[ Trembling! It takes all her strength to not run off or have a sudden meltdown. She hasn't forgotten the horrors during her earlier days on the ship. But nothing scary is happening right now. He's just greeting her. ]
Hi. [ Fio shakily lifts up the tiny package, offering it to him. Just "hi", though? Mentally kicking herself. The words she practiced in front of the dolls are starting to be forgotten...] Hi, Mister Captain.
Thank you, for taking care of Judy. And thank you for taking care of Da- [ A pause. Almost a slip up, but she wonders if she can say the title easily. ] Thank you for taking care of my daddy.
... You're. Welcome. [that's how you respond to that right. that's how that social interaction works.
idly rubs at his knuckles. he glances at the package, but only manages a few seconds before he's back to staring at the ground a foot to the left of her.] What do you have there.
Um... [ Fio looks at the ground, then back up. There's nothing there? Somehow that feels worse than when he was looking at her. Mild panic sets in, an old memory of having a gift rejected beginning to resurface. For a second, she nearly withdraws her hand...
It's not like he told her no. Yet? She tells herself not to give up. And not to cry if he does refuse. The package remains held out. ]
Y-you can have this! [ Raises the present a little higher, as if to say, "here, please take it." ] I made a gift for you.
[ She makes an attempt to smile, still visibly nervous. Awkward. She tries to gradually ease her breathing. No amount of speech practice in front of a bunch of silent stuffed animals could have prepared her enough for this...
A moment of hesitation, then very lightly, she pushes the package against his hand to urge him to take it. ]
You can open it now, if you want.
[ Because inside, there's a little conch shell with a pin glued to it if he does! ]
[ She can say this twice at least (and many more times to anyone): ]
You're welcome, Mister Captain!
[ Success? Fio draws her hand back, clutching for the comfort of her tote bag. Though she can't shake off her nervousness, she seems to smile a little wider.
...Awkward pause as she stands there for a moment, before she remembers that she has more to say. No, she's not going away yet. ]
So do you like it? It's a hat pin. I made one for... for Daddy too. I thought maybe you'd like to match with him.
[ That's an awkwardly long pause that makes Fio feel comfortable just standing around. But she's very quiet and patient! She jumps a little when he finally stabs his hat... ]
Uh... yeah! Like that! Now you can wear it on your head for everyone to see the pretty seashell.
[ Now he and Skulduggery can match! Still, a little embarrassed to openly express too much joy in front of him, but there's another small smile, as well as a light bounce on her heels. ]
Uh-huh! It's really cool. I'm glad you like it. There was a snail on the island with a shell kind of like that one...
[ Speaking of the island, that reminds her about the nice things she wanted to bring up. There's a lot of scary, horrible things that she still remembers... but a lot of nice things too. ]
Um... I liked seeing the ocean again. And I got to pick seashells... I used to collect seashells with my family! Then I finally got to do it again with my new family. It made me really happy. Thank you for bringing us there.
[oh god those were so many words and he barely listened to half of them. how are conversations supposed to happen when you're not actively just terrorizing someone. that's so much easier.
oh god he's been quiet too long again she probably expects a response.]
... Okay.
[that was terrible skulduggery is gonna divorce him.]
[ Unsettled by the silence once again... but she waits expectantly. ]
Yeah! [ Beaming, unbothered by that short response. Look, she's happy again! And thinks he's listening. At least he said something. She has a friend that's not much of a talker either. Quietly she hopes Levania shows up on the ship someday...
And now Fio is going to say even more words. ] And I enjoyed the camp too! I liked the flowers... I didn't really recognize any of them, but I liked picking them!
The wildflowers were super pretty. [ Even if they might seem like poor imitations, she genuinely thought they were lovely and had an enjoyable time flower picking... that's all that matters! She hopes she can do that again someday. ] If you don't know their names, it's okay.
[ A brief pause, then she realizes she should probably ask questions too. Asides from talking about "nice things", she remembers Skulduggery telling her she could ask questions too. At first, she thought she was going to bolt off after dropping off the gift. But now... she doesn't look ready to leave yet. ]
Um... do you have a favorite flower, Mister Captain?
Orchids! I've seen pictures of those! I like them too. [ It seems she's fond of most flowers though. But orchids sound good to keep in mind for future gift ideas. She wonders if Skulduggery knows. ] I also really like white roses, sunflowers... and forget-me-nots.
[ This doesn't feel so bad, asking questions like this. At least for her, anyway. Still, she shuffles her feet a bit nervously. ]
What about... a favorite color? Do you have a favorite color?
Me too! I like black! [ Especially since it gives her a fond reminder of her dark monster bestie from The Cage. ] My favorites are also... um, gold! White... [ A pause. ] Oh!
[ She pulls up her sleeve to show off her friendship bracelet from Darcy, woven in those three exact colors. It's hardly ever removed, along with the capacity core from Jade. ]
Darce made this for me, back at the camp. I heard you got one too?
[ Strange, this one has similar colors to the bracelet with the bad word that she's already forgotten by now. ...She's not going to lean in closer to further confirm this though. ]
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[ Trembling! It takes all her strength to not run off or have a sudden meltdown. She hasn't forgotten the horrors during her earlier days on the ship. But nothing scary is happening right now. He's just greeting her. ]
Hi. [ Fio shakily lifts up the tiny package, offering it to him. Just "hi", though? Mentally kicking herself. The words she practiced in front of the dolls are starting to be forgotten...] Hi, Mister Captain.
Thank you, for taking care of Judy. And thank you for taking care of Da- [ A pause. Almost a slip up, but she wonders if she can say the title easily. ] Thank you for taking care of my daddy.
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idly rubs at his knuckles. he glances at the package, but only manages a few seconds before he's back to staring at the ground a foot to the left of her.] What do you have there.
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It's not like he told her no. Yet? She tells herself not to give up. And not to cry if he does refuse. The package remains held out. ]
Y-you can have this! [ Raises the present a little higher, as if to say, "here, please take it." ] I made a gift for you.
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...]
... Thank. You. [this has caused him actual physical pain.]
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[ She makes an attempt to smile, still visibly nervous. Awkward. She tries to gradually ease her breathing. No amount of speech practice in front of a bunch of silent stuffed animals could have prepared her enough for this...
A moment of hesitation, then very lightly, she pushes the package against his hand to urge him to take it. ]
You can open it now, if you want.
[ Because inside, there's a little conch shell with a pin glued to it if he does! ]
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... neat.]
... What I said before, but. Again. [he can't do it twice okay.]
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You're welcome, Mister Captain!
[ Success? Fio draws her hand back, clutching for the comfort of her tote bag. Though she can't shake off her nervousness, she seems to smile a little wider.
...Awkward pause as she stands there for a moment, before she remembers that she has more to say. No, she's not going away yet. ]
So do you like it? It's a hat pin. I made one for... for Daddy too. I thought maybe you'd like to match with him.
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... Where is it meant to go...?
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...
just fucking stabs it right into the hat.]
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Uh... yeah! Like that! Now you can wear it on your head for everyone to see the pretty seashell.
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...
. . .]
Cool.
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Uh-huh! It's really cool. I'm glad you like it. There was a snail on the island with a shell kind of like that one...
[ Speaking of the island, that reminds her about the nice things she wanted to bring up. There's a lot of scary, horrible things that she still remembers... but a lot of nice things too. ]
Um... I liked seeing the ocean again. And I got to pick seashells... I used to collect seashells with my family! Then I finally got to do it again with my new family. It made me really happy. Thank you for bringing us there.
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oh god he's been quiet too long again she probably expects a response.]
... Okay.
[that was terrible skulduggery is gonna divorce him.]
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Yeah! [ Beaming, unbothered by that short response. Look, she's happy again! And thinks he's listening. At least he said something. She has a friend that's not much of a talker either. Quietly she hopes Levania shows up on the ship someday...
And now Fio is going to say even more words. ] And I enjoyed the camp too! I liked the flowers... I didn't really recognize any of them, but I liked picking them!
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[he's dying. this is what dying feels like.]
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[ A brief pause, then she realizes she should probably ask questions too. Asides from talking about "nice things", she remembers Skulduggery telling her she could ask questions too. At first, she thought she was going to bolt off after dropping off the gift. But now... she doesn't look ready to leave yet. ]
Um... do you have a favorite flower, Mister Captain?
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[ This doesn't feel so bad, asking questions like this. At least for her, anyway. Still, she shuffles her feet a bit nervously. ]
What about... a favorite color? Do you have a favorite color?
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[...]
... Do... you, have a favorite color...
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[ She pulls up her sleeve to show off her friendship bracelet from Darcy, woven in those three exact colors. It's hardly ever removed, along with the capacity core from Jade. ]
Darce made this for me, back at the camp. I heard you got one too?
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[... wait.]
... It's. Inside. Right now.
[it's on his wrist.]
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[ And she's almost accepting of that answer...
Wait. Looking down, she finally notices the one on his wrist. That sure looks suspiciously like the one that she watched Darcy make at the camp. ]
Didn't Darce make that one?
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... No.
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[ Strange, this one has similar colors to the bracelet with the bad word that she's already forgotten by now. ...She's not going to lean in closer to further confirm this though. ]
Who gave you that one?
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