Zelda keeps bringing people home for some reason...

[zelda_hylia]

Who: Zelos, Zelda, Duke
Where: Ordo 3
When: April 17th, around noon
Style: Brackets of AWESOME
Status: Closed

[Unsure of what all Duke would want to know, Zelda has prepared a general selection of material on the mystery that is Vatheon. As for lunch, she ordered out unless Zelos offered to cook. Considering the fact that Duke is obviously a man's name, chances are it's been ordered in. That's alright, Vatheon has good food!]

Comments

[radiantwingedone]

[ Duke shows up, a handful of books in hand - he'd either found or penned some more of the formula that were more common and well known in Terca Lumireis for Zelda to work on by herself into one, as well as blank ones for his own notes.

... Also how does he deal with doors that belong to other people.

By checking to see if its unlocked by opening first, obviously. ]

[chosen_gigolo]

[Angelic hearing is a blessing and a curse, so when Duke gets the door open because honestly it's an rpg character household and who locks doors?, the Chosen is already stepping around the corner into the front hall.

And he stops, blinking once or twice at the sight of Duke.

Didn't Zelda say a dude was coming over...?]

Can I help you, hunny?

[zelda_hylia]

[At Zelos's words, Zelda pokes her head out of the kitchen. Hunny? Hunny?! He must... think that Duke is a woman. With a smirk playing across her lips, she just waits for Duke to speak.

This should be good.]

[radiantwingedone]

[ Duke blinks at the redhead. He.. recognizes him, somewhat, from...

Ah, the SFC when Zelda was staying at his ... hermit-home-thing.

Also ignoring that "hunny" thing... ]

The one who was worried over Zelda.

1/3

[chosen_gigolo]

[...wha?]

2/3

[chosen_gigolo]

[YOU MEAN THAT DELICATE PERSON ISN'T A WOMAN?!]

3/3

[chosen_gigolo]

[It's over. Everything's over. His life is over.

He thinks another dude is hot]

Y-you're Duke?

[The words come out weakly and a bit incredulous.]

1/2

[zelda_hylia]

[That was beautiful. Oh, give her a moment, silent laughter time...]

2/2

[zelda_hylia]

[Composed, Zelda walks over to Duke and Zelos with a smile.]

Hello, Duke. I see that you've met Zelos already. Please, come in.

[She steps to the side, gently tugging Zelos along. Chances are he allows her to do it, stunned as he is.]

[radiantwingedone]

[ And being Duke, he's completely oblivious to the fact that Zelda had spent a moment trying not to giggle and had let Zelos find out the hard way.

He's a bit confused to why Zelos sounds odd the second time he spoke, but... Oh well. ]

... [ He gives a short hum, agreeing that his is Duke, like Zelda had said, and moves to follow Zelda and Zelos.

ZZ house hmmm. ]

[chosen_gigolo]

[The Chosen gets tugged along with Zelda, still wondering at how his radar could be so off in person. He'd been thrown off on the SFC, fine, that's technology and all but he's never been wrong in person before.

And damn he can't quite take his eyes off the guy. He's just so- And that hair...

NOPE nope nope nope. He shakes his head vigorously to clear it and glances daggers at Zelda before vanishing into the kitchen for snacks like he always does when they have a guest. She totally did that on purpose!]

[zelda_hylia]

[She just looks back at him coyly, ignoring his apparent distress in favor of closing the door behind Duke. She still looks wickedly amused when she turns to her guest, though it's likely he'll have no idea WHY.]

I've spread some materials out on the coffee table. We can use the dining room if you'd prefer to eat there, but I find the couch to be more comfortable.

[radiantwingedone]

[ That's right, Duke has absolutely no idea why Zelda looks so amused, particularly when Zelos seems.. irritated? .... Yeah, he doesn't get it, and after a moment of trying, absently, to figure it out - although his mismatch in appearance and voice doesn't come to mind, he's lived with his voice and appearance for some time and it doesn't strike him as odd anymore - he gives the tiniest shrug like motion, fishing out one book from his stack. ]

Either works. [ He lives in a tent-house-thing, Zelda, dining room or no doesn't really bother him. And here's his book for you- ]

Some other novice level formula, and expansions upon them if wish to try altered formula. [ Like how Photon could become Grand Chariot. ]

[chosen_gigolo]

[There's a quiet clatter of dishes in the kitchen while Zelos readies whatever Zelda had ordered. He'd... actually intended to be doing something else with his evening and had even told Zelda as much, though he'd always planned on staying to see who Zelda brought home. (Not that he was making sure they were safe or anything).

Duke is definitely not what he'd term as safe, but not insofar as Zelda's concerned. The man is a trap pure and simple, a fact which he's faced with quite abruptly as he peers around the cracked open kitchen door while preparing plates. Damn does that coat have to be vented up the back that high? That butt is not a man's butt.]

[zelda_hylia]

Oh, thank you! I'll have to take a good look at it.

[Zelda leads Duke into her living room. The couch is roomy, and could easily seat three or four people. She gestures for him to sit there, settling next to him but with a good distance between them. It's far easier to share notes if you can learn over towards the other person without an armrest getting in the way, after all.]

How much do you know about Vatheon so far? I wouldn't want to repeat too much.

[radiantwingedone]

Coral is likely cause, or specifically being inside coral. [ A pause, shifting to pull his coat tails(?) a little closer to him so he's not taking up more space. ]

Little more than newcomer information.. Was not... quite interested in seeking out more, then.

[chosen_gigolo]

[They got out of his line of sight when they moved to the couch, allowing Zelos to finish his dinner-related task. He comes out of the kitchen with two plates and nearly even gets into the living room when he notices.

Duke is sitting with his legs crossed.

Ladylike and everything.

The Chosen sets the plates down on the coffee table very deliberately, forcing himself not to take a look at Duke's legs as he leans over to do so and completely ignoring himself, taking note of subtle lines even under the boots.

NOPE. I'm done. That's it. It's over! He straightens again rather quickly and swings his arms behind his head.]

You two nerds have fun playing with your dusty old books. I'm going out on the town~ The hunnies are calling my name!

[He does an abrupt about face and heads for the door, waving without looking back.

He's not actually running, but he may as well be.]

[zelda_hylia]

Ah, Zelos...? We were going to discuss Vatheon a bit, not just magic. You usually seem quite interested in the topic when it comes up!

[She turns to Duke and begins speaking.]

I suppose I should start with a history before theorizing on the coral, then. Those who were first brought here to Vatheon originally had more interaction with the locals, two of them in particular - the High Priestess Thalassino and Doctor Alpha. There was once a grand church in the upper district supposedly dedicated to the worship of Lamufao, the coral. It was barred from the foreigners, but eventually someone braved the church and stole some documents that spoke of us.

[She takes out a printed copy and hands it to Duke, allowing him to read over it before continuing.]

1/2

[radiantwingedone]

.... [ His books are not dusty.

He's confused at Zelos, again, but reading those printed out page- ]

2/2

[radiantwingedone]

[ He does not like the idea of war and conflict. Again.

Here, even. He hates war, as much as he can hate just about anything.

But. He'll keep on reading for now, even if his expression inches away from blank and toward dislike. Unease? Something negative. ]

... Uncertain what these other names are, almost reads as if there are ... other bubbles.

[chosen_gigolo]

[Zelos wrestles with himself for a long moment before he lets out a drawn out sigh and retreats back to the couch, flopping on the end opposite of Duke heavily. After their argument and subsequent make up, Zelda's drive to find their own way out of Vatheon hadn't been a source of worry so much as comfort; she wanted a way for them to keep in touch and, well... he can't say he hates the idea.]

There probably are. Judging from that intel this world's either on the brink of or actually at war between several countries and we're in some kind of military lab bubble installation... thing. I dunno what to call it, really. But the curses serve some purpose and they've obviously been monitoring.

[zelda_hylia]

The high priestess once said that the curses are a form of communication from the Lamufao. Considering these documents, I am not so sure that is the case.

[She hands him a second set of documents.]

It sounds as if they might actually be an experiment of some sort.

[radiantwingedone]

Hmmn. [ It's a low noise in his throat as he reads, and really a lot closer to a rumble than anything with meaning, halving his slow circling of magic as he focuses instead on the paper.

Momentary distraction of noticing Zelos feels a bit strange, even compared to Zelda's different sort of magic, but that's likely because it was strange mana. Not what he was focusing on at the moment. ]

Phrasing, yes, seems like it. Understand why keeping track, now, of dates off arrivals and curses. [ He's studying that line about putting the Lamufao in the center and... ]

... did the locals not say something odd about granted another year, back on the celebration of the year change?

[chosen_gigolo]

They did, but I just thought it was, y'know, a religious thing. Like 'yay our god let us live another year!' kind of deal.

[He glances at Duke - his face this time - also feeling a change in the ambient mana in the room. Or... it was mana, right? Everyone here in Vatheon feels different to Zelos but Duke's in particular is familiar but totally alien at the same time.

Kind of like Estelle's, honestly.]

[zelda_hylia]

I found that to be worrisome as well. I already know that the coral split once... what if the change in this pattern is a sign of it further breaking down? What if we weren't expected to make it another year? Though I have since been told that it used to pull foreigners at random before it split, so this could also be a sign of it repairing itself.

[This time the notes that come out are her own.]

It is difficult to say what the coral pulls from us exactly, but this much is clear: it only brings people who were somehow involved in large events in their homeworlds.

[Her list is exhaustive. The weeks she's spent as Sheik observing people are quite clear. Beside the names of upwards of 60 of the foreigners are roles that they played in their home world.]