Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Eri wouldn't recieve a response as she climbed up the ladder, not immediately noticing Zoe's form. Maybe she was hard at work? But she couldn't hear anything like a hammer or even movement.

Eventually, Eri would notice Zoe, sitting perfectly still, staring out into the horizon. Eri would notice that she had gotten a surprising amount of the roof done in this short amount of time, about a fourth of what was here. If she had started in the morning she might have been able to finish it in one day. However, something was wrong.

She had a blank look on her face with a dumb smile, as if not a thought was currently running through her mind. In truth, her memories had gotten the better of her again, and she was once again thinking of that taste. If she was aware she'd had this happen yet again, Zoe would likely call herself weak again, for letting it happen a second time in one day. She fought so hard not to think about it, and yet it got the better of her, again.

Her ear twitching occasionally, her eyes cloudy and her tail occasionally swaying back and forth, Zoe was unresponsive to purely voice, and might need an extra bit of effort to rouse her from her trance-like state.

Eri noticed Zoe was acting weird, being really careful, the red kitsune approached her, gently placing her hand on Zoe's shoulder and giving it a loving squeeze. "Zoe? Is something wrong?"

The sudden touch was enough to cause Zoe to gasp a little, as it ripped her out of her own mind, the color returning to her eyes. She panicked for a moment, falling backwards out of her seat, she laid there for a moment on the roof, letting her mind catch up to itself.

"Eri..." Her heartbeat slowed as she realized what had just happened, and who was here with her. "Must've...been up here, for a while, huh? Sorry...about that." She weakly chuckled as she breathed heavily in a cold sweat, hoping Eri wouldn't ask.

She had let it happen again. And this time it was so bad that she needed Eri just to snap out of it. Damn cows, and their damn milk...it was almost as if she could taste it, on the tip of her tongue, and she hated that so much. If Eri hadn't come to check on her, she would have sat here all night, dreaming about it again.

"I...I'm, fine. Just a little, tired, I guess. Got some of the roof done, heh..." It was a blatant lie that even Eri would likely see through, as Zoe pulled herself up.

As Zoe pulled herself up, Eri grabbed Zoe's hand, with a tight grip. "Zoe... You don't have to lie to me... What's wrong?" She asked with a tone filled with concern.

As much as Zoe wanted to tell her that she was fine, that nothing was bothering her, it wasn't something that she could say and truly be honest about.

Zoe sighed a little. "Normally I don't like to...worry you, about the things that go on in my head, you know? Like...you've got so much on your mind already, and most of the time...I want to make sure you aren't worrying about me too. Guess I'm not doing a very good job with it, huh...?"

She closed her eyes as her own memories and thoughts rushed into her. "Those two have been on my mind, lately. Every time I get alone to my thoughts, I start thinking about how good it felt, you know? Like, it just drifts back to how it felt, that day. Sometimes, it gets...really bad, and I kinda zone out, like how you found me."

Eri could feel her shiver a little as she continued. "The taste gets on the tip of my tongue sometimes, and it gets enough that I start thinking about it. And then when I start thinking about it, it gets hard to not keep thinking about it, and then..." Zoe looked downward, ashamed of her own failing. "I hate it. I hate how much I love it."

Eri took a seat on the roof, patting on the space next to her, inviting Zoe to sit down. "We are a team Zoe, your problems are my problems too, we are together in this, remember?" Gazing at the horizon, the red kitsune let out a sigh. "I'd be lying if I say the memories don't come back to me too. The memories of those feelings... But we have to be strong and you have to stop blaming yourself Zoe..." Eri reassured her giving Zoe's hand a gently squeeze. "What happened is in the past... Maybe we can find someone to help you too." She added with s warm smile.

Strong. That was the exact same thing Maya had told her.

"You have to get stronger; strong enough that no one would be capable of betraying you; strong enough that no danger would ever reach Eri."

It's been her goal, now, aside from protecting Eri. Growing stronger, stronger than anyone could ever even dream of, to always keep her safe. What happened that day was because she was weak, naieve, maybe even a little stupid. It drove her crazy that she let it happen at all, that she keeps feeling it, and worse, that she was directly responsible for it. She should have listened to Eri's instincts, at the first sign of danger. But she was too hopped up on that damn milk to think otherwise. All of it was buzzing through her head as she sat down next to Eri, staring out into the sunset with her.

"I dunno if someone can help me with...all of this, but I'd love to see someone try. Drives me up the wall, sometimes. And I can't keep spacing out like this. One of these days when that happens, I'm terrified that I'm just gonna start walking in their direction and never come back. Feels like I'm not even in control of my own body, anymore...all because of one bad day."

Eri leaned against Zoe with her warm smile. "I'm sure we can find someone to help, maybe an apothecary?" getting back on her feet, Eri offered Zoe a hand to get back up. "But for now we should go back inside and have dinner, Ms.Costa must be wondering what's taking us so long."

Zoe sighed a little as she felt Eri lean on her. Tried as she might, Eri wasn't going to help her through this problem in its entirety, at least today. Not when that taste was still on her mouth and she was trying so incredibly hard not to think about it.

Zoe looked up to see Eri standing over her, a hand ready to pull her up. She had such a sweet look on her face. It was enough to melt someone's heart. For Zoe, it was what she needed: a slap of reality. This was why she was pushing herself so hard, why she was determined to push past this and keep going. All for her. No matter what.

"Well, that'd be nice if they were out there, at least." Taking the offered hand, she pulled herself up to meet Eri, and quickly brought her into a tight hug. "Thanks, Eri. We're...looking out for each other, right?" Her own doubts were far from quelled, but she was pushing them down for now to focus on what's going on right now.

She pulled back a little so that the two of them could see each other, dead on. "But, if you see me zoning out like that again...I want you to get me out of it. No matter what, alright? I don't...trust myself, like that..."

Eri nodded and took Zoe's hand once more. "I promise, I will and we'll find a way to help you, now let's go, you must be starving right?"

When the pair returned to Vienna's home, they found that she had already set the table while Eri was calling for Zoe. The spoon and fork was set and 3 dishes were close to the edge of the rectangular oak table. In the middle was Eri's dish, is scent just as appealing as it was when it was being cooked. Next to it was a clay pot of rice that she was able to steam up as the two were taking a while. Speaking of which...

"Zoe, Eri, what took you both so long? Is everything alright?" The elder voiced her concerned for the tardiness of the foxes.

Zoe followed Eri back to the front of the house, being careful not to let her fall down the ladder. Moving it to the back once they were both down, Zoe walked with Eri back to the door, staying close to her the whole time. Something about having her nearby was both keeping those thoughts that terrified her at bay, and also bringing them to the forefront at the same time. It was a conflicting feeling, but being next to her was enough for now.

Just approaching the door, she could smell the food that the two of them made while she was working. It smelled amazing, and was enough to get her to let out a sigh of contentment before she even got to the room itself. Vienna's look and tone of worry was enough to get her to straighten herself a little.

"Oh, jeez, sorry. I kinda got...into it, a little. Everything's fine, don't worry. If I start on that tomorrow morning, I should be done by that evening...I think." She beamed a little in pride. She was quite confident in her own talents when she needed to be, and knew what she was capable of. Such skills got her this far in life, at least.

"But...wow. This all looks amazing!"

Eri blushed slightly at the compliment, after all she had worked hard to make this dish with Vienna's help. "Hehe, I learned a few new things, Zoe, so I can make even more tasty food for you." She said, smiling and holding her hand. "Shall we take a seat?"

Guiding Zoe, Eri walked to the table and took a seat, waiting for Zoe and Vienna to seat as well before start eating. "It smells even better now, ms.Costa."

"Well still be careful while up there, Zoe. Also make sure you both do not exhaust yourself in the few days before the test. It would be rather unfortunate if your are not at your best when it comes." It was spoken in a gentle tone but still an important reminder. "But for now, let us settle down for a moment." She slips into her chair and waits for Zoe to do the same before speaking.""

"Before we eat, I want you to close your eyes for a minute and think on these: what you are most grateful of, and what do you wish in the future? We have the present, and now we think on the past and the future." With that, Vienna grasps her hands together in front of her chest before she closed her eyes. It was a gesture almost similar to a prayer; the elder goes quiet, deep into her own thoughts.

Zoe was unfamiliar with the motion that Vienna made before eating, but from what she could tell, it was a religion thing? Regardless, she wasn't going to turn down her host, and did a similar motion with her hands, clasping them together and closing her eyes.

Most grateful of, huh? If you had to think about that for more than half a second, then I'm disappointed in you.

Zoe's eyes peeked open for a moment, sneaking a look over at Eri who was doing a similar motion with her eyes closed.

She's been everything you've ever wanted out of life, and more. There's no denying that. She's given you a purpose beyond simply living to see the next day. Your whole life revolves around seeing her safe and happy, and you're clearly okay with that. But, what else are you grateful for? And what do you want for the future?

Zoe's thoughts slowed to a crawl as she tried to piece her own thoughts together. Having the opportunity to start fresh in a new land, away from all of that. That comes to mind instantly. You really should be grateful to Maya too, even if you're not sure about things, yet. And now, for this Vienna woman who was willing to give the two of them the chance they needed.

Zoe's hands balled up into fists for a moment. And the future. Part of it is easy. As long as Eri's happy, that's the future you want. You've gotta get stronger to make that a reality. A world where Eri can be happy, and free from danger. That's probably the best future you can think of, right? What happens to you to get there is...less important.

Zoe was working through her own thoughts for some time, letting her own memories wash over her a little. They both had been through so much just to get to this point. She had to make sure it stayed like this, or got even better. That was the one future she could think of right now. It was the only future she could ever want.

What was she grateful for? The easiest answer was Zoe, she gave her a home when she had nothing, she took care of her when she was lost, she was always working herself to the bone for her sake. Then she thought of something else, or better someone else, Maya, her first friend and the best she had, even if they didn't start in the best of ways, she couldn't think of Maya as anything else than her best friend, she cared for her, helped her when she almost made the biggest mistake of her life, she gave her the power to see through illusions, she even gave her the bunny, Maya. Eri felt lucky for meeting such wonderful people such as Zoe and Maya, Ms.Vienna too, she gave them the chance to find a job, gave them a roof to sleep under, taught her how to cook better, she was really kind and Eri felt grateful for it.

What she wanted for the future? That was easy too, she wanted to be able to live a peaceful life with Zoe, somewhere where they could live without having to suffer wars, violence, etc. She also wanted to help Maya, she made a promise to go back to the Mansion and she would keep it, she would protect those precious to her no matter what, she was weak now but she wouldn't give up until she could find someone to teach her.

Vienna held her own prayer alongside with the two girls. She was grateful that she had lived quite a long life and had done so much with it, not only for herself but for others of this city. Her final thought of the past was how much Alexandria had developed for the better for the long time she had lived here. Her thoughts on the future was to simply live a quiet life after living such an eventful now for many years.

After minute of grateful thanks, she opened her eyes, well reminded of her life, she looked over to the two before speaking. "You may open your eyes now." With that prompting, she started using the large wooden spoon to start serving the beef and broccoli to Zoe and Eri. "I hope that tradition wasn't too strange to you, dears."

When she heard Vienna break the silence, she opened her eyes and let her arms down. Something about her looked calm, and serene. Zoe couldn't help but wonder the kinds of things she thought about. From how those people earlier talked, she seemed like she was a really important person. What kinds of things was she thankful for, and looking towards in the future? Zoe couldn't even begin to guess.

"Oh, it's not really that big a deal. A lot of things are kind of new for us, lately, so I've kinda gotten used to the feeling. Gotta learn somehow, right?" Every new custom, practice and quirk she learned about things was something Zoe stuffed away in the back of her mind for later. Any info she could learn would benefit her in some way, be it large or small. She was never one for book smarts, but keeping track of as many details as she could was a good way to stay on top of whatever came her way. That's how things worked back home, and that's what kept her going.

Her introspective on things was cut short as she was handed a plate of food. It looked amazing, and smelled just as good, if not better. Ever since coming to the mainland, she'd had plenty of food that made the things they'd had back home look like table scraps in comparison. Even that place had some great food to it. It was one thing she was grateful for, at least. Just one smell was enough for her to let out a content sigh.

"Just from the smell, I can tell you two outdid yourselves! Man, I'm getting excited..." After all three of them had been handed a plate full of the food, she wasted no time in taking the first bite, having worked up an appetite from the work beforehand. The taste was even better than she expected, everything cooked and seasoned to perfection. The look on her face was one of pure bliss, her tail thumping onto the ground behind her in excitement as she ate.

Eri opened her eyes and looked at Vienna with a smile on her face. "I think it's always good to learn new things and to be grateful for what we have." The smell was making her stomach growl, so Eri decided to start eating. "It's delicious!"

"Well, I would be rather disappointed if the food did not turn out well. That would mean that I have failed to teach you properly." Vienna was glad the two have enjoyed the beef and broccoli, not just for the sake of enjoying life but also affirming that she was able to instruct Eri properly. Vienna followed suit and took a helping of the dish along with some of the rice before using the fork to take a bite and found it to be to her satisfaction. Despite not having much opportunity to cook, Eri's did a fine job on her end of making the dish.

After a few minutes of simply enjoying the meal, Vienna's quiet voice broke the silence. "So where did you both come from? We usually do not get too many kitsunes in this region." Vienna set the fork down for a moment as to focus on the girls as they spoke.

The question was one she felt like was coming at some point, but was still enough to shake her out of her current food induced reviere. It brought a question of her own to Zoe's mind, one that she wouldn't ask Vienna directly.

How much should I trust her? How much is "too much"? She seems nice, and she's opened up her home to us, but so did they, and look how that turned out. I...I don't know what to do...I've never felt like this before. Damn. I kind of hate this.

Zoe looked over at Eri, the look on her face almost pleading for an answer. It said quite a bit without having to verbalize, the most prominent being "what do you think? Is it okay?" All she could hope for was that Eri caught what she meant without her having to say anything.

Eri tilted her head, she knew what Zoe meant with that question and her answer was a bright smile and a nod. "I think we can tell her, after all she has done for us."

Zoe was tense for only a moment. Eri's smiling face was always enough to calm her when her heart started to race and her paranoia got the better of her. Eri didn't seem like she did back then, either. She seemed focused, and attentive. Like her mind was own.

Zoe took a sigh, calming herself just a little, before looking back over at Vienna. "We sorta...came from off the mainland. Hitched a ride here, actually. The place we came from...I couldn't tell you what it was called, or where you'd find it on a map...or, how to read a map, for that matter." If only for a moment, Zoe's expression hardened. "All I know is, we're not going back there for the rest of our lives."

Zoe looked over at Eri from the side, the simple look of Eri enough to get her to settle down a little. "Eri washed up on shore one day, and the two of us broke out together. That's all there really is to it, honestly."

Her brown eyes moved back and forth between the two foxgirls, the exchange of looks was not lost to her especially with Zoe's expression of uncertainty.  Vienna didn't decide what to make of it yet until she know more of what is going on.  It was when Zoe spoke that the food that they had cook was off of her mind as she listened to her words, all while maintaining a ponderous look.  

The explanation was vague in detail, but the tone was clear that where they had came from was a very bad experience for them.  No wonder they looked like starved refugees.  "It sounds as if you both have endured great hardship in order to survive."  It was all she had said for a few seconds before.  "I can't undo the trauma of the past.  What I can do is provide a sanctuary for you both for the time being.  And I am also here to lend an ear...but only if you feel ready."

"That's...one way to put it, at least. Sorry I'm being really vague about it. You've done a lot for us, and and I really appreciate it, but...I think I'm still reeling from a recent encounter that was like this, that's all." Zoe felt like she could be open about that much, even if she wasn't ready to talk about her old home just yet.

"On the way into the city from port, we met these two sisters that welcomed us into their home. They were, uh...what was the word that Eri used...holstaurs, that's it. Anyway, we got lost in the forest and they gave us a place to stay, food, cleaned us up. At the time, it felt, really nice. But they..." Zoe gulped a little as she had to force the last part out. "They...they drugged us, and lied to us, and...and if it wasn't for a friend, that we met earlier, then...we'd probably be stuck there for...for the rest of our lives..." The downcast on Zoe's face was definitely a lot more than just 'gotten through an incident', however, as if she almost looked disappointed in herself from it.

A thought popped into Zoe's head as she looked to the side at Eri. "Eri, have you had any moments where they just...randomly, pop into your head? Or just have the taste come back?" Eri had that same 'milk' too, but not nearly as much. She hadn't noticed any moments where she zoned out like she did sometimes, but she had to check.