[That Rose was the most adept at this task was nothing short of a miracle. She might have a way with words, but at least that means she always says something.]
[And she’s gotten marginally better at bedside manner. And even if she hadn’t, it’s still better to have him find out from her than to run into Solus in the wild.]
[There's a pause, and his tone when he answers is both very dry and audibly bracing for whatever new and stunning thing he's about to be told now.]
...Emperor Solus zos Galvus, you mean? The first Emperor of Garlemald whose name was, until quite recently, universally revered by our people to the point that the title he founded was capable of catalyzing an eikon even some years into the struggling reign of his much less distinguished grandson? The man who, I am told, revitalized a starving Republic into a thriving Empire not because he believed its people deserved a better life, but solely as a means to an end, to sow chaos across the whole of the world and usher in Calamities at will. ...That is the Solus you're referring to?
[He can't very well imagine she'd be calling him about any other.]
[That is much more of a response than she expected from Maxima, but she can almost understand.]
[If she was told someone had founded Hingashi for no other reason than to sow discord, she'd feel much the same. There would be blood, of course, but it wouldn't be hers.]
That would be the one. Villain to Garleans and Eorzeans alike.
[She presumed, anyway.]
[Onto the important thing. She hates to say this so curtly, but there's really no way around it. He's going to find out sooner or later, and it's better to just rip the bandaid off.]
[Takame witnessed the encounter Maxima had with Emet-- Emile through his periphery during his shift. At the time Takame was... more than a little reluctant to intervene given the fact he hadn't recovered from his own.
But he'd taken some time. Confided in Yusuke. And was worried the entire time, if Takame had "trauma", Maxima must have as well. right? So he sends a text.]
Maxima, forgive me for contacting you at this hour. I saw that you'd encountered Emperor Solus at the Vogue and I wished to ask if you were alright.
[goddammit he sees you deflecting but is too averse to say anything about it!!]
I was and had my own encounter with him. I'll not claim it was easy to see his face again.
However, I can vouch for his intent for better or worse. He is indeed an ally to our cause. I warded the Vogue with something called a Bounded Field. Had he any ill intent towards it or the people within it he would be denied access and if he attempted to break it I would have known immediately.
My apologies for not giving you more advanced warning. It was surely as difficult for you as it was for me.
You needn't apologize. Rose warned me he would be coming, although I do wish she had been able to be a little clearer about who, exactly, he would be.
[He'd been expecting Solus zos Galvus.]
I appreciate the confirmation that he doesn't mean to cause trouble. He did seem...sincere, in his desire to be separated from the life which had caused us such grief.
I suppose it's not so strange that a part of me wishes it had really been him, that I might have confronted with my questions.
I see. It is a rather difficult thing to explain, perhaps she lacked the words.
[he's too nice to say rose is extremely fucking short sighted.]
In the time I spent near him in our world, I can say with certainty that he has never lied once. Though I had the unique experience of travelling with him briefly. I'm sorry to say that I am unsure if that was a boon or not even to this day.
If I may confess, I pray this business with the Black Order concludes swiftly if only so that he has reason to leave this place I have come to call another home.
[But he knows that's not what Jun's asking, and while he is a little shaken, he's not upset enough to be petty about it.]
I'd met others with such features here, but it hadn't occurred to me that they might not have been born with them. I never expected to find myself with such a change. ...It's an adjustment.
Still...the ears aren't unappealing. [They're cute, really. If inconveniently expressive.]
[It's not what he's asking but, but he'll still accept it anyway. Things were bad enough without risking these bite marks getting infected]
Mm. There are people born with them, but those are pretty rare. For most people... it happens through curses from the Fae, or sometimes extensive exposure to the Spirit Realm. Or, in your case, bites from a werewolf.
An adjustment is understandable, but hey- sounds like you're already finding some positives. Canine ears look pretty good, I think.
Have you met Rose, or Scintilla? Where I come from, Miqo'te such as they, folk with feline ears and tails, are a common sight across the world. From the east come Au Ra like Takame, with horns and scales, and more rarely the Viera, with ears that resemble rabbits. These are natural races that exist on Etheirys, and I had rather assumed that this world simply had a greater variety.
[Close enough to normal that he hadn't bothered to ask questions that, in retrospect, apparently he should have been asking.]
Mm, I'm friends with Rose. And Takame as well. Rose was actually the first person with real cat ears I'd ever seen.
But that explains your confusion. In truth, most of this world's population are humans. Beings that aren't humans either lay low, or stick to the Spirit Realm. Kaisou is just... a bit of an exception to the norm.
[The shoebill in the hallway stares at her unblinking as footsteps approach the door from the other side. When it opens, Maxima is there looking surprised and vaguely concerned.]
[It just seems like "there's trouble" is the most likely reason for any Warrior of Light to have come and found him. He relaxes a bit when she waves off the idea.]
I'm not sure what you could think you owe me, but...do you want to come in? Not that I have much space for entertaining, but our other option is the common area, if you don't want to keep standing in the doorway.
[His room isn't very big, just a single bed and a desk, some bookshelves lining the other walls. He'll offer her the desk chair and sit down on the bed, bringing them a little closer to eye level.]
[ sometime between the hours of 1am and 3am, A small blue and red squirrel somehow finds itself in your home.
It's in as quickly as it's out, and behind it leaves a pile of about 88different coloured rubber ducks, as well as a small two-pack of beautiful looking japanese sweets. They look like art, really. When eating them, they're flavoured Pizza and Mango. Some flavours are just better than others. Underneath the gifts is a note in big, loopy handwriting. ]
Thanks for being a Pal, and helping out a guy in his time of need. Sampo Koski never forgets his friends, nor does he forget to say thank you! So, THANK YOU! This is just a small token of my adoring affection and unending appreciation. I'll see you around!
[ it's signed with a signature that's so exaggerated you can really only make out the word 'Sam'. ]
action. listen it's gonna get nsfw in this thread.
[Well, they had an agreement. A mutual one helped by the fact Lighter genuinely enjoyed Maxima's company. And you know Maxima being attractive as hell was a bonus.
Their ride back from the bar was thick with tension, Lighter occasionally shifting his mirror to smirk or bite his lip at his passenger.
Oh, but his pulse was going crazy. It's been a couple years for Lighter. Not since... well. He won't think too hard about Zelos given he's Belle's brother. And Zelos was the furthest thing from Lighter's mind when he and Maxima got to the fortress. It was late enough that people were winding down so there was at least a low chance of bumping into someone while they started towards the farther room.]
You've got better restraint than I thought. Figured you'd be more handsy on the way back with how you were at the pub.
[Maxima had been considering for some weeks that he might just find a bar to spend time at and go home with the first person who was interested, just for the sake of breaking his long self-imposed distance from others. This was better. Lighter was someone he actually liked, someone who had already demonstrated understanding of the kind of things he was learning to walk away from. He wouldn't have minded a purely physical one night stand, but friends with benefits is more comfortable.
That quip gets a quirked eyebrow and a smile.]
Restraint is a habit I've practiced until it's second nature. Letting go is the notable thing. ...I thought it was better to risk being too forward than be misunderstood.
[A beat, and he adds,]
In any case, I wouldn't dream of disrupting the rest of our evening by distracting the driver unduly. ...Here, down this hall.
[He studiously ignores the judgemental glare of the shoebill as he opens the door to his room and ushers them both inside.]
Fair point. With some people you really gotta hammer a point in for it to get across, after all.
[Is this a moment of self awareness or is Lighter just saying shit again? Anyone's guess. He followed Maxima to his room though he spared the shoebill a passing glance and made a mental note to ask about that later (he won't remember).
It's not long at all after the door's closed that Lighter's arms went straight around Maxima's hips with his hands dipping lower.
And his eye contact was deliberate as if he'd practiced bedroom eyes for weeks on end.]
[Lighter's arms around him make his breath catch, his thoughts stuttering. For a moment the look on his face is that of a beggar invited to a banquet, hunger and longing warring with awe and disbelief, as if he can't convince himself that he's truly here.
And then he's embracing Lighter too, leaning down to press their mouths together, hard and messy and devouring, because he needs to feel it, needs to prove that this is real and he's allowed to do this. He's been so careful for so long and now he wants wants wants, so much that he ends up pushing Lighter's back against the nearby wall without any conscious thought behind the movement.
His voice is rough with desire when he manages to regain enough control to pull back a few inches and get his breath.] ...To start with, I think we're both wearing too much.
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voice| UN: Thorn
[And she’s gotten marginally better at bedside manner. And even if she hadn’t, it’s still better to have him find out from her than to run into Solus in the wild.]
Maxima, do you have a moment?
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[Whichever one of them it happens to be.]
What do you need?
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[How does she explain this? How does she even begin to explain this?]
Tell me, what did you know of Solus?
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...Emperor Solus zos Galvus, you mean? The first Emperor of Garlemald whose name was, until quite recently, universally revered by our people to the point that the title he founded was capable of catalyzing an eikon even some years into the struggling reign of his much less distinguished grandson? The man who, I am told, revitalized a starving Republic into a thriving Empire not because he believed its people deserved a better life, but solely as a means to an end, to sow chaos across the whole of the world and usher in Calamities at will. ...That is the Solus you're referring to?
[He can't very well imagine she'd be calling him about any other.]
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[If she was told someone had founded Hingashi for no other reason than to sow discord, she'd feel much the same. There would be blood, of course, but it wouldn't be hers.]
That would be the one. Villain to Garleans and Eorzeans alike.
[She presumed, anyway.]
[Onto the important thing. She hates to say this so curtly, but there's really no way around it. He's going to find out sooner or later, and it's better to just rip the bandaid off.]
He's coming here.
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same night they both run into emet-selch; text; un: kesitakame
But he'd taken some time. Confided in Yusuke. And was worried the entire time, if Takame had "trauma", Maxima must have as well. right? So he sends a text.]
Maxima, forgive me for contacting you at this hour. I saw that you'd encountered Emperor Solus at the Vogue and I wished to ask if you were alright.
text; un: neoteric
What about you? You must have been on shift tonight, then?
[Deflecting into looking after other people rather than talk about his own problems? maybe.]
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I was and had my own encounter with him. I'll not claim it was easy to see his face again.
However, I can vouch for his intent for better or worse. He is indeed an ally to our cause. I warded the Vogue with something called a Bounded Field. Had he any ill intent towards it or the people within it he would be denied access and if he attempted to break it I would have known immediately.
My apologies for not giving you more advanced warning. It was surely as difficult for you as it was for me.
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[He'd been expecting Solus zos Galvus.]
I appreciate the confirmation that he doesn't mean to cause trouble. He did seem...sincere, in his desire to be separated from the life which had caused us such grief.
I suppose it's not so strange that a part of me wishes it had really been him, that I might have confronted with my questions.
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[he's too nice to say rose is extremely fucking short sighted.]
In the time I spent near him in our world, I can say with certainty that he has never lied once. Though I had the unique experience of travelling with him briefly. I'm sorry to say that I am unsure if that was a boon or not even to this day.
If I may confess, I pray this business with the Black Order concludes swiftly if only so that he has reason to leave this place I have come to call another home.
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UN: hikari-vi | Text
Hi, it's Jun.
Varian told me what happened. Are you feeling alright?
un: neoteric
[But he knows that's not what Jun's asking, and while he is a little shaken, he's not upset enough to be petty about it.]
I'd met others with such features here, but it hadn't occurred to me that they might not have been born with them. I never expected to find myself with such a change. ...It's an adjustment.
Still...the ears aren't unappealing. [They're cute, really. If inconveniently expressive.]
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[It's not what he's asking but, but he'll still accept it anyway. Things were bad enough without risking these bite marks getting infected]
Mm. There are people born with them, but those are pretty rare. For most people... it happens through curses from the Fae, or sometimes extensive exposure to the Spirit Realm. Or, in your case, bites from a werewolf.
An adjustment is understandable, but hey- sounds like you're already finding some positives. Canine ears look pretty good, I think.
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[Close enough to normal that he hadn't bothered to ask questions that, in retrospect, apparently he should have been asking.]
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But that explains your confusion. In truth, most of this world's population are humans. Beings that aren't humans either lay low, or stick to the Spirit Realm. Kaisou is just... a bit of an exception to the norm.
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action | post train | don’t perceive me
[She also owes him a ‘Thank you.’ It’s been such a long five years that she’s forgotten a debt, and this conversation is long overdue.]
[So here she is, outside his room in Meropide.]
Maxima, are you there?
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[The shoebill in the hallway stares at her unblinking as footsteps approach the door from the other side. When it opens, Maxima is there looking surprised and vaguely concerned.]
Has something happened?
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Oh, no, nothing like that. I wanted to check up on you. And—-
[A deep breath.]
I wanted to thank you. I owe you a debt from long ago, and I’m afraid I’ve forgotten until now.
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I'm not sure what you could think you owe me, but...do you want to come in? Not that I have much space for entertaining, but our other option is the common area, if you don't want to keep standing in the doorway.
[His room isn't very big, just a single bed and a desk, some bookshelves lining the other walls. He'll offer her the desk chair and sit down on the bed, bringing them a little closer to eye level.]
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[Rose happily takes the seat as she looks around the room.]
[It’s very Maxima. For better or worse, it suits him extremely well. They can’t let Zulius see this.]
A long time ago, back in Eorzea, you helped someone important to me. A small Elezen named Alphinaud. He was—-is—-like a little brother to me.
I don’t think I ever said it properly—-back in Garlemald—-but thank you. You helped ensure he came back to us alive.
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[ APRIL 1ST]
It's in as quickly as it's out, and behind it leaves a pile of about 88different coloured rubber ducks, as well as a small two-pack of beautiful looking japanese sweets. They look like art, really. When eating them, they're flavoured Pizza and Mango. Some flavours are just better than others. Underneath the gifts is a note in big, loopy handwriting. ]
Thanks for being a Pal, and helping out a guy in his time of need. Sampo Koski never forgets his friends, nor does he forget to say thank you! So, THANK YOU! This is just a small token of my adoring affection and unending appreciation. I'll see you around!
[ it's signed with a signature that's so exaggerated you can really only make out the word 'Sam'. ]
action. listen it's gonna get nsfw in this thread.
Their ride back from the bar was thick with tension, Lighter occasionally shifting his mirror to smirk or bite his lip at his passenger.
Oh, but his pulse was going crazy. It's been a couple years for Lighter. Not since... well. He won't think too hard about Zelos given he's Belle's brother. And Zelos was the furthest thing from Lighter's mind when he and Maxima got to the fortress. It was late enough that people were winding down so there was at least a low chance of bumping into someone while they started towards the farther room.]
You've got better restraint than I thought. Figured you'd be more handsy on the way back with how you were at the pub.
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That quip gets a quirked eyebrow and a smile.]
Restraint is a habit I've practiced until it's second nature. Letting go is the notable thing. ...I thought it was better to risk being too forward than be misunderstood.
[A beat, and he adds,]
In any case, I wouldn't dream of disrupting the rest of our evening by distracting the driver unduly. ...Here, down this hall.
[He studiously ignores the judgemental glare of the shoebill as he opens the door to his room and ushers them both inside.]
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[Is this a moment of self awareness or is Lighter just saying shit again? Anyone's guess. He followed Maxima to his room though he spared the shoebill a passing glance and made a mental note to ask about that later (he won't remember).
It's not long at all after the door's closed that Lighter's arms went straight around Maxima's hips with his hands dipping lower.
And his eye contact was deliberate as if he'd practiced bedroom eyes for weeks on end.]
So... where're we starting out?
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[Lighter's arms around him make his breath catch, his thoughts stuttering. For a moment the look on his face is that of a beggar invited to a banquet, hunger and longing warring with awe and disbelief, as if he can't convince himself that he's truly here.
And then he's embracing Lighter too, leaning down to press their mouths together, hard and messy and devouring, because he needs to feel it, needs to prove that this is real and he's allowed to do this. He's been so careful for so long and now he wants wants wants, so much that he ends up pushing Lighter's back against the nearby wall without any conscious thought behind the movement.
His voice is rough with desire when he manages to regain enough control to pull back a few inches and get his breath.] ...To start with, I think we're both wearing too much.
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