And it's the stars, the stars that lie to you.

[neverheardofhim]

[This week, Varric opted to take a page from Vanille’s book. Gathering everyone together after the roller-coaster that the first trial had been proved to be somewhat cathartic for himself. He hoped that it would prove to do the same for the others.]

[He wasn’t alone, of course, having found himself blessed with the most ragtag team of chefs and party-planners. He might have had words for and thoughts on Elda and Kimbley, Mikazuki was welcome company, and he wasn’t about to turn away potential allies, even in a fight as simple as cooking dinner.]

[Once everyone’s set to a task, baking a cake, brewing tea, or stirring stew (the only task Varric could think to assign Elda to), Varric excused himself to his room. His first task was writing up cards, each personally titled and signed by Varric.]

Food in the Library. 5 p.m. Don’t spend the night alone.

[Each note was slid under a door and accompanied by a single rap on the wood.]

[With his tasks completed, Varric returned to the kitchen to put out any potential fires and, with luck, set the food out. A table in the library would be adorned with plenty of tea, cake, pancakes courtesy of Viktor, and stew thanks mostly to Varric (sorry, Elda).]

Comments

[foundfate]

[Even though she's still crying, something about this makes Watanuki feel...happy? It must be because he's helping her, and making her feel better is a good thing. Yeah. That's got to be it.]

Anytime. If you have trouble believing in yourself sometimes, then I'll believe in you instead.

[introspects]

[ Those sorts of words give her warmth--the same sort of warmth that Rangiku gave her when something just like this had happened. Orihime keeps a lot of things to herself, and does feel sort of terrible for just...throwing all of this onto Watanuki, but he's taking it very well, and she's grateful.

She sniffles a little before she pulls back, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. ]

I'm sorry, I--I don't know why I'm being so silly...

[foundfate]

[He will go ahead and let go of her when she pulls away, but he stays nearby to talk to her a bit more.]

It's not silly if it's something that's worrying you. But you can always talk to me about that kind of thing, okay? It's not going to bore me or chase me away or anything.

[introspects]

[ Orihime wipes away the last of her tears, looking down at her lap as her fingers curl up on her skirt. ]

...Okay. I'm...I'm not usually like this, but if the time comes, I know I can count on you. Thank you.

[foundfate]

Anytime.

[For a second there, he starts to lift up his hand, like he's going to take Orihime's and give it an encouraging squeeze. But he loses his nerve as quickly as it comes, and he sets the hand back down and just leave it at that.]

[introspects]

[ What did she do to deserve friends like him? To be surrounded by people who are so caring, even after only knowing one another for two weeks? ]

You can talk to me, too, if you need someone. I'm a good listener, I think...

[foundfate]

[That's right, friends look out for each other, right? Which means Watanuki has people he can rely on too.]

Thanks, Inoue-san. I'll remember that.

[They'll both probably need it.]