Accord // AU

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Back from a trip to the abyss, and things have already settled back into normality. It's so strange how whole years will just slip away like old blankets and discarded gloves as soon as the surroundings are different.

It's actually kind of... jarring. The most interesting thing today? The sound of crying coming from the kitchen. He'd only meant to go in to get a sandwich or something but, well, if someone's having a dramatic breakdown, who is he to ignore it? Or something.

Whatever. He'll just go take a look. Maybe it'll be interesting.

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[birdsbirdsbirds]

Robin laughs. He knows Nel probably hasn't seen this much green before, so it's nice to let him roam around with nothing to stop him.

"Yeah, go ahead. They all smell really nice."

He'll just sit himself down in the grass, stretch out his legs, and make sure no one kills themselves.

[catamight]

"You're weird," he automatically bats back, but then he's catching up along side of her, propping his hands on his knees so he can look at the flowers too.

And then he adopts a gently admonishing tone, but it's okay because he's pretty sure that you can tell other kids what to do when they're smaller than you are.

"Only pick a few."

[prevenge]

"You're not the boss of me." In fact, at the moment, Robin is pretty much the boss of her. She'd probably foot-drag if he told her to do something she didn't want but it would get done.

She reaches out and plucks a randomly chosen pretty flower as she shoots a reply back. "How come your hair is colored like that? It's pretty."

[birdsbirdsbirds]

"Play nice..." He warns, while they're squabbling. It's cute that this younger Nel thinks he's got any chance at telling someone what to do. Rin hasn't really changed much, by comparison.

And then, oh... his hair? "It's because I'm magic."

[catamight]

Despite his warning to Rin, the little elf picks two flowers. But he tries to pick ones that don't have the largest blooms. Those ones can stay. He goes for ones with long, skinny stems instead.

And then, flower in each hand, he whips his attention back around toward Robin.

"You are?"

[prevenge]

They're on a magical vacation. It makes sense that they have a magical caretaker.

Still. That's so cool.

"What kinda magic do you do? Are you sure you're not a kami?"

[birdsbirdsbirds]

He nods to Nel, which rolls right into Rin's question.

"Tell me what a 'kami' is, and I'll show you guys a magic trick."

He's pretty sure he's not one, but hey--no fault in being curious.

[catamight]

A magic trick, huh? He has Nel's interest immediately. Scampering closer, he clutches the flowers together into a tiny bouquet in his excitement.

Show him, show him!

[prevenge]

"Ummm, um, ummm..." The question totally derailed her. Who doesn't know what a kami is? Rin's face scrunches up as she tries to organize her thoughts. "A kami iiiiiiiis... something you find from the world... and it's very old... and sometimes it's from a dead person... and sometimes they made stuff... or are animals... and they take care of things... and they're nice but sometimes they're mean... and they made stuff."

Pause. There you have it. That's what a kami is, according to Rin Asano, age seven. Okay, now, she's fallen right into another question, which is kind of scary to think about but enticing in its terror. She whispers: "Are you a dead person?"

What a scary idea. She comes closer to Robin and leans in, staring at his face and searching closely for signs of being dead... like turning green, or maggots. She doesn't know. She's seven.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Robin laughs at Rin. He also leans in reeeeeally close back.

"Do I look like a dead person? I think I'm pretty alive."

And then he flops over onto his side the other way, towards Nel.

"What do you think, Nel? Do I look dead to you?"

Oh, he reaches out. He wants one of Nel's flowers.

[catamight]

Nel doesn't answer at first. He just tilts one of the flowers out so that it lolls on its long stem over to Robin.

He's also got another question, in place of an answer. He's finally brave enough to ask it.

"Are you a... you know." Once Robin has the flower, thus freeing Nel's hand, he uses it to draw a little circle on his own chest in place of the actual word.

This is a very important and dangerous question, and his expression is matching in its seriousness. It's up to him to ask about it, since the little girl obviously has no idea what she's talking about.

[prevenge]

Rin hasn't really been conditioned to look away yet, so she stares right back at Robin even as he leans into her bubble... though she leans back a little bit when he encroaches too much, she still holds his gaze.

Then she's edging closer again when he flops back towards Nel. "I dunnoooo," she draws it out sing-songy. "I never saw a dead person before."

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Dead people and monsters, is that all they have to wonder about? He supposes he wouldn't have thought of much else either, before he came here.

"No, no. I'm not one of them."

He pats where his chest is flat, unadorned. He won't say it either, since Nel seems to think it's a secret, "And I'm definitely not dead, either. Any other guesses?"

Robin carefully bends the stem of the flower into a circle. The stem slowly starts to sprout new buds and the ends vine around each other until the whole thing looks like a twisting, blooming crown.

"Ah, perfect."

He puts the crown on Rin's head. There you are, princess.

[prevenge]

She would be pretty curious about that sign. And besides that she'd have other new things to ask, but that little stunt blows all the questions right out of her head.

She squeals with excitement, reaching up to pull the newly-grown flower crown off her head and inspect it. She is SO EXCITED. That pretty much clinches it for her, anyway. He must be a kami. You gotta be, to do something like that.

[catamight]

Nel had other guesses as well, but they also stop mattering in the next moment. His jaw just drops open, staring with no small amount of veiled jealousy.

Why does she get a magic crown? How is that fair...

But asking about it seems weird. He feels shy and awed... so he just kind of... holds out the other flower. It's an offer, just in case Robin wants to do something with it. Just in case he could maybe have one too.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Rin's laughter makes him laugh. He really likes seeing kids happy. They kind of remind him of the two children he had to watch when he was young... He has trouble remembering that that was centuries ago.

Though, he also supposes, he wasn't nearly as entertaining back then. He smiles at Nel, plucking the flower out of his little fingers and forming the circle again.

"A prince needs a crown too," he says once the flowering ring has finished blooming, "Your highness."

He places the crown carefully on Nel's head, grinning.

[catamight]

He outright giggles, shuffling his feet in a happy little fit, before he's finally able to straighten up like a proper prince.

He's got a crown now. He can stand up very tall, with this.

...And then, something dawns on him as he eyes Rin and her own royal wreath. This thought is followed by a finger suddenly pointing at her, full of accusation.

"If I'm a prince, does that mean I have to marry her?"

[prevenge]

She was holding the flower crown carefully in her hands, studying it quietly - until that remark. Her head pops up and her mouth opens.

"You can't marry me unless you can use a sword great!"

[birdsbirdsbirds]

"Yeah, you can't--" He stops, in the middle of repeating what Rin said. Is that how it works where she's from? Maybe that's just what her parents have said. Anyway, "--Probably can't marry her unless you're a good swordsman. Sil hara."

One of the cats that knows him is wandering around the area. His strange words are to call it out of hiding (though, you know cats--it'll take it a moment to even come into view). He continues his thought.

"So better start training if you want her to be your beautiful queen."

He's just playing with grass. Kids really match his social level.

[catamight]

"Gross! I don't want to marry her."

And then he's scampering off to pick himself a new long-stemmed flower, because flowers are way better than girls anyday. His opinions on some things don't ever change much.

Also, bringing up swordfighting makes him want to hit something, and he might not get in trouble if he smacks someone with a flower instead of a stick.

[prevenge]

How rude. Rin is the pinnacle of desirability - or she will be, at least. She's pretty sure.

"I don't want to marry a girly boy like you," she yells after him. Then she makes a pouty face. Then she gets over it and stares at her flower crown again, before squinting at Robin doubtfully. "Are you sure you're not a kami?"

She's pretty sure she has him pegged.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

How silly. He props his head up on his arm and chuckles through his teeth at the both of them.

"I'm not totally sure. There aren't things called kami where I'm from. Ah..."

He reaches out to a cat that's been creeping towards all of them. It's dark, fluffy, kind of dirty. It might live outside, but it's much too well-fed to be a proper stray. The cat saunters closer upon being invitation.

"This is Jess," he says, "She's a real sweetheart."

[catamight]

"I'm not girly!" he belatedly snaps, on his way back over to the two of them. He's holding the flower like a weapon at first, maybe with some vague intent behind it, but the appearance of the cat totally derails him.

"--A kitty!"

He hurries, but only for a few steps. Once he's anywhere close, he slows way down, stooping down onto his heels while he's still a few feet away. He's used to shy felines that must be approached with all the politeness in the world, or they spook and run off.

The flower that was almost brandished as a weapon is now held out to the cat like a fishing pole, the bloom bobbing enticingly. "C'mere, kitty..."

[prevenge]

"Are sooooooo," she says annoyingly back at him. Then forgets about the argument in favor of the cat. Rin crouches down so she's more at cat-height and stares in fascination. "Woooow. Kitty kitty kitty! She's so pretty."

She's a little bit shy of animals, actually - she's not that much bigger than most of them. But the fact that this cat is coming closer and seeming friendly enough is enough to tempt her a little bit nearer, shuffling without ever fully standing up, one hand reaching out...

She really wants to pet it.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

The cat plants itself firmly next to Robin's hand. "Sweetheart" or not, it looks at them with the sort of judgmental stare that only a feline can muster.

Robin says something to it, more of his nonsense words, but its only response is to start cleaning its paws. It's making a big show of not paying much attention to either of the kids.

"You guys can pet her, go ahead."