deernet | voice; un: lowell

[is it that obvious? at least he can tell. one day, maybe. but he's given her an opening for a joke that she's gonna try to take.]

Strip club?

[because really she has no idea, and maybe this wasn't planned out very well. but she's doing it anyway.]

Or we could try cutting down some trees and get our own wood. Depends what he'd want. He much of a nature boy?

[ Stop being funny, Anna. He doesn't laugh, but he does break a little, then, glancing at her with what's almost a smile ]

Nope. City boy, I don't think he knows an oak from a maple.

[ And neither does Yuri, but she doesn't have to know that. ]

Maybe... yeah. Could be fun.

[ "Fun" meaning he gets to hit something a lot, so he's in. ]

Yeah, then let's head out to the forest and chop some wood. See, told you you'd get to beat on stuff. [and she speaks clearly, turning her head over her shoulder.] Vier!

[in a familiar puff of smoke, a small cat appears on her shoulder, perched there carefully with its missing eye matching anna's own. once the cat appears, she speaks more quietly, in a way that's almost uncharacteristically gentle. even if it is very deliberately in another language.] Bitte kannst du mir meinen Schwert bringen? Vielen dank.

[and with that, the cat disappears in that same puff of smoke, off to get her sword and return with it once they get it. you know, omen stuff.]

Don't know if katanas are great at chopping down trees, but we'll figure it out.

Nice cat.

[ Yuri is only momentarily startled by the cat, but, well, he's used to Smokey and Daisy by now. What's a cat appearing out of nowhere? Normal, totally normal.

He really doesn't want to wreck his sword, though. If Flynn is dead, it's one of the memories he'll have of him. He grips the sheath tighter in his hand. He doesn't want to have memories of Flynn. He wants to have the real deal, the guy, back with him.

It's incredibly frustrating to not be able to do anything. ]

Yeah. I don't have an axe yet. Should probably look into getting one.

[ That's easier than thinking about Flynn ]

Lead on.

[vier can find them once they get there, she's sure, but right now she's gonna lead yuri to the lamp and take them both to the one that's closest to the forest. once they emerge, she leads him to the edge—not too deep at all, because who knows what lurks within, but there's some sturdy trees there, at least.]

This is gonna be a hell of an endeavor. You do much woodworking?

[as if on cue, vier pops into existence holding anna's katana in their mouth. she reaches down and takes it by the hilt, then pets their head and gives them another vielen dank before they disappear.]

'Cause this is definitely not a chopping weapon on its own. Wonder if it would be too dangerous to try to strike some of these off with lightning. [idly, she runs the flat of the blade over her palm.]

Fixed a bridge once.

[ But that wasn't the chopping down trees part. Of even the making planks of wood. He just helped hammer them into place.

He hooks a hand on his hip and looks up at the tree. ]

Lightning sounds pretty fun. You got the hang of it?

[ Because he sure hasn't. If you want your morning tea to be iced, he's your guy, but anything other than that? Still can't do it consistently.

He has his sword in his hand, and he doesn't really want to use it on a tree, but.... well, he can always sharpen it. He really needs to get this aggression out.

He tosses his sheath to the side, hefting his sword up into his hand. ]

Tried and true. Let's do this.

Oh, abso-fucking-lutely not. But that's never held me back before.

[she cuts her palm to make what she's assuming is blood flow, then runs it along the blade and watches the lightning crackle to life around it. she's seen this before, in her memories, but for some reason that blade never made it back to her. as practice, she jumps into the air farther than a human should be able to and slices at a large branch a little bit ahead of them. there's a bright flash of light and a searing noise, and the branch falls intact to the damp, leafy ground.]

[she lands with a thump and kicks the branch. sturdy and thick, just like how she takes her women. (no, anna.) the end of it looks more like it's been seared off rather than cut, but at least her sword hasn't snapped. it's still crackling at her side, providing an eerie blue-white light when she looks over. for the first time in a long time, there's a tinge of excitement on her face.]

You see that shit? [she's smiling. it's not an earth-shattering realization of a world greater than her own or anything, but it is extremely cool. some small bolts are finding the quickest path to the ground around the tip of her blade, but she's got this. maybe she does.] C'mon, give it a try. Don't think we're gonna start a fire or anything.

[ Yuri watches, impressed, a smile almost verging on his lips. Anna is cool. Very cool, bad jokes aside. He nods, and slices his right hand open (he thinks vaguely about blood pollution, how they shouldn't be doing this, but... well. He doesn't care right now). He douses his blade with it and takes a deep breath, gathering mana to himself, and leaps up in the air, also higher than he should be able to. He lets out a yell, and lightning cracks, and another large branch falls. He lends next to it neatly, letting out a soft laugh. ]

Good move. I haven't done lightning before.

[ But he's always been good at learning from watching, and watching Anna is pretty amazing, like watching Judy. She's too good for her own good, sometimes. ]

[anna could be concerned about this, but they are not about to chop through enough wood to get a shrine built with just their bare blades. like, come on, that would be ridiculous. she watches and puts a hand on his shoulder in appreciation once he lands.]

Lightning looks good on you. [he's pretty cool too, honestly, and like. good on him for actually taking a risk on a new element there. and being able to keep it under control on top of it. her sword still crackles, and she wanders idly over to some lower-hanging branches while she talks. in present tense, pointedly.] So tell me about Flynn. What kind of stuff is he into other than being a knight?

[ Yuri hefts his sword. He likes that feeling, that feeling of the electricity running through it, into his hand and up his arm. It feels good to feel something that isn't this depressing weight of he's gone, he's gone hanging over him, a mix of anger and grief that has him tangled up in knots.

He clears his throat, looking at her, then away. ]

Nothing. [ He snorts a humorless laugh. But that doesn't represent Flynn. He doesn't want Flynn to get lost, if he is gone. He's not gone, Yuri reminds himself. Maybe not. Not yet.

He tries again, words stilted ] He kind of lost himself to being a knight. Takes it really seriously. He... he likes to fight. We both do. [ Which is kind of knight stuff, but also not ] We fight, a lot. For fun, to settle arguments, to see who's better. He beats me every time-- except once.

[ He looks up at the tree, eying another branch he could try. ] He's really damn strong. Strongest guy I know. When he fights, it's like it's nothing. He can be handling the heaviest sword in the world and it's like it's a stick, it's nothing. I tried... to keep up with him. Never really worked out for me.

[ He's saying too much, but the words are coming out, now. Words about Flynn, because Flynn means everything to him. A world without Flynn isn't a world he wants to live in. ]

He's so fucking good, Anna. The best damn person. He tries so hard, even when it's-- [ not killing ] hurting him. He gave up everything to be a knight. Sometimes I think he only remembers who the hell he is when I'm around.

[ Feeling is choking his throat and he lets out a growl, taking a few steps back to give this another go. He executes the same move again, but instead of lightning this time, ice forms around his sword as he slams it down into another large branch. Instead of stopping at the blade, the ice shoots down through the branch, forming a giant icicle that breaks off from Yuri's sword as he does a flip to try and regain his balance. He and the branch drop down to the ground, his landing less graceful this time. He stumbles, dropping his sword, the impact rattling through his body. ]

Shit.

[anna's not gonna steal his thunder (or lightning, or ice, what have you) while he goes for it, but she does get to his side when he stumbles and grabs his arm to try to steady him.]

Hey. Careful with the acrobatics. I got robot ankles, but you'll blow yours out.

[that's real concern in her voice, because she definitely doesn't know how to treat that and even though she could carry him, she wouldn't know where to take him and definitely doesn't think of the blood ministers around here as being, uh, up to date with their medical tech.]

That's what it's like, though. Sometimes you get so caught up in your job that you need someone to pull you out of it. I knew this girl back home, Kara, she was basically my only friend outside of work for a while. Felt like a normal person around her instead of just some tech support jockey.

[she lets go of his arm once she's sure he's steady, then swings her sword out towards a branch to see if she can arc the lightning. unfortunately, the lightning goes nowhere, and she masks her disappointment by continuing her story.]

If it's anything like me and Kara, he probably appreciates having you around more than he says. It's real easy to get lost in your duty. It's good having someone who can pull you out of it and remind you what it's all for.

I've taken worse falls and lived.

[ He would push her off but he's so tired, and he actually likes her company. He knows himself well enough by now that pushing people away, trying to go at it alone, isn't good for him. He'll end up doing something stupid and get hurt or killed himself. So he takes a deep breath, shaking off the bad landing. ]

Apparently I'm better at ice.

[ He watches the lightning with her, glad for the distraction ]

He... did. Does. Appreciate it. He tells me he does.

[ In his own Flynn way, at least. ]

What were you doing it for?

Ha, god. I don't know, dude. To get back at my family? To prove that I can actually make something of myself on my own?

[see, now she brought up her own family and she wants to attack something again. now that she can see yuri is doing okay, she takes a few steps away and slashes down another branch, which whumpfs to the ground like the rest. when she's ready to continue and doesn't immediately feel the need to break something, she finishes the thought.]

If I'm totally honest with you, before I had all this robot stuff going on, I didn't know what I was even doing with my life anymore. Burned out real bad and not even Kara could pull me out of it. Took the impossible to keep me going again, and that's when I started going super hard on, like, saving my city and everyone in it. [she holds her hand out and looks at her palm; its jet black, dull metal sheen barely reflects the moon.] Turns out getting destined for something changes your outlook pretty fast.

You were destined for it?

[ He gets you, Anna. Hit all the trees you need to hit to get this out. ]

I get that. I kind of bummed around for a while, too. What I thought I was gonna do, I couldn't make it work, so I went home. Took some asshole stealing our blastia to get me going again.

How'd the robot thing happen?

[ Because, honestly? That's pretty cool. And better than talking about himself ]

So, like, here's the deal. My soul [and she puts a hand on her chest] started resonating with the soul of this android from a world that already ended. Once it started, it didn't really stop until, like... well, until I left the city and came here, I guess.

[she doesn't sound too confident about it. her hand curls into a loose fist at her chest before falling back to her side, and there's a moment of pensive quiet as she tries to look inward. to get an answer to a question she hopes is easier than it seems. nobody replies.]

I have her body now, and a lot of her memories. Our souls are intertwined together forever. [or they're supposed to be.] But that's the whole destiny thing. I was supposed to be a vessel to help her reincarnate into a world she can keep living in.

Huh. Cool.

[ It doesn't make that much sense to him. Maybe it's kind of like Judy and Ba'ul's thing, even though they didn't share a body. Yeah, he doesn't get it, but he does look at her, trying his best to figure it out ]

So you're both of you? Anna and this... other person?

Yeah. I mean, I'm still pretty firm on just being me, you know? A2 is just along for the ride inside me. For, like, ever, I guess, since she never took control entirely.

[it's more complicated than it's worth to try to untangle all of it, at least right now. but if anna were interested in being easy, she wouldn't have gotten this far.]

I think I was always the weird one back home since I actually liked having A2 bouncing around in there. She's where I learned all my swordfighting stuff from, and she's most of the reason I even know what I want to do with my life. Before she came along, I was just some deadbeat living day after day, just kind of slow walking into the grave. Knew for a while that shit was fucked, but I didn't think I could do anything to change it.

Edited (god okay that's the last edit promise) 2021-10-13 03:54 (UTC)

Sounds familiar.

[ He was just a deadbeat until that asshole stole the lower quarter's blastia, but, hey, it's an inciting incident, isn't it? ]

So she gave you what you needed to beat it? Do you think you needed all that, the swords and the the... robot stuff?

[ Forgive him, he doesn't know the words, and his brain isn't working as well as it could be right now. At least this is distracting, hearing about Anna's life is more interesting than thinking about his own lack of one. ]

So, like.

[christ. she's about to seriously open up to him, isn't she? well. it could be in worse circumstances, and asking about her seems to be doing a good job taking his mind off himself and flynn. so she can't really fault him for it.]

It wasn't actually turning into A2 that changed my whole idea on things. Kara was transforming, too, and she ended up getting this magic ring in the mail that belonged to the person she was transforming into. She asked me out to this waffle place and let me try the ring on, and...

[and the memories flood back, but not to drown her. there's an almost youthful smile on her face, and she looks upward, towards the moon.]

And I started flying. I saw the roof of the waffle place from 40 feet in the air, and I was just... there. And that's when I realized the world was so much bigger than what I thought it was, and I was part of it now.

[she looks back down towards him with just a hint of sheepishness coloring her cheeks.]

As long as I had that, I don't think the specifics would've mattered. I would've figured out how to stake my claim in the new world one way or another. Just so happens that A2's the defender type.

[ Yuri watches her, and he almost manages to smile. It is helping, hearing about her life, learning about her. He can't do anything for Flynn, not right now. And doing nothing is the best thing to be doing, if he believes what everyone is telling him.

He's doing nothing. Not going after the man who killed him, not doing something stupid to himself. He's sitting with a friend, opening up, listening to her stories ]

You can fly? Damn. That's really cool.

[ The most important thing to take from her story ]

I remember that. The first time I left Zaphias, it... [ He was chasing Flynn, trying to catch up with him. He was always trying to catch up with him. His face falls and he glances away. He doesn't want to fall back, he doesn't want to mourn, not if Flynn is coming back. He doesn't deserve his mourning, not right now, not yet.

He lets out a choked off laugh. ] It changes things, huh?

[that pause there... it says a lot. she can tell he's thinking of flynn right now. not that it takes a genius to figure it out. she'd better keep talking about herself a little.]

It really does. I mean, I can't fly anymore, you know? It was tied to the ring. But, like. [see, she can tell this story. it's got everything. weird recolle shit, embarrassing little details... what else do they need?] So there was this one time where we were all getting possessed by little fire spirits. I don't really know what was happening with it, but once we got possessed, we, like. God, okay.

So I sprouted these sick black wings. [and she changes her stance a little to be a bit more theatrical and extends her arm out in a flourish.] And I had a way chunkier sword, so I basically looked like a dark angel. It was super cool, actually. But yeah, I could use them to fly and fight stuff in the air, and it kind of... like, it literally put a fire in my chest, you know? Made me like doing something with my life.

[and, well. yeah, sure. she might as well throw him a bone to tease her about later.]

It, uh. It helped that this super hot girl I was into thought the confidence was hot.

[ Yuri's lips quirk in a small smile, watching her. She's trying so hard to make him feel better, to take his mind off of Flynn, and while his thoughts keep returning to Flynn, he feels less alone. He got so used to having people around, back home, that suddenly being without Flynn left him adrift.

But he isn't alone. He has Anna, he has Blue, he has Diluc. They're new friends, but when has that ever stopped him? Estelle was a new friend, so was Rita, so was Karol. They became important to him after bare days. There's no reason that the people here should be any different. ]

Oh, yeah? You sure she wasn't into the wings?

[ He manages the joke with a soft laugh ]

Man, that's awesome. I'd kill for wings. Back home, we used to fly around with Ba'ul, this Enetelexia. He was like a big dragon, and he carried our ship.

[ But that isn't so important right now. He's quiet for a moment before he asks ]

You didn't like it? Doing something, even after A2 and all that?

So, like, it all happened right after another. Every month like clockwork, something brand new was happening. The flying ring, that was, like, March, and the black wings were April.

[she's trying to think of the best way to phrase this that makes her sound like an interesting person who had everything fall into place from a clear inception, and not like someone who had to piece it all together and still work to figure out what made sense for her. historical revisionism is hard work.]

I barely had time to process all of that, you know? It was just constant. Looking back, I can make it all make sense. But at the time, it really was just a whirlwind of stuff. [and she puts on an affected voice.] Hey, what's up, here's a new layer of reality. We opened up four brand new areas that you've never heard of even though you've lived in the city for ten years. Enjoy your new robot legs! [and then back to normal.] I don't know. It's a whole bunch of everything all coming together all at once, you know? I think I can only make heads or tails of it because it's been so long since it started.

[nailed it.]

Every month? That's... weird.

[ Just wait, bud. Just wait

At least he doesn't think she sounds messy at all. She sounds like a person, a person who's experienced too much ]

Yeah, I get that. Back home, I just kept following what was next, and what was after that, and eventually we were a guild who were the only people who knew how to stop the end of the world.

Sometimes things only fall into place after. Sounds like you did the best with what you had, robot legs and all.

[ He lets out a breath, looking down at the wood they've collected. The stress of this day is catching up with him, exhaustion weighing down his limbs. ]

Let's get this back.

[god, time flies when you're chopping down trees with cool sword tricks and talking about shit from home. she gives him an accomplished look and starts bending down to gather everything into an easy-to-carry pile.]

Yeah, let's head back to your place. You don't have to start working on this tonight, but hey, I'll come by tomorrow or something, see if we can make it work together? But right now I think both of us need some rest.

[she gives a thoughtful pause as she hefts some wood over her shoulder.] I'll think up some more stories. See if I can make myself seem cool and interesting.

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vibing - 2021-10-20 00:59 (UTC) - Expand