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The humiliation from their first group meeting still stung, Alora admits to herself.
While thinking of new escape routes for her to explore, she has caught her mind wandering again and again back to everyone's reactions to her silly little hobby– despite its positive connotations, hearing the word "endearing" in regards to herself made her want to do nothing more than hide her face in shame.
She has already rationalised the feeling in her head, and knew that there wasn't anything wrong with having, one might say, childish hobbies. But personal bias always seemed to complicate things for her.
"Ooooh Looooooori!~"
Speak of the devil.
"Yes, Takahiro?" she said at the voice approaching her from behind, singing its arrival. She didn't turn her head to face its holder, still looking over the blueprints splayed out on the table.
"Would you mind if I took you for a teeny tiny little bit away from work? You won't regret it, I promise!" he chirped. His usual voice was already upbeat, but now he carried that grandiose tone he reserved for "prime time" news only. Although knowing Taka, he could make any news sound "prime time".
In truth, Alora wasn't sure how she was still managing to busy herself with finding an exit out of here. She has been racking her brain over it for the past days, all fruitless.
She supposed that meant she could indulge Taka for a minute though. "What is it?"
"Go ahead, see for yourself!"
She finally raised her head and met the boy's ear-to-ear smile. She could see he was practically vibrating with excitement, as expected. What she didn't expect, however, was the small, scuffed cardboard box in his hands, littered with various colourful marker drawings and writings. Not only that, but the box's face has been cut out, leaving only a border around the opening. Through that opening, awkwardly jammed inside, was–
"A doll?" Alora blinked.
"PRREEECISELY! A doll!" Taka triumphally outscretched his arms with the box in them for his customer to get a better look. "And it's limited time only! You snooze you lose! Collectors can only dream to get their hands on this!!" Only then did said customer realise that the box was supposed to look like one for packaging. With the window and all.
Alora shifted in her seat, suddenly feeling out of depth. She took a moment to take in the sight.
The doll itself weakly limped against the border, in contrast to its maker's energy. It was more of a plushie than anything. She didn't know where he could have gotten the stuffing for it, but it was clear as day Taka made it all himself. Its stitches ran along in uneven lines, and yet, sturdily held together the body. Various patches of fabric he used for each limb and tearing, probably the best he could get his hands on, all sown to make one whole. And finally, a set of eyes acknowledging Alora.
"So? What do you think?" he questioned.
Her mind blanked on what to say.
"...Uhm, forgive me for asking, but what exactly is this.. for?" is what she settled on eventually.
"Oh it's for you, Lori!" he pointed a finger, highlighting her presence. "I simply figured an enthusiast such as yourself must miss your collection– I had no idea you were interested in that. And so, I took action!"
Taka started prying open the box to get the doll out of it and Alora's eyes went wide.
"You're not supposed to take them out of the–"
He didn't notice her panicked retort and shoved the gift to its owner, now separated from the packaging. "Tada! The first addition to your in-prison collection! How quaint!"
Alora hesitantly accepted it into her hands, gloved fingers embracing it with surgical gentleness. She unconsciously tried her best not to press too hard. Despite its robust look, it still felt frail within her vicinity. That must have something to do with it being freed from the package, she reasoned in her head. She must have associated it with actual collectors dolls already.
She felt her cheeks heat up a little and cleared her throat. "W–Well," she started, "this is very considerate of you, Takahiro. Really, you.. didn't have to do this. Unfortunately, I don't have anything to gift in return, however I can–"
Taka clicked his tongue, wagging his finger dissapprovingly. "Oh no, no, no! That's completely missing the point! Who do you take me for, Fu?"
"I don't think you did this in hopes to gain anything, but still I would like to–"
"Shushshhhshshsh! I'm not taking a single thing from you! Not one!" he crossed his arms, "This is to make you comfortable. Not make you do more work, no! That just wouldn't do!"
She doubted she could get through to him at this point. "It.. really wouldn't be 'work' for me, but something tells me that nothing I say will change your mind."
"Exactly, you get it!" he lit up again, "If anything, this is your payback. No need for you to pay for your own gains, right?"
The useless blueprints behind her back felt oppressive.
"I frankly don't believe I've done anything that warrants one yet," she blurted out, her voice suddenly laced with a bite to it.
The boy leaned back a bit, immediately taking note of her tension, smile faltering.
Damn it. "I– Uh, that–" her already faint grip on the doll loosened further, "..That just came out, apologies. Don't get me wrong, I very much appreciate your gift."
Taka simply nodded, but something shifted in his attitude.
"Well, on second thought, there is one thing you could do in return..." he quietly said.
"Oh?"
His smile returned more mellow, to the point where he almost looked shy. "...Believe in yourself, okay? That is all I ask."
Seeing Alora's surprised expession, he continued with newfound vigor. "By my very honest and true opinion, I think our Dr Jack of All Trades, on top of planning ventures, does pretty much all the work around the prison, and that's quite enough for at least something! In fact, this doesn't even make up for the ten billionth of the work you've put in for us! And that's not even mentioning the ten bajillionth you've done for me! Which is a real number!"
The metal on her left ear felt especially heavy today.
Taka went on, blissfully unaware. "And, speaking of that.. I... I'm very grateful for it. For your trust, that is." His hands clasped together, forming a polite stance. "I swear it won't be in vain."
She didn't say anything.
"AHEM. So- So yeah!! That is why it's free of charge! Not a cent, baby!" he awkwardly snapped back into his previous energy.
Alora's nails carefully traced over the stitched on smile. And after a few seconds of silence, she drew in a breath.
"...Thank you, Takahiro. So much."
A fragile smile of her own slowly, but surely crept in on her face.
Apprehension almost took over her for a moment, catching the words in her throat. However, just seeing Taka's eyes looking up to her, his gaze full of pure faith... It all seemed to melt away. She couldn't lie to his face.
"This means a lot to me."
She couldn't put it into more words, at least for now. All she could do is feel warmth blossom through her body as she listened to Taka moving topics and telling her how his frog-keeping with Sugi was going, effectively distracting her from work this night. She didn't point it out. It wouldn't be fair, seeing as he never exposed her discreet "conflict reduction" either.
The thought of being believed in by Taka of all people was a terrifying one. It meant she couldn't afford to fail, no matter what.
But above all, it was an empowering one as well. Is this what he meant when he said he felt like he's on top of the world? The blueprints on her table did seem a lot less daunting now.
And as she looked back at the doll still in her hands, she couldn't help but think that despite it not costing her a penny, one might argue that it's a truly priceless collectible.