[CLOSED] Mydei #1 Finalist of Hell's Kitchen S25

[belovedtomorrow]

Who: HSR cast!
What: Mydei is making everyone dinner 😊💖
When: Early May
Where: Kitchen in the Inn
Warnings: none I can think of, will update if necessary!


In the spirit of camaraderie, Mydei has graciously agreed to cook everyone, new and old friends alike, a wonderful dinner! Surely nothing will go wrong and everyone will be normal.

See thread headers or just free post into here with something I'm not your dad.

Comments

[belovedtomorrow]

Mydei called me beautiful, you know.

[She feigns an air of sadness, also looking away while simultaneously clearly watching him out of the corners of her eyes.]

But fine. If you're going to be like that, I suppose I'll have to work even harder to win back your favor and earn a real compliment~ ♪

[She leans to the side a little, more arm to arm with him than before, to tilt her head further into his lowered field of vision, giving him a wink.]

Don't keep me waiting for it too long though, okay?

[dawnforged]

[There's a ripple of... Something that passes through him at the statement. It's not quite sharp enough to feel like jealousy, but it's also not entirely benign. A hollow kind of resonance that leaves him uncomfortably aware of the way his heart beats in his chest.]

I'm surprised there's a word for that in the Kremnoan dictionary.

[The corners of his mouth pull upward just a bit, turning just enough to observe her as she moves to catch his eye.]

How about this. If you're willing to answer a question for me, I'll spend the rest of the evening waxing as much poetic about your beauty as you want. Sound fair?

[belovedtomorrow]

[She giggles a little at his joke, but her own words to Castorice echo back into her mind as he continues speaking — if Phainon or Mydei were to ask something of her, she would not lie to them. All the same, neither she nor Castorice wanted to burden them with knowledge of things yet to come, and let their futures weigh heavy on their shoulders if it didn't have to. Giving him room to ask her something, anything, was... risky.

During the halcyon days of their childhood, she often would do tarot readings for him as they idled the days by in the wheat fields, laying side by side watching the clouds drift by. Sometimes, she wasn't entirely forthcoming with the true meanings behind the cards that he would pull — Cyrene never lied to him, but she did not entirely tell the truth, either. In her mind, it was the better option compared to inflicting hurt upon him if she didn't need to, or clouding his mind with worries beyond his scope.

Unfortunately, this might just have to be a role she continued to play now that they were grown.]

Fine, fine~. What is it that's on your mind, my dear Phainon?

[dawnforged]

[It's almost a physical reaction, the way the lightheartedness bleeds out of him and his shoulders go a bit more stiff as if he's bracing himself for whatever response this will draw out of her. There's quite a few questions at the forefront of his mind, and he takes a moment to rifle through them; he's only asked for one, and he has a feeling she'll hold him to that.

The silence drags a bit too long, and then he's clearing his throat.]

Are you... Happy? Well and truly so, not just in pretense.

[belovedtomorrow]

[The question he chooses so well and truly surprises her that she's stunned into silence for a moment, eyes slightly wide as she stares at him dumbfounded for what felt to her like an eternity.

That should not be a complex question, really. "You're so silly Phainon, of course I am!" was all she needed to say, and they could move on from this and continue to laugh and share a comfortable moment beneath the stars like they hadn't been able to do in so very long.

So... why did such a simple thing feel so difficult to utter?

Words form on the tip of her tongue, only to vanish. Detailed explanations of her thoughts and feelings ebbed and flowed, but none felt like the right thing to say. The perfect words never come, and she's left trying to sort the puzzle pieces together to find the answer he seeks.

Her response when it finally comes is slow and steady, almost as if she was stringing it together stitch by stitch, as new of a revelation to her as it was to him.]

I... was very lonely, for a very long time. Then, like the clouds suddenly parted and the sky opened up for me, I found myself the happiest I'd ever been. But... that happiness left before I knew it, bringing back that deep loneliness as my only form of company.

Then... I found myself here.

But even in a place as strange as this, to be here with you all... I could not possibly be happier.