Saying Thanks [Private RP w/ Devika and Nate]

Subject: Saying Thanks [Private RP w/ Devika and Nate] Tue Jul 30, 2019 11:27 pm

Devika had been stressed about the results of this week. Altogether, this game had become a bit too strenuous on her hand. She is glad Bertrand and Nate were safe, as she had felt they were innocent and played a bad hand. Alternatively, she was upset over seeing Narinder and Mark placed on the block. She just wanted to relax.

Noticing the few fake flowers around the big tree she often sat by, she began to weave them together to form a nice flower crown. She had made them a lot as a child in Girl Scouts, and she thought focusing her attention on something time consuming was the best way to cope.

Nate was still a bit rattled about being put on the block, so he'd decided to take a walk to calm his nerves. He was a loner by nature, and he needed to be alone sometimes when things got too heavy for him to handle. It seemed that he always happened by the garden on his travels around the house, and that he was always interrupted by something there. And today, it seemed, would be no different.

He found Devika in the same place as last time - though without any blankets or fairy lights, and with certainly fewer people surrounding her. They hadn't spoken since he'd managed to get her out of that scrape with Chen, so now may as well be a good time.

...It would be less awkward if Kaden hadn't accused him of targeting her just moments prior, of course, but there wasn't very much he could do about that.

Nate approached the tree, noting that her attention was occupied by something she was doing with her hands. He couldn't quite make out what, though he saw a few flashes of color here and there. He cleared his throat, trying to get her attention. "Y'mind if I sit here?" He eventually asked, gesturing to a nearby spot at the base of the tree. This scene did seem peaceful, maybe it would take his mind off of things.

Nate's voice had caused her to jolt a bit of a surprise and letting out an awkward squeak, but she had a bit of relief when she saw it was Nate. She had been meaning to talk to him throughout the chaos of this week, but the drama between him and Kaden seemed to set their conversations aside.

"Oh, hi, Nate," Devika said, bashfully smiling, "It's fine to sit here. I don't have much else to do. N-Not to say you're a second choice or anything, I just--"

Devika stopped herself. No more rambling.

"I'm glad you're here," Devika took a deep breath, "This is the only place in the entire building with anything green. Brimming with life, and um... it's nice to be here. I'm guessing that's why you come here often."

Nate didn't think much of what Devika said at first - she'd stopped herself halfway through, anyway. Seemed like she was just wont to overthink what she said, and it probably wouldn't do him very much good to think about it too hard. Squatting, he cleared a small area in the grass at the base of the tree before sitting down and leaning against its bark.

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at what she said, though. "That's a hell of a surprise, I wouldn't have thought anyone would be after that whole 'all-guys-alliance' business." Nate felt a yawn bubble up in his throat, and he stretched as he let it out. After this whole situation, he could use a nap. "But I'll level with you there. I can't say I'm used to staying in one building for such a long time, and it's kind of making me antsy. This place is at least somewhere to go."

Devika had understood how bad she was at communicating her thoughts and feelings. For a long time, staying in one place by herself allowed her to be solely familiarized with her own thoughts and ideals. Now communicating those to others was the difficult part, and now communicating her thankfulness and honesty... that was a challenge.

"Nate, I..." Devika took a deep breath, "I knew from the start Kaden was lying. I don't have any solid proof or evidence, but... I know neither of you would have done that. I mean, um... if Bertrand had intended to form an all guys' alliance, he wouldn't have stepped away from getting to know Kaden or the other guys, and if you had intended to from an all guys' alliance, you wouldn't have helped me leave the garden after Chen had been upset with me. I never thanked you for that."

Devika nearly finished her flower crown, sewing the last few blades of grass, "I'm usually indoors a lot of the time," More like all of the time. "Sadly, I had spent a lot of time unable to connect with the outdoors. I wish I could see a bit more, but... I wish I had a garden like this, maybe do a little light reading. Jane Austen."

Nate had to chuckle at that, in spite of himself. "No shit, right? With all of Bertrand's attempts at metaphor-ing, it seems like that point's been lost to most people." He leaned back on the trunk of the tree, tilting his chin up so that he could better see the sky. That was at least one thing that never changed, no matter where he went. The clouds above were a comfort.

He hadn't expected the rest of what she said, though, and he felt his cheeks turn redder than a tomato. "Aw, you don't need to thank me for nothin'," Nate mumbled, pulling the brim of his hat down slightly so that she couldn't see his eyes. "To be honest, I wanted out of there as fast as I could. You looked like you'd like the same."

Nate finally looked down at her flower crown, and raised an eyebrow in approval. He wasn't sure what she was going to do with it, exactly, but it did look pretty. "Dunno if I'd call Austen light reading," he snorted. This girl was a real enigma. "That would be nice, though. Normally I just set up a lounge chair wherever and do my reading there. Mostly truck stops 'n stuff - not very nice-looking places."

Devika stifled a laugh, “The fox outsmarts the lion, so he says. I, um... I felt bad for thinking it, but I couldn’t help but laugh. I don’t know, maybe seeing all these metaphors come out felt like a film. I understood what he meant, but... ah, I feel bad for laughing. He’s a kind man.” Devika fiddled with her small flower crown, comprising of lilies, roses, and forget-me-nots, she knew the crown was artificial, but this garden had made everything feel real.

Devika leaned back on the tree, “... I feel weak. From the fight. I know I should have stood my own ground, and I still need to now, but... I choked. I got scared of having somebody get angry at me, even if I knew... that’s the game. Maybe it was just helping out somebody else, but it meant a lot to me. Small acts of kindness are hard to come by.”

”Austen could be a bit of light reading for me, I guess,” she laughed softly, fumbling with her hands, “I read War and Peace in a day when I was twelve. I’m quick.” She looked to Nate, “Ah, what do you read?”

Nate smirked at that. "That and the thing about the birdcage... it made me feel like I was at a bad play. He seems fine, though. Maybe a bit too smug for my liking, but fine. I suppose that's the best people can be without being outright malicious on a show like this." He popped the brim of his hat upwards again, the awkward moment having passed.

"I wouldn't worry about that. 'M pretty sure most people would react the same way if someone came to their party and started questionin' them about completely unrelated things. It was like throwin' a wild cat into a hog house." That metaphor makes even less sense than Bertrand's, but okay. "I well and truly don't know what he was doin' there, but it was mighty inconsiderate... no offense," he adds, in case Chen happens to be in the area. He doubts it, though.

His eyes can't help but widen at that. "A whole day? And at 12 to boot? I'll be damned, I couldn't even sit through a movie at that age," he chuckles. "Well, I mostly read 'cause I'm on the road a lot and can't keep up with TV shows. I've got my radio, but I don't have a fancy tablet or anything like that," He thumbs at his chin, thinking. "Well, I do like mysteries. They keep me invested and give me somethin' to think about on long drives. Thrillers, too. I like things that hold my attention and keep me thinkin' about 'em long after I've finished."

”Ah, I wouldn’t like to believe Maeterlinck’s The Blue Bird is all that bad,” Devika said to herself, “O-Oh, um... sorry. That was a joke. You may not even know what Maeterlinck’s is, so it may not be... referential. A-Anyways, I would just like to think he’s a young college student who is excited to be on a show like this. He has a fire.”

“Ah, I um... I feel that? Is that the correct term? Narinder’s been throwing down a lot of slang, and I have been trying to catch up, but... yes. I do believe he is a good, loving father and a hardworking man, it’s just... he said a lot of insensitive things. I just hope his family is proud of him.”

Devika shyly laughed, “Well, I ended up flying through school when I was a lot younger. I started high school at ten, and I graduated when I was fourteen, so... I didn’t have all that much to do. Summer breaks were a bit too lonely, because I didn’t have a lot of friends... Sorry. That’s morbid. I just had a lot of time to read, I guess.”

“Ah, nice choices. Mystery novels are fun to read if you spend a couple days thinking about them. Growing up, my father and I argued about everything in those stories. Agatha Christie would be proud,” she riddled with her wrist, “I’m glad to have another bookworm here.”

Yeah, Nate wasn't sure what that meant at all. It seemed that she had him beat in terms of how much she'd read, because he'd never even heard of that one. He just nodded along and let out kind of an "Mmmph" sound. What does one even say to something like that? "He's..." he had to take a moment to think of something to say. Who [/i]was[/i] Bertrand, really? Someone who kept his cards close to his chest for sure, but... "...plucky." Nate eventually decided on, even if it didn't really seem like the best descriptor.

Again, another shrug. "Seems like he had a strategy, but had nothing to fall back on when it didn't work out." He handwaves the issue away - there's not much more he can think of to say about Chen. "Well, this isn't about him. What's done is done, and there ain't nothin' we can do about it."

Normally, he's pretty stone-faced, but Nate's eyes practically bug out when he hears that number. "Wait, fourteen????" His mouth hangs open for a second, and he almost has to consciously remember to close it. "You must've been one hell of a prodigy. I'm surprised I haven't heard about you writing anything by now, you do seem the type." Someone with so many ideas running around in their head and nowhere else to put them would probably make a good author.

He does smile at the last part, though mainly because he can't imagine Devika raising her voice above a mumble. Her arguing with someone seems like it would be an incredibly rare event.

"... I suppose Bertrand is. I remember throughout college, I always had a tendency to over explain everything. Although, I suppose, um... I still do that once in a while. I would like to think he is 'plucky' as you said it, but I think he's more fiery than people give him credit for. I think he mentioned he was a psychology major? Maybe he's the kind of person who digs deep.

"Oh, I agree... ah, that reminds me...!" Devika said, "I wanted to apologize for not winning the challenge today. Now that we're partners, I wanted to avoid us ending up in the bottom, and now we don't know what's going to happen..."

"Oh, um, yeah. That," her face flushed red, "Well, I... I skipped to high school after I finished the third grade, and I took classes with everyone else. I went to university locally not that much after and, um... I do love reading, but things change. Don't expect much from me anytime soon," Devika said as she laughed to herself.

Devika notices Nate's smile - his genuine smile - and can't help but smile back. Devika was relieved to meet someone who she felt had a lot of familiarity with, despite the different backgrounds.

"So, um... what brought you here?"

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