Re: Mixed Blood and Feelings [Private/Kokoro]

Fri Jan 17, 2020 1:58 pm

Kuchiki Keiko

"Ah, no, I do menial stuff just because I'm an intern. The members do go camping and stuff. I can't go with them, though, not because I'm not allowed, but because I still have academy classes and personal lessons to attend that I can't miss out o-ooooon!"

Keiko squeezed out the last word of her clarification just as Kokoro pulled her into the shop, her last syllable drawn out from the sudden tug. She didn't even really see what store they were going into; her eyes were either on the ground, or looking at Kokoro.

As soon as they were in, Keiko's eyes wandered in confusion, then amazement, then a little worry. Confused, because she didn't know what sort of shop this was. Amazement, as she smelled some good food and a bustling of people that seemed in good--and very loud--moods. Worry, because she also realised that this was place for adults. Unfortunately, Keiko didn't have the time to think about all the things that were happening all the way through, let alone to try fleeing. The whole time, she just meekly followed along.

Just by instinct, Keiko followed suit and sat down, forgetting herself somewhat. Almost as if to distract herself and keep occupied, since the feeling of doing nothing only added to the sense of awkwardness, Keiko's eyes wandered to the various condiments and sauces already on the table, reading any text that was on the bottles and containers. To the outside, it probably looked like some sort of odd fascination. Whenever the food was to come, Keiko intended to keep herself occupied through eating to avoid any awkward breaks in conversation.

END POST

Sat Jan 18, 2020 12:59 am

Kokoro

As three large beers were set down onto the table, accompanied by what was more or less a stone slab of seared meats, Kokoro allowed herself a very large grin and downed most of her first beer in a single go. Even if she'd deny it, the Suika heritage certainly made itself apparent in situations like this, and she paused between drinking and shoveling meat into her gullet to speak, thankfully polite enough to not just talk with her mouth full.

"Ohhhh, gotcha gotcha gotcha! Weeeeeell you should totally see if ya can go some time! I bet that'd be a real good learning experience, yeah? Gotta get hands on learning if ya wanna get a good internship!"

Bobbing her head almost idly from side to side as she spoke, Kokoro was quite visibly enjoying this whole situation very much. She liked socializing, and it was totally fun just to hang out like this, gettin' some good drinks and enjoyin' nice company.

"Sooooooooooo whatcha do outside of internin' and stuff? Gotta have a social life and all that, yeah?"

Sat Jan 18, 2020 7:08 pm

Kuchiki Keiko

Keiko was caught a bit off guard by the voraciousness to Kokoro's mannerisms, both in drinking and eating. For a moment, the girl hesitated in hopes that Kokoro wasn't the type to also speak with a full mouth, or chew with her mouth open, but thankfully that didn't seem the case. For Keiko, that'd be a bit too much. The voraciousness alone, however, was kinda cute. It was like a little piggy digging in. That thought was far too rude to verbalise, of course, but the sight alone started to have Keiko's guard lower a tad. Enough, that she started to respond a bit more genuinely to Kokoro's advice.

"Oh, that's actually pretty true. I can't just get experience by doing basic tasks, right? Thank you for that."

In total contrast, by the habit pulverised into her by noble lessons, Keiko ate her food in small amounts at a time with delicacy in her movements. She was sure to finish everything in her mouth before speaking again.

"Social life? I... talk with my tutors a lot. They tell me stories of their adventures, and a bunch of other stuff. Otherwise, I stick to my schedule, and that's very important to me. I start the day with morning preparations, I go to shin'o to take my courses, I go home for studying and tutorship, I go to 7th for my internship, and I go home to prepare for the next day. It's very busy and fulfilling, I think."

While eating and drinking, her eyes stole glances at the beer a couple times. Like any other youth, she was curious about alcohol, but strict teaching and a strong sense of self-responsibility and duty meant that she was never privy to touching any. Despite her interests even currently, it'd take her guard to lower quite a bit more beforrer she genuinely entertained the thought of partaking.

END POST

Sat Jan 18, 2020 7:36 pm

Kokoro

"Of course, of course!"

Kokoro was all ears even as she kept right on eating, quite glad as to the sheer amount of meat that had been provided. Truth be told, it wasn't actually one order at all, likely closer to about four or five, but she had come to this place enough that they knew how much she would be ordering anyway.

"Hmmmm... That doesn't seem too exciting at all, but I guess that does make sense! That's a pretty busy time bein' at the Academy, I remember when I was still doin' all my internin' and stuff and I was like, barely even able to catch some sleep, lol. Buuuut~!"

Holding up a finger to indicate that she needed a second, Kokoro finished off her first beer and got right to work on the second one, honestly downing it with just as little effort as the first. Only after the large glass was about halfway empty did she set it down once more, and carefully slid the third one to Keiko to indicate it was absolutely for her.

"If ya keep a schedule like that forever, ya might end up burnin' yourself out. Happened to me once, suuuuper no good. You can power through a mental burnout, but if ya push yourself too hard ya might end up gettin' hurt. And then ya get all backed up on lessons, gotta sit around and recover... Totally bad."

With a surprisingly gentle and earnest smile, given her otherwise fairly bombastic demeanor, Kokoro looked right into Keiko's eyes as she gave her last little piece of advice.

"Ya definitely ought to make some time in that schedule of yours to just relax, yeah? Don't wanna see yourself get hurt."

Sun Jan 19, 2020 10:45 am

Kuchiki Keiko

Just like Kokoro, even while eating she was dutifully listening. She even giggled a bit. The comment on a lack of sleep was so relatable. The offering of beer, though? Keiko was prepared to refuse. Gotta be responsible, after all. But, the comments on being less demanding of herself... That was a pretty common thing Keiko heard. Most people were opposed to her starting up the academy so quickly to begin with. Her desperation to convince those around her generally didn't work, so she praised her lucky stars that her mother and the elders were willing to give her a chance on it. Things needed to be done to assure them that they made the right choice, not to mention Keiko's desire to prove herself anyways.

But, the way Kokoro spoke was more convincing than most. Often, Keiko felt that people dissuading her from pushing herself just didn't believe in her, that they were underestimating her. Kokoro was speaking more from experience, and even then, there was a tone of genuine, gentle concern. It came at a larger impact just from the contrast of her previous tone of voice.

That said, Keiko was a stubborn girl. But, it'd be rude to not at least take her words into consideration.

"I have to push myself to get to where I want to be, and sometimes you just don't have the time to rest, you know? I'm still learning my limits, but I won't know them well unless I test them. So, I just gotta test them, and I'll see where to go from there."

Keiko smiled a bit, the first time in this meeting, and it was subtle. Noticeable, but quickly covered by her enthusiastic reach for the beer. Limits had to be tested, so the girl quickly downed the whole mug. Her face scrunched in disgust, and she almost spit it out, holding back if only to maintain her dignity as a noblewoman.

"Yuck.... that's so bitter..."

END POST

Sun Jan 19, 2020 1:12 pm

Kokoro

"Well, obviously I can't force ya to do anything, so I'm not gonna tell ya to just make some time in that schedule no matter what. But ya better believe I'm gonna be checkin in to make sure you're all good, yeah?"

Giggling at Keiko's reaction to the beer, Kokoro gave her a very emphatic thumbs up. Not everyone had it in 'em to just put it away like that, especially seeing as she didn't seem to have ever had beer before judging by that comment. It was impressive!

"Tell ya what, we can make this a regular thing, how's that? Ya probably gotta bring paperwork pretty often if internship's the same as it was when I was goin' through it, and I get off duty around the same time every day. It'll be totes fun! Unless ya don't wanna have dinner again with lil' old me?"

Teasing obvious in her tone of voice, to say nothing of her cheery grin, Kokoro ordered two glasses of amazake to ease Keiko's palate. Of course, Kokoro liked the sweet liquor too, but it was barely even alcoholic in the first place. Was almost like a warm honey, and Kokoro sure liked that.

"Don't worry, this one's not neeeeaaaarly as bitter. Not as strong, either. Just nice n' sweet."

Sun Jan 19, 2020 1:54 pm

Kuchiki Keiko

Keiko did one of those reactionary shivers to the feeling of the beer running all around her body. She closed her eyes and held a matching expression--the bitterness stayed as an aftertaste way longer than she thought it would've. Her only options here was to shove a bunch of food--politely, of course--into her mouth to wash the taste out. She was even starting to look a bit like Kokoro in mannerisms.

Kokoro's words filled Keiko with a bit of warmth, though it couldn't be confirmed whether that was also the beer or not. Either way, little by little, her guard was being pulled down a bit.

"I dunno about that, I'll have to see if I can fit you in my schedule for a check-up, ehehee."

Then, the mention of the paperwork jogged Keiko's memory.

"AH! The paperwork! I still have to get the receipt and bring it back!"

The girl started panicking, shoving food in her mouth while looking around for a clock to check the time. At the same time, she was battling with herself on what to do next. The right thing to do here was to go back and get the receipt, but wouldn't that be super awkward? To just ditch Kokoro? Plus, she just ordered a few more drinks, and it's not polite to leave things unfinished on the table...

The worrying only served to increase her heart rate, and that increase in turn served to have any influenced blood spread across her body much quicker.

END POST

Sun Jan 19, 2020 2:09 pm

Kokoro

"Hey hey hey, it's totes gonna be fine, okay? Don't worry, I gotcha covered."

Kokoro actually did hold herself responsible for having kept Keiko from her work, and definitely didn't want to just keep the girl a worried mess here. Taking a long sip of her own drink, she reached across the table to take Keiko's hand in hers reassuringly.

"Soon as we're done here, I'll getcha right back there so you can get to work, okay? I'm pretty quick, too, so if ya want I can even carry ya on over and make up for lost time."

It was an entirely genuine offer, even if it might have seemed like a joke just based on her words alone. Kokoro definitely knew what it felt like to be beating yourself up about something like this, she'd sure gotten herself distracted more than a few times when she needed to be working. Plus, this was kinda her fault anyway, so she really wanted to make up for that.

Sun Jan 19, 2020 2:27 pm

Kuchiki Keiko

The offer was reassuring. Keiko was the type to take things into her own hands, and admittedly it was preferable that she leave now and get the receipt just to relieve the anxiety, but it was also a point of anxiety to leave in the middle of the da--drinking. At the least, it felt like there was insurance now with Kokoro's guarantee, so Keiko calmed down a bit and went back to pacing herself. That felt necessary too, now that her head was feeling inexplicably lighter. No, lighter isn't quite the right word--floatier, maybe? Is that even a word?

"Okay, you sure?"

People often drink to calm down a bit, right? Gotta follow your own advice, test things yourself. Also, this gesture was in hopes to let Kokoro understand that they were on the same page. Keiko reached over to have a taste of the sweeter beverage the woman ordered earlier. Her other hand was occupied with returning the hold. It just felt natural to reciprocate, you know? If someone reached out to hold your hand, imagine how awkward it would be if you pulled away instead?

"Oh, this does taste better. I can still taste the.. echk... it's just a bit bitter, but not as bad."

Keiko looked at the cup and its contents curiously, like that somehow let her inspect the flavours on her tongue through her eyes, then went for a few more sips.

END POST

Sun Jan 19, 2020 2:38 pm

Kokoro

"Totes! Just enjoy dinner, okidoke? I won't letcha get behind. I bet they'll even be impressed ya got it to 'em so fast, just you watch."

Very happy to see Keiko relaxing, Kokoro was perfectly content to continue holding her hand. You know, to reassure her. She nodded once or twice in affirmation of Keiko's judgment on the amazake, then when back to drinking her own, though definitely paced herself now. This was nice, she didn't wanna just rush.

"It's pretty sugary, think I'm the only person who really orders it too much, heheen~ But hey, I'm glad ya like it more. Always nice to share somethin' ya enjoy."

Kokoro went back to eating, but was much slower just as she had been with her drinking. Idly, she studied Keiko a little, her eyes flitting about here and there. She had nice eyes.