let's demeleier

[eyesforward]

[Sadie's been in this miserable hole for only a couple of days. All things considered, she thinks, it could be a lot worse—she has a croft all to herself, which is certainly better than nothing. Makes things a lot easier. And people are really helpful. A lot of people have already reached out to her a bit, making sure she's got what she needs. She's familiar enough with how to use her mirror, which she's left back in her bed, under her pillow. She even has a ball of iron in her pants pocket.

That's not to say that she isn't carrying around an idle sense of dread in the back of her mind, of course. There's lots of violent attacks by monsters, which, you know, even if Sadie is a pretty capable and independent person, is still a frightening and stressful prospect. That besides, Sadie's learned that the time spent in this place, while it at least isn't forever, is indeterminate; she doesn't know when next she'll see her friends, or her mom.

She knows it's useless to dwell on that too much, though—so she's trying to focus on something more productive. So right now, she's just focusing on splitting logs on top a tree stump—she doesn't need a ton of firewood for herself personally, but extra doesn't hurt. She'd like to have some resources to share in return for the kindness that these fellow captive inhabitants have shown her...

She's been at it a while. Splitting another small log in half cleanly with a well-centered, heavy chop, Sadie deflates with a heavy exhale, wiping sweat off her brow. She was a little chilly earlier, but now she's honestly a little over-warm, and a little winded. Maybe she'd gone a little too hard. She decides it's time for a break. She rests the hatchet atop the splintered stump.]

Comments

[eyesforward]

Sadie, [She corrects him with a little laugh, eyeing him in a way that's both friendly and chastising as she raises an eyebrow. To be fair, they only gave names once. Sadie was just... you know, thoughtful, and had a good memory.

She takes the sandwich from Ezekiel, then gazes up at him, holding the foodstuff with both hands.]

Hey, so—do you make food for everyone every day? Is this normal for you?

[hotbleets]

Oh! Sorry, Sadie. [he says her name with emphasis, as if he's trying to really put it in his head this time.]

Well... Everyone has to eat everyday, right? And, well, the bread's not gonna bake itself...

[He plays it with a very genuine modesty.] If you're asking if you can expect me to make lunch, the answer's yes. Um, unless something bad happens. But, most of the time, bad stuff doesn't happen. Every morning I get up, make bread, milk the animals, make butter, and start making lunch. I like to get my work finished early.

[he says all of this with a brightness. They're chores, but he doesn't seem weighted by them.]

[eyesforward]

Oh! N-no! No, I wasn't looking to expect anything. I was just curious.

It's just really nice of you to do all that stuff. It sounds like hard work.

[Speaking of Ezekiel's self imposed job, Sadie has a bite of the sandwich he gave her.]

[hotbleets]

Well, it's okay. It's not like there's a grocery store here, so it's important to know where food's coming from.

And anyway, I don't know what I would be doing if I weren't cooking. And, you know, we're such a small community... [He spoke as if any of this was by choice, like they all just moved in together.]

Speaking of that, do you have any skills? What did you do back home?

[eyesforward]

Oh—[Embarrassed, Sadie looks away, her cheeks turning a little pink as she covers her mouth, swallowing her bite of food. She glances sheepishly back up at Ezekiel.] Nothing much, really. I'm just a cashier, back home.

But uh—I'm pretty tough, and that's come in handy. I can fight.

No real skills though, I think...

Huh. Guess I hadn't thought about it. That's kinda depressing.

[hotbleets]

Tough is good, kinda sucks here though unless you're really powerful or something. I'm pretty tough back home but mostly helpless here. There's some scary magicks everyone uses... [he finally sets the sandwiches down and takes one for himself.]

Huh, well... What do you like to do?

[eyesforward]

Magic...? Oh man. I'm just like—regular tough. Maybe that's not so useful here...

[Sadie pulls from her doubts to focus on Ezekiel again, and she smiles sheepishly.]

Oh, you know, watch horror movies, go for walks, hang out with friends... [Wow. Does she sound like the most boring person on the planet, or what. Sadie is distantly aware of this and grows self conscious.] —I also like doing things that are physically engaging, but I don't really have any one specific hobby.

[hotbleets]

Hmm... Well. At least you can do two of those things here. You can probably learn a skill from someone, you seem capable. Not everyone around here can even split logs, you know! You should see my boyfriend, he just pulverizes the stuff. He broke one of the hatchets and got banned from log splitting.

[Ezekiel laugh-bleats softly about it.]

And I'm not allowed in the forge since it's so hot. But they gotta smelt stuff all the time, you know.

[eyesforward]

[Whoa boyfriend what. Sadie's cheeks redden a little—she's not exactly scandalized or anything like that, but she's literally just never had something like that doled out so casually. She's not even sure she's met anyone so naturally out before.]

W-wow, sounds like he's...intense.

Why aren't you allowed in the forge? Don't suppose you're particularly prone to heatstroke, being a demon and all... [As if that change in subject could be less uncomfortable...]