Zombie Stomach Soup

Owen quickly corrected himself. "Not aliens...Monsters, demons, mermaids and stuff..." He gave a half hearted shrug as if it hadn't mattered. "Wouldn't be surprised if there were aliens though."

Owen looked eagerly towards Rein as he reached his hand towards his. He didn't expect too much a challenge, but he would prepare himself just in case. "Oh, of course," he replied, too focused on the current task at hand to give much of a detailed response.

Rein's strength was... unimpressive. Owen almost felt bad about it, but the boy had warned him beforehand, so he couldn't complain. Although, Owen felt inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, and he pressed his hand against his with an equal, balancing force.

It wasn't long before he became bored of this, and decided to just end the match by pressing down a lot harder - until it would hopefully reach the surface of the table. He gave nothing but a small smirk - kind enough not to rub in the defeat.

He stood, looking towards the pan, then uncharacteristically rushing over just incase it was on the point of burning. "Ah, crap...!" The cover was lifted. It was still cooking safely. An awkward look of relief crossed his face. "Man, this is taking too long," he complained, poking the meat with an outstretched finger as if that would help... somehow. "Can't I just like, turn this up faster?" he mumbled, peering for some sort of knob that would allow him to do this.

Rein's mouth made a silent "O" as Owen corrected himself. Well, that made lots of sense really. Of course, he didn't think much on it as he felt Owen press back against his hand. A flash of worry crossed his face and he was surprised when he wasn't immediately beaten. Of course, he figured Owen was humoring him, and he wondered if he should be insulted or happy. He decided on being neither and was prepared for the loss when Owen increased his strength.

Not even marginally being able to fight it, the back of Rein's hand hit the table with ease and he hung his head in defeat, forehead hitting the counter. He sighed, but straightened with a sheepish smile, chuckling. Ah well. He was, however, grateful that the other boy did not make a comment on his rather obviously weak muscles.

The long haired boy watched with amusement as Owen checked the stake. He walked over to look at the steak himself as well.

"You can turn the heat up if you like. But be careful, this is an old model so you'll have to feed the fire. Just don't make it too hot." He vaguely wondered if he had to tell the boy to be careful around the fire. If, when putting wood in, Owen dropped it, it could send up hot ashes that could catch something on fire. However, Rein figured Owen was old enough. He'd probably know already. It was really that big of a deal.

Rein's reaction to having lost the game did amuse him, and he almost felt guilty for being amused. After all, if Owen was beginning to get an understanding of his condition, then no matter how much Rein worked out and practised at it, he'd never be able to get any better at it. It was something of a sad thought, but it did make another cross his mind.

"Hey, Rein..." he started. "Do you... ever get exhausted or tired? Like if you were running for a really long time?" His tone seemed interested, but his expression gave away the slight notion of jealousy.

Oh, an old model. There were no knobs. No harm in checking though. "Feed the fire..." he echoed under his breath, peering around, before laying his eyes on a stack just a bit away. He bent over carefully, picking up a small log from the top of the pile. Turning to the fire again, he lightly tossed the wood in, where it was immediately swallowed by the licking flames. That was a whole less exciting than he wanted it to be. "Hmm.." He continued to stand staring at the pan as if it were so bothersome waiting for the steak to finally finish.

The moment Owen had said his name, Rein looked to the boy. It had had the feeling of a weighted question. As he was asked, Rein showed no outward change, but did not move to answer the question right away. Instead, the boy watched Owen feed the fire and thought about an answer.

On one hand, he didn't want Owen to think this path of life was all wonderful. On the other, he didn't want to sound like he hated this life or thought that what he had sacrificed hadn't been worth it. There was a long silence before he finally sighed and pulled the hair tie out, scrunching it all up and tying it back in a messy bun. It was really only for something to do with his hands. The long strands were hardly contained and looped about, hanging and draping around his head in a messy-style fashion.

"Physically, no, I do not." He said simply, looking away. He didn't like that look on the other boy's face. "Mentally, yes." There was another pause. "Why do you ask?"

The fact Rein didn't immediately reply was a cause for concern. He didn't think the question was that difficult or taxing, but the gap did give him the opportunity to wonder slightly. His brown gaze focused on Rein as he tied his hair - knowing that he was looking for some sort of distraction, as Owen himself often did.

"Okay," he nodded brashly. "No reason." He turned his head away to look at the pan again. Couldn't be much longer now. However, something told him that he didn't want to end the conversation on that note, and he felt obliged to add more to it. "Was just wondering, like... how come you got to get this deal? Where'd you get it?" His tone, although devoid of passion, still carried a tone of interest.

Rein's brow creased as he turned to look at Owen, arms crossed.

"Got this deal? It? I am supposing you mean my resistance to death..." He studied the boy's face. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell the boy this. There was no way Rein was ever preforming the deed again, after all. Even if Owen asked, Rein would not help him achieve a phylactery. There was a pause and eventually Rein gave. "I made myself like this. I worked for a man who was searching for immortality and studying magic, I was his assistant, however, he did not wish to do anything permanent to himself without knowing the effects. I offered myself as a test subject. Seeings as our theory worked on me, we preformed the ritual on him and in payment for my service I was allowed to live." He sighed heavily and leaned back against the counter. "You see, you can't take away the immortality. What I have done, I can not reverse. If you try, you die." He shrugged lightly as if were no big deal and made a gesture like something was blowing away in the wind. "Body turns to dust."

Rein paused a moment and stared in to the air as if watching the said dust drift off. Shaking his head, he shot a stern look to Owen.

"I will not help you make yourself immortal. It is not a pleasant process and it is very risky. I will not be responsible." Rein pointed a long finger at the boy seriously, keeping his hard look leveled on the boy, making no room for argument.

Rein didn't seem at all pleased at the question, in fact, it seemed quite the opposite. Owen almost regretted asking - it didn't seem to be something simple as the boy had hoped. It was a shame - he actually had an interest in immortality. What would it be like to never be wounded or to live forever? To never be exhausted or tired? But his hopes were quickly squandered.

"Oh," he said simply as he finished, staring in an almost dumfounded way. His doubts about the process were only reinforced when Rein reprimanded him, and he raised an arm in a surrendering like manner. "Whoa, whoa, okay, I was only asking..." He looked to the floor, unwilling to meet the other boy's stern gaze. "Wasn't thinking about doing it or nothing.." Lies.

Desperate for a distraction, he looked towards the pan again, lifting the cover. The meat seemed somewhat ready - at least, as far as he could determine. He lifted the plan, placing his fingers carefully on the cloth from earlier as to not burn himself. He tipped it into the plate from before, allowing the juices to dribble before placing the pan on a counter, unsure where else he was meant to put it.

"This look alright?" he said, inclining the plate slightly towards him. Owen certainly couldn't see anything wrong with it, but he seemed to trust Rein's judgement more than his own.

Rein lowered his hand, but kept his look hard on Owen. He was unconvinced, many thought the idea of immortality was appealing and most were tempted. He ignored Owen's question about the stake and stepped up to stand directly, looming as he looked down at the shorter boy.

"Owen, I will show you exactly what it means to be a Lijk when we return to the room. Then, your curiosity will be sated and you can decide whether the idea is actually appealing." He raised a brow, though it wasn't in question, and his eyes flicked to the meat and he nodded. "It looks fine." Looking back to Owen, the long haired boy smiled warmly and patted him on the back. "Good job. See? I knew you could do it. You didn't need me at all." He chuckled.

Leaning in and reaching around Owen, Rein gripped the handle of the pan to lift it off the counter. The hot metal hurt against his skin, but his dulling senses were able to ignore it for the most part. Brushing past the boy on crutches, he brought it to the sink and placed it inside before looking back over.

"But the important part: does it taste good?" Rein smirked.

When his question was disregarded, at first, Owen wondered if he'd even heard him, and was more than ready to repeat himself. However, he just ended up staring as Rein spoke to him. He was cautious about whatever Rein was wanting to show him, because from the way he was making it sound, it didn't sound so pleasant at all.

He wasn't allowed time to respond before he alluded to the steak - which had almost slipped from Owen's mind. The smile was returned - a smug, prideful smile. "Yeah I did," he countered, his head ducking as the taller boy leaned around him. "Needed you just incase I screwed up.. or something."

His words didn't seem to let on how genuinely pleased he was. It felt as if, at that moment, he could cook any steak in the world. He was so good at this, just like Rein had said. He returned to where he'd previously been sitting, glad to finally give his legs a rest. Nabbing the knife and fork from his old plate, he began to cut into it, his appetite returning strong. He lifted it to his mouth.

It was good. Actually, steak was always good. He didn't really notice a different in the taste to the one Rein had made, except for perhaps the fact this one had been cooked for slightly longer. It wasn't a difference he could define though, and he gave an approving nod to Rein, his mouth currently too full to speak. He swallowed it down. "S'alright. Thanks." He blinked. "For showing me.... What else can you make?" He couldn't help but ask.

Rein chuckled lightly, shoulders bouncing lightly with the action. He leaned on the counter, resuming his earlier position. He smiled warmly at Owen, eyes closed happily and head tilted. "Nice to know you love me."

He nodded, glad the steak was alright, though they hadn't done much that could have messed it up he guessed. Slightly caught off guard at the second question, Rein blinked and leaned back, thinking.

"Well, I don't pretend to be a seasoned chef. But I can make simple things. Pancakes, waffles, various styles of eggs. Mac and cheese, hamburgers, pasta..." He eventually just gave a shrug. "I have to cook for Nef, so I keep learning. After all, I can't always be feeding her the same meals. There are a few recipe books I own, but I don't know how to cook them off the top of my head. Though, I can probably wing most of it, once you have the basics, it's easy to create your own stuff." He gestured to the steak Owen was eating. "Like how you have learned the basics to cooking that, you could add different ingredients and make it taste completely different while cooking it in much the same way."

Owen almost choked at Rein's words, given the absurdity and unexpectedness. His bout of coughing lasted no more than a few seconds before he blinked up at the taller boy. "What? No..." he practically croaked, reaching for his glass of water. A few sips later, and his voice returned from sounding like some sickly old lady. His throat was cleared for good measure. "Jumping to conclusions, aren't you?" He looked to him quizzically.

The steak was idly devoured upon while he listened to Rein's list. "Huh," he simply said as he finished, looking down at the half finished steak. "Why'd I want it different? I like it like this," he shrugged, apparently not getting the concept of 'variety'. Though, if he got the basic gist of the speech, if he could cook this steak, he could cook most anything. He didn't see himself making anything though, even if he knew how. He'd probably still leave it to the more experienced culinary hands of the castle.

When the plate was eventually finished, he would push it forwards alongside the first one before resting an elbow on the table, resting his head tiredly in his chin as he would throw an expectant glance at Rein.

Rein blinked, as if caught off guard. His smile fell, and his head lowered as he glanced to the side, shoulders coming in as the boy feigned a particularly shy and dejected look. He tucked a stand of hair behind his ear.

"Oh...you don't love me, then. I see. Well, it's fine." Looking back to Owen in a perfectly-fine-but-you-know-he's-not-actually-fine manner, he gave a half-hearted smile. "I understand. I'm sorry for getting ahead of myself."

He waited in this manner, smile slipping again, only making a small humming in acknowledgement of Owen's comment about liking the steak the way it was. As the plate was pushed away, Rein gathered it and the other, placing them in the sink. He would have taken the time to clean them, but he also strangely didn't feel like it. There were servants in the castle, anyway, right? It wasn't like they were leave a terrible mess. The long haired boy sighed and he turned on the faucet, setting to scrubbing the plates and pan. He just couldn't leave them. It didn't sit right.

They were taken care of quickly, however, and he set them out on a drying rack. Turning to meet Owen's expectant gaze, he dried his hands on a spare towel that had been hanging by the sink.

"Well, what do you wish to do now? We can explore...but I'm not sure you wish to wander around on your feet long. We can return to the room..." He gave a shrug, leave it up to the boy, as he was really okay with doing anything. Crossing around, Rein made himself available to help the boy out of his chair should he need or want it.

Oh great. Now Rein was throwing the pity party on him. He could see right through that expression that was being aimed at him. Did he want Owen to take back his words or something? His chin raised stubbornly, but a smirk twitched at the corner of his mouth. "...We met like an hour ago, you doofus."

He felt strange with the way Rein felt obliged to clean the plates. Weren't there other people who could do that? He saw it was somewhat motherly, and Owen didn't particularly enjoy getting that kind of vibe from someone who was meant to be a friend of sorts. It wasn't a bad thing, just odd.

"Eh. Let's just go back or something..." he shrugged, standing without much difficulty. "Not much to explore anyway. There's a big stupid tree somewhere but most of it's just a load of corridors and fancy stuff. S'kinda boring." He took a pace towards the door, before looking back to Rein. "Come on." After which he would make his exit.

Rein's facade broke at Owen's words and he snickered.

"So, not the romantic type that believes in love at first sight, got it." He stuck his tongue out childishly at the other boy. He folded the towel and left it where he had found it hanging over the side of the sink, except in perhaps a neater fashion. He nodded at Owen's description of the castle. He didn't find the decoration to be particularly boring. The castle was full of interesting pieces, almost like a museum due to the date of it all, but he kept his opinion to himself. After all, Owen didn't exactly strike him as the type to enjoy spending the day in a museum either.

At the boy's call, he obediently started forward, following his roommate out and back to their room.