1859/Returning to the Roost

Returning to the Roost
Date of Scene:	13 August 2024
Location:	Dorms #3
Synopsis:	Wing and Mana Soga talk, about Paris and other things.
Cast of Characters:	Tsubasa Yuunagi, Mana Soga

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Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
It'd been a couple of days since everyone returned from Paris. And finally, one of the stragglers made his return. Arriving outside of Mana's dorm room, Tsubasa is carrying a box of French chocolates, and a small plant from a plant shop he had come across in the streets. It had a pretty pink blossom and it reminded him of the girl.

Glancing at the door to check her name, he knocks on it, and steps back to wait. So she can see him. And you know, that she's decent and all of that stuff. No need to just barge in, right?

Mana Soga has posed:
    Paris. What a wild thing to experience... Mana couldn't even wrap her head around it, at first. Sure, she knew Tsubasa's secret, but Paris? That's a long way to go. At least to someone without powers who's trying to make heads or tails of a distressing letter left by Tsubasa after the fact. ... Probably for the best, though. Had he done so in person she probably would have protested, especially with how dire the stakes sounded. The first two days were spent in a mix of confusion and shock, it was bad enough the first day that Mana even missed class. Following the confusion her mind started to process the situation a bit more clearly. Tsubasa would be with others... She didn't know how many others, but something qualifying the descriptor of 'task force' should be relatively large... right? So Tsubasa would have friends capable of watching his back.

    That's where the first tug hit. Not Jealousy, or some likewise negative emotion, but a ferverent wish that she could have been there, to help him watch his back. ...Granted she wasn't an idiot, she wasn't 'special' like Tsubasa or any of the others with him. At best, she'd only be in the way and at worst, something to be used against him and the others. Even if she /was/ like Tsubasa and the others, she wouldn't have any experience, at this stage, so if some miracle had happened and she could join them... Well...

    As the days went on, Mana put her thoughts and doubts aside, instead doing as she normally would, with maybe a bit too much enthusiasm. What had once been a "modest" collection of plants in her Dorm has expanded to bordering on problematic. Wall planters, some potted plants as many hanging plants as she could safely clear with the dorm authority... All of them in various states of bloom with colorful flowers and vibrant colors.

    For Tsubasa's part, just standing outside the doorway would give a hint of floral scent from beyond, so when the door opens and the absolute tidal wave of various scents that follow probably won't be a shock. At least not so much as the shock that might come from Mana bursting out of the door in a typically uncharacteristic display of energy and social- ... well okay social awkwardness might be expected of Mana. In this case, it would be in the form of the girl grabbing hold of Tsubasa and squeezing on to him in a sudden hug, reguardless of wether or not anyone might be in the immediate area to see.

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
As he stands outside of the room, Tsubasa is trying to place the lovely scent - and realizing that it belongs to her. He smells it on Mana all the time. She smells so warm and pleasant and... she's not the only one feeling pangs. He should have said more in his letter. But he had no idea how he felt either when it came to everything.

When the door opens, he was just about to say hello when... he's ambushed by Mana! The chocolates and flowers fall to the floor as she throws herself around him and his own arms engulf her. "Hey!" he greets, hands in her hair, holding her close and breathing her in as she clings to him. "I'm back. It's okay." he promises her.

"How was school? Everything okay here?" Don't let her hear his heart racing in his chest.

Mana Soga has posed:
    Mana doesn't say anything, still clinging to Tsubasa for several minutes as her mind slowly comes back into it's senses and she realizes just how forward she's being, her cheeks slowly flushing red as she sheepishly glances down one side of the hall, then the other, before she pulls herself back. Not only that.. She's acting like she hasn't seen Tsubasa in weeks, and that might seem odd to anyone else watching, that didn't know. So she needs to compose herself.

    A quick, sharp pat on both of her cheeks, and the girl gives a soft smile before she bows politely to Tsubasa.

"Ah..." She starts, her voice low incase anyone is nearby. "Welcome home, Tsubasa-kun. I wasn't..." She pauses, shaking her head slightly. "I didn't expect you to drop by my dorm like this.. I'd have at least made an effort to tidy up..."

    Honestly, it's a silly statement. Outside of the jungle of plants, Mana's room - at least from the doorway - looks fairly clean. Still, Mana's eyes move down to the flowers and chocolate that Tsubasa had dropped before she gasps.

"Oh no! Sorry, I must have startled you.." She comments, kneeling down to gather up the flowers and the box before holding them both back out to Tsubasa. Sure, the context clues were that they were for her, but she didn't want to assume that, and at the very least give Tsubasa a chance to offer them instead.

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
When she starts to pull away - for just a couple of seconds - she'll feel him reluctant to let her go before finally Tsubasa disengages as well, his own cheeks bright red. "It-It's okay! I'm ha-happy to see you too!" he confesses to her, before he steps back as well, realizing that her reaction was not the one she may have wanted, which would make his reaction to her reaction odd.

"You did surprise me. Not in a bad way, I mean... you give really good hugs." he manages, before he's offered the presents he meant to offer to her. Accepting them in his hands, he's confused for several seconds before he realizes what Mana wants him to do, and he offers them to her. "I.. I brought these back for you. I thought you might like them?" he asks her, and blushes again. "I wanted to surprise you and all and... I think I messed it up."

She probably already has a boyfriend. He should have asked. As soon as she accepts the gifts, his forefingers touch together in worry.

"So... how are you? Everything okay?" he asks lamely, totally not a question that he wanted to ask.

Mana Soga has posed:
    Mana smiles, taking the gifts when they are propperly offered before she steps back into her room and places the box of chocolates down her bed - quite possibly the only surface open enough to accomodate them, at the moment. Then she turns and carries the small plant over to a shelf close to the window that gets direct sunlight and places it down there before she turns around to look at Tsubasa if he followed her in or not, and if not, invite him to do so.

"Of course I like them. What girl doesn't like chocolate and flowers from their best friend?" She asks with a slight wink. "Even if they are socially awkward and completley inept in a social situation like I am." She adds before she exhales and moves over to sit down on the edge of her bed. "You didn't mess it up at all, seeing you is a surprise, after all.."

    The question of how she is, though, makes her tense up a little. She'd be lying if she said everything was fine after all this.

"...I uh.. ..This was rough. Knowing you were gone, and risking your life... While I was stuck here not able to do anything... We haven't known each other long but I at the very least consider us close friends.. So the thought of not seeing you again kind of sucked. ... I mean, I'm glad you told me. Don't misunderstand. I just... I wish I could have been there to help.. or something. ...not that someone like me has much they can offer in that situation."

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
Tsubasa waits to be invited in. Because he's totally a vampire. Or just polite. Probably the later.

And she keeps driving home that they are friends. Which makes sense. They are. But at the same time, it seems strange. And it kind of hurts a little. But he just needs to get over it, really. "Socially awkward and inept and cute." he points out to her. Moving to settle on the edge of her desk, he didn't want to impose by sitting next to her. 'Did you grow all this? It's pretty amazing!" he adds, before she... says all that.

"It was really rough. I'm not going to lie. I'm glad you weren't there. And safe." he admits quietly, glancing down at his hands in his lap. "And you're here, now. That means a lot more to me than you having been there, Mana-chan."

Mana Soga has posed:
    Mana quietly sits in the silence following her calling Tsubasa a friend before she smiles and stands up moving over to the desk where he's sitting and reaches out placing one hand on Tsubasa's. "I'm.. not great at these situations.. But I do have enough empathy to know when I'm making something awkward." Mana starts, before she closes her eyes trying to carefully place her words before she speaks. "We've only known each other for a few weeks, Tsubasa-kun... And that time has been.. overwhelming, with the ammount of things i've learned that I didn't even know were happening, much less the fact that meeting you has cracked open a shell that i've had around me for most of my life... I need time to process all of this before I dive even deeper, okay?"

    As she says that, she squeezes her hand on Tsubasa's and smiles before she takes a seat on the desk next to Tsubasa.

"...Maybe... But sitting here alone with my thoughts all week sucked." She comments to the last part before doubling back to comment on an earlier question.

"Yeah, I grew most of this from seeds.. Some of it I bought a little more mature than others, but for the most part I enjoy raising things from seeds because it lets me spend more time with them."

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
"Oh no. I get that, legit get it." Tsubasa offers as he ducks his head with a small chuckle, his hand turning over so that he can hold hers in turn. "We probably both need a little time. You have to get used to what I am and what I can do. And I'm willing to do that. Just... at whatever pace makes it easier for you, Mana-chan." he offers to her politely.

"That's why I brought you back a gift. You know, because the week sucked and all." he smiles lightly at her.

"So tell me about your plants!" he says suddenly. "You like... this is almost like a power, the way you curated them all. It looks pretty amazing. I look forward to seeing what you can do with the plant I brought back for you."

Mana Soga has posed:
"A power...?" Mana questions thoughtfully as she looks to the plants around the room and then giggles softly at the thought. "Man life would be way easier if I could just.. snap my fingers and make them grow." She pauses, at that thought, seeming to think about it for several minutes before she slowly frowns. "...That feels cruel." She finally states, before she stands up and walks over to the plant Tsubasa brought and reaches up adjusting it's leaves just a bit.

"If I ever do obtain powers.. I sincerely hope they have nothing to do with affecting plants. ... Think about it." She says, turning to glance at Tsubasa. "If I could magically make them grow.. what's the benefit to them? It's less nurturing and more.. unnatural? ... Maybe i'm just over thinking it, but is it fair to use magic to force something to grow before it's ready?" She questions before she shakes her head and sighs. "Maybe that's just because i'm looking at things from a mortal perspective, though..."

    Then she pauses, closing her eyes in thought again.

"...Although... I suppose it would be nice... Having a more primal connection with them. TO be able to truly feel what they feel..."