His list is surprisingly easy, in the end. Once he manages to contextualise what half the words are he doesn't understand. And he gets plenty of seedlings and sprouts to add to the greenhouse, which he's left there for now to come back to later. In the immediate interim, however, he's looking for Taylor. At least it's a safe bet she'll be in Kiryu's room, so he starts there.
A good safe bet. Taylor’s at home, sitting on Kiryu’s porch as she carefully and methodically pulls a magazine apart, setting aside pages with people on them. It takes her a second to realize anyone else is there, and she startles for a second before recognizing him, her eyes widening happily to do so.
“Hunter.”
Only after she says his name does she remember to smile, still not quite natural to her yet.
He smiles when she does, mostly relieved to see that she's still here and okay.
"Hey, Taylor." He walks in properly; still wearing his cape, but his clothes underneath are much more casual, his outfit (accidentally) looking altogether more like Trevor than a Scout.
But when he sees the magazine and its ruined pages, he frowns curiously. "What are you... doing?"
She looks from him down to her pages, and sorts through them until she finds a few in particular, laying them out.
“They talk. Walk. Eat.” She identifies what the objects of the photos are doing, looking up for confirmation. Action in images has been difficult for her, but she figured something out today.
It takes him a moment, during which he comes to sit next to her on her damaged side, but there's a small 'oh!' when he gets it.
"You're learning action words," he marvels softly, picking up a picture of someone dancing for- some sort of music product, apparently. "You're... starting to recognise what they mean. What doing them looks like."
"Remembering?" He picks up one of the discarded pages of a person posing for some fashion thing and pulls a marker out of the depths of his cloak; and with a quick few lines, he draws a thought bubble (funny, how both realms have that) next to the figure's head, and - so there's something in the bubble, he draws a little stick-witch like a stickman but with pointy ears - and shows the page to Taylor. "Remember. It means-- something you already know, but- didn't know that you know it?"
She's starting on a doodle that could maybe be interpreted as the Golden Guard's mask when the pen falls from her hand, and she uses his shoulder for leverage to scramble abruptly to her feet, heading inside. She still needs to use the walls for support, but not nearly so much as before.
Using his shoulder to stand up surprises him, but he braces automatically so she doesn't wobble when she does push against him - though a stray elbow nearly clocks him and he winces slightly.
"Taylor?" When she's up, though, he's on his feet immediately to follow her, rounding her to stay by her side in case she needs proper support, ready to let her take the lead wherever she's headed.
It's her room she heads for, because a connection has just happened and she has to follow it before it fades, has to make sure it stays.
It's on the shelf above her bed, where he's already seen her journal and the letters to Rags and Jacobi and Makima. Just a soft package, wrapped in plain paper. She leans on her bed to grab it, and flips it over, pushing it at him.
His name is written on it, in her handwriting - hers from before.
Dying spidersilk white isn't easy. Weaver's suit being white was never her idea-
She shakes her head - not time for any memories from that - and pushes the package into Hunter's hands.
He's completely baffled by what she's going for, because he's never actually looked closely at the items up there except the journal and that was a duty more than it was invasive--
But he blinks, twice, when the package gets thrust at him, and a tightness immediately grips his chest.
"O-oh." He looks at Taylor again - there's a quiet tweet from Flapjack as the bird finally emerges from Hunter's cloak and settles on his shoulder - before he looks back at the package and carefully opens it.
The garment in the package will spill out like water over his hands if he isn't expecting it - like most things Taylor has made, it's silk. Pristine white and smooth, identically cut to his own cloak.
The crimson cardinal quilted across the center of the back is different, though, and the lining red to match.
It does almost spill, and he catches it in an awkward fumble to clutch it to his chest, before he gets a proper grip on it and gives it a proper look. It's a high quality cape, at least as nice as his Golden Guard cape, but the red lining is much nicer, and when he turns it over--
His eyes go wide and he goes completely still, except for the faint quiver of his lips before he presses his mouth shut and swallows thickly.
He hadn't told her about Flapjack before she made this; he can't have, there was no time between his graduating and now, and this is clearly well-finished. But it still makes his chest ache, and there's a complicated expression across his face that doesn't look upset, necessarily, but it's not- it's just a lot. A lot of emotion.
Eventually he drops onto the bed, holding the cape close to his chest, clutching it with white-knuckled and deeply scarred hands, running his thumb over the edge of one of the embroidery's dark wings.
She sits on the bed beside him, one leg folded under herself, and lifts her hand to softly pet the bird on Hunter's shoulder. But her eyes remain on Hunter's face, trying to keep up with the changes in his expression.
He's aware of her sitting next to him, but he doesn't react to it immediately. He just stays staring at the cape for a bit longer, before he shifts slightly and leans his shoulder against hers again.
"Thanks, Taylor," he says quietly. And again it's not particularly happy or sad, just... emotional.
He rests the cape in his lap as he looks at her while she talks, and there's a fresh pang as she shuts her eyes to focus.
He looks back down at the cape, and a damp sniff escapes him.
"Yeah. That's why I came back here, you know?" His voice is a bit thicker now, but steady enough. "I- I wanna help protect my friends. And I'm safe here. So... maybe I can get a deal for them."
"Protect." She knows that one - it makes her chest tight too. She didn't protect him, when she came back here burning with fear. She doesn't open her eyes, but presses her shoulder more firmly against his.
Hunter glances down at her when she nudges harder against him, and shifts so he can wrap his arm around her chest.
"That's how you got hurt," he says quietly. "You were trying to protect everyone from something from your world. But you-- it wouldn't let you see how it was hurting us, instead."
Leaning in against him feels good, and she takes a deep breath, settling.
"I-" Sigh. She taps her own thigh with her fingertips, many many little dots, and then draws a circle around them. "We. I, we. Swarm, people." And then on her other knee, she sets her fist. "Scion."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
During port
Re: During port
“Hunter.”
Only after she says his name does she remember to smile, still not quite natural to her yet.
Re: During port
"Hey, Taylor." He walks in properly; still wearing his cape, but his clothes underneath are much more casual, his outfit (accidentally) looking altogether more like Trevor than a Scout.
But when he sees the magazine and its ruined pages, he frowns curiously. "What are you... doing?"
Re: During port
“They talk. Walk. Eat.” She identifies what the objects of the photos are doing, looking up for confirmation. Action in images has been difficult for her, but she figured something out today.
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"You're learning action words," he marvels softly, picking up a picture of someone dancing for- some sort of music product, apparently. "You're... starting to recognise what they mean. What doing them looks like."
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No, she almost had it, but the word slides away. There aren’t any pictures for it, after all.
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like a stickman but with pointy ears- and shows the page to Taylor. "Remember. It means-- something you already know, but- didn't know that you know it?"Oh Titan that's a horrible explanation.
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He looks back at Taylor. "Do you remember... me?"
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"Taylor?" When she's up, though, he's on his feet immediately to follow her, rounding her to stay by her side in case she needs proper support, ready to let her take the lead wherever she's headed.
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It's on the shelf above her bed, where he's already seen her journal and the letters to Rags and Jacobi and Makima. Just a soft package, wrapped in plain paper. She leans on her bed to grab it, and flips it over, pushing it at him.
His name is written on it, in her handwriting - hers from before.
Dying spidersilk white isn't easy. Weaver's suit being white was never her idea-
She shakes her head - not time for any memories from that - and pushes the package into Hunter's hands.
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But he blinks, twice, when the package gets thrust at him, and a tightness immediately grips his chest.
"O-oh." He looks at Taylor again - there's a quiet tweet from Flapjack as the bird finally emerges from Hunter's cloak and settles on his shoulder - before he looks back at the package and carefully opens it.
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The crimson cardinal quilted across the center of the back is different, though, and the lining red to match.
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His eyes go wide and he goes completely still, except for the faint quiver of his lips before he presses his mouth shut and swallows thickly.
He hadn't told her about Flapjack before she made this; he can't have, there was no time between his graduating and now, and this is clearly well-finished. But it still makes his chest ache, and there's a complicated expression across his face that doesn't look upset, necessarily, but it's not- it's just a lot. A lot of emotion.
Eventually he drops onto the bed, holding the cape close to his chest, clutching it with white-knuckled and deeply scarred hands, running his thumb over the edge of one of the embroidery's dark wings.
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"Thanks, Taylor," he says quietly. And again it's not particularly happy or sad, just... emotional.
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"I-" Like she does so often now, she gets stuck trying to even complete a thought, let alone share it, and clenches her eyes shut to focus.
"You- staying. Safe."
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He looks back down at the cape, and a damp sniff escapes him.
"Yeah. That's why I came back here, you know?" His voice is a bit thicker now, but steady enough. "I- I wanna help protect my friends. And I'm safe here. So... maybe I can get a deal for them."
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"That's how you got hurt," he says quietly. "You were trying to protect everyone from something from your world. But you-- it wouldn't let you see how it was hurting us, instead."
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"I-" Sigh. She taps her own thigh with her fingertips, many many little dots, and then draws a circle around them. "We. I, we. Swarm, people." And then on her other knee, she sets her fist. "Scion."
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