Ayla sighed, perhaps a little too harshly. It'd been almost a week, or so, since she'd last been by to see Aram. She wondered if he was doing alright. Just because she wasn't sure if she couldn't trust him didn't mean she didn't worry about him. Maybe she should at least go see him? He probably hadn't eaten a decent meal since she left, considering the fact that he couldn't cook. And he couldn't afford to go out to eat at the small restaurants. She sighed again. She was a terrible sister, because of that. Here she was, living inside Amon's home with his children, and Aram was left on the outer parts of the village.
Alone. Probably hungry. Ugh. She hated it. "Fine!" she stated to no one in particular. She was currently alone, so she didn't have to worry about someone hearing her. She'd go check on him, at least. Besides, it was only another day, or two, before Spring would be here, and Sayuri would be leaving. She could at least make sure he had something to tide him over until then.
Her route took her through the garden, where she found Reiko hard at work on the plants. Given how soon spring was, it was hardly a surprise that she needed to do some maintenance on it; right now it looked like she was clearing the ground around some of the temporarily dormant spring and summer plants.
It was an awful lot of snow, but the process was moving a great deal more quickly because Tatsuya was helping, sweeping massive sheets of it away with no more effort than the motion of a hand. He leaned up against one of the trees, pipe in his mouth, and pushed aside all of it with his powers. Apparently, they were both quite confident that none of the humans were around.
Tatsuya noticed her first, offering a nod before he resumed his work. Reiko glanced up a moment later, smiling a little. “Off somewhere, Ayla-san?"
"Yeah, I was," and still is, actually. But she wasn't going to say it like that. "I haven't seen the idiot in awhile, and I figured I might stop by. You know, to make sure he's doing alright," she spoke. She was certain they would know who she was talking about. "I haven't really left him alone for so long," at least not intentionally. The last time they'd been separated, it had been a few centuries before he came back, but that was because he had been meditating.
"You know he can't cook, and he's pretty much hopeless on his own," her frown deepened somewhat. She was, despite what she was known for, truly worried about him.
Reiko looked a bit awkward for a moment, then sighed softly. “He's... he's fed, but this one thinks he's probably lonely." She stated it like it was a confession of some kind. Perhaps it was; after all, she wouldn't be in a position to know that unless she'd gone to see him herself.
“This one probably should have told you earlier, but I wasn't sure if... if it was something you'd want this one to bring up."
Ayla sighed softly. "It would have been fine, Reiko. I might be mad at him, but that doesn't mean I'm not concerned about his well-being. I'd be a horrible sister if I wasn't concerned about him," she scoffed to herself at that statement. She was a horrible sister, regardless, but they didn't need to know that.
"But... next time you see him, will you tell me? I'd like to send him something, too," since she knew a lot of his favorite dishes. "Otherwise, I suppose I could stay and help you clear this out... unless you'd rather have me elsewhere?" she stated, raising a brow in Reiko's direction.
“Oh, um... you can help if you'd like." Reiko looked a little like she wanted to refuse, probably on the grounds that Ayla was a guest. But she acquiesced instead. It seemed she was learning to pick her battles where this kind of thing was concerned. “This one really doesn't need any help clearing, since Suya's doing that. But, um... if you'd like to help this one weed, that would be okay. Just, um... make sure it's only the weeds you pull out. Some of the herbs are a little hard to tell apart from those."
"Yeah, he seems to be doing a good job at that," she snorted softly, glancing in Tatsuya's direction. She shrugged her shoulders, though, and made her way towards where Reiko was. "I'll be able to pick them apart by smell, Reiko. Did you forget?" she stated, tapping her nose in the process. She could tell them apart by smell, so she didn't have to really worry about pulling out the wrong ones. The ones she didn't, however, want to pull were the ones with thorns.
Very rare did weeds have thorns on them, and she highly doubted that there were some in Reiko's garden, however; that didn't mean there wasn't a possibility of them being there. With the extra set of hands, it was easier, and faster, to weed the garden. It was, oddly, calming for Ayla. She did, however, manage to prick herself with a thorn, but it wasn't enough to pierce her skin. It just scraped it. She scoffed at it before she straightened out her back, and glanced down at Reiko.
"Alright, what's next?"
Reiko seemed to shake herself, as though her mind had been elsewhere. She blinked and brought her eyes back into focus. Tatsuya, on the other hand, was staring at her now, his eyes darkened for some reason. He pulled them away only when Reiko spoke.
“Not much is left," she said, clearing her throat slightly. “Now we just need to poke holes in the soil so it can aerate a little, and we're done until the weather is good enough for planting." She tossed Ayla what looked to be a thin metal rod of some kind, slightly sharp on one end. Probably for the aerating.
She didn't want to know what that was about, and instead, just stared at the rod. "Right, go around poking holes," she spoke lightly. That didn't seem too hard. She'd poked holes in tougher things, she supposed. Besides, the ground was softer, easier to penetrate, than the hides of those things. She almost scoffed at the comparison. Instead, she went to work, poking holes here and there where they needed to be. Either she was working at a much slower pace, or time was just going by a little too fast for her comfort.
Once she was finished, she glanced back at the siblings, and she could feel her expression softening for a second. They almost reminded her of them. When it was just the three of them at the time. Without even realizing it, she was smiling softly at the two of them.
Tatsuya and Reiko worked close together, almost shoulder-to-shoulder. Or, well, shoulder-to-arm, considering the height discrepancy. He glanced up and caught Ayla's expression. One eyebrow rose, but he didn't say anything about it, simply returning to his work until everything was done.
Reiko let out a large sigh when she was satisfied, straightening up and brushing her palms against her hakama to get the dirt off. “Whew. This one thinks it might be time for a bath, now," she observed with a smile.
Reiko snapped her out of her stupor, and she shook her head. "I'd say it is," she replied. They were all covered in dirt, but she didn't exactly mind. It was dirt. They could be covered in something worse. "So," she began, placing a hand on her hip and quirking a brow in Reiko's direction. "Does that mean I get to finally take a bath with Rei-Rei?" she knew she was smirking slightly. Plus, it was adorable the way Reiko blushed, sometimes. Of course, she wasn't going to admit that out loud.
Tatsuya snorted, but a slanted smile appeared on his face when Reiko did, indeed, redden. “Hm," he said, stepping forward to drape an arm over one of Reiko's shoulders from behind, putting his chin on her head and mock-glaring at Ayla. “And what if I want to take a bath with my dear sister? She was mine first." He raised an eyebrow.
Reiko sputtered. “S-S-Suya!" She squirmed in his grip. “Th-that's not...!"
“What?" he inquired, almost lazily. “We used to do it all the time."
Reiko was quickly going from red to almost purple, her face was so dark. “When I was a child!"
He chuckled, low and rich, fluffing her hair with his hand.
Oh, so he wanted to play that game again. She snorted in response. "Well if Reiko doesn't mind, I wouldn't object to all of us going. You probably need it more than either of us," she spoke, wrinkling her nose somewhat. Of course, she wasn't being serious, but it was fun teasing Reiko.
Tatsuya grinned back at her. It was certainly more broad than his usual smiles, and exposed the sharpened eyeteeth at either side of his mouth.
Reiko didn't appear to find any of this half as amusing, and huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “If the t-two of you are so f-fine with this, you can t-take one together and leave me out of it!"
"Really, Reiko? You'd let me go bathe with him? Are you not concerned for my well-being? That hurts, Rei-Rei," she spoke, frowning for the effect. She wanted to laugh so much right now at Reiko's expression, but she was also having too much fun. She shrugged slightly and folded her arms across her chest.
"I mean, I suppose I wouldn't mind, but what if he tries to drown me, or something? Do you really want me to disappear? Because that would be on you," she really was a horrible person when she wanted to be.
Tatsuya appeared to be struggling to stifle his laughter. It seemed he didn't mind being cast in the villain role for this purpose.
“O-of course he wouldn't d-do that," Reiko countered, frowning. Of course, she didn't have a face suited to angry expressions, and looked more like she was pouting than anything. “A-And you," she said, rounding on Tatsuya. “Y-You shouldn't say things like that! P-People will get the w-wrong idea!"
He only raised an eyebrow. “People, hm?" he drawled languidly. “And just who are you worried about knowing that, Reiko? Ayla here knows I'm joking."
She sputtered again, seemingly bereft of a reply.
She couldn't contain herself much longer, and laughed. She had to hold her stomach for a moment, because it hurt from laughing too much. Once she was able to recover, she straightened back out and stared at them. "You're too easy, Reiko. Too easy," she replied. She took in a breath and shook her head.
"But hey, I'll still go bathe with you both if that's what you really want, Rei-Rei," she couldn't help herself.
Alone. Probably hungry. Ugh. She hated it. "Fine!" she stated to no one in particular. She was currently alone, so she didn't have to worry about someone hearing her. She'd go check on him, at least. Besides, it was only another day, or two, before Spring would be here, and Sayuri would be leaving. She could at least make sure he had something to tide him over until then.
Her route took her through the garden, where she found Reiko hard at work on the plants. Given how soon spring was, it was hardly a surprise that she needed to do some maintenance on it; right now it looked like she was clearing the ground around some of the temporarily dormant spring and summer plants.
It was an awful lot of snow, but the process was moving a great deal more quickly because Tatsuya was helping, sweeping massive sheets of it away with no more effort than the motion of a hand. He leaned up against one of the trees, pipe in his mouth, and pushed aside all of it with his powers. Apparently, they were both quite confident that none of the humans were around.
Tatsuya noticed her first, offering a nod before he resumed his work. Reiko glanced up a moment later, smiling a little. “Off somewhere, Ayla-san?"
"Yeah, I was," and still is, actually. But she wasn't going to say it like that. "I haven't seen the idiot in awhile, and I figured I might stop by. You know, to make sure he's doing alright," she spoke. She was certain they would know who she was talking about. "I haven't really left him alone for so long," at least not intentionally. The last time they'd been separated, it had been a few centuries before he came back, but that was because he had been meditating.
"You know he can't cook, and he's pretty much hopeless on his own," her frown deepened somewhat. She was, despite what she was known for, truly worried about him.
Reiko looked a bit awkward for a moment, then sighed softly. “He's... he's fed, but this one thinks he's probably lonely." She stated it like it was a confession of some kind. Perhaps it was; after all, she wouldn't be in a position to know that unless she'd gone to see him herself.
“This one probably should have told you earlier, but I wasn't sure if... if it was something you'd want this one to bring up."
Ayla sighed softly. "It would have been fine, Reiko. I might be mad at him, but that doesn't mean I'm not concerned about his well-being. I'd be a horrible sister if I wasn't concerned about him," she scoffed to herself at that statement. She was a horrible sister, regardless, but they didn't need to know that.
"But... next time you see him, will you tell me? I'd like to send him something, too," since she knew a lot of his favorite dishes. "Otherwise, I suppose I could stay and help you clear this out... unless you'd rather have me elsewhere?" she stated, raising a brow in Reiko's direction.
“Oh, um... you can help if you'd like." Reiko looked a little like she wanted to refuse, probably on the grounds that Ayla was a guest. But she acquiesced instead. It seemed she was learning to pick her battles where this kind of thing was concerned. “This one really doesn't need any help clearing, since Suya's doing that. But, um... if you'd like to help this one weed, that would be okay. Just, um... make sure it's only the weeds you pull out. Some of the herbs are a little hard to tell apart from those."
"Yeah, he seems to be doing a good job at that," she snorted softly, glancing in Tatsuya's direction. She shrugged her shoulders, though, and made her way towards where Reiko was. "I'll be able to pick them apart by smell, Reiko. Did you forget?" she stated, tapping her nose in the process. She could tell them apart by smell, so she didn't have to really worry about pulling out the wrong ones. The ones she didn't, however, want to pull were the ones with thorns.
Very rare did weeds have thorns on them, and she highly doubted that there were some in Reiko's garden, however; that didn't mean there wasn't a possibility of them being there. With the extra set of hands, it was easier, and faster, to weed the garden. It was, oddly, calming for Ayla. She did, however, manage to prick herself with a thorn, but it wasn't enough to pierce her skin. It just scraped it. She scoffed at it before she straightened out her back, and glanced down at Reiko.
"Alright, what's next?"
Reiko seemed to shake herself, as though her mind had been elsewhere. She blinked and brought her eyes back into focus. Tatsuya, on the other hand, was staring at her now, his eyes darkened for some reason. He pulled them away only when Reiko spoke.
“Not much is left," she said, clearing her throat slightly. “Now we just need to poke holes in the soil so it can aerate a little, and we're done until the weather is good enough for planting." She tossed Ayla what looked to be a thin metal rod of some kind, slightly sharp on one end. Probably for the aerating.
She didn't want to know what that was about, and instead, just stared at the rod. "Right, go around poking holes," she spoke lightly. That didn't seem too hard. She'd poked holes in tougher things, she supposed. Besides, the ground was softer, easier to penetrate, than the hides of those things. She almost scoffed at the comparison. Instead, she went to work, poking holes here and there where they needed to be. Either she was working at a much slower pace, or time was just going by a little too fast for her comfort.
Once she was finished, she glanced back at the siblings, and she could feel her expression softening for a second. They almost reminded her of them. When it was just the three of them at the time. Without even realizing it, she was smiling softly at the two of them.
Tatsuya and Reiko worked close together, almost shoulder-to-shoulder. Or, well, shoulder-to-arm, considering the height discrepancy. He glanced up and caught Ayla's expression. One eyebrow rose, but he didn't say anything about it, simply returning to his work until everything was done.
Reiko let out a large sigh when she was satisfied, straightening up and brushing her palms against her hakama to get the dirt off. “Whew. This one thinks it might be time for a bath, now," she observed with a smile.
Reiko snapped her out of her stupor, and she shook her head. "I'd say it is," she replied. They were all covered in dirt, but she didn't exactly mind. It was dirt. They could be covered in something worse. "So," she began, placing a hand on her hip and quirking a brow in Reiko's direction. "Does that mean I get to finally take a bath with Rei-Rei?" she knew she was smirking slightly. Plus, it was adorable the way Reiko blushed, sometimes. Of course, she wasn't going to admit that out loud.
Tatsuya snorted, but a slanted smile appeared on his face when Reiko did, indeed, redden. “Hm," he said, stepping forward to drape an arm over one of Reiko's shoulders from behind, putting his chin on her head and mock-glaring at Ayla. “And what if I want to take a bath with my dear sister? She was mine first." He raised an eyebrow.
Reiko sputtered. “S-S-Suya!" She squirmed in his grip. “Th-that's not...!"
“What?" he inquired, almost lazily. “We used to do it all the time."
Reiko was quickly going from red to almost purple, her face was so dark. “When I was a child!"
He chuckled, low and rich, fluffing her hair with his hand.
Oh, so he wanted to play that game again. She snorted in response. "Well if Reiko doesn't mind, I wouldn't object to all of us going. You probably need it more than either of us," she spoke, wrinkling her nose somewhat. Of course, she wasn't being serious, but it was fun teasing Reiko.
Tatsuya grinned back at her. It was certainly more broad than his usual smiles, and exposed the sharpened eyeteeth at either side of his mouth.
Reiko didn't appear to find any of this half as amusing, and huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “If the t-two of you are so f-fine with this, you can t-take one together and leave me out of it!"
"Really, Reiko? You'd let me go bathe with him? Are you not concerned for my well-being? That hurts, Rei-Rei," she spoke, frowning for the effect. She wanted to laugh so much right now at Reiko's expression, but she was also having too much fun. She shrugged slightly and folded her arms across her chest.
"I mean, I suppose I wouldn't mind, but what if he tries to drown me, or something? Do you really want me to disappear? Because that would be on you," she really was a horrible person when she wanted to be.
Tatsuya appeared to be struggling to stifle his laughter. It seemed he didn't mind being cast in the villain role for this purpose.
“O-of course he wouldn't d-do that," Reiko countered, frowning. Of course, she didn't have a face suited to angry expressions, and looked more like she was pouting than anything. “A-And you," she said, rounding on Tatsuya. “Y-You shouldn't say things like that! P-People will get the w-wrong idea!"
He only raised an eyebrow. “People, hm?" he drawled languidly. “And just who are you worried about knowing that, Reiko? Ayla here knows I'm joking."
She sputtered again, seemingly bereft of a reply.
She couldn't contain herself much longer, and laughed. She had to hold her stomach for a moment, because it hurt from laughing too much. Once she was able to recover, she straightened back out and stared at them. "You're too easy, Reiko. Too easy," she replied. She took in a breath and shook her head.
"But hey, I'll still go bathe with you both if that's what you really want, Rei-Rei," she couldn't help herself.