Hadriel IC Inbox

[claritatis]

"You've reached Ignis Scientia. Leave a message and I will endeavour to get back to you post-haste."

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[claritatis]

[This, in all honesty, is always more about the time spent together than what they end up eating. Ignis laces his fingers lightly between hers as they move out from beneath one tree and under the next, his attention half in the branches and half on the woman walking beside him.]

How is the clinic?

[Idle small talk. There's more to what he's asking than the question.]

[dedikated]

( True enough, when her gaze so easily wanders from the trees (a stop at something growing bananas in a bright orange skin because they're actually really nice) to him as they wander the rows and rows of trees. )

Not bad, despite everything. ( They're busy, because of the state of the city with the monsters and the rubble, and they've had better months on supplies, but it's not so desperate a situation that they're facing catastrophe. ) We're surviving.

[claritatis]

[The fruits pretending to be bananas look interesting enough, and he'll pause below that tree without complaint, reaching a few down for the both of them.]

I suppose things could be worse.

[They could be in the middle of a war zone, injured and half-starved, waiting for it to end. Again.]

But 'surviving' is low bar.

[dedikated]

( A shrug as she takes a bite of her fruit, chews and swallows. Still good. )

All we've ever done here.

( Hadriel is pretty much the definition of low bar standards. )

[claritatis]

All?

[Is that so? He looks ever so slightly surprised to hear her say that as he looks down at her, but rather than immediately challenge it he plants a kiss on her forehead and shifts away to lean against the trunk of the tree.

The heat of the day is still uncomfortably oppressive, and he hates it, but it's a little better in the shade.]

I see.

[dedikated]

( Just because he doesn't challenge it doesn't mean she can't hear it in the tone of his voice or see it in the way he moves. They spend too much time together for her to miss those. )

... What?

( Surviving is the bulk of what they do, after all. )

[claritatis]

Mm, nothing.

[He takes his time with a mouthful of fruit before he speaks again.]

It's only surprising to hear that 'just surviving' is all that it boils down to for you.

[dedikated]

( She looks at him for a moment, uncertain of what to say to that. Nothing that's come out of Hadriel for her has been intended, and much of it has been a welcome surprise, but all the same... it's a bonus, really. )

Low expectations of this place. ( A shrug. Can anyone really blame her when they've been dragged here without any knowledge or acceptance of it, tossed into the middle of a war they never signed up for? ) Stops me being disappointed.

( And makes things like this all the more pleasant and treasured. )

[claritatis]

[Again, he takes his time in replying. He looks at her like it's an appraisal, as if he's considering something that he hadn't thought of before, all carefully concealed but hanging between them regardless.]

I think... we can do more than just survive. [He says, expressing a level of optimism about the place that isn't common to him.] In the small things. What we choose to make of our lives here.

[Such as they are, for as long as they last.]

If all I did here was survive, I wouldn't have you.

[dedikated]

( That... actually makes her smile, small though the expression is. He's not wrong, and she was - in her own way - agreeing. They've managed a lot more than just surviving here. She just... likes to remain guarded, she supposes. )

... That was my plan. First time I got here. Just... stay alive and find a way out. Thought the people saying it were impossible just... weren't trying hard enough. Or they were just human. ( Kate shrugs, casually as she can while recalling memories that have aged and been jumbled in the mess of leaving and returning. )

Was a stupid mindset.

[claritatis]

I won't disagree.

[Because it is, and just giving up has never been something that Ignis has been good at. Settling for 'just enough' is a state of mind he would hope never to find himself in.

He mimics her shrug, a small smile along with it.]

There may be a way out, but we'd miss out on a great deal by focusing on nothing but that.

[dedikated]

( It's also one she hopes he never has to deal with. It still poisons her thoughts from time to time, evidently, even after years of reasons to think more of life. It's easy enough to call realistic, but is it truly that?

Kate isn't sure it is any more.

But for now, she clears her throat, pulls her eyes away from studying the fine changes in his expression, and holds onto the warm weight which seems to fill her chest. )

S'pose so.

( The fine art of understatement. )

[claritatis]

[Ignis laughs then, his expression warming and his eyes briefly falling closed with the mirth of it.]

Did I just win a debate with Kate Galloway? [He questions, gently teasing. An understatement it might have been, but it sounds like an agreement, and one so easily given that he has to wonder just what could be distracting her so much.]

I wish I had a calendar to mark the date.

[dedikated]

( The raise of her brows is accompanied by a start of laughter, something more than her usual airy huffs and snorts of amusement, followed by the same gentle push of his head she did after their first kiss. It almost sounds like you're calling her stubborn, Ignis, but we know that could never be the case. )

Can continue, if you like.

( Not that she particularly wants to, since she doesn't actually disagree with what he's saying. )

[claritatis]

Could you? I wouldn't want you to feel like you had to force it to save face.

[Kate? Stubborn? Surely not. He would never accuse her of such a thing.]

If you prefer, we can call it a draw.

[dedikated]

( She is incredibly laid back all the time, of course. )

Win next time.

( Later. She can definitely come up with plans for winning later. )