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You come back upstairs to find Cade shoving a bunch of miscellaneous items back into her closet. Seems like there was a landslide. @hina 🌼 almond

Shuffle shuffle "Mm? Mr. Cade..?" She's just got back from the showers. Steam still rises off of her as she rubs her damp flushed cheek against the towel hanging around her neck. "Are you in need of assistance?"

He blinks, looking over at Almond. "You look comfortable." The showers downstairs are good. He looks back at the closet. "It all fell out." That being said, he scoops some miscellaneous things back into the closet. He pushes a boat oar back in. @hina 🌼 almond

She gives him an up-and-down. Well, her eyes kind of stop halfway down. ...Oh! "You look comfortable as well~ Your dress is cute." ☺️ If there's anything else that needs cleaning, she'll help him shove it in, too. "You have quite lot of things in there... Do you own a boat?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

"Thank you." It's hard to say if she's comfortable. She feels the same as usual. She watches as Almond steps over to help. "I rented one once. I was curious." Almond would notice a bunch of things from this new vantage point. A toy dog. A camcorder box. A frisbee. So on and so forth. @hina 🌼 almond

-# Is the camcorder inside the box? Or can she roll to look for tapes? @li 🚭 five (kazik)

-# It's inside, its the whole box! his ass did not use dat shit @hina 🌼 almond

She points to the camcorder. "Were you making a movie?" Oh, the toy dog was cute... She picks it up to look at it from all sides. @li 🚭 five (kazik)

"I tried to document my life, but I found that the contents were too illegal." And it was tedious keeping up with it. He got bored. His eyes flit down to the toy as Almond picks it up. It's a surprisingly solid toy, despite the soft exterior. "Pull on its tail." @hina 🌼 almond

"Is that so? How unfortunate..." Too illegal... I suppose that made sense. ? She blinks down at the dog's tail and gives it a small tug. @li 🚭 five (kazik)

Its maw opens. Bubbles begin to fly out. Not a lot. Probably out of juice. -# Bwark bwark bwark! Bwark bwark!

"My life is very repetitive." That too. @hina 🌼 almond

Oh! Bubbles! She seems to blink incredulously for a moment before giggling. "How cute and interesting..." she says. You have a feeling she's not just talking about the toys. She puts the dog away. "Since it is repetitive, this must be a nice change in pace, yes?" She smiles. "Did you enjoy it? What we did today?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

He watches the bubbles languidly. ...A rubber ball slides itself down out of the pile. She slides it back into the closet with her foot. "It was interesting," she concurs. Interesting. Always interesting. "A nice change of pace." "Company can be nice." @hina 🌼 almond

"I think so, as well." She loved company. "Ah, I hadn't had the chance to say this but... You were very cool today, Mr. Cade! It was wonderful seeing a professional work." "Everyone working well together was amazing, don't you think so?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

She blinks, looking over to her. "It's good if you had fun." Must not be something you get to see or do every day. "You did a good job, Almond-kun." "Have you shot a gun before?" @hina 🌼 almond

"Ah, do you really think so? I'm glad." She holds a finger up. "Only once before." (or twice?) "However, today was the first time I hit someone." She tilts a head like she's trying to recall. @li 🚭 five (kazik)

"I see." "How did it feel?" @hina 🌼 almond

"I have not decided yet." This was the truth. "....It was unfortunate that someone was injured. But, I believe I did my best to assist and please everyone." She smiles and holds a hand over her heart. "That feeling is the one I will cherish most closely." @li 🚭 five (kazik)

"I understand." Rather than see. He doesn't seem to have any moral quandry with soiling Almond's purity (or something like that) by putting a gun in her hand. Using a gun is an interesting experience for many people. Many people will not come by the opportunity in their life. Killing someone is more dire, but in the end, she didn't directly kill anyone. So in his mind, it's fine. If she found that she liked shooting or killing, and that it brought her joy, wouldn't that be a good thing, anyway? He looks at Almond. "I also try to cherish feelings." And chase after them. "It's nice to cherish something." "You did a good job." At being helpful, but also experiencing everything. "Does being useful make you happy?" @hina 🌼 almond

There was another reason why she had fun. She recalls the swelling in her chest and the pounding of her heart. The flush in her cheeks. Warm, is what it was. She thinks it is `love` but the feeling never lingers long enough for her to see. "Yes, it does~ It makes me happy, when everyone else is happy." Cade, her colleagues, her managers... the whole lot. She glances at the closet filled untouched knick-knacks and hobbies that were never really explored. Toys that may have given him something akin to joy, however fleeting. Did he keep them because he couldn't be bothered to clean it out? Or was a part of him actually sentimental? "Is there anything that you cherish?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

Love is a very profound emotion, he presumes. He sees it in other people all the time. It's only ever reverberated through him. So in that regard, he also kind of understands. It must be nice to be able to generate it. "I also tend to enjoy when others are happy." Not all the time, but usually. He pushes the last of the things back into the closet, before pushing the door shut against it all. Back into the dark. He holds onto these things because he never knows when the occassion may arise where he'll be interested in them again. ... That being said, he never gets interested in them again. It's a waste to throw things away into the landfill, so sometimes he'll take them to the Goodwill. But sometimes he's a busy person, and sometimes he just doesn't feel like it. So what does he cherish? He seems to not really care about anything. He looks up. "Memories." "Memories also store feelings," don't they. @hina 🌼 almond

"Memories?...Yes, I think you are right~" She leans forward playfully while she eyes him. "Do you have a favorite? A memory." She'd like to hear about it. @li 🚭 five (kazik)

He looks down at her eyes. "My mentor." "The memories with her are very vivid." Even though the feelings aren't, anymore. Those fading with time can't be helped. "She taught me how to dress like a man." "But she would use me as a dummy to test makeup." "One time she put her regular style on me." "She would wear her eyeshadow up to her eyebrows, with big eyelashes and bright lipstick." He's not a very descriptive person. He can recall things vividly, but recounting them out loud was a different thing entirely. "She laughed." He figured it was because he must have looked silly, or something to that effect. "But then she started to get misty-eyed." "She said I looked like I was her son." @hina 🌼 almond

She's a great listener. The way her eyes seem to hang onto every word. Her fond smile emerging when appropriate. When he finishes, she tenderly holds her hands to her chest with a warm gaze. "Oh...what a wonderful memory, Mr. Cade... Thank you for sharing it with me~" A pause. She seems to observe him again, as if carefully considering her next words... But instead, she opens her arms. "Would you like a hug?" ☺️ @li 🚭 five (kazik)

Almond's sentimentality doesn't seem to move him, in spite of the rawness of the memory. He's the same as usual. She doesn't really want a hug. She doesn't really not want a hug, either. She's fine either way. A hug wouldn't change anything. Nor would it make her happy. But Almond seems to want her to want a hug. And she, too, would like Almond to be happy. So she will open her arms and step forward to give Almond something like a hug. She thinks Almond is a good child. She calls him Mr. Cade even though the skin doesn't match. She gets the sense that Almond understands some things about the outer shell. And it would be pointlessly mean to deny her of this experience as well. Comforting someone. Even though Cade doesn't need comfort. Cade is very cold and thin, but her chest is soft. She doesn't really squeeze Almond, just wraps her lanky arms around her. She pats her head, though. @hina 🌼 almond

The dampness of her hair makes it feel cold to touch. As they come close, some of the water might drip or brush on him. Yet, her skin is soft. Warmed from her shower and the fluffy loungewear. Her clothes and towel act as extra cushioning in whatever space Cade's slender frame leaves between them. She hugs him wholeheartedly, hands on the small of her back, lightly squeezing...gentle enough to where Cade can pull away, or stay, whenever he wished. It's a hug one would expect, from a friend. It's almost serene, this moment. The little pat makes her giggle a little, though. "Let us make more memories together, yes?" she whispers. @li 🚭 five (kazik)