[ If it feels like a strange suggestion to her, it's because of a combination of Eustace not normally suggesting such soft-sounding activities and Gray never having gone picnicking herself. She would have been just as startled if her mage mentor had suggested such a thing... No, it's a little less startling from Eustace, who doesn't put on nearly as many airs.
It looks like he's at least a little self-conscious about it, but the fact that he's persevering with the suggestion means it's important to him. He really must care a lot for Dokja. ]
... I like that idea. I've never gone for a picnic before, but they sound nice.
[ Very different from camping, surely, which she's already done too much of. ]
We can bring Raisin too. Oh, and I can make pasties to bring along.
[ Soon Gray will be opening her own pie shop and making a name for herself through all of Springstar.... For now, she can test all her creations on the two grown men that reside in Casa de Dokja.
He raises an eyebrow at her suggestion, more amused than puzzled. ]
I didn't realize you enjoyed baking so much.
[ She's always been helpful around the house, but this seems to go beyond any sense of dutiful household contribution. Maybe he should get her a few nice pie tins for her birthday next year... ]
[ Never mind, he will not be buying her pie tins for her birthday.
Her fears are unfounded though as his gaze slides over, free of reproach or criticism. ]
You're fine. You can do whatever you want; it's your home too.
[ Even if the house is, on a technicality, registered in Dokja's name, it's become a place shared by all three of them, with all three leaving their mark behind. Dokja's clutter tidied up by Gray's neat hand, the streaks of drool Raisin leaves behind that always have to be scrubbed out. He's pretty sure Dokja would feel the same, if he were here. ]
I'm sure your friends [ including Dark 🙄 ] would appreciate pie as well, if it ends up being too much for the house.
[ Her home too. That gives her mixed feelings — the warmth of having people to return to and the resignation that the Earth she knew is further away than ever. For now, the warmth outweighs the melancholy, and she smiles mildly at nothing in particular. ]
I suppose so. Mordred needs a lot of energy to manifest... and Gen can eat a surprising amount.
[ immediately thinks of some of the most problematic people in her life ]
[ All the people in her life are problematic....it's fine..... ]
Gen is a teenage boy.
[ Said dryly, but it's hard to miss the undercurrent of affection that swirls behind the words. It's probably not a safe emotion to feel, especially when they've been placed on opposide sides of this neverending war, but it's also not one that'll change any time soon. His feelings have never been fickle in that regard, instead remaining near permanent once he begrudgingly allows them to take root.
But hey, wait a minute— ]
'Manifest'?
[ He looks over, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. ]
[ Gen is a very teenage boy who also happens to be tall and active. Still, she wonders how when he packs all that food away at once, he doesn't balloon up out of his britches.
She glances over at Eustace and nods. ]
That's right. She's closer to a spirit than a living person. I'm not sure why she came here like this instead of how she was when she was alive, though.
[ Who even knows!! Gray won't attempt to answer that question for a single second. ]
It's a long story... but the short version is that she was famous when she was alive, so the world kept an impression of her for later. The Mordred we have is a manifestation of that impression.
[ If only Waver could hear her kindergarten-level exposition... ]
[ Mordred, famous? Incredible. His expression twitches, like he's trying to hold back a disbelieving bark of laughter. Famously annoying, maybe, but Eustace has a hard time imagining her as any sort of revered figurehead praised by the masses. Maybe she was an infamous villain? The latter would be more believable than the former. ]
Does that happen often where you're from? That the spirits of famous people end up lingering for a long time to come?
[ They have spirits where he comes from too, but those are more along the lines of trapped souls and specters with unfinished business. Nothing nearly as fancy as what Gray describes. ]
Not that I know of. But there's a lot I don't know.
[ She gave up trying to pretend she knew anything before she ever started.
But she does know one thing. Her tone takes on a gentle note of lecturing. ]
More importantly... it means she can be powerful in ways normal people can't, and she doesn't always have the same logic as a living person. So getting into a fight with her would be very dangerous. Please try to avoid it.
[ God knows Mordred will look for any excuse to laser Eustace into oblivioun. ]
[ Mordred deserves to laser Eustace into oblivion, so this is fine actually.
Unfortunately, what I want OOCly and what Eustace wants ICly are two very different things, and though Eustace is still hung up on the fact that Mordred was at some point famous in her lifetime, he trusts Gray enough to listen attentively to her mini-lecture.
He does have one point to make though. ]
I'm not looking to get into a fight with her, but there's only so much I can do when she's constantly hounding me.
[ She's like a tiny yapping attack dog....which is ironic, given that he's the one with the animal ears. ]
[ Does even God know how to get Mordred to be less Mordred.....
But it's not Gray's job to make sure Mordred behaves herself. And while it might be Eustace's job to moderate how he behaves around Mordred, he's pretty sure nothing he can do at this point will alleviate the deep dislike she has of him. ]
It was back at the shrines. In Horos. [ Which seems like such a distant time now. ] I don't recall doing anything out of the ordinary.
[ He was just being himself...which tbh is enough to provoke anyone into disliking him. ]
[ Back in Horos... Things were more tense back then, but even so, Gray can't imagine Eustace doing anything legitimately offensive without him knowing it. She'll just chalk it up to Mordred being Mordred. ]
If it helps, she didn't like me much at first either. If it weren't for my face, she probably would've stopped paying attention to me.
[ That detail comes out of her with surprising ease; the topic of her face was once close to taboo, but she can at least be (fairly) certain that the legend of King Arthur would mean nothing to Eustace. ]
Actually, she was a famous knight, but it sounds like she didn't like a lot of the other knights. Maybe you remind her of them.
[ The suggestion isn't completely serious, but she could see Eustace as a knight in a different universe. ]
[ Truly Gray's power of imagination far exceeds his own, because he can't imagine any timeline where he ends up as a knight in service of someone else. Maybe it's because he's traveled with too many storybook knights, whose ideals and convictions he can appreciate but not fully adopt for himself.
But also: ]
Because I don't like many other people?
[ It's an objective statement and not any sort of hurt accusation. He knows the (mostly true) image he projects to other people. ]
[ Gray blinks. She knows he can be stoic and reclusive, but she wouldn't have categorized him as a misanthrope. ]
I was thinking more that you're serious and disciplined...
[ Though when she thinks about it, her sampling of Round Table Knights (Kay, Mordred) would seem to suggest that they were more incorrigible than not. ]
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no subject
Date: 2023-09-27 05:05 am (UTC)It looks like he's at least a little self-conscious about it, but the fact that he's persevering with the suggestion means it's important to him. He really must care a lot for Dokja. ]
... I like that idea. I've never gone for a picnic before, but they sound nice.
[ Very different from camping, surely, which she's already done too much of. ]
We can bring Raisin too. Oh, and I can make pasties to bring along.
[ Her pie craftsmanship is evolving... ]
no subject
Date: 2023-09-27 12:37 pm (UTC)He raises an eyebrow at her suggestion, more amused than puzzled. ]
I didn't realize you enjoyed baking so much.
[ She's always been helpful around the house, but this seems to go beyond any sense of dutiful household contribution. Maybe he should get her a few nice pie tins for her birthday next year... ]
no subject
Date: 2023-09-28 04:20 am (UTC)[ She won't name the specific person she's trying to make an ultimate pie for, though. She doesn't think Eustace would take it the right way.
(It's Dark.) ]
I hope I haven't gone overboard.
no subject
Date: 2023-09-28 03:00 pm (UTC)Her fears are unfounded though as his gaze slides over, free of reproach or criticism. ]
You're fine. You can do whatever you want; it's your home too.
[ Even if the house is, on a technicality, registered in Dokja's name, it's become a place shared by all three of them, with all three leaving their mark behind. Dokja's clutter tidied up by Gray's neat hand, the streaks of drool Raisin leaves behind that always have to be scrubbed out. He's pretty sure Dokja would feel the same, if he were here. ]
I'm sure your friends [ including Dark 🙄 ] would appreciate pie as well, if it ends up being too much for the house.
no subject
Date: 2023-10-01 07:16 am (UTC)I suppose so. Mordred needs a lot of energy to manifest... and Gen can eat a surprising amount.
[ immediately thinks of some of the most problematic people in her life ]
no subject
Date: 2023-10-01 12:50 pm (UTC)Gen is a teenage boy.
[ Said dryly, but it's hard to miss the undercurrent of affection that swirls behind the words. It's probably not a safe emotion to feel, especially when they've been placed on opposide sides of this neverending war, but it's also not one that'll change any time soon. His feelings have never been fickle in that regard, instead remaining near permanent once he begrudgingly allows them to take root.
But hey, wait a minute— ]
'Manifest'?
[ He looks over, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-10-04 06:24 am (UTC)She glances over at Eustace and nods. ]
That's right. She's closer to a spirit than a living person. I'm not sure why she came here like this instead of how she was when she was alive, though.
[ Who even knows!! Gray won't attempt to answer that question for a single second. ]
It's a long story... but the short version is that she was famous when she was alive, so the world kept an impression of her for later. The Mordred we have is a manifestation of that impression.
[ If only Waver could hear her kindergarten-level exposition... ]
no subject
Date: 2023-10-04 12:43 pm (UTC)Does that happen often where you're from? That the spirits of famous people end up lingering for a long time to come?
[ They have spirits where he comes from too, but those are more along the lines of trapped souls and specters with unfinished business. Nothing nearly as fancy as what Gray describes. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-10-06 05:45 am (UTC)[ She gave up trying to pretend she knew anything before she ever started.
But she does know one thing. Her tone takes on a gentle note of lecturing. ]
More importantly... it means she can be powerful in ways normal people can't, and she doesn't always have the same logic as a living person. So getting into a fight with her would be very dangerous. Please try to avoid it.
[ God knows Mordred will look for any excuse to laser Eustace into oblivioun. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-10-06 11:59 am (UTC)Unfortunately, what I want OOCly and what Eustace wants ICly are two very different things, and though Eustace is still hung up on the fact that Mordred was at some point famous in her lifetime, he trusts Gray enough to listen attentively to her mini-lecture.
He does have one point to make though. ]
I'm not looking to get into a fight with her, but there's only so much I can do when she's constantly hounding me.
[ She's like a tiny yapping attack dog....which is ironic, given that he's the one with the animal ears. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-10-09 03:54 am (UTC)I'm not sure why she dislikes you so much. Did you have a bad first encounter?
no subject
Date: 2023-10-11 10:04 pm (UTC)But it's not Gray's job to make sure Mordred behaves herself. And while it might be Eustace's job to moderate how he behaves around Mordred, he's pretty sure nothing he can do at this point will alleviate the deep dislike she has of him. ]
It was back at the shrines. In Horos. [ Which seems like such a distant time now. ] I don't recall doing anything out of the ordinary.
[ He was just being himself...which tbh is enough to provoke anyone into disliking him. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-10-14 03:27 am (UTC)If it helps, she didn't like me much at first either. If it weren't for my face, she probably would've stopped paying attention to me.
[ That detail comes out of her with surprising ease; the topic of her face was once close to taboo, but she can at least be (fairly) certain that the legend of King Arthur would mean nothing to Eustace. ]
Actually, she was a famous knight, but it sounds like she didn't like a lot of the other knights. Maybe you remind her of them.
[ The suggestion isn't completely serious, but she could see Eustace as a knight in a different universe. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-10-15 05:09 pm (UTC)But also: ]
Because I don't like many other people?
[ It's an objective statement and not any sort of hurt accusation. He knows the (mostly true) image he projects to other people. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-10-16 04:19 am (UTC)I was thinking more that you're serious and disciplined...
[ Though when she thinks about it, her sampling of Round Table Knights (Kay, Mordred) would seem to suggest that they were more incorrigible than not. ]