welcome home

[outofoffice]

Who: Venti, Yuri, Saya, Lumine, and Kantera
What: A moment of respite
When: March 4th
Where: A house at the far edge of Blossomcrown
Warnings: Probably mentions of previous game trauma/violence


[ Venti has always been the type who wanders to the beat of his own drum, dipping in and out of people's lives as easily as the blowing wind. But Tokyo-F . . . changed things, somewhat.

Though his initial instinct had been to sleep under a tree and call it "home," an invitation to live with old friends put a halt to those plans. For starters, it would be protection from the unpredictable weather in the segments. For another, maybe he did get used to having a bed and a room to call "home," in no small part because of the teammates and friends who inhabited it with him. Now that solitary tree feels . . . lonely, in a way it didn't before.

And so here he is, standing at the threshold of a house full of people he loves and trusts, who asked him to stay . . . it makes him feel his age, but not in a bad way, for once. Nor does he feel that nagging urge to disappear into the wind.

Should he catch anyone watching him, the pensive expression dissolves into a smile. ]

Hehe, is this the part where we fight over bedrooms?

Comments

[happydreamed]

Absolutely not.

[Immediate and firm.]

Even if he can temporarily kill you here, and even if he were so inclined to harm non-vampires for getting in the way, all he would accomplish is making a lot of people very angry at him.

[sangreine]

Yeah, I didn't figure that would go over great. But I had to offer.

But as far as that 'temporary' part of killing me... he could prevent me from reviving, for all I know. Or incapacitate me without killing me. Hunters are used to vampires that don't stay dead.

[ She slumps over against him. ]

Just what I needed right now.

[happydreamed]

[He hugs her tight, stroking her back.]

If he understands the mechanics of flower revival on a world he's new to, I would be surprised. If he incapacitates you, those who love you will raise hell until he reverses it.

[sangreine]

I guess so.

[ Logic isn't going to make her feel better, unfortunately. She was scared for a lot of reasons and now there's this different fear to toss on the pile. A dread that reminds her too much of Diva. ]

I feel bad that I can't trust him. I agree with wanting to protect people from predators, after all. I have too much to lose, I guess.

[ She gives him a squeeze for emphasis. ]

[happydreamed]

Not being able to trust someone who might cause you harm for what you are is entirely reasonable, even if you sympathize with their motives. You needn't feel guilt for that.

[He knows she will anyway, but she deserves not to.]

[sangreine]

Thank you, love.

[ Reassurance that she's not crazy helps. Even if she feels more than a little crazy. ]

He told me he's a vampire the first time we talked, and not that he's a hunter. That didn't come out until I saw his memory. It made me wonder what he was trying to do. [ Was he announcing that he's a vampire so he would make other vampires comfortable admitting what they are to him? He didn't seem sinister when he told her that he's a hunter too, but... ]

[happydreamed]

I can't say. The one time we spoke, it was mostly about Tokyo-F.

[And wanting to look out for the other people who had been there, to support each other. It's a shame that someone he thought of as someone who understood what he'd been through would have to turn out to be a potential enemy.]

[sangreine]

[ Doubly a shame for Saya since Zero is related to someone she cared about. She so deeply wants to trust him but she doesn't feel she can afford to, not with her history. ]

I know. I wanted to help him too. We have each other, and I wanted to be there for him. But he called my blood poison. He might not have meant it as a threat but I heard one in there anyway.

[happydreamed]

As would I in your shoes.

[...Considering how Saya feels about making Chevaliers with her blood, the comparison is not completely unfounded. But then, he doesn't know how much Zero knows about the type of vampire she is.]

I'm sorry. You're already under so much stress as it is.

[sangreine]

[ Saya doesn't disagree entirely about her blood, but if anyone else said it aloud it wouldn't go well. Her blood is more than its turning abilities. ]

Yeah, well. It's not like I could ask him to hold off until after something I don't want him knowing about. Can you imagine what he might think about tests being run on me when we can't say what they'll do?

[happydreamed]

No, I'd rather he not find out about that. We know the risks and we've planned for them, thank you very much.

[sangreine]

That's right. Better to ask forgiveness than permission... not that I intend to ask forgiveness for something that has nothing to do with him.

[happydreamed]

Good. 'Tis frankly none of his business to begin with.

[sangreine]

I know. Maybe if I knew whether I could trust him I might have asked for help, but... [ sure as hell not now. ]

[happydreamed]

You're already stressed over how many people are involved in this, are you not?

[Even though all of them are helping happily and willingly.]

[sangreine]

I'm fine.

[ She is not. This entire thing is one giant knot of unimaginable strain. But it's even worse on the people around her who will have to live with the consequences if it fails, so... ]

[ So. Her smile sure looks convincing, because she wants to make this a tiny bit easier on him. ]

[happydreamed]

-If you say so. I would hardly blame you if you were not.

[That smile looks genuine, and he doesn't want to doubt her words.]

[sangreine]

I'm happy right now, hunter revelations aside. I don't want to ruin what time we have being endlessly miserable.

[ That, at least, is perfectly honest, so it's not like she's lying really. ]

[happydreamed]

Nor I. I wish for all the happiness in the world to come to you, my dear.

[He kisses the top of her head.]

[sangreine]

For all the happiness in the world to come to us, you mean.

[ As long as she has her memories, they're a package deal. ]

[happydreamed]

That goes without saying. When you're happy, I'm happy as well.

[sangreine]

Then you should be happy. I know how lucky I am.

[ To be here instead of Tokyo-F, both of them, all of them who live here. To have as many wonderful friends as she has despite all she's done and all she's lost. To have even a slim chance to prevent her hibernation. ]

[ ...that doesn't mean she's not in pain. She definitely is. It's just that she knows that's unproductive. Sure she could be perfectly honest all the time, make these last months a drudgery, but to what end? ]

[happydreamed]

If you are half as lucky as I am, to be here with you and our dear friends, then you are quite lucky indeed.

[He presses a gentle kiss to her hair.]

[sangreine]

[ She snags his hand and kisses the back of it, then keeps it to hold. ]

Speaking of dear friends... something I should let you know. Two things, I guess. You've been great about me having more explicitly romantic connections with others given my nature, but I always want to be sure to let you know. [ She never wants to hide anything from him. ]

One of those people is Venti, feel free to lightly tease him if you want to, goodness knows we insisted it wasn't 'like that' long enough to deserve it. The other is Red Son... and I'm sure you know that teasing would only embarrass him. [ So please be delicate, if it's brought up at all. ]

[ She looks up, how we doing? ]

[happydreamed]

Congratulations.

[Said completely sincerely. Although he doesn't personally have romantic feelings outside of her, he knows she does, and it doesn't make him less important to her.]

Should I avoid becoming intimate with either of them? I haven't with Venti before, and Red Son only once.

[That thread is very backdated and in progress but presumably enough happens that he counts it as intimate. And he knows Rosen was off limits to him, so it's good to clarify.]