[ she’s the cutest chicken? she takes after her father in many ways.
dextera doesn’t notice that guren’s leg is asleep or he might feel bad about it, but guren is too good at hiding it! what a talent he is.
he stops, however, before he gets into the house—in the brief time they’ve spent away from the front of his home, it’s changed, ever so slightly. what was previously bare, somewhat unkempt rocks and grass, has now become a small plot of bright blue tulips.
they poke up through the ground as vibrant and sturdy as if they’ve always been there, tended to by an expert gardener, and of course dextera stops to examine them. ]
[Guren places his hand on Dextera's shoulder just so he can lean closer himself, taking a look at the flowers. Okay, he's very observant, but those... He thinks back to just moments ago, walking past this, entering the door...]
Those weren't there when I walked in before. [He's pretty sure they weren't there when they walked out, either.]
Tulips...? Are either of your roommates growing any?
[ dextera hasn’t even seen these in the gardens in flavo. he spends a lot of time there, but this color doesn’t seem familiar in the least. on top of not growing tulips in the first place, they’re odd because of the absolute novelty of them!
but he isn’t complaining. he shakes his head in response to guren’s question, and then he’s moving closer, gently taking one of the flowers—just curling it closer, as impossibly delicate as if he were dealing with ice or glass or something crystal and fragile.
[They're beautiful. Guren thinks so, staring at them and letting his hand slip away from Dextera as the other reaches to touch them. Tulips out of nowhere... Guren glances back to the side of the house where they'd been, wondering. It appeared like a reward would...?
He looks back down at Dextera, touched by his appreciation of all things like this.]
They're yours now, then. [Who else would they be for?] That's a rare color, too. It suits you.
[ dextera doesn’t make the connection to a quest reward, since the last reward he got was a bunch of knives and certainly not something as pleasant as flowers. he also hasn’t even done anything.
but he’ll take it. they’re pretty, and he’s glad to have something to admire so close to his home—however they got here, he’s glad. ]
...
[ he blushes, a little, when guren says that the color suits him, but then he’s moving just enough to make room for guren to sit down next to him.
they found them together, didn’t they? so that means they belong to the two of them. ]
[To be honest, he hasn't even seen the quests yet. He doesn't know if it is a quest reward, since he also doesn't know what they've done, but he's gotten knives, and he's gotten a magic quill, and what else does this mean?
Dextera's little implied invitation is cute, though, and Guren sighs as he obliges him. Blue is still Guren's favorite color... even if his first thought goes to a fainter shade, something too close to grey or purple. But anyway, Dextera is definitely a Blue, and colors like this suit him. They don't suit Guren at all.
When he thinks of tulips, he always thinks of basic colors like red or yellow. Sure, they come in a variety of colors, like white, pink, or even purple— but like this, with where his mind goes, it's like even these flowers are telling Dextera to look forward to a blue sky, little by little.]
[ dextera is surprised to be asked about it, like he didn’t expect guren to notice how much he likes the flowers. he hasn’t even seen all the time he’s spent in the gardens, with ryoji, filling the days he doesn’t spend with guren in the still-unfamiliar nature.
his expression softens, as he strokes his finger across one of the delicate petals. he doesn’t want to bruise it, when their supply may be limited—but he doesn’t want to leave it alone either. he doesn’t want to stop touching this flower that was gifted to him by some force beyond his understanding.
he nods, lowering himself enough to smell the tulips—something he hasn’t really gotten the chance to do with any of the things they’ve planted or found.
[It's more of seeing Dextera happy, so it's not a problem at all. Guren is quiet as he watches him, something in his chest warmed by the sight. He has nothing helpful to add, he thinks, and so he just settles where he is, content to watch him like this.
They're beautiful flowers, and it's been a long time since he's bothered with looking at flowers himself, with the state of the world as it is, but there's no need for someone like him to reach out and touch them, or smell them, or anything cute like that.
He hums, instead, like he gets it, his hands resting back in his own lap.]
[ how can he get it when he isn’t interacting with them at all? dextera won’t force him, though—it’s enough that he’s sitting here, that they’re together, and when he sits back again, he takes a deep breath of the crisp night air that guren dragged him out here to see.
leliel can wait a moment! dextera slides his hand in his jacket, seeking out the notebook that izuku gifted him. it’s been through a lot, and some of the pages are irreparably water damaged, but he can still write on other pieces.
he flips to something clean, and writes a message here even though his laptop is just inside. ]
[Oh! He has a notebook! That's nice and handy. Guren's a little curious how he can read it, though. Dextera can write in Japanese...?? Or, there's something more magic about this place. He's more inclined to believe the latter.]
I guess that makes sense, considering your world. I don't know if I've ever seen blue tulips before, either. [He's lived too weird of a life for this, anyway.] But I've seen tulips...
[So, it's not as much of a shock!] You've been taking care of plants in your free time, right? So you can take care of these just fine?
[ izuku gave it to him! he doesn’t realize yet that text has been restored to the town, but even if he did, he probably wouldn’t want to give up on this little notebook just yet. it was a gift from a friend, and he wants to treasure that.
he nods. ]
But I don’t know anything about plants. [ that bodes well! but then he’s pausing, thinking about how that comes across, and he adds something to make it look less threatening. ] I’ve been learning. It’ll be OK.
[ he hums a short, confident sound to himself, and his first thought after that is that he wants to show ryoji. it’s going to break his sweet little heart to find his friend is a statue! ]
[Just their... uses... Also, if he knew Ryoji was a statue, he'd be a lot more concerned. He nearly recommends him for the plant information himself, since he remembers him mentioning it, but it's better to let Dextera find a method however he wants, he thinks.]
But I don't think they're all that different from people. They might seem fragile at first, and there's a lot you have to remember, but they're harder to kill than you think, too. They can come back from a lot.
guren’s advice for plant care rings a little strange, but it sounds like something guren would say—and how can dextera complain about that? he smiles a little, at the warning for his chickens. the birds are pinned in, but maybe dextera can find a way to make a proper garden out of these tulips.
the house could use some more life. ]
...
[ the way he elects not to write anything at all is answer enough in its own way—he’ll take guren’s words to heart and tend to these flowers however he can, and that’s really all there is to do, isn’t there? he nods, tucking the notebook back into his coat, and rises.
that smile still in place, he extends his hand to help guren back to his feet as well. speaking of chickens...! ]
[There's a small smile of his own when he looks up to see Dextera smiling like that and offering his hand. Guren takes it, of course, pulling himself to his feet.]
Back to Leliel? [Their original task!! He could go for petting a chicken. He pulls his hand back after a lingering touch, turning to head back into the house with Dextera. Again, he'll wait and let Dex lead the way. He has no idea how to find a chicken in this house.]
[ dextera nods, beyond content with the idea of taking this evening to sit with guren and pet his chicken.
once they're in the house, dextera pauses to listen for the tell-tale sign of clucking or little chicken feets scratching along the floor, and it sounds like she's probably awake, just somewhere else in the house. he whistles, like a true farmer, and there is a flurry of excited chicken sounds as she scrambles from wherever she was to meet him in the front room.
[He was going to ask if he called for this chicken like a cat or a dog, and here's his answer! It's cute, somehow, and it almost seems impossible, but Dextera has managed it. He has a way with people, so it makes sense that he'd have a way with animals, he supposes.]
More than that, she listens. I can't even do that with my kid.
[ dextera has a variety of weird talents, all of which are certainly the result of unremembered but very boring years spend cooped up in a hospital bed. the chicken hops into his arms when he holds them out, but something guren has said is a little more pressing than his baby. ]
[Guren doesn't get it at first, and he has to replay his own words in his head before he understands. Oh. Right. He lifts one of his hands, the other at his hip, and waves it off in the air.]
Oh, no, he's not really my kid... I just took him in after rescuing him from a vampire city. He's a nuisance.
[ dextera is still holding the chicken in his arms, but his attention is focused entirely on guren—he doesn’t seem completely convinced, actually, that guren doesn’t have some paternal feelings for this child he’s mentioned.
if the emotions are there, does biological relation matter? he doesn’t know. he’s never thought about it, but he’s looking at guren like he needs more information than “he’s a nuisance.” ]
[Ah... That stare is so judging, it's making his composure crack. He rubs the back of his head now with the hand that had been waving everything off.]
...I've been raising him for four years. [What!!!] He was an orphan to start with, after all, so he had nowhere to go. Yuuichirou Hyakuya. He was with the vampires for four years as livestock, but all the other orphans were killed during a failed escape, as far as he knew, and only he got away. That's when I met him and took him in.
Now, I'm his superior. We're fighting together. Make sense? [Stop looking at him!! And his definite parental feelings...]
[ four years! that’s incredible, even if the origin story is a little tragic. it seems, however, that this yuuichirou is no longer an “orphan” under guren’s guidance and care—no matter how the military hierarchy may change the way they interact with each other.
dextera doesn’t say any of this, however, and he instead simply nods, content with that answer.
the look on his face suggests that he’s quite heartwarmed by guren’s explanation here, no matter how business-like guren tries to make it seem. it was kind of him, to take an orphan in. ]
[That expression is too much. Guren's own fades into something emptier at seeing it, and he flicks his eyes down to look at the chicken, instead.]
Don't think it's anything kind. I was only thinking about what could be of use to me.
[He'd known about Yuu long before then. He'd known he'd come out of that city, what he was, that he was a seraph of the end. That has him in a lot of trouble now, too. Yuu is in danger too often. Yuu continues to trust him, he saved him without a second thought— his heart was crushed, and he came back, just like that, even if Guren could only look on sadly and keep telling him that he needed to continue to use his power.
He can't ruin this nice little evening. He lifts a hand and runs it lightly over Leliel's feathers.]
[ dextera can understand that, too—guren doesn’t like to think of himself as kind, and it’s moments like this where dextera’s necessary silence is an asset, rather than a burden. he can’t say anything, and guren’s interpretations of his expressions and his wordlessness all say a lot more than dextera could get from questions.
hmm. another day, though. there are things dextera doesn’t want to talk about, either. he fluffs leliel in his arms, and the chicken clucks in surprise. ]
...
[ he looks up, since it seems like relaxing in dextera’s room seems like the nicest thing to do right now. there are blankets, and his laptop, and a chess board—and even if they do none of that, it feels more private than having this conversation in the front of the house.
leliel pecks at guren’s fingers, but it’s curiosity, rather than trying to injure him. ]
[The question was more to fill space than anything else. Of course they were going to Dextera's room. He blinks at him, holding out his hand flatter so Leliel can peck at him however she wants, and then walks with him that way with a hum.
He wonders, briefly, if the chicken ever sleeps next to Dextera, and decides that she must. The image is such a sweet one in his mind, he kind of wants to see it happen?? Thoughts like these are enough to make the rest fade to the background.]
[ when guren holds his hand flat, it becomes obvious that she’s looking for treats?! guren is offering her nothing, however, and if she looks a little fluffier than she did the last time guren was over here, then it’s totally not because dextera spoils this beautiful lady with all the snacks her chicken heart could ever desire.
when they reach his room, dextera sets her down, and she pecks her way over to the pile of blankets that has become her little nest. ]
...
[ dextera pulls his laptop away from her side, since it’ll be easier to talk if he’s got that rather than his hands or his notebook. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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dextera doesn’t notice that guren’s leg is asleep or he might feel bad about it, but guren is too good at hiding it! what a talent he is.
he stops, however, before he gets into the house—in the brief time they’ve spent away from the front of his home, it’s changed, ever so slightly. what was previously bare, somewhat unkempt rocks and grass, has now become a small plot of bright blue tulips.
they poke up through the ground as vibrant and sturdy as if they’ve always been there, tended to by an expert gardener, and of course dextera stops to examine them. ]
...?
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Those weren't there when I walked in before. [He's pretty sure they weren't there when they walked out, either.]
Tulips...? Are either of your roommates growing any?
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but he isn’t complaining. he shakes his head in response to guren’s question, and then he’s moving closer, gently taking one of the flowers—just curling it closer, as impossibly delicate as if he were dealing with ice or glass or something crystal and fragile.
he’s a little awestruck by the shade of them. ]
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He looks back down at Dextera, touched by his appreciation of all things like this.]
They're yours now, then. [Who else would they be for?] That's a rare color, too. It suits you.
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but he’ll take it. they’re pretty, and he’s glad to have something to admire so close to his home—however they got here, he’s glad. ]
...
[ he blushes, a little, when guren says that the color suits him, but then he’s moving just enough to make room for guren to sit down next to him.
they found them together, didn’t they? so that means they belong to the two of them. ]
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Dextera's little implied invitation is cute, though, and Guren sighs as he obliges him. Blue is still Guren's favorite color... even if his first thought goes to a fainter shade, something too close to grey or purple. But anyway, Dextera is definitely a Blue, and colors like this suit him. They don't suit Guren at all.
When he thinks of tulips, he always thinks of basic colors like red or yellow. Sure, they come in a variety of colors, like white, pink, or even purple— but like this, with where his mind goes, it's like even these flowers are telling Dextera to look forward to a blue sky, little by little.]
You really like them, don't you?
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his expression softens, as he strokes his finger across one of the delicate petals. he doesn’t want to bruise it, when their supply may be limited—but he doesn’t want to leave it alone either. he doesn’t want to stop touching this flower that was gifted to him by some force beyond his understanding.
he nods, lowering himself enough to smell the tulips—something he hasn’t really gotten the chance to do with any of the things they’ve planted or found.
he’s truly happy. ]
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They're beautiful flowers, and it's been a long time since he's bothered with looking at flowers himself, with the state of the world as it is, but there's no need for someone like him to reach out and touch them, or smell them, or anything cute like that.
He hums, instead, like he gets it, his hands resting back in his own lap.]
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leliel can wait a moment! dextera slides his hand in his jacket, seeking out the notebook that izuku gifted him. it’s been through a lot, and some of the pages are irreparably water damaged, but he can still write on other pieces.
he flips to something clean, and writes a message here even though his laptop is just inside. ]
It’s my first time.
[ ...seeing tulips, that is. ]
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I guess that makes sense, considering your world. I don't know if I've ever seen blue tulips before, either. [He's lived too weird of a life for this, anyway.] But I've seen tulips...
[So, it's not as much of a shock!] You've been taking care of plants in your free time, right? So you can take care of these just fine?
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he nods. ]
But I don’t know anything about plants. [ that bodes well! but then he’s pausing, thinking about how that comes across, and he adds something to make it look less threatening. ] I’ve been learning. It’ll be OK.
[ he hums a short, confident sound to himself, and his first thought after that is that he wants to show ryoji. it’s going to break his sweet little heart to find his friend is a statue! ]
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[Just their... uses... Also, if he knew Ryoji was a statue, he'd be a lot more concerned. He nearly recommends him for the plant information himself, since he remembers him mentioning it, but it's better to let Dextera find a method however he wants, he thinks.]
But I don't think they're all that different from people. They might seem fragile at first, and there's a lot you have to remember, but they're harder to kill than you think, too. They can come back from a lot.
Just don't let your chickens step all over them.
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guren’s advice for plant care rings a little strange, but it sounds like something guren would say—and how can dextera complain about that? he smiles a little, at the warning for his chickens. the birds are pinned in, but maybe dextera can find a way to make a proper garden out of these tulips.
the house could use some more life. ]
...
[ the way he elects not to write anything at all is answer enough in its own way—he’ll take guren’s words to heart and tend to these flowers however he can, and that’s really all there is to do, isn’t there? he nods, tucking the notebook back into his coat, and rises.
that smile still in place, he extends his hand to help guren back to his feet as well. speaking of chickens...! ]
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Back to Leliel? [Their original task!! He could go for petting a chicken. He pulls his hand back after a lingering touch, turning to head back into the house with Dextera. Again, he'll wait and let Dex lead the way. He has no idea how to find a chicken in this house.]
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once they're in the house, dextera pauses to listen for the tell-tale sign of clucking or little chicken feets scratching along the floor, and it sounds like she's probably awake, just somewhere else in the house. he whistles, like a true farmer, and there is a flurry of excited chicken sounds as she scrambles from wherever she was to meet him in the front room.
he seems extremely pleased with this result. ]
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[He was going to ask if he called for this chicken like a cat or a dog, and here's his answer! It's cute, somehow, and it almost seems impossible, but Dextera has managed it. He has a way with people, so it makes sense that he'd have a way with animals, he supposes.]
More than that, she listens. I can't even do that with my kid.
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—?
[ a kid?? guren is a father??? ]
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[Guren doesn't get it at first, and he has to replay his own words in his head before he understands. Oh. Right. He lifts one of his hands, the other at his hip, and waves it off in the air.]
Oh, no, he's not really my kid... I just took him in after rescuing him from a vampire city. He's a nuisance.
[Uh huh]
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if the emotions are there, does biological relation matter? he doesn’t know. he’s never thought about it, but he’s looking at guren like he needs more information than “he’s a nuisance.” ]
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...I've been raising him for four years. [What!!!] He was an orphan to start with, after all, so he had nowhere to go. Yuuichirou Hyakuya. He was with the vampires for four years as livestock, but all the other orphans were killed during a failed escape, as far as he knew, and only he got away. That's when I met him and took him in.
Now, I'm his superior. We're fighting together. Make sense? [Stop looking at him!! And his definite parental feelings...]
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dextera doesn’t say any of this, however, and he instead simply nods, content with that answer.
the look on his face suggests that he’s quite heartwarmed by guren’s explanation here, no matter how business-like guren tries to make it seem. it was kind of him, to take an orphan in. ]
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Don't think it's anything kind. I was only thinking about what could be of use to me.
[He'd known about Yuu long before then. He'd known he'd come out of that city, what he was, that he was a seraph of the end. That has him in a lot of trouble now, too. Yuu is in danger too often. Yuu continues to trust him, he saved him without a second thought— his heart was crushed, and he came back, just like that, even if Guren could only look on sadly and keep telling him that he needed to continue to use his power.
He can't ruin this nice little evening. He lifts a hand and runs it lightly over Leliel's feathers.]
...Anyway, where do you want to take her?
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hmm. another day, though. there are things dextera doesn’t want to talk about, either. he fluffs leliel in his arms, and the chicken clucks in surprise. ]
...
[ he looks up, since it seems like relaxing in dextera’s room seems like the nicest thing to do right now. there are blankets, and his laptop, and a chess board—and even if they do none of that, it feels more private than having this conversation in the front of the house.
leliel pecks at guren’s fingers, but it’s curiosity, rather than trying to injure him. ]
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He wonders, briefly, if the chicken ever sleeps next to Dextera, and decides that she must. The image is such a sweet one in his mind, he kind of wants to see it happen?? Thoughts like these are enough to make the rest fade to the background.]
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when they reach his room, dextera sets her down, and she pecks her way over to the pile of blankets that has become her little nest. ]
...
[ dextera pulls his laptop away from her side, since it’ll be easier to talk if he’s got that rather than his hands or his notebook. ]
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