wizardmanor | Floor 3, Room 3

Oh, good, so the old wizards are about as useless as everyone else here. Great, wonderful.

[ Bruno is not immune to being mean sometimes, okay? This has all been very stressful. Still, with a sigh, he deposits what he got from the bucket in one of the little wooden constructions he's been working on around the room. ]

...lemme know if this one is big enough for ya, alright? [ There he goes, talking to a rat. Anyway. He turns back towards Tatara. ] Would I go back? I mean, yeah? I'd probably go and... and stay there until this all blows over, actually, if I could.

[ Maybe they were. Tatara doesn't think so, but then again, he's a bit too easygoing.

He chuckles at that. ]

You know, there's nothing stopping you from coming and going as you please. You're welcome to stay in the South for days at a time if you want to, especially if it's more comfortable.

[ Surprisingly, he thinks this means Bruno has taken to the spirits that have claimed him, and this relieves him.

He smiles. ]

Just don't hide, okay? I'll have to find you again if I need you.

There isn't?

[ Look, he sort of assumed he was expected to stay here when not, like, actively working on something. Now he has to seriously consider that option, but... ]

W-well, maybe just some days. There's some stuff I'd like to do there, and I want to see if I can talk to the spirits better, y'know, if I spend more time there.

[ There isn't! Tatara shakes his head. ]

Mm hmm. You're totally welcome to.

[ He smiles. He's genuinely happy about this! Ahh, he had been so worried about Bruno at the beginning. ]

I'm glad you like it so much, Uncle Bruno.

Th... thanks?

[ Unsure? ]

Huh. I dunno where I would stay even if I went between here and there more often.

Hmm... Good question.

[ He's also the type to wander somewhere until he finds a bed to sleep in, so that Bruno's thinking about it shows a lot of foresight, in his opinion. He nestles his cheek in his palm. ]

Someone might offer you lodgings, right? I dunno if you'd have enough money for a house...

A house is... oh, no, totally not a house. That. That would be, like, putting roots down? Which I'm, um, not? Uh, I dunno, maybe someone does take lodgers... or I can just get a tent set up... somewhere?

Ooh, like roughing it in the wilderness? I've heard the South is really pretty. That might be fun!

[ Extremely helpful input. ]

If you get a tent set up, can I come visit you?

Can you...? I mean, sure, if you want. It can be pretty but it's still really wild, too, so be prepared for that.

[ Tatara chuckles! Hehe. ]

Prepared? I'm looking forward to it, if anything! Wow, I've never gone camping before...

[ He may or may not have slept in the streets before but! A tent! In the wilderness! Whee!

Forgive him for talking like it's going to happen no matter what. ]

[ Sure, but now that he sounds so excited about it, how can Bruno let him down? :( ]

I mean, neither have I, but uh. It can't be that different from, um. My. Setup before. When I lived alone. [ ...in the walls haha... ] Just, y'know, add a tent or two. Get some stuff to sleep on, a campfire, all that stuff.

[ Yay! Camping with Uncle Bruno!

Not that Tatara knows all that much about camping, though, so he shrugs. ]

I think that sounds about right. [ He has no idea!

But he's also curious because of some of that wording, so— ] You didn't have stuff to sleep on when you lived alone?

[ Ha ha, wow, here comes an awkward silence. His gaze flits over to the pile of bedding on the floor. It's more like a rat's nest than anything else. He really should get a real bed set up... ]

Er, well. I had a chair? It was a really comfy chair? There. There wasn't a lot of space in there.

[ Tatara tilts his head in his palm, lets one hand drop to gently poke at the carpet. He looks at Bruno not out of pity or sympathy, but with calm camaraderie. ]

A really comfy chair sounds nice. Was it green, too?

[ The way he smiles is almost nostalgic. ]

[ Weird how that doesn't even faze Tatara but who is Bruno to complain? In a way, it's comforting, that his sheer lack of actual bed for the past decade is simply accepted. ]

Green? Oh, no. It was more of a red? Pretty faded by the time I ended up here, though.

Ahh, that's too bad. I think green suits you better.

[ He smiles. ]

I only ever had one futon growing up. It was pretty threadbare by the time my dad died.

[ It isn't direct, but it's his own roundabout way of saying, we're probably the same. ]

O-oh. Sorry... uh, about your dad. Not the. Well, maybe sorry about the futon, too, but...

[ He has no idea what that is but he's guessing something bed-like considering the topic. ]

It's okay. He passed a long time ago.

[ Like a distant memory. He doesn't seem all that bothered. ]

It's okay about the futon, too. It was all I knew at the time, and I didn't even really notice.

[ He smiles. ]

If you wanted to get a bed, I can go to town with you. [ No judgment. Just bed purchasing.

But also no judgment if he simply wishes to continue on as he is now, because Tatara sure does sleep on the couch in his room. ]

Edited 2024-05-10 14:08 (UTC)

[ It doesn't mean Bruno feels any less sorry for Tatara. What would it have been like, to have a dad? But a bed, a bed makes for less sad discussion, so. ]

Wait, really? We can just go out and get a bed?

[ Tatara had two, really. But he barely knew either. Did the second one even count as a dad at all?

He gives a nod, like Bruno just asked him if he'd like to accompany him to the pharmacy. ]

Mm-hmm. There are furniture stores in the central capital. You probably have more than enough allowance to get a comfy one now.

...y'know, I keep forgetting I have that. Buying stuff is the weirdest.

[ They don't have that in the valley. They're too small and self-contained for currency. Of course, that might also explain the lack of coherent decor at this point. ]

But... but yeah! Let's go! I'll. I can probably handle the city now, yeah, that's fine.

I'd be more than happy to go with you, of course.

[ There's joy in him to see Bruno finding his footing... He's almost certain Bruno has done this all himself, but if there's anything more he can do, he'd gladly do it. ]

We could go early in the morning right when the stores open. There's less people then.

[ If that helps? ]

Yeah... Yeah, that's a good idea.

[ Early morning shopping trip with the sage? Sounds like it might actually be fun? For once? Amazing. ]

We can do that. Uh, thanks? For thinking of it. I... I probably would have never.

[ He chuckles. ] It's not a problem.

[ With an easy smile, he extends a fist. Fistbump? ]

I'll come get you early tomorrow, then?

[ Cue a confused look at the fist. Give him a second. Processing... processing? Uhhhhh. Bruno slowly mimics the gesture but he doesn't fistbump. He isn't aware that's what he should do, sorry. ]

Sure thing. I'll try to get some real sleep at a normal time for once if we're going early.

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1145pm - 2024-05-13 09:37 (UTC) - Expand