summonerd | i just wanna know: who broke it?

Honestly Anna's a little relieved, because the tension building around Lloyd immediately evaporates when he lets the dam break. It's-- ugly tears, but he's allowed that, really, Anna thinks. They sink to the ground together, and Anna holds him, keeps holding him, keeps whispering soothing things as well as she can.

(It's been so, so long since she's done this. Does she even remember how?)

She presses a kiss to the edge of his hair without really thinking about it, and it's-- weird, to do it, when he's so big, and she can't kiss the top of his head so she kisses the side instead. Guilt and selfishness clench in her chest but she pushes them down because this isn't about her, right now.

"I love you," she whispers.

(The fact she hasn't said those words to her son in five years doesn't elude her.)

[Arms crossed, Zelos grits his teeth and averts his eyes off to a wall, counting the imperfections on the paintjob and trying to ignore the tick-tick-tick that harshly tap-tap-taps from within him, through his ether and against the walls of his veins. Turns out that the whole display of affection right in front of him is a little too much to bear, actually. So slowly, as Anna and Lloyd hug it out, he turns away and walks off until he's by a window and looks out of it, off to the sky.

Malos offered them a place to stay. Fair, the Aegis guesses, but he can't help being anxious anyway. Zelos can't see the moons from this angle, but there's still stars in the darkened vault above, so it can't be too much later from when they left the inn. He has no way to tell what time it is on him and honestly refuses to go looking for a clock right now, but if he guesses around he might as well pinpoint it as somewhere in the early morning. Out of the corner of his eye he dares a glance at the other four people in this house, unconsciously tapping that tick-tick-tick rhythm against his forearms. At this rate the humans of this strange party--mostly his driver--are only going to get a handful of hours of rest, and Zelos knows just how delicate and fragile humans can get when they don't get sleep. They really are going to have to wait until daybreak, but even that's risky, because-- because--

He could leave, instead. Slip out of here and rush forward into the night until he's lost in his own terms, not really free but at least shrouding himself in an illusion that feels like something close. It's pretty clear that he's the one piece that doesn't fit in this picture, anyway, and from the way they regard each other then he highly doubts that anyone would dare kill Sheena just to get him back should he actually manage to escape, but...

Zelos looks back outside. Squints at the darkness, gets distracted by the reflection of whatever orange ether light he hasn't hidden that falls on the window glass, and thinks of a fire he set only a few hours ago. Thinks of red liquid on a green glass floor, and instinctively his right hand reaches to touch his core crystal. Tick-tick-tick, comes his humming glow of life through it, come his nerves and confusion. The greenery shrouded in night outside mocks him. Little bird, little bird, little bird, it chants. But Zelos can't go out there now. Because even if these people don't kill Sheena, then someone else out there will find him instead, and then--

Fingers tightening on the pink fabrics of his gloves, his whole hand moving to protectively cover his crystal. His teeth clenching, pulse quickening, his eyes closing. One thing loud in his ears, one sound, one pull:

Tick-tick-tick-tick.

The little bird can't yet fly.]

Edited 2019-03-16 06:53 (UTC)

[Sheena's smile's soft as she watches Lloyd hug his mom, the flicker of jealousy that passes through her easily set aside - she's happy for him, really. If anyone deserves this, it's Lloyd. She turns away to give them privacy, drifting in the same general direction that Zelos already had. She doesn't close the distance, remains about half a room away from him.

It's... still strange, seeing him here. Alive. Stranger still to see a ghost of your friend and be able to spot the behaviors in him that must have been there, in his alternate form, but that you'd never thought to look for. (Had she missed them, or had Zelos thought there was no point trying to open up to her, when all she would do would be to respond with hostility?) And then there's the fear and restlessness, pooling in the bottom of her heart, that she's becoming increasingly sure aren't from her. God, she doesn't know what to do. But she can keep him safe, at least, she thinks. Even if he's one of the things she needs to keep him safe from? Maybe. All she can do is try.

She comes back to herself with a little jolt. How long had she been watching him? Probably too long. She looks away, offers Malos an awkward half-smile. (Expressing "sorry, thanks for harboring a couple of fugitives at ass o'clock in the morning" without words is beyond Sheena.) It's that nervous energy that still hasn't gone away that has her tugging at her obi, inching it back into its proper place - the bow had gotten misshapen and pulled off to one side, at some point since she'd changed out the bloodied parts of her outfit. At least she can look like she's put together, if nothing else.]

Malos sends Sheena a kind smile back, then tries to figure out what he's gonna do while Anna and Lloyd hug it out. Maybe he should talk to Zelos' driver, get acquainted with her, but-- hey, anyone who's a friend of Lloyd's has got to have a good head on her shoulders, right? And honestly, right now Malos is more concerned with making sure Zelos is absolutely, completely aware that he's safe, now.

So, he gravitates Zelos' direction, stopping a respectable distance away, making sure to not come anywhere even close to sneaking up on the kid. Zelos seems pretty transfixed with the window, but surely Malos sits in the corner of his vision by this point, and it's from there that Malos addresses him.

"Hey. You hanging in there okay?"

[Malos' words startle Zelos a little, with his eyes closed and distracted as he is in his own mind and the endless possibilities of the future, but he at least manages to catch himself. Still, Zelos feels like has to hide that fuckup, so he immediately rolls his eyes and grins, then gestures at the window with one hand.]

"I'm just making myself useful and keeping watch here. I mean, someone has to, right?" [he says in a mocking tone. He crosses his arms again and shrugs, one eyebrow raised as he gestures at the mess of a scene further inside with his chin, eyes still fixed on Malos.] "Anyway," [he adds, unconsciously gripping his gloves tighter,] "You look like you want something. What's up?"

Edited 2019-03-16 18:45 (UTC)

Honestly? Malos is kind of surprised by that reaction. Something about Zelos' tone gets right under his skin but, maybe that's what Zelos was aiming for. Malos tries not to let it bristle him too badly (Zelos has EVERY right to be paranoid), and counters the comment with a casual, if a little sharp:

"Hey, I'm pretty sure both me and you will be able to sense anyone coming long before we see 'em, so I wouldn't worry too much about that."

He leans against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, makes a big show of shrugging. He's not dumb enough to be convinced the grin Zelos fixes on him is genuine, but he's not quite sure what it's hiding, either.

"Just wanted to check on you," Malos says, honestly. No point hiding that.

He's pretty sure if he asks Zelos how he's holding up directly again he's just going to get defleced again, so instead Malos says: "Hey, you got any big plans, now that you're free? Things you wanna do? Places you wanna see? I know we're fugitives, now, but I'm sure we could work something out if there's something you're dying to do."

[Fucking shit, that's like the second time someone directly asks Zelos what he wants to do, and the second time that he draws a complete and total blank. Leave him alone, damn it! He doesn't know! Zelos dramatically sighs and hums, directing his eyes to the ceiling and tapping at his chin with one finger, letting the seconds roll by. One, two, three, then another three just to be an annoyance.

Then he scoffs, shrugs, and paints an 'oh well' smile on his face, eyes closed.] "No idea! I mean, technically I've only been alive for like, less than a day," [he laughs,] "which means that I haven't really given that much thought. So for now I'm just gonna go with whatever my darling driver says."

[He crosses his arms again, hits Malos with another grin, though there's something more mischievous about it now that reflects the calculating look he levels Malos with. There is something in Zelos' mind, if he's honest, but he doesn't know whether to spill the beans now or keep it to himself until the time feels right. Because despite the fact that the two of them are blades, Malos is still connected to Anna, and Zelos would prefer knowing what their intentions are regarding the war and the Aegis before he makes any bold move. It'd be stupid to play his cards when he can't even see his opponents' decks, after all.

So:] "But what about you guys?" [he ends up saying, tilting his head. Curiosity sings in his head, brightens his grin.] "Now that we're all fugitives, we're pretty much bound to work together. I'm sure there's something up your sleeve to get us out of the frying pan, right?"

Malos raises his eyebrows at the bullshit pie Zelos just offered him, but ignores it for a second. Zelos asked him a question, so the least he can do is answer-- especially since it has to do with Zelos' safety.

"Well, if we're looking for some place to safely harbor an Aegis, there's really only one place to go, right?" he says, carefully, mouth twisting a little in disgust. "Sure, the other free Aegis on this planet might be a little brat, but... if Mithos has managed to hide away from humanity for 500 years, surely he can hide you, too." And it won't be so bad seeing Kratos again, either.

"Also..." Malos shakes his head, laughs. "Real cute that you think you can get away with the whole 'only been alive a day' spiel, but come on, Zelos, I know Aegises keep their memories between lifetimes." That's THE most important distinction between Aegises and regular blades, honestly, other than that Aegises are significantly stronger. "How long've you really been alive? At least a couple decades now, right? More than that? You can't tell me in all that time you haven't thought even once about what you'd do with your freedom if only you could get it."

[Malos lays out their plans and Zelos allows himself a tiny little laugh, surprisingly satisfied when his plans and Malos' line up almost perfectly. Meeting up with Mithos and begging him to listen to Zelos' case is the one way to go if Zelos wants to get out of humanity's hands unharmed, after all. And, who knows? Maybe Mithos will have a way to help Zelos finally break free. Either that, or...

Well.

The smug smile on Zelos is a welcome change from his usual fakeness and the anxieties that have been resting in his core since he awoke and escaped, so it's a little upsetting when it's wiped out entirely to be replaced by a glare and even more anxiety when Malos next speaks, calling Zelos out on all of his bullshit without a care in the world. Just like that Zelos bristles, feels all of his defensive walls rise so high up that they block out even the starlight sneaking in through the window he stands by. Because this is the behaviour he'd been expecting when he came here, the questioning and the tension, the eventual confrontation.

Still, at least he has something on this situation: Malos doesn't have to know exactly what it is that Zelos plans, but he can, and perhaps should, play along.] "Well, well, well. We're quite well-versed on Aegis history here, aren't we?" [Zelos laughs, still satisfied yet on edge, and settles back against the wall a little more comfortably now. The grin is back on his face, though he still glares at Malos.] "Okay, I'll yield. I guess you'll be happy to know that you pretty much read my mind, old man." [Zelos pauses, squints. He taps a rhythm against his forearm, hums, says:] "I want to go to Mithos."

[While Sheena's still trying to decide what she should do, Malos heads over to talk to Zelos. That's probably better, actually. He seems alright, and he's a blade - it's not like she really has any ideas for how to help, or even where to go. If Malos and Anna's intentions are as good as they seem, it's probably better to let them take the lead rather than blunder her way through another world she barely knows. She leans against a wall, close enough to hear some of their conversation if not really trying to eavesdrop.

"I want to go to Mithos" is hard to miss, though.

Haaaaa. Oh, Sheena doesn't like the sound of that. On the one hand, there's no sign of Cruxis, and this world is neither split nor built on the backs of thousands of years of sacrificial Chosen, and Mithos... could easily have been so much better than what he was. On the other... the Mithos of their world left countless scars that won't heal soon, on her friends and on the world itself. Even if she'd been in resonance for longer than a day, she probably would have had a hard time hiding the spike of something like panic, or the general anxiety it settles down into. Sheena flinches, looks away as she tries to get her reaction under control. She can ask about this world's Mithos in a second. This isn't going to be a repeat of what happened in the Tower of Salvation, no matter what happens.]

Edited 2019-03-17 02:34 (UTC)

[As soon as Zelos says that, there is a sudden spike of panic and anxiety that pops in his throat and causes the rest of his words to die out. Zelos chokes on it and flinches instinctively, fingers curling into his gloves as he blinks it away, tries to regulate his breathing. He frowns. Well, that was unexpected. Sure, Zelos is nervous, but this is the first semblance of control he's felt over the situation all day, so why...

Oh.

He turns his head and finds Sheena leaning against a wall, definitely closer than she'd been before, with Anna and Lloyd now completely left to their own devices. Zelos smiles when Sheena looks away, amused as he watches his driver seal her fate and expose herself as an eavesdropper.]

"Honestly, honey," [he says, voice now louder for her to hear and laughing incredulously, raising an eyebrow at her,] "if you wanted to be part of the conversation so badly, you could've joined. And here I thought you knew that eavesdropping was rude."

I wasn't trying to-- [she starts to snap, more mortified than anything, but stops herself. Really, though, it was either hang out awkwardly in the same room or wander through a stranger's house, and this option had at least had the benefit of keeping Zelos in her line of sight.] ...Sorry. You guys started talking, and I didn't want to interrupt.

[Is disappearing into the floor an option? Sometimes using her smoke bombs for terrible ideas is tempting as all hell.]

Malos offers a small shrug, a little surprised but mostly unbothered.

"Hey, I don't mind. At this point, the conversation probably needs your input, as well." Malos turns to Sheena, eyebrows raised. "Wha'd'ya say? Any objections?"

[Well. Alright. She straightens up, heading over a little closer to the two of them so there isn't a whole half a room between them. Sheena lets out a slow breath, trying to think of how best to sum up all of Mithos's shit.]

There was someone named Mithos in our world. He was responsible for... a lot of people's suffering. [That still feels like an understatement, but where do you even start with Mithos?] But... this world's pretty different from the one me and Lloyd came from, so far. So if you guys think it's not a bad idea, then maybe the Mithos here is different. Can't say I'm crazy about the idea, though.

[Oh, that's a riot to hear. Zelos actually laughs at that, a bubbling and mocking sound that's shaped like little knives aimed outwards in a fan-shape.] "Darling, he's an Aegis," [Zelos says, shooting Sheena an incredulous look as he throws his head back to rest against the wall, trying to feel taller so he can look down at her, smirking, arms still crossed over his chest and shielding his orange core.] "One of the original two, in fact," [he adds. Then he goes silent, waiting. As if that would explain anything. As if he were actually providing answers.]

[Sheena flushes red at his tone, bristling as she sets a hand on her hip. She doesn't know shit, Zelos! Not a fuck!]

Alright, he's an Aegis. That doesn't mean he couldn't want the same things that the one in our world did.

[Though surely if he was the same, there'd be some sign of it in this world's state, right? There hasn't been anything Sheena's seen, at least. With Zelos's differences and he and Anna both being alive... Sheena scowls, shakes her head a little and sets that train of thought aside.]

But... if he is like you, that'd make him safer for you than Mizuho or anywhere else, right?

[Jackpot.]

"Well!" [Zelos beams, turning to Malos this time, head tilted.] "Unless you and your driver know of anywhere else, Mithos has my vote. Us Aegises gotta stick together, y'know? Besides," [he grins,] "you don't wanna get caught in the crossfire when the countries eventually come to blows, now do ya?"

[The fact that everyone seems to agree on going to Mithos makes Zelos a little more excited than he has any right to be, honestly. But, Zelos does have to play it a bit safe, so he turns to Sheena, says,] "I think maybe someone should tell those two over there about the new plans, hm?"

Edited 2019-03-18 16:25 (UTC)

"Exactly," Malos says. Then, for Sheena's benefit, he adds: "Mithos has spent the past couple hundred years hiding away from humanity. If anyone's gonna know how to keep Zelos away from them, it's him."

And then, since Sheena also mentioned a few reservations about Mithos, he continues: "I mean, I can't say I'm thrilled about meeting up with him, either-- he's a little rat bastard." (Most of what he remembers of Mithos is nothing but the brat being rude, biting, and making no effort at all to hide the hatred in his bones.) "But... I don't think he's dangerous. Mostly? I think he's just scared."

(More than the rudeness, Malos remembers Mithos' wide-eyes, constantly watching every angle, every corner of the room. Remembers how the brat had all-but clung to Kratos, only relaxing when his old driver was within reach, and even then, only barely.)

"...Can't say I blame him," Malos muses. Then he claps his hands together once, pushes the thought out of his mind. "Anyway! Anna already knows about the plan, but I guess we should tell Lloyd, huh?" He sends a look towards the other room-- he can't really see Anna and Lloyd from this angle, but he can feel that Anna's there, along with the emotion bleed and... Actually.

"Maybe we should give them a minute."

Edited 2019-03-18 17:36 (UTC)

['Rat bastard' surprises a soft laugh out of Sheena. That's not phrasing she expected to hear used to describe Mithos, but it's not wrong, exactly.]

If you both think that's the best idea, I'm fine with it. Not like I have anything better to offer. [...and if it comes to it, how hard could it be to beat Mithos a second time, with a party composed of no healers? She just nods at Malos's suggestion, not really wanting to be the one to interrupt their reunion. She's missed Lloyd, but she can stand to wait a few more minutes to talk to him.] There's no rush for now anyway, right?

I'm Sheena, by the way. [Did she really forget to introduce herself until now?? Sheena where are your manners. She offers out a hand to Malos.]

"Oh shit," Malos says, taking Sheena's hand and shaking it. His grip is firm, but a little awkward, considering fine control of his hand is off the table for him now. "Sorry, got so distracted by the fact most of us already know each other I didn't think to ask for the one name I didn't know. I'm Malos."

He hesitates a second, but he's too curious. "You good friends with Lloyd?" He guesses she is, but is curious regarding the details. "From the same world as him, I'm guessing."

[Sheena waves that off with her free hand and a small shrug. It's the middle of the night and her friend's having a tearful reunion with the alternate universe version of his dead mom on the floor in the other room; maybe it's not that weird that they're just getting around to this.]

I owe a lot to him. [She sounds impossibly fond.] But yeah. We were travelling together with a couple friends when I somehow wound up here. I didn't expect him to follow, though. [If anyone's gonna transcend space and time for friendship, it's going to be Lloyd, she guesses.]

You're... Lloyd's mom's dad, right? [He absolutely does not look old enough to be a grandfather, but that's clearly just a running theme in Lloyd's family members, huh.]

Edited 2019-03-18 20:44 (UTC)

Malos considers Sheena for a second, then makes a call. "Hey, that's just what you do for family, you know?" He knows he'd follow Anna to another universe if it came to that-- provided being in separate universes didn't snap their resonance, first. Hell, he'd do it for any member for his family, not just his daughter.

He laughs a little, at Sheena's uncertainty.

"Yeah, I am," he answers, unable to keep the grin off his face. He's talking about his daughter, of course he's grinning. "Anna's adopted, if that you helps any. I mean, 'course she is, blades can't have kids. Unless you're Kratos." He laughs, louder. He's the only one listening who gets the joke but it still brings him endless joy. "We never did figure that one out!"

Edited 2019-03-19 03:01 (UTC)

[... oh. Now that she thinks about it, that tracks, huh? She smiles back at Malos, a little more (pleasantly) surprised by the revelation than she would have expected to be.] ...yeah, I guess you're right.

Unless you're Kratos? [Sheena is definitely not up on blade biology, but she's filing all of this away, intent. She looks sheepish about her lack of knowledge, at least.] Sorry, this is still all kind of new to me.

"Nah, don't apologize. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me either." He'll explain what he knows, but honestly it isn't a lot. "'Cuz like, blades can't have children. That's not how blades are born. That's not how blades work. And as far as anyone in the history of ever was concerned, blades and humans can't have kids together, either..."

He shrugs.

"But, well, Lloyd exists. Even though his father's a blade."

Was a blade. Same difference, really. Malos doesn't care what Akhos says, if it was just the flesh eater thing, there'd be way more kids like Lloyd in the world.

Fuck, he misses his grandson. When Anna's done over there, he definitely needs to talk to her about-- His thoughts derail, a little, when he looks at the clock on the wall. Architect, is that the time!? Not tonight, then. He'll have to out-stubborn Anna tomorrow.

"Anyway, fuck, it's getting late," Malos says, sending an apologetic look at Sheena for having to end this converastion early. "Y'all should probably get some sleep, huh? We got a big day tomorrow."

Malos makes his way over to where Anna and Lloyd are, rapping his knuckles on the wall to get their attention. "Hey, kids, hate to interrupt," he drawls. "But it's bedtime."

Edited 2019-03-21 17:10 (UTC)

[Zelos watches the exchange with crossed arms and a smile on his face, tucking away the information they share and building himself a nifty little relationship chart in his head. So far the dynamics seem awfully close: Malos, a blade, adopted Anna, his driver, and at some point gave him part of his core crystal to turn her into a blade eater. That sheer amount of trust is something foreign to Zelos, but, hey, with everything that a blade eater's connection to their blade implies, he guesses he could probably work with that information somehow.

Lloyd and Sheena are friends and hail from the same world. Out of the corner of his eye, Zelos spares a glance to Lloyd and Anna's general direction, hums, and then looks down to the floor, pensive. He vaguely remembers someone dressed in red in that memory he'd seen. Just in case, Zelos should probably be careful around this Lloyd guy, then, if Sheena's reaction to him is anything to go by. God. Zelos pouts a little, mentally cursing his alternate self for leaving him his mess to deal with. And it hits him, then, how odd it is to think of himself as dead in another universe, but...

He blinks when Malos moves, hears him call out to the humans in the house and call for bedtime, and laughs. Well, at least someone here has the right idea. Blades are always smarter than humans like that.]

"You know what? I agree," [he says to Sheena, a shit-eating grin on his face. He shrugs.] "You humans are sooo delicate when you don't sleep!"

it's fine anna is a little bit too!

What's up fuckers I think blades should vote

i'm in hell

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curb your enthusiasm coming out of malos' eyes

you got speakers in there my dude?

i didn't think so but at this point i'm too afraid to ask

Guys I'm still here