shsl traceur

Something flashes in your mind…

Something… whistling. Not a sound, but somehow, more of a feeling. He’s on the move. That feeling becomes clearer as his own footsteps grow faster. The wind, spraying hair this way and that, getting in his eyes and beating his ears. The townscape becomes a blur as he moves at a lightning pace. For what reason? An escape? … No, it’s nothing that dramatic. It’s something that comes to him more naturally. A part of his identity, maybe? This speed, the breeze that hits his face, the heights that he crosses in one leap. Maybe two. Landing’s no problem, either. He knows how to minimize damage, how to roll his body out of harm’s way. This skill… he’s done it for a long time now. A part of him, maybe. Certainly the reason he went there in the first place.

Right, that was it. He remembers flashing a brilliant smile as he paws the camera off of his head to check the footage. This is who he is and what he does. The running that comes so naturally comes to him for good reason. It’s what Hope’s Peak wanted him for. But eh, Hope’s Peak’s second to his siblings. Lucas wanted to see this. They came first. Man, the looks on their faces were gonna be priceless.

Useful can be all manners of things, one supposes. For morale, for a job, to make your life easier… so surely something here would be useful, if you kept an open mind. Matias puts in his two coins and waits for his rewards. He doesn’t have to wait long to get two objects…

Cowboy Hat: Bring the wild wild west to the very very cold with this fashionable cowboy hat! Guaranteed to either make people think you’re cool or want to shove you to the ground.

As soon as Matías enters, the door shuts behind him and the room goes completely black for a second. A gentle voice says ‘loading, loading’ and then, after a few second ‘complete’.

[♫♫♫♫]

It stays dark for a long time and then…

There’s honestly nothing. The lack of light honestly begins to wear on your spirit. He keeps expecting something to happen and yet, nothing ever does. For a long, long time, this darkness goes on. It might even be… peaceful. And yet, he can’t help but feel the other shoe’s about to drop as the room seems to rumble. Matias looks around for a source but the room remains dark, it’s just shaking tremendously. A thick fog pours into the room from somewhere and begins to damage already slight vision. on closer inspection, or smelling, he begins to realize that this is actually a heavy smoke. He can’t help but cough under the pressure, his throat burning and a dead smokey taste filling his mouth. Finally and perhaps too suddenly, lights shine into the room and it seems portray a variety of scenes. Scenes of brutality and unfairness. As if watching from a security camera, he sees bank robberies and shootings. He sees innocents shot and then falling into a bloody mess onto the floor. He is able to see, and yet do nothing, as crime takes place all around him. Every time someone dies, the image flickers to another, with each wall supplying a new image, a new look into tragedy each time.

Oh. He replied and seemed… actually honestly pretty cheerful. It was somewhat unexpected. It made Shizumaru feel a stab of guilt; perhaps he had been too extreme in his words. It was clear the boy wasn’t native to Japan. What’s more, he had amnesia, like they all did. Cultural differences seemed paltry while people were dying for real. He had just wanted to be polite, wanted the other party to follow that line of thought but perhaps in retrospect he had been a bit snippy.

“No, I apologize, I should not have phrased it like that. Still, I would say, if you don’t mind me extrapolating, that… just because someone does not say they are bothered it does not mean they are not. Umehara-san has a kind heart. I’m sure even you have noticed.I doubt she is the sort of person who would risk upsetting someone or ruining the mood for the sake of her own comfort. Self-sacrificing. Perhaps. In any case, it is good to just be conscious of it.“

If Matias talked to Ryoka about it, surely she’d be fine with it. That girl seemed to be fine with a great deal of things. As per usual, he wondered just how healthy that was; just how healthy a mindset it could be. Perhaps he shouldn’t criticize. Enforcing his own standards on others was wrong, wasn’t it? Such thinking was a slippery slope…

“I understand… but you can leave this matter to me. It is my duty and I can assure you I’m taking it quite seriously. I’m sure there are many others who would appreciate your assistance. I, too, do not mean any rudeness. However… I don’t believe I can trust anyone but myself right now. It isn’t personal, if it helps. I just wish to protect Umehara-san properly with my own strength. That means I have to be wary of everyone.“

She’s way too trusting. If she knew the things he was saying, she’d surely protest. But that was part of the problem; one of various reasons why he had to be vigilant here. Matias sure seemed like a fine guy and perhaps he had the best interests of everyone at heart. But what would Shizumaru do if he didn’t? If, in one moment of weakness, he left Matias hurt Ryoka? He had already hurt her accidentally by volunteering himself. Even if it made him look bad, he wouldn’t make that mistake again. He swore it.

“’Cool’? … I see… I didn’t think of it being ‘cool’… but I suppose in a way, I’m glad to hear that?“

There was a questioning intonation to the words, as if he had barely a clue what cool even was.

“I don’t think I hear that often… ‘cool’. I think I should thank you for it but I am unsure… I’ll thank you anyway. Thank you. I think that learning such a thing makes you stronger. And with that strength comes the knowledge you should use your strength responsibly. I hope that makes sense.“

Matías didn't feel you were too snippy, Shizumaru, so that's cool. He just thinks about what Shizu says about Ryoka, and wonders, he thought a lot of things through, didn't he? Like he's super serious about every detail... sounds exhausting. He nods nonetheless.

"I understand, I can see how that's possible. I'll make sure to ask her what's her preference in being called, to give her a chance to clear any misunderstanding on it. I wouldn't want to have her secretly uncomfortable after all..."

Matías thought that he should give, above everything, an opportunity to Ryoka to say what she thinks of it. It's all good to try to pick up unsaid things from people who have trouble expressing themselves truthfully, but you should always give them a verbal opportunity to do so. It's very hard to pick up on unsaid things after all, but above everything Ryoka seemed the type to not hide if spoken truthfully with. Especially since he believed she really didn't mind many small things- she seemed fine with things like, Tatsuya's behaviour, why bother too much with strict formal politeness?

As to what Shizu says next, Matías blinks in surprise, but he doesn't say anything for a bit. He understood Shizumaru's position and his explanation, in a way, but it's still a little surprising. At least it's not personal, though he did wonder how Shizumaru's head ticked to make him take this sort of stance... He can't blame him too much though. They're all amnesiac, this is a dangerous place, a murder occurred, and so on... And yet, Matías stance is similar to before. These little differences in how they all reacted to this place made Matías curious about themselves. It's such a strange thing. Alas, he just nods at Shizumaru again and offer a smile

"No offence taken. I understand your position - a little anyway, I can't claim to fully understand - and I'll respect your decision. Then I'll leave Ryoka to you, and while you might disagree on trusting people, I feel like I can trust you with it."

He meant it from his heart. Shizumaru seemed a little too serious, and a bit high strung in some things, but from what Matías could tell, he would protect Ryoka. Probably Because he was so serious, it felt like he'd be very serious about protecting Ryoka, and such, he felt like he could trust Shizumaru with it. He might be wrong, or regret later, but he can't know about the future he'll just live in the now.

Then Shizumaru seems to not grasp the word cool and Matías wonders if he even used it correctly, but no he's pretty sure he has, is just... Shizumaru a secret grandpa or something? Living in the seclusion of a far away temple at a high mountain in rural Japan... It actually seemed to fit...

Ah… this fellow.

The boy clearly wasn’t Japanese. His body type, eyes, hair and even attitude all screamed alien, to him at least. He recalled being ignored by the boy a few times in the woods before. Perhaps that, too, was something of a cultural difference. Shizumaru wasn’t sure. Shizumaru wasn’t sure about a lot regarding this person, honestly. But he believed honesty and good manners were key and so, he had no intention of being anything but.

It was certainly surprising he replied this time. Perhaps the times prior were just bad ones. Still, the way he was speaking was kind of… arrogant. ‘Watch out for her when I can’t’? To say he is incapable of such a task? Hm. Something to think about. Shizumaru frowns, making his disapproval clear.

“… While it is true that Umehara-san is in this predicament because of me… I would rather you not look down on me. I do intend to protect her. If anyone gets in the way of that, I will consider them an enemy of mine. Yourself included. And… if I might add onto that… calling her ‘Ryoka’ is rather… familiar, is it not? If you care about Umehara-san in the way that you claim, you should be a little more polite.“

He shut his eyes and considered his words. He had intended to be well-mannered but he feared he was coming across as somehow bitter. Should he apologize? Was this rude in the other’s culture? It was hard to say. Hard to know.

“It seems I do. I must’ve practiced kendo before… I can’t remember how or why and yet… I know how to use this. It’s second-nature. I hope that doesn’t intimidate you. I have no intention of hurting anybody if I don’t have to.”

Oh, that caught Matías by surprise. He really didn't expect the words that came from the other boy, though- he wasn't sure what he expected really. Maybe he just Not expected to have somehow offended (maybe?) the other one. He thinks on it for a bit, before smiling as if he recalled something.

"Oh, right! I think I remember- the Japanese call each other by surnames, right? No one really corrected me on that until now, so I've really just used what's easier for me to say. 'Umehara-san''s kind of long... Well, I'll just ask her if it bothers her, maybe she just hasn't corrected me out of politeness, and then she'll say how she prefers to be called?"

As usual, he took this in stride. He really didn't mind being scolded about calling her in a Too Familiar Manner- in fact, if it did bother Ryoka, he'd immediately stop, so it's something to investigate if necessary. And if the other thought more caution was needed, then he'd look into it. Better safe than sorry, right? At least when it was in regard to others. Hard to say if he'd apply that to himself.

"Ah, but, I didn't mean to look down on you or anything. I just thought if she had two people watching out for her, she'd be safer than just one, you know? I didn't mean to offend you or anything- I might have worded it poorly, sorry."

He did feel like he was more direct than the other Japanese students. It was likely a cultural thing, but also seemed to be just a Shizumaru thing- more serious and rigid than most kids. After all, many of the Japanese guys in here took some of his own stuff in stride too, like they expect Matías to act different. He did wonder about this cultural different sometimes.

"Oh, no it doesn’t intimidate me, I think it's cool! I can't say I recall any sort of swordfight, or kendo match, but the idea of it seems pretty cool if done for sport, so that's neat that you can!"

He had doomed Ryoka. Was trying to help so bad? Somehow, no matter his intentions, things kept going wrong. With all his power, he would hope that the poison would affect him. That the others wouldn’t suffer. If it meant this would end then… is the answer… to die himself?

He eyes the shinai in his room. It wouldn’t be sharp enough to do the job. The rope he has? … Perhaps something more… definitively fatal. He can’t help but shudder.

Frightening.

Even if he wants to, the prospect is frightening. He feels his immaturity in the moment and collapses his head into his knees as he sits. Useless. And even if he does die, what does that mean for Ryoka? He doesn’t know. And because he doesn’t know, he doesn’t know what to do. Leaving it up to chance… seems unfair. All of it seems unfair but he doesn’t have a good answer. If only he were a little smarter.

Stronger.

Better.

Shizumaru sighs. Such self-pity is indulgent and it helps no one. Were such thoughts going through Ji-hyun’s head, too? Only the person themselves would know, he supposes. He grips the wooden sword and holds it feeling a sense of comfort. It’s really a weapon that’s perfect for him - one that won’t kill but can protect. But he can’t protect anyone like this… or at least, it’s getting harder. Perhaps if he practices more with it…

He opts to take it with him and reaches for a scarf to replace the one he’d given Lotus. Was it a coincidence there was one similar to it or intent? This room did seem perfect for him. Perhaps this part was perfect too. As he left his room, leaving the door temporarily open, he saw someone else leave theirs and gave them a nod. Now equipped with his weapon, a surge of confidence gave him the power to approach them. He wasn’t perfect but that didn’t mean he’d stop trying to help. If he stopped believing he could help then… what did he even have left? No, this had to continue. He would protect Ryoka and the others, no matter what it took.

Hopefully it wouldn’t come to murder… but if it did… he’d be ready this time. He couldn’t afford not to be.

“Greetings to you. None of us are… in… good health, per se. But if there is anything I can do to help, please, let me know.”

There was a face Matías saw ever so often, but hasn't talked to much yet. He waved almost instinctively at being nodded, and as he finished closing his own room's door, he noticed Shizumaru approaching him. Maybe then they could actually have a chance to know more of each other! And hopefully clear up the fact Matías is deaf to Shizu, but only hopefully.

"Hah, you're right about that. Though it doesn't bother me too much, the feeling itself anyway..." He shrugged, ignoring his own shoulder pain as he did "You're paired with Ryoka, right? I believe she commented that. I think if you could watch out for her when I can't, it'd be all the help I'd need."

Matías 'think about girls before yourself' Sánchez seemed to be fine enough if that's all he could think of. Really, though, seeing Ryoka earlier even more exhausted than usual did worry his head, as if he wasn't usually a worrywart anyway. The main toll this motive was taking on him is how worried he was for the other girls.

Despite the subject, though, he curiously eyes the shinai on Shizu's hands and smiles looking back at him.

Kou had continued to tap their pen against the paper, hitting the same area with such great precision as they thought focusing on this repetitive action would help lead to an answer. It was somewhat calming now that they had time to think about it. They were pulled out of those thoughts by movement from the corner of their eye. They stared at Matías as if trying to decide where he properly fit. It wasn’t coming to them.

“I’m making a list.” And checking it twice. And they’re gonna find out who’s naughty or nice. 

It wouldn’t hurt to have a second opinion on this; plus, Kou had assumed that Matías had more interactions with the others than they themselves had. 

“That would be very helpful,” they gestured to the seat next to them with their poisoned arm. “It’s based off of the answer that LISE-san had given us. I believe it is important to understand who it is we are as a group, correct? Especially since any of us could be a victim or a killer next.”

The arm with the coloured bracelet caught Matías eyes and he stares at it for a few seconds before nodding and sitting where they had gestured. Thinking of it, despite having investigated stuff with Kou before, they have talked very few times until now, hadn’t they?

“That’s right, I think it’s important to give it some thought, especially since LISE did answer us. And I don’t really think it’s lying to us about that…”

He thought of the book, or diary-report someone left behind - likely Tori, but it wasn’t signed - and it did seem to hold up LISE’s answer well. It was an answer that left them with a bunch of more questions, though.

“I think your list so far is pretty spot on. Well, I don’t know about Ihara, but, I think she doesn’t really like me so it’d be difficult for me to tell. Tatsuya does look like he needs some urgent help though, and Ryoka is a very kind soul who tends to watch out for others when she can. I haven’t spoken with Shizu too much though… He seems like a hardworking serious guy but that’s just a first impression.”

Matías thinks about it a bit more and realizes while he had some opinions on who could be in each column, he saw Kou hadn’t written their own name yet.

“You don’t know where you’d be in these groups? Well, not that I’m one to talk, I’m not too sure of where I’d be either.”

The motive this time was enough to scare anyone, wasn’t it? It still didn’t fully register to Kou that they had poison running through their veins. They felt they should be a little more concerned with that. Actually, they didn’t feel that. The motive was practically pushed to the back of their mind as the glow of the bracelet barely escaped their sleeve. They were currently busy with a notepad a list of names all too familiar to everyone else. There were two columns on the sheet of paper: “HELPED” and “HELPERS.” They stared at it as if it would make more sense to them. While they didn’t concern themselves too much with the others, it would be good to consider where everyone was in concerns to what LISE had told the group.

The only name under “HELPED” so far was Ryuuko. If you looked close enough, it seemed as if another name was erased. The “HELPERS” list had some names: Umehara, Ihara, and Kirikubo. “… Where do I fit?” they asked, not knowing if anyone else was there to answer the question for them. Would someone even know the answer? If they did, that might be pretty suspicious. 

Kou sat back a bit, examining the part of the Crystal Cafe that they could see from their point of view. Maybe if they stared long enough at the scenery, the answers would just magically appear and everything would make sense again. 

Opposite to Kou, Matías was needing to be a little less concerned, because this couldn't be good to his heart. He decided to give himself a break from thinking of it to think of more concrete things, like making food, and so he heads to the cafe. Initially, he didn't see Kou on the corner, looking a little disorientated and not quite heading for the kitchen yet either, as he stares at the chalkboard for a bit, and then glances around the white stools and fake icicles. He hadn't noticed these little details of the cafe yet. He isn't sure why he is doing so now, but it might just be he's that off put from his usual mindset thanks to the motive.

Eventually, he does notice Kou around, though he blinks a few times before he actually registers Kou properly and he waves. Damn, Matías, you're a mess.

"Oh, I didn't see you there, Kou. Watcha doing?"

He ends up approaching and glancing over Kou's notebook curiously, and then getting even more curious when he reads what it is. Right, the answer of the 'why' question...

"Do you want some opinions on your list?"

“[I see. I will try.]”

And that’s really all there was more to say about that, since that’s all she could do, right? Try not to die. Well…there was also trying to get her memory back but that seemed to go hand in hand with not dying. A dead person with memories is useless in the long run.

That asides, Matias takes a bit to process all she’s said and she waits patiently. Was this how others felt when they spoke to her, waiting for the words they’d said to process and register as things? She couldn’t help but feel just a little bad. Making others wait…it didn’t feel right.

“[Yes. That is right, but I will not get it. Not so easy, I think. Ah…oh, those. I do not need them.]’“

While it’s nice he promises not to be so pushy about the whole thing, she’s unsure if he can actually keep that promise. After all, he did just rush up to her and start shoving things on her and trying to touch her. He seems to just do as he likes without thinking of the other’s feelings.

Well. She would just have to wait and see.

Lotus is so confident on herself... Matías wishes he could be that confident that everybody will stay safe. But since seeing her walking without shoes on snow, the deaths of two girls and having two others missing... Well, it’s been hitting on his worrywart instincts. He’ll try to not be pushy, but Lotus, that’s on how you take care of yourself too in before Matías explodes in worry again.

“[Are you sure? Well, okay then,]”

He pockets the gloves for when he deems them necessary later. He’s sure they’ll end up being- this place is really cold after all.

“[Either way, were you going on the hiking trail? I like to use it to go to the new area, but I haven’t really looked into it yet...]”

Matías (finally) notices the cross mark Lotus inspected. Huh. A cross mark on a stone, in such a place...? If that didn’t look like a tomb, he didn’t know what did. Before he decides to actually possibly dig up an apocalypse zombie, he looks into those grey rocks and pale rocks, before turning to Lotus and straight up asking her

Ori blinked at him. “Would it be cool to talk?” they asked, “You can just ask me to talk to you… It’s okay, Machi-san.” They glanced around to find their ribbon, and then idly gathered back most of their hair and tied it off. They then ran a hand through their bangs and pushed it around until they could see. They had never been terribly fussed about their hair - it just seemed to me naturally messy, so as long as it was clean, they didn’t care.

They pushed themselves off the bed and yawned, making a show of stretching, arms up, bending backwards, bending further than most people might. Flexible. They straightened out and gestured to the table. “If you don’t mind a little bit of mess, we could just talk here.” 

They knelt down at the table anyway and pushed all of the dishes away into one corner. They’d deal with those later. “Would you like some tea?”

God, I love Ori. Matías considers he might have worded it a little weirdly, given how Ori is really hard to read and his grasp in Japanese being loose were both factors to consider but really it just ended up as an awkward sorta request. After Ori almost does a little circle like he really is a fish swimming up in his bed, he shrugs at the mention of the place being messy, entering inside then.

“It’s fine, it’s not really messy, I don’t think so anyway,” like he knew much bigger messes than this “It’s actually really fancy, the room in general. It’s got this really Japanese feel to it...”

He looks around for a bit at the room, really it’s so fancy he feels extra out of it, on accounts of being pretty sure he’s a foreigner. Then he considers Ori’s offer. Tea, huh?

“Sure, why not. I can’t remember liking it one way or another, might as well discover it again.”

Thinking in things they’d discover again... He hums briefly.

“With all the hurry we were in discovering clues, and investigating before...” he leaves the deaths of two girls conveniently out of mention “There was something that was noteworthy I just hadn’t have opportunity to think of or ask about until things got a little quieter. About Hope’s Peak and these little talents titles thing- like the one they gave to Tsuneko. Character designer? I have a vague feeling like I’ve been to it, but, I can’t concretely remember anything- or anything about Hope’s Peak.”

I’ll carry you home. No, you’re not alone. Keep marching on, This is worth fighting for, You know we’ve all got battle scars. You’ve had enough, But just don’t give up. Stick to your guns, You are worth fighting for. You know we’ve all got battle scars. Keep marching on.

Satoko exhaled - her breath coming out as a low hiss between her teeth. She turned to face him so that he could read her lips.

“Reverse psychology, not opposite psychology.” She tapped her foot impatiently. “And what if I told you to stay, hm? You’d just stick around, wouldn’t you? If I tell you to leave, you stay. If I tell you to stay, you stay. In the end, you’re just doing whatever you want without listening to me.”

Her eyes narrowed as Matias continued to give her that air-headed smile. It really seemed like there was nothing she could do to get him to leave…well, nothing short of leaving the stove unattended, and she wasn’t about to do that. If he wanted to be stubborn, though, she didn’t have to be nice. With her free hand, she made a shooing motion towards the door. 

“Move back. Into the hallway.” She shouted after him as she waited for him to move. “It’s just miso soup anyways! It’s not even hard to make! It’s just dashi stock, miso paste and hot water. Then you add tofu. Even an idiot like you could probably make it.” 

A pause as she gauged whether or not he was adequately far enough. 

“But don’t try it or you’ll probably burn down the guesthouse.”

Reverse psychology. He tries to burn that in his mind, but reading her lips continuously, he doesn't have much time to focus on this new piece of vocabulary. He'll try to remember it later. He's about to answer her that maybe she is right, but then, she says the last sentence. And he just. He can't help himself but grin when he reads that - he's certain he read her right, and it was too good to pass up, even at the risk of her throwing the ladle at him for real.

"I mean, I'd love to listen to you if I could, but it seems like listening it's one of the things I surely cannot do."

He chuckles at his own dumb joke because he's a dumb idiot. He does pay attention to what she says she's making though, so it's a laugh cut short to read her lips again. Huh, Miso soup, he had a vague feeling he knew what that is, and how it tasted, but he couldn't recollect if he had ever tried to make it. It didn't seem hard when she said, but-

Who was that? Matias? It couldn’t be anyone else. His speech was weird from his accent and from the fact that he couldn’t really hear himself talk. Double weird. And a little hard to understand. What a pain.

After a couple of seconds Ori groaned and rolled over, flopping onto their face, tangling themselves up in their clothes even worse. It’d be useless to talk into the pillow, they knew, so they didn’t. Instead, they waved one hand toward the door, a vague gesture of acknowledgement, but not much more than that. Was Ori greeting him, or telling him to shove off? Hard to say.

No, actually, he’d probably just stand there, wouldn’t he? Fine, fine, Ori pushed themselves back up and manoeuvred themselves into something resembling a seated position and made a show of rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. They blinked, feigned a yawn, and then looked at Matias hovering in the door. Was he looking at their dirty dishes? Rude.

“… …Hello, Machi-san,” they said, finally. They probably looked like a disaster right now. Idly, they ran fingers through their hair to smooth it out while they talked. “You did wake me up, yes… Can I help you?”

He certainly had an accent, but if Ori ever heard a born-deaf person, they'd notice a distinct difference in tone. Still, he'll often miss how loud or low he should be because he can't hear how noisy or silent it is around him.

Assuming the best in people beforehand, as he had even with Tatsuya, he assumed Ori's vague wave gesture was a greeting, and not telling him to shove off. And indeed he just stood there, unsure if he should say hi again or leave the poor fish to their continual napping. Before thinking on it properly, though, Ori got themself to a sitting position. Aw. The rubbing of eyes were really hecking cute Matías couldn't help but grin a little, regardless of how much of a disaster they might actually be looking. It had a cute charm to it, in Matías' dumb opinion.

"Oh, sorry, it's my bad- well, not help exactly, though it'd be cool to talk some, if you're up to it. I understand if you're not, though."

Ah? What is this now about Tsuneko? She froze and he doesn’t want this to happen to her, is that it? That’s…right in a way but also not so. It also doesn’t quite explain the touching.

“Yes, but she was also injured on the outside and inside. I am not the same. I will never be.”

Which was a bold statement, sure, but she did intend to keep it truthful. Whether it be the weather or a person, she wasn’t going to let herself join their fate. But that was a derailing thought. Back to the matter at present, Matias was…trying to say something. Show something, really. It had to do with her coat and she could only assume that with his constant attempts to shove clothes at and on her, he wanted it to be closed. She frowned. Was that really all?

“…Is that all?”

Ah, now the misunderstanding over words arises. Oh, what a situation this was. At least he was apologizing (he was apologizing, right?) and he didn’t look to be angry over it all. Still, this was quite awkward.

“[Then let us converse like so.]

Maybe this would be better. Even if Matias was better at reading English than speaking it, it must surely be better than this thing they were doing now.

“[I see. Your concern is…nice. I admit, it is not what I’m used to. But it is not so bad I would die from it. And I did not go without for long as you see.]”

She tugs at Shizumaru’s scarf-or what she can from where it’s buried under the first scarf-as if to make her point known.

Weirdly enough, even though it was a bold statement - arrogant, even, if you looked at it in that way - it made Matías smile. Not exactly in relief, but close enough to it.

"I'm glad to hear that. I want to believe it too- it doesn't mean we can't be careful anyway though."

And then Lotus switches to English. Matías blinks and squints a little, trying to focus. Reading lips in English is more difficult for him than any other language, but he can do it, he thinks. He'll try, it's easier on Lotus anyway.

Once he understands all she says, and blinks at the scarf she did have before but he sorta ignored it in favour of Making Sure She's Warm, he smiles and nods. Okay, she did have a point, though he still felt the same need for assuring she's properly cozy before being outside as before. He wondered, sure she's basically an adult at this stage, why did he felt the need to fuss over her like a child? Is it just in his nature, paired with how clueless she looked in the middle of all this snow, that made a combo of feeling right to meddle? Or something.

"[You're right. It's probably not that bad, just... It's just how I feel, I guess. I'm probably worrying more than I should too. But even so, isn't it better to avoid getting a cold or something? Just... saying it.]”

“[But, I'll try to not be as pushy, though, I still think you could use some gloves- or keep gloves on you in case you need them. Grabbing things like stones and metal can be kinda painful in such weather.]"