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01 ♪ video/action ♪ wake up sleepyhead!
[The feed shows a nice view of absolutely nothing. There is, however, the sound of someone spitting. Very lovely. He just woke up with a mouthful of dead rotting leaves. His day is off to a great freaking start, that's what.]
Ugh, nasty! Ow--... ow... ow. [Don't let the nonchalance fool you. He's realizing he's alive. Taking in a deep breath, and letting it out.
He's alive.
... And also FREEZING COLD. But wait until he finds a way home! This is impossible, but maybe-- just maybe--]
Hahah... jeez, it's c-c-cold. Am I in K-Keterburg or something?
-- Hey, what's...
[And here's when he brushes the journal off. Hello, there's a half-naked redhead getting up close and personal, and turning it upside down, and then shaking it out a bit. What is this strange and mystifying technology? It sure as hell isn't his journal.]
Weird.
[Feeling something tickle his shoulder, he reaches over to brush it off. And then he notices the wings, red with gold tips just like his hair. He has wings. This is not a drill. Luke drops the journal in favor of screaming like the grown man he isn't.]
W-what the hell is going on!?
[NO LUKE DON'T PULL ON THOSE--] —OW! [Yeah, that hurt more than anything else in his life. Now he's curled up over his knees again, trying not to cry. He almost blacked out there.]
G-guess they're real...
Ugh, nasty! Ow--... ow... ow. [Don't let the nonchalance fool you. He's realizing he's alive. Taking in a deep breath, and letting it out.
He's alive.
... And also FREEZING COLD. But wait until he finds a way home! This is impossible, but maybe-- just maybe--]
Hahah... jeez, it's c-c-cold. Am I in K-Keterburg or something?
-- Hey, what's...
[And here's when he brushes the journal off. Hello, there's a half-naked redhead getting up close and personal, and turning it upside down, and then shaking it out a bit. What is this strange and mystifying technology? It sure as hell isn't his journal.]
Weird.
[Feeling something tickle his shoulder, he reaches over to brush it off. And then he notices the wings, red with gold tips just like his hair. He has wings. This is not a drill. Luke drops the journal in favor of screaming like the grown man he isn't.]
W-what the hell is going on!?
[NO LUKE DON'T PULL ON THOSE--] —OW! [Yeah, that hurt more than anything else in his life. Now he's curled up over his knees again, trying not to cry. He almost blacked out there.]
G-guess they're real...
[voice--> action]
He doesn't want to think about it, but it now burns at the front of his thoughts, tying his tongue for a few moments, forcing him to keep marching through the snow even though his surroundings feel practically nonexistent at this very second.]
...Nah, don't think that. You weren't exactly the best liar.
[voice--> action]
But you're right. I do hide things, sometimes. Even if I thought it was justified... it was because I was scared, too.
... I'm sorry.
[voice--> action]
since you're not dead you can feel it now rightGuy's laugh is a little hollow in response, audibly forced.]
Aah, don't be. Please.
...It's why people do a lot of things, Luke. Why they hide, why they fight... Because they're scared.
[He swallows thickly.]
...Because they don't want to die.
[voice--> action]
"I don't want to die. I don't want to die-- I don't want to die!"
He'd just started to learn how to live when he was told the news. He remembers sitting on his bed, with Tear there, watching him struggle with his mortality and his trembling fingers. Is this a second chance, or just putting off the inevitable? Whatever the answer, this isn't something he can decide right now.]
I know. I know, but I... I didn't want to make everyone sad. If everyone knew, then I'd see it when they looked at me. And then I'd remember and get scared again.
... I didn't want our last journey together to be like that. I wanted it to be a happy one.
[voice--> action]
[For a moment, it might sound like Guy's completely choked up, the silence drifting uncomfortably and almost unnaturally. And, for a second, it might be because that is exactly what is happening.
It might make Luke upset when it stretches on too long into quiet static, but he won't realize the silence was Guy's grip loosening on his journal, dropping it straight into the snowbank as he breaks into a run towards the flicker of red against a bare back that he recognizes far too well.
He doesn't call out his name, only crashes through the snow nonstop until his hands are reaching out, arms gripping Luke from behind like the boy would disappear again if Guy ever let go. His weight and momentum may nearly topple them both into the snowdrifts, but for the moment, the blonde doesn't care, trembling with rage and happiness and the grief he so desperately refuses to let come to the surface with this horrible reality now confirmed. He doesn't want it to be true. He doesn't want this.]
That wasn't our last, you idiot...
[His arms tighten, forehead pressing against Luke's shoulder.]
Don't you dare ever say that again.
[action]
Guy? ... Guy?
[His expression darkens. Maybe he said too much. Even if it was the truth, he thought... hiding things-- he thought it would be worse. He just wanted Guy to understand why he did what he did. But maybe that was the wrong thing to do. Maybe he should've kept his mouth shut.
His lip trembles, and he sucks in a breath-- and that's it, because the next thing he knows, he's being knocked out of his defensive position. His feet dig into the snow, just barely keeping him upright. His air is gone, from shock or Guy slamming into him or both. And there's also the wings, which are still pretty sensitive. Thankfully, neither of them got tweaked.]
Guy! I...
[His best friend's words are so soft and yet so vehement. Yeah, he definitely said the wrong thing. But even so, he can't take it back. He just has to keep going, somehow, even if this isn't the way he imagined keeping his promise to Tear. To everyone. As the shock wears off, he finds himself trembling very faintly, as if something is shaking him to the very core.
Yet... he's smiling. Despite how scared and sad he is, he's trying to smile, because he gets to see his friends again. One way or another. He gets to be real.
He leans his head against Guy's affectionately, since he can't really do much to return the hug when he's being clung to like that. He hopes Guy confuses the shaking for shivering. He doesn't really know how to explain the dizzying mass of feelings caught in his throat. He finds the fabric of Guy's sleeve and twists his fingers into it, appreciating the familiarity, trying to be strong even when he wants to give in.]
Sorry, [he murmurs and squeezes his eyes shut. A tear escapes, finds its way down past Luke's chin, and eventually flees into Guy's sunny hair.] I'm sorry. I-I didn't want it to end there. I wanted to keep going. I wanted to...
[action]
[It's sharp - maybe a little too sharp - but the rush of Luke's emotion begins to trigger old habits, the servant with his master out on an unlucky winter's day. Guy keeps a hand on his shoulder, squeezing him hard before the pressure is replaced by the fabric of a coat against his bare skin.
The blond doesn't hesitate in maneuvering the teen into the jacket as he talks, his expression firm yet refusing to look Luke in the eye, speech stilted in that familiar parental fashion.]
You're here, aren't you? You're walking and talking, rambling about stupid stuff. Just like you always do.
Right now, you're alive. Don't go talking about an end.
[action]
He's been strong until this moment-- so strong, in fact, that he'd forgotten he could cry. And now that it's started, he doesn't want a part of it. It makes him feel stupid and probably look stupid too. He wants to greet his friends with the smile he couldn't really pull off when he knew he was dying, but now he's going to look puffy and childish. He doesn't want them to worry anymore.]
Sorry. [He sniffles, already ruining the sleeve he now possesses with tears.] I just keep saying that. But you're right... I'm okay. I'm okay, so...
[... He feels so dumb. He opens his mouth to say something else and ends up making a funny noise, which of course makes him laugh out of embarrassment. His face is so red right now, it's ridiculous.]
I don't know why you're not mad at me. I mean, even I get mad at me. I'm pretty dumb sometimes.
[action]
You say that like I wasn't around you for your whole life. Give me some credit.
[Is he mad? Yeah. He's also a lot of other things. He's thrilled. He's confused.
He's horrified.
But if he can keep that behind the normal facade, then let Luke think what he wants to think. It will keep him calm. To focus on the master keeps the servant's thoughts aside - a strange comfort when things needed to be done.
Gloved hands move to fix the jacket's collar, pausing just long enough for the blond to reach up and wipe the dirty trails of tears from his best friend's face.]
Just don't go getting caught up in what you can't change. Alright?
[action]
He squeezes his eyes shut as Guy wipes his face. He's all shades of embarrassed and it makes him duck his head a little.]
Y-yeah.
[He bites his lip briefly.] It's just... I was able to deal with it when no one knew. But now... No, maybe I didn't deal with it after all.
[He pushed himself so hard.]
I can't run from it. That's why I just kind of... lost it.
[action]
[He knows Luke knows, but speaking to drill the fact into the boy's head has never been an easy thing for Guy to pass up.
His lips quirk a bit as the redhead ducks down, letting his shoulders drop with a gentle sigh.]
Maybe you couldn't run from it. But having to stand up to things you can't run from doesn't mean you have to do it on your own. You've got people here that care about you an awful lot, you know. Don't go thinking that they consider you a burden.
[His smile thins a bit despite the quiet tone he chooses. He wouldn't have given Luke a second chance if he had considered him a burden. He wouldn't have come back for him when everyone else thought him a lost cause, he wouldn't have fought on his behalf, he wouldn't have followed him to the edges of a battlefield.
He wouldn't have let him keep up that sort of painful, painful lie. Because Luke was never a burden, and even the assumption makes Guy's knuckles tighten against the fabric of the redhead's coat.]
[action]
[That smile makes his stomach twist a little. The lecture, really. He feels so dumb. Right now he's a burden because he's half-naked and he doesn't know anything, doesn't remember anything, but he knows that isn't something he can help.
It's different from dying. He didn't want to make everyone sad. He didn't want everyone to feel like they had to act differently, like he might break down at any moment.
He takes in a deep breath, lets it out. He's collected, or at least as collected as Luke can get. He's starting to feel a little more like himself. It's evident in the slight upward twist of his mouth.]
You ran all the way out here to meet me and give me clothes, and I got snot all over you, and you're still saying I'm not a burden?
[action]
Hahahah -- don't go talking yourself into a ditch, you idiot. Of course you're not.
[If only you knew this servant would cross the whole world for you, Luke.
There's a pause as the older man tilts his head a little, mouth pursing in a sly start of a grin.]
Though I might have to think about the snot issue.
[action]
He watches as Guy smirks that way. His cheeks flush, half out of embarrassment and half because it's cold. He rubs at his nose, burrowing into the jacket more.]
Don't tell the others. I'll never live it down.
[action]
[It's a loaded statement, really. Many would be excited to see him, but with Luke having been in the village so recently, it wouldn't surprise Guy to see at least one or two of their close friends feeling conflicted about the redhead's lack of memories. With Luke inevitably having to learn about his surroundings and deal with total strangers knowing his name, worrying about something like a bout of crying was petty.
The flush of the boy's face gets a chuckle out of Guy as he lifts himself to his feet, brushing the snow off his jacket and trousers.]
Anyway, let's get you out of the cold first. The walk back isn't too difficult, although it can feel a little long.
Do you think you'll be alright?
[action]
[Luke catches one of the connotations in that statement. If Guy knows that he was about to disappear (or at least, had a suspicion), then some other people will know, too. And he's already heard something about people being here before and losing their memories. It's a lot to take in, and it's hard not to doubt himself-- to doubt his own memory.
But that's too much to think about. Right now, he just wants to be out of the cold. He wants a cup of warm cocoa and a blanket and a hearth and friends. None of these things will be available to him unless they get going. Carefully, he gathers the coat around himself and gets up.]
I'll be fine as long as none of my toes fall off while I'm not looking.
[He shivers, regardless.]
[action]
Not a chance. You need those, and we don't need any more reason for Asch to get grumpy. You're getting a piggyback ride before anything even thinks about falling off.
[He's somewhat serious. Somewhat. Asch was a whole different issue, especially if Luke hadn't spoken to him yet. He was older. Different. The communication between them was already strained enough, and with Asch having been so unusually attached to his replica before... well, Guy isn't sure what to think of the possible explosion that might happen around the Fabre original.
He just doesn't want Luke anywhere around it, if he can help it at all.]
[action]
[Wow, that's embarrassing to even think about. He ignores the scarlet chasing across his cheeks and buries his face in the jacket. It smells familiar and clean.]
I'm not a little kid, you know.
[A pause.]
Whose coat is this, anyway?
[action]
You'll thank me later.
[He'll also get over the embarrassment. Eventually. Guy knew the momentary fluster and bite hardly stuck around without good reason. Annoying in its own way, but after living with it for more than a decade, one got used to the complaints.
As for the second question, Guy only responds with a casual shrug, palms up. Not an "I don't know" gesture as much as it is "Does it matter?" Really, both apply.]
It's yours now, if you want. I picked it up while I was talking to you.
[action]
He settles into the coat a little more.]
I kinda like it.
[Not his usual color, but it's the first thing he associates with Guy being here so he's not too eager to let go of it.
He glances around. They should probably get going; his feet are getting pretty cold and he doesn't want his first time seeing Tear and the others since dying to involve a piggyback ride from his best friend.]