awashlogs | [December Catch-All] [Wildcard Prompt OTA]

Entry tags:

[December Catch-All] [Wildcard Prompt OTA]

Who: Pyra, some closed thread, and one open thread!
Where: Errwhere
When: December
What: quests and shizz
Warnings: nada

Closed to Akira
[ It makes for an easy trek through the snow when not one but two people are like living furnaces. Pyra is, and always will be, never appropriately dressed for the weather, with the only addition to her typical outfit a long scarf she has wrapped about her neck. She doesn't need it, of course, but it was too fluffy not to wear.

Talk about your strengths with a red, the message had said. Were it only so simple. ]

I've been thinking. [ She tells him as they walk, hands linked behind her back. ] About what to wish for. And I can't seem to narrow it down to just one. [ She smiles a bit playfully. ] Think I can wish for more wishes?

[ That's probably not how it goes, and she knows it (not that she actually believes that any of these wishes will come true). Still, it makes for an interesting conversation piece. ]

Closed to Tsumugi
[ Ask a blue for help with something.

Oh, and does she ever need help with something. Caroling. That is, singing. It is a quest, and it is something that needs to be done. Only, Pyra is not some sort of songstress, and if she does indeed have any memories of holiday carols from a time long past, that information is wholly blocked to her. So what else can she do but turn to another for a bit of help. ]

Here you go, Tsumugi... [ She says to him courteously, setting down a cup of tea down in front of him. Pyra had invited him to the home in Bluo to which she had been assigned, and even if their first meeting hadn't gone as smoothly as one might have hoped, she appreciates him being here nonetheless. ] So. What's the first thing one should know when singing?

Closed to Link
[ As luck would have it, the message of Have a good time with a yellow that had appeared on her computer might not be all that difficult to fulfill. All it takes is her walking into the Flavo district and finding a Yellow and asking them for a bit of their time.

For singing, that is.

And so they are currently outside, with Pyra having built a fire to keep the both of them warm as they practice. Or rather, for him to keep warm since she's perfectly fine dressed as she is, despite all appearances. ]

...Think we should try harmonizing on that last part?

Wildcard, Open to All
[ Have something in mind with Pyra? Wanna do a quest with her? Some random thread? Feel free to tag her here! She can be found just about anywhere. Feel free to PM or ping at

drinksteapots for plotting as well. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If it were that easy, I bet everyone would wish for the whole town to have automated stuff...

[It's a nice idea, though, and he can't help but approve of thinking with one's stomach.]

How about I help out? I'm not an amazing cook, but maybe I can learn. [The family who took him in run their own cafe, but he'd never been asked to put in hours there. Now seems like as good a time to pick up useful skills as any.]

...Would you?

[ She looks at him, a hand going over her chest. The glow of the crystal there is obscured beneath her fingers, but there's a new light in her eyes. ]

Oh, Akira, that... I wouldn't mind that.

[ Mythra is a terrible cook. No one would ever even allow her to cook, because any dish of hers would be a one-way ticket to hell on earth, specifically the bathroom. Which means that-- ]

I've.... never actually cooked with someone before.

[ Oh my. She's just blushing at the thought! ]

[That... wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting, so he looks away from her to hide the way his own cheeks are tinged pink in response.]

It's not that big a deal, is it? Even if you don't get your shop, we can still try making something together.

[ But!! But you see, now she has this idea that it's going to be ramen, and making ramen with someone! ] R-...right. Of course. It's... no big deal.

[ Get a grip on yourself, Pyra. She pulls up her scarf a little, as if she could hide her cheeks. ]

[He rubs his neck, still feeling a little awkward. Yet he can't help but steal a sidelong glance at her and notice her hiding into her scarf... Cute...]

Listen... If it's important to you, it's important to me. That's why I'm here to help.

I...

[ Hgggggrrr. It's not a big deal, but now it's important? AKIRA, WHY ARE YOU CONFUSING HER. ]

....--Then I'm going to wish for it.

[ YEP. Out of all the things to wish for. Not "how to get home", not even "keep this world safe", or even the unspeakable, sorrowful true wish within her heart...

She's allowed to be a little selfish here, isn't she? It's not as if it will come true, anyways. ] A ramen shop. [ Her look is nothing but determined. ]

Right. It's a good wish. [He'd tried to play it down what with how flustered she was getting, but if it really is important to her, who is he to ignore that? Of course she should wish for it. He smiles softly.]

Do you see any bells yet? We have to be close.

[ She turns her attention back to the direction they are walking, and.... ]

Oh--

Perhaps... [ There are footprints in the snow, as if others had come before. It makes sense, since this quest is something that is open to all. They must be getting close. ] This way.

[ She'll walk ahead of him, a bit more eager than before, and not soon after they'll come upon a clearing. A tall, emerald pine stands alone, and from one of its snow-covered branches a single, silver bell hangs, fasted above by a ribbon. ] There it is!

[ She smiles at him before making her way towards it. ]

[When they reach the clearing, Akira paces around the tree and the bell, a suspicious frown on his face, as if fully expecting to find a trap or some sort of threat. It seems like a straightforward quest as far as he can tell, though, with no dangers presenting themselves.

He stops and looks back at Pyra.]

Go ahead and ring it.

[ Pyra's actually thinking the same thing that it might be a trap.

But hey, she broke her mirror along someone else's knowing that it was probably a bad idea, too. And just like the consequences of breaking those mirrors, she's sure that if the two of them make a wish here, they'll be able to work their way through it. ]

Alright...

[ She approaches the bell, grasping at the ribbon just above it. ] I wish.... [ Pyra closes her eyes, her voice just above a whisper.

It seems so silly to be doing this, ringing a bell and making a wish. She doesn't think that there's anything else to this quest or that the wish might come true, but... if she is to be completely honest, it's actually rather nice to make a wish once in a while. To have a hope. A selfish one like hers, at that, against all odds and against what she knows what she should be wishing for.

So instead of wishing for a way to end her existence, a way to remain sealed, a way to ensure that no one may use her ever again... ]

I wish for a ramen shop. [ And she can almost picture it: a cozy little establishment, a humble kitchen, a bar. And within it's stocked with an assortment of saké and beer-- the kind that the golden country had before it was destroyed in the war, and the soup itself is aromatic and rich, just as she remembers it being prepared in the capital before it fell with the sinking titan. She can practically smell, taste the variety of rich broths just waiting to be poured over freshly cut noodles, meets, and vegetables.

Ah. Maybe that's the point of this quest. To just imagine something to have like that. It's more than just having a ramen, it's about her wanting to share her talent for cooking with others.

She rings the bell, and when it chimes once she steps away from the tree. ] All yours, Akira.

[Pyra's wish is so earnest and simple, Akira wonders how many deeper and more complex wishes crossed her mind before settling on that one. In many ways, she's still one big question mark to him, besides that profound sadness he'd picked up on so quickly when they first met.

When Pyra steps aside, it's easy enough for him to imagine what he wants to wish for.]

I wish... for Pyra to be happy. [Whether that's through her wishes coming true, or some other way. If she can truly, sincerely, find a way to a more joyful life, maybe she can leave behind whatever's weighing her down. Little by little...

He rings the bell, then lets go, shoving his hands back in his pockets and watching it chime.]

[ Wait, what? Did she heard him right?

.....And here she had thought he was going to wish for porn. ]

....Akira.

[ She whispers, and the cold his name forms a cloud from her lips.

Did he really have to wish for something for her? Doesn't he have something more important than that, or someone else he could use his wish for? Surely he does, because she knows him to be kind and sociable, so he must know plenty of others that he could with for them to be happy...

Ah. So that's it. Although she had tried, he hadn't been good at hiding it at all. Not from him. ] That's not fair.

What? [He looks over from the bell to Pyra. He hadn't necessarily expected her to react positively to the decision, but it had felt like the right thing to do. Wishing for happiness for one of the saddest people he's met -- surely that's fine?

He rubs his neck and looks away again, suddenly awkward.]

Sorry. Maybe I should have told you my idea, first.

[ He'll feel a tug at the sleeve just above where his hand is shoved into one of his pockets, and a little pull. She had reached out to him in that moment, because she had felt something well up within her chest so strongly that she felt as if she suddenly had to tell him something. But now that she's got his attention back on her, now that she's looking him in the eyes again, she can't think of what it was that she had wanted to say.

Instead she stands there awkwardly in the snow that begins to melt beneath her feet, looking almost as frozen as she had been back in the ice palace. She looks lost.

She looks... helpless. ] I...

[ And then she shakes her head, releasing him. Whatever she had been about to say, she keeps it to herself. ]

...Thank you. [ That's the right thing to say in this situation, isn't it? ] That was really sweet of you.

[Akira looks at her as he feels that tug on his sleeve, and is silent, not wanting to interrupt whatever it is she has to say. He recognises the look of someone struggling to talk about themselves, when there had been so many times Miki had asked him to talk about what was on his mind and he simply couldn't, or wouldn't.

Maybe Pyra is more like him than he thought. But when she offers a simple thank you instead, he won't press, instead offering a small smile.]

With both of our wishes together, I'm sure something will happen soon that will make you happy.

[ Eventually she will tell him more. Eventually. Or maybe she won't, and there will come a point that it is too late to tell him anything-- and that is a very real fear she has, a regret she may know she might have, because she knows that not everyone remains in this world. And if either he or she leaves, she would be left with the guilt of not ever opening up to him, to anyone she hides from in this realm.

But that day to tell him more is not today. ]

...This makes me happy, Akira. Spending time with you. [ She tells him gently.

And then she laughs, unable to help herself. ] Aha, I had thought you'd just be wishing for erotic magazines, not this.

What? No, that was...

[He looks faintly embarrassed, if only because it's Pyra. He managed to get that particular craving out of his system for now, at least, but now basically the whole town knows he's horny on main thanks to his stupid demon brain. Nice.]

I wouldn't waste a wish on something dumb like that.

[ She only laughs. ]

I know, I know... [ She's just. Trying to distract herself from having to think about how he's clearly aware of her sorrow. How he knows that secret, even if he doesn't exactly know what is behind it. Joking with him is so much easier... ] I'm just teasing you.

But it makes you think about how little any of us might have compared to what we're blessed with in our homeworlds. [ Or, well, what others have in their homeworlds. She's still sealed there, for all she knows. ]

Yeah... [He agrees, albeit hesitantly. Few people in his own world can be considered blessed when the world has broken out into all out war against demons. Devilmen like Akira are even less blessed, hated by humans and demonkind alike.

Because of that, it's not difficult to think of what kind of dire situation might await Pyra in her own world. He'll try not to cry about it -- this time, anyway.]

For some people, Chroma is all they have. So, it's okay to want to be happy here, too.

[He turns away from the bell.] Let's head back.

[ It's okay to want to be happy here, too.

She needs to keep these words close to her heart. She will try to, at least. ] Mm. I... hope you're happy here, too.

[ ...And as they head back to the town, perhaps he'll notice. Or perhaps not. But Pyra will be walking just a little more closely next to him. ]

Yeah... Thanks.

[Akira says it haltingly. He's both happy here and he isn't, when he knows people in his own world are suffering so much, and he's here, unable to do anything about it. It makes any happiness he has here bittersweet. Frustrating, at times, even.

But he doesn't mention any of that, content to simply walk by her side as they return to the town.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[December Catch-All] [Wildcard Prompt OTA]

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject