Pssst didja hear? [Sound test]

[all_that_glimmers]

Who: Yuuko+Mineto
Where: After game start
What: Gossip swap~



When most people talk to their plants they don't expect the plants to talk back, let alone lean into water like a cat looking for attention. It had been a hot day and humans and youkai weren't the only ones feeling too hot. One of these days Yuuko would remember to install air conditioning in the shop but her water magic was keeping her cool for now. Other people in the shop would be less fortunate.

"Have you heard the news?" Yuuko asked lighty as she fussed over the plant.

Comments

[all_that_glimmers]

"As warm as you can expect from a summer day's beams," Yuuko replied. "Perfect for catnaps. And other things if and when they pop up."

She shrugged, looking less stiff than Mineto; relaxed and inviting.

"All you need to do is ask."

[warbringer]

There was a long and ripe silence. Mineto was dusting down his shoulder, cleaning himself of his awkwardness.

"I ask nobody for nothing."

It was evidently too much to have his control slipping out from under him.

[all_that_glimmers]

Yuuko let the silence sit for several long moments. Then, she filled it with that blithe, seeming flippancy,

"So is it alright for someone to ask you?" She leaned back against the counter and shrugged again. "Well if you choose you're free to use my bed for however you like if you're that tired. Or we can keep talking. Or you're even free to leave. Or you're free to even hang upside down and sing Miki K if you like, though that one seems like the far least likely option, amusing mental imagery aside."

[warbringer]

Mineto frowned - a sight as unpleasant as many would have seen - and thought that he would somehow unravel the problem that she had created for him. He wasn't surprised when his words mirrored her own flippant attitude. He cut in too, stopping her from giving another set of examples.

"Or you're free to shut up," he said, his mood foul. "I do not wish to hear such talk."

[all_that_glimmers]

And Yuuko did. If it'd been someone else Yuuko would have shut up to the letter and continued on as she pleased. Instead she pushed off the counter, expression more serious,

"Well then. What sort of thing would you wish to hear?"

[warbringer]

"Nothing," Mineto said curtly.

He would only appreciate a little bit of silence. He noticed but paid no attention to the change in Yuuko's attitude. He was looking back at her with an expression that showed he was almost disappointed.

[all_that_glimmers]

Yuuko, on the other hand, simply walked away without even a careless 'what can you do?' shrug as she usually would have. She returned to the counter and pulled a box from the side of fresh, unlabeled vials and page of stickers with names and warnings. She simply worked without a word or glance back.

[warbringer]

Mineto was not looking back either. He was folding the list thoughtfully, and sliding it into his breast pocket. Then he was walking with slow deliberate steps over to the front door to pull it wide and leave it open. The climate was dry and warm, and the store had not seen air for a while. He set off down the road outside the shop, hands in his pockets as though he was the only person.