Things had been better since Ben had revealed the truth of the Numbers to his aunts and he had finally been able to reconnect with Emiko even if she hadn't been given the whole story yet. Which is why it struck Sadie as odd to receive an email from Emiko asking to talk about Ben. This was going to be important.
Settling down with a beanie and her headset on she waits for call request, clicking it when it comes through and giving Emiko a cheerful wave.
As her own summer holiday is merely a couple days away, Emiko had arrived early to school and found herself a quiet place to make the call from her phone on the school wifi. Earphones in, the girl has a somber expression as the camera connects for that initial second until Sadie gives a wave. Seeing Sadie however, she smiles warmly and raises her free hand to make a small wave in turn. Emiko is as well put together as any other video call or image, so she is keeping up her appearance.
“Good evening! Still not off for the summer so busy. Always busy. How are you doing?”
Sadie nods sympathetically, "That pre-holiday dragging grind sucks but at least you're almost done!" When Emiko asks after her in return Sadie's smile turns into a grimace, "School-wise we only have a few weeks until we find out if we got into our chosen universities so that's been a bit stressful. But apart from that things have been good!"
"So, what was it you needed to speak to me about, Emiko?"
Having entered the new grade level in the spring time, Emiko is certainly eager for the first break to begin. She nods at the encouragement, “Almost,” with her own smile dropping momentarily after when Sadie shares the pressure awaiting results. Blowing air softly between her lips in a light-hearted dismissal she shares her confidence, “Ben said you’re smart enough to keep up with him, so I don’t doubt you’ll be accepted into your primary choice.”
When Sadie urges the conversation forward, Emiko hesitates with a look reminiscent of Benjiro. It doesn’t linger however as a sly sort of smirk replaces it, “A couple things actually... I know you have lots of pictures of Ben, but I was wondering if you have any recent ones? Maybe something...sans shirt?”
A prompting look from Sadie is all it takes to get more of an explanation, “I’ve noticed what’s happening to Ben. I could make a nice profit selling prints of a decent shot.” How serious she happens to be about profiting from her brother’s current appearance is questionable.
Sadie can't help but smile bashfully at Emiko's compliment and is about to respond when Emiko's request comes out of left field and prompts an inelegant but amused splutter from the blonde.
"Although I'm sure you'd give me a fair cut for such wonderful photos of Ben, those photos are unfortunately for my private viewing."Sadie jokes back, not bothering to try and deny the existence of such photos though her expression turns serious, "I'm not going to insult you, Emiko, by denying that Ben has changed but I promised him that I wouldn't say anything before he speaks to you himself. So just try to be patient with him yeah? With how rocky stuff has been lately it might take him a little to work up the courage."
Amusement achieved, Emiko gives a dismissive shrug of her shoulders with the corners of her lips turned up, “I can respect that.” Private viewing for his one and only.
When Sadie turns serious however, the girl sobers quickly and her brow lowers as she replies to the request for patience with her eyes downcast, “I am trying to be. I know the Numbers make everything crazy, and Ben will tell me about his in time, but...that’s really why I wanted to talk to you.”
Emiko looks at the camera directly as she continues with worry slipping out in her face and voice, “I think something happened to him. Maybe something with his Number.” Shoulders tensing with stress, she hesitates before explaining why she suspects something more happened to her brother, “I called to talk to him a few days ago. I needed someone I could talk to about what happened at school and...he did listen and he talked to me a long time, but he sort of spaced out when I first told him. He wouldn’t say why. I think he was doing that stupid thing where he pretends nothing is wrong.”
Sadie nods, her expression still serious, "I know you probably know but I've found it helps to say this sort of stuff, you and your patience really does mean the world to him. Your reaction to this all is the one that matters the most to Ben."
Listening to Emiko, Sadie's brow pulls down, pupils narrowing, "He hasn't had an Echo recently..." Sadie mentally runs through the Echoes that Ben has told her about, "Emiko, would you mind telling me what you spoke to Ben about?"
Reminded of how important her acceptance and support are to her older brother, Emiko nods her head, “Yeah...thanks for saying so.”
After expressing her concern, Emiko is wearing an annoyed pout that does not diminish in the slightest when Sadie cannot recall any recent Echoes. She doesn’t like worrying over him, and she has done enough of it lately. At the request from Sadie to discuss the conversation, Emiko looks down at her lap as the irritation fades. She nods her head, then looks up again, “Yes, I can. It’s not exactly a secret, even if no one else really talks about it.”
The girl spares a moment to check around herself, confirming that she is still alone, then she gets into the matter, “One of my classmates...she committed suicide. We weren’t close exactly, but we got along.”
Sadie winces sympathetically, that was a hard situation to face even when not directly involved, "I'm sorry, Emiko, school must be hard at the moment especially if people aren't talking about it..."
She trails off, biting her lip as she thinks, "I... I don't think this could be from an Echo, Ben and I have had an agreement about them since this all started..." Which left two avenues to pursue, either someone had said something to Ben or it was something he'd been thinking about recently, neither of which were good options.
"I don't think this is directly from an Echo, Emiko. Try not to worry too much alright? I'll talk to Ben tomorrow morning and I'll get to the bottom of this, I promise."
A single nod of agreement is given, “It was, but Ben helped me feel better. He said I couldn’t help her now, but that I could do something for her by supporting her close friends. In small ways.” Sadness lingers, but acting against further loss matters.
The mention of an agreement gets a curious look, but that Sadie feels certain an Echo is not to blame means she has the kind of perspective needed to sort this out. Relief is clearly visible when she smiles, “Thank you, Sadie.” Emiko knows Sadie will take care of him.
After a little more friendly chatter, Emiko will end the call to start her school day.
Sadie smiles, "I think that's an excellent idea, even little things will help those friends with what they're going through. I think you're very kind, Emiko, there are plenty of people who wouldn't lift a finger to help in that situation. I promise to let you know about the situation with Ben, have a good day at school!" With a wave to the younger Thorne, Sadie sets an early alarm and heads to bed.
With a detour via the bakery for some freshly baked pastries, she smiles as Ben's aunts let her into the house, "Good morning Agatha and Rosemary," Sadie discards her shoes, hat and sunglasses, "Is Ben up yet?"
Rosemary is the one to answer, her hair a little more wild for the early hour, “You know, I think the better question is if he even went to bed last night. He’s been keeping himself very busy since he quit at the warehouse.” It hasn’t even been a week since his resignation. Shaking her head a little, Agatha smiles warmly and motions with the hand not holding her coffee, “Go on up, he’ll be happy to see you.”
Once Sadie has climbed the stairs, she will see that his door is halfway open. In that space sits a young rabbit, and as soon as Bunsen spots Sadie, he hops into a run right towards her only to do a kick turn and race excitedly back into the bedroom. The rabbit waits barely a foot inside, raising up on his hind-legs as soon as she enters to get attention.
Benjiro has noticed the excitement from Bunsen, headphones already half off as he watches Sadie enter. He didn’t expect the visit, but that doesn’t dampen his smile as he greets her in the least, “Good morning, Sadie.” A couple taps at his mouse to save his progress, and Benjiro stands from the stool that now resides behind his desk to walk around and meet her. He is wearing what serves as his pajamas in cloth pants and a t-shirt, but the way his hair has been swept back too many times is telling.
“...should I be getting dressed for something?” he wonders aloud, a touch concerned he has forgotten a planned date.
Sadie sighs and shakes her head, fond and exasperated all at once as her ears pick up the sound of the muted clicks of a keyboard upstairs.
"Honestly..." She smiles reassuringly at Agatha and Rosemary, "I'll make sure he actually gets some rest today. Thank you both!"
With a wave back at Ben's aunts Sadie makes her way up the stairs, her ears perking up at the sight of Bunsen bounding towards her, "Hello, Bunsen! Hello handsome!" She carefully picks the rabbit up as she enters Ben's room, "Look at you so big and fluffy. You're such a good bun."
Pausing her baby talk at the rabbit, she looks up at Ben as he walks over, "Morning, Ben. Don't worry, you're already dressed for bed." She comments dryly, clearly eyeing up his hair, "You were up all night weren't you?"
Those long ears flatten back with eyes half closing as Sadie scoops him up with his nose twitching away. Bunsen may not be growing as fast as his owner, but he is getting bigger as a young rabbit should. Curling in her arm, he looks all the more puffy from her compliments.
Immediately called out regarding the lack of time spent in his bed overnight, Benjiro glances guiltily to the neatly made bed and then back at Sadie, “Not...all night. I took a nap.” Which involved his head resting on his arm for all of fifteen minutes at his desk. He shrugs and offers an explanation, “I felt like I was finally making some real progress, and I didn’t want to stop. I may not be able to play fast paced games right now, but making the transition to coaching other players should give my stream a boost and provide some alternative income until I can find another position.”
Realizing she has more than Bunsen with her, he raises a brow curiously.
Sadie, who has looked after many a rabbit, is absolutely convinced that Bunsen is the cutest rabbit in existence. Nothing Bunsen has done thus far has disproved this theory.
"A nap?" Sadie raises an eyebrow, "We're definitely going to bed in a bit then. But I am glad you've found an alternative to tide your streaming over, I know you were worried about that. Tell you what, you can tell me about your setup as we have breakfast and then we can nap together alright?" She shakes the brown paper bag gently, "I got melonpan for you and pastel de nata for me. Sorry, Bunsen, I didn't get you anything."
Being handled since he was a helpless kit certainly has added to his charm. Bunsen never seems to mind Sadie or Benjiro holding him, and he remains a content fluff as the humans talk.
Attention back on Sadie as she provides a plan to help him wind down and recover from the extended working period, he perks visibly at the mention of his favorite baked good. Reaching a hand to gently rub a fingertip between those grey bunny ears, Benjiro smiles, “That I can take care of. I’ll cut some apple slices downstairs while I get us some drinks and he can share with us.” He leans down to give her a kiss on the cheek before he moves for the door, “Thank you, Sadie!”
Out he goes, hurrying downstairs to collect some fresh drinks and the apple slices. Barely a couple minutes later, he returns and makes space on his bedside table for the two glasses and a bowl.
Giggling at Ben's enthusiasm Sadie gently places Bunsen down on the mattress before settling in herself, pulling the duvet up over her legs and rearranging the pillows to better support the two of them. Once Ben is back she folds back the duvet for him and fishes the melon pan out of the bakery bag for her boyfriend.
"Excellent! So, what's your plan with this training then?"
Pausing to appreciate the arrangement of the bedding, Benjiro smiles to Sadie when she folds back the duvet. It looks so comfortable there next to her, and that alone makes him minutely more aware of the fatigue he has held back. Carefully, he sits on the side of the bed and maneuvers in beside her. Despite his slow movements, the frame complains in a creak intermittently until he settles. Left with a bit of embarrassed color at his cheeks, he gratefully accepts the melonpan and extends an apple slice towards Bunsen. The rabbit notices it straight off and clambers up onto their legs to snatch it. Carrying the apple to the corner on the bed, he settles to nibble away at the fruit slice quite close beside them.
“It’s not too complicated actually. I have a website nearly ready that will have a full list of games I feel comfortable coaching, an embedded schedule that will update with requests, and an email to reach me for those requests. I’ll have open streaming times at my regular hours with preselected games. In chat, I’ll ask people who want to be coached for free in the stream to join a random selection through a bot, and coach them live for a round before I move onto the next player. Off stream hours, I’ll open slots for people to hire me to privately coach for three rounds of their game of choice or some equivalent to it for a fee. The only part I have left to figure out is that fee...”
Sadie doesn't really notice Ben's embarrassment at the creaking bed, far too happy to cuddle once he's under the covers with her head resting on his chest and bask in the regular thudding of his heartbeat and the warmth of his body and the cool silver and book smell she was beginning to associate with her boyfriend.
Sadie nods as she listens intently to Ben's plan, "It's a really solid plan and covers loads of your strong points too. As for how much you charge, I know it might be tempting to try and minimise it as much as possible to attract more people but you do need to make sure it's over minimum wage."
Her immediate nearness is a salve to the embarrassment, and Benjiro wraps his arm around her side to cross his hand over her waist to secure her position leaning to his front.
Finally taking his first bite of his favorite baked treat, Benjiro mulls over her advice a little, then responds after swallowing, “Based on average game times, I think that I can find a suitable equivalent. I would need to include a disclaimer that I will charge the same amount whether the session goes over time or under in that case.”
“What do you think a game coach should make hourly? No special education required, but experience is necessary both in play and shot calling teams.”
Yes, maximum cuddle has been achieved! Though Ben's question is a difficult one to answer, "Maybe around a tenner an hour?" Sadie throws the number out there, "I honestly have no idea but you'll have to balance it so that you get a good number of potential customers without sacrificing actually making a good amount. You might have to do a bit of research to see if there's anyone else who does this and how much they charge."
Bunsen has finished his apple slice and has hopped his way back to the top of the bed in search of another, adorable nose twitching away. Sadie gives him a scratch on the head and passes the rabbit another slice.
"There is actually something I wanted to talk to you about, though it'll probably bring the mood down a little. Emiko called me last night," Sadie admits, "She was worried that she'd accidentally hit a sore spot of an Echo when she last spoke to you."
He hums thoughtfully, “That sounds like a good price to start actually. I have seen other game coaches pricing vary above that, but having a special price to start might be an excellent way to draw in attention for the first week. I could also use lower rates for anyone who buys more than one session at a time if things go well.”
Bunsen eagerly accepts the head scratching and the offered treat is taken gently from Sadie. Then he hops down to their feet to sit and nibble at it more slowly than the first. Baby buns only have so much room inside for food at one time.
When Sadie mentions the desire to broach another topic, one that promises to be less pleasant, Benjiro tilts his head curiously with his smile fading to listen. That Emiko called her makes his shoulders sag slightly, and he shares his confusion, “She does worry, but I don’t recall thinking of my Number when we’ve been speaking recently. Why did she think that?”
Sadie's thumb rubs gently back and forth against the fabric covering his chest, "She said she was speaking to you about what happened to one of her classmates and you started spacing out." She glances up him, "She asked me if I knew about any Echoes that could have caused it, I think she wanted to avoid upsetting you if that turned out to be the case."
Recognition dawns as she clarifies the topic that had dampened his responses temporarily, and his expression drops flat as anxiety itches awake. His gaze breaks away, looking down and away from Sadie, “Mm. No, it wasn’t anything to do with an Echo. I will speak to her about it so she doesn’t worry and can keep talking to me. The way it made her feel won’t go away any time soon.”
Before he talks too much, he takes another bite of the melonpan.
That's avoidance if she's ever seen it. But there's something a little different to this expression of Ben's ability to avoid certain topics. It's more fragile. To push or not to push? Which would help Ben the most?
"Alright, that'll be a big relief for Emiko I'm sure..." Sadie trails off, "It's a horrible situation to have experienced. Did...did you experience something similar...?" Sadie asks softly.
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warped_replica) wrote2018-07-27 06:58 pm
17th July
Settling down with a beanie and her headset on she waits for call request, clicking it when it comes through and giving Emiko a cheerful wave.
"Good morning, Emiko, how are you?"
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“Good evening! Still not off for the summer so busy. Always busy. How are you doing?”
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"So, what was it you needed to speak to me about, Emiko?"
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When Sadie urges the conversation forward, Emiko hesitates with a look reminiscent of Benjiro. It doesn’t linger however as a sly sort of smirk replaces it, “A couple things actually... I know you have lots of pictures of Ben, but I was wondering if you have any recent ones? Maybe something...sans shirt?”
A prompting look from Sadie is all it takes to get more of an explanation, “I’ve noticed what’s happening to Ben. I could make a nice profit selling prints of a decent shot.” How serious she happens to be about profiting from her brother’s current appearance is questionable.
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"Although I'm sure you'd give me a fair cut for such wonderful photos of Ben, those photos are unfortunately for my private viewing."Sadie jokes back, not bothering to try and deny the existence of such photos though her expression turns serious, "I'm not going to insult you, Emiko, by denying that Ben has changed but I promised him that I wouldn't say anything before he speaks to you himself. So just try to be patient with him yeah? With how rocky stuff has been lately it might take him a little to work up the courage."
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When Sadie turns serious however, the girl sobers quickly and her brow lowers as she replies to the request for patience with her eyes downcast, “I am trying to be. I know the Numbers make everything crazy, and Ben will tell me about his in time, but...that’s really why I wanted to talk to you.”
Emiko looks at the camera directly as she continues with worry slipping out in her face and voice, “I think something happened to him. Maybe something with his Number.” Shoulders tensing with stress, she hesitates before explaining why she suspects something more happened to her brother, “I called to talk to him a few days ago. I needed someone I could talk to about what happened at school and...he did listen and he talked to me a long time, but he sort of spaced out when I first told him. He wouldn’t say why. I think he was doing that stupid thing where he pretends nothing is wrong.”
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Listening to Emiko, Sadie's brow pulls down, pupils narrowing, "He hasn't had an Echo recently..." Sadie mentally runs through the Echoes that Ben has told her about, "Emiko, would you mind telling me what you spoke to Ben about?"
CW suicide
After expressing her concern, Emiko is wearing an annoyed pout that does not diminish in the slightest when Sadie cannot recall any recent Echoes. She doesn’t like worrying over him, and she has done enough of it lately. At the request from Sadie to discuss the conversation, Emiko looks down at her lap as the irritation fades. She nods her head, then looks up again, “Yes, I can. It’s not exactly a secret, even if no one else really talks about it.”
The girl spares a moment to check around herself, confirming that she is still alone, then she gets into the matter, “One of my classmates...she committed suicide. We weren’t close exactly, but we got along.”
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She trails off, biting her lip as she thinks, "I... I don't think this could be from an Echo, Ben and I have had an agreement about them since this all started..." Which left two avenues to pursue, either someone had said something to Ben or it was something he'd been thinking about recently, neither of which were good options.
"I don't think this is directly from an Echo, Emiko. Try not to worry too much alright? I'll talk to Ben tomorrow morning and I'll get to the bottom of this, I promise."
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The mention of an agreement gets a curious look, but that Sadie feels certain an Echo is not to blame means she has the kind of perspective needed to sort this out. Relief is clearly visible when she smiles, “Thank you, Sadie.” Emiko knows Sadie will take care of him.
After a little more friendly chatter, Emiko will end the call to start her school day.
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With a detour via the bakery for some freshly baked pastries, she smiles as Ben's aunts let her into the house, "Good morning Agatha and Rosemary," Sadie discards her shoes, hat and sunglasses, "Is Ben up yet?"
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Once Sadie has climbed the stairs, she will see that his door is halfway open. In that space sits a young rabbit, and as soon as Bunsen spots Sadie, he hops into a run right towards her only to do a kick turn and race excitedly back into the bedroom. The rabbit waits barely a foot inside, raising up on his hind-legs as soon as she enters to get attention.
Benjiro has noticed the excitement from Bunsen, headphones already half off as he watches Sadie enter. He didn’t expect the visit, but that doesn’t dampen his smile as he greets her in the least, “Good morning, Sadie.” A couple taps at his mouse to save his progress, and Benjiro stands from the stool that now resides behind his desk to walk around and meet her. He is wearing what serves as his pajamas in cloth pants and a t-shirt, but the way his hair has been swept back too many times is telling.
“...should I be getting dressed for something?” he wonders aloud, a touch concerned he has forgotten a planned date.
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"Honestly..." She smiles reassuringly at Agatha and Rosemary, "I'll make sure he actually gets some rest today. Thank you both!"
With a wave back at Ben's aunts Sadie makes her way up the stairs, her ears perking up at the sight of Bunsen bounding towards her, "Hello, Bunsen! Hello handsome!" She carefully picks the rabbit up as she enters Ben's room, "Look at you so big and fluffy. You're such a good bun."
Pausing her baby talk at the rabbit, she looks up at Ben as he walks over, "Morning, Ben. Don't worry, you're already dressed for bed." She comments dryly, clearly eyeing up his hair, "You were up all night weren't you?"
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Immediately called out regarding the lack of time spent in his bed overnight, Benjiro glances guiltily to the neatly made bed and then back at Sadie, “Not...all night. I took a nap.” Which involved his head resting on his arm for all of fifteen minutes at his desk. He shrugs and offers an explanation, “I felt like I was finally making some real progress, and I didn’t want to stop. I may not be able to play fast paced games right now, but making the transition to coaching other players should give my stream a boost and provide some alternative income until I can find another position.”
Realizing she has more than Bunsen with her, he raises a brow curiously.
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"A nap?" Sadie raises an eyebrow, "We're definitely going to bed in a bit then. But I am glad you've found an alternative to tide your streaming over, I know you were worried about that. Tell you what, you can tell me about your setup as we have breakfast and then we can nap together alright?" She shakes the brown paper bag gently, "I got melonpan for you and pastel de nata for me. Sorry, Bunsen, I didn't get you anything."
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Attention back on Sadie as she provides a plan to help him wind down and recover from the extended working period, he perks visibly at the mention of his favorite baked good. Reaching a hand to gently rub a fingertip between those grey bunny ears, Benjiro smiles, “That I can take care of. I’ll cut some apple slices downstairs while I get us some drinks and he can share with us.” He leans down to give her a kiss on the cheek before he moves for the door, “Thank you, Sadie!”
Out he goes, hurrying downstairs to collect some fresh drinks and the apple slices. Barely a couple minutes later, he returns and makes space on his bedside table for the two glasses and a bowl.
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"Excellent! So, what's your plan with this training then?"
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“It’s not too complicated actually. I have a website nearly ready that will have a full list of games I feel comfortable coaching, an embedded schedule that will update with requests, and an email to reach me for those requests. I’ll have open streaming times at my regular hours with preselected games. In chat, I’ll ask people who want to be coached for free in the stream to join a random selection through a bot, and coach them live for a round before I move onto the next player. Off stream hours, I’ll open slots for people to hire me to privately coach for three rounds of their game of choice or some equivalent to it for a fee. The only part I have left to figure out is that fee...”
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Sadie nods as she listens intently to Ben's plan, "It's a really solid plan and covers loads of your strong points too. As for how much you charge, I know it might be tempting to try and minimise it as much as possible to attract more people but you do need to make sure it's over minimum wage."
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Finally taking his first bite of his favorite baked treat, Benjiro mulls over her advice a little, then responds after swallowing, “Based on average game times, I think that I can find a suitable equivalent. I would need to include a disclaimer that I will charge the same amount whether the session goes over time or under in that case.”
“What do you think a game coach should make hourly? No special education required, but experience is necessary both in play and shot calling teams.”
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Bunsen has finished his apple slice and has hopped his way back to the top of the bed in search of another, adorable nose twitching away. Sadie gives him a scratch on the head and passes the rabbit another slice.
"There is actually something I wanted to talk to you about, though it'll probably bring the mood down a little. Emiko called me last night," Sadie admits, "She was worried that she'd accidentally hit a sore spot of an Echo when she last spoke to you."
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Bunsen eagerly accepts the head scratching and the offered treat is taken gently from Sadie. Then he hops down to their feet to sit and nibble at it more slowly than the first. Baby buns only have so much room inside for food at one time.
When Sadie mentions the desire to broach another topic, one that promises to be less pleasant, Benjiro tilts his head curiously with his smile fading to listen. That Emiko called her makes his shoulders sag slightly, and he shares his confusion, “She does worry, but I don’t recall thinking of my Number when we’ve been speaking recently. Why did she think that?”
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Before he talks too much, he takes another bite of the melonpan.
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"Alright, that'll be a big relief for Emiko I'm sure..." Sadie trails off, "It's a horrible situation to have experienced. Did...did you experience something similar...?" Sadie asks softly.
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Fell asleep in the middle of tags again
I do that waaaay too often
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