dissonates | [action/written]

[He's so stunned and disoriented to be alive again that he doesn't notice the lost connection inside his own head for at least three minutes.

For a while Asch just lies there in the grass, staring up at the sky and trying to figure out what the problem is. More specifically, what he's missing. He's not blind this time, that's a pleasant enough surprise. All his limbs and other senses are working. He thinks back to as many significant life experiences, pleasant or otherwise, and he can't come up with any gaps or missing memories. If he'd lost any, they weren't important enough to matter, apparently.

It's only when he finally sits up and tries to contact Luke and find out what's going on that he realizes he can't. He tries five times, wrestling with his fonons, prodding at the mental wall that used to be an open passage between his mind and his replica's. With that not working, it's easy to figure out what the problem is. He tries fonic artes- each of the four spells he's mastered, a few others learned from the Daathic books he'd gotten over the years. None of them work.

So. Answers that question. He'd kind of rather have taken the gap in memories, but it's not like anyone has ever asked him what he wanted.

Arriving at an empty house - aside from a noisy cat and a frantic cheagle - is just icing on the cake of his crappy life, so Asch wastes no time on sentimentality. Best to just get it over with: he opens the journal, jotting down a quick and emotionless note.]

I'm back.

Arietta the Wild has returned to Auldrant.

If anyone is willing to give me a debriefing on how the Zompania battle ended, I'd be grateful. I'll reopen Good Spirits tonight.

[True to his word, Asch'll be at Good Spirits that evening, though the atmosphere of the bar is significantly less cheery than usual. And with him tending the place, that's saying something.]

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[Jade may or may not be willing to do both of those. He takes a moment to finish his glass with a slight sigh, then he abruptly starts talking aloud.]

What was it we discussed? Your new vocabulary phrase - 'quid pro quo'?

[....]

What do you want?

[And now he's back to being on guard. Dammit, he should have known better. Jade always has a reason for doing what he does, and he wouldn't have come all this way to tell Asch what happened.]

[He does have his reasons. Pragmatic reasons, emotional reasons. With Jade, sometimes it can be secretly one at the same time as another.]

How have you been feeling since you returned, Asch? [There's just a bit of mock-sincerity in his tone.]

[Psh. If he's looking for a heart-to-heart, he'll be sorely disappointed. Asch scowls and turns away, dipping his glass into the sink to wash it.]

Fine. When you die here, you come back with no injuries.

How remarkable. [He says as if hearing it for the first time. He's not nearly expecting a heart-to-heart. Perhaps on some level he wants to check up on Asch's wellbeing; but largely, Asch's current condition is data for him to collect.]

Yet, when something so miraculous happens, we still find a way to lose a little something. Is that right? [He can tell Asch's senses don't seem to be impaired, and his memory seems to be fine. It has to be something else.]

[If Asch was more the type, he'd have sighed in exasperation at that; all this dancing around that people have done his entire life - both in noble circles and the military church - always pissed him off a little. Here, in a place where it's so unnecessary, he feels no need to hide it.]

If you have something to say, just say it.

[So they're playing the frankness game now. Jade can play that game. He rests his hands casually on the countertop.]

What sort of death penalty are you currently experiencing?

[Even if it's not what he wants to talk about, it's the question he expected. This is much better than the boring subtleties and false concern. Asch takes a recently washed glass, wiping it dry as if this is nothing more than smalltalk for him.]

My fon slots have been sealed.

[The look he gives is a serious one. It's definitely a factor to consider in any emergency plans he may be formulating in his head as a precautionary measure.]

Mm. That's quite unfortunate. [His tone doesn't really ring with empathy, but it's not mocking either, at least. Jade's actually wondering if there's a sense he would prefer to lose in favor of losing his fonic ability.] I assume they've been sealed entirely?

Mm. All of them.

[Asch sets aside the glass, glancing sidelong at Jade to gauge his reaction, and then away again.]

I can't use fonic artes, and I can't contact the replica, either.

[The reaction is little more than a vague frown. He's thinking largely of what the loss needs in a pragmatic sense.]

Luke. [He says that in reference to "the replica", almost as if correcting his language.] I see. That's a good deal worse than a fon slot seal. Of course, unless you've been slouching in your exercises, you'll still be far from useless on tha battlefield.

[Asch chooses to ignore the correction, scoffing instead at the implication that he of all people would ever slouch at anything. Besides certain social graces, maybe. He hadn't had time for that nonsense in years.]

Far from it, yes. Anyway, it's only for four months.

[Hell, it might even benefit him. Four months of zero fonic separation? He'll take it.]

[It was mostly an empty jab; he likely had gained some idea of how efficient Asch still was in battle at Zompania.]

A lot can happen in four months. [How many of their own adventures occurred over the span of several months? But he waves a hand dismissively.] Regardless, I won't doubt your performance. Otherwise... I know that you haven't been back for long, but have you felt anything unusual since your return?

Unusual besides the lack of Luke's voice in my head all the time?

[It's a redundant question, so he carries on. Jade already knows.]

Not really. If there is a difference beyond my lack of fonic ability, I'll know over time.

[Namely, if the closing of his fon slots improve his health or stop his deterioration. It's something he's wondered about ever since he acquired the fon slot seal a long time ago and had been reluctant to use it. Here's his chance, anyway.]

[He must be Lukewarm about that penalty. Jade gives a nod, his drink finished.]

I see. [He also wonders if Asch has been experiencing the same effects as everyone else caught in the bomb, for his own research on the subject. But it sounds there's no sign yet.] If you run into any significant problems, I may find myself willing to lend some degree of aid. But now, I suppose that I've finished my drink.

You have. I'll let you know about any changes.

[Maybe.

Probably not. He'll decide later.

For now, though, he holds a hand out for the glass. Get out of his bar, Necromancer.]

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