he doesn't do it intentionally, scaring any of them like that. even out here in the middle of the woods he always seems to move too quietly, hardly making a sound, and never announcing himself beforehand. it really does make it seem like he simply appears sometimes. usually when someone is specifically looking for him, even if he might not know it at the time.
"sorry!" is all james says quietly in response to the bap on his arm. "not long, you pretty much walked right past me." before he can question anything else, like why arvo had come out so far so late if he knew it was a bad idea, or what he was carrying, the item in question is thrust towards him. a wooden bowl? cooled by its journey to him but not cold yet. still warm enough to feel like soup when james takes it from him with a blink, blink. "oh, uh, thanks..."
he needed to eat something filling, huh? he can already tell just by looking at the contents that this was heartier than anything he made for himself these days. it was actually kind of sweet of the other boy to not only think of him, but also take his reluctance towards visiting the school into consideration. a flash of worry for his leg crosses his mind for a second before it's interrupted by arvo speaking again. 'come now, i came all this way!' oh, right. he'd gotten caught up in his thoughts and was still just... holding the bowl. at least his hands were nice and warm now?
"well, since you came all this way to hand deliver it to me." james finally joked back with a small smile. giving the soup a quick stir with the spoon before carefully taking his first bite, just in case. it was delicious! and woke up something ravenous in him. he inhaled the rest of it like an animal that hadn't known a proper meal in too long, or maybe just someone that was so used to isolation he didn't know how to eat 'properly' in front of people anymore.
until he remembered that arvo was, in fact, still there. peeking out at him almost nervously from over top the bowl as he drank down the last of the broth straight from the lip, munching on the late bite of vegetables before quickly handing the now empty bowl back. his mouth wiped off on the back of his sleeve as he looked away, at anywhere else but him now. "s-sorry. i um, it was good. appreciate it."
@adoranoia con. from x
