The bodies in my floor all trusted someone. Now I walk on them to tea.

[kingshaming]

[After the trial, Xander does what he does best. What always blanks his mind when training is not an option:

He organizes.

The hot food for lunch is out still, and while he feels far from hungry, he knows they all SHOULD eat. Everyone wanders off to take care of their own grief, and he lets them for now- and instead busies himself at the espresso bar. There's something specific he wants to do.

Later, under each door, and with the same thing written on the white board he had dragged out for meetings:]

There is hot food and tea in the cafeteria, and while I have no stomach for food it is there for those that can.

While it is tempting to be alone right now, if you wish company I shall be there until evening. Now may be a good time to compare new information while it is fresh.

If not, please stay well.

Xander

[And as promised there is fresh tea. Green tea in fact, though it lacks the milk Chitanda made- but basic tea he can manage at least]

Comments

[curdle]

Jane...

[ This is nothing like comforting a sibling, which Thomasin is an old hand at. There is no fixing this. But she barely knew the girl, and all these others already loved her. She is the one who ought to be dispensing kindness, no matter how awkward it feels. ]

Might I sit?

[cyan_maid]

[Jane does look up when Thomasin says her name, and after a beat, nods. She certainly can't stop you from sitting down.]

Go ahead.

[curdle]

[ Truthfully, just Jane looking at her already makes her feel she's done something terribly wrong, but after a period of silence she presses on, looking at the detritus at the bottom of her cup. Her voice is quiet. ]

... pity has no virtue in the face of this abomination. You've helped me. If I can be of any use to thee, I'll to it.

If not, I'll speak no more.

[cyan_maid]

[Wrong? Thomasin, you haven't done anything - Jane would say as much if you so much as suggested it. None who remain are those who've taken on this task of grisly spacemurder.]

...I wouldn't mind...just having some company. Perhaps...to have a chat about something other than today. If you don't mind, that is.

[curdle]

I don't.

[ She pauses, thinking. What's some light material? Jane's home? She must miss it. Her home? Nothing there has been good, not for a long time. ]

I did think the privy was a well, my first day hither.

[ NAILED IT ]

[cyan_maid]

[...

That is definitely a tone switch from everything involving murder. You're quite lucky Jane knows some old-timey words, Thomasin.]

O-Oh...you didn't...please tell me you didn't take a drink out of it...

[curdle]

Never! [ A day earlier she would have laughed, especially at having a conversation where someone else is the one taken aback, but it's not that time anymore. ] I wondered why we should have one with no buckets, nor even a cup... and then you taught me of the showers, so there was no need. Does it not look like it might be?

[cyan_maid]

Well, I've never grown up in a place where wells resemble toilets...

[A pause...]

...Have you...been drinking from the showers instead?

[She doesn't look disgusted, since the showers should be cleaner, but...oh, Thomasin, honey, let's show you how the sinks work.]

[curdle]

Only when close at hand. Most oft I use the sink.

[ But you better believe that she's drinking from the tap most of the time! She raises her cup and takes a sip. ]

With so much new to drink of, it would be a shame to take only water. I've still not touched that machinery over yonder. [ It is an incredibly good thing that she has not, since that machinery is the espresso maker. She had wondered about its use with... she won't think of it. ] What is it?

[cyan_maid]

Okay...well...erm, let's see if we can't get you something that lets you keep water on you at all times, or at least closer to you than the showers.

[She doesn't say it chidingly though - she's grateful it wasn't the toilet.]

Oh, that thing? It makes coffee - very, very strong coffee. If I have some, I water it down a lot, because it's supposed to help you stay awake, but since it's so strong, it would give me the jitters if I drank it straight away!

[curdle]

I didn't wish to take from the kitchens, [ she admits, ] else I should have stolen away a cup some time past.

[ Her history with the supposition of having stolen cups is a contentious one! ]

The jitters? [ Look she's even more of a grandma than Jane but that one is new to her. ]

[cyan_maid]

It should be alright. All this stuff is here for us to use - no one would miss a cup.

[A soft chuckle.] Ah, it would make me very shaky and nervous. But if you water it down enough, you just get a bit of energy, that's all.