savetheearth | 022 ♦ Closed -> Video

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022 ♦ Closed -> Video

Who: Winter and her companions
When: May 11, afternoon and evening
Where: Villa Precure
What: Reminiscing about things left behind. And mostly just... taking a breather. (And maybe dinner.)

The sound of a stove in operation, and something boiling therein, can be heard from anywhere in the villa this afternoon; Winter went shopping and came back with enough macaroni and various cheeses and spices to feed an army. In a way, that's exactly what she's planning. She's humming as she cooks, stirring things and mostly giving the appearance of actually knowing what she's doing. This is... one of the things she's confident in, and it shows. Even if she's missing her mother today, she spent some time on the phone with her earlier, and she's making a point of doing one of the things she most associates with April.

That's why she's doing all this, really. She wants to show her friends how much she cares and values them... and she wants to do something that connects her to her mother, even half a country away. She'll spend some time over the course of the afternoon slaving at the stovetop, though she's not so busy she can't talk; she will politely refuse help, though you're still welcome to try.

That evening, other dinner plans were prepared for - Winter's gourmet skills don't really extend beyond what she's been making. So she sends a text to the tune of I made dinner, if anyone wants to come!, and when she assembles whatever of the team wants to come by, she's prepared a real dinner with some meats they'd procured and some rolls, a few other things at her papa's suggestion, and a heaping bowl of macaroni and cheese that can only have been what she's been doing all day. If anyone does elect to take some, they'll find it's actually pretty good. And that Winter is looking expectantly at them for a few seconds, until either they comment or she catches herself and turns her attention elsewhere. The whole night, she's cheerier than is perhaps usual for her, and she's fairly calm. She'll be hanging around for a while, even after most of the food is gone. Even with half a dozen girls, Russel, and Rick, they won't manage to demolish all the macaroni. But that's another story.

[video (open) | May 12th, morning]

[That leads to a post the next morning; Winter's looking a little sheepish, but her cheer from last night hasn't really worn off yet.]

I made too much macaroni last night... does anyone want some? I don't t-think it'll keep long enough to bring some back to Locke City, but if anyone around here would like some, I don't mind sharing. I'd tell you where to come to, but... I s-suspect everyone already knows. I hope everyone had a good Mother's Day! I would like to hear what everyone did, if you don't mind.

[A pause.] I don't have any new information on our "investigation" just yet... we'll have to do a little more digging, I think. Right now, we're just taking a break, I think. It's been a long couple of weeks, and... even if we haven't found m-much yet, it's still tiring work roaming the city. If anyone knows anything new, I'd like to hear about it, too.

Um, that's everything I wanted to say today... [She waves before she cuts the feed.]

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Winter's mood being what it is today is... helpful, actually. All things told, Mother's Day isn't any better for her than the anniversary that was a couple weeks before it. The two being so close together only made it worse, typically. This year is different, however. She'd been able to talk and express how she felt on the subject of her mother already, and... It was okay, for now. A brief visit to the florist - on her own this time - and she returned with another set of the same flowers from the other week.

Besides that she elected to stay in most of the day. Being Sunday and a holiday things seemed like they would probably be an even greater headache on the strip than normal, at least as far as she could figure. So she didn't even bother to stick around on it long enough to find out. Instead, she just hung around with some level of amusement to watch Winter's progress through meal preparation, piping up whenever she thought that she might be halfway useful, if just not to be a lazy bum the entire day.

Dinner comes, and while she isn't usually one to indulge quite as much in eating... It's a day when comfort food seems appropriate, hence where she's going in for seconds on the macaroni and cheese. And eyeing Winter a bit, noticing her expectant look. She smiles.

"This is all great, Winter," she says, and catches herself before she adds 'I could get used to this.' Instead, she's just reloading her plate for another moment before continuing instead with: "You should be proud of yourself." Another quick pause. "Did... you learn any of this from your Mom, by chance?"

A bit of an awkward question. Especially coming from her, but she means well enough by it. Given the day and Winter's insistence on preparing a meal on this day, it seemed only logical. Plus, she wants to know what she can when it comes to these sorts of things and Winter if she were to be totally honest.

She'd JUST been talking to Matt about how she can't go overboard on the calories and now Winter goes and makes about ten pounds of macaroni and cheese on top of the rest of the meal. Mac and cheese isn't a specific weakness of Marina's, but it looks good, smells good, and her friend made it, so she's obligated to at least try it - and Winter might need someone willing to be blunt enough to tell her if it's not good.

Hopefully, though, she doesn't need to worry about that. "So... are you trying to fatten us up or something?"

[Have a brown-haired woman staring at you a bit blankly, Winter. She looks much calmer than when she was talking to Matt, that's for certain.]

Investigation?

[Also, she's new and wouldn't know a Vermini from a flea.]

You're not talking about... the murder, are you?

[Her mouth hangs open and she promptly closes it. 'But you're kind of young,' is what was about to come out, but she thinks better of it. Assumptions were bad, but she still looks a bit worried.

...and a bit hungry. Macaroni and cheese sounded good to go with dinner...]

Kari certainly seems happy about it, from the fact that she's on her second full plate. Where she puts it all, no one will ever know.

"Good going." Munch. "We do need to ramp up the investigation. The civilians have caught onto the water thing. I saw guards posted everywhere."

Mother's day?

[A pause. She's not really here for that part of the message but, she's probably better off saying something about it at least.]

The usual, y'know.

[A pause. She glances away, her expression somber for a moment.]

Flowers and stuff.

[There, that oughta do it. She turns back to the video, banishing holiday-related thoughts for the time being.]

So, anyway, make sure you guys keep me posted on that investigation stuff when you dive back in, huh? I got a bone to pick with whoever's behind it too.

[True, she and Ange hadn't exactly been the best of friends... but they trashed snakes with a sweet car together and that counts for something in her mind.]

"N-no... not necessarily. I just felt like it today. This is... something I learned from my mother, and it's something I have strong feelings about. I wanted to share it with... the people that are important to me," she argues lamely. Not that it offends her too much.

"Although... some of us could stand to eat a little more. Certain people are a little thinner than necessary. If you think it's a little too much, j-just... don't eat too much of it, right?"

Not really a thing in my house. [Because what's having a mom? Technically, he could extend it to Granny, but . . . it's really just a day, right?

[It's not really why he's replying, anyway.] Everything basically as okay as it can get over there? [Just ask directly if she's okay, Toushirou. It won't kill you.]

Searching for more information on t-the vermini. I would... like more information on the murder, too, but I don't think we're going to find that on our own. But... both of those are things we need to investigate. We need to figure out w-what happened to Angeline, so it... doesn't happen again.

I'd say we'll be okay and we can watch out for ourselves, but... Angeline wasn't exactly mundane. We c-can't be too careful, I guess.

Vermini... [She says it a bit absently, because she doesn't recognize the term, but she doesn't push for elaboration.]

Are you... safe, though? I-I mean... well, isn't it really dangerous for you if there are people out there looking for us?

... I'm glad to see you cherish your mother and the lessons she gave you. Hold onto that while you still can, miss.

Investigation... I presume you're talking about the murders in Las Vegas?

Edited 2014-05-13 03:01 (UTC)

"Just kidding around Winter... but yeah, there's a lot." Marina shakes her head, hand over her mouth as she laughs. "I get it though, if I could cook I'd try to make one of my family's recipes - Italians are all about fattening people up."

She looks over the mountain, tilting her head. "Seriously though, if we weren't running around so much this'd put about five pounds on each of us. Looks great though."

[Says a lazy, slightly-yowly, slightly-accented unchanged boy's voice:]

Why you wanna know that?

Like -- why would you wanna know how everyone else's Mother's Day went?

[He certainly spent some of his own Mother's Day wishing he could bite the bullet and turn up at home - thus, next question. In a stilted, hushed library-voice.]

Not. ...Much -- here... e-either. [Shakes his head; clears his throat.] Not that I'm, umm. He - ...Hearing. [Face twitches to start not-quite-a-rueful smile - it only lasts for the twitch.] I don't -- I don't know if anything's happening - ...

[It drops off rather cleanly. Part of that thought is that it's not a settling thing - but certainly not necessarily a poor one either.

On that note - pauses. Expands and loosens his lungs for a wheezy, dragging breath, and up from it rasps....] Did -- you... know, uhm... Angeline - ?

Edited 2014-05-15 02:42 (UTC)

"Mm... thanks, Marina." She smiles; Winter is slowly getting used to praise for the things she does on a more personal level, rather than 'oh hey, this happened' like she was accustomed to before. "Hopefully, we'll b-be able to take it a little easier soon. Everything is very tense right now, so... I just wanted to set aside some time for everyone to relax and take it easy. Even me, really."

Looking at the heaping bowl of macaroni, Winter grins. "Not that I m-mind the exercise. I'm hoping I... can actually get a tan while we're here."

Mm. The vermini... are a bad sign. But there are w-worse things to concern ourselves with, at this point. It's one thing when we're... being followed by little furry things that can give us pulses all of a sudden, but it's another when people are being murdered. People that... were important to someone, even if not to me.

It's definitely going to be dangerous. But... my duty won't l-let me just stop. I have to push myself as far as I can. So while I think it's safe enough to go outside, I don't believe for a s-second that I won't have a problem.

Winter's kind of wondering that herself, just staring at Kari as she packs down yet another roll and blinking, before she realizes she's being talked to. She shakes her head lightly, getting back to the topic at hand. "I didn't make that connection right away, but... that m-might be a problem. Do you think so? It's not like we even have that much to go on. We're... flying blind."

"We've got some ideas," she shrugs. "But we're going to have to work them out. Can't risk screwing it all up now."

Furry... things. [She blinks, hard. Sorry Winter, this is rather lost on her. She still nods though, so maybe it looks like she understands. She doesn't.] Everyone is important to someone though, so... anything like that isn't right...

[Sigh, and a hand to her face.]

Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't even look like you're out of High School.. I- I'm new to all of this, but I see a lot of young people on her... [She blinks a bit.] Not that I don't think you're capable, or anything! It's just... worrying, especially for a teacher...

Accept her praise! It is special. "Yeah, we all need to keep our chins up. It's... hard sometimes, but we've still got each other, and that isn't changing." You've even got her, Winter, for what it's worth?

"A lot of you guys burn pretty easy though, don't you? I'm lucky my parents have the complexions they have."

Winter has been doing her best not to let Lily help today, but if she's going to insist and hover, she'll give in just a little. She's taking a weird amount of pride in, well, all of this. Even if she didn't actually make most of it.

So when dinner comes, Winter is practically glowing - she managed not to burn anything, and it seems like all the things she drew up actually came out okay. But if she's being totally honest, the one she cares about is... ah, Lily caught her glance. "Thank you, Lily... I wanted, so much, for everything to come out right. I'm glad it worked out."

She treads with care on that last question - she knows today is probably a day that hurts for Lily just as much as several weeks ago. "I... yes. Mama doesn't have a lot of free time, but... she tried to teach me some things. It took me a while t-to get it down, but it made me so happy when I got it right..." Her eyes shine, and her smile's a little distant. How long ago was this...?

She returns to herself and looks down at the macaroni. "It's been a habit of mine to make this for the people that are special to me. So..." Her smile is even warmer, as her face colors a little. "I hope you enjoy it. And everyone else, too."

"Right! We... can do anything, if we work together, right? Even if it g-gets tough. We're strong... in the ways that matter." She's glad Marina's on board with all this; she'd kind of been afraid of how it would work out for a while.

"Yes... I go through a lot of sunblock m-most summers, and then I still spend so much time inside that I don't even have anything to show for it." Her look is a little more rueful. "Hopefully, we don't... have that problem here."

Right... the vermini. Have you n-not seen one? They're little things, only the size of a coin, maybe, or a spider. But... together, they're dangerous. They're d-drawn to us, and they can take over things, and attack us through them.

I'm... not out of high school. I'm at the end of my senior year, and I grad- [A pause, and a sharp gasp as her eyes widen.] Graduation...! Oh, I totally forgot! [She spends a moment thinking before she realizes she's in the middle of talking to someone.] S-sorry. I forgot about graduation entirely, somehow, in all the excitement here.

A lot of us are young. But if we're going to have these powers... don't you think it would be wrong of us not to use them? For m-myself, I refuse to just sit back and let everything I love... be at risk. I will fight, because there are people that depend on me to protect them. Because... people that are important to me are fighting too, and I won't make them go alone.

[She smiles.] So, thank you, but... this is something I have to do. I wish there were some way we could reassure you, but that's n-not a luxury we have. This is dangerous business, and there is no real way to... mitigate that.

"Mm. We... have to be careful." Winter takes a brief look to make sure the others aren't listening before she sighs. "I don't... want to be the next one found. And I s-stand out. A lot."

There's a pause while she thinks. "Do you have... any ideas?"

Raye? Is everything...? [Wait. There's... probably a really good reason for that, and it's one she's familiar with from someone else close to her.] Mmn... no, never mind. You have my word that we'll... do what we c-can. This is important... and Angeline deserves better than this. We'll find them, or we'll find something that gets us closer. This... bothers me.

Mm... I understand that. I k-know not everyone... has someone to celebrate. Is the day going okay, at least? Nothing untoward... no crises?

Things are fine here, if a little strained. It's h-hard not to worry, after what happened to Angeline. But I don't... want to make everyone worry about me, too. Somehow, everyone depends on me to lead them. So I have to fulfill that role. I've got to... keep everyone moving. If we get s-stuck on one thing, we can't make any progress. With the investigation, or... for ourselves.

I will. She is... important to me, even if I can't see her right now. [There's a moment of hesitation as she opens her mouth, starts to say something, and then thinks better of it - should she ask? This sounds... kind of pointed. But she decides not to; it's not her place.]

Yes, that's what w-we're investigating. The first one was... a murder in Las Vegas, which is not interesting by itself. But there are some nagging things that we need to examine more closely. Something is... standing out, but I can't figure out what it is. We need to take a d-deeper look.

Curiosity, mostly. I spent it away from my mother, so... I want to know what everyone else did. S-some people might have had really interesting ideas, after all. And I need to start planning for next year... not that I know I'll be home, of course, but that's not the point.

[Her breath catches briefly; each time seeing Anthony is a little less shocking, and she's glad for it. Just because he's... well, a zombie doesn't mean he isn't someone she wants to talk to.]

That's a little reassuring... I've been worrying about what might happen if something happened in Locke City while we weren't there. It s-should be fine, though. We'll know if something happens. Most of the things that involve us are... not subtle.

[She sighs at the last question.] I didn't... really know her very well. But I knew who she was. She didn't... deserve this. And that m-makes me want to solve this even more.

Lily probably had been hovering just a little. Between all the concerns of late and her own problems, this being a day which did sting more than a little bit, she opted to do what was most comfortable. A little more selfish than she normally might be, but... she hoped those around her would understand. So, she's happy to have this meal prepared by someone she cares for, and happier still it turned out so well for her.

Winter's explanation gives her a little pause, but she just smiles as brightly as she can at it. For awhile, the difference between Winter's relationship with her parents and her own was something that struck her in a way she couldn't quite explain. Now, she understands - it's not any sort of jealousy, and it doesn't bring Lily any remorse to know someone else was better off there. She finds herself genuinely glad for Winter, and happy she even has stories like that to tell.

"I'll be sure to give my compliments to her sometime, then," Lily adds, and laughs a little. "Not to mention brag on how good a cook her daughter's become." A pause, and she follows Winter's look back to the food. "She sounds like a very sweet woman."

One she would actually like to know for many very obvious reasons.

As Winter continues though, Lily finds herself blushing and turns her eyes back to the dark haired girl. She hadn't realized such a seemingly simple meal meant that much to share with others, and her heart swells a bit. "Thank you then, Winter. I do, and... I'm glad you could share it. Really."

"They've got a Vermini factory for sure," she replied. "The enemy, that is. We just need to narrow down where they made them and set them loose from."

It's fine. If something bad had happened, I'd say so. [Maybe.]

I know that. Just make sure you're not dumb about it.

[Natalie's eyes widen more and more with every bit of the description. She sinks back a bit, then. More monsters, and something so small that it could pass by you without even being noticed... She shudders. Quite visibly, in fact. She is not used to this sort of thing.

She's actually quite thankful when Winter distracts herself with the mention of graduation. She shows just a bit of amusement, in spite of her worry.] That's a very big thing to forget about, isn't it? If you've worked this long towards it, that's right around the corner.

[She gives a breath, calming a bit.] No, I can't blame you at all! It's just- is that what's expected of us? [Protecting her loved ones made sense, she'd do that if she had to... she just doesn't know how to. She looks down at her hand, flexing it, remembering accidentally firing off a beam from it earlier.] I don't know where to even start...

[Or if she wants to. It makes her feel a bit ashamed that a teenager seems to already have that figured out, while she's just...

Sighing, really.]

You don't have to reassure me, really. I teach much younger children, but the thought of this affecting students at all... I guess that's hard to just shake past.

"A vermini factory..." That thought sends chills up her spine. "We have to find it. I just... hope it only makes vermini and nothing bigger. I don't w-want to deal with vermedi again. Not yet."

I hope so, Toushirou. I don't want to find out after the fact, when it's too late.

We'll be careful. There's... too much at stake. I'm worried, but this is s-something we have to do. Something I have to do. I'd say I'll be okay, but... Angeline kind of threw a wrench into things.

It's been pretty quiet around here since the aliens turned up and Sherman and Edwards got tossed in jail.

... I don't know what her deal was. Powers-wise, I mean. Could she fight? [Because if she could, he's going to go right on being concerned about you. If not, he'll fell like he has a bit less to worry about, since he knows you can.]

"Or worse, remember?" Kari sighed. "Wait. The bodies. They still had their brains, right?"

I dunno, though, that's kinda lame, isn't it? Why get ready, like, a year in advance for what's not even one of the real holidays?

Like, I went to my mom's for the weekend, I said Happy Mother's Day, and she was okay with it. That's it.

[He doesn't have a point in this - merely yammering because he feels like talking.]

"That's the anime way, right?" Umi winks; she'll never stop making fun of it, but she's sort of on board now, in no small part because of Jasmine.

"Anyways, you'll probably never stop burning, but if you spend enough time in the sun not burning, you'll get there eventually. Lots of... vitamin D, right? That's the sun vitamin?"

I understand. You're all very brave for making the effort, but you are all still children. Keep that in mind.

... You should give her a call, at least. She's probably heard everything by now... I imagine she would greatly appreciate it.

[Upper part of his spine tenses. He ducks a nod.] I understand.

[Doesn't lift his head back out of it. Quick swallow.] I err -- did - know her... She - she-she didn't. But uhmm... [Pulled from the top of his throat.] ...Still has to be a reason.

Not -- ...Not a good reason, of - course. But --

[He's effectively parroting in different words, but it is meant in comradely empathy.]

That's a good thing, at least... we don't need anything else to happen. Things h-have been crazy enough.

Angeline... she had something, but I don't know what it was. She was out there for the snake, though. She arrived before we did, and I d-didn't see her around here at all until... it was too late.

I've already... talked to her today. She knows what's happened here. And s-she's not pleased, but there's not much I can do for that. I accepted... that this would be a dangerous life, from the moment I embraced the powers I've gotten.

And... even if I am a child, I have a duty. Past-me was younger than I am when she got her power, and she still took up her sword. I l-like to think I'm a little more mature than that, but even then, there are things I don't know how... to protect any other way.

Hm, I see. I guess I can't really know what it's like to have to fight at such an age.

That's like saying your birthday isn't a real holiday. You are important to someone, somewhere... that is why it's something to plan for. Your mother is important to someone, too - hopefully, you. So I want to try and have an idea of something I can do to s-show her how much I care. If someone had a good idea... maybe I can take inspiration from that.

You sound like a fuckin' cartoon character. [Which he'd say is "honest", not with the intent of an insult, as she sounds weirdly... "honest" herself about all that sentiment.]

[So the gist of what he's getting here is that it may be better to keep worrying about you. He can do that.

[Sigh.] ... Well, like I was saying. Find out what happened, but be careful about it.

[Maybe it's a little cold that it bothers him more that Winter could be in danger than the fact that one of them has died . . . but this isn't a year ago, when Paul Ben had been shot. That had disturbed him. But he's seen, been through a lot since then. He's not happy about what happened to Angeline by any stretch of the imagination, but it doesn't fill him with a sense of fear, or even sadness to be honest. He'd never even spoken to that girl. How emotional is he supposed to be about this?]

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022 ♦ Closed -> Video

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