xix. dictated, action

[heloise]

Lana
How about an early morning ride?

Micheletto
You will help me with my crates. [ Because packing is tough. ]

Stephanie
Tell me if you mean to visit, even if not to see me. He would not find unexpected guests so pleasant.

What does it mean when the castle gave some no glimpse of old age?

[ Lucrezia is on her knees in the church in town, hands counting through her white rosary and reciting her prayers under her breath. She keeps her hood over her head.

It might seem foolish to believe that saying something over and over again gives it greater weight, or that time and voice can buy penance, but she feels she must at least-- try. She isn't praying for her own soul, she wonders if she would ever. But she loses count of how many times she has said the Ave Maria, and stands to go. ]

Comments

[heloise]

[ Lucrezia prefers the silence too. It leaves her alone with her thoughts, which she likes just as much as boisterous laughing and bantering. Only now there is only Stephanie, Stephanie, Stephanie in her mind.

She shakes her head. ]

A little. It rarely snows in Rome.

[ofhope]

[ Seriously, that is why he is trying to distract her again. He can barely stand it, Joshua is beginning to hate that name. ]

Ah, now I feel bad for making you wear even less... Out in the cold, and in public, too.

[ Literal wink. ]

[heloise]

[ It's only when he asks that she remembers too, now wrapping her arms around herself. ]

You will amend this, how?

[ofhope]

[ Several answers come to mind, but Joshua speaks none of them out loud, and so there's nothing for several seconds and then — just a little smile.

He lets that linger for awhile until finally just hugging her closer against his side as they stroll, able to wrap part of his duster around her shoulders when she's this close, at least. ]

[heloise]

[ That smile... She takes the liberty of making herself comfortable, slipping an arm around his waist, below his duster, and rest her cheek against his chest. ]

Do you never feel cold?

[ofhope]

I do, it just doesn't bother me as much.

[ This is pleasant, and now he doesn't want to be so near the ramen stall. Besides, the seating is outside, so she won't be any less chilly. It's too bad he can't remember exactly where the Indian place is this time. ]

A witch froze me inside a huge chunk of ice once. Now that was chilly.

[heloise]

And cruel too. [ Though that has her wondering if he is practically immortal. ] Why did she?

[ofhope]

Ah, I can barely remember...why we were fighting.

[ His gaze falls glassy for a time, although footsteps automatically slow to a halt once they reach the small ramen stall.

It still takes him a bit, holding her there against him while he replays it in his head, bits of it anyway, that he's untangled from others bits that belong in another memory. ]

Maybe somebody told me to.

[heloise]

[ Lucrezia is distracted by the stall for a moment. It really is just noodle soup. But it worries her still when he drifts away, what if he never comes back or forgets her too? ]

You do not have to obey anyone.

[ofhope]

[ Joshua lowers his left hand, not having even realized he'd been rubbing at his temple. ]

I know.

[heloise]

[ She frowns, watching him for any sign... of what exactly? She doesn't know. ]

Have I been too noisy?

[ofhope]

...Maybe it would help if you listed Stephanie Brown's positive traits. To distract me.

[ And really, it would distract Lucrezia, at least towards the happier end of the spectrum, if only for a few minutes. They would both benefit.

He'll pull out one of the little stools for her, and to make up for the cold, pull off his coat to settle over her shoulders right and proper , long enough to offer her a little extra fabric to sit on (it dwarfs her, really). ]

[heloise]

[ Lucrezia grips his coat over her chest with both hands, glad for the extra layer though distracted by the question (good job, Joshua). These things are never easy to put into words.

She crosses her ankles when she sits and keeps her thighs together, all perfect manners. ]

Purple looks marvelous on her, and she has the best compliments to share, and it tickles when she hugs and twirls me but it also feels pleasant. Like a flutter in my heart.

[ofhope]

[ And hey, one never knows when learning details about Stephanie might be useful. She might not always be a friend of Lucrezia's.

Sitting next to her and resting the bags in front of his stool, Joshua orders two of his favorite because she's got to start first with something, why not the best one? ]

What else?

[heloise]

[ Lucrezia rests her wrists on the table, leaning forward to watch the cooks bustle about. Even that is enough to distract her, all the strange things they use and the unfamiliar foods. Even the bowls then pushed to slide their way look peculiar to her, made of white stone? ]

She does not snore... [ But the golden tooth-shaped things in her bowl catch her attention. ] What is that?

[ofhope]

[ Pulling apart his chopsticks and looking at her. He had expected to need to walk her through this, but he had forgotten she wouldn't know about that. ]

It's called corn. It's from America. It's sweet, try a piece.

[ There's a spoon available, of course, and a fork if the chopsticks turn out to be a lost cause. It had even taken Joshua awhile to learn to use them at first. If not for Li and Mai, he wouldn't have stood a chance. ]

[heloise]

[ Now this ramen is making her nervous about food. She chuckles, following suit in breaking her chopsticks in two. They are uneven but not so much that they have been rendered useless. Why would anyone use these to eat... ]

Would it be courteous to use the spoon instead? [ It looks like soup after all. ]

[ofhope]

You use both. It's hard to keep the noodles on the spoon unless you put them there with the chopsticks, or a fork. So just use the fork.

[ Why force her to learn? Chopsticks are complicated enough to probably just frustrate her more right now.

At least he's being polite enough to wait until she eats first (it's fun to see someone's expression when they try a new food). If she digs around the soup she'll also discover cabbage, bean sprouts, scallions, and roast pork. ]

Stir it first, so the butter melts in the broth all the way...

[heloise]

[ Lucrezia spoons up one corn to plop it into her mouth and let out an appreciative hum. Sweeter than apples, then again most modern foods are. She wants to learn how anyone eats with these chopsticks though, stirring the bowl as he said to and now setting her spoon down to watch him. ]

Show me first how you would eat it.

[ofhope]

[ He does! Although he still definitely eats like an American, he at least knows how to use the chopsticks by now, and he shows her how he holds them together before digging in. He takes just a small portion so she can just get the idea, placing them on the spoon with broth and meat already in it, so that it's an easy bite! Well, a little bit of slurping. ]

See, easy!

[heloise]

[ That still looks too difficult! She tries to put the two sticks together at least, holding them like she would a pen, like he did. Only the noodles mostly slip past her chopsticks even if she manages to get a little bit into the spoon. Success!

She chuckles with accomplishment and holds up her spoon like a toast to victory. ]

Like so?