kukkijar | Luke fon Fabre; Appointments

[Rapunzel has been worried sick about Luke ever since...ever since that day. And between many failed attempts at a good night's sleep, she's been baking. A lot.

And she can't put off visiting any longer. She just has to see how he's doing. She isn't exactly sure what the relationship is between Asch and Luke is, but whatever it was, he needed cheering up more than she did. And if there was any way she could possibly help...

So laden with three pies, she heads over to Luke's place, knocking on his door.]

...Luke? Are you there? It's...it's Rapunzel.

[Luke knows there's someone in the room, though he doesn't acknowledge it, even after Rapunzel speaks and says who she is. He stays turned away, though his fingers do grip into his pillow a little.

It's mostly the smell of the pies that makes him come around a bit. His eyes widen, and even though it hurts to do so, he still turns his head with a cringe to glance behind him. Because that? Is a delicious smell. Much more so than the clinic food that he forces himself to pick at.]

[She offers him the biiiiggest smile she can when he glances over. Oh, Luke. He'd been in so much anguish. She knew that--people came back here. Asch would be back. They'd see him again. But she can still see he is hurting so much.]

I-I brought some pie. I thought you might like some, it's...it's okay if you want to rest, though.

[There are several reasons for the way he's feeling now. What happened before, with Guy and Natalia. With himself, how he's dying, how Xion found out, how she was unhappy with him for it. And... with this. His best friend tried to kill him, there was no sort of guilt or anything in his eyes. His original is dead, killed by his best friend, and Luke was the one who called him there. It's his fault it happened. If he hadn't done it... he'd be the only one who'd have to die, not Asch.

And the fact that Asch is gone mean that there's this dark space in his mind where the fonic link used to be. And it hurts, and it's hard to even think or see straight sometimes. He's been so used to it being there, and now... it's just gone.

He rests his head against the pillow again, mostly because his collarbone is still hurting. But he does try to speak, to pull his thoughts together even around that space.]

It smells good.

Thank you. [It's almost a whisper. Seeing anyone like this, especially someone she cares about--it's hard.

Deep breath, Rapunzel. Remember to be strong. You're here for Luke. Not to feel sorry for yourself.]

Would...you like me to cut you a piece? I've got blueberry, apple, blackberry...

[Blueberry, apple, blackberry.

...

Blueberry, apple, blackberry.

That little thought runs through his mind sometimes as if reminding him that he should say something, to make a choice. Finally, though, he takes in a breath and actually goes through with that thought.]

Apple's fine. [Apple sounds grand, really. It's one of his favorite flavors.]

Alright, apple it is. [She sets down the pies on the nearest surface. She came prepared with a couple of paper plates, forks and a knife to cut the pie, and so she silently sets about getting two slices of apple ready to go.

After a moment of quiet, though, she speaks up to cut into the tension.]

You can keep the leftovers, too. I'm baking them all the time, so...

[She'd told Asch she was going to bake him a pie.

She would fulfill that promise. She would.]

[After a pause, Luke starts to push himself up. It's painful, and he has to pause midway to cringe. But he makes it, and he shifts enough to turn and look at the slices on the plate.

... They even looked delicious. He'd smile if he felt like he could, or wanted to.

Instead, he just reaches over to pull the plate to his lap, though he glances at her to speak again.]

Thanks. [His voice does sound sincere, at least. And with just his good, yet less dominant hand, he takes a fork, slices a bit off the pie, and pops it into his mouth. Just the way he shuts his eyes and lets out a long sigh proves how much he's enjoying it.]

[That little sigh of satisfaction is enough for her at the moment. She takes a seat in the nearby chair, taking a bite of her own pie--it is good, and she's glad it came out well. She knows it's only a small thing, but still. It's something she could do for him, and if it even helps a little bit, she's glad.]

...Have I told you about the time I sang to a pub full of thugs and fought off the king's guards with a frying pan?

[A distraction. Maybe...that would help, too.]

[A distraction does sound nice. So, Luke glances at her with a lightly raised eyebrow.]

A frying pan?

[Honestly, he's more surprised about that than anything else. Although it is a little concerning that she had to fight off the king's guards... and sang to thugs? He has to wonder how they took that.

...

But really. A frying pan?]

[She can't help a small, sad laugh as she reflects on the fond memory. Its brightness bites at her conscience. Should she feel bad, bringing up happy memories, when there was so much to feel sad about?]

Yes. It was the only weapon I took with me when I left my tower. I know, it sounds very silly, but...it really was quite useful. There we were: me, Flynn, and Pascal, up against the king's guards and a horse named Maximus in a gorge, teetering between the edge of disaster and adventure. We were cornered, and so we had no choice but to fight.

[Okay, so she's making it sound a bit over-dramatic. But, that's just good storytelling, right?]

[Although his facial expression doesn't change save for the slight widening of his eyes, it's the rest of his movements that give him away. He's mostly facing Rapunzel now, and the way he raises his hand to his mouth to eat another bite of pie is slow, as if he's only half-focused on it.]

So what happened? How many guards were there?

There must have been...a dozen or so! We were completely outnumbered. And just when we thought that was bad enough...a pair of thugs who were after Flynn showed up below. We were cornered. Nearly defeated! But it was going to take more than numbers to stop us!

[She's pretty wrapped up in the storytelling, now. And she does notice he seems a little more focused on her, now. That has to be a good thing.]

Whoa... What did you do? How did you stand up to that many enemies?

[He shifts, eyes still right on her. Luke loves stories, no matter how childish it might seem. And he's getting quite the image in his head right now.]

[She leans forward, her eyes light.]

Flynn took the frying pan in hand, fighting back the guards, whilc I used by hair to swing to another ledge. He took them down, one by one! A frying pan is not to be underestimated. But the horse, Maximus, nearly got him, but not before me! I lassoed him down to the ground, and i quickly followed. With our enemies hot on our trail and the dam beginning to burst from the fight, we had no choice but to run.

[And he leans forward as she does, eyes lighting up for the first time this week.]

So you fought off all those guys and a horse with just a frying pan and your hair?

...

Wait, the dam was bursting? How'd you get out?

[She's getting into it with emphatic HAND GESTURES now.]

We had to run as fast as we could to get away from the thugs and guards, but with the breaking dam, we had to outrun the water and falling rocks, too! There was a cave just a head, and we made a break for it, slipping inside just before a giant rock came and shut off the entrance. We'd escaped our pursuers! But we were trapped. And water was slowly filling the cave. It was pitch black--we couldn't see anything.

[His eyes stay wide, and occasionally he glances to follow the gestures of her hands. He's trying to imagine all of this in his head, but it's a little hard, with all of that stuff happening to them. Once she finishes, he can't help giving a half smile and shaking his head.]

You two kept having the worst luck, huh... So what happened next? Did you find some other way out?

It was a close call. [She swallows--it's still a little scary to think about. They'd barely made it out of that cave.] Water was filling up fast--we didn't think we were going to make it. In fact, we were almost out of breathing space, when I remembered--

I have hair that glows when I sing. [That's something Luke knew well now.] I sang while I still had the air to, and Flynn swam down, following the light trail in my hair. He found a place where water was escaping, pulled away the rocks, and we were free.

And when you were free, the rest of those guys were gone too, right?

[He slowly relaxes, letting out a weak chuckle as he rubs the back of his neck.] That sounds pretty exciting... kind of scary, too. Did that really happen?

[She nods, breathing a sigh of relief.]

It did. And you're right. It was exciting--and scary. But we made it out, and we really became better friends because of it. I learned--Flynn, he wasn't the person I thought he was. I wouldn't have ever learned that if we didn't go through this.

[There's some silence after that. The story was exciting, and Luke felt a bit like his old self again. But now that it's over, he can feel that ice settling over him once more.

His hand falls to his lap as he stares down at the floor, and he's tempted to just stay quiet. But he'd still like to know more, so he swallows before he speaks again.]

So... what's Flynn like?

[Her smile softens.]

Well, he's thief--which I know, I know! It doesn't sound very good. But he's really a good person, down inside. He's taught me more about the world than I ever thought I'd know. If it weren't for him, I never would have been able to see the floating lanterns.

The floating lanterns...?

[He remembers hearing about something like that. Luke's gaze goes to her for a moment as if he's trying to remember something, before his eyes widen a bit.]

Oh, so you finally got to see them?

Luke fon Fabre; Appointments

May 16

May 16

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