Arshis

[strength_of_tomorrow]

Who: Kratos Aurion and Vatheon
When: October 15th, morning
Where: Pendilium, the path from Pendilium to Ordo, Ordo
Style: Either
Status: Open!

[Kratos had quite been looking forward to the end of the house arrest. Lloyd is clearly unstable, he wants to get back to work on gathering materials for a Rune Crest. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be in the cards for the terminally unlucky angel. Sunday at midnight, he finds himself suddenly trapped in a very familiar form - the arshis. Whether he's exactly the same as Noishe now or not, he can't be certain. Noishe was the last one remaining in their time, but there were more once, supposedly. Thankfully, he wasn't alone when he changed. Zelos was there as well, and he let him out in the morning when his release was scheduled.

He didn't have to laugh quite that much about it, though.

Curious if Yuan turned into anything, Kratos makes his first stop at Pendilium 3-1, pawing insistently at the door.

After that, he makes his way down and out of the apartments, heading over to the Ordo neighborhood. At least he'll be able to keep an eye on Lloyd like this.]

Comments

[martelapproves]

[ Mithos can't tell this is Kratos. Somehow, the transformation also disguised his mana, as well. Mithos hadn't touched the coral just yet, but he was on his way to do so when he ran into the thing he actually did think is Noishe, just as Kratos was on his way to Lloyd's. ]

Noishe?

[ Mithos asked, seeing the dog. Yeah... Yeah, that was Noishe. Still not Martel, but... well, it was better than he got just a month before. Mithos approached the 'dog,' and pat his head. ]

I know what you're thinking... how am I able to stand being here with only Kratos for company? ... I don't know.

[ Mithos removes his hands, and sits on a nearby porch stair. ]

So many people here have tried to be nice to me. Sophie, Zelda, Ky, Konata, Cheria... I don't understand. Why are humans here so different from the humans of Aselia? And... and what Colette told me...

[strength_of_tomorrow]

[It hurts more than a little to see Mithos like this. Kratos is well aware that he's deceiving him by still pretending to be loyal. He doesn't hate Mithos, even now. He just feels that Mithos may be too far gone to save. Noishe had always seemed to understand speech, so Kratos decides it wouldn't be strange for him to follow Mithos to the stairs and lay his head down near the angel.

The puppydog eyes are completely unintentional. He'd be quite embarrassed if he knew he was doing it.]

[martelapproves]

Oh, don't look at me like that, Noishe.

[ Mithos sighs, and leans back against a higher step. His eyes close for a few seconds. ]

For four thousand years, all humans seemed to do in Aselia was prove me right. They didn't even try to change, even after we gave everything to stop their stupid war. They thanked me by killing Martel. When they did that, I became convinced they'd never willingly change, so I had to force them to change to fulfill her wish. But the humans here... why are they so different?

[ He sniffs. He's obviously stopping himself from getting too emotional. ]

Most of them didn't even know I'm a half-elf until I told them myself. One of them even said that was 'cool.' Why... why are the humans from Aselia so hateful? What makes these humans different?

[strength_of_tomorrow]

[Had he been looking at Mithos strangely? He didn't intend to! Kratos makes an effort to look a little more neutral as he listens to Mithos recount the actions of the humans of Aselia, then wonder about the humans here. The difference is partly cultural, and it's partly the fact that only extraordinary people seem to gather in Vatheon. People that herald change in their own worlds. People like Lloyd. He nudges at Mithos's shoulder gently to distract him, knowing that he doesn't want to get too emotional out in public like this. It's all right, Mithos. People can change. Kratos didn't believe it for a long time either, but they can. He has.]

[martelapproves]

[ He gets the hint. But this wasn't how Noishe acted when he had that talk with him, before, in private. Mithos is just going to chalk it up to Noishe being from a later time than he was, since he didn't react with fear when Mithos tried talking to him, like the first time, when Mithos had to convince Noishe he wasn't going to hurt him. ]

Yeah, I know.

[ He says, in response to Noishe's attempt to get him to calm down. He did this once when Martel and Yuan got into a lover's quarrel all of those years ago. Hey, there's no such thing as a perfect relationship. Even they had their disagreements, but they never lasted long. ]

I'm just... so confused. I don't know what to believe anymore.

[stickinthemud]

[By the time the pawing starts, Yuan's already wide awake and dealing with problems of his own. He'd gone through a bit of a transformation as well and discovered this the hard way around six in the morning. Rolling over in your sleep only to end up crushing your newly-grown tail is a very, very painful experience. The ears, on the other hand, are just plain embarrassing. He may not be an expert on animals, but he can recognize the distinct colors and features of the Bush Babies that reside in Torent Forest. The Starfish Communicator confirmed it's a curse, but that doesn't make him feel any better about the whole thing.

For the first few moments, the scratching sound confuses him and he finds, much to his shame, that his ears had actually perked up at it. Then he discovers it's coming from the front door. Someone or something is scratching at it. Suddenly thankful he'd picked up an additional cloak at the store, he swings it around his neck and raises the hood up over his head before striding over to the door to pull it open.]

[strength_of_tomorrow]

[A cloak, Yuan? The city is climate-controlled, you know. There's no need for such heavy outerwear. Besides, Kratos finds that he can now smell the fact that Yuan isn't just a half-elf anymore. He noses insistently under Yuan's cloak until he locates the incredibly long tail distinct to the Bush Babies.

The strange huffing sound "Noishe" is making might be a form of laughter. He's laughing right up until the moment he feels the urge to sniff Yuan again, then he draws back and looks appalled. At least he'd managed to stop himself.]

[stickinthemud]

Noishe? What are you- [Oh. Oh crap he's going for the tail. Yuan's still getting used to that thing, so he's having trouble controlling it, but the moment "Noishe" gets too close, it whips out of the Arshis's reach instantly.]

Down!

[strength_of_tomorrow]

["Down"? Don't order him around like he's actually a dog! He looks up at Yuan with that rather distinctive unamused, blank expression. Honestly. Even Noishe wouldn't actually bite Yuan's tail, he just would have been curious! But that isn't important for now. What is important is that he's incredibly hungry, and he can't feed himself. Ignoring the directions to stay put, Kratos walks over to the kitchen and looks at Yuan expectantly.]

[stickinthemud]

[He sighs and snaps the door shut in defeat, then follows "Noishe" to the kitchen. Still, as he walks, he's slowly putting the pieces together. A curse that turns people into animals. Noishe wasn't here before, he's fairly sure of that, which means it's likely someone from his world turned into a Protozoan. His first thought is Lloyd, but... The only person who he's told where he lives is Kratos.

This theory makes the sniffing a lot more awkward than it was.

As he moves into the kitchen, he turns to face the creature, glancing down at him expectantly.]

You're not Noishe, are you?

Ordo

[radiantwingedone]

[ Big green-and-white creature, you are new.

Of course, Duke probably thinks that the vaguely canine creature is as big as it its because he's barely three feet tall at the moment...

But the fluffy rabbit-like-thing in the front yard of Zelda's house is watching. ]

[strength_of_tomorrow]

[He really is quite large, though. The size of a small horse, even. Kratos simply walks up to the porch and deposits himself there, waiting for someone to come find him. He does look over at Duke curiously, though. What is that? What a useless rabbit, it doesn't even have any limbs!]

[radiantwingedone]

[ He is not a useless rabbit! Duke rolls over toward Kratos to stare up at him. ]

.... What are you? [ That may be the tiny version Duke's voice. ]

[strength_of_tomorrow]

[How lucky for Duke, he can still talk. Kratos has no such luck, but recalling Amaterasu does give him an idea. Disregarding the lovely grass, Kratos slowly scratches "protozoan - arshis" onto the lawn.

Zelda will not be pleased.]

[radiantwingedone]

[ But he has more problems with doors than Kratos does.

He rolls a little to study the words more closely. ]

New.

[redcladidealist]

[Lloyd hasn't been keeping himself cooped up as much, venturing out from time to time, but he's still been sticking fairly close to the Ordo house. Sitting outside in the front is almost the best of both worlds, fresh air and open spaces while still being close to one of the places he feels safest. He has a piece of wood in his hands, the new carving tools that Zelos gave him sitting next to him, but whatever he's carving hasn't taken form yet.

And it's not likely to anytime soon, not with movement catching his eye and making him lift his head. Not when startled recognition shoots through his spine, jolting him upright.]

Noishe?!

[He drops his tools, already jumping to his feet. There's no way he's mistaken. That's his dog!]

Noishe! Over here!

[strength_of_tomorrow]

[Thank goodness, Lloyd is looking better. And he's still at Ordo, too! Kratos was a little concerned that he might have left already, but it seems like he's still content to stay for now.

Huh. Weren't those tools different?

Oh well. He pads over to Lloyd, settling down next to him far too calmly. It does occur to Kratos that Noishe would be dashing across the lawn with glee to see Lloyd in a strange place like this, but he can't bring himself to behave like that. Maybe Lloyd will just be happy enough to see "Noishe" that he won't question it.]

[redcladidealist]

[Just this once, Lloyd doesn't notice anything strange in Noishe's behavior. He's too caught up in the fact that Noishe is here to care about much of anything else. And if Noishe isn't dashing over to bury him in fur and wet dog kisses, well, Lloyd is already making up for that by lunging forward to practically tackle his dog, throwing his arms around the protozoan's neck.]

Noishe! When did you get here, boy?

[strength_of_tomorrow]

[...ah. For once, Kratos had not thought his plan entirely through. All he'd been thinking at the time is that he would be able to watch over Lloyd easily in this form, he hadn't thought of how Lloyd will inevitably react when he thinks Noishe has left again. Isn't he hurting him this way? He can't leave now though, Lloyd would just follow him. His distress is expressed in a quiet whine.

Aww, Noishe is scared of this big new place, Lloyd!]

[redcladidealist]

[Noishe being scared is something Lloyd is used to, and he knows exactly how to deal with it. His hands, ungloved to make it easier to work with his tools, run through Kratos's green and white fur, scratching his neck on a journey to his ears.]

Aw, don't worry, it's not as scary as it looks. There's no monsters down here. Or, well, not really. Not the kind you're thinking of.

[Not the kind with fur and fangs and claws. Just monsters with human hands.]

[clumsyblonde]

[Colette doesn't actually mind this curse much, though the tail was kind of odd. She thought the ears were cute though! They kind of remind her of Caramel's, whenever she looks in a mirror.

And she hadn't meant to go back to Ordo, but that's where her feet lead her. It actually doesn't occur to her when she sees the large (mostly) green and white creature that it might not be Noishe. What else looks like that?]

Noishe! [Hope you don't mind a hug Kratos, because she's going to give you one.]

[strength_of_tomorrow]

[Colette! Oh, she's awake. That's good, Lloyd must be happy... wait. What is she doing? She wouldn't...

Of course she would. Kratos sits there stiffly as Colette hugs him. This is definitely strange. Being hugged by a girl that he was prepared to lead to her death is uncomfortable. He just isn't used to being hugged in general anymore, though it doesn't cause him to temporarily short out like it did when he first started interacting with Anna. Should he attempt to tell Colette that he isn't Noishe?

That might just make this more awkward. Best to just wag his tail a little bit and let her do as she pleases.]

[clumsyblonde]

[Oops. Really, why did he think she might not? She leans her head against "Noishe's" fur. She's missed him... But...She pulls away to look at him, tilting her head.]

When did you get here, Noishe? [And why does she want to wag her tail...Noishe was acting a bit differently from how she remembered, but she's been here a while. Maybe she just isn't remembering him right.]

[strength_of_tomorrow]

[He lets out a small whine in the negative. Noishe isn't here, Colette, it's Kratos! He wonders if she might be able to understand him. Noishe isn't a dog exactly, but his arshis form is certainly canine. Colette seems to be part dog right now. If that's the case, maybe he shouldn't vocalize... but don't animals mostly speak with body language? He won't be able to help but communicate with her in that case. How frustrating.]

[clumsyblonde]

[She blinks.]

You're not Noishe? Or you don't remember when you got here? [Since it's a curse it could be the first, but...if it is then who is it? She'd been going to ask if he wanted to play Frisbee, but if this isn't actually Noishe...]