lusi | (no subject)

[ vidar opens it, promptly, and smiles and lets her in. the house is small. devoid of any decoration, it only houses what is practical: a kitchen, a couch, a table which doubles for eating as well as the only table in the living room, a bed, and a washroom. the entire floor is concrete. the entire wall is panelled to make it look like wood which hides most mechanisms and gives it the feel of a coffin.

vidar doesn't seem to be bothered by this, at all. his pantry is modestly stocked, which is more than what he can ask for. ]

How've you been?

I'm well. It's been interesting.

[ She steps inside and has a look around. The place seems like a decent enough shelter. She wouldn't mind having one like this herself. It seems to have everything one would need. ]

How so?

You've been getting along with people? Met anyone interesting?

[ hopefully julieta hasn't been eating weird things and firing at people she's not supposed to be killing. ]

I've gotten along well enough to get a few more squares completed.

[ She's proud of herself for that. And for not getting into unnecessary conflicts. Though she can't say she doesn't think often about it. When a problem is solvable by putting a bullet in it, it's hard not to. ]

That's good. Make sure to use the rewards for yourself, as well; we don't know how long we'll be in this world, so we may as well figure out ways to make surviving here easy.

[ alas, not getting into unnecessary conflicts is what gaelio hasn't been doing, but at least one of them is more reasonable.

the kitchen is open for her, whenever she's ready for the instruction. ]

Something for myself? I haven't decided but those giant chickens are giving me ideas.

[ She did come here on a cooking-related mission so food is what's on her mind. Making her way to the kitchen she takes a quick inventory of what he has in stock. If there's anything she wasn't aware was available she'll be looking for that. ]

[ he tries to remember how much of earth has julieta seen. there was a stray remark once from iok saying she ate a butterfly, and so -- ]

Maybe .... a place for yourself first, before you start meddling with animals. [ a pause. ] Or insects, for that matter.

[ what if julieta just .... eats the chocobos, that'd be a scary thought. and he wouldn't put it past her. ]

Although if I'm being honest, I'm this close to getting an upgrade for my Gundam. Kimaris Vidar was made for space battles, not ground assault. The only reason why I haven't done so is because I don't really want to waste a box for it if there's no use other than travel.

I always used to have to shelter wherever I could find a place so I don't mind. Something like this would be nice though.

[ She always listens when he has advice for her but she can't help but get the feeling he's teasing her. If not for the birds' popularity she might act on her desire to sample them. He's not wrong. She'll have to come up with another way to satisfy her craving. If one day she is rewarded with a freezer full of meat she would not mind sharing it with him. Until then she'll work with the kind that comes in a can. She selects a few and takes them to the counter. ]

What do you think of the other pilots?

[ a freezer full of meat would be delightful, though. he'd totally want some. ]

The other pilots ....

Well, Suzaku and his friend are rather young, but I don't think their world has a sophisticated organization where mobile suits are concerned the way Gjallarhorn functions.

Amuro is probably the one closest to ours -- ask him to show you his Gundam if he hasn't already, and if he'll be nice enough for it. It's ridiculous. I wouldn't mind updating to something like it when we get back ..... I don't think I'll get the funding for it, but I can dream.

Suzaku... He's a weird one.

[ It's easy for her to forget that she might be considered young. She isn't sure about his friend but Suzaku seemed to be around her age. Part of what she likes about being a pilot is that things like that are less relevant. She'll remember to go find Amuro though. If Vidar finds his Gundam so interesting then Julieta wants to see it too. There's so much more he could tell her about it than she could tell just by looking at it herself. And she does need to meet more people. She considers that while she goes to fill up some pots with water and put them on the stove. ]

Why do you say so?

[ what has he done now. ]

He threatened me at gunpoint in the hangar.

[ If she sees him again they are going to have words. ]

Don't worry, I took care of it.

[ vidar sighs. ]

I'm glad you're not hurt, but also, be careful. Not because he can fully hurt you, but because I firmly believe he's a masochist and doesn't know the extent of pain he can inflict on himself.

After a while, it comes to a point where lessons wouldn't mean much, at all, beyond incurring the same old apologies again and again.

What a nuisance. Did he come for you too?

[ This is sounding more and more like someone she doesn't want attaching to her. ]

I dealt with him. [ a shrug. ]

On that regard, you don't have to worry about me. And Suzaku can be fairly reasonable when he's not .... partaking of weird things that this world offers, which always seems to be the case.

Things like that don't make it easy to trust people around here.

[ She'll keep that in mind. Since she already knows Vidar to some extent she should be able to tell if something is wrong. With others it won't be so easy. Some people are just like that without any help. ]

I agree.

But it's just a matter of being patient and seeing how consistent they are without the influence.

Any other problems, well. We'll deal with them accordingly, or you can -- you're capable of it, and I'm not too worried.

[ julieta, at least, he can rely on to be responsible for herself. ]

[ That seems reasonable to her. He may have just saved a life. She appreciates that he trusts her to take care of herself. If she needs help she knows she can ask him. There may still be things she can't handle on her own but she'll always try first. The danger of exploring her limits is that she might not be prepared to find them. ]

I should be able to secure myself a place soon. You don't mind if I stay here until then? I won't be in your way.

Of course.

[ he glances at her busying herself with his kitchen, pointing out where certain food items or utensils are if she needs them. ]

What would you like for your own place? [ he can't even imagine julieta wants much, she's very practical. ] Personally, I'm thinking of upgrading mine with an armoury -- small arms and explosives could be useful, since we can't always have our mobile suits here.

[ She gives him a smile and a short nod. He won't regret it. She'll make sure if that. Maybe part of it is wanting to spend more time with him and get to know him better but she won't overstay her welcome. ]

I'll keep it small. This seems like a good location near the hangar. It does seem like a good plan to have more weapons. I don't think I'll be spending much time there. A secure shelter is all I really need.

They don't like it when we have the mobile suits in the city, which is annoying. And a lot of the more terrible events descend into street fighting, or personal fighting, anyway. Might as well consider having a variety of weapons on hand.

[ vidar is thoughtful as he folds his arms over his chest. ] So far, most of the people I've encountered haven't been a pain, but it never hurts to be prepared, either.

How about a big knife to cut down unruly plants.

[ Not that she has any experience with that. And it is annoying that they can't have the mobile suits in the city. Just because they can destroy everything doesn't mean they will. She needs to keep her skills at their best. ]

Of course. Among other things.

[ vidar tilts his head. ]

What are you making?

We have rice, vegetables and some chicken broth.

[ It should be just about done. She lifts the spoon to her lips to taste. Unsatisfied she shakes her head and abandons the pot to poke her head back in the pantry. She doesn't want to make it too complicated but it still needs something. ]

Stir that for me would you? Are there any spices in here?

[ uh. stirring. okay. ]

Sure.

And spices ... there should be, I haven't used them much. [ he's a guy and he doesn't cook often, he has the most basic of spice racks. salt and pepper should be there, but the rest of them had been hardly touched. ]