dissonates | [Voice]

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[Voice]

[Silence.

There's too much of it. It burns into his mind, the echo of emptiness in the corner of it, that ache he can't seem to brush aside no matter how he tries to distract himself. He's tried going outside, he's tried burying himself in that braille stuff Xion gave him, he's tried striking up conversations with his housemates (even the animals), but he runs out of things to say far too quickly and in the back of his mind it's always there. The silence, the echo. The fact that something is missing.

Dead.

And then he's had enough.

The journal's camera is partially obscured when the feed flickers on, and what it does show is his face - eyes, a flash of red hair, his bangs down - just enough to make it seem like he's not quite himself. His voice, too, is softened; it's not as open and friendly as Luke would have been when greeting the village, but it lacks the usual anger or pent-up frustrations of the socially-awkward soldier. If anything it sounds... hushed, weary, tinged with a bit of desperation. He needs this. Whether or not he wants to do it is irrelevant.

It hurts. The silence hurts, more than last time when Luke had been sent home, and he honestly hadn't thought it would.]

Tell me about your day. Tell me a story. Talk about anything. Today I'm listening.

[He might not care. He might not be nice about it. He might not even remember it later. But he'll listen.

He just needs to hear something, so he can forget about the nothing in his head for a while.]

((Asch is blind, so all tags must be voice/action or he cannot respond to them!))

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[Speak of the devil and all that junk. Though when Miyabi does hear the entry, she's still feeling completely miserable, and her eyes fill with tears the moment she even tries to respond. She's in no state to tell anyone anything right now.]

A-Asch... [Her lower lip quivers, and Miyabi has to take a break to just breathe properly. Her voice cracks upon completion of what she wants to get out.] Can...c-can I come see you? Please?

[Speak of the devil, indeed. Asch makes note of her tone of voice, and- well. How could he say no after that?]

...Of course. Whenever you want.

[Sniffling, Miyabi nods and closes her journal without another word, finding it hard to physically say anything else. Thankfully, she's seen Asch once or twice around Luceti before (practically flinging herself at him, the poor guy) to know where he lives, and though her pace is much slower than usual, the girl does make it to where he lives and knocks on his door. Once, though, just once. Her body feels weighted down and heavy.]

[Well, he doesn't really want to answer the door, but since he's expecting Miyabi anyway, Asch will be the one to open it for her. Ginji and Arietta don't knock, and he doesn't get many visitors, so-]

...Miyabi?

[Though Asch may not be able to see, Miyabi still smiles once she sees him - a rather pitiful and very broken smile. It's still painful even now, to think that Asch passed away only recently, and now Luke was gone, too. What would happen to him, when he comes back? What will Luke be penalized with?

She steps toward him, and brushes his arm slowly with her hand, so he knows where she is.]

Yes, it's me... I'm sorry for troubling you like this.

It's no trouble. [Or if it were, she's one of the few who can get away with it. He moves aside to let her through, giving her a few seconds - and listening to her footsteps - before shutting the door. He sets his hand on the wall for guidance, feeling his way further into the house.] You want tea? I've got the kettle boiling.

[Miyabi watches Asch quietly, and looks away, hunching up her shoulders somewhat. Gods, what is she even doing, imposing on Asch when he's still struggling, too? She shouldn't even be here, it's...it's not fair to Asch. Shaking her head, Miyabi tries to find her voice, wiping at her eyes before she starts to cry all over again.]

N-No...it's fine. Don't-- [A gasp, and then a sniffle.] ...I'm sorry.

[Asch pauses for a long moment, listening quietly to the sounds she's making- the protests, the apology, the signs of her continued crying. She was feeling it, too, and trying to hide it for his sake, wasn't she? Even though she was failing so badly at it.

Idiot.

Wordlessly he turns back towards her and stretches a hand out, reaching blindly for a few seconds before he finds her, gripping her sleeve. There she is. With a light tug he urges her closer, his hand sliding up to rest on the crown of her head. His lips are pursed, and his pain is showing a little more clearly now, but he says nothing, letting his actions try to convey what's on his mind.

Stupid girl, it's okay to cry.]

[Miyabi can't see Asch extending his hand to her through the growing blur her tears are causing, but she certainly feeling his touch. She's just in time to stumble into his arms and immediately press herself closer after a moment's worth of surprise. Grasping Asch tight, Miyabi squeezes her eyes shut as tears run down from her cheeks. Hadn't she cried enough already? It was the same as when she heard about Asch, but perhaps this time it was worse - if only because it just happened so soon after Asch returned. Miyabi barely had any time to recover from Asch's death before Luke passed away.

She presses her face into his shoulder and cries, hard and undaunted, and grips Asch's clothes clothes as if he'd suddenly vanish from her arms yet again if she let go.]

I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, I...I couldn't do anything! For either of you!

[Idiot, idiot. Asch keeps silent for a little while, lips tight, one hand in her hair and the other awkwardly winding around her shoulders. What the hell is she saying sorry for? She wasn't even there, and he's glad that she wasn't. His death was gruesome, and Luke's... well, he knows what happened. And it would have just been pitiful- a confirmation of the fears he'd carried for so long, the insubstantial existence of replicas and his own life.]

There was nothing anyone could have done. If there was, we wouldn't have died. You shouldn't be apologizing, Miyabi.

[Miyabi doesn't stop, not yet. She continues crying and shaking and just clinging. Maybe she couldn't have done anything to help, like Asch says, but that doesn't make the pain any less difficult to take. If anything, that only makes it worse. She doesn't ever want to have to hear from another person about a death of a close friend. It just shows how powerless she is to do anything against the ways of this place. And that's just not fair. It's just not fair at all.]

Then what am I supposed to do?!

[He doesn't move much, just leans back a bit to balance himself against the wall, waiting it out. He can be patient for this. He knows how attached people can get, even in this place. It's a mindset he can't really reach anymore, but at the same time he understands it; he doesn't grieve anymore, and he hasn't cried for a death in a long, long time. All he feels is that emptiness, and he knows that feeling will go away in a matter of days.

It's not that bad. He keeps telling himself that, because it isn't.]

Grieve, if you have to. But just welcome him back when he returns.

[Because he will. That's the thing that is most important to remember here.]

[She can do that. She can do that well enough, sure. Welcoming Luke back wouldn't be hard at all, but doing it straight-faced? That may be doomed to fail regardless of how Miyabi tries to force a smile onto her face. She'll always be remembered that there was nothing else she could have done...but Asch is right. What she can do is probably the most important now. It's okay to cry, it's okay to grieve, but when Luke returns, welcome him back - be happy, for his sake. Because who wants to return to people who are miserable?]

M-Mm...okay. I-I will.

[She sniffs, and keeps holding on, pressing her face against Asch's chest. It still hurts.]

[He nods slowly, the hand in her hair hesitantly sliding up, then down again, stroking a little. This is still way out of his range of experience, but he can at least do this much.]

...You'll be alright, Miyabi.

[And so will we.]

[At last, with her grief and tears spent, Miyabi removes herself from Asch just enough to wipe her face free of the mess. She's a little embarrassed to have broken apart like that, and in front of such a strong person like Asch, but Miyabi's just glad she finally stopped. She nods in response, and looks up at Asch at last.]

Are you feeling all right? I'm sorry...I-I didn't even think to ask--...it must be hard on you as well...

I'm alright. [His response is automatic and as genuine as he can make it; he's not entirely pleased that the subject has return to him, so once she pulls back he turns away, his hand reaching out to find the wall again, pausing a moment to mentally relocate himself. They'd been almost to the kitchen, so he needs to go... right. Thirty degrees? No, twenty...] It's just been... quiet.

[Miyabi's hand comes to rest gently on one of Asch's arms, her fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. It's a silent question if he'd allow her to guide him toward the kitchen. It's the very least she can do for Asch now, after her little episode just now. And hearing that last part, and even the swiftness of his first answer, she can only imagine what Asch was really thinking, or feeling.]

If it'd be all right...I could certainly use the company for a little while. [They both could.] Whenever it's fine for you, of course.

...Hm. [His blind gaze shifts instinctively downwards to their linked arms, then up again; it's pointless to look, but he can't help himself. He is willing to let her guide him, though, so he waits for her to do so. If he's willing to let a cheagle lead him around, she certainly can.] You have to talk, or tell a story. That's the rule.

[If only to be fair. Or make up excuses, whatever.]

[As Miyabi gently tugs Asch in the direction of the kitchen, she can't help but chuckle a little bit. A story? She can certainly do that, given how many she knows - stories are told in Ponc'Tan practically every day, and she remembers the majority of them. Some she actually used to play out when she was really young, too.]

Oh, I think I can do that very well. [Pulling out a chair at the table, Miyabi leads Asch into it carefully.] Would you like to hear one now?

[Now? Well, Nami had said that she could tell stories, and he'd already witnessed that firsthand, so why not? She's good at it.

He sits down, his gaze trying to follow the direction of her voice.]

...Yeah, alright.

[Miyabi also seats herself, and hums as she thinks of a story. The first to come to her mind is the one she's already told to Asch - it is the most famous one - but after a bit more thought, she finds another amongst the many she knows. It's a little sad, but maybe she can turn it around to have a happier ending. One way to find out.]

Long, long ago, a tower was built on an island out to sea. It was built by an old cat, after having lived for many, many years. Much longer than any cat has ever lived before. They say the cat lived for so long, and learned so much, and cared about the world around it, that it became a god. And that very same cat built the tower - a tower that rose up unto the heavens themselves - to watch over the world below.

[There are questions he might normally have asked of that story- why did the cat live so long? How did it build a tower? How does an animal just become a god? - but he knows Miyabi's stories by now. He knows they're strange and somewhat inexplicable, and that she carries a lot of passion for them.

Logic doesn't really have a place in this.

So he stays quiet, not because he gives a damn about legends, or would ever believe it, or even because it entrances him. He listens because it's what she loves.]

[Continuing, Miyabi actually feels a little sad as she recollects the legend of the cat god. It's actually a very sad tale, and it shows in the tone of her voice. Had Asch been able to see, he'd easily notice that she also looks a little sad as she speaks, too. It's sad how the story really is, and how she herself has to alter it to make it actually have a happy ending.]

But the cat misjudged the height of the tower only after it was complete. And the poor thing was too afraid to climb back down, so it was force to stay at the top for days, months, years...crying out for help, for food, for a friend to come and keep it company. Some say that it was up there for so long, that it eventually turned to stone in the end. And to this day, you can hear a cat crying from down below.

[That earns her a surprised look. Is that the end? That's one of the most miserable stories he's ever heard. Why would she tell him that?]

[Welcome to Nippon, Asch. 8| That actually is where the original story ends, and Miyabi has to pause for a moment to think of how to add on to it and make it a little more lighthearted. She chews her lower lip in though and hums before she gets something.]

But! A young girl, saddened by the story and the crying she heard from the tower, dared to climb the immense tower. Through sheer will, and the strength of her resolute heart, she reached the very top! Dirty, exhausted, and all but skin and bone after days of climbing, the child reached into her robed and removed a salted fish, wrapped in linen - the only morsel of food she brought with her. Instead of partaking of the meal herself, she lay it before the stone statue, and uttered a prayer, in memory of the cat god.

Immediately, the crying stopped! And she heard purring, and felt a gentle touch on her back, like that of a cat rubbing itself against her. Too weak to climb down the tower, the child stayed at the top, where she was blessed...and turned into an emissary of the god cat. Every year, people say, they see a kitten climb down and back up the tower, holding a fish in its mouth. And never again did the crying of the cat reach their ears.

[Ah...much better.]

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