Two weeks later, Hope's Bounty feels almost gentle. Pine smoke curls through the air outside the little cabin, and the hand-built walls hold the evening chill at bay.
Mercedes sorts their meager belongings into neat piles while Sakura kneels beside an open crate, folding cloth with careful hands. The silence between them is not empty, just cautious.
Sakura Matou
You make everything look organized when you do that. It is unfair.
Sakura lifts a scarf, then glances up with a soft, crooked smile that asks for mercy more than it expects it.
Mercedes Machina
Merc still gets the important jobs done.
The words land lightly, and Sakura huffs out a laugh before setting the scarf in the right place. Outside, distant hammering from the artisan camp drifts through the open window.
Sakura Matou
Then tell me where you want the cups. If this is our cabin, I should learn your system.
She says our cabin without hesitation, and for a moment the room feels warmer than the stove.
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep Sakura Matou safe
“Offer Sakura a hand to help her stand up.”
SUCCESS (Good Empathy, rolled +2)
Sakura lets Mercedes lift her by the hand, and the wobble in her knees fades as she finds her balance. Her fingers stay wrapped around Merc's for a second longer than necessary.
Sakura Matou
You always make that look easier than it is.
Porsche watches from near the table, arms folded tight for warmth or nerves, it is hard to tell. Allison lowers her gaze, relief and shame crossing her face together.
Allison Machina
Thank you for not letting that land on the floor.
Xero remains by the cabin wall, still and unreadable, while the quiet of the room settles into a tense kind of peace. Sakura steps closer to Mercedes instead of away.
Sakura Matou
I like it better when she is beside me.
The little cabin creaks softly in the evening hush. No one rushes to speak over the moment, and for once the silence feels like a choice.
Quest Complete
Keep Sakura Matou safe