rustyhonesty | [Seasons] Inbox; un: jean

[Jean's side is open, but he's mostly been sketching future weapon ideas, rather than doing actual forging. He's had trouble concentrating, rather obviously.

He puts down his pencil when Caster arrives, though, a sad smile on his face.]

Hey.

[He gestures at some chairs nearby, in case Caster wanted to sit down.]

[She'll take his offer, floating over to sit on one of the chairs- and putting a bag containing a few pastries from a bakery near central Nightwake she'd picked up on route.]

Evening. I thought they might help our mood, a little...

Since acquiring some more casual clothing during his time here (today is a navy sweater and light gray pants over caramel brown leather boots), Erwin has rarely worn his uniform. The cloak occasionally comes out on cold days, but it's more for familiarity than anything official.

"Thank you," he says, stepping inside before offering the box to the younger man. "I've brought some pastries for you and Mikasa, I hope you'll forgive the abrupt intrusion."

He takes Jean in, looking for some of the things that had concerned Levi - fatigue, stiffness in his movements from overworked muscles.

"How've you been, lately?"

That would be amazing, let's go to them too but let's eat first!

[First she is amazed by that, then by the whole restaurant too and then... then she sees sushi which also look so amazing, who has time to do all of that work with their hands?? But this reminds her of something...

Aaaaaaaand then there's all the dessert sushi too and Anna gasps!]

Wait, why didn't you tell me that sushi is all the delicious things on top of rice or on roll with rice? I love dessert sushi, it's so delicious, oh I ate some fruit ones and others a long time ago without even knowing what they were and no one happened to be around, so I couldn't.... And I will keep all of your recommendations in mind, but since this is a buffet---

[ She will... taste everything. Literally. ]

Mmh.

[It felt like it was important to say.]

Take care.

...you too.

[ And with that, he'll be hanging up and going to check on the rest of his flock. ]

I guess we do.

I sometimes still can't believe how lucky I am.

They might.

[Sugar-y things were definitely good for mood lifting, at least.

After a moment, he finally breaks the silence to talk about what they were gathered for.]

I miss the Kate we know, you know. She was fun to train with.

[Jean laughs a little.]

Hey, how should I have known you've tried those? But yeah, you should definitely try anything and everything.

Jean has been resting for a few days, but he was still recovering from overworking (and the training session with Levi and Mikasa the other day). It would take time for his body to actually relax, after all. He was also starting to sport a small stubble (don't tell Levi) since he hasn't needed to go out.

He accepts the box, nodding. "Thank you. And it's not a problem... please, feel free to sit down on the couch. Do you want something to drink?"

The question asked is a bit unexpected, even if this seemed more of a casual house call than anything. Jean's not sure what he expected, really.

"Uh... fine, I think? I've just been a bit tired from training, so I've been taking it easy." More or less because of Levi and Mikasa both insisting. Marco too, when he said anything about it. "And you?"

I miss her too...I miss her terribly.

[A deep, heavy sigh.]

Seeing that name on the network I just- I was so sure-... hmph, I only ended up making a fool of myself.

You and me both. Usually I'm a lot more cautious about these things, but the name and the completely anonymous profile both fit.

[Kate would hide her personal info from her profile the first thing.]

I hope she doesn't think we're complete freaks.

Erwin certainly will not betray Jean's current state of hygiene to his Captain (unless it was particularly worrisome, but he doesn't think Jean is quite there yet). Jean is hardly the first or last man to let himself get a little scruffy over a few days with no reason to make oneself particularly presentable, present company included.

(Erwin has been on the receiving end of Levi's gripes about that, however, so he'll spare the younger man the experience).

"No, I'm all right." He does take a seat at the invitation, and waits for Jean to join him before continuing.

I think, Jean says.

"Well enough," Erwin responds. "I'm having no shortage of things to occupy myself with here, with so much to learn."

He pauses a moment before continuing. "Captain Levi tells me that you've been pushing yourself quite hard lately, to an unusual degree...has something been troubling you?"

Jean also sits down, on one of the armchairs opposite of the couch. It's hard to relax, but he tries to not seem too nervous (he's not doing a very good job at it).

There it is, the reason Erwin is here. Jean can't help but look a little shocked, but his expression settles quite fast, turning into a slightly embarrassed one. To think Levi had been worried enough to consult Erwin. It's also very touching, but mostly Jean feels a little (more) ashamed for causing this chain reaction.

"It's a sum of quite a few things, sir. Have you been told about my death in this world?"

Because that's honestly the start of everything.

[ Knock knock it’s an unannounced Annie, holding a basket of bread in one hand and looking supremely uncomfortable. ]

It isn't like either of us to let our guard down so readily, is it? But when people work their way into our hearts like that--... it is so endlessly frustrating I let myself be taken in so easily!

[A shaky, pained sigh, as she gestured to the rest of her cloak. Even without the hood on, she still had the creepy witch look going.]

Ha... you might be able to get away with it, but I doubt I will be so lucky.

It's not unusual for people, especially the younger soldiers, to be nervous around him. Erwin tries to project an air of steadiness, calm and relaxed. Even so, the subject is not the easiest - apparently moreso than he realized. The news of Jean's death catches him a little off guard. Surely Levi wouldn't have left out something like this if he thought it was an important factor, but perhaps even he hadn't realized the true depth of things. Unusual, but not impossible.

Erwin frowns, concerned, but not making a show of it.

"I'm afraid I haven't, no. Would you mind briefly telling me what happened?"

Jean wasn't really sure if he preferred to be the one to tell about his death, or if he'd rather had Levi or Hange to have told Erwin, but it was what it was. It had been a while, so maybe it wasn't so relevant anymore that it needed to be mentioned. Which was a relief. Of course, it still remained relevant to Jean, even if he hasn't talked about it in months. Like he's moved on.

He had taken little steps to move on from it. But he also regularly took steps back. It wasn't as easy as he hoped, to just leave it in the past.

"Back in June, I went on an expedition with two of my friends. We decided to explore the Winter Segment and possibly find a good place for a teleport crystal. Due to the unpredictable storms, we were steered off course, into a dangerous area called the Wolf's Blood Mountains."

His tone remains calm, despite the subject. He had told the story enough times to be able to do it without too much emotion. Except his voice wavers a little bit from here on.

"There we encountered creatures called Werewolves and ended up fighting them. I got fatally injured. Then an earthquake hit the mountain and a part of the cliff I was standing on broke. I fell straight into the ice covering the Frozen Lake."

Which was, in the end, what really did him in, even if he had died because of his injuries.

[Jean wasn't expecting anyone and he definitely wasn't expecting Annie (even if he did tell her she could ask him things, but he assumed it would be via the devices).]

Oh. Hey.

I don't know about that. It becomes clear pretty fast it's your normal aesthetic.

[Sure, she aims to be creepy, but it's different if it's all the time, rather than just sometimes.]

But perhaps we should both keep our distance for now. Just in case.

Hi.

[ She waits there for a moment before realizing that she should probably explain what she’s doing. But first — ] This is for you. [ Without waiting for a response, she shoves the basket into Jean’s arms. ]

Mm, I suppose...it certainly suits me better than anything else, at this point.

[As for the other comment, Caster thought to herself a moment.]

...I would usually agree, but she did have an awful tendency of rushing into danger. If I stayed away and something happened to her, then-

thats thank you i hope that i was able to help at least a little

[You have received: Bread.]

Thank you? You didn't really need to bring anything, but I appreciate it anyway.

[Food was always good.]

Come on in.

[His and Mikasa's house is a Japanese inspired house, with more modern furniture and more secure doors, but still the aesthetics fit Sunwaning in general. The hallway to the living room has three different types of outdoor clothes, since Jean's found sister also lives there.]

[ It really is a nice house, though the architecture takes her by surprise. She hadn’t expected Jean to like this sort of style. But then she sees the clothes in the hall, and realizes that maybe he doesn’t like this style. Maybe he hadn’t picked it out. Maybe someone else in the house had.

Curiously, she gestures towards a hanging coat that really doesn’t look like something he would wear. ] You don’t live alone?

[Seasons] Inbox; un: jean

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gently wraps

o7

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cw/tw: death explanation

appears almost a month later

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