lazybox | World hoppers gonn' world hop

World hoppers gonn' world hop

Jumping between worlds never stopped being interesting. Starting to get a little lonely, maybe, but certainly never boring. Even calm worlds had something new to discover, although it was probably a good thing that he tended to run into other "survivors" of the Tower on this trip.

He sure would have appreciated one of those now, even if just so that he had someone to crack jokes with about monsters coming out at night. That eclipse had started not long after he came here, and was the apparent reason behind the insanity around him; dark monsters popping out everywhere, and an imbalance in the world that was sending the First Fonon into a berserk state, or at least so it seemed to his perception of things.

It was making finding enough of Sixth Fonon to do anything kind of a pain in the ass. At least he could use the Seventh to duplicate any of the others, now, and had enough of an ambient cloud of them to do what he needed. There didn't seem to be a naturally occuring source of them in this world, so he was stuck with what he'd brought with them and the few he could make with artes himself. Learning that had been enough of a challenge, thanks.

He had, eventually, made it to a town, to be promptly greeted by wonder from the townspeople. He heard the phrase "powerful Adept" tossed around in his vicinity a few times, and well - at least that gave him a starting point. So he pulled a barmaid to the side and asked about Sheba and Felix, wishing he could remember the names of their other companions.

The woman had stared at him, but after a bit of coaxing, she pointed him in the direction of some ruins outside town. And really, he shouldn't be surprised, because it was Sheba and she was always up to her neck in trouble. Sure enough, the small blond figure is exploring as usual, a weapon in one hand - it's a familiar sight, even if they've both aged a few years.

Or more than a few years, in Sheba's case, given how time seems to slide off her. And there's no telling if she's the Sheba from the Tower, but... He clears his throat, stepping into sight behind her.

"For the record, I think you're a little too old now for me to be doing your laundry."

The worst that could happen is that she zaps him for being crazy, after all, and it's not like it would even be the first time.

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I'll take you watching my back over anyone here, any day.

[It's got a bit of his usual grumpiness to it; he's still slow to trust even if he's learned how to do so in theory, after all.]

The place seems to be some kind of second home for people who were already taken from their worlds once; there's a version of Dist here, and I know he was never at the Tower.

[A slight snort. He's not very fond of Dist, but - ]

He's managed to be more successful at meeting people than I am. Obviously something changed him, wherever he was.

[The kitchen is neat and orderly, excepting a few dishes in the sink that Asch was too tired to mess around with the night before. He taps at a piece of machinery built into the counter near the sink.]

Convinced him to build this to wash the dishes for me, though, so I can't complain too much.

Edited 2013-08-29 10:09 (UTC)

I would, too. And vice versa.

[She doesn't sound as grumpy as he does - the words are said with a small smile. It's an immense relief knowing that there's someone she can trust here.

The name "Dist" sounds familiar, but only in that passing way of a name she's heard briefly in thoughts but has never discussed. Sheba nods slowly as she considers what Asch has to say about him and about the place that they've now found themselves in.]

Any length of time in a place that's different from where someone grew up will change them... At least, that's what I think.

[Doubly so when the new place was an entirely different world. Wherever Dist had been, it might or might not have been as traumatic as the Tower, she just doesn't know. But whether it was full of horrors or not, it would have had an impact. In fact, if it was one of the nicer other worlds she heard about during her time at the Tower, that might explain why he's better with meeting people than Asch remembers. A trial by fire is good for building bonds of comradeship; a second chance at a normal life is good for slowly building more natural bonds.

She laughs delightedly and examines the dishwasher, resting one hand on it.]

Oh, that's great! Washing dishes by hand isn't much fun... [The worker units had been one of the nice things about the Tower, with the way they'd handled mundane tasks for them.]

If he's changed at all over his life, it was never for the better, before.

[There's the sound of him sorting through pans - somehow, as ironic as it would be to have oatmeal, he doesn't think it would go over very well. Somewhere there's a mixing bowl - ah, there we go. Pancakes will do.

In the meantime, there's a bowl of fruit on the counter; Asch grabs a pear and takes a few bites of it to tide himself over.]

He's actually tolerable to hold a conversation with, now. Before, we usually left him alone in his workshop for as long as we could justify.

[There's no mention of who the "we" is, but the rest of the God-Generals, along with a sample of Dist's usual behaviour, is clear in his thoughts if she decides to take a look.]

[She doesn't try to read his thoughts. It's too soon - the pain of hearing so many things she'd dreaded but never had the guts to confirm from the people she cared about is too raw for her to risk looking into his mind now. Ignorance is bliss, as they say. Asch likely won't have to worry about any stray mind reading for months.]

It's good that he's changed for the better now. [Her gaze follows his hand to the bowl of fruit and then lingers there. She sounds a little distracted when she speaks again as she looks through the bowl.] But why-- oh!

[And then she sounds absolutely delighted.]

You have pomegranates! These are my favorite! [Forget being careful with her eating. She grabs a knife and skillfully cuts the pomegranate into halves so that she can get at the seeds; soon enough, she's contentedly picking them out from the halves and munching on them.

Her first real food in so long. She's happy as a clam, really.]

[It's a good choice in first meal provided she doesn't throw it up later. Those seeds would be hell on the way back up.

Asch measures out some flour and dumps it into the developing batter, stirring it with half a mind as he talks.]

He's nearly twice my age, but I honestly never though I'd see him act like an adult.

[He pauses stirring, leaving his whisk against the side of the bowl as he goes for a frying pan.]

He has a boyfriend, now. They're perfect for each other in the most obnoxious way possible.

[Sheba giggles, still in an incredibly good mood from the discovery of pomegranates. She fishes out a small handful of seeds and pops them into her mouth as she listens to Asch talk about dist.]

Sometimes, it's the oldest people who act the most childishly. [She tilts her head to the side, thinking.] Did I ever tell you much about Kraden? He was so old, but sometimes he just acted like a huge kid.

[Especially when werewolves and ancient civilizations were involved.]

It's good that he's found someone! Don't you think? Finding people who are special to you is one of the best things that can happen to someone. [A small smile.] I'm happy for them... even if I haven't met either of them, yet.

Somehow, I doubt he threw tantrums quite the way Dist does. Did.

[Because he's been here a month and hasn't gotten screeched at, it's a miracle. Whisk whisk while the pan is warming.]

I'm sure you'll meet them soon enough. I wind up seeing them quite a bit for one reason or another.

[He doesn't respond to her question - he's sure she already knows, after all, and if she doesn't, then the smile on his face when he turns away to ladle the first scoop of batter into the pan makes him obvious.]

[That just makes Sheba snort, actually - she's recalling one of Kraden's fits of pique just before Lemuria, when it looked like Felix was out to keep him from exploring the city.]

You'd be surprised.

[Another few pomegranate seeds to munch on, and she keeps smiling - she's not completely sure why, but Asch's smile when he turns to ladle the pancake batter into the pan makes her cheeks flush faintly.]

I'll be looking forward to it, then. I've been wanting to meet more people from Auldrant.

[But the important question is did he have a revenge journal.]

I'd say that you've never met Dist, but like I said, he's calmed down quite a bit.

[Luckily he's paying more attention to the pan than her face and so misses the blush; time to flip pancakes wheeeeeee.]

This is the first time you've had the chance to meet another of the God-Generals, isn't it?

[Admittedly, he and Dist are Team Traitor, but it still counts.]

[No, but she wouldn't be surprised if Karst had one.]

Yes, it's the first time. [It was probably fortunate that she'd met Asch before meeting Dist. If she had met Dist first, she might not ever want anything to do with anyone who shared the same title as him.]

None of them were ever in the Tower... at least, not while I was there. [Maybe there were some before - or some after, since she's apparently been out of commission for a long time - but she'd certainly never met any of them.

A pause, and then, more quietly - ] Is he as smart as you are? I don't want to say something foolish and sound like an idiot if he knows a lot...

He and Jade were partners, once.

[Taking that pancake off and putting it on a plate to the side before pouring the next one.]

Jade created the theory behind fomicry, but Dist was the one who assembled all the machines and things that made it work. He's as much a genius in his own way, but Jade's much more tolerable on a daily basis.

[He gives the remaining batter a quick stir to keep it from clumping. Surprisingly, Asch's voice isn't at all sour as he continues talking.]

When Jade judged living replicas unethical, Dist high-tailed it with his notes. He found Van, joined the Oracle Knights under him in exchange for a lab to continue his research, and the rest is history.

[His history, specifically. He flips the pancake.]

Jade... the "mad genius"?

[Another one she'd never had the chance to meet. She would almost be annoyed by it, if not for the fact that meeting them would have meant spending more time in the Tower, and that's not something she really wants to do.

Now if only the rest of her friends would appear here, too... She wonders if the Tower's world is out there somewhere, and her friends are still trapped on it. Or did an entire year pass while she was out of commission? What happened to everyone who was there who isn't here? She finds that following that line of thought makes her stomach churn, so she deliberately turns her thoughts away from it.]

Dist sounds like he's very... [Opportunistic.] Resourceful.

He's known to be like a cockroach - the man's capable of surviving virtually anything.

[Including losing an eye, apparently, if the state of the man's face was anything to go by.]

The two of them grew up together, and the original purpose of fomicry was to bring back their teacher who was killed in an accident. That's my understanding of it, anyway.

[He peels this pancake off the pan and pours out another.]

Unlike the rest of us, Dist wasn't much of a fighter - he usually fought his battles by proxy, with robots he designed himself. None of us ever thought very highly of him, aside from his ability with machines. It's hard to take someone like him seriously.

[She almost makes a quip about how if that's true there's probably a living Dist running around on every version of Auldrant belonging to Asch and the others in the Tower, but that feels like going a little too far, even for her. When Asch continues on sh'es glad she held her tongue.

Wanting to bring someone back to life... she can't fault him - or anyone - for that. It's hard to see people gone and know that they're gone forever. It's no reason to hurt others, but she can definitely sympathize.]

I guess everyone has their own strengths... [She sounds like she's trying to choose her words carefully.] Machines were his. There's nothing wrong with that... it just makes him different.

[It's sort of impressive that he became a God-General without being a fighter, really.

She breathes in deeply and smiles at the scent of the pancakes.]

...and cooking is one of yours. Those smell really good.

I don't think anyone knows quite how he makes it all work. His trademark accessory on Auldrant was a flying armchair.

[He glances away from the pan to look at her at the compliment.]

I'm not that good. It's probably your empty stomach talking.

Does he still have it here?

[She has completely legitimate reasons for asking that. Really, she does. And it's definitely not because she wants to take the chair for a joyride... Definitely...

The look she gives him is just a little bit indignant.]

It's me talking, not my stomach. I like your cooking, Asch. [And she munches on another few pomegranate seeds. See? Totally not her stomach, because she has food that's tiding her over until the pancakes are finished.] Deal with it.

[He nods, a little too distracted to notice the way mischief gleams in her eyes.]

It spends much of its time in his lab, now - he's learned to walk places, finally.

[Dist of old was the absolute worst to try and take anywhere.

He does note her expression, though.]

Don't fill yourself up. Keeps your stomach from rebelling.

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World hoppers gonn' world hop

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