2021-06-02: Tea Solves All Ills

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  • Log: Tea Solves All Ills
  • Cast: Citan Uzuki, Gwen Whitlock, Ida Everstead-Rey
  • Where: Aphel Aura - Deep Sea Bros.
  • Date: June 02, 2021
  • Summary: Citan and Yui, having tea together in the cafe, are joined by Gwen and Ida; recent events are discussed, as are some of Ida's unique concerns.

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    At the moment, there aren't that many in the cafe named (for reasons known only to the owner) 'Deep Sea Bros.' Due to its size constraints and rationing restrictions (once upon a time, before Solaris forced their hand, it's said, this whole section was but the palace block of ancient Shevat), Aphel Aura has little in the way of the sort of establishments that would crop up around a similarly-sized city like mushrooms. Still, life is hardly life if it's boiled down to the utilitarian essentials. And so just as there are a few flowers in Shevat, Shevat has also made room for a cafe.

    Tea is always on the menu. Other things are, depending on what supplies Shevat has in surplus, but there is always tea.

    "...I see, so that is her way of thinking," Citan Uzuki muses to his wife over a cup of tea at one of the corner tables.

    "Yes. It seems she is willing to speak to him herself," Yui replies, similarly with a cup in hand. She gazes at him across the table. "But I feel that she is... worried," she finishes, gazing down into her teacup. "Perhaps..." Yui voices, only to trail off into silence.

    His reaction is to sigh and lean back in his seat, glancing up towards the ceiling. "He did ask. After all of this, it might be only..."

    He similarly trails off and gazes back over at her. "...Perhaps someday we will have something happier to speak of?" he asks Yui, unable to keep that faint smile off his face.

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    The night following the Odessa invasion was likely one of the most painful nights Gwen's had in a few months. Falling down from such a height thankfully did not prove fatal, and there has been no lasting consequences from that stunt thanks to Shevat's considerably advanced medical care. Well, advanced, compared to, say, an average city in Ignas, where anesthetic is mostly 'here have a swig of this', and cleanliness is, oddly enough, using the same medium. yay alcohol

    Speaking of alcohol, where exactly are the taverns in this floating city?

    ".... Bah, I was hoping there'd be at least one bar, but I guess a floatin' city's got no use for those kinda spirits..." A downcast Gwen walks with Ida, shoulders slumped. "That's one thing Aquvy doesn't have as much of that the Badlands had. Taverns full of greasy food and tons of alcohol."

    Again, this is in comparison to the Badlands, where bars would be located across... from other bars.

    It brings a tear to one's eye.

    Gwen's spirits (no pun intended) raise as she spots a nice establishment as they round a corner. Looks far nicer than the sort of feel Gwen is going for, but beggars can't be choosers!

    The door opens (Gwen has enough sense not to bust through), and Gwen looks around.

    Tea.

    "... I wonder what... sky city tea... tastes like..." She's trying to keep from looking disappointed.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida spent several fog-addled days in an ICU as Shevat's medical personnel monitored her condition. A drip of anaesthetic kept the pain to a minimum, and the staff and her friends kept her company--with the sole exception of an intrusion by a witch who wanted to talk history. Ida remembers maybe two-thirds of what transpired in that time, but she's now well enough to walk under her own power. Considering that Ptolomea did his best to kill her, this is no small thing.

    "Mm," Ida says, lips turning downward in a frown. She's wearing clothes she got here--a blue-and-gold patterned pullover, loose tan slacks, and a pair of shoes not unlike Citan's. The bandaging is gone, revealing the silvery-blue tissue that striates her hands, neck, and collar.

    She doesn't feel obligated to hide it here.

    "Tea would be lovely," Ida says, reaching out to place an armored hand on Gwen's shoulder. "Though, I do hope they have gin..."

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "Someday," Yui says in response to him, reaching over to touch his hand.

    Whether or not the cafe also sells alcohol depends on what supplies they were able to get in (drink is also an important part of a stable society, in moderation) and the time of day.

    It's not yet quite 'that time of day', unfortunately for Gwen and Ida.

    It's as the two of them walk in that, Citan, despite being in mid-conversation with his wife, notices their presence. Yui, with her back to the both of them, is at a slight disadvantage in this regard.

    "Gwen, Miss Everstead-Rey? Is that you?"

    He had caught some word of their injuries in the engagement, afterall.

    It's then that Yui turns, glancing back over her shoulder at the both of them. To an outside observer, she's no different from many of the other residents of Shevat, dressed in simple jewel-hued clothing.

    The last time Gwen and Ida had seen her, she had a number of dead Odessa clone soldiers at her feet and a bloody blade in hand.

    She smiles at the both of them pleasantly.

    "Oh, would you like to join us, Gwen. And... Ida, wasn't it?"

    There's no trace at all to be found of the woman they had met that night...

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    "Since I've already bored you with my stay in the ICU, how're you healin'?" Gwen grimaces, guilt hanging in her eyes. "I gotta admit, that last stunt you did before Ptolomea pulled away? Magnificent. When'd you learn how t'do that trick?" She never did manage to visit Ida during that stay, injuries or no. It's why this trip soothes Gwen's conscience a little, bringing a bit of quiet mundane living to what's turned out to be a chaotic week.

    Gwen's choice of what counts as 'quiet mundane living' is suspect, but the good intentions are there.
    
    Her eyes travel to the striations of silver-blue tissue on Ida's upper body. When was the last time Ida has been able to do that so openly?

    Gwen looks back up at Ida, and gives her a small smile. "Feels nice to not have t'hide things, yeah?"

    Inside the cafe, the redhead feels Ida's hand on her shoulder, and nods at the suggestion, her face brightening. "That sounds like a great idea. Wonder if it'd taste any different up here."

    It's not long before Gwen's survey of the place spots Citan and someone else, turned away from them, though Gwen has her guesses.

    That ash blonde hair was distinctive, stained with blood as it was back then.

    "Doc! Yui! Guess you guys had the same idea as we did." Gwen sits in an empty chair as she is invited. "Doc, did she tell you how she met us? Saved our asses froim gettin' filled with bullets. Felt like I was gettin' saved by a knight in shining armor, like in a one-gella novel, except there was a heck of a lot more blood."

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    "Well enough," Ida says, smiling gently. She sees that look, and squeezes her friend's shoulder. "The doctors told me the graft had done most of their work for them--stopping blood loss, stabilizing cracked ribs, and whatnot." She sucks in a breath, deep and pain-free. "But I needed the time to rest--all of me." Gwen's other question is more difficult to answer. "I... don't know," she says. "I felt my Breath burning inside me, and my body changed--but I don't think I could do it again if you asked me to." Something about it feels right, though. A step towards something larger.

    "You're right," Ida adds, after a long moment. "It does. It really does."

    But then a familiar voice. "...Doctor?" Ida says. Her eyebrows rise. "Mrs. Uzuki." She returns Yui's smile, and bobs her head in lieu of a bow--easier on her healing ribs. Her mouth opens, slightly. "Gwen, there's--" Pause. "Well. That's true, yes, you saved us from a very unpleasant encounter. I had no idea you had such skill."

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "The both of you seem to be doing well," Yui remarks, as they approach. "Please, call me Yui," she says to Ida. The edges of her eyes crinkle in a gentle smile. "...Oh my, you two are flatterers, aren't you?" she replies pleasantly. She glances once over at her husband.

    "As a matter of fact, yes," Citan says, not quite able to entirely keep that entirely-too-pleased smile off his face. "She had. Her skill is something to behold, do you not agree? ...The Queen had asked her and the others who were skilled in close-quarters combat to attempt to keep the invaders below. However," and he stops here, pausing to permit Yui to speak.

    "...My, and you're letting me finish the story this time? Now I know you must be up to something," Yui says to him, shaking her head. "Yes, if it were not for the rest of you, we might have been in a very difficult situation. There aren't enough of us left in the city to hold off forever against a force of that size. And... I am grateful," she says, frowning, her forehead creasing in contrition. "You two were hurt defending us."

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    Gwen whistles, hearing Ida's description. "That's pretty nifty! So the graft is enhancing your healing abilities; probably a good trade-off for all the hijinks it gets you into, eh? But the rest part... yeah." There's a slow nod at that, one of recognition. "I'm glad we were able to heal. As for the Breath thing... that sounds... genuinely amazing. Similar to what the Mockingbird could do, but... you had the ability to control yourself. Maybe Fafnir... recognizes you, more and more, in how hard you try to push yourself."

    Now, at the table with Citan and Yui, Gwen gushes over the swordswoman. "Man, a good cook, a stellar parent, *and* she can kick ass." Yet, they're the same people Gwen has known since her days delivering to Lahan.

    What other secrets do these two hold?

    Yui thanks them for their help, causing Gwen's cheeks to color slightly as she rubs her short hair with a gloved hand. "D'aww, shucks. I'm glad to help! But..."

    "If it helps, consider it payment for the support you and your husband've given me, when I was just starting out." Gwen's expression grows serious as she places both hands on the table, her gaze turning between Citan and Yui. "Lahan seemed like a good city to expand to once I had gotten my few routes down, but I had no idea what it was like to handle the terrain then. I can't even remember how it got to that point, but soon, I realized I could trust Doc with my own health issues, without having to worry about ny secret spreading. Being able to trust someone other than my own Auntie for things like that... I didn't need to feel guarded about it.
    Frea had her own opinions of Gwen placing trust in someone else, but Frea was Frea. "If I didn't have that... it would have been a few more years before I found others who could accept me."

    One of them, strangely enough, was Ida.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Hijinks. That's one way of putting it. Ida responds with a strained little smile, and a simple answer: "The healing is helpful." The questions of agency, legacy, and identity, not so much. She looks down at the floor, tries not to think about those questions, or about how there's nothing but air beneath this thin shell of glass and stone and metal. "I hope so," she whispers. "If he does, it's the only way we can communicate."

    Ida falls silent. On the surface, it's politeness--best to let Citan and Yui explain what happened. She gives Gwen a little smile as she reveals how she knew these two, before she became a Drifter. "Aw," she says. She puts on her best smile. It doesn't reach her eyes.

    What Gwen said is clearly bothering her.

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    Yui smiles gently at the abundant praise, shaking her head. "By the way, speaking of my cooking... if you two would like to join us for dinner later, we would not mind another two at the table. I think it might do Midori some good to meet someone new," she adds, glancing at Ida.

    It's at the mention of their daughter that Citan himself frowns faintly, recalling that incident just days ago with Midori, Lan, and Elly. She had run not to her father, but to...

    But here is neither the time nor the place. Shaking his head, he says instead, "I am glad to have been of help to you, Gwen. It is astonishing to think that you were only getting started, back then... we did not have many willing to make the long trip to Lahan so regularly, you understand," he remarks. "Without you, some of the more... specialized materials I had needed would have only come during the spring and summer markets, if then. In your own way, you had also assisted in helping ensure that Lahan stayed safe."

    Though both of the Uzukis share a brief glance with one another, some silent understanding that passes between them alone.

    Yui lifts her cup of tea, then, and Citan's attention moves briefly from Gwen to Ida.

    He pauses for a moment.

    "Are you feeling well, Miss Everstead-Rey? Should I ask them to bring you a cup of tea?"

    Or is the matter more than her recent injuries?

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    Hijinks.

    The strained smile that follows makes Gwen pause.

    Maybe they'll be able to talk once they've had something to drink and sat down, and Gwen could apologize.

    ---NOW AT A TABLE, WITH CITAN AND YUI--

    The courier's movements slow as she realizes Ida's manner still hasn't improved.

    "... Ida..." Gwen's hands clasp against the table. "... Sorry. I got a little carried away, earlier. It was just.... it's nice, to know that you know how that feels, too." She gives a nod to Citan. "We were talking about how the battle went. I'm too used to just looking at what my ARM does as just... life. Honestly, I was just thinkin', though. One of the first people who actually saw past all my BS... was you, Ida."

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    "That would be lovely," Ida says, her strained smile growing more genuine at the offer. "I could... use a simple meal, with friendly company." She's been returning home whenever she can, but her family situation is complicated. There's so much she can't tell them.

    For now, she takes a seat. "And tea would be very welcome, thank you." Something familiar. A taste of home. Ida falls silent for a long moment, letting Gwen explain things. "I had a long time to think about what's happened," she says, when she finally speaks. "It isn't just Fafnir. It's how it's changed me. Some days it's welcome--something to investigate, or take pride in--and other days it feels like a curse. Something forced into my body by my arrogance, and my desperate hopes. Something that makes me a freak."

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "Then, I'll make certain that I make enough for the both of you as well," Yui replies. "Dear, did grandfather tell you if he would be returning?"

    Citan's response is to shake his head.

    "That's like him... I suppose in the worst case, Fei will be around even if he doesn't arrive." The young man does like to eat...

    Citan starts to rise when Ida, speaking to Gwen who has also noticed her poorer mood, indicates she would not mind a cup of tea. But Yui is the quicker on the draw as it were, gesturing to him that he should sit back down as she pushes in her chair and walks over to the counter in the center of the cafe.

    "I see..." he muses, as Ida explains more about her feelings on what's happened to her. He crosses his arms over his chest, as if in deep contemplation. "It would be a normal way to feel, I believe... when our lives suddenly and irrevocably change. Whether it happens as a result of our own decisions or simply as an accident, it is normal to feel at a bit of a loss, one might say. This is not to compare your situation to the loss of, ah," Citan fidgets with his glasses a moment, trying not to look at Gwen. "Well, let us say 'any sort of medical event'. But there are similarities."

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    It's in this way Gwen and Ida differ, in their individual dealings with their additions. Gwen hides her ARM to fit in, but her flirting with fear of her ARM has been mercifully limited to the times when others have tried to bring that out. Like Ida has, ironically, in the past, while she was a hellion.

    Gwen always had a choice. She would have had a short life, but it would have been a full one. Frea was a woman to kept her promises.

    When Ida finally speaks, Gwen listens, leaning forward on one elbow on the table, her expression far too sober for a woman who was looking for gin moments ago.

    The courier takes it in, takes in a long breath, then releases through her nose. "Yeah, it is pretty normal, to think that. My acceptance is 'cause of my own experiences." She directs her attention to Citan, and nods. "There's similarities between our arms, if that's what you were referrin' to, Doc." She gives him a small grin. "But the differences probably color how we act."

    The grin disappears as she lowers her gaze to the table, not willing to meet Ida's eyes. "And what probably didn't help.... what happened, that night, in Luca." Her voice's volume decreases as she speaks, to the point that the town's name is just a small pindrop of a sound. "Is there... something I can do, Ida? Something that can help? I know y'might not have anything in mind, but if there's somethin' I can do *because* of who I am, or even to make up for the shit that happened... I'd like to help, there. It ain't fair to leave you feelin' like that."

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida hasn't forgotten the night when she visited Gwen in her dreams, and tried to torment her to feed the Umbral Mirror. The only way she could be happy was to escape, and to escape, she had to inflict misery on others, and didn't they deserve it for having hope when she was mired in despair?

    Gwen looks at her, and Ida sinks back into herself once she's done speaking, as if she realized what a hypocrite she is. She swallows. "I'm sorry," she says. "I just--" Citan calls it normal. Ida takes a deep breath, and lets it out. She reminds herself that she doesn't need anyone else's blessing to exist, but the words ring hollow, as they do sometimes when she's in low moods. "Everything's piled up on itself. I keep trying to find meaning in this, to turn it into a--a punishment, or a blessing, or something. But it's senseless. Like having an arm torn off because you reached into a machine at the wrong time. Luisa said she trusted me, and Fei said he'd--"

    But notably, those are not Ida's family. They aren't her closest kin. "It feels like everything came loose."

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "It was, ah, something of that nature," he hazards, rubbing briefly at the side of his neck. "But perhaps less impolite. I did not mean to draw attention to your own situation," he sighs, closing his eyes for the moment.

    "It is normal, too, I think, to attempt to assign meaning to what happens to us," the doctor muses, glancing away from the both of them, once, and over at the counter where his wife stands, her back to him. "And I do not think, necessarily, that this is a bad thing for us to do as people."

    Hasn't he himself often assigned portent to events? Wondered if they held some greater meaning? The world they're in is one shackled to the past -- is it so unreasonable to search for what it all means?

    But it's also possible that everything that is, simply is. That it flows from one point to the next, affected by what came before but telling as much of a story as a mountain stream.

    The story of her life, Ida as much says, is unfixed, fluttering in the breeze. It's come loose.

    "...If that is the case, what will you do next, Miss Everstead-Rey?"

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    Ida speaks, and Gwen is now the one who looks guilty. Why is Ida the one who's apologizing, when Gwen was the one who--

     .... What exactly did Gwen do, that night?

     Gwen, after some thought, wets her lips and speaks. "... Maybe it just is. If two people drowning in the same sea come to cling on the same piece of driftwood, would it matter if it was due to fate or chance? The point bein', calling it fate or a curse means the agency of what choices you can make are taken from you. The two people clingin' to the driftwood can become friends, acquaintances, lovers, enemies, or just.... can be whatever they wanna be, if and when they survive. And they don't have to stay one way or another, or just be one thing." Gwen's eyes, look up towards Ida, the color of morning fog. "Your arm can be a blessing and a curse. You can like it, you can hate it, or you can be neutral 'bout it. What matters is that it's you here, Ida, bein' able to make decisions."

    Gwen then hesitates, then chuckles sheepishly, rubbing her neck. "... Sorry, I mean, I guess that's just how I view it. You've helped me through some tough parts of my journey too with your advice, so... I figure, the best thing t'do is offer mine. But... I'd argue your life bein' loose was how a lot of the happiest parts of your life happened. Like, well, Kalve. That's the part of you that shines, in my eyes."

    The courier quiets again, her gaze searching Citan face for his take.

    And Citan proves to be the be the one with the question that does to the heart of the matter.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    "It's the lapsed Granasite in me," Ida says, after a long moment. She looks across the table, meets Citan's eyes. She hasn't been open with that 'lapsed' part, and letting it out feels like she's exposed. "Ever since I was a girl, they taught me to think in terms of Light and Darkness, Good and Evil. Everything has a divine purpose, save where Evil twists it. It's a hard habit to break, even now." Tears glimmer in her eyes. "I don't know if I still believe. If I can believe, after what I saw."

    She falls silent, then, listens. Gwen gives her a reminder of how messy life can be. Citan asks a simple question. Ida feels the urge to apologize to the others for troubling them with her problems, but then she breathes, identifies the guilt for what it is, sits with it a moment. Even if it feels like she's fallen apart--like she's gone back on what she told Liath before the purge, before Stone--the threads of her resolve remain.

    "Thank you, Gwen," Ida whispers. She turns to Citan, then. "I--I have to tell them what happened. I don't know how."

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "Hmm..." Citan muses, leaning back in his seat again. "The beliefs with which we have grown up... it can be a difficult thing, indeed, to shake them and begin to believe differently."

    But of course he would know that quite well, having spent his youth as a citizen of Solaris. Those of the Third Class were the foundation upon which all else was constructed. That had been their station in life. And yet...

    He falls silent, as Gwen gives voice to her own opinion of what life means -- the twists and turns and wanderings away from the path (if there was indeed ever one to start with) that appear to affect all lives.

    "At times the direction our lives can take can surprise us," he remarks at length, before asking Ida that important question: if she's come loose from what her life was 'supposed' to be, what does she intend to do now?

    She has to tell them, she says. She just doesn't know how.

    "Your family, do you mean? Regarding what has happened, or...?"

    Yui's arrival a moment later might be a welcome one, as she brings a steaming cup of tea in hand.

    "I thought that 'ginger with honey' might suit you, Ida," she says, setting the cup carefully in front of her before retaking her seat. "I find it never fails to cheer me up on darker days."

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    "Yeah, I get that. I mean, it's not like it's a bad way of looking at things. Certainly lends a sense of comfort to people, brings order to a chaotic world." Gwen's eyes go back to the table, as her fingers lace together. "... I haven't been the best support there, I imagine. Growin' up at the orphanage, everything felt so... far away. Like they were untouchable truths. Livin' with Auntie kinda demolished all that in me-- she still has trouble thinkin' Guardians exist. But.. I wouldn't call what Auntie believes a 'truth' either."

     It would make sense for someone like Gwen to think this, right? As someone who was Left Behind.

     .... But how does that help Ida? "I think it's gonna take a while before everyone comes to grips with what happened. The Ethos could maybe reform and go back to a more truer form that existed before Solaris got involved, maybe. I guess... we all gotta find what this all means to us, n' how to make it better."

    Ida reveals her most pressing worry, and Gwen's freckled cheeks blanch. That's.... going to be tough. Tougher than telling them Ida's fiancee's a Hyadean.

    Gwen looks at Citan, confident he'd have some answers.

    He does not.

    She finds the next best thing.

    "So, ah, Doc, Yui. What would you two do, if you guys were in the same position?"

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida remembers what Citan told her. She meets his gaze with a somber, knowing look, wondering what he experienced in his days before Jugend. Before he somehow got the chance to prove himself in the eyes of his "betters". Ida never had that struggle. Instead, she grew up in a gilded cage; high society had embellished it, but it was still very much a prison.

    Ida lets out a soft breath. She tries not to think of the first Papal decree, and how the Office of the Grand Inquisitor was the only one that hadn't changed hands. She tries not to think about how her Mediums feel less foreign, and how she called out to Grudiev--not God, not Granas--in moments of trial, asking for his strength.

    "I already told them about Kalve," Ida says, perhaps trying to head off Gwen's worries at the pass. And then, Yui, with tea. Ida smiles, takes the cup. "Mother used to make that for me when I was ill," she says. "It smells like home. Thank you."

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "You're quite welcome," Yui tells her, smiling gently. "I hope that you get back to feeling like yourself soon, Ida."

    Citan, meanwhile, as Gwen realizes, does not always have all the answers.

    Even when she attempts to rephrase the question somewhat.

    "In the same position... hmm... that is a difficult question..." he muses, rubbing at his chin.

    "Being that direct has never been his strong point," Yui asides to both of the girls.

    Citan's own response is to sigh -- though is he trying not to smile? -- and admit, "I cannot help how I am."

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    "Whoah, that's good to know! Maybe Kalve might have some id--"

    Gwen then imagines Kalve staring blankly as Ida attempts to explain to him the concept of 'my parents may think Hyadean tissue grafted onto me is scary'.

    Citan proves to not be much help, so Gwen muses, a knuckle to her chin.

    "... This arm has something to do with your ancestors, right, Ida? Why not just... term it as something like that? You were looking into your family's past and a part of it grafted onto you. You are trying to figure out what this all means, you apologize for keeping it secret, and you wish for them to...." Gwen taps a finger on the table. "Well, they can have their opinions, but like, liking something and understanding that what your family member needs is support and that you're not exactly wantin' to show it... uh..."

    Of course Gwen wouldn't know. She's not like these people. She's foreign to them, someone with no center. The Stranger said as much-- Gwen waves her hands limply. "... I might've misremembered the whole ancestor part, but, like, maybe that'll soften things up? I mean, looking into your family's past is by itself pretty noble, n' you've been handlin' all this the best you can, considerin' you've had to just go from there."

    Or, Ida could possibly...

    "... Maybe.... Fafnir... might have some level, of understanding."

    She touches on this timidly like the firebrand it seems to be. "... I think I met him. In a dream once. Maybe you might be able to? I... don't know." Her fingers fidget. "Maybe I was just dreamin' it all myself, but Zed was there, and...." Another Gwen.

    A child Gwen, a mirror twin of her old self.

    Gwen shakes her head, then looks down, defeated. ".... I wish I had answers, Ida... I wanna see you feel like you don't have to hide any part of yourself from your own family on your own wedding day."

    She wipes her eyes, as tears begin to collect. "... Bah, sorry, gettin' all teary-eyed." She straightens. "Yui, if you could! I'd like a cup of what Ida's havin' too! Tonight, we'll drink tea, and worry tomorrow!"

    gwen no don't advocate this line of thinking this is bad