ataraxion | 003

[It's not very often that Asato makes a post to the network, preferring to read and hear what others have to say, offering bits of awkwardly-worded input when he thinks it could be useful. He's not one to draw attention to himself, and though it might seem difficult for a relatively big guy with cat ears and a tail, he tends to manage it too.

He's just a quiet guy minding his own cat business, part of which he's spent in the gardens, carefully tending to something each and every day. The result of nearly a year of watering, trimming, checking and double-checking, is what he moves the video feed to quickly after he sees the feed is on, offering only a quick glimpse of his face.]

I have--these.

["These" being a little pile of some kind of fruit. They're somewhere between a peach, an apple, and a currant, the size of a baseball at their largest, ranging from magenta to purple in color. He can't show it through the feed (much as he wishes he could!), but the scent that's coming from them is a strong mix of sweet, sour, and spicy.]

Kuims. Is what they're called. I planted them. I can't eat all of them, but I don't want them to go bad. [Which is why he's happy to offer some to whoever wants to stop by in the gardens and try them out.]

They're really good. In my world, lots of people like these the best. [A great advertiser he is not, but he's trying, and his enthusiasm is genuine.]

Please come have some. I don't need anything in return for them. Um... They're good in cakes, too. [That...should wrap things up, he figures, so the feed gives a shake, comes back to his face one more time, and clicks off.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[So they're in just about the same boat when it comes to cooking. Asato knows how to hold meat over fire so he can eat it, and he's been able to feed himself just fine so far, but baking anything is a different matter. He only knows that kuims are good in cakes because someone else has made them for him.]

I know Ned could. The piemaker. But I don't know about anyone else. They don't really mention it very much.

[ Chuck's not... a shitty cook or baker or whathaveyou, he's simply much better at pouring cereal into a bowl. ]

Probably 'cause people keep forgetting about the little things around here. So, uh- let me ask someone, okay? I'm pretty sure she knows how to bake, so if you save me a few, maybe we can make something. [ He whips out a smile just because he can. ]

What's your name?

[That's way easier too, and the way Asato mostly prefers it. He'll leave the fancy stuff to those who know what they're doing. That's even more the case when it means he can have a helping or two. Or five. He's not picky.

He nods in agreement--there are plenty of things people can talk about here that take priority over cooking, which he doesn't see as good or bad, just what the situation makes necessary.]

I'll save a few. [Running low on them now, but he can still afford to give a few more away.]

My name is Asato. Yours?

Thanks. I'll see if I can round up my friend to help with the baking.

[ Chuck has a thing for being helpful and friendly and useful. And if baking something and sharing it and enjoying it makes life a little more tolerable around here, then he's all for the idea. No matter how simple it might be. ]

I'm Chuck.

[The simple things can be just as good. Asato knows that this kind of peace can't possibly last forever on the ship, but while it's here, he'll enjoy it, and he's not the kind of guy who'd want to make other people miserable either. This is well within the realm of what he can do to try and help, so why not?]

Chuck. Have you been here for long? [And no, he's not the sort of cat who'd try to convinced the newer people that things aren't so bad here, or that they're impossibly horrible. Some prefer it here, some don't. More than a year of being here has made him wary of trying to pick a side.]

Not that long-- a couple months, I think? I've been through, uh, two jumps, if that helps. I mean I was here once before but not for very long, I'm not even sure that it counts.

I remember it though, people always want to know if I remember the first time around. [ Chuck sort of understands why, but at the same time he wasn't even sure that it mattered much to anyone apart from Sarah... and maybe Casey if he was willing to admit to it. But the short amount of time hardly influenced how he felt about the place -- he'd rather be home, that was easy, except he wasn't. And that was kind of that. ]

It's happened to a few others. [But it's been a long while since he's heard of it, so the details of the experience elude him even more than when he first heard about it. It's like existing in two places at once but not, something that twists time and space around in ways that would make him terrified if he understood it any better, but with what he knows now it's just enough to leave him feeling vaguely uncomfortable.]

It sounds better. That you don't have to go through everything twice. One time is already difficult. [But having to learn twice over that you're on a spaceship heading to...somewhere, that there was no way out and oh by the way there were things hiding here that have torn people limb from limb?

No, he'll pass on that.]

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