[FREE] - An Idle Worry - (OPEN)

[Nagareboshi Koi]

The most taxing of dilemmas were always the ones where your heart had no opinion on the matter.

The inferno within the hearth gingerly licked away at the logs that ignited it, tongues of blistering, yet soothing heat testing the boundaries of their reach, only to inevitably flee back to the safety of multiplicity. It was a peculiar dance of nature, true, and yet she couldn’t tear her eyes away. 

Even though the heart of an explorer beat behind a cage of bones, Koi couldn’t truly push herself to move from her spot before the fireplace. The remnants of what she was certain was frostbite still tingled on her numb fingertips, an uncomfortable cold pinching at her skin. The only way those chilling prickles seemed to quell was when she curled up in front of the hearth, relishing in the dim, home-y glow of the fire— and though she wanted to turn this lodge upside down and find every sweet little secret, the comfort of her position always kept her hesitating a moment longer.

Those cute little critters had offered two whole floors’ worth of exploring. She’d neglected to truly peruse through the maps, wanting instead to let the lodge surprise her— but she hadn’t moved, instead taking her time in battling the cold blooming within her, letting her nerves settle before she sought out any classmates or rooms. The chatter from earlier had truthfully been a touch overwhelming for her— but part of her job was dividing up noise and focus. Separating the idle chatter of her coworkers and the curly ink of her own notes was integral in accomplishing anything.

...So perhaps, even though it went against her instincts, she didn’t have to rush to explore every little thing. 

Koi folded her arms briefly, trying to shield herself from the echoes of frigidity that still loomed on her skin, a dry hum softly lingering beneath her breath. Despite the irritation of her inability to escape the cold, she did enjoy the serenity of her surroundings. A sweet, tranquil silence permeating through the air and a glow of warmth at the heart of the room all made for the prime ambience. If only she had a book— some activity to banish the guilt of idleness!

Just as she readjusted her position, hoping to find some bookshelves to scan through in order to truly top off her relaxation, the unmistakable sound of footsteps resonated through the wooden floorboards.

Despite the true normality of the sound, the paleontologist jumped before she could begin to quell her nerves.

“O-Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you at first! Hehe, you surprised me a bit...”

A nervous chuckle escaped her sheepish smile. Her expression was wrought with an embarrassment she failed to veil, and she fidgeted ever so slightly, carefully trimmed fingernails drumming against her opposite wrist. 

“...y-you’re still cold as well, huh? Well, the fireplace is nice and warm, so feel free to join me!”

[Mukizu Gonkuro]

—— A butler should be the most well-informed of any situation. In truth, any person with a job subservient to others should be well-prepared to know everything and anything, be one step ahead of others, and be capable of surprising them with just how efficient they are at helping run things smoothly and cater to them wholly.

So imagine the surprise that Mukizu holds when he plainly sees that another student is in the very place he had been hoping to examine more carefully before anyone else. He had naturally assumed everyone would have left that room as soon as possible, but one student remained: it was an error on his part, a miscalculation.

He supposed he still needed to learn more about his peers here if he were to ever accommodate them.

    "Oh no, I offer my sincerest apologies to you, actually. I should have announced my presence before coming in so as to prepare you for my entrance. It had been an uncharacteristic slip of the mind for me to presume that no one might still linger here."

Though he wasn't as cold as she probably was, he nonetheless took her invitation since it seemed like the polite thing to do. It would be heavily shameful if her invite was, in fact, actually a command and he were to refuse it-- better to be on the safe side especially with someone you did not know very well.

    "Thank you. The material of your clothes... are they thinner than I had thought?"

He eyes her sleeve, perhaps too long for what was socially acceptable, but his heavy gaze was strictly analytical-- almost as if he didn't see the woman wearing the clothes but just the fabric itself.

    "I doubt there is much I can find for an alternative here unfortunately, especially considering that picking clothes is supposed to be my expertise, but might I offer you my jacket to help combat the oncoming chill?"

[Nagareboshi Koi]

Out of everyone Koi had expected to be approached by first, this boy certainly did not top the list.

With a more distant air to his stance and countenance, crimson eyes betraying no wild emotion or opinion, she couldn’t help but assume that he was the less outgoing type— withdrawn and calm, preferring to cling to the comfortable edges of any given room. At a first glance, she’d perceived him as one of those dating sim characters that took ages to successfully romance— the brooding type that guarded his heart all the way until the outskirts of his route. The white hair certainly didn’t help to break that mental image.

Of course, perhaps it was... arbitrary of her to connect the complexities of human personalities with tropes she’d see in visual novels or manga. 

The paleontologist smiled, albeit awkwardly, at her newfound compatriot, trying her best to not feel a touch timid in his presence. Upholding a conversation could be difficult for her, especially with new people she knew next to nothing about— how could she formulate any guesses on what topics to approach and avoid, on what she needed to do or not do? Not to mention that the butler seemed so...refined and elegant, like he knew exactly how to guide a conversation.

This was going to be awkward, she could feel it. Anxiety spiked in her heart, bristling throughout her veins and branching through every system in her body. Her expression was meek and unassuming.

At least she could blame the slight shaking of her hands on the cold.

”W-well, it’s very nice to meet you. My name is Nagareboshi Koi, and I am the Super High School Level Paleontologist — who might you be?”

Introductions seemed solid, so far— no excessive stutters or unnecessary comments, just a to-the-point statement of who she was and what she did. There’d been no oversharing or babbling. She’d managed an acceptable and simple conversation starter. Feeling a surge of pride quell some of that bristling anxiety, she relaxed her shoulders, exiling the tension bubbling along her muscles.

And then his offer came, and she crashed right back down into that abyss of nerves.

”O-Oh, there’s no need for that! I’d hate to trouble you, a-and it’s cold, so I’d rather you not go jacket-less...thank you for the kindness, though. It’s very sweet!”

Offering a smile she hoped didn’t seem forced or unsettling, Koi readjusted her position, searching for an additional bit of comfort. So far, so good.

[Mukizu Gonkuro]

—— He must have seemed more intimidating than he thought if the paleontologist's stammering was anything to go by. He wondered if it had taken a great deal of courage for her to have invited him to join her at the fireplace in the first place, and if being put in a situation where she had to remember so many names fired one after another had been too overwhelming.

    "It is a pleasure to be acquainted with you as well, Nagareboshi-sama. I am Mukizu Gonkuro, the Super High School Level Butler."

He decided he should remember that orthodox introduction in case anyone else would be requiring it again of him. He was more used to others declaring who he was for him, but it was not as if this task was especially difficult, and if it were to serve to help the others in feeling more comfortable, then who was he to not follow their steps?

    "No endeavour done for the sake of others is troublesome for me-- at the very least, certainly not just offering for you to borrow my jacket. Though I find your words gratifying, I am supposed to be willing to go to any length to serve unless it simply is impossible. And well... I'm sturdier than you may presume I am-- shockingly so, or so I've been told."

A ghost of a chuckle can barely be heard through his lips, but a smile remains as evidence across them nonetheless.

    "Just know that my offer to help in any way is always on the table, so please do not ever believe that you are inconveniencing me. I merely bound to my job.

    "What of yours though? Surely a job in the sciences and research would be one with heavy expectations and tireless efforts for the sake of producing results."

He gives her a way out of dwelling on the subject of his offer, partly so as to not pressure her into saying 'yes' but also partly out of genuine interest. Paleontology: a subject he did not have much experience with if any at all.