carbungle | IC Contact

Uh-huh. Back when I was first learning, it was easier to put things in than take them out again, so I just started tossing in whatever I could get my hands on to see what I could get to come back. Cutlery, palace decor, political documents... food. Lots of things disappeared, made for a fun mystery the Crownsguard couldn't solve.

[Here comes that delinquent soul again; he looks about as pleased as he had when he told her about the egg-boot misadventure.]

The Citadel kitchens had imported this fancy Tenebraen eggplant around that time, and they got way too much so they just started tossing it in everything. Every dinner had eggplant. I did not like eggplant.

[It's a vegetable, so: duh.]

[ She finds that she likes it— hearing these stories of his youth when he had been mischievous. He still is that way (if his claim to pranks and jokes are any indication), but it’s also relieving that he can speak of some parts of his past with it not becoming too heavy.

She has a suspicion of where this is going: ]

Did... did they end up rotting...? [ In magical storage, at that. ]

Yup- the whole batch. I guess time catches up sometimes when it's drawn out again. One day in training I was trying to pull a practice sword out and the whole storage just kind of exploded all over the floor- everything that'd gone missing for two weeks. Including a big pile of nasty veggies.

[As if he'd needed a new reason to find vegetables gross!]

[ She makes a face, just imagining the putrid smell it would give off, and then laughs. As a child that might have been upsetting, but it makes for a good story in retrospect. ]

I don't think anyone would eat eggplants after something like that!

I sure didn't.

[And no amount of lectures could force him.]

[ She continues giggling for a moment after. While the sound is soft, it's different than it had been two weeks ago. More subdued, hesitant, just as her smile is. When at last the final staccato of her laugh finishes, she brings up her free hand to tuck a strand of wet hair behind her ear, breathing in as she relaxes against the boat.

What a respite this little fishing trip has been.

Is this enough? Unfortunately she can't do enough. Right now, she can only give words. Her using a small joke about her head growing too big had been to stall what she couldn't properly think of what to say before. So she can only repeat herself. ]

...But truly. Thank you, Noct.

[ She focuses on the future so often on moving forward, moving forward, protecting what is still left, knowing what she must do to ensure it... but it's nice, once in a while, to be grounded within the present. ]

Thank you. This was your idea, remember.

[If his company has helped her at all, though, he's glad of it. Gods know she deserves it, a bit of relief from everything that life's been throwing in her direction lately. The past is a den of misery and there's not much of a future for him anymore, but... right now, he likes the present, too.]

[ It's a nice moment in virtual reality, sitting here next to him. It's a nice moment in reality with her hand in his... And for a few extra moments she lingers just like this, closing her eyes and feeling grateful for this opportunity and his presence.

This was her idea based off of what he had mentioned weeks ago about him wanting to fish. She hopes it was worth it. As much as she's enjoying the present right now, it would be ill-advised to remain captured by it: had he remained idle upon the couch, he wouldn't have been able to catch as many fish as he did today. Or wear the quiet smile as she sees the one on him now, not at all dissimilar to hers. ]

...So. [ The game's over. They can either stay here, or depart. But there is one thing they have to establish before then: ] Do I win anything?

Good question.

[He... doesn't have anything! And the game doesn't offer any prizes, either. She put a dent in someone's high score, probably. Does that help?

Hm. Maybe not. Even if she hadn't won, he'd want to show some kind of appreciation to her for this- even just something small to remember the day. That sort of thing can count for a lot later on, in unexpected ways. He'll... give it some thought.]

Let me get back to you on that.

I'm joking, I'm joking... [ In case that isn't clear. She isn't expecting anything.

It's then that she gives him a slight nudge. Time for her next question. ] Do.. you want to stay here and fish more? Or end the session?

[ She asks this openly, content with either option. If he wants to continue fishing alone, she won't be offended with that, either. She's happy to do what he wishes. ]

[He doesn't answer at first, merely sits quietly, considering the offers. Instead of accepting one, he offers up a third, instead:]

You mind if we just... sit here? A little while longer? We don't have to talk. You can fish if you want, or go another round, I don't mind the noise. Then we can go back.

[He ducks his head, fingers tightening a bit as if it's hard to get the words out. The very idea of stopping to breathe for this long is still somewhat alien to him after everything that's happened, but it's so warm here, so painfully familiar even if it isn't the same as any lake he remembers. Even if it's different, it reminds him of a home he'll probably never see in the sunlight again.

The game isn't going anywhere, he knows. It'll be here tomorrow, or the next day, or the next. But he might not be.]

...Just a bit longer.

[ How could she ever refuse a choice that he makes? And one he asks for so earnestly at that, as if he expects admonishment for delaying, or as if he needs permission to linger.

...Not too long ago, someone had voiced something similar of a wish to stay, with a tremble in the words as if asking for peace and contentedness, of wanting to remain for just a little while longer, was blasphemous.

"That I wish to stay."

"So, stay.... Stay. I'll be with you in this present."

His hand tightens in hers, and her touch is softer in response, securing her fingers between his. Some lights have spilled from his hands already, ones he can never gather back. He's stronger than she's ever felt him to be before, there's something changed about his magic that she can't yet quite place. Yet the way he holds her hand betrays a want for support, a need of it despite all that he's gathered and learned.

Pyra tilts her head to look at him, but when she's unable to see his expression as he bows his head, her gaze turns forward. Her own smile is quiet, but her words are warm. ] Then... let's stay.

[ As it is, she feels quite comfortable sitting alongside him on this boat. The false reality can be appreciated, too, for its painted beauty, and if she begins fishing again, that risks catching another big bass to throw them off the boat. She would rather not. Time passes in this realm, too. If they remain long enough, they'll even be able to witness the twilight.

Thus her eyes close, and she rests her head against his shoulder again. She doesn't need to be anywhere in this city besides being next to him, and... ]

...We don't need to be anyplace in time besides the 'when' in which we are now.

[ We, meaning, both him and her. These series of moments are all fine with her. She's lucky enough to have them at all, and she's even luckier to have someone with whom to share them. ]

[He doesn't respond to that; he knows he doesn't have to. This is enough for him, and for her as well, it seems. For now they're both here, and... yeah, that's enough.

For a moment there's no response or reaction, and then quietly he tilts his head to brush it up against hers once more, leaving it there, and he just watches the lake, counting ripples and thinking about nothing except what lies before them here and now, in this secluded virtual space. For a while he can pretend to forget the rest.]

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