(closed)

[reloves]

Who: Zelda and Minako
When: Early January
Where: The Near Shore, an apartment building in Tokyo
What: Zelda and Minako fulfill their first prayer together! Neither of them will probably ever feel like having children after this experience.

[ Minako was actually kind of excited to help Zelda fulfill a prayer. Sure, it didn't seem like one that had anything to do with ayakashi, but maybe that was for the better. Starting things off easy before getting to the real big deal, you know? She's at least happy to help out both some mortal having trouble and at the same time Zelda who needs everyone ever as her follower if Minako has any say in it.

The prayer didn't even sound that hard! Just babysitting some cute kids, right? And then the parents can have some happy time to themselves! It's a win-win situation on all sides. Minako might not be the ultime fan of children, but she can handle playing with some cute babies for a while. No sweat. Zelda is probably amazing with kids too, so it's all going to be fine!

.. Except then it's not fine. Minako sure didn't expect to find herself with her goddess in an apartment building with five children who just won't stop crying, anyway. She's already starting to feel like she's getting a headache and they haven't even been here for longer than five minutes yet. Someone just put her out of her misery. Please.

She's pretty sure these babies can see her. Isn't that supposed to be some supernatural movie cliche? The baby is always the one to see the ghost even when no one else can? But she's been trying to pull funny faces for the baby in front of her for a good minute or two already, and it just keeps crying. And that's only one of them!

Minako glances over at Zelda, almost looking (although it's just overdramatically so) like she's about to join the babies and start crying too. ]

How can they keep this up when there's two cute girls in front of them?! [ These children are insulting her. ]

Comments

[reloves]

[ Minako skids almost comically to a halt in the doorway when she notices the scene. It's not a total chaos, and sure, the kids haven't all calmed down, but it's what Zelda is doing right now that catches Minako's attention even more than the result of it. The singing is so pretty and sweet that she manages to focus on it even through the still crying children, and it makes it feel almost sacrilegious to walk into the room and ruin the moment by offering the babies the baby food jars in her arms as a peace offering.

So for a moment she just.. stands there. Listening. The fact her mind is so pulled into the song and away from her mentally kicking herself eases the discomfort weighing down on Zelda as well from their connection, at least.

It's only once Zelda is done singing that Minako dares to draw attention to herself instead. It feels a little like snapping out of a haze, still half-dazed and flustered, but she knows she has to act quickly before the kids start a five membered crying chorus again. ]

Um.. I got the food. There's spoons too, so we can feed them. You can just open the jars and spoonfeed it to them.

[sageprincess]

[Zelda turns at Minako's voice, and if she realizes she had an extra pair of ears in the audience to her dong, she doesn't make note of it, instead looking down at the quietly sniffling child in her arms with a halfway prideful smile playing at the corners of her lips.]

Good. I think this one may just be ready for bed, but it may be worth it to see if we cannot get him to eat a little beforehand.

[Going to bed hungry will just cause more problems later, right? She thinks that's how it works. If the child will be able to sleep with his brothers and sisters hollering on is another story but they will cross that bridge when they get to it!]

[reloves]

[ She walks over to Zelda. ]

Here. [ Minako puts down one of the jars of baby food and a spoon next to her. ] It's probably better if you feed him.. I doubt we want to move him right now and risk him starting to cry again.

[ Not to mention that she really doesn't trust herself to not accidentally make the baby cry again, but it's mostly just about being practical. Mostly. ]

I'll try feeding the others and see if that helps anything at all. [ She sure hopes it does, because who knows how infectuous that crying might be on the sole baby who's being calm right now. ]

[sageprincess]

Ah, yes, of course.

[She eyes the jars dubiously, but settles herself down next to the one Minako offered and sets to trying to open it, though... this is easier said than done with one arm preoccupied with carefully holding a not-screaming child. Now she understands what mothers and caretakers mean when they wish for a third arm. But she can do this, surely!

... As she works on this, however, she also watches Minako in her periphery. The anxious feeling tingling at the back of her neck has subsided, but she still feels like something is... off. Unbalanced. And she thinks its as good a time as any to ask, while they have a task to focus on.]

Are you all right, Minako?

[reloves]

[ Minako just settled down on the floor, two toddlers sitting in front of her, apparently having been lured to her by the promise of food. She's busying opening the jar and starting to alternate giving the toddlers a spoonful of the food when Zelda asks the question.

There's no immediate response. Instinctively Minako wants to say she's alright and shove every single negative feeling down. Why should she bother Zelda with negativity when she seems to have the most talent for cheering up her goddess? What good is it to show her uglier sides to people? She's just supposed to be cheerful, silly Minako. That's all she knows about herself, after all.

But she does remember the pamphlet when she first arrived here. Maybe she doesn't remember every single detail, but it did say to talk to your god or goddess. That bad things will happen if you don't. And while Minako would be pretty okay with taking the risk if it was just herself at stake, she definitely doesn't want to make things even worse for Zelda. ]

Oh, I'm just.. [ She falls quiet for another moment. For as candid as Minako is most of the time, it's hard to talk about these sort of things when everything in her tells her she shouldn't. ] I just thought.. maybe it'd be better if you had someone else as your shinki? Someone who could do these sorts of things better.

[ Thankfully the toddlers asking for her attention and feeding gives her an excuse to not look at Zelda as she says it. ]

I mean, I'm not being very helpful, right?

[sageprincess]

... The only reason I have the slightest idea of what I am doing is because I can remember what my caretaker did for me.

[That kind of gives her an unfair advantage, doesn't it? Zelda similarly keeps her focus on the children as she speaks; she knows very well how difficult it is to be honest with what one feels at times, and bearing the burden of eye contact on top of it is often just too much. She doesn't want Minako to feel any more upset and uncomfortable than she does already.

But... she falls silent as well, considering. There's the impulse to simply tell Minako that she's wrong, of course - she's had other shinki before and she highly doubts any of them would be much more competent at childcare, and not to mention there's not a day that goes by that she's not grateful Minako chose to stick with her despite Zelda telling her she would eventually have to leave. But she bites that impulse down, because she knows that she herself rarely responds well to being told what she's feeling isn't right. She thinks instead for a moment, brow furrowed and the corners of her lips turned down in a frown of intense contemplation as she considers this dilemma and also tries to make this baby open his mouth for the airplane.]

I am... quieter than many. And much more reticent. In social situations you can navigate with ease, I often find myself feeling anxious and uncertain. I fear others thinking ill of me, of them looking upon me and finding me wanting.

[It's difficult, being honest. But she can do it if it's for Minako's sake.]

Do you ever find yourself wishing you had a more personable goddess? One who could be as bold as you, who could see your energy and respond in kind?

[reloves]

[ It almost feels a little strange to hear Zelda of all people say those words. It's not as if Minako has never seen her nervous or worried before, but the thought of Zelda - who is amazing and an actual princess and seems so good at acting the precise opposite of that wild ridiculous girl thing Minako has going on - being so self-conscious is kind of hard to parse.

So much so that it makes her drift off into the thought for a moment, only being jostled out of it by the toddlers in front of her demanding more food. She quickly scoops another spoonful out of the jar, stuffing one baby mouth full for the moment. ]

What do you mean, you're not bold? You organized that whole meeting, and even shut down the jerks when things got out of hand like it was nothing!

[ It's not as if Minako wouldn't - or couldn't - do those things if she had to, but she thinks people wouldn't view her nearly as easily as someone serious or someone you ought to listen to as they view Zelda. She's the type you just want to pay respect to. ]

You're great.. I've never even considered having a different goddess. [ Another spoonful being fed to a toddler. At least it brings the noise levels down enough for Minako to take on a slightly more quiet tone than usually and not be drowned out by baby crying. ] That's the only reason I worry to begin with, you know? I don't want you or anyone else to think, "oh, that Zelda is one of the best goddesses around, but her shinki is so lacking."

whoops i lost this tag gomen 4 me

[sageprincess]

Perhaps if I had been bolder, then things would not have gotten out of hand at all.

[But the corners of her lips twitch up slightly at Minako's encouragement, regardless. Like an automatic reflex to the other girl's voice, despite all the worries and doubts that swirl constantly around her head.]

But if I heard someone speak like that, I would have to ask, "lacking in what, exactly?" Because I, in turn, have never considered you as such, not once. And if there exists someone who evaluates a shinki's worth merely by whatever skills they do or do not possess, then I would not regard their opinion as one worth taking into account, for clearly their view of the world is far too narrow to be of any worth.

[Her words start off quieter and hesitant, still finding difficulty with speaking candidly and worrying that she might be saying something wrong. But as she continues, certainty and sincerity enter her tone; whether right or wrong, this is something she believes wholeheartedly.

It's said she has been gifted with foresight since she was as young as the drowsy babe in her arms right now, but her sense of hindsight is just as strong. Sometimes, what she needs most is to be pulled back into the present, which Minako manages quite handily when she isn't plagued by her own concerns. If someone considers the ability to handle childcare more important than that, then fuck 'em.]

I cannot speak for anyone for myself, but I do not want you to believe that I would ever think of you that way. And if I were to give you reason to, I hope that you would tell me, so that I can correct whatever behavior led you to that belief.

[She is also slightly ignoring the babies during this impassioned monologuing, but at least the one she's holding is only drooling a bit as he tries to stay awake instead of crying bloody murder. That's nice.]

don't worry i will always matte 4 u

[reloves]

[ Even though Minako is trying to focus as hard as she can on the children she's feeding, she's still listening very well to everything Zelda is saying. And the more she hears, the more Minako almost seems slightly flustered - but in a good way. Regardless, a slight blush appears at the ends of her cheeks, climbing up her ears.

It's a weird duality - feeling so completely and utterly at ease with Zelda as a person and being touchy with her and asking if she can decorate the temple without even hesitating or feeling nervous, and yet feeling so intimidated and insecure by the idea of serving a princess, a goddess, and then someone as great as Zelda on top of it all. It really brings forth the fear of not being enough.

But ironically enough it's both sides of the duality that make her heart feel a bit more at ease now. Her goddess telling her that she won't judge her. Her friend telling her that she's good enough.

For a moment she's quiet, like she's letting it sink in, but then Minako laughs. It's a little less loud than usually, since she doesn't want to waste all their effort on the kids so far. ]

Haha, I'm sorry! I totally derailed everything just now, huh?

[ For a moment it seems like she'll just shake it all off and shove it under the carpet, since having moments like that is kind of embarrassing. Especially since she sees more focused on one of the two toddlers she was feeding now lying down on her leg to sleep.

But then she does turn to Zelda, finally. ] I'll.. keep that in mind though. I will try believing in myself a little more. Since you believe in me too.