dappledleaves | CICONIA: WHEN THEY CRY

[ The coach looks like he's about to say something, but then-- ]

Well, since you'll do whatever you want, we will too! Consider this our advance notice, Coach!

[ With the hand that Oria is already holding, he leads Sinclair out of this place. He thinks everyone needs some time to cool off after that interaction. There's no need for heightened emotions to ruin everything right now. Once they're out of the building, Oria finally looks back at Sinclair. ]

... Hey.

[ Sinclair lets himself be pulled away and he doesn't bother looking back to see Katherine's aghast expression or the Coach's mixture of resignation and fury of being dismissed by a pair of kids. He focuses on Oria's hand in his, a warm anchor that keeps his thoughts from getting too dark. It doesn't stop him from chewing at his thumb nail, an awful habit he thought he got rid of when he cut them short.]

... thanks. I don't think I could...

[ Keep his cool. Avoid getting shocked by whoever held his leash now. He doesn't want Oria to see that. Aria held that before, but she used it to keep him safe from the higher ups, to make him look like a perfectly tame weapon]

... do you really think they'll stop us from being Gauntlet Knights?

I dunno.

[ He'll be honest with him as he always has. ]

We've been rebelling enough for them to feel justified, but I think we could try to appeal to the government about making us a rotte instead. Obviously, this won't be easy and we got that huge mission looming over us. If anything, they won't make us quit before then, so we got some time.

... that's right. It's soon.

[ He chews harder at his thumb, nerves taking over again ]

We work better as a rotte than a kette with a stranger anyway. Trying to force us to change and adapt... surely they'll see it's worse for them?

[ Not that Sinclair had any intention of killing any of the people he had come to see as friends despite everything. Don't kill or be killed. A simple oath to get him through everything.

But he couldn't help but think... everything so far had been too clean. Too simple. That maybe the adults

Ow. He's bleeding again.]

We already had to adapt to working as a rotte anyway.

[ So if they can adapt to that, surely they can adapt to being a kette again. But that's neither here nor there when Oria takes Sinclair's hand. ]

Maybe I should buy you some finger sleeves so that you can stop biting your thumb.

[ Hehe. ]

Wha...that would look really weird. How would they even stay on?

[ But he really does need to stop this habit. He lets Oria take his hand]

... maybe I'll start wearing gloves.

They have some elasticity at the end, so they stay on! It's good for touch screen gaming.

[ Oria looks proud of that for whatever reason, in which he also implies that he has some already. ]

But in the meantime, here.

[ He has a little band-aid for him. It's has a Hanamaruobake design on it. These aren't Oria's usual style, since it was Aria's. She liked carrying bandaids with cute mascot characters on them. ]

[ There's a familiar pang when he sees that bandaid because he knows Oria's style by now...

But hm. Touch screen gaming. It was nice go old school sometimes and not worry about sharing your head or anything like it]

... maybe I should get some after all. Or at least gloves with the tips with a grip.

Yeah? As long as it's not too bulky that it gets in the way of the equipment, you should be good. That said, wanna go shopping?

[ It's a date.

Sure.

Well, they're both ditching practice and no one is coming after them. ]

...yeah. Lets get out of here.

[a date? Well, good thing Sinclair's prior good record means he can leave without question with Oria. The guards tend to like him...one of them even slips him candy. Something about his face...]

[ He sees that. Well, it's not like he hasn't seen it before, but seeing it in action again leaves Oria to reach out and lightly pinch Sinclair's cheek. ]

You make the guards play favorite soooooooo much.

Ow. Hey. I just like talking to them so they're nice back--

[The candy goes into his pocket for later. Maybe he'll share (he'll eventually share). He wiggles a little]

Quit grabbing my cheek.

[ He will look forward to the shared candy. In the meantime, he laughs a little before releasing Sinclair's cheek. ]

People usually don't talk to security, you know. It distracts them from doing their jobs. Not like they need to do anything anyway!

[ Oria fully believes they're for show. ]

Ah, but isn't it a bit boring just standing there all day without anyone to talk to?

[ Sinclair was shy , but even he worked up the nerve to say hello every now and then. And from there, it worked out]

Yeah, that's why you see me signing up to be a Gauntlet Knight instead of a security guard.

[ He never had any choice to begin with, but he thinks it paints a clear picture. ]

But I dunno, it was a bit hard to picture you saying hi to others, especially adults, when you're soooo shy. Should I congratulate you on your progress?

[ Sinclair pulls a face and gently gives Oria a shove]

Quit teasing me. I'm not like that--

[He is like that]

You are so like that.

[ Oria laughs. ]

Let's get out of here. We can get you some gloves and fresh air, sponsored by 8MS!

[ We can move onto the next event or have them have shopping time for more "building". ]

[Sinclair's sulk doesn't last long because it really is nice to have fresh air (since he's not allowed out on his own, being you know, a prisoner technically)]

Yeah. That sounds good.

[There's a lot of fun to be had shopping, maybe playing in those arcade games...]

[ They take the bus, because it's nice to pretend being normal here. The mall isn't too far, so they get there relatively quick.

Oria looks around, looking at the variety of gloves. There are all sorts. ]

Thick ones, fingerless, the kind that doesn't cover your thumb all the way, only having finger sleeves for two and the thumb, leather... they have a lot. Which one strikes your fancy?

[Hmmmmmm]

Fingerless would probably defeat the purpose of me having gloves...

[Thick would be no good if he can't feel anything. Maybe the leather? He pulls them on, marveling at the fit.

(and maybe he feels a tiny bit cool with them on)]

These feel nice.

[ Oria doesn't miss the way Sinclair looks at the gloves, and grins. ]

Pretty cool, right? You want them in this color?

Mm. Black goes with whatever, doesn't it? And they're still thin enough I can feel what I'm holding.

[ He's happy!! Don't grin at him like that, he feels embarrassed]

That's why black is such a safe choice!

[ He's not judging. Oria also thinks Sinclair would look good with black gloves. ]

I wanna look around too, so give me a moment.

[ Time to Browse. ]

[Sinclair is quite happy with his gloves but]

Sure. What are you looking for?

Just window shopping! Unless something catches my eye.

[ Which means Oria starts putting on gloves at random, which is a pair of navy blue winter gloves. ]

Winter gloves sure are thick...

[ Not good for his trigger finger. ]

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