vatheon | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who: Zelos and Tsubaki
When: backdated February 14th, around noon
Where: The park
Style: Whatever
Status: Closed

The morning was just fading into noon when Zelos started setting up the picnic blanket in a particularly nice spot in the park. Finger sandwiches, pasta and fruit salads, cookies and mini cakes, and a large pitcher of home-made juice litter the blanket, far too much food for one person to consume in a sitting. In fact, it's too much for two, but the curse had left Zelos with a nervous energy that he'd taken out on the house and kitchen, resulting in all the chocolates he'd delivered that morning being finished on time despite the curse, this handsome array of lunch foods, and the entire house sparkling from top to bottom. It hadn't helped; he still felt strange about having been a woman (and a unicorn of all things) but the memories were starting to fade and he decided to let them, focusing instead on treating Tsubaki to a nice afternoon's picnic in the park.

The Chosen plopped down once all the food was laid out and lets out a small sigh. If Tsubaki showed up, that is. She'd agreed to meet him, but he was well aware of her hesitance. He hadn't seen her out and about much, though, and thought maybe she needed the time out of the house. Time with... well, a friend.

So here he is, Zelos Wilder, trying to make friends instead of just letting friends happen to him.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[His words come too late, and she's already tossed said raspberry up into the air. That's okay, though. He does better than her; since hers decides to bounce off her forehead this time to who-knows-where.

Such a simple task should not require so much effort. :|]

...No doubt it is a little more "fun" when you are successful.

[He makes a face and laughs.] Yeah, maybe so. Here~

[Zelos offers a napkin to wipe the raspberry juice off her forehead. He would just do it for her, but he's not sure how she'd take to being touched so suddenly.]

[So polite, Zelos. And that's a good thing really. She leans back at first when he holds out the napkin; thinking he was going to do just that. Touch her without her permission—because when has her permission ever meant anything...?

But seeing his hand hover in midair for a moment, she takes it with a relieved look on her face.]

...Thank you.

[And she uses it to wipe off her forehead. Third time will not be the charm, she decides, so—she won't try again.

Back to eating normally...]

[He smiles gently at her, not missing the momentary freeze and subsequent relief when he didn't move in too close. He understands, even if the pendulum swung the opposite way with him and all he wants is to be touched, anything to make that ache go away...

He pops another grape in his mouth then turns his attention to the pasta salad, banishing such thoughts from his mind. They have no place here for the time being.]

So what's been up with you? Finding things to occupy yourself with?

[It's easier said than done for her, but yes, she's generally thinking the same thing. How she's been treated—that isn't anything that needs to be discussed with anyone.]

...Well. I suppose you could say that.

[Man...what has she been doing lately? She's been writing in that scroll of hers, without much mind as to what she's actually writing about...

It's just something she does. Routine.]

I...I've been living in the Larmline Apartments. [And generally getting used to her neighbors and her location, etc...she never did mention the building she decided on, did she?] ...What about you?

Oh, y'know, keeping busy. I was trying to find out more about this place but I pretty much hit a wall to I've been teaching myself to cook some more advanced things, and of course making all that chocolate took awhile.

[It's really no secret he'd made chocolate for every lady in Vatheon, with the exception of Amaterasu but he'd made her other kinds of treats. Obviously he wouldn't send anyone something that could kill them.]

Someone from my world showed up too so I was helping him get settled. Anyone from your world end up here besides you?

[Of course, of course. That all makes sense well enough; she'd been wondering how much time and effort he put into this after all, since...well, even though it's not a secret, she really has no idea how many women he's made chocolates for.

She doesn't think to ask; she merely nods understandingly as she absorbs what he says. Even Akise had not been able to unravel Vatheon's mysteries, so...she was not expecting Zelos to be able to.

...

Ah. At the question, though, Tsubaki does find herself sighing.]

Unfortunately. There seem to be a few of us, actually, and evidently I was not the first to arrive.

[...Hrrmm. She really doesn't like to think about them much, but she really can't help it. Not when she's so accustomed to doing it.]

B-But they are hardly important now...

[They're...they're not in the Survival Game anymore, are they? So she doesn't have to worry about them at all. She kind of wishes she could stop already.]

You don't seem to thrilled. Not your friends, I take it?

[Serves to reason that not everyone who shows up would be an ally. He just got lucky. With a sense of unease he realizes it's entirely possibly that someone like Kratos or even Mithos could easily get pulled here considering Lamufao's ability to snag people across time.

It's not a comforting thought in the slightest.]

[She shakes her head easily enough, thinking on her encounters with them thusfar. Yuno. Minene. Yukiteru...

She'd been planning to deceive two of them, and she'd kidnapped the other for their bait. Hardly friendship...and in fact, she wonders if she even knows what true friendship is, since it's certainly not what she got from her followers.

...But then, there is Akise. He's here, too. Even if he doesn't remember her.]

...No, not exactly. And some are even in the same building as me.

[Which she had no idea about until after she moved in, of course. But she digresses. Her own stupid luck...]

I-I am sure you have your own enemies to worry about, though.

[Putting some more food in her mouth now. It's not like she's trying to burden her with the baggage she's brought from her home world, fff.]

Enemies, huh. Well if you have any trouble just let me know. I'll take care of it.

[He shrugs as her comment about his own enemies.]

I guess, but none of them are here so whatever. Actually two of my best friends ended up here so I guess I lucked out.

[Except Lloyd is from a different point in their timeline entirely and has all this horrible stuff in store for him that Zelos can't even talk about.]

..sort of lucked out.

[She appreciates his offer, even if she doesn't know if she'll ever need to take him up on it. She really hopes that she won't.

...

Something about the hesitation in his voice when he speaks of his "best friends" does make her wonder, though. Last she checked, friends were supposed to be a good thing.]

...Sort of?

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see him, he's just...

[Zelos pauses and sighs, running a hand through his hair.]

Apparently that coral can pull people from different times or something and he's from earlier on. There's some pretty bad stuff that'll happen and he doesn't know it yet, but if this place works how everyone says it does then he's in store for all that when he goes back.

[The Chosen looks worried at the prospect.]

I know he comes through it all okay, I just kind he has to do it at all, y'know?

[Different times... Different timelines, too, maybe? That's something she hadn't considered, but it would explain a whole lot of the reactions she's gotten since being here.

She breathes a sigh.]

Well. Since you are here, I'm sure you would be able to help prepare him for what's to come.

[That's...something.]

At least...he remembers you...

I guess there is that, though supposedly we don't remember anything from here if we end up going back so I'm not sure I see the point in trying to "prepare" him or anything.

[Mostly... he's ashamed of what he has yet to do in Lloyd's timeline and he doesn't want to tell him and risk Lloyd hating him here in Vatheon. He looks at Tsubaki, catching her tone.]

Does one of the people from your world not remember you at all?

[...!

Ah, whoops...]

[She hadn't quite meant for that to come out so easily. Maybe it would be worth something to train his friend anyway, and maybe it wouldn't...but either way, she hadn't meant this to be about her.]

...He...he doesn't, no. [Her only "friend," too.] But it is hardly his fault, so...

[She can't exactly be angry about it, can she...?]

It must be hard on you, though. I have a hard enough time with Lloyd not remembering everything, I can't imagine how I'd feel if he didn't remember me at all...

[He can't quite resist putting a hand lightly on her shoulder. What he wants to do is hug her, tell her everything'll be okay, that he'll protect her and be her friend, but he's fairly certain that would have her running for the other end of the city. He removes his hand quickly, in any case, worried even the small gesture will cause her to clam up.]

Have you tried talking to him anyway?

[She barely notices the touch, actually, but she flinches all the same. Perhaps it's something involuntary. She doesn't even realize, but she turns to him like nothing happened, when he asks the question...and nods.]

...I did. He found me not long after we parted ways that day; after I'd gotten changed and then ate with you.

But he seemed about as confused as I was.

[Can't be helped. There's nothing she can do. She wonders if there's ever anything she can do.]

Hey, look at it this way. He's your friend, right? At least you're talking about him fondly. So there's something about you he likes anyway and I'm sure you can reforge that.

[Zelos offers her a reassuring smile.]

He'll come around.

I...would hope so.

[She nods at the encouragement; thankful for it even, which isn't something she can say very often. She still won't, although her tone of voice is one of obvious gratitude.

She looks down now at the food, the grass that lay beyond the picnic blanket she had chosen. And then shrugs her shoulders.]

Until then, I can only hold onto the memories I have. I-I refuse to believe that they are lies.

Of course they're not! You lived it, right? No one can take that away.

[Trying to swing the conversation away from depressing topics, Zelos doles out some pudding into little paper bowls and hands one to Tsubaki.]

Here, try this! I think you'll like it.

Oh—

[At the distraction, Tsubaki stares at the bowl for a moment before taking it. She never believed anyone could take those memories away; there is strength behind what she says, but nevertheless, she is glad to hear it from Zelos.]

This is…chocolate, correct?

"Chocolate and banana! With wafer cookies. You can eat it with a spoon, but my favorite way is like this." He picks one of the cookies gingerly out of the swirl of brown and yellow pudding and uses it to scoop a good sized dollop to pop in his mouth.

…

[She is staring at first. Blinking as he simply grabs the cookie (or what she assumes is a cookie) and uses it, as if it is a spoon. At first she thinks maybe she’s mistaken; maybe it is a spoon after all, but then she grabs one for herself, feeling the crumbs on her fingers.

…She actually cracks a smile.]

A rather crude way of eating it.

[And she’s totally doing it, too.]

[Zelos is completely delighted to have Tsubaki smiling. Something just lights up when she does and he tries very hard not to over do it by pointing it out, he simply smiles back and scoops more pudding with another wafer.]

Sometimes crude is way more fun~!

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