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

[at_heart]

[ timeywimey i am not having him miss this ]

Okay, well, first of all, you're definitely not moving out.

[ That was a lot to unpack, and he's with Doc and Lumine on this: it would be incredibly stupid for Zero to actually attack you. But hey, stupidity isn't exactly a finite resource across the multiverse — and the audible fear, the stress, is more important anyway. ]

[sangreine]

Yeah I had a feeling that wouldn't fly. That's what I get for asking permission instead of forgiveness.

...I just don't want anyone to get hurt because of me. And not everyone who lives here is a fighter. [ Her husband primarily. ]

[at_heart]

Well, thanks for not disappearing in the middle of the night without a word.

[ Just, the teensiest tease? Trying to... make her feel better, which is probably futile right now. ] [ He also has opinions about the rest of that, but who knows if he's right or not, and he doesn't want to speak for Doc or Venti. ]

—We can talk to him. If he doesn't want to hurt vampires who aren't an active danger to other people, I'm sure we can work something out.

[sangreine]

[ She has the good grace to look ashamed because that actually was her first impulse. For like half a second, but still. ]

I'm not sending third parties to talk to him. If you want to go with me, that would be better. [ Not even she's stupid enough to go confront Zero by herself, just in case. ]

I suspect that the problem might be that he has thoughts on what constitutes an active danger. My feeding on people, for instance. Or fighting them for fun.

[at_heart]

[ A softer smile for her at that, before he smirks. ]

United front. We could all go.

[ He is not above intimidating Zero with sheer numbers?? Red and Roz are invited too, in his mind. ]

And maybe so, but I regret to inform him he doesn't get a vote on what happens in the privacy of my bedroom.

[sangreine]

[ Red Son and Rosen would set Zero on fire if he so much as looked at her askance. They're both quite protective of her. ]

You don't think he'd interpret a whole group confronting him as an act of war or something?

[ She rubs her head ] I definitely am not going to tell him about how many of my partners are into that. It sounds cavalier, especially to someone who was turned by a bite. [ More reasons Red Son shouldn't be there, he'd swallow his tongue if that came up. ]

1/2

[at_heart]

I don't know him. We've talked all of the one time, over the network, when he mentioned Tokyo-F.

[ So, who can say how he'd feel about a group confrontation. ]

But I wasn't planning on drawing weapons. I was planning on providing character witnesses.

[ The threat would be more, you know, implied. ]

[at_heart]

[ ...but that part. That part draws Yuri up a little short. ]

Against his will, I'm guessing.

[sangreine]

Character witnesses, right. For all he knows I'm compelling you.

Didn't look very voluntary. His family were hunters, so my best guess is it was revenge. Once he dropped the bomb that he's a hunter the conversation didn't last much longer, so I didn't get more details. But he did say that purebloods have to feed their blood to someone to turn them, like I do.

...That's when he called my blood poisonous. [ Which sure left An Impression. ]

1/2

[at_heart]

[ A soft snort, which he then regrets immediately, but it was such an involuntary reaction to the idea of you, willingly compelling anyone. ]

Sorry. Not funny. Just — I know you wouldn't ever do that.

[at_heart]

Sounds like he's projecting.

[ Mildly, but also yikes @ the whole concept of 'pureblood', even though he's guessing it's probably something like the distinction between Zari and her chevaliers. He likes your words for it better. ]

[sangreine]

Not in my right mind, no. But I'm not always in my right mind, am I? And I can't promise it won't happen again. If he finds out about my little tendency to go apeshit for reasons I can't remember, you don't think that would be enough reason to blow me away?

He might be projecting but he's not wrong. I am dangerous, and my blood is poison, and this place would be a lot safer if I weren't here.

[at_heart]

None of us can promise we'll always be in our right minds.

[ Just. That will always be his stance. And while Ellipsa has so far seemed less prone to making people violent and dangerous than Tokyo-F was, it does still happen. Tree Quest, anyone? ]

So if he's gonna kill you for what might happen someday, I hope he's planning on cutting the rest of us down, too.

[sangreine]

Yeah, I know. But he doesn't hunt just random whoever, he hunts vampires specifically. Most people if they do go nuts can't turn people. [ Plenty of dangerous people here but very few of them can do that sort of damage. ]

[ (At least she didn't harp on her body count. She can be taught.) ]

This is the reason I thought about moving out. The last thing I want in the world is for anyone else to get hurt trying to stand up for me.

[ She doesn't deserve that, and it would destroy her. ]

1/2

[at_heart]

Who says you can turn people here?

I know we've got most of our powers back, [ call him crazy but he doesn't think Venti's at full strength, ] but we also turn to stone if we go long enough without physical contact and come back as flowers if we die. He's got no reason to think you even could make an army, let alone would.

[at_heart]

[ —smallest pause, and then he gives her a very crooked smile. ]

If I still had a tail, it'd be lashing right now. But I don't, so I guess I'll just have to actually tell you I'd rather die here a hundred times than have you isolate yourself like that.

[sangreine]

Well I'm not going to test it out, so let's assume I can. And even if we knew for a fact that I couldn't, you think he'd believe that?

[ She knows that last part is supposed to be comforting, but boy is it ever not. ]

And I'd rather you accept that I'm not worth even saying things like that. I would never want anyone else at risk for my sake, never again.

[at_heart]

[ ...Making himself say it out loud wasn't, actually, all that easy. Had to couch it in Some kind of — something. But his gaze just flits away for a moment before settling again on her face. ]

The way I see it, you've got two choices. Either you stay here, trusting us to both help protect you and ourselves — or you go turn yourself in and let him take out his misplaced anger for what happened to him on you.

[ There's definitely the third option, leave and make a run for it, but he can't even imagine how exhausting and miserable that would be — just spend the rest of the time she's got left hoping whatever powers he has won't let him catch up with her...? ]