seen enough technology here to understand the basic premise of the device, but it's more than he's used to and he isn't quite sure what one is supposed to do with said thing. Which is why his response to her statement is his own nervous: "...ah...what do I do with it?"
It's ok! Rping with you is worth the wait. :D
As she says this, she gestures for Luke to remove his shirt. "I want you to do as I do." From there on she would removes a bit of ribbon for herself, then gives a demonstration how to place on the bandaging using her own arm- She expects him to be copying her at the same time.
"Otherwise I will not instruct you until I feel you are ready. Ideally you should match the description I have made of you in my recordings- I estimate it will take seven months or so."
OOC: *Puzzle subject to change.
<3 <3 <3
"Okay." He follows her motions carefully, brows furrowed. It's clearly not that he can't fathom how to neatly tie a bandage but the awkward angle at which he's attempting to do it, along with lingering pain. Without his usual loose sweater and shirt, though, it affords Satsuki an opportunity to note that Luke has continued to go to lessons with Mayu. His frame is still small and will likely stay as such, but it's clear he's built strength over the last few months as he's practiced judo.
He's still not very good, but he tries."The recording will know what I look like?"
He asks this while still attempting to tuck a loose end of the bandage in, chewing on his lip. His work isn't bad, but it still isn't great. He's trying. After a few tries, he carefully slips the loose gauze under an open edge and sighs, lowering his arm. Luke won't complain, but the small frown is hint enough that his arm does hurt. A lot.
"So it will be able to see me. The recording, I mean. Or, rather, the machine that will play the recording."
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Ah so he has still been going to judo practice; the results are more visible than she managed so that's encouraging. "While that is a reasonable guess, it is not exactly correct. There are traits that can used for identification, such as voice. But also some predictions of your growth." Aka what she expects of him, but she won't be mentioning that.
"So as you can see, I have anticipated such a scenario happening. I'm afraid it does not answer your question otherwise but the way I see it separation is inevitable. Particularly when we discover a way home. So for me, I feel the best solution is to move forward."
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"But what happens if you predict wrong?"
It seems to be a reasonable concern. "Not--not that it's hard to guess. But sometimes, you know--your classmate goes home for summer break and comes back, and they're half a meter taller already."
He chooses, then, not to address what she means by inevitable separation. His anxieties lately have been almost entirely fueled by fears of separations--by loss or life or loss of memory or return home. The idea of losing someone he's come to trust so much is immediately overwhelming. Just the idea that Satsuki finds the scenario inevitable is enough to give him notable pause, the breath hitched in his chest. It's an intellectual point that he understands.
He just doesn't have to like it.
no subject
Well that's just mysterious, isn't it?
There is still one more thing that she wants to mention to him, but she'll wait to see if he has anything else he wants to get off his chest first.
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"Miss Kiryuin?"
The comment gets lost at first in his own uncertainty, and he hesitates before pressing on. Fingers drum nervously on his knee before he musters the courage to continue. "Um...am I ever...how come you keep helping me?"
With that question finally asked, it's as if the dam breaks, and he's able to ask everything else: "I don't...I don't think I really help you back so much. I'm not able to help you like Koishi does, and I didn't work with you at home like Mr. Gamagori or Miss Nonon or anything like that. Mostly, I make trouble for you...so how come you..."
His slips his chin off his palm and presses his forehead against the table. It would be a comedic faceplant, if he weren't clearly so upset. His voice is muffled when he speaks. "...how come you go to so much trouble, just for me?"
no subject
"Yes?"
Oh. Well.. Here goes nothing.
"You possess an intense desire to give something of value and I want to provide guidance so that your drive continues. I try to encourage anyone who displays that kind of motivation because if everyone were as motivated as you are, I believe we will grow closer to discovering a way home."
Though anyone who sees her as a Goddess is acceptable as well. She's still working on that. "You are correct in that you do not provide as Jakuzure, Gamagoori or Komeiji do but nor do they excel in what you have to offer; your skill in tea making is unmatched in comparison. Those are the short and long term exchanges."
"Obviously I would like you to get yourself into less trouble, but I trust you will continue to improve yourself."
Cleans out inbox. Finds this tag. Tags the hell out of this thread.
Slowly he lifts his forehead from the table, scooting off his chair. One sleeve scrubs over his eyes wearily. There are no visible tears, just a hint of moisture as he blinks repeatedly to prevent any potential tears from falling. Quietly, he pads over to the chair Satsuki has settled herself in, reaches over, and hugs her briefly.
Before she can react--a product of her continued support in his Judo training--he's slid away, skittered back to his own seat, holding his own cup of tea again and looking into what remains of the amber liquid with a small smile on his face. "Thank you, Miss Kiryuin."
Aww Luke.
Oh dear god.
The moment she's embraced, Satsuki visably tenses, though not-so-visably feels sick to her stomach. Somehow it's even worse than when Koishi does it. It's complicted. Still, she continues to keep the cup to her lips and before she knows it he's back to his seat. Eventually the young lady sets the glass down. It's a surprising coincidence that the robots finish installing the window as well, and are already marching to the doors.
"I am glad I could help. It seems now would be a good time for me to take my leave." she stands up. "Thank you for the tea, Luke, it is as fine as always. The 'glass' is made of hard-light so it is safe for your fox to step on. Do not forget to press the button on the side and it will fix itself."