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Bug Buddy Playdate [V-Day 2020 - Scarab]
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Post by Kenny O'Hara and Skadi on Feb 2, 2020 6:41:54 GMT
It wasn't just Kenny who had gotten in on the Valentine's Day fun - like her tamer before him, Skadi had also opted to throw her hat into the ring for this special event, even if she wasn't exactly looking for romance herself, just a fun little playdate. Unlike Kenny, she had no issues or past trauma involving romance, but then again, she just wanted to get her feet a little wet. Why should the tamer have all the fun, anyways?
Like Kenny, Skadi had also submitted a message onto Tamernet, only this time around, writing it as an open invitation for pretty much anyone else who wanted to give this a shot, near Rosewood Village, the same place the duo met Max the Impmon-X. With Kenny opting for more of a boy's day out with Odin to relax while Skadi went on her blind date, she was pretty much winging it at this point, taking in things as they came. But with who, exactly?
Well, regardless, near the edges of the village, while waiting for her surprise date to arrive, she was out near the edges of the village, picking out ripe, varied, and delicious berries from the bushes, all ready to share with her date. She hummed merrily as she did so, gently plucking them off bunch by bunch, and packing them into her little satchel with a smile in her face.
She gave a little giggle as she plucked a cherry off one of the bushes, "This is gonna be a really fun playdate, I know it! I just hope my date today really likes these berries." Skadi mused to herself. A mixture of confidence and eagerness was radiating throughout her entire body. All she had to do today was be herself, and have as much fun as she could, be it with spars, snacks, and/or snuggles.
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Post by Hisato and Bad Company on Feb 2, 2020 7:52:00 GMT
Scarab had never been to Rosewood more than once in his lifetime, so really, the bug had no qualms about visiting the town in his more preferred form of Stingmon, even if the azure bug held a...bit of a reputation in that form. The reasoning behind this visit was simple, having signed up for a blind date on Ta--...Wait, no, he didn't do that at all.
Hisato did it and roped him into it for shits and giggles. What an asshole, right, ladies?
So, he had been told to meet the date at the edge of the village, and while there was a hint of uncertainty in even heading there...Scarab never expected to find the exact same Valaismon he had run into -twice- before picking berries from bushes.
"...Oh god." He muttered quietly. He didn't necessarily dislike Skadi, but he felt like she didn't really get on that well with him? But that was just him. Maybe that wasn't the case at all. "Skadi." The Stingmon could clearly be recognized as that one Wormmon, yep. "What...are you doing?"
...
This was going to be awkward, wasn't it.
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Post by Kenny O'Hara and Skadi on Feb 2, 2020 8:24:39 GMT
Skadi was so invested in her little berry picking endeavour she completely failed to notice a particular, familiar figure in a not-quite-familiar form approaching her. She was just in her own little world as she prepared her little gift for her playdate partner, and, frankly, after dealing with a rather stressful mission, this felt a million times more pleasant, for all the reasons too long to list in this very post.
At least, until an equally familiar voice called out her name. Skadi let out a little curious "Hm?" as she turned herself to the source of the voice - a giant, blue-tinted Stingmon. No prizes for guessing this was the same Scarab, but he was looking... a little nervous, for some reason. Maybe he reluctantly opted to dip his toes into the dating game too? That was something interesting to think about.
But Skadi harboured little ill will, if any, towards him. She gave a kind smile and a wave to him, "Hi Scarab! Nice to see you again! I was just picking some berries for our playdate today. And I got quite a few, too!" She did put plenty of time aside earlier to prepare by picking out some fresh berries. Obviously, nobody wanted to eat rotten berries, no matter who they were.
Speaking of berries, Skadi quickly dug through her bag to search for a good berry, before settling on a bundle of cherries, still glistening, ripe, with a bit of dew still clinging upon it. Perfect. She held up the berry to Scarab, even opting to stand on her tippy toes to try (and fail) to get up to the tall Stingmon's level, "You want one right now? It's on the house!" She happily offered it to him, "It's ripe~!"
Hey, if it worked for Laertes, maybe it could work for Scarab?
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Post by Hisato and Bad Company on Feb 2, 2020 9:18:09 GMT
Honestly, Scarab could empathize in getting lost in something so simple yet so routine. He was guilty of this too. How? Well, that might come up later. Probably. Maybe. Either way! When the Valaismon turned around, the Stingmon realized just...how tiny she was compared to the literally six feet tall insect.
So, really, it was a David and Goliath situation except far less hostile. Either way, the term playdate was used. Okay, so this wasn't as formal as it had sounded on Tamernet, which was nice to hear. "Berries, huh?" And one was being offered on the house.
Well. There was only one proper way to go about this. The Stingmon leaned down and took the berry being offered, looking it over...before he tossed it into the air. A truly crass move if that was all that was being done, but no. Such was not the case. The Stingmon's form glowed and dissipated as the same azure Wormmon that Skadi knew plopped down on the ground, before he took a single glance up at the swiftly descending berry, leaped upwards in a surprising display of dexterity (for a Wormmon) and chomped the berry in one bite.
THEN he landed properly.
"...Yep. Pretty ripe." Scarab nodded a few times. "So, a playdate? I've...uh. I've never been on one of those. Nor an actual date. The heck are we supposed to do? Bake a pie out of berries?" That was, admittedly, one possible thing to do here.
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Post by Kenny O'Hara and Skadi on Feb 2, 2020 10:02:44 GMT
Despite the hilariously blatant size (and power) difference between the two Digimon that even a dead goldfish would be able to spot from a mile or two away, Skadi wasn't intimidated in the slightest. She trusted Scarab; she knew he wouldn't willingly lay a finger/claw on her. And she was sure that, with her offering a berry to start the play date off on the right foot, she would solidify any trust he had for her.
That smile on Skadi's face started to widen as Scarab took the berry off her hands... before it turned into confusion as he just casually lobbed the berry into the air before de-digivolving back into his Wormmon form. But a look of amazement soon followed as Scarab effortlessly managed leap up into the air to catch the berry in his mouth and stick the landing. How could he do it, lacking his own tamer, she'd probably never knew. But she didn't care, if her enthusiastic applause was anything to go by.
But Scarab did raise a good point; what did someone do on a playdate anyways? Skadi was just hoping to hang out with whoever came calling honestly, but there was something Scarab said that made her ears let out a knowing twitch, "...actually, Scarab, that's not a bad idea. I was just hoping to have a nice picnic with all these berries after a friendly spar with you, but your idea sounds a lot better, to be honest." That was a nice surprise to be honest. Why hadn't she thought of that in the first place?
She opened her satchel to show Scarab all the berries she collected, and there were plenty of berries filling up the bag, ranging from peaches, to blueberries, to blackberries, to raspberries, to cranberries, to strawberries, all just as fresh as the cherries before them, "Here's all the berries I managed to collect today. I was collecting them to get ready for our play date, but..." She glanced down inside the satchel, "I could see a nice mixed berry pie out of this, now that you mention it..."
Again, why hadn't she thought of that beforehand?
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Post by Hisato and Bad Company on Feb 4, 2020 8:47:16 GMT
Scarab really didn't have any reason to lay a claw on Skadi. It was true that the bug had a rather...complex view of himself as a person but even he wasn't so low as to just go and -hurt- Skadi. Speaking of, the Valaismon seemed pretty damn impressed at the small display he just did. Sure, it was out of boredom, but he did have fun with his rather impressive jumping ability (for a Wormmon) when he could.
"I mean...It does sound nice, sure, but baking also sounds pretty interesting. I...uh. I actually like baking, too." That was as close as he would ever come to towards admitting that he could actually cook to someone who wasn't Hisato. He did know how to work an oven and everything, so it was just a matter of preparing the berries correctly...
The Wormmon glanced into the satchel and noted the wide assortment. Just how long had Skadi been at this? "Good number. And I can see that, too." The Wormmon fell silent for a bit. "...Good job." ...Praise was never something Scarab could give someone that easily. But goddamn, the Valaismon really went in on preparation, hadn't she?
It'd be a disservice to her to just let this go to waste. "So. If we're gonna put these into a pie, we'll need a place to work with. Preferably one with an oven. Actually, definitely one with an oven. Know any kitchens in town? Or...Uh. Bakeries?"
The Valaismon seemed way more social than Scarab was. Hell, the bug was practically a workaholic, he didn't even know -anyone- in Rosewood. "You and your tamer seem to gel well with just about anyone, so...thought you might have an idea of the layout in the city since I haven't been there before."
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Post by Kenny O'Hara and Skadi on Feb 6, 2020 7:11:17 GMT
As Skadi closed up her bag of berries, it looked like Scarab was... genuinely impressed with her efforts, from the look of things? Without even a moment of hesitation, Skadi was now excitedly throwing her arms over the blue-tinted Wormmon, pulling him into a hug. "Thank you, Scarab!" She exclaimed with a nuzzle of her nose. She really did put in a lot of effort in collecting the berries, taking as much of the morning as possible to pull this all off.
After pulling herself off Scarab, and straightening up both herself and her bag back to normal, Scarab brought up a pretty good point; where would they find a kitchen, anyways? She scratched her chin for a brief moment until something hit her, "...actually, I think there's like this really good bakery in town. We've been there before to pick up some quick lunch from time to time, but I don't think they'd mind us borrowing the oven for a little bit, for a small fee that is. Follow me!" As she walked off, she quickly gestured Scarab to follow along. He looked like a healthy enough fellow, so she was sure he could keep up perfectly fine.
In a short amount of time, the two of them had reached the town (or rather, the city) of Rosewood, and, by Yggdrasil, the decently sized town had grown quite a bit since the last time they visited. Thankfully, the warm, welcoming, and overall friendly feeling still remained, as with plenty of the Rookie-level Digimon living, working, and mingling with one another. Likewise, a similar sense of familiarity was still there, with both her and Kenny being regulars.
Sadly, it seemed Scarab wasn't as familiar with this place as she was as she led them along to the bakery. Thankfully for the blue bug, Skadi was more than willing to help on that end, if that little reassuring smile she gave him told Scarab anything, "Admittedly, things can feel a lot more intimidating when it's all so unfamiliar to us, Scarab. I remember when I went to the human world for the first time, before I met Kenny. All the sights, and sounds, and people everywhere around me. I thought I would've been completely lost in the shuffle if it wasn't for him." She told him, "Besides, the Swanmon back at the Village of Beginnings always taught me that two heads are better than one, right?" Skadi finished off with a little wink to Scarab.
Despite the larger size of the city, the walk to the bakery was still quite short, without much of a hassle on either end. "We're here!" She cried, as she sprinted towards the door. She stopped short of actually entering it... before opening the door and gesturing Scarab over, "You first, Scarab!" She still had to be polite for her play date after all.
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Post by Hisato and Bad Company on Feb 14, 2020 7:37:59 GMT
Had the Wormmon expected a hug today? Probably not. The bug locked up for the quickest of moments as Skadi pulled him into a hug, but it actually felt a little relaxing. The Valaismon did not mean harm. Hell, Scarab wasn't sure if Skadi had the potential to even have a mean bone in her body.
When he was released, the bug heard Skadi out once more. Okay, so there was a bakery in town that Skadi knew. There would be a small fee (gross, having to pay?) but it...seemed inconsequential. Pie was at stake, after all.
The trek back to Rosewood proper wasn't long, but it was inspiring to see how swiftly the city had grown. Perhaps it could get even bigger? But then it'd end up being harder to navigate for Scarab. "I guess you have a point there. Hate to admit it, but even I can get lost sometimes." And it sucked when he did, to note. ...How come he was having such a hard time talking to the sheep? It's not like she bit or anything.
"If there's anything Rosewood's got going for it, it's that it's...always quaint. Quiet. Nothing bad ever happens here, usually." We don't talk about the boar. When they got to the bakery, Scarab had been prepared to hold the door for Skadi, but...The sheep had beaten him to it.
Oof.
"Sure." The worm crawled a step past Skadi, before he went and held the door for -her.- "Okay. Now you." Counterplay has been initiated.
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Post by Kenny O'Hara and Skadi on Feb 15, 2020 6:41:03 GMT
Well, that was quite the nice surprise there. Stepping aside to let Scarab through, fully expecting him to walk in through the door before her, she felt her own body frozen in place and her eyes widen a little bit as the Wormmon had held the door open for her. Followed by a warm smile emerging onto her face, before lightly patting the Wormmon on the head, "Thank you, Scarab!"
Who would have guessed that he was that much of a gentleman?
Anyways, a small bell chimed as they walked inside, and both of them would be greeted by the warm, delicious smell of bread and pastry filling the air, as several equally delicious looking baked good lined the shelves around them. Around the same time, a Falcomon sitting at the front counter opposite them, presumably the owner, beamed brightly as he looked at the two, "Ah, Skadi. Welcome." He happily clapped his hands together. "Who's your new friend over there?"
Skadi was equally as happy to return the favour, smiling and waving back at him, "Hi Murray! That's Scarab," She gestured to the blue Wormmon, "We're here to make a berry pie out of all the berries we collected today." As she said this, she pulled out and opened her bag, as Murray leaned over to take a glance at it. His eyes started to widen a little at the sheer amount, and variety, inside.
"Geeze, that's a lot of berries you guys got there." He blinked in surprise, before glancing to the two Digimon, "You must have been pretty well prepared about your plans for today, you's two. You guys want to rent out an oven today? It comes with the material you'll need to make a nice pie Sound good?"
The eager nod Skadi gave him was more than enough to tell Murray her answer, "Great!" He grinned to the both of them, "Since today is a special day today, I'll give you a special... *ahem* couple's discount." Murray gave a little, knowing wink to the both of them. "That'll be 2,000 bits, please."
"Don't worry, Scarab." She looked to him as she dug around her bag and pulled out her bits, putting them onto the counter for Murray to count, "I'll foot the bill for us. I did come prepared for pretty much everything today, after all." It was not unlike Skadi to basically have a plan ready for anything thrown in front of her. Even comparatively mundane situations like this did need a good backup just in case, after all.
After counting up the bits, Murray gave a pleased chuckle to himself, "Thank you kindly. Give me a moment to get the key for you's two." He smiled as he moved up from the tables, leaving the two Digimon to be for a few good moments.
Skadi turned back to Scarab, a kind smile on her face, "To be honest with you, Scarab, I've never really, well, baked a whole pie before. I mean, I've helped a few times in the kitchen. After all, I helped somebody make some delicious curry a while ago, maybe you could teach me how to make a pie?" She looked completely willing to learn a thing or two from him. He did mention he wasn't a half-bad chef, so why not take the time to learn a bit more on the culinary arts?
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Post by Hisato and Bad Company on Feb 23, 2020 0:05:37 GMT
Scarab legitimately had no idea how it was possible for one singular sheep-like Digimon to be so NICE. How was she doing it? Just...how? And why to him of all people? The bug's cheeks flushed red for only the briefest of moments before he followed Skadi inside. It seemed as though she and the owner(?) were already well-acquainted. "Yeah. That's my name. She spent the entire day gathering the berries."
So far, at least.
The bug nodded. "One oven, please." Was that how you even requisitioned an oven? Probably not. Also, they weren't a couple! Just FRIENDS! Scarab nearly opened his mouth in protest before Murray gave off a price of...
Just 2000 bits.
Honestly, could've been worse, but Scarab could foot th--...Or Skadi could. "It...really seems like you did. Huh." The bug glanced to the ground for a moment of quiet before... "Makes me wonder if I should've done the same." The Wormmon admitted.
It was time to give Skadi some reassurance, however. "I haven't baked a mixed berry pie before...But pies themselves...they're easier than you might think. I'll help you, sure, but...don't worry about it too hard." Would that ease the sheep's worries?
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Post by Kenny O'Hara and Skadi on Feb 25, 2020 10:21:43 GMT
Even if Scarab actually managed to point out that he and Skadi were just friends, it wasn't like Murray was just going to willingly step aside and let as something as boring and inconvenient as the truth get in the way of his playful teasing of them. Especially when an opportunity like this came knocking at his door at the right place and the right time, on Valentine's day of all things.
Speaking of Scarab, his words were not lost on Skadi, if that subsequent, noticeable ear twitch was anything to go by. Aiming to at least lift some metaphorical weights off his shoulders, she turned her head and smiled at him, casually flapping her hand, "Ah, it's fine, don't worry about it. I just want to make this day as great as possible for the both of us." Something like this was simply no skin off her nose.
Internally, Skadi did feel a little nervous about baking the pie itself, hence her words to Scarab. While she, like her tamer Kenny, was quite the quick learner, if her training with Valt were anything to go by, with how swimmingly everything was going so far, she was quickly feeling her lack of experience with cooking catch up to her. But as she listened to Scarab's words, she quickly understood; was it really that easy to cook a pie, as he said?
Yes, as it turned out, Scarab's words did manage to reassure her, if that smile told Scarab anything. She nodded keenly at him with another, grateful smile, "I won't, Scarab. Thank you." She simply said. It just felt so good that, despite her lack of skill when it came to cooking, he had faith in her. And needless to say, she was all too determined not to let him down.
Skadi's ears twitched once more as a set of footsteps got a little louder, and Murray, now dangling the keys to the rental kitchen, "Alright, you lovebirds, I got the keys to the rental kitchen. Follow me!" Murray cried, gesturing the two to come with him. Skadi said nothing at first, however, as a bit of a blush came upon her face. Murray covered his mouth quickly, as he stifled a chuckle.
Only a moment later, Skadi would follow Murray, who was now unlocking the door, all the while glancing to Scarab apologetically, "Sorry about that, Scarab, Murray just loves teasing us from time to time." Considering this bakery was the only one with the rental kitchen in town...
...yeah.
As they entered the rental kitchen, apart from the obligatory oven (this one being woodfire), the cupboard, the tools, and a set of standard ingredients one would need to make basic pastry dishes, there was something arguably... unique about this place. Pink love heart garlands, of different shades of pink, were strewn upon the walls, accompanied by springy foil strings with another series of hearts. More hearts, this time stickers, could be seen on the windows. And even the interior of the door was decorated with 2 big love heart stickers.
...Skadi could only blink, lost for words on what to actually say.
Murray, on the other hand, looked barely fazed, as he slapped Skadi and Scarab on the back, "I did have to prepare for the occasion, you know." He chuckled as he turned towards the door, "I'll leave you two lovebirds to it. Have fun!" He waved to them, just as he was about to leave.
He gave one final peek before finishing, "Oh, by the way... happy Valentine's Day, you's two." Clunk.
By now, Skadi's cheeks were now beetroot red, all thanks to Murray's comments. She just glanced back to Scarab awkwardly, "Like I said, he loves to tease us whenever we come by. I never said I enjoyed it all the time."
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Post by Hisato and Bad Company on Feb 27, 2020 13:57:54 GMT
Once more, the question had to be asked. How was it that this sheep was so nice to him? It's not that such a thing was incomprehensible to Scarab, but it was certainly from out of left field every time the thought crossed his head.
Of course, when Murray came back and once more called them lovebirds, both Skadi and Scarab regarded him with red faces and actual embarrassment. Wow. Just. Wow. The bug quietly followed Murray with Skadi. "I figured." He told Skadi, quietly.
When they got to the kitchen proper, and the thing was unlocked, Scarab just stared at the decorations with a blank look on his face. Was this seriously necessary? Was this -really- needed for a kitchen? Did Murray even account for the fact that all the decorations might affect how people cook in this place? Come on.
"...I don't like it either." Scarab finally admitted. "Being teased like that drives me up the wall. Let's see what we have to work with here..." The worm scuttled forward. Yep, they seemed to have everything here. He started to pull out the stuff one would need to bake a pie, first and foremost, because the author has no idea how you do that.
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Post by Kenny O'Hara and Skadi on Mar 2, 2020 7:35:52 GMT
"Trust me, Scarab, if I could tear down, then tear up all these decorations into a million itty-bitty pieces with my own bare hands right now, I would." Skadi admitted sincerely as she put the berry bag onto the table and walked over to preheat the oven while Scarab prepared the rest. That was an understatement on her part. Given the chance, she would practically obliterate all the decorations here and burn them to ashes. And their ashes. And the ashes of the ashes. And so on.
It was one of the few things about Valentine's day she didn't exactly care for, to put it lightly.
Anyways, with the oven now in the process of preheating (and after washing and drying her hands), Skadi went over to grab the nearest useful pasty cookbook from the shelf and brought it over to the table, opening the page over to the basic pie section, and giving a good scan through over the two pages, "Hmm... looks like we need to make the dough first. I think I could handle kneading it considering... my sausage fingers here." She lightly clawed a hand to show the Wormmon.
Her eyes constantly darted between both the book and the ingredients as she grabbed one of the measuring cups and a teaspoon, making sure she added just the right amount of flour, salt, and butter, before grabbing a fork to mesh them all together. Followed up with half a cup of cold water, and proceeding to knead it nice and slowly. It wasn't perfect, yes, but she was trying, bless her heart.
"It... kinda feels a little weird between my fingers, I have to admit." She turned to Scarab as she kneaded, "And a little sticky too. I've never really been this hands on in the kitchen before." A small smile started to come back onto her face, "I think I could get quite used to this."
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Post by Hisato and Bad Company on Mar 17, 2020 23:06:05 GMT
"Don't do that." Scarab stated, quite flatly. "I'd really rather not get...kicked out of a place I've never even been to before." The Wormmon might have been a right bastard at heart but he wasn't going to try ruining a gesture someone thought would be a nice touch. That'd just be doing them dirty.
With the oven in pre-heating mode, there were a few things in order left to do, like actually kneading the dough, something that Skadi had graciously offered to do herself, with her...phalanges.
"Well, I'd argue it's less your sausage fingers and more the fact you have opposable thumbs at Rookie. I'd need to digivolve to have the same luxury. Still! You've got the right idea." Scarab nodded a few times. So far so good. Baking wasn't something that required perfection right off the bat. Only if you're dealing with making something exactly to the recipe was that needed.
...Just waiting for the oven to be preheated and all of that was...a bit awkward though. At least with silence. While Scarab tried to figure out what to do next, he decided to attempt small talk. "...Hey, these are usually done with people you like, right? Is there anyone like that in your life?"
...
Holy shit, that was more blunt than the broad side of the isekai truck.
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Post by Kenny O'Hara and Skadi on Mar 18, 2020 9:47:12 GMT
Skadi could only nod once to Scarab in response to his reasonable concerns, ”Fair point.” If there was any consolation for the both of them, at least Murray wasn’t here to hear either of them even gripe about the tacky decorations, much less even suggest destroying them. He was a busy mon, after all.
Still, as Skadi kneaded her fingers deep into the dough, she instinctively found herself turning her head over to Scarab as he noted her efforts so far, much to her pleasant surprise. A small smile came upon her face as she unconsciously continued to knead the dough into a more consistent form, "Thank you. I've never really was this hands on with cooking before. It just feels a little more rewarding to me, if you ask me." She admitted to the Wormmon. Apart from the tacky decorations, this did really feel a little surprisingly rewarding to someone like her willing to try new things.
With the dough now in a cool, consistent texture, she grabbed a nearby sift and small sack of flour, lightly sprinkling specks of the white stuff over a decently sized plate. She then proceeded two halves of the dough, packing each into a ball roughly equally the same size, and squashing it into a tubby, pancake-looking shape, before wrapping it into plastic wrap and putting it into the fridge, leaving it to cool for a bit.
Plenty of time to make the filling in the meantime.
Although, as Skadi shut the door, and put her berry-bag onto a chair near the table, ready to pull out the berries themselves, Scarab asked her... a pretty hard hitting question, actually. That was enough to slow the Valaismon into a complete halt, before she could pull out even a single morsel. She twiddled her fingers a little bit as her mind raced to comprehend the sudden mental bombshell that Scarab suddenly dropped upon her.
It took her a few moments to think of an answer that Scarab would (hopefully) be satisfied with, but finally, Skadi started to explain herself, "Well... yes. Before dinnertime, Kenny's dad encourages me to help out in the kitchen, even if it's for more mundane tasks like washing the lettuce, or peeling the potatoes. And while we do it, we tend to chat about our day, what we did, what's going on, all that sort of stuff. We do tend to banter and joke around quite a lot, and it makes me feel like I'm part of the family.
It just feels so nice to me, really."
Then, something just clicked inside of Skadi's mind. Why did Scarab just up and drop a heavy bombshell like that from out of nowhere? Quietly, she just asked him, "Hey Scarab. Are you OK?"
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