thefoundation | WEEK 4 - VENUS FLYTRAP

Ah, I kind of want to see all of those things now. I didn't even know you could braid bread like you could braid hair.

[Anon seems somehow impressed by all of this?? Unique skills are cool in his book, okay, especially ones he hasn't had a proper look at before. In the meantime, he's still diligently working on the flower crown, motions becoming faster and smoother -- granted, the earliest flowers are already looking a little rickety, but it's fine.

He laughs a little back as he examines the problematic bits.]

I think flowers are easier to wash off, though, unless you really crush them.

That's what my mother would say. I have no idea how to make bread but I could try the hair braiding. [ Tilting his head towards Anon's hair. This is definitely one of those cases where he'll realize what he suggested after an initial delay, but for now he's playing it real cool. ]

I kinda want to see that now.

Hmm, which part?

[How many facsimiles of Natsuno's parents can he accidentally bring up: the several-part series. Anon also tilts his head for a moment as he looks between Natsuno and then the flowers on the table and also the hair falling over his own shoulder -- after a moment, there's a bright sort of grin about the idea, because it's definitely piqued his interest.]

I don't mind hair braiding, but we should totally make it a bit more challenging. Try flowers with it too? I want to see how good you are at both!

[Yes, that's absolutely some kind of dare and possibly also just messing around at the same time. He's still adding all kinds of flowers to his own crown. It's going to become a real hazard at this rate.]

I'll keep going with this, though it's probably not going to be a real race.

The braiding part, because I only ever did it when my father forced me to help him at the shop. She used to tell me that I could impress girls by being able to do things like baking and hair, but I didn't care so I never bothered to see if she was right or not.

[ Blink, blink and sudden realization. Oh he totally offered to try now didn't he. ]

...sure. [ He's about a second from slipping into way too formal Japanese but hopefully his moving about so he's in the position to start braiding masks it. ]

Maybe. You have a lot of hair. [ Said dumbly. Well at least it should be impossible to see how flustered he is from here. ]

Hmm. I bet she was kind of right, because I'm pretty sure you could impress just about everybody here with food and hair. There's a lot of people with nice hair and good appetites here, after all.

[Not that that describes present company or anything, why would you ascribe self-awareness to his thoughts about mysterious motherly matchmaking and bread. He's just a gremlin being helpful(?) and contemplating everyone's hairstyles.

Natsuno gets a curious glance because Anon definitely caught something there, but since he's so quick at scooting away he manages to escape any follow-up! Instead, he's now trapped in flower braid hell. Congratulations, you played yourself.

There's a bit of a laugh as he adjusts his seat so that he's facing the back of the chair now, and then quite helpfully gathers his hair over his shoulders and shakes it out a little. It falls all the way down below his waist and so it trails halfway to the floor at this point, thick and soft and extremely pink albeit a little roughly grown out at the tips.]

Mmhmm, I haven't had it trimmed in a little while. It seemed like a bad idea to ask the goats.

[He may be extremely carefree but he may also object to having his hair chewed on. There's a little hum as he goes to continue on his flower crown, too.]

I'm not interested in impressing anyone. [ That is the truth, even if it's spoken as he gently takes strands of pink between his fingers to begin the braid. He's maybe surprisingly careful about the whole thing, and there's a note of softness that flickers in his voice which betrays just a hint of something else. ]

Seems like something they would do. I'm not sure if I need to worry about mine because it's not really grown out much since I came here.

[ His locks aren't completely static, but it's likely he wouldn't need a haircut for at least a year at it's current rate. ]

Heheh. I thought you'd say that. I also told Sakura this, but sometimes it's just really easy to feed people cookies instead of telling them secrets. People really like secrets around here, anyway.

[He sounds more like he's idly commenting than actually trying to prod at Natsuno's statement, a little distractedly but still diligently working away at the flower crown that's starting to look more like a flower necklace at this point, drooping a little and not quite unraveling but definitely beginning to gain too many flowers.

There's a little sigh that interrupts his hum when Natsuno starts working on his hair that sounds like it wasn't entirely voluntary; it's not quite the first time he's had someone else do his hair -- but it's probably been a long, long time. He leans his head on the chair back and relaxes a little more into it.]

I think your hair might just get fluffier instead of longer. But the more hair you have, the crazier it gets, so everybody's probably going to look a little scruffy once we finish this Game.

[He's also going to just start passing back flowers since he's closer to the table and actively sorting them. Up to Natsuno if he wants to use the haphazard ones Anon is giving him or go for a color scheme.]

Taiyaki is better than cookies and secrets. [ Which shouldn't be too surprising, cause he's never been one for gossip (just dragging people) and cookies are fine but not his favorite. There's something about getting a steaming fresh taiyaki from a food stall during a festival too. ]

I think it would be both. My father's hair is longer than mine and it's pretty poofy even when he kept it tied back. [ Just a guess though, because Natsuno has always preferred his hair short in comparison. Maybe for convenience and maybe because he didn't want to emulate his dad, who knows. He takes those flowers without protest, trying to sort them a bit before he picks one to star interweaving between the start of the braid. A red one first works. ]

Oh? What kind of yaki is taiyaki?

[There are so many foods he still hasn't tried yet, so of course he'd perk up at the mention of things like this. Besides, if there's something better than both of the things he mentioned, and something Natsuno would insist on, then he's doubly curious.

There's a little bit of a rhythm to it now, sorting flowers and weaving them in, reaching back to pass more to Natsuno and letting himself slowly fall into the same pattern he can feel in the faint tugs coming from the braid. There's definitely something extra soothing about it.]

If your hair were really, really long, I bet you could use it as a cape.

[Because it'd fan out?? Like, totally a Dracula cape?? He's being silly now.]

[ Hmmn how to describe taiyaki... he thinks a bit, pausing in the braiding and letting one of his hands fall to the side. It brushes against something in his pocket, which gives him an idea even if it doesn't solve his food dilemma. Meh, just going with it now. ]

It's basically a pancake in the shape of a fish filled with red bean or custard. They're really good when they're fresh, the red bean are my favorite. We never had them in Sotoba except during festivals though. [ Pausing again at the mental image imagery of this hair cape. That earns a huff, and when he starts again Anon will feel something heavier being woven into his hair. Very sneakily of course. ]

I'd rather just buy one, maybe in a cool pattern.

[The flower crown is now approaching flower necklace-and-a-half, though Anon's actually slowed down a little bit in between everything else, weaving motions smoother and lazier than they were at the beginning when he was just starting to get the hang of things. It's a background hum like the feeling of Natsuno's fingers in his hair, the brush of flower petals as he continues to clear the table.

He's not sure how to describe any of it, but it's something he thinks he'd like to stay in for a while.]

That definitely sounds like something I'd want to try. I wonder if we could make them here? It seems like kind of a waste to have them just for festivals, even if I kind of want to see human festivals, too.

[There's a brief questioning glance back from him when he feels something distinctly non-flower in the braid, but he doesn't bother to pull away to really check.]

A big bright cape to wear for stuff like that?

[Festivals, he probably means.]

[ Consider: flower boa. On Natsuno's end he's also settled into this rhythm they have going on; it feels both strangely natural and refreshing in a way where it would be easy to zone out except his interest is keen as ever. ]

We could try, but we'd need a mold. I guess we could ask the goats for one, but then we'd have goat shaped taiyaki....yagiyaki? [ The glance will be met with a small upturn of his lips: mischievous yet gentle. He adds one more of the heavier weighted object before he's clearly back to weaving flowers only. ]

Not unless I was part of a kagura—a religious dance. That's about the only time I wouldn't mind bursting into flames like the lame vampire stories say.

[A flower boa or multiple flower boas is possible, but at the rate he's going (and the rate his hair is going), they might have at least one flower bomb going off first. Anon is definitely not paying as much attention as he should to the structural integrity of the thing; he's distracted in at least three directions, even if his voice and posture are as relaxed and nonchalant as ever.]

Hmm... What are you up to?

[That's said when he feels the second weight in his hair, though it's semi-rhetorical and he doesn't look back again, content to comment on it and wonder if he should take wild guesses at all of Natsuno's mysterious smiling. He doesn't mind finding out later, either. It could be a surprise.]

I think I'd be happy as long as there was a yaki, it doesn't really matter what shape, right? If it's all fresh and sweet, that should be enough. Unless you want to eat a goat for real. [he may have eaten not long ago but his stomach is definitely going to sit up and take notice if they keep talking about this much longer!!] A vampire being in a religious dance sounds funny, though, is that why you'd suddenly burst into flames?

[...]

Actually, that would just be a jinrouyaki.

[ Semi-rhetorical question or not, Natsuno hums, pausing in the middle of weaving in a flower. He could just leave it at that, but he leans forward in a faux attempt to straighten the braid out, whispering into Anon's ear. ]

It was a promise, mn? [ He snaps back straight into braiding and weaving, like that interlude didn't happen at all. He's nearing the end here, though his pace has slowed; maybe he's being more careful or maybe he's trying to make excuses for himself to keep going as long as he can. Both are likely. ]

Right. There's imagawayaki which is like two pancakes without any animals at all. [ Pausing and letting out a huff that quickly turns into laughter and is entirely too playful. ]

No goats. No religious dances either, I really won't catch on fire so try not to eat me.

[His shoulders twitch a little in surprise at the whisper, leaving him blinking a couple of times before Anon remembers what he was doing and what he's about -- though obviously there's a lot more questions now, he fidgets briefly before poking at his weaving again.

He tilts his head back a little bit into the braiding even as it slows, letting the rhythm settle his thoughts and movements again. He sounds amused, though, when he speaks up again.]

Heheh. I wonder which promise it is?

[They kind of. Ended up accumulating quite a few somehow, same as commonalities, same as all the hats they keep stacking up. Anon is pretty sure he remembers them all, even though he's dancing around it, answering playfulness with playfulness.]

If I don't get a dance and you don't get goats, then we definitely have to get one of those yaki. Or all of them. That's my condition for not eating!

[ There's only a slight pause here, just a second where he lingers too long between laying one strand of hair over the next. They had made a bunch of promises to each other, huh? It stirs a funny feeling in his chest that's not unwelcome, even if he can't really place it. Something to think on later maybe, as he smooths over missing a beat with an answer at the ready, an unbidden hum preceding it. ]

Not the poison oak promise, unless one's going to spring up in the middle of the foyer. [ Adding one, two, three flowers to cap off the braid. The flowers are overflowing as much as the note of warmth that reverberates though his tone. ]

We can get all of them—I'll even buy them for you. But you're buying the kakigoori after.

[He takes the pause to catch up in turn, instinctively gauging the width and length of the braid and the cadence with which Natsuno's hands have been moving; it's about time he capped off his dubious flower necklace-boa-belt, too. It hangs in soft loops off his fingers and wrists, dangling flowers precariously but rich with colors.

Red, purple, blue and black; he doesn't remember how exactly he decided on these colors nor indeed most of the crownmaking after the initial effort, but it's fine.]

Considering all the crazy stuff that's popped up in the mansion, a poison oak tree would probably be more normal!

[His voice pitches a little louder, riding on the excitement of finishing everything up and the funny prickling warmth of Natsuno just talking, like swallowing something particularly bubbly or someone particularly powerful.

The small smile that's surfaced on his lips widens as he finally turns around, now freed to move, and promptly drapes the entirety of his own masterpiece(??) all over Natsuno's shoulders. True to his predictions, a good number of the flowers immediately pop out from the motion, which means Natsuno (and to some extent Anon) also gets flowers and petals showered all over his head and the chair and everywhere else. But enough of the thing stays together to where he now just has a second boa, and Anon gives a satisfied sort of laugh as he surveys his handiwork.]

There! I don't really have any human currency, but maybe I can pay them in flower crowns?

[That's definitely a joke.]

If that happens you know where to find me. [ It's a ridiculous thing to say, but not nearly half as ridiculous as this flower boa. For a few seconds he just blinks, frozen mid retrieving a flower tucked behind his ear (like you would with a pencil, cause he had this whole process going on) and then just erupts in laughter.

This is more than he's laughed....ever, even more than that one time he got into a stupid water fight over a beetle. It's gonna take him a while to catch his breath, flowers falling off of him in waves of mirth. ]

You're going to make another? 'Cause I'm keeping this one.

[Between the poison oak debacle and Natsuno just losing his shit over everything else he sets Anon off again too. He ends up just laughing with him for a while -- companionable and silly and pleased with himself and everything else -- sloughing off loose flowers and leaves even as his braid stays miraculously intact (Natsuno is way better at this structural integrity thing??) and slips over his shoulder to clink gently against the chair.

He's much too busy to check on the strange noise (that can still keep for later), leaning his cheek against a hand (or maybe holding himself up from falling off the chair into the carnage of floor flora at this point) as he watches Natsuno at the end of it with bright eyes.]

Yeah. Of course I'm going to make another one. Practice makes perfect, after all. [a happy hum before he reaches out again and adjusts the new boa, tugging gently like he did on the old one last week] But you really like this sort of thing, huh? How many can you wear at once?

[ His hands are still at his sides when his mouth curves into a cocksure grin completely at odds with his posture. ]

I dunno, you can keep making them and we'll figure it out. [ God help him he doesn't even sound like he's completely joking here. He's way too wrapped up in everything at this point to think about what he's going to do next, which is to bend down and pick one of the escaped flowers on the floor. Without missing a beat he reaches out and tucks it neatly behind Anon's ear, to match the one behind his. They're both blue, because of course they match here too. ]

That's down payment for the next one.

[He perks up immediately at the grin, because expressions like that promise good things, but he's still not quite prepared for that next move -- Anon blink-blinks at him in an almost-parody of the way Natsuno tends to react to his odder moments, head tilting inquisitively half in surprise and half in instinctive response to the contact. Natsuno's really getting a knack for catching him off-guard; it's no mean feat.

After a moment he reaches up to poke at the flower, a half-grin on his face that looks almost exactly like his other grins when he's responding to challenges. There's something brighter in it than usual.]

Right! As long as you don't mind a bunch of flowers being all used up, I think I'm definitely getting better at this.

[It's idle chatter while he starts sweeping together the flowers on the floor, because there's no sense in wasting them when you can just reuse them, especially if they're cleaned up before anyone tramples them.]

I'll accept the payment. ☆

[ He's on too much of a roll right now to stop, even with all the cues that his bravado has crossed into something more. It's just easier to keep going once you've started, at least until his mind catches up with his impulses. There's something enjoyable too about catching Anon off-guard, that much he catches in the now, which is all the more reason to keep going. ]

Mhmm. [ It's only natural to help (even if it's not natural to Natsuno), and he helps sweep any stray flowers Anon might have missed. There's probably a moment or two when they brush each other hands doing so, both the budding beginnings of romantic cliches and happenstance. ]

I guess I've already given you payment for the third one too. [ Looking at the two charms woven into the long pink braid. There's care given to their placement, even if the two words human and eat are bombs of their own given their conversations. ]

[Anon is definitely enjoying himself, even if he has no idea what they're doing now other than leaping from one challenge to the next; pushing and pulling each other along the way they always seem to do, even though none of it actually seems like any effort at all.

It's a good thing he has no fear of the unknown, and a complete commitment to living in the present. The present is where he's currently piling a bunch of flowers in his lap and tucking away the vague impression that he's never actually had this much contact with Natsuno before between the braiding and the cleaning up and everything. He'll remember it for later.]

... Hmm? Is this what you were plotting earlier?

[There's a teasing note to his voice, though it's drowned in a sudden laugh when he reaches for his braid and spots the familiar glints of charm metal in there -- they're easy enough to recognize, and he taps at them to hear the soft clinks, looking really very amused.]

Ah, so it was this promise. I totally don't think this is how this game is meant to be played.

[From the sound of it, he isn't complaining at all.]

[ Overall Natsuno just looks pretty satisfied, even if he can't help but feel like he's missing something. ]

I like this way better. I'd rather play the way I want or not at all. [ There's something firm in those words, as flippantly as they're spoken. Standing up and dusting any remaining petals off his pants, he plays with his newly acquired boa with energy that seems to have sprung up out of nowhere. ]

Hmn, I'd be impressed if you could braid my hair though. [ He has no idea why he's still talking. Or kinda smiling. That being said it would be an impressive feat given his hair is unruly on a good day, and it's not particularly long (though probably still braid-able with considerable effort). ]

Heheh. That's a good way of doing things. I was always planning to do that, you know -- change the rules of the tournament. They didn't do me any good the way they were.

If you don't like the Game, then you need to change the way it's played.

[It's also mostly flippant, considering he's (ostensibly) comparing it to a minigame they're in the process of totally messing up for kicks, but there's something just as bright and sharp in it as Natsuno's conviction. It softens just a little bit as he responds to the prompt to look over Natsuno's hair in turn, considering the messy flyaway locks and the unique purple shade.

It probably wouldn't do him any good to try matching colors, anyway. He'll just have to play it by ear. Speaking of which--]

That sounds like something I could do? I don't know if any of these flowers would stay in it, and it might pull a bit, but I could definitely make a braid. I could even make more than one.

[There's a sparkle in his eye now, rising to a real challenge. Once again: it's debatable what Natsuno's just gotten himself into, but maybe his tutorial will help and Anon will be merciful. Probably.]

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