mememaster | have i mentioned lately that i'm shameless

Mmhmm! [He groans, in a groggy/mopey way that may be laying it on just a liiiiittle thick for the extra sympathy, peeking his head up just slightly from the pillow. The pressure behind his cheeks just hurts worse, and so he tucks the blanket up to his chin.

His comforter are fluffy, so from the doorway, the only visible part is his hair, just a tuft of blue-gray.]

[ he's quiet when he walks in--

but he audibly stifles a laugh when he sees just a tuft of hair over the covers. Ienzo has a nice mind for a child of his age--when he was his age, Riku wasn't near that level, too busy grieving and wondering why he was left behind. to see him so childish is a rarity. ]

I have chicken noodle soup and mint tea for you. Unless you want me to eat it.

Edited (wow rude i didn't finish) 2012-03-01 06:52 (UTC)

You don'd ead tea.

[He points out smartly, in a lackluster imitation of Even's haughty instructional voice, but the crisp tone falls a little short with his nose so stuffed.

A hand emerges from somewhere beneath the covers, lazily sweeping tissues into a slightly neater pile on end table to make some room for the tray. His books are all in bed with him, tucked beneath half a dozen mismatched pillows.

(Ienzo keeps more pillows that one small apprentice ought to be permitted, and most of them have been acquired by casual acts of pillow kleptomania, stolen away from beds and couches suspiciously short one of their pair.) ]

[ even if his imitation could be better, Riku smirks lightly. it doesn't fail to make him feel particularly brotherly, even if they're not even close to being related. the soup itself isn't very fanciful--he may be able to cook and feed himself and therefore, assert a certain independence that Ienzo hasn't quite been taught, but it doesn't mean he's learned enough to call it a skill. it's just a hot broth with poached chicken and thick wheat noodles--maybe a few leaves of basil float idly by, but it's nothing more and nothing less. the mint tea is warm--if it was cold, the fresh, cold taste that lingers on the tongue after it wouldn't be quite as satisfying.

placing the tray down onto the table carefully, he shifts to look for a chair or a spot on the edge of the bed--

instead he realizes that what's a bed really more looks like a nest... ]

Wondering where that one went.

[ one orange, patterned pillow looks suspiciously familiar to the one found missing on the small couch in the library... where he usually lays to read. ]

[Ienzo makes a peculiar habit of playing magpie with things... empty notebooks, pillows, pens, or dinner rolls slipped quietly from the table when he excuses himself.

But his 'nest' feels exceedingly safer this way, body sandwiched snugly on all sides. It's better to scoot himself into sitting up, too, easing up into his cushioned throne of everybody else's spare pillows.

The soup looks good and steamy, and he can just barely smell the sharpness of mint at all. So Ienzo leans up close to his nightstand and reaches for the spoon first, poking curiously at those floating basil bits]

What's Master Ansem teaching today? [He pointedly ignores commentary of his latest pillow acquisitions to ask after what's going on in the world outside his room.] I'm not missing anything good?

Mostly reviewing, and an application.

[ Riku shrugs, and is thankful that he isn't getting the urge to tidy up Ienzo's nest like some people would. he pulls up an empty chair soundlessly to sit, comfortable as he sinks into the cushions, finally off of his feet. training and cooking make him tired, but he's not likely to rest until he at least knows everyone's alright. ]

You're not missing anything important, I checked, just demonstrations.

How're you feeling, anyway?

[Ienzo stirs at the broth, testing one hot noodle at his lips. It disappears slowly at he listens, leaning over the bowl. Nothing but demonstrations? Well that could still be almost anything interesting- depending on who was called upon the do the demonstrating.]

Awful. [He yawns conclusively- not about the soup, which is actually very nice- if a little hotter than it should be on his tongue, but he wants something very warm at the back of his throat to melt away all the gunk]

I barely slept at all.

[ Maybe you'd sleep better without a pillow fort.

Riku doesn't necessarily need to voice his thought--he just sweeps his eyes over the amalgamation of stuffed patterns and cushy hues before he looks back at Ienzo pointedly, and leans back. ]

Should I tell Even that?

[ or let him pry it out of Ienzo himself? ]

Isn't he coming to see me?

[Ienzo blinks expectantly , the corners of his eyes crusted. His pouting frown appears with a slow, precociously indignant realization that Even may have sent Riku in his stead to check in on him, because Even was too busy.

But Riku certainly wasn't a bad trade, for company. Probably a nicer one, in fact.]

...he asked you to check on me, for him?

[the coyly innocuous, flattered tone may have worked too, if not for the obviously abrupt shift in strategy.

Ienzo was crafty for someone so young, because he tried on different methods of calculated persuasion till finding the one that worked. Unfortunately, sometimes he cycled through them far too fast for credibility - though some of his fellow apprentices seemed to find that in itself an endearing trait. When older, they said, he would make a fine schemer.]

[ Riku sometimes hates realizing, re-realizing, and re-re-realizing that Ienzo's got quite a few paths already laid out like a plan. it always makes him wonder about how different they're taking their respective tragedies, so similar but different as well. ]

No.

[ for a moment, it seems like he's saying it as in Even isn't coming to see you, until-- ]

He didn't ask me to check on you.

He'll check on you once he's gotten tired of arguing about the temperature of his lab.

Probably because he's running a fever too, but won't admit that he's sick!

[He mutters, though Even is always complaining about his lab, taking another spoonful of soup and ruefully wishing he could taste it's full flavor. Riku's almost as good with cooking as Aeleus, especially with the simple things, sandwiches, soup- he tries hard to get it just right.

And Ienzo notices, if no one else will.

The hot broth seems to be loosening up his phlegm, because he swallows a few times, making tiny grunting noises to try and dislodge the worst of that terrible, annoyingly crusty-glutinous flap of something above the soft palate that really shouldn't be there.

Being sick is really disgusting.]

...I'm all out of tissues, too.

[He mentions, forelornly plucking up the used-and-crumpled pile and stuffing them onto the empty box.]

[ at the thought of Even being sick, there's a distinct smirk in Riku's features--the hilarity of it all, his indignation at possibly having caught something... that would definitely be something Riku would like to see. if Ienzo felt better and that actually happened, he might just let the smaller boy's door be opened for him to hear those half-yells and hoarse, angry whispers.

Riku thinks he should probably be nicer to Even. He also thinks that Even should take out that stick up his--

well. There are reasons he hangs around Dilan and Aeleus more than the others. ]

I'll make sure.

[ he's far too amused by the imagery of that being real that he doesn't quite come down to Earth before he speaks again, and he takes a glance to the empty box. ]

... and I'll get you a new box.

[ Riku is not his caretaker, but at times, he makes the effort to make himself as good as. if anyone peered too hard into it, he'd only scoff that it was because Master Ansem did tell him to make friends with him, and he was forever indebted.

(Then again, Riku gave the answer of 'Master Ansem would prefer me doing this or that' to quite a few things that others thought odd of him, or to things that he didn't have to do but did out of heart.) ]

Let's hope you aren't sick too long. [ Aeleus would probably worry more each day. ]

Thanks.

[Ienzo smiles gratefully, sliding the box towards Riku. The end of his nose a bit pink from over-rubbing, and his bangs...could probably use a shower, from the number of times they've been wiped free of snot. The way the ends of his hairs cluster stiff in places is embarrassingly telling- and maybe he's letting them grow out too long.

He pulls the tea mug into his hands (a far less unwieldy thing to drag into bed with him cozily) and sips, waiting for the sharpness of mint to clear up his nose.]

It's not like I want to be. I'll miss out on everything.

[Pulling his knees up, he peers across the rim of his mug. Even if he might need to sneeze any minute now, he liked any company, and Riku's company was closer to the top of the list than the bottom- didn't want him to hurry off.]

Tell me what else happened today, Riku?

Hmm.

[ Riku's head lightly rolls back as he thinks. ]

Lea and Isa were stirring trouble again. That's usual. Xehanort... [ and then his voice falters, and he frowns, deeply, pressing his back against the chair again. his fingers fit together, straight, in his lap, not quite curled into folded hands. his eyes drift from the wall back to Ienzo, and he shakes his head. ]

Something's wrong with him. [ a shrug. ]

[Oh. Those two boys. He heard the guards speak of them often, but Ienzo didn't know them well. It was odd, to be younger than them, and yet feel so much older than the kids who played in the streets.

Maybe it was a bit of academic self-pride Even had encouraged in him, that they were smarter and therefore of higher privilege than the common crowd of Radiant Garden.

Ienzo didn't 'play' beyond his personal exploring of the castle's curiosities, silent storytelling of imagination games that he could invent while sitting quietly and pretending to work, and much he'd sooner engage in headgames with his older peers than toss around a frisbee. He also didn't wander much outside the castle. He'd ran into trouble alone there, once.

That name brought Ienzo's head snapping up to attention, so fast he promptly sneezed hard all over the covers, and groaned disparagingly at all the mess.

With a scowl, wiping the rest of his nose on the corner of the comforter, he scooped the entire thing into a heap and (with a grumbling kick) deposited the snot-covered mess unceremoniously on the floor beside his bed.]

Oh. I guess I'll need some things put through the wash, too.

[He sniffs miserably, eying the comforter with great disdain and huddling under his remaining bedsheet instead, returning to Riku's previous words with severe expression, alert with attention.]

What's wrong with Xehanort?

[The question is unexpectedly sharp, nostrils flaring in efforts to hold back any further urge to sneeze.]

Is he sick too?

[ ... Riku laughed outright; if only for the disparaging groan.

he knew well what it was like to be confined to a bed for extended periods of time; he was glad Ienzo hadn't arrived when he was young. maybe this was yet another reason why he was ultimately concerned about the youngest apprentice. he'll have to make sure the wash is picked up once he gets tissues. ]

Nothing, he's not sick... [ a pause. ] Not like you, anyway.

I don't know. It feels like he's... off... [ it may be a mistake to give Ienzo this information, but at least it's masked with concern rather than outright suspicion. ]

It's probably just me worrying. [ he gets it from Aeleus. ]

[There are times where Ienzo seems far off, and most consider that his norm- indeed, it has taken him some time to come around to interacting well with the others, given to a deep internalized mind that might be misread as 'vacant'. One glimpse at his notebooks (if you can find their hiding spots and if he doesn't find you first to rage at the invasion of privacy) will speak of the complex worlds and sharp potential for analysis spinning almost frantically just beneath the surface. Just because he isn't always given to speak doesn't mean he isn't listening, taking in, learning how people work.

That's usually abundantly clear the moment Ienzo opens his mouth to speak- and then, chances are, he'll latch on to concepts, people, his fixed idea of the week, and won't shut up about it.

But since the newest apprentice's arrival, Ienzo has seemingly taken one long look at Xehanort, then planted himself firm with resolution in the present. Sometimes he's still given to deep daydreams, but now there is someone new to fill a taken fascination, now there is an awakening of curiosity for things he can try- anything and everything. Master Ansem cheerily calls it 'friendly competition', because Xehanort also absorbs absolutely everything that's put in front of him.

Someone who has watched Ienzo closely, however, will know that they have always been flashes of intensity in the boy.

And the sharp-eyed moment when Riku says Xehanort is 'Off' is a good example of it.] No, tell me!

Off ...how? [He frowns severely, seeming at once twice his age as he leans forward into his cross-legged lap]

[ Ienzo will never stop reminding him just how differently they think.

he brings a hand out to him slowly and gently prods his forehead, as if telling him to calm down. he closes his hand when he draws back, shifting in his seat, making sure he isn't sneezed on. ]

Off. His behavior ... it's weird. Not constant.

[ and Riku would know his constant, given he's taken to follow Xehanort like a shadow. Master Ansem called it 'awe', Even called it 'annoying'...

truthfully, it was probably only evident to two people that he was suspicious instead of adoring. ]

[And Ienzo moans a little at that lightest touch, leaning his forehead into it, because Riku's fingertips are surprisingly and invitingly cool for having just made warm food.

At the same time, he's got to root out how deep this like of thinking goes, and if Xehanort should be warned about Riku's concerns.

Ienzo doesn't really see this as tattling, unless he's specifically told not to tell anybody else.]

How is he weird? Besides, it's probably just his memories, right? Maybe he's finally starting to remember bits? Don't you want to know about where he came from?

...what's not constant?

Little things... things you notice after a while, because they're repeated.

If they're his memories... [ then it's good. but what if they're not memories? Riku frowns and leans his head back against the top of the chair, sighing out his inhale. ]

Maybe he's just having a bad week. [ he tilts his head a little and smirks over at Ienzo. ] Or maybe that's how he misses someone.

Little things like what? [Ienzo implores with those wide eyes which beg for telling, brow knit with concern. He sips at his tea, cross legged, and leans forward despite the dizziness of feeling like his head is heavier than it should be with congestion.

Xehanort should know about these marks of 'off', after all, so he can be more careful.]

Who could he be missing? [The thought seems to rattle him a little with distress, setting down the mug to hug his own arms, and the slight apprehensive fear that Xehanort would long to be somewhere else where he really belonged, once he recovered his memories. The smirk from Riku seemed a little mocking, too, but Ienzo wasn't sure why.] The people from his life before?

Him drinking coffee instead of tea... or forgetting to eat more.

[ to Riku, they're not little things, but he's realized he puts a lot more stock into others than the others seem to. he'd wonder why if he didn't already put himself as somewhat of an outsider, even if he isn't truthfully one. there was a difference between feeling like an outsider and being one. feeling this way could easily make him become an outsider, if he wasn't careful.

... a pause as he watched Ienzo closely.

right, because kids could be as oblivious as they were perceptive at times. ]

I don't know. I've never seen him miss someone before, but I haven't seen him forget to eat before. I know it's a logical fallacy. Still worth looking into.

Or maybe Even is just a bad influence.

[Ienzo pronounces a bit haughtily, huffing softly as he returns to his soup. So maybe it was all the time with the experiments, sneaking off to do them under Ansem's nose at odd hours of the night, that was the reason for stronger caffeine...

But that shouldn't seem conclusively suspicious to anyone else, should it?

He eats, in the meantime, if only the simple soup (which is very welcome and good on his stomach, after skipping breakfast) finally at the perfect temperature to avoid scalding his mouth.]

...mm. Or maybe he misses being able to miss anybody.

I think you shouldn't look into it too hard. Master Ansem makes enough fuss over Xehanort to have anyone else worrying over him. But I'll ask him what's wrong when he comes by to see me, if you won't.

[Implying (with hope!) that Xehanort will be stopping in when he's done pouring through his own work, and inevitably gets restless.]

Oh, don't do that.

[ he mutters quietly, rubbing his face in embarrassment. he remembers the last time he expressed worry towards Xehanort, the silver-haired man's completely puzzled face, as if it was alien to actually be worried about him. Riku had gone stark red and just decided to leave it be. ]

He'd just be confused that I'm worrying about him again.

[ implying, of course, that Riku has done this before. it's not like he hasn't for other members--after all, he is checking up on Ienzo. Riku worries. Even complains. Ansem eats ice cream. it's just something that's a constant. ]

Is the soup okay?

The soup's good.

[And usually Ienzo would have much more of a critical view than that, some pointers on seasonings, or complaints that it was made maybe just a bit too salty for his liking.

But that's useless while he can't really taste so much of anything, just slurp gratefully at the noodles, and sigh at the warm feeling of broth down his throat, easing all the difficulties in swallowing.

Rare, true smiles are generous from the youngest apprentice, but Ienzo meets Riku's eyes gratefully, with a small wince of apology.]

It would be better, I'm sure, if I wasn't so stuffed up.

have i mentioned lately that i'm shameless

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