theafflicted | 06

06 - week six

WEEK SIX

Sunday starts with more aches and pains than you might be used to. Florence patched people up after Saturday’s lesson, sure, but it’s not a complete cure - not to mention it doesn’t ease the sting of betrayal. Some classmates that you thought would cooperate wound up breaking your trust in the end, and this week will be interesting with the fallout.

It’s hard to say what this week will have in store otherwise. Things are changing, and it’s not clear what this means for all of you. On the bright side, however, the creatures and places you once knew from home have suddenly disappeared, so that's less that you need to worry about. There are new areas for you to look at as well.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

FLORENCE / LORELEI

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He pauses, his hand stilling for a brief moment. ]

I couldn’t ask you to go through so much trouble for me…7

You could think of it as a selfish wish, if it made you feel better. If I could use my power to help something for once...

[Phantom gives an awkward little shrug. Who even knows if he could help, honestly.]

[ how did i put a 7 instead of a question mark..... ]

A selfish wish...

[ That does help, but it's the fact that Phantom wants to use his power for good that finally convinces him. ]

Alright. Help as much as you wish.

[The good news is without glasses it absolutely still looked like a ?]

...Thank you.

[It's much too early to be optimistic. But feeling like he has something to focus on after this is more welcome than he expected.]

Ah... no need to thank me for it...

[ He's still worried he'll end up killing Hien anyway if Phantom can't find a way to counteract the curse, but... at least Hien comes back???

Now that he has frosting all outside the cake, he starts piping another color of icing around the top and the bottom rims of the cake. ]

I do. Don't let it trouble you, however.

[But he'll put aside prodding that further until Later. He hopes he can help the two of them somehow. For the moment, he smiles a little as he watches Fai work.]

Mileena had a touch for this kind of thing, I believe. But it's the first time I've seen someone do this for myself.

[ He'll try not to be troubled over it, but... that's his main emotion. Still, he means it when he says he'll let Phantom do as he pleases.

Despite his own briefly troublesome emotions, he pauses for a moment to smile at Phantom. ]

And now you get to see a pro do it! [ He laughs. ] It's been a while since I've made a cake, and I've never made one for a single person before.

It's a bit fascinating.

[A little like delicate engineering in its own right, actually. Although he pauses to absorb that information.]

Is it for Hien? He does like food.

[Is there information that would lead him to another hypothesis? Yes. Does this one still make more sense to him? Also yes.]

[ PHANTOM...

It takes every bit of effort Fai has in him not to sputter at that. So, he just focuses even harder on decorating. At least it'll be a surprise... ]

He prefers other things over sweets. If I were trying to woo him, I'd make dinner instead.

[ He starts creating a border on the bottom edge of the cake before working on the top. ]

[LISTEN... That's definitely weighting it more towards Hypothesis B, which is by far the more embarrassing option, so he's not sure how to deal with that yet. So perhaps he will simply not!]

I suppose that would be redundant at this point.

[ Good luck, Phantom…

Once he’s done with the borders, Fai adds a few flowers on the top. They’re not brightly colored, so they look more elegant than cutesy. ]

Hehe… maybe a meal would just make him fall in love with me even more!

You could try it. You may as well aim for excess.

[And Phantom is an endorser of nice things for both of them in either case. He tilts his head a little as he studies the flower process with interest.]

A fancy dinner date… he said that you told him to take me on one, but it’d be quite unexpected if I did it instead.

[ He smiles a little when he notices Phantom taking interest in the flowers. ]

It took me a lot of practice to get these to look any good.

Well, perhaps you both should. It might be funny to see him surprised.

[It's probably a little embarrassing how much he poked his nose into their situation to begin with, but explaining would only be more so, so. Flowers it is.]

Did it? You make it look effortless now.

[ It actually would be pretty funny…

Maybe he’ll do that. ]

I did! I ran a cafe in one of the worlds I visited, and I spent a lot of time practicing things like this.

[ He smiles. ]

I’m glad it looks effortless.

[ He’s done with the flowers now, however, so he starts to write “happy birthday”.

It’s in his own language, but the thought still counts. At least it’s pretty. ]

I suppose over a hundred years you must have had time to try a lot of things. You like art, don't you?

[Phantom's definitely not getting the tablet out to translate that because he has a sneaking suspicion anyway, but he's delaying the inevitable.

It's good to know what Fai's script looks like anyway, for reference.]

I do! I like drawing, but to me, drawing is a lot like writing. Careful lines, deliberate shapes...

[ He writes Phantom's name in his own language too, though it takes him a bit of time to properly transcribe it. ]

Does the cake look good to you?

I think it's similar as well. Though of course, I only draw blueprints in the first place.

[Sense of foreboding of impending niceness is growing alarmingly stronger. Phantom fidgets a little.]

...Yes, it's very impressive work.

I'm glad you think so!

[ And now is the moment Phantom has been dreading!

Fai gestures to the cake. ]

Happy birthday, Phantom! I'd have you blow out candles to make a wish, but we have none!

[SO... this is how death has come for Phantom. At least it isn't a total surprise, but he looks flustered just the same.]

I'm a bit old for wishes, don't you think? You really shouldn't have gone to the trouble.

You're never too old for wishes, Phantom.

[ Fai smiles at him before moving to grab a plate to cut him a slice. ]

I wanted to go to the trouble of doing this, so don't think about it too much.

...Thank you.

[He will, of course, think about it a lot. People responding to him like this, even if it's simply because they don't know better, is something worth mulling over. Even if it means having to admit that a gang of teenage protagonists may have had a few correct points in their arguments.]

Then if I get a wish, I hope you're planning on helping me eat this. It's much too much for me by myself.

Oh, you can count on that!

[ He cuts the first slice, giving it to Phantom. ]

I'll even make Hien eat some too.

Good. He should have a lot.

[Phantom accepts the piece with a slightly sheepish smile. It's almost too pretty to eat, but he's going to do it anyway.]

Actually... can I ask you for a favor?

[Embarrassing after Fai made a whole cake for him, but here he is.]

[ Fai starts to cut himself a slice, sliding it onto his plate before turning to smile at Phantom. ]

Sure. What is it?

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