How do you sustain your energy then, if not by eating?
[Fandaniel reaches for a chocolate truffle at the refreshment table, twirls, and slides the truffle into his mouth along an impossibly pink tongue. It is meant to be suggestive but coming from the Ascian it's rather sexless.]
[Rather than bringing up anything more about himself, he accepts the grace of silence he's been given, for whatever reason he has it. Today he's not going to look further into it. Instead, he lets out a sympathetic chuckle. Longer, most likely, yes...]
Hopefully we'll both find something else worthwhile.
[He strides past them with a friendly pat to their shoulder.]
[He glances to the side with that question, thinking. There were quite a few things for him to feel responsible for, but every single major event more or less eventually worked out in a way that resolved lingering thoughts of guilt.
Except one.
Kurama looks up to meet Fandaniel's gaze once more before answering, completely matter-of-fact.]
[ A moment, Trailblazer. Gilgamesh is processing this information in his mind. ]
Ah, so my friend is a furry.
[ By friend, Gilgamesh means Enkidu, but would Enkidu be considered one? Sure, they can shapeshift into anything they want, but they were mud first before they were an animal.
[He didn't quite expect to encounter Yu here, but maybe it's a good thing he did. They... seem to have some things to talk about. So much has happened... So many things that honestly made Aether worry about the other.
But for now he answers the question.]
Because people usually don't want to be alone. They want someone who would understand them, support them, laugh and cry with them... Even one person like that is enough.
[ There's truly nothing like a furry friend to help lighten the mood. ]
I haven't known him for too long.
[ It's been almost two years, hasn't it? There'd been the year he spent on Port Island, and then another year out here in Aldrip. Two years -- time sure flies. ]
...but we've known each other even before arriving here.
[ Even now, it's lost on Minato how Koromaru managed to follow him here. He'd merely appeared one day carrying a note in his mouth. Written on it was merely a brief message indicating the dog's presence was a gift from "Those Who Were There," whoever those people were.
There's a small frown on Minato's face. Was everyone worried about Koromaru? Had he gone missing from Port Island? ...oh well, no use considering that right now. Minato glances back up at Yuta with his earlier expression sliding into something more impassive once again. ]
[There's a tension around his eyes as he takes in Viktor's words, processing. At times he forgets the generosity and selflessness people are capable of, as buried under misery and pain as he thinks it all is. So rarely are they ever directed at him, if just because he never allows for the opportunity. His voice is low when he replies.]
That's very kind of you. [And then, a moment later, an admission as he doesn't look quite at the other man:] It did.
[In that moment—yes, it did. After the fact, less so, just another reminder that it was through no real power of his own that he could save anyone—and as a new sting to his failure, he'd ended up putting someone else through that horrid moment. That fact brushes up against something in him that's still raw, when he'd put so much towards preventing others from having to go through such senseless trauma...]
Dreams aside... [He really doesn't know how much longer he can stand to speak of that topic now, especially not here in public, where he's been trying so hard to brush those reminders aside. So he introduces a new topic that he hopes will take hold, instead:] I saw you earlier, with a companion of sorts. You've been busy?
[The companion he's referring to, in this case, was the little automaton, rather than Octavian. Both are relevant, however.]
[If anything, the dramatic response just illicits an even more bored expression from the fox. Really, that's about the extent of what happened. Though if he's looking for the gorey details-]
He was impaled by bamboo, though I fail to see what difference that makes.
[There is something about being here, about the glitches and the doubles - every little thing that has happened since their arrival that seems to be pushing him back towards fox that does give a more somber quality to it all, for him at least. Still, he manages to be as flippant about it as possible, find what little joy one can in their circumstances and all that, even if Yu is correct about the absolute sincerity in his response. As far as Kurama's concerned he is a fox and he'll always be one, human life and all.
The smile and confusion are both so automatic at that response that they come at the same time, a look of slightly bewildered amusement crossing his features before composing himself again, seeming faintly nostalgic in a way, instead.
Bordering on absurd achieved, Yu.]
I'm afraid that might have been rather alarming for my mother.
[The answer is also near automatic, coming out before it even occurs to him that maybe without context it makes no sense. Then again, he's never very good at explaining himself, at times even when the others demanded clarity. So have something perhaps equally absurd in response.]
[His head tilts slightly as he listens before muttering under his breath.]
Or nothing like you at all.
[Making fun of Yusuke for letting just any fox into the house wasn't the point though-]
Truly, I believe the differences were intentional, in this case. Less about who may or may recognize us and more to do with what of ourselves we were willing to- well, accept. This place is often like that, in some way. Testing us, pushing our limits.
Alright, then, [he acquiesces, turning his attention to the horse at first as he takes the reins, then to each step he's supposed to be taking, and the saddle, which... hm, no, definitely too small for him, thank you. He will be taking the back.
He follows the instructions as given, taking a moment with his foot in the stirrup to be sure of his placement before he lifts himself properly and settles onto the horse's back behind the saddle. He doesn't feel the need to hold on particularly tightly, either with his hands or his legs; balance hasn't been a problem for him in a long time.]
Hm.
[That's the sound of a new experience being unlocked, apparently. Horseback. He's sort of ridden on creatures before, but those were only constructs he more or less directly controlled...
That accomplished, he waits a moment to make sure he's not about to get tossed off before he offers the reins back to Richard.]
Although some might argue that this is no different, actually. The behaviors of our coordinators here border on inappropriately persistent... The festivities feel more like a cheap cover than anything earnest.
[He motions towards the dismissed list that was supposed to be guiding their experience before she got a look at it.]
The questions are invasive, uncomfortable and some seem designed to start a fight rather than a romantic time together.
[In short: nothing about this place is normal, and the more mundane it is, the more suspicious he becomes.]
[Altius watches and listens to Shigeru with a faintly exasperated tilt of his head. When the question of more practical matters comes up, he lets a breath out through his nose and replies,]
I've been told the AI did ask for help to reset it, just before I arrived several months ago, but no one seems to have heard from it directly since that reset was successful.
[But when a moment has passed after he's said that, he leans forward enough to place a hand on the table; a movement closer to the other man's personal space, an offer of touch without touching. With a faint smile:]
Shigeru.
[This is the first time Altius has called him this, rather than Mr. Miyata. Maybe it will help? Perhaps not. He's trying, in any case.]
You're not boring or a bother, and I'm flattered that you think I'm so popular. Maybe I could ask you a few questions of my own?
Edited (well that doesn't make sense now does it) 2025-02-28 03:50 (UTC)
It- it's cool! [He waves it off. It helps that it's been a while since someone's really been thrown by his appearance like this, and he can tell she's trying to be nice about it.]
It's good to meet you, Meryl. I'm not surprised that you're surprised, because I am kinda unique. I'm a mutant. A human born with a gene that makes me different. All mutants are different - some just get powers. But I got, well, to look like this too. [He says as he gestures humbly to himself.]
I wouldn't know what the usual questions would be anyway. I can't say I've ever indulged in speed-dating before.
[ Or dating at all. It all strikes him as a funny concept, the idea that someone could meet the love of their lives, so long as they sign up for the same program and answer the same five predetermined questions they could probably have sorted out on their own. ]
Though I'm a little hurt you don't want me to pick you up. That's as swift a rejection as I've ever heard. [ There's merriment in his eyes; he's just having fun with her. ]
But yes, I believe in souls. Most people where I'm from do, and I'm no exception. Call me Claude, by the way, no formalities needed. And you are?
[ Even after over a year of being here, not being Duke or Prince or Sir or General is still a wonderful and novel change. ]
[ That bit of information definitely snags on Yuta's attention like a burr, gaze darting from Minato to Koromaru. ]
That must be nice though, having a friend from home here with you.
[ There's a hint of wistful longing slipping into his voice that creeps more blatantly into his expression, eyes growing a little hooded with it. He hasn't encountered anyone he knows here which is probably for the better given the nature of this place, but there's a gnawing loneliness nestled in his chest that he's been doing his best to ignore. He'd so been looking forward to finally getting to spend time with his friends now that the big battle was over — to heal and to grieve their losses together, find a way forward in the wake of all the upheaval the country has had to endure — and instead he's here. Alone. It's not at all like when he went abroad; Miguel had been there to look after him and all his friends had been a text message or a call away no matter the time differences, still very much a presence in his life even if he lost sleep over missing them.
This is starkly different. His reasons for being aren't here and it's hard not to feel lost. But he has to keep going, has to find a way back; atone for his crime or whatever it is that will help facilitate his return faster. He needs to go back, not want his loved ones here.
Lost in his own melancholic thoughts, he misses Minato's frown entirely, gaze only snapping back when the other boy speaks and his eyes go a little wide. ]
Eh, really? Is that okay?
[ A prospect that brings him some cheer, though he's still cautious about getting his hopes up too much as he holds out his hand for Koromaru to at least sniff first. ]
And yet here I am, feeling both bad and sorry. Or, you know, bored and annoyed. Same difference.
[He chomps down the last cherry and downs half his drink in one big swig so Kotone has plenty of time to digest that. Since, you know, it was so profound and all. It wasn't.]
And to think, all you really had to say was "get lost, asshole. My boyfriend's gone, and I'm having a really shit day." Seems so simple in retrospect.
Even if they forget all of this, at the very least, they could know what they wanted to do! Pondering to herself, there were so many things she wanted to try. Eventually, she gave a smile.
"I would love to take a class on the human body! It'll let me find a way to heal humans too! Isn't that what doctors do anyway?"
Or would that be too obvious given her abilities? Taking another moment to think about it, she should probably go for some more risky.
"Or maybe bungie jumping? Humans like to do that too right?"
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expiationlogs2025-02-10 12:12 pm
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