[ Closed ] I'm a little teapot short and stout

[gentilitea]

Who: Data-Roxas and Jakob
Where: Near Shore; at the residence of a poor, poor invalid
When: April 6, 2016
What: Prayer, ho! Healing the sick can get plenty awkward pretty fast.
Warnings: Jakob Some mentions of horrible injuries being inflicted

[ The poor soul had just settled into a fitful sleep as Jakob watched, right from the devotee’s bedside, in the middle of the night, because they’re kind of creepy divine beings like that.

Nevertheless Jakob had taken enough time to inspect the patient more thoroughly, and give the Lord Roxas his professional opinion on the matter: ]

The situation appears to be grim indeed.

Comments

[cloak]

[Roxas' progress in dusting is slow but steady. He takes pause now and then to move items he deems 'breakable' aside, replacing them after he's swept the dust away. It's slow going, but he's obviously paying attention to details...because that's what Jakob does.

Eventually he moves on from a coffee table over to a dresser, still working around and temporarily moving objects in order to get at the dust]

[gentilitea]

[ He’s so careful…so methodical…Jakob might weep with joy at what a good student his master is. With time, he might even come to regret it. ]

You have made quite an effort, milord. [ Okay, maybe he’s exaggerating a little, but… ]

I must say, it’s truly inspiring to see you work…

[cloak]

[Roxas pauses, setting down a vase he'd moved aside to get at the patch of desk space underneath it. Once he's sure that it's properly placed and not going to fall over or anything of the sort, he straightens and turns to regard Jakob]

Your instructions were specific.

[Which is to say, he got a very clear idea of what the task involved]

And you do these things at the temple all the time...

[Jakob works very hard. This is a fact]

[gentilitea]

[ Ah, so he’s being watched even as he works—or competes with the robots for the chores, anyway—explains the odd prickling sensation at the back of his neck whenever he goes about it, come to think of it… ]

I can do no less for you, milord. [ He’ll try to hold back his elation and be dignified. ] Would you care for refreshments now that your task is over, by the way?

[cloak]

[Roxas can tell, at least, that Jakob seems happy. As might come as no surprise to others, he doesn't know exactly why it is, but...it's good if his shinki can be. They deserve that.

Jakob does, even if he doesn't seem to understand it]

How about after we're done here? Then we won't have to hurry.

[gentilitea]

Of course, milord. [ He’s just happy that he gets to hang out with Roxas, tbh. Well that, and do all the sweeping, the rest of the dusting, the organizing, the reupholstering…

Because of course he’s still hard at work as they chat, and all that remains to him is to tuck the patient in fresh sheets. The guy seems to be breathing easier already. ]

I shall be able to prepare a more suitable repast for you at the temple.

[cloak]

Is there anything else I should be doing?

[Jakob's taken on the lion's share of the work again... Roxas probably shouldn't be surprised, with how slow he was in dusting.

He just didn't want to generate even more work]

[gentilitea]

[ Well, he’s shaved like five minutes off of the time it takes Jakob to do those chores, so it’s just as well. It’s not like anyone can fuck up dusting anyway, short of breaking the furniture.

But at that inquiry he gets to his knees, that he may be properly within reach of his master. ]

We have but to relieve this man of his current symptoms, milord. [ And maybe give him some supernatural advice on the merits of proper housekeeping, but hey. It’s vessel time. ]

[cloak]

[Roxas watches him for a few moments in ponderous silence before he registers why Jakob is kneeling. He's done this before, and he might well do it again, yet it always makes him pause. Maybe people in his world just like to kneel...

This time it seems to be a prompt, and he knows that Jakob has healing abilities when he's in his vessel form. It's incidentally why Roxas doesn't use healing spells around him. He can understand wanting to feel useful and functional, and Jakob is a good shinki. Butler. Butler-shinki]

Right. [He nods, lifting a hand so he can catch his shinki when he changes] Chaki.

[gentilitea]

[ Hey, given Roxas’s stature kneeling is sort of a necessity whether or not Jakob means it in a worshipful way, anyhow. ]

Oh, gods. [ says he very very quietly as he shifts form, the supernatural act of it feeling quite odd to him—he knows what it’s like, in some fashion, to change himself according to his master’s whims, but this…this’ll take some getting used to.

When a nice little teapot falls onto Roxas’s hand it does so with a gasp. ]

Er, very good, milord.

[cloak]

[With his free hand, Roxas...pats Jakob's lid. He is a teapot after all, but he doesn't see anything wrong with the gesture as he steps closer to their patient. It takes some getting used to, having his shinki heal people, but he poises his vessel form over the sleeping man all the same]

Is this close enough?

[Best that he makes sure, so he can more effectively work with him. That's a god's responsibility just the same as looking after their shinki and answering prayers.

It's important to feel useful, and to be used effectively...or so something like him thinks]

[gentilitea]

[ Roxas might feel the pot grow a little warmer in his hand—after all, Jakob really doesn’t have a lot of other options to express his pleasure. The pat on the head hardly feels patronizing at all.

Then again, nothing Roxas can do short of making him lose his purpose in life can be wrong… ]

Yes, milord, the distance is perfect. Now, if you would please tip me over…

[ So the man can wake up screaming in his bed and they can both go home for ice cream, or something. ]

[cloak]

[Roxas notes the change in temperature, though he doesn't know what to associate with it. He didn't get a negative reaction at least, which further cements his belief that headpats are an acceptable gesture of either reassurance or affection.

Such a pro at this human experience thing, right? Right]

Alright.

[He keeps one hand over his teapot-shinki's lid as he cautiously tips the spout downward toward their patient. It's...an unusual sort of healing method, but he's not about to knock it]

[gentilitea]

[ Well he’s a lot better at the human thing than Jakob is, that’s for sure. ]

Steady, now… Ah, excellent, milord. Truly excellent.

[ Roxas clearly knows how to handle his teapots—especially piping hot ones, for tepid tea is just the worst, and so the patient shifts uncomfortable as the first few trickles of water hit their mark, and when a veritable torrent comes he screams awake—and what a healthy scream it is, given that his sinuses have been duly unclogged—feeling for burns and blisters that are not there, some strange nightmare of home invaders coming in to boil him alive already fading fast from his mind. ]

[cloak]

[Roxas jolts when the man wakes up screaming, drawing back a good step and pulling his shinki against him protectively. No doubt a human couldn't do any harm to Jakob, but that doesn't change his reflex reaction to someone springing up and making a loud noise, all the same.

At least the man isn't making that strange whistling noise through his nose anymore, though]

...Is he better now?

[gentilitea]

[ Jakob lets out a little gasp at that protective gesture. ]

Not so close, milord; you might burn…! [ Forget the patient even—Jakob’s far too confident in his own healing abilities to give any more fucks about the guy. ]

[cloak]

I'll be fine. This uniform can't burn.

[Axel is a testament to the fireproof nature of the Organization uniform, in point of fact. And even if that weren't the case, Roxas shows no hesitance in keeping his shinki's vessel form close to him.

He eyes the man warily before the fellow simply rolls over and goes back to sleep, this time breathing easily]

[gentilitea]

I—I suppose… [ Still, he doesn’t miss the sentiment behind the gesture, and it’s incredibly touching, really.

He’s so lucky to have such a caring master—except whoops, this is no time to be sentimental, isn’t it? Especially since he might accidentally burn a hole through Roxas’s hand, fireproof Org XIII uniforms or no. ]

Erm, yes, I do believe he’s cured. Well done, Milord.

[cloak]

You did a good job, Jakob.

[By now, Roxas knows that's the sort of thing his shinki needs to hear. And he wants all of them to be acknowledged for what they do, and the things they're good at, so he won't neglect saying it now.

He takes care to gently set Jakob's vessel form down, taking a half-step back before using his vessel name to revert him back to his true form]

Mission complete.