no one and nothing can break through

[predecir]

[Well! That sure did happen!

Bruno does not organize an afterparty. He's not a party organizer in general - that was Wu. But he knows he was completely useless, if not downright actively unhelpful, during that whole thing, and he already feels guilty enough. He has to be useful somehow. Otherwise, why's he even here? 

So, before everyone can leave the teleportation circle in the dining room and all go their own separate ways, Bruno mumbles something about making food and takes off for the kitchen. He'll be there for a couple of hours, whipping up some quick chicken sancocho, with Olive on rice duty. Azul can be in charge of actually grabbing people and bringing them in - god forbid Bruno do anything like that - but if anyone does happen to be there to take one, he'll make them up a bowl. Otherwise, he's just gonna leave it all warming on the stove. 

There's also some arroz con leche simmering for later, if anybody wants dessert! He'll put cinnamon in it, and then add some hot chocolate to the lineup as well. He's no Julieta, of course, but at least he's made something? It's not enough, but it's...something.]

Comments

[rikonstructed]

There's enough, though I doubt any will go to waste. And some of that sweetened rice left as well.

[He puts the bowl and one of the cups of tea down in front of Baldr and looks at him in wordless expectation, settling across from him with the other cup. He looks like he has every intention of keeping watch here until he's certain Baldr's eaten.]

[reresurrected]

... I'm glad.

[That there's enough left? That there isn't much left? He doesn't bother to clarify, instead picking up the spoon to begin eating-- but not before inhaling and then letting it all back out in a long, slow exhalation akin to a sigh. Exhaustion, mostly, but no doubt Nuadha can read all of the emotions hidden within its depths as well.]

[rikonstructed]

[He can read that entirely too well. For just a moment his brow knits in worry, but he glances away to hide the expression, echoing Baldr's sigh with a soft one of his own.]

You need to rest. It was foolish to jump in unarmed like that.

[Not that Nuadha can muster any surprise about that, either.]

[reresurrected]

[Now it's his turn to remain silent for a moment before replying. It was ill-advised, yes, as well he knows. But:]

You of all people should know that I don't need a weapon to be able to fight.

[He didn't earn his position despite his status for no reason.]

[rikonstructed]

I know that. That's not what I--

[His grip tightens a little on his cup and he stares down at the tea fiercely, falling silent again as he hunts for the words.]

[reresurrected]

I failed as a knight once. I'm not going to fail again.

[There's a surprising amount of vehemence behind the words-- an uncharacteristic amount, really. As calm as he may seem on the outside, it's clear he's a lot more rattled by what happened today than he's letting on.]

[rikonstructed]

And I don't want to see that again!

[Nuadha snaps the words back as if they've been pulled from him involuntarily, his voice quiet but intense when he jerks his head up to meet Baldr's eyes again. He'd been more than half-expecting to hear that note in Baldr's voice. But the strength of his own response almost seems to startle him.]

[reresurrected]

Nuadha-sama...

[Somehow that managed to surprise him even more than outright yelling would have. Nuadha is prone to outbursts of anger and frustration; this he knows well. There is nothing unusual about that much. Rather, it's the intensity, the conviction of the words that startles him, stirs anew a wound that never really finished healing to begin with.

They don't talk about certain things. Perhaps sometimes they should.]

[rikonstructed]

Did you think I haven't been thinking of it since you pulled Gefion's picture from that envelope?

[Even before the light this morning that had set his every nerve on edge. Before the picture, if he's more honest still. Which he's temporarily exhausted the impulse to be. His words grind to an uncomfortable halt again and he pulls the cup of tea defensively towards his chest.]

[reresurrected]

Then you know exactly why I couldn't just sit back and do nothing.

[The others here are perfectly capable of defending themselves, as they well proved during the battle. But Bruno and Mei? They wouldn't have stood a chance, and he knows that Nuadha knows that much.]

[rikonstructed]

[Nuadha knows very well exactly what Baldr is saying. Just like he knows that, for all that Baldr had held Gefion as responsible for his own death at the meeting, it was far from what he truly blamed her for. There's a less than oblique rebuke in those words--what Nuadha is trying to say is unquestionably selfish, and irrational. Entirely against Baldr's nature, or even his own.]

...I'm well aware. You've always upheld your honor as a knight.

[He looks away, feigning a much deeper interest in his tea than he feels. As quietly as they're speaking, he doubts he wants to have much more of this conversation where they are.]

[reresurrected]

When I swore that oath, I meant it.

[Baldr's words hold a deliberate vagueness-- is he referring to the oath he swore when he first became a knight, or the one he swore again just recently to protect Nuadha and Mercuria? He could mean either, or both. After a moment, it becomes clear that he has no intention of elaborating further as to which one. That much is probably selfish on his end, which makes the two of them even.

There are many, many things Baldr is capable of. Denying his nature isn't one of them.]

[rikonstructed]

[Both oaths are entirely too clear in Nuadha's mind. The recent one, yet another argument he'd lost. And the older one, with the weight of all the hopes they'd both had at the time. It's enough to leave him quiet and subdued for the moment.]

I know that. And you know I don't mean my words lightly, either. ...We'll finish this later. You should eat.

[But it's notably a softened request rather than a command.]

[reresurrected]

[The softer tone is a clear signal that, at least for the moment, he's won this battle, and he really doesn't have any interest in twisting the knife any further. They're both raw right now, old trauma mingling with fresh distress, and Baldr decides that the best course of action for the time being is to do as Nuadha says and eat his meal. His empty stomach certainly isn't making him any less edgy, not with all of the trauma that accompanies that particular sensation.]

Yes.

[That's all the encouragement he needs to dig in, eating just a bit faster than is truly polite.]

[rikonstructed]

[Nuadha sips at his tea in silence, more than willing to take the chance to gather himself for the next skirmish as he watches Baldr eat. Although, really, it's more of his thoughts churning in directionless circles: what he'd been trying to say, the futility of it when he knows exactly where the line is where Baldr digs his heels in. If it was really the most important thing he needed to get across to Baldr. His emotions feel bruised right now, a sensation all the more unpleasant for how rarely he acknowledges it. He stifles a sigh into his cup.]

...There should be more food still, if you need it.