daybreakacademy

Entry tags:

[open]

Who: Kano & OTA
What: magic practice, pettiness, finals
Where: Lumière, greenhouse, library
When: mid-month, before finals
Warnings: self-harm for prompt i., none expected for the rest
Notes: details of Kano's new Fey Contract can be found on his app

i. Lumière dormitory rooftop
[ Fey magic is a really... terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea. But Kano is determined to make it work, this new Contract that he'd forged a couple of days ago, but it's just so different from his usual illusion magic that he'd worked ten whole years to get to the point where he is now, illusions seamless and effortless compared to him staring at his arm right now wondering what he's doing wrong?

Because his arm is bleeding, a bloody knife on his lap while he pokes at the wound with his other hand and it just comes back bloody, him wincing because it hurts and why isn't the magic working? There's nothing intuitive about this at all, and he has no idea how he's supposed to make it work, with the magic supposed to be healing and dulling pain but it's just doing the opposite for him, the pain making it hard to keep a smile on his face, and making him feel like crying a little.

With a sigh, he waves hand over the bleeding cut instead of touching it, and it disappears— simply masked underneath an illusion, but it's still there while he tries to figure out how to do this, preferably before he bleeds out.

It won't come to it, though. He has three years worth of band-aids stocked up, and he knew they would be useful someday. ]

ii. campus, on the way to the greenhouse or inside
[ But you know what always makes up for terrible days? Even more terrible ideas to get your mind off previous ones. This one isn't that bad, though, because it's something that'll have positive long-term consequences. Probably.

Anyways, it's Kano with long sleeves and pants and winter gloves and the hood of his jacket pulled over his head and eyes and also a bandanna over the rest of his face so he can have as little skin showing as possible. It isn't all because of botched healing practice, though, it's because he's lugging around a three gallon plastic jug in his arms— you know, one of those large plastic containers twice the size of your head that you can buy cheese balls in, but instead of cheese balls, it's bees.

It's a jar full of bees.

He had to ship them to a PO in town and then lug them all the way back to campus; this insect purchasing restriction is really an awful pain. ]

iii. library
[ But also, anyways, it's almost finals and while Kano did surprisingly okay on his midterms, he's got to do slightly more okay on his finals too, because exam scored are literally all that's carrying his grades without the homework to pad it.

So the library it is... Books, his arch nemesis... Him, sitting at one of the open study areas with a stack of brand new text books in front of him that barely look touched, a mug of something on the table that's a dark dark red to the point that it's almost black and also has four tea bags sitting inside it that's steeped so long the tea is no longer steaming, and also hands clamped over his ears like he's trying to block out ambient noise, or massage away a headache, or give himself a headache so he can go hang out in the infirmary for the next two weeks and not do finals.

Why does Daybreak have to be a school??? Schools suck. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Fuck the librarian— he wants to say, but librarians are terrifying by nature, and he hunches over his tea a little more, like he probably shouldn't have drinks around books anyways and they're more dangerous than potential laser eyes. ]

If you got things you want to have burned, I can help with that, laser eyes or not~ So don't tell on me to the librarian, okay?! It'd be really bad if I got kicked out of the library, see? The chairs are super comfy, and the it's always clean inside.

[He snorts and waves a hand.]

Psh! As if I'd rat you out. You're not hurting anybody! And while I appreciate the offer, I haven't got anything to burn. Pretty much have what you see of me.

[He spreads his arms out and drops them back down. He taps the arms of the chair he sits in, looking thoughtful.]

...These chairs are really nice though. It's crazy the money that goes in this place.

[ God. "You're not hurting anybody" is something Kano opens his mouth to argue on instinct, before he it hits him what Héctor said and that he's only ever heard it the other way around, insistences that he's a nuisance and is up to no good, even in those moments where his actions are really just innocuous. ]

Hmm, yeah, if I'd set your clothes on fire, I wonder if you'd have any extra to wear? But hey— you're a TA, right? For what class? ...is it one of my classes? [ that he never goes to and never goes to TA office hours to ] How many classes? Are you getting paid enough? They should probably pay you more!

[That's a sudden barrage of questions. As soon as it's obvious he's not getting a word in, he lets the kid run them off. He xan answer one by one.]

Okay, well, I do have one other set of clothes but I'd very much like it if niether of them were on fire, especially not ones that are currently on me. [He's just going to get that out of the way.]

I TA the night classes. Wherever they need me, not any specific one but usually the normal stuff more. Señor Hieke and Señor Atchison have me a lot too.

I am... not sure I'm supposed to discuss pay with students actually but it's not bad considering I only do a few hours a night. I've just got some, ah, big things to pay off. [Fines, to be exact.]

[ Smart of him to let Kano talk his fill, a little forceful getting the words out but at least he's more animated than the zombie staring at his book half an hour before. With his barrage of questions, he controls the flow of the conversation, he's in charge and won't let the conversation turn back to himself, just as he prefers.

And he's about to let loose another torrent of words, but he stops himself short, because this is perfect, isn't it? ]

Then, instead of going around reheating tea, wouldn't it be more useful if you just become Toki's private tutor for all of his classes?

[ He worries about Toki, but not enough to push him to succeed in his classes— just enough to not flunk out of them and potentially leave the school, because he really does like the boy. But Toki's rich, doesn't know what to do with his money, and here in front of him is somebody with two pairs of clothes and either college loans or a house mortgage or whatever to pay off, and it'd be win-win. ]

[He snorts.]

Is that what you think I do? Wander the campus all night looking for forgotten teas to re-heat? [That gets a wry smirk.]

I actually have tutored Toki a little for his contracts class with Señor Atchison. Unfortunately, my health isn't the best. I don't think I could tutor him in all his classes even if I had the extra time and were super knowledgeable on all of them. I have to vanish too often for that kind of commitment. [He just about fell through on the little one they had. He still feels bad about that, even if it was over, well, becoming a monster and then recovering from that.]

Has he been looking for a full time private tutor? Bit of an unusual suggestion to give out of the blue.

[Even if he can see the need for worry.]

Edited 2019-03-27 16:06 (UTC)

[ Yep, that's exactly it. Why else would Héctor offer to reheat Kano's tea if that weren't already on his list of nightly tasks?

Kano leans back in his seat, listening, frowning a little at the mention of 'vanishing'— Toki wouldn't take too kindly to that for sure, he thinks to himself, the way he doubts and would probably feel more confident with some sort of stability. At the question, Kano lets the chair fall forward again on all fours. ]

Hm~ No, I don't think he'd want that either, so he probably wouldn't ask? But I thought, maybe if you offered to, he'd say yes! 'cause, you know, he's at the point where he's asking professors for extra credit?

[ A sure sign that he's given up on exams and homework, too far behind to catch up on all the material needed for that, with extra credit being projects outside the curriculum so he doesn't have to relearn everything, he just has to learn something new. Smart, in a way. ]

[Poor kid was still struggling, huh? That's a little sad, but it was heartening to hear that Toki was trying. Ultimately, asking for that credit might be a good thing. Toki's main problem with these classes seemed to be paying attention and keeping himself invested. Maybe he'd look into seeing if there was more he could do.

But right now, it's Kano before him. The boy gets a soft smile.]

That's kind of you, worrying about your amigo like that. You really pay attention to how people work, huh?

[Which probably meant all that getting under his skin before was as deliberate as he thought.]

Or at least the ones you care about.

[ There's an uncomfortable shift in his seat while he tries to reason out to himself that Héctor's using a general "amigo" and not an amigo amigo, because it really is still weird for people to see him as a friend, even to somebody else. It's also weird to have it pointed out that he pays close attention to people, in the context of trying to help them instead of something more nosy or suspicious. Ugh... ]

Toki makes it obvious, so I dunno if that counts as paying attention~ And don't say it like that... I care about everybody equally, you know?

[ Mostly not at all, but equally not at all... there's maybe four people he cares a little more about than others, but that's also something he's trying to cut back on. ]

[He snorts.]

If you say so.

[but his tone suggests he doesn't entirely believe that. Toki didn't make much of anything obvious to him.]

I didn't mean to say you were cold. [He reads Kano's words exactly wrong, as intended.] I don't really know that much about you, but most people aren't. Even jerks cared about somebody in some way once. I just mean there's always people who are closer to you.

[ Kano laughs, incredulous and one that comes out as more of a hissing breath than with any real sound behind it. ]

Thanks for calling me a jerk to my face, Héctor??

[ HAHA decidedly not going to talk about people he's close to, or the fact that he purposely makes it so people don't know much of anything about him and he's determined to keep it that way. ]

Wait, hang on, that's not what I said! I just meant... even if you were...

[Ay, now he's done it. Even if the kid's laughing. He makes a face.]

Look, you're probably not a jerk. [Maybe. Past experience makes things questionable.] But I have known jerks and they can have their moments too.

Probably... How hurtful~

[ He really doesn't care, but he pretends to anyways, pressing a hand over his chest like his heart's been wounded by Héctor's words. ]

You gotta stop defending the jerks, though, they don't deserve that.

[He's about to protest more but ultimately slumps, defeated. The kid's just going to take his words that way no matter what, and really just to get a rise from him anyway.

Which is where the probably comes in.

The rest of that though, that gets him lifting his head and lifting a brow.]

I mean, sometimes, but it's not always that simple. They might just be acting like a jerk because they're afraid or they want to keep people away or things like that. And then you get some who don't seem like they're jerks until later and you're already friends. I don't have to defend the dumb things they do, of course, but it's still not always straight forward as just having nothing to do with them.

[ That's how it is, yeah. But this is starting to sound like one of those classroom lessons on bullying he was supposed to have sat through in elementary school, which isn't interesting enough for him to want to pursue. ]

Hmm, well, people aren't straightforward at all, huh? Are you sure you don't want some tea? Have some tea~

[He lifts a brow. He's not surprised by the topic change but that doesn't mean he's not going to give Kano a look over the tea.]

No, gracias. I'm fine, really. Besides, you shouldn't share drinks with people, you know? You could get sick. Not to mention you've got, what, maybe twenty tea bags in there? It's probably more leaf than tea.

That's fine, isn't it? Idiots don't catch colds~

[ And they're both idiots, Héctor too. But alright, alright, if the complaint is that there are too many tea bags, Kano sits up a little more so he can dig something out of his jacket pocket— it's a zip lock bag, whereupon he pulls the tea bags out of the cup one by one and plops them inside the bag for safekeeping. ...The water level drops considerably with the bags gone, but he pushes it back over to Héctor's side, looking expectant. ]

Hey, what, that's--

[Nope. Kano's not listening. And worse, he doesn't actually have a refute for himself. This kid might be smarter but he's not. This kid is odd though. It's kind of fascinating to watch him go. He looks to the tea and then stares at Kano for a long moment.]

You... really want me to try this, huh?

[He shakes his head and sighs.]

Okay. But if this is a prank I'm going to be real unhappy.

[Which probably wouldn't actually discourage him but oh well. His hands curl around the mug and he lifts it up, eyeing it like something distasteful. He takes a quick swig of it...

And immediately coughs. With how little he does try things, even a regular tea is more flavor than he's used to. This is... this is definitely too much. He shakes his head, blinking and making faces as that goes down. He sets the mug down.]

Edited 2019-04-01 11:47 (UTC)

[ It doesn't even have to be a prank, because the real thing is just that terrible- super concentrated tea that's gone bitter with how many tea bags have steeped in it for too long, a tang to it the might have been refreshing if diluted a dozen times and chilled. It sure is... tea. The reason why Kano hasn't drunk any of it is probably obvious, but why so much tea in one cup is just something Héctor will have to accept he won't get an answer to. ]

Haha... Is it no good? But you tried it anyways! Just because I asked you to! How good~

[ Don't do things just because people ask you to!!! NEVER do things just because KANO asks you to... ]

[He gives Kano a withering stare. He can't even blame the kid. He can only blame himself. He's going to try and at least blame the kid a little anyway..]

You were insisting. What was I supposed to do? When someone asks for something, you want to show that you trust them!

[But apparently not Kano!!]

Do you trust me?

[ That's the bigger question here. He knows Héctor does not, the same way he knows nobody else does- and nor should they. They have no reason to trust him and every reason not to, and so what does either side have to gain through this show of unfounded trust? Was he hoping Kano would trust him more if he extended it first? ]

Aah, you're a nice person, Héctor. But you can always say no to me, you know? That might be the smart thing to do~

Well, it's not as if you're going to poison or curse me or something.

[That's reasonable, right? That's a kind of trust that isn't too much.

He frowns.]

Why do you say that?

[ Believing Kano wouldn't poison him, right after taking a swig of the tea... He laughs under his breath, picks up his cup and takes a sip from it. Ugh, disgusting. ]

Which part?

Well, any of that, to be honest. [He leans forward, folding his arms upon the table.] But mostly about that being the smart thing.

[ They're all sort of interconnected, Héctor being nice because he even attempts some sort of trust exercise with Kano, but it's futile and he should just say no and it would be smart not to waste his time and energy humoring him as much as he does. ]

People who can't say no make things hard on themselves... But I know you can do it! Didn't you say you didn't want to be friends? So there's no point trying now! I refuse!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject