[Video / Written / Action?]

[dissonates]

[The journal turns on with a little crash, revealing... the ceiling. Yes, very exciting.]

Stop knocking things over!

[A small, furry black face saunters over to the journal, sniffing curiously. It meows. And then, turning, flops over right on top of it, covering the camera.]

Hey, cat, get off that, it's not your damn bed.

[A small trill, and the fuzzy thing rolls over, revealing a mildly irritated redhead.]

...What the hell? You actually turned it on? Hey, dreck, the cat's from the Dawn Age.

[His tone is even mildly amused for that one. He brushes the kitten off the journal, picking it up and half-closing it. Before it shuts, he reconsiders, then grabs the pen and scribbles out a note.]

[Written / Filtered to Dist]

I need to talk to you.

[There, that's good enough. Back to the whiny, needy little monstrosity who has moved on to making his own water dish into a cat bath. Surprise! Luke brought home a kitten for his very disgruntled original. What a wise decision this was, eh.]

Comments

[fourteen]

[ She gently bats the feathers in the kitten's face, then moves them back and forth. Chase, kitten, chase! ]

Does it mean anything? [ A beat. ] Is the kitten a boy or a girl, by the way?

[dissonates]

The re- [....She'll correct him again.] ...Luke said it was male. Does that make a difference?

[fourteen]

[ ... she smiles a little, though not because of the kitten. She heard him stop himself, and it warms her. She puts the feathers briefly aside to reach out her hand and let the kitten sniff her fingers. ]

No, I was just curious. It sounds like a name you'd hear in a storybook. [ Her smile broadens, a little. It makes her think of a prince, or some sort of kind spirit. It's funny on a little kitten. ]

[dissonates]

Not a storybook- it's from a hymn of the ancient times. Tsuae means "sound"- or noise, in his case.

1/2

[fourteen]

[fourteen]

[ She bursts out in giggles before she can stop it, though she quickly claps a hand over her mouth. When it's safe to talk, she grins at him, though the odd look of her smile says she's not quite sure what to think of him right now. ]

Noise? What kind of name is that? He can't be that loud!

[dissonates]

You'd think differently if you heard him crying when he's hungry. [He's a little irritated by the laughter, though it's surprisingly marginal for him. Maybe the replica was right about the kitten all along.

...Not that he'd admit that.]

[fourteen]

Only you would name a kitten "noise," Asch. You're terrible. [ She doesn't seem to mean it, though, still laughing quietly. ] Anyway, you'll get used to it. Plus, it should get a little quieter as it gets older.

....that is not the icon I picked, lj

[dissonates]

What? It's my cat, I can call it what I want. It's still a better name than "thing".

[His naming skills are clearly superior to the replica's! Because he's superior in every way, obviously. except social skills and survivability]

........ rofl but those shades suit him so well.

[fourteen]

Only by a little. [ ... she's ... teasing him, yes. ]

he wears them like a boss

[dissonates]

[And he can tell.]

You're biased, your opinion doesn't count.

HI AKAI. /get all up in yo space

[fourteen]

How am I biased? I bet I'm not the only person who would think it's weird!

OH GOD WHO LET YOU IN HERE

[dissonates]

It's all about context! If he behaved himself, it would mean something nicer, like music.

It was Masa's fault.

[fourteen]

So does that mean you'll change his name when he gets older and starts to quiet down? ... and anyway, it's still weird now!

DAMMIT MASA

[dissonates]

[You know that feeling you get when, in a conversation, it's like a bucket of ice has been thrown all over someone? Cold, uncomfortable, downright awkward? Asch has a look on his face that pretty much is that feeling. He glowers at her for a long moment, all pretense of tolerance and amusement gone. It's not exactly anger, more like she's being cut off, as if a door's been shut in her face.]

Change his name.

[He says it like she'd asked if he was going to drag it out and murder it.]

[fourteen]

[ ... oof. Yeah. She feels it almost like a physical force, and her expression blanks out.

Too late she realizes her error. Of course... of course he wouldn't want to-- she's so stupid! After all... after all, he was originally L-- Xion actually winces, and backs away. ]

I'm sorry. [ It's quiet. ] I'll go.

[dissonates]

[Asch doesn't reply at first; he looks away, suddenly very interested in what's going on by the apartment window. Maybe she could understand the importance of identity, but... what does she know of losing one's name? Names are important. Names are the identity. Even for an animal, a name is important.

You can't just take someone's name away. It ruins them.]

Go, then.

[He doesn't want her apologies anyway.]

[fourteen]

[ If only she knew, she could counter that her name means she is imaginary.

But she doesn't, and it wouldn't help. She doesn't say a word. The next thing he'll hear is the open-and-shut click of the apartment door as she lets herself out. ]