savetheearth | (no subject)

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WHO; Rei, Ayden.
WHAT; A walk in the park turns interesting as Rei's sixth sense finally rears its head.
WHEN; RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW
WHERE; The park

[Rei often spent her free time in the park, typically to draw and feed ducks and talk to a certain homeless boy she'd grown fond of. But with circumstances being what they were--from the art gallery and final projects and grading other projects, to the strange visions... She didn't really have much time to drop by in the past week or two.

She brought a blanket, and donuts again--everyone liked donuts, and Ayden always seemed to enjoy them especially. She's also gone without her usual painting tools, instead just bringing a sketchbook and box of crayons; a break from her frantic painting for portfolios was definitely in order, but drawing with Ayden was its own special thing.

Arriving at the park, Rei shifted the items in her arms to hold them better and began to look around, trying to spot the vagrant.]

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[ Since he's been all alone out here for a while and a hair more paranoid ever since those men bullied him in the Dead District, Ayden manages to spot Rei first and he immediately lights up upon seeing her. He doesn't see many friendly people lately, and she's one of his absolute favorite people in the whole world. He hasn't visited Aaron lately because he's afraid that the doctor might be mad at how bad things were when they last met, and Ayden spent so much time imposing that he doesn't know how he'll ever make it up to him. But that's for later, because right now Rei is here--!! ]

M-Miss Rei!

[ He's just... hiding in the bushes, don't mind him, but he crawls out into view upon calling out to her. He's staring down shyly at the ground, not wanting to scare her or anything by running up or looking at her too much or anything. ]

Ayden! [She beamed happily upon spying the young man, hurrying over. Seeing him never fails to cheer her up, even if she wishes his circumstances were better. He deserved so much more than life was giving him.

...She decides not to think about that right now. Too depressing.]

What are you doing in the bushes? [She crouches down and smiles, untangling the donut box from the rest of the items and holding it out] Look, I brought your favorite! All my finals and things are over, so I can finally spend time with you again.

...hiding from the bad people.

[ Ayden mumbles this in embarrassment as he glances around in case there are any bad people around. They haven't shown up in the park yet, but you never really know. And Miss Rei is here, so if they do show up he can't just run away. He has to make sure she's safe.

--oh, donuts! ]

Y..you don't have to bring me stuff, Miss Rei. I... Um... Thank you...

[ He takes it just to hold it for her for now since it seems like she has a lot of stuff, but he doesn't want to eat them all by himself. That would be rude. ]

Are... Are you going to draw today?

The...bad people? [She blinks, confused, and tries to figure out what he could mean. Was it the people everyone on the network was afraid of? Or--

Oh he took the donuts. She takes the moment to spread the blanket out on the grass.] I know I don't have to, but I like doing it. It makes you, happy right? And that makes me happy. [Rei gives him a bright smile and sets the crayons and sketchbook on the blanket between them.]

I was going to do some fun drawing today, something for me. I brought a lot of crayons and paper if you want to join me.

[ Ayden doesn't understand what his happiness has anything to do with anyone else's happiness, but maybe it's a little like how good it makes him feel when Rei smiles. Maybe he should try to smile more too...? But he doesn't really know how. Smiling's always been really hard for him, because he doesn't quite understand how it works. It just makes his cheeks ache and he looks silly and... Anyway he'll do his best if it's for Rei.

He settles down on the edge of the blanket, not wanting to get it dirty, and sets the donuts down in front of him. He's drawn a couple of times with Rei and it hasn't ended in disaster, so he's actually eager to give it another shot. ]

...oh, do you think I, um. Could I draw a thing for Dr. Strider? He took care of me after I got in bad trouble and-- I wanna thank him. Do you think a picture would be good, Miss Rei...?

[Rei pauses a moment before she gives him another bright smile] That's a great idea! I'm sure he'll appreciate it. I think a drawing makes the best kind of gift.

What are you thinking of drawing for him? [She tears out a handful of pages to give it a more or less solid backing when Ayden starts to draw, and opens the crayons to set between them. She hands the pages over encouragingly]

I... I dunno... [ He hasn't thought that far ahead yet, and at Rei's blinding smile he quickly flushes red and looks away. She's like-- She's like that street lamp down in the Dead District, the one they just fitted with a new bulb. Clean and crisp and bright and completely out of place.

And she makes Ayden feel like all the shadowy places drawn by the light. ]

M..maybe a flower...?

[She doesn't comment on how quickly he looks away--it's a slow process, getting him comfortable with her, but she was determined to stick it out.]

I think a flower would wonderful; everyone likes them. Maybe you could draw a bunch of different flowers, like a garden?

[Once she gets him focused in on drawing, maybe she could drag out some more answers from him too.]

I... I can try. [ A perplexed frown crosses Ayden's features as he tries to picture different kinds of flowers to draw. He wants it to be as nice as possible, since it's for Aaron. So he starts with some nice, happy looking yellow flowers.

...

And he sneaks exactly one donut into his mouth, managing to get the powder everywhere all over his hands and clothes. He never was particularly good at sneaking. He never, ever did it before Father made him go away, because he didn't ever want to make Father cross with him. Miss Rei doesn't get cross, though. And he's only trying to eat them without being noticed because he feels a little bad for imposing. She did say they were for him.

...maybe he'll draw her a picture too. Because she's always nice to him and he never really does anything for her.

Maybe he'll draw her ten pictures. ]

You can do it. [She smiles encouragingly and turns to her own drawings.

She won't go with flowers, not wanting Ayden to try and compare their drawings and discourage himself, and instead opts to start drawing what she can remember of the chamber she was in in her dream--sans the dead bodies and creepy shrine girls. Hopefully there'd be something she could work with to help with her further research.]

What else do you like, besides donuts? I can bring you other things sometimes too.

[ When Ayden starts drawing, he gets pretty absorbed in it and it's doubly true now that it's for an important cause. So when Rei asks him the question, it takes him a moment before his hand goes still and he looks up at her in puzzled surprise.

What does he like besides donuts...? He's never really thought about food that way. He doesn't even understand the idea of being picky about what he eats, because having food at all has been more of a privilege than a right for him growing up. Food was food, and if it made him stop being hungry somehow it was good. He can think of lots of things he likes, like sunshine and plants and Miss Rei and soap bubbles, but none of those things are things to eat. ]

Um... Whatever you like to eat, maybe...? I don't really, um. I like... anything...

Not being picky is good too. There's a bakery downtown, I can grab some cookies or a cake next time. [Rei quiets a moment and then looks embarrassed] I should really get you healthier things as well, though...

I'll bring you healthy snacks too; those will help you out in the long run. I'm not a very good cook, so I can't make you anything myself, but I could give it a try anyhow... Would you like that?

[ Ayden doesn't really understand what healthy eating means. He gets that the words are implying it's food that's... good for you, maybe? But that concept means nothing to him, so he just nods absently as he tries to feign understanding. Anything Miss Rei wants is okay by him.

At the mention of her cooking though--

His eyes go wide in surprise as he nervously lifts a hand to chew in his nail. ]

Wouldn't-- Wouldn't that be a lot of trouble, Miss Rei...?

It'd be difficult, sure, because I've never really had to cook for another person before, but I'd like the challenge! Besides, it's a skill I probably need to learn if I ever get married...

[Which would be nice, but she won't daydream on that for long] Anyway, I don't have much else to do this summer so far, so it's not trouble at all! But you have to tell me if I what I make doesn't taste good, okay?

A..as long as it makes you happy, Miss Rei. I'll, um. I'll do my best. But I'm not a picky eater, so, um...

[ Ayden is blushing something furious now, ripping out blades of grass out of nervousness as he stares down at his lap. He doesn't think Miss Rei should have any trouble getting married since she's so sweet and wonderful and like always being out in the sun. But of course he's no different from the trash people leave in the gutter so maybe other people see her differently.

But he doesn't think so. He really doesn't. People have got to see Miss Rei like he sees her. ]

...I-I'll try not to let you down.

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