Once I make up my mind

[blackmoonreaper]

Who: Ichigo Kurosaki, Open
What: Useless teenagers need to do something with their lives
When: March 20
Where: Chocobo Farm, Aqures Ixen, House C-04


Chocobo Farm - early morning

Being up early wasn't an unusual thing for Ichigo and he'd usually stick around the house until some of the others were awake. That morning though he woke up particularly early, made an effort not to wake any of his housemates and left the house in his 'civilian' clothes. He wasn't sneaking out like some normal idiot teenager but he needed to get some air for a while. He wasn't feeling like going through the morning trolling routine so early.

The Chocobo Farm wasn't exactly a brief walk but it was enough to help him clear his head for a bit. He leaned against the railing, glancing at the pen where the birds usually milled about and there were only a few of them out. Maybe some of them were still sleeping.

He hadn't meant to wake up at the crack of dawn. Something he hadn't thought about properly for a while had startled him awake and that was enough to destroy any hope of going back to sleep for a little while longer. It was stupid. Of all the things that dream had to bring up it was something he had been afraid to face back home and he knew it would be the same problem here. He didn't need a reminder. The mind was sure stupid sometimes.

Aqures Ixen - morning

Even though they had food in the pantry at the house Ichigo was missing a few things from the recipe he wanted to try. It wasn't the first time he tried cooking something from home but he had a particular craving for it today and if his housemates didn't want it then that was their problem. It was a little selfish of him to think of it like that but it was something he needed.

So on his way back he stopped at the market to pick up a few things and looked over at what the vendors had to offer. He didn't pay too much attention to some of the calls that were offering items for a 'good price'. As if he'd fall for any of that. He had his mental list of the things he needed and that was all he was searching for. Though from the look of it he would have to make some substitutes.

House C-04 - just after lunchtime

Moshishi stood quietly on the chair at the kitchen table, watching his charge. Ichigo had been sitting with his arms crossed for the last few minutes, looking at the blank piece of paper in front of him. He wondered why the teenager was such in deep thought, especially since he had sought the moogle out earlier for some input on a few topics. Maybe he needed confirmation of something, Moshishi wasn't too sure. The covered pots with the stew and rice had been simmering for a while so why was he being so quiet?

"...The paper isn't going to bite you, kupo." The moogle wasn't the greatest at humor but it was better than the awkward silence.

Ichigo blinked and sideglanced at the furry companion. Right, he was still there. "Sorry, got lost for a bit."

"If you can't write it you can tell me what you want to say. I don't mind, kupo." Moshishi offered.

"No, I got it. Just sorting something out but I probably won't get this done until later anyway so don't worry about it today." Ichigo took a glance at the food cooking on the stove, figuring it still needed another fifteen minutes or so. It probably wouldn't taste the same as Yuzu's cooking but he thought he did a decent job improvising with what he could get.

Comments

aqures ixen - m o r n i n g

[ranoutofbugs]

[And here comes Lailah taking a walk through the the town square, also doing some grocery shopping because her housemates were busy doing other things. Well, that and she was the mother-figure so she had to do all of the mother-figure tasks. At least she didn't fail at them.]

Oh? Sir?

[Lailah trotted over to Ichigo.]

I'm sorry to intrude, but I couldn't help but notice some of the ingredients in your bag. I've had trouble finding some of them being new here and all, so I'm wondering if you could direct me to where I may purchase them.

[smilesmile]

[blackmoonreaper]

[Ichigo blinks and briefly glances at his collection of vegetables and the like for the stew he was going to try to make.]

Uh, yeah sure. What are you looking for?

[ranoutofbugs]

Well, once I had green onions and found them quite delicious, but I can't seem to find them in the general stores!

[or maybe she's just blind idk]

Oh, and the special radish called daikon, I think?

[she doesn't know her vegetables. she only ate sweets when she was in her home world, lol]

[blackmoonreaper]

Green onions? I think they might be over there.

[He points to one of the small baskets with small tied bundles a little further down and leads her over to them.]

As for daikon... I think one of the other vendors around here might have it. Or something that looks like it anyway.

[Safe to say Ichigo's been fooled with some of the different foods he's unfamiliar with around here once or twice.]

[ranoutofbugs]

Aa, I know what you mean. Someone once told me about their world that had rappigs and piggits, which looked very similar - but one had delicious ears while the others caused food poisoning. You can never be too careful!

[smilesmile]

Thank you so much for your help, sir. I definitely appreciate it!

[blackmoonreaper]

...Rappigs and piggits?

[What.]

No problem. ... So what are rappigs and piggits anyway?

[ranoutofbugs]

Well, put into simple terms, they would be odd if you're from a world where they don't exist. They're basically animals that have characteristics of both rabbits and pigs, though they're considered separate species despite their outward similarities. Their biological make-up varies, however, and some scholars believe that perhaps rappigs took on a form similar to piggits in order to camouflage their tasty ears so that predators couldn't tell the difference between them!

[... oops, she went off again.]

My apologies, it's a bad habit of mine to go into lectures when nobody wants to hear them.

[blackmoonreaper]

[Now he's trying his best to picture what rappigs and piggits would look like. It's only made worse by only being able to see them as Rukia's stupid bunny drawings with the bunny ears and the faces.... Chappy bunnies wearing pig costumes...]

...

[Damnit, Rukia.]

Don't worry about it. They sound... pretty unique and would definitely standout if they suddenly appeared back home.

[ranoutofbugs]

Thanks again for your help! I would be out here for hours on end if you weren't kind enough to help me!

[smilesmile]

My name is Lailah. As thanks, why don't you come over to our house sometime for dinner? I have a feeling you'd get along with my housemates.

Aqures Ixen

[soldierofloveandbeauty]

Minako was rather bored. When not training by herself for Blitzball or exercising in general, Minako had not a single clue how to amuse herself otherwise.

So today she was planning on trying to cook once again and so had found herself at the store, carefully looking through everything to see what there was. Moving over to look over at what others had got.

"Hey, what you got there? What are you planning on making?"

[blackmoonreaper]

For a moment Ichigo didn't notice that she was nearby, taking a peek of what he'd brought so far. He was too busy looking at a stand of... actually he wasn't sure. It could have been an onion but the colour was all wrong. Maybe it was a fruit instead...

Then she spoke and he realized she was actually talking to him when he glanced over.

"Nothing interesting. Just a few things for a stew."

[soldierofloveandbeauty]

"A stew, huh? Simple and easy to cook." She placed her arms behind her back at she glanced to look at the top shelf. She had no idea what was up there and no way of actually looking for the mean time, even if she did try reaching.

As soon as her eyes started to move along, she made sure to look over. "You must be a good cook to want to make it though. Or is it a case of wanting to practise like I'm doing?"

[blackmoonreaper]

Ichigo shrugged slightly. "I guess it is practice."

He was no master chef. There was a pretty good chance his attempt at the stew wouldn't turn out the exact same, especially since he was purely going off of memory... but it wasn't going to make itself.

"One of my sisters would usually do the cooking and I wanted to try something she made once."

[soldierofloveandbeauty]

"Aw, that actually sounds pretty sweet." Which was something she wouldn't understand since she was an only child. But it was still a nice thought, doing something someone you cared about did.

"Well, I do hope you manage to make it. Have a nice memory with it and share it with friends." She soon picked out fruit, looking at it for a moment, trying to figure out just what it might be. Seemed like it could be nice, but she couldn't be sure.

[blackmoonreaper]

Sweet wasn't the word he'd use and Ichigo's flat look said as much for a brief moment. He wasn't being a total sap or anything. It was more of his way to get himself refocused... with a small side of occasional homesickness for his family but he didn't want to think on it too long.

"So are you practicing to make something too?"

[soldierofloveandbeauty]

"Possibly. Last time I tried, I set the kitchen alight." And if she did it again she was pretty sure no one would be able to stop her from burning the place down. Which was rather worrying and a reason why she just got her moogle to do it once again.

"So I'm being careful in my case."

[blackmoonreaper]

She received a surprised blink for a moment. She couldn't have been serious. It took a lot of effort to set a kitchen on fire so she had to be exaggerating a little. Besides, he didn't remember about hearing any mysterious smoke from any houses lately. ...He was pretty sure.

"...Uh, it probably couldn't have been that bad. It's pretty easy to burn a pan if you're not careful."

Chocobo Farm - early morning

[goddessofthesky]

“If you’re not careful the Chocobo might eat your hair again.”

The young goddess was holding an arm full of straw for the stables and a smile on her lips. She often worked very early in the morning at the Chocobo farm so that she could be at the old observatory for the rest of the day. She had an apron tied snug around her thin waist and her long golden hair was pulled back and out of the way.

“You look like something is on your mind.”

Her expression softened at the edges. “Is everything okay?”

[blackmoonreaper]

He started slightly, his eyes shifting to her for a blank moment. How long had she been standing there? Ichigo hoped it wasn't for very long but he took a moment to actually look to make sure none of the giant birds got too close to him. It wasn't his fault that they thought his hair looked delicious! If it was just one then he'd chock it up to its nature... but it was better safe than sorry.

Coast looked clear. For now.

"Yeah, I'm good. Needed to get out for a bit before everyone else got up."

[goddessofthesky]

Zelda smiled softly at him.

"I can understand that."

She was also silently glad that his hair remained safe. A lot of the chocobo's were in the farmhouse since it was time for their breakfast.

"Didn't a few of you move in together?"

Zelda wasn't a busy body persay but watching people move in a small neighborhood like there's was rather obvious and Rukia, while she hadn't seen the girl recently, was someone Zelda considered a friend.

[blackmoonreaper]

"A while ago, yeah."

It was sometimes like being back at home... if he was living with his crazy dad and Keigo under the same roof. And then some. Yet they weren't really bad people per say so it could have been worse.

"Gets a little hectic sometimes but probably expected with that many people in a house."

[goddessofthesky]

Zelda laughed softly. “I suppose so. I’ve only ever lived in a small home with one other person; first my father and then in the two person houses here. I haven’t moved very much.”

She only moved when Link left.

“If you aren’t busy why don’t you help me feed the Chocobo?” He seemed lost in his thoughts and if he wished to remain that way they Zelda wouldn’t argue however she wanted to offer a distraction to him as well. Living in this world, even with friends, wasn’t an easy task and Ichigo was one of those she considered young.

[blackmoonreaper]

Wait, what? He kind of stared at Zelda for a moment, his gaze shifting momentarily to the few Chocobo that were lingering outside. The only other Chocobo he'd actually been near was Yuki and that bird was a bratty thing. Almost tried to peck his fingers away too! How was he supposed to know the flowers were the wrong thing to feed her?

"... Do they eat those greens thing?"

He wasn't entirely opposed to the idea though.

[goddessofthesky]

"Yes. While they eat I usually lay out straw around their stables." She smiled at him brightly.

"I can teach you how to feed them safely." So that his hair, nor any other part of him, might get nibbled off.

[blackmoonreaper]

He shrugged after a moment. What would be the harm in it?

"Sure, okay."

It wasn't like he had anything urgent to do at that moment, not that early. He wasn't going to try to train until later in the day after making lunch and it probably beat getting lost in thoughts he knew he shouldn't let bother him.