[Closed] One, two, three, not only you and me.

[whatagoodgirl]

Who: Nakama and Johan, Nakama and Nill, and Nakama and Gau
What: A whole lot of meetings involving sightseeing, typing, and note-sharing.
When: Day 24 (I think?), various times.
Where: Loki district and Heimdall district.
Rating: G, will edit if it changes.

[Comment headers will be placed in the entry for each character's log!]

Comments

[whatagoodgirl]

[A chill runs through her. It always comes down to this moment, doesn't it?]

Johan... if I tell you something... please don't let it change your opinion of me. I can't make you promise, but please try.

[uglyinside]

[ He decides they should keep up the walking, to perhaps alleviate a bit of the tension for Nakama. Though the smile he wears is unwavering, there's a look of concern.]

Of course I'll try.

[whatagoodgirl]

Um, well... there's a reason I had no friends back home, and wasn't really treated all that well. My mom, too. We lived in a small town, where people can be really judgmental and everyone knows everything about everyone else, and everyone knew...

... it was my mom's job. It made people think that she was a bad person, an immoral person, and that I must be the same because she raised me.

[There's such a long pause that he may think she's not going to drop the bomb. But finally, she does, her pace speeding up as though trying to escape him.]

She's a prostitute.

[uglyinside]

[ Johan blinks quite slowly, registering this. He looks understanding, instead of sympathetic, and sort of lets her walk ahead. ]


You were surrounded by very simple-minded people, then. It sounds like you were better off without them.

[whatagoodgirl]

[She stops dead, and her head whips around.]

Wh-what?

[uglyinside]

[ He locks eyes with her, stepping in closer. ]

I hope they never once succeeded in making you feel ashamed of her.

[whatagoodgirl]

[She turns fully to face him, and she can't stop her eyes from welling up with tears.]

Not once.

[uglyinside]

[ He nods, and holds his hand out to her. ]

What a wonderful daughter you must be, then.

[whatagoodgirl]

[She accepts it shyly, smiling through her tears.]

That's because I had such a wonderful mother.

[They've crossed a few borders now, and are in Heimdall's District. The house is just up ahead.]

[uglyinside]

[ He gives it a gentle squeeze, before entwining their fingers. He urges to continue walking, not thinking anything of holding hands with her. ]

My friend back at University. He has a story like yours. You're not alone... [ Trailing off, he is looking around now that they are in the District, noticing the slightest differences in architecture and atmosphere in comparison to Loki's District. ]

How strange. I almost prefer this to my own District, already. I don't suppose one could just move out, though.

[whatagoodgirl]

[When their fingers intertwine, and she realizes that he intends to walk through the district like this, her face flushes deeply. He's become like a mentor figure to her, she could never feel anything romantic for him, but - he is very good-looking, and holding hands is a gesture she naturally associates with romance at her age. Couples in the hallway at school, fingers wound together like this...]

Oh - no, you couldn't do that. [Snapping out of her trance and trying to will the blush out of her cheeks.] It's hard to stay in a different God House for too long... you feel really unwelcome after awhile, and it gets worse the longer you stay. I guess you'd have to find the gods and ask them for a change.

lol god so cute <3 johan will be your big brother mentor that makes you doubt your trust in ppl 4evs

[uglyinside]

Really? That's too bad. I guess I can't stay too long at your House, then. [ That certainly gives him something to think about and dissect. How does one find the gods and ask them? Is such contact even possible?

He looks down at their hands, then at Nakama, then over at the House close ahead. ]

Is that it?

no she will saaaaave you ;;

[whatagoodgirl]

You'll be okay for a visit. I've had visitors and gone to visit people, and it hasn't been too bad.

Yeah. [She nods, picking up the pace a little until they're climbing the stairs.] I'll just have to put my cloak away, so you can wait in the kitchen, if you want.

[uglyinside]

[ He gives an agreeable smile, and once they're up the stairs, he folds his hands behind his back again, waiting for Nakama to take the lead. Also, looking very curiously around this place, trying to piece together the psychological prescriptivism of assigning Houses and what that could imply about this place...]

You go right ahead, then.

[whatagoodgirl]

[She jogs off, then reappears a few minutes later without her cloak on and with her ponytail tidied up a bit.]

The kitchen's right this way. [Once she's led him in, she glances around, wondering what to prepare.] What would you prefer: coffee, tea, hot cocoa?

[uglyinside]

Hot chocolate would be nice. [ He follows her to the kitchen, eyes drifting around at the design still. ]

I get the feeling you do this for people. Quite often.

[whatagoodgirl]

Well, it's cold out most days right now. [Shrugging and smiling, ignoring the main point - that she's always the server rather than the served.] It's only polite to make people something warm when they come over. It'll be ready in just a minute.

[She's got a pot out in a heartbeat, and she's filling it with milk, stirring slowly.]

[uglyinside]

[ Johan leans against the counter, looking out the window above the kitchen sink, at the setting sun. ]

I hope you're not exhausting yourself.

[whatagoodgirl]

[Why do people always worry about that with her? She laughs quietly.]

I can manage some tea or hot cocoa now and then. [Again, dodging the main point. But then she feels a bit badly, since Johan is always so understanding, and she speaks more seriously.] I'm not working half as hard as I used to back home. I just like to fill my time, that's all.

[uglyinside]

[ He looks over at her, acknowledging her statement with a nod, before walking over to the kitchen table. ]

[whatagoodgirl]

Back at home, I used to work right through the night, without eating, if I had a job that needed to be done. I had to be dependable, you see, or people wouldn't keep coming to me. [Thoughtfully stirring cocoa and sugar into the milk.] I just thought, every piece of sewing means...

[He'll underrstand the rest. One less man my mother has to sleep with.

She brings over two full, piping hot mugs, setting one down for him before sitting across from him.] Will you work here, Johan?

[uglyinside]

[ He accepts her deviating from divulging more of her life, and allows the subject to turn on him to make her more comfortable. ]

Will I work here?

[ He watches her sit across from him, before taking the mug. ]

I thought about reading. To children, or the elderly. The children here - I am most concerned about bringing life to.

[ He takes a sip. That is some mighty fine hot cocoa you make there, miss. ]

As for a paying job, I was thinking of working at the library, but it's not in my District. Longer shifts could mean I'd slowly feel unwelcome, right?

[whatagoodgirl]

It's not as bad as in the houses themselves. You could manage it. I work in Freyr, and I do alright. It's just harder to get hired, that's the main thing.

[Then her face softens a little.] Reading to people... that's so nice. Where'd you get that idea?

[uglyinside]

[ He looks pleased at the first bit of information, and pulls the cup away from his lips, revealing more languid, nostalgic smile.]


I figured telling children stories here, and giving them the opportunities to interact with those stories, would help them considerably. It's what I do back at home, and --

[ His gaze averts, finding some entirely uninteresting wallpaper to focus on. ]

-- Well, I really love stories. You wouldn't want to come along with me, would you...? [ He trails off for a moment, before giving Nakama a hopeful, almost sheepish glance ]

[whatagoodgirl]

[Her mind throws up logical objections - you're getting too busy, you're overworking yourself, you can't go along with everyone - but at the sight of that sheepish look, she practically melts. She can't refuse him a request to help children, of all things. In fact, it's getting difficult to refuse him anything.]

Of course I will. It sounds like a really nice way to spend an afternoon.