After the mess that have been these past two days, Zelos decides to get serious and spends most of this day observing his companions through miscellaneous interaction and formulating questions and theories at the back of his mind. So when he's not bothering Sheena or avoiding Anna out of shame, Zelos is hanging back with Lloyd and Malos instead. The latter is thankfully a little easier now after last night, talk of stars and culture and jokes flowing easily as they trek through otherwise undisturbed nature. Zelos still sticks to Malos' side more often than he does Lloyd's, though, the presence of a fellow blade more comforting than a human's, but at least the poor kid doesn't look like he's ready to cry and bolt it away any second anymore. Good, good.
Don't fuck that up again, Zelos.
Talking to the two humans non-native to Aselia makes him wonder. All the questions he'd fostered during his talk with Lloyd surface every now and then, as do the observations of their eth--their mana that Zelos gathered the night before. But that's not what catches his attention most of the time. Instead, Zelos focuses on something else entirely; something written on Lloyd and Sheena's faces from time to time, something about his initial meetings with the two of them that he really, really can't ignore.
So he waits.
He waits until nighttime hits, until their camp is set and someone else other than him offers to take first watch. He lets everyone else fret over who's doing what as soon as he makes sure that Sheena will be asleep during first watch, then settles down comfortably, making it a show out of finally going to sleep. This is a human issue, anyway. If the rest of their party has anything to discuss about keeping watch and sleeping and whatnot, then they can do it without Tethe'alla's Aegis in the picture.
Zelos closes his eyes. Waits, sleeps, falls, lands. Pings outward as an invitation and request.
And when he opens his eyes back up, he's standing on a green circle of green glass surrounded by green mist and void, standing right before a man covered in blood who once wore his face.
There's more people here, of course. Faces and presences that Zelos had never quite cared to focus on during his waking hours, a little sharper now that he gets to project this memory stored in his core back out into the dreamspace, making it more corporeal and here and easier to examine. Four new people along with three he recognizes--seven. They stand frozen in time, completely silent, statues playing out a scene Zelos has only seen once, but that he's grown obsessed with the more time that passes.
He just... wants to know. He has to know.
Standing near Sheena's position, unmoving and afraid to test just how far he can push his projection, Zelos grimaces, curls his hands into fists, and breathes. Despite the novelty of the clarity of their faces Zelos cares little for most of the people here, and so his eyes catch somewhere that draws his attention in and simply won't let go. His mirror grins from where he lay dying, tired and triumphant and miserable all the same, looking up at and closely held in the arms of a boy that Zelos is beginning to think isn't actually seeing the Aegis of Tethe'alla when he lays his eyes on Zelos.
He shivers, at that. Barely manages to hold his ground.
Closes his eyes instead. Breathes, waits. Exhales. Opens his eyes.
Tries again.
'To tell you the truth, I was getting pretty tired of living anyway,' comes the echo of his other's voice. Despite the differently-shaped stone on his chest, both the sight and the memory of his words still makes Zelos shake, fills him with confused sorrow and rage. He's too afraid to let the little bits of the memory he's got stored play out, to hear the rest of his mirror's words once again. He's stuck. Frozen. And even as he feels the dreamspace shift and twist and a guest arrive, as his port becomes occupied by the one he'd made his request for, Zelos doesn't move.
He stands here in the silence of his dreamspace, back to his guest and eyes on his mirror, taking in the way Zelos Wilder looks up at his killer and boasts about his own death instead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNJ6LO1QIyk
Don't fuck that up again, Zelos.
Talking to the two humans non-native to Aselia makes him wonder. All the questions he'd fostered during his talk with Lloyd surface every now and then, as do the observations of their eth--their mana that Zelos gathered the night before. But that's not what catches his attention most of the time. Instead, Zelos focuses on something else entirely; something written on Lloyd and Sheena's faces from time to time, something about his initial meetings with the two of them that he really, really can't ignore.
So he waits.
He waits until nighttime hits, until their camp is set and someone else other than him offers to take first watch. He lets everyone else fret over who's doing what as soon as he makes sure that Sheena will be asleep during first watch, then settles down comfortably, making it a show out of finally going to sleep. This is a human issue, anyway. If the rest of their party has anything to discuss about keeping watch and sleeping and whatnot, then they can do it without Tethe'alla's Aegis in the picture.
Zelos closes his eyes. Waits, sleeps, falls, lands. Pings outward as an invitation and request.
And when he opens his eyes back up, he's standing on a green circle of green glass surrounded by green mist and void, standing right before a man covered in blood who once wore his face.
There's more people here, of course. Faces and presences that Zelos had never quite cared to focus on during his waking hours, a little sharper now that he gets to project this memory stored in his core back out into the dreamspace, making it more corporeal and here and easier to examine. Four new people along with three he recognizes--seven. They stand frozen in time, completely silent, statues playing out a scene Zelos has only seen once, but that he's grown obsessed with the more time that passes.
He just... wants to know. He has to know.
Standing near Sheena's position, unmoving and afraid to test just how far he can push his projection, Zelos grimaces, curls his hands into fists, and breathes. Despite the novelty of the clarity of their faces Zelos cares little for most of the people here, and so his eyes catch somewhere that draws his attention in and simply won't let go. His mirror grins from where he lay dying, tired and triumphant and miserable all the same, looking up at and closely held in the arms of a boy that Zelos is beginning to think isn't actually seeing the Aegis of Tethe'alla when he lays his eyes on Zelos.
He shivers, at that. Barely manages to hold his ground.
Closes his eyes instead. Breathes, waits. Exhales. Opens his eyes.
Tries again.
'To tell you the truth, I was getting pretty tired of living anyway,' comes the echo of his other's voice. Despite the differently-shaped stone on his chest, both the sight and the memory of his words still makes Zelos shake, fills him with confused sorrow and rage. He's too afraid to let the little bits of the memory he's got stored play out, to hear the rest of his mirror's words once again. He's stuck. Frozen. And even as he feels the dreamspace shift and twist and a guest arrive, as his port becomes occupied by the one he'd made his request for, Zelos doesn't move.
He stands here in the silence of his dreamspace, back to his guest and eyes on his mirror, taking in the way Zelos Wilder looks up at his killer and boasts about his own death instead.