Post by Shinku on Jul 4, 2020 20:23:34 GMT -5
Huh?! What's happening?!
Being grabbed by the hand like that was odd and a rather new experience for the teenage boy. So far, people had only grabbed him violently, usually to push him down or lock his movements. The woman's gesture was far more gentle and seemed almost intimate.
It couldn't be that she fancied him, could it? Rince had heard about such a thing but never experienced it himself, but he imagined it to be something like this. At least that was a lot like how it happened in the romance novels he had read.
But those things usually didn't happen in situations where someone had just died. Or well.. they did, but that was books for you. It didn't seem very realistic for a real life situation. In all likelihood she was just very affected by her feeling of grief, which had let her to look for company in someone she barely knew. Maybe that was her way of dealing with her feelings. It was the most likely explaination for her startling behavior.
Still his ears were burning red as he turned around to face the girl.
Octavia had already removed her hand, had indeed done so as soon as she had touched his and she was now averting her gaze. Which was straingly matching up with the behavior of girls in love from the romance novels.
Even though he knew that was probably not it, it still made him feel more embarrassed about the situation. But he couldn't just go and leave her standing here. Not when she had asked him to stay so sincerly.
Besides, she wasn't the only one who wished to talk about her father. Otto had been important for him as well and talking about him and what had happened to him with someone who had known him, was starting to become a need for him that he previously didn't know he had.
„No. That does not sound like him at all.“ he agreed. It was really hard to imagine that someone like the monkey man had died from a hearth attack. But then again, it didn't sound like an unusual thing either.
Some people could look healthy like an aurochs, but drop dead from one day to another.
Had Otto been suffering from a heart defect that no one knew about until it was too late? It seemed strange to imagine that the man had managed to go through all that training he did while suffering from such a thing. But when it came to human bodies, Rince was painfully aware from experience how easily they were to break. That was...
It was hard to accept.
But it was part of life.
Part of him wondered what Otto would have thougth about his way of dying. Would he have been angry to die like that, rather than in the middle of a fight, doing his best like he always was?
Or would he have laughed at how stupid it was that someone like him would die in such a stupid way.
Rince didn't know. Just asking himself that question hurt.
It was definitelly not the way Rince himself would have imagined his friend to die. Somehow it was harder to accept his death like this because there didn't seem to be any reason to it. But on the other hand, Rince had to admit to himself that he was also feeling relief at the thought that his friend hadn't been killed by anyone. No reason to hate someone over his friend's death. No reason to ask himself if there was something he could have done to prevent it. No reason to feel guilty of no having done his due to his friend.
Maybe him having died of a hearth failure was for the best after all...
He didn't tell her any of that though. This were thoughts only for himself. Besides, it would have been rather insensitive of him to say so and Rince wasn't stupid. Okay, yes. Maybe he was a little inexperienced and insecure when it came to social interactions but he wasn't a complete dunce.
„It's all right. It's perfectly fine to cry.“ he told her, though he wished he knew what to do in such a situation. He didn't own a handkerchief to offer her and just the thought of giving her a hug to comfort her made him squeamish. That was just not something he could do at all!
So he tentatively tried to give her a pat on the shoulder.
It was a rather hesistant gesture which lacked much force and even someone handling porcelain might have used more strength than he did. It was a rather awkward situation all together.
„Right. I'll just go and wash my face really quick. I'll be in the kitchen to help you in a moment.“
Now that he had stopped with his excercise, the sweat was getting chilly and the cold air really got to him as he stepped outside to one of the big water barrels that stood in front of the dojo.
The ice layer on the water was not thick and it wasn't hard to break it.
With fingers that felt frozen almost immediately as they touched the icy water, he splashed his face with a handfull and shiverd.
Why did those training freaks have to wash themselves with cold water like that?! Especially when there WAS an optioon for a warm bath around.
But as he had already gone against his habit of not training and properly done some morning practice – as he always did when he visited the dojo – Rince also quickly washed himself with the cold water, before he went to help.
„Oh.. wow.“
The kitchen did indeed look as if a group of wild animals had thrown a party in it. Even the kitchen he had blown up by accident hadn't looked that bad.
Rince had no clue how good or bad Octavia's cooking was, but he seriously hoped that it was better than her cleaning skills.
No matter how muched you cooked, a kitchen should not be looking that way after you finished.
He mentally rolled up the sleeves he didn't have and went to work.
The first thing he did was sort the dirty dishes and used pans and pots, putting the glas containers and the least dirty stuff first while placing the dirtiest pieces farther away so he could clean them in the right order.
Then he filled the kitchen sink with water and a bit of soap and began to wash the dishes.
Next came the kitchen itself.
Somehow the woman had managed to get food pieces stuck all over the place. Not just on the table or the hotplate but on the cupboards and the walls and even the lamp too! As he was cleaning one after the other, he opened them and cleaned the inside as good as he could. If there had been more time (and a proper place to put the cupboard's insides somewhere) he would have cleaned them properly, but for now that had to do.
The last thing to clean was the floor.
Once everything was finished Rince examined his work and felt very pleased. Just like the training earlier, this work had kept him from thinking too much about hurtful things and it had also proven to be really satisfying especially now that he could see the results.
Sure, the windows were still less than ideal and it was far from a serious spring cleaning that would involve cleaning the inside of the cupboards as well. Which reminded him that he hadn't cleaned the ofen either. Hopefully they wouldn't need to use it again today.
But it was fine. The kitchen was still something that could be considered clean.
Now the dirtiest piece inside the kitchen was actually himself!
Realizing that he was running out of time, he hurried to wash himself properly this time and get dressed.
„I wonder where Bruce actually vanished to?“
He hadn't seen the haggis since last evening.
Being grabbed by the hand like that was odd and a rather new experience for the teenage boy. So far, people had only grabbed him violently, usually to push him down or lock his movements. The woman's gesture was far more gentle and seemed almost intimate.
It couldn't be that she fancied him, could it? Rince had heard about such a thing but never experienced it himself, but he imagined it to be something like this. At least that was a lot like how it happened in the romance novels he had read.
But those things usually didn't happen in situations where someone had just died. Or well.. they did, but that was books for you. It didn't seem very realistic for a real life situation. In all likelihood she was just very affected by her feeling of grief, which had let her to look for company in someone she barely knew. Maybe that was her way of dealing with her feelings. It was the most likely explaination for her startling behavior.
Still his ears were burning red as he turned around to face the girl.
Octavia had already removed her hand, had indeed done so as soon as she had touched his and she was now averting her gaze. Which was straingly matching up with the behavior of girls in love from the romance novels.
Even though he knew that was probably not it, it still made him feel more embarrassed about the situation. But he couldn't just go and leave her standing here. Not when she had asked him to stay so sincerly.
Besides, she wasn't the only one who wished to talk about her father. Otto had been important for him as well and talking about him and what had happened to him with someone who had known him, was starting to become a need for him that he previously didn't know he had.
„No. That does not sound like him at all.“ he agreed. It was really hard to imagine that someone like the monkey man had died from a hearth attack. But then again, it didn't sound like an unusual thing either.
Some people could look healthy like an aurochs, but drop dead from one day to another.
Had Otto been suffering from a heart defect that no one knew about until it was too late? It seemed strange to imagine that the man had managed to go through all that training he did while suffering from such a thing. But when it came to human bodies, Rince was painfully aware from experience how easily they were to break. That was...
It was hard to accept.
But it was part of life.
Part of him wondered what Otto would have thougth about his way of dying. Would he have been angry to die like that, rather than in the middle of a fight, doing his best like he always was?
Or would he have laughed at how stupid it was that someone like him would die in such a stupid way.
Rince didn't know. Just asking himself that question hurt.
It was definitelly not the way Rince himself would have imagined his friend to die. Somehow it was harder to accept his death like this because there didn't seem to be any reason to it. But on the other hand, Rince had to admit to himself that he was also feeling relief at the thought that his friend hadn't been killed by anyone. No reason to hate someone over his friend's death. No reason to ask himself if there was something he could have done to prevent it. No reason to feel guilty of no having done his due to his friend.
Maybe him having died of a hearth failure was for the best after all...
He didn't tell her any of that though. This were thoughts only for himself. Besides, it would have been rather insensitive of him to say so and Rince wasn't stupid. Okay, yes. Maybe he was a little inexperienced and insecure when it came to social interactions but he wasn't a complete dunce.
„It's all right. It's perfectly fine to cry.“ he told her, though he wished he knew what to do in such a situation. He didn't own a handkerchief to offer her and just the thought of giving her a hug to comfort her made him squeamish. That was just not something he could do at all!
So he tentatively tried to give her a pat on the shoulder.
It was a rather hesistant gesture which lacked much force and even someone handling porcelain might have used more strength than he did. It was a rather awkward situation all together.
„Right. I'll just go and wash my face really quick. I'll be in the kitchen to help you in a moment.“
Now that he had stopped with his excercise, the sweat was getting chilly and the cold air really got to him as he stepped outside to one of the big water barrels that stood in front of the dojo.
The ice layer on the water was not thick and it wasn't hard to break it.
With fingers that felt frozen almost immediately as they touched the icy water, he splashed his face with a handfull and shiverd.
Why did those training freaks have to wash themselves with cold water like that?! Especially when there WAS an optioon for a warm bath around.
But as he had already gone against his habit of not training and properly done some morning practice – as he always did when he visited the dojo – Rince also quickly washed himself with the cold water, before he went to help.
„Oh.. wow.“
The kitchen did indeed look as if a group of wild animals had thrown a party in it. Even the kitchen he had blown up by accident hadn't looked that bad.
Rince had no clue how good or bad Octavia's cooking was, but he seriously hoped that it was better than her cleaning skills.
No matter how muched you cooked, a kitchen should not be looking that way after you finished.
He mentally rolled up the sleeves he didn't have and went to work.
The first thing he did was sort the dirty dishes and used pans and pots, putting the glas containers and the least dirty stuff first while placing the dirtiest pieces farther away so he could clean them in the right order.
Then he filled the kitchen sink with water and a bit of soap and began to wash the dishes.
Next came the kitchen itself.
Somehow the woman had managed to get food pieces stuck all over the place. Not just on the table or the hotplate but on the cupboards and the walls and even the lamp too! As he was cleaning one after the other, he opened them and cleaned the inside as good as he could. If there had been more time (and a proper place to put the cupboard's insides somewhere) he would have cleaned them properly, but for now that had to do.
The last thing to clean was the floor.
Once everything was finished Rince examined his work and felt very pleased. Just like the training earlier, this work had kept him from thinking too much about hurtful things and it had also proven to be really satisfying especially now that he could see the results.
Sure, the windows were still less than ideal and it was far from a serious spring cleaning that would involve cleaning the inside of the cupboards as well. Which reminded him that he hadn't cleaned the ofen either. Hopefully they wouldn't need to use it again today.
But it was fine. The kitchen was still something that could be considered clean.
Now the dirtiest piece inside the kitchen was actually himself!
Realizing that he was running out of time, he hurried to wash himself properly this time and get dressed.
„I wonder where Bruce actually vanished to?“
He hadn't seen the haggis since last evening.