ice bridge (kaeya)

[malewife]

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w0 weekend, saturday

[malewife]

[ So! Whenever Kaeya comes to their room to see Joonghyuk is here, perusing around— ]

You can have this room.

[callalilies]

[ kaeya finally slots his coin into the proper room, headed first by polaris, his long peacock's tail dragging slowly like a veil's train. ]

You've somewhere else to stay or do you just hate sleeping with strangers?

w0 monday, afternoon

[callalilies]

[ kaeya is meandering out of what is now "his" room, polaris draped over his shoulder in his ermine form, lean, wiggly, and white. it's almost comical how he exits the room at the same time as one-- ]

Kim Dokja.

[ he says cheerfully. ]

I didn't realize you spelled you spelled it with a Y and two O's. And a myriad of other letters! Do you mind pronouncing it for me once more?

[ cheerful cheerful cheerful! ]

[malewife]

[ And Joonghyuk is here, waiting outside of room 12. He hasn't gone in, not that he can. It seems that he's waiting.

While his expression doesn't shift, Niah's fur bristles from surprise because Joonghyuk did Not want to bump into Kaeya. ]

There is nothing in your profile that suggests your knight status.

[ Ignores his ask. ]

w1 wednesday, post-event

[malewife]

[ It seems like after all the shenanigans, Joonghyuk is waiting at the lobby that connects to the guest rooms. Niah waits with him in his wolf form.

He’s also wearing his fancier second set of clothes (man on the left). ]

Kaeya Alberich.

[ Jokes. For once, he was waiting for Kaeya. ]

[callalilies]

Yoo Joonghyuk, what a pleasant surprise. And you're all dressed up too--how dashing.

[ polaris is trotting at his side in wolf form, a bioluminescent loop of vines loosely draped about his neck. ]

w1, friday post-deda whenever yjh isn't trying to stalkfind ratdokja

[callalilies]

[ catching him in the halls, wherever he might find him. ]

Yoo Joonghyuk.

[ polaris is at his side in wolf form--the shape he has refused to slip out of ever since curfew last night. he's licking at his lips softly he gives a nudge to kaeya's hand, earns a brief rub of the ears. ]

Just who I was looking for.

[malewife]

[ Stop. He has stopped sweeping the city for him, even though he's probably staring at the sunken ship because VOID. What if they're in the VOID.

When they hear footsteps approach, Niah in his wolf form is the first one to turn to look. ]

Kaeya Alberich.

w2 tuesday

[malewife]

[ Joonghyuk is wherever Kaeya happens to be, observing something strange on this glass pane. He has already dealt with the memories nonsense, but this shard looks different to him? Wrong.

Niah frantically looks around as the vision consumes everyone nearby.

"I am a prophet and I can take you to the end of the Scenarios," she tells you.

And you check her status. Your right eye glows a bright gold as her list of attributes and abilities populate your vision in a system message.

Name: Anna Croft
Personal Attributes: Prophet (Legend), Savior (Legend)
Personal Skills: Future Sight, Past Sight, Insight, Clairvoyance, Advanced Magic Training ,Mental Barrier, Lie Detection, Great Demon's Eyes...

More fills the message, but you only care to discern her words are true. She will be your ally.

You're reminiscing your first meeting with Anna Croft. It has been years since then, but now you two are faced with a new scenario in the Context of Constellations, the realm of the gods. In this room waits a relic on a podium, ready for the taking, but first a familiar system message pops up.

< Main Scenario #46 – Proof of the Stars >
Category: Main
Difficulty: ???
Clear Conditions: Acquire and use the ‘star’ in the centre of the room or prevent the other party from obtaining the ‘star’ within the time limit. If one of the two conditions were met, the scenario would be automatically cleared.
Time Limit: 3 hours.
Compensation: Check the additional message.
Failure: Conditional death

The floating fuzzy goblin delivers the compensation message for the room.

[The rewards for the star in the room will be revealed!]

[Star Reward]
(Choice 1.) If you acquire or use the ‘star’ before your opponent, you can acquire all the skills and stories of the opponent.
(Choice 2.) If you acquire or use the ‘star’ before your opponent, you can have indefinite life or death rights over your opponent.

All you and Anna need to do to clear this scenario is to leave the star untouched, then it will end without any bloodshed. It is what you two agreed on, with your memories of previous lives and her power to see the future—this is a simple scenario that tested bonds because how tantalizing would it be to acquire your opponents' power? Or turn them into your lackey?

As you're about to vocalize the conclusion of this room for the goblin to clear both of you, you watch Anna dart to the star. Your own legs start moving instinctively despite how it takes a moment for you to register... It takes you a moment because you didn't want to believe.

She's betraying you.

You didn't anticipate it—foolish mistake. You should have known. You should have seen it coming. In this world, people are rewarded for stabbing comrades in the back.

With a head start, Anna conjures magic and casts distracting fireballs to keep you away. It ends so quickly all because of your negligence. With the star in her hands, she claims her reward. You steel yourself to have your stories and abilities stripped from you, except she picks the second choice.

She claims control of your life.

From here on out, you are her slave... A hunting dog she sends off to neutralize threats to her dream. You can't even choose to die and start over, seeing that she has the right to your death as well. You will live your life like this until death naturally embraces you, whenever that will be.

A white hot hatred mixed with disbelief swells so large in your chest. You promise yourself in the next regression, you will have her head on a pike. You only spew venom as she looks at you... You trusted her. You trusted her deeply. And in this deep pool of disdain, you realize how hurt you truly are. She tells you to kneel and reminds you that she is doing this to save the world.

You are a threat to her vision. Despair coils around you as you remember your first meeting again.

"We can save the world together, Yoo Joonghyuk."

Will you ever trust again?

Well... Joonghyuk frowns. ]

[callalilies]

[ oh that... that was... unexpected. as the memory slowly withdraws, polaris lets out a soft low sound, if a wolf could vocalize disgust that would probably be it because it's all kaeya can feel. yoo joonghyuk's hatred and his disbelief, are slowly melting off of his shoulders, but it clings like oil. ]

She seems like a despicable person.

[ a beat before he looks up, hesitation because he's uncertain of how to broach... this place is so HATEFUL WOW! ]

Yoo Joonghyuk... are you alright? Your face.

[ ur doin a frown. ]

w2, eod tuesday or before tasks on wednesday

[callalilies]

[ i can finally tag that up there now that this is complete. regardless, hey yjh. where you at? because it's where kaeya is, perhaps meandering around for something decent to bring back to the mansion to eat or taking daemons on a walk. it's very mundane, to the point where kaeya is cautious about the glass, but also enjoying the fact that they're not 20,000,000 leagues under water so.

the shard of glass falls under polaris' foot and, well, you kind of know how the rest goes, don't you, yoo joonghyuk? ]

-

[ the music starts and suddenly the world around you is incredibly large and frightening. or rather, you are very small and slight, trembling. the rain is cold, seeping through your hair and the bandages wrapped haphazardly around your right eye. the cloak around your shoulders isn't at all water proofed, so the rain soaks you to the bone. there's a man in front of you, your father, wrapped tightly in a soaked-through cloak and leaning over you like the boughs of a great and wizened tree.

the man holds your hand tightly, his steps long and unyielding, and you stumble to catch up. you're too small, shoes sinking into the mud and coming up with a vile, wet noise each time. you can feel the cold from the soles of your feet to your ankles, your knees, and you don't know if now you are shaking out of fear or the chill the rain presses like needle pinpricks into your bones.

ahead, is a distant winery, with a warm red roof darkened with rain. the lights glow softly, a beacon that your father is walking you closer and closer towards until finally he pulls you behind a rock face nearby. his grip is still iron-tight, and your hand and fingers have gone numb from it. your entire body is numb. when did your teeth start chattering? when did you stop being able to feel your toes?

as your father speaks, the words are silenced to the rain and the music. the crack of thunder causes you to jump, but he holds you firmly, until you can feel the way his fingers dig into your shoulders with desperation. finally, the words leave his lips, clear as a bell: ]

You are our last hope.

[ there is a place beyond your father's eyes. he's looking not at you, but through you, to the distant lands of khaenri'ah, just beyond the horizon. you are looking for something in your father's eyes that might perhaps be hesitation or regret, something that might say he'll take your hand and bring you back with him, wherever it is he will go, but instead you see a mire of hope and hatred as he releases you. you pause a moment as he begins to walk back down the road, leaving you standing there beside a foreign sign.

you call out for him, but the words are silent, like in a dream it's futile, distant. when you start after him, you can feel the way the mud slows you down, but it is only when you look up that you see he is staring at you from yards away. the look in his eyes says nothing save this:

stay.




so you stay. you stand as the rain overtakes you, and it isn't until his dark shape disappears in the distance that you feel the heat of a tear slide down your cheek slowly, clinging to your chin. another follows, and then more until your nose is dripping, and your teeth bite into your lower lip as you stifle a sob. our last hope our last hope our last hope rings in your ears so loudly that you don't hear the sound of footsteps up the road. a man is calling to you, and you turn as he comes closer, already holding what looks to be another cloak. his hair is long and red, curling and sticking to his face as he covers you carefully and crouches in the mud.

he's wearing leisurely finery, oxymoronic, but true. elegance even as he kneels in the mud and begins to push your hair from your face, bundling you carefully. he's warm like a hearth, his arms strong as he picks you up and carries you back up the muddy path towards the red-roofed winery.

you are our last hope. ]

-

[ kaeya was holding a funny looking stupid hat before, something he'd been making to grab at before polaris had stepped on that shard of glass. now it's just on the ground and he blinks slowly, a soft laugh leaving him. it's soft, hollow, almost as though he's just now taking a breath. ]

[malewife]

[ Well... Joonghyuk is familiar with these memory attacks now, so he watches it play for him even though he knows neither of them consented to this. He never liked the idea of peeking into someone's mind without their knowing. If he ever called for it, he didn't care for their well-being, only wanting information and weaknesses. Still, in the end, he knows that no one wants to unravel their story for others to leisurely read.

Maybe, again, this is entertainment for entities they cannot see.

Joonghyuk only watches Kaeya laugh a bit, then picks up the stupid looking hat. He examines it, keeping his eyes off the other man in case he wants to recompose himself. ]

I don't see what's so funny.

w2 friday

[malewife]

[ Wherever the stinker is, Joonghyuk is here, arms crossed, looking rather displeased like this is a huge offense to him. Niah, however, only comes up to check on Polaris personally. ]

Kaeya Alberich.

[ If Kaeya is familiar with the overbearing parent tone, this is it. ]

[callalilies]

[ stinky indeed. well, not really, before he certainly was but he's since had a bath to get most? of the burnt smell off of him. it likely still lingers, along with the burnt pieces of his long hair draped over his shoulder. he refuses to button most of his shirt, okay, the burns spread across ache. ]

Yoo Joonghyuk.

[ he. is familiar. glancing up! curled up on a couch in the grand salon probably, a corner one. polaris is on a pillow that's been tossed down to the floor, paws crossed and head resting on them. he opens an eye and greets niah, tail thumping softly. ]

Have a seat.

[ he pats the cushion beside him with his good hand. ]

w3 monday

[malewife]

[ He's at the outpost, without his black coat, so he can live with a black sleeveless turtleneck. Niah has shifted into his black jaguar form, looking out to the storm with Joonghyuk... ]

Trapped again.

[callalilies]

[ polaris is padding over in wolf form, tongue lolling out slightly in the heat--he transforms slowly, hopping out from all fours with a spread of his white wings and landing elegantly in peacock form with a soft trill as he trots to niah's side and looks outwards. kaeya joins him there at the outpost because this place needs a good dusting down top to bottom if they're going to make it through the week. ]

Something to keep us in or perhaps to keep something else out? Could be both, really.

w4, monday -- tournament grounds

[callalilies]

[ the tournament arena is certainly quite a spectacle with all of its mechanisms and grand seating. his ears give a swivel this way and that at each noise, the sounds of festivities being prepared for, the clang of the smithy. he's distracted until he sees the familiar sight of yoo joonghyuk sitting peacefully.......

too peacefully........

his tail bats sharply and he grins. his attempt is to be soft-footed and sneak up on him, even though we all know surprising yjh is a terrible idea, but he can't help himself.

bitch rolled a 6 so like. the sneaking isn't really sneaking at all, rather, he tries but there's barely any cover and his tail is too sharp and white by stark comparison. his boots also jingle which don't really help but it's the thought that counts. ]

[malewife]

[ Joonghyuk's wolf ears twitch even though he doesn't open his eyes or move from his place.

When Kaeya is close enough, he bonks his head with his sheathed sword. ]

w5 tuesday

[malewife]

Kaeya Alberich.

[ Where are you in this wintry wonderland? He is here and in need of a person. He's also not a frog this time.

... He is profusely bleeding, but his clothes are black. It's fine. ]

[callalilies]

[ it's fiiiiiiine there's blood here on the snow too in the ice garden when he is currently working on a snow statue of polaris, who is sitting very properly to pose for his art. black seems to be the color best suited for this curse so we're all yjh this week ig. he looks like he has some gear to the side ready to go somewhere and is just killing some time in the early morning.

it smells burnt near him and his left shoulder is more slack than his right. yikes. it doesn't seem to bother him, though, he just kind of works around it as the occasional plop of blood hits the snow from under his arm. but he seems much more interested in his art project than the bleeding. ]

Yoo Joonghhyuk. [ he offers a nod. ] Sleep well?

w5 sunday, post-execution

[malewife]

[ Wherever Kaeya is, Joonghyuk will find him! Mostly to check that he is okay...

Unlike Niah who goes up to Polaris instantly to check on him. ]

[callalilies]

[ polaris greets niah first, crawls out from where he's been sprawled under the couch on his paws to nose at him. ]

I heard you.

[ he's holding a mug of tea. it's gone cold and it's just a dark reflective surface now that kaeya can stare into from time to time. when he looks up from it, his expression is muted, not as distant as out in the tundra, but still locked in that singular moment. ]

w6 wednesday, post-event

[malewife]

The tasks today were annoying.

[ I am basing this off of the prompt my group got... They can be set at the park with a little hat nearby for people to throw coins. Might as well make money. He pulls out his blade and appraises its visage. The Dark Heavenly Demon Sword—a blade dark as the blackest night, tinted with gold accents on its hilt. It has quite the aura. This is his comfort sword. ]

Do you have conditions?

[ Aside from obvious no harm because that means you're not sparring properly. ]

[callalilies]

[ yjh's sword = baby blankie tbh. and kaeya just shakes his head at that, a laugh. ]

No. I want to see as much as you're willing to show me.

[ by contrast, kaeya's sword is not nearly as dramatic-looking, but it is most definitely strong and serviceable, and kaeya draws it with a comfortable flourish, bringing it forward to have a look at the blade's edge one moment before maneuvering it in a comfortable arc towards a more neutral stance. his posture is practiced, almost lighter than usual before he lifts his eye to look at yoo joonghyuk.

polaris is just comfortably curled into a ferret ball by the hat, tiny black-tipped tail thumping as he watches people go by. ]

Let's begin.

[ sword up. ]

w6 saturday, post-trial

[malewife]

[ I am going to let you choose where they meet up. Joonghyuk would be vibing, either way.

Niah is also here, merely sitting. ]

[callalilies]

[ vibe this: park, on a bench, there's a large thermos of tea and one of those expandable dog bowls just for the park. in it goes and down on the ground between them. there's a cup too, and kaeya pours into it, but leaves it there between them. ]

Did you ever find out who bound you?