Cold Hearts

The next morning came around and Kotone woke feeling rather well rested for the first time in a while. The dragon slayer opened her eyes, still able to see well enough in the darkness that Ren had created in her room for sleeping. She sat up, not feeling Sid anywhere around her. He must still be with the skinny older girl. Sidney seemed to really like her for some reason. Not that Kotone blamed him. She sat up and leaned against the wall quietly, letting out a slow sigh. She’d agreed to do something today. It was almost like they were friends or something, though Kotone highly doubted that. Kotone didn’t have friends. People didn’t want to be friends with her, and she didn’t need them.

When would Ren wake up though? And did she still want to go fishing or swim or whatever? Kotone had no idea. Maybe she would change her mind and have plans she’d forgotten about or something. It wasn’t a big deal either way. At least, that’s what Kotone told herself. She was happy to have something to do with someone that wasn’t fighting or traveling or business. That didn’t happen too often, and she admittedly had been overly excited last night. “… Morning, Ren,” she said quietly when the girl finally woke up. Kotone had been sitting there the entire time, and was curious what she was going to do now.

Ren slept fairly well. She was excited for the next day, and she was nervous, but she slept well. Maybe it was knowing that she had someone nice in her room, or maybe it was the cuddly cat near her. She didn’t know. Either way Ren woke up at Kotone and yawned. She really liked to sleep most of the day away and stay up at night, because it let her be alone. She wasn’t going to be alone today though. Kotone had agreed to hang out with her. She remembered most of this as she rolled around her bed a little, no doubt disturbing Sid.

Kotone greeted Ren and Ren scooted back in her bed, her back against the headboard now, her knees up high enough most of her face was covered. “Hi… Uh, g-good morning,” she said, fidgeting. She slowly pulled the blanket back and quickly made her bed, with a shadow, while walking to her chest and opening it up to find clothes for the day. “So, um, do you still want to go fishing and stuff? And, uh, do you want to get some food before? I don’t really eat much, but, I know… other people do,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck where her tattoo was. She was talking too much. She grabbed some clothes and sat on her bed to wait for Kotone’s answer.

Kotone nodded in the dark. She figured Ren probably couldn't see it, but either way she did. She was still in her short shorts and tank top, and her hair was down, and she looked rather different than when she was dressed in her usual garb. Some might say cuter or more innocent or something. If she wouldn’t deck them for saying such nonsense. She let out a sigh, picking up her red skirt and white button-up blouse, as well as her black leather choker and the tie she wore loosely as decoration, as well as her stockings that went up past her knees and the boots that went up to about her knees. “Of course I do,” Kotone confirmed. She probably could have easily snuck out if she hadn’t. If Sid didn’t screw it up that is. “Of course, we can do something different if you’d rather. I’m just along for the ride.”

Kotone got up and stood near the bed as Ren asked about getting food first. Didn’t eat much. Heh. Kotone ate like a sumo wrestler that had skipped a meal. She didn’t look like it but it was a fact. Well, that wasn’t always true, but she did when she could get away with it. “Food sounds good, yeah,” she said, ignoring her growling stomach’s agreement, followed by Sid’s own verbal response. She walked into the bathroom again to get ready. She was rather modest about getting dressed and undressed, even around other girls, and she was glad Ren had the bathroom. When she emerged, she looked like she had before. Dressed in the clothe she’d picked up, in addition to her long, black jacket and was putting up her hair into the ponytail she was known for wearing. Somehow, she managed to look rather different. Perhaps it was that she looked a lot less vulnerable like this than she did in PJ’s. “Where did you want to go?” she asked Ren curiously.

Ren easily saw Kotone nod in the dark. That made her feel better. She felt her chest relax a little. That was good, it meant that Kotone was alright hanging out with her. Great. Kotone was grabbing her clothes to change into them. Kotone said that, of course, she still wanted to hang out. Ren blushed and fidgeted a little. Usually it was the other way around. Of course someone didn’t want to do things with Ren. Especially someone as awesome as Kotone. She was really nice. “Okay, fishing still sounds cool to me,” Ren nodded, looking legitimately pleased by this.

Ren was always vulnerable, and always looked vulnerable, but at least she felt a bit safer with her hoodie on. When Kotone left to go change Ren put on her normal clothes. Skirt, tights, earrings, shirt covered up by a big thick hoodie. Everything felt so much safer. It was easier to hold in her emotions when she had a big warm hoodie on. Kotone came back, looking a bit pleased, and asked what they were doing. “We can stop downstairs for food,” she said, heading down there with Kotone. “I don’t really, uh, keep food around much, but I know if we go downstairs, someone will offer food,” she explained. Usually Kade.

Kotone found herself leading the way down the stairs, despite it being Ren’s guild hall. Her hands were in her pockets, and she had everything except her usual backpack she carried stuff in when she traveled. She could get that when she came back. Ren would probably cry or something if she left immediately anyway, and Kotone didn’t really want that. It wasn’t that she thought badly of Ren. She just could feel how fragile the girl was. It was basically like if Kotone didn’t have all of her own mental barriers up around other people.

Kotone stopped at the bottom of the stairs, letting Ren more or less lead the way. She walked beside her rather than behind her though. It was easy enough to keep up with a human’s movements when they weren’t trying to dodge you. Of course, even then it wasn’t always hard. “Your turn. This isn’t exactly my guild to get food from on my own,” she reminded Ren, her tone flat and serious again amongst the people that were already up. Kotone didn’t normally sleep this long. She was usually up and traveling or getting into trouble by now. Before they found the food, Kotone glanced at Ren. “So, are you happy here in Lamia Scale?” She noticed her shrinking away from her own guildmates and being generally antisocial. She hoped no one was doing anything to hurt her.

If Ren had heard someone say that she would cry, she would have either been quiet or meekly said “no I wouldn’t.” That didn’t make it the truth, but she would have wanted to say it. Sure, she was a pansy, but she didn’t need people reminding her of it constantly, right? Right. She actually wouldn’t have cried if Kotone left, that she knew of. Sure, it would make her sad, but Ren actually expected that more than anything.

Ren followed Kotone down the stairs and then Kotone said it was “her turn.” Ren hadn’t realized they were taking turns. She was so naturally never a leader that she hardly noticed following people. Now she felt a bit anxious. Kotone was doing her serious thing again. Ren just nodded and started walking. Honesty, if they found one of a few guildmates, they would offer food.

Ren started walking toward where she saw Kade. She never did this, but he seemed to be messing with something near the kitchen area, so that was a good bed. Kotone asked if Ren was happy…. “Uhm, I’m…. n-not… really… a happy person, I guess… I-its better than living on the street though, and people are nice, just scary…” she said, trying to give a real answer, although her inclination was to say a lot less than that.

Kotone wasn’t sure if she’d expected the answer she got from Ren or not. It was a little surprising to hear she wasn’t a happy girl… though Kotone wasn’t sure why. After all… Kotone grinned slightly, sighing. “Maybe that’s why we get along so well,” she said semi-cryptically. Kotone wasn’t a happy person. Why should she be? It wasn’t her job to be happy. It wasn’t her job to make people happy. It was her job to keep people safe. That was it. That was the ‘sacred duty’ Krendall the ice dragon had given her.

She did like to see people happy though. Certain people. Specific people. The ones that didn’t make her want to punch through a wall with jealousy. Ren was one of those people. “Well you’re allowed to be scared,” she told Ren with a shrug. “Bad things happen in life. Sometimes it makes things a little more scary.” She left it at that though. Maybe she could have said more. Maybe she should have. But it was impressive that she wasn’t yelling at someone by now, being in a place this crowded. Someone usually needed put in their place or at least pushed away. “You looking for that Kade guy?” she asked, glancing at the man Ren had set her eyes on after looking around.

Most people did not wish harm on Ren. Good people saw that she was innocent and fragile, and either wished her well, or actively felt protective of her. It wasn’t what had always happened though. There were less good people. People who were looking out for themselves. Ren was an easy pawn, an easy toy. She was easy to push around and use for personal gain, and she felt there was no point in fighting that. It wasn’t good for a second, but she accepted it. Part of her, a smaller part, was afraid to get near people because they would turn around and hurt her… a larger part was afraid that good people would hate her, because she wasn’t good enough.

Kotone said that maybe being unhappy was why they got along, Ren smiled sheepishly, “I think its just ‘cause you’re not scary like other people…” she said, trying to be complimentary. She had missed part of what Kotone meant, but she was still content with the statement. Kotone also said that bad things happened in life. I know… and that it made things more scary, I know… and then… she asked about Kade. “Oh, y-yes,” Ren said, nodding quickly. She walked up to Kade, who had a variety of food objects in front of him, and was currently cutting an apple into slices in a bowl.

“G-good morning Kade, c-can I , I mean…. Um….” she fidgeted, feeling as awkward as usual, which often crippled her socially, especially if she had to ask for something, which she never did.

Just like the night before, Ren was with that dragonslayer. Kade had gotten a good night’s sleep last night and woken up early. He’d been out, tending his garden, and then coming back inside to work more with the apples. He was wearing casual clothes and his blue hair was pushed back from his eyes as he worked on cutting up apples. He’d been doing this for most of the morning. He actually had two pies baking at that point, and some smaller more breakfast oriented apple crisps. Plus at the moment he was making cinnamon apples.

Ren got close enough and started stuttering. He chuckled lightly, “Good morning to you too Ren. And to you, Ma’am,” he said to Kotone. She seemed like she didn’t appreciate undue familiarity, so he wasn’t going to use her first name. She was more than her alias, and seemed to puff up quite a bit when they were mentioned, so he avoided those. “Are you wanting some food? I’ve got plenty, enjoy,” he told them with a grin. He pushed a plate of the apple crisps toward them, “I’ve also got plain apples,” he said, directing his attention to a bowl of them nearby, “Do either of you like cinnamon?” he asked as he looked from Ren to Kotone. Ren had picked up an apple crisp and offered it to Kotone, before trying to nibble on one for herself.

Since when was Kotone a Ma’am? That was almost as weird as pretending to be her friend. Really, it was hard to address Kotone if she hadn’t told you what to call her. About the only thing that worked was just plain calling her Kotone. She didn’t really consider that familiar like one would think. Really, it was just her name. Everyone had a name. Plus, it wasn’t anything weird like Ma’am or Young One. She’d been called both of those lately. They were both odd.

The random issue of what to call her aside, though, Kotone thought the apple pastries smelled absolutely delicious. She’d been able to smell them before they even entered the room with her heightened senses, and had figured they were the apples she had helped carry. She gave Kade a nod, her hands in her pockets until she took the apple crisp from Ren and munched on it quietly in front of Kade. Really it must be awkward talking to two girls with similar and yet differently handled social issues. She nodded again at the question about liking cinnamon. She didn’t have any reason to lie about that, and if she didn’t feel defensive around someone like Kade she did eat like a horse. She could probably eat a couple of pies and several cinnamon apples and not gain a pound. She had always suspected it had something to do with her magic, though she’d never asked nor could she anymore.

Kade was a very polite man, Ren knew that. He always treated her like a “little lady,” and had called her that at times. Usually it was just Ren. Usually she was hiding. Ren didn’t find Kade calling Ren Ma’am weird. A lot of people used those terms when she’d been a young girl. Lately less so. Guild wizards weren’t exactly the most formal bunch. Ren did not point this out.

Ren had picked up an apple crisp and was nibbling on it while no one said anything. Kade had basically greeted them and then no one talked. Ren felt a bit more awkward than usual. She finished two crisps and asked for a whole apple. When he gave it to her she thanked him, “Are, um, you good now? I mean, I don’t know how much other people eat,” Ren said. She was actually getting full, and would save the apple for a snack while they fished.

She realized she was thirsty and headed to the kitchen. One glass of water, half finished, then refilled, then another glass filled. She handed one to Kotone, though when she looked at them it felt like Kade had said something. Ren wasn’t sure what, but it made her anxious. “So, uh,” she said, sipping her water, “ready to go?”

Ren was adorable. Kotone was awkward. Ren was adorably awkward. Kotone was… guarded, quite obviously. Kade had been enjoying his work. He’d rather be out working in the garden in the open air and sunlight, but he was still enjoying what he was doing. No one said anything at first when he spoke. That was fine. Kotone was guarded, Ren was always this awkward. “You really need to eat more than you do. It helps keep you healthy,” Kade told Ren, who soon wandered off to the kitchen for some water. Well that was fine.

“You can take as much as you want to eat,” Kade informed Kotone, who’d been left behind for the moment, “I can always make more, and I like giving out food.” He continued cutting the apples. It would be easier to just turn his finger into a source of light, a small laser, and cut into the apples. That would be convenient. He’d learned to use his magic as part of his daily life. Easily managed, easily wielded, but he didn’t do that around other people. “It seems dear little Ren has an affinity for dragon slayers. Wouldn’t think it of such a timid girl,” he said, quietly, mostly to himself.

When Ren returned Kade waited to see what Kotone would do. He suspected the girls wouldn’t stay long. It was curious to see them interact though.

Kotone raised an eyebrow when Kade mumbled something about Ren having an affinity for dragon slayers. She doubted someone would mention that about just one person… though she supposed she could be wrong. “Why, you know another dragon slayer?” she asked him as casually as she could as she took an apple. She should probably thank him. She was aware of her bad manners. It didn’t change the fact that she didn’t thank people for anything. Too much gratitude and suddenly you owe people.


Ren appeared soon after that, and Kotone shifted her weight as she munched. She had a bottle of water she’d kept with her for her trip though, and would fish that out of her pouch when she got thirsty. She nodded to Ren, regardless of how Kade answered. It wasn’t something she wanted to press with Ren right there, either way. She raised her half eaten apple to Kade as she turned and walked away with Ren, almost a “thanks,” more an acknowledgement.

After a few minutes of walking outside, Kotone sighed with relief being away from the guild hall. There were reasons she didn’t join guilds, and this was definitely one of them. Too many people she wasn’t at all familiar with. She was always on edge, in case someone wanted something to do with her.

She’d been in Cerulean nearly a year ago, when she’d met “Wild Arms Rallands,” as he had introduced himself to the crowd. He’d made himself into the bad guy so that the town would stop watching Kotone, the girl who had wrecked the market area trying to stop a criminal, with such disdain. It hadn’t lasted. People still eyed Kotone if they remembered, though they were more likely to remember her last visit when she’d just been passing through (she didn’t count it as a visit, herself) and had caused that ruckus in the inn she wasn’t welcome in. That one had been her fault. Still, she grinned as she remembered Roejaster’s display, and was silently thankful that the man had enabled her to come back here. At least it had made Ren happy.

“So, you like fishing, huh?” she asked Ren as the pair walked to the ocean for a bit of fishing. “Sid certainly does. Or at least… he likes to steal the end-product.” Kotone didn’t really have the patience for proper fishing, though, and would likely show Ren how she fished, Ice dragon slayer style, soon enough.

When Kade had been asked about knowing another dragon slayer, all he said was, “Probably. Harder to tell with the ones who don’t talk about it,” and shrugged. He wasn’t saying anything about it when Ren returned. After the water was gone the two girls left. Kotone gave a small thanks to Kade, who nodded, and Ren thanked him just for good measure.

Ren also relaxed a little when they left the guild. It was Ren’s home, but Ren was always more of a loner. Even with Anya, Ren couldn’t ever trust many people at once. Now she couldn’t trust any of them. It was an impossibility for Ren. Kotone was nice though. Nice people were just as scary as mean people. Mean people were mean. Nice people were nice for now.

When they neared some water Ren listened to Kotone finally talking. “Fishing is alright. Its…. Quiet. People aren’t around. You get free food. Don’t’ have to buy anything. Its nice. And the water is nice. I don’t swim though, much, usually I fall in water and get cold and get sick… and stuff,” she sighed. She was a mess of clumsiness, it was almost embarrassing. It would be more embarrassing, were she not so used to it. “I guess I would do it more for the sake of having a task, than accomplishing anything. I’m weird that way,” she shrugged. She needed a stick and string, and bait, and a hook, she knew that much. However generally speaking, her shadows could do enough. If need be, she could grab a fish from the water, scoop it up, and toss it in a basket she had. She didn’t plan to do that around Kotone, she didn’t like showing off her magic at all.

Kotone chuckled quietly when Ren admitted she liked having tasks just to give her something to do. She knew the feeling, but she vastly preferred to accomplish things. It was in her nature to accomplish, no matter the cost. Not that she ever seemed to fail to accomplish things anymore. “We can do and accomplish today,” Kotone told Ren with a small grin, looking cool and calm and relaxed around the slightly older girl. She still found it odd when she reminded herself Ren was technically an adult, while Kotone wasn’t. Kotone certainly felt more the adult, despite her knowledge of her own problems and immaturity.

The two kept walking towards their destination, Kotone walking casually beside Ren, who seemed to be enjoying her company. That wasn’t something she was used to. “Don’t worry, I’m fast. You won’t be falling into the water and getting sick with me around.” Not that heat was her specialty. She could accomplish making Ren colder… but she figured if she stuck near Ren she could grab her before she fell in the water and got herself sick. Kotone would be quite unhappy with herself if that happened, after all. Ren was a sweet kid, and the preferred sweet kids to be happy and healthy.

Ren laughed lightly at Kotone’s comment. They could do something today, and they could… do something today. Both meanings, and Ren supposed that must be the best of both worlds. She was occupied, and she was accomplishing something. It was just amusing to hear Kotone say it, and seeing her smile was comforting as well. They kept walking close together and Ren felt at least as relaxed as she had in months. Ren wasn’t often that relaxed, and she’d only met Kotone yesterday, but she was happy for the moment.

Ren listened to Kotone’s comment about her not falling and getting sick, “That was what happened every winter. When I walked to school, I’d get sick every winter. Not all winter, but… a few times every year. I didn’t get so sick when I lived on the street though,” she said, not thinking anything of the statement, since it was connected to her being sick, not being homeless, “I guess my immune system was better by then…. But I did get sick some,” she shrugged. “So, uh… fishing…. I need something to catch the fish with. Usually I’d have a fighting pole and bait, but we don’t really have that… sorry I didn’t think about it,” she said, biting her lip slightly.

Kotone didn’t really react to Ren’s admission to living on the streets at one point. She’d lived in the woods for a few years, herself. She might have had better training at living alone, and she might easily be able to hunt for her food without too much effort using her senses and magic, but living outside of a house was hardly anything new for her. Even now she spent a lot of time camping out. At least she seemed happy for now.

“No worries,” Kotone said with a shrug, opening a pouch on her side that was hidden by her jacket and pulling out some string. “It’s cold out, so my magic can help with most of that. And bait’s easy to find for a dragon slayer,” she said, not really boasting despite her words. She held out her hand, forming a primitive fishing pole. “I can do something like this if you’d like. It’ll save us on money, at least.” Besides, she didn’t need a fishing pole with what she had planned. It was more to give Ren something to do. Sid meowed, and Kotone put the string away. “Yeah yeah, I can make a hook too, you know. The water’s cold enough it’ll last awhile.” Kotone formed a hook in her other hand to make her point, before tossing both of them aside. They would need fresh ones for Ren to get much fishing time in by the time they got there anyway.

Part of why Kotone didn’t react to Ren accidentally saying she lived on the street, was because Kotone didn’t understand. Living in the forest after being trained was one thing. Ren, instead, lived on the street. No survival skills, no self-esteem, hardly any desire to actually survive, living off the food she found. It was different, and horrible. Still, she should have realized she wasn’t a bad person. The fact that she got stuck saving a cat while she herself was nearly starving and hardly surviving might have meant something to someone else. Ren still didn’t think any better of herself.

When Ren commented on needing a fishing pole Kotone said it wasn’t anything to worry about. Ren worried about everything. She started doing what Ren supposed she was going to maybe tie the string to a stick, but no, she made a rod out of ice. Ice. Ice that Kotone expected Ren to hold with her hands. She looked at her sleeves, which hid her hands. Her sleeves would get wet as the ice melted, and her hands would get frostbite if she held a piece of ice that long. The hook was enough it sounded applicable. Ren bit her lip, continuing to walk, “B-but, uh… if I hold onto a stick of ice, it’ll freeze my hands…” she reminded her awkwardly, feeling bad, “I, uh, its fine, I’ll figure something else out.”

Oh. Right. Kotone had thought about the cold water but not the cold ice. “Yeah, we can uh, find a stick or something. Same thing really, right?” she suggested, looking away and blushing in embarrassment. A lot of times she got angry and acted like it was someone else’s fault to cover herself, but Ren wasn’t really… those people. Not really. Kotone sighed. “I was joking about the hook part, by the way,” she told Ren. “I have a real one too. Though it would be interesting to see how an ice hook would actually do…”

Long sticks were hard to carry, but hooks and line…. Not as much. They could be useful in adventuring too. Kotone had found that out before. “So, have a favorite spot by the water?” Kotone asked, trying not to dwell on her forgetfulness. There were disadvantages to not getting cold. Like forgetting other people did, on occasion. “We could go fishing there, I suppose, if so.” Sid mewed again, though this time Kotone ignored him, and he hopped over to Ren as if to be consoled for not getting immediate gratification. He nuzzled Ren’s leg, and then her face if she picked him up. He seemed to be more fond of Ren than Kotone was, from the looks of it.

Ren felt bad for ruining Kotone’s ice plan. When Kotone said they could find a stick Ren nodded quickly, wanting to fix the situation, “Y-yeah, if you want to, that would be good.” Kotone was clearly embarrassed and Ren just had to fix her mistake, “Uh, s-so…. Thank you for the thought, its really c-cool that you can do that stuff. You’re really self-sufficient…” she rattled on a bit. Yeah, she wasn’t all that good at smoothing things out, oh well, the effort counted, right? When Kotone said she was joking about the hook Ren blushed some, glancing down,”Oh… w-well I bet you could make one out of ice anyway, if you, uh, wanted, you’re really impressive”

Kotone slipped into another topic easily. A favorite spot by the water, “Oh, uhm… not really. I kind of stick to the same hiding places around Lamia Scale, but otherwise I don’t frequent anything the same… I mean… people might notice me and… ” she shook her head like this was all self-explanatory. Clearly she didn’t want to be identified and spoken to, that would be awful.

Sid started meowing and Ren smiled, it was such a cute noise. He jumped down and rubbed against Ren’s leg so she picked him up, getting his soft fur all over her face. She giggled a bit, “Cats are cute,” she said, sounding happier now with a small distraction. “Anyway, uh, we can fish wherever you think we’ll get the most fish,” she told Kotone, rubbing Sid behind his ears.

Ren seemed to feel bad for Kotone being embarrassed. That was something she wasn’t expecting… She didn’t really want to call attention to it though, because she had gathered Ren didn’t like any attention she wasn’t obviously seeking out. Luckily, her quick change to asking where she wanted to go had worked, though Ren’s answer didn’t really help that much, other than to confirm she was afraid of attention. Meanwhile, Kotone liked attention… to the point that sometimes she caused trouble for it without actually meaning to. They were very similar, and very opposite.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find us a spot. You just keep an eye out for good sticks, okay?” she asked Ren with a grin. She kept walking until she got to the river, where she kept an eye on the water for sights of fish. She could see well enough where the sun wasn’t glaring off of the water – the water was surprisingly clear in most spots.

Finally, Kotone found a spot she was happy with, and she took her boots and socks off, putting her feet in the water like it was a hot summer day. She rather liked chilly water. “Hmm…” she looked at the fish as they swam around, then looked over at Ren with a gentle grin. “If you want any help with the fishing pole, feel free to walk over here. I won’t start doing anything until you’re ready.”

Ren always felt bad for Kotone being uncomfortable. She felt bad for anyone being uncomfortable, but she liked Kotone a lot more, so that made it much more important. Embarrassment wasn’t fun, so Ren felt bad. If the two girls spent more time together perhaps their interest in attention could have worked out. Kotone could have all the attention, and Ren could have none. That was how attention worked, right?

Kotone assured Ren that she would find them a good fishing spot. All Ren needed was a stick. That was good, Ren imagined she could find a stick. If all else failed she might use her spell. She kept looking around though, hoping to find a stick. She did, eventually, find a stick. It involved tripping over it. With a pronounced oof Ren hit the ground. She whimpered slightly as she looked behind her. Well, at least it’s a stick… she thought with a sigh. Ren stood up and saw Kotone in the water.

Ren was confused by the word choice. If she needed help she should…. Go over to Kotone? Why not just ask Kotone to come to her? How could Kotone help her from the water? Oh well, it didn’t matter. She walked over toward the water and put her stick down. It didn’t seem like fishing with Kotone in the water was going to do any good. So she just sat, “Having fun?”

Kotone hadn’t thought of another thing. Her usual method of getting fish would probably make it impossible for Ren to actually fish. Normally, she just kind of… froze the nearby fish and picked them up at her leisure for cooking and eating. Hmm… she really should have thought these things through. She supposed she could just pretend she had another plan from the beginning. Suddenly, Ren was asking if she was having fun. “Huh? Oh! Yeah,” Kotone chuckled slightly, pulling her legs out of the freezing water. She showed no signs of having ever been in anything all that cold, of course. “I know it’s probably weird to other people,” she decided aloud, “But cold water feels great to me.” Kotone got up, pulling her socks and boots back on before stretching.

“Here you go,” she told Ren, handing her the string to tie to the stick, as well as a hook. She would have to try out the ice one for herself. “I’ve got to go find bait and my own stick,” she said as if she hadn’t been planning something completely different. She walked a little ways and made an ice shovel, digging into the dirt a little ways until she’d turned up some slow-moving earth worms. It was cold outside, so they weren’t exactly shallow. But they were around, and Kotone was strong enough that it didn’t take long to dig down a few feet. She made an ice cup, placing the creatures in it and setting them by Ren, picking up a stick nearby that she hadn’t seen. Before long, they both had functional makeshift fishing rods, as well as a backup plan in Kotone’s ice magic if they didn’t manage to catch anything. "Shall we?" she asked Ren with a small grin.

Ren didn’t really consider these things to be Kotone’s fault. No doubt it was Ren’s fault for asking, or Ren’s fault for not seeing another way, or even just Ren’s fault for being there. Everything always did come back to it being her fault. Even when people ran into her, it was her fault for not getting out of the way fast enough. However Kotone didn’t get worked up, or act embarrassed, or seem upset at all, so Ren didn’t really feel bad. She felt a little bad, as she still felt like she was messing up the plans, but when she asked if Kotone was having fun, it turned out she was. Then everything was alright. Ren probably would have gotten sick on contact if she got in the water, but Kotone seemed almost giddy, it made Ren smile. “Well that’s good. You look good being so happy.”

Ren looked surprised when Kotone handed her the string and hook to make her fishing rod again. “But…. O-okay,” Ren said, not arguing. It confused her to shift things so quickly, but apparently that was fine, so Ren tried not to complicate things. She tied the string on and was very careful not to cut herself with the hook. Kotone seemed to be prepared for everything, and Ren was impressed, even if they had bumps along the way, “You’re really smart,” Ren informed her when Kotone came back and sat down. “And you’re magic is pretty too, I don’t use mine around people, ‘cause no one likes it,” she sighed, casting her line into the water, and not seeming particularly upset by her own comment.

Kotone actually looked to the side and blushed a bit when Ren told her she looked good being so happy. Kotone wasn’t a happy person, but if she looked happy… that was good, right? What did she mean she looked good? Kotone didn’t dwell on it long, though, because she didn’t want to. She doubted Ren was flirting. Not that it would have mattered if she was… Kotone wasn’t like that. Still, it was an honest compliment and Kotone didn’t really know how to deal with those. At least Ren took the stuff and let Kotone distract herself for a moment with gathering what she needed.

Upon her return, her question was met with a statement that had little to do with if they were ready to begin fishing. She instead got more compliments. She was apparently really smart. Was she? And she had pretty magic. Well… that one she couldn’t deny. The blush returned from the bombardment of compliments, Kotone blinking and looking a bit more like the awkward teenage girl she actually was underneath. She blinked her amber eyes a few times again. “There’s at least one person who likes your magic,” Kotone told Ren casually, casting her newly baited line into the water and sitting down on her knees. She didn’t know a lot about Ren’s magic, but magic was magic. She shouldn’t be ashamed of her gift, after all.

Ren had awful luck with flirting. Well, no, relationships. She didn’t have awful luck with flirting because she didn’t flirt. Even when she’d been dating, she didn’t flirt, she just sort of followed his lead. That particular man was a very good example of why Ren found men so utterly terrifying. They were scarier than woman, and women were pretty scary too. Kotone wasn’t scary. She was confusing at times, but she wasn’t scary. Still, no matter when Ren thought of Kotone, nothing that could come out of the awkward teenager’s mouth would have been flirting. Even if she thought Kotone probably did look cute blushing when she was complimented.

When Kotone left and returned Ren tried to be nicer. More honest. She was relaxing, so it was easier. It wasn’t even really intentional. Kotone seemed confused by the comments and looked awkward, making Ren feel bad. She stopped, but then when Kotone commented on Ren’s magic she looked surprised. “There is?” She wasn’t stupid, but she was sincerely confused by this. She didn’t even like her magic. She did, deep down, but when she thought about it she couldn’t bring herself to like it, because of everything she’d been told.

“Of course,” Kotone nodded, giving her a small, reassuring grin. She looked back at the water, casting her now prepared line into the water and wondering how well her ice hook would work. She let out a small, relaxed sigh. “There’s me, isn’t there?” she asked. In truth, Kotone didn’t think there was any magic as cool as her own, and that wasn’t even a pun. She liked it quite a lot. She did like other people’s magic sometimes though, and thought perhaps she should learn a second type of magic to help compensate for her weakness to things like fire magic. She’d already all but mastered her dragon slayer magic, save for honing what she already had as she got stronger, herself.

She didn’t have to wait long until the line tugged. Apparently one of the fish was hungry. She tightened her grip, jerking upward and looking at the fish on the hook. She was almost surprised. She had expected to not catch much this time of year and probably just feed it to Sid. “Huh. Maybe you’re better luck than you think you are,” she commented to Ren even as she recalled Ren tripping over her own feet. “At least to other people.”

Kotone said that “of course” there were people who liked her magic. Ren still found this pretty confusing. Kotone wasn’t exactly explaining either, so Ren just sat there thinking about it. Did that mean Kotone actually liked it? Because that would be nice, but what about the magic did she like? She did say that she liked it, or implied it heavily enough it was clear. Still, Ren was just wondering why she would. Asking seemed too similar to disagreeing, so she just accepted that, “Well… th-thank you. Its… nice for someone to,” she said, her tone quiet but not as timid as it sometimes came out.

Ren blushed when Kotone said she was better luck than she thought, maybe. At least to other people. She looked away, “No I’m not,” she said seriously. She wasn’t sure her eyes felt heavy, or full, or what it was about that statement that affected her so much. She’d know if she dug through it for a while. She was bad for people. She couldn’t think about it. Couldn’t elaborate, even in her own head, she refused. She blinked several times, then as she looked around, she put a hand up to her face to brush the almost non-existent wetness from under them. She didn’t want to dwell on this, or for Kotone to notice, so she just looked back at her pole, “But thanks… maybe I’m good for cats at least,” she said, since the fish was probably mostly for Sid.