There's a familiarity here, maybe it's the place, maybe it's having someone by his side, as they wash and chop up and fruits and vegetables for dinner. Enough to share with the others too, but they are left to the quiet to get to know each other and cook.
"It's strange to be cooking in an abandoned house." Shirayuki twists the knife in her hands delicately, always keeping the blade away from her, as she seems lost in thought.
"Yeah, but if no one's going to use the kitchen, we might as well." Zen points out. It would go unused otherwise.
And Shirayuki shoots him a look.
Then, they set to work, back to cleaning and chopping and preparing dinner. Shirayuki somehow is the best at finding ingredients to make a delicious dinner, knows exactly which mushrooms are edible and which ones are not a good idea to eat.
Zen likes the ease of it, the ability to trust someone else with the knowledge needed to step into the kitchen and do a good job. It's different than needing to always be on the ready like swordsmanship requires. There's a kind of delicate ease to it.
Soon though with just the sounds of knives on cutting boards and the sound of broth boiling, it feels strangely too close or too quiet, and Zen longs to break it.
"How did you find yourself here at my favorite spot?" He knows she's a runaway, just from what, is what he's not aware of.
"Can we wait until after dinner?" Shirayuki's voice had already soured, and Zen suddenly sees a woman that has definitely been through her share of hardships. He hopes it is nothing like what Atri did, like watching Atri die either. Neither were desirable, and Shirayuki deserves better.
Besides she'd treated his wound earlier, proved her trustworthiness even by hurting herself, and helped Zen to know he can trust and depend on her. It's a strange feeling, a step into meeting another unique stranger and letting friendship slowly bloom.
"We can." Zen answers and then when a little bit of shame pools up, an explanation, "I was just curious." He wants to say it's no big deal, but anything that chases you out of your home and into the wilderness is always a big deal.
"It's fine." She smiles, a little act of bravery, and Zen admires her. As much as Zen's wanted to run away in the past, he never had. Adventure was fun, but leaving everything he ever knew indefinitely was not as fun.
"You must be pretty strong." Zen compliments her, or unattached. And he isn't sure which is harder to accept or which is better. It's a confusing middle ground.
"Not perfectly so." It's a vulnerable bit of honesty, though she covers it up by throwing some of the vegetables in the pot and they make a bit of a splashing sound, and he's sure that the broth for a moment was licking the sides.
And he brings the fruit over, an offering for whatever she wanted done with them, and she begins to make dessert. Maybe Shirayuki's not perfectly strong, but she's still admirable in a lot of different ways.