RL w/ Ange

[second_star]

[ Right outside of Heliord, by the west city entrance. That's where he said for her to meet him. This whole world hopping business was still new to him, after all. To be completely honest...he didn't fully understand why he even told her to come. He just knew she needed to get away. Everything in that world was way too confusing for it's own good. The witches, logic error, closed rooms...all together in one messed up game. He never knew about other worlds, much less this kind of world. And it wasn't doing her any good being there right now.

Was it a bit of a sudden suggestion? Calling it just a suggestion would have been a lie too. He didn't ask her to come. He told her too. All he knew was he didn't want to see her get any worse than she was right now. Argh, and they were so close to saving her brother too...Why did things have to go and get worse?

He kept his back against the stone wall of the entrance, breathing in the cool night air. He had his own problems here, the knights dragging them in today, Estelle leaving tomorrow...yet, he still couldn't ignore this. Heh, this is must have been what Flynn was talking about. Yuri closed his eyes, waiting for her arrival. ]

Comments

[denies]

[ Honestly, it was almost strange that she went. Ange had never been one to do what other people told her - heck, often she did the precise opposite of what people told her to do, sometimes just for the sake of doing the opposite of what she was told instead of a true reason. But here she was now in his world either way. But it was mostly since.. well, she didn't mind, right? She actually wanted a small break, someone to vent to, so when he had told her to come over she actually felt relieved for not having to ask for the break by herself or anything. And now the whole mess with the logic error was over, now the sixth game was over.. she was actually capable of leaving for a bit. And while she never particularly cared for knowing people with worldhops, sometimes it was convenient when she did leave for once. But either way, standing in here, the wind of a different world blowing through her hair.. it really was a break. A small calm after all the worrying about her older brother, having it getting worse and worse with everything that happened until everything.. somehow ended up right.

It wasn't too difficult to spot him standing there against the wall. At least Ange was - although not fully recovered - a little more calm now, so she could appear a little bit more like usually as she raised her hand at him, quickly stepping over. ]

Yuri.

[second_star]

[ Ah. There she was. Opening his eyes, Yuri nodded in reply. ]

Hey. [ He made a small wave back with his right hand, sword in his left. For a moment, there was silence between them. He wasn't really sure what to say...especially not after all of that. Might as well keep it easy for now. ]

It's a nice evening, isn't it?

[denies]

It's been a while since I've seen something other than rain.

[ Being stuck on Rokkenjima wasn't exactly a sunny deal, after all.. but there was still something tight about her tone, as if her deadpan wasn't as natural as usually. But at least she could keep herself and especially her emotions in control right now, that was the most important part. ]

[second_star]

Haha. We just got out of the rain ourselves. [ Just this morning, in fact. He was glad it was a clear night. ]

Come on. The knights are pretty uptight here. We can go somewhere better to relax. [ He pushed himself off the wall, walking over to her. ] There's a beach not too far. We'll stay out of the forest away from the monsters.

[denies]

[ At the mention of said knights she can't help but glance around for the slightest moment - its'not like she's ever been in a world like this before, after all, it's.. a little strange, but nowhere near as strange as most other things that happened to her, so she still seems reasonably calm. ]

The beach of all places? [ Her tone isn't as much complain-y as usual (although that might just be since she still hasn't recovered from everything fully), though, she just waits for him to lead the way. ] .. You pick interesting meeting spots, Yuri.

[second_star]

Hey. Gotta be a good host, right? [ He said, with a tiny, playful smirk. He walked closer to her, taking her hand in his own, and pulling her along. He kept silent, mulling over the right thing to say...

Sorry about all that? That'd be a stupid thing to apologize for, he had nothing to do with the witches game. Try to forget about it? He knew he wouldn't either. ]

The beach is a lot nicer at night, anyway.

[denies]

[ At least Ange hardly even noticed the awkward silence hanging in the air. No, she was way too busy being distracted by the fact that he had grabbed her hand so suddenly. Sure, she knew he probably didn't mean anything by it, but it was still a guy holding her hand out in the open like this-- what wouldn't people who saw them think?! Even if she didn't know anyone here, she didn't want anyone at all to get the wrong idea, but pulling her hand back now would be weird.. come on, Ange, think of something, think of--

.. oh, wait, he just talked, didn't he? She shook her head, trying to shake off the awkwardness. ]

Do you go to the beach often? [ It was such a silly and mundane question, but it was an easier topic than the hands or what had happened. ]

[second_star]

[ Often...? Not really. He hadn't been freely wandering around the world after all. And it's been so long since he'd left the barrier. ]

Nah, we've just come across a few. I took Sena to one too. Other than that, mostly inland. There's fewer monsters at the beach though. And it's cooler at night. [ He continued along the field, keeping away from the trees and tall bushes. Not that he couldn't handle anything that might ambush them but...he wasn't gonna put her in danger. ]

I think we all just need a good place to relax, right now. You feeling any better?

[denies]

Yes. [ It was a quick answer as she was mostly thinking about other things - about his world, the monsters he was talking about, the mention of that name (another girl on the community, or someone he knew here..?) and the fact that he was still holding her hand. But even though the answer was the truth, she felt she had to add a little more to it as she shook her head lightly. ] I.. guess.

[ Honestly, the events had just weighed a lot on her, and now she had to deal with the fact that everyone had seen her without her usual calm front too. Hence why she left the answer that brief, just staring at her shoes as they walked. ]

[second_star]

[ Her answers were brief, he couldn't blame her for that much. After all that. He shot a look back at her, before looking back forward. ]

...You're not blaming yourself for how things went, are you?

[denies]

[ At that she remained quiet. Even though she meant it as a way to avoid having to answer that question, the silence in itself already said enough. After all, saying 'no' would've been easy if that were true, but since it wasn't there was just the silence instead.

But after a few moments it felt almost.. unfair to have come all the way over here for him and then only be quiet, especially if he really had been worried during it all - he had seemed rather frustrated compared to his usual self, right? - so then she practically owed him an explanation. ]

If.. I would've been able to do something back there, then maybe it wouldn't all have been that bad. [ Helplessness in the face of important people being in danger - it's honestly the worst kind of feeling. ]

[second_star]

[ Heh. He felt the same. All he could do was watch as things went from bad to worse, and even when he thought of an answer to save her brother, he had no way of reaching him. He hated the helpless feeling too. ]

You did all you could, right? [ He knew what it was like...being unable to do anything when someone important to you was in danger. ] There's no point in telling yourself it could have been different. It's not your fault.

[denies]

.. That's not all of it.

[ She almost seemed a little pouty, but in the end it did come from genuine sadness - it just wasn't coming out very well in combination with some slight tsun, and she slipped her hand out of his grip, holding her hand close to herself now. She was still walking after him, but she glanced off into the distance. ]

I'm just there to help Battler onii-chan. If I can't help him, then what's my use in being there..?

[second_star]

[ So that was it, huh? They were coming closer to the beach, Yuri could hear the waves not too far off. The trees and vegetation were starting to become more scarce around them. He felt her hand slip out of his own, but he didn't move to take it back. He was just leading her, after all.

...So what was the point...? Yuri knew he couldn't have a good enough answer to that...but... ]

To remind him that he's not alone in this twisted game. [ The shore line was in view now. He stopped walking and turned to her. ]

Help isn't always direct, after all. Remember what I said? Supporting your brother was enough to keep him going.

[denies]

[ Despite him turning around - or maybe exactly because of it - she still kept her gaze averted from his'. Looking him in the eyes right now would just make it more difficult to say things, would make her more hesitant in favor of keeping up the usual front. ]

Just supporting him and sitting at the side.. you really think that's enough? [ But apparently she figured she should clarify that more, so her stance shifted just a little, somewhat uncomfortably, as if she didn't really want to think back on all those events anymore. ] When you asked me what was wrong, Yuri-- the other Yuri.. she told me she was coming over since Battler onii-chan asked her to distract them for him, even though it was practically impossible, even though I told her not to come because of that..

[ Her voice got just a little softer. ] It's like compared to the people around me, I'm always the only one who can't do anything.

[second_star]

[ So that's who was trying to come through before...That explained why Ange was thrown into such a panic. Yuri almost wanted to say "A distraction like that was stupid idea", but...he'd be lying if he said the same idea didn't cross hims mind several times during their conversation. Yuri looked back to her, not moving from his spot, listening to every word she said. His expression was in a partial scowl, not as if he was mad, but simply thinking. ]

I wouldn't have understood what the hell was going on without you. Not to mention we only reached our answer together. I couldn't have done that alone. [ Judging by how everyone else on the community was reacting...no one could have figured anything out on their own. ]

That sounds like doing plenty to me.

[denies]

If it doesn't help anything in the end, then there's no way it counts as doing something, let alone 'plenty'.

[ Apparently she was being stubborn on this, since her mind had already set itself on the idea that there was nothing she could do, that she had been useless.. but after frowning - mostly out of disappointment with herself, honestly - she just tried to shrug it off, despite obviously still seeming hurt from the whole deal. ]

.. Nevermind. It's no use arguing this now. [ She started to walk ahead of him (easier to hide her expression that way) now the beach was staring to get in sight with big firm steps. ] Let's just go.

[second_star]

[ He shrugged, just shaking his head as she passed him. Sheesh, someone was a downer. He couldn't blame her, though. ] Whatever you say, Ange. [ He followed her, staying at the same pace, keeping his thoughts to himself. She really couldn't help but blame herself, could she? ]

Try not to lead us the wrong way, Ange. I'm not really in the mood for an ambush or something. [ It was a joke, the beach was in plain side, and they had practically reached it. ]

[denies]

[ She just sort of scoffed in return, not bothering to look back at him. It was obvious he was just joking, so despite her mood she went along with in her own deadpan sort of way-- ]

Any monster or person that has the guts to attack me right now can kiss their crown jewels goodbye. [ Apparently she wasn't very much in the mood for messing around that way, there was some slight annoyance in her tone.

But the most important thing was that she now walked onto the beach, the sand beneath her shoes. ]

[second_star]

Heh. I like that attitude. [ He smirked, as he stepped onto the beach as well. It was a cool evening, and the wind from over the water blew their way. He could hear the sand under his boots, as he increased his pace to catch up with her. ]

Taking a dip right now wouldn't sound like a bad idea.

[denies]

What? You want to go swim now of all times?

[ Although she assumed he just meant himself, she wasn't particularly planning on doing it now either way - she was still feeling too bad for it, even though by now she was just pushing it all back inside again, trying to hide it once more under layers of faked indifference.

She raised an eyebrow at him, finally looking at him again. ] Did you even bring swimming trunks?

[second_star]

[ A dismissive hand wave. ] Do I really look like I can afford stuff like that right now? I'm kind of in the middle of traveling. [ He walked up beside her, facing the ocean. ]

You ever travel before, Ange?

[denies]

Hey, most people in my world would exactly bring that kind of thing along with them if they'd go and travel. [ As far as trips to the beach could be considered 'travelling', but hey, it was close enough..

But at his question she shrugged, still something a little more defeated than usually about it. ]

But.. yeah, I was travelling for a little while before I went to help Battler onii-chan out instead. But if you don't count that, then I haven't travelled much.

[second_star]

Not much, huh...? [ weird. He kinda figured she would have more, if her world didn't have any monsters. ] I guess it's the same for me. This is the first time since I quit the knights. But I like it. It's better than sitting in a room all day. [ He sat down onto the sand, still looking out into the ocean. The sky was pitch black, clear with stars scattered about. It was a view he was used to seeing, but he never stopped admiring. ]

It's a pretty good view.

[denies]

[ For a moment she could only stare at him as he sat down like that, as if she was pondering something - probably whether she should risk it or not, if she'd sit down here, her skirt and thigh highs would probably get covered with sand. But then again.. did it really matter?

So slowly she sat down as well, carefully making sure her skirt at least covered her butt so she wouldn't get sand all over that as well.

She was silent for a moment before she spoke up. ] They're brighter here. The stars.

.. Usually you can't see them as well in my world since the lights of the city are too strong. You'd have to climb up somewhere high to see them. [ .. heh. She'd know. ]