01: event † video

[salvagedsoul]

[A small, white-haired child, about six or seven years old, stares directly into the video lens. He seems to be wearing something like a hospital gown. The whites of his eyes look a little pink and puffy, like he's been crying. But his face is completely blank.]

This isn't where I'm supposed to be. [despite his expression, there's tension in his voice.]

No one's come to get me. [more tension.]

Where is my piano?

[after another second of cold staring, the video ends.]

Comments

[salvagedsoul]

...

[The camera doesn't return to Kaworu's face. Instead, it moves toward the door and a small hand turns the handle. Outside, the numbers 810 are on the wall.]

[inutile]

[Um... that's not very close to the numbers on his door, but maybe if he keeps following the hall long enough he'll find it. He really doesn't want to leave Kaworu by himself.]

Okay, just wait inside, Nagisa-kun. I'm going to try and find you.

[It requires a lot of throwing himself against the front door of his apartment to shove it open again, but he can do it!!!]

[salvagedsoul]

[Someone's coming for him. Even if it is some Lilim child.

He doesn't say anything - just turns the video off and goes back inside to wait.]

[inutile]

[It takes a little while for Nageki to make his way up all those stairs and down the halls until he can find the floor with the numbers starting with 8, but eventually he gets there. By the time he finds room 810 he's a little out of breath, but nonetheless, he reaches out a foot and scratches at the bottom of the door with his toes as a means of knocking.

It occurs to him all of a sudden that Kaworu has only heard his voice, so maybe he isn't expecting to see a bird. Hopefully it won't make things uncomfortable...]

[salvagedsoul]

[Kaworu hears some kind of noise at the door, even though it isn't a knock. Is that Nageki boy here? Hopping off the sofa, he goes to the door and opens it.

At first it looks like there's no one there, but then he notices the bird on the hallway carpet. He stares at it blankly.]

Nageki-san?

[inutile]

[Nageki ruffles his feathers a little nervously at the look on Kaworu's face, but despite that he nods his little head, his eyes trained up on his from the floor. He really wishes he could read Kaworu's expression a bit more easily, but he's not adjusted enough to humans to be able to do that very well...]

Yes, it's me.

[salvagedsoul]

You're a bird.

[He sounds a little mystified. Maybe even impressed.]

[inutile]

...Yes. I am a bird.

[Is that... is that good? Is that bad? Kaworu doesn't sound upset with him, so he can only assume that despite seeming surprised, he's not angry.

That's good. Nageki would much rather not have to deal with the problem of human resentment towards him, or something...]

Can I come in, Nagisa-kun?

[salvagedsoul]

Yes.

[Kaworu moves to the side to let the little bird through, still looking very intrigued. After he enters, he closes the door again.]

I didn't know there were birds who could talk and had names.

[inutile]

[As he waddles inside, Nageki looks around the room, a little unsettled by how similar it is to his own. It's almost as if all of these rooms are some sort of cell block... is everyone here somebirdie (or somebody, he guesses) that have been kidnapped? This is starting to look like something Naicho would get involved in, not just the police...

He flutters up to sit on the armrest of the nearby couch, squirming in place until he can settle down there comfortably while he turns his black eyes back towards Kaworu.]

There are plenty of them. But that's okay, I don't know many humans myself.

[salvagedsoul]

[Kaworu just watches him flutter around and nestle on the armrest. For a few seconds, he doesn't answer, but then suddenly his face breaks into an enormous smile.]

You can call me Kaworu if you want.

[inutile]

[He doesn't know why he's embarrassed to see Kaworu smile so hugely at him, but if anything, he's just glad he isn't too scared to enjoy himself a little. Still, he turns his head away a bit for a second until Kaworu speaks, and he's surprised enough to look back before he eventually slowly nods.]

Okay... Kaworu-kun.

[His little birdie belly doesn't quite rumble, but he does realize suddenly that he hasn't eaten since yesterday. Maybe he should make something to eat...]

Are you hungry?

[salvagedsoul]

Uh-huh.

[He walks over to the couch and climbs up to sit next to him.]

I guess someone will come eventually to bring me food? Already, they're late, though.

[inutile]

[Nageki wriggles around slightly to sit facing Kaworu a little more, trying to study his face a little while he speaks. He really has no idea how emotional humans usually are, With how little he's learned about them (and he doesn't have many books or movies with pictures of them, some of the other children are a lot more sensitive about the subject than him). It's not as hard as Nageki might have expected, but it's still not very easy at all...

Nageki doesn't have the feeling anyone is coming to feed them, especially considering these rooms have kitchens of their own. With a little trilling flap of his wings he glides across the room and lands on the counter in the attached kitchen, dragging a plastic bag of bread out of the bread basket and pulling it across the counter with his beak.

Nageki isn't used to cooking all by himself, but he's sure he can manage. He's done it before, anyway.]

I can cook us something right now, we don't need to wait for somebirdie else to show up.

[salvagedsoul]

[He flies away, and Kaworu moves to peek over the back of the couch at him. Cook? Kaworu didn't know what all those machines attached to this couch are was. Are they for making food? So Nageki is going to make him food, too?

Out of nowhere, his body lifts up from behind the couch. It takes a few seconds for him to float over into the kitchen, where he stays suspended in the air so he can see up at the level of the counter.]

Okay. [His smile returns, a little softer this time.] You know how to cook, too. You're so cool, Nageki-san.

[inutile]

[He's made little things before on a stove, like grilled cheese, which happens to be the easiest thing he knows how to make that's warm and not as simple as reheated soups. He's pretty sure Kaworu can't get any nutrition from seeds, and grilled cheese isn't very messy, so that's probably a good idea. He's so busy getting the plastic clip off of the bread that he isn't paying attention to what Kaworu is doing, but he does notice that he must have followed him from the sound of his voice.

But if birds could blush, Nageki would be doing so for sure right now. He's so flustered to be called cool that he stops what he's doing with extracting the bread from the bag to turn and look at Kaworu in surprise, but what he finds is a lot more shocking than he expected.

He makes a bizarre noise like a startled birdy squeak, dropping the bread and hopping closer on the counter to stare at the space between Kaworu's feet and the floor. No way, humans definitely can't do that?! Right? He's pretty sure the anatomy of a human doesn't allow for flying... floating... whatever it is that Kaworu is doing!!]

How -- how are you doing that?!

[salvagedsoul]

[Kaworu's smile slowly fades after Nageki's exclamation. It's just his AT Field... but that's the kind of reaction the Lilim always have, too.

After a moment, he lowers himself to the ground, only barely able to see the counter now.]

...My AT Field.

[He's back to being emotionless.]

[inutile]

[Oh. Um. Even Nageki can tell that he's done something bad by pointing that out. Nageki doesn't know what an AT Field is, and he really wants to know, but it's much more important that he not make the only person he can currently talk to around his own age upset with him...

Nageki doesn't really know how to apologize, though, or if he even should apologize. Nervously, he hops back over to the bread and starts withdrawing several slices to stack on top of each other, mumbling a little shyly.]

...Sorry. I didn't mean you should stop.

[After a little pause, he keeps going, doing his best not to sound too try-hard since the idea is kind of exciting, despite the halfsided normalcy.]

I can talk, and you can fly, then. We're both a little difference than what we're used to.

[salvagedsoul]

...

[It sounded like Nageki didn't realize he wasn't human. The personnel at Seele all knew that, though. Kaworu stared at the floor, struggling with how he felt. He felt something, but he didn't get it.

After another moment, he floated back up. His face was still blank, but it looked a little less like a mask now.]

You have an AT Field too, technically. [Something about how he felt made him want to explain it.] Everyone does. But I'm an angel, so I can use mine.

[Do birds know about the angels? He watches for Nageki's reaction.]

[inutile]

[Nageki continues hopping around all over the counter, turning on one of the burners on the stove and then flying over to he other side nearer to the fridge. When he looks back, he can see Kaworu is floating again. He's not sure if he's relieved, but at least he doesn't look upset anymore, so -- that's good, right?

Nagkei just kind of lets the mentioning of AT Fields pass him by with mild curiosity, but the mentioning of angels definitely gets his attention. He turns back for a second, peering at Kaworu with more mild and mystified surprise than before.

Hitori told him angels exist, but Nageki's always been sure that he was wrong. The idea of actually being in the presence of an angel is even stranger, and a little scary, but Nageki doesn't want to question what's happening too much just yet if it will ruin their newly formed bond. Finally, just just nods and turns back towards the fridge.]

Okay, I see. Can you open this, Kaworu-kun?

[He outstretches a wing towards the door of the fridge. He could open it himself, but maybe Kaworu will like helping too instead of just watching...]

An angel?

[salvagedsoul]

[Kaworu's eyes dart to the fridge, and the door suddenly opens on its own. He looks back to Nageki.]

Yes. That's what the Lilim call us, at least. Humans, I mean.

[inutile]

[Nageki does a very good job of not jumping right out of his feathers when the door suddenly opens all on its own. Or at least -- Kaworu... makes the door open all on its own. This is surreal, and definitely a little frightening now, but it's not as if he doesn't like Kaworu. And he supposes it's kind of convenient.]

Oh, alright. So humans are Lilim.

[Nageki hops down into the opened fridge, dragging out an entire pack of cheese and grabbing it with his feet to carry back up onto the counter. With all of that done, he just needs a pan...]

Do you see a frying pan anywhere, Kaworu-kun? I need one to cook our food.

[salvagedsoul]

Yes. I look like a Lilim, but I'm an angel. It was an accident.

[It's kinda impressive that the little bird can carry those things. Kaworu watches him, impressed, until his question.]

...what's a frying pan?

[inutile]

[Don't question the logic of that, Kaworu, it'll only hurt your baby head. Nageki is kind of unimpressed that he doesn't know what a frying pan is, but it occurs to him a moment later that if he really is an angel, maybe he doesn't know what that is after all. How does a person explain a frying pan, though?

Uncertain, Nageki is silent for a second in thought before he makes a helpful attempt.]

It's like a round metal saucer, with a handle on it. I put the food in it to cook it.

[salvagedsoul]

Um...

[His food was always brought to him. He had no idea what a frying pan was, but now he's curious.]

Maybe it's in one of these counters.

[He floats higher to open a cabinet and peer inside. There's a whole bunch of big metal cups with long handles. Round and metal... maybe it's in here among all this stuff?]

Do you see it in here?