"Of course I really am. I don't lie." Osora said simply, the corner of her mouth twitching up a bit. "You know, it wasn't always something I had issues with. It just kind of happened, thanks to outside factors and inside decisions." She shook her head. "Either way, it's always nice to find someone who doesn't treat it negatively."
He was so happy he could have exploded right there… but he didn’t. He held it in, grinning so wide his face hurt. “Hey, that’s ok too. I say you may do as you’d like. If it’s too hard or mentally challenging, you don’t have to do it.” He replied simply, bumping their shoulders together. “And you know what? I think you express your emotions well, even without expressions.”
She raised an eyebrow, half at his grin and half at his comment. "I wasn't aware that was something you could do. Aren't the expression of emotions and, well, expressions, pretty tied together?" She asked, dropping her eyebrow to instead furrow both of them just slightly.
He laughed softly and shook his head. “Although they are the main way we communicate emotion, you don’t need to have facial expressions to express emotions. Sometimes you are able to do so through words and tones, other times through actions and body movements. Say, one person gets nervous. They might not show it on their face but they’ll fidget and move about. Thus expressed in another way. The best part about those type of expressions is the fact that many times you can’t control them. Like when you get the urge to hug someone or kiss them, sometimes that urge is uncontrollable.”
"I've always seen body language as more of an…unintentional truth. Most of the people I've ever tried to read that way are hiding something." She said, her eyes in his direction, but looking almost like they were focused on something else as she thought about that. "I've seen the hugging urges in action." People love to hug after almost dying. "But I've never seen anyone kiss anyone else over an urge. Possibly on television, but that doesn't really count."
“Not all people hide stuff.” Tali laughed nervously the more he listened to Toki speak. He played with her fingers, biting his lip. “I’ve kissed on an urge before. It’s… strange. And yet jittery and exciting.”
"Not all people, no, but most. It's usually inconsequential things." Osora said, glancing down at her hand as he played with her fingers, before looking back up at him. "Jittery and exciting?" She questioned, tilting her head curiously.
“Mm I get that.” He muttered in reply, sighing. “Most people do only show emotion that way if they’re guilty or hiding something.” He sighed and watched their hands, a smile making its way to his lips. “Very jittery and exciting. I usually feel like my heart is going to explode and I can also sometimes feel my blood run cold.”
"Everyone's hiding something, it just usually isn't something too important." She mused, adjusting her grip on the suitcase's handle. "That sounds…interesting. Almost like consuming too much caffeine, but emotional instead of being due to a substance."
He nodded gently, laughing softly. His smile returned to his face, seemingly determined to remain there. Tali loved to smile. “It kind of is, in a way. It’s like you get drunk off their scent and you need more… like their lips are the only cure for a disease you’ve been struggling with for years… god it’s one of the best feelings in the world~”
Osora hummed thoughtfully, watching him as he talked. Her eyes had regained that soft look, the one saved for people and thing she cared about. "That sounds…amazing." She said, pressing her lips together for a moment before speaking again. "And sort of fantastical."
He nodded gently and slowed his walk slightly. “It really is. I hope one day you get to feel it too.” He murmured, giving her hand another squeeze. “But that happened quite a long time ago for me. With a woman who, if I’m being honest, was far too toxic for even me.”
"I'd like that." She said thoughtfully, her thumb rubbing circles into his hand subconsciously. "Not every amazing and life changing moment is with someone good for you. You just have to hope the good people will be more and more frequent the longer you go on."
He shivered slightly, delighted to be feeling her thumb against his hand. He smiled, biting his lip. “You’re right in that aspect too. It’s always good to wait for the right person but you also have to take a shot in the dark at times.”
“You can’t ever know if someone’s the right person without taking a shot in the dark.” She said, turning her head slightly as the shop cane into view, before looking back at him. “Leap of faith.”
Tali shifted slightly, nodding ever so gently. What they were talking about was something he very much knew to be true, but also something he found extremely hard to do at times and easier in others. A shot in the dark… it was easy when you didn’t know someone. It was much harder when you grew to get to know them.
A leap of faith. That’s what Shou had told her, during his speech. Those were the words she’d taken to heart, quoted when they asked her why the hell she had done what she had. Maybe it was time to use them differently.
Osora didn’t let go of his hand when she pulled the door to the shop open, greeted by the familiar chime. “Reeha’s here.” She said simply, eyes flickering to the shoes kicked off on the bottom step of the stairs leading up from the shop.
Tali hummed, glad she hadn’t let go of his hand. He wanted to keep holding it. “Reeha? Oh this is my chance to meet her, get on her good side.” He laughed gently and allowed Toki to lead him, his shoulders slumped in exhaustion. He knew he would have to sleep soon… he didn’t want to but he would have to.
“Best of luck with that.” Osora said, slipping off her own boots and leaving them on the step as she took the next few. “She’s…something, for sure. Smart as hell, so watch out for that. Shoes off.” She instructed, turning around to look at him. Even two steps up, she was just a bit shorter than him.
He chuckled, obeying her words and removing his shoes. He carefully followed her up the stairs, amused by her height. He wouldn’t openly admit it but he loved short girls. They were so cute and fun to hold. “Smart huh…? Is she like us?” He asked gently. “She’ll definitely know I’m not exactly human. For sure.”
“She’ll figure something’s off, for sure. That’s her…thing. She’s essentially the smartest person in the world, that I know of.” She explained, continuing up the stairs. Laughter and upbeat music carried down the stairs, getting louder as she led him into the apartment. “Tadaima!”
Tali followed her willingly, his eyes slipping closed a few times as he yawned. He needed to get something in him quickly. Calories or sleep or something. He couldn’t afford to let them see his true face. “It’s nice up here…” he murmured gently, closing his eyes once more.
“It’s home.” Was Osora’s answer, as she tugged him into a sitting room. The room itself was connected to a kitchen, with nothing but a counter serving as a breakfast bar in between them.
“There you are!” A woman called from the kitchen, waving at them. She looked quite a bit like Osora, with visibly lighter skin and a few less noticeable features, not to mention the black hair the rest of her family sported. “Bring the boy, we’re all in here and want to meet him!”
He looked around the sitting room, humming softly. He was about to reply when the woman called for them. He chuckled when she mentioned him and shifted nervously. “A-all huh?” He asked shyly. However, Tali was not shy when it came to large groups of people. He was incredibly extroverted.
"Yeah, all!" Another voice called, this one in a strange blend of accents, Arabic and Japanese. "Get your asses in here!"
Osora huffed her usual breath of air that replaced laughter, shrugging a shoulder and leading him into the kitchen. Maki was sitting on the counter, in one of the only spaces that wasn't covered by cooking things and papers and little gears and metal things. The small two or three person table was occupied by a girl in a grey hijab, who looked about Osora's age, and an older woman that was most definitely related to the Tokino's.
"There he fucking is." The girl in the hijab said, by way of greeting. Her sharp grey eyes studied Tali like they could see right through him, flickering quickly over his features. "Where the hell'd you find this one, Scythe? Please tell me it wasn't another convenience store at three in the morning." Both the name and the reference were incredibly significant, to everyone in the room, but mainly Osora and Reeha. "Reeha Nakamura, Osora's best friend. I want a name."
Tali grinned with a charming air about him, dipping his head respectively when he was acknowledged. He laughed nervously, running a hand through his hair and lifting the bags of food in a sort of wave. “Oh no no, I’m not someone you can pick up from any old gas station.” He mused, glancing at Toki and smiling before he returned his attention to the woman at the table.
“Tali.” He replied smoothly, standing up straighter and shifting under her gaze. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
((Omg so Ninja_Violinist drew Osora and I added the drawing to er gallery you should def go check it out))
"So you've been warned. Good." Reeha crossed her arms, watching him silently for a moment longer before speaking. "I've got a list of questions for you. Maki, toss me one of those strawberries!"
"Absolutely not." The woman who resembled Osora quite a bit scolded, shaking a wooden spoon at Reeha. "Eat dinner and then desert. Now, it's nice to meet you, Tali." Despite her insistence that Reeha not eat lay of the fruit laying out until after she'd eaten, the woman didn't comment when Maki tossed a strawberry to her anyway. "Tokino Koharu, Osora's mother. Please excuse Reeha, she's a bit…overprotective."
"She's got every right to be." The older woman chimed in, shooting a suspicious but not unfriendly look at Tali. "Osora just suddenly bringing home a boy, one who looks like that, mind you?"
(Yyeeeesss)
Tali tilted his head, nodding gently. “Ask away.” He murmured, smiling softly. When the other woman spoke, he smiled, recognizing her as Toki’s grandmother. “Hello, Miss Koharu! It’s a pleasure to meet you too!” He smiled softly and offered the food to her. “I’m not sure who’s is who’s.” He replied.
When Reeha spoke again he frowned. “Should I take that as a compliment or as an insult. Looking like what?” He asked, looking down at himself. “Is my hair messy?”
((Sksksk that was Osora’s grandmother speaking))
(Oh dang let me change.)