Room 504, Thursday Morning

[intraspective]

Morning found her up and determinedly cheerful. Stubbornly so even. She had music turned on, the window and door both opened and was sitting on her floor. Beside her was the box of seeds Karal had given her, the parchment telling her what was what and how to care for them in her lap.

And spread out in front of her were her plans for the garden. Ino was trying to work out where and how she'd incorporate these new plants in with her others.

It was proving to be a difficult 'battle' really. "It'd be easier," she muttered, making another note. "If I knew for sure what they looked and smelled like." And for all her complaining was glad to have something to do, something that reminded her that some people figured she was good enough to trust.

Red and gold for Sun's Glory, though. That she could work with, surely.

[Door and post is open!]

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[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

There was a knock on the open door that was much like a woodpecker's. The hand should be familiar, or if not that the arm that curved around the doorframe.

[intraspective]

She tilted her head at the door, and smiled. "What," Ino asked, sounding amused, "are you doing? Hiding around the door?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He poked out from behind it, smiling, but there were faint circles under his eyes.

"Knocking. Since the door was open, I had to hide behind the wall."

He was joking. It was in his eyes.

[intraspective]

"You don't always have to knock," she said lightly. "And get over here so I can hug you, you ridiculous boy." A beat. "And don't step on my plans."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"Of course, Mistress Ino," he teased as he made his way over, carefully avoiding the plans to sit on the bed beside her. "Have I done something that earned me such hugging? The brownies aren't even out of the bag yet."

[intraspective]

She wrapped her arms around him. "You look like you needed one," Ino explained. "And I definitely needed one." A beat. "Brownies?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He laughed, just a little, and started pulling out the brownies.

"Brownies."

There was a bit of a tart cherry scent to them along with very rich chocolate.

[intraspective]

"You spoil me," she said approvingly. "What did I do to deserve this bounty?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"I believe it had something to do with being my little sister," he said with clinical disinterest. "And the hug definitely put in points."

[intraspective]

"Looks like I'll totally have to remember to never let you leave then," Ino said, nodding. "Who else would spoil me like this?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"I don't know," he admitted. "Though I scarcely say I spoil you."

He kissed her hair and breathed in, steadying himself with her presence. He's not used to this, not used to knowing who and what he is, knowing where he came from. He isn't used to being real in his own mind instead of the floating waif of emotion and complication and strange quirks with a face.

He has his Liirness now, and his liirness stems from a green stalk and a blue diamond sky above. From stones that remember below. Queasy had been an understatment.

"How are you?" he asked.

[intraspective]

She leaned against him, thinking and turning possible answers over in her mind. Ino fiddled with the bit of parchment in her lap. “I’m okay,” she said eventually.

And right this moment she was. So it wasn’t even a lie.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He looked at her a moment, as if to say 'yes, I noticed the pause' but he was in no position to press the matter. Not even a little.

"That's good. Did you have any plans for the day? Only I'm finding myself terribly at ends trying to figure out what to do with myself."

That doesn't involve thinking.

"What with classes over."

[intraspective]

She tensed up, before forcing herself to relax against him. "Gotta get my seedling trays from work."

Which she was really really not looking forward to.

"Karal gave me seeds," Ino explained, "from his world. In case things... don't work out. So that a bit of his world lives on anyway. You can help with that if you'd like?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He swallowed.

"Happily."

He would help her happily. It was the bit about Karal's world being destroyed that had him swallowing.

[intraspective]

"He said it's not likely," she assured him. "But it's always better to be prepared."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He nodded.

"That was the impression I got from them as well. But you're right.

"Everyone dies."

He looked away from her, the smile on his face a ghost.

"So. Seeds?"

[intraspective]

"Seeds," she nodded, skipping what else he'd said because, well, it was true. "The most important ones are Sun's Glory--they're very rare in his world, only grown in the temples of the Sunlord--but there's also Kitten's Paw, Sheep's Balm, Lemonweed, and Karsite pine and willow."

Ino might practically have the parchment he'd given her memorized by this point, yes.

"There's not much we can do with them now," she admitted, noting the smile and tightening her arms around him. "My trays here are full, but later this afternoon you can help me get them started."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"That sounds like a plan," he agreed with a breath out. He looked a little like a ghost, as if he might slip out of himself any minute, his tie to himself too thin to withstand even a breeze.

But he had Ino. That helped, like holding the broom.

My broom. Glinda was right. It's mine.

"What did you want to do in the mean time? The broom is in Andrew's room." Flying would drown out even the thought of who's broom it was. "Or we could do forms. Or a walk in the park. Or--"

He really didn't know how to relax. All his 'pleasures' boiled down to studying, for the most part. Bettering himself. Learning. Working.

[intraspective]

"Flying," she said decisively. "I'll even get the broom for you, if you don't want to go inside Andrew's room."

Flying was fast, and free, and neither of them would be able to think at all.

Perfect.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"I'm practically living there," he said with a faint smile, thankful for the gesture even if it was unnecessary.

"I can get it," he told her. "Just give me a minute. Eat the brownies while I'm at it."

[intraspective]

She wasn't particularly hungry, but Ino figured she could eat at least one now.

"I'll have one," she promised, smiling at him. "I wouldn't want to eat much right before flying anyway."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"Well, no."

He grinned and ran off to his room.

He came back a few minutes later with the broom in hand.

"Whenever you're ready," he said.

[intraspective]

Ino had, in the few minutes of time that she'd had, managed to wiggle into her shoes and tidy up her plans well enough that they were in a pile on her bed.

"Whenever I'm ready?" she asked lightly. "I'm always ready, didn't you know?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He smacked himself comically in the forehead before gesturing for her to lead the way.

[intraspective]

She did, and gladly.