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[contempsi]

Okay, this is... kind of a dumb question, but-

[Hope leans back a little and sighs, adjusting the sling around his left arm with a slight wince. He's somewhat arched awkwardly over the journal's view, the book itself spread across his lap since he currently only has one hand to work the thing.I just moved into a new house, and I'm sick of this

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[thestormishere]

[ Lightning wasn't at home when Hope made his message, although it would seem that's where she was heading when she catches sight of him just entering the plaza. Immediately the odd sort of absent, faintly-irritated expression she had been wearing disappears, replaced as she approaches him with a faint smile instead. ]

Hey. How are you feeling?

[contempsi]

[He'd been glancing about at the different shops surrounding him with a slightly-perplexed, slightly-glum look on his face; Lightning's question startles him a bit, and the journal slips out from underneath his arm. Thankfully, he manages to catch it in his fingers, heaving a sigh.]

I'm okay. I can't take any more sitting around, though. I hate not having an arm.

[thestormishere]

[ She just sighs quietly, reaches out to put her hand on his shoulder for a moment. They might not be out of the woods yet, but injury or no, he managed to make it back from the draft alive. The amount of relief in just that deceptively simple fact is almost enough to overwhelm entirely. ]

It'll heal. Where were you going?

[contempsi]

Uh...

[Hope falters slightly. Well, he did broadcast it on the journals anyway, so if he hadn't mentioned it to her in person she'd just find out from there.]

I want to paint my room.

[thestormishere]

[ He wants to what? Lightning pauses, blinking a moment- she never even considered doing anything like that before. ]

Hm. Do they... have paint here?

[contempsi]

[Well, she hasn't scolded him. That's a good thing.]

That's... what I came out here to look for. [A slight laugh, easing up where he stands.] Someone said I might be able to find it in the item shop. Maybe then I'll decide on a colour, too.

[thestormishere]

I've never bothered to look. Obviously.

[ She looks off in the direction of said item shop, putting a hand to her hip. No, she doesn't care-- at the moment, at least. We'll see after Baldr inevitably tracks paint all over the house or something. ]

I guess it can't hurt to try.

[contempsi]

Okay. So... let's go. [Spirits momentarily brightened, the boy'll be grabbing insistently at one of Lightning's wrists, tugging her in the direction of that shop.]

A bunch of people said blue would be nice, but then someone else suggested a sort of greenish-grey that I like. And... um, I need accent pillows. Apparently my room is boring without them.

[thestormishere]

[ Fhfduagfds, still just a kid in a lot of ways, although it's... nice to see, too. Him in a good mood for once actually does a lot for her own, even if she's not quite sure what to think about that action itself. No need to pull! ]

... Accent pillows? [ And that doesn't mean she's not going to react incredulously to that, her brows coming together. ] Where did you get that idea?

[contempsi]

Um... this kid I met mentioned them. He said they had to match the ceiling, or something. I... don't know if I can reach the ceiling to paint it, though. [He releases her just as quickly, looking a little confused by the information he just relayed, though it does nothing to stray his path.]

Maybe we can paint your room, too.

[thestormishere]

Are you sure he wasn't just trying to mess with you?

[ Not that Hope's too gullible, but... he is fourteen, and the two of them happen to be the only ones around who are from their particular culture. It would be awfully easy to take advantage of that, she thinks, and something worth pointing out... ]

It sounds like this might... turn into quite the project already. [ As someone's who never done or imagined doing something like that before, guess who is now stuck on picturing the total horror of trying to color a ceiling with a simple brush and paint that's too thin. Spots everywhere. They'd better make sure they can pull off one room's walls before setting their sights on anything more ambitious. ] Maybe. Let's just focus on one thing at a time though, Hope.

[contempsi]

He seemed pretty sincere, Lightning. So I think I need them. [Yes. Accent pillows are VERY IMPORTANT, jeez. Lightning just doesn't have any sense of style, or something. Maybe he should have a ten-year-old give her room a consultation, too.] I've never even heard of an accent pillow before I came here.

[His thoughts are along similar lines. What if the paint dripped onto the floor from the ceiling? What if gravity is just too much? Maybe he can hire someone else to do the ceiling for him. Or get Zack to do it. He doesn't seem like the type to mind PAINT IN THE EYYYE.]

Okay, so... [As he's pushing his way into one of the shops, holding the door open for Lightning like the polite little Mama's Boy he is.] I forgot what it was that I was going to try. I think it was blue with... with green... accents? Or- or maybe it was the other way around...

[thestormishere]

[ Lightning briefly makes an odd kind of face at having the door opened for her, although considering she lived the grand majority of her life in a land of automatically-opening gates and entrances, it's not out of any concern about etiquette. She's just not the one with a gimpy arm at the moment. ]

... I think what's important is what you want. Not some kid you met over the journals.

[ She's pretty firm about that at least, turning once she's inside the shop to steadily regard the teen with her arms crossed. But this is coming from the woman who was sleeping in the living room and developed a tendency to horde blankets in response to the winter cold, so... ]

[contempsi]

[Once they're both inside and he's effectively released the door, letting it shut behind him, Hope muffles a laugh into the back of a wrist. His good wrist, of course.]

...Lightning. What if that is what I want? You're taking this thing pretty seriously.

[Not like he's one to talk about taking things overly serious. But regardless of their circumstances, and his still-healing injury, Hope's mood is light. He brushes past her, peering intently at the shelves that surround them, looking quite focused on his agenda.]

[thestormishere]

.... I take everything seriously, Hope.

[ And... she's actually aware of it! But she sports a brief, wry smile as she turns her attention to the store's offerings as well, though it's hard to say she knows exactly what they're looking for. Her own search is a bit... distracted, and it's not long before she's considering chasing down another topic. ]

Maybe we should figure out when your birthday is, too...

[contempsi]

Oh... right. [That sobers him up a tad, pausing in the middle of the store, gaze drifting toward his shoes.] You know, it's easy to forget how much time passes here.

[A long sigh.] ...even so, I don't want it to be a big deal. No parties or anything. It's just another day.