In the turning, flowing wind, I sing alone

[starinheaven]

There’s a little girl, dressed in a light, summery dress, with matching white sandals, arriving on Stardust Beach, blinking at the sunlight and feeling the coastal wind on her face and tasting the salty sea-scent of the air.
For a time, she’s absolutely stunned, daring not to move (has her imagination ever been this strong?!), then, without really meaning to, she’s forced to take a few steps (the wind is so strong!), that she steps into wet sand and realizes she couldn’t just be imagining this. It’s a little too soggy and gross. She decides, then, maybe it was the last few years that were a very bad, very long, and very strange dream (although she liked the Pokemon…), and this was reality! She giggles and takes off her sandals, putting them higher up on dry sand (hot, hot!), before rushing back to the wet sand to play.

She twirls and spins and laughs, but when she turns back around, searching the beach, she cannot find her mama or her papa.

“… didn’t we go together? We’re at the beach now…”

Wasn’t the car crash and everything else a dream? She couldn’t have gotten here on her own! It’s true it’s not the same beach she knew and even the people looked a bit different, but maybe they just went on a very, very long trip!

Question 1: Vacation?
Ai decided to ask around on the beach, gently tapping shoulders and tugging on sleeves.
“Excuse me, have you seen my papa or my mama? Um, papa’s hair is much more wavy than mine, but grey, and he has a nose this long…”

Question 2: Heaven?
She had to find her parents! They had to be here, right? Because if they weren’t… then the car crash and these past years weren’t all a dream… then, maybe she’s just gone on ahead to Heaven? So she decided, in between asking about her parents, she’ll also ask some people if this place were Heaven!
“Excuse me, is this Heaven?”
Ai thought this was a very clever way to find out more quickly, than if she had only asked everyone one question, then started all over with the next one. She should find her answer quicker this way!

Sand

Ai had never seen sand that looked like this before! It was so pretty and mysterious. Almost like konpeito! But she knew better than to try and taste it… although she really did feel tempted to. It looked so pretty… she sat down and held grains up to the sunlight and wondered if the stars fell down and turned to sand or if the entire island was one very big star broken up into many little stars… oh, but it wasn’t hot or shining, like the sun, were they stars that went out, like switched-off lights or snuffed-out candles? Ai kept wondering, while rolling the little grain between her fingertips.

Whatever they were, they were pretty, so Ai wanted to collect some sand, along with seashells and bits of seaweed and anything else.

Comments

[gold_drum]

Gold takes it slow and stops whenever Ai does to look at whatever's got her interest. He feels like he's seeing it all for the first time. But when he glances at Ai, that wistfulness feels too old for her. ...Well, not his business.

"Oh, that's the Professor's house over there," he says once they get close enough, pointing at the red-roofed hibiscus-covered house, with some grass-type Pokemon hanging out at the yard.

[starinheaven]

"What a lovely place!" Ai pauses to admire the outside of the house, before approaching slowly. "Do you still live here too? And you're sure I won't bother him?"

They hadn't asked permission before arriving, maybe it was too short notice?

[gold_drum]

"Yeah, I live here. I used to worry about bothering him too, but he's like, uhh," Gold wonders for a moment how to put it, making vague gestures with his hands, "super nice. If there's a way to bother him I haven't found it."

Gold heads for the front door with no hesitation. The door's usually not locked, sometimes even when the Professor's not in, so he opens it and steps in, holding it open for Ai.

"Come on in," he tells her, then turns to look inside and cups his mouth to call out "I'm back! I brought a guest!" in case Banyan's inside.

[starinheaven]

“He sounds very kind!”

Ai watches Gold call for Banyan, but no response comes.

“I think he might be outside… or maybe he just didn’t hear you.”
She takes a hesitant step inside, but watch closely for Gold, hoping he’ll show her the way. She’ll take her shoes off too.

[gold_drum]

"Yeah, he's probably outside," Gold says, scratching his head as he looks around. "I guess the house is ours for a while! Lemme show you around."

And Gold leads her around and shows her the basics of where the bathroom, kitchen, living room and so on are.

"And that way is the Lab side of the house, I don't usually go there unless I gotta talk to the Professor while he's working. And upstairs is my room, and some unused rooms too! If the Prof lets you stay, and he probably will, one of those is gonna be where you sleep," he explains. "And I guess that's basically everything! Anyway, you hungry?"

[at best, maybe he'd just think she was really sick or something? : D;;;]

[starinheaven]

"Oh, I forgot all about hunger!" Ai says, eyes wide, but then she realizes with embarrassment she said something strange.

"I mean... I didn't need to eat for a long time, it was, um, all in the fluid..."

That isn't making it sound much better, is it? She just gives Gold an awkward, kind of pleading smile, hoping he'd ignore the weird things she'd just said.

[gold_drum]

Gold just blinks a few times, caught off-guard. But after Ai's spoken, he's only silent for a second before he catched himself, then just nods and smiles.

"Huh, sounds like it sucked!" he says with a cheerful face. "I guess any kinda food would be good after that. Let's raid the Professor's fridge!"

And he heads for the fridge, opening it and checking what's inside. He's giving up on understanding what Ai's been through. He doesn't get it, so he'll just take whatever she says at face value. He stares at the fridge, trying to find something to snack on, but it's mostly ingredients.

"...You're not hungry right away, right? I could whip up some Yago Chanpuru if you wait a bit," he suggests.

(The fact that Yago Chanpuru might be too bitter for most kids' taste, or the fact kids Gold's age should probably not be making stir-fry without an adult present, don't even pass Gold's mind.)

[if I had a nickel for every time Gold and a muse of mine attempted to cook together... :D;;]

[starinheaven]

"Oh, if it isn't too much trouble," Ai said, gently. "... maybe I could help!"

Or they could just eat unprepared ingredients, that's always an option, kids!

Would he let the girl who's probably about eight join in, too, or is she just a bit too short to want near hot, frying oil?

[cooking for people is apparently Gold's love language!]

[gold_drum]

"Could you?" Gold asks, looking over Ai, considering. "Have you ever cooked before?"

Eating uncooked ingredients would be fine for Gold but he wants to feed this kid good food!

Letting Ai near frying oil is a bit much, but Gold has no problems handing a knife to a small child if she can use it!

[he's a sweetheart ;_;]

[starinheaven]

"I decorated cakes and, um, licked the batter off bowls and the, um, mixer and stuff..."

That's a no, Gold.

[gold_drum]

"Oh, that sounds like fun," Gold says. "But for this kinda food all you gotta do is cut the ingredients, fry them in oil and season them, and I'm not supposed to let smaller kids do any of those if there's no adult helping out."

But Gold himself, as a ten-year-old, is apparently fully qualified to do all of that...

"So you should just sit and wait! But I guess that's boring. You can watch TV if you wanna, or there's pens and papers in the drawer by the TV if you wanna draw... Anyway, just leave the cooking to me!" Gold grins, then starts taking out all the ingredients and tools he needs.

[starinheaven]

Ai nodded as she listened. "I guess that makes sense..."

TV or drawing... it might be fun to try drawing again after a long absence! She smiled at that idea and went off to draw! Besides, she also had something important she wanted to draw...

"Thank you, big brother Gold!"

She could make a little poster of what her parents looked like, so she could ask about them! She went straight to work, drawing her family.

[gold_drum]

Gold smiles, even if being called 'big brother' has him kind of reeling mentally. It's a sudden kind of panic, which he pushes down, not even sure himself why he feels that way.

He muses on it as he starts chopping vegetables, trying to analyze what he's feeling. Big brother Gold... It's a common enough term for kids to call older boys, back in Johto. It shouldn't bother him... But it does.

Was it the family thing? The same thing that bothered Gold about Banyan calling him family? That had to be it. Gold already has a sister, and a dad, and he doesn't need any more of those. But Ai probably didn't even mean it in the family sense... Should he tell her not to call him that or not? It's not like she's done anything wrong...

While thinking about all that, he cooks Yago Chanpuru, just like Professor Banyan taught him to. Enough for three people, in case the Professor comes back soon. Soon, the scent of fried vegetables and meat wafts through the house.

"It's finished!" he calls out to Ai. "Let's set the table!"

[sorry for the delay o/]

[starinheaven]

It's fine if he asked her not to! She wouldn't mind at all.

Ai was very carefully drawing her family portrait, sticking her tongue out in concentration, when she smelled the delicious scent wafting in! She quickly put down the colours and, when Gold called, she eagerly hurried over.

"It smells great!!" she cried in excitement, then looked curious. "Oh, where do I find the dishes and things...?"

She'd gladly help, but she needed to know where things were, first!

[gold_drum]

The next time she calls him that, he'll probably go ahead and ask!

"The plates are... Actually, I'll get them, they're kinda high up." Not that Gold's much taller than Ai, he still has to grab a chair to get the plates and cups. "The utensils are in that drawer! Can you use chopsticks? I'm still learning." He directs Ai to get the napkins, too.

"What do you wanna drink? Milk, juice, water?" Gold asks while plating the food. He splits the food onto three plates, and sets the third one aside, covered up so it'll stay warm for whenever Professor Banyan returns.

[starinheaven]

“Water!”

She was still not over how clean and clear the water is, besides, she’ll taste the food better this way!

“Umm… I used to use the, um, colourful plastic chopsticks, the shorter ones…”

Adult-sized ones are likely too tall for her to control very well with her small hands!

“So, I guess… I’ll go with a spoon and fork!”

[gold_drum]

"Water, got it," Gold says, and pours himself a glass of milk too.

"I think the professor's got some of those small ones, actually," Gold says. Banyan gets kids as guests sometimes, like his relatives' children. "So you can use those or a fork and spoon if you wanna. I'll use regular chopsticks."

While Ai's getting the utensils, Gold brings the food and the drinks to the table. He wants to start eating right away, but he feels like he should show a good example to the kid, so he first asks "You remember what to say before eating?"

[awww, Gold…]

[starinheaven]

Ai helped set the table and settled into a seat, with a pair of child’s chopsticks.

“Itadakimaaasu!” she said cheerfully, at Gold’s prompting. “We have to be thankful for the food and where it comes from and everyone who helped in growing, preparing, and bringing it to us, right?”

[gold_drum]

"Exactly!" Gold says with a proud voice. "And it makes the food taste better too!" He claps his hands together. "Ittadakkimasu!"

And then he awkwardly sets his fingers in the proper pose to hold chopsticks and starts eating. Hopefully the Yago berries in the food aren't too bitter for Ai!

[starinheaven]

“It does,” Ai agreed, happily. “Since you’re treating it like the blessing it is…”

Ai had no trouble with them! It was a little strange to her tastebuds, sure, but the novelty of eating food again won out over any nervousness about trying new food.

“I never ate something like this before!”

[gold_drum]

"It's Yago Chanpuru!" Gold explains. "It's a local specialty from Ultern! Professor Banyan taught me how to make it." Though the professor definitely didn't intend for the ten-year-old to make it on his own without parent supervision...

Gold eats slowly, with food occasionally dropping from his chopsticks, but he patiently picks it up again every time. It was frustrating the first few times he started learning how to use them, but he's been getting better every time.

He glances at the clock every once in a while, wondering if Professor Banyan will show up soon.

[sloooowly coming back to Ai tags, hi, hello]

[starinheaven]

"It's very good!" Ai said happily. "You did a good job."

Ai tilted her head a bit, while watching Gold.

"... do you usually use this kind? You can use this kind if it's easier... I won't laugh, I promise!"

She'll do her best not to, anyway!

(... maybe suggesting the training kind for babies with the loop would be too much?)

[hi! Ai might've struck a nerve there]

[gold_drum]

Gold smiles brightly at the compliment. He's glad he did good, and also glad he made Ai's first meal in a while a good one!

"Nah, this is fine," Gold says. "I learned how to use those, and now I gotta learn how to use these." He gestures with his chopsticks to emphasize the sentence. "Then I can use them when I'm eating out in restaurants and stuff!"

"...And why would you laugh anyway?" he asks more quietly, smile faltering. That promise kind of bothers him, now that he thinks about it. He tilts his head with a confused expression. "You're using those chopsticks too, and I don't think there's anything funny about that. Why would it be funny if I used them?"

[oof, I'm sorry, it's a canon trait... she giggles at a female scientist for liking sweets/cake...]

[starinheaven]

"Oh, well... because it's usually meant for, well, little kids. So, it looks a little funny when..."

Someone older uses it.

He looked hurt! She must have said something very wrong. She looked apologetic. "I'm sorry..."

[gold meanwhile is like *doesn't judge anyone, unless he dislikes their vibes*]

[gold_drum]

"It's fine. It's just, you don't know what people have gone through in their lives, right?" Gold says gently. "Somebody might've never used chopsticks as a kid and has to learn them as an adult. So it'd be rude to laugh if they're doing their best with the learning chopsticks. I mean..."

Gold pauses, wondering if what he wants to say would be too mean... But maybe it'd be best to say it anyway.

"When you were so amazed by everything you saw on the way here, like the flowers, and all... Somebody might think that's funny and laugh at you for it, because they see the flowers every day, you know? They wouldn't know why you'd act like that... I don't know either, but I never even thought about laughing at you. Because I know it hurts when somebody laughs at me for things like... having dirty clothes, or, not knowing about TV shows..."

Gold grimaces a little as he trails off, his eyes drifting away from eye contact as he talks. It's hard to look at anyone when talking about his past.