Fade Rift: Inbox

[keenly]

you know what to do

Comments

[sulahnan]

[ As he explains, Athessa props her chin up on her hand and smiles. If Colin could just talk like this to other people, he'd do fine. ]

You're such a good person, Col.

[keenly]

[He's not sure what he said that she liked, but something about his honesty made her like him more. Is that all it takes?]

Because I like to cook?

[sulahnan]

[ If anything, his confusion makes her grin wider. ]

Because you care about people enough to want to show it, which means more than just words. You enjoy cooking, and sharing that with people means they get to keep living another day, ya know?

[keenly]

[A gentle smile, like he has, at long last, taken a compliment and it has genuinely touched him.]

Something about...giving people something to sustain them. Healing or cooking. Or even just, just giving them an ear when they need to talk, that's what a lot of patients need more than the physical healing. I love it, and it's a privilege, it's not, there's not something I sacrifice for other people when I do it, I am getting something out of it. And food, nothing puts things right and makes peace better than a good meal. If there was more sitting down and having meals, the world would be better. If there was more listening, the world would be kinder. And the world is really fucking unkind, so--I could probably write this down as a toast for the dinner.

[sulahnan]

Definitely.

Unless you would then start to agonize about getting the words right on paper and make it even more stressful, in which case don't do that.

[keenly]

That's a good point. [That would definitely happen.]

What's your art?

[sulahnan]

[ That gives her pause, and though she takes a breath to answer, she ends up holding it for a moment before letting it go with a shrug. ]

I...dunno.

[keenly]

You're able to express yourself with words, though. Maybe you just haven't discovered your art yet.

[sulahnan]

Yeah maybe... I can do plenty of stuff as well as I gotta, but there's nothing I'm really...passionate about that I can do well.

[ Well. ]

Besides sex. Or singing. But I don't think sex counts.

[keenly]

The way you talk about sex, it's definitely a sort of art for you. It just isn't an art you show to everyone.

[sulahnan]

[ She shrugs again, this time a little self-conscious. ]

I guess so. I just like to know I'm making people I like feel good.

[keenly]

I...don't think I've heard you sing.

[He doesn't want to pressure her.]

[sulahnan]

Any requests?

[ No bashfulness about singing, then. Just about the softer side of sex stuff. ]

Sulahnan means the land of song, after all.

[keenly]

Your pick. Anything that means something to you.

[sulahnan]

[ Another slow drag on the joint is all the time she needs before deciding on one song she remembers from Rivain. ]

[keenly]

[By the end, Colin is practically boneless and watching her in rapture. When it ends, he gives a blissful sigh as if he'd been holding his breath the whole time.]

That's...wow. Wow.

[sulahnan]

[ She pantomimes a performer's bow and smiles, seeking out her wine for another sip. ]

First song I heard when I went to Rivain.

[keenly]

Your voice. [Another sigh.] How do you do that?

[sulahnan]

[???]

I just...sing. Whaddya mean how do I do it?

[keenly]

I just cook, and you ask me all the time how I do it.

[sulahnan]

Yeah, that's true, but...I dunno, cooking has clear steps and rules. It'd be really hard to explain how to make your voice rise and fall.

[keenly]

Not as clear rules as you might think. A lot of it depends on the weather, how hot or cold, whether it's raining, things like that. You just have to play it by ear, so to speak. I don't know the rules for singing, but I'm sure they exist, or it wouldn't be so hard for some of us. You just happen to know them naturally, somehow.

[sulahnan]

[ Well, when you put it like that. Athessa gives it some serious thought, possibly more than is truly warranted, but she's high and not really thinking about whether or not her singing is an art comparable to his.

But she gets an idea. ]

Would you wanna do a trade?

[keenly]

Teach you how to cook? Absolutely.

[sulahnan]

Just one thing, really. One recipe, for one song.