Nishida cleans the kitchen, then the living room, then the hall, then the guest room.
She leaves Aphrodite alone, for now, but she knocks on the door gently the next afternoon.
"Hey. I'm sorry about last night. I just don't like watching people pur theirself in this much pain. . ." she says, loud enough to be heard through the door.
Aphrodite doesn’t answer for a while, then finally says, “Don’t bother yourself with me.”
Nishida sighs.
"I will bother myself whoever I damn well please. Are you okay?" she asks.
Aphrodite stays silent.
"Please just answer me, Aphrodite." Nishida says quietly.
She still remains silent, not wanting to start anything else. In all reality, she was far from okay. But she wasn’t just going to tell a stranger that.
Nishida sighs. "Fine."
She sits down in front of the door, her back leaning up against it. She doesn't say another word.
Aphrodite stays in there for the rest of the day, ignoring her rumbling stomach as she stayed in bed and read all day.
Nishida was also feeling hungry, but she didn't move from her spot in front of Aphrodite's door. She'd gained a lot of patience, being trapped in a cave for more than 300 years.
After a long while, almost night, Zi started scratching at the door. Aphrodite sighs and opens the door slightly to let her needy cat go run and play.
Zi scampers out and stops right in front of Nishida. He looks at her and blinks slowly right before running off.
Nishida blinks back at Zi, but doesn't move from where she is in front of Aphrodite's door. She wants to say something but doesn't know what, so she stays silent. The woman probably hadn't even seen her anyways.
Aphrodite closes her door again, silent. No way in hell did she want to talk to anyone. She sighs softly and sits back down onto her bed. She knew she was being rude…but she didn’t want to come off as weak. So she stayed stubborn. The last thing she wanted was to start crying in front of a stranger.
Nishida leans her head back against the door.
Time to see how long she can wait. . .
Aphrodite spent the rest of the day in her room, all the way until dark. Her stomach only growled louder and louder as time went on, but she refused to leave her room. Eventually she just stayed curled up on her bed, waiting for the hunger pains to go away.
She already knew where this behavior came from. All those years of starvation from her parents. Sure most people wouldn’t stop eating if they got out of s situation like that…but for her…it was the exact opposite. She feared actually eating something. This honestly was funny for her, since she loved watching people cook, smelling the food and even the sound of cooking. But she hated actually eating.
After the second time night falls, Nishida grows more concerned.
"Aphrodite, please. . ." she pleads softly.
Aphrodite sighs, “I thought I told you to find yourself a room…”
Nishida sighs.
"No. You didn't. I've been here since I finished cleaning yesterday." she says quietly.
Aphrodite sighs, “Well…take any room you’d like…thats away from mine.”
"I'll stay here, thanks." Nishida replies quietly.
Aphrodite huffs, going silent again.
True to her word, Nishida stays exactly where she is.
Aphrodite lasted until the middle of the night, 2 am…this was when the pain grew too severe. She whimpers softly as she curls into herself, clutching her stomach.
Nishida hears the whimper and decides thats enough of this waiting around.
She stands up and kicks the door open, picking Aphrodite up gently.
"You will eat." she commands, leaving no room for argument.
Aphrodite yelps, thrashing and kicking at her. “PUT ME DOWN!”
Nishida growls, loudly, like a wolf.
"Shut up." she snaps. "And eat some god damn food you stubborn, witless mule."