The tension in the dining room couldn't be higher and weirder at the same time. Sunny, still standing in front of the door, had to turn his head around to look at the cook. Vincent's question was just stupid, maybe a mockery of his situation. Master Theseus, Nephis and now him ? Everyone wants a piece of his sanity today or what ?
[Vincent]:"I'm not crazy, alright? Maybe just hear me out ?"
[Sunless]:"Can I leave if I say no ?"
[Vincent]:"Nah."
Holding some curse words through sheer will, Sunny couldn't keep himself from gritting his teeth. Forced to do something. He hated it. Moving his little body compared to Vincent, even if he was here against his will, that wouldn't mean that Sunny wouldn't make it hard for that cursed man.
'As you wish…It's not my problem anymore… it's ours.'
He wouldn't say anything by himself. Yes it was spiteful, but he had never said that he wasn't.
Still, Vincent, noticing that the kid was willing to stay, resumed speaking his mind.
[Vincent]:"You need a teacher. Jeanne and Dana are off the table. That leaves ya with just Plume and Ashe. Am I right ?"
No words were said, but that was enough.
[Vincent]:"You want to be as sharp as Ashe and as tough as Plume."
[Sunless]:"… "
[Vincent]:"You know why I'm still stickin' around despite my… "charm" ?"
[Sunless]:"Your cooking ?"
An amused laugh rang, forcing Sunny to turn completely to face off the man.
Vincent had a tear rolling on one of his cheek, holding his stomach trying to contain the most of his laugh.
Sunny didn't like it.
[Vincent]:"S-So… For ya I'm just a cook ?"
[Sunless]:"And ?"
[Vincent]:"Didn't ya ever wonder why I was the first to show up here ? All b'myself ?"
[Sunless]:"Why ? You're gonna tell me that you're the strongest here since the beginning ?"
[Vincent]:"Nah, but I'm the toughest to kill. Plus, I was Ashe and Broken Sword's disciple.
[Sunless]:"You ly-"
[Vincent]:"And Plume's been trained under me since Ashe had to take over the Clan after Broken Sword died. But, damn, her style's all about fightin' -… way more than mine. So yeah, if we went at it serious, she'd probably whoop me. If you don't believe me, just ask Plume herself — you'll be seein' her soon for your sign language lesson."
No one said a word for a moment after that, Sunny looked at him. The anger was less and less present in his eyes, replaced by a raw melange of distrust and annoyance.
[Sunless]:"Are we done ?"
Vincent seemed a bit sad, for real this time. Not that Sunny cared, already reaching for the doorknob.
[Vincent]:"I am. But my offer? I'm waitin' for you to realize how weak you are to take it.
This mocking tone was the last thing he heard before leaving this place.
Vincent? Teaching him?
He can fucked himself if he want to but Sunny will never bite into his lies.
If a Master wasn't capable of doing so, why would the cook ?
Now he wanted to take a shower, not only to take off all the sweat that he had accumulated from the training ground but also to help him relax.
Even he had a hard time believing that he was only nine.
'Did Nephis lived like that since all this time ?'
A step out of his world, and one step into hers.
If it was this exhausting, Sunny may have found why she was illogical. He would have also lost his marble in those conditions.
The girl was still haunting his thoughts, and not in any good way possible.
She was a mystery that he couldn't comprehend.
No, he was understanding of her past. But her reactions were so random that he didn't know what to think of it.
'There is no way that she doesn't dislike me. She is still acting like an imp sometimes… Only to be nice afterward. I…She…Just…Argh… I really need a shower… '
Sunny still had time before his meet-up with Plume.
Reaching his bedroom, it was… in a mess.
But an organized mess. Sunny didn't like things when they were too clean, too new… With some hiding place within it to place things if one day he came by something to hide.
Jeanne had once asked him why he acted like this, and he simply answered with a few words.
Because, now, I feel at home.
Since then, no one had ever tried to ask him to do too much cleaning-up.
Without wasting any time, Sunny moved into the shower. Let the burning water melt any pain, trouble, feeling and thought. He hated cold water, and the same for lukewarm water.
His pale skin was now red, but at least, he felt great about it.
Taking new clothes, Sunny had now a ritual.
-"Thanks you."
Those clothes were not his, it was a memento of a child. He didn't know him, but it was his way to show respect to him. He had never done it in front of anyone, not even Jeanne. Showing it would be… like destroying the meaning behind it.
It would be no different to helping someone only to brag about it later on.
A pair of gray jeans with a dark t-shirt. It was enough for him.
While putting on the clothes, Sunny was looking at a note book standing on a small desk. It was surrounded by multiple pieces of paper scattered all around.
Some were about his training, others about his thoughts. All private.
But the note book was something else.
A present, one of the only that he accepted without any hesitation.
His personal logbook, shared only with Plume. One where she had taught him how to write and where she was writing her tips, drawing on it. A summary of their exchanges, one that he could read every time he wanted to.
Time was moving fast, and so he sat on his bed. The blanket was not at his right place to begin with and his sheet was half off the mattress so it was not a problem. After all, why would he waste his time on making his bed if it was to inevitably unmake it at the end of the day ?
'Why did I sound like Nephis now…?'
It felt wrong.
It felt really wrong.
Because of that, Sunny had to stand up, only to make his bed. Sitting now in the corner to not mess up his work, he felt better.
Now he was different from her.
The note book on his lap, Sunny was practicing alone.
Closing his eyes to imagine Plume in front of him. Having a discussion with her. He didn't know much but at least it was good for his memory.
He remembered all the time she had to tell him to slow down. Or to not look at his hands. That the body was speaking altogether, not just the hands. That his eyes and facial expression was giving away some help to comprehend the emotion behind his message.
But that was not important for now.
Returning to basics, he was working on his alphabet.
Lacking a word or two was not that bad. Because he could still spell it to the guy in front of him.
But… There was no random guy.
He was training with only Plume in mind.
Learning her mimic, her dialect.
The flow of time had lost his meaning, the world outside was nothingness. His imagination was all he needed right now. He needs to get his hand on this line, this golden line. The one he named "Logic".
Logic was behind every movement and any choice.
Getting a grasp on Logic would help him learn faster. Because repeating and memorizing was easy, but without understanding, it would be as far as he can get.
Attempted to imagine, struggling to understand what could be the sign to express some words. Some were logical in his mind but it felt almost like recreating his own version which was not what he wanted.
Because, the one behind it was not a machine but a human being, so Logic was not the same depending on the emotion, the situation, the time…
And yet, even with this mindstate, his mind kept being stuck on something. Someone, a girl shaped enigma. His grasp on Logic was getting weaker each time her image flashed in his imagination. And questions that made no sense were blooming. All around her. All about her. Some wishes that would never be granted.
'The nursery…why?'
'The sign for waffles?'
'The logic behind all the signs I saw before…'
'I need to-'
'I wonder what her laugh would sound like…'
'Because I wanted to…what does that means…SHUSH DAMN MIND I WANT TO FOCUS'
Frustration was growing but Sunless was an avatar of dedication, so forcing a bit more to push away those intrusive thoughts, his training was resuming.
Viewing Plume in his mind waiting patiently, to only then get close to him and pinch his forehead…
Now, question… Why did it hurt ?
…
Sunny looked at her, opening his eyes… but his eyes were already open, they were even a little bit dry. Blinking away the discomfort, Sunny looked at the woman or at least tried to. His blurry view was not very helpful.
Still, he could hear her breathing, shaking from her mute laugh.
[Sunless]-"H-Hey, it's not fun ! Don't do tricks on me like that next time Plume !"
A weight had been lifted from his legs, and he could see her form move. After a moment, he was already getting better and in front of him was her message written on the note book.
[Plume]:"[I did nothing. It been almost twenty minutes I arrived, since that, I'm looking at you.]"
He knew that Plume wasn't lying, but still, Sunny couldn't really believe it.
[Sunless]:"Okay but why didn't you wake me up before ? Twenty minutes… I had my eyes open for twenty minutes !?"
She was clearly taking the situation with amusement. Her smile growing after each of his reaction. Still she didn't leave him without truth. Because her arm reclaimed the note book, letting her other hand take care of the message.
In less than half a second, it was back in front of Sunny's eyes.
[Plume]:"[Okay so first, I tried but you look really too focused to be distracted by any sound that I could make without breaking anything. And second, no… Your eyes were only open for one minute, max. But, still, I'm surprised.]"
Sunny looked at her intrigued.
[Sunless]:"By what ?"
[Plume]:"[For once, your bed is not a mess.]"
[Sunless]:"Hey !"
[Plume]:"[But seriously, I'm impressed. It's nice to see you getting that involved in your study. But tell me what were you actually doing ? Because I think I saw you passing through your alphabet but after that, I saw you using weird signs.]
He had a weird feeling. Something warm from the center of his belly. It was nostalgic…
This sensation was also slightly in his cheeks and the tops of his ears. Why did Plume look at him like that ?
He didn't like that…
[Sunless]:"It was weird because I tried to fill the blank that I had. I want to be able to talk about more things than myself and the weather… So I tried to find out how to express myself in another scenario."
[Plume]:"[So you were talking to someone ? Who was it ?]"
[Sunless]:"You. Why would I use sign language for someone else ?"
Weirdly enough, Plume looked both happy and sad at the same time. Like she had hope for a present but got something else that was as wanted.
[Plume]:"[Okay. Let's redo those conversations, but this time, with me. Not an imaginary version of myself. Are you ready ?]
[Sunless]:"I… it was kinda personal… "
[Plume]:"[After all you had told me ? Are you still afraid of my reaction ?]"
[Sunless]:"Not your reaction. Just… It feels weird to repeat it in front of you. Like… it feels like I'm training in front of a mirror, then I have to say the same thing to the real deal… Wouldn't you be afraid in my place?"
The good thing about Plume is that her face was very expressive. So Sunny saw that she was clearly uneasy by the situation, or more precisely, the question.
Still she took her pen and wrote her thoughts on the matter.
[Plume]:"[I would be afraid. But I think I would try if the person in front of me knew about the matter and proposed to help. Still, if you don't want to do it, I'll never push you to do so.]"
Looking at the note book, Sunny didn't know what to say.
What he wanted to do, what he should do…
[Sunless]:"I think… that I would want to try… But not today. I'm just exhausted today."
[Plume]:"[Oh, what happened ? If you'll excuse my curiosity, of course]"
[Sunless]:"It not like it would stay a secret because of Vincent...But to make it short… Theseus won't teach me anymore, Nephis took me to the nursery and I tried to act like nothing happened but Vincent just had to be like a rat with his nose… So he just tricked me into revealing my presence there."
Plume was just looking at him, no judgment in her green eyes. Maybe a bit of surprise but only compassion was left after that.
[Sunless]:"But that's not the worst part… Vincent had to lie and tell me that he trained you and was a disciple of Ashe and Broken Sword. He even dared to ask if I wanted to learn from him."
She looked at him with a smile. But something was off, like trying to be nice before explaining to a kid that his pet was dead.
To make his fear come true, she had to write something. Only to seemingly hesitate to show him.
No, he recognized this smile, it was an awkward one.
[Plume]:"[He didn't lie.]"
'I hate this day.'
Yet, she wasn't finished already.
[Plume]:"[Vincent is scary as hell.]"
…
'Okay, should I laugh now ?..'