aterat | Friends and Gifts

After realizing Caelan and now Miss Yuna and Jacob were gone, Yuki was at a loss. He didn't even know if he should report to work and had to get around to getting there after their absences had been noted. He missed Miss Yuna's enthusiasm about weird things. Caelan had been a good friend though he'd once gone blind for a bit after dying.

And he didn't even want to start in his mind about Jacob. So every day he woke up half expecting to be back home or in college as if none of this place had ever happened or mattered. And of course that got him to wondering if he would even recall this place once he did.

For now though he heard a knock on his door and wondered who it could be. He knew it couldn't be Jacob and he answered it to see Lauri-Ell standing there with some sort of metal in her hand.

"Oh..Miss Lauri-Ell..please come in." And that had him moving slightly away from the door.

Yes, they were good people, and Lauri-Ell missed them as well. Not that she knew Jacob. She knew so few here, and so it was important for to to accept connections to those she did know.

"Hello," she greeted when the door opened. She had to stoop to get through the door, but she managed it. "I am honored for the kindness of your home."

Did she say that right? she hoped she said that right.

He had to smile at Lauri-Ell even if he felt bad that she had to duck down in order to be able to get into the apartment, small as it was to her. "I don't have any tea made, but I can fix that if you'd like to sit down."

Yuki wasn't sure what to do here, but as he moved towards the kitchen he nodded. "I think I have hot chocolate too, if you want some of that." He wasn't as well versed in hospitality as Miss Honda was, but he would do his best here.

"Oh, that is not necessary. I had a tall glass of water before coming over," she offered with a big grin. Hospitality is very new to here. So many things are new to her, that others may not understand. An adult woman, but as lost as a teen dumped in the middle of a foreign country.

"I came to offer you a gift," she said, holding her hands and thus the hooks out. "AS thank you for teaching me. I made more, I intended to give them to others who were teaching me things but... Well, it would seem you are all that is left. I hope it is okay that I offer you more in this situation. I do not know what human gifting traditions are like. Kree do not have many."

He turned around when Lauri-Ell mentioned that she had a gift. And didn't quite know what to do without being able to offer at least water or something and be given something at the same time. So that made him start trying to figure out what to get her in return because that was the polite thing to do in his mind.

Looking at the metal hooks being held out, his head cocked to the side. What had he taught her? His mind scrambled and went down that road even further when she mentioned about him being all that was left.

It made his heart ache again for Jacob's presence. But he couldn't show it. So he tried a smile. "Thank you for the gift, that's very thoughtful and it's okay." What he was going to actually do with them now was the question.

But the last words he caught hold of. "You..don't give gifts to friends back home?" This was more that he was learning about this lady and her homeland.

Well, she could help him hang them, and then he could use them for, well, she presumes hanging things.

"The Kree are not of a culture where that occurred. Perhaps that will change," she mused. "It may happen, among civilians. But most Kree that are capable are soldiers, as I was."

Perhaps that would explain her strangeness.

"Soldiers." Yuki softly echoed as he looked at the metal hooks, figuring out they could hang things after a moment. Well he did have a bunch of plants that would need hanging eventually.

So he stepped back and nodded with a smile. "In my world when someone gives a gift, one is usually given in return." So of course that meant he'd have to find something that would fit her.

Oh no! Lauri-Ell looks distressed. She had not know she was causing a debt over this.

"I do not know that should be true. Because then would I not need to give you another gift as well? Over and over?"

Logic said that would be how it worked but then it would also be an unending loop.

The grey head shook. "No, it doesn't work like that. It isn't a constant exchange." Something like that went more for dating but even then, he hadn't given Machi too many gifts and they'd been dating. But he still smiled at her.

"I realize it must be a little odd, but it really isn't all that complicated."

"It is all so very odd," she answered with a sigh, shaking her head. "Nothing here is like it is at home."

And she doesn't know how to render it all understandable to her.

"It's a different world." Yuki agreed. "But the people here are strange."

He paused and thought a moment. "Sometimes they seem really happy to see us and other times they seem like they can't stand us." It was kind of like being foreign exchange students he supposed. Yet university was bound to have a much bigger influx of people from varied backgrounds.

Strange? How interesting to describe people as such. She thought everyone here was very strange, but she knew it came from her lack of experience.

"I am very used to this sort of experience. Being disliked."

He worked in the Gullwings office and it really was as he said. Some people seemed very happy and chipper when they came in the door to ask for help. And sometimes the people seemed nervous and distrustful, almost as if they didn't want to talk to any of them. Usually Miss Yuna helped on that account.

But Lauri-Ell's words bothered him. He too knew what it was like to be disliked, even hated. Hatsuharu even hated him at first, blaming him for the Ox being stupid because the rat outsmarted it to be first in the zodiac. Kyo hated him and Ayame had distanced himself so he grew up pretty lonely himself.

"Why..are you disliked?" And then he thought about his words and immediately his head went down. "I'm sorry, that's too personal a question. Please forget I asked it."

"Ah, because I am Kree," she said, smiling widely. No, she is happy to share the information. She sees no reason as to why it would be weird to share. "My people were once conquerors. I do not believe that this was a good thing."

But he seemed so worried, so concerned.

"I do not dislike you. You are very nice."

"Conquerors." Yuki mused thoughtfully. He could completely see why really. Her people could probably very easily overwhelm other people in battle.

But then Lauri-Ell broke those thoughts and he smiled with a slight bow, happy that his rudenesswas being either forgiven or overlooked. "Thank you."

"There are not many space-faring races in my universe that do not seek to expand and conquer," she answered with a sigh. It was not the best to consider and make others carry.

"Yuki, may I ask you something?"

Hearing about other worlds and traveling through space was definitely interesting. And it made him wonder how other members of the Sohma clan would react to the others here and at hearing their stories.

So Yuki looked a little startled at the question. but he nodded.

"Sure."

"Are you aware of how to 'cook'?"

Lauri-Ell had been surviving only on tavern food and the market stalls at this point. Perhaps it was a skill she should learn.

Grey eyes widened slightly. Of all of the things he'd learned and had advanced in, cooking had never been one of them. Miss Honda had handled all of that and there'd been no interest on his part to ever really learn.

Here Jacob had started to learn and Yuki had relied on him for that. And the thought of the other had him trying to push the memories away.

"I can cook, just..not as well as others."

Shigure had always said his cooking made stuff come out too dry or too salty.

Well, there you have it. She puts her hand on her chin, curling her fingers there as her head tilted and she considered everything.

"The Kree, we eat specialized, mass produced things that are like paste. There are also things like supplements. Food here is so intriguing. But if it is not something you are skilled in, then I shall not request assistance. However, I do have good news."

She offers Yuki a very wide smile.

"I have been informed as to where we can acquire glass to make a greenhouse. If you still desire to render assistance on that front."

Plants are lovely things and to have them close would be good. And what if they could eat good vegetables and fruit too!

He hoped his expression didn't convey the idea of everything tasting like paste. But then again he knew he Shigure would have something to say about his own cooking. Part of him however felt guilty that he wasn't qualified for things that were important.

Things he'd simply taken for granted back home.

And then Lauri-Ell mentioned something that he could help with, so he smiled with a nod. "Yes, I can help with the greenhouse and the plants." So even if he couldn't cook the food, he could at least help provide it.

That made him happy.

"We shall have to find soil and plants. I can make the metal frame of the house, after I consult with the glass maker for windows," she says. "I do not know if I will have enough to make it very large."

But every step is a step forward and she was excited to take care of plants.

Yuki shook his head. "I've been researching the soil types and plants so I have that covered." Not to mention if they'd need sun or shade or partial. "Though I did have a question if you wanted fruits, vegetables, flowers, or all of them." He had done quite a bit of research trying to get all of this done and had quite a lot of notes on each topic.

Oh, now that is something she should consider.

"Fruit and vegetables seem practical. But other than eating them fresh, I would not know much of what to do with them, would you?"

Flowers may be nicest, even if they didn't serve much purpose.

He thought for a moment and lowered his head and voice. "Well, there's..some kids who don't seem to eat regularly. So I could give what we're not going to eat to them." Back home there weren't kids like the orphans he saw here. They existed in his world he knew, but with the Sohmas being a rich and influential family, poorer families didn't rub shoulders with them or come anywhere near them.

Here he'd been forced to see those without shoes or proper clothing and he didn't quite know what to do.

Some kids who do not eat regularly? Lauri-Ell looked horrified. No, this wasn't acceptable.

"We shall grow fruits and vegetables and make sure these children are fed," she said with quite the fervor. All of the fervor she could manage. There had to be more they could do.

"But it will take time for food to grow. What can we do until then?"

Yuki smiled and lowered his head. There were a lot of young kids on the streets, and it really bothered him. He didn't know how to help or even where to start with helping but he wanted to try.

At Lauri-Ell's question he had to shake his head and lifted it. "That's where I'm not sure." Really he wished there was a solution other than maybe asking the tavern or working somewhere like that part time in order to take the uneaten food there.

“I shall ask my boss,” Lauri-sell answered. “We will find solutions. As a team?”

She had intentions to keep this guy as safe as she could, which also doing good. This friend she would like to keep.

"Your..boss?" Yuki asked wonderingly. She had a boss? Well then again if she worked he supposed that would definitely be a thing. Bit to her offer of them working together to find a solution, he nodded.

"Yes, as a team."

Well she could hardly learn how to blacksmith if she didn't have someone to teach her.

"Yes. She is good with working metal," Lauri-Ell offered with a smile. "She is smaller than you, but very strong."

He had to smile a little because the description fit Miss Honda, Machi and Kisa all at the same time. They were smaller than him and all were very strong.

"Sounds like you have a great teacher then."

“The best. She let me make these of scrap metal. She said she is going to teach me to draw wire.”

And Lauri-Ell’s voice sounded like that was the best thing ever. For her it was. It meant her master was going to teach her something very helpful and productive beyond just nails.

Yuki cocked his head to the side. "Draw wire?" And he had no idea what that meant to draw wire. Was it that the teacher meant that she was going to learn to make wire? Well he wasn't going to presume he knew, so he waited to hear what Lauri-Ell had to say first.

"It is how metal wires are made," she said, speaking with quite a bit of excitement. "One takes metal that has been worked into a slim bar and heat it cherry red hot, and then taper the end of it and put it against a metal plate with holes cut into it. You then use tongs to grip the metal and someone holds the plate while the other worker pulls the metal through. I'm told you have to pull with slow and constant pressure. Then when the whole wire is pulled through you replace it on the heat to let it pick up warmth again for the next smallest hole."

She grins widely at this. The wire is good for so many things.

"You work many coils through the day to put them to various gauges of wire, which is good. I am very excited."

He listened and it sounded as if she was working on a project. "Coils..you mean for something like a stove?" Surely that was what she was talking about. "Or are the coils used for something else?"

He himself didn't use metals and metal working had never been anything that he'd done. So he had to ask questions even if he did feel a little bit sheepish at having to ask them.

"Stove? Why would a stove need coils?" she asked, clearly confused. "No, coils of wire. They just heat until you work them through a plate to become smaller and smaller wires. Then, once finished and cooled, they go onto spools."

It was truly beautiful, wooden spools covered with the beautiful glint of polished metal. She thought it was perhaps one of the most beautiful things. Given time, she might even go into jewelry focus.

"Spools of wire?" Yuki wasn't sure where she was going with this. "So..you heat them and they cool..what are they used for?" He was thinking too literal maybe, trying to find a practical use. But there was nothing of metalworking that he knew of that would cover a such a thing but he of course would listen and try to understand.

"Well, many things," she said. "Like chain mail. Or jewelry. I do not know all the other purposes. I am still an apprentice."

But her strength will be useful in wire drawing, which was why she was doing it earlier than normal.

"Oh." There was wonder in Yuki's tone as he said that. "I hadn't guessed about jewelry. That must take an awful lot of patience, even if you're doing chain mail."

That gave him a thought and Jacob's sensei came to his mind.

"Do you do custom orders for chain mail?"

"Yes. It will be nice to learn. Patience will help me keep going, and the small task will be useful at night," she said, nodding along.

Still, the question makes her nod.

"I have learned how to measure someone for a set. My boss makes it thought."

"Ah, night time." That was the time he used to read books or just try to give his brain the slow down option. Most of the time it worked but there were some nights he wished he had an 'off' button.

He had no idea how much chain mail would cost so he had to ask. "Is it expensive to make? Does it take a long time?"

"I work much of the day with the smith," Lauri-Ell said. "Evenings are my time to be restful and productive for myself," she explained with a smile.

No, Lauri-Ell did not keep much time for herself.

"I can ask for you, and tell you tomorrow."

Evenings off Yuki could completely understand. He worked during the day at the office and went home at night, so he knew how precious those hours were after being done for the day.

"As long as you don't mind, then yes please let me know."

"I do not mind," she promised with a grin. "I like time with you."

Friends and Gifts

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Wrap here?

Indeed