ryuwrighthistory | Empatheias IC inbox

Ahhhh, nope! You just relax and maybe open some of the boxes, but everything's fine! I'm fine!

[Really, everything is just fine. She's fine, and she might as well be channeling Apollo Justice with the way Maya repeats that mantra to herself as she goes on making the tea. There are a few loud clinks and a yelp from her as she almost drops one of the fancy teacups, but she eventually makes it to the living room in one piece with two steaming cups of tea in her hands. They get set down on the table next to the snacks.]

How have you been?

[She flops into a chair across from him, folding her hands neatly on her lap, black smoke curling up into the air in front of her face. She's just going to casually pretend it's not there at all.]

... [Naruhodou knows Maya enough to tell that something isn't right and she's not as fine as she claims to be. He'll sit down in the living room, quietly listening as she prepares the tea and observes her as she comes out to join him. He doesn't miss the strange black smoke hovering around her. ]

Maya, please tell me what's wrong. [He's put on his serious face now, forgetting the distractions from the tea and the animals.]

[She doesn't answer him right away, holding onto her smile even with one corner of her lip trying to twitch down into a frown. The smoke moves when she moves, her fingers brushing her hair away from her eyes only to have it fall forward again, and that's when Maya hangs her head, looking away from Naruhodou.]

You don't know, do you?

[Charley seems to sense the heavy emotion looming over her and trots into the room to rest his head on her knees.]

[He looks puzzled by the question, wracking his brain to figure out what she meant and feeling bad that he has no idea. It feels like he should know whatever it is that's bothering Maya, but he doesn't. After a moment of just sitting there with a blank look, he gets up from his seat and decides to come over and sit down beside her.]

I'm sorry, but I don't know what you...?

[She scoots over to make enough room for him and Charley chooses his knees to rest his chin on instead, blinking up at Naruhodou through his bright amber eyes.]

Mm.

[Maya hums to herself, lost in thought for a moment, before she takes in a deep breath. She isn't really sure where to start, but there probably isn't a good place to start with something like this, really. Maybe she should've rehearsed this in front of the mirror a few times before coming over.]

Nick's gone home.

[There's a long silence. Before he could even answer her, his mind is already trying to reach Wright. His eyes widen when he doesn't reach anyone.] He... [He's still trying to reach him, in disbelief. A chill creeps up around them.]

He's gone...? Really gone home?

[Maya brings her feet up onto the chair and hugs her knees to her chest, chin resting on them. She shivers against the chill that she suddenly feels.]

Yeah. A couple of days ago. [She starts to twirl her fingers idly, watching the smoke come off of them with darkened eyes.] I thought that maybe he had just gone home like I did, so I figured I would give it a couple of days... but when I went into his room, his blue suit, his badge... all of it is gone.

...Is that so... [He stares down at the floor. It's funny, how one starts to take things for granted in this world the longer one is here. Maybe Naruhodou did know they all wouldn't stay here forever, but he chose to never let it concern him. Now Wright is gone, and it feels like their time together was too short. There were still things he wanted to know about his descendant, but this place had other ideas.

He glances over to Maya, seeing her curling onto herself. Someday she won't be here too, he thought. He raises his arm and wraps it around her shoulders, leaning into her.] I'm sorry.

[She leans into him, taking comfort in the closeness of a friend. There's a tiny sniffle and she chokes a little on the emotions that she's been holding in. She kept telling herself that she'd be strong and put on a smile for Naruhodou and yet, here she is, biting back a sob.]

Me too. You didn't get to spend a lot of time with him.

I wonder if, since he won't come back, he'll remember his time here and meeting you and everyone else.

[Wagahai climbs onto the sofa across from them, as if sensing the sad feelings. The lights in the room flicker and dim.]

...There's a chance he won't forget either. [He says, trying to reassure her even if he wasn't certain himself.] Even if he does, we still remember.

We will.

[She turns to Naruhodou, her hand finding a place on his knee to rest where she squeezes it reassuringly, and she smiles up at him with tears in the corners of her eyes.]

I want to make sure that he remembers you. Or, at least know that he got to meet his great great great... great great...? grandfather.

[He chuckles.] I-I think that's several too many greats. Please it's all right. Even if he doesn't remember, I want...I want us to make new memories too.

[He rests a hand behind his neck.] I'm sure he would feel guilty already for forgetting everyone here.

[She drops her feet back to the floor and swings them, leaning forward a bit as she watches Charley blinking up at Naruhodou and nudging his chin against his knee.]

I told him that if he ever left, I'd show him how good my right hook's have gotten. If he forgets, guess I'll show him my left one, too.

[Maya tilts her head enough to glance back over her shoulder at Naruhodou, lips puffing out a bit as if she's deep in thought before she adds:]

When you went back, you didn't remember either, did you?

I...I see. I'm sure he'd look forward to that. (I'm glad she hasn't used our family relation to test that out on me instead.) [He's met Charley plenty of times, but he still tenses a little because wyverns. Very lightly he pets him on his head. His gaze softens, there was sadness behind those eyes.]

...No, I'm afraid I didn't, not until I came back here again.

Yeah, neither did I.

[Maya reaches across to the table to take her tea. She doesn't sip it yet but holds it up near her lip to smell it and feel its warmth against her nose.]

It felt like something was missing, but I could never remember what it was. Until I just kind of ... forgot as the years went by. I wonder if that'll happen when it's time for all of us to go home.

[Her voice sounds a little wistful and distant, more like she's pondering out loud than making actual conversation. As her attention slowly returns, though, she laughs sheepishly and finally sips her tea.]

Ah, sorry. I don't mean to be a downer or anything!

[He folds his hands together, fingers intertwining and squeezing gently, feeling unsettled at the thought of forgetting everything that's happened here. It's the reality of things, having gone through the same experience, but it was just so....sad to forget all of it. He snaps out of his thoughts when Maya apologizes, looking to her.]

Ah, no it's...it's all right. I think it's good to talk about this. I wonder why it has to be that way. Why can't we remember until we come back here? And also, why do people sometimes not remember being here before? [He picks up tea to take a sip, frowning soon after.] Um, what kind of tea is this?

[She's about to respond to his questions with some deep, meaningful, philosophical answers but she pauses when he makes a face at the tea. She looks down at her own, not having taken a sip just yet but it doesn't smell off to her. Maya returns the look at Naruhodou.

Are you dissing her tea making skills!?]

I dunno, I just grabbed whatever I found in the cupboards. What kind of tea do you have if it's making you make that face?

[She sniffs it again.]

Uh it's just...oolong and green tea that I have? [The tea tastes like neither of them for some reason??? He looks down at his cup and wonders if maybe Maya had brew them together.]

M-Maybe these are just the older tea leaves, so it tastes a little different than usual. [...Yea, he's not going to accuse Maya, nope. That would be a bad idea.]

Hmmm.

[She's suddenly wary of her cup but she goes to take a sip anyway, hesitating as the top of the cup reaches her lips. And when she finally tastes it, she sputters and coughs and almost spits it out all over him.]

This is horrible! What kind of tea are you stocking your cupboards with!?

[Wagahai pokes her head from behind the cough, puzzled by the noise but keeping her distance because wyverns.]

N-Nothing strange!? It's really just the two that I said. [His hands raised up as she sputters all over him and his clothes. Ugh, it's fortunate his clothes are dark, but tea stains are going to be a pain to remove.] Here, I'll make us another batch. [He takes his cup and then makes an attempt to collect Maya's]

No, no! Let me help.

[She holds her cup away from Naruhodou's reach, almost spilling it all over herself in the process – almost – before she gets to her feet, Charley squawking in protest at his resting spots disappearing. Before she glides back to the kitchen, she snatches a cookie from one of the boxes on the table and sticks it between her teeth.]

I should bring you some of the specialty teas I found! One of them tastes like chocolate!

Ah, well--ok. [She's already gone before he can finish what he was thinking, so he just gets on up and follows after her.]

There's chocolate flavored tea? [That sounds amazing by the way Naruhodou's expression brightens at the very idea.

He opens the cabinet where he kept the tea leaves, noticing something odd. There seem to be a third case next to where the teas were held and it seem to have been used recently. He pulls it out to examine the contents. There were certainly dried leaves in here, but he didn't recognize what they were.] Say Maya, did you take from this one?

Mmm, was I not supposed to?

[She leans over and peers into the container where there are certainly some dried leaves in there. She recognizes the smell, but it still makes her look up at Naruhodou with narrowed eyes.]

... Are you keeping suspicious things I shouldn't know about in your cupboards?

What? N-No, not me at least! [He squints at the odd case.] I don't even recognize this, so it must be... [He frowns, the color seems to fade from his face.]

Uh, you're not feeling funny after drinking that tea, right?

You look like you've seen a ghost.

[Maya snatches the container from Naruhodou's hands and turns it over between her fingers, sniffing the leaves and picking some up and crumbling them. Nothing seems odd about them to her. Then again, this is the Bakerstreet house. Anything is possible, especially where Sherlock Holmes is concerned.]

I don't know. I've been feeling kinda funny all day. Are you okay?

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