thecrossinglogs | Lost At A Sleepover

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attack on titan: frieda reiss

Lost At A Sleepover

WHO: EVERYONE - Meeting time!
WHAT: Kel, Frieda and Nagito organized a party/sleepover!
WHERE: The largest house they could find in the area
WHEN: Between one crossing and another
WARNINGS Nooooot really much?

There are few things Kel treasures deeply in a place like that. The siblings, sure, his new basketball with the creepy face on it, but also the opportunity to build bonds with others. From what he understands, the memories they build in there will stay, so... why not making great ones? thigns that will remind them they're 'alive' in their own way, that even if theirr identity is lost at every Crossing just a bit more... they're still themselves? He has been in an awful mood since he and Sunny had... a fight? Something? He doesn't even know how to call their poor attempt at a tlak but he knows his best friend is now avoiding him like the plague and it hurts. That being said? He's smiling rto whoerever approaches the building and waving at them. Invitations were sent out, preparations had been done and even at this 'pit stop' there's a community event, so to speak, ready to go.

The whole building may be baely lit, but the precious jars Frieda brought in with glow worms (Some with sitiks and leaves in, too) gave the whole place a cozy and comfortable look. The woman also brought in basins and such, decorated now with water lilies and other few flowers. Ribbons, strings, anything they could find has been gathered as well to make the place 'prettier'. There's no point in being stuck with an ugly room, right? Nagito took clear of all the cleaning, leaving the place spotless, and Kel carried inside all the mattresses he could gather. After a long time processing how to place things? He opted for leaving bed frames alone and just sitting a whole corner of the area with mattresses and blankets for everyone to share.

The few games they can make with sticks and mud are there as well. He may have no apples, but one basin has been filled with water and lily buds to play the 'bite into it and drag out as many as you can' game, whatever it's called. There are sticks and differently colored rocks to prepare some Tic Tac Toe games (sort of. Grey and green rocks VS Xs and Os), there is a space with all the paper (damp, humid) he could find and some pencils and pieces of charcoal too.

The true stars of the sleepover, though? A bonfire set right outside, as safely as possible (with rocks and mud all around the charchoal and chairs put at a safe distance from it) and FOOD. Nagito was an angel and got not only a picnic set for them all, btu also real food. There's wonderful, greasy pizza (one little square has already been stolen, it seems) covered in cheese, A plate full of chimichangas (and here Kel is guilty of taking one), watermelon already cut in large slices, steak that may be warmed up by the fire, chocolate chip cookies, bags of popcorns and both ice and lemonade for whoever wants them.

"Welcome to the party! Nagito and Frieda did such a good job here! You should come inside, we have everything ready. And, hey, why don't you considering moving in here, too? At least until we have to move? You know... company is very important, after all!" He isn't in the mood to look happy but that's irrelevant.

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Dankovsky spends most of the evening either sitting in his assigned old man chair or helping out with preparations or serving food and the like. When it actually comes to the sleepover he 'sleeps' sitting up in his chair, by that, I mean he barely sleeps at all. Insomnia is a curse that he bears deeply, and at some point during the night, he does slink upstairs to just rest alone in his own bed.

But during the party he's around. Mostly keeping to himself, but still enjoying the company. He'll talk if spoken to, but mostly stays out of the way. It's strange, he's usually so uppity, so angry, but he seems calm, like having a roof over his head and some necessities seems to put him at some amount of ease.

Though if at any point the party does get too loud he may excuse himself and go stand outside for a minute until it calms down again.

[Kel is doing Great. Absolutely wonderful. He couldn't complain about anything right? He seems even happier and more cheerful than usual during the party/sleepover and by the gods he's having all the pizza he can. No cramps, no pain, no gas- he'll happily laugh and say 'being dead has its perks'.

Trying too hard? Probably.

He seems to need a moment for himself as well at some point and that's when he meets 'Doc' outside. With a smile, he offers him the glass of lemonade he was carrying. Still fresh from the bottle being kept in water until it was time to serve it, so very nice- of it only it was orange juice.]

Hey there, Dankovsky boy. Having a good time? Here, have a sip, I promise I still have to touch it, promise, no spit in it.

He raises an eyebrow at Kel but does take the drink from him and try it. It's a lot of sugar. Modern foods have so much sugar. Even the rich Dankovsky who's used to having more sugar in his diet isn't used to how much sugar modern foods have.

"That's very sweet." He remarks, "And tart, but too sweet-" He had noticed this with the cookies too, "People born after my time certainly do enjoy their sweets."

He keeps the cup though, doesn't hand it back, that would make him feel bad. Dankovsky kind of wishes he knew how to bake cookies from home so he could show Kel more the kind of sweets he's used to.

[From Kel's point of view? It's FAR too sweet. Still, he enjoys sodas, even if his favorites have a stronger bitter or sourer taste. Seriously, this dude mixes coffee and oranje juice all the time, what doe anyone even expect?]

It's supposed to be a treat, not an everyday thing. A... friend. Back home? [Basil. A friend Kel keeps seeing in the fog, lost in the distance.] He used to give us those flowery teas and they were sweet even without sugar. The best, I'm telling you. This kind of drink is called soda and it's supposed to be for celebrations and such. My ma' would have lost if if she saw me drink this stuff every day.

We had the tea guy and Mari made us cookies, truly the best of times. I do wonder, though, how was food back in your days?

[He just needs to keep his mind running, it's a mighty need. It keeps negative thoughts and worries away, right?]

I only know about traditional mexican food, since my family still makes it on occasion, but I can't say I'm someone who knows too much about... older stuff? Can I even say that?

"Mm, so more of a desert rather than an everyday drink." Dankovsky could rationalize this. Still, even for a desert, it was way too sweet.

"Salty, we used a lot of salt to preserve foods, keep them from going bad during transit." The Bachelor said honestly, "It was hard to get fresh food, so a lot of things were prepared from cans or jars as well. Sugar is expensive and is not imported regularly, it's hard to come by, which is probably why my taste buds aren't used to it. I'm not much of a cook or I'd try to prepare something for you sometime."

Still, he's better off than someone like Burakh, who hasn't even tried things like strawberries before. Being a rich boy from the capital means that Dankovsky has at least tried a variety of fruits, even if they weren't fresh.

"Yeah! It usually goes with salty stuff, too. Like pizza. It balances itself out. Some adults prefer beer with pizza, though, but I never really tried that one. I'm not sure if it's sweet or not."

He crossed his arms, though, nodding in the man's direction.

"Transit... so people grew food away from where you lived? And... it's okay. We all have stuff we're not used to. I'm not used to salty things, for example, unlike you, but that's because we have a shop that seels everything we need and my ma' loves cooking for the family."

It's good to talk about stuff he wants to remember, right?

"Oh, yes, Pizza. That circular shaped thing inside."

The weird bread thing full of grease that he hadn't had the courage to touch yet. No thank you.

"Indeed. Though there's often not enough food to feed people. It's always been like that for many years from what I understand. It's good that you come from a place where you can go to a store that has everything you need. We have stores, it's just limited as to what you can get."

Dankovsky says it, but he doesn't seem sad about it. It truly just seems like it's reality for him, something he's just always grown up with that isn't abnormal to him in the slightest, even as someone who is wealthy.

"I love pizza. I couldn't even have a lot of it back home because my stomach couldn't handle it but... here? Here I feel nothing wrong."

That didn't stop him from shoving down his throat a full pizza in more than one occasion, but Kel also knew it always came with a cost. A cost he would have to pay in the bathroom.

"Oh..." there was a moment of hesitation there "I... think our boon was getting products to make a lot? And learn how to keep things cold so we could ship them everywhere? And... greenhouses? Do you guys have those? Actually, if I can ask... where do you come from? I mean, I'm very loud about 'America' and 'Mexico' but I don't think I stopped asking that question too often?"

Please tell him somewhere distant so he can ask more questions.

"I'm aware of what a greenhouse is, but no, they aren't common where I'm from." He tries to take another sip of Lemonade. It's a bit forced for Kel's sake, "I suppose I haven't mentioned it because nobody's asked. I'm from Russia, the Soviet Union, to be exact."

Yes, that big USSR that dissolved right before you were born, Kel? Just getting rolling during Dankovsky's lifetime. You have so many questions you can ask my lad.

"It's a shame. I had a friend who loved plants and he... he told me a lot about greenhouses. They could have been useful, I think? I'm not completely sure it's possible, but imagine growing fresh strawberries while it's snowing outside." A pause, then. He didn't learn a lot about Russia, but with cold war literally ending in 1991, basically... it's not the most popular country for someone like Kel. Not that he wants to listen to any of that weird political mumbo jumbo, but... "Oh! Sometimes we heard about it in television. It's... big." Something something about its dissolution? -He should have paid better attention in class.

"I think it's cool. That people can survive anywhere, even when it's really difficult. When you think about it, in our own way, we're surviving here as well. Still us, still thinking, still eating garbage food in here." A small pause "You should try the chimichangas, man. You may like them better than the lemonade and they're not sweet at all."

Dankovsky doesn't know if he'd describe it as cool, but Kel is a kid, and he gets that he's trying to be polite. He can imagine Kel's future, one where everyone goes without want, and where his reality is almost like a story to Kel.

It's likely better off that way, truthfully. It's hard to take offense when it means that Kel didn't suffer the way he's seen children suffer in his own time.

"I have had friends who have never had fresh fruit, this is true. It's very expensive." He remarks quietly, "But yes, perhaps I will have to try that."

It looked a bit greasy, everything that wasn't too sweet looked like it was drowning in grease which Dankovsky is also not used to. But he'll try it, particularly if it's something Kel is so dearly fond of.

Well, it could be... worse? He could bring up what little he knows of the cold war and how apparently it made a whole generation of 'his people' dislike Russia and a lot other political concepts just because. for the teen? A 'past' where people struggled isn't so hard to imagine, even in Mexico where his family comes from there are places that have very little. Still, he tries to look positively at things... especially now.

"I can imagine. Maybe next time we settle somewhere we can... have a large party with fruits? Wouldn't that being nice? There may be a lot of things we didn't get to try in life we should at least get a chance to try here, right?" A big, big smile."I'm going for wine" He's not. It's a joke.

"Chimichangas are the best when fresh and with salsa, but... I'm just glad we get to have some.They're very popular where I'm from and they have a very nice meat filling. I... I wonder if we could start to cook with stuff we find around? I mean... that could be a thing?"

"I don't know how to cook very well." He admits shamefully. It comes with being wealthy, sadly. "But surely if you direct me I can do small things, chop vegetables and what have you."

He likes the idea, doesn't want to be useless when it comes to it, but if you wanted him to pull out the vast cool Russian dishes... sorry, Kel. Maybe if they find some sort of cookbook from that era?

But he is very attracted to the idea of a board of fruits. Even being wealthy he's had more jams and canned fruits rather than fresh. That genuinely sounds absolutely divine to him, though he's hesitant to say so out loud.

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knockingatthedoor - 2025-06-29 15:16 (UTC) - Expand

Celehar has - it would be overstating their circumstances to call what he's doing avoiding Dankovsky, precisely. In the circumstances where they've had cause to come across each other, which are... highly limited, outside of the night's revels. A passing nod as they cross one another on the walkways and platforms, or in the distance. Celehar has kept his tongue, as best he's able, meeting Dankovsky's eyes for only a moment before stepping aside to let the man go about his business. After their last conversation - quarrel - it had seemed prudent to give the man his space.

All his efforts are set ablaze when, in the process of climbing the stairs to escape a burst of enthusiasm over one of the games, he hears a creak on the stairs behind him and turns, his eyes momentarily going wide as he sees the Bachelor there behind him. "Osmer Dankovsky," he says, one hand lingering against the stairwell - caught between the logistics of politeness and avoidance when they clearly have the same destination in mind.

"Celehar."

The Bachelor hadn't meant to trap him there. Not really. They had just had the same idea, unfortunately. He had noticed Celehar avoiding him and he wasn't sure why, if the man hated him or if their previous arguments truly had driven a wedge between them that could no longer be fixed. It bothered Dankovsky, but he was not as socially adept as he often pretended to be.

"After you." He says with a sigh and a gesture, as if to say, I won't bite. Must that really be said, Dankovsky wonders?

Awkward and reticent, the both of them, but Celehar doesn't shy away entirely, now. He nods, though a touch stiffly, and makes a few steps further up, before something causes him to pause and turn back towards Daniil, his expression furrowing faintly.

"Your leg is not bothering you, I hope?" he asks, clearing his throat, his gaze dropping to the leg he watched heal itself not so long ago.

The reasoning is obvious, on a set of stairs like this, though Celehar does them both the favor of not giving further explanation to why the thought occurred to him in the moment.

He frowns. Why must everyone ask about his damned leg? Out of concern, surely, but sometimes Dankovsky wishes that everyone would ignore how it so weakly limps about.

"It's fine." He lies, "About the same, really."

Okay, it does hurt him a bit. One hand on the railing, another one gripping his cane tightly. The idea of complaining about it hurts his pride, and he'd rather his leg hurt more than damaging his already frail ego.

"How have you been keeping?" Dankovsky asks softly.

With the way Celehar's attention lingers on the man, he might question the answer - but his pale eyes flick to Dankovsky's hand on the railing, and he seems to take a tack to instead ascend a few more steps, giving the man space to continue on. An awkward place to hold a conversation, but he at least continues moving, rather than force the both of them to continue standing there.

"... Well enough," he admits. "I... was lost in the mists, for a time." Just saying it renders him uncomfortable, and he turns to face the other side of the hallway, the only sign of his lingering disquiet the way his pointed ears press flat against his skull. "It was for that reason - I would have checked on your progress in the Crossing sooner, otherwise."

"And since, I have stayed close to the Ferryman."

Daniil does continue up the staircase as he speaks, with a bit of effort. Though he tries to show none of this as he does.

"Are you alright?" He asks, and it is of genuine concern. Dankovsky is taking a different approach to the marshes, and hasn't left the town much at all. Still, his concern seems genuine. Drat, he thought Celehar was just avoiding him, but in the end, he was just being arrogant and self centered... Damnit, not everything is about you, Daniil.

Celehar takes a breath, and after a moment his shoulders relax and his ears settle into a more neutral position. "I am," he said, with a nod. No attempt at a reassuring smile, as he makes space for Dankovsky to come to the top of the stairs, but he does once more meet the other man's eyes.

"There were voices that spoke to me from the mists, but nothing more, before the Ferryman found me." He smooths his coat down, slightly self-consciously, and does his best not to loom as the other man finishes coming up the stairs. "Your experiment...?"

The corner of the Bachelor's mouth twitches in displeasure. Damn his experiment anyway. He wishes he could ask more about the voices that Celehar heard instead of talk about the Crossing. Out of genuine curiosity, sure, but also to talk about anything other than that horrid crossing.

Daniil's starting to dread every Crossing more and more.

"A failure, though don't get up in arms about it, I was mostly unharmed." He sighs, sounding incredibly annoyed, even now, "It's surprising what a single scratch on your cheek can do. I hardly even remember getting scratched, truth be told."

Even now, the scratch was so unremarkable there wasn't even a scar left behind as a reminder.

The frown on Dankovsky's face tells the story even before he answers, and Celehar's expression unconsciously comes to mimic the other man's, pinching down at the corners. "I am sorry to hear it," he says, gravely.

And it's true. There's no reprobation in his voice, nor of the insistence that had let them to argue in the first place. He's certainly not 'up in arms' in any fashion. If anything, the news seems to have clipped some measure of energy from him, leaving his expression one of weary understanding. "I am sure it was all the more frustrating for that."

Seeing Celehar's expression paired with the news of the last Crossing sort of makes Dankovsky want to cry about it all over again. He doesn't, of course, but the temptation is there, festering in that spot between his throat and his chest like a lump.

"I suppose so, yes." He acquests, and thinks to himself that maybe it would have been easier if he would have gotten horribly maimed again, and then scolds himself internally for thinking such a thing, "What's done is done. I suppose the knowledge wasn't meant to be mine."

Even as he says it he doesn't believe it. Believes he should have tried harder. Been more careful. Something. But what's the point in complaining now? He'd rather not. It's unbecoming to constantly wallow, Dankovsky can do that just fine in his own private chambers.

Celehar hesitates for a moment - debating for only a moment, whether to continue the point from his previous argument, or to contradict that. In the end he settles for something more cautious, not agreement but neither aiming to kick the other man while he is, metaphorically, down.

"Have you found another avenue of inquiry?" he asks, instead. "I, ah. Do not know if the flowers have spoken to anyone else."

Sunny is no stranger to needing alone time or space (or both of those all at once, more likely). He’s still hiding beneath one of the food tables, cloth blocking his view of the party outside.

As it seems like the party is getting too noisy and Dankovsky appears apt to go elsewhere, he receives a message via Sunny’s notebook.

Hide with me

It’s an invitation, though it it appears pushy, Sunny didn’t mean it to be. He likes Dankovsky; the doctor makes him feel safe, even if the idea of doctors was scary, and even if Sunny is avoiding people right now, Dankovsky is a safe person, right?

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Lost At A Sleepover

Daniil Dankovsky | Pathologic | OTA

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Too Noisy