(no subject)

[psychedelica]

[ After that trainwreck of a trial - both for him personally and in general - Hikage is not particularly in the mood to talk to anyone. He doesn't go back to his room right away, not even to help Steph hobble over or yell at her for getting herself in trouble yet again; he doesn't go to the kitchen to brew himself a pot of tea. Instead, he strays when they start to file back out of the garden, and he remains outside, seating himself along the castle walls and looking up at the nighttime skies.

Under normal circumstances, it might look like he was admiring the stars. In this case, however, it looks more like he's resenting them. His eyes are hollow and tired, his lips curled into a frown, and something about him seems more ethereal and distant than ever. ]

Comments

[psychedelica]

[ he recognizes the smell from last time, and instantly associates it with Jae-ha. Briefly, he contemplates getting up and leaving, or hiding somewhere in the dark room where he'd be harder to find, but it sounds like too much effort at the moment. It's not worth the effort - avoiding dealing with another idiot mortal or avoiding more pain. He can't imagine he can feel much worse than he does right now. ]

You really think I'm going to take anything from you again?

ROLLS BACK OVER AND TAGS THIS

[alttitude]

I can have a taste first if you don't believe my word that I wouldn't hit you with the same trick twice - especially not after how much it upset you.

[Jae-ha's an idiot who likes to do things because he thinks they're funny - but he lacks malice in just about everything he does. He still brings the tray over and he doesn't sit too close to Hikage, no, but he doesn't put a large amount of distance between them either.]

It just didn't seem like a wise decision to not have anything in your stomach, after what you went through.

[psychedelica]

[ when he comes to sit down, Hikage glares at him. Their last meeting was...

Well. He said a lot more than he wanted to. Jae-ha said a lot more than he should have, too, as far as Hikage is concerned. He has absolutely no intention of telling him how much he got to him - not that Jae-ha likely needs to be told, considering how overt his reactions were. ]

I'm dead. I don't need to eat.

[alttitude]

[And yet Jae-ha doesn't seem to take any offense to Hikage's actions, instead just mulling over his words - ]

Really? Do you just enjoy it on occasion then?

[since he's... fed hikage before...]

[psychedelica]

There's no reason not to.

[ he feels a compulsion to eat, but he's fairly certain he doesn't need to; his current form isn't truly physical. It's just a fading memory of the body he used to have. Maybe he tested it once, but he doesn't remember it anymore.

Mostly, he's just being stubborn. He's in a bad mood. ]

Is that all you want? Aren't you here to lecture me again?

[alttitude]

Is there something to lecture you on? I was just checking to make sure you were alright - you seemed to suffer from a particular bad panic in the middle of trial, after all.

[and he was worried, so he came with some familiar soup that he thought hikage might like]

It didn't look... easy.

[psychedelica]

... I was just remembering something.

[ which sounds normal enough, but Hikage's an amnesiac. It was a piece of his past life - and not a nice one, either, apparently. ]

[alttitude]

... we don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to.

[Jae-ha tilts his head.]

I think I've done more than enough pressing with you - but at least you know there's very little that you could say that could upset me at this point.

[psychedelica]

As if I'd tell you.

[ he grunts. ]

Why are you always sticking your nose in my business lately? I don't understand you.

[alttitude]

Well, I'd like to hope that you trust Steph enough to talk to her.

[NO HESITATION

So maybe my offers aren't necessary - but in general, you also seem like the type that keeps a lot to himself, and that sort of weight sounds... crushing, really. Regardless of what else you'd been through.