dissonates | [Action]

Entry tags:

[Action]

[Action, backdated to October 6th, locked to Luke + housemates if they want!]

[There is a vast difference between seeing nothing and being unable to see at all. It's the first thing that Asch realizes when he opens his eyes, waking up in the cold of the underground tunnel, slumped against the invisible barrier outside of John's domain, and seeing, for the first time in months, some kind of... light. It's blurry, more like a shadow within a shadow, and as he squints at it, it occurs to him that it's entirely possible that his eyes hadn't been fixed correctly at all. People are occasionally stuck with side effects anyway, though, after their penalties have been removed, so he pushes those concerns aside and reaches out with his mind towards his replica.

....

Nothing. Not even a flicker. And there's a moment of panic - that something happened while he was gone, that he's dead again - but memory catches up with him. He's in the tunnels. Luke can't hear him down here. And even though he feels weak, bone-weary, and a little dizzy from his clumsy vision, he pushes off the wall and forces himself upright, edging his way towards the near-light of what he's certain must be the tunnel entrance. There's a ladder, a way up, and as he climbs, he keeps trying to contact Luke, hoping his replica is available to get him home. Just one last time, one more guiding hand. That's all he needs.

Thankfully Luke is available, and he will get Asch home, so he'll be back on the evening of the 6th, sticking close to the house for the most part and waiting for his vision to come back bit by bit.]

---

[Action, October 10th, open to anyone]

[Finally, finally, Asch wakes to find that hey, surprise! His eyes are as clear as the day they'd been before he died. He spends a long time staring at everything in his room, taking in the details, the changes that he'd missed or accidentally caused over the course of the last four months. There's dust in places difficult to clean, his closet is a disorganized mess, and the books on his shelf are out of order. Some of the houseplants aren't doing so well. Star's getting fat. The white in Tsuae's fur is discoloured from treks in the yard- chasing Ginji's birds, probably. He'll need to do a full sweep of the house and nitpick at it.

Tomorrow, though. Today he gets dressed, gets himself a meal and tea without dropping anything, burning his fingers, or bumping into the table. He leaves the house and he goes for a walk. Nothing special- a long, slow, utterly aimless wander through the village from late morning until after dinner, drinking in the sights and watching the people who pass him by, as if seeing it all for the first time. He swings by the shops, the restaurant, maybe even Good Spirits for a bit, a place he hadn't been since before Guy went home the first time. He might even talk to people. He seems curious and calm for once, almost smiling.

It's a nice day. He can see again. What's there to bitch about?

Evening will find him on Amaterasu's hill, leaning against one of the cherry trees, content to sit and watch the sunset. Only after it's finished does he return home at last.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[As it just so happens, Ammy's hill is right next to Emil's house, and it's a place he likes to visit whenever he'd like a little peace and quiet of the sort he can't find in said house.

He's a bit surprised to find someone else there this evening, though, much less someone like Asch. But... there's something different about him today, that much even Emil can tell.]

Oh... hi Asch. I wasn't expecting to see you here.

[The difference might be more obvious when Asch actually looks at Emil as he speaks, shifting on his spot in the grass and leaning back.]

Not surprised. It's been a while since I was able to do this.

[And with that, he shifts his focus back to the sunset.]

"This"...?

[He's confused for a moment until he realizes that Asch is actually LOOKING at him rather than just turning his head towards the sound of his voice. The fact that he then turns to look back at the sunset just confirms it.]

You can see again? That's great! When did you get the penalty removed? Did it hurt?

Just a few days ago. [Asch picks idly at the grass, reluctant to go into much detail, mostly because hell if he can really remember it.] I barely felt anything, but I was unconscious for most of it, anyway.

That's good. I've only heard about death penalties and having them removed myself, so I wasn't really sure what happened during it.

[He's quiet for a moment.]

It must be strange, being able to see again after so long. I can't even imagine what it would be like.

Try blindfolding yourself for four months straight. Then you'll know.

[His tone is dry, but there's a flicker of truth to the words; he will never, ever take his sight for granted again.]

I'm not sure I could handle that for four minutes straight, let alone four months.

With any luck you won't have to find out.

[Not that avoiding death is particularly easy around here, or that blindness is a guaranteed payment for once's revival, but hey. Better than having something permanent occur.

That's some very, very small comfort.]

Actually, I... I don't know if I even can.

[He's pretty sure he should've died that one time as Ratatosk, but somehow he didn't. Though he's still unsure as to the exact details, he knows he didn't DIE-die.]

What do you mean, you don't know? Everyone dies sooner or later.

[He really doesn't believe in immortals, sorry bro.]

No, I mean... I'm not a human. I don't know if summon spirits can die the way everything else can.

...You'd better not let that make you start thinking you're immortal in battle.

[If you get your ass murdered in battle, Emil, he will kill you.

It is a unique situation, though. He's not sure how to respond to it; summon spirits aren't something he knows anything about.]

I don't know. I'm not going to start thinking that or anything, but I really don't know if I am or not. But I don't want to test it to find out. I'd rather just stay out of battles if I can.

[SO SWEET, ASCH. Don't worry, he's in no hurry for that to happen either.]

Couldn't you just have someone ask Ratatosk?

[Though that would mean actually talking to Ratatosk, and no one seems to like doing that.]

[Emil actually has to pause and consider this for a moment.]

That might work, but that would mean I'd have to call him out for a while, and I'm not sure I want to do that if I can help it.

[Asch lifts a brow at him for that.]

It's no wonder he's always so angry, if you only let him out to fight your battles for you.

[It's not accusatory in tone, but he can't say he approves. He doesn't like Ratatosk by any means, but that just sounds like it'll end badly one day.]

[Emil just sighs, in part because he's felt the same way himself on more than one occasion.]

... I know. I know, but I don't want to risk him hurting anyone. I know how he feels about humans, and since Marta isn't here...

[Asch shrugs his shoulders.]

I'm not going to argue about it with you. You know better than anyone else how to handle him.

The situation just makes me... wary. [Uncomfortable.]

I wish I did know what the best way to handle him is. Even though it's working, it just doesn't seem fair to him.

There's no way to just go ahead and talk to him, is there?

[He's only ever seen Ratatosk either when he's already out, or when Emil's fighting. He doesn't know how it works, really.]

[A shake of his head.]

Not that I know of. I've tried thinking at him sometimes, but he never answers. I don't even know if he can hear me.

...Mm. Next time I meet him, I'll ask, then.

[Sounds simple enough.]

I, um... do you want me to let him out now?

[What.]

Shouldn't that be your choice? He's not my summon spirit.

[He just said he didn't want to; why would he ask?]

I thought it would be better if I let him out in a situation where I had more control, not a battle or something like that.

[He DOES have a point in that sense.]

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