Spiralling Around

Spiralling Around
Date of Scene:	15 October 2012
Location:	Fluorgis - Shard Seekers HQ - Garden
Synopsis:	Later during the day of 'operation: rescue Reize', Shiki sits down with Ivo to let off steam.
Cast of Characters:	Shiki Misaki, Ivo Galvan

---

Shiki Misaki has posed:
It's all go at Shard Seeker HQ this fine Monday. Boy, is it ever Monday.
And why? Well, because Reize is in terrible peril!

Shiki has been trying to find a moment where she can look like she's working and still get away from Lenn and Lily for a while, because she feels Maximum Awkward right now and she just needs to be somewhere else and she's probably not looking where she's going and argh.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo has been made aware of Reize's Terrible Peril, and which point he course reacted in the natural manner of any good Older Brother Figure--

'He'll be fine.'

--and went back to organizing the storage room, which the previous workman inhabitants left either a mess or a trove of possibilities, depending on your perspective. The erstwhile knight has been spending a fair amount of time in their methodically cleaning up, seemingly content (almost loftily so), taking a pure and simple pleasure in the organizational process. It sounds odd coming from an aesthete ever in search of the new, but for a curious and scientific mind, such endeavors never truly get old.

Of course, home-making means more than that. But though their home is in something of an uproar, Ivo is emerging into the hallway with a pleasant smile, and when a distraught and distracted Shiki collides directly with his chest, he just looks down at her unfazed, hand on his hip.

"Don't be in such a hurry," he says mildly, still smiling, blue eyes calm. "It's a lovely day outside today. Have you seen the garden?"

His words are a little too deliberate to be as oblivious as they sound.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
And this is probably why Shiki has begun to gravitate towards Ivo.

It's probably hard, being, you know, the only sane individual in the entire group, isn't it? Especially under circumstances such as these.

Well, Shiki was doing a pretty good /impression/ of sane for a while there, being the person who was helpfully doing the paperwork and the logistical side of a lot of things, but of course sufficient exposure to her growing trauma button put that on hold for a while.

That's probably one of several things she's thinking about as she runs into Ivo. She's been doing a lot of that recently, and of course flinches at first.

"Ivo," she says, a little bewildered at first, before she listens to him. And the implication is kind of obvious. "...no, that's a good point. Maybe I should step outside for a minute."

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Hard? Not at all.

"Wonderful," he says, smiling widely, tone conversational and slightly gentle. "I was just on my way out there myself."

Entertaining? Often.

Where better for an observer to be than on a ship of fools? As long as none of them notice him stoking the flames, of course. But some flames heat, and some just burn. Ivo doesn't say anything, let alone tease her or crack a joke, until the two of them have stepped out through the back and onto the patio which he and Lily recently cleaned up together, the newly-polished glass table looking through the vine-bedizened lattice at a somewhat better ordered garden. It shows the hints of a human touch, at least. One step at a time.

The shade reduces the desert heat to a satisfying balmy. The swordsman pulls out a wire-framed chair for Shiki and then seats himself down, crossing his legs and folding his hands in his lap, still smiling slightly.

"Feel a little bit better?"

Shiki Misaki has posed:
"Aw, wow," Shiki says, stepping out and looking around. "I haven't even been out here very much since we first arrived." It probably looked terrible back then. "Have you been working on cleaning all this up, Ivo?"

For someone whose crash introduction to the desert environment was the harrowing multi-day slog across various horrible environments, the idea of 'the garden' is fascinating to Shiki. Oh, sure, she knows Fluorgis is pretty arboreal, but she assumes it's just something to do with all the waterfalls, and that they... probably have people to take care of that sort of thing?

Apparently Ivo is our people.

She gladly sits down for a while, and lets out a breath she didn't seem to know she was holding in.

"Yeah." Whispers. "I uh, I kinda needed to get away from Lenn for a few minutes."

Ivo Galvan has posed:
"Lily's been a big help, too," he says generously. "She's a natural, actually. The earth seems to obey her." His smile widens. "Either way, gardening is good quality time, or so it was for me." A rare reference to the past.

Yeah, Fluorgis is a very well-kept city, isn't it? No doubt the Fire Crystal now helps power all of it and reduces costs, these days, but still. Your tax Munny at work. This particular garden requires plenty more work to even be presentable, but the signs of progress are there.

And now, presumably, Shiki will unload about her Reize-related worries--

/Oho./

Ivo's eyebrows raise ever so slightly, his eyes lighting up just a little, the only signals which betray his otherwise effortless-seeming composure. It's quite subtle, really. Unlike his internal monologue, which is just repeating JACKPOT! over and over.

"Lenn has been troubled recently as well," he says idly, as though unaware of the cause. "Has there been some tension between you two? I thought you were getting along well."

Shiki Misaki has posed:
"Huh, I'm glad to hear it," Shiki replies. "It wouldn't be half as interesting if we were all just good at fighting, would it? I can't wait until I can start making, you know, like, clothes and accessories for all of you guys, once we can spare the income."

Pause to think about dressing everyone up in Shibuya fashion, with accompanying thought bubble. Ahhh, bliss.

Also, pause to think about /Lily/ since she knows so very little about her other than 'she is a ridiculously powerful magical typhoon with no social graces who Reize apparently saved from some sort of horrible fundamental darkness' and yeah, there it goes, right on cue she's thinking about Reize again.

Briefly she thinks about Reize half-way down Priel's neck but then she sort of forcibly replaces that with something more pleasant.

Then her mind replaces it with an image of Reize and Lenn surrounded by flowers and bubbles. No, that's no good either!

"I don't know," she lies, although it's only a small one. "I thought we were getting along fine so far, before well."

"Uh."

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Dress-up time? Sounds promising. "I look forward to it," Ivo replies warmly, his smile widening again as he leans back in his chair. He means it. Actually, Ivo enjoys shopping and fashion, though more out of a basic interest in novelty and diversity than out of any pretentions to taste. This is a bonding experience that will have to happen.

But not today. The young knight, who counts as an adult in this crowd insofar as he is not a teenager, tilts his head slightly as Shiki's ambivalence reveals itself unbidden, her shifting thoughts reflected in her troubled eyes, before she responds evasively, causing his lips to quirk up a little again. Fairly high on the Lie-o-Meter, but nothing to get interrogative about. Gotta coax it out.

"Before... what?"

Shiki Misaki has posed:
The best part is, Shiki's already starting to think of what brands from Shibuya everyone would like the most! With thirteen different ones there's something for everyone, assuming she can make a tail-hole for Faruja in whatever he buys anyway.

"We need to find the 104 building," Shiki says with conviction. "Best place in Shibuya for clothes. You can buy every brand there. Totally going on our list of shards to seek."

She sounds pretty excited about it! Of course someone like Shiki would go after the fashion hub of Shibuya first before other, potentially more relevant places.

Of course, that excitement flickers away like a ripple on water when issues of the boy come up, and Shiki immediately becomes very embarrassed. She suddenly becomes fascinated by the paving on the floor, pressing her fingers together.

"Um," she replies. "I may have gotten really emo and not-watching-what-I-say-ey andkindofsaidIlike-likeReize, and then Lenn said s-s-something about 'courting' him?"

Very suddenly desperate whisper. "What do I dooooo."

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo grins at Shiki's comment about 104, though one of his eyebrows arches slightly. This could easily be mistaken for curiosity, and indeed, he's unfamiliar with the terminology of 'brands.' But what intrigues him more is how lightly Shiki speaks of seeking a fragment of Shibuya, which as he understands is the land from whence she hails. A casual mention of this marketplace inside a building, with no melancholy or nostalgia for home? He says nothing, but files this moment away.

After all, there are more important matters at stake.

"Oho."

Like girl troubles!

Don't laugh, Ivo, don't laugh. He does purse his lips for a moment, trying to make it look thoughtful rather than a sign of repressed mirth, helpfully furrowing his brow. Frankly, he's thrilled, almost giddy. As if their interpersonal dynamic couldn't get any more preposterous -- and /he's/ the reliable one here! He /is/ reliable, of course, but not usually relied upon by teenage girls, especially on matters such as these.

"Well," he begins rather languidly, folding his arms behind his back, "you've completed the first step: taking a deep breath." He flashes one of his more charming smiles. "Your feelings are natural and nothing to be ashamed of, Shiki. Reize is a good guy, isn't he? Just a little more popular than he realizes, hm?"

Careful now, Ivo. If you want them to compete for your amusement, you can't just /tell/ her to compete; she'll get too stressed out. Gently, gently...

"Now then," he continues, unfolding his arms and leaning forward, resting his elbows on the table, "have these confessions resulted in actual tension between you two, or just-- emotional confusion and internal turmoil?" He's smiling a little again. "It's just that I have a hard time imagining Lenn and social tension going together."

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Here's the secret:
Shiki is bad at caring about what she wants. 104 building: oh yes, gooood. That's clothes! Clothes and supplies. Things for /other people/. Things that she can take a supervisory role in but inevitably concentrate on the welfare of people that are not her. The welfare of the other is more relevant than hers: the other is more relevant than her.

You can figure this out eventually, Ivo, you're a smart man. Shiki's growing inability to process 'something I really want at the expense of another person' will probably contribute to the analysis.

"No," Shiki replies, "It's not that. I'm just... I don't know how to deal with the idea someone else might... but yeah, I guess it's stupid not to assume the others would have... but I don't know how to..."

"It's just," Shiki says, feeling something rising up in her chest that she hasn't really...

"Ivo, I told you about the Reaper's Game, didn't I? I've lost track of who I did and didn't. Like, how I had to make a pact with another Player and work as partners for the week?"

Ivo Galvan has posed:
For Ivo, at this juncture, self-disregard remains one of many possible explanations for Shiki's behavior, and so far only subtle signals suggest to him something seethes beneath the surface of her hardworking, dedicated persona. Of course, unlike Reize, he doesn't know her secret. But as her confusion begins to manifest as a seeming helplessness, the softening of his expression hints that he is growing closer to understanding her, at least in some respects.

Entertaining as all of this may be, he forgets the mirth he needed to suppress only moments before in his sympathy. Insecurity is a broader problem than teenage drama. Besides--

"You deserve to be confident, Shiki," Ivo says gently. "You're competent and diligent, and I'm glad you're on our team. Reize obviously likes and trusts you -- and he should." He smiles slightly. "Whatever you do, at least don't doubt your own worth."

Hmm? This conversation shift was unanticipated.

"Reize mentioned something about it," he says, furrowing his brow again. Where's she going with this? "At one point you made this 'pact' with him as well so as to utilize your abilities, yes?"

Oh. Oh, man.

"Has this caused... some sort of problem?"

Does this mean she and Reize are engaged now too!?

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Shiki doesn't so much as need to be coaxed slowly into Ivo's web as she just chugs forward into it like some sort of industrial vehicle.

"N-no! It's nothing like that!" Shiki insists, looking flustered. "I-it's just..."

Her voice gets a little quiet. "When I made a pact with this guy... his name was Neku... when things started off he didn't want anything to do with me. He kept calling me a stalker, even! But he just made me kind of curious... and it seemed like he didn't have anyone else, so..."

"I kept working at it, and I think I ended up being his first real friend. Someone told me that by the end of the week, I was his 'most precious thing'. He... he even asked me out on a date, I think."

"But I just don't know. Whenever I think of Reize my heart starts racing, and now Lenn's said to me..."

"But..."

She hides her eyes under her hat. "What do I do, Ivo? What should I do if I'm just crushing on Reize because I miss him? What should I do if I'm /not/?"

Ivo Galvan has posed:
How odd, Ivo reflects. Such a cute girl, so flummoxed by a mere two love interests and a single rival. She's young, yes, but could somehow who looks like her really lack any experience in dealing with boys? Maybe Shibuya is a very traditional forest abode too, like Lenn's Elfheim.

...That wouldn't explain the marketplace inside a building very well.

His intuition is needling him -- something doesn't quite fit -- but he doesn't know her well enough to ascertain what, and besides, it doesn't matter right now. Setting his reflections aside, he straightens in his chair and crosses his arms, adopting a thoughtful expression, if only to lend credence to her emotions. It's certainly a very, um, pubescent concern, but there's real feeling behind it, and there's no need to patronize her.

"Shiki, what are you worried about?"

A simple question, calmly asked.

"This boy Neku is your friend, right? And Reize is your friend as well? Whatever your heart turns out to be telling you, won't your friends understand? As long as you're honest with your feelings -- even if you're just honest about being confused -- who could blame you? Not your friends."

His eyes are gentle. He's not smiling.

"Trust in them, Shiki. Trust that, no matter what happens, you'll stay friends. And then give your heart time to decide. What need is there to rush yourself?"

At last, his lips quirk upward again.

"Unless Lenn's already planning the wedding."

Smile broadening, he raises a pointer finger helpfully.

"In which case, I recommend bursting through the church doors at the most dramatic possible moment and shouting, 'I object!'" He pauses for moment, and then frowns. "Oh, no, but it would likely be in a forest, wouldn't it. ...I could set up some doors for you anyway."

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Secretly, the Reaper's Game is not just a proving ground for dead people, it's also one for people with crippling social issues.

Shiki talks a big game, and she's superficially outgoing, but it's only because Eri was. Borrowing her identity let her act the way Eri did for her, and the crippled muddle of her memories lead her to remember the superficial things and forget the important ones.

Shiki was almost as bad as Neku, socially, before she met her, and technically she never really /improved/ for meeting her, just get worse in a different direction. But she doesn't ignore the positive reinforcement Ivo gives her: genuine compliments to her personality are something Shiki will cling onto and fully absorb over time.

"I'm sorry, Ivo," she says with a sigh, and looks out at the garden for a minute. Looking into the middle distance, Shiki tries to articulate an answer to that question: 'what /are/ you worried about'?

"I guess I'm just... worried about losing things, really. I mean, I mean... I've thought he was /dead/ for the last two days." Still a part of her does. "I was pretty sure Priel's gone... went... she's all psycho dragon, flossing her teeth with his ahoge. And if that /did/ happen it would have been because of me. Then I thought everyone would blame me, and I'd have lost him, and nobody would want me, and then I'd be all by myself again with no idea where Neku is, or anyone else, or..."

Thankfully, Ivo puts the brakes on this rapidly-going-bad-places train of thought with comedy. Shiki can't help but crack up as he does so, completely losing herself in a gigglefit. "Oh, man. Oh, wow, like in a movie. You...you're too much, Ivo."

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo starts laughing too, in part thanks to the mental image of Priel flossing her teeth with Reize's hair. He's not going to get that out of his head for a while. Mainly, though, it's good to laugh with her.

"I try."

Even as he grins at her, though, he can't resist a faint pang of regret, for he knows that though he can avert a rapidly-going-bad-places trainwreck, he can't save Shiki from herself. Listening to her speak of spiraling into despair seems only a glimpse of the darkness which must lurk inside her. Compliments are a poor substitute for self-respect. Telling her that Priel probably wasn't actually trying to eat her won't help. Confiding that the main reason for his relaxed attitude toward Reize's plight isn't just his faith in the boy but his confidence in /Priel's/ abilities would probably just freak her out. Making her giggle is all he can do.

"Well, count on me. Just get me one of those 104 outfits, and I'll set up all the doors in forests that you like. Maybe we could run a few practice sessions, so you're good and ready."

But for now--

"By the way, what's a movie?"

Maybe that's enough.