Chapter Text
The feast to eat the dragon half of Falin Touden, the sister of the new king Laios Touden, had already been underway for a few days now at this point. Kabru, wanting to mingle more with everyone, stepped away from his party for a bit with a plate of food to check in on the Canaries again. “Mind if I join you again?” He asked, pulling up a chair to the two parties, sitting next to the captain. He had wanted to make sure Mithrun was still doing alright after that initial state he was sitting in the days prior.
Fleki pointed with her fork to his plate. “What’s that you’ve got? Looks good.”
Kabru looked down on his plate. “Oh, you know. Some greens, a roll, some butter, and a bit of stew.”
Fleki looked down at her own empty bowl. “I might go and grab some of that… Captain, you want any of that while I’m up?” Mithrun waved his hand to indicate he did not. “Suit yourself,” she replied.
Kabru looked and saw his plate, full of Dragon ham steaks. “How are they?” Kabru asked.
“They’re fine… I believe I’m getting to the monotony stage soon. A grilled meat, seared and served with a sauce… Despite it all, the exciting flavors, my mouth tires of it.”
Kabru grinned hearing this. “That’s good to hear…. I don’t mean to wish your food to bore you, of course, but I think it’s proof that your desires are forming again. I remember feeding you when we were in the dungeon, those disturbing meals…. Back then, you’d eat it all, but you seem to be forming some sort of ‘desire to not eat the same food’ right now.”
“Yes, I suppose it’s something like that. It’s like wanting to exercise to fatigue before switching to a different method, I want to see if I can form something like disgust from this.”
Kabru looked at his own serving of stew, imagining himself ladling an uncountable amount of scoops to make himself sick, and grimaced at this thought, choosing to cut into his roll to start buttering it to put it off his mind.
“In any case, I’m glad you’re doing better right now,” Kabru said. “What do you wanna do once you’re done with clearing the dungeons? Going to get into pottery or noodles like the others suggested?”
Mithrun looked up after hearing this particular question. “That’s still a long ways off, seeing how many dungeons there are, but that does remind me…” Mithrun finished chewing to get ready to speak, right as Fleki got back with her bowl.
“Everyone,” Mithrun said. “I’m going to continue being a woman again,” She announced sitting down, without any formality to the matter or any fanfare, instead cutting the remaining slices of meat on her plate.
All of the Canaries sitting at the table paused whatever conversation they were previously engrossed in upon hearing this, trying to process what was just said.
“WHAAAAAAT???” Pattadol exclaimed, being the first to respond.
“Like I said, I would like to become a woman again. I think it’s something good for me to form my own habits once more,” Mithrun replied in the same monotone voice.
“But you- and the- SINCE WHEN WERE YOU A WOMAN?!??”
Cithis smirked, looking at the captain. “So that explains those reactions to the outfits…”
Fleki walked around the table to give Mithrun a slap on her back, laughing in celebration. “Good for you, captain! If you ever need a prescription…. Well, I don’t know anyone who could do that for you, but I do know people who can get you the medicine!”
Lycion looked at Mithrun, deep in his own thinking. “I always wondered what those claw marks were on your chest sometimes…. I also might know a person who can help you with that. Repairing and getting back to previous shape, you know.”
Otta framed her with her own fingers while giving her thoughts. “Well, I never pegged you as such… but looking at it now, yeah, that makes sense.”
Flamela also turned to the captain. “Well….. If it means you’ll actually be able to take care of yourself, I don’t see why I should hate it! Just don’t use it to slack off!”
Kabru had also been silent for quite a while, letting the others speak first before chiming in himself. “Do you mind me asking what brought this on? Did something spur your motivation?”
Mithrun stabbed a ham steak and glanced at the meat. “The idea of monotony…. Was something I was used to when I was clearing dungeons. Get in, get the job done, get out. There were always going to be hiccups and unforeseen dangers, but it was otherwise all the same.” She rolled up her sleeve and began to look at her arm. “Right now… It’s not to the point that I can’t stand it at all, but it’s like realizing you’ve been standing in a puddle when there’s dry land. I would like to break out of the monotony, even if it’s just a little at a time.”
“Captain Mithrun?” Kabru asked holding a napkin. “You seem to be crying again…”
“Oh.” She moved her hand to her face to feel the tear dripping down, before wiping it off, and smiling.
It was like she was sitting down for a long time and her limbs had gone numb, but now she can stand up again.