[ By the fourth day after reviving, Shi Qingxuan still isn't over his need for constant experiences and stimulation. His fan hasn't left his hand since recovering it, and as if desperately wanting the world to know where his title comes from, the Wind Master hasn't stopped fanning himself as he walks through the ship.
A constant whirl of fresh air accompanies him everywhere, carrying away the heat and humidity. Even in a place where heat and humidity are blessedly absent, the fan is still going—like at the ice cream case at Scoops, where a cool breeze ruffles Rita's hair before Shi Qingxuan himself even fully steps up beside her to survey the current selection.
There are so many choices... Even before considering the candy toppings (!!), there are enough flavors on display to make Shi Qingxuan pause and stare.
...but only for a moment, before cutting to the chase and asking for a recommendation instead. ]
Say, Rita, which one of these is your favorite? You have a sweet tooth, don't you? What do you recommend?
[ Does he know she has a sweet tooth? No. Is he assuming that based on her age? Y...es... ]
[Rita doesn't have it nearly as bad as those who were possessed earlier. Sure, there's--a lingering fear that what's waiting for them really is worse than death if they don't do something about it, and sometimes she just...needs to run her fingers over something for the touch, or feel the sea breeze that she used to dislike, or...the strangest of all, she needs to take a break from working on her blastia. She'd usually pour all her concentration into it for days, sometimes even weeks on end, barely eating or drinking and refusing to interacting with anyone.
--Too much of that, though, and she ended up thinking about the void. And then it was hard to concentrate, so...she's taking a break. A break from something as important as her blastia! What has she come to?
Well, she's come to staring at the ice cream, because she's still tired and not sleeping all that well, and for some reason that makes choosing a flavour really hard. There's a surprisingly refreshing breeze all of a sudden, though, and she finds herself closing her eyes and letting it play with her hair without really thinking--until Shi Qingxuan's voice breaks the spell, and Rita turns to him.
...This guy again, huh... Rita doesn't actually know whether or not he was possessed at any point. Even with the hypnosis no longer affecting her, she doesn't recall him acting any different than usual... Not that it should matter now, anyway. They're all back to normal, aren't they? So after a long moment of giving him a tired, considering look, she turns back to the ice cream. Huh...did she ever tell him she liked this stuff? Well, whatever.]
My recommendation...?
[She wonders if he'd pull a dumb face if she convinced him to try the garlic one, but... Surely even he isn't that gullible. (She bets Estelle would've tried it. Maybe she would've even liked the stranger combinations.) Instead, she ends up sighing.]
If you're not sure, why not just try a little of everything? It looks like it's all restocking itself again...
[This might also be Rita's way of saying that it's impossible for her to have a singular favourite when so many of them are so good.]
That's not a bad idea. [ Shi Qingxuan snaps his fan shut against his palm, and the breeze stops. ] Very well, I'll have a little sample of each and see how they are and go back for the best. At worst, I'll get a stomach ache.
[ Usually, he wouldn't be so eager to eat so much, but part of his mind nags at him, If you don't try them now, you'll never be able to taste them.
He grabs a decently sized bowl from one of the shelves, passing a similarly sized one over to Rita. ]
[--Huh, the breeze was coming from him. It's a vague observation in the back of her mind as she gives him a dubious look. Boy, he sounds like a reckless kid there...]
I didn't mean immediately, you know... You can try more tomorrow if you're that interested...
[She does take the bowl, though, and proceeds to scoop herself some chocolate chip cookie dough. Why, yes, she was holding the scoop this whole time!]
[ A little subdued there (which is very subdued coming from Shi Qingxuan), but since she has the scoop, she can go first, and he can decide which...however many flavors he should get for himself!
Not wanting to stand in silence, though, he immediately begins talking again: ]
Some of these flavors are strange, aren't they? Even if I look at the tubs, I don't know what some of them are, and that charcoal one looks like someone really did just grind some charcoal and form it into ice cream. Who eats like that?
[...That seems like a pretty weird reaction, but then he keeps talking, so she doesn't worry about it and simply gets herself a single scoop of ice cream--even for this, she doesn't have a huge appetite right now.]
Have you forgotten where you are? You can't expect it all to be normal flavours. I mean, look--
[She gestures with the scoop to a tub labelled MISO. Miso is fine as an ingredient in savoury foods...but ice cream?! Rita thinks that's just insanity.]
Normal people don't eat ice cream flavoured with that.
[ Aaand it takes approximately only two minutes since Shi Qingxuan stopped fanning himself to start again, idly waving his fan and stirring up a breeze. ]
But miso is a food? Some of these things can't even qualify as a food, so you can't put them on the same level.
[ Oh, an idea has entered his fluffy brain, and he suddenly pipes up: ]
The miso flavor must be a frozen version for preparing the soup base. That's why it's there.
[Ah, that nice breeze again--though she notices the movement of the fan out of the corner of her eye, she's distracted by his comment.]
Hm...alright, then here you go.
[And instead of giving him the scoop, she's going to scoop some of the miso-flavour ice cream into a bowl, which she holds out to him. (She also did not clean the scoop after getting her cookie dough...]
Try it and see if you're right.
[She highly doubts it's just frozen miso soup base, but maybe it'd be a little amusing to see his face when he tries it.]
[ He takes it automatically in his free hand, looking down at the chunk of reddish ice cream that's helpfully flecked with chocolate and sweet cream thanks to Rita. ]
Right now?? Do you want a soup to go with your ice cream now?? If you mix both like that, you give yourself a stomach ache.
[ He looks from Rita to the bowl of ice cream and back again. He said that, but he wasn't thinking seriously—much less that his ice cream run would turn into a soup run. ]
Aren't you just using me as an excuse to satisfied your own curiosity now? I might have guessed at what it was, but that doesn't mean I wanted to have an entire scoop of it now?
[ ... But he did say it, and Rita's already contaminated this scoop so he can't just toss it back into the carton with a clear conscience. The more he thinks of it, the more his face falls.
Sigh!! ]
Fine, I'll give it a try! If it's good, you can have it next.
Says the guy who was already talking about trying every single one. Now put your money where your mouth is!
[Yeah she's going to egg him on even more--and he even gives in to trying it. Okay, now she just has to see how this turns out. Meanwhile, she's going to dip her spoon into her scoop of cookie dough.]
Me? I'm already good with this one. That flavour's all yours.
[ This is awful. An attack on his pride! And sadly, he has too much pride to back down—but despite how much he'd rather not turn his ice cream day into a soup day, he's already puffing up to make the most of it! Fine, it's a savory soup day instead of a sweet ice cream day! ]
Really? I wouldn't have expected that of you. You always seemed more creative than that.
[ And you know what? He'll take that scoop and spoon in a little of the garlic ice cream, too. This is what it means to be alive again! ]
[Ah, she'd forgotten how good it feels to push someone like him around and watch him work himself up. Her mood is already picking up a bit, and eating her little spoonful of cookie dough ice cream is a perfect pairing to top it off.]
Hmph--isn't it obvious? I am creative, but I also have good taste.
[That should be obvious!! Also...wow, he's just...making this worse for himself, now?! She didn't actually expect him to add a second gross-sounding flavour. Now she really has to see his reaction...]
[She rolls her eyes but also shrugs, because if he really wants to eat gross warm ice cream soup, he can. Either way, she wants to see him react to the flavour, so she ends up sliding into the seat across from him.]
If it's soup base, then I'm not eating it cold. It will taste stranger if it's cold!
[ Huff... He also goes ahead and pulls a tall, thin, frosted bottle out of who-knows-where and sets it on the table. Like this is a proper mealtime. ]
I've had miso soup, but it's not normally this color. [ Aaand thankfully the bowl is glass, so if he starts slowly heating it with fire from above, he can gradually warm the bowl and melt the ice cream. ] Of course I've had normal ice cream before too...
[ By, like, ancient standards, so not really "normal" by the ship's standards. ]
[She can't help but snort, since she's pretty sure it's going to taste strange no matter what temperature it is, although she's still betting on warm being worse. So he's had ice cream but still thinks it's just regular soup base... He's about to be in for a surprise, then. Fine, she won't stop him from turning it into gross soup!
Don't mind her enjoying a small spoonful of her own ice cream, chewing on a small chunk of the cookie dough as she raises an eyebrow at the bottle, which is slightly oddly shaped for a wine bottle enough that she doesn't know what it is.]
Do you really need to drink with ice cream? I mean, it melts into a liquid in your mouth, so it's not like you have to wash it down.
[ He's going to slowly heat his ice cream soup into actual soup! No-one can stop him!!
It's actually nice to sit here with Rita. She never ignores him (or maybe she doesn't like to be ignored?) so she's always talking, and the continuous clink of her eating her own ice cream breaks up the otherwise monotonous hum of the lights overhead and the quiet of the ship.
Yeah, he likes this. Smiling proudly, he answers: ]
Ha! You don't need it, but there's no reason not to enjoy it. This drink is called "ice wine". Since it's called such, it's only appropriate to enjoy it alongside ice cream.
[ While his slowly sinks into a strange red and yellow puddle... ]
[Maybe Rita likes company more than she'd be willing to admit...and Shi Qingxuan isn't actually terrible to chat with, even if he can be a bit much sometimes! (Shhh the same totally can't be said for her...)
After he explains, she glances down at his bowl with a flat look.]
And yet yours isn't even ice cream anymore...
[She gives the bottle a once-over, not especially interested in what it is but asks anyway-]
So, what, it's just called that because it's cold? How boring.
I wouldn't have chosen to have cold soup base if I were by myself, but since you're here, it became a soup trip.
As for the wine, I'm not sure. [ He starts, then starts going on while his ice cream starts to simmer in its bowl. The smell is...exactly what cream and red miso usually smell like when heated, with the faint smell of garlic in the background. ] Other wine here is taken cold, but they're not called "ice wine," so maybe it's special? Like a wine created from rare ice fruits that grow in the remote mountains. The bottle is so small, it must be something where larger batches aren't feasible.
[ He makes a swirling gesture with a finger and dislodges the cork out with a pop. ]
[She shrugs; he really is insistent on calling it soup...even as the more pungent smells of the miso and garlic are clearly mixed with sweetness from the cream.]
Hmm...not that the rarity matters that much here.
[She makes a face when he offers her a taste, though.]
All that stuff just tastes gross, doesn't it? It's basically drinking solvent...
[She might be tempted if he tells her this one's different and sweet, though!]
That's not true. [ He lifts a hand. ] Some alcohols are harsh and bitter, but not all of them are so astringent. Those ones are not good. [ By his own palate, ahem. ] This one is sweet on the tongue and smooth on the throat; it can't be compared to other dry wines.
[ You know what. He's just going to pour some into a cup for her. It's not much - in case she just spits it out and wastes it! - but it's enough to give her a taste. ]
Here. Of all the wines I've tried, this one is the most naturally sweet. Here, here, give it a try before you curse it.
[Isn't that what such people always say about their alcohol of choice? This guy's clearly just another lush!
...Fine, she'll test his claim that this lamp fuel is supposedly sweet. She picks up the cup, sniffs it--okay, it doesn't burn her nostrils, but that doesn't mean anything for the taste.]
You've probably destroyed all your taste buds with this stuff, you know. Here, I'll prove it!
[One little sip. That's all she needs to force down, even if it tastes just as awful as...she expected...? She blinks. There's...sweetness dancing across her tongue and the inside of her cheeks. Surely, this can't be--she has to finish what he gave her just to be sure!!
......And, wordlessly, she holds the cup out for him. Refill! He barely gave her enough to try!]
[11/5] Rita
A constant whirl of fresh air accompanies him everywhere, carrying away the heat and humidity. Even in a place where heat and humidity are blessedly absent, the fan is still going—like at the ice cream case at Scoops, where a cool breeze ruffles Rita's hair before Shi Qingxuan himself even fully steps up beside her to survey the current selection.
There are so many choices... Even before considering the candy toppings (!!), there are enough flavors on display to make Shi Qingxuan pause and stare.
...but only for a moment, before cutting to the chase and asking for a recommendation instead. ]
Say, Rita, which one of these is your favorite? You have a sweet tooth, don't you? What do you recommend?
[ Does he know she has a sweet tooth? No. Is he assuming that based on her age? Y...es... ]
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--Too much of that, though, and she ended up thinking about the void. And then it was hard to concentrate, so...she's taking a break. A break from something as important as her blastia! What has she come to?
Well, she's come to staring at the ice cream, because she's still tired and not sleeping all that well, and for some reason that makes choosing a flavour really hard. There's a surprisingly refreshing breeze all of a sudden, though, and she finds herself closing her eyes and letting it play with her hair without really thinking--until Shi Qingxuan's voice breaks the spell, and Rita turns to him.
...This guy again, huh... Rita doesn't actually know whether or not he was possessed at any point. Even with the hypnosis no longer affecting her, she doesn't recall him acting any different than usual... Not that it should matter now, anyway. They're all back to normal, aren't they? So after a long moment of giving him a tired, considering look, she turns back to the ice cream. Huh...did she ever tell him she liked this stuff? Well, whatever.]
My recommendation...?
[She wonders if he'd pull a dumb face if she convinced him to try the garlic one, but... Surely even he isn't that gullible. (She bets Estelle would've tried it. Maybe she would've even liked the stranger combinations.) Instead, she ends up sighing.]
If you're not sure, why not just try a little of everything? It looks like it's all restocking itself again...
[This might also be Rita's way of saying that it's impossible for her to have a singular favourite when so many of them are so good.]
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That's not a bad idea. [ Shi Qingxuan snaps his fan shut against his palm, and the breeze stops. ] Very well, I'll have a little sample of each and see how they are and go back for the best. At worst, I'll get a stomach ache.
[ Usually, he wouldn't be so eager to eat so much, but part of his mind nags at him, If you don't try them now, you'll never be able to taste them.
He grabs a decently sized bowl from one of the shelves, passing a similarly sized one over to Rita. ]
Let's see...
[ ...and where is the ice cream scoop... ]
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I didn't mean immediately, you know... You can try more tomorrow if you're that interested...
[She does take the bowl, though, and proceeds to scoop herself some chocolate chip cookie dough. Why, yes, she was holding the scoop this whole time!]
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[ A little subdued there (which is very subdued coming from Shi Qingxuan), but since she has the scoop, she can go first, and he can decide which...however many flavors he should get for himself!
Not wanting to stand in silence, though, he immediately begins talking again: ]
Some of these flavors are strange, aren't they? Even if I look at the tubs, I don't know what some of them are, and that charcoal one looks like someone really did just grind some charcoal and form it into ice cream. Who eats like that?
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Have you forgotten where you are? You can't expect it all to be normal flavours. I mean, look--
[She gestures with the scoop to a tub labelled MISO. Miso is fine as an ingredient in savoury foods...but ice cream?! Rita thinks that's just insanity.]
Normal people don't eat ice cream flavoured with that.
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But miso is a food? Some of these things can't even qualify as a food, so you can't put them on the same level.
[ Oh, an idea has entered his fluffy brain, and he suddenly pipes up: ]
The miso flavor must be a frozen version for preparing the soup base. That's why it's there.
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Hm...alright, then here you go.
[And instead of giving him the scoop, she's going to scoop some of the miso-flavour ice cream into a bowl, which she holds out to him. (She also did not clean the scoop after getting her cookie dough...]
Try it and see if you're right.
[She highly doubts it's just frozen miso soup base, but maybe it'd be a little amusing to see his face when he tries it.]
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[ He takes it automatically in his free hand, looking down at the chunk of reddish ice cream that's helpfully flecked with chocolate and sweet cream thanks to Rita. ]
Right now?? Do you want a soup to go with your ice cream now?? If you mix both like that, you give yourself a stomach ache.
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[She makes a face as she grabs a pair of spoons and shoves one at Qingxuan.]
You were interested in all the flavours, so you're the one trying it out, not me.
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[ He looks from Rita to the bowl of ice cream and back again. He said that, but he wasn't thinking seriously—much less that his ice cream run would turn into a soup run. ]
Aren't you just using me as an excuse to satisfied your own curiosity now? I might have guessed at what it was, but that doesn't mean I wanted to have an entire scoop of it now?
[ ... But he did say it, and Rita's already contaminated this scoop so he can't just toss it back into the carton with a clear conscience. The more he thinks of it, the more his face falls.
Sigh!! ]
Fine, I'll give it a try! If it's good, you can have it next.
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[Yeah she's going to egg him on even more--and he even gives in to trying it. Okay, now she just has to see how this turns out. Meanwhile, she's going to dip her spoon into her scoop of cookie dough.]
Me? I'm already good with this one. That flavour's all yours.
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Really? I wouldn't have expected that of you. You always seemed more creative than that.
[ And you know what? He'll take that scoop and spoon in a little of the garlic ice cream, too. This is what it means to be alive again! ]
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Hmph--isn't it obvious? I am creative, but I also have good taste.
[That should be obvious!! Also...wow, he's just...making this worse for himself, now?! She didn't actually expect him to add a second gross-sounding flavour. Now she really has to see his reaction...]
Go on, try it.
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[ Really now, Rita! ]
Come on, come on, let's sit down. Unless you were planning to walk around while eating?
[ Because he was not! He's going to start walking to one of the booths and plop himself down before he heats up his...soup. ]
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[She rolls her eyes but also shrugs, because if he really wants to eat gross warm ice cream soup, he can. Either way, she wants to see him react to the flavour, so she ends up sliding into the seat across from him.]
Haven't you tried any of this stuff before?
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[ Huff... He also goes ahead and pulls a tall, thin, frosted bottle out of who-knows-where and sets it on the table. Like this is a proper mealtime. ]
I've had miso soup, but it's not normally this color. [ Aaand thankfully the bowl is glass, so if he starts slowly heating it with fire from above, he can gradually warm the bowl and melt the ice cream. ] Of course I've had normal ice cream before too...
[ By, like, ancient standards, so not really "normal" by the ship's standards. ]
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[She can't help but snort, since she's pretty sure it's going to taste strange no matter what temperature it is, although she's still betting on warm being worse. So he's had ice cream but still thinks it's just regular soup base... He's about to be in for a surprise, then. Fine, she won't stop him from turning it into gross soup!
Don't mind her enjoying a small spoonful of her own ice cream, chewing on a small chunk of the cookie dough as she raises an eyebrow at the bottle, which is slightly oddly shaped for a wine bottle enough that she doesn't know what it is.]
Do you really need to drink with ice cream? I mean, it melts into a liquid in your mouth, so it's not like you have to wash it down.
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It's actually nice to sit here with Rita. She never ignores him (or maybe she doesn't like to be ignored?) so she's always talking, and the continuous clink of her eating her own ice cream breaks up the otherwise monotonous hum of the lights overhead and the quiet of the ship.
Yeah, he likes this. Smiling proudly, he answers: ]
Ha! You don't need it, but there's no reason not to enjoy it. This drink is called "ice wine". Since it's called such, it's only appropriate to enjoy it alongside ice cream.
[ While his slowly sinks into a strange red and yellow puddle... ]
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After he explains, she glances down at his bowl with a flat look.]
And yet yours isn't even ice cream anymore...
[She gives the bottle a once-over, not especially interested in what it is but asks anyway-]
So, what, it's just called that because it's cold? How boring.
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I wouldn't have chosen to have cold soup base if I were by myself, but since you're here, it became a soup trip.
As for the wine, I'm not sure. [ He starts, then starts going on while his ice cream starts to simmer in its bowl. The smell is...exactly what cream and red miso usually smell like when heated, with the faint smell of garlic in the background. ] Other wine here is taken cold, but they're not called "ice wine," so maybe it's special? Like a wine created from rare ice fruits that grow in the remote mountains. The bottle is so small, it must be something where larger batches aren't feasible.
[ He makes a swirling gesture with a finger and dislodges the cork out with a pop. ]
Do you want to try it and see?
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Hmm...not that the rarity matters that much here.
[She makes a face when he offers her a taste, though.]
All that stuff just tastes gross, doesn't it? It's basically drinking solvent...
[She might be tempted if he tells her this one's different and sweet, though!]
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[ You know what. He's just going to pour some into a cup for her. It's not much - in case she just spits it out and wastes it! - but it's enough to give her a taste. ]
Here. Of all the wines I've tried, this one is the most naturally sweet. Here, here, give it a try before you curse it.
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[Isn't that what such people always say about their alcohol of choice? This guy's clearly just another lush!
...Fine, she'll test his claim that this lamp fuel is supposedly sweet. She picks up the cup, sniffs it--okay, it doesn't burn her nostrils, but that doesn't mean anything for the taste.]
You've probably destroyed all your taste buds with this stuff, you know. Here, I'll prove it!
[One little sip. That's all she needs to force down, even if it tastes just as awful as...she expected...? She blinks. There's...sweetness dancing across her tongue and the inside of her cheeks. Surely, this can't be--she has to finish what he gave her just to be sure!!
......And, wordlessly, she holds the cup out for him. Refill! He barely gave her enough to try!]
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He doesn't rise to her taunting. Rita can needle him all she wants, he's stands by what he says!
...even so, he wasn't expecting her to take to it this quickly. His eyes widen, and the flame under his hand extinguishes with his surprise.
Then, he chuckles and refills her glass to a normal, modest amount. ]
Now, since you've tried it, tell me your verdict. Is it bitter and unpleasant?
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