perfectmatch | week three

You will be the first to hear of it, Edamura. That I promise.

[ And one she will keep, since he wasn't the first to hear last time. ]

[aw]

I thought you were going to tell me now.

[disappointed. . .]

[ Not a chance, bean boy!!! ]

Not until you have something of your own to share, brat. I've learned my lesson about trusting you to make any kind of jump with me.

[. . . she has him there!]

[squinting at her for a moment, before. . .]

[A SMALL SIGH. . .]

. . . I had a really good time with Shoko and Serpilia last week. But they're both--

[. . .]

[another exhale]

Ah, you know! Again, some people know much faster than others, right. . .?

Edamura.

[ Her boy. ]

I think you have plenty of time and chances to see if one of them might spare you an hour of the day to state, at the very least, your interest in any of them, if nothing else. It is not a bold declaration of feelings, only a pronounced desire to know them better than you wish to know others.

[ ... ]

Rom too, if you'd like.

[ what's auntie know anyway ]

[. . . and they're back to the being brave thing, are they? Edamura slots a few more pieces of their puzzle together as they now move into the home stretch. they can solve this in one sitting!!]

Yeah. . . [. . . she has a point. . .] But I don't want to get in the way of any. . . thing. . .

[. . .]

[hol' up]

[squints at her]

What?

[ Sorry, she is finishing this puzzle. Even she can do it now. ]

You'll at least be flattering them. People love to know when they're wanted, you know. I wouldn't treat it so sacredly.

[HOL' UP!!!!]

[stares at her for juuuuust a moment longer, before letting out an exasperated noise, picking up a piece, and helping her with the final bit]

. . . I'll keep that one in mind.

[ It's why she was so touched to hear herself be the eternal bridesmaid!!! So many people saying she'd be their fourth or fifth pick. So kind. She will never be higher.

Except by Edamura, but that had still surprised her. ]

... Now that the puzzle is done, allow me to secure it.

[ With her palm straight over it, and then a light tap that... does not seem like it's done anything, visually, but there is the scent of wood lingering oddly in the air. ]

There. It's no different than binding books, really.

[ No bends or breaks on this completed puzzle!!! They can just...... Have it.... like that. Now. It won't fall apart no matter how it's handled. ]

[watching her hold her hand out over the puzzle, blinking slightly. and it isn't until the scent of wood reaches his nostrils that he realizes what must have just happened]

[that was. . .]

. . . magic?

[the very first time she has used magic in front of him?]

A Craft skill, but... yes, "magic". I was a book conservator for a time under my father's tutelage, so I learned a few things that've been useful over the years.

[ Mostly in repairing her own books. ]

Go ahead. Pick it up.

Edited 2025-06-18 01:12 (UTC)

[and he obliges, picking up the completed puzzle and hold it in front of himself like a picture tucked in a frame. perhaps if this had been two weeks ago. . . he would be freaking out a little bit more]

[but after one sees a man turn into a bat, everything else is just child's play]

It's like you glued it together. . .

Not just "like" -- I did, in essence, glue it together. Practical Crafts aren't given any sort of... fanciful name, [ not that her combat-focused ones do anyway, ] but they act the same as any other, taking a small bit of our energy, mixing it with intent, and giving rise to a variety of everyday "magics" for us to use.

[ Odile tilts her head after a moment, staring at Edamura.

... ]

I'm certain I could teach you... if you'd like to learn.

[it's the last part that takes him completely off guard]

-- what? Me? No, I don't think. . . we don't have magic in my world. Or. . . "Practical Crafts."

[don't you have to be born magical or something for that??]

Nonsense. Anyone can learn, I don't see why it would be any different for you -- you've got people who are exceedingly good at certain things, don't you? That feel as they have a knack for... sewing, for instance, or a way with a brush.

[ Odile takes the puzzle from him, then sets it carefully back in its box. Safe keeping. ]

... It isn't necessarily magic. As I said -- it combines your intent and your energy, and in practice you are enacting your will onto whatever it is you desire, or projecting it into whatever you may be making. A statue that dances. A pot that keeps itself warm. Clothes that grow with you, or candles that change their scent as time goes on. There's an infinite amount of things that one can do with Crafts; while it isn't my topic of study, I have found it fascinating to see the differences between various regions even within the same country.

[ Perhaps it was even part of her academics! Who can say. But it seems obvious that anyone, even Edamura, might be able to learn it. May be difficult. But possible. ]

[extremely difficult, for someone as ordinary ("ordinary") as Edamura]

I'm not sure I understand. . . [it's awfully kind of her to offer, but he also isn't sure he wants to learn. . . ?] I have a lot of intent and energy, but none of it is capable of doing--

[gestures. to the puzzle]

-- that.

[ Extremely indeed. But Odile does enjoy challenges, so if they're afford more than simple letters to keep in contact she will be making him learn. ]

You doubt yourself too much, Edamura. I would not offer this lightly.

[ Mostly because she isn't the teaching type. Someone like Ringo might make for an excellent student as well, but-- that isn't who she'd like to teach, he is. ]

But I'll relent for now. Handle the matter of paying for that puzzle and let us be on our way.

[well then!1 maybe he'll come around to the idea, the more time they spend together, and the more she demonstrates her crafts. he is, after all, perfectly adaptable! even if he tends to dig his heels in at first]

[. . . and it means a little to him, that she would make an offer that she says she never makes lightly]

Oh-- right. And we can't forget the lost and found, either.

[he remembers!!]

Good boy. Whatever you may think, your mother did raise you well.

[ Even if he's a brat. ]

[THAT. . . genuinely makes him happy]

. . . thanks for saying that, Odile.

week three | dates

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1/2 when will the multi comment chains end

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