WEEK 6 - LOBELIA

[foundationmods]

Six weeks.

They had been here for that long, and still...the game was continuing.
Yet, it felt like they were finally about to reach the end of it...
Just a little longer. 🗈

Still, things were just the same as they had been the past few weeks.

The goats and servants were still around, and so too were the witches.
Yet, it felt like this week would be the week they would finally get all the pieces to the puzzle.
But...could they solve it?

Only time would tell.

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Comments

Kitchen

[cryosurgeon]

[After he goes for a morning walk/jog on the beach with Terios, Erhard goes to the kitchen to get coffee. When he sees Kurama, he hesitates for a moment. This person was friends with Anon, so will there be hatred spewed his way?

He really needs coffee, though, so he makes his way to the brewer with a quiet and polite "excuse me." His eyes aren't downcast, but he's not exactly trying to make eye contact either. At least he's not jittery on the outside, because he promised himself he was going to do his best to soldier on. He can be forgiven for his internal state, but he's not going to bother anyone with that.]

[byanyother_name]

You're going to give yourself ulcers like this, Erhard. Eat something.

[Kurama's tone is firm and insistent but not harsh. He isn't even being a hypocrite! He has a cup of coffee himself but he also has a plate of food half-finished that he's been eating when his cooking doesn't need direct attention.]

[cryosurgeon]

[His first instinct is to ask "why do you care?" or "does it matter?" because of course that's how these last several weeks have him programmed now. It's shameful. Even if he has no appetite, he might try to eat if only to allay this apparent concern Kurama is showing him. Without a word, he gets his coffee and decides to look for something light out of all the food the redhead has made. Maybe something with eggs, or if there's a thin broth soup rather than a chowder would sit in his stomach without problems.]

[byanyother_name]

[Kurama is Japanese, Western breakfasts are ridiculously heavy to him. Not that he doesn't like some of them, just not as a staple. So it'll be pretty easy for Erhard to find rolled omelet or miso soup among everything.]

Thank you.

[cryosurgeon]

I... no, thank you. For caring.

[It's so soft, not with despair but bone-deep fatigue tinged with confusion. He does take some tamagoyaki and a bit of miso soup since he's had those before. Tomoe brought him lunch at his Resurgam cell once, figuring he might eat that if he had no appetite for hospital cafeteria food. He hadn't the appetite for either at the time, too buried in his own head. It's the last thing he remembers before 6350 generated his instance....

The faint buzz of dissociation begins to hum in his ears and he quickly squashes the thought. He'd rather take something else to eat now, but he doesn't trust his stomach with anything heavier. He starts with the soup, sipping without any noise, finally pausing to take a few bites of egg. Everything seems to be sitting okay so far.

It's the awkward silence that's getting to him, but he doesn't know how to break it.]

[byanyother_name]

I've been concerned. All of this... The Game has not been kind to you.

[Kurama isn't much louder. He sets down his coffee as a timer goes off, moving to stir something on the stove. It doesn't smell like breakfast anything, it's a heavy scent of meat and spice. Probably something meant to be saved for later in the day.]

[cryosurgeon]

... my whole purpose is to save lives. I've never cared about my own, I only want what will be best for my patients. This... this goes against everything I....

[He has to set his utensils down as his hands start trembling. His fingers jerk into the harshly bent state of his anxious stimming before he remembers the gift from Takumi. He takes out the little mushroom and squeezes it, though that only helps one hand.]

[byanyother_name]

[Kurama quickly puts the food to a low simmer when he hears Erhard's voice start to stumble. He crosses to stand next to Erhard and pitches his voice to be soft and soothing.]

Breathe, Erhard. Listen to the pace of my breathing and match it if you can. Focus on one thing at a time. One thing for each sense, alright?

[cryosurgeon]

[It's a method for coping with panic attacks. Erhard recognizes it, but he's never used it. He never needed it before this place, even when he was weeping silently in the barred room in Resurgam. Is this really how bad things have gotten? Encountering Sherlock-- no, the demon-- rattled him badly. He owes Moriarty more than he can repay.

He listens to Kurama's breathing and tries his best to match it, though his own is shaky. Long fingers continue squeezing the toy mushroom in time with each breath.]

[byanyother_name]

[Even if it's shaky, it's a start. Kurama glances at the stress toy and nods slightly.]

Alright... I'm going to walk you through things one at a time. Take a moment and just give all the attention you can to how the toy feels. The surface texture, how it feels when you squeeze it, how much of your hand it takes up. Tactile sensation.

[cryosurgeon]

[He knows the technique but he listens anyway, Kurama's voice helping to start grounding him. He concentrates on the stress toy, squeezing, turning it over in his palm, squeezing again. He feels the smooth surface, the faint soft mold lines, the gentle pressure against his palm.

It makes him think of Takumi's gentle heart, his smile.

His heart starts to slow down.]

[byanyother_name]

Good, that's better. Let's try smell next? It's probably a good thing I was making curry for curry bread, you should definitely be able to smell that strongly enough.

[Honestly, giving him a calm voice to focus on for hearing is most of the reason Kurama is walking him through like this.

And if he can smell the curry with his nose stuck at human normal, Erhard should be able to, too.]

[cryosurgeon]

[Yes, he can smell it. It's not a smell that's very familiar, but it's a pleasant one. He nods again, still squeezing the toy.]

Y-- yes, it's... warm, spicy. Smells good.

[byanyother_name]

You can try it later when it's done, if you like. I'm slow cooking it and then it goes in the bread, so that will be a little while.

[Kurama is watching Erhard closely, carefully judging his condition.]

You should pick something to look at now. Just one thing, try to ignore what's in your peripheral.

[cryosurgeon]

[Not in his periphery... his eyes fixate on Kurama's red hair.]

Your hair. It... reminds me of red roses.

[it reminds me of blood]

[byanyother_name]

I get that a lot. Then again, I somewhat invite it by using red roses as my primary weapons. Not to mention that I usually smell like them.

[Blood is not entirely inapt, either.]

It takes a lot of caring for at this length, but I find the effort worth it.

Do you like roses?