The Fox and the Geese [Himiko, Erchanhardt]

This was very much not the manner in which Erchanhardt had anticipated this outing going. It had, in his mind, simply been a friendly hunting venture, nothing beyond that. But, he supposed, that simply served as a reminder that the truths of the world did rarely abide by one's own expectations. He could very well have felt irritated by this shift in situation, but such a thing would only have signified emotional immaturity that he had very much grown past at his age.

To put things rather plainly, he liked the situation as it was.

"I quite appreciate it. I will do my best to repay your kindness however I may."

Returning to the campfire as he pulled the trout from above it, Erchanhardt slipped each of them off the rather hot cooking skewer before setting them onto a small metal camp plate and handing them to Himiko. It was a simple meal, but one he found rather fitting for this sort of environment. And, frankly, he would have been a tad surprised if the simplicity of it did not appeal to her.

With a faint bit of hesitation, Erchanhardt then steeled himself and, with only confidence, took a seat directly next to Himiko. If the dynamic had been shifted in this direction, that would logically be the correct course of action, yes? He very much had no real grasp on what the appropriate behavior was on a date, especially on what would be called a modern one, but he did at least wish to do well.

"Ah, I ought to ask. Might I call you simply Himiko rather than by your surname?"

She settled and got a bit tense when he sat next to her, alright. This was really nice. It was like having a really sturdy and reliable guy right next to you, even if something came blasting out of the woods right now she'd feel super safe. She loved it! How could she not enjoy this even if it did make her get all flustered. He was bringing out her princess like this.

It was a really hard thing to eat now, she was super conscious of how she might come off to him right now. Naturally she did her best to try and eat the meal nice and modestly while next to him, nice and slow bites. The conversation would probably end after their meal, then hunting would begin and she could introduce him to Tenken. Guys liked girls that knew how to take care of their pets, he'd totally love it.

"Yeah, totally call me Himiko you know? Ah, I should've told you that you could do it ages ago."

Himiko giggled and took a bite. What did she ask him first? She wanted to pace herself with her questions, don't just blurt out things expecting him to handle them all.

"I certainly wish that I had thought to ask sooner."

Erchanhardt was, perhaps to his detriment, very much the sort of man who thought at length about a situation. As such, even during an otherwise tranquil moment such as this, he could not help but think about the nature of what had occurred. He was not some mere stammering young man--he could very easily acknowledge and accept his own interest in the woman beside him, even if he had not particularly thought that it would be made anything more than an intellectual understanding of her appearance. It was, rather, a question of what he ought to do next.

"What is it that drove you to your work as a shinigami, if I might ask? I know rather little of the Gotei beyond what I have heard through a friend, so I am a bit curious."

This sort of relative small talk was presumably appropriate, yes? He did naturally wish to know more about her, but he felt moving directly to more personal questions would not be correct. If it were correct, she would likely pursue that approach, and he could simply follow suit. She was more familiar with modern sorts of socialization, yes?

...Ah, that presented an entire other factor that he had not even considered. He was surely rather drastically older than she, yes? She certainly did not look to be anywhere near his own age, though Erchanhardt was not remotely foolish enough to even think of asking her such a question directly. Was courtship so difficult in his youth? Perhaps he had simply bypassed these earlier stages of it previously.

"Hey, don't worry about it haha. You asked me now and that's what matters, right?"

It wasn't something she expected to hear him ask her, Gotei work huh? Right. That was easy.

"Why did I want to be a shinigami? Well, that's a story. I'm a bit of a wild child you know, I grew up in the wilderness far outside of the Rukongai which is this big, big city of souls outside the Seireitei and so after my family kind of up and left I went in there and made my way all the way to the centre of it. It was a pretty big challenge, didn't really know why I was doing all the walking. I think it eventually just came down to wanting to see what was in the middle."

Alright, now what next. Himiko didn't really explain why she became a shinigami very often. It was something she had to think about here.

"So... Next, I hung around a bit and a shinigami told me one day I had a pretty big amount of reiatsu and should go learn to be a shinigami if I wanted to learn to control it a bit better. So I went there and it kind of became my home... How about you? You look like you've got a big long story in you. Must've put in some real hard work to get as big as you are today, huh?"

Himiko wondered if she used to be that tall? No, maybe a bit smaller than him before she shrunk down to where she was no. Technically she was taller than her not so modest height if you took it from her ears. Yeah, that was really cheeky huh?

"I see. I'd not quite envisioned it to be so laissez-faire. I would have imagined a more fomral process, though it does seem to have worked quite well for you, in that regard."

The question regarding his own life did give him the faintest degree of pause, if only as he took a brief moment to consider what he actually ought to say in this context. Obviously, simply telling her the full story of his life would be a rather poor decision, but he would not wish to simply tell her nothing.

"My story is rather long, yes, though I would have to admit to you that it is not particularly interesting. I come from a minor noble house, and in my younger days I did little beyond train and test myself in battle, as was the custom. In time I matured beyond that, though of course I have still focused a great deal on my training to reach this point of physical prowess. I suppose I take a bit of pride in it, though I do not think that is unreasonable."

Offering her a charming smile, Erchanhardt couldn't help himself but to lift an arm up and flex for Himiko, his already impressive musculature made that much more apparent. Was he being forward? A bit, yes. But there was hardly anything wrong with that, was there? It was hardly as if he had crossed what he could consider a line of propriety.

"At present, I spend most of my time using these hands for the people, rather than for violence. I find it much more rewarding."

She tried not to giggle when he responded, if only because she thought a cute little giggle would cover up the fact she didn't get what he was talking about in that context. Definitely heard it right and knew what those words meant, what did they actually attribute to as a specific rule? Nope. Over the ears haha.

That charming smile, that flex, those noble words of using his hands for the people over violence! Yes. All the yes from here, her heart was pumping way too hard at that kind of gentle, handsome giant who had such strong character. Good thing it was in her heart. He'd be so good with kids, right? Probably way to early to begin thinking of that, like it was their first date jeez. Things shouldn't happen until the third date right? Totes. Even so, she kind of wouldn't mind if it got put off. Go all classy, right? Hehe.

"Hey hey, that's so sweet you know. Taking care of people is great, I'm pretty strong since I'm so big you know. I love using my free time to just help out, sometimes I'll volunteer and help out some kids. They really love my ears and tail, makes them go nuts to just play with. Plus I can use my strength to help volunteer for harder jobs."

She wasn't afraid to get herself dirty, you know. It kind of clashed with her girly vibes a bit but who cared, it was still girly to want to help people so she thought she had it right.

"I completely understand the sentiment. Whenever I have the time, I quite love to walk through the town and simply assist in the day to day goings on. I am afraid I lack such striking features to win the children over, but they do at least enjoy a ride upon my shoulders."

Her outlook on these things was really rather charming, and such a thought made Erchanhardt almost incredulous with himself. Moving directly to charming, hm? But then, was there anything wrong with considering her such? It was not a sin to acknowledge her as attractive, and any sin he may have committed in his thoughts was assuredly dismissed as quickly as it arrived. He was interested in her, yes, but that simply meant he wished to know more about her.

"Assisting in the construction and rebuilding after the war has taken up much of my time of late, and it has certainly been very rewarding. Far more rewarding, I think, than the inanity of politics and the like."

Ohohoho. He just got so much more appealing, he was good with kids huh? Yeah. That's what she liked to hear and up, up he flew in her tastes. Should she ask if he wanted kids? No way. Too forward. Did he have kids himself? She had to wonder about that but she'd try and worm it out through a bit of good old conversation. Super sly, right?

"Mhm, I just get around and deal with the odd hollow you know. Do some burial rites and save souls from becoming hollows. I don't think I've really done much in terms of actually being super engaged when I am down here on duty. I should, huh?"

Himiko took another bite, she had to really think about this. She was trying to get her best foot forward but being honest was a smart move right? Totes. Guys loved girls that were honest.

"That would likely be good, yes, though I do not think that you should underplay the value of those standard duties. If you wish to put forward more efforts, I would be quite glad to have you assist in some of the reconstruction efforts. There is certainly a good deal of heavy lifting to be done, and quite many children that I think would appreciate such a charming smile to brighten their day, hm?"

A part of Erchanhardt did certainly worry that perhaps his forwardness was a poor decision, but he, frankly, denied that worry any significant purchase in his mind. What harm was there in complimenting her so directly? None.

"Of course, I imagine there may also be work that needs doing for your division, as well, so I suppose I ought not ask that you commit your time to those Earthly affairs, pleasant as it would be to have your assistance."

"Sure. Well, if my captain let's me I can definitely get stationed her for longer you know? I'm sure she won't mind if I was here more than America. I think Europe needs it more anyway."

She'd be sure to emphasise in her report to Murasaki how important it was that she remain here on Earth in this specific region. There was no reason in particular that she wanted to be here, it was just her duty to the soul cycle or something like that. Yeah, totes.

"I'd love to sparkle up the kids days, do you like kids?"

Yeah, that's how she'd start it. Ask him if he liked them. Then she can work on getting to know the specific details. She was so smart! Ohoho!