Complete 18+ Private Quest [ Reaping Seasons I ] Aut Cum Scuto, Aut In Scuto

[Luthien]

Another grumble left the elf as she slowly returned to the plane of the living, her mind heavy and groggy as it often was whenever Lúthien accidentally stepped into the dream plane and stuck around for too long. She’d rolled onto her side then, an arm helping the blonde shift to an upright position, before a voice she never expected to hear on this side reached her ears.

”... first time ever that she refused to wake up. Sorry, it looks like Dayeon still needs some time.”
"... am I still dreaming?"

Quiet words tumbled out of her lips while the girl rubbed her tired eyes with her hands, brows furrowed in confusion as things in her mind weren’t exactly adding up. The answers quickly came once Lúthien’s eyes adjusted to the lighting in the room, her hands lowering before one of them rested on a familiar black coat that laid on the very spot the elf had been resting her back on moments before.

"Ah."

She’d been wondering why the voice of Dee’s Fairy Godmother was here, but that was quickly answered once the elf caught sight of the golden pupils on Moonsong’s face. A thin line formed on her lips before the taller ashen knightess stepped towards not!Moonsong, trying to cover the smaller brunette from Lúthien’s sight as Fiora suggested the idea of stepping out for a little.

"Hey..."

In that same time span the hunter had grabbed his chair and pulled it closer to the edge of the bed, sitting down before resting his elbows on the knees and interlacing his fingers. She felt her chest tighten as an anxious feeling settled within, though the blonde was unable to tell if it was due to her own emotions or a response to the ones that radiated from the man in front of her. The elf found her arms and legs moving before she’d even realized it, huddling closer to herself even as her crimson eyes shifted downwards—refusing to meet his gaze and instead focusing on the orange whistle that dangled from her chest.

A hand reached for it, fingers quietly fiddling with the object as Lúthien struggled with her own thoughts and voice, before a soft "H-Hey…" finally tumbled out of her lips.

@Moonsong | @Fiora Di Angelo | @Yugam

 

[Lune]

The elf woke up before she could react, their eyes meeting for a full second. Luthien told her that she needed time, so there's no better way than to leave him here to fix things with the male.

"Hey so Britsong, buddy, I don't know if it's a good idea for Luth to see you right now... Mind if we go like, for a few rounds? I'll pay."

Eyes gazing at Yugam, she silently mouthed to the hunter 'She knows,' before whispering to the knightess in front of her. "Good idea, let's go."

Both quickly left the room without making a fuss, walking downstairs where the bar is. Meanwhile, Moonsong kept protesting about the pain in her entire body, particularly in her backside. "This arse burns like hell, what the fuck happened?" She doesn't have any recollection that Yugam used that entrance, so what gives? The human made her way toward the bar, sitting on a stool before muttering to Fiora. "Tea. This body doesn't handle alcohol well."

Of course, the patrons of the inn started staring at them again, to which she replied with an angry gaze. Thankfully the innkeeper seemed neutral with them, bringing the drinks without any fuss. Moonsong quietly sips her tea before silently muttering to herself. "Fucking hell, Dayeon. Go wake the fuck up, it's safe now."

Accepting the fate that she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon, Moonsong exhaled, before turning to Fiora. "Once we resolve this, probably want to log out before anything else. It's been almost a whole day, wouldn't want you all to die of dehydration." She spoke from her experience, since she almost got dehydrated herself during her imprisonment by Falderen. Well, back when she was alive four years ago.

"... Why are you looking so confused?"

@Fiora Di Angelo @Yugam @Luthien

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

At least Moon...Whoever this is, clearly not the moonsong she once knew- This new person clearly had a grasp of reality and could take the hint right away for them to leave. The knightess made sure to close the door behind her without even turning. It's not as if she could face Luthien now, neither did the ranged had to bother herself with any thoughts other than Yugam and whatever would transpire. Only thing she regrets is to leave Yugam after bold statements.

But she could be there for him in the real world, something to compensate the situation as of now.

Fiora made sure to let the platinum tags roll out of her shirt as if police showing off their badge, while 'Moonsong' decided to shoot golden glares at the patrons, with very few manning up to the challenge with their own cold stares. Having the support of all Lübeck certainly made it easier to stand up to even AG members. At least the ones they didn't like...

"This arse burns like hell, what the fuck happened?"
"You took it raw on the ass I bet. I don't know, I'm not about to heal that." She rised an eyebrow, but quickly snapped her fingers at the bartender to catch his attention as he begun to prepare some tea for 'Moon'. "The strongest you can call booze." A sour tone escaped from her throat, guttural almost once mixed with a groan.

The headache was yet to pass, a hand rubbed her forehead as the elven knightess did her best to keep it together. Migraines piss her off, and ever since a week she's been particulary on edge when it came to what angered her. Something yet to have a clue off. But these were thoughts for later, as the woman brassly grasped the handle from her mug and took a long gulp...-

"... Why are you looking so confused?"

-And slammed it back down on the counter. Any harder and it would have blasted her drink all around.

"Who the FUCK are you, that's what's got me confused. Now, don't misunderstand me; I know you don't mean harm, and you ain't trying to take over Moonsong, you wouldn't give two shits about Luthien, Yugam or us if you did." Fiora stated, yet 'calm' is an overstatement, despite how much she tried to keep herself reasonable towards a spirit, ghost, or whoever it is that's given such a menacing aura to Moonsong out of a sudden. "But that doesn't mean I'm any less pissed off after everything we been through. Now give me your name, I'm sure you already know mine, I ain't calling you Moonsong."

@Yugam @Moonsong @Luthien

 

[Yugam]

'She knows,' Not!Moonsong mouthed to the man as he sat down in the chair, fear lancing through his chest instantly. Welp, there went his plan of being the one break the news to Luthien. There was nothing more that the man wanted to do than to cease existing, but he'd tried that once before, and it wasn't that fun anyways.

Suffering the consequences of his actions it was.

The elf sat up as the man greeted her, quietly returning his hello as she drew her knees up to her chest, arms wrapping around them timidly. Yugam clenched his teeth as his jaw tensed, swallowing his nervousness as he tried to formulate anything resembling an articulate sentence. Just how in the fuck was he supposed to approach this? He was never the kind of person to approach these things with any amount of tact. He was upfront, honest. But this wasn't the kind of thing that he could just say without any preamble.

Or maybe that really was just the best way to go about things.

Who the fuck knew, but that was all Ari know. "So..." the man began, "I think you already know what I'm gonna say, huh?" He shouldn't feel guilty. They weren't dating, they weren't exclusive, they'd gone through great pains specifically to avoid that. And yet, they acted like they were a couple. He certainly cared for her as much more than a friend. And besides, they'd made a promise in New York. It'd had an expiration date, but neither of them had really cared. They just never said anything about it. "I-..." What? Want to apologize? "I know we said we weren't a thing...But, I think we both know that's not really the case...And that I've probably fucked all that up, huh?"

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Moonsong | @Luthien

 

[Lune]

Sitting nice and easy on the bar, the human opened her UI, checking for any visible damage. Six percent HP, that's rather bad. It's a surprise that she wasn't bleeding all over the bed with punctured lungs and broken rib like when they first got into this inn.

"You took it raw on the ass I bet. I don't know, I'm not about to heal that."

"Couldn't be the case. I'm hundred percent sure we took it the other way." She frowned, weirdly serious about this mysterious pain. Technically!Moonsong then hummed, trying to muster her Harmonics Magic, only to realize that there was no magic core to pull it from. Probably burned it during the Everwhite fight that she didn't remember.

The elf slammed her mug on the counter, causing the songstress to close her UI and turn to her.

"Who the FUCK are you, that's what's got me confused."

"Makes sense." The woman deadpanned, sipping her tea while Fiora rants about her being a ghost or spirit that possessed Moonsong. So far only Hanno knew about this thing, and she was too ashamed to face him anyways.

"Tell you what, you seem to be the most clearheaded in the group. So I'll entertain you until Dayeon wakes up; I don't 'take over' someone. I'm not even a person—" She paused. "—Well, depending on how you define a person, anyway. I know I'm not."

"Now give me your name, I'm sure you already know mine, I ain't calling you Moonsong"

"Why not? We wouldn't meet again anyway, unless Dayeon fuck things up again⁠—" Then she realized that Dayeon will definitely fuck things up again in the future, won't she? She's kinda the black cat of this world. The woman exhaled before looking straight at the elf knightess beside her, offering a gentle handshake. An ally or two wouldn't hurt.

"⁠—Fiora Di Angelo, right? Eleria."

"Corvella Eleria."

@Fiora Di Angelo @Yugam @Luthien

 

[Luthien]

A moment of awkward silence passed between them, the tension building up with each passing minute, as neither seemed ready to voice out their thoughts and start this conversation.

The rational part of her brain understood that she was at fault for feeling hurt in the first place; there had never been anything officially going on between them, and the man had been pretty clear on his stance from the start. Long distance just wasn’t a thing that either of them wanted—or were even ready for—once their weeklong summer dream had come to an end, and the silent agreement afterwards as they’d kept in touch had been under the understanding that there were no expectations aside from that of a friendship.

Of course that had flown right out the window once they’d crossed paths in-game once more, and when presented with an alternative where distance wasn’t an issue perhaps it was no surprise that Valeria had ended up catching feelings in the end. Kyra’s meddlesome snooping had been the reason the elf had become aware of her real emotions for Yugam, though she’d probably been doing a poor job of hiding them if even Connie back in Hovelis had managed to read her like a book—and Dayeon too.

However it wasn’t fair to push her feelings onto the man, not when he’d been clear that they were just friends, but even though the blonde understood that she quickly realized it didn’t lessen the aching pain inside her chest in the slightest. "So..." His voice finally broke the heavy silence between them, marking the beginning of a conversation that Lúthien still wasn’t sure if she was ready to have.

His own emotions added to her own turmoil, and she’d quietly steeled herself for the inevitable mention of the tree and its blooms that Lúthien had been sure was about to come. What she hadn’t expected, however, had been for Yugam to go directly for the elephant in the room instead; the surprise being such that the archer raised her eyes to look into his own for the first time since waking up. "N-No, you didn’t, after all we’re j-just… we’re just…!" She could feel the lump forming in her throat as she spoke, reducing her words to a whimper just as the unwanted memories of Moonsong and Yugam together briefly flashed through her mind.

It was the last drop that spilled the proverbial cup as her emotions finally came to a head, crimson eyes watering as the elf felt her chest tightening, before a pitiful cry escaped the girl as the first of many tears began trailing down her cheeks.

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Yugam | @Moonsong

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

The calmness with which this second Moonsong carried herself clarified it all as totally not being Moonsong in the first place. The concept of experience deeply resonates on this one, and even against blunt honesty she replied with the same coin. Her eyes squinted as she tried to see through these first words, distrustful but all the more intrigued that this 'spirit' has a sense of humour of her own, or a similar fashion to spill the truth.

"You are very sure about it for someone who don't know what went up her backside." She barely could comment between gritting teeth and the booze just a split hair of reaching her lips.

What followed could have been described as irritating. If there's one thing she hates more than edgy people like Jin, is people with a mouth louder than hers. And so she listened, at least to what she was content to once Not Moonsong sipped from her tea and decided to give a little bit of intel for once about what exactly is she, yet nothing seemed out of the ordinary for a ghost or a spirit, aside of the constant reminder of someone named Dayeon. Even that begun to tickle her senses, but she couldn't quite remember who this Dayeon is other than she knows of her!

The other name though, forced a frown and a million yard stare that tried to peel away at everything that makes up Moonsong right now, beyond these golden eyes, as if her one sole target had to be the spirit herself, disembodied from the physical plane. Yet she is no sage, no spirit tamer of sorts. But that's how hard her eyes lingered - That wasn't a name she could forget.

"...Okay then you are either bullshitting me, or I'm drunk after one sip." Honestly? It could be both. "I made a promise to bring back a Corvella from the dead. Didn't expect her to just crawl her way to me." Her mood swinged back to casual, a bothersome sigh slipping between her lips as she weighed her options and thoughts swarmed her at every corner of her mind. Between this, the tree, and what drama was going on upstairs she really didn't want to stay in Terrasphere a minute longer.

Good thing the drink's good, expensive as hell, but just what she needs to keep her around.

"So what the fuck are you doing in Moonsong's body? Couldn't find your way back to the afterlife? Or did you just got needy all of a sudden and took it all out on Yugam?"

@Moonsong @Yugam @Luthien

 

[Yugam]

"N-No, you didn't-"
'All evidence to the contrary...'
"After all we're j-just… we're just…!"
'C'mon, you don't really believe that. Not if I don't anymore.'

The sound of a cry catching in Luthien's throat finally escaped her throat as tears began to flow freely down her face. Yu lifted his hand reaching over to place a comforting hand on the elf's arm, only to stop himself short. His fingers slowly curled themselves into a fist as he thought better of his reaction. He was the cause of her pain. Or at least one of the causes. If he tried to comfort her, would it be for her, or for him? To settle his own feelings of guilt by saying he tried to do something. He'd rather not find out.

"I'm sorry," the man said as he let his hand retreat to his lap again. He shouldn't have let his feelings take control of his head. Flower or not, the root of the problem was far further in the past. His foot shook up and down with anxiety, threatening to wear a hole into the soles of his boot. "I think it might've been better if we hadn't ran into each other at Camp Hope," he said, head hanging low as he ran a hand through his hair. "Would've been easier that way..."

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Warwolfer | @Luthien

 

[Lune]

"You are very sure about it for someone who don't know what went up her backside."

Moonsong chose to ignore that comment, to avoid talking more about her backside. But then she was quite surprised that this Fiora made a promise to someone to 'bring her back from the dead', even though she was never dead.

Oh, right. That official Astorean document.

"Promise... to Hanno, was it?" She theorized, having seen the shielder's reaction in the Camp Hope defense aftermath. Couldn't be anyone else, since she's rather forgettable and people who knew her were probably already dead. "Well, I'm not back yet. Go work to fulfill that promise."

The elf in front of her would certainly raise her eyebrow at that sentence, so the songstress quickly used all her IQ to create a more presentable explanation. One that even a gorilla could understand. "Say, if someone was to copy the memories of a comatose person." She used both of her hands, gesturing as if plugging a flash drive into a person.

"And transferred it into a living robot, is the robot 'that person' now? What happens when the comatose person wakes up then?"

After the explanation that certainly didn't give any answers, she gave up, eyes rolled up. "What am I doing, spouting philosophy in a bar."

"Did you just got needy all of a sudden and took it all out on Yugam?" Such a stupid question that she didn't even feel like retorting to, so instead without missing a beat she actually confirmed it, with a stoic face, as calm as possible. "Yes." Just before she was going to deliver the following 'no, I'm just joking' clause, a fist was already making its way onto her face.

WHAM.

Good thing the elf grabbed her gambeson with her other hand, else she would've fallen backward and Moonsong could actually die. Instead of being angry, the woman just exhaled like a disappointed asian dad while explaining. "—Ok, that one was my fault. It's just a joke, didn't Yugam tell you about the tree and its flower already?" After the elven knightess released her, she raised back her cup of tea to sip from it. "Needy, heh," Did Fiora think she was a dog in heat or something?

"Anyway, as far as I know, I'm not dead yet. Dayeon went to visit my frozen gigantic body just outside Vintergard and somehow my memories just got copied into her. Moonsong is both of us." An oversimplification, but that's all the thing the other woman should know for now. The brunette put down her empty cup, looking straight into the eyes of the elf.

"There's always a reason for everything."

Even the shitty things that currently impacted the relationship of this group of friends. There's a reason for it.

@Fiora Di Angelo @Yugam @Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"I'm sorry."

Hands reached for her face in a vain attempt to contain the tears that began to flow freely down her face, her vision blurred by them before being interrupted entirely when the heel of her palms pressed firmly against her eyes. The hand that had reached out for her, only to stop halfway before withdrawing back into his lap, went unnoticed by the blonde who was currently too preoccupied trying to get a hold of the emotions that had finally managed to break the dam inside her mind and pour all over the place.

"... might've been better if we hadn't ran into each other at Camp Hope..."
”He seemed...to be better off without you…”

The words that reached her ears did little to help the current situation, short intakes of breath cutting through the girl’s whimpering cries as the faint words of a purple fox quietly echoed in the back of Lúthien’s mind.

"Would've been easier that way..."
”...I got the feeling that he really didn't care…”

The pressure within her chest only seemed to increase, and her lungs felt like they had been set on fire every time the girl choked on a sob and struggled to breathe. Lúthien felt like she was drowning inside her own mind, the words of the man now swimming in a sea of doubts further fueled by the quiet whispers of a certain vixen. { Kyra had been right… } A single thought finally managed to form within the convoluted depths of her mind, unconsciously broadcasted out towards the man as the elf seemed to physically shrink into herself on the bed.

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Yugam | @Moonsong

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"Promise... to Hanno, was it?"

Corvella's answer lies on Fiora's face: a resting bitchface, that is. "My promise was to bring you back, not to make your bitchass go and talk to Hanno. That's on you. You think i'm Dio or something?" Fiora shrugged off, but decided to humour 'Corvella' On this one by paying attention to every attempt of explaining her situation, or rather, to find an excuse out of it.

"Say, if someone was to copy the memories of a comatose person-"
"Mhm."
"-And transferred it into a living robot, is the robot 'that person' now? What happens when the comatose person wakes up then?"
"Uhuh..."

All while just taking sips of booze every now and then, which kept the conversation fresh, compared to the brainrotting philosophy wasted in a tavern even the heroine herself picked up on a second after. By then, the elf just calmly placed the mug on the counter and turned fully to face 'Moonsong'. "Listen, I don't care." She paused.

"Me?" Accentuating that with a finger pointed back at herself. "I don't care." A singular dismissive wave yet again to articulate the answer as clearly as possible. "We are sharing drinks in a virtual bar, you are literally dead and I'm having a blast with this booze, and you gonna shit on the mood with some philosophy?" A long siiiiip followed once the drink couldn't glue itself off from her right hand. Not for long anyways. "Hanno would love to sit your ass down and chat a bit."

Which came 'handy' for Corvella, because her left ain't her strongest, despite still packing a hefty amount of weight behind a punch. It did make things trickier, almost managing to let moonsong's body flop off the stool if she hadn't already planned to catch the woman eitherway.

The patrons didn't take the ruckus nicely, however, as their stares just intensified and even the barkeeper had the need to intervene, were it not for the fact the brunette made it look lik emere banter between two big ladies.

"Oh he did tell me." She corrected her, with a smile far too mischievous to be called innocent despite it's attempt to come off as such. "Just wanted an excuse to punch you on the face. But I'm glad you are reasonable for a dead gal." Had to give credit were it's due; In her place, she wouldn't have hold back for some payback. But then, it's not like there was much time left for such things, nor would the dead care about grudges. Not this one at least.

Fiora didn't buy it, Terrasphere was weird in many ways but this? This had crossed a line clearly, to imagine a player would be connected with another for no other reason than mere mysticism. Still... The seriousness radiating from her eyes right now didn't go unnoticed, and with one last gulp, Fiora matched the stare with one of her own.

"There's always a reason for everything."

"You speak like a believer. Funny." A hand rushed across white strands of hair, tucking them behind her ear, if only to get a better look at 'Moonsong' "My one shot is to find the gods in Terrasphere and twist their arms to spill the beans. I'm pretty sure they got the answer we want. Hanno is still in denial though so I doubt he will help me with that. I just need to find out how to do the twisting." Which, frankly, was harder than getting an audience with a deity or two. What could they even want that she has?

Nothing, not yet. But she has to rely on her faith in this plan, as faithless as she is.

@Yugam @Moonsong @Luthien

 

[Yugam]

The elf pressed her palms to her eyes, slowly breaking down more and more in front of the man, his own tears beginning to well up in his eyes. The man blinked them away, his vision clearing, only to start blurring once more. He hated this feeling, like there was a heavy weight on his chest, and like someone was slowly closing their fingers around his throat.

Luthien didn't say anything in response, and Yu felt another stab of pain in his chest as he watched. Maybe she hadn't heard him. And that perhaps made it all the worse. Should he repeat himself? Make everything worse? Or just saying nothing, let everything deteriorate faster and faster. His nails bit into the palm of his flesh.

{ Kyra had been right… }

Yu's brows furrowed in confusion. The voice in his head had surprised him, but he wasn't nearly as shocked as he used to be. The confusion came as to why Luthien had emptied the thought into his head, and what she had to do with anything. The man shifted from his seat to the edge of the bed. "K-kyra?" the man repeated aloud. "What's she got to do with anything?"

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Moonsong | @Luthien

 

[Luthien]

A creaking sound emerged when the mad shifted his weight to the edge of the bed, the elf’s keen senses aware of how the mattress shifted underneath them to accommodate the new addition. "K-Kyra? What's she got to do with anything?" His voice carried over to her with ease, the girl failing to realize that he’d been responding to a broadcasted thought instead of her actual words.

"She s-said…" Her words broke up, interrupted by her own choppy breathing while her hands constantly wiped the tears away from her eyes and cheeks—only for them to be replaced by a fresh batch. "She said t-that you were… b-better off without m-me."

{ That you didn’t care... } Her mind unconsciously supplied the remaining words when Lúthien’s voice failed to get them across verbally, the blonde’s lips trembling as she struggled to contain her sobs with little to no success. { … that you weren’t interested. }

Back then the ranger had refused to even entertain the topic, lashing out towards the fox girl instead to avoid facing a reality that Lúthien hadn’t been ready to accept at the time. She had wanted to believe that Kyra had been wrong in her assessment of Yugam, that just because he’d said whatever words he’d chosen the man hadn’t meant them... but now, having heard them once more, and from his lips no less, the girl was forced to face a truth she’d desperately tried to avoid until now.

"I’m s-sorry…"

None of this would’ve been a problem if she’d never created expectations of the hunter in the first place, especially when he’d been clear as to where he stood from the very beginning—the physical distance between them was too much for anything other than a friendship to ever work.

@Moonsong | @Fiora Di Angelo | @Yugam

 

[Lune]

"Hanno would love to sit your ass down and chat a bit."

"He would, yeah." She deadpanned. Even though Dayeon has been training with him, she avoided talking about Corvella a lot, understanding that she's not quite ready to face her old friend yet. The woman picked back up her cup, forgetting that it was already empty.

The knightess' response as to why she punched her was so unbelievable, Moonsong had to blink twice and asked. "It's... Dayeon's body, though? She's not gonna appreciate that. Also, I said I'm not dead. Stop killing me." She was probably angry at Dayeon too for shaking things up, it can't be helped.

"You speak like a believer. Funny."

Like she expected that response, the brunette replied without missing a beat, probably to annoy the elf a bit more. "The opposite, actually. The gods are dead to me."

She shrugged, but upon hearing Fiora's intention to twist the gods' arms, Moonsong laughed under her breath. "I like you. Maybe we can go on a god-butchering journey together someday." The woman looked at her wrist, as if checking an imaginary watch. "Alas, Dayeon finally wakes up, please don't be mean to her."

Without a warning, she switched out. The golden glow in Moonsong's eyes disappeared, back into her blue ones, before the girl with the usual high-pitched tone came back. "Ow..." She touched her nose that was whacked like one minute ago, clearly not having the same pain tolerance as the woman who controlled her body few moments ago.

@Fiora Di Angelo @Yugam @Luthien

 

[Yugam]

"...She said t-that you were… b-better off without m-me," Luthien choked out between sobs, struggling to give voice to all her words. { That you didn't care... } she mindsent him, { … that you weren't interested. }

Yu exhaled sharply, his eyes closing as he swore quietly, "God-fucking-dammit Kyra." He shouldn't have been surprised, and yet he was. Of course the fox woman had ran off and twisted whatever Yu had said into something completely different. A brief flash of anger had Yu swearing to himself that the next time he saw the woman he'd break her nose.

The anger quickly subsided though, as Luthien managed to say something between her sobs. "I'm s-sorry…"
"No no no, don't apologize, please," Yugam practically begged the elf. "You're not the one who fucked up," he said. The man shifted on the bed so he was facing the woman, a hand reaching out to touch her shoulder. "Luth- Val," the man corrected himself, "listen to me. Whatever Kyra told you, forget it, okay? We wouldn't be having this conversation right now if I didn't, alright?"

The man sighed as his hand fell away from the girl's shoulder, resting on the mattress beside her. "Yes, I fucked up, but I promise you, that doesn't mean I don't care, I just..." the man paused as he tried to find some way to put his thoughts into a coherent string of words. "I just didn't know how much. And I didn't want things to go the way they have for me in the past."

The man took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, as his gaze shifted to the floor. "Look, I know you're hurting, and that a lot of it's my fault. And I'm sorry for leading you on. So, if you don't wanna see me anymore, I'll-" the man paused, finding it difficult to finish the sentence. The man forced himself to swallow his nerves and say what needed to be said though, she deserved that much. "I'll understand..."

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Moonsong | @Luthien

 

[Luthien]

His quiet swearing, accompanied by a brief flash of anger, had certainly caught the attention of the elf—the intensity of the emotion visually startling Lúthien as it crashed against her mind. Perhaps it had been thanks to it that her sobbing began to die down, the elf reduced to various sniffles instead as her hands finished wiping away the most recent batch of tears that had stained her face. The bed creaked once more when Yugam shifted his position, his hand now resting on her shoulder as the man tried to ease the worries swirling within her thoughts.

"Luth—Val, listen to me. Whatever Kyra told you, forget it, okay?" His voice was steady and serious, dark brown eyes looking directly into her puffy red eyes as he spoke. ”We wouldn't be having this conversation right now if I didn't, alright?”

The weight of his hand on her shoulder provided a physical comfort that the blonde hadn’t realized she’d been craving until that moment, and she made no effort to move away from it even as another few sniffles escaped her. She could hear the sincerity in his voice as Yugam spoke, but the biggest reassurance was the fact that the elf could also feel the earnestness that radiated from the man. If anything it convinced Lúthien that she could at least trust that the man believed the very words that were tumbling out of his lips.

Eventually his hand had fallen away from her shoulder, now resting on the mattress besides the elf, and Lúthien had shifted her position just enough to sit in a slightly more comfortable manner—no longer trying to subconsciously place a physical barrier between herself and the man as she listened. ”... I promise you, that doesn't mean I don't care. I just didn't know how much.” A soft nod had been her response, her way of non-verbally acknowledging that she understood the message the man was trying to get across even as her hands moved to rest on her lap. The fingers quietly fidgeted with one another in a vain attempt to relieve some of the restlessness Luthien currently felt, a careful blend crafted from both of their emotions that continued to maintain a tightness in her chest.

"Look, I know you're hurting, and that a lot of it's my fault… He’d finally broken eye contact with her, the girl’s eyes now shifting downwards before falling on the orange whistle that dangled from her neck—finally ceasing her fidgeting as one hand rose to grasp the item safely within her palm and ground herself. "So, if you don't wanna see me anymore, I'll understand…”

"No…!" The monosyllabic reply left her lips before Lúthien even realized it, lifting her head to look back at the man pleadingly. "N-No, I don’t w-want that…"

Words quietly tapered off into a soft exhale, her gaze casted downwards once more as the girl carefully bit the side of her bottom lip. She had known that her feelings towards him far exceeded that of just friends for a while now, and today had confirmed that beyond a shadow of a doubt when his limp and mangled body had rolled to a stop at her feet. Hallucination or not it had all felt very real, a shiver running up the blonde’s spine as the visuals of all their deaths began to surface within her mind before Lúthien quickly chased them away with a shake of her head.

"I care about you too, A-Ari." She truly cherished each and every one of them, more than they probably knew, but even among the three there was little doubt as to which one Lúthien cared for the most. "S-So… please, don’t go away."

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Yugam | @Moonsong

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"It's... Dayeon's body, though? She's not gonna appreciate that. Also, I said I'm not dead. Stop killing me."

"Didn't you just said it was your fault?" Cheshire grin settled all cozy on her face as the knightess leaned back and winked back at the heroine.

She couldn't really reason it. Just to think about the intention behind that punch made her heart twist inside out, and there's only so much Fiora the Knightess can keep behind a wall of indifference before memories sap through Nico. Even the tallest mountain can fall, just like their group.

"Tsk'" Corvella didn't even hesitate to pay back in full her teasing, but before her sourness could let her reply to it, conflict showed up on her frowning visage. It's still up to debate if she should punch her again or take that offer, but she quickly gave up and dropped her shoulders for the night. "You ain't half-bad... For a deadbeat." She exhaled, mentally adjusting herself to put up a calm smile once the real Moonsong emerged and these golden eyes died off to announce that.

'See ya' later ghost chick.'

"Ow..."
Ah, so that explains it. Corvbitch is quite resilient, she had to give her credit for it. Maybe that's why Hanno liked her so much...

Moonsong though..? Not so much apparently. "Hey, you alright? You spaced out." A hand reached out to rest on her shoulder as to keep the drowsy 'Dayeon' steady. "Some golden eyed bitch passed by and punched you on the face. I took her out though- Like, fucked her up real bad, I think I went a bit too hard on that lander." Weaved lies, but what is a white lie if not just a sign that she cares? "Yup, no one's messing with ya' while I'm around." Her hand moved away from that shoulder, and instead gave a few amiable pats on Moon's right cheek.

@Yugam | @Moonsong | @Luthien

 

[Lune]

"Uh..." Still clutching her nose, drops of tears emerged in the corner of her eyes while dismissing Fiora's bad acting and sad attempt at lying. "... Freya and I actually share memories, but that's okay." She doesn't protest the cheek pat though and instead tried to massage her own nose to ease the pain.

"Anyway, you shouldn't piss off the Immortal Heroine. Her anger level is on another plane of existence." Because she's dead? Good joke.

After the pain subsided though, Moonsong quickly buried her face in her hands, slumping forwards. "Fiora, I-" The brunette's voice cracked, a sign that she was going to cry again. "-I fucked up big time, didn't I?" She took a deep breath to try and stay calm, but the emotions came and wrecked her regardless.

"I...I just wanted to plan a vacation for them so they can meet. Instead I..."

The memory of her and Yugam spending time together in the bed came back, causing her to clutch her left chest this time. She looked at Fiora with a pained expression, trying her best not to break into tears.

".... What should I do, Fiora?"

@Fiora Di Angelo @Yugam @Luthien

 

[Yugam]

"No…!"
The word seemed to leap out from between Luthien's lips before even she had realized it. The abrupt forcefulness had almost caught Yu off-guard, his eyes snapping back to the girl's. "N-No, I don't w-want that…" Their eyes seemed stuck to each other for a moment as Luthien softly exhaled, before she averted her gaze once more, chewing on her bottom lip as if she were pondering something.

Yu's own gaze fell to his lap, his hand having retreated to it's safety at some point in the last few moments. Truthfully, he wasn't entirely sure what he had expected to happen. He'd thought the best possible outcomes were going to be asking for time apart, or no response at all. But the emphatic denial was more than what the man could have ever hoped for, and some part of Yu felt glad that the elf felt so strongly about maintaining his presence. He didn't deserve that, he hadn't earned it. Quite the opposite, in fact.

"I care about you too, A-Ari." The quiet words drew the man's gaze once more, settling on the eyes that still had trouble looking at him. "S-So… please, don't go away."

The man's eyes shifted again, off to the side as if considering whether or not he could even fulfill the woman's request. But the momentary distraction did not last long, his dark eyes slipping back to the elven reds, a decision having been made. "Okay," he promised with a slight nod.

The man slipped his hand into one of Luthien's, gently squeezing it before standing and making towards the door. "C'mon, I'm the sure the others are worried about you," the man said, turning to look at the elf with one hand on the door handle.

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Moonsong | @Luthien

 

[Luthien]

The hand holding onto her whistle had eventually moved back to join the other one in her lap, her gaze focused on them as her fingers quietly fiddled with the rough fabric of the sheets. Her cheeks and tip of her elven ears had gathered a red hue to them when she’d last spoken, though a part of her hoped it wasn’t as perceivable by Yugam given the puffy eyes and red nose the girl already sported from her recent crying.

"Okay."

A restless feeling had started to invade Lúthien as silence had followed her request, before the sincerity in the hunter’s voice finally caused the elf to look up and meet his gaze. His hand had reached for her own then, giving it a gentle squeeze before withdrawing once more as Yugam stood and began walking towards the door. The touch, short as it had been, still lingered on her skin and made it tingle in response—before the feeling was suddenly washed away at his next words.

"Is Da—" Her voice faltered for a second before Lúthien’s lips sealed shut once more, deciding against that particular inquiry as the archer slowly got up from the bed—she’d find out soon enough if Dayeon was still logged in the game anyways. Instead the blonde reconsidered her choice of words and question before she tried again. "Are Fio and M-Moonsong alright?"

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Moonsong | @Yugam