[quote=@Haeo]
"Shizuka, thank you for bringing that over.  Please, come in and warm up."  He said.  His voice was so soft that it barely carried the few feet between them.  "I'll make some tea."  He walked inside and removed his soaking wet work boots by the door, walking in wet socks to the small kitchen where he began heating a kettle and pulling tea down from a cupboard.

The apartment was designed like a studio with a bedroom and bathroom being the only rooms that had any actual walls.  The rest was open concept and there were tile floors by the entrance, the kitchen, and the bathroom.  The rest was wood.  It had the decorative distinction of actually looking easy to clean.  That is, it had nothing else to recommend it due to being empty of anything resembling a lived-in feeling.  The kitchen was the notable exception.  All over it were signs of knowledge and pride.  The dishes were perfectly maintained and in good order. The spices were widely varied and well organized.  The counters were largely uncluttered and only sported a couple of necessary appliances.  The cupboards were made of good quality wood with a moderate finish and there was no sign of disturbance in the ones that were open.

One of those cupboards was the recipient of Vern's labored attention.  The label on one tin of tea was proving hard to read.  He tried to pull it into focus and it kept slipping back out again.   He stepped away from the counter to set the tin down and get one of the stools from the small kitchen table. It was about then that everything went black and he fell to the floor with a muffled thud on the tile.
[/quote]

When Vern invited her inside, Shizuka initially refused out of habitual etiquette, [color=a187be]"Th-thank you, but I wouldn't want to impose..."[/color] However, she was mostly just trying to process what she was seeing: he was dressed in workman's clothing that looked heavily used and his voice sounded quite weak, causing her to wonder what he did outside of being the owner for Ink Sparks.  Of course, Vern didn't take no for an answer, or perhaps he didn't hear her since she was too stunned to speak loudly, and continued into his kitchen to prepare the tea he had offered.  Seeing as she had no intention to bike home in the rain, her refusal was for all intents and purposes rather empty, so she let herself follow him in.  [color=a187be]"P-pardon the intrusion,"[/color] she said, mostly to mitigate appearing rude by accepting his hospitality too eagerly.

But before she had gotten much further past the door, she heard a sudden thud followed by uncomfortable silence.  Taking her shoes off in a hurry, Shizuka rushed to the kitchen to find Vern laying on the floor, unconscious.  She quickly knelt down and checked his pulse and breathing.  Though no expert in first aid, she had done enough veterinary training to know the basics.  She was relieved to note that his vitals were good, though he seemed to have a mild fever.  Shizuka flipped his body over to sit him up, then reached under his armpits with her arms in order to raise him, dragging Vern to his bed.  He was heavier than she was, but not to the point where she couldn't pull him given the proper posture.  Once on the bed, she moved his limbs around so that he lay comfortably and dragged his blanket over him.  Shizuka went a bit further by looking through his closet for spare blankets that she could layer on top of him.  Once that was done, she went into Vern's bathroom and wet a small towel with cold water and placed it on his forehead.  She looked to see if he was settled or if he showed signs of pain.  It occurred to her that she probably should have just called an ambulance as soon as she found him on the floor, but a motherly instinct had kicked in.  She decided that she would continue this course of action, but would keep an eye out for worsening symptoms and call an ambulance the moment things seemed to be outside of her control or experience.

Now she headed into the kitchen and looked around, impressed by the care Vern seemed to take in it.  First she found a bag of rice, pouring some out into a pot she found, filling the pot with water and began boiling it to make porridge.  She took out some salt, pepper, and vinegar, and looked for some light foods like pickled vegetables to go with it.  She also took out an egg that she would poach in the porridge right before the porridge was ready.

Shizuak wandered between the kitchen and Vern, alternating between checking up on him and the meal she was preparing.