As far as she remembers, (which was meeting Papa for the first time) Amanda never really lean towards neither like nor dislike. She often just took things to stride and make due with what she has.
"How do you like your gifts, Amanda?"
"They're fine. Thank you for giving them, Papa."
"You don't like your new book?"
She shook her head. "It's not that. I just don't fully understand it. Can you read it to me, Papa?"
But at rare circumstances, she actually does lean to one side. For example, her annoyance is near the borderline of dislike right now.
"Ken, I told you. We can't eat that. It's poisonous. Put them back where you found them."
Ken rolled his eyes and snort. "Yeah, right! Like that's true! They taste just fine! See!" Ken grabbed a mushroom and swallowed it. "Nogurb hapfern! -gulp- You're just being a pussy!"
Amanda stared at his bravado indifferently before turning her attention to the pile and study the mushrooms closer. She reach to a realization, counting one to sixty in her mind while ignoring her companion taunts. Suddenly, she heard a thud and flickered her eyes to see Ken clutching his stomach on the ground.
"Arghhh... What's happening to me..."
"Nothing serious." Amanda said nonchalantly. "You just got food poisoning by eating a poison mushroom."
Ken howls, "Why didn't you warned me before?!"
Amanda raised a brow and shook her head. "Sorry, I just remembered after you ate them." She stood up. "Just lie there for a second. I think the herbs Chikusa gathered are right for the antidote." Then paused. "Just in case, dig a hole. A really deep one. You might experience diarrhoea." Amanda walks away, ignoring his cries.
"What?! Don't leave me!"
Papa told her once, there are people who would only learn their lesson the hard way. Ken seems exactly that kind of person.
"Feeling better, Ken?" Amanda asked as she rubs his back in circulate motions.
He rasped, "I feel like puking."
Amanda hums, continuing rubbing his back. "That's normal."
They stayed like that for a few minutes. Chikusa was out gathering more herbs after hearing the food poisoning while their apparent leader went hunting for fish, ignorant to the accident. Amanda ponders whether it was needed to report but decided against it. At most, Ken had to go behind the bushes multiple times. No need to disturb their leader-dearest.
"Oi, are listening to me?" Amanda broke out for her thoughts.
"Sorry, I wasn't." She came out honestly. "Can you repeat that?"
Ken glares at her but strangely comply with her request. "How did you know all this?"
She paused, weighting the pros and cons before coming to a conclusion. "It was in a book Papa gave to me. He thought I would like it." Surprisingly, Ken didn't deliver his usual rants about her Papa. She furrowed her eyebrows and observed the silent boy.
After some moments, Ken decided to break the silence. "What's a book?"
She wasn't surprised by him not knowing and answered in the simplest way he could understand.
"What's it called then?"
You have many questions, "The Wonders of Nature," she said, fighting back the urge to pointing out his unusual sudden interest. She hates it when things go very bitter.
"So," Ken shifts awkwardly. "It's about poison mushrooms?"
Amused rose inside the raven. "A section of it is. There's also a section about its antidote and other stuff."
"Your dad gave it to you because you like it."
"Papa." She corrected him. "And he thought I would like it, not after confirming it. But he was right, I did. What's with that face?" She raised a brow, seeing his face all scrunched up.
"I can't tell if you really like it. Your face looks like Kakipi but creepier because it never changes and has those creepy black eyes."
"Ken, you said creepy twice." She pointed out, not feeling offended at his reasoning. "When we're in town, we need to raise your vocabulary."
"I don't need some vocub-whatsyoumucallit! I can speak just fine!"
"Of course, Ken. Of course."
Even though her face never expresses it, she always felt a certain fondness towards the blond. If Ken wasn't so him, maybe she'll let him know that too.
"So where is it?" He asked, feeling a bit better than before.
Amanda was about to say what where but stopped after having an inkling what he was asking about. "I didn't bring it along. It's still in my room."
"What?!"
She waved. "It'll be fine. I at least remember some important parts of it. I could teach you how to differentiate between normal and poisonous mushroom.
"Because you're obsessed with poison." He said with conviction.
Amanda sigh, "For the last time, I'm not obsessed. I just felt something about it. "
"Because you're obsessed."
After much argument, Amanda gave up and ignore the whole thing. She went back to her previous topic "It's pretty easy to learn it with your heighten senses and— Ken?"
He didn't respond. She moved closer to him. "Ken? Is something wrong?"
He mumbled, "Can I not used them?"
Ah. Amanda remembered her and they both went quiet again before Amanda decided to break it "It's your choice, Ken." She spoke softly, reminiscing her time with Papa. It was the same words Papa would say to her multiple times a day. Always reminding her the choice is hers to make; to eat or not, to play or not, to do or not. What right does she have to make them for him?
She stood up. "I won't push you. The book enlisted other methods to distinguished them. Now, come on," Amanda offered him a hand which the blond looks at the gesture as something foreign. "We need to replace the poison mushrooms with new ones."
When Ken finally took her hand, Amanda was surprise how small it was in hers. He looks about 1-2 years younger than her but his hand told her he led a different life. Hers was soft but his were rough yet fragile, mostly thin due to malnutrition. She wonders when the last time it felt soft.
She already took a vow after getting to know Chikusa. She will have them survive.
"Now listen, you can-"