as high as honor

[assembles]

Who: Members of House Arryn & any visitors!
Where: Ninth Floor
When: 04/09 - 04/13
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The ninth floor of the mansion now belongs to those loyal to House Arryn. This is a mingle log for House interactions and also for anyone who cares to pay them a visit. No Boltons or Lannisters allowed.
The Story:
The ninth floor may not have much to offer in terms of valuable territory, containing nothing so sought after as the kitchens or the library or the diner, but it is still outfitted proudly, covered in blue banners bearing the falcon that signifies House Arryn.

The floor contains only eight occupied rooms, and for the most part the House has been known for its neutrality -- which isn't to say that some of its members don't have other Houses they support or violently oppose.

Those of House Stark or House Barartheon are free to visit, whereas those of House Bolton and House Lannister may not receive such a warm welcome.

Comments

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji knows that Tohru still uses the diner to cook for everyone and, whenever possible, he tries to tag along. He might be friends with James and Lily, but he still doesn't want to step on any toes. It doesn't seem to take much to make people act insane.

Today, he's waiting by the stairs around the time when Tohru normally heads downstairs to the eighth floor. When he sees her, he waves a little.]

Good morning. Mind if I come along again?

[breakthecurse]

[Tohru isn't entirely surprised to see Souji there, but she's always glad when he does decide to come along. It's always good to have an extra pair of hands, but the truth is that even with Hana protecting her from intruders, Tohru still feels more comfortable travelling to other floors in groups when things are as tense as they are.

She smiles brightly though. It's just another day, really.]

Of course not! I don't mind at all! I can always use the help, and it's very kind of you to offer.

[She says some variant of this whenever he comes along, with the same amount of gratefulness every time.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji smiles a bit.]

It wouldn't be fair for you to do it all.

[She's practically in charge of feeding their whole house, after all.]

Though it would be nice if we could get that territory back, it's good that Hanajima is there to let us come and go.

[He doesn't know Saki all that well, but he's grateful to her for her help with this.]

[breakthecurse]

I'm really glad she's here too. I'm not sure what we would do otherwise...

[They might not have that diner access otherwise, though who knows? The current Baratheons have been kind, even if it is technically their territory.]

Things could be a lot worse than they are though! We're still able to use it whenever we like, and that's much more than most people are allowed when someone takes their territory. I'm grateful for that, at least.

[Tohru admittedly has never been one for fighting. As long as things are peaceful she's happy, even if she doesn't technically own the diner anymore.]

[eatsyourscience]

We could probably set up a new diner on this floor.

[Souji looks over the railing down toward the eight floor.]

But this way we have a chance to keep up good relations.

[breakthecurse]

That's true! If we keep using the eighth floor diner, we'll be able to keep things friendly between Baratheon and Arryn. If we suddenly opened our own diner, they might wonder what's wrong, or why we didn't want to use the one on their floor anyway.

[Tohru has a way of talking about it that makes it clear that she isn't thinking about it strategically. She's genuinely concerned about the possibility of people's feelings getting hurt over it.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji can't help smiling a little. She really is precious.]

What do you want to make today?

[breakthecurse]

Hm...I was thinking maybe nikuman! It would be easy to make big batches of them to bring upstairs.

[That and whenever she has Souji around to help it only feels right to offer to cook Japanese food, since they're both very familiar.]

Would that be alright?

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji nods.]

Good idea. Those are filling, too, so we shouldn't have a problem with running out too fast. The ingredients aren't complicated, either.

[breakthecurse]

Exactly! They're perfect for feeding a big group of people!

[Not that House Arryn is particularly big, but it's still a lot of people at once.]

[eatsyourscience]

Let's go get started then.

[breakthecurse]

Yes, let's!

[Hana lets them inside, as she always does when Tohru is present. The diner is a lot quieter these days, now that it's only being used by two of the Houses and not the entire mansion. There's something a little melancholy about it, but Tohru tries not to seem too sad.]

Hm...I know we come here often, but something always feels nostalgic about it...

[Just that general sense that things aren't the same as they were, that's all.]

[eatsyourscience]

Empty places that are usually full are like that.

[That's how he felt at home in the house when his uncle and cousin were in the hospital for weeks.]

It's not so bad, though. That feeling.

[It just means that the time when the diner was busy is something they remember fondly.]

[breakthecurse]

No, it's really not. It just means this place is full of nice memories, that's all. That feeling just means good things happened here.

[And Tohru wouldn't trade that feeling for the world. It's better to cherish those feelings than to have never experienced the good things behind them at all.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji busies himself gathering the things they'll need for today's food.]

Do you have placed like that at home too?

[Souji does. Or at least, he anticipates having some of them in the near future.]

[breakthecurse]

Mm. Sometimes I feel that way when I'm in the neighborhood where Mom and I used to live.

[She doesn't have much reason to be there now though, unless she's working.]

What about you, Souji?

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji pauses to think.]

...I didn't before. When I go home, there will be a lot, I think.

[Pretty much everywhere in Inaba.]

[breakthecurse]

Do you mean because of Wonderland? Or something else?

[Probably something else, since they supposedly won't remember Wonderland when they go.]

[eatsyourscience]

When I get home, I'll be in the process of moving back to Tokyo. So the places I liked in Inaba will probably feel that way when I go back there someday.

[breakthecurse]

Oh, I see...

[It sounds bittersweet, at least to her.]

...It might feel that way, but I think it will feel good when you visit too. It might be a little sad, but...if you have people you care about there, then it's home. And it always feels good to come home, even if you had to be away for a long time.

[eatsyourscience]

Yeah. You're right.

[Souji offers her a small, rare smile.]

Do you want badly to go home?

[breakthecurse]

[She nods.]

I have to go home. I made a really important promise to my friends that I need to keep. Even if it takes a long time...I need to go home someday.

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji nods back, not looking up from whatever he's doing to prepare this food.]

It's the same for me.

[breakthecurse]

[Oh, so Souji understands then. She smiles a little, emphatically.]

Well then, I hope you're able to go home soon, Souji! I hope you're able to fulfill that promise.

[eatsyourscience]

[There are times when he doubts it, but he still nods. He won't show that doubt to Tohru, especially not when she's cheering him on.]

You, too. Both of us will do just fine.