thosetaleskids

[thosetaleskids]

Aaaand that's my queue empty and I have a ton of things back in my drafts again! I've been doing better at (kinda) keeping up on my main blog so far... but at the price of neglecting this one a bit more I guess xD;;

Will try and get to more replies here once I've taken care of the other drafts on my main over the next few days ^^

#ooc #mun rambles

[thosetaleskids]

"Yeah, I guess. You'd think having some time off wouldn't kill her, though."

Well, no matter what Tear was up to, for herself Anise had just been relaxing probably enough for both of them. She, at least, wasn't going to be caught working some dull service job if she could help it; if she had been going to get a job here, it would have to be one that was as distinctive as herself.

She glanced around a little more as Ion processed her answer. Again, Norn's tree over here didn't do much for her, and Anise didn't see much point in her trying to talk to the village's spirit when Ion already had that covered. She was just here doing her actual job of protecting him, naturally.

"Hm?"

Attention returned to Ion at his suggestion. Honestly he didn't even need to ask to spend time with her; as his guardian, it was literally in her job description that (unless he snuck off without her somewhere again) she'd go wherever he did.

But maybe that wasn't quite what he was getting at.

"Well, what did you have in mind, Ion?"

She was actually interested. Anise, of course, knew that she liked Ion a little more than just as her charge, but it was a foolish dream to think that the Fon Master thought of her more fondly than he would any other loyal guardian. And she was fine with that she had to marry into money anyway but that still... made moments like this surprising.

"I'll be happy enough not to get in on the action. I'm at the festival to do two things: relax, and keep you safe. I don't need to be dealing with shark tornados or nightmares-" whoops maybe she shouldn't have mentioned that part; she quickly hurried on "-or sketchy vendors or anything like that. Not here and now."

"That does sound like Tear, though, doesn't it?"

Tear never had struck him as someone who had an easy time taking a break. Not unlike Ion himself, he supposed, but in his own case he usually was needed for various duties as the Fon Master. Still, it was odd that Tear would be both at the petting zoo and the restaurant. Could it be possible...?

No. No, probably not. Ion highly doubted that Van had actually gone through with making a replica of Tear, especially without them having encountered her. There was something else at play here.

The evasive answer wasn't anything new for Anise, so Ion let it go. He'd grown used to how she would do such things back home. Just why that was, he still didn't know. That was okay as far as he was concerned, though. It wasn't hurting anything. He did have to laugh a little at her playing up not being allowed into the casino, though.

"I'm glad you've been having a good time, at least."

"I know it's not the same as going where the action is, but maybe we could do something together while we're still here in Spring Rise," he suggested. Just what, he wasn't sure. He'd heard there were good spots for picnics, though. That could be fun.

"And who knows? Maybe we'll find a way to be a part of something that's happening."

#talesofourworlds #ic #anise tag #springfestitales2023 #Anise is also happy in her ignorance of future events xD #queue tag

[thosetaleskids]

"Well... I can't really blame all the exorcists. Most Malakhim had our free will sealed away by an event called the Opening, so we would just respond to any orders that we were given. And I wasn't born until the day of the Opening, so I didn't know anything other than that for the longest time."

Wow, he didn't mean to drag the mood down. The boy shrugged a little, more a sort of sway of his shoulders as he clasped small hands behind his back.

Sophie didn't seem to mind, though; and Phi perked up at her next words.

"It is! Velvet and the others can be kind of scary at times-" except for Eleanor, maybe. She was too gentle to be scary "-but she's really kind beneath her tough exterior. And they've all taught me so much. I wouldn't be who I am now without them."

...AH.

That had demanded a bit of an explanation, hadn't it? His tone became more matter-of-fact, the way it did when reciting trivia... because he found it hard to connect the obedient tool he'd been then with who he was becoming.

"Lady Teresa was trying to stop Velvet, Rokurou and Magilou from getting away from Hellawes. I was still tethered to Teresa, so she ordered me to..." He hesitated, not wanting to mention the fact that she'd commanded him to blow himself up "...to stop them. Velvet just grabbed me to stop me from doing that, and didn't let go until they'd got on board a ship and fled."

Quite a story; he wondered what the girl made of it.

"But I'm glad she did. Really."

"Exorcists don't sound very nice," Sophie said. If they were just treated like weapons, it was no wonder that Laphicet would think Teresa wasn't a good malak-mom. But it also sounded like he had been able to get away from that. He elaborated further, much to Sophie's own relief. It reflected in her soft smile.

"I'm glad it worked out. It sounds like you have great friends..."

"It's really good to have friends like that," she went on. She treasured her own a great deal for similar reasons. Without them, she didn't know where she would be.

"But... why did Velvet abduct you?"

#talesofourworlds #laphicet tag #ic #Who me? Unable to keep my replies short? #...evidently xD;; #queue tag

[thosetaleskids]

Title : A “heart”

Artist : Itagaki Hako

Source  : Tales of Berseria Comic Anthology Vol 2 (DNA Media Comics), Chapter 15

Nb pages : 17

Synopsis : After he has joined the party,  Silva / Number 1 remains emotionless, even though he is not tethered to any exorcists anymore. So Laphicet, Rokurou, Eizen and Zaveid try to make him feel excited. (contains SPOILERS regarding events happening towards the end of the game)

Link : here

Scans / Translation / Typesetting by : maboroshi-no

Other translations : Tales of Berseria, Tales of series

#ooc #laphicet tag #laphicet visage #not my art #Honestly I love visual emphasis on the differences between Phi and Sliva's appearances here #it feels like it especially stands out when they start talking together #how even though they look so similar #Silva is all neat and not a hair out of place #while Phi just kinda looks more scruffed up in appearance from all his experiences #and I feel like it reflects the differences between them? #I know it's how they look in the game too but #it just feels like a really nice touch the way it's emphasised here. #queue tag

[thosetaleskids]

...Ah. So she did know Zaveid, in her time.

If it occurred to Phi to wonder how come, it also occurred to him that maybe that was one thing he didn't want to ask. Either Zaveid had broken his promise to Eizen and made a move towards Edna sooner than he'd said, or else...

No. He didn't want to accept that there was some timeline in which Eizen had already become a dragon. Even knowing that the reaper had accepted that was where his path was leading him, it was just too heavy for Laphicet to want to linger on contemplating. It had been hard enough watching Silva be forced to become a dragon, and they'd barely known each other really. To think of it happening to someone as important to him as Eizen...

"Ah!"

Lost in thought, he jumped a little at Edna's buzzer sound, and the accompanying poke. It didn't hurt, but it still startled him.

"I- I knew that! But I didn't think it was what you meant?"

Honestly, he'd been kind of thrown off by her referring to Eizen in the present tense, had assumed by that she meant the Eizen from her timeline rather than the Eizen from his present. Would Eizen still call himself a Malak even after the rest of the world had moved on to calling them Seraphim? Honestly Phi thought he might. The pirate never had been one to let the world dictate how he should think, after all.

Of course that seemed... not entirely relevant. It sounded like his earlier fears had been realised after all.

"Oh."

It was such a small word, to carry such weight.

"When... did he become a dragon? I know he knew it would happen to him ever since he took in a lot of malevolence from killing Theodora, but..."

It was maybe a selfish question. But he at least wanted to know how long he might expect to have left with Eizen.

A double layered illusion. Now that was diabolical, Edna thought. She had... things she wanted to say to Eizen, if she got a chance to see him. Almost falling for an illusion of her wasn't surprising. The earth siblings cared about each other quite a bit, after all. Still, to think Zaveid had needed to help him break through an illusion. She knew there was history between the two of them. Zaveid never would tell her just what they had experienced together. But they had history.

Still, she wondered. Laphicet knew Zaveid, too. Which just lent further proof to her thought process. The Eizen here in Spring Rise was still Eizen. Just... not the one from her point in the timeline.

"So Zaveid was involved, too. That makes sense. Figures there'd be even more that wind idiot wouldn't tell me," Edna finally said. She'd leave that as that for the time being. Elaboration would come. No further need to comment on the Alisha stuff, though, because Laphicet had moved on to answer her question. Apparently the answer wasn't as obvious as she thought.

She wasn't going to fault Laphicet for it, surprisingly. His suggestion did make sense. Eizen was very much a malak stuck in his ways, liking things just so even with his adventurous life. She'd read plenty about what Eizen had been willing to tell her about his travels, after all. Still...

"Bzzzzt." Her best imitation of a 'wrong answer' buzzer before she employed the tip of her umbrella to poke Laphicet's arm. Not as rough of a poke as she would have given Mikleo. Maybe she just was being softer since this one was a friend of Eizen's. Maybe. "Nope. Still... marks for effort, I suppose."

Time to explain, she supposed. She brought her umbrella to rest tip side down in front of her, folding her hands neatly over the handle. Her gaze drifted away from Laphicet, though.

"It's because we're from different points in our world's timeline. I travel with the Shepherd of my time. You travel with a woman who opposes your Shepherd, and so does Eizen. He said so himself in a letter I received a long time ago. And the fact that he still calls himself a malak here instead of a seraph means he's still himself in your time."

"...But in my time, he's become a dragon. So this festival exists in some kind of space that allows our times to come together. Weird, huh," she said. Though she tried to sound nonchalant, her gaze had drifted further away. The pain of acknowledging Eizen for what he had become was still difficult, even after all that time.

#talesofourworlds #laphicet tag #ic #springfestitales2023 #She really did! #queue tag

[thosetaleskids]

“ i’m just saying if you really loved me you would share him. ” Anise-anon, for Tear, re. Luke. From the Hamilton meme from a while ago ^^

"A-Anise!"

Flustered didn't even begin to describe how Tear felt in that moment. That particular sentiment was, of course, in relation to Luke. She'd thought for sure that Anise had gotten over her infatuation with the noble redhead, especially after what had happened so long ago in Akzeriuth, but apparently her feelings had changed yet again in the aftermath of killing Van. The only reason Tear had come to Daath had been to provide a report of what had happened as Van's sister. Conversation wound up being struck with Anise, and the result? Well... the fact that Tear's cheeks were quite flushed made the result obvious.

Thinking on it, Tear never would have said she had any feelings for Luke a long time ago. They hadn't exactly gotten off to the right start, all things considered. But he'd changed so much. He still had a lot of growing to do, but Tear couldn't deny that at some point her feelings had changed. She cared a great deal about Luke.

And the idea of sharing him?

"Shameless," Tear huffed, turning away in an effort to try and hide the obvious blush. "Th-there's nothing to share, anyway. Luke and I are just friends..." Were they, though?

#talesofourworlds #anise tag #ic #Speaking of old posts... #I'm not actually replying to this one it's so old #but I'd just like it on my blog because it still amuses me xD #I hope that's okay ^^ #queue tag

[thosetaleskids]

@talesofourworlds / from (x)

"I didn't exactly ask for this, either! OW, be careful, that stings!"

She appreciated that he was trying to help, in his way... but that didn't mean that Anise was happy about the quality of said help, or about the situation in general. She'd been lagging behind the rest of the party - give her a break, her legs were shorter than anyone else's, and even she got tired sometimes - when some of Arietta's monster friends had taken the opportunity to pounce her.

She'd put up a valiant fight, sure. But even so, the attack had separated her from the rest of the group; one of the ligers had knocked her down from Tokunaga and scratched up her right shoulder pretty good, and as she'd recoiled from that she'd misstepped and taken a tumble down part of the cliff and sprained her already-wounded shoulder by landing on it.

The ligers hadn't pursued; she hadn't seen Gloomietta with them so she had probably just commanded them from afar. But that was where Asch had found her, lying in a battered heap there.

If she'd been in a better mood, Anise would have made sure to tease Asch again for his temper reminding her of Luke; but right now her thoughts were in too much of a mess to come up with something suitable. Probably a good thing, too, if the way Asch abruptly drew his sword was any indication.

"Hey, WHOA--!"

She raised her uninjured arm in a vain attempt to block the blow-- which turned out a moment later to not have been aimed at her at all. Still, Anise yelped as he stabbed the weapon into the ground beside her... before she caught on to what he was doing.

"...oh, right."

She could indeed feel the seventh fonons doing their thing; the sprained muscle in her shoulder felt like it was easing itself, and her cuts at least stopped leaking blood even if they didn't exactly close themselves up or anything. Still hurt when she experimentally shifted her shoulder, however, and Anise gave a wince.

"No, usually I'm too cute to get into this much trouble. Guess Gloomietta really has it out for me, huh?"

#talesofourworlds #anise tag #ic #This thread is forever old so no worries if you don't want to do anything else with it #( it's so old I was still just sending you asks as “anise anon” when we started it xD; ) #but I didn't want to just leave it hanging ^^ #I'm good either way ^^ #queue tag

[thosetaleskids]

@twinklesofhope / continued from (x)

It's okay, he jumped too.

The young Malak had been gazing around in awe. Even after all the times he'd sneaked off to Teresa's library when he'd been tethered to her, and even after the impressive one in the Loegres castle... he'd never seen a library this grand before. More books than he could possibly have dreamed of, and they all called to him... something told Phi that he could spend a lifetime here and still not read everything. He hadn't been ignoring the girl who had promised to be his guide, of course, but with so much to take in...

Of course, the book falling had jerked him back to the moment.

He flushed a little, embarrassed to have been so easily startled; but didn't dwell on the feeling.

"This place is amazing. There are so many books... I'd love to read them all, but I'd hardly know where to begin."

Well, he had one idea where to begin. Venturing over to the book that had fallen, the boy picked it up, turning it over in his hands.

"I wonder what this one is. If it was so eager to be read, it must be really important, right?"

#twinklesofhope #laphicet tag #ic #It's great thanks! :D #queue tag

[thosetaleskids]

Sorey: That Tokunaga of yours really is something.

Anise: Yeah, I suppose you don’t see expanding stuffies every day.

Sorey: You sure don’t. I wish I could ride it!

Anise: You can! 500 gald per ride!

Sorey: What?!

Anise: Oh, come on! Can’t you tell I’m kidding?

Sorey: That glint in your eyes looked plenty real to me…

#ooc #anise tag #anise visage #Oh Anise... xDD #she totally would though... #in fact this was the inspiration for her booth at this year's spring festival! #I also find it interesting that she calls Tokunaga a “stuffie” #rather than a plushie or a doll. Something for me to keep in mind! #queue tag

[thosetaleskids]

@talesofourworlds / from (x)

"Who, me? Nothing's out of the ordinary here. I'm fine. I'm fine, I'm FINE."

She stomped her small foot. Probably a giveaway: she wouldn't be claiming it so vehemently if it was true, and she had a feeling that her companions had probably caught on to that fact by now... but Anise hated for people to worry about her. It was a different matter, of course, at times such as when she'd been separated from the group and on the run from the six god-generals for a few days; after something like that, it was flattering to find that people had been concerned for her, made her feel valued. But that and this were just too different of contexts.

She was the one who worried for everyone else; for Ion, and for her parents. She didn't have time for people to worry about her and her emotional state, and would brush it off as swiftly as she could.

And yet...

Wouldn't it be nice to talk to someone about it? Just once? Not that she had any intention of telling Tear everything, by any means... but they were all in this together, after all. Why shouldn't she at least vent? The young girl sighed, leaning back in her seat and tilting her head upwards enough that she was staring straight up at the Albiore's ceiling.

Even after all we've done, everything's still going wrong," she huffed. "The Commandant's terrible, and the people of Sheridan are dead, and poor Ion's wearing himself out every time he opens one of the gates for us, and the rest of the god-generals are still out there, and Gloomietta's still gloomy, and I'm still poor, and..."

She thrust her hands in the air with an expressive grunt of disgust at just the world in general.

Long story short: Anise was just tired. Not only from their recent escapades, although those were certainly playing a part in it, but in general. And that was just the things she was admitting to. The sooner they could just all go and relax at an all-expenses-paid resort, or aboard that Princess Natalia cruise liner, for a while with no cares at all, the happier she'd be.

For at least the moment, it didn't occur to Anise that Tear had much more reason to complain than she did, what with the toll this whole thing was taking on her body. That thought would catch up with the child sooner or later, though.

#talesofourworlds #anise tag #ic #don't mind me I just wanted to channel the energy #of the 'Anise in a Bad Mood' skit here xD #queue tag

[thosetaleskids]

@valiantxunion / continued from (x)

"..."

The other boy fell silent a moment, turning his companion's question over in his mind. It was a valid one; something that Laphicet himself had needed to learn after he'd discovered his free will. It was easy to just go along with what other people told you; learning to have your own point of view could be difficult. Painful, even. He knew it well.

"Other people's opinions can be valuable. They can teach a lot. But sometimes the only way to know if something's true... is to experience it for yourself."

Was any of this even helpful? Phi didn't know. He only knew how he himself had learned about the world. Maybe that was what the older boy needed, too? He wasn't sure.

Malakhim and humans may look much the same, but their experiences of childhood had probably been very different.

"No, it's fine!"

Thoughtful expression gave way to a wide smile as the other boy apologised. As much as Laphicet loved the crew he travelled with, the fact remained that he had few friends close to his own age - only Videl back in Reneed, really - so he was genuinely happy to talk to another child, if only for a while.

"You haven't. I've been travelling with a group of people, we're just stopping here for supplies while we pass through. My name's Laphicet."

#valiantxunion #laphicet tag #ic #It's great! Thanks :D #Looking forward to see how this goes between them! ^^ #queue tag

[thosetaleskids]

"What are you, some kind of price critic? I've got my costs to cover, you know!"

She also seemed like on the verge of losing a customer; Anise's love of money warred with her common sense on whether it was best to slap down her prices a bit she really, really didn't want to or risk letting the chance to make some money (if not quite as much as she'd hoped) slip through her fingers.

Before she was forced to come to a decision, however, the lady was speaking up. Anise instantly melted her defensiveness all away, pasting on the cutest big beaming smile that she could muster.

"That's right, I really, really would! ❤"

The accompanying question gave her pause. It was true to say that there was definitely a reason that she was so keen to charge her extortionate prices, but it had little to do with buying anything at the festival and everything to do with circumstances back home. She normally wouldn't spill this to just anyone, but... these two didn't look like they were from Auldrant, they must have been from one of the other realms that Spring Rise connected between. So she had no fear of them affecting anything back in her world by knowing this.

So for once, she settled on the truth; it might even gain her some sympathy points if they knew she had a genuine reason for what she was charging.

"No, as much as I'd like that. I'm saving to pay off a really big debt that my papa and mama were tricked into back home."

@thosetaleskids [Spring Festitales]

500 gald to ride a stuffed animal? He narrows his eyes.

"Now, I'm no expert on the economy in this world, but if I learned anything from my accursed former job as a merchant, it's to know when a price is too much," he says, narrowing his eyes. "Maybe if it was a 2-3 hour ride in a much larger area it'd be fair, but as it is--"

"I don't know," Hazel says. "Maybe it's worth it to give her what she wants just this once. It would make her very happy." She turns to the girl.

"You'd be very happy if we paid your fee, wouldn't you? Is there anything around here you've been saving up for?"

#forjustice #anise tag #ic #springfestitales2024 #Anise actually being open about this is... a surprise! #But I feel like it makes sense for the context ^^

[thosetaleskids]

@talesofourworlds / continued from (x) (ages ago, whoops!)

"He's being an idiot like usual and going on like you hate his guts or something."

Her tone was so matter-of-fact that she might just have been discussing nothing of more importance than the weather... but then again, Anise had no great love for Luke at present. Everyone else might be giving him a chance, but in the young sergeant's estimation he still had a long, long way to go before she'd have anything nice to think about him again.

Even if he actually did say thank you now. Shocking as that had been, it wasn't enough to get him off the hook in her book. She didn't care what Ion said, or what the others seemed to think; you couldn't just trust someone after they so royally screwed up.

"But no, you didn't hurt him. Most you managed to do was flip his sword out of his hand. Then Natalia shot Sync out of the tree so he lost control of you, and you passed out."

Lucky for them all that the earthquake had happened when it did to give away his position, huh?

"Anyway," she continued, adopting a forceful tone as she changed the subject, "you better thank Ion later, when he finishes resting. Removing the curse slot from you took a lot out of him."

Knowing Guy, he probably would anyway; but Anise felt the need to insist on it even so. Ion was not going to get taken for granted, not on her watch.

#talesofourworlds #anise tag #ic #Completely valid!! #queue tag

[thosetaleskids]

Magilou: All right, kiddo, hit me with your victory cheer!

Laphicet: You mean like, “Hooray, we did it”?

Magilou: No, no, no. At times like this, a hearty “Yowza!” is customary.

Laphicet: YOWZA! …She’s tricked me again, hasn’t she?

#laphicet tag #laphicet visage #BABY BOY... #queue tag

[thosetaleskids]

"I'm not leaving you, Velvet! Not after we've come this far!"

He doubted even a mystic arte would do any damage against this thing; but he had to try something. Seeing Velvet lying there in the snow, struggling to get up, had tripped every protective instinct in Laphicet's small body; he had raced to her and now stood over her protectively, paper sheets whirling around him. Even with the winter coat giving him a bit more bulk, he didn't cut a particularly imposing figure...

But he was still the same malak who'd punched a literal empyrean in the face. He had his own determination: just like Velvet and Rokorou and Eizen and all of them.

"You've wronged me! Here's your justice! Binding Order!"

As he'd suspected, the mystic arte left not even a scratch on the spectral crystal; but it slowed it enough to buy them a few moments more at least. The little malak turned back to Velvet; grabbing her shoulder in mittened hands, he struggled to lever her back to her feet. The fire in his green eyes danced with urgency.

"Can you move? I don't know how much longer I can delay it!"

@thosetaleskids liked for a test muse starter (Velvet!)

The group ultimately had agreed to remain in the area around Merchio to train. Get some last minute additional strength before going to make the journey to try and put an end to things with Artorius and Innominat. The Lord of Calamity couldn't afford to look weak when she went to end the precious Shepherd once and for all.

It took some searching around the snows of Merchio, and much complaining from Magilou the whole while, but eventually they found something. Velvet led the charge against a particularly strong looking daemon. Rokurou sounded convinced it was a code red daemon, and with how strong it looked? She wouldn't have been surprised at all if it was. The thing looked like a weird cluster of crystals. Surely it couldn't have been that sturdy, Velvet thought as she'd lashed out with a Rising Falcon, but when her arte connected it felt like the arte didn't even connect the way she thought it would.

Golden eyes grew wide. What the hell was this thing made of? Velvet could only say in the air so long before having to land, and she landed right at the wrong time. The daemon launched its attack, some kind of blast of energy, that knocked her back where she'd come from. Pain coursed through the therion woman's body and, despite her efforts to keep from doing so, a cry escaped her as she landed in the snow. She lifted her head to see the others trying to land hits on the thing, too. Everything seemed to just bounce right off of it. Was it taking any damage at all?

"Dammit, this isn't working!" Eizen's voice rose over the others. "We can't win this, Velvet!"

Velvet grit her teeth. Phi... where was Phi? She didn't immediately see him, but she hoped he had the sense to stay back and cast his artes from a safe distance. Rokurou seemed to be suffering the same fate as she had moments before. Magilou also was met with a blast, interrupting her attempted Final Embrace, and Eleanor? No better off than Rokurou.

"Dammit!" Velvet grit her teeth and forced herself to stand. Rokurou wasn't going to like this, but... what choice did they have? They were going to get wiped out if they kept trying to fight this thing. "Retreat for-"

Another blast struck Velvet from behind. Again, she couldn't stop herself from giving in to the pain. The idle thought floated through her mind as she was knocked into the snow again. How nice would it have been if what she'd lost when she became a therion was her ability to feel pain?

Oh well. No sense in thinking about it when she was laying there, grimacing and trying to force herself to stand again. She felt like she had to struggle just to do that much. Still, Velvet had to make herself speak. If the others could get away, that was good enough. She'd figure something out.

"Run!" Velvet finally yelled the order. Magilou already was doing so, only glancing back for a moment before doing so. Eleanor was next, and she saw Eizen dragging Rokurou away. Phi...

Finally, she saw him.

"Phi, run! I'll catch up!" Somehow. Forget the pain and move. That was what she was trying to make herself do. So why was it so damn hard to move? Had that daemon paralyzed her with that arte?

#talesofourworlds #laphicet tag #ic #that is COMPLETELY valid! And yeah I kinda didn't xD #I just didn't have much to add here as far as setting the scene went ^^ #queue tag

[thosetaleskids]

"Thanks, Eizen."

He didn't think Velvet would object; she'd been the one to encourage him to keep looking for the ingredients after all... albeit in her own roundabout way. Honestly, Laphicet still didn't understand her, how she'd switched from telling him to leave it be to encouraging him to keep up the search... he didn't think he'd ever understand her, honestly. But he didn't have to understand her to care about her.

Still, he wanted to show that he appreciated Eizen's sentiment, even if he didn't think it would be necessary.

He settled in to listen as Eizen spoke of Edna's letter. He could picture the curl of her handwriting, a memory that had stuck with the boy from when Eizen had asked him to read her last letter for him; and while of course he knew better than to expect this to be a regular thing, he appreciated that Eizen was willing to share a few details.

"She must remember how much you like them!"

He... remembered well the conversation where he'd learned that fact, too. It was always way too awkward having to cast the final vote between parties with very strong opinions... especially when he really didn't have a particular strong feeling on the subject. He just liked both dogs and cats okay.

He looked down at his hands a moment, then back up.

"I'm glad she's doing well, anyway. And I'm sure Phoenix is keeping his promise to protect her if she needs it, too."

Ah... of course that would be what Laphicet was focused on. They only had so much time to get the ingredients for the Omega Elixir before Videl's sickness got the best of him. That conviction was important. It would keep them on course and, lady luck being willing, they would be able to do what they needed to do.

"Better hope Magilou and Rokurou don't get caught up in their own business before Velvet finishes up, then," Eizen said. He suspected that Rokurou was probably looking into upgrading his weapons. Code Red Daemons wouldn't take down themselves, after all. As for Magilou? Maybe she was scouting out potential places for Magilou's Menagerie to be hosted. Though really, Eizen still felt like that was a bit of a waste of time. Especially after he'd been dismissed as 'too intimidating to be laughed at.' Still, he knew that wouldn't reassure Laphicet of any speedy departure. He knew that better than anyone.

"We'll head for Davahl Forest as soon as we're ready to leave port," he assured the young malak. "Velvet will have to deal with me if she doesn't like it." Though Eizen suspected that Velvet would continue to go along with helping in the search for Omega Elixir ingredients. She cared too much for Laphicet to just abandon the quest.

And then Laphicet brought up the letter. Eizen wasn't surprised. It was out front and center, after all.

"Yeah. Benwick said her reply just came in. Had to read it while I had the chance," Eizen answered. At any other point in their journey, he might have kept what Edna had said to himself. Part of him still wanted to. He opted to share just a little, though. After the trouble they all went to in order to best Phoenix, it was only fair.

He didn't have to tell Laphicet not to expect sharing the letter's contents to be a regular occurrence.

"She said a family of squirrels just took up residence in one of the trees near our home," he said. "It figures that would be the thing she chose to mention in particular." There hadn't been any special mention of the Nor Dolls like there had been last time. Given the letter they'd gotten after they'd fought Phoenix, where Edna had mentioned hearing a nagging voice telling her to write back and all, he only could imagine the normin was doing his job. He hoped he was, anyway. After all the trouble they went to.

Seriously, how many times could one with Phoenix's blessing revive?

"Otherwise, it sounds like she's been doing well." Even if she did miss him like he imagined she did. She hadn't said as such this time. Probably a good thing.

#talesofourworlds #laphicet tag #ic #queue tag

[thosetaleskids]

She took that like a punch in the gut. Though Anise kept herself from voicing any reaction at the emotional blow, the way she physically winced as if struck spoke volumes. She knew all too well that Sync wasn't Ion; and no matter what he might think, she wasn't trying to make him be...

But the reminder of him not being Ion intrinsically carried with it the reminder that it was her fault that Ion wasn't here: still a very raw wound that, though she hid it well, Anise hadn't yet managed to fully deal with in a healthy way. Guilt threatened to rise up and choke her; and it was only by clenching her little hands into fists and staring at them, rather than anything else, that the girl was able to force it back down.

For now. Always just for now.

Like Luke with Akzeriuth, Anise knew she's be living with this guilt for the rest of her life.

The mumbled apology went unheeded. In part because Anise didn't believe for a moment that Sync meant it; and in part because it wasn't like he'd been wrong there.

She also didn't look up as Sync spoke up some more; it was easier to keep focusing on her white gloves, now stained with blood from his injury, and the ends of her sleeves. She heard the words, sure; but hearing them, even understanding them, didn't give her any answers to what she really wanted to know.

"Then what, Sync?"

Now, she finally looked at him again, her expression plaintive. He seemed to be regaining his strength, the gel was clearly doing its work... and she was glad he'd at least accepted it without her having to physically jam it down his throat. That was good, of course; but she was also sure that just meant he was going to put his full effort into arguing with her once again, and right now she didn't have the energy for that.

"The Commandant messed you up that badly, and because of that you won't even try to see if he was wrong? Don't even do it for your own sake, if you're so set on that: just try doing something new to spite his memory, if for no other reason!"

She shook her head, the fight abruptly draining from her tone. She did want Sync to find something for himself, something to make him happy... but he was being so difficult. It felt like when Luke had resigned himself to dying at the Tower of Rem all over again... of course, Sync was by no means a friend, so it should bother her less, but...

She also knew the reason why it affected her just as much.

"Going through life for no other reason than to die is just... just sad."

For once, Sync didn't have a biting response for her. It was true enough. Despite everything, Anise had kept trying and trying to change the way he thought. That, too, was frustrating to Sync. Anyone else would have written him off as a lost cause. Left him alone to die so they could just be done with it. Yet, there she was still choosing to be nearby and even offering him a gel to help him out.

A heartbeat passed before he took the lemon gel from her hand and stuck it in his mouth, chewing silently. His brows knit in frustration at her words. What was he supposed to do? There wasn't much need for a tactician within the Order, even with the remnants of the Oracle Knights. Besides, none of the Oracle Knights that still were on the Order's side were likely to trust someone who had been trying to destroy the world.

"Sorry I can't be your precious Ion. He'd have been all for finding a new purpose, I'm sure."

The words tumbled out of his mouth without much thought as he allowed the sour flavor of the gel to overtake him. While not a perfect solution to healing wounds, at least the bleeding had gotten less severe. His breathing slowed to a more normal rate. With that came a huff of annoyance. Then silence as he thought more about what Anise had said as she slumped down beside him. He also thought about his blurted words, mumbling a halfhearted apology before thinking some more. Even he knew he'd gone just a bit too far.

What was there to get about why he thought the way he did? She knew it herself. Van had drilled his ideals into Sync's head from day one. Told him repeatedly that his existence meant nothing, and reminded him that he would forever be in the seventh Ion's shadow. Not that Ion had wanted that either, but it had been the truth.

There had to be some way to explain it. When he felt a bit more stable, he sat up. His head tilted and his expression remained neutral as he looked at her.

"Think about it like this."

"Asch had every opportunity to take back the life he lost after everyone found out about his replica," Sync commented. "But did he do it? Hell no. How the hell do you go back to a life that got stolen from you like that?" It wasn't quite the same situation that he found himself in, and he suspected Anise would point that out. Even so, it was one of the better examples.

"His replica told him again and again he could take his life back, didn't he? That didn't change how Asch felt. And that doesn't change how I grew up the last two years."

#death mention tw #talesofourworlds #anise tag #ic #She's just doing her best! #queue tag