Meeting those Who Helped Him ((open thread))

[losthunter]

Two weeks after Halloween, Hunter was finally feeling up for company again. And while much of what happened between him and Karlene (Electra) was still a blur in his head, he remembered the many people who helped him out during the whole night.

And he wanted to reconnect with those who were there. Get to know those who he had not met before. And answer any questions they might have had.

He sends out a few invitations over PINpoint to those who helped. And waited for a response.

Comments

[chiron_survivor]

"You're the one who taught him origami?" she asks. "He made an origami lotus flower for Sterope. She asked for a tribute for each sister. Oh, but he must have told you about all that."

Caspar has a bit of crisp, listening to Hunter's reply. "Is that an art that involves superglue?"

Adia pokes him under the table.

"Sorry, never heard of it, before." Caspar grins briefly before paying attention more seriously. "How does Kintsugi work? What's the technique behind it?"

[losthunter]

"We spent some time catching up." Hunter chuckled lightly.

"In a way it does... it involves using melted gold to piece together the broken pottery pieces. It is very therapeutic... putting together the pieces of something broken. Making it whole again."

[chiron_survivor]

"That's good." She imagines that Hunter had a lot of questions about what sort of trials the Sisters put everyone through. Fortunately, Jim had a window to all of that. She smiles at Caspar. "We did, too."

It was a strange evening, but nothing like the Nightmare. It feels okay to talk about it.

"That sounds likes a very symbolic form of art. And beautiful. Do you have any pieces here?" She'd love to see what it looked like. Caspar doesn't comment, but it does sound aesthetically pleasing to him as well. He takes a sip of wine, also curious about the visuals.

[losthunter]

"Well if you are interested... we could create some pottery together some time." Hunter stands for a moment, to get a few display items from his art studio.

"This is a small bowl..." He puts down the repaired piece. "And this is a platter..." And he sets down another piece of pottery on the table.

[chiron_survivor]

"Really?" She smiles hopefully, excited by the idea. "I've never done any pottery before... well, unless you count the little projects I did as a kid."

Adia sets aside her fork and plate so that she can carefully take the bowl into her hands. It looks delicate, because of the repaired cracks, but when she holds it, it feels as stable as any other bowl. "It's beautiful," she murmurs, tracing a line of gold.

Caspar looks down at the platter, his expression thoughtful. "It's nice," he says finally. "My instinct would have been to fix the cracks so that they don't show. I suppose highlighting the effort made to repair them is what makes it look so nice."

[losthunter]

"Well part of the reason the gold is visible, is that the practice is related to the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, which calls for seeing beauty in the flawed or imperfect. That it is okay to show how we were broken... but mended."

Which speaks a lot to Hunter's own trials recently.

"I am going to have a few of these pieces for sale next month."

[chiron_survivor]

"That's a lovely philosophy," Adia says, looking over at Caspar to see what he thinks. She's not surprised to see him a little closed off, taking a sip of wine instead of responding. "And it will nice to have some items on sale. Even if people don't understand the meaning behind it, the gold is a nice touch."

Caspar doesn't say anything because the philosophy touches a little too close to home. Except he knows, deep down, that he hasn't been fully mended yet. And he worries there's not enough gold in the world to seal those cracks.

"Where do you get the pottery to fix?" he asks finally. "Does it come broken or do you do the honors?"

[losthunter]

"There is so many stages of pottery, where anything can go wrong. A piece could fracture in the bisque stage, or the glazing stage, or in the kilns. So sometimes you work on a piece... and it breaks..."

"Or sometimes..." Hunter smiles. "You get to break pieces that you are not quite happy with, to see if something different can be done."

[chiron_survivor]

Caspar raises an eyebrow. "That part I'd be happy to help with," he says honestly.

"I have a hard enough time if I break a test tube," Adia confesses. "I don't know how I'd feel about a piece breaking before I'm done... but I guess that's part of the artistic process, right?"

[losthunter]

"But that is the thing... you are never truly done, until you feel the piece is right. And trust me, I have had plenty of pieces that turned out better because I broke them."

[chiron_survivor]

Never truly done. She thinks about this while she takes another bite of crisp. There are a lot of things in life that could apply to, not just pottery.

"Do you know why it's gold?" Caspar asks, looking over the platter in front of him again. He's already finished his plate of crisp, glad he saved room for it. Adia has really gotten a handle on the wood stove. "Instead of another metal to seal the cracks?"

[losthunter]

"Kintsugi does translate to golden joinery or golden repair. But there are repair attempts made with silver or platinum." Hunter grins.

[chiron_survivor]

Oh. Well, that explains that. "Guess they have to call it something else if you don't use gold," Caspar muses.

Adia smiles. "I'll have to stop by your stall to see everything." She glances at Caspar and her smile turns into a grin. "And to visit your bodyguard."

"Don't distract me while I'm on duty," Caspar teases her, and she giggles.

[losthunter]

"You will be allowed a few distraction breaks..." Hunter teases the couple.

[chiron_survivor]

"You can swap it out with my lunch break because I won't need it," Caspar replies light-heartedly.

Adia's smile blossoms. It's nice to see Caspar relaxed around someone enough to joke around a little. "We'll behave, I promise," she tells Hunter. "It'll be good to see you more, too."

[losthunter]

"It will be good for me to get out more again." Now that he has no more obligations in his world, Hunter has more free time.

[chiron_survivor]

Adia knows that feeling. There were long stretches of time that she did not want to be in the Nexus, either. But ultimately, it was worth doing. "A lot of people will be glad to see you again. Especially everyone who helped you."

[losthunter]

"Yeah?" Hunter blushes a little. He was a little surprised by how many people came to help him. It was nice to know there were those who wanted to make sure he was alright.

"I can't wait to see everyone else too."

[chiron_survivor]

"Yes," Adia repeats emphatically, a smile on her face. "You have a lot of friends."

"If there's anyone you don't want to see, let me know," Caspar adds, already thinking like a bodyguard.

[losthunter]

"I can't think of anyone who I would not want to see..." Hunter pauses. "There might be some tension between me and Zandros..."

"But that is more his problem. Not mine."

[chiron_survivor]

"Zandros?" Adia looks confused. "Why would he have a problem with you?" Hunter is an easy person to get along with. Is it because of his involvement with a goddess...?

"It's because of how you look, isn't it?" Caspar's tone is dry, but there's an irritated fire in his eyes. "Blondie can't handle another version of himself looking less than perfect. He's probably worried he'll lose his hair if he hangs around you too much."

[losthunter]

"Bingo..." Hunter nods at Caspar's assessment of the situation. "He did help find a puzzle piece. But it was more... his way of trying to make sure that I would not keep the 'Beastly' appearance that he saw."

[chiron_survivor]

Adia's gaze drops to her wine glass as she has another sip. She's disappointed to hear that Zandros is being so judge-y. But Caspar looks unsurprised. "Yeah, that sounds like him, all right. I'm amazed he was able to earn a puzzle piece at all, and didn't get turned into a squid along the way."

"He had Natasha with him," Adia murmurs. She sighs softly and looks up at Hunter. "I don't think Zandros was prepared for how differently people think in the Nexus. How something that's considered unattractive or scary on his world isn't somewhere else. I think if you give him time, he'll come around."

"And if he doesn't, I'll boot him from your stall," Caspar promises.

[losthunter]

"It is not like I don't want to form a friendship with him. He is an interesting guy..." Hunter nodded slightly.

"But I have finally accepted myself as I am... and I don't need someone else judging my appearance."

[chiron_survivor]

"Interesting?" Caspar gives Hunter an incredulous look. "Please. He's about as interesting as mayonnaise on white bread. And even then, the sandwich won't imply you're a hobo for wearing linen."

"Caspar..." Adia appreciates her boyfriend's urge to defend Hunter, but she'd rather it not devolve into character bashing. The Cylon falls silent with only mild grumbling while she returns her attention to Hunter. "No, he has no right to judge you, it's true. I just think that he might not know any better."