whatdeheckisdat | 002 - [Written/Action]

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002 - [Written/Action]

[Dhaos is, as a general rule, not a social person. He certainly doesn't mind being surrounded by people, but when most of the residents of Luceti are human he finds himself half-wishing he could strangle some of the people around him. As such, he's spent an awful lot of time in his apartment for the past few weeks, dwelling over the latest experiment and pretty much waiting for himself to calm down.

He really was powerless here. Even if he had been weakened by mana deprivation and injury, the Demon King of Aselia controlled his own fate, made his own decisions, chose his own path. But here, the Malnosso could do as they wished-- they could transform his body and erase his memories, wipe the urgency of Derris-Kharlan's situation from his mind, give his heart to another woman. Dhaos had always been in control of his own fate, and the fates of others as well, and the change was... upsetting.

Although, as Dhaos once realized with an unhappy surprise, it was something of a relief not to be the one responsible for the lives and deaths of others...

Anyway, now that it's been long enough for Dhaos to think back on the experiment without throwing a fit or something similar, it's time to get something he's been wondering about straight. This is his first time using a filter, so he's not sure he has it done correctly, but he does his best.]

[Written, Filtered to Martel: 70% Unhackable]

I need to speak to you.

[Written, Unfiltered]

What are your worlds called? Do the people of different regions call it something different? Is there a meaning behind the name, or has it been lost to the ages?

[And after a minute:]

And if there is anyone else here from Derris-Kharlan, I would like to know.

[And he can be found reading in the library/on top of the library. It's been a little while and he still hasn't read up on any of the other worlds, so he's rectifying that today. And as always, feel free to find him stargazing at night.]

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... I see.

[Yuan doesn't care too much for "his people". He doesn't even have people. He's not human, he's not elf, he certainly doesn't consider himself part of the angels either... He considers himself only half-elf, but he doesn't feel a specific need to see those, either. All he cares about are the few people whose presence he actually enjoys.]

[Dhaos obviously doesn't mind solitude, but he's been alone for a very long time. Just seeing someone was just fine for a while, but then Reisen happened.]

It hardly matters. That only makes it simpler.

[Yuan stays silent at that; he's got no idea how to respond. Then he decides to just take a seat on the roof. He might as well make himself comfortable while he's up there, and he expects Dhaos to do the same.]

[But no, he doesn't. At least not for a long while-- things are entirely silent between the two until Dhaos does sit down, at which point he decides that there are things they have to talk about.]

Were you already familiar with any of the people you were temporarily related to?

Some of them, yes. [Mithos, Raine, Sheena... He'd met Grune before, as well as Dhaos. And of course there was Martel.]

[Dhaos'd like to ask which, but it's none of his business and he doubts Yuan would tell him anyway. Instead he looks back up at the sky.]

...I apologize if any of my behavior was... unbecoming.

It's fine. I can hardly fault you for it, but even if I could, I wouldn't do so.

[He hopes that makes sense. It's just very hard for Yuan to explain how he feels about this whole ordeal. Despite Dhaos being so protective of Martel, he was still a good friend. A companion as close as Kratos once was. And he was definitely a better brother for Martel than Mithos was.]

[At least he's not denying that Dhaos spent much of his time being an overprotective brother, as Dhaos dislikes untrue reassurances.]

Thank you. [Though he knows he's likely to keep a close watch on Martel now that he knows who she is.]

[As close of a watch Dhaos would be able to keep on Martel with Mithos living in this place. It's a good thing Mithos was taken by the Malnosso, which gives them some temporary peace. Plans have been made for when he's returned, but it's too early to tell whether they'll succeed.

Yuan gives a dismissive wave of his hand. He doesn't deserve thanks for feeling this way.]

What's important is how we handle ourselves now that things are back to normal.

[Dhaos may be on better terms with Mithos than most of the rest of Luceti, but given Mithos' attitude that means absolutely nothing. Fortunately, Dhaos is usually discreet about watching over people.]

Mm. While I doubt anyone will be forgetting what happened very soon, that is no reason to lose our minds over it.

[Yuan can also be very discreet in watching over people, but in the case of Martel, he's given up. It's partly to avoid aggravating Mithos and partly because he can't stand watching Martel from a distance. He needs to either be close to her, or not have anything to do with her at all. In the latter case, he'll expect other people to watch over her in his stead.]

... No, I suppose not.

[Dhaos fortunately has no personal attachment to Martel, so the choice for him is easy. If Mithos doesn't like it, he'll simply make sure he doesn't know about it.]

...Though the relationships forged by the Malnosso make some interactions difficult.

Now that the experiment is over, most of those interactions can be avoided.

[That is, unless they seek you out and force you to have picnics with them, eh Dhaos?]

And I am sure that is what most people wish to do.

[Lord knows he'd rather not deal with the awkward that is his 'wife' somehow being everywhere at all times. What is it with her and picnics?]

... Yes. It is.

[There are some people he doesn't need to avoid, such as Raine and Sheena, but he already feels awkward around the teens who were his 'children' and he isn't too keen on running into his 'mother', either. He definitely wants to avoid Martel and Mithos.]

[Dhaos already avoided people on principle, because losing control in a crowd of humans would not be good. He can't really do so with Grune, but avoiding everyone else would be easy.

Now, about Yuan specifically... Dhaos isn't entirely sure how to start that conversation. The last time he had such a close friend was a long time ago, and never since childhood.]

[Dhaos can start that conversation whenever he likes, because Yuan has run out of things to say for the moment. He'd ask why Dhaos needs to talk to Martel, but that would mean revealing he hacked the filter. At the moment, he's not sure if that's a smart thing to do. They may be able to sit here in relative peace, but he knows he hasn't gained Dhaos's trust or anything of the sort.]

[Dhaos would not take kindly to that, no. He likes his privacy.]

...We were apparently best friends for the duration of that experiment.

[Just a statement, nothing more. Dhaos doesn't really do the friendship thing, but it's not something he can ignore. Normally he doesn't start conversations, but as long as Yuan is here...]

[He bites back a comment on how he was very much aware of that. No sense in bickering with Dhaos- this is already awkward enough.]

So we were. ... Best friends and in-laws.

[Dhaos can almost taste the awkward. There were too many ways for this conversation to go awry.]

And by people we knew. One wonders what exactly determined our relationships.

[...At least, Dhaos assumes Yuan knows Martel. It would make sense, given the boatloads of other Aselia-related things Yuan seemed to know...]

The Malnosso CEO may have chosen the relationships on purpose to aggravate us.

[Because honestly? He wouldn't put it past Catherine to do this and it seems too unlikely to be a coincidence.]

Edited 2011-05-21 23:27 (UTC)

[Unfortunately, Dhaos would believe that. This whole incident has made his opinion of the Malnosso go from 'disapproving' to 'venomous.']

...That would be exceptionally pointless of them.

You'd be surprised how greatly the Malnosso excel at doing pointless things. [Either intentionally or unintentionally.]

Edited 2011-05-21 23:52 (UTC)

This entire enclosure is full of pointless things.

[A smile manages to find its way to Yuan's face. That was one of the most amusing remarks he's heard in a while, even if Dhaos meant it seriously.]

All the more reason to find a way home, I should think.

[Action]

whatdeheckisdat - 2011-05-22 00:28 (UTC) - Expand

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