dissonates | [Written

[The message, tossed on the journal some time in the early afternoon, is short, carefully scripted, and with the camera concealed to keep it anonymous. He has no intention of dealing with the aftermath unless he absolutely has to.]

Luke fon Fabre and Xion have returned to their respective worlds.

[A short while later, another message is sent privately, though not so anonymously:]

[Private to Buffy and Jack (Horner)]

I won't be at the bar tonight. Close it if you want, work the shift yourselves, I don't care.

[After that, he's in the wind. First he goes out into the woods to where Luke was when they last spoke, to check for any signs of what might have been left, then to Luke's apartment to scour the place; he returns with a necklace, a ring, the Jewel of Lorelei, and a lot of hollow feelings.

After that, it's off to the Battle Dome, where he'll spend the next several hours destroying every simulation he can come up with, working his way through several of them one after another. He'll only stop once in a while when, in the midst of his fury and frustration, his body decides it's had enough; his heart seizes up, protesting the way it's being overworked. It's yet feeling the relief of that fact that for the first time in years, the weight of Luke's presence, their connection, no longer exists. His dissonance has been halted but he honestly wasn't prepared for how it would make him feel.

He won't be home for a long time.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Oooh. Wait, was one of those two your girlfriend? Not the Luke one, unless that's the way you swing. The uh, other one. Xion?

[Hah] Way to ruin the romance of it.

[ a huff of breath -- as if she'd been about to say something (isn't keeping them to myself exactly what i'm doing?) but then thinks better of it. ]

...Roger that -- [ her conclusion is simple. with his pre-emptive strike, she doesn't dare provoke him. ]

[ She sucks in a breath - that harsh response was not what she had been expecting. She hadn't expected him to be sentimental about it, but she wasn't expecting him to be so cavalier, either. ]

Don't talk like that. He's not an idiot.

[......EW THEY'RE REPLICAS 8( ]

No. They themselves were the couple!

[Sigh. There he goes again, snapping at people for no reason. It occurs to him that he ought to apologize for it, but he just... can't. Or doesn't want to, maybe. He can't really sort it out.

Either way, he says nothing instead.]

[He's honestly taken aback; most people don't even bother trying to correct him when he does that, because it's just the norm. His surprise shifts to discomfort, not sure how to deal with this.

Actually, the last time this happened, it was Xion who'd told him off.]

...I... what? Yes he is. Have you met him?

There's nothing romantic about it. It was a coincidence, nothing more.

[SO IS JACK.]

Oh. So you still got a girlfriend. You should go do something with her. Blow off some steam. Among other things.

[He has his suspicions at least. As distant as Luke and Asch were, their fonic link would be the quickest way to tell that Luke had left when as far as Jade was aware, either from talking to Luke and/or through his own individual creepering, Luke and Xion had lived together. Their still was the possibility that it could be one of the people from Xion's world that he was unfamiliar with, but it doesn't quite help that Jade could oh so easily imagine that last message being said in Asch's voice.]

That's quite apathetic for someone who went through the trouble of informing us of this rumor. It would be more efficient to consult someone who may be able to tell more definitively that Luke is truly gone from this world - such as his brother, Asch.

[He'll leave out his trolling bait. It's his childish retaliation for facing the idea of Luke being gone so soon, to face such an uncertain fate.]

Yes, I have. [ She crossed her arms, her posture tense. ] Luke is kind and compassionate, and is willing to do anything for his friends. You were important to him, and he's important to you.

[ She puffs in a steeling breath of air. ]

So don't talk like that.

[GROSS WHO LET YOU IN HERE]

I never said I had a girlfriend...!

[Congratulations, Jade, you dragged him out of his privacy. Also screw you.]

You know damn well I am not his brother!!

[Mission accomplished.]

My apologies, Asch. The human mind can make such odd mistakes as it reaches old age.

[He's quiet for another long moment, and then he looks away again, seeming almost... sullen.]

He can be all of those and still be an idiot...

As if I can believe that.

[You're basically the worst person ever, Jade.]

[He tries. He really, really does.]

You can believe what you'd like. Regardless, I suppose I now have no choice but to believe what you say.

[Luke's gone.]

[Unlike some, she knows what Luke is going home to face. There are few who might feel moved to make the joint announcement like this...but she won't try to guess at the face behind the words.]

Thank you. We will miss them.

So you don't have one.

[ The rush of anger dissipates almost as soon as its come, and she peers into his face. ]

How can I help?

Obviously we're both aware of the fact that I'm the one who would know.

Don't mention it.

[Seriously. Don't mention it. Don't talk about it. DON'T BRING IT UP EVER AGAIN HE DOESN'T WANT TO HEAR IT]

How is that even relevant?

You're assuming you can. They're gone, the apartment is empty. There's nothing that needs to be done.

[He's clinging to the practical; accepting her help for anything besides that would be admitting that he feels anything at their loss, and he's not prepared for that.]

Yes, and I'd like to thank you for pointing out the obviousness. Anything else you'd like to share with all the potential listeners? How about something saucy?

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