█┆❜ ♛; 𝓝imble digits, still blemished from some grease residue, gingerly collect the man’s afflicted hand into her lap; a premonitory hunch from the realm of her cognition enlightening her that mellow assurances are more alleviating than a grim lament.
The conductor’s abdomen rises wearily, jagged breath eluding her in fleeting bursts as her spine urges against the parched boulder behind them. It is no longer twilight and the Hinomoto sky is pregnant with stormcloud, banked and heavy. Its aggressive tumult is diluting to their psyches ━ with rain plummeting against the cavern roof like a hail of unrelenting bullets, ferocity unparalleled.
❝ Please hang in there. We will return to the Koutetsujou as soon as the rain subsides. ❞
Yukina gathers her sleeve forward to impress it upon the man’s weeping knuckles, crimson promising through the delicate fibers of her garment. She persists to apply pressure by idling her firm hand upon her companion’s, absentmindedly blinking through her sweats into the drenched night. The vacant cavern is a welcomed respite from the progressing storm outside and the conductor permits a veil of silence to sheathe their presences, the quiet combating the reverberating thunder in their ears
how long had she been at this ?? it made him wonder– the way she rubbed her shoulder made him curious if it was injured. he could help with that ( but that might not have been something to SPEAK of so easily with a crowd. ) her being a stranger also seemed to slip his mind && all. then again, he volunteered to become her pack mule out of nowhere so maybe it wouldn’t be strange. ( let me heal you with my super holy powers &&maybe hit on you. ) yeah, that would go over swimmingly. keeping focused– his best bet was a normal conversation. besides, a stranger with the MAGIC touch; he was sure read this plot on some sleazy site (&& it ain’t happening captain. )
she was studying him– not like he wasn’t doing the same. his attention was all hers for this second in time. ( one of the prettier sights in this dreary steam punk wonderland ) to think, he wanted to see one of these places a few years ago. now it didn’t seem all that wonderful. the corners of the box dug into his arms but not uncomfortably. the sharp bite, oddly, kept him focused to his current reality. ❝ always a pleasure to be of service to complete strangers. ❞ a click rolled from his tongue to punctuation his ill humor. though there was no malice behind it in the slightest. something about it was natural too– sarcasm, man’s greatest wonder & he achieved it. then again, he wasn’t really a man, right ?? maybe he just wanted a special divine title instead.
❝ ah, it’s no inconvenience. I would have been sitting around for hours anyways. I think I could use the exercise && stuff. besides, helping people is never an inconvenience to me. ❞
okay, that might sounded a bit too charity auction and not super cool dudeish. not like it was a bad thing ( but he did wanna seem COOL && nothing in-between. ) as she relinquished her gaze– which soon became an inclination to follow. he did so obediently. his eyes did wander but only to take note of her boots before they returned to the area between her shoulder blades. ❝ must have some tough hands then to not notice. ❞ my arms are already sore. ❝ you’re welcome. ❞
if he was not set to have his nerves steeled his mouth might have fallen open at this PLACE– as it was something odd. like a train station that got the guts to get some muscle powder && all the people around made it seem like a body. cells circulating with some sort of goal in mind. grim but purposeful. something about it was magnetic ( yet scary. ) should he have not been shifting his head, he might have run into her carelessly. at least he avoided that embarrassment ( for her &him. )
❝ as you command also you never did tell me your name. ❞
tender motion guided the box to its destination to be perched firmly in place. gaze wandering to her as his hands drifted to tuck themselves into his pockets since he was ignoring the numbness in his arms. complaining– not his style– but tempting.
Phlegmatic gaze promenading in pursuit of the cumbersome box as it established alignment with the barren ground, Yukina regarded the man upon his completion of the duty; her chin courteously descending into a discrete nod of acknowledgment to ensure that he does not mistakenly believe his benevolent gesture to have gone unappreciated. After all, if he has inspired anything— it would be his outward amity, his wellspring of positivity; it would be the way his mien ceaseless to be graced by an unyielding simper, despite the environment of abiding dismal that would have driven anyone to the brink of lunacy. He somehow maintained his smile.
Limps weighed heavy against her lean torso, Yukina urged her jutting shoulder blades against a neighboring wall. She proceeded to fixate her innocuous hues onto the opposing set of spectacles of her acquaintance; vestiges of potent contemplation skulked in the crevices of her physiognomy as she dwelled in this incomprehensible revelation.
Cordiality? —Hospitality? ... It was all foreign to her.*
The piercing screech of vapor was enough to wrench Yukina from the recesses of her mind, and she retracted her attention from the derailing trance of her companion— instead sauntering off to defy the bustling environment. A nimble clutch to ascent the thick frames of her copper goggles, the engineer distracted herself by readjusting the spectacles atop of her tousled locks before she progressed to unfasten her cargo jacket— liberating her firm shoulders from the coarse polyester blend that gnawed at her taunt skin. With an inattentive twang of newfound vitality, she knotted the sleeves around her waist; coupled with an austere demeanor that reacquainted itself upon her sighting of two steam smiths.
❝ Hey. ❞
She bellowed out to the pair.
❝ Parts are here. ❞
Obedient presences were retracted from the congregation of diligent workers and mechanics alike as the duo smiths sauntered in pursuit of the beckoning engineer. They approached her to equip themselves with their awaited crate━ bestowing her with their utmost gratitude but Yukina preemptively brandished a palm, dismissing the false acclaim. Instead, verdant orbs mellowed; fleshy bounds of her maw emerging into a dim simper as she swiveled a glance over the crest of her strained shoulder. A sparse relic of smile embellished her sharp physiognomy, cognizance impregnating effusive gaze; hand reposing upward to direct a keen thumb towards the meritorious man.
❝ Over there. Credits to him. ❞
Upon the departure of the two avid smiths, Yukina receded back to her companion’s vacant side. Though the fleeting simper that the engineer donned has already thawed from her visage, her piquant countenance still reigned a refined placidity. There was one more endeavor that she felt inclined to accomplish. Warm, steady grasp furled around the man’s bony wirst━ she gingerly drew his fist forth, once again engaging their eyes.
❝ Yukina. ❞
The engineer finally prized him with her name, and though her voice was stoic━ there was a glimmer of patent softness harboring within her serpentine hues. Her agile digits began to pry at his clenched fist, unfurling his fingertips until the pad of his palm is exposed. She proffered a share of reward that she procured from the steam smiths against his hand before liberating his ensnared appendage altogether.
