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"Don't worry, don't worry. He's a strong kid! And he likes a lot of people, just like Mister Bulat." Kevin beings to sparkle. One day, Hibiki will catch on to this. "Even so, I bet if you asked if you could call him 'big brother', he'd be over the moon."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Verens, Oz suddenly feels an overwhelming sense of karmic suspicion. He does not know why but he's placing his bets on Kevin because who else would it be, tch.

"Hah, it'd work on Bulat, too..."

That day is not this one.

"Big brother...?" So... a little like how she refers to Shizuo. She nods, her expression serious.

"Then... I'll call him that from now on!" Look at her, hands all balled up determinedly and everything. Her tea might just warm itself up again, with emotions like these flying around.

"...Um... Do you really think I should call Bulat-san that, too...?" She doesn't have anything against him, she just doesn't know him well enough to know why such a thing would make him particularly happy*.

*She is assuming that the reason for this is because it would make them happy, not because Kevin is nefariously finding ways to tease them.

This is hilarious.

"In the end, it's always up to Miss Hibiki. But, sometimes, Mister Bulat likes to tell me about his apprentice that he has at home. He's really, really proud, you know? And, he asked that apprentice to call him 'Aniki'." Because he intends to say that word in particular, he says it, but Empatheias and its auto-translate still adds a helpful undercurrent of 'big bro' to it. "To him, it's a way for a person to tell him that they look up to him, I think."

Kevin is absolutely nefariously finding ways to tease them, but in this case, his heart is in as right a place as it ever gets. Oz acts like a bossy brat all the time, but it's a master's job to take care of his servants and Oz lives that philosophy. Bulat has no idea at all what to do with children he can't teach swords to, but for him, it's a special sort of fulfilling to be the rock everyone leans on. What Kevin's really doing here is trying to bring his little family closer together.

...nefariously.

She nods with understanding at 'aniki' because her world probably has that concept, it certainly seems to have all the other trappings of the language, considering the way such details tend to come up.

"Big bro feels a little..." Weird, if she's being honest, but that's mainly because it's so casual. Then again, a student once called her out on being so polite to him using the above-mentioned language details. Hrmmm...

"...do you think just 'big brother' would be okay for him, too?" In the end, old habits die hard, and although she doesn't mean to be distant, she doesn't want to sound too casual out of the blue, either-!

That burning determination has once again fizzled out to fretting, alas.

"I think whatever suits Miss Hibiki will suit Mister Bulat, too." He settles back with his own tea at last, and if it's cold, he doesn't react to it. "I think, I thiiiiiiiink -- he very much wants to be helpful to Miss Hibiki, like he is with his apprentices. He just doesn't know how to do that for kids unless he can teach them to use a sword or to yell a lot and so on, so he feels a little awkward."

Does Hibiki remember that time Bulat tried to teach her to scream this past summer? Yeah...yeah. Yeah. Probably being casual is not the thing to be worried about here.

It's a difficult thing to forget, honestly. Bulat leaves very strong impressions, particularly when screaming is involved. That said, it's also somewhat difficult to believe that she's the one making him feel awkward when he's the one who seems so confident at all times. Now she feels bad...

"Eh-- then, maybe I should learn how to use a sword too-?!"

She still trips over her own feet. Having her try to balance herself and also a stick is certain to go well.

Kevin's thought process screeches to an abrupt halt at the thought of Hibiki trying to handle a sharp and pointy instrument of violence. He takes a moment or three to reboot.

"...I think that Miss Hibiki ought to be whatever Miss Hibiki will be," he says, at length. "The people who care...they'll be proud no matter what, you know? Bulat yells a lot and likes to roughhouse, but I've seen him show off the things I've knit for him when he thinks I am not looking. The swords are only...how to put it. They're trappings, really."

She relaxes a bit, shoulders slumping slightly. It's a little disappointing, but mostly:

"I think I'd probably trip with it anyway..."

She's not that unaware.

That said. "You do knit lots of pretty things..." It's hard not to notice, especially after living in this house for so long. "Is it hard? Making things like that." Everyone in this house seems to have a wealth of skills in all sorts of things, so she can't help but get curious, particularly when her own strengths are still so... narrow.

Yes. Good. Knitting is much better. There are still pointy objects involved, but Kevin is confident that Hibiki is not the sort of person who could manage to walk and knit at the same time, so it's safe.

"Ehhh, some of it's difficult. But it's -- well, it's like cooking in a way, you know? The simplest stitches are really as easy as making a sandwich, but...some people can make these enormous, intricate lace shawls out of wool that looks like cobwebs, on teeny tiny needles. That's more like Gilbert when he goes and makes us a proper dinner where everything's ready all at the same time and does it with only one hand."

Kevin can knock out a cute doily with minimal mishap, and he's even made a simple lace shawl, once. But even after over a year of practice, he's definitely not good enough to make one of the fancy ones without a great deal of fuss and mistakes.

Edited 2016-09-11 01:54 (UTC)

Gil does make very impressive meals. She really has no idea how he manages it.

"So your knitting is like... Maybe a stew?"

Not too difficult, mainly tossing ingredients in a pot at the right time and letting them boil. It's one of the dishes she often relied on as a result.

"Something like that! This year, I've been learning to use more than one color at the same time, to knit pictures into things. I've enjoyed it very much. Perhaps, when I get to be especially good at it, my knitting will be like those fancy sugar cookies with all the icing on."

Not a single person in this place would be surprised to find that Kevin's ultimate knitting goal is the equivalent of festive sugar cookies.

"So... lots of lace and things?" Look, she's seen the doilies, this is about as far as her imagination can stretch when it comes to knitting.

"That would be beautiful... I hope I can see them once they're done!"

It's a nice thing to look forward to - even if it's fairly removed from the original subject.

"I could teach you to do it, if you like."

It's definitely, definitely a skill she could learn -- she only needs one stitch to make a whole scarf, and it would give her another reason to be proud of herself. Plus, knitting is something that would suit her, Kevin thinks...it has that same warm, caring, good feel about it that making tea does. That's not why he does it, but it's definitely a nice perk, even for him.

“—Huh?”

It catches her by surprise, and it takes her a second before it occurs to her that she should probably answer.

“R-really…?”

It’s not much of an answer, but it’s more than just a squeak of surprise, at least. Is it even possible for her to learn something like that…?

"Of course. If you'd like to."

It only occurs to him now that maybe she has no interest in it. But he's been reading things where he can, about ways to shift certain behaviors, and it's helped him so much, so...

"I learned it in my own world because it was a practical thing, but -- in this place, I've found it a helpful way to focus, and to be calm."

Well, that's an idea. She considers it for a moment, her hands near her mouth as she weighs the chances of her attempt being at all successful to begin with.

"Do you... Do you think I could? I'm not a very good student..." She tries very hard to be, yes, but trying doesn't mean succeeding, and she's learned to be wary of such things as a result.

"Hm, hm." Kevin makes a show of rubbing his chin a little, and giving it some real thought. "Well, let me ask...when Miss Hibiki picks up her fork at dinner, does she have to think about exactly how to hold it every single time? Or have her fingers held forks so often that they know exactly where to go?"

Huh?

"No... I pick it up normally."

But knitting's different from picking up a fork... Isn't it?

"There you have it, then. You can learn to knit. You really only need to know one stitch to make a whole scarf, you know? It's just the same motions over and over again. Once you've had enough practice, your fingers will remember where to go on their own, and you won't have to think about it."

What an enlightening look at Hibiki's thought processes this will be. It's more than obvious that her confidence is low, but Kevin hasn't really figured out yet that so many of her struggles come from taking on too much at once, or overthinking.

Kevin is in for an adventure in snarls and snags that shouldn't even be possible.

"Huh... Only one-?!" But it looks so much more complicated than that! (This is already the start of her downfall.) "So... All the things you've made already were just one, too...?"

"Ehhh, the lacy things take --" Kevin pauses to tap his fingers against his thumb, counting. "...five different tricks, something like that? But, some patterns only take two stitches. Shall I show you?"

Well, this will easily keep them occupied until dinnertime.

It certainly will. She nods excitedly, still not so sure she'll be able to do much but eager to try nonetheless. "Yes, please!"

Off they go, then. Kevin loads the rest of their tea and snacks onto a tray and they migrate to the parlor, settling in on the chaise. The swordsman keeps a basket full of knitting just next to it, including some small leftover balls of yarn he doesn't really care about, useful for lifelines and provisional cast-ons and all sorts of other knitting witchcraft that only Gilbert understands.

People have been making faces at Kevin for having a "grandmotherly" hobby since he got here, but Gilbert knows how to knit, too. Go figure.

He'll start off simple, showing her only the basic stitch at first. He holds the yarn in his right hand, which will probably make it a little easier for Hibiki, at least. It means her left one just has to hold the other needle. And while Hibiki is making some truly mind-boggling knots no matter how closely Kevin watches her, he's thinking -- he's glad. He's really glad.

They're able to have such a serious conversation and end things like this after all. That's progress.

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