6th Mistake; a delicious mistake

[moralperil]

[Mahdi addresses the screen dressed in a red apron with his name embroidered on one side: a perhaps-obviously handmade gift from a friend. The apron and his face and bare arms are smudged with flour and a few streaks of chocolate.]

Um, does anyone want cookies? I made cookies.

[Around this time you may notice that pretty much every inch of the kitchen counter is covered with foil-wrapped paper plates.]

I made a few dozen.

And a pie. Maybe two pies.

Baking is how I vent stress sometimes, I guess, um...

I guarantee these cookies will make everyone feel a bit better! So let me know if you'd like a plate, I can drop it off with you. I'll probably be leaving some at the clinic too.


[OOC: Mahdi's cookies will, miraculously, give one a lingering sense of warmth and affection for a short time, due to his powers of emotional projection.]

Comments

[hornedomen]

I'll get them. Where are you?

[moralperil]

Room 402! Would like some cocoa to go with it?

[hornedomen]

Cocoa? [A door shut in the background. He was on his way.] You know how to make that?

Is it difficult? [Mahdi seemed busy already.]

[moralperil]

Um, yeah, but I'm just doing the simple, instant kind. Since I'm all out of chocolate and stuff to make it for real!

It's not, you just add hot water. The really delicious kind might be a little complicated for you, since you have to heat milk and it scorches.

[hornedomen]

I didn't know there was an instant kind. [He paused. It did sound good and he was hungry.] I'd like to have that, thank you.

[Ico made it to 402 and he knocked on the door.]

action;

[moralperil]

[Mahdi answers the door still in his apron, looking a bit mussed.] It's nice to see you again, Ico!

[hornedomen]

It's nice to see you, too.

[He smiled briefly. Mahdi looked busy.]

Do you need help? I know a little about making cookies.

[moralperil]

Yes! [Mahdi taps him affectionately on the nose.] You can help me by taking some of these cookies off my hands, I've been at it for what feels like forever.

And you can drink some hot cocoa!

[hornedomen]

[He shut his eyes. It was a strange gesture, but not an unwelcomed one.]

Thank you, Mahdi. Where are they?

[moralperil]

Right over here in the kitchen. [Mahdi leads him through the neatly-kept apartment, to where there are still several plates of cookies out on the counter waiting to be taken home.]

Cocoa's right here! Enjoy! It's just the instant stuff in a travel cup, but it's made with love.

[hornedomen]

[He took the cup and he slowly sipped it.] It's good.

[Ico looked at the plates.] You made all this because of stress? Will you be okay? [He paused.] Were you there?

[moralperil]

I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me, okay? I'm a grown-up. I've got it together.

...I did go. It was very sad. [Worry suddenly overtakes him!] You didn't go, did you?!

[hornedomen]

[So that was what had Mahdi stressed. Was he truly okay after all that? Ico was doubtful. He lowered his head.]

I did. I wanted to save them.

[moralperil]

I can't believe they send kids out to war zones! [Mahdi's voice raises momentarily, but quickly falls.] I'm sorry... Ico, you should be keeping safe. I know you want to help, but you should leave it to the adults.

[hornedomen]

[That was the first time he saw Mahdi raise his voice in such a way. It surprised him.]

Mahdi, you were there. You saw everything. They need help.

[moralperil]

Not at the cost of children.

You can help here, can't you? You can run supplies and stuff back at the base. Will you please do that next time?

[hornedomen]

[Ico shook his head.]

No. Not as well as I could fight. Please, let me do this.

[moralperil]

[Mahdi looks over him, lips pressed together in a taut line. He can remember having similar conversation with his parents, who were convinced he wasn't ready when he took on his work.

Then again, they might've been right. It was a lot to take on, and he was an adult at the time, if not a mature one.]

...Can you tell me a little bit more about how you fight? Did you fight before you came here?

[hornedomen]

I have this sword. I haven't killed anyone with it, I only knocked them out. I know how to make bombs, too. They're good for blocking paths.

[He drew out his sword, which shone with white light. It was large even for an adult. In Ico's hands, it made him look smaller.]

I fought a little before. It was nothing like this.

[moralperil]

I know you want to help, Ico, and I'm sure you're really brave.

But a war like this means you could die. And it means you'll have to kill people.

I don't want that for you. Once your soul is stained that way, it's almost impossible to undo the damage.

[hornedomen]

There has to be some way I could fight without killing them. They wouldn't be fighting if they weren't drugged.

[It seemed wrong to kill the soldiers. As long as he was out there fighting, the people he knocked out were people who were spared from dying by someone else's hand.]

I know I could die, but I have to try. All our worlds are at risk. I need to do this.

[moralperil]

...I understand. [Mahdi knows there's no practical way to stop the child from going on missions, since they're all called. Not without trying to lock him up or something.]

But you're allowed to change your mind, okay Ico? If you ever do.

There's probably gonna be a line you have to cross at some point... and if you can't, or you think it's wrong, it's okay. You are still a child. You don't have to do everything yet.

[hornedomen]

I want to do what's right.

[He looked at his sword.]

Doesn't it feel like we've been chosen for this? Out of everyone, we're here. If it was someone else fighting for our worlds, I'd like them to make the right choice.

[moralperil]

It doesn't feel that way for me, Ico.

I'm not supposed to get involved with human affairs.

...Who do you live with, anyway? Do you have someone who'll be worried if you're away too long?

[hornedomen]

[It was too much for Ico to try to communicate how he felt about it. There were too many thoughts and he did not have enough words for it.]

I live with Larsa and Kirika. I don't think they'll worry. I'm gone a lot.