WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? OUR TALES RIVAL JUST TURNED INTO A ZOMBIE!

[bloodisthicker]

[...so, uh, that was a thing that happened. Tarrlok was completely ready to do the politician thing and come up with a speech or something for most of whatever the hell that excuse for a trial was, but everything got all confusing, baffling, and horrifying and completely inexplicably, he can't find the words.

Maybe he just... needs a day. Tomorrow will probably be fine. For now, though, Misa volunteered to make brownies, and he was going to make a Northern Water Tribe comfort food specialty.

...even if they only had shortening and not actual animal fat and it'd been a while since he'd made it, but it tasted... alright? Definitely not as good as the stuff back home, but it was hard to get that good, anyway.

...there's also the matter of setting things up in a location other than the dining hall, because even though that's cleaned up, it still feels pretty tasteless to hold a wake literal feet from the place you found someone's bloody corpse.

So, a little later on in the day, a lovingly personalized note will be slid under everyone's doors:



And if the Survivors choose to head to the library, they'll find a... well, okay, it's a bunch of boxes from the storage room of comparable size stacked up on each other to kind of resemble a table. The dining hall ones don't even seem like they'd fit in the library, so Team Afterparty clearly had to improvise. One side is filled with plates, bowls, and spoons, and the other is filled with brownies, cookies, and a big bowl of berry aqutak. There are also chairs dotted throughout the room in a sort of vague circle --- close enough together that if people want to talk, they can, but far enough apart that it'd be easy to drag it off for some privacy.]

Comments

[cherryblooded]

Just making sure.

[Some people here aren't so 'lucky' as to already be exposed to death and hard choices. To them, all of this is new, and it's no wonder they're having trouble dealing with it.]

[amygdalae]

[It's not that Bruce is new to it - hell, he's been exposed to it far too many times to count. But that's why it hits him all the harder; Bruce always does his best to find another option, to seek out alternative solutions because that's what he does. That's what he always tries to do, to find new ways that will hurt less people.

But this time? This time he was forced into this. He had to make the hard decision. And the fact that he failed to find another method is what eats at him more than anything else. What good was his genius if he couldn't use it to help these people? Wasn't that everything he strived for?]

...sorry, I didn't mean to concern you. [He sighs and tries to swallow down the mixed emotions that boil inside him now; he can deal with it later, privately.] Thank you for the tea again.

[cherryblooded]

Think nothing of it. We all do what we can, and what I can do right now is make tea.

[Cherryblod's not used to there being other options in the first place - at least not ones that work. That's why he's still able to smile, even if it's not a cheerful smile.]

[amygdalae]

It's... very good tea.

[Bruce manages a smile here, this time, just to reassure Cherryblod.]

[cherryblooded]

Thank you. It's been my hobby for a long time, so I'm glad I'm decent at it.

[amygdalae]

You certainly had a lot more time to work on it compared to me.

[Bruce only really started tea after... yeah. When it was clear that caffeine probably wouldn't end well for him.]

[cherryblooded]

There is that, but it's not all about how long you've lived. Some of it's about effort to learn.

[amygdalae]

You still need time to learn, no matter how much effort that's put in.

[Nobody is an instant master at anything - not even geniuses.]

[cherryblooded]

Suppose it takes a balance of the two, then.

[amygdalae]

That I can agree.

[cherryblooded]

If you want, I can teach you some of my secrets.

[amygdalae]

If you're willing. I don't want to step on any toes.

[cherryblooded]

Wouldn't be a hassle. Besides, we should have more than one person around who can make good tea.

[Just in case something happens to the first.]

[amygdalae]

[Cherryblod no.]

I... yes, I guess that won't hurt.

[cherryblooded]

...Don't worry. I'm not planning on disappearing just yet. But I might catcha cold or something.

[amygdalae]

Somehow I don't think a simple cold is going to stop you if you wanted it to.

[cherryblooded]

Well, I'd hate to infect the rest of you. I'll be hygienic.

[amygdalae]

I'm sure everyone else would appreciate that.

[cherryblooded]

Of course. So I'll take you on as my student in the art of tea.

[amygdalae]

[A small laugh. Well, at least he does feel slightly better now.]

It's been a long time since I was a student in anything. It'll be refreshing.

[cherryblooded]

[Success!]

I won't be going easy on you, now. You'd better be prepared to learn.

[amygdalae]

I'm more than willing to learn.

[How else are you expected to understand more, right?]

[cherryblooded]

[Bruce is his favorite student.]

Want to start tomorrow?

[amygdalae]

If you're up for it.

[cherryblooded]

I'll be fine.

[...Will Bruce, though?]