Nowhere // AU

[exanimatus]

[oh, the nowhere place. it's this weird little spot that may exist or may not exist. it's an in-between place. it's infinite and nicely self-contained. it's got a park and a bench and a little place that sells ice cream. and that's not bad, really.

Zelman's there, sitting (seemingly purposelessly) on the bench like he would be anywhere else, just watching things happen in the nothing place. maybe waiting for something to come along.]

Comments

[hatesdolls]

[She's not sure how she got here.

Hell, she's not even sure if it's real. Her shoes on the cement feel real, and the slight breeze feels real, but what did that even really mean?

She wanders around, distractedly, trying to look at everything at once and see if she recognizes any of it.]

[exanimatus]

[she might have been here before. it kind of picks up little pieces of people and leaves them around. maybe it's reminiscent of somewhere she's been. or somewhere they've both been.

...he looks up, but looks genuinely surprised to see her wandering around. which is still a big thing for him.]

[hatesdolls]

[She feels like she's been here before. The familiarity grows the more she moves along. Her foot catches on something on the sidewalk, causing her to stumble, but she recovers easily enough.

Asuka turns to see if anyone saw that, and then promptly freezes like a deer in headlights once she spots the person on the bench.]

No way...

[exanimatus]

[so now they're just staring at each other. ...excellent.

but eventually he feels a little pang of something (residual guilt, maybe) and breaks the silence.]

Hey.

[unhallowed]

[This is definitely very strange. It reminds him a little of the visions he saw that time, and he wanders about a little before his eyes settle on Zelman.

He stops and stares.]

[exanimatus]

[and hey, now he's got someone to play with. wonderful.

Zelman'll look back at this guy, give him something of a casual, lazy wave. hello, stranger!]

[mors]

[Ryoji is sitting there as well; and, at first glance, he's not really looking at much of anything, though he's most definitely not looking at Zelman. It could even be said that he's not in the best of moods right now, if someone that knew him watched him, noticed the way his jaw is clenched.

He's not saying anything, though. Just watching their surroundings, which isn't made up of a great deal.]

[exanimatus]

[he may not be able to tell what he is focused on, but he is rather an expert in being able to tell when someone is not paying attention to him.

he supposes... it's not a great time. if he's here, he's not there. what does he even call him, this time?]

Pharos.

[...well, that settles that. he looks fairly casual and unassuming and put-together, despite the heavy subject.]

[mors]

[Still, Ryoji - Pharos? Who even knows - doesn't really look at Zelman, instead concentrating his line of sight... elsewhere. Not really at the little place that sells ice cream, or the people around, but at nothing. And definitely not at Zelman.]

You left.

[He doesn't sound very pleased with it, and he still doesn't look at him.]

[exanimatus]

You left first.

[...so much for that. he's still calm and controlled, but those words come out a little too soon. a little more bitter than he meant.]

[mors]

[He doesn't exactly look guilty for it, be he doesn't look happy, either.]

I wouldn't have left if I had a choice in the matter. I was holding up too much time.

[He's still holding up too much time. Always holding up time that needs to move forward. If he were a braver being, he'd just let it move.

But in this particular instance, he's not brave, and he's let time move enough. It doesn't need to move any more than it has.]

I would never have left you if I had a choice.

[exanimatus]

[he scoffs.] As if I had any choice in my matter, either.

[he sounds like he's going to say something else, but he... never does, instead moving to wipe nothing-that's-actually-there off the side of his face. it's kind of a replacement for what he was going to say, maybe. irritation. frustration.

he's being mean. he knows he's being mean. everyone else deserves that without a second thought, but...]

Mm... [he moves his hand from where it'd settled against his mouth.] But you're here, now.

[mors]

Yes, I am.

[He says it a little too quickly, because he's upset, too. Upset that he came back to an empty mansion, and a dark world without Zelman's fire to light it up. He's being selfish and petulant, too young for the body he keeps himself in these days, and the only reason he doesn't keep it up is for the exact reason he reacts that way in the first place. It's Zelman.]

I'm not going to be leaving anytime soon, either.

[The tone he uses suggests that Zelman has no choice in the matter, although of course he has a choice. Ryoji would listen if he were told to leave - but it's better, he thinks, to make Zelman believe he doesn't have the choice. If he believes that, maybe he won't ask him to do it.]

[mal_addict]

[She doesn't even want to guess how she got there, but the smug bastard on the bench is probably her first clue. She'll wander over and fold her arms, watching him with an arched eyebrow. She's trying to look annoyed, but she's missed him, really, and there's that small amused smirk on her face breaking through the fake annoyance]

Goes to show, you look for trouble and there it is.

[exanimatus]

[goodness, is he isn't surprised to see her! not that he shows it for more than a fraction of a second, of course, happily and smugly slouching down even further in the bench in response.]

Careful, you almost look happy to see me.

[mal_addict]

[She snorts, moving to sit beside him]

I wouldn't think that highly of yourself, you smug bugger.

[exanimatus]

Oh? Not even a little?

[oh he is so smug. which might just be code for 'happy to see her'.]

[mal_addict]

[Of course, they all have their little codes. Makes speaking to one another a little less socially awkward at least]

Not even a tiny smidgen. Sorry to burst your bubble.

[exanimatus]

Oh, Mal. Even in a tiny pocket universe, you're bent on ruining my fun.

[speaking of tiny pocket universes, that sign by the ice cream place says they also serve coffee. ...which it didn't before. ...if, you know, she happens to ever look that way.]

[mal_addict]

That's me, fun ruiner extrodinaire.

[...Wait how did that happen, she blinks] Please tell me we're not in your own head or something. That would be weird.

[exanimatus]

I should hope not. [the thought makes him frown a little.] It's far too simple to be such a thing.

Besides, there would be a vending machine in here if it was.

[mal_addict]

Oh yes, your precious...soda. [She says the word carefully, it's one she never gets used to]

So what do you think it is? [Still, she'll be helping herself to a coffee]

[exanimatus]

[she did good. he is almost proud.]

Well, as far as I can tell, it seems like a stopping point between two other places. Rather like a train station somewhere off in space and time.

[mal_addict]

Ah. The trains are a little like cars, aren't they? Except they run on a track.

And that sounds about right for my existence thus far.

[exanimatus]

Two for two. You're on your game.

[GOOD JOB MAL KEEP IT UP.]

I'm not sure why this place is so physical, but I haven't been here very long. God forbid I'm around long enough to find all the answers.

[mal_addict]

What can I say? I learn some thing eventually.

[She chuckles, taking a sip of her coffee]

Yes, people might actually ask you things, and before you know it you'd be a mentor figure.

[exanimatus]

Ugh. Disgusting. [he huffs.] The universe would collapse under the statistical impossibility of it all.

[mal_addict]

It really would. And before that, the seas would dry up, small children would cry and the sky would turn green.

[inafadingcrown]

[Whether this is real or not...well, it doesn't really matter at the moment, does it? She's here, in some form or another, and she's seating herself non-nonchalantly on the bench beside him, as if she found herself in in-between places every day.]

Zelman.

[exanimatus]

[he stays where he is, eyes locked forward on the various nondescript things in front of him... but he can't hide the smirk that creeps onto his face.]

A visit from the Lady of Light, what a treat.

[inafadingcrown]

[She will interpret that smirk as "hello, Galadriel. I'm glad to see you" in Zelmanese.]

A visit the Lady had not expected to make, in truth, though not one she regrets. [She misses your banter.]

[exanimatus]

Flattery. [NOT THAT HE MINDS. he happily slouches over to prop his head up against his arm.] Though this seems a place that no one really expects to find themselves.

[inafadingcrown]

Tell me, then: where are we? You seem at home enough here.

[exanimatus]

As at-home as I've made it. [he finds it vastly preferable to Paradisa, even though he knows it's going to get really boring here, really fast.]

From what I can gather, this is a sort of in-between place. I believe I'm stopped here, waiting for a metaphorical train home, if you will.

[inafadingcrown]

And in the meantime? Somehow, I cannot imagine you sitting idly for long.

[exanimatus]

Time isn't unpleasant here. It'll get old, but I'll deal with that when it happens.

Besides, they have ice cream.

[he gestures vaguely in that direction, in case she missed it. :>]

[inafadingcrown]

[She chuckles, but makes no more to get up. Ice cream's still a bit overwhelmingly sweet to her.]

So often it is the small things that make a place more bearable.

[exanimatus]

I'm still waiting to see if a vending machine shows up.

[that's fair. he returns to appropriately slouching.]

And on the whole, it is a much less oppressive place.

[inafadingcrown]

I will give it that. [It's a relief to be away from the castle's presence; like a shadow has been lifted from her mind.]

To what do you return, if I may ask? We never discussed it.

[exanimatus]

Ah...

[what is he going back to? it's been a while.]

I suppose I still have a place of political power back in the Special Zone, which will be dealing with the aftermath of a Kowloon outbreak... [tapping his foot.] And I've been informed, if the party is to be believed, that my untimely and unfortunate death is on a near horizon.

[but he doesn't sound all that bothered by it. maybe a little bored or irritated with the idea, but he doesn't give it weight.]

[inafadingcrown]

That is something I find difficult to imagine. [His death. She knows enough to know that isn't something easy to achieve.]

[exanimatus]

It sounds like they went through a great deal of trouble to manage it. [...goodness, is that another smirk?] It's almost exciting.

[inafadingcrown]

[It's a well deserved smirk, as far as she's concerned.] I am glad to see it does not dishearten you.