"It's okay..."

It was obvious from Dyss's tone that it really wasn't okay, but it didn't really have to do with her. It was the huge feeling of powerlessness he had... He was supposed to be getting a home ready for his friends and helping them learn so they could quickly become real once they all reached the real world. He wasn't able to help Aria or Ozrik back in Purgatory... He'd have died without Izumi's help, most likely, and still couldn't really do anything for himself, despite his best efforts...

"It's not your fault..."

Dyss would go back to eating with his hands, the only way he really knew how to do so, his face still turned down. Even if he'd lost his sight, there was still a big opportunity here, and he had to try to take advantage of it...

"Here, Dyss . . ." Izumi spoke softly, "Try it like this . . ."

Feeling terrible for laughing at him and making him feel obviously terrible about himself--or even angry at her, Izumi moved closer to Dyss. He'd feel the warmth of another body, right up against his back, her chest up against his back, with Izumi just completely leaning into him. He'd also feel her arms around him from behind, and her chin upon his shoulder--but not to embrace. Her hands were upon his hands, and she gently guided them to the nearby utensils. She'd make she he was holding them right, too; she'd make it a point to guide his fingers and focus on one hand at a time if necessary. From there, it was just a matter of guiding his hands back over the food, and helping him use the knife and fork in a proper fashion.

"This way, you, um, you feel where it is with the knife, and know where to cut . . ."

A lot like a cane--so you know where to walk.

"Then, you can stab it with the fork, and treat it like the toast earlier--um, y-you know, chew it up pretty good and swallow," Izumi narrated what she had physically guided him through, hoping that he'd be able to remember that easier and do it fine in the future.

Dyss's head perked up when Izumi reached around to help him, his mood already vastly improved. He tried his best to use the utensils, and the principles didn't seem too difficult, but the practice was. He couldn't really tell what he was hitting, even when he was holding the utensils in the right way, and if left to his own devices, he would spend a good deal of time trying to cut bone or plate, rather than actual edible parts of the food.

"Thanks... Sorry..."

Dyss wanted to be upbeat like Izumi, but he wasn't doing particularly well so far. At least he could for himself... Sort of. It was hard to say what it would be like next time without Izumi. He could eat without utensils, anyway. That wasn't entirely bad, though, especially if Izumi was going to help him like this for a while.

"It was good..."

Izumi didn't actually move from that spot, even after she let Dyss eat without her help. She didn't guide his hand up to his mouth or anything once there was food on the fork; she figured that he'd know what to do, then--and he did. Actually, she was kind of comfortable there, leaning on someone else. It didn't happen very often for her . . . or at all. She did not justify it as such, though; that would have been awkward, all things considered, just knowing the guy for two days and all. Izumi had justified this--leaning her chest into Dyss's back and chin upon his shoulder--as a means of having better opportunities to help him eat. He'd get the hang of it someday, but for the time being, he was having trouble, and she was there to help out when he was way off the mark.

Once he was finished eating and complimented her cooking, she leaned back, a bit away from him--for courtesy's sake--and exclaimed joyfully, "I'm glad A-and, um, you're welcome!"

The extra pressure exerted upon the mattress by there being two bodies upon it was lifted; Izumi had gotten off of it. The sound of movement and porcelain scraping arose, as well as small metal clinking off of one another. She had gathered up the dishes, but left the board.

"I'll be back--I'm going to wash dishes real quick."

"Okay. I'll be here..."

As Izumi left, Dyss would lay down on the bed, his stomach full for perhaps the first time ever. Not that he had desired food for more than a day or two... In any case, it was a good feeling, but... He felt very tired, too. And fairly content. He had Izumi to help take care of him, after all, and very little to worry about. At least, nothing that he was able to help with. He had neither the knowledge nor the ability to return to Purgatory or take any steps further. He could only wait...

Dyss would listen to Izumi wash dishes for a short time, but he would soon fall asleep, his eyes still open and appearing to stare at the ceiling, but his breathing slow and rhythmic. The food had just been a bit too much of a new experience...

"Dad, I--"

"Shut up! I'm tired of your excuses!"

"But I . . . but I . . .---AHK!"

"Listen to your father, honey."

"M-mom! Dad! Y-you . . . you have to believe me! It was an acci--"

"Do you want me to use my right hand, next time?"

When Dyss next awoke, he'd arise at the experience of sound: quick steps across the floorboard--not rushed, but toe to toe, one in front of the other in a quick, joyous pace--skipping. Someone was skipping. And humming, as well. It was Izumi's voice, easily discernible--a voice Dyss would recognize from his brief, vague, yet audio only dream the night before, except . . . younger. Much younger. There was no way for him to tell the time after he woke next, but it seemed as if Izumi was awake, at least--and energetic.

Dyss awoke with a start, the dream still fresh in his mind. It certainly left a lot of questions... Dreams that seemed to occur to other people weren't new. Now that Dyss had read some of Attis' files, that seemed to make more sense, but now... Izumi? He'd never experienced the memories of anyone alive, as far as he could tell, and certainly not of anyone he knew... But there was no other explanation, was there?

"Izumi?"

Dyss would stand at the edge of the bed, his brow furrowed as he concentrated on how to get out of the room. He was a bit less wobbly, but he still didn't really have a good sense of distance. However, he would slowly make his way to the door, his hands outstretched to ensure he didn't crash into anything, in search of the girl that seemed so contrary to his dream...

"A-ah! D-Dyss!" the girl cried, surprised.

There was a startled jump, and a series of shuffles that made little sense--a shuffle of clothes, most likely, frantic and applied very quickly. More than likely, she didn't think she was decently dressed when Dyss awoke, thereby feeling it necessary to quickly dress with her back turned to him. When she remembered that he was blind, she could only laugh quietly to herself.

"G-g'morning!" exclaimed a much more cheerful Izumi; she could be optimistic even in the morning. In fact, she sounded like she was at peak enthusiasm. "I'm just getting ready for work. What has you up this early?"

Izumi had a mental checklist going through her head. She had to get to work, eat breakfast while there (no sense in going in early for any other reason), and after about eight hours or so, she had to go back home, help Dyss bathe, and prepare some sort of dinner for them--maybe take him outside to get him more clothes, too. That would be helpful. Inwardly, she tried to think up a good way to budget her time to fit that in. It hadn't yet occurred to her that leaving a blind man alone in such a cramped little home wasn't exactly the kindest thing in the world.

Dyss cocked his head curious when he heard Izumi's exclamation, then the rustling of clothes. After a moment, it occurred to him what had happened, that Izumi had been skipping around without clothes. His own face would turn a bit embarrassed, despite the fact that he couldn't actually see. Part of him was glad that embarrassment had been averted, but perhaps a bigger part of him was sadder than ever that he was blind...

"...Good morning. I... Well..."

Dyss was obviously hesitant to speak, because he wasn't yet ready to tell Izumi more about himself. How could he possibly explain that he had dreamed a memory she hadn't even told him about? He had slept for quite a while, anyway...

"I just woke up..."

"O-oh."

This had her thinking a bit. She had been skipping around, not thinking much about anything but her early morning enthusiasm, and humming a simple tune all the way. Because of that, she had most likely woken Dyss up from his sleep. She felt a little bad for it, sort of spoiling her mood, but like she always did, she bounced back and was chipper once again.

"How'd you sleep?" she asked, "I came back last night and you were snoozing, but, um, you had your eyes open still--it was kind of weird, but, um, I guess--er, I don't know--that happens with people who can't see, right?"

It had certainly creeped her out, that much was for sure--but, of course, she didn't hold that against him. If he couldn't help it, there was no reason why she should have had any ill feelings towards him personally. Of course, she had made it a point to only say so much. Izumi talked so freely most of the time that she could easily have accidentally said something that could offend Dyss--sort of like last night, when they were eating.

"Well, with me, it happened even when I could see..."

Of course, Dyss had never actually seen with his eyes, so there had never been an issue of light or movement over the eyes to distract him. Dyss had always just loosened his control over his ability to see, until he eventually fell asleep.

"Sleep was... Not good, really. I had a bad dream..."

Dyss didn't really elaborate any more, answering before he had really thought. He didn't want to answer Izumi's practically inevitable question about what it had entailed...

"A bad dream?" Izumi asked, a quirk of curiosity in her voice.

That was unfortunate. As expected, she was curious about what happened; maybe there was some way to interpret it, or possibly help ease him a bit. Izumi knew that she certainly hated it when she had bad dreams.

"What about?" inquired the girl, just moments before she said, "Oh! And, um, come over here--I still need to finish getting ready in my room."

This was said as she took Dyss's hand, and steadily started down the hall, but not wards the kitchen--rather, to the room Dyss had inadvertently invaded a couple of nights before. She let go of his hand right before she entered, and didn't ask for him to come in--though, she also didn't say he had to refrain coming come in, either. It was optional; she wasn't going to be upset with him either way. If he did enter, though, he was going to at least have to be careful while she continued to get ready for work. Regardless, by leading him over towards her room, she'd at least be able to hear him better than she would have if he was still in his room.

"Um..."

Dyss wouldn't reply immediately, a bit surprised as Izumi pulled him towards her room. The sheer amount of energy and cheer she had was amazing, really, and sort of disgusting. Especially when he considered the dream he'd had... He didn't really want to ruin her cheer, but he didn't want to lie about the dream, either. He'd lied enough already...

"Well, it was about you..."

Dyss would slowly make his way into the room, navigating the edge of the room to sit on the bed, generally knowing its position. He wasn't quite sure how to start, and he spoke hesitantly...

"It was like someone was hurting you, when you were younger..."

"Oh . . ."

She was silent for a moment, but it may have just been because she was getting dressed. The rustle of clothing said that much. She still needed suitable pants and shoes--which she was taking care of. Just by virtue of her still getting dressed, there was a chance that she wasn't actually affected by Dyss's dream. If she was, she certainly didn't sound that way.

"That's . . . a pretty weird dream," she said, a tone of optimism still in her voice.

She didn't sound that way at all. In fact, she sounded a bit confused more than she did concerned or anything of the like; there was no heartfelt response, just an altogether feeling of confusion, but it altogether didn't seem to bother her. Dyss may very well have been experiencing a normal dream. That was all she said about it, though--just that it was a strange dream, not particular frightening or semi-real, just strange. The subject was subsequently changed.

"Oh! Hey, I had an idea! I was thinking about it and, um, would you rather stay in the house, or would you like to come to work with me? I work in a diner, so you could sit at a table or something. It'd at least be free lunch."

Dyss was extremely glad for the change in subject. Having to elaborate after his slip of the tongue would be difficult. Instead, she was offering him a chance to get out, and perhaps meet some new people... He felt practically as cheery as Izumi.

"Yeah, that would be great! It's a nice home, but it gets lonely here..."

It didn't really occur to him that Izumi probably knew about the home being lonely, particularly if he was the first person she'd had over in a while. He was just excited about being able to leave the house for the first time since he'd arrived...