ohmyarceus | January - February Test drive

Fair enough... Either way, good to know. [ he takes what he can get, thank you very much!! ]

What's your name, anyways? I never caught it.

Sion Astal, co-leader of the Collegiate gym. And you?

*yep, the person who was just mildly trolling him is a gym leader*

...Thank you.

[She's not used to such politeness from strangers, especially men, so it takes her a moment to adjust to the situation. After handing over the teacup, she reaches for the chair and takes a seat before he can get the chance to get it for her.]

It's rude of me to take your invitation without introducing myself. I'm Olivia.

[She extends a hand to him carefully.]

A pleasure to meet you, sir. And your teacup friend. [She hasn't forgotten about the floating Pokemon hanging about.]

That's a wonderful name.

[The bear gets a simple nod in greeting, as she's seen the strength some of the creatures possess and angering one via touch would be horrible. Speaking of those Pokemon, she can't help but frown when the topic of her partner comes up.]

He's still getting used to meeting new people and is easily excitable, unfortunately. I hope Rotom didn't scare you...

[She can feel the Pokeball shaking in her pocket.]

Would you like to meet him?

Udon's no problem. [Kazuki laughed a little.] You want to come visit? Newbies stay for free! It's part of the reason I opened the place to begin with.

At least he has spikes to defend himself with.

[Lorenz frowns a little and withdraws the pokéball that holds his own.... friend? A press of the button, a little flash and... that sure is a floating teacup.]

The poor thing's porcelain is already chipped! I can hardly be expected to let wild animals paw at it and damage it further.

[He says this but the little spirit in the teacup merely releases it's hold on it's own broken handle to clap fingers and thumb together in the classic gesture for "blah blah blah". A teacup with an attitude problem. Beautiful.]

_{[As he listens, Beetlejuice picks a stray flake of crud off his chin. Teaching his Pokemon to spread terror has been one thing, but there's a part of his pride that still stings from being utterly unable to uplift those milquetoast newlydeads.]

[Hmm.]}

You can't be serious, kid! Children are creepy as hell!

_{[He closes the gap between them at an easy stroll and invites himself to sling an arm around Gregory's shoulders. He smells awful.]}

Haven't you ever seen a scary movie where a little drowned girl crawls out of televisions and twists peoples heads around backwards? It wouldn't be nearly as scary if it was some middle aged Debbie from accounting!

What matters is that you are safe now. I will look after you, Lorenz. I promise. Same as I always have.

Ah, the fights here seem to be more like friendly sparring matches from what I have observed. As such- no bodily harm as come to me or anyone thus far in my time here. I can assure you, you are indeed safe.

I will see to it myself that you are comfortable here.

That's... well. All right. You've got me there.

[ He's not even questioning that. This place has been weird shit from front to back, why would it stop now? ]

You're going to have to tell me more about that sometimes, though. I hope you realize.

[Oh, man.

Somehow, for all Claude's infinite wisdom, he hadn't actually expected Lorenz to break down like this, even though he'd known the other man was in a bad state. In retrospect, maybe that was uncharacteristically stupid of him. Whether or not it's accurate - Lorenz himself doesn't seem entirely sure anymore, and Claude is happy to cling to that scrap of hope rather than believe otherwise - Lorenz had thought he'd died. Alone, desperate and scared, full of regrets, trying to do what he believed was right all the way to the end but none of it going the way he wanted it to. Who wouldn't break down?

(Thinking of Lorenz dying with his regrets laying heavy on him...it makes him think of some of the more disturbing beliefs of Faerghus. And, for a moment, he almost thinks he sees a glimmer of sense in it. Not that preaching that kind of doctrine, thinking that the regretful dead are burning in a sort of hell until their regrets are resolved for them, is a good thing by any means, but...the way it makes him feel, he can see why those feeling the same might try to justify doing whatever they felt would help the dead rest easier. Less a service to the dead than a balm - and perhaps an excuse - for the grieving. Claude's never been a particularly vengeful or violent person, but...if Lorenz died like that, then Edelgard and Count Gloucester have something to personally answer to Claude for.)

Still...somehow, Claude hadn't seen this coming. Perhaps because he and Lorenz have rarely been this raw and vulnerable with each other - Lorenz rarely, Claude next to never. They're way off the map of their usual dynamic, and Claude isn't quite sure how to navigate it. It feels oddly harder than the emotional intimacy that he's developed with the Blue Lions here, despite the fact that he knows Lorenz far better than he initially knew any of them. Maybe it's due to most of the territory having been uncharted with them - with less familiarity, the unfamiliar hadn't felt so strange.

Lorenz has always been a difficult one, too - it isn't as simple as just pouring compassion and sympathy on him. The man has his pride, and as battered as it might be right now, Claude still thinks he probably has it in him to be offended if he feels Claude is coddling him. It's a delicate needle to thread, but...well, if his Deer aren't worth the effort, who is?

He chuckles a little, rubbing Lorenz's back with one hand. It's an almost familial gesture, not that Lorenz comes from any kind of family where he'd be likely to recognize it.] Jeez, wasn't expecting you to actually admit it...now I'm all embarrassed. But I missed you too, Lorenz. Seriously. And as much as I hate what you had to come through...I'm glad you're here.

[The soothing pressure on his back does precisely as it's meant to, warm and comforting and helping him get himself back under control. He shakes his head, trying to draw in a full deep breath, failing, and then squeezing Claude one more time. It's a strange sort of sensation, the warmth and, whether Claude will admit it or not, care in such a gesture.

He can hardly recall the last time he cried never mind any sort of comfort offered for such unseemly behavior. A nobleman is not swayed by his emotions but instead logical and precise. Always. Something that had been drilled into him for as long as he can remember.

Don't get upset, don't get mad, don't show anyone that things affect you. You undermine your power with such needless emotions. You need to be untouchable. All pleasant smiles and polite nods and don't you dare question your father.

He'd never managed to be cold the way his father did but he could spout thoughtless pleasantries for days and that had been... acceptable.

But this? This was disgraceful. And here was Claude being kind to him, as though he wasn't making an utter fool of himself.

Lorenz sniffles again, swallows down another sob, and forces himself to take a step back. Distance, first and foremost. One hand comes up to his face, rubbing at his eyes as begins murmuring his apologies, voice still strained even though he's fighting so hard to get himself back under control.]

N-nonsense. If anyone should be embarrassed it's me. [One more attempt to scrub away any sign of tears from his face and pretend like his hold on his emotions is far more solid than it is (than it ever is, if he's honest.)]

My... apologies...

Naoto. Naoto Kurogane...

[ ah. that's. useful. he knew he was hiding a lot of info but that... ]

You're the type to only tell people things when necessary, aren't you?

Oh, hell yeah! Thanks for the offer! [ free place to stay, with udon included?! yes and yes. ]

Let's wait until the slowpokes are done eating, though. Don't want to startle them or anything.

Not much startles them. [Usually, they don't even react until the thing that startled them was long gone, or had already cut their tails off.] But I do need this blanket back when they're finished.

[Even if the addition of fruit did ruin the tea for Dedue's particular palate, he wouldn't be rude enough to say so, after Lorenz did him the courtesy of trying to cater to him. If he can drink sweet-apple tea with Annette without complaint, surely a little peach with the ginger will be fine.]

[The idea of Lorenz naming his mischievous teacup after Claude is an amusing one; Dedue thinks that Claude might not particularly mind being its namesake, either. Though Claude, to him at least, had always appeared as more of a busybody than a prankster, but perhaps that's simply because he was never the target. And it would, anyway, take a very bold sort of prankster to want to pull one over on him.]

There is nothing that prevents you from naming it as you wish. [Dedue named one of his own-- a gift from Felix-- Friendarius almost entirely for the look on Felix's face when he did.] I had been under the impression that Claude directed most of his efforts outside of his own house, however.

[That is to say, trying to get his nose into the other lords' business for whatever he was scheming at that time, rather than messing around with his fellow Deer.]

Edited 2022-01-09 21:20 (UTC)

A pleasure to meet you.

*Sion's always got something he's not saying. For various reasons. It's pretty much a given with him!*

Well, I find that most people don't care to be told a lot of extraneous things that aren't relevant to what they're talking about, yes.

*... and he enjoys trolling people a little*

[WHY IS THIS MAN SO GROSS...

Gregory puts up with it, but barely. He doesn't even try to hide his disgust as he recoils a bit into himself, but hey, at least he's honest?]

Maybe...but I've seen way scarier than that.

[He lifts his hands, miming claws with them as he grits his teeth for emphasis.]

I'm talking giant, hulking robots that chase you and try to bite your head, or stuff you into an empty suit that crushes you all up inside!

[Oh, wow. Hearing Freddy growl like that...it's actually a little scary. Gregory can feel his heart leap briefly in his chest before it settles into frantic pounding, his grip tightening a bit on Freddy's jacket.]

I...I trust you. I don't think they'd last long here anyway...it's too open. Too bright. Nowhere for them to hide and be all creepy...

Um...

[Gregory seems uncertain for a moment, but he does consider it in silence for a few seconds before he answers.]

Yeah, I...I guess that'd be okay.

[Now that he knows what's coming, it probably won't be so startling.]

Then we're gonna be here a while. [ he lays back down on the ground. ] Means I can enjoy the sunshine a little longer.

Well, cut it out. It's annoying.

[ he deals with sion's kind on a daily basis. a little break would be nice. ]

[He got the growl under control after a moment, feeling bad for having scared him.]

I am sorry Gregory, I do not know where that came from... I just felt quite upset at the idea of one of them bothering you still.

You are right, they don't have the same shadows to hide in, or a Pizzaplex full of S.T.A.F.F. bots to use. Anything they do will be seen by others, and there must be others who don't like those things, or they wouldn't find a need to hide.

*that earns a raised eyebrow*

So you'd rather everyone start a conversation with you, not with answering your question, but stating their name, current profession, and anything else that might tangentially be relevant?

I guess you can!

[Kazuki watched Naoto lay down for a moment, before deciding to join in himself.]

I haven't done this in a long time.

[He's about to mention that the melancholy was fine, after all he had a friend like that back home- But Freddy seemed to want to keep the mood lighter and hey, he asked about home anyway, so on he goes.]

Ah well, let's see. [He idly pets Growlithe as he thinks.] Oh it's a beautiful place. Tunnels to everywhere, caverns deeper than even your voice can go, all kinds of plants and cave creatures, and of course Fraggles like me! [Beat, small laugh.] Well, like I am when I'm back home, at Fraggle Rock.

January - February Test drive

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject