[closed] when stars smile at moon

[compendiem]

WHO: Minato, Natalia & Porsche
WHERE: Recollé Planetarium and Observatory
WHEN: January 1st, 5PM
WHAT: New Year's not!date, viewing the full moon one last time before darkness swallows the world
WARNINGS: none

[ Minato makes sure to be there at the planetarium half an hour before five, pacing back and forth in front of the building in order to keep warm. He's not the one with the tickets, so that leaves him to look out for either a prosthetic arm, a cute dog, and/or what he told Zack were the most gorgeous eyes in the world if he hadn't spent most of that encounter staring up at the ceiling or down at the floor. Either way, the sun is setting and will soon take its warmth with it, so Minato huddles in on himself, clamping a paper shopping bag in between his arm and side, and prays Natalia remembered to bring Porsche. Also that she remembered to come. ]

Comments

[nachetanya]

I remember you probably know my name. So what's yours?

[ this seems like the ideal time to ask. She'll bring in her left (prosthetic) hand into this hand pile too. ]

[compendiem]

I probably do. It's Arisato.

[ Where is Porsche... Minato lowers their collective hands down on top of her head to give her a four-handed doggy pat. ]

[nachetanya]

Just Arisato, like Cher?

[ Hey man, might as well check!!!

But Oh. That's a good idea. Porsche yips some appreciation and makes to lick the bottom most hand. Hey!! ]

[compendiem]

Mm. Just Arisato.

[ He has a first name but that's not important, and also shh, Porsche...! He wiggles one of his hands free and reaches into the bag he'd been carrying before, taking out the napkins and unwrapping the dog biscuits. Just simple soft biscuits shaped into a flat cookie. ]

It's carrot, oats, and applesauce, mostly. You can try them too.

[ It's edible? Zack didn't believe him when he said dog biscuits are edible. ]

[nachetanya]

No meat by-products, just to confirm?

[ She is a vegetarian and a pretty strict one! Obviously Porsche isn't as dogs neat meat, but she herself will try it if she can. She takes her hands back to herself petting the dog again. ]

[compendiem]

No, I made it myself, so...

[ He pulls his phone out of his pocket and looks up the recipe he used before turning the screen to show her. Oats, carrots, unsweetened applesauce, peanut butter, whole wheat flour. ]

[nachetanya]

No, no, I don't need the recipe, I trust you.

[ She'll take one and try to snap it in half then, to give Porsche a half of it and then nibble on another part of it. This procedure is done gingerly, showing a fair amount of control over her left arm. But all the same, she nods with a smile, going for it. ]

[compendiem]

[ It doesn't have all the sugar and buttery richness of a cookie, but it's fine. It's what he thinks, anyways, as he takes one of the biscuits and bites off half off it too. Never mind a bringing a dog inside the observatory; eating here is probably twice as illegal. ]

[nachetanya]

[ Honestly, she's a fan of bitter and sour flavors. She's okay with spice and likes sweet okay, but those are her own odd penchants. The biscuit is actually pretty good in that regard, though it's ... huh.

Chew, chew.

The dog also appreciatively makes to devour her piece. ]

[compendiem]

[ Minato only eats the one biscuit, since these were supposed to be for Porsche anyways and he'll go home later and have a proper dinner, but it makes him happy to see her enjoying the treat. ]

...Never really knew a dog that likes carrots.

[nachetanya]

It's not uncommon with pugs, honestly. Pugs'll eat anything they can get their jaws around, but carrots are a nutritionally sound thing which most importantly doesn't have a lot of sugars or fats.

[ Which is a concern to keep a balance of, in pugs. It's a pretty precarious breed for a lot of reasons. ]

She's a pug-terrier mix so she gets it from that.

[compendiem]

[ ...On second thought, he's going to eat another biscuit so he can sulk around it. ]

Mm... I still have so much to learn about what's good for dogs. Mostly I look up what's bad for them and what to avoid.

[nachetanya]

There's a lot to learn about every animal. Don't worry, I'm only an expert in the ones I've worked with or lived with closely. You know, pugs, squirrels, humans...

[ . . . Wait. ]

[compendiem]

[ chinhands ]

Tell me more about humans.

[ This is the enigma on the list. ]

[nachetanya]

Alright!

[ She presses on here, petting Porsche lightly with her right hand, but gestures a little bit with the left (prosthetic) one as she presses on here. ]

Humans are and incredibly social species, for one. While this varies by individual, it's inarguable that without some connection to other people, humans would even up much more unhealthy, losing a grip on their sanity and their lives. But that's just the broadest of all possible understandings. There's a lot of nuance between it all. They're advanced tool-users, with a strong ability to control their environment, which... well, unfortunately, it means they're more often than not the apex predator of the regions they live in.

[compendiem]

Mm. Humans sound fascinating.

[ There are times he doesn't feel so quite human, such as when he's reminded that they're social species and he's not quite that. Not saying anything about his grip on his sanity or his life. ]

Is it so unfortunate? Some use their capabilities to help other creatures, sometimes at a cost to themselves. Not all creatures have that sort of empathy.

[nachetanya]

That's true. That's definitely true, and it's part of what gives me hope, to coax that empathy out of people.

[ It's said with a smile. ]

[compendiem]

And how's that coming along?

[ Ha ha, what do you do when you meet somebody with no empathy to coax out? It's something of a challenge Minato feels he presents sometimes, but he's not feeling particularly cold-hearted today. Not with a dog around. ]

[nachetanya]

It's slow going. But I'll do my best! I always try to.

[ She tilts her head a little bit. ]

After all, I've already seen a lot of faces on you, Arisato.

[compendiem]

Ugh... I only have two faces.

[ Neutral, and this face he's pulling now.

No, he recognises that he can be two-faced, at least, but "a lot" is just blasphemy. ]

[nachetanya]

I wouldn't say that's true at all. Your eyes change, your mouth has slight differences... I don't know what they all mean yet, but you definitely have more than two. Everyone does.

[ . . . She works at a casino, she sort of analyzes for tells and such. Even if it's not anything she's had a great chance to parse out everything for. ]

[compendiem]

[ Minato knows his tells very well: rather than his expression changing, it's his breath that gets held, his voice slightly lower when he becomes uncomfortable. The same happens here, with him shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he shrugs it off. ]

That's called blinking and speaking. It'd probably be easier to just ask me what I mean, rather than infer it from my face.

[nachetanya]

There isn't a single human who can express everything that they mean with just their words.

[ Or at least, so she believes... but maybe that says a lot more about her than anything else, as she says that with a smile, petting her dog. humans are more complicated than that. Sure, they're animals, but... ]

[compendiem]

No. [ He agrees, nodding. People are complicated, and as much trouble he has understanding them and tries to work towards accomplishing that, he doesn't fool himself thinking he'll ever be able to get there completely. ]

I express what I can [ aka not much at all ] with my words, people interpret them as best they can. That's enough. It doesn't have to be everything.

[nachetanya]

It doesn't... but that also doesn't mean that people shouldn't make a good faith effort, even if they need to move beyond just guessing at the words. [ A beat and, ]

Particularly if we're technically on a date.