002 - [Written/Action]

[whatdeheckisdat]

[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.]

Comments

[lostinmyway]

[And Grune sleeps peacefully on....]

[blessingone]

[She probably should go get her journal and call for help...but she can't leave Grune alone in the arms of a stranger....

Courage, Fenimore! Think: what would Shirley do? He can't know that the only training in fighting came when you were 7 for the Luceti Valley event! And if you're loud enough, he might be scared off, or Stella might be woken up!

You can do this! Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality!!]

Who goes there?!

[Thus spake the scrawny 5'1" girl in the nightdress with her loose hair tangled from sleeping on it, brandishing the mighty pot! (It might also be worthy of note that this girl is also not human, but is the same species as the woman sleeping in another of the rooms with her half-human child. Welcome to non-human house, Dhaos, enjoy your stay.)]

[whatdeheckisdat]

[Dhaos freezes at the sound of the voice. Well, it had been worth a try.

He turns around and stares down the girl confronting him with a pot. ...And is less than intimidated, given that he is a full foot and a half taller than she is.

Not being human simply makes one normal in Dhaos' eyes, so instead of sniffing and derision and ignoring her as he might have to a human Dhaos... just stands there and stares back at her. He would love to ask what her problem is, except that he is sorta in her house at night without permission.]

[lostinmyway]

[Grune keeps sleeping away, completely undisturbed. To add insult to the injury to Dhaos' dignity, she snuggles slightly into his arms in her sleep.]

[blessingone]

[Her body language is pretty clear that she realizes that she's facing a huge stranger as she seems to try to hide behind the pot she's holding very tightly with both hands, but she manages to keep most of the fear out of her voice by sounding angry instead. Well, most of it -- for one, she's talking a bit too quickly.]

Who are you? Why are you here? What are you doing with her?

[whatdeheckisdat]

[Dhaos is less than fooled, but as her anger is more evident he focuses on that. Yes, he's perfectly aware that he's the one at fault here, but all he wants is to dump Grune in her room and leave.]

She fell asleep outside. [...Hopefully that was explanation enough. He's just going to ignore that first inquiry.]

[lostinmyway]

[Grune keeps sleeping. Seriously, it would take Dhaos dropping her to wake her up…probably.]

1/2

[blessingone]

[...That seems incredibly likely. She lowers the pot a little, but doesn't entirely lose her suspicious gaze.]

...How did you know where...?

[blessingone]

Wait, more importantly, how did you get in? [Fenimore, you forgot to lock the door.]

[whatdeheckisdat]

[This was where he'd found Grune during that experiment... And if it had been his choice, he would have gotten in through Grune's window. But, alas...

...Dhaos just gestures in the direction of the door. You may feel silly now, Fenimore.]

[blessingone]

[I presume that it will be okay to skip over one Grune response of still sleeping.

She will, while still keeping an eye on Dhaos, move to the door to check it. Did he break in somehow?

.......No. Okay, now she feels silly.]

[whatdeheckisdat]

[Not as silly as Dhaos probably feels. Grune was continuing to make his life awkward and weird, and she wasn't even awake.]

...Where is her room? [Obviously he knows already, but he was not going to be implying he'd been in there before...]

[blessingone]

[...She's tempted to tell him to let her handle things from there, but...5'1" of Fenimore versus 5'9" of Grune. She'll take the 6'7" of help for now.

She walks past him, giving him a bit of a berth.] This way. [Though it's not really that far to follow since it's just across the living room before she gets to the door.]

Gonna jump in with some tl;dr...!

[lostinmyway]

[There's no one Grune's room could belong to but her. That would be immediately obvious the moment anyone entered her room and was confronted with flowers everywhere. They cover just about every available surface and are being held in an amazing variety of containers: vases, old bottles, jars, a heavy-looking urn, and some glasses and even a few bowls that Fenimore might want to collect on her way out.

There are also the potted plants by her window--what will eventually become a fire lily, geraniums of all colours, ivy, and African violets. All of them are growing stunningly well.

Her walls are decorated with a truly incredible number of drawings in paint, crayon, and pencil crayon--often at the same time. There's no real logic to the mixing of media; it's based entirely on which colour Grune wanted to use at the time. Besides the unsurprising 457473463 pictures of flowers, there's a wide variety of unskilled but recognizable portraits. Most of them are of her housemates and friends back on the Legacy, but there are several of Dhaos, and a few of Vash, Harry Potter, and Raven, as well as a variety of "friends" that might make Fenimore and Dhaos a little nervous: Smoker, Captain Jack Sparrow, one of Gem, Draco Malfoy….

In the middle of her decorations, incongruously, there's also a photo. It might draw the eye a little more quickly than the other pictures due to its out-of-place realism. It's a photo that Hughes gave Grune at the end of the event. In it, Grune is at the festival's flower stand, wearing a flower crown and beaming at Dhaos. Just visible on his wrist is the bracelet she had given him, and while he isn't smiling much, he still looks happy.]

Baw, Grune...

[whatdeheckisdat]

[Dhaos stops short upon entering the room. She'd done an awful lot with it since the flowers started growing... The whole place looked just like something only Grune would think of doing. It was a little distracting. Especially that photo.

...That photo. He didn't need evidence of that experiment lying around.

He steps inside and carefully sets Grune down on the bed, briefly considering taking the photo down and destroying it.]

Awwww. (Hope you don't mind the skips!)

[blessingone]

[At first, as she steps inside to one side to let Dhaos pass, Fenimore doesn't notice the photo. Her attention is on the bowls and glasses. She sighs. She'll leave them for now, but she'll need to find some better jars to quietly replace them and regain the dishes.

When Dhaos starts looking at the photo, her attention is drawn to it. She might have seen the photo before if she's gone collecting dishes since the event -- she's definitely seen the general decorations, at least -- but now she has the real Dhaos to compare it to. Very quietly:] Ah. [Well, that confirms that he does know Grune. It's too late at night for her to make the connection of the Luceti Valley setting to how he knows where she lives just yet, but that's on its way.]

Actually, go ahead, you guys. Grune won't be waking up, so yeah.

[lostinmyway]

[Grune settles onto her bed with a quiet sigh. This place is softer, but it isn't as warm....]

^^

[whatdeheckisdat]

[...Well, there was that problem solved. If Fenimore lived with her, she would hopefully know her well enough to know how to explain this to her in the morning.

He looks up and stares at the photo for a few moments before turning his back on it. There was nothing he could do while the girl was watching.]

...My apologies for intruding.

[blessingone]

[She looks at the photo for a second more before turning to him.]

...Well, it's better than if you left her outside...Dhaos, right?

[whatdeheckisdat]

Mm. [He nods. Dhaos, that's his name. Does... Grune talk about him when he's not around?]

[blessingone]

[She nods in return, hands lightly on her hips.] She mentioned you, after that. [She inclines her head towards the photo briefly. Hmm. Should she get involved?

Since when has she ever not stuck her nose into things?] ...Try to go easy on her, okay? She's way too simple about everything to get any of the problems with it.

[whatdeheckisdat]

[...Why should he have thought Grune would hold her tongue about it? Of course she would tell everyone about her 'husband.'] So I have noticed.

1/2

[blessingone]

I know it can be hard to deal with. Most of the time, it feels like she has to be babysat, even if she looks older than me.

[blessingone]

But...she means well. And she'll make it up to you, sometimes. I'm sure of it.

...And this is why I should only mark tags I've replied to as 'read.'

[whatdeheckisdat]

[Dhaos can't deny the truth of anything Fenimore is saying-- yes, Grune does need to be babysat, but no, she doesn't mean to make anyone upset. It's frustrating, because he... can't really blame it all on her. She's too nice.]

...Let us hope she does not choose any particularly awkward way of doing so.