Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much.

[carnivorously]

[Well, that was one hell of a trial. Kogami’s tired and hungry. He’ll get his staple hamburgers, but maybe he’ll be nice enough to help make some for everyone.

So there’s a note that goes out:]

Food in the dining hall – K, P, Q, & R

[It’s quickly written and straightforward.

And indeed there is food. There’s a shitton of hamburgers made by Kogami and Rose, the sliced cheese prepared by Pizzaz, and cake by QQ. Pickles, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise and other such condiments are set out as well as an assortment of buns.

There’s not lighted candles this time, so it’s clear that the usual preparers didn’t help with this ‘buffet’. (Well, if it wasn’t clear with the note).

So rest, relax, and well, you’re probably going to have to get your own drinks this time, sorry…]

Comments

[imaginex]

... Um.

Is it... underwater?

[There's only one reason she makes that guess (the pool, he seemed so content in the water, he can breathe down there, but once it's out of her mouth, she feels silly for having said it. That's absurd]

[cthulwho]

It is.

[He is completely serious in the delivery of his response.

What does that even mean, though.]

[imaginex]

[If this were her world, the verdict would've been cast. Someone who sleeps in the wet darkness? Most likely a creature of terrifying mana.

-- But it doesn't have to be like that, she reminds herself. Most people here seem to come from variants of reality.]

Your profile said you do contract work. If you're sleeping underwater, how does anyone find you?

[She'd left the mystery alone before, but now she peeks at Lovecraft from the corner of her eyes, curious]

[cthulwho]

I wonder the same thing, honestly.

[He starts cutting a piece off of his pie, frowning. It's annoying when they manage to find him!]

I can only imagine they find out about me from previous clients... Sometimes they have the nerve to run into me.

[Dislikes: fishing boats.]

[imaginex]

[And then there is a distant howling because the Sakura player finally got the joke.]

But... you can just turn them down, right?

[Still clinging to the distant hope Lovecraft and his clients are just meeting up at the beach, and there is nothing strange about any of this]

[cthulwho]

[LOL

Unfortunately for Sakura, it's going to be the opposite. It's...just going to get stranger.]

I can, and I often do. I don't appreciate being disturbed.

[...]

But some who purposefully seek me out offer me tribute. I will concede to a contract if the offering is adequate.

[imaginex]

[He requires tribute.

Ooooh boy, she's stuffing a piece of pie into her mouth for a second.]

I-I see. That does makes sense...

What do you consider adequate?

[cthulwho]

Hmm. That is difficult to answer...

[He mulls it over while having some of his own pie.]

I suppose it depends on what they are asking of me.

[imaginex]

... This will sound strange, but...

Have you told Tohsaka-senpai any of this?

fff I lost track of this tag, sorry!

[cthulwho]

No? She never asked.

[He's not one to just talk about this stuff, it seems.]

no problem!

[imaginex]

[Oh how she lets out a small sigh of relief, and shakes her head]

If she knew, she'd most likely ask you for a contract, so I wondered.

[cthulwho]

[Oh.

Huh. His reaction is on the mixed side.]

Really? [...] I suppose there is no shortage of need for a contract in this place...

[imaginex]

Sh-she means well.

[Added very quickly, almost instinctively]

There are worse people to ally yourself with, and Tohsaka-senpai is a genius, so--

[Though there's an abrupt pause in her words, like Sakura startled herself out of a thought. She suddenly smiles]

Mmm... Actually, I brought it up specifically so you'd know you didn't have to form a contract with her, even if she gets pushy about it, but I seem to always end up defending her instead...

[cthulwho]

[Hmmm.]

You care for her.

[That's the simplest way to put it, right? That should be a takeaway from this recent trial. Others may have seen what Sakura did as extreme, but Lovecraft hasn't seemed all too judgmental about it.]

I do agree, though... I suppose if a day comes that she desires a contract, I would at least hear her out.

[imaginex]

... I do.

[Spoken softly, with he gaze pointed inward. She'll admit it to Lovecraft, because he's never pushed her to speak.]

I want her to make it home.

[cthulwho]

I think...she has a good chance at that, now.

[He says "now" because Rin obviously took that incentive very seriously. Otherwise she's been quite good at this whole investigation/trial thing.]

[imaginex]

Yes.

She's brilliant, isn't she? [so she says with pride]

Neh, Lovecraft-san, do you--

[have any siblings?

... Probably too obvious. She adjusts the question]

Do you have family?

[cthulwho]

Mmm. I am glad that her and some of the others are accustomed to these trials...

[He definitely knows he sure isn't.

...

He tilts his head curiously at the next question.]

No. I have always been alone. [At least...he thinks? As far as he can remember... It's easier to just say no.] Why?

[imaginex]

Just curiosity... [Mulling on a phrase before she decides there's no harm in its admittance]

I don't know that much about you.

[cthulwho]

Ah... [He seems a little melancholy about it?] That- That tends to be how it is. People just get confused when they find out more... So I began to think they are better off not knowing.

[imaginex]

Mmm... I know that feeling a little.

... People wouldn't be confused, but they certainly wouldn't like what they hear.

[cthulwho]

[Oh... Just that implication alone says a lot, doesn't it?

Lovecraft shifts in his spot and has a bit more pie before speaking up again.]

If you do want to know more, I can tell you...

[He'll continue to not pry.]

[imaginex]

... I am curious.

Though you don't have to... [Which isn't meant to be as dismissive as it sounds to her ears, so she attempts to explain]

I already suspect you're not human...

[She's a lover of horror. Those stories used to console her once upon a time, a promise to a child that there were scarier things in the world than her Grandfather.

... Turns out it wasn't true, but. She still loves certain tales.]

[cthulwho]

[Rather than looking away like it's something he doesn't want to admit, Lovecraft just turns to Sakura and nods.]

I don't always look like...this.

[What Sakura sees before her. Within this tall, gaunt and perpetually exhausted form of a man lies something much different.]

I'm not quite sure how to describe my...more natural form, though. I told Asgore the best distinction would be...well, I can move around more easily like this. I probably wouldn't fit in this building, either...

[imaginex]

[...]

Do you have tentacles?

[This is hands down the most invasive question she's ever asked someone. She's gonna need to repent for years.]