The Beach, Wednesday Morning

[pulseof_life]

It was cold out, but Yeul had felt colder even here on the island and, either way, it did not bother her. She stepped carefully, but with the ease of long practice, as she meandered through the snow that hid the rocks on the beach and made it rather more treacherous than it was in the warmer months

Comments

[furnaceface]

Jono didn't often go for walks along the beach like this, but some days, it seemed far more necessary than others. For example, if, say, he'd spent Monday cleaning up after what was apparently a sushi orgy in his living room, mixed with a healthy dose of murder...

His sinuses weren't what they used to be, and he still couldn't get the smell of three day old fish and wasabi out of his nose.

He wasn't surprised to see Yeul out as well, though. And as an added bonus, she hadn't had anything to do with the insanity of the weekend.

//Afternoon, luv. Nice day for watching the waves?//

[pulseof_life]

"Hello, Professor," she said cheerfully, turning to face him rather than the waves. "I could not say if it is a particularly nice day to do so, but I felt like it, so I suppose it might be."

Possibly. Maybe.

"And you? Is it a nice day for you to do the same?"

[furnaceface]

Someday, she would stop calling him that. 'Professor' was a bald man that Jono had waning respect for.

... Not that she could possibly know to, since he refused to correct her. British problems.

//There have been worse ways to spend a morning,// Jono replied with a shrug of his shoulders. //Little chilly out, but the cold is something I'm used to. And it gets me out of my apartment for a bit. Seemed like a good day to just... do nothing of note. It's not my day to tend the shop, and class this week is shaping up to be fairly straightforward.//

He stopped a stone's throw away and looked out at the water.

//Didn't want to be cooped up today, I suppose.//

[... He totally said 'morning' up there. Ssh.]

[pulseof_life]

"Are you alright?" she wondered, clasping her hands in front of her. "I know that the weekend was apparently quite... interesting, for some number of people."

Not her though.

[Uh huh. Sure.]

[furnaceface]

//Well, I came down with an unfortunate case of 'dead,'// he noted, lifting his shoulders awkwardly. //But that's not even really the first time I can say that. Still bothers me a little on the other end of weekends like that one, though.//

When he got to trade in his amazing jaw and weirdly comparatively normal life for ... this. Again.

[pulseof_life]

"There are worse things than death," she offered, smiling a bit more. "Though it is nice to see you recovered from it. I hope you are not unsettled for long."

Yeul was probably not the best one to talk to about impermanent death.

[furnaceface]

There were worse things than death. He knew that one better than most, himself. He nodded faintly.

//I'm feeling better than I was, at any rate. I'm used to things out of nowhere stepping in to beat around the status quo some.//

More understatement. Jono was good at that.

//And you? Have you been up to anything interesting lately?//

He'd learned since becoming Yeul's teacher that he had to be careful how he phrased general questions like that. 'How have you been,' for example, would inevitably net him the same answer it always did. Yeul was only ever 'fine.'

[pulseof_life]

She always told the truth when he asked those general questions, though!

"I celebrated Sholeh and her sisters' birthday with her," Yeul said, after a moment of thinking about it. That had been weeks ago. It still qualified as 'lately', she thought. And it had been interesting, though perhaps not to a teacher. "And I upset a boy in class on Friday, though I did not mean to. I think trying to make it better only made it worse."

She didn't sound particularly concerned about it.

[furnaceface]

Huh. Jono hadn't been aware of the Tryad's birthday. He'd be sure to wish them a happy belated one if he ran into them any time soon.

//I can't actually picture you ever intending to,// he noted, thoughtfully. //Do you mind if I ask what upset him so badly?//

He suspected she wouldn't.

[pulseof_life]

"I do not really understand it," she said, with a shrug, "but our activity in class was to fight one another and I said that I would let anyone win, because I… I do not fight. He, Joker, said that I should refuse to fight instead."

Yeul turned her gaze back to the waves. "I didn't understand why. If someone wishes to fight me and win without resistance, it does not bother me. That concerned him."

[furnaceface]

//Ah...// Jono nodded faintly. He could see how that would have anyone concerned, even with context. //It's not really human nature to roll over and let themselves get hurt. Not usually. And it worries people, thinking that there's somebody who will. Especially if they don't understand why it's being done.//

He could just imagine the thoughts that must have gone through that student's head.

//Would you like me to speak to him? I know it makes little difference in the long run, but I might be able to present it in a context that'll keep him from dwelling on it too much.//

[pulseof_life]

"I suggested that he might wish to speak to you, if only to alleviate his concerns," Yeul said, tilting her head slightly. "I do not know, of course, if he will take my suggestion or if it would be better for you to initiate the conversation." She laughed softly. "But then, nothing I did understand seemed to make any sense to him, so I don't think I'm the best person to suggest anything, in this case. By the end of the conversation, he thought I was being abused, though I do not think so."

[furnaceface]

//No, Caius certainly wouldn't allow for that to happen,// Jono agreed. //I'll speak to him. He's in my class on Friday, too.//

Convenient!

[pulseof_life]

"Caius would not," Yeul said, nodding slightly. "And any pain before he finds me is inconsequential."

She glanced at him. "I hope you can settle his mind. For his sake."

[furnaceface]

//As do I. I'd hate to have him worried about something that's not actually the case in the first place,// Jono noted. //Mind if I sit?//

Again, he didn't suspect she would. They'd danced this dance before.

[pulseof_life]

And would, no doubt, dance it again.

She smiled at him. "If you wish."