[FIN] Pancake Party

[BlackFireKitsune]

At some point Abel became more aware of things as he drew nearer to consciousness. Pokemon were moving about somewhere - either in his bedroom or in the living room - and Isaac shifted to curl against his side in a tighter ball, letting out a small, quiet sigh as he did so. The blond's fingers flexed before his hand fumbled around in bed for a moment or two until it found the Espeon, then plopped over his head. Abel received a sleepy grunt for his efforts.

Abel opened his bleary eyes and blinked a few times, and once he felt a little more awake and able to process more than one thought at a time, he inhaled slowly, deeply, to gauge just how much his torso hurt and to see if he could. He could easily feel how difficult it was to draw such deep breaths, and while he couldn't feel any pain in his punctured lung, he could feel it where he'd been stabbed. The muscles ached and throbbed, and the blond sighed and closed his eyes again.

Once he felt a little more awake and had mentally prepared himself for the pain that would ensue, Abel rolled over onto his good side and pushed himself to a sitting position from there, clenching his jaw shut as the familiar burning pain flared up again. As it usually did, his pain medication had worn off at some point while he slept, but thankfully he could at least take more - at least until Alyssa found and took it like she did last time, anyway - so he reached over to his nightstand to open the bottle, tapped a couple out into his palm, popped them into his mouth, then chased them down with some water from the glass that had been sitting beside the bottle. Not that he should probably be taking them on an empty stomach, but realistically if he waited that long, he'd be waiting a while. ...well, not necessarily, not with how insistent Zevran had been with feeding them lately. The thought brought to mind the night before, of Zevran saying he'd come over this morning and.. probably food? Something.. Not waffles... Pancakes! Yes, he'd said pancakes. Pancakes were good.

Much as he didn't want to yet, Abel pushed himself to stand, and once he'd changed into some gray sweatpants and a dark gray t-shirt, he gathered his phone - had Zevran replied since he'd fallen asleep last night? - ran a hand through his hair to straighten it out a bit so it wasn't quite as messy (it didn't work) and padded into the living room to see whether or not Taavi was awake or up yet. Had he even gotten any sleep after what happened the night before? He really, really hoped so.

When Abel left the room, Isaac stretched, hopped down from the bed and trotted after him; while his friend focused on Taavi, the psychic-type looked around for Swift to see how he was doing. Abel's other pokemon, on the other hand, remained where they were, either asleep or awake but unwilling to get up just yet; Sonia lay curled up in her chair while Caleb was undoubtedly in his dogbed behind said chair, Elizabeth remained sprawled on the kitchen floor, Vanessa had yet to emerge from under Abel's bed, and Tabitha was still curled up on the floor beside the bed. Once Sonia noticed her trainer enter the room, however, the Zoroark pushed herself up to sit and made a soft noise of greeting.

((everything is rambling and now I am sleep))  

[TawnyAngel]

He had slept, a bit, his body had been too exhausted not to. After the bare minimum of rest however he'd found himself jerking awake suddenly, gripped by the same panic he'd felt when he'd first realise Valour was gone. For a few minutes all he'd been able to do was curl up on his side breathing in short painful gasps, his fingers knotting into Swift's soft fur as the Vulpix cuddled against his chest to comfort him. When the constriction in his chest finally passed he'd been left feeling drained and numb and slightly unreal. Maybe it was all just a dream? Maybe he'd wake up soon and it would all be okay.

Dawn came and he didn't wake up; he lay on his back staring at the ceiling instead. How could this have happened? How could he have let it happen? Surely he could have done something different, something better, stopped Jacques from dying, chased the Rocket and rescued Valour before it was too late.

Swift shifted slightly against his side and Taavi reached around to stroke his soft curls rhythmically.

Some more time must have passed, maybe he'd dozed off again for a little while or maybe he'd just zoned out but either way Abel's door was opening now which meant he had to get up and face the world.

Taavi pulled his quilt over his head.

As it happened Zevran hadn't slept amazingly either, partially because he was concerned about his friends but mainly because it had got really rather cold in his room. He awoke early feeling stiff and cranky and remained in a huddled ball in his hammock until the sun was edging up over the horizon; his windows were east-facing so the dawn took the edge off the chill enough to persuade him to take his head out from under his blanket and do his usual morning stretches.

Less stiff but still cold he headed for the gym next to take advantage of the hot showers, in fact he took advantage of them for longer than strictly necessary to banish the memory of the night's cold. He could have shaved there too but it felt like too much effort on an empty stomach and so instead he roughly blow-dried his hair and pulled it up into a messy bun, which made his fine blond stubble look like a 'look' rather than laziness.

Zevran left the gym rather less grumpy than he had been when he'd gone in, less grumpy more concerned now that his mind turned to his friends again. There really was nothing he could do or say to make the situation better but he could cook a decent breakfast and so that was what he intended to do.

Shopping for the ingredients hadn't taken too long, nor had walking to Abel's place, and so it was still relatively early when he arrived. Instead of texing Abel or going up and knocking and potentially waking everyone up therefore Zevran walked up the fire escape to the correct floor and then perched on the rail just outside Abel's living room window to play around on his phone while he waited for signs of human activity.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Well, that answered that question. Taavi was awake, it seemed, but didn't want to get up. Not that he blamed him in the least. Abel stuck his hands into his pockets and padded over so he could perch on the armest of the couch near Taavi's feet. "Morning," he mumbled in a voice that still held traces of sleepiness. 'How did you sleep' didn't seem like a very good question to ask, so instead he opted for, "How's your arm this morning?"

Isaac trotted over to the couch as well, then stood on his hindlegs while he hopped his front paws onto the cushion to better see both Swift and his human.

Sonia slipped out of her chair and onto the floor where she stretched, a yawn spreading her jaws wide for a few seconds, then she stepped closer to bump her nose into Abel's arm. He obliged her and reaches a hand up to scratch her behind the ears affectionately.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Um," said the lump under the blankets. It was then silent for a few moments. Then Taavi sighed and pulled the quilt down, revealing his tired drawn features and dishevelled mane of hair. "It's okay actually," he shrugged, sitting up slowly so as not to shove Swift onto the floor. "Probably hurt if I knock it or something but...." He rubbed his face with his good hand. "Yeah. The cast is pretty um... pretty cool, look, it's one of those 3D printed ones." Taavi held his arm up for inspection; indeed the cast was some kind of green plastic material honecombed with holes. "So it like... it breathes and it's waterproof and all. So I can shower." All his thoughts seemed to be coming very slowly, probably because he had to focus on them really hard to avoid thinking about anything else.

When Taavi sat up and shoved the quilt aside Swift lifted his head to look at Isaac but didn't go so far as to uncurl. <> he admitted, <> Swift blinked over at the window. <>

Zevran had become absorbed in reading a debate about the best kind of pancakes and failed to notice that there were now people up and about.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Knock it against a table or something - or if Alyssa got it in her head to ask him some questions like she had with him earlier in the year. Arceus he hoped she wouldn't do that again...

When Taavi presented the cast for inspection though, Abel dutifully leaned forward to check it out. "Huh, that's really cool actually," he said, his colorful eyes scanning the pockmarked piece of work. "I've never seen a 3D printed cast before, I didn't know they could make them. So does that mean I can't draw inappropriate stuff all over it?" Not that he would, but it was fun to think about, and maybe Taavi would find it as little funny. If he did, then it was worth it.

Isaac nodded as Swift spoke, his ears flattening a bit. His words struck a chord with him, and he was about to say so when the fire-type pointed out the figure just outside. With a frown the Espeon trotted around the couch to see the window, and sure enough he could spot Zevran's head and shoulders. <...huh.> Eloquent remarks aside, Isaac trotted over to the window and, after a bit of effort and window-glowing, the pane unlocked and slid upwards. With that done, he turned to trot back to the couch to continue his conversation with Swift. He paused with a light frown, debating on whether or not he should continue. Maybe a bit... He didn't know if it would, but it couldn't hurt to try -- or maybe it would. Hopefully it wouldn't though.  

[TawnyAngel]

Taavi smiled weakly at Abel and shrugged. "You can, you'll just have to try harder I guess and work around the holes. Um, yeah I wasn't really listening but it's some kind of trial they're doing to see if they get better healing times and less complications with these. I signed some piece of paper, not sure." He'd been with Jenny, she wouldn't have let him sign anything too weird.

Swift shifted closer to Isaac and curled up against him as he returned to the couch. <> The close contact didn't make the cold emptiness inside him go away but it was some comfort, a reminder that he wasn't alone. <> Maybe it would help, he wasn't going to turn an idea down at the curl of a tail.

Oh! Look at that everyone was up. Zevran flashed Isaac a smile as the Espeon opened the window for him and stepped down onto the fire-escape proper, moving silently by force of long-honed habit. He then pocketed his phone, picked up his bag of groceries, and stepped inside. "Hello everyone," 'Good morning' had sounded crass inside his head, "Are we ready for breakfast?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"...huh. That's cool I guess, yeah," he said with a nod, though he wasn't too sure... It sounded kind of like some experimental thing; it wouldn't negatively affect his arm healing, would it? No, it was probably fine...

Isaac in turn curled around Swift and settled his chin on the fire-type's shoulders. he said honestly, and it warmed his heart somewhat to know that he could at least provide some comfort to his friend. He coughed politely and left it at that.

When Isaac had opened the window, Abel had thought he'd only done it to let some fresh - albeit chilly - air into the apartment, thus he turned with no small amount of surprise to watch Zevran climb in through the window. "Man I know you said you were gonna come over this morning," he said with his eyebrows raised, his hand slipping off Sonia's head as she stepped away to resume her post in her chair, "but you could've come up the elevator or something, you didn't have to climb up the fire escape." ...come to think of it, how had he even gotten up to the fire escape in the first place? The thought passed quickly enough - Zevran was Zevran, and Abel was beginning to learn that the shorter man could do a great many seemingly difficult things - so he promptly moved onto his next concern; it manifested on his face as his eyebrows lowered and he frowned a bit. "It's not chilly inside the building like it is outside." Breakfast, he was so ready for breakfast. Not that he'd admit it just yet though - plus he didn't like to admit how starving he typically felt - though his stomach had no such qualms as it promptly grumbled quietly as the thought of food.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Yeah, I think they're emailing me something or-?" Taavi gave a heavy sigh and shrugged. "I don't know I wasn't listening." It was cool. He knew he'd normally be pretty excited about having some kind of awesome new cast but there was just... Nothing. There was nothing at all.

Well, there was nothing until there was a moment of shock at the sudden accented tones from by the window anyway.

Taavi practically jumped out of his skin and said a couple of pretty rude words to recover as he realised that it was just Zevran. "You... you move really quietly." Also he was very distracted, both together had nearly scared the life out of him, like the spirit would have been sucked out of-

No.

"I'm not hungry but I know I should eat so breakfast would be good. Thanks."

Andraste's tits this was depressing. He wished he could just do... well something to make it not depressing anymore but that wasn't how people worked. It wasn't even how he worked, much as he had always tried to pretend otherwise and had sometimes done so with so much success that he fooled himself.

"Ah, what can I say?" Zevran smiled and shrugged to Abel. "I was in need of a little morning exercise and I did not wish to disturb you too early." It was chilly outside though and as he did not appreciate the reminder of his terrible night's sleep Zevran closed the window again.

"Now, pancakes! I understand that around here you might call what I make crepes, your pancakes are fat and fluffy things that I have no idea of how to create so I hope you like them. I also brought eggs, bacon, maple syrup, lemon, squirting cream - very suggestive - and a package of frozen summer fruits that I can warm some of. The rest can remain in your freezer because I do not have one." What a terrible oversight he had made in buying the larger of the two available bags.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"That's fair." Honestly if it were him, he wouldn't have really been listening at that point either. ...actually now he thought about it, everything that happened in the wake of getting his a** handed to him and having Isaac stolen was pretty much a blur he couldn't remember. He probably hadn't been listening then either.

Huh... Zevran coming in had startled Taavi more than him, but he supposed he was probably rather... high-strung - to put it lightly - after the night before. Abel pushed himself to his feet and one hand moved to gingerly rub at his chest while the other moved to give Taavi's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I know you don't want it but food will do you good." Thankfully he knew that, at least; no convincing necessary. "You can keep sitting if you want though, I don't wanna drive you out of bed if you'd rather stay in it. I'm going to make some coffee though, if you want some." Regardless of what kind of response he received, he had every intention of making enough for three.

With that decided, he stepped away and headed over to Zevran, offering his free hand to help with whatever groceries he'd brought - which was apparently a lot. "Those sound good. All of that sounds good, actually, and good thing I have a freezer. Guess that just means you'll have to come over more and cook more food, oh darn. D'you want some coffee?" All these nice ingredients Zevran bought to make wonderful food, and to pair with it he had super cheap coffee. What a good host he was.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Yeah, I will for now thanks," Taavi said, making the decision even as he spoke and pulling the quilt back up into his lap. He might move in a bit when the others relocated to the kitchen though, he wanted the company of voices talking about things he could understand and distract himself with.

"Coffee would be great, um, is there milk?" He'd learned to drink black coffee but he didn't really like it still.

"What a shame! I do so hate to come here," Zevran replied with a chuckle, narrowly the urge to step close and give Abel a cheeky kiss because now did not feel like the time at all. "I have brought milk, si, so there is that for coffee if it's wanted. Black for me though Abel, no need for any sugar as I am already quite sweet enough eh? And what do we all like with our pancakes? Shall I do egg and bacon first, and then some sweet fruit ones?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"I know it's always such a pain," Abel countered with a small smirk. Ah, good, he'd have coffee. And they even had milk, thanks to Zevran. "You brought milk too? My hero," he said as he stooped to grab some of the groceries since his friend didn't outright accept or refuse the help. He didn't refuse, so that meant he accepted. Right? Right! With that thought in mind, the taller blond straightened up and headed to the kitchen. "You're too sweet as it is, especially bringing so much food for us. Thank you, I really do appreciate it." A sincere smile accompanied his words, as well as a brief, tired glance at his friend before he turned to focus on setting the bags on the counter and then starting the short process of making coffee. "I think starting with eggs and bacon would be nice, then move onto fruit from there?"

With her blanket wrapped securely around her shoulders and her lengthy ears, Vanessa peeked around the doorframe from within Abel's bedroom to see where the shorter blond was. He hadn't seemed that bad, really, but... Feeling comfortable around others, especially ones she didn't know well, was so difficult and so... so scary.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Thanks," Taavi repeated. Other than that all he felt able to cope with right now was curling up a bit more in his quilt, he kind of needed to pee but he really didn't feel motivated to get up right now so that could wait.

When he spotted Vanessa in the doorway he did manage to summon a ghost of a smile for her and patted the couch beside him too. "You ever had maple syrup? It's sweet like honey, Zevran brought some for you to try." It wasn't exactly a lie, and it might bit a small step towards her feeling more comfortable around the tattooed man.

"Milk for the pancakes," Zevran replied, trailing after Abel into the kitchen with the last bag of groceries. "Thanks," he added, "and thank you for giving me a space to cook. I am glad to do it, and all of us win so it has to be a good thing doesn't it?"

But Abel thought he was sweet. Maybe he only meant it as a joke, Zevran wasn't sure, but he needed a moment to process the thought in privacy all the same and so he turned away to hunt through cupboards in search of a large bowl to mix batter in. Strange, confused, pleased? He was pleased. He wasn't a sweet person but it was strangely good to be told so.

"Ah, how many pans do you have by the way?" he asked as he clattered around with his back to his friend. "I will need one for the pancakes, and one or preferable two for the rest. It would be easier to cook egg and bacon apart but I can manage if the void devours other options."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Ah, Taavi was calling her over. The Lopunny's eyes darted to the kitchen where Abel and the other human had disappeared, and he seemed nice enough, so maybe... it was okay? Hesitantly, haltingly, she took a few slow steps out of the bedroom, then once she worked up a tad more courage she hastened over and collapsed on the couch beside Taavi. Now that she was safe, she shifted and scooted and curled up beside him, and she moved to spread some of her blanket over him but stopped when she realized he had his quilt already. she noted in her usual soft voice. The fact pleased her a great deal, and she brightened a bit as she instead moved to wrap her arms around Taavi's to hug him. she admitted after a moment of thought. If Abel hadn't given it to her, then she hadn't had it. It was, wasn't it? Still, she wasn't entirely sure...

"I think it's a good thing, yeah," Abel agreed with a smile at his friend - at his back, it seemed like - and once he'd set up some water to boil he squatted down in front of some other cabinets. "Pots and pans are the one thing I have plenty of, so help yourself," he said as he opened one door in particular to display the variety. While not an excessive collection, he certainly had several different sizes for Zevran to choose from.  

[TawnyAngel]

Taavi put his arm around Vanessa in return. "Yeah, got a blanket," he replied, he felt kind of dumb just repeating what Vanessa had said but it was all he could come up with right away. "And yeah, they're good. Um. Yeah though he's a nice guy... Sorry I'm not much conversation. Thanks for the hug."

"Oh? Ah, good, good," Zevran replied, straightening up as he spoke with a large bowl clasped firmly in his hands. The bowl and then the cupboard of pans much have been really fascinating, his gaze flitted from one to the next without even passing over Abel.

"Let me see now.... Yes, these will do fine," Zevran continued as he selected a large frying pan first followed by a couple of slightly smaller ones. "Pancakes, eggs, bacon," he said aloud as he set them all on the worktop and then straightened up again. The clattering around and talking about pans seemed to have had the desired effect, whatever that strange moment had been had passed and so he turned back to Abel with a smirk. "You know you need to have excellent wrist action to make good pancake batter." What had happened was awful but there was still room for a little levity yes? He hoped so because he was rather good at levity but less so at more serious or meaningful things.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

the Lopunny said as she hugged his arm tighter and snuggled up into his side. Hugs and blankets were good; they would fix things.

Abel straightened up and watched Zevran pointedly avoid looking at him for a while. He might not have noticed it except for the fact that Zevran had always seemed to like looking at him - or he assumed he did, at any rate - and so when he didn't do so for an extended length of time despite having found what he needed... It made him rather curious. Why?

Of course it could've just been coincidence too, of course... Ah, he was looking again. "So what you're saying is, you'll make amazing pancake batter," Abel countered with a small smile as he moved the boiling water into the coffee pot, then set it aside for the time being. Now that that was done, he turned to give Zevran's shoulder a light squeeze. "While that's steeping I'm gonna go outside for a quick smoke." The familiar urge for some nicotine had flared up again - it always did in the mornings - so with that said he offered the shorter blond a softer, more muted smile as he turned and left the kitchen, though not without grabbing his pack of cigarettes off the counter first.

As he passed by the couch he made a slight detour to silently give Taavi's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, then lifted the window, slipped out, and shut it behind him.

Elizabeth toddled over to Zevran's elbow, peering curiously at the various bowls and pans he'd gathered.