008 [Action/Voice]

[fabrecation]

[Luke had been trying to get back to House 5, but it's awfully hard to do so with a sudden crowd of people. There's a whole slew of sounds coming from the journal as if Luke's right in the middle of the crowd, along with Luke himself switching between trying to be polite and being outright indignant about being pushed through a sea of people. One can hear him saying "Excuse me" and "Sorry", along with "HEY" and "WATCH IT, YOU JERK".

Eventually, though, the noises fade as Luke escapes and slides down the wall of a house that he decided to take refuge behind. With a loud sigh, Luke straightens his jacket and speaks to the journal, ignoring the light pain in his abdomen from his still healing wound.]

What a pain...

Guy, Asch, Natalia, I don't think I can make it back to the house. I'll just camp out or something, okay?

[Maybe he can find some marshmallows and make some awesome smores or something. Away from the sudden crowd.]

Comments

[engel]

Use that thick head of yours for once! If I was falling, why wouldn't you end up doing the same?!

[ Luke just has a natural talent for catching Asch on his bad days. He's really not this bad most of the time? With Luke squirming around it's difficult to find solid footing, so Asch lets the twerp go in exchange for the extra hand needed to remain upright. At a couple trees he pauses for a break and shakes the snow from his soaked wings. ]

Any idea where we're at now?

[fabrecation]

[WHUMPF. Right back in the snow. Luke shakes his head to get the snow out of his face, and his wings shake automatically as well. He scrambles up to catch back up with Asch, though he has to narrow his eyes a bit with suspicion at that question. Honestly, Asch, stop having selective memory loss!]

... The house shouldn't be too far. Here, I'll lead.

[He'll just walk right on ahead.]

[engel]

[ Hah! Serves him right for being both stupid and a pain in his ass. After taking a tumble, Asch isn't in the mood to even try keeping up his charade for Luke's sake. Let the dreck get a headache and think he's gone crazy too. ]

Be my guest. You could've said something sooner.

[ He couldn't wait for a rabid bunny or something to attack Luke's face. ]

[fabrecation]

[Luke just mumbles something to himself before he continues on with his fists clenched at his sides. He still hasn't really figured it out, and deep down, he's very worried about Asch's supposed memory loss. The sooner they get back, the sooner he can figure out what's going on.

Thankfully, it doesn't take too long to reach House 5, a relatively big house compared to some of the others. As it should be, as it's suited to fit at least five people. Luke lets himself in first, though he leaves the door open for Asch.]

[engel]

[ Asch can't help silently marveling at the residence Luke leads them to. There's no way he had procured this place on his own. ...right? It was hard -almost insulting- to imagine the replica holding down a common job. He hesitated a moment in the doorway before edging further inside and closing the door on the freezing cold, giving his wings a last shake to rid them of snow. ]

You had better bring several towels so the floor won't end up wet.

[fabrecation]

[He makes a living by makings wigs Luke just gives an "Yeah yeah" and hurries down the hall and to the restroom, where he'll dry himself off lightly first, then bring a fresh one to the living room, where he'll hand the second to Asch. He then ties the towel into his hair - because it's totally awesome like that.

He gives Asch a good stare while he does so.]

Hey, uh... Asch? Are you really feeling okay?

[engel]

[ ...what's he do, grow the hair himself? In the meantime Asch busies himself with removing most of his soaked outerwear, leaving only his manskirt tunic, sword belt, and pants. They're still wet, but not so much as the rest. He all but snatches the towel from Luke to pat his hair down with meticulous care, simply wrapping it the warm fabric around his shoulders after. He's not cold, dammit. ]

Aside from the obvious, yes, I feel fine. Keep running your mouth and I might develop a headache though.

[fabrecation]

[Couldn't let all that long hair go to waste! Luke purses his lips and looks away at that, though remains quiet. Instead, he glances at the towel on Asch's shoulders, then moves over to the couch to grab a couple of blankets; one for himself and...

... How to give it to Asch without embarrassing him?

After a pause of thought, he just shakes his head to himself and heads over to give it to Asch.]

... Here. It was cold out there, so...

[engel]

[ And here we thought his girlfriend gave it a proper burial. Asch gives the blanket serious consideration and takes it with a quiet scoff, his face flushed from more than just the temperature. Even he got tired of their arguing eventually. There's an uneasy silence before Asch wanders past the replica to look around. ]

...thanks.

[fabrecation]

Yeah.

[Why is it always AWKWARD when they do something nice for each other? Luke pulls the blanket over his shoulders and wraps it around his arms before he looks back to see where Asch is going, then wanders to the kitchen himself. He could use some hot chocolate, and he assumes that Asch knows where he's going and that he has other things to do. He'd probably be bothered if he followed him around everywhere, anyway.]

[engel]

[ When bickering and mild physical abuse is the standard means of communication, behaving like normal people just feels weird. Asch has other issues complicating matters but he hopes being abrasive will keep Luke from getting suspicious. He stumbles across the bathroom first and hangs his towel up to dry, then proceeds to scope out the remaining rooms out of curiosity -did Luke have to alter furniture or clothes to accommodate his wings as well? They appeared to be smaller than his own, but...

Yeah, you'll find him poking around your belongings, Luke. ]

[fabrecation]

[Guy, Natalia and his Asch live here, too, so you might find belongings of theirs, too. There are holes in the back of his clothes, or shirts with a cloth attached to the end meant to cover the wings. That's about the only thing Luke has, though; Usually his wings can fold against his back enough to let him sit or lean against his back comfortably. Other belongings he has are a couple of other journals besides the one he uses for communication, ones filled with what he's done during his days in Luceti. The latest entries include notes about the war, if Asch happens to get nosy and flip through it. There are also a few swords leaning against one of the corners, a little music box by his bedside, and various other little belongings. He hasn't really stayed here long enough to gather a huge collection or anything.

Luke has two mugs of cocoa ready, just in case Asch wants one, and heads to his room. Soon enough, he's standing in the doorway with his head tilted.]

Asch? [He can count the number of times Asch has been in his room with one hand.]

[engel]

[ Natalia's possessions give Asch reason to pause, and he spends a long time just staring at an article of her clothing. It was reassuring to know she had almost the whole gaggle of idiots for support in this strange place. Giving himself a mental and physical shake to match, Asch moves onto a shirt with... wings mufflers? He flips the thing around this way and that with a bemused look, trying to imagine how ridiculous Luke would be wearing it. It almost seemed to fit the idiot, really.

While Asch isn't nosy, he is both curious and sensible enough to concern himself over Luke's mental state after his experience with the Big Bang back on Auldrant. Said replica's arrival startles Asch into slamming the diary shut and trying to stash it back where he found it. Once done, he whirls around to face Luke, wings resembling a frightened cat. ]

--don't sneak up on people, moron!

[fabrecation]

I didn't sneak up!

[But what did Asch put away?

...

Oh no he didn't.]

H-Hey, were you reading my journal?!

[engel]

You did so!

[ ...aw, snap. Busted. ]

Like hell I was! Who could read cheagle scratch like that anyways?!

[fabrecation]

I can read it just fine! And that should be all that matters!

[He would put his hands on his hips, but they're full of cocoa and all. So, he moves into the room and sets one of the mugs on the nightstand and promptly places THAT hand on his hip while he keeps the other mug for himself.]

Y-You shouldn't have to look at it, anyway! [He's mostly thinking about all the embarrassing things he's written on the night he found out that one of his best friends - a girl he's possibly crushing on, was a replica just like him.]

[engel]

Proper penmanship is important, idiot!

[ It's tempting to sit his replica down for a long explanation of how one's literacy and skills in writing are a part of any respectable persons decorum, but it could wait. Asch remains rooted in place with his hand lingering on Luke's diary, now thoroughly flustered. Did he mean to say that he actually shares details of his personal life with his Asch? ]

I told you I wasn't interested in whatever you have written!

[fabrecation]

Then why did you look at it in the first place?!

[Not that Luke goes to Asch and discusses what goes on in his life, but everything important that's happened to him had Asch as a witness, mostly. Everything else are things that Luke's only willing to share with Guy, or maybe Tear. And there are even some thing that he can't share with her, either. Like the girl thing.]

L-Look, if you want to know more about me, then we can talk, but... Why would you want to?

[engel]

How was I supposed to know what it was?!

[ Okay, even he's not dense enough to mistake a personal diary for a printed book of some kind, but he couldn't come up with a better excuse right now. Asch shifts to watch his fingers trace the journal's edges and avoid having to make eye contact. There really wasn't much point in delving into either of their histories when the likelihood of him staying was low. ]

...it doesn't matter. You wouldn't understand, and if you did, there would be no benefit.

[fabrecation]

[Luke purses his lips and looks away at that. Asch has never been this interested in him before, and having it suddenly feels... weird to him. He likes it, he likes that feeling of Asch actually wanting to know more about him like Luke does for him, but it's still weird.

After a moment of recovering from that awkward reply, though, Luke takes the mug on the nightstand and holds it out to Asch.]

Uh... Hot chocolate?

[engel]

[ Dying kind of has a way of changing one's perception of things, though he figures that little detail wouldn't fly well with the replica. Asch fixes a bemused expression on the cup but takes it anyway, swishing the liquid around as a slight smirk creeps onto his face. ]

What, no marshmallows for you?

[fabrecation]

[Luke narrows his eyes warily and tips the cup towards himself a little, hiding it from Asch. Yes, his mug does have tiny marshmallows floating in it. But let's not let him see that.]

I figured you didn't want any.

[engel]

[ The snort from Asch is a good indication he figured there was something in Luke's drink, but determined to remain civil for a while at least, he doesn't comment. Children would be children~ ]

How astute.

[ Not that it's going to stop him from trying to steal a peek for kicks on his way to the kitchen. ]