dissonates | Appointments Post

[Ask him later? He hadn't really been asking in the first place. Asch does give it a little more consideration, though, setting the words sink in, really weighing them against the alternative- that is, once again demanding the name or just outright taking it. He could do that, after all. It's his. It... it was his.

But... he won't be a thief. Not like Van, or the replica, or anyone else who'd taken his life away. That isn't him. It isn't...]

...Fine. I'll ask you later, then.

[...No, he won't.]

[At the sound of her hand on the wall, Asch jerks upright, eyes opening to shoot her an irritated glare. Sudden movements hurt those broken ribs, goddammit. It's a good thing she'd continued the story by then, because he'd have told her off for that one. He's keeping his eyes open from now on.]

[HE'LL DO IT. SOMEHOW. Or cheat and go home. That is very much a possibility.]

I never promised that I was going to that party anyway.

[Come on, Ginji, can you imagine him at a party?]

Ye- ...n-no. [....] I haven't decided yet.

[If Asch cheats, everyone is going to find out about it.]

You don't want to?

[He can! And it looks suspiciously like all those times when the Dark Wings would try to gently tease Asch and get him to loosen up a little. Only with replicas...]

[Er, ahem...whoops. Miyabi hunches her shoulders with a sheepish smile and mumbles an apology, leaning over to check on his injuries. Finding nothing too bad, the girl apologizes again, promises not to do that again, and goes on with the story.]

The Moon Cave, a place as dark as evil itself, served as Orochi's home. As Nagi stood bravely before the entrance... A beast appeared, eyes glowing crimson upon eight thrashing necks. [Her eyes narrow slightly, at the description of Orochi. She'd always wanted to really try and paint him, and not just his shadow or silhouette, but it seemed just...a bad idea. Call it superstition.] Orochi stood tall before him, anxious for another sacrifice. Nagi leapt with incredible grace, swinging his blade valiantly. On and on he sliced, well into the moonless night...

[And her tone drops again, as does her head a little. Miyabi's eyes go to the floor, before she closes them. It's like telling a piece of very bad news.] But Orochi's hide was like steel. The blade left nary a scratch.

Edited 2012-01-04 06:53 (UTC)

You know I'm fine with whatever, so just give the word when you decide! ♥ As long as I can win your heart!

[A beast that no sword can pierce? Ha, wonder how he'd like a fonic arte or two... or four...

...Or a hyperresonance. Heh. That'd make a story.

He politely keeps his mouth shut, though; this is obviously the climax of the story, and there's no tarnishing something that is obviously so important to her. He's a jerk, but not that much of one.]

Why would I? They're all the replica's friends, not mine.

[...W-well. Natalia will be there, but the situation is...

...it's complicated, that's reason enough.]

[W-win his...]

...I'm too old for you. [Also dead.]

Seventeen isn't old!

I was 17. I'm 20 now.

[Been here for a while, kiddo. Plus time spent at home up until Eldrant, of course.]

[Climax...perhaps one of them, maybe. It's definitely a dramatic scene, certainly, but the story is far from over. Miyabi quiets her tone, and looks to Asch again. She's tempted to ask if he's enjoying the story, but the fact that he's so quiet, and listening so intently...she hopes that means he's enjoying it. He hasn't interrupted her yet, or told her to stop.

And so, with a tiny smile, she goes on, but the smile fades and in replaced by her narrator's tone of dismal and dark.]

At long last, Nagi, his energy spent from the intense battle, dropped to his knees, fatigued and gasping for breath. He knew he was staring death in the face. It was then...that the wolf appeared. [A smirk makes its way to her face.] As if to protect Nagi, it stood its ground before Orochi. In the darkness of the cave, the wolf's coat shone brilliantly.

Alas, it was Shiranui, the wolf that dwelled outside the village. Bearing its fearsome claws, Shiranui leapt toward Orochi! Orochi reared its terrifying heads, readying its fangs for battle. [Her tone quickens as she retells the battle, and she even makes a face, as if baring her own teeth. Miyabi was used to telling this tale to children, so the theatrics were a little high. Old habits and all that.] The two beasts struggled wildly, thrashing in the darkness.

[If it is fake, it's a very good fake. Van shakes his head, a tiny restrained movement, and smiles, albeit not a very happy smile. It's the tiredly smug expression of a person that knew exactly what was coming.] You don't need to say anything. I know how you are when upset. We'll try again, when you're ready to have a productive discussion.

[Like this was an everyday chat, about everyday things, and Asch is just a moody teenager who'll feel better in the morning. Like things between them could ever be as simple as that... as simple as that now. His hand is resting on the doorknob now, and unless Asch has anything else to say, that will be the end of their dealings today. Even Van knows Asch can only be pushed so far when unhappy before he does something foolish.

Actually, Van probably knows that better than anyone.]

[Van waits until they're all not just near Asch, but nearly atop him, to start casting. Asch can handle himself.

He's tempted to use an arte with a wide range, and let his protege have a taste of accidental crossfire, but he doesn't. Not because he isn't that spiteful. He is most certainly that spiteful. Because Asch would never believe him when he claimed it was an accident. He has to know his teacher is more skilled than that.

The ground mere inches from Asch's feet erupts with spires of rock, close enough to graze his face if he leans forward. The arte is more than a simple attack; He's aimed it to create a physical barrier between Asch and his attackers. If he wants enough time to run, it will be hard to find a better opening.

And after an arte that causes shaking like that? He probably should be.]

[Asch purses his lips, considers (briefly) saying something in response to that, and finally thinks better of it, remaining silent and allowing Van to leave. He greatly dislikes being so obvious, but goading Van will only serve to prove his point, and that isn't something he wants, either. His gaze drifts to the medical kit Van had given him; once Van is gone, he'll have to give it a thorough examination. If it ends up being of any use to him, at least that will prove one thing: that Van is honestly still trying with him, for good or for ill.

Now what he plans to do with any trust he earns back... that remains to be seen. As always, the man is a damned enigma.]

[Should he be flattered or pissed that Van cut it so close 8| Whatever, though, he's not about to kick up a fuss. Getting too close to Asch has certain risks, as he begins his assault by drawing a circle of fonic light around himself and allowing Guardian Field to do the work for him as his enemies approach and enter the circle. A few more artes do the job of keeping them herded into one place so that Van's arte can take care of them once and for all. It's all a very neat arrangement, and if it wasn't for the fact that it's Van working with him, Asch might've found it oddly satisfying.

...

Well, alright, there's a little bit of satisfaction, deep down, regardless of who his temporary 'partner' is. Not that he'd admit it.

All good things must come to an end, though, and despite the fact that he'd planned to retreat in time to evade the attack, one of the enemy soldiers seems to come out of no where (using those damned wings to find a blind spot, no doubt. Cheaters.) and attack from behind, slicing a blade towards Asch's back. He notices in the nick of time, managing to take a shallow cut to the shoulder rather than the severed spine the attack would've given had it worked, and with a twist and grab Asch turns the tables, flinging the winged soldier towards his comrades. It all happens in a matter of seconds.

Unfortunately those seconds were his much-needed escape time, and the movement of the throw managed to get him a little too close to Van's arte. When the ground explodes outwards, the impact throws him backwards into the nearest wall, knocking the wind right out of him. That... could have gone a lot better.]

[For someone that doesn't need Van and can take of himself, Asch needs an awful lot of bailing out...

Van's first, instinctual reaction is to save Asch. He even begins to dash forward to do so-

But he stops.

He stops several feet away and meets Asch's eyes with a charged gaze. Regret? Satisfaction? Maybe a bit of both. The moment is over quickly, and Van closes his eyes and begins to cast. The arte -- or rather, the hymn -- may not be one Asch recognizes; he'll never have seen Van use it before, but perhaps Tear?

If he crawls a few feet forward in time, he may be able to make it into Force Field's protection. If not...]

[Ow, ow, ow. Everything hurts. Asch coughs heavily, then again as the dust in the air clogs his lungs. That had been a bit of bad luck, and more is on the way, apparently, as he feels a vibration in the ground and the wall at his back. The cave. Footsteps, though, above him- Van's coming to-

....

Wait, he stopped?

Blearily he lifts his gaze to meet Van's, a mixture of wary confusion in them. Why did he...? Why is he looking so...

And then Van closes his eyes and begins to cast, and Asch understands. He's leaving Asch like that. Leaving him there.

....Fine. Asch clenches his eyes shut, sliding his sword arm upwards to brace himself against the ground, and with a single sudden push and a gasp of breath, manages to roll onto his back. He can hear the song of the hymn behind him, feel the gentle flow of fonons gathering towards Van; he'd never heard his master sing it before, but the melody is familiar. Part of the Grand Fonic Hymn, wasn't it? One of Tear's artes. He'd seen her use it a few times, mostly through the replica's eyes. Force Field, the name comes to mind belatedly, but it's already too late to try and reach it. Instead, he lifts his hand, fingers shaking in the air, but his gaze is steady. He needs every ounce of focus he's got to do this, and there isn't much time.

There's something wrong in his chest, he knows; he can feel something grating, just enough to be perceptible, and it's hard to breathe. His head's aching, too, but he pushes past it, gathering fonons carefully between his fingers. He can pass out later if he has to. The shaking of the rocks around them persists, and he knows that if this goes wrong, it'll end up becoming another Akzeriuth, this time with the both of them caught in the middle. Not that Van would die- stupid Force Field.

No time for bitterness now, though, because the rocks are starting to come down, and he can only hold on to this power for so long. Right before the whole ceiling can come down on his head, Asch releases a carefully restrained hyperresonance ("carefully" being the key word- in the three years that he's been here with little else to occupy himself with, his skills have improved considerably), blasting through the rocks falling towards him and pressing up the ones still shaking unsteadily in the tunnel above him, creating not so much a protective shield as a disintegration bubble, just as he'd done during his many practice sessions in the village. Van can take care of himself, and even if the entire place comes down around them, he'll at least have a circle of safety to keep himself alive. Though if he gets trapped and suffocates down here it'll all be rendered moot.

Well, he'd at least find some ironic humour in that before dying.]

[Unlike Asch, there is a considerable time delay on Van's route to safety. He could have kept running and made it to where Asch was sprawled... a critical second or two too late. What he couldn't do was trust that Asch would save them both, if he could not. Not anymore.

Better to save himself and be certain. After all, Asch doesn't need him any longer. Asch can take care of himself.

So let him.

Van isn't risking his neck for the boy any longer. He deserves to pay for his ingratitude, and from those who wrong him, Van has always exacted a heavy price.

The dome of Force Field does an admirable job of protecting him. It also bounces several rocks in every direction (including Asch's), but if they aren't falling on his head, they are not his concern.]

[He'd endured most of the tunnel's collapse by the time disaster strikes; his hyperresonance, tenuously controlled as it was, had destroyed most of the loose rocks above him, but there was no way to block the ones bouncing his way from Van's force field, not that he's even looking in that direction. And while he's managed to somehow avoid getting seriously hurt so far - at least, moreso than he is already, luck has never been his great strength.

Thus, near the end of the collapse, a stone bounces off the fonic force field and catches Asch square in the temple, and the impact is enough to jolt him out of his trance. The hyperresonance wavers and explodes outwards like a shockwave, carving a deep gash into all the walls and blasting its way down both paths of the tunnel, disappearing from sight. Asch has just enough foresight to curl up around himself, protecting his pounding head and chest with his arms and legs as best as he can, right before the ceiling above sends an unstable cascade of its last stones. It's not enough to kill him, but it's plenty punishment for his lack of concentration.

And with that, at last, hopefully it's over.]

[It takes several moments for Force Field to finally dissipate, by which time the dust has begun to settle. It takes several more moments of Van observing the pile of stones marking Asch's last known position before he does anything helpful about it.

Apparently Asch does need him.

He kneels down next to the rubble and starts moving rocks. Not too quickly, though. Wouldn't want to touch Asch by accident. That would be unforgivable.]

Make a noise, if you aren't dead. [If Asch is able to respond, he might dig faster. Maybe.]

[It's unfortunate, but head wounds are never pretty things; they have a tendency to knock their victims right out cold. Asch is on the brink of unconsciousness, not exactly out, but very close to it. Distantly he can hear something - the soft rumble of stone on stone, a muffled voice of someone speaking - but nothing distinct or even vaguely recognizable. Whether he's alive or not is anyone's guess, but for the moment, he's not telling.]

((ooc: herp derp some here and now over here!!))

[Luke almost doesn't get it. For a second, his expression remains frozen with a deep frown... And then something flashes in his eyes and he's up on his feet. Yes. Now he got it, and hell no is he calming down.]

So he just left you there?! You could've died! [So why is Asch so calm about this?!]

[Asch doesn't respond for a moment, letting the silence speak for itself. Though it occurs to him that saying nothing probably won't help matters... not that words will, either.

Oh well. There's no turning back now. He shrugs, his expression carefully neutral.]

I didn't. And he made his point clear.

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