npc contact.1

[adsum]

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Comments

[closewithnewintown]

I'm sure the grownups thought of that already. It'll be fine. [it probably isn't]

You seem to know more about it than I do! Have you ever preserved something like that?

[adsum]

[ Please... Senku or some sciency person or maybe somebody with plain common sense, please do something about that wolf head before it starts to smell.

Which is also the reason he shakes his head, and pinches his nose after. FORMALDEHYDE IS THE WORST... It's stomach turning and the smell lingers all day. He could never work with it. ]

[closewithnewintown]

[nods] That does sound gross... I haven't seen that many dead things, but I already know they're very icky.

... If it doesn't end up being icky, do you wanna see it? It's spooky.

[adsum]

[ He doesn't look too sure about that offer— Stephanie calls it spooky, Hiro calls it gross— but between "I really don't want to see it" and "when somebody wants to show you something they're interested in, you have to say yes" ...

He nods his head ]

[closewithnewintown]

[pause]

You're allowed to say "no" to me, you know. You always have been.

[adsum]

[ ...

He shakes his head now, like he's testing it out. ]

[closewithnewintown]

[snorts] You don't have to go see the gross wolf head. Promise.

[adsum]

[ Oh thank you.

He looks visibly relieved, but also somewhat apologetic, because Stephanie really wanted to show somebody this dead animal head. ]

[closewithnewintown]

It's fine! I'd never wanna make you do something you're not comfortable doing. [she says, like she doesn't accidentally do it all the time to everyone.] I'll find something much cooler to show you one of these days.

[adsum]

[ He appreciates that, and thinks that it'd only be fair that he makes some effort in helping this out. What's something people think is cool, that wouldn't make him sick seeing?

... He makes a fist and holds it out in front of him.

? ]

[closewithnewintown]

[...

fistbumps]

[adsum]

[ ...

You know what? This is good enough. ]

[closewithnewintown]

[grins... then, gets a briefly thoughtful look.]

... Y'know, there is something kinda cool I can show you. I was gonna show... [natsume. once.] It doesn't matter. It's not gross or anything, I promise. Wanna see?

[adsum]

[ This is the most interested icon he has, but yes, he nods his head and will trust Steph in it not being gross, it'd better not be. ]

[closewithnewintown]

Great! It'll have to wait until lunch, though, okay? Just follow me.

[and she will otherwise just. add nothing else until lunchtime arrives.]

[adsum]

[ Making him wait until lunch time... Whatever excitement there might be doesn't keep him from putting his head down in his arms during classtime, though, zzzing straight through the morning lessons but managing to wake up just in time for lunch. ]

[closewithnewintown]

[when lunch comes around, Steph takes him by the hand and leads him through the crowds, stopping whenever she finds a relatively trafficless location. she turns and looks at him, bouncing nervously on her heels.]

... Okay, so. How are you with dancing?

[adsum]

[ uh

Hope she isn't too surprised when he shakes his head, but what high school boy is good at dancing? The closest thing, maybe, is bobbing his head to music, but that's not a kinda cool thing.

He does point at her with his free hand, though, with a slight tilt of his head. How is she with dancing? ]

[closewithnewintown]

Me? At home, I was always dancing. Here... I don't know. At first, I thought it was just the lack of privacy. But, then we got the dorms, and I tried...

[she shakes her head. it hasn't felt right.]

But... There's one dance that's very special to me. It's... home, and family, and friends, and love. Safety. Peace.

[she takes a deep breath. stands, her feet apart, her hands splayed at her sides.]

It's not hard, I promise. All you'd have to do is copy what I do. Okay?

[because, even now, he can tell her no.]

[adsum]

[ He can't, though, not after she says it's about love and safety and peace, and that she wanted to share it with him. No, more than just sharing— inviting him to be a part of it.

The deep breath Hiro takes is more to steel himself than anything, but he copies her stance, feet apart and hands at his sides. ]

[closewithnewintown]

[when she starts off showing him the dance, she goes slow, humming the tune under her breath, constantly glancing at him to see how he's doing, slowing further if she feels he needs it. it's only when they reach the end that she falters, when her feet find themselves automatically entering her part of the dance, half-caught in a pirouette before she pauses...

she steps into a lean, one arm in the air and the other reaching out towards him.]

... Okay, now, you spin into my arms, and I'll dip you.

[this very small child speaking with utmost confidence that she can do this.]

[adsum]

[ Slow is good, especially when it's easier to copy her like a mirror image instead of right being right and left being left, but then she does that high kick and oh boy.

...He does his best... manages maybe knee height... A lot of this is throwing him off balance, for somebody who is so used to sitting and slouching and sleeping. But he follows through to the end, in the middle of a slow pirouette when Stephanie proposes a trust fall that he can trust her all he wants but he is going to fall.

Okay.

He holds his hand out to Stephanie like she's doing towards him, and spins into her arms. ]

[closewithnewintown]

[she dips him, and maybe it's a bit lower than she's had done to her, but she absolutely has the upper body strength to keep a teenage boy from crashing into the ground.]

... Now you can visit me at home and fit right in with everybody else! [a grin] They'd love you, I know it.]

[adsum]

[ He's never felt relief as much as being vertical again. And that relief is quickly replaced by uncertainty and nerves, not only because he doubts people would love him, but more than that...

There's no way he can memorize this dance after one go and if it's a prerequisite to getting along with Stephanie's friends and family, it's not happening.

...

He goes through the first few steps of the dance, and then looks to Stephanie to correct him or give him the next part. ]

[closewithnewintown]

[at first, she's visibly excited that he's actually... continuing, practicing, but she picks up on his expression for once, and she puts a hand on his shoulder.]

You did really good! Only one of my friends has ever actually managed to learn it. Trixie tried, once, but... Y'know. [grins, wrinkling nose.] She'd be so mad if she knew I was telling people from other worlds that she can't dance. But, she's really bad at it. Two left feet.