rakuen | It's breakfast! Breakfast! [Backdated to monday morning]

Yuka looked over the selection of foods warily. Eating was still a strange experience to her. She'd always been able to do it, but she hadn't really needed to, and so had largely refrained. Oh, there had been parties and dinners at the Scarlet Devil Mansion every now and then, but... well, there had been food, right? But she couldn't really remember any of the details. In any case, it had been a social exercise.

Now, her inexperience was costing her. Even mild flavors tended to stagger her a bit. Things such as "like" or "dislike" didn't even enter into it; she simply wasn't prepared to process them. And she couldn't even acclimate herself gradually to things, because every day there was something different!

She eyed a peach with barely-concealed revulsion. That was one food she'd definitely had more than enough of. She liked Tenshi, she really did. But all those peaches...!

So she had a decision to make. Should she try something new, and risk being stuck with something she couldn't bring herself to eat, or stick with the one thing here she knew she was fine?

Ein hadn't seen all that many foods in his life either but he'd ended up liking most of them. Then again an Angel tongue was different than a Youkai tongue... even so, he wanted to talk a bit more with Yuka.

"Something wrong?"

"I'm not really used to eating... a lot of things are too strong for me." Yuka shrugged. "I'm not sure if feel like trying something new today."

Suzaku was at the discard table, despite being a Player. Still he showed no distaste on his face as he ate the tasteless mush, he wasn't even sure what kind of food it was supposed to be.

As punishments went it wasn't really that bad, but there weren't many discards at all so he was alone.

Cirno was sitting at the Discards table, sitting as far away from people as she could, stirring the bowl of porridge, just thinking to herself. She was a bit surprised to be told that she had to eat from the Discards menu but she shrugged it off and had taken it without a protest. Besides, she had not been eating too much as it was, so was only planning on eating a bit of it before taking off to the Library. She had a book that she was tried of trying to read that needed returned.

Edited 2012-08-27 02:33 (UTC)

After finishing her conversation with Ein, Yuka decided that she'd stick with the usual today, and ordered the plain porridge. Between it's very subtle flavor and the fact that it was always available, it made a reliable choice when she just wanted to get the job done.

As usual, the server gave her an incredulous look when she made her order, but Yuka had gotten used to ignoring that. (But really, did Yuka do that when she saw what *they* ate? Okay, so Yuka never actually saw them eat, but the point remained.)

As she picked up her tea, she saw that Cirno had come in, so she went and set down next to the other girl. Glancing at the other girl's tray, she noticed they both had the same thing. "Oh, so you like this too? Most people seem to avoid it..."

Spoon hanging loosely out of her mouth, Cirno looks up. She swallows her mouthful and pops it out of her mouth, "It's alright, does what it needs to. I usually get some sort of fruit though. I haven't had this as my only choice since I didn't get a Player or rights until after that fire thing attacked."

She shrugs though and scoops up another lump of the porridge, eating another bite while it was still a temperature she was okay with and one that it didn't taste too horrible.

Edited 2012-08-27 03:22 (UTC)

"I suppose fruit isn't too bad, as long as it's not peaches." Yuka shuddered.

Then she thought through what she'd just heard... and nearly put her face in her porridge. "I forgot to grant you rights didn't I... So busy thinking about how to get around inconvenient rules that I forgot about the ones I can actually control." Yuka sighed. "I grant you whatever rights I'm for some reason in a position to grant. Please tease me mercilessly whenever I forget to do this again."

The fairy just giggled a bit at Yuka's reaction. She really had not been too worried about it, seeing as she didn't do much that rights would effect. Although one part of what Yuka said had her curious. She put her spoon down and shifted to face Yuka.

"It's okay. I'll tease ya if you really want me to. Rights are kinda stuff that a lot of people take for granted..I don't think a lot of people deny them either.."

She thinks for a second and then shrugs, moving on to her real question. She'd never read the manual so this was something she didn't know. She was just learning as she went!

"What inconvenient rules are you talking about?"

"It gives me some motivation to not forget again..." Although on a certain level she wouldn't mind being teased by Cirno... "There isn't really much in them that I'd care about for myself, so it could slip my mind easily. But different flowers have different needs. I need to remember that."

Yuka ate a spoonful of her porridge before answering the next question. "I suppose it's not any particular thing." She glanced over at Suzaku. She couldn't really answer this without, essentially, talking about him like he wasn't there, which was kind of rude. But there wasn't any good way around it. "I'm primarily trying to learn more about how things work here. The situation with Lelouch and Suzaku is quite unusual - treated as their normal Exaclan roles for some purposes, and Discards for others. There are some rather interesting interactions."

Yuka paused for a moment, then continued. "There's something that we might get in trouble for... but I doubt it. Since that would interfere with a fight."

Cirno shrugs a bit, "It's okay really!" She just shook her head a bit at the insistence. She didn't mind, really!

Although at the last bit, she was curious. Trouble? She never minded causing a bit of it, being a fairy and all. Besides, trouble seemed to be everywhere here. She did a quick glance around the room before grinning, "What would that be? It can't cause too big of a penalty...at least, compared to what we have seen?"

She was definitely staying a while now, returning her book could wait!

"I'm glad it didn't bother you... but I still need to remember if I get any other weapons."

"Ah... I'll tell you about it later, okay?" Yuka didn't really want to talk about the details in public, even if she really didn't think it would be a problem. (And wasn't anywhere near as exciting as Cirno seemed to be anticipating.) "I'll need your help anyway."

Aria walks into the cafeteria, hungry enough to eat for four people plus herself. As she approaches the selections, she is dissuaded from touching them, as she doesn't have a Player. Looking disappointed, she gets a serving of gruel and looks for a place to sit and "enjoy" her meal [She hadn't found a food she didn't like yet, but she wondered at this colorless goop]. Spotting Suzaku, Aria heads over to that table. Upon arrival, she notices a couple of other people as well. "Good morning," she says with a cheerful demeanor. "Might I join you?"

Yuka looked up at Aria and smiled. "Hello." She took another spoonful of her own colorless goop. Her expression didn't really indicate enjoyment - she didn't really have a basis to make comparisons - but was nonetheless content.

"Well, hello! Aren't you adorable!" Aria sits down at the table near the group and starts eating. "Well, it's edible, I think. Not the best thing I've eaten. But, I'm hungry, so I guess it'll have to do. What kinds of foods do you like?"

Adorable? Yuka blinked. That wasn't a term people applied to Yuka very often. Usually, they said it about...

...

...

Yuka winced. It seemed she'd gotten a little too close to one of her lost memories. There was someone who was adorable? She pushed it aside; she was talking to someone after all.

"I don't know... I didn't have to eat back home, so it's really new to me. I've tried different things, but most fertilizer has really strong tastes that I can't take. So I usually stick to this. The staff keeps staring at me and saying things like 'Are you sure you want *that*?' though... It's kind of weird."

"Fertilizer? I guess I can understand why food can be called that. For some reason, eating seems weird to me, but I always loved to eat. I wish I could have something other than this..." Aria picked up her spoon and let the food flop back into the bowl. "... slop."

Aria thought for a moment, trying to think of something Yuka might like. "Have you ever tried candy? I haven't had a chance to have any myself, but if I get some, would you like to try it with me?" With a quick thought, Aria realized she never gave her name. "I'm Aria, by the way."

Unfortunately, Aria's run into one of Yuka's missing memories. So instead of Yuka realizing that she's said something that sounds strange...

"Huh? Why wouldn't I call fertilizer food?"

... she'll say something that makes it worse.

"Yuka Kazami. Nice to meet you." She thought back. Candy? Had anyone ever pointed out anything like that to her? "I... don't know? I didn't really pay attention to anything but tea before I came here. I don't know what things are called..."

Yuka considered the situation a bit more. There was something she could suggest that might be good for both of them... but she wasn't sure how to approach it with someone she didn't know.

Finally, she decided to just press on and hope for the best. "... Would you like to vow with me? That way you could eat what you want, and... Maybe you'd be able to help me find more things that I can handle eating. It really would be better if I could get acclimated."

Aria decided to take some time to figure out the whole 'food = fertilizer' later.

"Really Yuka? You would do that for me? Fantastic! I would love to be your weapon, Yuka! And I'll definitely help you with find some tasty morsels to eat."

Aria was SO happy, her face lit up in joy!

Yuka gave Aria a big smile back. Such a beautiful expression...

"All right... I vow to protect you."

"And I vow to protect you, Yuka."

Aria jumped out of her seat, ran around the table, grabbed Yuka around the shoulders and gave her a giant hug.

Yuka blinked in surprise for a moment, but then hugged Aria back.

The way Aria had replied made her smile a bit more. She wasn't sure if Aria had picked it up from hearing her and Cirno at the assembly, or if she'd thought of it on her own. But she liked the idea of that philosophy getting around.

"And I grant you your rights," Yuka said, followed by a mutter of "(although I still don't really get that...)"

She should probably give Aria and Cirno notes too, just in case. But she didn't have anything appropriate to write on with her. She'd make sure to take care of that later.

With that, Aria runs to get a giant order of dumplings and savory meat skewers. She's nearly jumping with joy as she brings it back to the table where Yuka is [she's only NOT jumping because she doesn't want to spill her plate].

"Here, try one!" Aria hands Yuka a dumpling, and then immediately places one in her own mouth, savoring the taste of 'real' food.

Yuka examines the dumpling curiously. It looked inoffensive enough.

She held it up and took a careful sniff. Not too strong, no hint of peaches... Cautiously, she took a nibble.

"So, what do you think? If you don't like these, I'm sure I could find something else for you."

Yuka, having found the flavor just mild enough to tolerate, is taking small quick bites of the dumpling. It's a bit like watching a rabbit eat.

"Ah... it's good? I think?" It's going to take more than this for Yuka to be that confident about food in general.

"Good, you think?" Aria was a little confused by this statement, but couldn't quite suppress a small giggle at they way her Player was nibbling like a rabbit. How could someone not know if they liked something or not after they had tried it? "Well, do you want more? I could always find something else if this is displeasing in any way..."

Yuka shrugged. "I don't really have a lot to compare it to. It's better than the porridge, anyway. And much better than peaches." She finished eating the dumpling. "I think I must have a lost memory about food... I remember being at parties where I would have ate food, but I can't remember the food itself."

Yuka thought about Aria's question. She was starting to become more enthusiastic about this whole process. "I wouldn't mind trying something else!"

"Ooh! These look really tasty." Aria picked up some Japanese pear slices and handed one to Yuka. "On three, we both try them, ok?" Looking hopeful, Aria recited, "one... two.... THREE!" She took a huge bite of the pear and watched for Yuka's reaction as she savored the sweet, crisp fruit.

Fruit was usually pretty safe, but Yuka still took only a small bite just in case.

Not too sweet, not too bitter...

She smiled. "It's good!"

Aria lit up at the expression on Yuka's face as she finished her first bite of the pear.

"I'm so glad you agree! See? Food can be more than just fertilizer. It can make your day that much better when you can sit with friends and enjoy a meal of well prepared and made foods."

Aria started handing over more pears and dumplings to Yuka's plate.

"Here, have some more. Maybe even try putting some of those pear slices into your porridge. It might make the flavor a little less bland."

Yuka blinked. "Fertilizer can be more than just food? I'm not sure I understand... But I am enjoying this."

She shrugged, tried putting some of the pear in her porridge, took a bite... and made a sour face. "I think I like these more separate." She kept eating it though. She wasted enough food when she ran into something that she couldn't handle, no sense wasting food she could.

It's breakfast! Breakfast! [Backdated to monday morning]

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