Heroes of Silvatica City

"Oh," Caoimhe said slowly, looking down at the plant nearest to her. She didn't say anything after that, continuing to unpack her belongings. Knight cringed visibly at William's blatant display about caring for someone else more than Caoimhe, even when Aaliyah seemed to be doing fine on her own. "I'm headed back," Knight said before she vanished. Squishy went to help Caoimhe unpack, but she was putting away her delicates and it got embarrassed by the sight of its mothers underwear. "Um... Are you hungry?" it asked her. "The gastropub has a deal for cheap meals at the moment." "Okay, sounds good," Caoimhe replied, having finished unpacking. "Should we invite everyone?"

Squishy also contacted Ica, while Caoimhe freshened up a bit. She didn't don any floaty clothes or pretty scarves, though. On the way their, she listened idly with vague interest as Squishy told her its superhero tales, and how it might have feelings for Ica. They met everyone else outside of the pub. Aaliyah had pushed herself to join them, but she was basically hiding behind Daniel. Caoimhe greeted them as usual. "Hey everyone. Ali! Ya look great!"

With Elli's help, Caoimhe steered the conversation towards Aaliyah. "Your hair looks great," she complimented her. After she'd hugged Elli, she approached the other girl, and they shared a quick, awkward hug. Squishy was eager to get inside and eat, so they all traipsed in and found a table. It was, by now, early evening, so they could all share a casual dinner together. "Do anything nice in New York?" Knight easily cut through the silence in the group like a hot knife through butter. Caoimhe was sipping some water with lemon before she responded. "Oh, yeah, mostly went to central park. It's beautiful this time of year, all red and orange."

There was the briefest, heaviest of silence's after Ica' question, but Caoimhe was quick to respond. "I don't want to talk about it," she said, smiling at Ica. It had been just what she'd told Squishy and William, and like last time she sounded tired but with no other negativity. Squishy felt what it assumed was guilt for not mentioning to Ica that she shouldn't speak about this topic, but it also remembered how curious she was about everything.

They all chatted and enjoyed their food, mostly focusing on Squishy, Ica, and Haley's adventures with the Pied Piper. It seemed they had defeated him after a hard, week-long game of cat and mouse. Caoimhe was proud that her alien child had grown so much. She, Daniel, and Aaliyah didn't say much the whole evening though, as they were all still bristling from their own experiences. But Aaliyah seemed to be more relaxed when she had Daniel around, so she stuck close to him. After dinner, they all went their separate ways. Squishy would have wanted to stay with Caoimhe, but it wanted more to stay hanging out with Ica.

Squishy would agree to that, but Caoimhe had expressly told it to spend time with Ica instead. She was like a doting mother, excited to see their child find someone they cared about. The only one Caoimhe couldn't think of a good justification to leave for was William. Reluctantly, everyone else said their goodbyes and headed on home, leaving Caoimhe and William standing awkwardly outside the pub as the sky turned dark.

Caoimhe had her arms folded across her chest loosely as she regarded William. Many things were clearly different about her, and one she made obvious now was that she could speak her mind confidently. "Will," she said. "I'd really appreciate it if ya acted normal around me. Please. I won't bite if ya ask somethin' I ain't ready to answer yet... But if ya'd rather not hang out with me, feel free to leave." It may have been harsh but it was certainly candid.

Well, there was no point in softening the blow or hiding anything now. Caoimhe had gotten good at bucking up, growing a spine, as it were. It would relieve the tension between them, hopefully... Or might push William away forever. At this point, Caoimhe didn't care at all. "I killed him," she said flatly. "I just wanted to knock him out but I went too hard. Now mama hates me. My two biggest fears, killin' someone 'n losin' mama. Now that I've told ya, can ya please treat me normal?"

Caoimhe smiled, the most genuine and happy smile since she'd arrived back in the city. "Thanks," she said, rubbing Will's shoulder. "I, uh, I'm gonna go home now." She was going to ask William if he wanted to join her, as he'd stayed at her place quite a lot in the past, but she didn't know if that was okay anymore. Oh, to hell with being too scared. "D'ya wanna come with, or d'ya got somethin' to do?"

Caoimhe had instinctively gone to the kettle to make a fresh, green brew, and looked back over her shoulder when William admitted to something so sentimental. "Really?" she asked, wondering if maybe he'd made a mistake when speaking a second language. She hoped not, because it was such a sweet comment. Wearing a goofy smile, she set to work making herself and William some lovely, refreshingly green tea.

"Oh really?" Caoimhe asked, a little teasingly. "Sounds to me like you've tried... Oh, shall I teach ya?" she asked, pulling him to stand beside her while she carried out the simple task of straining leaves and brewing to the best flavour. "I reckon we could do with a strong one today," she said, leaving it in a bit longer than usual.

Even though Caoimhe was the one to pull him in, Caoimhe blushed at William's candidness. He wasn't normally so... Open, like this. It was unexpected and lovely. "Ya don't have to say please twice," she whispered, looking up at him. "Ugh, crap," she grunted, realising it had been brewing for a bit too long. "Lemme just pour this," she said, bustling a bit like her usual self.