[ Well... That happened and was a huge mess... But now he's gotten Tatsumi settled in and hopefully things would calm down from here... The only remaining loose end- at least for him- was Andy. He felt more than a little responsible for his searching partner getting injured and more or less decommissioned halfway through. Maybe if he'd been more careful he wouldn't have gotten stuck or gone barreling into the side of a train. ]
[After picking a fight with a haunted train and losing horribly, Andy had decided to crawl back to his room to lick his wounds - that being lying down on his bedroom floor with all the lights off, fighting off the urge to go to sleep. It was a pain, but this wasn't his first concussion rodeo, and it was better to just ride it out and sleep the next day away, then contend with any complications.
He could only be thankful that he didn't have psychokinesis or whatever. Last thing he wanted was to accidentally blow up part of the building.
So, he was awake when he heard someone knocking on his door and calling his name. He was partly tempted to ignore it - he felt lazy - but then realised Rantaro hearing no response when he knew Andy had a concussion would probably lead to him breaking into his room for a wellness check and... well. Yeah. May as well get up.
So with a grunt and a bit of wobbliness, Andy got to his feet and shuffled over to his door. When he opened it, he leaned against the doorframe and squinted down at Rantaro, clearly groggy]
Hey, what's up? [Beat] M'still alive, in case you were worried about that.
[ How much has Andy drunk this month? is he still drinking? Ala's going to hunt him down on the blood beach and make a sand ball packed together with coagulated ocean blood and lob it at the back of Andy's head. Think fast!! ]
[To preserve his liver Andy had cut back on the drinking so he's not getting depressed drunk on the bloodied sands of Tropical Helltown and talking to his Hyoubu Charm like the well-adjusted individual he pretends to be, but he's still taking the time to sit and brood and occasionally sulk in peace. So, perfect time to nail him with a disgusting blood-sand ball.
However! Due to his time on the Catastrophe, where self-preservation had forced him to develop a sixth sense for 'hm, I am about to be clowned on', Andy sensed the approaching projectile at the last possible second. Unfortunately alcohol dulls reaction time so the only thing it changed was that he knew of his incoming fate rather than experiencing it out of nowhere. The damn thing nailed him right in the head and sent sticky blood-sand all down the back of his jacket]
EEEEURGH!!!
[Ah. The delightful, high-pitched squeals of misery]
[ Ala laughs in delight, the obvious culprit with her hands covered in bloody sand, not just the only person nearby but also the one who trots up to him like nothing happened. ]
[Andy's indignant fury spluttered to a halt when he realised who his assailant was, and he stared, slightly dumbstruck, as Ala came bounding up towards him hale and hearty and not like she had mysteriously vanished after they had smashed up a bathroom together and got totally soaked through.
Guess that dragon-demon guy hadn't been talking out of his ass with that summoning stuff then.]
Uh, yes... [he responded to her question automatically before abruptly shaking his head] I mean- no, yes! I can swim but, what the hell? Where've you been all this time?!
[ No? yes? oh good, he can swim, which means Ala can tug the boots off her feet and stuff her socks inside before wading knee first into the blood ocean, humming tunelessly under her breath while she tries to think of how to explain. ]
I've been... around.
[ kinda. sorta. ]
Like, not physically, but enough people kept me in their hearts that I was able to find my way back. Does that make sense?
[...did she seriously just walk into the blood ocean.]
Uh... no, but, let's pretend it does. [he's got bigger fish to fry than Ala's brief vanishing act anyways, like. Blood ocean. She is standing in it] More importantly, what are you doing?
[ She kicks her feet up demonstratively, splashing more blood Andy's way. ]
I've never seen an ocean of blood before, have you? It feels super weird— like, I thought it'd be a lot warmer! You gotta give it a try!
[ Come on, Andy's already a mess, that's why Ala splattered him with sand and blood in the first place, he has no reason to resist her grabbing for his wrists and tugging him into the ocean. ]
Whoa-! Hey! Knock it off! I've still got my boots on!
[He managed to wriggle free - he's like an eel - before more than the bottom of his boots got wet with blood (eeeewwww) and rapidly backed up. Despite protesting about his boots though, he didn't move to take them off. He just crossed his arms and scowled.]
Besides, you don't know what weird diseases you'll pick up splashing around in all that blood! Though, I do wonder how it hasn't all congealed yet...
[Ugh, what a thought: an ocean of congealed, rotting blood. It'd probably be like super disgusting jello]
[ There's a pointed stare at Andy's boots staying on his feet, and Ala gives him all of two seconds before she's stepping out of the ocean to pull it off for him.
It's fine? it's fine. She doesn't have any visible cuts, and it's not like she's going to drink the blood. Though it's tempting. Just to see how it tastes. ]
Why would it congeal? You've got lots of blood in you and it hasn't congealed. ...has it?
[He tried to gently toe Ala off, but she was like a limpet. As Andy was not a guy to kick a defenceless young lady in the face, he begrudgingly let her tug his boots off (though he was incredibly unhelpful throughout the whole thing)]
Well, yeah, my blood hasn't congealed because I'm alive. That's an ocean of the stuff. It's not... alive?
[ It's not entirely too hard for Yuri to track Andy down. For that matter, it wouldn't be too hard for him to track anyone down, if only because of a very particular set of skills.
Those same skills lead him to pop right up behind Andy without so much as a sound before he simply says: ]
Yuri?! Jesus Christ, put a bell on if you're gonna be ambushing people in the woods! You scared the crap outta me...
[Andy is, naturally, a fairly high-strung person - especially when strolling around the perimeter of town, occupying his free time in making sure something didn't decide to slither out of the woods to menace the more defenceless occupants of the town.]
Edited (WAIT IM DUMB this is before dogs) 2023-01-29 14:11 (UTC)
not even an ounce dumb, we've defo had the dog and pony show
[ Who or what is a Jesus Christ? Yuri honestly hasn't any idea, but it must be some deity where Andy hails from if he's using an exclamation like that. ]
I thought what with your soldierly background you'd have an inkling I was there.
[ All smiles. No, he did not expect Andy to detect him at all...but he was curious. The possibility exists that someone would see him coming. Or smell him, he supposes, considering they have beastmen among their number, and nothing else around town smells of lilacs this time of year. ]
[He can only sense sneaky espers! Their ESP always had a specific resonance he picked up on before they fully manifested - though the problem was he only got that warning the exact nanosecond before they appeared, so it was a very useless warning - like everything with his powers, sometimes.]
I-I was distra- wait. [Andy fully ran what Yuri said through his brain.] When did... I never told you I was a soldier.
[ The way Andy tends to go into a tactical line of thought during some discussions, even the way he dresses himself, bespeak a soldier to Yuri. Andy had said before he'd never really dabbled in dressing simply to look good, either. It all adds up to a clear image in Yuri's mind.
Well, moving right along. ]
Anyhow, there was something I wanted to pick your brain about.
[Andy grimaced slightly, but reluctantly let the soldier comment go. It wasn't as if he kept it a major secret, so likely Yuri put it together from context clues.]
Well, I don't know if you happened to notice Kuja acting...not himself, a while ago. Random bits of destruction and all that. But I know a little something about it, and I've got some concerns.
[ Here he is, phrasing this as casually as possible, like it's not alarming from someone with that kind of magical power. ]
...I mean, Kuja's a bit of a drama queen, so I thought he was just being, y'know, dramatique.
[Also, after beating him up the one time, Andy had shuffled Kuja into 'pest, but not dangerous' category. He was just like any other esper that had a crippling reliance on their powers. Once it was taken away, it was like beating up a frail, Victorian child: that is to say, it made Andy feel bad at the one-sidedness of it all.]
I'd call it more serious. [ Tiringly so. ] That last time...that wasn't him, that was his angry little guest. Who apparently despises him, just to make it more fun.
[ He'd gotten the drop on her this time, but next time...? Yuri can't be so certain, even if he's already devising plans just to be safe. ]
Doesn't have an ounce of control over that power of his, either.
[ tick, tack, the distinctive sound of Kuja's boots touching down on the solid, paved street. Andy's got enough situational awareness Kuja's usual 'descend from the roof behind you at random' trick isn't too startling, right? ]
Here you are. Everyone's a little more scarce on the streets, of late, I'd worried I might not be able to find you.
[ In time, anyway. ]
...If your... itinerary is in order, you may know already what I am here to talk about.
[ ...it'll be on March 31st he dies, this time, if he doesn't somehow hold himself together. ]
[Andy, having been, once more, going for his usual aimless walks to fend off the spectre that was existential dread brought on by being trapped in a horror snowglobe, just stared at Kuja blankly.]
Uh. [He scratched the back of his head.] Oh, sure. You're here about the... thing. Y'know. That stuff that's... happening. Yeah.
[...]
Okay, I don't know. What're you here to talk about?
I did give you a time table, didn't I? [ he sounds very offended, but he brushes past it because the longer he dithers around doing things right now, the more likely it is he'll have one of his fits as a shiftless talking puppet in sight of someone. ] No matter. I am here to talk because as of the evening of the 31st, I shall be dead, and my body forfeit to Queen Brahne.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Post-Ala Search thread
Hey Andy, you there? It's Rantaro.
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He could only be thankful that he didn't have psychokinesis or whatever. Last thing he wanted was to accidentally blow up part of the building.
So, he was awake when he heard someone knocking on his door and calling his name. He was partly tempted to ignore it - he felt lazy - but then realised Rantaro hearing no response when he knew Andy had a concussion would probably lead to him breaking into his room for a wellness check and... well. Yeah. May as well get up.
So with a grunt and a bit of wobbliness, Andy got to his feet and shuffled over to his door. When he opened it, he leaned against the doorframe and squinted down at Rantaro, clearly groggy]
Hey, what's up? [Beat] M'still alive, in case you were worried about that.
12/26
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However! Due to his time on the Catastrophe, where self-preservation had forced him to develop a sixth sense for 'hm, I am about to be clowned on', Andy sensed the approaching projectile at the last possible second. Unfortunately alcohol dulls reaction time so the only thing it changed was that he knew of his incoming fate rather than experiencing it out of nowhere. The damn thing nailed him right in the head and sent sticky blood-sand all down the back of his jacket]
[Ah. The delightful, high-pitched squeals of misery]
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Hi Andy! Do you know how to swim?
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Guess that dragon-demon guy hadn't been talking out of his ass with that summoning stuff then.]
Uh, yes... [he responded to her question automatically before abruptly shaking his head] I mean- no, yes! I can swim but, what the hell? Where've you been all this time?!
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I've been... around.
[ kinda. sorta. ]
Like, not physically, but enough people kept me in their hearts that I was able to find my way back. Does that make sense?
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Uh... no, but, let's pretend it does. [he's got bigger fish to fry than Ala's brief vanishing act anyways, like. Blood ocean. She is standing in it] More importantly, what are you doing?
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[ She kicks her feet up demonstratively, splashing more blood Andy's way. ]
I've never seen an ocean of blood before, have you? It feels super weird— like, I thought it'd be a lot warmer! You gotta give it a try!
[ Come on, Andy's already a mess, that's why Ala splattered him with sand and blood in the first place, he has no reason to resist her grabbing for his wrists and tugging him into the ocean. ]
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[He managed to wriggle free - he's like an eel - before more than the bottom of his boots got wet with blood (eeeewwww) and rapidly backed up. Despite protesting about his boots though, he didn't move to take them off. He just crossed his arms and scowled.]
Besides, you don't know what weird diseases you'll pick up splashing around in all that blood! Though, I do wonder how it hasn't all congealed yet...
[Ugh, what a thought: an ocean of congealed, rotting blood. It'd probably be like super disgusting jello]
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It's fine? it's fine. She doesn't have any visible cuts, and it's not like she's going to drink the blood. Though it's tempting. Just to see how it tastes. ]
Why would it congeal? You've got lots of blood in you and it hasn't congealed. ...has it?
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[He tried to gently toe Ala off, but she was like a limpet. As Andy was not a guy to kick a defenceless young lady in the face, he begrudgingly let her tug his boots off (though he was incredibly unhelpful throughout the whole thing)]
Well, yeah, my blood hasn't congealed because I'm alive. That's an ocean of the stuff. It's not... alive?
[.....................................is it?]
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WHY DIDNT I GET A NOTIF FOR THIS dreamwidth why
dw trying to save you
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before all that blood rain round two business
Those same skills lead him to pop right up behind Andy without so much as a sound before he simply says: ]
There you are.
1/2
2/2
Yuri?! Jesus Christ, put a bell on if you're gonna be ambushing people in the woods! You scared the crap outta me...
[Andy is, naturally, a fairly high-strung person - especially when strolling around the perimeter of town, occupying his free time in making sure something didn't decide to slither out of the woods to menace the more defenceless occupants of the town.]
not even an ounce dumb, we've defo had the dog and pony show
I thought what with your soldierly background you'd have an inkling I was there.
[ All smiles. No, he did not expect Andy to detect him at all...but he was curious. The possibility exists that someone would see him coming. Or smell him, he supposes, considering they have beastmen among their number, and nothing else around town smells of lilacs this time of year. ]
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[He can only sense sneaky espers! Their ESP always had a specific resonance he picked up on before they fully manifested - though the problem was he only got that warning the exact nanosecond before they appeared, so it was a very useless warning - like everything with his powers, sometimes.]
I-I was distra- wait. [Andy fully ran what Yuri said through his brain.] When did... I never told you I was a soldier.
[Or did he???]
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[ The way Andy tends to go into a tactical line of thought during some discussions, even the way he dresses himself, bespeak a soldier to Yuri. Andy had said before he'd never really dabbled in dressing simply to look good, either. It all adds up to a clear image in Yuri's mind.
Well, moving right along. ]
Anyhow, there was something I wanted to pick your brain about.
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Oh? What about?
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[ Here he is, phrasing this as casually as possible, like it's not alarming from someone with that kind of magical power. ]
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[Also, after beating him up the one time, Andy had shuffled Kuja into 'pest, but not dangerous' category. He was just like any other esper that had a crippling reliance on their powers. Once it was taken away, it was like beating up a frail, Victorian child: that is to say, it made Andy feel bad at the one-sidedness of it all.]
But if it's something more serious than that...
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[ He'd gotten the drop on her this time, but next time...? Yuri can't be so certain, even if he's already devising plans just to be safe. ]
Doesn't have an ounce of control over that power of his, either.
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March 26th, while he's waiting for sparrow to text him back.
Here you are. Everyone's a little more scarce on the streets, of late, I'd worried I might not be able to find you.
[ In time, anyway. ]
...If your... itinerary is in order, you may know already what I am here to talk about.
[ ...it'll be on March 31st he dies, this time, if he doesn't somehow hold himself together. ]
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Uh. [He scratched the back of his head.] Oh, sure. You're here about the... thing. Y'know. That stuff that's... happening. Yeah.
[...]
Okay, I don't know. What're you here to talk about?
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I did give you a time table, didn't I? [ he sounds very offended, but he brushes past it because the longer he dithers around doing things right now, the more likely it is he'll have one of his fits as a shiftless talking puppet in sight of someone. ] No matter. I am here to talk because as of the evening of the 31st, I shall be dead, and my body forfeit to Queen Brahne.