Purrdon the Puns [NK]

A little disappointed but understanding of his explanation, Natsume would not prod him any further on the technique. She couldn't help but wonder about it though even as they waited for the food.

"You expected even more action?" she asked incredulously, her mind briefly flashing to the combat packed missions she had gone on with him. Aside from the very first mission at the academy, it seemed she'd always been pushed to do some sort of combat. She nodded with him when he brought up the lack of time for art. "That ink technique we found has helped a bit with practice, and I try to draw in my down time," she paused as the waitress arrived with their food, "but it has indeed been difficult to find any time for art. I have not had any time for a larger painting. Perhaps we could go out sometime and find somewhere beautiful to paint together."

She looked over at the stack of plates the waitress laid before Ryūka. Her brows rose slightly. "You come here often, Ryūka?" She oiled the grill, then reached over to the beef with her chopsticks and laid it out to cook. The beef sizzled and popped.

She nodded mutely as he rambled slightly. She understood all too well what he meant, how sheltered she had felt lately. The fear of taking a life that had paralyzed her the first time, then brought her to her knees the second. She shook her head as he apologized. "Don't be, Ryūka." She smiled, though it did not fully reach her eyes. "You are not wrong, after all."

Movement outside the window caught her eye, drawing her gaze to the massive sign. "Is that...?" She squinted slightly to read it then, once it finally registered for her, looked back at Ryūka with furrowed brows. "Huh." She would not call him out on that lie. It was not her place to, and perhaps he truly believed it. To make sure her traitorous mouth wouldn't spill anything, she reached over to the grill and pulled off the cooked beef. It was still slightly pinker than she usually preferred. That wasn't too important. She shoved the beef into her mouth, trying to keep it occupied until Ryūka changed the topic. Which he, thankfully, did fairly quickly.

She considered what he said. "That would be nice. I do not go out of the village center that often, to be honest. The guard patrol was the furthest I've ever been." This time, her smile reached her eyes, crinkling them shut. "So I would really enjoy that."

When they eventually finished the food, Natsume would reach into her pocket and fish out the necessary bills to cover her share of the bill. She would have paid for the entirety of it, but a second glance at Ryūka's "special" cost changed her mind instantly. "Is there anywhere in particular you were thinking of, Ryūka?" she would ask as they left, silently glad that Ryūka had insisted on paying his own half earlier. Her poor wallet would've been in the negatives.