crescentview | winter catch-all

[He rolls his eyes, the hand that was vainly reaching for the tea now wrapping against one of Owen's wrists.]

Sure, sure... [His head cocks to the side, a slight pang of hurt in his expression.] Show a little more respect for the kami, maybe? We don't get threatened into contracts, no matter how much we might like someone. I'm no different than the goddess like that.

[The Goddess will get his respect when she deserves it, which is probably never because Owen is stubborn.

Unfortunately.]

The Northern spirits respect shows of power, so that’s what I’m used to.

[He shrugs one shoulder.]

You’re way more likable then the Goddess and them, anyways. I’ll listen to you.

[A beat.]

Besides, who said my convincing would have been threatening?

[winky face]

[He looks openly confused at the jab for a second, the intention flying straight over his head. RIP Owen.

Still, he sighs, bringing Owen's wrist up to his lips briefly.]

I know you're powerful. Even if you don't have the same effect here... I've seen otherwise. You don't have to convince me of that. I've seen enough.

If you want a contract, I need to hear a plea. Why you want my power, and why I should trust you with my well-being, rather than possessing you for my own goals. [He won't. But any wandering spirit would jump at a similar chance.]

[God. Otegine is lucky that Owen is into himbos.]

I’ll get on my knees and beg for whatever you can give me.

[Will that get through to him? Probably not, but now Owen needs to see how far he can go before Otegine catches up.]

Do you want me to? I can do it right now.

[Owen? Begging??? That seems so unlikely that Otegine is actually rendered speechless at the idea.

Except... he remembers how Owen had been during the cruise. Hm.

His lower lip slips between his teeth as he breaks eye contact for a moment. He suddenly feels they are not having the same conversation anymore.]

...You've got flour floating around behind you, Owen. Maybe not when you're in the middle of something? It's... kind of important.

[Did he get it? Looks like he did.]

I know, I know. But…

[He pulls back, turning back to the counter and pulling out his mixing bowls.]

Aren’t you tired of everything being so serious all the time? I know it’s important, and I want to do it right, but being so serious about everything is exhausting. Can’t we have some fun for once?

[Oof. Well, he's got him there. This whole conversation has been awfully depressing.]

Yeah, I... I know. I get kind of caught up in it...

[He slides the kettle back to the stove with a click of the lighter, pausing, before crossing the distance back to Owen, sliding up behind him to wrap his arms against his waist.]

Sorry.

Do I have to beg for the tea back?

[yes. on your knees, ote.]

No, but you can ask more nicely then this, can’t you?

[Absolutely wild, still, that someone touches him so casually. Like this, too, it’s even more obvious how much larger then him Otegine is.

Which he’s being very normal about.]

We can pick up the depressing conversations after I talk to the Goddess. For now… have you ever had gingerbread?

[He snickers, leaning in against his ear with a squeeze of his arms.]

O great and powerful wizard of the north, will you let this humble god please have the tea leaves back before the kettle boils over?

[It's all just barely in jest, the smile evident in his tone and the brush of his lips. Yeah, yeah, okay, he gets what Owen was trying to do a second ago. He does need to lighten up a bit.

He lets his eyes lift to peer over Owen's shoulder at the countertop, though, curious.]

No, I've never heard of it. Something sweet, I'm guessing?

Edited 2023-03-07 16:32 (UTC)

[Well, color him convinced.]

Hm. I suppose that’s nice enough.

[The box drops back onto the counter, so now Owen can focus on the real important things - cookies.]

It’s a kind of cookie, I guess. Pretty sturdy, but you usually see them decorated with icing to make little houses or people.

[Or large houses, if you’re Owen.]

[Heheh. He'll give a kiss to his jawline, a quiet "thanks" as he untangles himself to go rescue the tea leaves.]

House-shaped cookies...? That sounds a little strange, but I guess you can shape them into whatever you want, right?

You can still eat the houses, I hope.

You make the walls and the roof out of cookies and then stick them together with icing.

[Obviously. Gosh, Otegine.]

Of course you can eat them. Who would waste food like that?

[Maybe if you leave the house sitting long enough to go stale, but that's stupid. Nobody is that stupid.

Granted, most people also don't have magic that can keep cookies and cakes fresh for centuries like Owen does.]

[He pauses, thinking. Walls? Roof? This is a complicated cookie. He holds the tea box in one hand as he mimics the shape in front of him, visualizing.

He's trying really hard.]

Like... a box? Made of cookie?

You can do that?

Why wouldn't you be able to do that?

[Otegine. Otegine it's not that hard.

He's so lucky Owen likes his men stupid.]

[sugoi......

Creative avenues are being opened, he has new eyes.]

Wait, but... wouldn't it go bad? How big are they?

Maybe if a human makes it?

[He's never had problems with things going bad??? He's not a professional, though.]

You can make them as big as you want. I made a whole house for myself once, but that wasn't by hand like this.

[The house even had a basement!]

You really like your sweets, don't you...

[As he portions out the tea while the kettle starts to whistle:]

Can we make one? You and me?

Not a big one or anything, but... heh. I'd love to say I got to eat a house.

I heard kids talking about a witch living in a candy house once.

[You TEASE Miette?]

Of course. We can even make people to live in it.

[He starts getting the ingredients ready, weighing and measuring as needed. Does Otegine even like sweets... Do they even have food dye? He doesn't even usually need to worry about dye, but Otegine might want to color things himself...

He'll figure it out.]

Small people. Maybe as big as your hand. [...] My hand.

[He looks at his own hand for a second, contemplating pensively, before shrugging. Eh. He does have big hands.]

Well, how can I help? I'll have this steeping again in a minute here...

I've, uh... I've never done this kind of cooking before. But so long as you show me, I'll try my best.

[Big hands and they have limited oven space. And patience.

Owen shoves an empty bowl towards Otegine.]

Mix all the dry things in this bowl and think about what you want our house to look like. Maybe draw it out.

[He has something to draw with… somewhere? Probably in his suitcase, like most things.]

[Dry things... well, he can at least assume the flour and sugar as Owen portions them out, coughing a bit into his elbow at the cloud the flour produces.]

Mm... well, um...

Maybe like one of the farmhouses? The only other kind of house I'm used to isn't anything like these...

You have a manor back home, right?

There was a manor the Sage’s wizards could live in if they wished, but it might be hard to replicate for your first try.

[Considering it housed over 20 people, it’s pretty hecking big.

He plonks all the spices they’ll need next to Otegine.]

A farm house is fine.

[He double checks that the oven is getting hot, before glancing back to Otegine.]

It’s as good a home as any.

Mn.

It's probably easier this way. The citadel I'm used to is way too big.

[50+ people staying in one complex and memories of nothing but castles leads for weird expectations of "home".

The spices are curiously examined one by one as he tips them in, idly mixing as he thinks.]

...It had little pink flowers on the grounds. Right?

[Perhaps wisely, he won't mention where he heard of them. It had been a while since the little Owen had brought them up... maybe this Owen would remember what they were.]

[They have to keep their expectations low.]

…It did. There were a lot of flowerbeds around the manor.

[It’s no real mystery how he knows that, but… he can at least begrudgingly appreciate not drawing attention to it.

Unfortunately, though…]

I don’t really know what most of them were. Native to Central, probably, but they weren’t magical in nature.

[So he didn’t bother to learn what they were… He just knows they wouldn’t have flourished in the North.]

Mn...

Well, Oriphi's got a flowershop in town now. Maybe you could show me sometime if there's something there that matches it?

[They never did find anything, he and the little one... but Ori had some interesting powers. Maybe they'd get surprised.

He settles the mixed bowl down against the counter, glancing at the worn watch against his wrist.]

Ah... I can keep going with this if you want to check the tea. What else does this need?

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