dissonates | [Voice / Action]

Hey- Buffy. I need to talk to you.

...Or Yuri, I don't really care who it is.

[After Guy's rather uneventful kidnapping right under their noses, Asch is feeling suitably irritated and downight volatile. He's trying to channel his temper into a more productive use, however; early in the day, he can be found stretched out on the lawn behind House 5, lying on his stomach and facing Star, the yellow cheagle. From the look of things, he's playing a rather bizarre game of fire Ping Pong with it- Star spits a fireball at him, and he uses his palm to either dissolve it or bat it back at the cheagle, who dodges deftly. Each time, Asch flicks a little treat in Star's direction, who munches it down before starting the cycle over again.

If one were to look closely, they might see a little flicker of light on Asch's palm right before the fire touches it. At his side are two swords, both sheathed; one, the Maestro sword, the other an unfamiliar katana. If caught in the moment he might actually look... relaxed, despite the situation. It's not going to last long, though.]

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[BUT HE IS HAPPY]

I know it will be... Don't worry, I won't complain to anyone! [Maybe to his bffs who don't know Asch, but no one else! Honest!]

[B[ You.]

I'll have to know everything about what you already know, as well. I won't repeat what I don't have to.

Then why would you have volunteered at all?

Well...

[Are they starting now? Even if they aren't, it might be nicer to at least get closer so that they aren't practically yelling at each other. Luke gets up and hops off the porch, then heads over to sit cross-legged across from Asch.]

Tear taught me how to feel the seventh fonons all around me, gather them inside me, and make them interfere with each other. And... after that, we just practiced on controlling that.

I didn't know you could use it here, though... I can barely feel any fonons at all here.

[Okay, he walked into that one.]

We have to look out for one another here. They sure as hell won't do it for us.

It takes more effort to sense them- you'll have to try twice as hard as you did on Auldrant. [Asch fishes out a treat and tosses it, causing Star to scamper after it, out of the way. Once the little cheagle is gone, he cups his hands, focusing on them for a moment before a faint light flickers in his fingers.] The first step is to find the fonons; after that you have to gather them. If you can do step one, it gets easier from there.

Yes... I agree.

Nothing will come of only fending for ourselves.

Okay... [Luke shuts his eyes, trying his hardest to feel them. They're there, he knows they are, and he can feel them... It's just so faint that he feels like he can't do anything with them. He frowns, trying to concentrate harder - trying to force it, really.]

[Asch leans back, watching closely as Luke works at gathering the fonons. As an afterthought, he releases the hyperresonance he'd formed. Maybe with the fonons a little closer, Luke will have an easier time of it. ...This is the only time he's doing this, though! 8|]

[Ah, there's a cluster! Luke gathers the fonons and holds out his hands, his frown deepening as he tries to hold onto them. It's harder this time; they're just so... flimsy. He cringes when he loses his hold on them, sending them back out into the air.]

Ugh...

[...Well, that was a colossal failure. Even with help he couldn't do it, what is that.]

You have to focus harder. If you just let them wander like that you won't get a single hyperresonance going.

[They're just lucky they hadn't picked Natalia. That would've caused quite the bitchfest.]

...Anyway, if you have any problems here, just say so.

[Oh come on, he's never dealt with weak fonons before D| He shakes his head, glances up at Asch, then tries again.]

Right. [He shuts his eyes, focusing once more. He can do it! He can!]

[Asch isn't helping this time; if Luke wants to gather the fonons, he'll have to do it by himself. With practice, it should come almost instinctively to him, as it had for Asch, but that sort of experience could take years to develop. There was no guarantee they even had that sort of time. Luceti didn't offer that sort of certainty. Especially not for them.]

[Now that Luke knows that the fonons in Luceti feel like thanks to Asch, it's a little easier to focus on them and gather them within them. His hold's still a bit shaky, and he cringes again... But he manages to get a tiny and wobbly hyperresonance formed in his hands for an instant before it disperses again.]

I almost had it...!

[She sees your deadpan stare and raises you a tiny smirk and a chuckle.]

Or I could just let you do it. That way, you both will be together when I find you. [Two birds with one stone.]

[...Well. That was awfully pathetic, but at least there was some progress.]

You need to gather more of your own fonons, not just the ones around you. If you don't focus your energies internally, you can't make the power grow externally- it won't stabilize unless you learn to do that first. Do it again.

[That's just devious, Miyabi :| Asch reddens a bit, feeling teased again.]

You'd have to be fast to do that. She eats like a fontech vacuum.

[Asch is having trouble wrapping his head around what's so "warped" about it, but maybe it's just Buffy's lingo. He's not exactly well-versed in Auldrant's slang, never mind that of other worlds.]

...I guess that's alright.

[It's warped because it's hard to see that you even have real emotions, Red. Try smiling more! People in love tend to smile. At least, that's what Buffy thinks.]

Of course it's alright.

[The urge to complain is TREMENDOUS, but he promised he wouldn't, so he just bites his tongue and holds back whatever he was going to say. Instead, he nods slowly, then shuts his eyes to try again. Deep breath, Luke. Calm down and focus. What would Tear say if she saw you acting like this?

The light that forms in Luke's hands is more stable, a little bigger, and lasts much longer, although it's still not nearly like the one Asch was using to play with Star. He mostly added his own fonons to that, giving the external ones strength and energy.]

[He's just kind of selective about who he smiles at, unfortunately. Doesn't give the best impression.

This conversation is driving him crazy with awkward, so he averts his eyes and tries to deviate the topic elsewhere.]

Why did you volunteer, anyway?

[...Hm. That's an agreeable step up at least. Asch nods in slight approval, arms crossing. Now how long can he keep it up?]

Bones is on the list. [She shrugs.] So the answer is easy--I gotta go.

[Oh, you knew this was coming--]

...What? Mm, your world has a lot of really weird sounding things.

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