woodfortono | (no subject)

[I've said that enough times to know it's not usually that simple]

Uh huh.

I wasn't paying attention and I trained too hard. I'll live.

[time to settle on this here spot by your side]

Why weren't you paying attention?

[hesitates, glaring at his sneakers]

Stuff with Takeru. We had a fight, I... think? I dunno, I'm sick of him not telling me stuff.

[... you mean him being himself]

... Was it something trivial? Or might he have had a good reason to keep to himself?

I dunno. It was weird, just--sometimes he's fine, and then he'll just... shut down out of nowhere, and I dunno why.

... I know what you mean.

[actually, let's not start comparing]

How bad is it?

...it'll be okay. I just dunno what his problem is.

Best get on that, then. Instead of hurting yourself more.

[prods your shoulder, because you're an idiot]

Well, he stomped out of the cabin, so I dunno!

[rubs his forehead]

What a childish...--

[you know, this is actually hard]

I wish I had better advice, but it's probably best to persist, one way or another.

No--it's okay. I don't think he was mad, it's just... hard to tell what he's thinking sometimes.

[gives you a bit of a weary look before he shakes his head]

He's not supposed to be the only one who gets away with randomly shutting down on people.

[shrugs, looking uncomfortable]

It's how he dealt with stuff before he met us. Like--I get that. Doesn't mean it doesn't drive me crazy, just. I know he's not doing it to piss me off, either. And, I dunno.

[chewing his lower lip]

You've been here way longer than me, but. I still remember what he was like just before we all left to go do our own thing. Even the change from then to now is... it still blows my mind a little sometimes. [pulls a face] Even if I do want him to just be able to tell me stuff without making a huge production out of it, sometimes.

Do you really think that's asking too much of him? Still?

[looks over at you, a little startled]

I mean--I'm pissed at him about it, but sometimes, yeah. Look, I haven't been here for a lot of... whatever happened when I wasn't here. But it's not like he doesn't care. If I thought he wasn't trying I wouldn't be bothering--that's not the problem. It's just really hard. For him, anyway. That's just what I figured I was getting into when I said yes. It's not like it's some huge surprise.

[boy, do I have so many opinions on this]

Well, if you feel like you must cut him that slack.

[watching you, his face closing]

...yeah, I do.

Well, you're old enough to make your own decisions.

Yeah, thanks for noticing.

[looking bewildered and a little hurt as he pushes himsel up awkwardly, one-handed]

He said he was coming back to the cabin to talk once he sorted stuff out. I should get going, I need to ice this anyway.

[he's somewhere between worried and irritated, and pretty sure he just tricked himself out of actually being able to help you]

... Yeah, don't let me keep you. And watch out for yourself, for goodness' sake.

Sure.

[just looks at you for another moment, cold weight sinking in his belly before he turns to go back to his cabin, feeling totally exhausted]

[well that went well. pockets his hands and kicks at a pebble]