2023-06-01: Dashi And Tea

• Log: Dashi And Tea
• Cast: Akane Shinjo, Eight York
• Where: Junk Shop 'Aya', Tsutsujidai
• OOC - IC Date: 0097 06 01
• Summary: Eight York comes to Aya to find Akane Shinjo, and eats her lunch. Akane has a lot to say, as it turns out.

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<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Keeping everything together is taking some real effort -- and it's the kind of effort that can't fall to just one person. Akane can't be the sole thing holding Rikka together; whenever Rikka wants to spend time with her mom, Akane's volunteered to mind the shop. Aya's a small operation, after all. She can't cook every dish on the diner side of things, but... she has learned a lot.

If you only saw her on that viewscreen, it might take a second to recognize her; she's got brown hair instead of lilac, now, and she might be a touch taller, too. At the same time, though, she's got a face like a department store model's, a bit; she does look pretty distinctive.

Right now she's preparing dashi; it's a staple component of a lot of dishes, so it's a good downtime activity when literally nothing else is going on. She could just sit at the counter looking bored, but this feels better.

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

Eight York is easily recognized if Akane remembers her face or the pictures, when she walks in. She heard that Akane was back in Tsutsjidai, and here in particular. She's not in uniform; she's in ordinary clothes, a red dress with a white jacket, her bump noticeable at this stage in her pregnancy but her body not stopping her from walking a ways in the city, either. Not that she walked all the way alone, but she asked her companion not to join her at Aya, this time.

She wants to talk to Akane alone, if possible.

So she walks in, looks around--and it does take her a second to recognize her. "Ah," she says. She inhales the scent of the food, and then, "Miss Shinjo. I'm glad I could find you here." Pause. "Your hair is nice. This color suits you too."

Eight starts to walk inside. "Do you mind if we talk?"

Her flat shoes pad against the floor of the shop.

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Oh -- welcome, customer," Akane says, staying on script. A little too on script, as Eight enters -- but then she's addressed by name and startles a bit. "Oh, uh -- geez, I don't remember your name," she says, looking a little bit embarrassed. She starts pouring dashi into plastic containers, then moving them to the freezer.

"Sure thing -- we can talk. Is this a personal talk or like, an I'm-running-an-insurrection-group-and-want-intel talk?" She sounds like she doesn't mind either option; the Federation isn't exactly her favorite political entity, even as she works with a Federation civil defense group.

A moment passes. "So I can't promise anything on the quality of the set meal and the plating is gonna suck 'cuz I don't... actually work here! But I can cook most of what's on the menu if you actually wanna buy." ... It'd be nice to handle at least that much. "If you wanna look around the shop, that's good too?"

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

On script! That's something that's a little telling itself. But Eight's not exactly here as a master manipulator; she just goes by 'feel' for this much. "That's fine," Eight says. "We only met the once in person."

"I'm Eight. Eight York." Then, "Hmm. A little of both. I'm not interested in you revealing secrets about your co-workers, but what you have to say might be important to our mission to rescue Banagher and Leina. ...Since it would appear you and Miss Takarada are, while not fine, not in active need of a rescue."

She considers. The quality...

"I'm always hungry," Eight admits, and lately it's true. "How about whatever's on today's special? If I'm going to take up your time, I might as well be a paying customer."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Sure thing! One seasonal set lunch coming up," Akane says; she takes a second to glance down to her phone, looking at where she's taken down all the steps for this in order. ... it also means she stops putting the dashi away, 'cuz now she's gonna need it.

As she starts in on cooking, she says, "Okay, cool! Yeah, that's stuff I can talk about... though, uh..." She shifts uneasily. There is an elephant right here in this diner.

"... Before we get into this stuff, though, uh --" There's a bit of an awkward pause, as she starts to get through the fog of exhaustion into her memories of the battle, and of where else she's seen Eight. "I didn't have a lot of options except to provide tactical guidance there. I did about as much throwing as I could get away with and did my best to clue you guys in on Murasame being involved, but..." ... things could've unfolded very differently, she thinks but doesn't say, as she checks up on the rice.

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

"Thanks." Eight moves to take a seat at the bar, settling there as Akane stops with the dashi and starts to talk. There is an elephant, all right, and Eight wasn't going to bring it up just yet... But it did need bringing up.

"Hmm." Eight watches Akane as she explains, and she's aware it could've been pretty different already; she's gone over it over and over in her mind. "...Yes, I can see that. You told us outright Murasame was involved; Rezza--My XO--later told me that the talk about Taraba was a clue. And you had to protect Miss Takarada however you could, right? That's my guess, anyway. ...When you said you regretted how it went, I thought you were telling the truth."

"Can you tell me what actually happened?" Eight wonders.

"If I thought you were willingly going along with everything, I wouldn't be here," Eight says, "But I believe you were telling the truth that you weren't under direct control, too."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Cooking has a meditative sort of quality to it; Akane likes it. It's different from sculpting, but there's some commonality there. She might like to make this more of her thing, even if she'll probably never be more than a home cook and occasional fill-in for this kind of thing.

"That's -- yeah, exactly. I was..." She breathes in, then out. It's a hard topic. "So to get them to do less to Rikka, we agreed to make it look like I was complicit. Like I used my 3G deprogramming training and all the stuff I learned doing some really bad stuff in November to --" Here, she catches herself, cuts herself off a moment. Time to fiddle with soup and marshal for another try.

"-- to make it look like I brainwashed her into who they wanted her to be, so at least she'd still be mine." Limply, she adds, "It's something I almost tried last year. I lost my nerve. ... I like her too much for that."

It's a hard conversation to have. Akane seems to be getting more sullen by the second. "They kidnapped us while we were on a road trip. I thought they wanted me, but... it was her."

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

Eight is not much of a cook herself, but she can appreciate the kind of activity it is. Physicality is important to her.

It's a very hard topic, clearly; Eight endeavors to be patient about it. It's not hard, in the end; Akane gives her plenty to think about, and says more than enough that she doesn't have to push her about it.

"I see," Eight says. "...That would be hard," she says. "Even to fake. No, especially to fake."

"You care a lot about her. That you wre able to stick through something like that, it's proof." She looks down, then. "It was a dangerous gambit. But it makes everything make a lot more sense. Because of that, they gave you the appearance of more authority. ...And probably," she reflects, "To make it harder for you to get away. If we all thought that you were complicit for real..." Then no one would forgive her, naturally.

"I'm sorry. That's a hard thing to go through. ...That tells me what I needed to know, if you want to stop talking about it. I'm willing to listen, but that's as much as I feel I have to pry."

"...I hate that these people feel the need to weaponize everything. It... Well. You may or may not know, but a name like 'Eight' isn't one you get outside a lab. I know these kinds of people."

"Being in a position like that... it's almost unimaginable." ...Almost. She could elaborate, but...

"Leina asked me once if I'd risk the entire Alliance for my children," she explains. "And I don't know. But I know for damned sure that I'd risk myself and the idea of everyone hating me, if I had to."

"So if she's that important to you... I for one don't blame you. I hope you can both recover well, and soon."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Juggling things on different timers... it's kind of fun. Akane's not exactly in the greatest mood, and this is a real downer of a conversation topic, but it's hard to stay too upset with enough stimulation.

"I'm... a good liar and a bad liar at the same time," Akane admits, with a laugh and a bit of a cringe. "I can turn on the sleaze to deal with people like that, though. It's easier than it was to lie to people who don't suck." Sipping a little at a tiny spoonful of miso soup, she looks like she's very concerned. "Hmm... not salty enough, I think?"

The idea that they gave her that opportunity in part to make people hate her -- that's something that didn't even occur to her. She'd been leaning so hard into her own hateability that it just... never occurred to her that that might have been a misplay.

"I hate it, too. Humans... kaiju... everyone should be free to make their own choices. Even when I was making kaiju, like, I didn't control them. There was a feeling there but I mostly just let them go, right?" A beat, before she adds, "I kinda thought so but English is my second language, so I wasn't sure. I wasn't gonna pry. Haha, jeez... and now you're, what, married with a kid on the way?"

... despite everything, Akane's a little traditional at spots. She thinks there's an order to these things, even if she's cynical enough to know it often doesn't go that way.

Talk of recovery, though... "I think as long as I can be there for her I'll be okay. She'll... probably be okay, too. She's getting really good care? 3G is good at personality reinforcement. Swan's the best, and like -- everyone in Intelligence and Research can at least kinda do that stuff." That thought is something for her to cling to. "It sounds like about... two weeks, before she's to the point where the rest is kinda up to her."

A beat. "Thanks."

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

"That makes sense. You feel bad trying to lie to the wrong kind of people." That's Eight's guess, anyway; she's pretty good with people, herself. But not salty enough? She's going to take Akane's word for it! After all, she's the chef today. Eight isn't even sure what all she's getting!

"Yes," Eight agrees about choices, without rubbing in the idea of hateability. "I see. I've never made kaiju, but..." She has given thought to related ideas, of course. And, "I appreciate you not prying! But I don't mind; I go by 'Eight' still because I made it 'mine'. It's important to me."

She pauses, at that, and laughs, rubbing the back of her neck with a hand. "Ah, ha ha... Well, we're hoping to get married soon!" she says. "We sort of did it out of order. I got a little too eager."

There is an order! Eight definitely... vaguely observed it. "We're going to get married before I pop, though. So to speak. My grandmother wouldn't let me hear the end of it otherwise!" she reports cheerfully.

But recovery... Yes. "I see. 3G... I can imagine they'd be very good at that." She knows a little about them. "Two weeks... I see. Well, I'm sure with them on your side, you can get that."

"I'll have to keep it in mind. We have counselors and doctors, but not like 3G does. I've been through personality reinforcement myself, but it's not the same thing as performing it for others."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Fuss, fuss. Kitchen things happen. Akane just keeps going down the steps; they're optimized to be fast, given it's restaurant food. She's able to have a conversation, but it is a little difficult.

"Names are like that," Akane says, with a little nod. "Once you feel like you own it, it's kinda hard to give up." She pushes her hair back a little -- she really needs to get a hair tie if she's going to be doing this stuff, but that's later. A lot of that stuff she just didn't think to ask for when Sayla was packing a bag.

When Eight mentions they got started on the babies out of wedlock, Akane can't help but grin. "Nice. Good luck! Sounds kinda stressful to be under the gun for that kinda thing... though..." Hmmm. This does seem like a safe adult.

"... god I want her so bad," she mumbles to herself, not quite going all in. Back to cooking.

"Are you guys, uh -- jeez, how do I ask this. ... Do you guys have someone that needs that kind of help, too?" Akane thinks about it a little more, before adding, "I hope someday I can be as good as Swan at that kinda thing. It seems like it'd be pretty fulfilling, tee-bee-aitch."

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

Eight waits for it. She has every intention of eating once it's finished, after all. Food!! And restaurant food, at that...

"Yes," Eight answers. There's more to her feeling on the name... But she doesn't want to go too heavy on that front. Then she considers something. Well, in a minute.

Akane grins, and Eight laughs, a little embarrassed but only a little. "Thanks! It's not so bad. It's a fun kind of stress." Then she considers. Akane... mumbles to herself a little, and Eight tilts her head. "Well, I obviously think go for it," she jokes.

It is kind of obvious that that's Eight's approach, though.

"Not today," Eight says. "Or well--not to ourselves. The main one I can think of has access already. But we might tomorrow, or the next day. It's important to us to take care of people like that, people who would otherwise be left behind. That's part of why the whole 'armed insurrection' thing." She smiles. "I think that'd be great, if you were. It sounds it to me, too."

Then, she picks up her purse and reaches into it. "You want something for your hair?" Eight offers. "It seems to be giving you a little trouble, and I've got some stuff in here..."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Akane finally serves up a set meal. Miso soup with seasonal veggies, rice, fish, mashed tofu salad, and miso soup. "Oh -- do you want something to drink? ... I should have asked that first... sorry, uh -- I don't actually work here. This is just to give Rikka's mom a chance to spend time with her."

Akane mumbles an, "At least I wouldn't need to worry about the kid thing," before engaging with a side of the conversation that's a lot easier than 'god I want to touch her so bad right now.'

"I guess there'll always be someone who needs it eventually," Akane concedes, at the idea that they don't have one now but they might have such a case eventually. "I kinda feel the same way, but..." A vague gesture.

... well, she can think about that later. "Oh -- yeah, actually! Do you have a hair tie or something?" It's good to have these more immediate things to think about, even if they're occasionally annoying. "I never know what to do with my hair lately, hahaha..."

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

Eight looks it over, and smiles. "I don't get to have a lot of fish these days," she comments, inhaling the aroma. "Sure--some tea, maybe?" Eight asks of a drink, and then she shakes her head. "It's fine! I think that's nice of you to do. And it looks like you did fine. Let's find out!"

Eight takes a bite--and then considers. She laughs a little at the mumble. "That's good if you don't want them. I can't tell you how quick it hppened once we--" Pause. "Well, you probably don't need to hear that."

Vague gesture... Eght considers--but she doesn't press. Instead, she nods and proceeds to pull a red (obviously) hairtie for Akane. "Here you go! And--" Once it's handed over, Eight will start eating some more. "This is actually really good!"

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Hmmm, sure," Akane says, starting on the tea. As a courtesy, she gets Eight a glass of water in the meanwhile. "My plating could be better for sure," she adds, as she accepts the hairtie and takes the time to tie her hair back.

Akane's never seriously considered whether she wants kids. To be fair, she is seventeen; on the other hand, she's seventeen. "... I kinda think I don't? Like, I know how I act when I think I'm someone's mom? It sucks?" A beat passes. "... it's complicated," is what she eventually decides on. "I am going to start my own family register, but... it'll probably just be solo. And maybe in three or five years it'll be dissolved anyway!"

... even if she doesn't want kids, there is one thing Akane thinks about, as far as 'a future with someone else' goes...

"Oh, phew," she breathes, at the idea that her food is actually good. "I kind of dig the diner food thing. I know that can get a little rich for some people, but now that I'm eating a little more, I'm pretty wild about it, haha..."

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

"I'm not that picky anyway," Eight assures Akane. It's fine! Super fine!

Eight nods along as Akane decides it's complicated. "That's fair. You're pretty young for it anyway, even if you did." A family register... Eight is familiar with this practice! "Oh, that's a nice thought," she says, of dissolution, because she's pretty sure that means she'd be marrying. Probably. "I'm debating things like that myself. Like, do I want to take his name...? I'm thinking about it. Do you think you'd take hers?"

"Diner food is great," Eight says. And hmm... "Food's pretty great generally. Highly recommend."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Taking her name... that actually gets Akane to think very seriously. "... part of me really wants to? But 'Akane Shinjo'... well, it's like 'Eight' for you, I guess. I don't wanna just lose myself in her, and I don't want her to just lose herself in me, you know? It's..."

She trails off. "... you know, actually, it's probably not going to be a solo register anyway, now that I think about it. I do have a little brother. Even if he's already got papers from Sayla's people, it... might be nice to have that together, too, after register division?" ... It's a nice thought, anyway.

The mention of food being great gets a long laugh. "I didn't eat for like two whole years. I didn't need to? But like -- when you never stop like that, never eat, never sleep -- stuff kinda stops mattering to you... I think this is better." She finally has tea for Eight instead of just water, now, too.

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

"That makes sense," Eight says, encouraging Akane to go on. The reasons she gives settle on Eight as she listens, and she doesn't interrupt as she thinks about it. She smiles, at the matter of her little brother. "I think it does sound nice."

Then, "I'm thinking of taking his because... It's a little old-fashioned, I suppose. But I want that 'together as a family' vibe, with our kids having the same last name, and everything."

But food! "Wow!" Eight says of not eating. "That's a while. ...I think so, too. It's important to let things matter," she says, and takes the tea once she has it. Water can wash down food, but tea is nice for its own sake. "Thanks!"

"I don't really have siblings, myself. But... I have people who are like them."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"In the end, that's up to you," Akane affirms. "You don't need to think it out that far, I guess? Like, if you both like that, then that's a win." She still has time to think on what her answer to that looks like. It's nice to think about, since... well, there's infinite options still -- or at least a pretty big number of them.

Breathing out as she considers making herself some food now that they're talking about it, Akane agrees, "It's a big part of that stuff. ... the people on the Garuda always thought that was a really good way to break people down, too. If they don't eat -- it's not just that they're weak, though that's true too? But like... you never stop and go, 'wait, something's really wrong here.'" She looks down, and adds, "I did my best to get Rikka her favorite foods while we were in that whole mess. Or at least, like, solid A tier stuff."

The mention of 'people who are like siblings'... gives her a bit to unpack. "Yeah, I think that actually kinda better describes what's up with me, too? But... we decided we wanted to be family."

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

"True. But it's nice to think about anyway. I could think all day about my relationships and be happy with it. But I've got work, too." And so she has to work. She smiles, though. It seems that Akane likes to think about it too.

"That makes sense," Eight says. "From what little I can remember, I mostly had like, nutrient pastes, that kind of thing, back then. Kept everything bland. Avoid getting the subject excited." She consders that. "I guess eating is a time to reset, huh...? I'm glad you were able to try to do that, at least."

"There's this girl I grew up with," Eight decides to explain, "But we're definitely not sisters. That'd be weird. Callie, though..." Eight trails off, and shakes her head. "I hope she's all right," she says, and moves on from that topic. "Anyway the point is, that's definitely something you can do. Marriage is just one way to add to your family. Not the only one at all."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Yeah -- I think Leina was getting that... getting stuff for Rikka was the first thing I could think of to keep her safe." A pause, before she admits, "... that might have just been because I was also really hungry."

The mention of Callie gets a brief shocked expression. "Wait -- Dr. Murasame said she was confirmed dead. Is that --?" ... God, why did she trust anything that man said? Did she backslide that hard while she was on the Garuda? ... then again, she trusted Alexis and the last thing he gave her was actually true, so...

"Yeah... you're right. Huh, maybe when I'm like 30 I'll want to adopt, haha... god, that feels like a whole different person. I'm only seventeen right now, you know?" She wobbles a hand, then pours herself a bowl of miso soup. ... it's a little gauche to eat in front of a customer, but this is a pretty casual operation. Picking out some tofu with a chopstick, she agrees, "I guess this stuff is just -- stuff you start figuring out while you go through all of it, huh. It's never gonna have a single obvious answer."

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

"Could be." Eight doesn't have a good grasp on Leina in the 'now', now that the secret has come out. "I hope we can get to her, too... I don't believe what she said. That she's fully in control of her own mind."

But Callie--Eight listens, and frowns. "No," Eight says. "We didn't find a body, and I didn't 'feel' her die. ...Unfortunately, in the capital of the Federation I couldn't send a scouting party to find her. I hate it, but I couldn't... find her." The guilt she feels for that one is obvious, anyway, her expression turning down.

But up again, at the other matter. Eight takes zero offense at Akane eating with her--it makes it feel more like a meal with a friend. Even if she wouldn't be that presumptuous yet.

"That's a good age to think about it," Eight says, and then laughs. "I know what you mean. When I was seventeen... I was so different. I never imagined I'd be in this line of work, for one."

Mmmm, tofu.

"That's just right, I think. No clear, obvious answers. ...But that makes life more exciting, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"She's not," Akane confirms. Having more people onsides in helping Leina feels more important than ever. "I can't be a hundred percent sure of her status right now, but... she had a really extensive regimen. They were kind of low-key starving her. She's lost like... uhhh, 10 kilos? 18? In the last few months. Apparently they thought it'd make her a better 'interface component.'" Akane sounds disgusted.

At the mention of no body and no gut feeling she was dead, though -- there's this enormous relief on her face. "Oh jeez... apparently Leina and Callie are really close. She'll be happy to hear that, when we get through to her. She was crying. She couldn't sleep. It was -- a lot."

That's putting it mildly.

"Haha, yep! I think a little chaos is good for people," Akane agrees. "Like... I think a lot of what people think of as rules are mostly just suggestions."

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

"Good." Eight has to admit to relief with a sigh when Akane confirms it. It's one thing to be sure of something; it's another to be certain. "...I noticed a few signs like that," Eight says. "But I knew she lives a dangerous life, so I didn't pry. I suppose if I had, she'd have found a way to deflect. ...She did, last time; she said she wanted not to think about her life, for me to distract her."

She shakes her head. "That's awful, though. I... I can't stand it when people think of others as 'tools' like that. Just objects."

Akane is relieved too. "Oh, yeah, they would be," Eight confirms. "I'm... not surprised, that they'd claim it. To get to both of you. But it's still disgusting."

Eight smiles. "I guess it's obvious that I kind of agree, huh? There are important things, and they're more important than the 'rules' people enforce. Structure's important and all... But it's just as important to be able to stand up to 'rules' that are just wrong."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"We were living together and I was consulting with her about the Banshee," Akane points out, and the way it comes out is a little bit more withering than she probably means it to be. "Trust me, I don't think you would've caught anything."

Nodding, Akane agrees, "That's the kind of thing I hate the most, too. ... to be honest, some of the stuff I did to save Rikka makes me feel kinda icky 'cuz of it. Rikka agreed to let me -- use the deprogramming training I have to sneak a few things in, and I'm kind of okay with that, but... I used some of what they put in Leina, too."

Akane thinks about what Eight's saying. "I kinda cut both ways on that, I think, but... I dunno if I can untangle the whole thing?" She takes some time to eat her soup, unsure of how to explain her own thoughts.

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

"Fair enough." Eight's pretty resilient to withering statements; she has to be, to run the aforementioned insurrection. That's enough on its own. She's willing to trust Akane on this one, instead of dwelling on guilt.

"We don't always get situations where we can pick options that fit our ideals," Eight says. "I try to maintain space for my crew to do that for themselves--because I know how easy it would've been for me not to be able to. If I hadn't made Captain, a lot would be different."

She looks sympathetic at that. "...But I know it's still hard."

"That's fine," Eight says, with a wave of her hand. She's on the soup by now. It's good soup. "I have to talk to people about this kind of thing all the time."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Yeah, that's true, I guess... and if I sat there doing nothing and just taking the chances that came to me, uh..." ... well, she probably wouldn't have been able to stop some really horrible things. It's heavy.

It's nice to have someone to unpack this with who's further from the situation than she is by a fair bit, as far as she knows; she hasn't really had the chance yet. "... you're a pretty good listener," she muses. "Is that captain stuff too?"

A beat. "Let me know if you want a refill. I'm gonna go back to making dashi. You go through a lot of it doing this kinda food, apparently." She skims some of the foam off the boiling liquid, starting to level off again from the admittedly heavy conversation.

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

"Right." Eight can see it; especially Akane, if she'd only sat there waiting, she would still be... what she was. What she isn't now.

But Eight smiles about being called a good listener. "Before I was Captain I was Comms Officer. I was in charge of looking after the crew, seeing what they needed and making sure they got it. ...But before that I was a girl who was looking for love! You learn to listen pretty good that way. ...It's part of how I Captain, anyway."

Then she nods along. "Will do. I'll hang out here and finish for now, but then I'll get out of your hair. Licia's waiting for me anyway. ...The crew doesn't like it much these days when I 'wander off alone and make them worry'." Smile. "Thanks."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"That's an interesting way of looking at 'comms officer.' Someone who deals with other people's needs, huh..." Maybe too heavy for Akane, but weirdly compelling, at the same time. ... something to bat around in therapy, maybe.

Nodding to Eight, she says, "Let me know if you need anything," managing a smile. Another round of skimming. "I wouldn't want your guys to worry too much! Still, it's nice you stopped by."

She glances back at Eight, and then --

"Sssss -- ow!"

Accidentally touched the pot a little bit... "Uh -- don't worry, I'm fine," she says, moving over to the sink and running some water over it. ... she might not be good conversation until after Eight leaves anyway.