As they made their way down the courtyard, Cayde couldn't help but watch Jack. She seemed distant, her eyes glazed, and her brow furrowed as if deep in thought. He walked faster to walk with Ikora; he leaned close to her and, in a hushed tone, whispered, "Hey, I think I'm gonna stay with the kid for a while, just to make sure she's okay." Ikora raised a brow before looking back at Jack; after taking in the young woman, she understood Cayde's reasoning, "Very well, just don't make a habit of this, Cayde. You still have duties to attend to." He scoffed, "Yeah, I know, I can't forget that even when I try," he then turned away from her and clapped his hands together, "Alright, Jackie! We're getting ramen!" She snapped out of her daze, "Wait, what?" "Ramen! Y'know, the best food in the entire universe!" He beamed as he gripped her shoulder, leading her to his favorite ramen shop. "Never had it," she eyed his hand; while the contact still unnerved her, his touch was far more comforting than any who had touched her that day. "Never had it!" He gaped, "Seriously!? Ugh, you're missing out! The broth is like the sweet and savory nectar of the gods; the noodles are nice and fat with just the right amount of sliminess that lets them slide down your throat easily! The chicken is so tender it practically falls apart in your mouth, the spices back just enough of a punch to give more of a flavor without completely knocking your socks off! Uhh! It's heaven in your mouth!" Jack couldn't help but laugh at his monologue about ramen, "It sounds great, Cayde." "Great... Great!? Just wait until we try it! You'll be singing its praises from the rooftops!" Jack continued to listen to the Exo as he went on about how fantastic ramen was. He told her about the different dishes and what they all had in them, though he made it clear that the Spicy Ramen was the best. She was surprised by how he obsessed over the food; he had talked about it all the way to the Ramen shop. The building was small, with red lanterns hanging off the blackened roof edges and the walls made of dark wood. Cayde walked ahead of her and opened the door. "Ladies first," he grinned. Jack grinned and felt blood rush to her cheeks; she had never once been called a lady until now. The lights were dim, and the interior was wooden; a bar sat in the middle of the room as booths were pressed against the wall. "Hey, Takahashi," Cayde waved to the robot behind the counter, "I'll take the usual," he nodded towards Jack, "She'll take plain old chicken ramen," he turned to her, "You like chicken, right?" She nodded, "Yeah, love it." "Man, so do I," he groaned in delight as he took a seat at one of the booths, "Not only do they taste delicious, but they are also such elegant creatures." She scoffed, "I guess, never really thought much about chickens' elegancies." "Hey, don't knock chickens; they are powerful allies." "Then why do we eat them?" "Uh, did you not just hear what I said about them tasting delicious?" Jack laughed, leaning back in the booth as she rested her head against the headrest. She inhaled deeply, the smell of ramen invading her nostrils as she let herself relax. "Wait, so do Exo's have a digestive system?" "Hmm?" She lifted her head and stared at him, "Do Exo's have a digestive system?" She leaned forward and rested her arms on the table, "Hell, do you guys even taste things?" "Of course," he laughed, "I don't eat ramen just because." "Aaaaand how does that work?" He shrugged, "I don't know, never really thought about it." "How do you not know?" "Do you know your digestive system's ins and outs?" Jack remained quiet, to which Cayde smirked, "Exactly." She rolled her eyes and sighed, "I'll just ask Elizabeth." He laughed, "You better have a couple of hours to kill- Ooooh!" Cayde squeed like a schoolgirl as a bowl of ramen was placed before him and Jack, "Another great thing about this place, they're always quick!" He reached over and picked up a pair of black chopsticks that sat near the wall, immediately breaking them away from one another, and began to eat his ramen. Jack eyed him before looking down at her own. The broth was yellow with chopped vegetables on top of the noodles and several slices of chicken placed against the edge of the bowl. She picked up the chopsticks and broke them apart as Cayde did, her eyes constantly wandering to his fingers as she tried to imitate his actions. She placed them between her fingers, her brow narrowing as they continued to slip from her grasp, "How... How do you even..." Cayde looked up from his meal, "Oh here, let me help you with that," he gently took her hand and began to place her fingers in the correct way to properly hold chopsticks, "It takes some time to get used to, took me a long time before I got the hang of it." "Geez, all this just to eat?" she winced as she managed to pinch the chopsticks together. Cayde laughed, "They have forks." "No, no, I got this!" She said defensively before attempting to pinch one of the noodles with the chopsticks. She tried once, it fell into the broth, she tried again, it again fell into the broth, she tried a third time and managed to pull it out of the bowl... Until it fell from the chopsticks and onto the table. Jack looked up at Cayde with a deadpan expression, "I think I'll take a fork." Cayde laughed, "Sure thing, I'll be right back." She watched as he stood up and went to the bar and began to talk to the robot attending the bar. She placed the chopsticks down and rubbed her sore hand. She looked down, her heart-stopping as she stared at her palm. It was covered in blood; a long diagonal slice sat in the middle of her palm. Her hand shook as she looked up to where Cayde once sat. Sitting there instead was a little boy with chocolate brown hair; his face was dirty and his shirt torn as he looked at her with concern and fear. His mouth opened to speak- "Here you go." The clatter of the fork hitting the table caused Jack to jump, her eyes darting up to see Cayde. His smile immediately turned into a frown as he saw how pale she became. "You alright? You look like you've seen a ghost, like an actual ghost, not a Ghost ghost." Her breathing slowed as she nodded, "Y-Yeah, just hungry, is all." He hummed as he sat back down, "Well, dig in before I start eating yours." She gave a small smile and a half-hearted laugh, desperately trying to forget what she had just seen.