fandomhighdorms | fourth floor common room: sunday afternoon

One reason that Nathan was glad to be back in the dorms was that the walk back from the preserve was a lot shorter. He didn't have to take a ferry and it meant he had more time to do things like flopping down in the common room to eat a late breakfast and work with his newly received tablet. The reading wasn't going very well but he'd gotten pretty good with using the apps that played movies and television shows. He couldn't really pick a favorite but the cooking shows he found were pretty fascinating.

The common room television was off but Nathan's tablet was on while he watched an older woman bustle around her kitchen while she talked about what she was making today. Every so often he took a bite of the omelette he'd made himself but most of his attention was on the show and trying to remember the various ingredients and instructions so he could maybe give the meal a try later.

He had a brief thought of what Celia or Arran or Jessica or his grandmother would think of right now, using technology and not worrying about if people saw his tattoos or his scars. Jessica would try to kill him considering she was a Hunter. Celia would probably be impressed but she'd keep that to herself. Arran would want to play with the tablet and his grandmother would...well, he wasn't sure.

Nathan sighed and put them out of his mind. He couldn't think of them now. They were gone and he was here.

[Open common room]

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"He said there is but I haven't really looked," Nathan admitted, sliding his fingers through his hair and letting it fall back into his eyes. "Reading's hard. No one's been able to teach me before."

"Well, sure," Rapunzel agreed. "Or else you'd know how, right? But do you...want to learn? Like, not just because your life'll be easier and all, what with so much stuff written down? Because I can see how it'd be a hassle later in life if you didn't learn earlier."

"I want to learn, yeah," Nathan told her, shrugging and looking a little embarrassed. "I just can't seem to manage it. I try. It's hard."

"Then you'll get there," Rapunzel assured him with a smile. "I mean, yeah, it's definitely hard, but once you get the alphabet down, it's all easy from there."

She'd learned her alphabet around four or five like most kids, though, so she maybe wasn't the best judge of that.

"And besides, reading can be really fun, even when you're still learning! I bet there's tons of...tablet thingies that make it even more fun."

"Maybe," Nathan said, tilting his head at the tablet. "I haven't really looked, though. I like the television shows I've found. We didn't have one of those back home either."

"Me neither." Rapunzel leaned her chin in her hands as she peered at the tablet. "Who's the lady, anyway?"

She looked like she was having fun!

"I...don't actually remember her name," Nathan admitted with a sheepish smile. "She's good, though. She's kind of comforting in a way. I'd like to go to her house."

"Do you think that's really her house?" Rapunzel asked, hopefully. She'd learned a little about television, and how most things weren't necessarily real. "It's nice. And she seems like she could teach us a lot about cooking, too."

"I think it's really her house, yeah," Nathan confirmed with a nod. "It looks...like she's comfortable there. You know how some people act different in their own homes? She seems to do that."

"Yeah," Rapunzel sighed happily, watching the screen. "Kinda makes me homesick, even if I don't really miss being home, you know? You get used to a space."

"I miss some things about my home but not the actual house." It'd been small and filled with terrible memories for him. "I'd like to have her kitchen, though."

"I'm not sure I'd know what to do with all of her stuff," Rapunzel admitted. "Like, what's that?"

She pointed to a blender -- not that the woman was using it, but it was kind of intimating and weird.

Nathan brought the tablet closer to peer at the screen. He squinted and frowned.

"I think it's a mixer of some kind?" Close but no cigar. "Maybe? It looks electrical, though."

"Those look like blades," Rapunzel pointed out, squinting at the screen. "Maybe an...electrical chopper something?"

Yeah, that sounded like a real thing that might exist, sure.

"I wonder what you would need to chop so much of that you'd need something electrical," he said thoughtfully. "A knife usually works."

"Maybe like...frosting. Or puree for a pastry."

Rapunzel had kind of a one-track mind, sometimes.

"Something where you want a really fine chop, but -- eep, I'd be so scared for my fingers."

"I think I'd rather use a knife," he said, wiggling his fingers. "Got enough scars without using something electrical that might chop them off."

"Scars, huh?" Rapunzel peered discreetly (or tried to) at his wrist, because that one was pretty noticeable. She'd seen the thing on his finger, too, but she didn't think that was a scar. Hmm. "I've gotten lucky. Almost no scars or marks to speak of. Kind of amazing, considering how much I cook."

And she hadn't even seen his back. That was probably the worst of all the scars.

But, he wasn't thinking of that. He smiled slightly. "Isn't that just asking for it to happen now? Pressing your luck or something?"

"I'm more worried about my hair catching fire or something." Because after all, the reason she didn't have any scars was because she could heal herself. Take away her hair, and...well, she'd probably end up with a lot more bumps and bruises, to start.

"I guess all your hair wouldn't fit under one of those chef's hats, huh?" he said with a quick smile.

"Oh my gosh, Nathan, that would be like, a really big hat," Rapunzel said seriously, eyes wide. "Like really big. But...maybe."

She could always try sewing something together. It wasn't like it was a bad idea.

"It just won't grow back, if something happens to it," she explained, looking a little bashful. "So I always kinda worry a little."

"Yeah, I don't think I've seen a hat that big," he said with a frown. "Can you tie it back and out of the way? Like a ponytail?"

"I braid it sometimes," Rapunzel said with a nod. "That usually helps. It's kind of heavy for a ponytail." And in general. "But I haven't set it on fire yet, so maybe I'm just fretting about nothing."

She often did.

"You probably are," Nathan told her, nodding. "But I like to cook too so if you ever need help or an extra pair of hands, I could help you."

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