☄ 001 - Arrival

[affiances]

[ACTION](OPEN)
[It always seems to be water, somehow. Chise has awoken in the bay, but doesn’t stay there long, opting not to sit around and wait for Weiss’ explanation to finish. She’s already fumbling with her phone, redbills and key. In retrospect, it might have been smarter for her to hang around and get the lowdown from Weiss like she was supposed to, but she’d been impaitent and now she was regretting it.

Eventually, looking between the phone, key, and redbills she comes to a conclusion. These had been provided for a reason so she’ll just… ask directions. The next person to happen by is going to feel someone grab their sleeve.

Luckily it's not someone trying to pickpocket them or be otherwise menacing. It's just Chise.]

Excuse me, do you have a moment? [Please help small girl who looks more lost than she has been in a while.]


[VIDEO](OPEN) w/ Elias
Um. [It’s after her abrupt exit from the bay that the feed cuts on, the backdrop being the semi cloudy sky but the most prominent image in frame is a head of bright red hair, framing wide forest green eyes. Chise grips the phone in her hands tightly, the crinkles around her eyes betraying the worry creeping up her back.]

Elias? Ruth? [another pause—]

[She’d not get much further than that. Honestly, she didn’t even have to say Elias’ name. The only reason she got that far was because Elias had to take half a second to get all the goddamn water off of him.

Why?

So that when the fairy suddenly enveloped Chise in a sudden, all encompassing embrace, he wouldn’t be getting her all soggy, as he swept her quite suddenly off her feet.]

[Luckily Chise’s grip on her phone remains steady or it probably would have launched off somewhere ridiculous, instead it is forgotten and unceremoniously dropped into her lap so she can wrap her arms around Elias’ neck in a relieved, but tight hug.

The phone is remembered suddenly, even as the upside down and askew image of their reunion is till being broadcast to all]

Ah. I think it’s still running.

[Elias, quite frankly, could have cared less about the phone. He did, however, cast a glance at it for a moment, as if considering something, before, almost petulantly, plucking the phone from her lap and letting it drop on the pavement.

Within the next moment, from it’s position there, the phone would easily pick up the image of the mage taking a sudden, almost jarring seat right there on the ground, Chise still bundled up in his arms, before he proceeded to rest his head just… right on top of hers, his shoulders sagging.

Yes. Someone was lonely.]

You must have been waiting a long time. I’m sorry I made you wait.

[They can worry about the broadcast when anyone responds. For now, Chise chooses to lean back against Elias, hands curled around his. ...at least they’re not in the middle of the street or anything?]

[[ooc: Both are open! Video comments may get replies from both or either! Red font is spoken by Chise!]]

Comments

[thornmage]

[Shit that would be weird, if he hadn't watched people come and go over the communicator before.

... No, it's still weird, but at least he's not surprised to hear it.]

That's unsurprising. Time within this realm functions differently.

[A touch perhaps like Tir Na Nog, in a sense-]

I have been here for nearly a full year.

[... Tir Na Nog but backwards.]

[affiances]

[Excuse her while she ignores the whole "time functions differently here" part]

A full year!?

[The shout is followed with a sudden movement as she sits up suddenly, intending to turn around so she can look at him in the face. This only causes her head to knock into the underside of his chin with a particularly painful klonk, and she reaches up to hold the top of her head instead.

Ow.]

[thornmage]

[DONK.

It doesn't hurt him half has much as it hurts her, and it's happened before.

But he's still going to lift his head waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy the hell up and then shift it off to the side to give her plenty of room to jump around oh no oh dear-]

... Yes.

[Spoken as he gently soothes a hand over her head.]

Quite nearly.

[affiances]

[She's still holding her head when he confirms. Almost a whole year. She can only imagine how lonely he must have felt, even if he'd been making acquaintances and friends. Once her head stops throbbing she slips her mismatched hands out from between her head and Elias' hand to place them on either side of his face.]

I'm glad I'm here now then. [She leans in and gently presses her forehead against his muzzle-y head]

[thornmage]

[It had started to become unbearable, these last few months in particular. Shrinking further and further away from everyone else here, retreating back into the wild little by little, more and more each day.

He'd quite nearly gone back entirely, there'd not been a point to anything, not without her.

Elias was quick to nuzzle into her, content to stroke her back.]

And I hope I'll never be without you again...

[affiances]

[If the tables had been turned, and she was the one that had been stuck here, alone, she's not certain she would have been any better at it than Elias. But at least now that they're here together, she can still stay by his side like she's promised, and neither one of them has to be alone anymore.

As long as Genessia sees fit to keep them both here, at least. She does her best to push that thought out of her head though, opening her eyes that had shut at some point in this quiet moment together.]

If you've been here a year, where have you been staying? [Without Silky around she really hopes he's managed okay... her thoughts drift back to what Lindel had said about Elias' cooking ability...]

[thornmage]

............

..

.

In the woods.

[affiances]

[In the woods, oh okay that makes se—

IN THE WOODS?!]

E-ELIAS!! [She's not holding his face anymore, more like half flailing her arms at her sides instead.] That's not....!!

[thornmage]

[LOOK.

HE HAS A LOT OF EXCUSES.

NONE OF THEM ARE GOOD AND HE KNOWS IT BUT HERE WE GO-]

I didn't care for any of the positions being offered in the cities.

[NEED MONEY TO PAY FOR LIVING EXPENSES.]

[affiances]

[THIS IS A TERRIBLE EXCUSE. She just looks at him, expression shifting towards worry.]

T-there's got to be something, you can't just live in the woods...! [wait. She fishes the key out of her pocket.] I have this. [this is better than nothing right? They'll have a roof over their heads for a little while!!!]

[thornmage]

[HE LIVED IN THE WOODS FOR A REAL LONG TIME BEFORE THIS HE'S OKAY.

But... well. Chise can't. The woods isn't exactly... Humans need roofs. He's gotten used to roofs and cooked food but humans... need that shit.

He's not about to make her 'get used' to sleeping in the woods.

He glances down at the key.]

For a month... Ah, I'll try looking for a position again.

[Now that he has someone he needs to support, can't be lazy now!]

[affiances]

I'll look too...! You don't have to be the only one getting a job.

[Let her help, okay? She would like to be useful, at least. And maybe learn a thing or two about keeping a house since even if they're in the same place now, they're actually on their own. Not even Ruth is here to help.]

[thornmage]

[God yeah, all these housey things he's not even considering since.... Silky's always been there.

He can't cook for shit.

She insists, and he... can't refuse the offer.]

A part time job, perhaps...

[Don't overwork yourself!]

[affiances]

[The answer gets Elias a Chise attachment as she ducks down to wrap her arms around his middle, once again plopping into his lap. It's a wordless thank you, in a way.]

Thank you. [Just give her a minute here, to snuggle or something.] If we're working together we're going to be okay.

[thornmage]

[She ducks down to hug him, and that bony muzzle follows her, brushing against her ear.]

I cannot imagine we wouldn't be.

[Now that she's here, at least. Things feel a lot more possible than they did before.]

The rooms they give you, while you are new, are quite small. A fair warning.

[affiances]

[The plainly spoken reassurance is nice, all told. She shifts so that she can peer at at least one of those orange-red lights that serve as eyes for Elias.]

Do you think you'll have to shrink to fit? [Shes joking, a little.] I don't take up much room.

[thornmage]

... The doors are rather low.

[He... he might have had to shrink a bit. Before.

Like... like often.]

[affiances]

[Oh no.]

We'll find something quickly then, So you can be the size you want to be.

[but even if he's his usual size they can surely make do.]

But I remember the stories Lindel told me about when he first met you, back when I made my wand. [She knows your secret smallness, Elias.]

[thornmage]

[Lindel

Lindel what have you done]

I do not believe I need to be that small.

[He might just decide to do that though, if anything because it's a lot less thought and work going from real big to child-sized, then from going real big to 'how tall is the door frame? Like that one? That one specifically? Okay and how tall is the ceiling? That's how much taller than the door frame?']

[affiances]

[Lindel is magnificent, Elias.]

No, probably not. But it might be cute. [IS SHE JOKING RIGHT NOW? She can definitely read that expression he's got right now, despite the usual ... skull issue, but also the angle. They're just going to sit here forever aren't they? this is fine.]