[crow]

"Mmm..." Lyra stretched as she sat up in bed, blinking at the sunlight filtering in through the blinds. It took her a moment to place where she was. She'd been staying here a while, but the room still wasn't familiar... There was always a sense that it wasn't hers. Which, well, it wasn't. But she'd been staying here long enough, and it wasn't as though the bland decor suggested it had been someone else's, specifically, before she had usurped their occupation of it either.

She could probably have made it a little more her own if she wanted to, but she hadn't done that either.

[crow]

She wasn't sure if she wanted to. Luke had said to make herself at home, but... she didn't want to get used to their kindness. Didn't want to take advantage of it for too long, maybe.

No, that wasn't it, not really. It was more that Lyra had been transient for so long. She didn't want to put down roots here only to find that she had to pull them all up again, and it still felt kind of inevitable that she would have to.

[crow]

She could feel something else stirring as she roused herself, the presence making itself known. She glanced around, half expecting the familiar figure of Jericho to appear, but he didn't. There was merely a sense of questioning, of concern.

"I'm fine," she said, smiling. "It's only..." Her gaze flicked up to the clock that hung on the wall. "12:30? Well, it's a weekend anyway."

You slept for two days, Jericho said.

"Wait, I did what?" Lyra's eyes widened, and she sat up straighter, before grabbing for her phone to confirm the date. She paled as she saw it. He was right. She'd slept through an entire day and come out the other side.

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She remembered the day before that only hazily, through the muddled effects of a fever after... No, she wasn't going to think about it. I'm sorry, Jericho was saying. I should have been more careful...

"No," said Lyra quietly. "I'm glad you came. We wouldn't have... We needed the help." And Jericho had taken over before without too many issues, though she did always feel terribly tired after. It had just been raining, and so cold...

At any rate, she felt fine now, and there was no sense dwelling on it.

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Or at least, she was mostly fine. Now that she had woken all the way up, Lyra was quickly becoming aware of the fact that she was starving. Two whole days... That sure would explain it. She groaned as she got to her feet, moving a little stiffly--- sleeping that long did a number on your limbs.

Maybe there would be some leftover takeout or something that someone else was saving in the fridge that she could filch and microwave. It was a little bit mean to steal someone else's, but she could always buy them some new. Lyra's stomach couldn't be kept waiting.

[crow]

As soon as she exited her room, however, she was hit with the smell of something cooking. "Ugh, that smells amazing," she said, biting back another groan. Forget microwaved leftovers, she wanted some of whatever that was. She ran all the way to the kitchen, then stopped at the door, and laughed in surprise at what she found.

Bastien was standing in front of the stove, wooden spoon in hand, his hair tied back into a neat little twist at the nape of his neck. He was in casual dress, just a sweater and slacks--- it felt strange to see him without his jacket. But the most surprising thing about his entire ensemble was the peach pink apron he was wearing, tied around his waist.

[crow]

He must have heard her coming. He didn't turn to look at her, but he motioned with the spoon to the dining room table. "Sit," he said. "It's not ready yet."

"Bastien! You're cooking?" she said. She'd heard from Luke that he was pretty good at it, but thus far he had refused all her attempts to wheedle him--- or to cajole, coerce, or even outright trick him--- into making anything for her.

She hadn't tasted it yet, but if the smell was any indication of what the taste was going to be like, Luke really hadn't been kidding about Bastien's skills.

[crow]

Bastien didn't dignify that with a reply, probably because the answer was obvious. Or maybe he was just feeling shy about it. Lyra admittedly didn't have a lot of evidence quite yet, but she had a sneaking suspicion that at least some of that gruff exterior was because Bastien was just trying to cover up his embarrassment.

Still, she obliged, though she opted to sit on one of the stools next to the kitchen island instead. This was a rare opportunity to observe Bastien at work, and she wanted a nice front seat view of the action.

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It was also probably not what Bastien meant when he told her to sit, but hey, that was his fault for not being more specific. And... well, she probably would have chosen to sit here even if he had told her to go to the dining table anyway. It was her right, as field leader and all.

"What'cha making?" she said, propping her chin up on her hands, elbows braced on the countertop. It smelled like something in the family of chicken soup, though maybe she was wrong about that too. It had been a long time since she'd had a home cooked meal of any kind.

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But if she was hoping for conversation, she didn't get it. He didn't dignify that question with a reply either. Lyra pouted, not that Bastien had turned around at all to see her do it.

Gamely she made a few more attempts. "Is it... chicken noodle soup? Did you make it for me because I got sick?" Nothing. "I didn't know you had an apron. Is it yours?" Still nothing. "Hey, it is for me, right? Right...?" Boy, she hoped it was for her. She was starving. No joke, she might have to mug the other guy if it wasn't for her after all. She was pretty sure she could beat Luke in hand to hand if she was desperate enough...

[Wild Pet Found]

[crow]

Finally, Bastien spoke: "It's for you," he said. "Not that we knew whether you'd be awake to eat it." He muttered the last part half under his breath, then turned off the stove and ladled the contents of the pot into a bowl, before sliding it over on the counter to her.

"Here," he said, handing her a spoon. "Eat."

"Don't mind if I do!" Lyra grinned, savoring the moment a little--- Bastien, in an apron, cooking for her--- before she dug in with the spoon.

And immediately regretted her entire life. "Ah! It's hot!"

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Bastien frowned at her. "Are you an idiot? Of course it's hot. It's fresh off the stove," he said.

This time he was looking at her, so Lyra redoubled her efforts in pouting. "Is that any way to talk to a convalescing patient?" she protested.

Bastien snorted. "If you're well enough to argue, then you're well enough to blow on your food before you eat it." Lyra glowered at him, to no avail. He merely turned his attention back to the still mostly full pot of soup.

"Fine, be that way, I'll figure something else out. Hey, Frosty... Help a girl out, huh?"

[crow]

That got his attention. "Oi," Bastien snapped, turning around--- only to find Lyra grinning cheekily at him. The spirit that she had nicknamed Frosty was nowhere in sight. Irritation flashed briefly across Bastien's features as he realized that he had been tricked, but then he sighed, and walked back over to the counter.

Lyra's grin fell from her face as he drew up opposite her at the counter. She blinked as he picked up the spoon, laden with soup. For a moment, she wondered if he was going to steal her food--- though considering he'd made it, she didn't know if she'd be able to protest that he ate some, even if he had made it for her.

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Instead of that, however, Bastien blew on the spoonful twice to cool it, then held it out to her.

Lyra stared at him until he began to look uncomfortable. Not that this took very long. "Well?" he said. "Do you want it or not?"

"I'll have it!" said Lyra hurriedly. Tossing aside any dignity on her own part, she ate the spoonful... And immediately regretted her entire life. "It's still hot!" she said. "Geez, I'm tearing up!"

She expected him to shut her down just like he had done before, but he didn't. She watched out of the corner of her eye as he scooped up another spoonful, blowing on it even more carefully this time. "Here," he said. "Try it now."

[crow]

One moment passed, then another. The furrow between Bastien's brows deepened. "You know, it's going to take forever to feed you if you keep staring at me like that," he said.

"You're... feeding me," said Lyra, carefully.

Bastien opened his mouth to--- agree, retort, say something else maybe--- but whatever he was about to say died in his throat as he heard the words again and realized what she meant. "Here," he said, and pressed the spoon into her hand before she could refuse.