dissonates | Appointments Post

For a noble, you sure are clueless about these things! [Grabbing your hand forcibly.] You'll be the perfect gentleman when I'm done with you!

[SCOWLYFACE, DO YOU SEE IT. But he relents. Reluctantly. Because gentlemen do not punch little girls for being brats.

Even if they kind of want to.]

I'm not a noble anymore, you know.

[Cease those ungentlemanly thoughts at once!]

I bet you could just make up with your parents or something! They have to be happy to have their son back and stuff, right? Besides, all guys should try be good gentlemen! ♥

I'm not going back to live with my parents. That's the replica's-

[...Oh, right, he's trying to be the replica now.

WELL SHIT.]

[pouncing right on that logic!]

But you're Luke now, right?

W... well I can't be Luke when we go back to Auldrant, so it won't even matter...!

[Grasping at straws, somewhat. Though the fact that he'll just go back and die would be a good excuse if he was more up-front about it.]

[Asch bristles; it doesn't take a genius to see what Van's doing now.]

I don't have to explain myself to you. I'm not a child anymore, and I'm not your student. You did what you came here to do, didn't you? So get out.

...Tch. [Asch doesn't have a particularly good retort right off the bat; too busy trying to keep himself from getting skewered. It's strange to be fighting side by side with Van once more - or, in this instance, back to back - and it takes some effort not to let himself sink into the familiarity. Even after several years, that undeniable urge to please his master is niggling at the back of his mind.

...Pisses him off.]

Those devices have a limit, and I never guaranteed anything. I'll do it when it's convenient for me.

[It's a good thing it doesn't take a genius: that's something Asch will certainly never be accused of possessing.]

You'll always be my student. [So possessive.] Whether you like it, or not.

[With a sigh, Van retrieves his sword and fastens the belt back on. He glances back over his shoulder while doing so, the very image of paternal disappointment.] You don't know everything, Asch, no matter how much you'd like to believe so. ...Don't toss those supplies out to spite me. Give them to someone else if you won't use them.

[In the past, Van would have pressed right to Asch's back, a human barrier between him and his opponents. Not anymore. Asch has made the line between them perfectly, surlily clear.

He hits one attacker hard enough to send them flying, and takes a step back closer to Asch.]

Bring them around. [He pitches his voice low enough that Asch can hear it, but hopefully their attackers can't.] Give me an opening to cast and then run.

[Now whether or not Asch will listen to this plan...]

[ 8| RUDE ]

I never said I wouldn't use them.

[He glowers quietly at Van, watching him closely. He's trying not to let the expression bother him - surely it's fake, after all. Just one more way of getting to him. That's what Van does.

But... even so...

...Tch. You're just being weak.]

[If there's one thing that Asch will never forget about Van - besides the whole replication business, that's a given - it's the fact that he is, without a doubt, the most accomplished warrior he knows. And when it comes to fighting side by side against a common opponent, as much as he's loathe to acknowledge it, deep down he knows that when Van gives an order, it's in his best interest to follow.

Van's not here to kill him, and he's not here to kill Van. For now, it's for the best.

He doesn't acknowledge his agreement in any way but his own actions, charging forward to gather the attention of their opponents, drawing them away from Van to give him time to cast. A well-placed Slag Assault gets plenty of attention, and he keeps the attacks coming to make sure they were focused on him.]

Who says you can't be? I bet your parents would welcome you back! [Despite all that she's been through, she still really can't accept the concept of parents who don't care for their child.]

... Right.

[Luke doesn't particularly like hearing that, but... it is the truth. So, he clenches and relaxes his fists, his gaze still on the floor. He's still got that look on his face, though it's lessened somewhat by now. Asch is alive and okay. That's what matters.]

What happened out there?

[... Oh.

Now Luke feels even worse. He reaches out his hand again, as if to touch his shoulder once more, before he slowly fists his hand and brings it back down to his side. Luke had learned of what the journal was doing to them back when he kept confessing his "love" to all the males of the village, and kept scrambling to explain himself. It was the only explanation he could think of.]

Do you...? [Does he still want his name back now? Does he... want his identity back?]

[HE BETTER B| Because she glances in Asch's direction, lingering her story for only a moment, to let the image sink in a bit more. This would be where the turned the page onto a new picture, so with a breath, she paints anew, this time with words instead of ink.]

When the night of the sacrifice drew near... [A smirk begins to pull up on her lips, and her eye hood with that knowledge of knowing what Asch does not.] A mysterious white wolf appeared outside the village. This wolf, its coat as brilliant as snow, was dubbed Shiranui. The wolf kept a watchful eye on anyone who ventured outside the village, and made a habit of patrolling the streets at night.

People assumed the wolf to be a familiar of Orochi. ...One villager took it upon himself to face the fearsome Shiranui.

That isn't the point. [Why is he even discussing this with you...]

..."Nagi"? [It's a quiet guess, and his first interruption; Asch keeps his eyes closed, holding on to the visual. But it's probably good to make sure she knows he's still awake.]

[.......

Well. Another awkward topic that Asch isn't keen in discussing. Either he'd have to admit that Van was content to leave him there - which would probably just anger his replica - or admit that he'd forced a pledge out of the man that, by keeping it, had caused Van to leave him there...

Neither option is particularly pleasant.]

There was a cave-in.

[Asch probably takes a little too long to respond, mulling over the situation quietly. This isn't something he thinks about much, mostly because he'd already made his choice. Or at least... he thought he'd made it. It had been so much easier to push it to the back of his mind before...

Stupid Malnosso... stupid journals. Stupid experiments.

...Stupid replica.

And that last thought gives him some small semblance of normalcy, a comfort that pushes him into finally speaking up again.]

Just... forget it. Forget everything.

[Luke purses his lips and lowers his head to stare down at the ground, and it takes him a moment to respond as well. He doesn't want Asch to just walk away feeling this way. To think that it was all fake... He doesn't want Asch to feel like a fool. And... what if, deep down, he really...?]

Ask me later. [He shuts his eyes. It's hard to say this. It's very hard to say this, knowing what may happen later.] I told you I'd give you the name if you wanted it, and I'm not going back on that. But I want to make sure it's real. [He finally forces his eyes open to look up at him, though he has to clench his fists instead.] I don't want to give it to you because of some stupid experiment. I want to give it to you because you want it, without anything else making you want it back.

[Despite Asch having his eyes closed, Miyabi nods and smiles, but adds verbally a moment later--]

That's right. ...The warrior Nagi attempted many times to challenge the wolf. But his attempts were thwarted by Shiranui's swift movements. [Another pause, and she closes her eyes again and leans back in her chair. The tone of both her voice and the story change after a second, the chair creaking ominously.]

Before long, the night of the accursed festival had arrived. A white plumed arrow heralded the coming sacrifice. Piercing the sky, the arrow sunk its shaft - [Wham! Her hand slaps against the wall on her left side. Sorry, bro, but a narrator makes use of all things around to tell a good story.] - squarely into the home of Nami, the village's most beautiful maiden. Nagi, harboring a secret love for Nami, was enraged by this sign. Determined to put an end to Orochi once and for all, Nagi traveled to the beast's cave in place of his beloved.

[Ginji nods weakly.] I'll try not to...

[He'll be tucking the scissors into a coat pocket (out of sight, out of mind) and following Asch at a relatively safe and "out of the way" distance. Looking around, keeping quiet, wondering where they're even going. It's not terribly exciting, comparatively, but at least he'll be around to call for help if something unexpected happens to Asch.]

[Can Asch even manage to stay in bed for that long...? Ginji has his doubts.]

Oh. I guess that means you might still be recovering during Nephry's new year dinner.

Sometimes I really don't get you, Asch! [Whatever, whatever, they're at the bakery now. Dragging you inside~] Would you feel better if I call you Luke?

Appointments Post

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[Action, 12/15]

[Action, 12/20]

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[Action, December 20th]

[Action, November 25th-30th] NO I WILL

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[Action, November 25th-30th] I CALL BULLSHIT

[Action, November 25th-30th] YOU CAN'T JUST START IT AND FINISH IT

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